Top 10 CCM artists that I wish would come to Cagayan de Oro

(This post is on the video-heavy side.  Before reading, I suggest you scroll ahead and hit play and then pause on all the vids so that they start loading while you read the text here.)

I live in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines.  While I love the place, there are drawbacks.  One such drawback I will focus on here, with my version of a solution.

You see, we’re a small provincial city in the 3rd world…and when it comes to concerts, of course the local population cannot afford the big names in the international music world.  So what do we have to contend with?  Well, if international fare is your thing, you’re gonna have to contend with 60’s, 70’s and 80’s old-timers that have had their heyday before some of us were even born.  Good thing if it were The Rolling Stones or U2, but…no.  You’ve seen the billboards of the usual fare we’ve had, and with the exception of Color Me Badd and All For One, I am SO not a fan (The Lettermen?  Please…).

My suggestion?  Event organizers take note: if you guys can get CCM artists over to Cagayan de Oro, that would be the awesomest thing ever.  What’s CCM?  Well, I’m not gonna tell until the end of this blog entry.  Let’s just say that they’re not big-time mainstream artists, so they would likely not fetch the steep price tag.  They’d also have a captured audience with many people not only here in the city, but in the Philippines as well, so for sure you’d fill up the Limketkai Atrium if ever you’d have them around.  CCM…what’s that?  Ah-ah-ah, I said I’m not telling yet.

What I AM gonna do, however, is make a list of THE TOP 10 CCM ACTS THAT I WISH WOULD COME TO CAGAYAN DE ORO.  CCM spans many sub-genres, so this list is a mix-up of rap, rock, and soulful tunes…and I’m sure you’ll get what CCM is by the time you reach the end.

So, without further ado:  CDO event organizers, if you guys can bring these CCM artists over here, you guys would rule my world!!

Top 10 Non-Traditional Christmas Songs

As Christmas draws near, I’m sure your ears are gonna be saturated with timeless Christmas classics like Silent Night, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and Joy To The World, among many others.

Well, if you’re in the mood for something different, but you’re still willing to feel the Christmas spirit, then there are lots of non-traditional Christmas songs that you can enjoy (and, no, it’s not just All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey).  In fact, if you live in Cagayan de Oro, then the local Christian station here, The New J 103.3 FM plays Christmas songs all throughout December (non-traditional songs as well as modernized versions of the classics).

I’m friends with the guy who runs the show over there at The New J, John de Cleene, and he was kind enough to share with me his Top Ten Non-Traditional Christmas songs.  I’m going to give those top ten songs below, with a brief intro by John, himself, and with an accompanying video if possible.  The names are also Amazon links in case you’d like to buy them.  Enjoy John’s Top Ten Non-Traditional Christmas Songs!

Remembering Michael Jackson…long live the King

It’s been three years to this day since the shocking death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. 

Where were you when he died? 

Me?   I was just walking up the stairs of the school that I work in.  As soon as I entered the classroom, students were doing the moonwalk and all of MJ’s mannerisms.  I was like, “What’s going on?”

Then they told me the news…and my jaw hit the floor.

Well, in honor of the greatest entertainer of all time, I’m going to list down my favorite 10 favorite songs of his.  Long live the King.

10.  I just can't stop loving you

Should you side with the Philippine Lady Gaga concert protests?

If I wasn’t so loaded with preparations for my church’s DVBS (which is happening TODAY, please pray!!), I’d want to make an article about all the hoopla going around about Lady Gaga’s upcoming Philippine concert being protested by certain groups.

However, I just read this awesome blog article on the subject, made by excellent Victory Christian Fellowship pastor Joseph Bonifacio (who has earned the love and “I do’s” of the stunningly beautiful actress Rica Peralejo, lucky guy), and he said it way better than I ever could.

So, should you side with the Philippine Lady Gaga concert protests?  I suggest you read this article before making your stand.

Click here to read Joseph Bonifacio’s article. 

Britt Nicole’s new album is Gold…pun intended

With my kids growing older and becoming very social, I don’t think I’ll be able to totally prevent them from listening to the songs their friends listen to.  Although this is not true for every singer, band, or rapper, artists that my daughters’ classmates rave about often say words in their songs that no parent would like their kids to say, and glorify or even preach a worldview hardly any parent would like their kids to adapt for their own.

So, while I can’t totally prevent their exposure to the music of the youth culture (and I fear that they will resent me if I too strictly put on the restrictions here), what I can do, and do to the best of my time and ability, is to inspire them to like the kind of music that is not only cool, but it inculcates in them a God-honoring attitude.  Now, I’d like to share that to you

You’re someone worth dying for

This Easter, celebrate it knowing that in God’s eyes, you (yes, you) are someone worth dying for. 



Have a blessed Easter, everyone! From: Lessons Of A Dad

RIP Whitney Houston one of the best voices in music

I don’t have a lot of time to go online lately (my apologies), but I can’t let this pass.

This is my tribute to one of the best voices in music, vocal legend Whitney Houston, now dead at 48 years old.

Here’s my favorite song of hers, One Moment In Time.  May we remember her magnificent voice more than her downward spiral.





To me, she will also be remembered for the best Star Spangled Banner renditions ever sung.



Wow…she will be missed. RIP Whitney Houston, one of the best voices ever.

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).

A tribute: RIP Heavy D. Thanks for making my teen years so fun.

Lessons Of A Dad is supposed to be a blog site about parenting and family, but I can't let the passing of one of my favorite musical artists slide without me making a tribute.

The hip hop world is in mourning, as legendary rapper Heavy D, one of the giants of the genre (no pun intended) died yesterday, Nov. 8, 2011 at age 44.  There’s no official cause of death, although Vibe says he died of “respiratory issues” whatever that means.  More details of the cause of his demise are sure to come in the next few days.

RIP Heavy D.  Thanks for making my teen years so fun with your smooth rhymes…and such cool dance moves for a big man.  Readers, allow me to honor Heavy and his music by posting some of my favorite videos of his.

Casting Crowns’ new album, Come To The Well is out…read this great review on it.

Casting Crowns’ hot new album

I’ve posted many Casting Crowns videos on my blog, and for good reason.  They are among the best CCM bands out there, with some of my favorite hits of theirs being, Who Am I?, Voice of Truth, American Dream (which figures prominently on this blog), Life of Praise (probably my all-time favorite youth worship song)…and now, Courageous which I featured on a previous blog entry and which headlines the fatherhood-themed movie of the same name.


Well, Casting Crowns’ highly anticipated album that features the song, Courageous is newly out in stores.  It’s called Come To The Well, and according to this review, it is one great album (rated 4.5 out 5).  Hey, it’s no surprise, because Casting Crowns is one great band, winning several GMA Dove Awards and a Grammy Award  to boot. 

So, Casting Crowns’ new album, Come To The Well is out…read this great review on it.
If you live in the states, buy it today!  I’ll have to wait a little longer over here in the Philippines.  Oh well, good things are worth waiting.

Casting Crowns lead singer, Mark Hall talks about their new song, Courageous.

I heard that Courageous did very well in its opening weekend.  According to the FB wall of one of pages I’m a fan of, the opening weekend of Courageous looked like this:

1) More than 1 million people saw COURAGEOUS this weekend. That’s a lot of lives changed!

2) Total box-office was $9.0 million, $2.2 million more than Fireproof on opening weekend.

3) It was the #1 new movie of the weekend! Per-screen, COURAGEOUS averaged $7,752, almost doubling everyone else!

Wow, well done.  Now, I really can’t wait until I see that movie on Philippine shores. 

What makes me even more excited is that one of my favorite Christian bands, Casting Crowns (known most for, “Who Am I?”), did the theme song for the movie, titled (what else?) Courageous. 

The band’s lead singer and songwriter, Mark Hall, talks about the meaning behind this wonderful song.  He’s a pretty funny guy, yet this video short hits home.



Now, I’m proud to present the official video of Courageous.  Enjoy!



I truly can’t wait to see this movie.  For those of you who have already seen it, and would like to mentor others on the principles featured in it, I suggest you purchase the Courageous Campaign Kit .  It has clips from the movie and a good study guide to mentor the dads in your life to raise their kids in a Godly way.

Casting Crowns also placed out a parenting-based song a while back, and I featured it in one of my articles for Father’s Day.  Check out the article here, while I repost the video below.

Casting Crowns – American Dream W/ Lyrics – The funniest videos are a click away

Anyway, thank you Mark Hall and Casting Crowns, for making a great movie even greater, thanks to your song, Courageous.

Songs that touch a father’s heart…Happy Father’s Day to you all!

Happy Father’s Day, everyone! As fathers from all over the word are given this one day to feel really special, I hope you use this day to ponder on being the kind of man you need to be to lead your family. To help you with that, I have included some songs for a father’s heart.

Music can be quite powerful. I’ve had several instances where a mere song changed my whole outlook on what I was going through or my opinion in a particular subject. When it comes to being a dad, a good dad, these songs are just what the doctor ordered. May they bless you and challenge you, as they did me.

The first song is American Dream by Casting Crowns, the band of the popular “Who Am I?” song. We fathers can get so caught up with work and providing for our families the finer things in life that we lose track of what the finer things in life truly are.

Casting Crowns – American Dream W/ Lyrics – The funniest videos are a click away

The next song that really speaks to my heart is Lead Me by Sanctus Real. The song speaks to me so strongly because it shows how badly our kids and wives need us in the leadership of the family.

The third song is Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman, a powerful song of how we need to cherish our kids in the here and now, because our time with them is very, very limited.

All three of these songs say one thing: our families, our kids, value our time and our presence much more than anything we work for. I’m not saying that work is not important. The reason why we struggle so much with time with our families is because we were wired to be providers for them, and all fathers, me included, want the best for their families.

Yet, I don’t want the clock to strike midnight on my time with my kids to realize how important our time together should be. They’re growing up…fast. Soon they’ll be gone, having their own lives; and when that time comes, I don’t want to feel like I squandered my fatherhood away.

Well, again, Happy Father’s Day, everyone. I’m sure there are many other songs out there that touch a father’s heart. Feel free to comment on your favorite songs for dads.

Oh, by the way, if you’d like to buy that special dad in your life a nice gift, then check out my article about good books for dads.

Recommended Reading:

•  The 21-Day Dad’s Challenge: Three Weeks to a Better Relationship with Your Kids
• Championship Fathering  
• Better Dads, Stronger Sons: How Fathers Can Guide Boys to Become Men of Character
• 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad: What Fathers Can Do to Make a Lifelong Difference

Going through the motions

This month, my young couples group is scheduled to lead the Children’s Ministry’s Sunday School.  In CCF, the church that I go to, every small group is assigned a month to minister to the kids, and, this year, April is our month.

Usually, I would jump at this opportunity, because Children’s Ministry is quite close to my heart, and in the heart of my group mates (many of us are teachers by profession).  Unfortunately, I have allowed my recent busyness to push my Christian walk to the realm of lukewarmness.

It showed when it came to this ministry.  I was pretty apathetic when the church’s office staff reminded me about our stint as teachers for the month of April.  I got all the materials on Tuesday, but I didn’t even look at them until the day before we took over.  March was a really manic month, and I was just plain exhausted and didn’t want to think about ministry, and my quiet time and prayer life also went down in the dumps.

It took God to use one of my Abba’s Orchard students to remind me that the more loaded I am, all the more I need to be intimate with the Lord. Thank you, you beautiful adolescent, you know who you are.

Another thing God did to jolt me back into the swing of things was through music.  For some strange, and surely God-given reason, almost every time I would tune in to 103.3 FM (the Christian station here in CDO), Matthew West’s hit song, The Motions, would play.  It’s a powerful song that challenges us to passionately give our best and our all for God, not just go through the motions of a “Christian life.”  That’s exactly what I was struggling with, going through the motions.  Ho-hum.



God also, for another very strange reason, kept reminding me of a recruiting clip of a children’s program that CCF did a few years back, called Trading Places.  How weird is that?  He just kept reminding me of the video clip over and over again, even if that program was done three years ago, far into distant memory.    Below is said Trading Places recruiting clip.  It’s quite nice, designed to get churchgoers to volunteer for the said Trading Places program.



The end of the chorus kept ringing in my ears, “Make a difference in me…use me so a child will know.”

Then I was like, “Okay, Lord, okay…I get you.  I’ve strayed a bit, and now lots of little ones will depend on me and my team for one whole month.  I need to shape up, NOW!”  Thank God, He is merciful, because all that’s needed to shape up and become a fruitful believer again is to abide.  And so I have.

Good thing too.  Remember, a team is only as good as its leader, and if I fail to be used by God and instead gave an impression that we can get by on our own skill, we’re sunk.  I think this is the reason why God was so in my face right before we started our stint…because he wanted me, and therefore us, to rely on Him for the great challenges ahead.

I handled ages 9-12 this morning, and I had a whopping 32+ students!  All stuffed in a little room.  Holy cow!  I thought I had it rough, but the 6-8 class also had over 30 students, and so did the youngest class, ages 3-5.  Yikes, over 30 students per class!!  This is the third year my group has been teaching the kids, but there were nowhere near these numbers.  I’m glad God is growing CCF, but whew!

We got through the first Sunday.  One down, three more to go.  But what will be most memorable out of this experience, for me, would be how He went after me right before this started.  I was good and ready to go through this lackadaisically, relying on my experience and skill as a teacher, instead of relying on His power.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  (John 15:5)



“‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.” (Zech. 4:6)



Lesson learned.  And as the Matthew West song goes:

I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking,
“What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?”