Yesterday, I registered and attended the orientation for the first semester of Every Nation Leadership Institute (ENLI). We met the ENLI faculty and staff, and I must say I've never been so excited to be back in school!

Bible schooling is a challenge, naturally, but I believe in faith that great things are in store for us. It's one thing to witness God's power on a daily basis; it's another thing altogether when one is empowered and reminded constantly of how great God is, from theological and apologetic perspectives.

People who knew me before I was Christian probably know that there isn't a radical change in me, which is good. Growth in Christ is a slow and gradual process (although God can also make it instant!) that I welcome with a humble heart. If I were to become overnight a Bible-thumping preacher spewing fire and brimstone, there'd be a stop gap there the size of the Mall of Asia. I'd rather take things slow and ask God to mold me in His time, knowing that the changes and improvement happen according to His good and perfect will.

Classes start next week! Ooh, I can't wait! 

Having purchased American Idol Season 5: The Encores, I have to say the quality of this season’s batch is certainly formidable, and for the quality of three tracks on this album, the soundtrack is definitely worth purchasing.

The review that follows comes from the perspective of a 30-year-old with adult contemporary preferences. It’s posted on Amazon and Superblessed as well to maximize distribution. Cheers.

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Victory Christian Fellowship is launching a series of classes at its Every Nation Leadership Institute. While I wanted to attend the classes, my main reason for not considering it was the concept of price: I thought it was going to be expensive, like upwards of P6,000 per semester.

Last night, at the regular discipleship I attend, I learned tuition costs weren't that prohibitive. It turns out that the entire semester will cost only P1,500.00. That shocked me. Imagine how many people are shying away from the classes thinking that the tuition fees would be too much to afford!

In an even more touching gesture, before I learned of the actual tuition costs, two members of my discipleship group offered to help subsidize the cost of tuition for me! They literally dug into their pockets that night and fished out P500 each! I was shocked by the gesture and encouraged immensely by their trust. I knew these two gentlemen were experiencing financial difficulties, but here they were putting their money where their mouths were, and offering to help me pay for my tuition!

It's been less than a day since then, but that's going to make a a lasting impression on me. It takes a great leap of faith to churn out P500 for a fellow church mate to attend a class. It takes a huge leap of faith especially in times of financial difficulty, and it was an excellent way of showing me how godly men trust in God.

In last night, we shared experiences of the trials we are going through, and each man there superblessed me with their life experiences. I saw how people who've been through trials but rely on God have incredible integrity of character and know that trials are only temporary. These are men who obviously read the Word of God daily and respond to their trials with pure joy, and now – in real-time with clear-cut humility and compassion - reached out to someone like me.

I just melts the heart and warms the soul. Thank you, gentlemen. I'll see you in class!

Man, June's halfway done and I'm experiencing a roller-coaster of events and emotions.

Dad's death anniversary
Yesterday, June 13, 2006, marked my Dad's first year death anniversary. Can you believe it's been a year? Wow.

I actually think of Dad a lot, especially during moments when Nathan gets particularly rowdy and I want to ask myself, "what would Dad do?" I used to think I would raise Nate differently from how my Dad raised me, but more often than not, I find myself gravitating to actions that Dad would usually carry out on me (save for the spanking, because that particular action is off the table in my book). Guess it really is true what they say: the apple never falls too far from the tree.

Lately, I've also been wanting to get Nathan in touch with his Deen roots, you know, really get him to meet his cousins on the Deen side, but I haven't been very successful at that, perhaps because they really are quite distant. It'd be a shame, though, because Nathan should know his roots, and I encourage everyone in my generation to ensure that your kids get ample share of both sides of their parents. If anything, it's always good for the kids to know their roots to arrive at a better sense of identity, don't you think?

Mom's birthday
June is also Mom's birthday. With Mom turning 60, I'm so excited. My mom's a senior citizen! LOL Well, I'm turning 30 next year, so, eh, who am I to talk? I don't know what her plans are (nor do I know what my grandmother Nanay's plans are, but we can predict with some accuracy what she is going to do, don't we?).

My plan? Homemade invitations for family and some of my special Italian pork steak! It's a new recipe I created from scratch (I'm sure it's not original) without soy sauce so Mom doesn't get any sugar in it.

Our URLs
Meanwhile, I've set up a website for our family now, The Deens Online. I love this URL! I also bought GannsDeen.com, and I'll be transforming that into an online portfolio of all my work. Speaking of my work, do drop by Faith Factor. I've set up an online shop for tees, mugs, clocks, etc., all with my own designs! Finally, I purchased www.PerfectProposalsOnline.com because my old host hedged too long with our old website. Tsk. What a waste of all that material, but I'll be working on Perfect Proposals in preparation for the book coming out sometime this year.

Victory Men's Weekend
I'll be attending the Victory Men's Weekend in July. This is really exciting and important because after I attend this, I can be rostered to sing onstage during Sundays. While that, of course, isn't the reason why we go to retreats, I won't hesitate to admit that serving in a church is something I've looked forward to since September of last year, when Cathy and I left our old church for reasons I'd rather not go into right now (suffice it to say that Mom breathed her sigh of relief).

Nathan and my diet

Nathan is recovering from herpangina (I'm sure I misspelled that). It's like mouth sores, but more painful, apparently. Poor child got it from the air, his pediatrician Dr. Macapanpan said, and so he's on a diet of ice cream, milk, and yogurt while he recovers. His father is extremely envious. LOL I'm now on Atkins, so the pounds are only just beginning to melt away. I'm quite confident I'll beat the obesity this time. My motivation? Health, of course. Nate and Cathy are slimming down. I don't want to be "that fat Deen." Other motivations are looking good in preparation for the retreat, looking good in preparation for the rest of my life, and, ooh, a possible side-entry into theater. That's right, theater. Someone in the choir suggested to me that I'd be good for a few small roles in theater, and she has connections to somewhat who can help set up an audition (or at least tell me when the casting calls take place). Yeah, I can see myself on the stage, hopefully not falling through it. Nathan also has a penchant for acting (he's perfected that fake smile, and obviously loves an audience).

Cathy
Cathy, on the other hand, is busying herself with her PHD classes. She has Tuesday and Saturday classes. She's in her 3rd year, I think, and her current GPA is - get this - 4. Perfect A's all the way, in her doctorate classes. *sigh* My wife's a genius!

So those are my updates. How have you all been?

A hearty congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Mike and Rowena Palacios, whose wedding last night was definitely one of the more heartfelt ones I'd ever been to. With most of the production truly a family affair - down to the homemade wedding cakes, invitations, and games - without comparison, I was blessed and honored to have been invited to this gathering.

In the course of the evening, I found some pleasant surprises!

I ran into some bloggers! I knew I would meet Toni of Wifely Steps (left, in pink zigzag dress), but I was surprised and thrilled to run into Maan of MySilverchair! I've been a fan and have followed Maan's blog ever since it came online (she even won a Superblessed Christian Blog Award from me for Favorite Christian Blog - Female, if I'm not mistaken), and we were like a couple of giddy children jumping up and down. Thanks, Row and Mike, for the instant meeting of minds.

As if that weren't enough, I also ran into Jehan of Jeigermeister! Can't say I knew of the regularity of her blog, but now that I do, you can bet I'll add her to my blogroll when the time is right.

What I truly appreciate about weddings is how we can catch up with other friends who we haven't seen in ages! Some other friends I ran into were (left to right) Tiffany (who's a DJ!), David (who's leaving for the US), Katz (who is leading her own company), Ali (who chairs this new program at Ateneo),  camera-shy Itchyworms lead singer Jugs (who hosted wonderfully with his other half, CD), and Nix and Maita Nolledo, who are so blessed with their second child on the way. I also took a picture of the fantastic artwork, and, of course, the happy couple, Mike and Row.

How to lose ten pounds in two seconds. Finally, I showed some very interested people a neat trick I usually employ for photos. As you know, it's harder for chubby people to look good on camera, so here's a trick I do. You put your shoulders down, lean forward, press your tongue up against the roof of your mouth, turn your face to the right (or left, if that's your good angle), and smile. It drops 10 pounds off, just like that. Here's a pic to illustrate my point. Cheers!

It's a hot and somewhat humid Saturday afternoon here in Quezon City, and while Nathan sleeps in the next room, I'm taking the opportunity to catch up on some much-needed (and wanted) Net updating. The next two weeks are going to be crucial for my career, and I'm just setting myself up to ensure that things will be okay, regardless of what happens in July.First of all, I'm on WordPress! Yes, I can't believe it myself. After more than seven years on Blogger, I've bitten the bullet and shifted blog software. I'm not totally killing Superblessed on Blogspot just yet, because for one thing, I don't want to waste the hits, hah!, and, for another thing, I'm still negotiating for actual hosting (something I hadn't done since Superblessed.net was hosted on Hostking.ph), so I'll see where that takes me before I make any commitments to nice website design and all that. I will say this, though: Toni's blog alone makes for a convincing shift to WordPress.

Second, I've set up a store on CafePress. Titled FaithFactor (because some other entity "stole" Superblessed - I know I may not have a license on it, but come on! Search for Superblessed on the Internet and I'm all over the first five pages!), I've uploaded some original Christian designs that are funny and thought-provoking. Help out a Filipino-Christian and purchase a t-shirt or something; you won't regret it. LOLOn the freelance writing side, I've finally worked something out with some friends of mine, and it looks like I'll be writing on the side again. This makes me so happy; I miss being able to write, and my creative juices, while flowing, just aren't flowing across many topics (since there's only one real topic I write about at my current place of work).

Over on the spirituality side, I'm preparing for the Victory Men's Weekend in July. I can't tell you how excited yet afraid I am - I know that God has much to tell me, and I'd better brace myself to face my demons yet again. I know, though, that God loves me even though I can be such a pain, and His grace is sufficient for me.

Well, I have to go and prepare for Rowie and Mike's wedding. I'll have photos! It'll be such a great time! God superbless their union.