Proof that even the best of parents mess up / Parenting That Makes A Difference Re-launches

If you’ve been reading my blogs for a while, you’d know by now that I’m a huge admirer of the awesome parenting example of Peter Tan-Chi, who Cagayan de Oro residents may know as one half of the tandem (motivational speaker extraordinaire Francis Kong being the other) who filled up Limketkai’s Atrium for PARENTING WINNERS a few years ago.

One thing I really like about Peter Tan-Chi is that he’s as open about his defeats as he is with his victories.  Yes, even the best parents mess up from time to time, this dad-blogger included (and I don’t consider myself among the “best” parents).

Below is a video clip of Peter Tan-Chi humorously confessing one such mess-up…and boy, is this a huge lesson on “Children see, children do.”



Here’s another instance where he actually was very, very above-board in the same area.  Check this one out:



Anyway, if you want to see more of Peter Tan-Chi (and, more importantly, learn more from him), then you’re in luck.

We are re-launching his video study series on parenting, PARENTING THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE, this Saturday, Feb. 5, 2012, from 4 pm to 6pm in the afternoon.  It’s open to anyone who’d like to join (of course, you’d have to have kids).  The venue is Christ’s Commission Fellowship, which is located right across the street from the Robinson’s car park entrance.

Here’s the best thing, it’s FREE OF CHARGE.  All you need is an open mind to soak up the amazing content that he gives.

Spoken Word — Sex, Marriage, and Fairy Tales

I’m lovin’ the videos this guy makes and this one: Spoken Word – Sex, Marriage, and Fairy Tales, is especially awesome.

All I can say is…AMEN!!



If you live in Cagayan de Oro and you really want to know, through a great couples retreat, what marriage is supposed to be, click here.

If you liked, Spoken Word — Sex, Marriage, and Fairy Tales, then I’d like you to check out his other videos as well.  His older video, Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus is a very popular one.

Eight myths of what it means to be male

I came upon this excellent article in New Man magazine on what real manhood is.  The article covers eight myths and eight truths on male authority as it relates to our wives and our homes, to be exact.  It was truly blessed and challenged by it, especially since, from what I see, it is not often practiced nowadays.

I’ll list down the eight myths here (without explanations, you’ll have to go to the article for that):

Myth #1: Male authority means male dominance.

Myth #2: Exercising strength leads to abuse.

Myth #3: Men need to be more feminine to be sensitive.

Myth #4: For women to be empowered, men must be disempowered.

Myth #5: We shouldn’t raise our boys to enjoy “manly” activities.

Myth #6: We need to feminize God in order to not favor men.

Myth #7: If men lead in the home, then they will be free to boss women around in all society.

Myth #8: Authority is about making declarations, not taking personal responsibility to see them through to a beneficial end.

Nobody can ever be this manly!

To find out what they mean, as well as what a real man should be, you can go on to the New Man article here. 

I sure hope you click on it.  I strongly believe that each home, each workplace, each city, whether in America, or the Philippines, or in Timbuktu, yearns for the right type of man to rise up.  A good man.  A real man.   And according to my female friends, these good men are getting harder and harder to come by these days. 

In Psalm 101:2-4, David says (to God)

I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
  when will you come to me?
I will conduct the affairs of my house
   with a blameless heart.
I will not look with approval
   on anything that is vile.
I hate what faithless people do;
   I will have no part in it.
The perverse of heart shall be far from me;
   I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

David made his mistakes, for sure.  But he owned up…every single time.   He was real.  A real man.  A real man after God’s own heart.  That’s the kind of man I want to be.  And the principles and traits of a real man that are covered in the said article are a great help for me to get there.

By popular demand, there’s now a third batch for The Story Of Us couples retreat

Yup.  We'll show you how!

Getting my emcee on!

Congratulations to Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF) – CDO for another successful round of wonderful events that enhance marriage and family.  You guys did it again. 

CCF just finished two rounds of the excellent The Story Of Us couples retreats, held at the beautiful Mt. Pines Place and Saddle Ridge Camp, the events very quickly selling out both times. 

I emceed both events (held in Nov. 5-6 and Dec. 3-4, 2011 respectively), with my wife and I being small group leaders for the 2nd go round.  Even before the 2nd retreat, a huge waiting list already formed, and so, by popular demand, there’s now a third batch for The Story of Us couples retreat!!

So, do you want to have a healthy marriage?  Then save this date: March 10-11, 2012



In both events, the reviews have been very, very positive.  One guy from the first retreat told me he liked it so much he’d sponsor six more couples to the next one we’d have.  Another said that while he attended couples retreats of other communities, this made the strongest and clearest use of the Bible when it comes to keeping marriages healthy and vibrant…therefore making it indeed relevant to the enhancement of marriage and family life (and you thought it was just some dusty holy book).

Financial Advice for young couples part 2

Here’s the second part of finance experts Scott and Bethany Palmer’s talk on the Focus on the Family broadcast regarding Financial Advice for Young Couples.  

If you were blessed by Part 1 of their broadcast, I’m sure you’ll be just as blessed with this conclusion of their talk.

DOT’s It’s More Fun in the Philippines slogan…great idea!!

I’m really getting into the It’s More Fun In The Philippines campaign from our Department Of Tourism (DOT).  Think what you may of the slogan (some don’t like it), but I think it shows a pretty good grasp of the modern/internet culture by making a meme out of it.  I think the guys at DOT have spent some time at 9gag and looking at demotivational posters much.  Now, every photoshop-savvy Filipino is getting into making an It’s More Fun In The Philippines meme. I wish I know my way around photoshop.  🙁

Here are several of my favorite It’s More Fun In The Philippines pics.  Enjoy!  Oh, and indeed, friends who live abroad, I invite you to give the Philippines a visit.  Cagayan de Oro especially. 

Just Like You by Lecrae shows how important and powerful male role models are

I’m really lovin’ this song, Just Like You by Lecrae.  It so powerfully shows how important it is for young people, especially young boys, to have a good male role model in their lives, and the power outside influence has on our growth into men.  But most importantly…



…the song shows that every male role model falls short of the model of Jesus Christ, and for us to be able to lead, we need Him to lead us.  The last few verses of the song said that beautifully (if the words go a bit fast for you, here’s another video of the song, with the lyrics flashing on the screen).

Financial Advice for young couples part 1

I am a huge fan of Focus on the Family's daily broadcasts. This time around, finance experts Scott and Bethany Palmer offer young couples practical advice for establishing sound financial principles for their marriage. (Part 1 of 2)



Stay tuned for part two of this video.  In the meantime, if you like what was said here, you can check out the books made by Scott and Bethany Palmer.  They're chock full of excellent financial advice for young couples and older couples alike (although it's better to have a great start, of course).

Anyway, the books made by the Palmers are:

First Comes Love, Then Comes Money.  Here’s the book description:

Here’s another video of the Abba’s Orchard’s very cool high school program

As I said in a previous post, I am in charge of making a little video every trimester of the high school I work for, The Abba’s Orchard, a video that shows the parents the highlights of what their adolescent child has done in the past three months.

Below is that vid, and for those of you living in Cagayan de Oro, you might want to check the very cool high school program there. Maybe you’d be interested in having your teen give it a try.  We’d be happy to have him or her.



If you have any questions or inquiries, just comment.  Or email me at lessonsofadad@gmail.com


(For more blog articles about what goes on during my teaching adventures, click here.  This blog is mostly about parenting, with a bit of Christian living and ministry, marriage, Pinoy patriotism, and others topics aimed to develop the reader’s mind, body, and soul.  If you would like some good, helpful articles on these topics, I would consider it an honor if you follow or subscribe to Lessons Of A Dad.  You can also go to my Facebook page here, and I’m also on Twitter at @lessonsofadad)

2011 Year in Review (reflections on Sendong, overseas trips, and more)

As 2011’s end is still not too far back into distant memory, I would like to think back on some of the good and bad that happened over the course of last year.  It was quite an eventful year for me, as you will see.  Despite everything, I cannot help but think back with thanksgiving in my heart and enter 2012 with praise for what He has done in my life.

Remember what i said in my first blog post of the year: ""Christmas is still merry, and the New Year is still happy, not because of circumstances, but because of our joy in the Lord.""

2011 in review…including reflections

1.     The storm that was Sendong.  I can't help but start this reflection off with typhoon Sendong.  For the first time in the memory of just about everyone living in this great city, a typhoon hit Cagayan de Oro and Illigan with such deadly force that over a thousand Cagayanons perished while scores more are missing.  Homes have been destroyed, its residents losing everything they valued and worked hard for.  Never before has CDO experienced so much death and damage.  (If you have not donated yet, click here so that you can do so…people still are in dire need)

Next Monday, the school I work for will open its doors to receive students again.  Some, like my family, got through the storm relatively unscathed.  Others were not so lucky, yet, thankfully, there was no loss of life.  We are encouraged by my boss that during morning devotions, we try to help them deal with this tragedy through spiritual eyes. 

I’m still thinking about how I’m going to do that.  But I’m going to go along these lines (and therefore, my reflection about Sendong):

•    The climate has been rapidly changing, much of it is due to our excesses and irresponsibility:  you can’t blame God for that.

•    A huge factor in the floods was rampant illegal logging and unchecked open mining: you can’t blame God for that either.

•    This goes to show why sin is such a big deal in God’s eyes: not only because it violates His commands; but, equally as important, it hurts and even destroys others, even those who had no part in the sin in the first place.  And using up our natural resources irresponsibly, especially in the name of greed IS sin…and boy did people get hurt.

•    Sendong very dramatically showed us what really mattered.  All the toys, gadgets, trinkets, and the shallow security of the present were lost in one dark night. All thoughts and actions were towards family and friends.  Let’s not wait till the next time we have to desperately fight for our lives (or to save theirs) to realize this very important truth.

•    God is still faithful and sovereign, even if things look exactly the opposite.  Many times in the history of His people things were totally messed up, only to come back to blessing later on.  If we trust in His faithfulness and sovereignty (repentance being a part of that), the same thing will happen to CDO and Illigan. 

How to become a better neighbor

In the other blog where I contribute, I have made a post titled “How to become a better neighbor.”  I live in probably the best and safest neighborhood in the city, yet I’m embarrased that I can count only on one hand how many of my neighbors I know personally.

I made this article in the hopes that I will be better in this area.  If you struggle in this area like I do, you may want to check the article out as well. 

So, do you want to learn how to become a better neighbor?  Click here.

My top Facebook Status Messages of 2011, thanks to a very cool app

One of my high school friends once told me, “I love your Facebook status messages!  They’re so positive!”

Well, one of the cooler apps going around Facebook right now is one that makes a top ten list of your status messages for 2011.  Here’s the link for the app here

Do you want to know my most popular status messages?  Is my high school friend right? Here’s my top Facebook Status Messages of 2011, thanks to a very cool app.

Some great memories came from these Facebook Status Messages.  Hey, why don’t you try out the app as well!  I’d love to see what your top Facebook Status Messages are.

These grandpas be shufflin’ with the best of them. LMFAO eat your heart out!

Here’s my first humor post of the year, and the vid is something me and my daughter watch over and over again, being both very amused and very impressed each time.

It seems that LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem has not only caught on with the young. These grandpas be shufflin’ with the best of them. LMFAO, eat your heart out!



The original video of that is here, which was taken at a Fiddler’s Convention a while back.

Everyday grandpa’s shufflin’! It’d be awesome if LMFAO did another Party Rock Anthem video, this time including these gentlemen.

(This blog site, Lessons Of A Dad is mostly about parenting, marriage, and other topics aimed to develop the reader’s mind, body, and soul.  However, I don’t mind putting out the funnies every once in a while.  I’d consider it an honor if you’d follow or subscribe to this site.  You can also go to my Facebook page here, and I’m also on Twitter at @lessonsofadad)

There’s been an outbreak of leptospirosis in Cagayan de Oro. Here’s how you can safeguard yourself and your family

Bad news, everyone living in Cagayan de Oro City.  The Department of Health (DOH) has announced that there has been an outbreak of leptospirosis in the city.  A child of a friend’s co-worker has already been admitted for several days.

I went to the Leptospirosis Information Center website and got some information on what precautions to take against the disease, and I copy-pasted all the information from that page below for your reference.  Please be careful, everyone.

My theme song for 2012

This is gonna a be a very busy several days for me, so I am not sure if I can have time to make a New Year’s blog post (I have one in my drafts half done).

Well, first of all, Happy New Year to all!  As my mentor said yesterday, “Christmas is still merry, and the New Year is still happy, not because of circumstances, but because of our joy in the Lord.“

I’m still gonna try to finish my New Year’s blog post before the New Year is Old News.  But I’d like to treat you all to…

…my theme song for 2012.  

I’m hopeful for a lot of things in the coming year, but what I want most of all for my family is that 2012 is the year we serve…mightily. This beautiful song by John Waller (you may know him from his song “While I’m Waiting” from the movie, Fireproof) sums it up so, so well.



I hope you liked my theme song for 2012. I heard this great song from the Courageous soundtrack, which I got as a Christmas gift (thanks mom!). I can’t wait for the DVD of this great movie to come out this month! (If you still don’t know what I’m talking about, click here)

Once again, Happy New Year, everyone!