Reading Material

Finally! I was able to get hold of Steven Schultz "The Restoration of the Modern Day Prophet" and Bill Hamon's Prophets and Personal Prophecies...

Huwow!

Videography

It has to be second nature to me...

It is something that I love... so I must go and do it...

This is what I am meant to be... a filmmaker... a visionary...

This is who I am...

Making a switch from Final Cut Pro 5.0 to Adobe Premiere

When I started using Final Cut Pro in 2006 as my editing platform I told myself that I will do my best not to switch to Adobe Premiere ever simply because everybody's using it already. But 2 years later, I might have to take back what I said for the very reason that more people are using Premiere than FCP.

Back to Normal... Almost

Our crazy late night reality drama at home has abated, which is an absolute relief. Matthew is finally settled (and accepted) with sleeping in Mama's room. It had been a difficult month dealing with his separation anxiety. Crying and endless good nights and guilt trips had been a part of our bedtime routine.

Rapha, on the other hand, has developed a sleep/wake pattern. He has learned to differentiate day from night. During the day he wouldn't sleep on the bed and would protest until he is put in his "abuy-abuy" (Ilonggo hammock). At night he is able to sleep for 6-8 hours, only waking up around 3-4AM for his feeding.

He also has several mile stones now that he's 3 months and 1 week old. He's starting to roll from back to front by swinging his leg over the other. But he is yet to learn to remove his arm from underneath his body so he could be on his stomach. He's quite a social butterfly now. I take him to school every Friday and everybody at Lola Mama's office adore him. He would flash a "gummy" grin at everyone he meets.

Before I Hit the Sack

I went back to article writing to get my schedule back in order... What's the connection? Basically having to work with a deadline motivates me to fix my daily schedule. The downside of working at your own time and pace is having the tendency to procrastinate and that's exactly what I had been doing.

I can anticipate the reaction of other people when they see how loaded my schedule is with "freelance" work but I love having this kind of routine. Perhaps it is because I have been so used to a fast paced life in Manila that I thrive best with having things to do.

Oh well, I'm rambling... haha... its taps for me. Good Night!

Playtime with Dad

Babies and Classical Music

sicRapha woke up at 6AM today. Thank God he went back to his usual routine of sleeping through the night. Well not exactly 8 hours straight, he woke up once at 3AM but it wasn't as long as the previous nights when we broke the Babywise routine. Now that we're back to the sleeping program, Rapha is in a better disposition.

His schedule begins with his first feeding for the day. Afterwards I would allow him to play for about an hour just to get the milk settled in his tummy before I give him a bath.

Taking a bath is his favorite activity of the day. He would splash around in the water and I would allow him 5 minutes to play. Today I played classical music during his bath.

Studies have shown that classical music helps in the spatial temporal reasoning. This is called the Mozart Effect. It calms him and maybe later on in life he would learn to appreciate this genre. While it helps in the development of neurons in the brain, it cannot make him smarter. It has a temporary effect on brain functions that make listeners have better mental performance.

Genes determine Rapha's intellectual competence, but I strongly believe that what we introduce to the child early in life may have a lasting effect, may it be music, books, food, and habits. While genetics have so much to do with the total person, his environtment has a strong contribution as well.

Overcoming Personal Discouragement

A friend, Farida Kabayao, invited us to visit the church their family was regularly attending at Quezon St., Iloilo City. The pastors were a couple from Singapore who had the burden to do ministry here in the Philippines. They have been here for 22 years.

Pastor Tony, their head or senior pastor, delivered a wonderful message about dealing with personal discouragement. The Scripture text he used for reference was Psalm 42 which David wrote when he was at the point of being despondent perhaps because of the persecution he got from Saul.

He shared that to get out of your personal discouragement:

1. Replenish your Spiritual life.

The Holy Spirit will satisfy us especially now that life isn't getting better. Which is the truth, no matter how much material things we own, life is just getting worse. God said the same to Elijah, the journey ahead is too great and we need to rely on the strength that the Holy Spirit would give us.

2. We need the touch of God.

Let us cry out to God to touch us. This is actually a natural volition because people tend to remember God when they are at their lowest.

3. Go back to the source.

Our source is Jesus Christ. He is the living water that will quench our thirst when we are all dried up. Some believers fail to recognize that by virtue of their salvation in Jesus they hold in their hands the greatest source of power the world cannot have.

*STOP LOOKING AT YOURSELF AND START LOOKING AT GOD.

The onset of discouragement is oftentimes characterized by the presence of too many personal pronouns in our speech. We get into despondency because we rely on our own intelligence. Unfairness is part of life. That is something we have to accept.

1. Self pity will dilute the good you have been doing.

Downtimes in our lives are just circumstances where God wants us to realize our need for Him. He wants us to meditate and contemplate on who He is. God doesn't just reveal Himself in power but He also reveals Himself in the quietness of your heart. So instead of going into self pity God wants you to listen and wait in Him.

2. You have to operate in the anointing of God.

At the lowest points of our lives, God gives special anointing and this is to reveal to us His message.

*MEDITATE ON GOD'S GOODNESS

1. God's promises to care.

2. God's promises to be faithful.

3. God's promise to be with us in the mountain and in the valley.

Babies' Day Out and Pizza Binge

My boys and I went malling this afternoon. The day had been extremely hot and Rapha was getting very cranky. The moment we got to SM City Iloilo the little one settled down and in about 30mins fell asleep while her tita was pushing his stroller around the mall.

Matt got his haircut and he looked really spiffy. I treated him to a plate of pizza at Greenwhich. The Cheesy Overload was absolutely divine. Okay John Lloyd I love you already.

Rapha at 3 Months

Rapha will be turning 3 months old end of April and everyone is amazed at his growth progress. He's grown bigger... and I mean all baby fat and cuddly. He's got these plump cheeks that we couldn't resist pinching. He's as big as an average 5 month old baby.

He's supposed to start cooing, gurgling, and attempting to talk back at 3 months. But he surprised all of us when he started doing that at 2 and a half. I noticed this when we had our "one way" conversations -- me talking to him and him staring blankly at me -- suddenly though he started to make gurgling responses as if he understood what I was saying. Wow! Now he's undstoppable he constantly tries to get our attention by cooing.

We also have to be very careful when he joins us in the TV room because he has learned to watch TV! There was one time during his regular feedings that I noticed his eyes were riveted towards the TV. So now we make sure that his back is towards it.

Welcome to my Closet

Every home has a room, every room has a closet...

And this is my closet...

My closet is where I can be myself where I can ponder and mull on things.