For once, let’s give the mall and us some space, shall we? There are a lot of great things to do that will not have us spending much, well, not spending at all. Good news is, the weather is a bit cooperative.
Here. Pick a few, leave this blog and go on your way. 1. Hit the beach Swim, build sandcastles, have picnic, let the children play or simply just say hello to the sun and sand and salt.
2. Fly or watch kites The shores of Jumeirah offers great view to watch kites in the sky.
3. Play in the park Have you visited ALL the green parks in Dubai? There are about 20 of them. Why not visit the ones you haven’t been to. Many parks in Dubai have really great playground facilities. Among our favorites are Al Nahda Pond Park and Muhsrif Park.
4. Birdwatching at Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary Opportunities for experiencing a natural environment in this rapidly building-up emirate are so limited that the opening of Ras Al Khor to visitors is a boon to present and potential nature lovers. Presently there are three birding hides located on the perimeter of the sanctuary open to the public. Entrance is free and operate from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Saturday to Thursday.
Photo from Google Image Search
Or feed some swans and ducks at Al Qudra Lake…
5. Exercise in the great outdoors Walk, jog or bike outside. The weather this long weekend has gone done, very much tolerable. It’s pleasant in the morning.
6. Walk at the marinas, Dubai canal and other tracks Because walking is really free. Just walk anywhere in the city.
Pray over Aya?
7. Dubai Museum Al Fahidi Many of us have not yet seen this side of the south of Dubai Creek. If you’re on the explorary mode, go visit.
8. Kabayan Cultural Day If you’re looking for a fun and free Saturday event to go with your children in Sharjah, try Kabayan Cultural Day hosted as part of Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival 2017. Filipino students from various schools across the UAE will be showcasing their talents. There are also a lot of activities, on the spot competition and fun for visiting students as well.
Location Sharjah Expo Centre Cost Free entry Date April 22 Timings 1pm to 4pm
9. Watch the sunset from the newest spot in town – Dubai Creek Harbor There’s a lot of fun activities for everyone, even kids. Check risedch.com for list of events.
While waiting for our turn on the court, Jay gathered the boys, about 25 of us, and formed a big circle. Someone lead the opening prayer. Then everyone brought out their mobile phones to open the Bible app.
We read James 1:2-4 which says…
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Jay started dissecting every word in it and soon, some of the boys started sharing personal experiences of how their faith was tested in the past and how they stood their grounds.
We divided into smaller groups to further share more about the message of the scripture. We ended the activity with heartfelt prayer – prayers for each other in the group.
Dhug, dhug, dhug… that’s the sound of the balls dribbling and bouncing. Mis na bro!
That was yesterday, when I played in CCF Dubai’s basketball ministry for the first time. What a great experience it was – pre, during and post-games. Everyone’s friendly, accommodating and gleaming.
We warmed up our spirits ahead of stretching the muscles. We fed our souls with His words ahead of the bread and nutella. We had a time with Him before we huddle with the team.
The games, of course, are not highly competitive but are really fun-filled.
Talking about embracing the day’s message – literally, someone driving to the basket, though heavily guarded, looks full of joy, pure joy, as he is aware his perseverance to make the shot is being tested. And by the same perseverance, everyone in the team were able to deliver nice assists, grab rebounds and steals, despite of a fast-pace run and gun game. The team ended up complete and not lacking anything… in stats. 😀 Parang life lang talaga ang basketball, di ba?
Playing basketball will never be the same again.
Truly in whatever we do, we can bring glory and honor to God.
The places we visited in the Holy Land reminded me about everything Jesus did during his time on earth. It’s surreal to be in the place where he physically lived and walked the talk more than two thousand years ago.
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Sa bus pa lang, seeing the signages of Jerusalem on the road gave me goosebumps already. I only read these places in the scriptures and I just found myself standing above its soil. Indescribable feeling it is.
Nakakapangilabot.
We spent 8 days of pilgrimage slash tour in Jordan, Palestine (Jericho) and Israel. Pilgrimage is a walk with God. The purpose of the journey, aside from seeing the sights as a tourist, is to trace our faith as a believer founded through our rich biblical history.
As we commemorate the significance of every site, I offered prayers and I had reflections.
There are three key aspects in the life of Jesus in which I had reflections during the tour – his ministry, agony and miracles. In this first part (of 3), I’ll share how I was reminded about his miracles which continuously create impact in my life.
There can be miracles.
At the church of Cana, I remembered Jesus’ first ever miracle – when he turned water into wine at the wedding feast.
As I watched our friends make their lovely renewal of vows, I thought, had Jesus not turned the water into wine, the wedding feast would have stopped. And, of all the events Jesus can begin to show his miracles, he did it in a wedding. Do marriages really turn out bad that we need miracles? Well that just says, indeed, God can work out miracles in marriages.
We also had an hour of good boat ride in the Sea of Galilee. The water was calm and the weather’s great for sailing that morning. It was one of those two places so peaceful and serene when we visited – the other was the Mountain of Happiness, where Jesus preached the beautitudes.
Anchor’s up, we heartily sang the Philippine and Indian national anthems as our flags raised. As we praise and worship and danced into beautiful and upbeat Christian music – some Hillsong and Hebrew ones, with tears in my eyes, the times in my life when God transformed my sorrows and fears into joy, all flashed back. This is the sea where Jesus walked over the water, and where he woke up from sleep to calm the storm. This is where Peter’s faith was tested. Can you imagine how it feels being afloat on the sea that witnessed it all?
The shore, the vicinity are the sites where he fed a crowd of 5000 with only 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread, and another 4000 by multiplying 7 loaves of bread and few small fishes. Galilee is where Jesus did most of his ministry.
In the story, when he was about to feed the crowd, Jesus asked his disciples to find if there’s anyone who brought anything to eat. Only one boy has. He brought 2 fishes and 5 loaves of bread, and he offered that ‘kiddie meal’ to Jesus. Jesus then prayed, and he multiplied them to feed all of 5000 men plus women and children. It was a happy tummy ending, and the disciples even gathered 12 basketfull of leftovers. (Matthew 14:13-21)
Did you notice that Jesus didn’t create the feast from nothing? He had to ask for anyone to offer him ANY amount of food. He needed to have a measly fish and loaves of bread in order to multiply into thousands, in fact, more than what was needed.
I see a tremendous similiarity in our spiritual lives. God is not a genie who provides something from nothing. He requires us to offer whatever we have in order for him to perform miracles in our lives. No matter how little it is, if we offer it to him, he could give us more than we can ask for or imagine. How loving God is indeed, that he’s only waiting for us to submit and he will do it for us.
There was a time in my life when I was asking for a breakthrough in my personal finance. In the beginning, I was stressing myself with pressure, trying to carry everything on my shoulder. Later on I realized I haven’t really praying the right way. After an intimate prayer, I submit everything to Him. As the feeling becomes lighter, I started seeing directions that eventually lead me to the answer to my woes.
Here’s a video slideshow of Day 6 of the tour with a glimpse of the sea of Galilee:
On expecting (instant) miracles…
A number of friends asked me to pray for their problems while I was in Holy Land, because apparently, ‘I am in Holy Land and I’m closer to God.’
Yes, I did pray for everyone. But NO, being in Holy Land don’t make me or anyone closer to God. It is definitely a privilege to see the place and feel his presence there in a highly spiritual perspective. It is also truly a different experience to be praying and talking to God in the land where he sent his son Jesus Christ.
Being close(r) to our Lord is not determined by geographical location. If we have a good relationship with Him, wherever in the world we may be, we can talk to him and we can hear him. Fact is, there are more people around the world who could definitely be into better relationship with the Lord than me who was in Jerusalem.
Being in the Holy Land is not a guarantee that our prayers will have miraculous answers instantly. God provides for our needs in his perfect time. Just look at how many prayers God has already answered in our lives. We can rely on that. Our faith is our vehicle to God.
In James it says, “Draw near to Him (in spirit) and He will draw near to us.”
Our takeaways.
And just like in any other trips, we took home some traditional souvenir items. In addition, everyone in our group definitely have packed heavy loads of takeaways but we did not over baggage – because we carried those souvenirs in our hearts – the messages of wisdom and nourishment of the spirit.
The amazing camaraderie of this CFC Jebel Ali group is also one of the best takeaway from this trip.
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In the next blog posts, I will be sharing about my reflections on his ministry and his agony. I will also be writing about how beautiful the places are from a travelers perspective.
Sometimes, families go on picnic but kids are still glued to their iPads and mobile phones while lying in the greens. It doesn’t make sense to go out and keep attached to the gadgets. That’s why I don’t like the idea of having wifi in the parks. Sorry Dubai.
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In picnics, outside the eating time, usually parents are chatting while the kids are on their own. The time should be an interaction for all.
For picnics to make more sense, here are 6 ideas we could do to promote more personal interaction, active physical and mental boost, and REAL FUN. 1. Play board games Scabble, snakes and ladders, chess, monopoly, checkers, clue-do, uno and even jenga. These board games don’t cost that much in toy stores in Dubai. You’ll only realize how fun, engaging and challenging it is when you start.
2. Play Pinoy traditional games Patintero, tumbang preso, piko, chinese garter, luksong baka, mataya-taya. These games don’t cost a thing. The picnic is also a great way to introduce these traditional street games to our kids. Let’s see if they’ll laugh at us when we show how they’re played.
3. Share book reviews Surely there are spots in a park that is ideal to talk about books – just in case you’re done dissecting what happened to Game of Thrones or your favorite Netflix series, and you’re running out of topics to discuss.
4. Let kids get dirty Go to parks with playgrounds and let them slide, stumble and get dirty on the sandpit. Unlike in the Philippine streets, there’s no asphalt to worry about bruises and scratches. Just keep an eye on them.
5. Leave the ball at home Balls are for hard courts and fields. Play non-ball sports like frisbee, badminton or fly kites on bigger parks.
6. Parlor games To relax is not just to sit or lie down in the mat. To relax is to also sweat out doing some recreational activities. Prepare small prizes to encourage everyone to be competitive, somehow.
To make these happen, you must leave the iPads at home, and keep mobile phones away from kiddos.
See! We could do more than just eating and chatting, right? I’m sure there’s more, lemme know in the comments please.
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You are not a good cake if everything in your life is sweet.
Pastor Rick Warren uses a good analogy in baking a cake. When you bake a cake, you’ll need flour, raw eggs, baking powder, oil, sugar, salt, oil, flavoring. Any of those things by themselves doesn’t really taste good.
Have you ever tasted raw flour? Cooking oil? None of those things on their own taste good.
There are a lot of things in our lives that are difficult to swallow. Not all things in our lives are good but they all WORK TOGETHER for good. And when all those elements are put together just like the elements of baking cake it produces a cake and the cake is very good.
God wants to bake a cake in our lives, and he wants to take all the circumstances even the ones that are distasteful and bitter and he wants to work them TOGETHER.
Romans in the bible affirms this in the verse, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”
We had a very rough flight yesterday, from Dubai to Amman, Jordan. From the runway ’til we’re airborne more than a half-hour, we’re trembling really bad. Strong turbulence is an understatement.
The deep air pockets turn our stomachs upside down. It felt tremors up there. We all held hands and in silence with only little shrieks I know everybody on board, Muslims and Christians, are praying.
No words from the cockpit.
In the middle of the shaky flight, one of the first announcements made was “WIFI IS NOW AVAILABLE TO USE.” Are they giving us a hint to get online and say bye to our families? I honestly felt so too, that I bought a 12USD wifi to chat with my parents who are taking care of our daughter.
We said we love them… and, we asked them to contact our insurance agent in the event that the plane crashes.
After 30 minutes (that long!), the turbulence subsided. We calmed down.
What just happened? God is good? Yes definitely. If the plane crashed, God is still good. Answered prayers? Yes.
But let me share how I prayed… My prayer is not to save us from danger. I told Him if it is Your will that my life will end this way and today, I hope I lived my life how He wanted me to. I hope I met His expectations on what He planned for my life. . I prayed all people on the flight are preparing themselves more than worrying, should we all won’t make it.
Of course, I prayed too that my daughter continues to live happily with her grandparents, without us, and my parents will live well too.
Everyone thanked God for the answered prayers. For me, He didn’t just answer the prayers. He reminds us to prepare ourselves because we don’t know when He is coming (or until when is our last breath) – [Matthew 24:44]. It’s also a reminder that we still have a purpose to live. We still have days ahead to act for the purpose to bring glory to Him.
Prayer works, but I’d rather say GOD WORKS. The scripture says, “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who are called according to His purpose.” [Romans 8:28]
It was horrifying but everything else that went not so good yesterday just feels like nothing to be frustrated about. Late lunch, thank you we survived. Delayed itineraries, thank you we are on tour. Rowdy kids spit on us, thank you we experience Jordan. Tired body, thank you we’re en route to Holy Land today. THANK YOU, we have another day to live the purpose.
Thanks to the flight crew of flydubai for courageously making it.
I had a rare opportunity to talk to not one, not two, but all four financial gurus featured in this year’s Money Talks UAE. Special thanks to coach Randell for arranging this.
Here they are generously sharing significant parts of their thoughts ahead of Money Talks.
From being top executive of HP Philippines, Dodong Cacanando went to Bukidnon to become a farmer. Here he is giving a preview of his business principles. Warning ahead, this man is very inspiring. The Bible is his business operations manual.
Financial mentor, advocate, motivational author and speaker, and Dubai’s favorite coach, Randell Tiongson opened Money Talks 2017 talking about how he wants OFWs to prepare to return home. The Philippines wants us to come home at our prime.
“We can never control the weather, but we can control the ship.” Rex Mendoza is a one cool guy, also one of Dubai’s favorite. He talked about Proven Investment Strategies in Money Talks 2017, and also covered Tactical Investing Strategies in an exclusive session the next day. Here he is sharing that investing should not be dependent on who the president is. It’s about our behaviour.
Mr. Jovy Tuano, one of 100 most influential Filipinos in the Gulf, is an entrepreneur and industrialist in the UAE. He talked about The Spirit of Entrepreneurship in Money Talks 2017. Here he is giving a glimpse of his stories on how he began as employee in Abu Dhabi and jumped into business 7 years later.
These small chats alone are equivalent to an enriching seminar already. Thank you very much for not just sharing your brains, but your hearts more importantly. Thank you for the the inspiration.
We had a chance to talk to Rain or Shine gunner Chris Tiu ahead of the games of Mighty Sports in Dubai. Here’s what he had to say about the preparation and the toughness of the competition:
When we started on health-ier diet, we thought we had to lessen eating out, not because there are just few healthy restaurants out there, but because we’d rather prepare our own food – especially the wife has become more passionate in the kitchen. In addition to the fact that most healthy restaurants are not so affordable.
Then we discovered BBF, a cushy multi-cuisine restaurant in Ansar Gallery in Karama – first of its kind in Dubai. BBF, which stands for Bridge Beyond Food (also Big Boodle Food), offers value not just for money, but for time, experience and relationships as well. In fact, you get more than what you pay for.
The restaurant prides itself being MSG-free. As a multi-cuisine outlet, BBF offers favorites from around the world – Philippines, Italy and The Americas, among others. The menu offers a great mix of palatable cuisines, and fusion of global delicacies.
Complimentary canapes welcome every guest.
On our latest visit, we had Tomato soup, BBF Grilled Chicken, Garlic Prawns, and Pen and Cheese for the little one.
The tomato soup is one of the best I’ve ever had in Dubai. Smooth texture, not chunky but loaded.
Grilled chicken is their version of Bacolod’s inasal. As the photo shows, the chicken comes in steak-cut serving, with rice and grilled eggplant on the side. It is baked first before grilling, could be the reason why the meat is so flavorful. It comes with a variety of sawsawan (dips).
Garlic prawns is their version of halabos based in garlic butter, served with eggplant salad.
We also tried the egg and vegetable roll. It’s a wrap with omelette, capsicum, romaine lettuce and BBF’s signature healthy dressing. This is also heavy.
“I have a pen, I have a cheese.” UH! Penne and Cheese was born. Instead of macaroni, they use penne pasta. Aya loves its creaminess and rich taste.
We tried their signature chocolate beverage – hot for daddy, iced for baby – yes, it is served hot or cold.
The small cup of thick hot chocolate takes 15 minutes to make. The pure cocoa is so good it’s like having a drink and dessert in one – think about melted hot chocolate cake in a cup.
She enjoys her chocolate cooler as well.
We capped the lunch with assorted panna cotta.
How does oats-caldo, champs-oat, tap-SU-log appeal to you? Oats-caldo, literally is an oat-arrozcaldo that uses oats instead of rice. Champs-oat, is an oatmeal champorado – named after the Filipino-Canadian owner, Coach Clarissa Calingasan who is a champion runner and weightlifter. Tapsulog is beef tapa, SUN rice, and itlog (egg), hence ‘SU’.
Filipino-Canadian life coach Clarissa Calingasan, is a champion in marathon, weight-lifting and in life principles.
BBF is an almost fine dining restaurant, with a food court price, and a 5-star experience. The servers don’t just serve, they treat you well like how Filipinos are known for welcoming guests at home.
They do open mic every Tuesday and the talented and motivated staff lead the acoustics.
The very friendly and positive atmosphere invites guests not only to dine in, but also to engage in good conversations. You can even leave your phone in some designated boxes on the table.
I’m pretty sure BFFs will eat guilt-free at BBF – Best Buddies and Friend. This is one restaurant with advocacy.
Follow BBF on Facebook and Instagram for updates on offers, and new items on the menu.
Here is their location
Other photos:
With life coach Clarissa Calingasan and her equally talented daughter Jaena
The ambiance is field with positivity – with messages of love, hope and peace.
Guests can pin messages of encouragement and faith on the vines hanging on the walls.
They also have stuffs to keep the kids busy
BBF canapes come in variety of decorations
The American Boodle Fight set. They also have Filipino and Italian sets.
Fellow parents, (ehem, moms! uhmm some of you…) can we relax a bit in instilling malicious thoughts into our kids innocent minds?
When a boy shares a candy or anything to a girl, we say, “Uy pumoporma na a…” Or, when a girl says a boy’s name too often, “Uy crush mo siya?”
C’mon! Whenever they hold hands, hug or show affection, they are just showing friendly gestures towards.
So what if they share food? So what if they smile at each other? So what if they’re seatmates? So what?
Instead of ‘taunting’ their actions with a different tune, encourage them to build great and genuine friendships. Help them nourish their relationships with other kids.
Our children need to hear affirmation from us that they’re doing the right things in their young friendships. Be conscious and extra cautious to never ever interpret their actions in filthy ways.
There shouldn’t be malice in wonderland. Never at a toddler’s mind would intimate love come into picture, unless we talk about it.
Let’s not influence them with maligned thinking – even if we’re just teasing. Sometimes I think the parents need to understand more about sex and romance more than the young ones.
Quoting Edric Mendoza, “DO NOT AWAKEN ROMANCE EARLY.”
