Last night’s appearance on The Edge Radio, a Philippine Christian radio station broadcasting online, was a blast and a half. I had a lot of fun laughing with Ron and Jaedee, and I got to talk about this website and blogging in general. They’ll be uploading the video soon enough, and I’ll be sure to post a link here taking you there.
Meanwhile, if you listened in and are visiting today, welcome!
Read MoreToday’s Faithful Friday devotional is based on Richard Exley’s How to Be a Man of Character in a World of Compromise. Chapter 1 delves into Proverbs 1, and is titled An Awesome God.
When I was a kid growing up, my dad was my template for what it meant to be a man. As a child, I was always getting into some kind of trouble, and my dad was not one to ‘spare the rod.’ I was spanked often; I was reprimanded frequently. The father of my early youth was a disciplinarian who I feared greatly.
As I grew older, I learned more about him. I learned he was a man of integrity who loved his family and served the Filipino people faithfully in his government work. As age mellowed him and toughened me, I received less reprimands and more encouragement. The fear was replaced by a gentle love for this man of integrity. I realized he wasn’t athletic, smoked like a chimney and drank on occasion, and he brandished a wicked sense of humor and razor-sharp wit, which made me love him more. I loved him, but I no longer feared him.
As I look at the dichotomy of my earthly dad, one who I feared greatly and one who I loved immensely, I see a parallel between him and my heavenly Father, in the sense that my concepts and ideas of them were dictated upon greatly by my experiences with them. In both cases, because my experiences were limited, I did not have the pleasure of knowing more about them, and what I could do to please them. My dad’s long-gone now, but God, my heavenly Father, is still around (and will always be).
I could ‘live the Christian life’ to earn points with God, but that would be beside the point. Impure motives pretty much render all the good deeds worthless; all the good I could do in the world is useless without His grace and Jesus in my life. God loves me regardless of whether or not my life is blameless. So why live the Christian life?
Proverbs tells us why. A life of character, lived according to how God tells us in His Word, is a rewarding life. It’s a good life. It’s a life that allows and empowers us to bless other people because we want to bless them. The objective is not to earn brownie points; the objective is to glorify God with a life of victory, of success, of worth, defined in both the worldly and spiritual senses. Proverbs provides a great template for how we can live a ‘disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair’ (Prov 1:3). If we are looking to live a life that is both meaningful and influential, we would do well to go through God’s Word, especially the practical tips mentioned in Proverbs.
My dad certainly wasn’t a ‘powerful’ man, but he was an influential man. He could sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo if he wanted to. One doesn’t have to be powerful to make a difference; one merely has to set the stage for righteousness in his life, and the influence, the character, the uniqueness of a person from all those around him, will shine brighter than the sun.
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Listen to my recording of Proverbs 1
Ask yourself this: Would I consider myself a man or woman of character? Do my actions reflect who I am on the inside and out? Am I consistent in my dealings with people, that they know who I am and what I represent?
Prayer: Lord, let my life be a living testimony of the great work You have done in my life. Help me lead a life of consistency and character, with Your Word as my blueprint for a life of influence and power. Please use me and my life as an instrument to bring other people closer to You. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Read MoreFor the past three days, I have packed the same lunch, and have yet to get sick of it.
A can of young corn, a can of button mushrooms, a can of tuna flakes in oil with kalamansi (Philippine lime), sauteed together with minced garlic and a few dashes of olive oil.
Couple that with daily exercise and lots of water, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t enjoy this fitness program!
I started being more conscious of my health in June, when I gave up soda cold turkey. Three months later, I’ve dropped eight kilos.
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I was blessed to have the opportunity to visit Nurture Spa Tagaytay last weekend. Aside from the stress-relieving massage treatment, I was able to meet the spa owner Mr. Michael Turvill. We discussed the business of wellness and I discovered the best definition of wellness I encountered. Turvill expressed that when hospitals go down and spas go up, wellness is the middle way. He further expressed that many hospitals are starting to offer spa services for healing and prevention. Turvill, a doctor of organic chemistry, also started Spa Essentials, a line of aromatherapy oils and other spa supplies exclusively available at Watsons. They also supply hotel chains such as Shangri-la, Mandarin Oriental, Hyatt and Hilton. The Spa Essentials line won the 2007 Watsons’ Health and Wellness Award but I digress… Back to my Nurture Spa experience…
The warm sounds of Filipino instruments welcomed the guests when we arrived. In the simple yet inviting reception area, we were provided with the spa menu from which to choose our treatments. We were also given tea to sip as we chose our treatments. From the menu and posters, I already saw the main uniqueness of Nurture Spa. They offer Filipino-themed massages including treatments like Lunas (Healing), Magsing-Irog (Couples), Aruga (Care) and Payapa (Peace). I chose to have the Aruga body massage (PhP1,400, 1 hour) and the Dilag facial massage (PhP600, 30 minutes). Nurture Spa also offers foot massages, body scrubs, hilot (healing), body wraps and other treatments.
Before our treatments, we had a simple snack of mango suman with hot chocolate. This snack may be considered heavy before a spa treatment but it hit the spot after a 1.5 hours journey from Quezon City to Tagaytay. I would say that the mango suman is a Filipino twist to the traditional Thai dessert mangos with sticky rice. This Filipino version is excellent because it was not too sweet (no coconut cream). The natural sweetness of the mango shined through. To help us digest the snack, we chatted and walked around Nurture Spa for about an hour before starting our treatments.
My massage therapist offered me a chance to bathe before the treatment. This is because bathing is discouraged after the massage. She provided me with soap, shampoo and a towel and discretely left the massage room. I had my massage with another friend and we shared a room with 2 massage beds. The room was open-air with a great view of the outdoors. Still, the room is discrete enough (curtains are available) so I did not have to worry about indecent exposure.
My massage, Aruga (Care), is a 1-hour signature massage using the Tranquility Massage Oil which is a blend of benzoin, cedarwood and grapefruit essential oils. The massage is designed to relieve anxiety and tension and provide a sense of calm and relaxation. The massage therapist was conscientious enough to inquire about my preferred massage pressure. I would say that since my back is the most stress-out part of my body, I could literally hear the tension as she massaged my back. I felt some pain but I understood that some pain is involved in massages. The next day, I could still feel some of the pain but by Tuesday, I felt quite energetic. For the Dilag facial massage, the therapist used honey to cleanse my face before she massaged it. She ended the massage by applying a moisturizer. Check out my after-photo with the owner. Don’t I look refreshed? I think my face looked smoother and clearer than usual. =)
A hearty lunch followed my treatments at Nurture Spa. Their Aruga café offers a choice of healthy and hearty meals. Since I am not on a diet and my vacation was officially starting, I opted for the Rib Eye de Vin Grilled Rib Steak with Caramelized Onions in Red Wine Sauce. The meal started with a light and refreshing salad served with the Nurture Spa signature oriental dressing.
We also had the Nurture vegetarian spring entrée was perfectly seasoned and the red wine sauce was superb. I truly enjoyed the lunch. I would have preferred mashed potatoes with my steak, though. Still, the rice was well-cooked. The meal ended with small slices of carrot cake and mango cake. The 
drink they served was very interesting to me. It was a carrot-dalandan (Filipino Lime) juice. The refreshing flavor of dalandan was delivered in a nutritious drink with carrot bits. Visit my Nurture Spa Tagaytay photo album for more pictures of my Nurture Spa Experience.
My experience at Nurture Spa, I would say, exceeded my expectations. I plan to take my husband there for our next anniversary. The Ifugao Rooms available for overnight stays are so romantic! I was surprised to discover that the spa has been there for 6 years now. How come I have not heard of this haven close to the metro? For your next out-of-town trip, I suggest you visit Nurture Spa. You may contact their sales office at the following phone numbers (+632) 839-2196, (+632) 838-3646, (+632) 838-0073 and email to info@nurture.com.ph.
Read MoreIf you’re going to sign up for blog advertising, you may as well go with the best, and right now, the best is Nuffnang.
After having read about Nuffnang on Tita Noemi’s blog, I visited the Nuffnang website and found a blogging community that was easy to join and informative enough to keep returning to. As a matter of fact, signing up with their online form took me all of one minute; I was registered and ready to go in two days. As you can see, it is very easy to post an ad unit on your blog; I have one on my sidebar and one at the bottom. Life With Gina is primed up too.
Update: Hey, I’m one of the Top 68! Yea and congrats to the others!
I especially like the analytics section on the website. It provides me with so much more information than SiteMeter, so I’m loving that particular aspect of the Nuffnang service more than anything else right now. I apparently am a member of their exclusive club, the Glitterati, so I think I may be entitled to even more perks, which ups the “Yay” factor.
I’m looking forward to what actual ads Nuffnang is going to post on GannsDeen.com. One thing is for sure: unless they’re ads pointing people to the devil (!), I’m going to enjoy being a member of Nuffnang for a very long time.
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