Pushing Giants

Brake Before You Break

2011-08-15T23:11:00.004+08:00

The past two weeks have been very demotivating for me... I found myself suffering from the dreaded writer's block and felt as if something has been snuffed out. I couldn't somehow put my heart into any of my writing and couldn't put more than two words together effectively. I just had to take a time off from writing to re-evaluate myself.

During that time, I remember coming across something from the Sunday funnies where a famous female mouse named Minnie was complaining to an even more famous male mouse named Mickey... Poor Minnie can't drive her car in the garage without scratching the sides.

Unsinkable

2011-07-26T00:21:00.006+08:00

I think we're all familiar with a vessel named RMS Titanic, a passenger liner that struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City and sank on April 15, 1912. A total of 1,517 lives were lost that day.

The RMS Titanic was the largest passenger steamship in the world and carried 2,223 people on her first and last journey. Enormous pride was put into building the ship, and experienced engineers used some of the most up-to-date technology and safety features available that time. The great ship was thought to be unsinkable, yet four days into her crossing, she went down...

Staying Positively Alive Part 2 – Loose the Anchors

2011-07-22T01:04:00.006+08:00

"There are two types of people – anchors and motors. You want to lose the anchors and get with the motors because motors are going somewhere and they're having more fun. The anchors will just drag you down." - WYLAND

As embarrassing as it is for me to admit this, I'd have to tell you that I was bullied – and more embarrassingly, by a female. The attack wasn't at all physical, but emotional and psychological. I could have done something to put an end to it sooner, but I was afraid of losing not really the friendship, but the dependency towards such a person.

Forgiveness is not Only Good for the Soul

2011-07-18T20:52:00.000+08:00

I have to admit, forgiveness may perhaps be one aspect of my faith where I struggle the most with. Even when the Bible tells us that if we forgive men when they sin against us, our heavenly Father will also forgive us (Matt 6:14), I still have a tendency to be choosy as to whom I forgive. According to my point of view, there are those worthy to be forgiven and those who are not.

However, did you know that forgiveness may just be for our own good than that of others? Spiritually, yes, we have a duty to forgive our wrong doers, but it's been found that forgiveness can also benefit our psychological and physical well being, so...

Not a Lot of BULL Running Around

2011-07-15T00:22:00.007+08:00

In Francis Kong's post Choosing the Right Bull, he tells the story of a young man who wished to marry the farmer's beautiful daughter. He went to the farmer to ask his permission. The farmer looked him over and said, "Son, go stand out in that field. I'm going to release three bulls, one at a time. If you can catch the tail of any one of the three bulls, you can marry my daughter."

Staying Positively Alive: Part 1 – Taking Responsibility

2011-07-12T23:40:00.013+08:00

In my post, Positively Christian, I did mention that I'll be sharing some techniques I use to stay positive, so this will be my first post in a series. Please understand that I don't claim to be an expert, and what I am about to share with you are mostly what I have learned from various books as well. However, I have put what I'm writing into practice, and I find them to be working. So here's the first and probably the most important technique to staying positive – Taking responsibility.

In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey simply defines responsibility as “response-ability” - the ability to choose your response. And it really does make sense, since you can give exactly the same thing to two persons and expect two very different responses. Well, even God can give the exact same situation to two people and get completely different responses. The thing is, we don't have direct control over outside factors and most certainly other people, but what we can control is ourselves and the way we respond to them.

We are All Gifted... Just Not as Gifted as Others!

2011-07-05T00:07:00.006+08:00

“But let each one prove what his own work is, and then he will have cause for exultation in regard to himself alone, and not in comparison with the other person. For each one will carry his own load.” - Galatian 6:4 – 5

Yes, not all men (or women) are born equally gifted, but it may not be something to rejoice or despair about. The world runs better on interdependence - each one utilizing each one's strengths, so just stop looking at what others have that you don't... Chances are they do not have what you have either! Let us focus on our strengths rather than our weaknesses... The world needs them more.

Positively Christian

2011-06-30T22:14:00.008+08:00

This post was actually already posted last April 26, 2011 as PositiveThinking Christians – Be One! However, it was mainly for audiences in my home country, so I did some editing for the international readers...

As Christians, do we really have an idea what positive thinking is? A friend of mine claims that they practice a “no negativity” rule at home, and I was almost convinced she knew what she was saying until I heard her conversation with my sister. Honestly, I forgot the beginning part, since I wasn't listening too well. But the ending part sure did get my attention.

Chewing Life One Bite at a Time

2011-06-29T01:03:00.010+08:00

The best selling book Chicken Soup for the Soul may have sold over 8 million copies in over 39 languages, and Times magazine called it “the publishing phenomenon of the decade,” but did you know that it was less of a publishing phenomenon and more of a phenomenon of persistent effort..? Thousands of individual activities by authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen added to that one large success of the book.

What You Should Know About Paradigm and Sharing the Gospel

2011-06-24T00:47:00.007+08:00

Paradigms are interesting, two people can see and experience exactly the same thing but will have two completely different interpretations of it. Our own paradigm makes us see the world not as it is, but as how were conditioned to see it. It's brought about by our past experiences and our own set of principles.

Just last night as I was riding a jeepney¹ home, and when almost all the streets were flooded because of the heavy rain, a lady was knocking repeatedly on the roof of our vehicle to signal the driver that it's her stop and that she wanted to go down. However, we were right in the middle of an intersection of two major roads, and traffic was heavy.

How a Strange Dream Struck Reality – by Rianne Kee

2011-06-22T20:26:00.008+08:00

It was a week when I wasn't sleeping too well. My pillow seemed to be wanting to go everywhere except under my head, and my entire body wanted to just slip off my bed even when it's size is enough for my five feet five inches frame. Whenever I finally do get some sleep, I would wake up within an hour or two thanks to Canada's cold weather.

On the night of this year's April 21st... I had a strong urge to sing to God, which was something that never happened to me before... There was something entirely different that time.
Read more »

Last Night was Tempting but I Kept a Good Reputation for God

2011-06-21T23:59:00.006+08:00

Well the title is may be a bit controversial, but read on anyway to find out why...

Last night, I met up with two lady friends of mine whom I haven't seen for a while, and after a long chat, we bode farewell to each other and went our separate ways... Well, one of us went her separate way because the other hitched a ride with me.

In the Father's Eyes - Remembering How Dad Brought Out the Best in Us

2011-06-18T01:05:00.013+08:00

When we were young, remember how somehow we performed better in sports or anything we did when dad was there cheering us on? Somehow we get that sudden surge of energy or intellect or even talent just because we know dad is watching.

I would like to share a touching story I got from www.rogerknapp.com about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart. Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had. But being half the size of the other boys, he got absolutely nowhere. At all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played.
Read more »

Enviously Inspiring - by Johanna Tacus

2011-06-15T22:32:00.003+08:00

“And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” -- Ecclesiastes 4:4

When I read this verse, I reflected on my goals and on the general direction of my life. Did I truly want to achieve these things, or was it because I saw someone else do it, and then I wanted to do it too? Which desires can I point out as my own, and which ones were there just because I envied someone else?

Read more »

For Jesus had Bad Days too

2011-06-14T00:08:00.006+08:00

A few hours ago from writing this, I found myself indulging in memories of past hurts and wrongs done to me and so accused God of being unfair. I began questioning why He allowed such things to happen and became impatient as to the rate of my purpose's revelation. I would have gone on and on about it when I remembered something Nick Vujicic said, that “There is a greater purpose for each and every storm in our lives.”

How could I have so easily forgotten when I even wrote about it on a recent post? I soon felt calmness spread through me and asked God to forgive my recent drama - It was a bad case of self pity.

Buy a Lottery Ticket - by Maybelline Ting

2011-06-09T19:38:00.007+08:00

Re-posted from http://maybs555.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/buy-a-lottery-ticket/

As Christians, we tend to use the words faith and God's will a lot to mask our true reasons for staying in our comfort zone, when in fact what keeps us from moving forward is just plain laziness or cowardice. I love my sister's take on the subject of faith accompanied by action.

Read more »

It's all in the RISK

2011-06-08T22:14:00.001+08:00

From the moment we wanted to learn, we took risks... Like the time we first walked, we took risks falling down. And every time we landed on our butt, we stood up, walked some more, and risked falling down again.

What happened to us since then? Are we really that much wiser now by avoiding risks, when in fact it's already all around us? We risk getting hurt when we get into a relationship, we risk losing money when we do business, and we risk getting ran over when we cross the street. Heck, we even risk choking when we eat!

Apocalyptic Predictions and How They're Shaping People's Hearts - by Aileen Sy

2011-06-02T21:12:00.003+08:00

A common question we ask as Christians is this: If people already know what will happen during the end times, and how they might be contributing to its fulfillment, can they choose to change their decisions and thus change the course of our destiny? For example, if the Antichrist knows that there will be an Antichrist who
Read more »

It is Not What God Has Given Us: An Article Inspired by Nick Vujicic

2011-05-31T01:29:00.010+08:00

If God gave you a glass filled halfway with water. Would you describe it as half full or half empty? Would you constantly complain that God never gives you more, or would you be thankful for having enough and constantly trust Him to give you your fill?

The Cross That Gets You Across

2011-05-26T21:50:00.003+08:00

In my article If God Answers Prayers, Then Why Can't We See Them, I mentioned that God's answers could already be events that have come to past... Events that equipped us to pull through our present moment of struggle, I also included an old Jewish proverb that goes, “I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.”
Read more »

'Cause Baby You're a Firework - and God Lighted You

2011-05-23T20:47:00.005+08:00

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Yes, Katy Perry's song, Firework¹, was the inspiration behind this article. It was only during a recent trip to the family KTV when I was able to see the video and catch the lyrics - and I think it's pretty well written, especially the parts mentioned above.

The Willingness to Believe - Stephen Baldwin's Testimony

2011-05-18T22:13:00.011+08:00

God may send you people and circumstances, but in the end, it's your willingness to believe that sets God's plans for you into motion...

Read more »

Through the Honeycomb Maze

2011-05-16T21:35:00.014+08:00

If you grew up in the Philippines and watched television during the early 1990's, then chances are, you know a Japanese game show called Takeshi's Castle¹.

It aired on IBC-13 and featured the Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano, in the role of a count who owns a castle and sets up ridiculous challenges for players (also known as a volunteer army) to get to him. It was like a Super Mario Brothers video game coming to life!

Letting Go to Grow

2011-05-10T21:28:00.015+08:00

I once had the opportunity to save a life. Not in a big way, but empowering all the same. It was the life of a small bird, and it happened some years ago...

I used to have my office in Makati¹ then. Me and my partners rented a small unit on the twelfth floor of a building to serve as base for our design firm. And it was a magical office - all sorts of insects manage to find their to our window and land there for a bit... We even had moths larger than a full grown man's hand!

Don't Be Tethered to an Ass - by Jessica M

2011-05-08T23:03:00.004+08:00

from http://ascendingthehills.blogspot.com/2011/04/dont-be-tethered-to-ass.html

"There is a story from the middle ages of a preaching friar who had long distances to travel. Because of this, a wealthy merchant gave him an ass on which to ride. It was with pleasure that the preacher set out on his next journey. When he arrived at the church he tethered the animal outside. But throughout the service his attention was drawn to the ass. Was it properly secured? Had he left it in a safe place? What if a thief had come along and had stolen it? This went on until the service ended, the preacher was all the time distracted. When he came out afterwards all was well, the ass was where he had left it. But he knew that a new danger had entered his life. He untied the ass, slapped its flanks and drove it off. Then he walked away in the opposite direction. He was heard to say, 'God forbid that my soul should be tethered to an ass.' He was determined not to give himself to a lesser purpose than was his aim."
~ David Adam, The Eye of the Eagle p. 133

Read more »