it grows big

Today's reading talks about the mustard seed. here's the reading:

"What shall we say the Kingdom of God is like?" asked Jesus. "what parable shall we use to explain it? It is like this. A man takes a mustard seed, the smallest seed in the world, and plants it in the ground. After a while it grows up and becomes the biggest of all plants. It puts out such large branches that the birds come and make their nests in its shade." - Mark 4:30-32

This may be one of the simplest parables that Jesus gave to his disciples but is one of the most important. The mustard seed being the smallest among its breed becomes the biggest when it grows. This reflects our talents, our relationships and above all our heart. We may have simple talents or gifts or skills but when used for the right purpose and offered to the right person it becomes as big as all the other talents. It specially grows when shared and nortured by a growing spiritual lifestyle. It may not always be extraordinary in the eyes of the people but it is in the eyes of our master.

A life shared in the name of the Lord is a life worth living. Worth growing. Worth dying.
- dom

Lingkod Alabang's 11th Anniversary in Baguio

Romans 12

(for reflection)

A Living Sacrifice

12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Gifts of Grace

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good

Love Tank

Love Tank

Hey I am not trying to be mushy here or try to be sentimental or something since February is just days away. My tita (aunt) requested me to write something about water and I thought of sharing this to you as well.

Water quenches our thirst. It fills up our stomach and gives us the nutrients and the medium to expel the toxins away from our body.

In a scene where Jesus met a Samaritan woman, Jesus said, “ Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring that will provide him with life –giving water and give him eternal life.”

Water will quench our longing, our need but there are some forms of water that will quench our thirst on a fleeting moment and yet will leave us even more thirsty as before. Why maybe the water that we drink is dirty causing us to have diarrhea or amoebiasis. Or maybe because the water that we drink is alcohol that evaporates even before it reaches our stomach. Just kidding. Or maybe because our water tank have a big hole and the water that we receive just goes down the drain as soon as it enters.

For the sake of our discussion, I will call this our love tank. No one can love us if we don’t see ourselves as lovable. Even Jesus will have a hard time convincing us if we refuse to listen and keep our hearts closed. Jesus commanded us to love one another as I have loved you. How can I love when my definition of love is something theoretical or purely memorized concept only. Or maybe my definition of love is flawed.
What then is love? Hehehe. Going back to my slam book definition:

1. love is blind

2. love moves in mysterious ways

3. love makes the world go round

I am just kidding actually. Love is more than just so and so. It means:

1. loving oneself means knowing when to say no. You don’t have to be a backboneless person just to please or appear to be pleasing to anyone.

2. love means being able to extend oneself to others not just because you are expecting to be loved in return.

3. love means knowing your limitations and weaknesses and doing something about it in order to keep youself strong: physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially and financially.


4. love means a constant commitment to be happy and choosing to be happy no matter how difficult our situation may be.

5. love means learning to take chances even if there is the risk of failing.

6. love means accepting ourselves wholeheartedly and unconditionally. Accepting our pit falls and positive points. Then doing something to rectify our pitfalls.

7. Love means to practice empathy. Because it is important also to consider the way others feel and behave and understand them.

8. Love also means doing little things that comes from the heart. Never mind if it will be noticed at all. a.k.a. kuripot : )

9. Love also means knowing how to say yes and give your all, nothing less but even more that you can.

10. Love means forgetting the past, forgiving and accepting.

11. love means allowing some margin of error to be committed and still able to smile sincerely to that person. Of course you have to tell the other person about his or her mistake.

12. We can’t love anyone even God if we don’t love ourselves. We do it because we know that we are precious in His eyes and worthy to be loved.

13. love is when you wake up in the morning and feel that you are the luckiest person on earth. Hehehe, mushy ba? Not really, I am serious. Love is a disposition to be positive even the world around you is negative.

love means a lot of things…… to be continued kung alam ko na. (if I already know) : )

In summary, love is something that can last only for a short moment of time or may even last for a lifetime. Love is deep when you know and understand the kind of love that God is offering. Like the water that God is giving. Water that will forever quench our thirst. Love that will forever fill our love tanks…..

Yel

a call no one can resist

From last night's activity, we learn how important obedience is. Especially when it comes from our master. In this story, even before Peter followed Jesus, he was already calling Jesus master. But he has not yet decided to definitely follow Christ. Sometimes we are like this. We already call Jesus Lord but deep within we are not yet following his way of life. Like Peter, only when he personally encountered and obeyed Jesus did he learn to follow Christ. Here's the story.

Luke 5 : 1-11

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Go to the deep, and let down the nets for a catch."
5 Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people." 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

- dom

serving a way of life

Reading today's reflection on the daily devotional "My Utmost for His Highest", I was reminded of what it means to serve. Here's a part of the reflection of Oswald Chambers:

Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.

Service is indeed an expression of absolute love. unconditional love. perfect love that comes from God.
- dom

Failing Forward

I sometimes get frustrated with the setbacks or failures that I am facing lately. I get burn out and sometimes just feel disappointed because what I entered into or decided to enter into failed to materialize.

Fire refines gold. In the same way does setbacks and failures work in our lives. Maybe this is what life is. It is a question of knowing how to become a better person despite the setbacks that we experience. Setbacks can either destroy us or build us into a better and more equipped person to handle even more difficult situations.

I realized that there are matters that are totally out of my hands and also things that I can do something yet choose to do nothing.

Success means two things. Success is the achievement of something not necessarily material things. It is also the adding of value of a person through the wisdom he acquires because of the lessons learned from his failure. Success in both positive and negative things. Failure can become a success if we choose to use it as a learning tool to further improve ourselves. It can also be our chain that will enslave us.

My professor in MBA told us that it is not the grades that we should be striving about. Never mind the grade but more important than the grade is what you learn and things that you can really apply in the real world. Theoretical learning are useless if you can't connect it to the real world. Learn to be practical and adjust your sails.

yel

Leadership Secrets of Saint Paul - Part 1

As I read this book, I realized that this is one of the best ways of learning how to be a true Christian worker: to imitate a person from the bible and learn from his mistakes. Through the book I see Saint Paul’s life and ways being a practical solution in overcoming daily challenges. Let me briefly share with you his story from being Saul to Saint Paul as narrated in the first 3 chapters of the book.

1. Desire Something More.
Saul is highly intelligent, passionate, hard-working, and articulate. He was the “Hebrews of Hebrews.” He was full of spirit. He believed that his life was significant and he was on a quest to prove it. Saul exemplified a quality the entrepreneurial leader can’t function without: burning desire. Entrepreneurs are different among the rest. The single most important among them is a burning passion that motivates you to seek to turn your dream into a reality. But REMEMBER, not every idea is worthy of time and energy.

2. Getting Knocked Off Your Horse
Saul was good and he knew it. He was bent on exploiting his position and gaining opportunity for all it was worth. But focusing your strength to negative doings, persecuting others, is not God’s plan. Edging God Out (EGO), is a deadly killer in organizations, businesses, churches, and entrepreneurial enterprises. If entrepreneurs purse this kind of thinking, God will intervene just as he knocked Saul off his horse. But always remember this is not the end... It is only the beginning.

3. Knowing Your Calling
Paul became an apostle which was his calling. But not only that we can serve through ministries. The works of monks and priests however holy and arduous can be, do not differ one whit from the site of God from the works of the rustic laborers in the field or the woman going about her household tasks. Thos who discover their God-given callings tap into a dynamic direction and confidence that can only come from the Creator himself. Our calling might be crystal clear already just like Paul’s. He was called to reach Gentiles, establish new churches, instruct them, and finding new leaders to mentor. Know your accomplishments in the past that made you proud. If you would have all the resources, what would you choose to do that will encourage you to give everything and will keep you from doing?

It’s not important for you as a leader to reflect not just on what you’re doing but also on who you’re becoming.

-Erik

Something more in my life

Everyday, I monitor the tasks that I do in my personal computer in an excel format. I place the date&time, task, company, team and important notes. I do this because I am very careful in what I will become after 5 years. What would I have learned? What are my options in my career? Everyday I would plan of something big that would be the highlight of my year. Last 2005, my highlight was to graduate with honors and pass 2 certification exams. Last 2006, It was working at Japan. This year 2007, I passed another certification. Currently, I am planning on another certification exam for 2008. I have been very excited and eager to learn something that would contribute to my career for the past few years. But I felt that I must focus on something more important. Something that will make me a better person in the future. Something that will define my purpose in life. If I can write down notes for my technical knowledge, I should also find time to write down for my spiritual knowledge. And so I decided to start reading something that would nourish my spiritual intelligence. I wrote down in my excel-formatted file entitled “Daily Schedule” the readings of the day. And through this, I can also monitor how well have I loved God and served Him by trying to live His life.

Thank you, Lord, for every day’s realizations and blessings that you bring to my life. Everything I have, such as my home, my family, my friends, my work and others more, came from you. Thus, I must pursue my life making you most happy.

-Erik

erik's special day

Here's a picture taken during Erik's birthday honoring after Kick's discussion on three of the 17 Qualities of a Teamplayer (thanks Kicks). Thanks to red and Maigie for the cake of Erik. Thanks also to the Deveza's who shared a special message to Erik through text.

17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player by John Maxwell

Selfless

To cultivate an attitude of selflessness…

1. Be Generous
2. Avoid Internal Politics
3. Display Loyalty
4. Value Interdependence Over Independence

To become more selfless…

· Promote someone other than yourself
· Take a subordinate role
· Give secretly

Solution Oriented

Solution oriented people recognize that…

1. Problems are a matter of perspective
2. All problems are solvable
3. Problems either stop us or stretch us

To make yourself a solution oriented team player…

· Refuse to give up
· Refocus your thinking
· Rethink your strategy
· Repeat the process

Tenacious

Being tenacious means…

1. Giving all that you have, not more than you have
2. Working with determination
3. Quitting when the job is done, not when you’re tired

To improve your tenacity…

· Work harder and/or smarter
· Stand for something
· Make your work a game

beyond dying

Reading yeasterday's reflection in the daily devotional "My Utmost For His Highest" of Oswald Chambers, which emphasizes the misconception of thinking that the ultimate thing that God wants us is the sacrifice of death. It is not - "Lord, I am ready to go with You... to death". But instead - "Lord, I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God". It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants us to be "living sacrifices" - to let Him have all strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.

Many indeed took the sacrifice of death as a means of the ultimate sacrifice but God is asking us more than just death. That is to live and die for Him, holy and acceptable to God.
-dom

January 2008 Litrugical Readings

2008 Jan 1 Tue: MARY, MOTHER OF GOD S (Octave of Christmas). Holy Day of Obligation. Nm 6: 22-27/ Ps 67: 2-3. 5. 6. 8 (2a)/ Gal 4: 4-7/ Lk 2: 16-21

2008 Jan 2 Wed: Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, bps, drs M 1 Jn 2: 22-28/ Ps 98: 1. 2-3ab. 3cd-4/ Jn 1: 19-28

2008 Jan 3 Thu: Christmas Weekday/ Holy Name of Jesus 1 Jn 2: 29 – 3: 6/ Ps 98: 1. 3cd-4. 5-6/ Jn 1: 29-34

2008 Jan 4 Fri: Elizabeth Ann Seton
1 Jn 3: 7-10/ Ps 98: 1. 7-8. 9/ Jn 1: 35-42

2008 Jan 5 Sat: John Neumann
1 Jn 3: 11-21/ Ps 100: 1b-2. 3. 4. 5/ Jn 1: 43-51

2008 Jan 6 SUN: EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
Is 60: 1-6/ Ps 72: 1-2. 7-8. 10-11. 12-13/ Eph 3: 2-3a. 5-6/ Mt 2: 1-12

2008 Jan 7 Mon: Christmas Weekday/ Raymond of Peñafort
1 Jn 3: 22 – 4: 6/ Ps 2: 7bc-8. 10-12a/ Mt 4: 12-17. 23-25

2008 Jan 8 Tue: Christmas Weekday
1 Jn 4: 7-10/ Ps 72: 1-2. 3-4. 7-8/ Mk 6: 34-44

2008 Jan 9 Wed: Christmas Weekday
1 Jn 4: 11-18/ Ps 72: 1-2. 10. 12-13/ Mk 6: 45-52

2008 Jan 10 Thu: Christmas Weekday
1 Jn 4: 19 – 5: 4/ Ps 72: 1-2. 14 and 15bc. 17/ Lk 4: 14-22

2008 Jan 11 Fri: Christmas Weekday
1 Jn 5: 5-13/ Ps 147: 12-13. 14-15. 19-20/ Lk 5: 12-16

2008 Jan 12 Sat: Christmas Weekday
1 Jn 5: 14-21/ Ps 149: 1-2. 3-4. 5 and 6a and 9b/ Jn 3: 22-30

2008 Jan 13 SUN: BAPTISM OF THE LORD
Is 42: 1-4. 6-7/ Ps 29: 1-2. 3-4. 3. 9-10 (11b)/ Acts 10: 34-38/ Mt 3: 13-17

2008 Jan 14 Mon: Ordinary Weekday
1 Sm 1: 1-8/ Ps 116: 12-13. 14-17. 18-19/ Mk 1: 14-20

2008 Jan 15 Tue: Ordinary Weekday
1 Sm 1: 9-20/ 1 Sm 2: 1. 4-5. 6-7. 8abcd/ Mk 1: 21-28

2008 Jan 16 Wed: Ordinary Weekday
1 Sm 3: 1-10. 19-20/ Ps 40: 2 and 5. 7-8a. 8b-9. 10/ Mk 1: 29-39

2008 Jan 17 Thu: Anthony
1 Sm 4: 1-11/ Ps 44: 10-11. 14-15. 24-25/ Mk 1: 40-45

2008 Jan 18 Fri: Ordinary Weekday
1 Sm 8: 4-7. 10-22a/ Ps 89: 16-17. 18-19/ Mk 2: 1-12

2008 Jan 19 Sat: Ordinary Weekday
1 Sm 9: 1-4. 17-19; 10: 1/ Ps 21: 2-3. 4-5. 6-7/ Mk 2: 13-17

2008 Jan 20 SUN: SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Is 49: 3. 5-6/ Ps 40: 2. 4. 7-8. 8-9. 10 (8a. 9a)/ 1 Cor 1: 1-3/ Jn 1: 29-34 2008 Jan 21 Mon: Agnes
1 Sm 15: 16-23/ Ps 50: 8-9. 16bc-17. 21 and 23/ Mk 2: 18-22

2008 Jan 22 Tue: Ordinary Weekday/ Vincent of Saragossa
1 Sm 16: 1-13/ Ps 89: 20. 21-22. 27-28/ Mk 2: 23-28

2008 Jan 23 Wed: Ordinary Weekday
1 Sm 17: 32-33. 37. 40-51/ Ps 144: 1b. 2. 9-10/ Mk 3: 1-6

2008 Jan 24 Thu: Francis de Sales
1 Sm 18: 6-9; 19: 1-7/ Ps 56: 2-3. 9-10a. 10b-11. 12-13/ Mk 3: 7-12

2008 Jan 25 Fri: Conversion of Paul
Acts 22: 3-16 or Acts 9: 1-22/ Ps 117: 1bc. 2/ Mk 16: 15-18

2008 Jan 26 Sat: Timothy and Titus
2 Tm 1: 1-8 or Ti 1: 1-5/ Ps 96: 1-2a. 2b-3. 7-8a. 10/ Mk 3: 20-21

2008 Jan 27 SUN: THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Is 8: 23 – 9: 3/ Ps 27: 1. 4. 13-14 (1a)/ 1 Cor 1: 10-13. 17/ Mt 4: 12-23

2008 Jan 28 Mon: Thomas Aquinas
2 Sm 5: 1-7. 10/ Ps 89: 20. 21-22. 25-26/ Mk 3: 22-30

2008 Jan 29 Tue: Ordinary Weekday
2 Sm 6: 12b-15. 17-19/ Ps 24: 7. 8. 9. 10/ Mk 3: 31-35

2008 Jan 30 Wed: Ordinary Weekday
2 Sm 7: 4-17/ Ps 89: 4-5. 27-28. 29-30/ Mk 4: 1-20

2008 Jan 31 Thu: John Bosco
2 Sm 7: 18-19. 24-29/ Ps 132: 1-2. 3-5. 11. 12. 13-14/ Mk 4: 21-25

17 Qualities of a Teamplayer

Discipline

“Discipline is doing what you really don’t want to do so that you can do what you really want to do.”

Three Areas of Discipline
1. Discipline in Mind
- Having an active mind
- Regularly taking mental challenges
- Constantly thinking of right things
“Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, of what is good, pleasing and perfect.” - Rom 12:1

2. Discipline in Emotions
- It means mastering our emotions or feelings
- Mastering our feelings is mastering our selves
- This means not allowing your feelings control your decisions. Rather the Spirit of God guide your heart.
“ … the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” - Gal 5:22

3. Discipline in Actions
- A product of disciplined mind and emotions.
“Faith without works is dead…Faith is completed by works…a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”
James 2:17,22,24,26

Mission Conscious

“Mission conscious is a sense of purpose and mission and constant drive to do what is best for the cause of the team”

Four qualities of mission-conscious players:
1. They Know Where The Team Is Going
- Learning from the past and looking for the future
“I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ…forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead. I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward call, in Jesus Christ.” - Phil. 3:12-14

2. They Let The Leader of the Team Lead
- Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.
- For a team to win, a leader must be allowed to lead.
“As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also is Christ.” - 1 Cor. 12:12

3. They Place Team Accomplishment Ahead of Their Own
- Teamwork always require sacrifice
- The goals of the team takes precedence over personal goals.
“Live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through bond of peace: One body and One Spirit, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all and in all.” - Eph 4:1-6

4. They Do Whatever Is Necessary to Achieve the Mission
- Willingness to do the good for the good of the team
“Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep doing what you have learned and received. Then the God of peace will be with you.” - Phil. 4:8,9

Practical Suggestions to Improve Mission Consciousness
•Check if you see if your team focuses on its mission
•Find ways to keep the mission in mind
•Contribute your best as a team member

Relationship

“Relationships are the glue that holds team members together”

Characteristics of Team Relationships
1. Respect
- Everything begins with respect, with the desire to place the value on other people.
- Respect them because they are Human Beings.
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also do. And over all these put on love, that is the bond of perfection.” - Col. 4:12-14.

2. Shared Experiences
- Relating is hard when you don’t know the person you are relating with.
- Our shared experiences establishes solidarity with one another
“Because of this, we have been reassured by you, brothers, in every distress and affliction, through your faith. For we now live, if you stand firm in the Lord.” - 1 Thess 3:7,8

3. Trust
- Trust is the foundation of leadership
- It is also essential in good relationships
- No relationships lasts without trust
“To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved”- G. MacDonald
has trusted us with so much
“We give thanks to God because God chose us as the firstfruits of salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in truth.” - 2 Thess. 13

4. Reciprocity
- One sided relationships don’t last
- There must be “give and take” so that everyone from the team benefits as well as gives.
“Each must do as already determined without sadness or compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have abundance in every good work.” - 2 Cor 9:6-8

5. Mutual Enjoyment
- When relationships grow and start to get solid, people involved begin to enjoy each other.
- as being together can turn even unpleasant tasks into positive results.
“Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” - 1 Peter 4:8-10

To better relate to your teammates…
•Focus on others instead of yourself
•Ask the right questions
•Share common experiences
•Make others feel special

- As discussed by Dan during the action group.