Today’s devotional reading - on Day 1 of Victory Christian Fellowship’s communal fast, by the way - ran me through Ephesians 4-6, which are truly powerful chapters for walking the Christian life.

The devotional asked us to reflect on unity, but the outstanding theme that I seem to have gotten was about keeping the peace and being an example to others of self-control.

How hard can it be to keep one’s mouth shut? Read more

I find the sticker combination below offensive in a black humor type of way. I shot this photo along the streets of Manila, when my car ended up behind a white jeep-type van with these two stickers. The first, a black sticker, reads, “Police.” [I didn't notice if the van had a red license plate, which would indicate it belonged to the government.]

The second sticker - this one gets me - reads PRO-Girls, a take on the popular PRO-Guns stickers of the mid-90s(Peaceful, Responsible Owners of Guns). This one, of course, read, “Peaceful, Responsible Owners of Girls.”

Oprah would have a fit.

I call this the Reconnect Project.

My Reconnect Project is simple: reconnect with old friends.

If you are an actual friend of mine and you happen to be in Makati City during lunch or after 5pm, I would love to meet up with you for a snack. No strings attached, no hidden agenda. I just want to catch up.

The fact is, eight years after I’ve graduated from college, I realize I’ve lost touch with most of my friends. Thing is, I do value your friendship. I do value your time. I value YOU. This 2007, I want to reconnect with YOU.

So, if you either work in Makati City, or are planning to be in the area, comment below with an email address or mobile number and I’ll send you my mobile number. Let’s meet up for donuts and coffee (hey, I value you, but I don’t have too much cash, especially if I’m meeting up with one old friend every day!).

Again, I can’t make this clear enough. This invitation is just for friends I’ve lost touch with. People I know, people in college, grade school, high school, maybe acquaintances I’ve run into from an old place of work…

We’ll have a blast! Seeing each other again, exchanging stories, learning what you’ve been up to all this time. After each meeting, I’ll upload photos online (unless you don’t want me to), and talk about what a great blessing it is to have a friend like you.

So! Who’s up first?

I confess I have not seen the grainy Saddam Hussein execution video via mobile phone. I do not intend to. I do, however, join the Vatican, the Italian government, the British government - even the Cuban government, whose statement obviously reflects their solidly anti-American stance - in deploring the widespread dissemination of Saddam’s execution video.

This isn’t a commentary against the death penalty, nor is it a commentary against the governments of America or Iraq. It’s a commentary, if you will, on the desensitivitization of the general populace, whose blood lust and/or curiosity has fueled the rapid spread of a barbaric act caught on video.

Update: Apparently, several boys have committed suicide, unintentionally for the most part, in copycat Saddam hangings. What did I tell you? Footage like that shouldn’t be shown!

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Eight of my top 10 songs of the year have YouTube videos, so please feel free to enjoy them because the songs rock my socks. They are Orphans of God by Avalon (#2), Our God Reigns by Brandon Heath (#3), Son of God by Starfield (#4), My Wish by Rascal Flatts (#5), Find Your Wings by Mark Harris (#6), My Savior My God by Aaron Shust (#7), Say Goodbye by Jordan Knight & Deborah Gibson (#9), and Broken and Beautiful by Mark Schultz. The only two that don’t (shame on their record labels!): Happy by Ayiesha Woods and Hear My Worship by Jaime Jamgochian. Videos after the jump. Enjoy!

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Last week, I sent the DirectWithHotels/Superblessed Christian Blog Awards Medicine Relief Box to Project Miracle’s homebase in Mandaluyong City. If you recall, I promised to send a box of medicines to the victims of Typhoon Reming (as allowed by my meager salary) in the names of the winners of the Superblessed Christian Blog Awards, which I did. I also conducted a fundraising drive to boost the number of medicines, so, thanks in large part to friends of mine from my office, we were able to send the following:

• For fever, 600 capsules of Rite-Med paracetamol
• For diarrhea, 200 capsules of Lormide
• For dehydration, 120 tablets of Hydrite oral rehydration salts

I want to thank everyone who made this small medicine box possible. This is more than a once-a-year drive; this is a step out of our comfort zones to make a difference every day, so thank you. May 2007 be a year of blessing for you in abundance in the name of Jesus Christ, who inspires us to do great deeds because He performed the greatest deed of all.