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Many people make resolutions on New Year’s Day, promising themselves (and sometimes God) that the next year of life will be different. We determine that habits are going to be changed and new patterns of behavior developed.

Resolutions like these are highly commendable and can often serve as a stimulus to spiritual growth. But not always. Sometimes our resolution are carried out only for a little while and all too soon are forgotten.

Samuel Johnson, a deeply committed Christian who lived in the 18th century, frequently wrote resolutions to his journals. Here is a typical entry: “I have corrected no external habits, nor kept any of the resolutions made in the beginning of the year, yet I hope still to be reformed, and not to lose my whole life in idle purposes.”

With God’s help, let me share with you my resolutions for this year, and here it goes…

1. To read again the whole Bible in one year. My ” The One Year Bible” is very helpful in accomplishing this. I was able to read the entire Old and New Testament eight times already and I still long for it. The Bible is God’s love letter to us and to know His will, I must cling to His Words.

2. To be active again in the Ministry. I missed the fellowship in Victory Church in Alabang because of proximity. This year, may I find time to attend regularly. I missed those days where I preach during Sunday’s Worship and leading a Bible Study group…

3. To run 180 kilometers a week and not to have any injury. I’ll try to join at least three full marathons this year and one Ultramarathon. Also, to conquer places like Milo Legaspi City and Palawan. Last Year, I conquered Milo Laoag and Batangas City. At least 2 out of towns in a year is not bad. I’ll try again a sub 4 performance in Milo Marathon Elimination.

4. To be more consistent in my Cross-training, Biking and weigh training. I’ll focus in building again my abs, push up 200 times a day and learn yoga for flexibility.

5. To be able to read two books in a month. I still have plenty of unread books in my mini library. I will finish reading them all this year..

6. I will join a chess competition again. My yahoo rating of 1650 is not bad. Chess is my favorite past time…

7. To be more transparent to my loved ones. More humility, love and Christ likeness in action.

God bless us all this year!

“Promises lightly made are largely broken. But God’s promises are never lightly made and therefore are never broken.” 2 Corinthians 1:20

There is a wonderful line from the American scholar Stephen L. Carter that is appropriate to the Christmas season: “Religion is, at its heart, a way of denying the rest of the world.” He is surely, astutely, and gloriously correct.

Faith’s view of this world is strangely skeptical. No, more than that.

It is a posture of unequivocal distrust leading to rejection! When the world recites its mantras — you matter only if you are beautiful, the most important thing is money, winning is everything, Look Out for Number One — faith protests them all. It adopts a posture of doubt and incredulity. It lives in skepticism and disbelief.

I refuse to believe that selfishness is acceptable or that it is permissible to resent another’s good fortune. I will not swallow the world’s way of thinking in order to justify prejudice, aggression, and hatred. No believer can be anything but incredulous about the claim of this world that she is entitled to anything she can get her hands on or that he should feel no guilt in exploiting others.

So distrust the alleged certainties of sense that cancel the mysteries of faith. Dispute the tendency of the masses to look forward only for the sake of declaring the impossibility of living with hope. Deny altogether the inevitability of such greed, hatred, and violence that we cannot prove the reality of love.

So let Christmas deny the hold of this world on your heart.

The Bible warns against being blinded by this world and speaks of the danger of the blind leading the blind. That warning puts us on notice that things, people, and ways of thinking totally rooted in the finite world of time, space, and matter will keep us from discovering, experiencing, and delighting in the greater realities of God, spirit, and eternity that can only be known by faith.

Faith isn’t self-deception. It is neither wish projection nor wishful thinking. It is our willingness to hear and stand with the things God has shown us through events and people as awe-inspiring as a trembling, smoking mountain in the desert and as modest as a baby’s first cry in the village of Bethlehem.

So let Christmas deny the hold of this world on your heart. Let it open your eyes to what the willfully blind will never see, your ears to things the incorrigibly deaf can never hear. See Immanuel — and know God is with us. Hear the song of angels — and receive God’s peace given to anxious hearts. Hold the confusion, cynicism, and antagonisms of this troubled world suspect — and choose God’s reign as your way of affirming the true realities. Merry Christmas to all!

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”-John 3:16

-God didn’t invade time to give us Christmas, He invaded time to give us Christ.-

I have nothing to share with you today except this simple message. I’m praying for God’s wisdom when typing this thought. I hope we can get something from it. God loves you!

“He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.” Luke 5:16

What are the secrets of some successful men and women of God? Are they all talented? Did they possess special qualities that differ from the others? I think the answer is this…they prayed a lot! They are often on their knees, pouring their hearts to God, asking for mercy and guidance.

I read this very fascinating story about a young and new Vice President of a certain company who told his secretary not to bother him every 8am until 8:15am everyday because he will be doing a very important part of the job. One day, the President arrives, and the secretary told him to wait until the Vice President finished his transaction inside his room. Since the President has a duplicate key for that room, he opened the door and he was amazed by what he saw…for there in his room, the Vice President is on his knees, his head bowed down and he’s pouring his heart to God, weeping, asking for guidance, wisdom and mercy. He gently closed the door again and asked the secretary, “Is he doing it everyday?”. “Yes”, said the secretary. The President said to himself, “That’s why I keep coming back to him for advice.”

We are bombarded everyday with galore of transactions, appointments and schedules. Early in the morning, we’re already on the street, running and sweating it out. We have jobs to accomplish, deadlines to finish, children to fetch…and we need to re-charge and get stamina. We need to pray more! How nice it is to see those feet of ours running and bending it in prayer later on. This is the secret for a happy and joyous life, that we commune daily with our Maker.

Jesus showed us an example. He himself often withdrew into the wilderness and PRAYED. If we can run everyday, we can pray too everyday!

God bless us all!

“There’s plenty to do, but don’t fail to withdraw from it occasionally to get close the heart of God.”

When I became a Runner, I invested not only on those nice apparel/singlets and shoes, but also on how to make myself well-hydrated during practice or event, that’s why I also bought hydration belt (New balance). I carried it with me during training/race event. I’m afraid of “dehydration”, I see to it that in every 10 minutes of my every run, I’ll sip any liquid that I have around.

I bought boxes of gatorade, pocari sweat and rush. I hoarded these stuff as though they will be gone in the market. However, since our family have history of diabetes, I cannot overlook the sugar content of these thirst quenchers. For example, every 100 ml of gatorade, its’ sugar content is 6 grams and higher content for pocari and rush. Although my blood sugar is always normal, I cannot take chances but some will say that it’s okay for as long as we run, we need sugar and eventually perspiration will melt the sugars away (hehe). Yes, in some point, I agree with that, but If only I can find another thirst quencher which has low sugar content, I’ll go for it.

Until last week, it seems my searching is over. The answer-COCONUT WATER! Coconut-Regarded by many as the “tree of life”, coconut water is all natural and in some places of the country is use as dextross for dehydrated babies and ailing military personnels during war for its’ high electrolytes content. It is naturally fat-free and low in food energy. It has nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and its sugar content only 2.08 mg. It also contains a considerable amount of thiamine, which aids in strengthening the muscle, delaying fatigue, and maintaining normal heart rate functions.

A day before a race or practice, I buy 2 pieces coconut and I freeze the water. Six hours before the event, I put it at room temperature, allowing it to thaw at normal procedure. It’s still fresh and the taste still the same. Then, I’m ready to go.

Don’t be afraid of stomach upset or some will say it can cause ulcer. It is just hearsay and there is no scientific proof with that. Just try one and discover it for yourself. After all, nothing beats natural…

“Put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness..” Eph 4:24

Just recently, I heard and read about two runners who died during the New York City Marathon and another fatality is the well popular Ryan Shay who died last November 2007 during the race. He’s at full speed when he collapsed and died suddenly, and the nagging question is, “Is it safe to run a marathon?”

Let me first share with you my own story. When I joined my first ever marathon last 2007, and did it twice this year 2008, I have a very fulfilling experience once I arrived at the finish line, but to tell you honestly when I reached kilometer 30-onward, there was this mixed feeling of fatigue, stress, dehydration and sign of dead legs. Maybe at this point in time, those fatalities I’ve mentioned earlier have reached the maximum level, and they still continue in spite of…

Another thing to consider is that there is this wrong notion that once you become a RUNNER, all possible ailments or sicknesses will be gone, hence they neglected the importance of executive check-up. This should be avoided, for before I run a marathon, I see to it that I have medical clearance and passed necessary lab tests like ecg, 2d echo, treadmill and stress test. Remember that, a marathon is a 42 kilometer run and it’s a big deal to reckon with and not to be taken lightly.

Training is also a major factor. You must at least have a 4 month training period before the race. Every water stations you must refill yourself and you should listen to your body. Heart rate monitor watch will play an important role in establishing your pace and setting the boundaries of your heart capacity. Consider also the pollution, the heat and those rampaging automobiles.

The running doctor puts it this way, and I quote…”Marathon running is safe for those cleared by their doctors to compete. Although the worldwide statistic is about one death in 50,000 participants or one in 75,000 (depending on the study), and this is quite small, whenever you get a large number of people together in one place, there are “expected” demises.

All who experience “sudden death” have an underlying cause. This points out the need for everyone to get a stress test after age 40 or earlier if recommended by their physician and get checked if they experience chest pain, pressure, shortness of breath, or some other abnormal feeling while exercising. This also points out the need for everyone to fill out the medical information label on the back of their bib number so as to make it easier for emergency personnel to take care of you if needed.

Speaking of which, here’s an example of the kind of story you don’t read about:

In this year’s marathon, a man was resuscitated on the 59th Street Bridge (he had no pulse and wasn’t breathing; a med team and ambulance were there in two minutes) and rushed to the hospital. He was having a heart attack. The man had angioplasty and will walk out of the hospital to someday run again! With thousands of medical volunteers and an ambulance system tuned to caring for our runners, response time, the greatest indicator for survival, was dramatic. Had he been sitting in his living room, he may not have made it.

In other words: Assuming you have all the appropriate pre-race health screening, running a marathon is safer than sitting in your living room. If you do your part, the marathon course may just be the safest place to be race day.”

And some have their comments…Let me quote them again.

Last week, many hounds and runners were saddened by the news that the QC International Marathon will not push through on its original date on February 1, 2009.

Now, we have the reason to rejoice!

Running aficionado…be glad because we can participate again in the 42 kms race, and it’s the Pasig International Marathon. So, stretch out those already dead legs of yours, get your running gadget and attire and start practicing for this momentous event. Actually when I heard the news, I leaped for joy for this will be my 4th 42 kms marathon, and my three consecutive run for the pasig river.

Further announcements will be posted here as soon as I get the complete data.

See you all in the Yakult 10 miler this December 7, 2008. We will register this coming Thursday, November 27, 2008 and if it’s Gods’ will for me to join the Milo Finals this coming Sunday, I will.

“Holiness in our hearts, produces beauty in our character.”

“Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.” Pro.30:5

Couple of years ago, I was able to watch a movie “With Honors.” Starred by Brendan Fraser, Moira Kelly and the legendary actor Joe Pesci. What I can’t forget about that movie is when Joe Pesci collected several stones and used it as memorabilia. Brendan asked him what is the purpose of collecting stones, Joe replied,”Everytime I experienced something, be it good or bad, I stooped down and got pebble or small stone, to remind me what happened to me on that day, and I treasured it. Whenever I’m sad, I just look for that stone which I possessed during happier times, and there I go, forgetting my sadness…”

During my recent Asian trips, my friends introduced me to Hard Rock Cafe and from there, I became an avid collector of Hard Rock cafe t-shirt. I Have one from Hong Kong, Honolulu, Rio de janeiro, Spain and Makati.

Collecting vintage watches is also very enjoyable for me. I have Oris, Bulova, Guy Laroche, Seiko, Citizen and Timex. Not mentioning my fetish for running shoes for i do have 6 pairs…2 new balance, adidas, Mizuno, Nike, and Reebok. I have galore of books too, and magazines about running and body building.

Some of my friends collect hunting knife, cap, sun glasses, and so on and so forth…All of us treasure something, be it pebble,stone or gadget. It reminds us of good times as well as bad. But don’t fall into temptation of loving material things; use it just for motivation and encouragement, and don’t stay too long remembering the past victories or defeats. Remember, everything will come to pass.

Just like what Joe Pesci did, let us collect stuff and use it for something good… Reminiscing the good days when we are lonely and thinking victorious in spite of defeat.

God bless us all today! Go your path but do not lose your way.