America is Ur
Posted on | April 30, 2009 | 5 Comments
The America I visited in 2002 is not the same America I’m living in today. And the reason is : horizons, and a certain amount of maturity.
Horizons are wide and bountiful when you’re an ignorant dreamer / non-immigrant tourist and much more limited when you’re a realistic adult with a green card and a renewed love of the Lord.
This isn’t so much a land of milk and honey as it is a purifying desert of materialism. It’s not a vista of endless options but a place to filter and prioritize only those things which are truly meaningful. It is not a place for opening up to possibility; it’s an opportunity to limit yourself to the essential. Or else you lose all sense of up or down, right or wrong in the merciless stream of combo packages, upgrades, add-ons and discount coupons.
Highway between Pioche, Nevada and Cedar City, Utah. Photo by itjournalist on Flickr.
I think that now, when I see the sheer amount of options, the abundance of excess and hubris, I realize that these choices are not actually meant to free your vision as much as tie you down to addictions.
This country offers sinful delights at every turn: lasciviousness in its entertainment media, pornography in its liquor stores, vice in its gambling meccas, even savagery in its social networking sites. Sure, there are opportunities to grow and possibilities to be fruitful, but then there are also wicked snares at every turn.
Not that these challenges are absent from other countries. Here however, everything is more… overt, more grandiose, more sensational(ist), more gaudy, more “in-your-face.”
America is not the promised land, nor is it a utopia.
It is not Moses’ overflowing Canaan, it is Elijah’s “nomad-lifestyle” brook of Cherith.
This is not Israel’s symbolic Zion, it is Abraham’s desert training-ground Ur of the Chaldeans.
Book Review: The Noticer by Andy Andrews
Posted on | April 27, 2009 | 1 Comment
The Noticer by Andy Andrews is 156 pages of important life lessons wrapped within a feel-good, inspirational novelette. The lessons are thinly-veiled homilies spoken by the main character Jones to a cast of (unfortunately) flat, characters who barely resemble real people with real dialogue. Still, the book’s lessons and overall message are positive, and Christian — without mentioning God too often. The book will appeal to mothers, grandmothers, fans of inspirational literature, and anyone who enjoys Hallmark greeting cards.
The barebones story is about an elderly, white-haired man named Jones who appears in a small town over the course of many years, always helping people gain a broader perspective on their trials and their blessings. For example: A man is saved from worry when Jones reminds him to focus only on what can be controlled. An old woman with nothing left to live for is inspired to begin living purposefully after Jones tells her that everything one does has an impact on someone else’s life.
I have nothing against this type of inspirational material, mind you. My basic problem with The Noticer is that it would’ve been better off as non-fiction prose rather than as a pseudo novel. After all, the characters are throwaway paper cutouts. The real meat here lies in the life lessons — the wise nuggets scattered throughout the novel’s cliche-soaked melodrama and often cringe-worthy dialogue. Still, it’s worth a quick read on the plane, and would make an excellent Mother’s Day gift!
Visit http://www.thenoticerproject.com for more information about “The Noticer Project.”
Disclosure: The copy I read was a review e-book from the publisher Thomas Nelson, which has a lovely little blogger review program. Try it out.
Podcast: On Waiting for the Lord
Posted on | April 22, 2009 | No Comments
It’s always difficult to wait. We’re no longer hardwired for it. Instant messaging, 3-minute microwave meals, and while-you-wait services and fast food have all spoiled us rotten. We end up seeing the entire world around us as owing us a quick fix. With the end result being we expect God to do the same. Except His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts not our thoughts. And it is not for us to know the day or the time — not just of Jesus second coming, but also for when He will decide to answer our prayers. So we must wait. And in waiting, try to figure out what He intends us to learn.
Dream: Swimming in Daisies
Posted on | April 17, 2009 | 3 Comments
Dream of April 6, 2009:
I am driving around the countryside and pulling up at a hotel that looks strangely like the DoubleTree in Sonoma. A teenage kid named Joseph whom I recognize from my wife’s church is talking with me. This is strange because he’s really only 4 years old in real life, but his bowl haircut is unmistakable. It’s great to hear him speak coherently.
I follow the crowds of people to the garden and golf course behind the hotel. And it turns out to be a cemetery– with daisies growing like a tall swaying sea of stalks in large upraised squares much like islands of green in a mall.
Swimming in Daisies
I see R.H., a high school classmate up to his old pranks, take off his clothes and dive into the daisies as if for a swim. I know that down on a lower level of this area, there is a viewing room as in an aquarium, where viewers are watching the “native” people swim in their natural habitat: the earth between the daisies.
Makes me want to swim as well, except I realize this is literally swimming in (the culture of) death. And no matter how appealing it may seem to be right now, there are rotting corpses below all that ephemeral bliss — and soon I will join them in the powdery earth.
Image Credits: Edited from “Daisies” by nutmeg66 and “The High Dive” by Brent and MariLynn, both on Flickr.
Soon a Visitor Shall Delight You
Posted on | April 15, 2009 | 5 Comments
A recent fortune cookie prophecy
My sister recently emailed asking what it’s like to be expecting a baby and what kind of preparations are underway in order to welcome our baby properly? Let me see. We are:
- Sleeping quite late. Everyone tells us to catch some sleep now– while we can. Unfortunately, we’re watching more TV, and reading more books, and it’s been fun. So there goes that advice. The truth is, I probably wouldn’t mind staying up with the baby when it wakes at odd hours of the night. Of course, like many other things in life, I will probably regret saying this aloud, but while I remain ignorant of what it takes to lull a crying baby to sleep, I am all smiles.
- Catching up on errands and chores together. Sometimes, free days end up being filled by the odd little duties that you can’t do anytime else. And it’s way more fun going to something like a smog testing with your loving spouse, rather than doing it solo. It’s also more beneficial to do the laundry together. Something about clean-smelling clothes lifts the spirits.
- Quarrelling and making up. Pregnancy = moodswings = fights! But with God’s grace, all quarrels show themselves as learning opportunities.
- Windows(TM)-Shopping. Which is my way of saying we’ve been surfing the shopping websites and pinpointing what things we’d like to purchase for our baby. Primary pending purchase: crib. Secondary purchase: car seat/stroller.
- Keeping track of his kicking and squirming. Agnes tells me it’s like he’s dancing. I ask her, “Is it the Strut, the Macarena or the Electric Gigolo?” She answers: “No, it’s more like the swimming sequences from The Man From Atlantis.” Which just tells you our age.
- Praying. For our baby’s health, a good delivery, and showers of blessings upon our family members scattered across the globe.
Agnes, Baby Zee and myself at 28 Weeks
As to the fortune cookie prophecy pictured above, I got it at a Chinese restaurant some time ago. How very true. Your child comes to you as a gift from God, “visits” with you for a certain number of years, and then heads off to start his own family down the road if God calls him to that. All your son will ever be is a visitor who cannot stay forever, but for the delightful time when you have him, you share with him your heart, your values and your love for God, and allow the Lord to lead him where he is most needed.
Expectant Fatherhood is the Joy of Advent
Posted on | February 21, 2009 | 25 Comments
I have a son! Praise God from whom all blessings flow, I have a son!
After eight years of marriage, almost half of which were spent separated from my wife geographically, and after a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs that would make any grown man squeal, I can now proudly announce to the world that I am a father. A FATHER!
God has seen fit to bless Agnes and I and entrust us with a baby boy, who is due to make his initial stage debut on June 4, 2009 — 6 days before our wedding anniversary!
Currently he is 1.5 pounds and is 25 weeks old, and enjoys kicking and dancing around while our family watches the latest episode of the Korean TV action/drama Jumong.
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You have to love God’s plan. Even if you don’t understand it. Even if you scratch your head sometimes. God’s thoughts are so far above our thoughts, after all, as far as East is from West. To put it simply, the Lord knew we weren’t ready mentally or spiritually to raise children before, which is why He postponed it till now. And in His divine wisdom, He’s decided we can now be trusted with this precious cargo.
All I know is I am thankful. I look over at my wife when she’s busy crocheting, and I marvel at how God has worked everything out in His timing. I gaze with awe and love at the bulging tummy that carries my son, and place my hand there to feel him stretching new muscles.
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Pregnancy is beautiful. Marriage is beautiful. This life that we helped co-create is beautiful. And I swim in the joy. I know that poopy diapers and crying fits will come in time. But for now, I enjoy this taste of anticipation and expectation.
So this is what advent feels like.
Dream: Gigging in the Blade Runner Universe
Posted on | February 20, 2009 | 1 Comment
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A recent dream: I am in the noisy chaos of a stifling indoor Chinese market, where goods and vendors line the aisles. Looking like a scene straight out of the movie Blade Runner, the market has establishments on either side and open stalls every which way. In the middle of the shouts for fresh food and dry goods, I am making my way to a stage.
Turns out the market is really a run-down Chinese restaurant which looks more like a humongous cafeteria, filled with patrons at dingy tables enjoying noodles and tea and dimsum, conversing in loud guttural voices.
The stage is small, I barely fit atop it. I am on a stool, with my acoustic guitar and a microphone in front of me. I’m finishing my gig. Singing solo. Alone, amidst a sea of hostile strangers who probably have no idea that I am singing about THEIR pain and THEIR hopes. It doesn’t matter. I am buoyed by the joy of performing.
I spot a familiar face in the crowd. It is my wife’s bridesmaid at our wedding — our friend who used to go out to all our band gigs back in the ’90s in Metro Manila. She spots me and motions for me to come join her group when my set finishes. I am glad for a familiar face and soemeone to talk with.
The gig ends. And I descend, expecting a warm welcome from a friend.
Digicam Death
Posted on | February 5, 2009 | 17 Comments
It was bound to happen. I just didn’t expect it so quickly. My three year-old Canon A95 digicam died on me last New Year. Suddenly, it was taking distorted photos that were all in violet, and filled with vertical lines — which, in a parallel dimension is kinda cool. But when you need clear photos of family events, you’re plain out of luck. I had last used it for Thanksgiving, at the tail end of November 08, and it had lain dormant since then. I don’t know what happened to it. Weather turned it violet? Kicked in the guts? Simple old age?
The search for a new digicam ensued soon after. I had two major candidates based on testing the models in the Fry’s Electronics store in Fremont: the Canon G10, which seemed to possess all the wonderful qualities of a DSLR (except for lens interchangeability) including full manual controls and a sturdy metal-cased body, and the Canon SX 10 IS, a larger prosumer camera which also weighs a ton and is a bit bulkier, but has the flip-out LCD screen I so need and want, apart from the array of manual controls which are mandatory for me.
 Distorted photos from the Canon A95. “Hi mom, enclosed are the photos from last Christmas. I know, I know, they’re horrible.” |
I almost bought the SX 10 on the spot. But they only had 2 cameras in stock, and they were both returned items, which raised my suspicions. I ended up going home, and doing the research online only to find out the camera was pretty well-liked and had pretty much everything I wanted .
Fast forward to a few days later, and I am in a Circuit City and see the SX10 IS at about 20 dollars cheaper than at Fry’s. Sold to the new owner!
So there you have it. From distorted violet photos to some pretty cool ones. And still in the Canon family.
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Catholic Carnival Time: Prayers on the 208th
Posted on | January 22, 2009 | 5 Comments
Catholic Carnival #208 is now up. It gathers a week’s worth of Catholic blogposts from around the web, and places them in one place for easy reading and linking. Lots of goodness in this week’s carnival. My personal highlights include:
- Kevin at Heard Mind and Strength Weblog blogs about how the Mass readings remind all of us that God speaks to us through His church, and that the church is calling us to build a culture of life, not one of death.
- Evann at Homeschool Goodies shows us a beautiful family tradition: every first communicant in their family makes a banner commemorating their special day. And because they present it to the priest at the First Communion, her family takes photos of the child and the banner. The banners and the children are adorable.
- Finally, Jean at Catholic Fire asks all of us a poignant question: what is God calling us to do to help promote the culture of life during this anniversary of Roe vs. Wade? A list of practical examples follows. Here’s one of them that I think you should definitely check out:
#3. Do something to stop FOCA [Freeedom of Choice Act]. There are several suggestions listed in this post. Also, consider joining “What the FOCA” or FightFoca.
There’s so much more over at the Catholic Carnival. Check it out every week. Or if you’re a Catholic blogger, why not join the fun and spread the faith? God bless.
Saint Agnes’s Zeal for Christ was No Teenage Crush
Posted on | January 21, 2009 | No Comments
Today is January 21st, the feast day of St. Agnes, the Roman teenage virgin-martyr who, as tradition tells us, refused marriage proposals claiming she was betrothed to none other than Christ. She was young, beautiful, pure, born of a rich family, and even at the young age of 14, totally surrendered to the Lord. Because this was during the time when Christians in Rome were being persecuted, fed to lions, and publicly executed, all these spurned suitors decided if they couldn’t have her, then no one could. She was reported to the authorities who threw her into a brothel to torture her. But no man dared approach her. Her purity was too awesome. And her faith throughout it all so totally different. Irritated, the Roman governor had her executed. And even then she encouraged her tormentors to finish the job as she despised the physical beauty she possessed that made the Roman suitors lust after her.
- She could have had her pick of any of the young influential suitors that were hounding her door and married into a powerful family and even multiplied her family’s wealth, had she been looking for earthly power or earthly possessions. But she was not.
- She could have had any of the handsome, probably muscular, young men as husbands had she been looking for mere earthly pleasure. But she was not.
- She could have stayed quiet about her Christian convictions, and hidden it from people and stayed safe, and stayed alive, had she been looking for earthly security. But again, she was not.
Instead, she loved Christ the only way she knew how: vibrantly, loudly, boldly, purely. This was no fragile teenage crush, no infatuation with a teen idol, no puppy love that would fade after a season. This was a love that allowed a teenager to face torture and death fearlessly because it was focused totally on the God who became man, on the God who died on a cross for our sins, on the God who by His death and resurrection promises us life beyond this earthly life.
This was true fervor and zeal, proclaimed boldly, proclaimed unto death.
St. Agnes, pray for the youth of today, that they may be strong against temptation and keep their eyes and hearts focused on our Lord Jesus who gives us the strength and the grace to face all tribulation boldly.
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St. Ignatius of Loyola:
"Whatsoever I have or hold, You have given me; I give it all back to You and surrender it wholly to be governed by your will. Give me only your love and your grace, and I am rich enough and ask for nothing more." (Spiritual Exercises, #234)
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