We talked to Justin Brownlee and Willie Miller after their first practice in Dubai. Here’s what they had to say about the competition ahead:
6 events in the Filipino community worthy of your time
Last week, I blog about making your weekends premium by taking some rest, having fun and filtering the events you go to on weekends. Today I picked six empowering events that aim to strengthen family and relationships, to have fun in cheering for the country, and to learn more about personal finance and investments.
Before and After I Do
Feb 18 – Saturday | 2pm – 9pm | Burjuman C5 Floor
Registration
BAIDO (Before anf After I Do) is a Marriage-enrichment Seminar for married couples and a great marriage jump-starter for singles, who are engaged to be married. Learn the principles for having a wonderful marriage and keeping it at honeymoon stage.
Facilitated by no less than the powerfully-inspiring and empowering couple, Edric and Joy Tan Chi Mendoza, the day will be divided into 4 sessions:
- Session 1: Roles of Husband and Wife
- Session 2: God’s Design for Marriage/Leave and Cleave
- Session 3: Communication
- Session 4: The Truth about Forgiveness
Edric is an edu-preneur (education entrepreneur). He champions a revolutionary form of education called Homeschooling, running various businesses and organisations around the same. As a Registered Financial Planner (RFP), he also champions personal finance education through keynote messages and the leading personal finance TV show in the country, “On The Money”, which airs daily on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC). As a result of these education initiatives, he desires to change the world, one family at a time.
Joy is happily married to Edric, and homeschooling mom to her five children. She is also a speaker, blogger, brand ambassador, and very recently, a published author. Her site, teachwithjoy, ministers to thousands of people around the world as she writes about the honest challenges and joys of marriage, parenting, and homeschooling.
Mighty Sports Philippine Team at Dubai International Tournament
Feb 17 – 25 | Philippine team games scheduled at 9pm (or 7pm) daily | Al Ahli Stadium
PBA veterans Chris Tiu, JC Intal, Gary David, Willie Miller, Beau Belga, TY Tang, Ryan Arana and naturalized player Marcus Douthit join imports NBA vets Hasheem Thabeet, Dominic McGuire, and Ginebra’s most popular import to date, Justin Brownlee.
Collegiate stars – Ateneo’s Kiefer Ravena, La Salle’s Jeron Teng, UP’s Jett Manuel and Mapua’s Gab Banal will also play for the country.
Level Up: A roadmap to entrepreneurship and success
Feb 24 | Friday | Avenue Hotel, Rigga, Dubai
Registration and more details
In this seminar, we aspiring entrepreneurs, will learn the steps to ensure that we are prepared before jumping in.
The speakers, Randell Tiongson and Francis Medina, will inform us the first steps that we need to consider help us create a realistic roadmap for how we will achieve our high-level goals.
GET EDUCATED and BUILD AN ENVIRONMENT THAT SUPPORTS YOUR LEVELING UP!
On this seminar, you will be able to capitalize from the success stories of already established Pinoy entrepreneurs. Learn from their mistakes, be inspired and discover ways to partner in Philippine businesses designed for Filipinos overseas.
We will learn how to become an entrepreneur by owning a business in the Philippines while having the security of a regular income from our current employment here in the UAE.
Money Talks 2017
March 3 – Friday | 8am – 6pm | Emirates Aviation College
Registration
The finest financial gurus from the Philippines and UAE gather in this event, Randell Tiongson (Personal Finance) , Rex Mendoza (Investing/ Diversification), Dodong Cacanando (Agribusiness) and Jovy Tuano (UAE based Entrepreneur), to inspire and empower more Filipinos in handling and managing their finances and investments properly.
The event is spearheader by Randell Tiongson, a Registered Financial Planner (RFP) and an advocate of life and personal finance. He has become one of today’s most respected personal finance coaches in the Philippines and in other countries like UAE. Aside from his training and speaking endeavors, he is also a Director of the Registered Financial Planner Institute Philippines and also and a strong advocate of financial education for the OFWs.
He regularly appears on various TV and radio shows in the biggest Media Networks in the country – ABSCBN, GMA, TV5 and CNN Philippines as resource guest for anything finance. He is also a columnist for Philippine Daily Inquirer. His column, “Money Matters,” was nominated for Catholic Mass Media Awards in 2012 and 2013. He also writes for Moneysense Magazine, where he was hailed as one of the 12 Most Influential People in Personal Finance. Also an author, a good friend and a mentor.
Money Talks Specials: Business By The Book
March 4 – Saturday | 9am – 12nn | Hyatt Place Hotel Dubai
Registration
The Speaker, Dodong Cacanando (on the video) is a former executive of Hewlett Packard, Philippines. In 1998, he resigned from his job and moved his family from Manila to Bukidnon. In spite having no farming background and meager resources to start with, he was able to established Moriah Farms, where he now grows different livestocks and vegetables. He grows hogs for Monterey and at one point became the biggest lettuce supplier for McDonald’s in the Philippines. He shares the story of his amazing journey in his first book Breaking Through: A Man’s Journey to Fruitfulness (2014). He has a unique way of managing his business; he uses the Bible as a business manual, the plant as a model on how to become profitable, his corporate experience to put structure in his organizations and the things he learned as an entrepreneur to make prudent decisions. Today, he also heads a foundation named “Semilya sa Kinabuhi, Inc.” where they teach his unique approach to life and business. Last year, he released his second book, entitled Keeper of His Garden: Breakthrough Principles for Life and Business. His goal is to share these principles to as many people as possible so that they too can experience breakthroughs in life and become fruitful in their businesses.
Money Talks Specials: Tactical Investing
March 4 – Saturday | 2pm – 6pm | Hyatt Place Hotel Dubai
Registration
The Speaker, Rex Mendoza was previously Senior Adviser to the AIA Group CEO for Marketing and Distribution. AIA is the leading pan-Asian insurance company and is the parent firm of the Philam Life, where Rex also held the position of President & CEO until 2014. Prior to this, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Sales Officer of Ayala Land, Inc., and Chairman of Ayala Land International Sales. He now sits as a director of Globe Telecom, Prime Orion Properties, Inc., The Freeport Area of Bataan, Esquire Financing, Inc., The Cullinan Group, and Seven Tall Trees Events, Inc. He is also a Trustee of the Bataan Peninsula State College. He is also part of Bro. Bo Sanchez’ Mastermind Group, and is considered one of the best speakers in leadership, motivation, and personal finance in the country. Rex holds a Master’s Degree in Business Management with Distinction from the Asian Institute of Management and was one of the 10 Outstanding Graduates of his batch at the University of the Philippines where he was also recently selected as one of the Most Outstanding Alumni. He is Fellow with Distinction at the Life Management Institute of Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and was awarded outstanding professor of Marketing and Computational Finance at the De La Salle University Graduate School of Business.
Enjoy the weekends!
Mighty Sports – Philippine team plays in Dubai Invitational Basketball Tournament
The Philippine team formed for the Dubai invitational has a good mix of legends, present and future superstars of the game.
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| The former rivals will play for the flag. |
Justin Brownlee‘s clutch 3 point basket in the dying seconds of PBA Governors Cup Finals Game 6 still lingers in the mind of every Philippine basketball fan. He hugely help Ginebra win its first title in 8 years. The import will bring his acts to Dubai as he joins Mighty Sports Philippines to play in the 28th Dubai International Basketball Tournament.
The games will be played from February 17 to 25 at Al Ahli Club (near Al Mulla Plaza & Stadium Metro Station).
PBA veterans JC Intal, Gary David, Willie Miller, Chris Tiu, Beau Belga, TY Tang, Ryan Arana and naturalized player Marcus Douthit.
Other reinforcements include NBA vets Hasheem Thabeet and Dominic McGuire. Thabeet is 7’3″ 2nd overall pick in 2009 draft ahead of James Harden and Steph Curry. McGuire, 6’9″, is a journeyman who played for 7 teams, the last being Washington Wizards.
Collegiate stars – Ateneo’s Kiefer Ravena, La Salle’s Jeron Teng, UP’s Jett Manuel and Mapua’s Gab Banal will also play for the country.
Ravena expected to land in the top in the next PBA Draft is fresh from a developmental player training stint in NBA D-League for the Texas Legends.
Teng, another top pick prospect has just lead La Salle in its recent UAAP championship, also named Finals MVP.
The team, which will be mentored by the promising coach Charles Tiu – probably the youngest in this tournament, will face tough sides from the usual contenders Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt, Libya and home team UAE.
Games of Mighty Sports in the eliminations are scheduled at 9pm to highly consider the Filipino fans’ work schedule. Here’s the full schedule of games:
Tickets start at 30 AED.
Let’s go and fill the stadium once again and prove that Dubai is the second home court of the Philippines.
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* Top photo from Inquirer.
What it’s like to have a premium weekend
Word count: 512 | Average reading time: 1 min 52 seconds
When people learn I wake up at 5am (or even earlier) every weekend, they’re like, “ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”
We only have 4 weekends every month – (For most of us who work five days a week) that’s 8 out of 30 days; 96 out of 365 days in a year – just a measly 26% of one year. *
This is why I put premium on weekends.
I make sure to get ample time for myself, my personal commitments, and most especially quality time with the family. Every weekend, there’s a day for rest, and another for fun activity outdoors – balance.
Go out. Discover new places. If you can drive miles to work, it should rather be exciting to drive farther with the love ones on board. Or just walk. Spend time with people you love – even if it’s just watching the sunset.
Rest for a day. Unwind from a week of work stress and aim to restore your zest and energy. It helps rebuild our body and mind. Rest don’t mean sleep. Rest is when you’re relaxed in the comfort of your home with your favorite music in the background, having special home-prepared food, or simply spending more time reading books. Play board games with the family. The only physical activity could probably be your pressure-packed hide and seek game with your little ones.
Sometimes, the most spiritual thing you can do is rest.
Don’t get up late on weekends. If you can get up early on weekdays to go to work, why not do the same on weekends for your personal time or family? Think of activities you’ll enjoy and motivate you to start your days early.
Sleeping longer and waking up late makes you feel more tired, admit it. And you’ll just realize the day has already gone halfway, and most likely it just finishes off without you doing something valuable.
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| As much as possible, give them all the time in the world, on weekends. |
When you value your time off, you give value to yourself.
Having fun on weekends doesn’t have to be costly. Malls are not really weekend-friendly. Go to the beach or park. Bring the kids to the playgrounds. Allow them to roll on the greens and the run barefoot on the sand.
Weekends also give us time to learn and acquire new skills. Take the opportunity so long as it doesn’t compromise your time for the family and your rest.
If you’re a workaholic, think again. You usually sacrifice rest because you’re on the race towards success, productivity or power.
For those who fill their calendars with commitments on weekends, you might want to filter where you go to. You don’t need to do much. Choose well. Less is more.
Every weekend is a thanksgiving. These few days are meant to be celebrated (Happy weekend!), that’s why people always ask, “How’s your weekend?” Next time your officemates ask how you spent yours, sure you’d want to answer the question with anything other than you slept all day.
Next time you feel tired on a weekend, just do the math again.
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* If you are entitled to 22 days annual leave that gives you 118 days off every year. Sick leaves don’t count hey!
2nd Year in 100 Most Influential Filipinos in the Gulf
Blessed to be part of 100 Most Influential Filipinos in the Gulf once again. To God be the glory! The commitment to change lives one blog post at a time remains so strong.
To all who’ve been part of Boy Dubai (you know who you are), thank you very much!
Ion is amongst the most prolific and truly relevant Filipino bloggers in UAE. As Boy Dubai, he is able to write about his experiences, share his most powerful life principles, and be the voice of many overseas Filipinos. In the OFW community, Ion covers the untapped areas he believes will inspire and empower his fellow expats to look at life abroad a little lighter. Most of the subjects he covers reflects happiness and fun in mostly simple ways.
2016 has been a transformative year for Ion. He has been able to evolve his platform from a mere lifestyle blog into a true bastion of Filipino empowerment, covering topics that both inspire and challenge in an approachable, relatable manner. He believes that Filipinos can do far more than just eat out or go places to cope up homesickness. Ion convinces his readers to live and enjoy the present while still planning for the future.
Understanding the full scale of his responsibility as a mass communicator, Ion operates under the principle that if something is to go viral, it should be positively influential. He ensures that his material is proactive and has a positive social impact to the readers and their circles. Changing lives, changing mindsets through the spiritual perspective, one blog post at a time.
Kudos to Illustrado Magazine for consistently uplifting the community spirit! Mabuhay and sambayanang Filipino sa Gitnang Silangan!
Thank you Illustrado.
Bedtime storytelling, a treasure
Bad traffic tonight on my way home from Dubai Media City to Muhaisnah (well, it’s always bad). My daughter phoned again asking me to drive quick. She wants to hear the bedtime story for tonight. Her voice already made me feel relaxed and cleared away from the day’s stress.
She’s never been this excited going to bed until we introduced Bible stories. I never thought she would “crave” for it every single night. It became an instant habit.
She attentively listens and consistently asks questions – lots and lots of questions actually – some serious ones, and some witty but worthy to answer questions like, “Did God also created Tom and Jerry?”
Before a new story every night, we review the previous ones. It’s so rewarding that she’s learning by heart what we’ve been reading since the first time. She gets to know the biblical characters by her own way of discovery.
One of her books is “My First Hands-on Bible” for preschoolers, which we bought from OMF Literature in Manila. It’s more than just a reading material for us. Every story has guidelines and suggestions of what parents should do, act, voice out, perform, play and other fun activities – which makes bible reading more exciting.
It’s actually on us parents to make them more engaged. Act some and play with your tone of voice when reading.
You know if the daughter is really into it when she asks for “one more.” The supposedly one story a night becomes two, three, sometimes four stories before she sleeps – and how can the daddy refuse to heed with a sweet request like that? No complaining at all.
The book contains 85 stories from the New Living Translation. The colorful illustrations make my daughter more engaged as we read aloud. There are also activities and games in between stories that helps my daughter get into the Bible, and the Bible get into her young heart and mind.
At the end of every story is a very short kid’s prayer. Today, she prays starting with ‘Dear God,’ and ending with ‘…in Jesus name, amen.’
She remembers every story and every character, that it has become part of her life.
We are so happy she’s not watching those ‘toy unboxing videos’ on the phone anymore to lull herself to sleep.
Ever since we implemented the “no phone in bed” policy months back, my daughter is the number one follower of it – in fact she polices us every time ‘we forget’ – even if I’m only setting an alarm (“,).
(See also: No phone-zone implemented in one Dubai household.)
READING indeed is a great way to establish a foundation of faith. This habit also enables her to sleep earlier. We also develop better family bond every night. Every session is real quality time.
The Bible story reading does not only supply her with knowledge about God. When we read, we ensure that we’re not “schooling” her. We’re striving to start her relationship with God at this very young age by highlighting the values and character that she must live by, as told and supported in the stories.
The Bible asks us to let the children come closer to God, and this is definitely one small step forward.
I recommend that you start doing the same, especially here in Dubai, the kids don’t have Christian Learning or Catechesis in school. If they’re not active in the church, they would miss out on this one of the key foundation in growing up – spiritual growth.
Reading as a family is priceless. The reward is inner joy.
When a kid from Dubai discovers Manila for (almost) the first time
Every trip to Philippines is a homecoming for us. For the little one, Aya, who’s born and is growing up in Dubai, the trip means discovery. It’s amusing to see how she discovers the culture we grew up with.
Aya had some funny encounters with authentic Filipino traditions – food, transport, places and people.
Seeing a “lechon” in the menu for the first time, when asked for her order, she said, “JUST PIG!”
One time I was eating balut and she came curious about how the “egg” looks different. I told her about balut being a duck embryo, and she had a taste of it. Surprisingly she liked it. From then on she always ask for “DUCK.”
She noticed the frequent rooster crowing in Bulacan and is eager to find out where the sound is coming from.
She had Laguna’s authentic tsokolate and suman for the first time and instantly became her favorite.
She saw a lizard and wonders why it’s not falling.
She learned some of our childhood favorite street games, “Langit lupa,” “Maiba taya,” and “Pitik bulag,” among others.
One time, we gave coins to a boy selling sampaguita. From then on, she collects coins and always looking forward to meet a “boy who needs money” on the streets so she could give the coins herself. She feels delighted to give.
She discovered “Pashao” (Siopao) – Chowking’s choco siopao.
She discovered pick-up sticks.
When she first heard a group of kids singing Christmas carols, she said, “I think the kids need money daddy.”
Last year, while on a bus, the conductor yells “Tulay! Tulay!” Aya heard it differently she yelled, “Dubai! Dubai!”
There’s an unlimited supply of Yakult for her from her tita lolas.
She conquered her fear and cuddled a dog for the first time and felt how great it is to befriend one.
She had tricycle rides and find its engine sound so weird.
These little discoveries are the fondest. For her to understand all these things is on us. As much as possible, we seize the opportunity to immerse her to the culture and allow her to understand how we live when we were her age. We try to let her do things she won’t be able to experience in Dubai, even if she’ll feel uncomfortable with it. Unfortunately, you can only do so much when you stay in a condo in Manila. You don’t have the perks of playing on the streets, or the luxury of allowing her to do absolutely anything on your own backyard.
The game has changed.
A chat with Randell Tiongson about Manila, Dubai and MoneyTalks UAE 2017
It’s always great to find time to meet inspiring people and have a conversation about matters that matter, even on vacation.
While I was in Manila couple of weeks back, I had a luncheon meeting with Randell Tiongson over salad, pasta and Mary Grace ensaymada – arguably the best tasting ensaymada in the city.
Randell, a Registered Financial Planner (RFP) is an advocate of life and personal finance. He has become one of today’s most respected personal finance coaches in the Philippines and in other countries like UAE. Aside from his training and speaking endeavors, he is also a Director of the Registered Financial Planner Institute Philippines and also and a strong advocate of financial education for the OFWs.
He regularly appears on various TV and radio shows in the biggest Media Networks in the country – ABSCBN, GMA, TV5 and CNN Philippines as resource guest for anything finance. He is also a columnist for Philippine Daily Inquirer. His column, “Money Matters,” was nominated for Catholic Mass Media Awards in 2012 and 2013. He also writes for Moneysense Magazine, where he was hailed as one of the 12 Most Influential People in Personal Finance. Also an author, a good friend and a mentor…
We talked about traffic in the city, the holiday season and foods and restaurants not to miss when in Manila – I wish I had enough time to try at least everything in Estancia. We tapped on expat life in Dubai, the strugggles and thrills. He shared his favorite things to do and places to visit whenever he’s in Dubai. He never miss to visit Nando’s.
We had a good share of topics about public speaking, writing books, some bits of ‘proud’ parenting and character building, and the government. Talk about how few hours become an instant education for me.
Moving to Craft Coffee Revolution for an experience of uniquely brewed coffee and a heavenly slice of frozen brazo de mercedes which he never even had a slice by the way, we talked about his next ‘assignment’ in Dubai – Money Talks.
Money Talks UAE 2017 happens on 3rd and 4th of March at the Emirates Aviation College auditorium. The third installment of this conference features 3 other inspiring and motivational public speakers along with Randell. They will be covering the following topics:
- Getting ready to go home, Randell Tiongson, RFP
- Entrepreneurship for Filipino Expats, Jovy Tuano
- Proven investment strategies, Rex Mendoza, RFP
- The faithfulness to succeed, Dodong Cacanando
For more info and to register, please click here.
Here’s a part of our conversation where Randell gives more details about what to expect in Money Talks 2017 and his personal committment to OFWs:
The 3 other speakers joining Randell on stage are the following:
Dodong” Cacanando is a former executive of Hewlett Packard, Philippines. In 1998, he resigned from his job and moved his family from Manila to Bukidnon. In spite having no farming background and meager resources to start with, he was able to established Moriah Farms, where he now grows different livestocks and vegetables. He grows hogs for Monterey and at one point became the biggest lettuce supplier for McDonald’s in the Philippines. He shares the story of his amazing journey in his first book Breaking Through: A Man’s Journey to Fruitfulness (2014). He has a unique way of managing his business; he uses the Bible as a business manual, the plant as a model on how to become profitable, his corporate experience to put structure in his organizations and the things he learned as an entrepreneur to make prudent decisions. Today, he also heads a foundation named “Semilya sa Kinabuhi, Inc.” where they teach his unique approach to life and business. Last year, he released his second book, entitled Keeper of His Garden: Breakthrough Principles for Life and Business. His goal is to share these principles to as many people as possible so that they too can experience breakthroughs in life and become fruitful in their businesses.
Rex Mendoza was previously Senior Adviser to the AIA Group CEO for Marketing and Distribution. AIA is the leading pan-Asian insurance company and is the parent firm of the Philam Life, where Rex also held the position of President & CEO until 2014. Prior to this, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Sales Officer of Ayala Land, Inc., and Chairman of Ayala Land International Sales. He now sits as a director of Globe Telecom, Prime Orion Properties, Inc., The Freeport Area of Bataan, Esquire Financing, Inc., The Cullinan Group, and Seven Tall Trees Events, Inc. He is also a Trustee of the Bataan Peninsula State College. He is also part of Bro. Bo Sanchez’ Mastermind Group, and is considered one of the best speakers in leadership, motivation, and personal finance in the country. Rex holds a Master’s Degree in Business Management with Distinction from the Asian Institute of Management and was one of the 10 Outstanding Graduates of his batch at the University of the Philippines where he was also recently selected as one of the Most Outstanding Alumni. He is Fellow with Distinction at the Life Management Institute of Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and was awarded outstanding professor of Marketing and Computational Finance at the De La Salle University Graduate School of Business.
Jovy Tuano, who’s among the 100 Most Influential Filipinos in the Gulf (2015 & 2016), is UAE industrialist and business ecosystem partner. The CEO of Asia Gulf Companies UAE, owner of home-grown food brands: La Comida Express Gourmet and La Carne Premium Meat. He is also the co-founder of the Philippines Business Council in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, currently the Director of Trade, Investment & Entrepreneurship of PBC Abu Dhabi.
For more info and event updates, please visit this Facebook event page. For tickets, please click here to register, or call +971-52-7673776. You may also email dubaifinancialevents@gmail.com.
Venue location:
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Photo courtesy of The Start
Hillsong United Live in Dubai
Mark your calendars! One of the most, if not the most, influential Christian musical group, and a personal favorite, Hillsong United will perform live in Dubai on 28th (SOLD-OUT) and 29 April 2017 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.
I can imagine how the Christian community will rock the stadium in tears, cheers and glory.
The heart of Hillsong UNITED is to create music that reveals the truth of who Jesus is. In studio and out of the studio, on tour or at home, Hillsong UNITED is committed to writing songs that speak truth, create a unique sound, connects with churches, individuals and ultimately connects people everywhere with God.
Tickets are priced from AED100 to AED350 and are available now at platinumlist.ae. Family packs are also available. Watch this blog for updates or visit the official event page at www.hillsongmiddleeast.com
This event is organized by Voice International Dubai.
How to get back the real Christmas from the Grinch?
Christmas in Dubai has grown from minimal into huge festive affairs. Santa Claus, improvised snow parks and snowman, giant gingerbread houses, record-breaking Christmas trees, and high-end Christmas night markets – all these western traditions are all over town. Obviously, Christmas is commercially celebrated in this part of the world. None of them though depicts its real meaning. It is understandable because UAE is an Islamic nation. Nevertheless, we are blessed to be able to practice our faith and really commemorate Christmas in its real essence.
(Read: Filipinos in UAE attend Simbang Gabi)
This year, I’ll be home for Christmas. It’s the first time in 10 years for me to celebrate the season in the Philippines. As the song says, “May tatalo pa ba sa Pasko sa ‘Pinas?” (No other nation can beat Christmas in the Philippines). It’ll be more fun, entertaining, sentimental and meaningful, I thought.
Facades are decorated with fancy lights, lanterns and Santa Claus. Busy shoppers are rushing and squeezing into the malls. Children singing carols “for a living.” Lavish Christmas parties at bars and clubs. Families planning reunions and big noche buena dinners. Exchange gifts. Wish lists. Price tags.
It’s beginning to look a lot like fiesta!
Parents prepping up the kids to reconnect with their ninongs and ninangs (godparents). One time in the lift, one mom was teaching her son how to properly ‘kiss the hand’ (bless) of their ninang so the godparent would be delighted to give the son a nice gift or cash.
So this is Christmas?
These preoccupations leave us no time to reflect and live by the real purpose of Christmas.
It seems like the yuletide is the season to do all good things in the world. You don’t have to wait for Christmas to forgive or ask forgiveness. You don’t have to give love only on Christmas day. You give not because it’s the season of giving. You give because your heart wants to do so. Doing good should be all-year long.
For many Filipinos working abroad, the holiday is a time to reunite. If not given the chance to go home, they become emotionally stressed and feel bad they can’t be with their families on Christmas eve.
For some, the Christmas countdown brings pressure and financial stress.
Stop and listen. Look within, and discover if we are truly Christmas-ready. We are excited to receive gifts, but are we excited to receive Him?
Salvation is the universal message of Christmas. Beyond the nativity, we must reflect on His life. Jesus saves us from something,for something and by something. To understand that, we must equip ourselves with wisdom.
My idea of a perfect Christmas is to refocus. That’s R.E.F.O.C.U.S.
R – Renew your faith
In 1-5, how deep is your faith? Being kind is not enough. Faith that does nothing is worth nothing. Your faith defines your spiritual foundation, your strength, your mindset. Faith enables you to understand why things are happening or not happening to you. “According to your faith, it will be done to you.” (Matthew 9:29)
A strong faith makes one joyful in whatever circumstances he may be in. JOY to the world indeed, the Lord has come.
The bible says, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (r)
E – Experience God
Every believer prays, but not everyone understands how prayer works, and what it means to experience God. God does not want us to just “study” His words or pray in a monologue or recital. God wants us to develop a personal relationship with Him and to listen to Him. He wants us to dedicate an exclusive time with Him so we could hear Him talking to us as well.
To experience God means to give him all the firsts in our lives. First hour of the day, first part of our earnings, first focus of our mindset, etc. because everything we have comes from God and our faith will comfort us that God will always provide. It’s not enough that we believe, it’s a must that we connect with Him.
The bible says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (e)
F – Find your purpose
If you still don’t know why on earth are you here for, it is time to find out so. Each of us have a unique purpose why we exist. We are planned, formed, created, shaped and made for a mission for our Creator.
Discovering your purpose sparks your relationship with God. He works for the good of those who love him, those who have been called according to his purpose.
The bible says, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (f)
O – Obey your spiritual thirst
After a long tiring run, a runner stops to drink, to refuel. If you run a busy lifestyle, you have a tendency to grow tired and weary. Life may get hard on you if you continue living with all the stress. you become drained – that’s spiritual thirst. Stop and quench your thirst and renew your strength with His comforting words. Make it a habit to run with Him so there’s no stopping despite of the obstacles along the way.
In Isaiah it says, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.” (o)
C – Campaign up
No one grows spiritually alone. Either you find a spiritual partner or be with groups that aim to grow spiritually by doing various campaigns.
There are many Christian groups that does excellent campaigns like CCF and Victory church in Dubai. You can also join Saddleback online to participate in their various campaigns in understanding God’s love and mercy, peace, forgiveness and more.
You can even do a personal campaign starting with reading books, listening to podcasts and Youtube videos. Send me a message if you want to get started and we’ll team up.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” – Proverbs 27:17
In these campaigns you won’t just study His words. You will and you should develop a personal relationship with Him.
It is important to be informed so we could prevent being deceived by false teaching. The bible says, “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (c)
U – Undo some traditions
Don’t be a traditional faithful. Christmas is full of traditions – simbang gabi, noche buena, kris kringles, Santa Claus, parties and more. Keep it, but save some space for acts of faith.
Your prayers won’t be answered instantly upon completing a traditional novena. God’s promise of answers to our prayers is within the premise of a deep faith and humble and righteous desires. An intimate relationship with Him will make you realize He can give you far more than you could ask for or imagine.
Philippines has the longest Christmas season in the world, from September to December – most often, the long period is to prepare for the physical and material decorations. Those who truly know the meaning of Christmas prepare in more profound way of fasting and praying.
Many Christian groups create weekly and monthly assemblies and they talk about transformation to prepare for Christmas. Demand more activities from your group that aims to strengthen faith and wisdom rather than mandatory dance presentations, costumes or childish parlor games.
The bible says not to conform to the standards of this world, but be transformed with the renewing of our minds. (u)
S – Stick with God, not the world
Many people these days are unconsciously drifting away because they are too busy coping up with trends in technology, social media and vanity. People in the olden days have more time to nourish their spirituality because these distractions do not exist then.
These days, people chase the latest gadgets and fashion statements to be ‘in.’ Everyone wants to be in the loop about their idols. They spend more time and money to look good and feel good for the wrong reasons through the wrong ways.
The bible says Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. If we remain in Him and Him in us, we will bear much fruit; apart from Him we can do nothing. (s)
Christmas is the most evident season of all when everyone’s spending quite significant time thinking what to give to family and friends.
It’s not about the person you give a gift to. We spend too much time thinking what our friends might like, what will make them happy to receive. We think too much about people.
Worse, we care more of what friends would say about us with the kind of present we’ll give them. So wrong.
Christmas is not even about exchanging gifts. The three wise men did not give each other gifts. They searched for the newborn and gave offerings to Jesus. It’s not about the presents. It’s about His presence.
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| Merry Christmas from the Gonzagas – Bulacan, Philippines |
Top up the tradition with purpose and passion.
I’m not saying to stop these traditions. Traditions are fun. I will do them again and again. Who don’t want bibingka and puto bumbong after all. I will always appreciate a good theatrical performance. It only goes wrong if we allow ourselves to neglect the real reason of the season.
If we could give part of our lives to do the traditional practices, surely we could allot time for activities that nurture our spiritual relationship with God.
Our Filipino Christmas traditions could be the happiest in the world. But we could do more to make that happiness transform into joy – that whether you’re well-off or not on Christmas, the joy within will keep you content and happy.
It’s not about us. It’s about Jesus Christ. Dapat MAS-CHRIST-like tayo!
As my wife Raquel said, your transformed self is the best Christmas present you could give to Him.
A blessed merry Christmas to you!
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The messages I referenced above, can be found in the following bible verses:
(r) – Hebrews 1:11
(e) – Psalm 23:4
(f) – Proverbs 19:21
(o) – Isaiah 40:29-31
(c) – 1 John 4:1
(u) – Romans 12:2
(s) – John 15:5
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Excuse me for the title.