5 Years

Some people don't like making resolutions
because they don't keep them.
I think the point of resolutions
is resolving to make a change about yourself
that you're just plain sick of.
If you don't keep it
then you're probably not sick of it enough.
The problem ...
someone you love is probably sick of it.

The point?
My beautiful wife and I have been married for 5 years.
Stats:
2 children
2 homes
3 careers
2 degrees
1 minivan
countless ups
negligible downs

5 years ago I resolved to be a better man
each and every day
for the husband I was becoming
and the father I would be.
And with God's grace
and the love of my family
this happened.

I pray that 5 years from now
it will still be happening.

Thank you to all our family and extended family (friends)
that have been a blessing to my family
through your prayers, thoughts and presence.
May the Almighty God of the Universe
through His only Son, Jesus the Christ,
fill you with His Holy Spirit that you and your families
may not only feel, but know the presence of a
loving God in your lives.
And may this love permeate the fabric of your
being and touch the lives of all you encounter.

Nemo dat quod non habet

One cannot give what one does not have.

It's true in relationships, true in ministry.
Personal & spiritual.

Humility always wins.

The Pilipino Way

Once we were doing some mortgage business with a family friend and he
said, "don't worry about the details ... we can just do things the 'Pilipino Way'."

From his tone, the content of our discussion and his "swaying head dance with regressed neck," we assumed he meant he would somehow bend the rules for us. Is this the 'Pilipino Way'?

It is reminiscent of stories of my parents and in-laws about how they got to the States: a dude sitting at a desk with a pile of files to review ... hand him your file and a few $100 bills ... your file getting put on top of the pile. Any other stories like this?

Let's face it, corruption is a word that is almost taken for granted when we think about Pilipino institutions: there always seems to be officers of some kind (president, treasurer, secretary), always seems to be an incompetent cousin, brother, or friend put in a position of power, and there always seems to be grumblers about those in power. Is this the 'Pilipino Way'? Is this what I want to pass on to my children?

The commitment to family. The food. The cultural dances. The music. The language - very difficult, considering Visayan does not have a strict written form. The lessons of true poverty, hardship and sacrifice. To me, this is the true 'Pilipino Way.' Also, have you noticed how packed the churches are in the PI? The poor tend to have a very straightforward view of the God of the universe: He exists ... and I need Him.

On a side note: there's this Pilipino guy who works at Krispy Kreme. Once he found out we were Pilipino, he gave us a dozen glazed gems free. Next time, he stuck an extra doughnut in our half dozen box.
Ah ... the Pilipino Way!