One of the best high schools in developing over-all excellence in our teens.

Sorry for not writing much lately.  Been very busy with work (I am a teacher by profession, in case you didn’t know) and had absolutely no time for anything else.

Speaking of my work, I would like to show a quick video of what we do here at The Abba’s Orchard, a true Maria Montessori school (yes, there are fakes).  I work at the Erdkinder, which is the high school division of the school, and it truly is a different way of teaching high school students.  If I’m not mistaken, The Abba’s Orchard is the only school in the Asia Pacific region to have the Montessori farm school program.  Yes, farm school…and if you ask my very biased opinion, it’s one of the best schools in developing over-all excellence in our teens.

I am in charge of making the said video for the ending of every trimester.  Here is the latest one that I made.  Granted, I do not have epic video making skills, but if you’re interested, check it out and see what I do for a living…and what these lucky students are getting.  You can also see my eldest daughter in several instances, too.



Allow me to explain the video one activity at a time.

How you can help the victims of super typhoon Yolanda / Haiyan

Just in case you guys were worried about me, seeing all the news about how typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) has devastated the Philippines and all, we are all fine.  We braced ourselves for the storm of the year, only to experience just cloudy skies, moderate rainfall, and a little wind.

Yes, Cagayan de Oro was spared this time (and I appreciated the long weekend, I needed that).  Others, however, were not so lucky…and later on in this blog I will tell you how you can help them.

I’ve read that the death toll from super typhoon Yolanda / Haiyan could reach 10,000.  That’s a staggering statistic.  There are shocking photos all over the internet of jaw-dropping devastation.  Here are just a few of them (Note: none of these photos are mine.  I got them from Google)

6 great items that relatives abroad can send through balikbayan boxes

If you are like most Pinoys who have relatives abroad, you likely receive a Balikbayan box full of goodies around the end of this year or the beginning of next year.  My family is one of these families, as my sisters in law are based in the US and my mom is also staying in the US for about six months.

While we appreciate their generosity, and much of the stuff that they send is indeed good, there is a dark side: this usually means that we get mountains of candies, chocolates, chips, and other junk food and overly processed products that have lost much of their nutritive value.  As a father who is into health and wellness, I usually cringe when the balikbayan boxes arrive.  Even if you don’t have the same views as I do, you’d probably notice that your children will binge on these newly arrived sweets and often will get sick as a result.  Not good at all.

I think there’s a better way: ask your relatives to send you alternatives.  This is also an opportunity to snag great finds for you and your family, finds that are either not available here or are expensive.  Allow me to help you by listing down six great items that relatives abroad can send through their Balikbayan boxes.  Nearly all of these are food-related, as you shall see.  Let’s begin.

Hilarious Jaeger names

I noticed I haven't done a humor post in a long, long time.  So, here goes…

Being the semester break, it’s natural that me and the fam would have movie marathons galore.  One of our favorite movies this year was Pacific Rim, and so we already watched that twice this week.  Over dinner afterwards, I jokingly asked, “What if the Philippines had a jaeger?  I bet it would look like a messed up, overgrown jeepney, hohoho!!”

Apparently, my internet savvy daughter said that she did see several Philippine jaegers on the net, made by fans using a certain app.  Intrigued, I took a look and indeed there were several Philippine Jaegers out there.  Cool.

But in doing so I discovered an even better find: hilarious jaeger names.  It was only a matter of time before people with a (sometimes twisted) sense of humor would capitalize on the weird Jaeger names of the movie, like Striker Eurika and Gypsy Danger (Crimson Typhoon, now THAT’s a cool name) to come up some with ridiculous names of their own.  Some of them were so funny that I had to share them here.  Enjoy.

A chance for a few married couples to spend a weekend with a beloved author…for FREE!! (a P9,200 value!!!)

If you gravitate towards the marriage, parenting, or inspirational sections of the major book store chains, you must be blind not to see the name Harold Sala in many of the books there.  He is one of the best authorities of marriage and parenting on the planet, and guess what…he’s coming here to Cagayan de Oro City!  

Click here to check out Dr. Harold and Darlene Sala's books

He’s here for The Story of Us couples seminar that the community I belong to is cooking up.  Better yet, if you carefully follow the instructions in this blog entry, you can win a chance to spend a weekend with this beloved author…for FREE!!  It’s a whopping P9,200 value, and you’re getting it absolutely free.  Check out the video first before I explain what you need to do.

HIS GIRL was beautiful. Now it’s time for REAL MEN

Several blog posts ago, I talked about a youth event called Becoming His Girl, hosted by Elevate CDO (click here for said post).  Elevate (formerly called JZone), the youth ministry of CCF, is dedicated to taking students to the next level, and to that end they host events and they’re huge in the mentoring department.  Becoming His Girl was one such event, designed to let teen girls (who often struggle with self-image) know that they indeed have so much worth, because they’re His girl.

Well, Becoming His Girl was beautiful (no pun intended), and now it’s time for REAL MEN, the male version of this event.  I’m gonna post some pics of Becoming His Girl first, then we’ll discuss how the boys can get get so much wisdom (and have so much fun) in their own event via Real Men.  Shall we proceed?

Becoming His Girl pics

Welcome, young ladies!

Are you giving your family good milk? Find out!

Right below is an infographic from www.weedemandreap.com on the GOOD-BETTER-BEST principle when it comes to buying food.  It is an excellent resource on how we should pick the foods that we give our families.  Since this blog entry would focus on dairy, I made a red box around the Dairy portion.

Are you giving your family good milk?  Find out, as the best milk to drink for optimum health is…

Click for larger picture

Here's a little close up of "bad" and "best" of the dairy category, as, again, this is the article's focus.

So I bet you have some questions, such as:

• What's CAFO milk?  Is that what my kids are drinking?
• Pasteurized milk is the only way to safely drink milk, right?  You should kill all the bacteria.
• Low Fat/Skim milk considered “bad” when it’s supposed to be good for you?
• Raw milk?  Really?  Why does milk have to be raw to be considered “better” or “best”?
• Is it possible to get the “BEST CATEGORY” of milk in Cagayan de Oro City?  

I’d be happy to answer these questions for you.  Here we go…

A much needed take on the Miley Cyrus VMA performance debacle

I decided to go online to take a break from checking my mountain of school papers (It's CDO's Fiesta.  Holiday?  What holiday?) and I came upon the beautiful, much needed dad take on the Miley Cyrus VMA performance debacle.  

You must be living under a cave if you haven't heard of the Miley Cyrus' twerkfest by now.  I haven't seen it, but I've seen the reactions from friends and the gazillions of FB memes on the subject (man, do those guys work fast).  The common denominator for all of these was shock, outrage, and disgust (well, frankly, it was relief for me because I was beginning to worry that nothing shocks this generation anymore).  

Then, in the middle of all the venom-spewing (and I was tempted to join the bandwagon) I came upon this article, from the Dad Matters blog of Focus on the Family (fantastic dad blog, by the way) with this as the main point:  Miley Cyrus is someone's daughter.  What if she were mine?

Win free tickets to ParenTEEN with Mr. Francis Kong and Dr. Peter Tanchi

There’s this joke that starting and running a business is WAY easier that parenting a teenager.  Well, my eldest child is at the tail end of her first year as a teen, and I think the joke has more than a little bit of truth to it.  Only 9 months into raising a teen and I already grew some white hair.  I have 6 more years to go for this one, plus two more future teens?  Oh boy.

Well, if you keep track of my blog, you’ll know that two of the best speakers on parenting in the Philippines, Mr. Francis Kong and Dr. Peter Tanchi, will come to Cagayan de Oro on September 7, 2013 to speak on an event called ParenTEEN (click here for my article).  They’re fantastic speakers on this topic not only because of their tremendous speaking ability; they’re fantastic because they’re Exhibit A.  It’s a rare treat to see just one of them, but both of them?  Back to back?  WOW!

Here’s an even better deal: I will give three couples a chance to win two tickets each to ParenTEEN.  Yes, you can be in the running to see the two best parenting speakers in the Philippines for free, all you’ll have to do is to do some writing of your own.

Parents of teenagers should attend ParenTEEN

In the school I work in, the high school students do journaling, where they write down their honest, candid thoughts for the day.  I remember one student’s journal entry went something like this:

“I can’t help but feel a bit envious whenever I see Mr. Carlo (that’s me) cuddling and playfully interacting with Happy (that’s the nickname of my son, James, age 8).  My dad never did that with me.”

There was another time several years ago, where I volunteered to do this very embarrassing group dancing thing with my daughter.  Even though I wanted to crawl under a rock, we had a blast together.  The next day, another boy went up to me and said that his dad would never do anything like that with him or any of his siblings.

Both instances were both flattering and sad at the same time.  Here are these two young people, teenagers, quickly growing into men yet never really feeling love from their father, a love they desperately need.  It’s one of the reasons why I blog, as I feel that we, Filipino fathers (and that includes me) have some ample room for improvement in the fathering department.

Join me at the Xavier Sports and Country Club MUST Fun Run!

I have never really understood the fun in running.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to exercise and I do so as often as I can; but long distance running was never my thing.  You’d probably surmise then that the Fun Run trend that so many people are into these days has me shaking my head.  Pay an entrance fee to run?  Um, no thanks.  It would take a very, very good reason to get me to sign up for a fun run.

Well, that very good reason has arrived…and I would encourage you to enter this fun run as well.  Say hello to the Xavier Sports and Country Club MUST Fun Run, an event on August 25, 2013 that raises funds for the construction of the upcoming Red Cross building.  Yup, that’ll do it, as I have a soft spot for anything that has to do with the Red Cross (well, big charitable causes in general).  Count me in then, folks!

MUST is short for Maayong kaUgmaon Sa Tanan, as the race is also a way for Cagayanons to take to the streets to thank God for this city and to implore everyone to help make CDO soar.  We’ve been through some tough times as of late, and so we need to take to the streets as a show of solidarity.

MUST also stands for the starting point of the race, Mindanao University of Science and Technology.  Participants will converge there at 4am and would run to the crossing of the Bulua terminal and back (well, it depends on the race you’re participating in, actually, as there are three of them: 3k, 5k, and 10k).

Show your teenage daughter that she’s beautiful, because she’s HIS GIRL

I have two daughters, aged 13 and 11, and I’ve been a teacher of teenagers for the past 8 years (with the slight majority of them being girls).  If I’ve learned anything about teen girls, it’s that one of their biggest issues is self-image.  I might be mistaken, but at no other point in life would a woman be more conscious of how she looks and what others think of her than in her teenage years.  Not surprisingly, it is common to see teen girls struggle at this point in their lives, as they often feel ugly, unloved, and awkward.  A few never recover for their experiences and acquire scars that stay a lifetime.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.


His Girl 2 – 5th Teaser from Elevate CDO on Vimeo.


Elevate (formerly called JZone) is a youth organization dedicated to take students to the next level, as their tagline goes, and on August 9, 2013, they will have an event called Becoming His Girl.  As you can guess by the song in the video teaser above (Beautiful, by one of my favorite CCM bands, Group 1 Crew…see them plus other awesome CCM artists in this blog post), the event is to show teenage girls that they are indeed beautiful and very much loved for who they are, because they are His girl.

 (The beautiful promo posters/leaflets for Becoming His Girl)

Men, be who God wants you to be

I saw the following picture on Facebook recently.  I thought it was a spot-on perfect message to this generation’s men.

So, men, what did God create you to be?  Please check out a previous article I made to find out, called Traits of Real Men, And They’re Getting Rare Nowadays.  May we all endeavor to be that kind of man.  I am still trying.  

(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.  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)

My new self-improvement project: Improving my eyesight, naturally

People who know me personally would attest that I’m often into self-improvement endeavors.  Well, allow me to introduce to you my new self-improvement project: improving my eyesight naturally.  Yep, I endeavor to bring my vision back to 20-20…and in this blog entry, I’d like to show you how I do so.

This new project of mine came out because I lost my glasses.  I had one of the sides hooked onto my shirt as I walked in the mall, and I guess it fell off without my knowing and now here I am, blind as a bat (well, not really, but I’m pretty strongly nearsighted).  Instead of spending for a new pair, I decided to try to find out if I can, indeed, have better eyesight without glasses.

Belated Happy Father’s Day, from yours truly

I'm sorry I haven't been writing lately, as, frustratingly, the internet's been down at home for ages now (and the company is taking their sweet time to fix it, too).  I'm making this quickie blog post at a nearby internet cafe.

Anyway, belated Happy Fathers Day, everyone!

Yours truly, and three beautiful kids

Any idiot can create offspring, but it takes a REAL man to father.  Furthermore, it takes a GREAT man to father in a way that develops excellent, God-loving, and responsible children.  I often fail in this area, but by God's grace, I will father in this way.

This is what happens when you invest in children…so join the movement!

Last month, 130 children had a fantastic time of games, fun, crafts, dance, and song—all while learning about God’s goodness and how to live a victorious Christian life.  CCF-Cagayan de Oro, the church I go to, and its NxtGen children’s ministry, held yet another successful DVBS, this time it was called Studio GO!  

One hundred and thirty kids!!

The DVBS is usually NxtGen’s biggest event of the year, and while I wasn’t in the thick of the event this time around, I did see a little bit of what went on and let’s just say that I was very pleased.  In fact, it is a testament to what happens when you invest in children, which is the theme of this blog entry.

Praise God for that awesome week.  This blog entry serves as a big THANK YOU and congrats on a job well done.  It also serves as a word of encouragement to those readers who, in their own ways and in their own organizations, volunteer to serve children and youth.  Your efforts go a long, long way.  Now here we go.

It’s super rewarding to invest in children; and it’s such a big, big, MUST for churches to do so.  Of course, I’ve always known this, but it was so evident to me during Studio GO!

The vast majority of the volunteers were teenagers, and I mean young teenagers on the lower end of the teen scale.  What’s so awesome to me is that many of these young’uns were DVBS participants when they were little.  Now, I get a bit teary eyed that they consider it an absolute joy to give back by volunteering, blessing the next generation of kids the same way they were blessed many years ago.  

As an example, here’s a picture of my daughter, Lynn, and a longtime friend of hers, Anya, during a DVBS many, many years ago…followed by a pic of the DVBS of this year.

Father’s Day is around the corner. Here’s some ridiculously great discount gifts for us, dads

I do find it cool that the world has decided to give us one day a year to celebrate our fatherhood.  As I often do on this site, I’d like to enjoin all dads out there to use this day to reflect on how we are doing as fathers.  We cannot fall asleep at the wheel here, men, as faulty fathering is devastating.

However, I’m not above posting the occasional “wish list” for us dads.  One of the great mentors of my life once said, “We’re entitled to our own vanity.”  Of course, he didn’t mean that it’s ok that we take duck-lipped self-portraits.  He meant that we are entitled to treat ourselves every now and then…and Father’s Day is one heck of an excuse to be treated like a king.

So, Father’s Day is around the corner.  Here’s some ridiculously great discount gifts for us, dads; thanks to Amazon.com’s Father’s Day promotions.

I’m a bit embarrassed to post wish lists up, but what the heck.  Also, I think I am a man of good taste, and so I hope this post gives a good reference point for those of you who read this looking for a gift for the special dad in your life.

Okay, without further ado – LESSONS OF A DAD’s Wish List for 2013  

(IMPORTANT NOTE:  Click on the picture if you want more information on the product, as text links are not working for some reason)

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!!

Video of Nick Vujicic’s message in CCF Manila

Hello folks!  As you’ve read in my last post, international inspirational speaker Nick Vujicic is here in the Philippines (Manila, to be exact) to bless us with talks on UNSTOPPABLE FAITH in the CCF Center on May 18, and UNSTOPPABLE DREAM in the Smart Araneta Coliseum on May 20.

What I forgot to mention was that today, May 19, 2013, Nick Vujicic gave the Sunday messages in the CCF Center as well.  What a treat that was to the congregation there.  The previous two events I mentioned are ticketed events that charge for admission.  But the one today?  Hey, that’s just going to church…and the one giving the Sunday message is one of, if not THE most inspirational speaker on the planet. 

And CCF, delivering its usual awesomeness, already has the video up on youtube.  Boy, that was quick!  And so, for those of us who missed it, and those who want to be inspired, here’s the video of Nick Vujicic’s Sunday message in the CCF Center in Manila.  Enjoy!


Check out Nick’s book, Unstoppable, as well as his other books.  He truly is an inspiration to us all.  Thank you so much, Nick Vujicic, and congrats to CCF for a job well done.

(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.  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)

International inspirational speaker Nick Vujicic is live in Manila this Saturday! Got your tickets yet?

One of the most popular and powerful inspirational speakers on the planet, limbless Nick Vujicic is live in Manila starting this Saturday!  Got your tickets yet?

This Saturday, May 18, he will be in Christ’s Commission Fellowship or CCF for short (if that sounds familiar to you as a follower of this blog, it’s because I go to CCF-Cagayan de Oro, and I often blog about the activities there).  On April 20, Nick would be in the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Here’s his promotional video of his upcoming Manila visit.



If you haven’t heard of this guy yet, you must be living under a rock.  For the past few years, he’s been taking Youtube by storm.  His videos have been giving hope to over 100 million viewers.

Natural sugarcane juice – truly a sweet alternative to unhealthy drinks

One of the most frustrating things that parents have to deal with when it comes to nutrition is that even though we can be vigilant in providing high-quality, nutritious food at home, when our kids are away, the outside world has very few wholesome choices to choose from.

Be it malls, fast-food joints, and school canteens (this is the most frustrating one, because we leave our kids in this place 5 days a week with a whole lotta trust), we really can’t avoid junk food, fatty food, a huge lack of green stuff, and sugary drinks.

So what are you gonna do, homeschool your kids and keep them in the house 24/7 under lock and key?  (No offense to homeschoolers.  I think home schooling is great.)

Well, when it comes to unhealthy, artificially-flavored sugary drinks, a friend and neighbor of mine proposes a solution that I think schools, school canteen owners, and small entrepreneurs should take note of: Natural sugarcane juice – truly a sweet alternative to unhealthy drinks.

He (my neighbor) invited us to try some of the stuff out (we sometimes call it tubo juice, tubo being the Filipino word for sugar cane), and my kiddos and I love the stuff immensely!  I must’ve imbibed a gallon worth—without fear of health consequences, which I will explain later.

Check out the video below, which I took when my kids tried out the tubo juice. (There are different varieties of the machines.  This is one of the bigger ones, but there’s a tabletop version too.)


Now, if you want one of these bad boys so that you can set up some health-promoting drinks in your establishment for a change (school canteen owners, please consider this), then contact me by email at lessonsofadad@gmail.com.

I shall now use the rest of the blog entry to discuss to you some of the great health benefits of sugarcane juice (info from the flyer).  Even though unhealthy table sugar comes from the same thing, you’ll be very surprised that this (far less processed) product has wellness written all over it!

Get the HUGE early bird discount for a great children’s summer activity

If you’re a parent of young children (4-11 years old), and you live in Cagayan de Oro City, allow me to ask you a question.

Do you want your kids to have great fun over the summer, and while doing so, he or she would learn more about God and biblical principles?  I don’t think any church going family would say no to that, right?  Well, here in the Philippines, most families are church-going families, but the vast majority of the churches Pinoys go to usually do not have much in terms of programs that disciple and nurture children (which is a shame, really).

Well, if you’re a follower of my blog, you’d know that I’m a proud Lifeshaper volunteer of my church’s NxtGen Ministry (the name of my church’s children’s ministry), and every summer, we have the biggest NxtGen event of the year.  Consider this blog entry an invitation, and I suggest you register now to get the HUGE early bird discount on this great children’s summer activity!

What I’m talking about is our yearly summer DVBS, and this year’s theme is called Studio GO!  For one week, May 6 to 11, 2013, children from ages 4-12 (although, honestly, I notice most 12 year olds prefer JZone as compared to NxtGen) will enjoy three hours of games, stories, skits, snacks, and crafts…all the while learning about Jesus and life-changing Biblical principles.  Here’s a video that was aired at church last Sunday, to show you what we mean.

Update on how you can continue to help sweet little Cherubim

Cherubim is on the left

If you follow my blog, you may have read an article I did a few months ago about the plight of a sweet little girl, Cherubim.  If you haven’t read it, allow me to use the next paragraph to put you up to speed.

Cherubim has a kidney disease that would require an operation to save her right kidney (see their story here).  Her parents, being quite resourceful, opted to sell Save A Kidney mugs to Cagayan de Oro residents to help fund the operation.  Even if both parents are working, the cost of the operation to save Cherubim’s life is quite insurmountable, and their goal was to sell 1,000 mugs as soon as possible.

That was as of January 19, 2013, when I made a blog article on the subject.

It’s now April, and this update also serves as a second plea to help this family during this darkest of times.  No more buying mugs this time, I’d like to help them out by bringing to you the link to their paypal button, so that donations can be made there.

The family is now in Manila filling out some requirements for the operation and trying to get help there.  I was told that they were not even close to garnering the 1000 mugs needed to help them out, and recent visits to the doctor have shown that Cherubim’s case is quite complicated and the operation must be done the soonest possible time.

They have to raise P200,000 to give their baby girl the treatment she needs.  Like I said, just about nothing is more painful for a parent that to see his or her child suffer…and I cannot leave them alone in their plight.  I have met the mom and the twins when she delivered our mugs.  The girls were adorable (I wish I took their picture).

So, here I am, asking you guys once again to help them out.  Click this link so you can go to their paypal account.  Also, please pass this along to your friends.  P200,000 may be an insurmountable amount, but together, we can make a difference.  

“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”  (1 John 3:17-18)

Once again, their paypal account: (click here)

(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.  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)

Goodbye Lessons Of A Dad…and thanks for the memories.

After a lot of soul-searching this Holy Week, I had to make a very hard decision.

You see.  Time is really my enemy, and I'm getting worn out juggling too many responsibilities.  I've come to the conclusion that I have to de-clutter.  I have to unload one of my activities…or else I'd go crazy.

And I've decided that the burden I have to unload (and I say this with a very heavy heart) is Lessons Of A Dad.

I love blessing people with my work, but I'd be a hypocrite if I wasn't after the monetary benefits as well…and my blog hasn't earned me a penny.  Therefore, I need to move on to more, um, lucrative endeavors.

So, I'm gonna have to say goodbye.  And this is really goodbye.

These amazing events could change your life, your marriage, and your children

Most people (wrongly) think that once you get married, you’d effortlessly live happily ever after.  Ditto with having children: you’d think that when the bundle of joy comes, he or she will always be, well, a bundle of joy.

But reality is quite different, isn’t it?  Those of us who are married with children know that both keeping the marriage alive and raising the kids well take lots of hard work.  So much so that you’d probably wish colleges offer marriage 101 or parenting 101 as subjects.

Well, I have good news for you.  I belong to a community that advocates family development and youth development quite strongly, and I would like to share some of our upcoming special events for you, in order of when they happen during the year.  If you live in Cagayan de Oro City and you want to enhance your married life or the lives of your children, then check out these events!

UPTOWN COW delivers best quality fresh milk to uptown CDO residents

Do you want the freshest milk you can taste delivered straight to your doorstep?  Are you one of those who wants a healthier milk alternative than what is available in the supermarkets?

If you live in the uptown subdivisions of Cagayan de Oro (Xavier Estates, Pueblo de Oro, etc.)  then you’re in luck.  UPTOWN COW now delivers fresh milk to uptown CDO residents!

As you would surmise from the flyer, the milk that UPTOWN COW would distribute will give CDO uptown homeowners a product that is far superior than what is offered in supermarkets.  It is fresher (the cows are milked just one day before delivery); the cows are raised on a pasture instead of commercially raised (not cramped and disease-laden, virtually eliminating the need for the cows to take antibiotics, etc.); the choco milk has less sugar than what you get elsewhere; and there’s a raw milk option to increase the health benefits even more.

Simply put, if you buy milk from commercially raised cows (like from the big companies), where they live cramped, diseased-laden lives, raised on commercial feeds instead of grass, then you may run the risk of getting a whole lot of chemicals in your milk (see Who Knew this Cocktail of up to 20 Chemicals Was in Your Glass of Milk?)

It’s far better to get your milk from pasture-raised cows like the source of UPTOWN COW’s milk, a dairy farm located in nearby Alae.  But then, as the flyer also advertises, I’d like you to try the raw milk option.

Tomorrow is the day!! SUN and MOON: A Miss Saigon Adaptation

One more dawn, one more day, ONE DAY MORE!!!

Oh, wait, wrong musical.  That song was featured in The Abba’s Orchard’s first musical play done two years ago, but it sure is apt for what is waiting for Cagayan de Oro musical lovers.

Tomorrow, March 7, 2013, The Abba’s Orchard School’s Erdkinder (high school) program will have it’s first of two shows, proudly presenting SUN and MOON: A Miss Saigon Adaptation   Showtime will be at 7pm at Liceo de Cagayan’s Rodelsa Hall, tickets costing P250.00 each.

You can contact the Facebook page if ever you want tickets, or you can visit the school to get the tickets as well (call 855-8800 for the Alwana campus or 309-0487 for the La Granja campus to see if there are any left).  Tickets will also be sold at the door, of course.

To whet your appetite, I’ll give you a behind the scenes video footage of practice.  This was among the first tries at the songs, they’re way more polished now.

The Abba’s Orchard School presents SUN and MOON: A Miss Saigon Adaptation

Sorry I've been gone lately.  There's a very good reason I've been very busy and unable to blog.  It is below.  Here's an article that I sent to one of our media partners.  I'm also publishing it here (with minor modifications).

The Abba’s Orchard School Erdkinder (high school) program, in cooperation with Mahoe Mahogany, Sunbee Travel and Tours, and Homechoice Planners and Construction Corp., proudly presents its second musical play, SUN and MOON: A Miss Saigon Adaptation, this coming March 7 and 9, 2013.  Both shows will be gala performances at 7pm, with tickets selling for P250 each.

Back at the director’s helm is one of Cagayan de Oro’s most beloved directors, Ms. Anita Q. Santos, who has worked with the school in all of their plays, all garnering great success.  A true master of her craft, she successfully took a bunch of inexperienced Erdkinder students and transformed them into musical stage performers worthy of a rousing standing ovation in 2011’s I Dreamed a Dream: Highlights and Images of Les Miserables, The Abba’s Orchard’s first ever musical play.

She intends to deliver the same excellence with this latest project.

Enjoying intimacy in your marriage

photo courtesy of intimacyinmarriage.net

Here’s another post for couples, in honor of Valentine’s Day.  Like the previous one, it’s an audio broadcast from Focus On The Family.  This one, though is about enjoying intimacy in marriage (so, obviously, this blog post is not for younger readers).

Today’s lesson is brought to you by a regular on the program, Dr. Juli Slattery.  She very effectively ministers to married women in the area of intimacy, being a psychologist and author of several books (a particular book, No More Headaches: Enjoying Sex and Intimacy in Marriage is the resource for this particular session).

Can CDO-based teens find out about true love? Yeah, if they attend these.

If you’re a teen living in Cagayan de Oro (or you’re like me, a parent of a teen), you need to check these  two events out.  Two great events that would teach on a subject that is very confusing: true love.  It’s confusing because society has warped love so badly that many people, especially young people, get lost in all the static.  As any teen what true love, one that honors the other person, really is and you’ll probably get a blank stare.

May these two events help in junking all the counterfeits about love.

If you’re teen is in high school:

If you’re teen is in college:

CCF-CDO

Feb. 14, shouldn’t be a big deal for teens if they know what true love is.  However, Feb. 15 or 16 should be.  I will be a virtual school bus on the latter, since my 13 year old daughter, Lynn will bring lots of friends.  Hope to see your teen there as well.

The New JZone Center is right next to CCF-CDO.  If you don’t know where that is, it is right across the street from the Mallberry Car Park Entrance.

Oh, you might wanna also view two of my blog posts on my advice for teens:

• A great example of a great boyfriend
• Teens talk about finding Mr. and Ms. right

(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.  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)

Put fun back into your marriage — a hasty pre-Valentine’s Day post

It’s now February, and you know what that means…LOVEY DOVEY BLOG POSTS!!!

I wish…

No, no, don’t get me wrong; my marriage is fine.  Thing is, I will not be able to write content-rich blog posts this month.  This is the busiest year I’ve ever had at work, and this would probably be the busiest month of the busiest year.

The next best thing I can do is to deliver marriage-related posts with audio content from one of my favorite sources, Focus on the Family.  The cool thing about these is you can just press play and you can do something else while listening, as it’s only audio, not video.

So here’s the first one of those.  Since Valentine’s Day is around the corner, we husbands have to think of something special for our wives.  I'm scheming to do something especially embarrassing for my wife this year (we take great joy in embarrassing each other every Feb. 14; it all started when I had flowers delivered to her right in the middle of class way back in college, giving specific instructions for the delivery boy to interrupt the professor’s lecture to give the flowers…and we’ve tried to get each other back ever since).

Thing is, the stress of everyday living, and plain and simple familiarity, can make even the mushiest of unions turn bland.  Valentine’s Day gives us husbands (well, the ones who care) a chance to reignite the flame of romance, if just for a day.

TGIFriday’s now in Cagayan de Oro. OH YES!!

I’m not a food blogger (check out www.foodanddesserts.com, www.tastecaster.com, and www.morefoodadventures.com for great Cagayan de Oro food blogs), but I am a huge foodie.  I like to eat and I eat a LOT.  Plus, having grown up in America, I have been exposed to many different restaurants and types of cuisines, and therefore I often have something to say when it comes to good eating.

Speaking of America, one of my favorite casual dining restaurants during those days was TGIFridays.  I loved the great food, the variety of their menu, their huge servings (that’s a must), and the chill-out atmosphere.  As you would expect, when I moved to the lovely provincial town of Cagayan de Oro, Philippines a decade and a half ago, I went through some serious foodie withdrawals.

Fast forward to 2013, and, thank the food gods up above, TGIFridays is now in Cagayan de Oro City!!!  At Ayala Centrio Mall to be exact.

All photos courtesy of my new friend, the owner of www.bogieswonderland.com

Do you know how happy that made me?

Cain and Abel with abs? This is gonna be the funniest Sunday yet!!

This next Sunday will be my Lifeshaper team’s turn to serve our 7-12 year old children in our Kids’ Church (it’s our turn every 1st Sunday of the month).  It’s gonna be an awesome Sunday for sure.  Or, at the very least, it’s gonna be a hilarious Sunday.

I mean, Cain and Abel with abs?  This is gonna be the funniest Sunday yet!!

Our lesson

We use a lot of techniques to get the children’s attention and to make them imbibe the lesson.  In 1.5 hours (the length of our worship service at CCF-CDO), we use object lessons, dance/action songs, memory verses, videos, skits, and small group discussions…all in an hour and a half.  My team is famous (infamous?) for being the team that puts an extra dose of hilarity in our skits.  It can sometimes get ridiculous, to the point that the children’s howls of laughter or our general noise-making are so loud we can sometimes be heard in the main worship area.  It helps a lot that two of probably the funniest, most animated people in the entire church are on my team.

And this Sunday, we’re gonna have two of our guys wear shirts with abs drawn on them, because that’s how we roll (and that’s probably how Cain and Abel rolled, too, knowing how perfect the weather was back then).  Note that one of them has a really huge tummy.  HAHAHA.  This is probably gonna be the funniest Sunday in all our funny Sundays…I just hope we don’t get ourselves excommunicated.  

How should a leader act? Look at the best leadership role model…EVER

It saddens me that I will not be able to attend my church's latest nationwide leadership conference.  The said conference will be on the same day as the Open House of the school I work in (and where my kiddos go to school).  Darn it.

Well, I know the basics of what great leadership is, and it's been modeled by the greatest leader of all time: Jesus Christ.  Whether you're in business, you're employed, you're a parent, whatever…Jesus' leadership principles will bring you to sorely-needed excellence.

Andy Stanley, one of the best leadership communicators on the planet, awesomely summaries the gist of Jesus' leadership in one of his talks.  I have a short clip of the talk below, and please check it out if you want to know, in a matter of a few minutes, how a leader should act.

How much is your P200 worth? It could help save a child’s life.

Two hundred pesos could buy you a 2D movie ticket with snacks to spare.  Two hundred pesos can buy you a Micro SD card for your phone or a flash disk for your files.  I load up on Sun Cellular’s UnliText 200 every month, which I use heavily.  My favorite comfort food, White Hat’s sourdough waffles, is roughly P200.

How much is your P200 worth?  Well, if you live in Cagayan de Oro City, it could save a child’s life.

Meet Cherubim and Micah, two adorable little girls who live in Cagayan de Oro City.  From the picture below, they look healthy, bright, and active.

However, one of the twins is seriously ill.  It’s the one on the left, Cherubim.  She was diagnosed with right kidney hydronephrosis…and she urgently needs an operation.

Awesome examples of changed lives

(Note: This blog post is quite video-heavy.  I suggest that before you read on, you scroll down to the videos and start the streaming by pressing play then pause so that you won’t have to wait.  I strongly suggest you do not miss or skip the videos, as they are very, VERY powerful and this blog entry revolves around them.  Big thanks.)

LOL!!

My favorite movie of last year was probably The Avengers, and one of my favorite scenes from that movie was when Loki, after shouting at the Hulk that he is a god and would not be bullied by a “dull creature,” gets totally and pathetically mauled, his deity made totally helpless by the latter’s overwhelming brute force.

But let me ask you something: is the God that we worship a “puny god”?  Is the brute force of our circumstances too overwhelming for Him to handle?

Short answer:  No.

Long answer:  No, but then many believers often (mistakenly) think so.  Yet, our view of Him, whether He’s big or puny, affects our actions and decisions.

I propose (well, I got this from recent Sunday messages) that our Heavenly Father is not a “puny god” but the God of the HOW MUCH MORE.  

Now, you may be saying, “Look, Mr. Lessons Of A Dad, you don’t know my situation.  It’s just too dire!  There’s absolutely no hope for me!!”

You’re right.  I don’t know the troubles you are going through.  But, I DO know that Jesus knows…and if you're His child, then He has promised you peace, because He has overcome them.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

To illustrate my point, allow me to show you the first video.  Ariel had it really rough.  He was frequently molested as a child, then he became a drug addict, then he became a prostitute, then…something beautiful happened.

I had the perfect retreat, thanks to the venue, the material, and the students themselves.

One of the major projects I had to take care of in the school I teach in is the annual retreat of the senior class.  Again, it was awesome…awesome for many reasons: the retreat venue, the material, and the students themselves.

I take charge of this event each year, and I just want to express here why I enjoy this project so much.

Let me start with the venue.  Mountain Pines Place is the perfect venue to hold all kinds of retreats, family reunions, and corporate team building events, among others.

The place very quiet, as it is nestled in the mountains of Sitio Bagalangit, Manolo Fortich, just about two hours away from Cagayan de Oro and ten minutes away from the popular ZipZone Adventure Park (close enough to enjoy the action but then far enough not to get affected by the hustle of the crowd).

In fact, if you think about it, that’s one of the venue’s main strengths.  You can almost physically feel stress peel off your body as you get lost in the quietness of the place, its rustic charm, and the pristine pine forest that surrounds it.

Good bye stress, hello nature's beauty!

Then there’s the food.  Oh yes, the food!!

Mikey Bustos’ Opo Pinoy Style Gangnam Style parody is a riot!

I used to be a mild fan of Filipino comedian youtube sensation Mikey Bustos.  I say “used to be” because I am no longer a mild fan, but now I’m a big fan of his.  Why?

He recently made quite possibly (to Filipino minds, anyway) the best Gangnam Style parody to date.   You may have seen local news feature it or swimming around in Facebook, and I liked it so much I will post it here.  Mikey Bustos’ Opo Pinoy Style is a total riot because the lyrics are so full of light-hearted jabs at our Filipino culture.  I also love how well done the video presentation is.  Here’s the video:



If you can’t figure out the lyrics, then you can check out the (slightly imperfect) lyric video that someone else made.

I’m pretty sure you thought Mikey Bustos’ Opo Pinoy Style Gangnam Style parody is a riot as well.  Indeed, It’s More Fun In The Philippines.

(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; and Filipino patriotism is also a regular topic of this blog site.  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)

Reflections Of An Eventful 2012 part 2

Here is part two of my reflections of an eventful 2012.  If you missed part one, you can click here.

4. Fried from too much activity.  

No doubt that 2012 was a productive year.  The problem was, I got really, really fried.  I was wearing plenty of hats, and there were lots of expectations in each of them.  I’m not a very good multi-tasker, but I don’t think even the best jugglers would’ve be able to take on the schedule that I had without being a little burnt.  Dad, husband, blogger, asst. head teacher, GM of a few projects, Lifeshaper, young couples discipleship group leader….oh dear.

Reflections of an eventful 2012 part 1

As per my blog’s tradition, every end of the year I will come up with a reflection on the year that has just passed.  Of course, since Lessons Of A Dad is only a little over a year old, this is my second such blog entry, the first being among my most popular article as it talked about Sendong, traveling, defeats, and other stuff.

So, as I type this on a restful vacation morning, I look back and reflect on an eventful 2012.

1. Be careful what you pray for, because God has a sense of humor.