Thursday, January 29, 2009

dagyang sa iloilo...

Last weekend was the most festive Dinagyang celebration that I’ve been at after so many years of missing out on being a spectator at the actual performances of the tribes. I can’t stay out under the sun too long due to my vitiligo and what a blessing it was that the weather was cool enough to just make me stay in one place for hours.

I remember that in high school we used to stay at a classmate’s house, they occupy this huge space at the second floor of a building just in front of the freedom grandstand - one of the performance areas of the Dinagyang tribes. We occupy one of the rooms in their house and watch the performance from a wide-open window. Usually the show ends around lunch time so we feast at their place for lunch. In the afternoon, we all go out and join the street dancing ‘til late and sometimes our feasting extends at another classmate's place for supper.

This used to be an annual activity for us even when we reached college and I think even a couple of years after that until the building that they were living in was demolished as it was one of the oldest structures in the city. I miss that so much as most of us are already living in different parts of the world and we can’t just get together easily for such celebration. It was good though that this year, some classmates came home and we were able to spend time together – but this time, since we’re older, they would rather stay at a more quiet place away from the city and talk after watching the Dinagyang.

So here are some of the great pictures taken by my sister at the performance area where I watched!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

who am I?



"...Fear not,
for I have
redeemed you;
I have
called you
by name:

you are mine."

Isaiah 43:1b



I was moved by this song the first time I heard it while looking for some clothes in the laundry. I didn't even hear the full version of it at the time so I asked my nephew to look it up as I can only remember two lines and hum a bit of its chorus. The other night, he told me that he was able to know the title and the artist of the song so I looked it up immediately and to my surprise, another Christian contemporary music that I was drawn to. I'll just share this with you as it also express my sentiments in my current journey. The song is entitled Who Am I by the Casting Crowns. Click on the title and play song to listen.

Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.

Bridge:
Not because of who I am,
But because of
what You've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who You are.

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling,
And You've told me who I am.
I am Yours.
I am Yours.

Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I?
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

bridge...chorus...bridge...chorus

I am Yours.

Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
'Cause I am Yours.
I am Yours.


Saturday, January 17, 2009

beyond boudaries...

This is my first entry for the year and it's been a long hiatus from my commitment to update this journal. Nonetheless, I'm back with new zeal to blog again and thank God for the short trips that I took these past couple of days. After feeling so trapped and limited in my office loads late last year, these short trips gave me a much needed feeling of liberty.

The places are short distances from the city but it felt like paradise just to be able to get away from the crowd and the noise as it is the beginning of the Dinagyang festivities here. I haven't been to Trappist for a very long time and this time I went there by myself. The silence, which is luxury to me now was the best hour of my trip and I don't know if I can call it prayer but just to be still in such a serene place was very nourishing. I wasn't thinking about anything at that time, I was just enjoying the silence and for the first time, I so much wanted to seize the quiet moment - an unusual feeling for me. Maybe it's just about growing old-er...

The weather is cold that dipping in the water wasn't so enticing but the sound of the waves filled me with enough peace to clear my mind with the hassles in my world.

Dear God, I just hope that You will give me more opportunities to 'travel' this year beyond my 'boundaries'...