Camp, Review, Meetings, and Serving

Hello everybody!

Recently, I haven't been posting as often as I used to. I've been really busy this past few weeks. A lot's been happening and I actually want to talk about that. 

At the start of the month, I was in Rizal attending my church's youth camp, which was entitled #ohlife. It ran from April 30 until May 3. There, I was one of the "veterans", which just meant that compared to the other campers, I've been to a lot more camps and have a very good idea of what's to come during the camp. It was also my last time attending high school camp because I'm already in my last year of high school, which also means college and college entrance exams (yikes).

I had such an amazing time though. I met a lot of new people! I also got to talk to people who I always see in church but don't really interact that much with. I got to spend time with my youth group which is always fun. My discipler and I finally got to catch up after multiple attempts of having one-on-ones on Saturdays. As usual, there were games that helped the campers grasp the main idea of what the plenaries were about. Even though they weren't meant to be a competition, I was very competitive during the games (one of the photographers said that I have a bunch of photos of me…I can't wait).

Of the three camps that I've been to, this one has to be my favourite. I mean each one taught me something but this one was different for me. Even though I already had an idea of what the passage was about, learning and studying them from a different perspective was really helpful. The plenaries each had a different topic but I still learned a lot from each one. I found myself in awe of God and what He was doing in my life and other people's lives. Attending this camp was such a blessing.

The day I came home from camp was a bit hectic. I was very exhausted from the ride home because I had to sit on the small, folding chair located at the aisle of the bus. I'm a very huge person so that was a struggle. Anyway, when I got home, I had to make sure I was ready for the next day because my college review classes were going to start. That really stressed me out. It's not that I didn't know it would start the day after I come back from camp. It's that it would take up the whole month of May.

I am currently in my fourth and final week of review classes, and I am very happy that it is finally ending. To be quite honest, review was an eye-opener for me. I realised that I needed to study a lot of the things that I learned in the past three years. I realised that stock knowledge won't cut it especially because I can barely recall anything academic from at least two years ago. I also realised that we will make mistakes and fail and that what's important is that we learn from them. The number of tests that I failed in review classes is a lot more than the number of tests that I passed. Do I let that get to me? I used to. Well, it still gets to me, but there's always something to learn and each situation is an opportunity for growth.

Aside from review classes, I've been busy with meetings. A bunch of meetings to be quite honest. Meetings that require lots of planning, creativity, decisions and a more elements that make meetings fun and stressful at the same time. It gets overwhelming when I think about it especially because of my anxiety but I try to look at it from a different point of view. I just think to myself that I'm very blessed to have these opportunities to lead and have meetings because other people didn't or don't have the same kind of opportunities.

If you're still reading at this point, then I really appreciate you for taking the time and effort to read this! I mean I still have a few things to talk about but I hope that you've enjoyed so far and that you'll keep reading. Going back…

Because I'm part of the Worship Team of my church's youth ministry, I usually get assigned to serve at least once a month. This month, I was assigned to sing for last Saturday's youth service, which happened to be Praise and Prayer Night. As the name suggests, Praise and Prayer Night is the youth service that focuses on Praise and Worship and Praying. You might be wondering: shouldn't all services have that and why are you taking so long to write this? I'm getting there don't worry. This service has a lot more Praise and Worship songs than the usual lineup which meant more songs to practice and work on. Let's just say that time wasn't working for our band. Add in the fact that eight songs is very tiring, our band was a bit nervous for the night, but praise God because all went well (I personally thought that the service went well)!

Even if that day was exhausting, I found great joy in serving God that day. Serving God has never been something that I obligated myself to do. I've always viewed it as a privilege that I've been blessed with. At this point, it might seem cliche already but I still think it's true. We're all given opportunities that others don't have. It's best that we make good use of these opportunities for the One who gave these opportunities and I guess for those who don't have them too.

To end, I just want to say that God has a reason for everything (cliche I know but that doesn't make it not true). We just have to trust Him and do our part especially on days when we don't know what's happening and why these things are happening. Thanks for taking the time to read my extremely lengthy post. I really do appreciate the time and effort you gave! I don't usually do these kinds of posts but I do hope you enjoyed nonetheless. That is all I have for you guys today!

Until Next Time!

~Luis~

Previous Post: http://whatdoesluissay.blogspot.com/2015/05/potatoes.html

Potatoes

I want you think about how you treat other people. Do you treat others with love? Do you treat others with care? Do you treat others with hate? Do you treat others with contempt? I guess it's time to reevaluate ourselves. For this post, I'm going to be using potatoes and how we treat potatoes.

There are many different kinds of potatoes. Let's try to name some. Baked. Mashed. Sweet. Chips. Wedges. Fries. Balls. Couch. That's all I could think of but I think that's enough for this post. Think of those kinds of potatoes that I just mentioned. Now, let's try to associate them to people.

First of all, there's the Baked Potato. Potatoes are pretty dang hard and in order to get a good baked potato, you have to bake it for a very long time. Fifteen minutes? Twenty minutes? Forty minutes? Nope. According to online recipes, you have to heat a potato in an oven for at least an hour in order to get good results (which is ideally a soft [but not too soft to the point of crumbling] potato). 

When we meet new people, it's hard to interact with them regardless if you're good at making friends or not. A part of the difficulty of meeting new people is that we don't really know them that much. Unfortunately, we make assumptions about them already. More often that not, the assumptions are based on their looks. Adding in the potato concept, these people are baked potatoes. They maybe hard to interact with (eat) at the moment because we don't know them yet but give them some time (preferably an hour or more) and they just might be ready to open up and be friends.

Secondly, we have the Mashed Potato. In order to achieve a great mashed potato, you need a lot of persevering. Generally, it's pretty easy to make mashed potato. Boil the potatoes until they're tender. Mash them. Mix in some butter, herbs and seasoning. That's basically it and we're pretty happy with that. Satisfied to be quite honest.

When life doesn't seem to be on your side and everything's going wrong, how do we respond? Do we look at all the bad things that is happening or has happened or do we look at the good things that have or might come out of the situation? There are many times when we face trials we tend to give up (that's the boiling part). When more situations come in (butter, herbs and seasoning), we feel like it's the end of the world, but we fail to see what God's doing in our lives. He's turning into you into a beautiful mashed potato. Mashed potatoes are good and that's what God wants to happen to you. He wants good things to happen to you.

Thirdly, we have Wedges and Fries. They're both vertically-cut deep fried potatoes with seasoning on them. One is a bit larger than the other one, but they're both vertically-cut deep fried potatoes. Aside from that, what's the difference? Yes, we have preferences but we love both anyway right? What about Potato Balls? They're sort of like the other two but round. We still love them right? What about Potato Chips? We love to eat potato chips regardless of the fact that they're processed in a factory unlike the others. We still love them all right?

Are we the same to other people? Do we let the differences between two different people affect the way you treat them? Do we let it get in the way of loving them genuinely? I understand that you might be closer to another and that's normal, but do we let that closeness hinder us from appreciating the other one? Do we love the larger fry more because it has more potato in it? Do we prefer the french fry because it's more popular? Do we despise the potato chips in our lives just because they were brought up differently from us? Do we ignore potato balls because they're different from the fries. I guess what I'm trying to say here is: love all kinds of people. God calls for us to love our neighbours as much as we love ourselves. The neighbours God is referring to is everyone around you. God didn't give a criteria as to who is considered a neighbour. He did that because He meant for us to love everyone without any conditions (that means regardless of differences and preferences).

I hope we take some time after this to reflect on how we've been treating other people. I think that's something not a lot of people do these days. 

I know this post was lengthy and deep but I do hope you read through everything and still enjoyed reading it. I really had fun writing this one. It's definitely one of my favourites! That is all I have for you guys today. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I appreciate it!

Until Next Time!

~Luis~

Previous Post: http://whatdoesluissay.blogspot.com/2015/05/emoji-tag.html

Emoji Tag

I know I haven't posted anything in almost two weeks and I actually do have a reason why. I've been taking review classes and it's exhausting. I get home tired and lethargic each day and I just couldn't write anything. I have been planning though this past week. I have a bunch of ideas for posts and I'll be writing them soon.

Today's post will be all about emojis…again. There's this tag going around Youtube this past few weeks and it's called the Emoji Tag. You pick five emojis that best describe you and then you explain why you picked those emojis. After the whole thing, you tag three other people to do the same. So, here are the five emojis that best describe me.

*You can click on the name of the emoji to go to a site with a picture of the emoji.*

Lady Crossing Her Arms

You might be wondering why I chose that emoji. Well, it all started with Tyler Oakley, and let's just say I've picked up the habit of occasionally doing that. It's hard to explain when I do it, but if you know me really well then you sort of have an idea when I do it.

Three Eighth Notes

Music is a huge part of me. I love to sing. I serve in the Worship Team in the Youth Ministry of my church. I have a thing for musicals. I was going to pick the earphones emoji or the microphone emoji but then it was too specific when the music present in my life is so much more than just listening to music and singing.

Fork and Knife

I struggled picking an emoji from the food section because I love food so much that I can't just pick one emoji. I can't pick the sushi emoji over the pizza emoji or the coffee emoji over the ice cream emoji. So, I picked this emoji instead. Personally, whenever there are utensils on the table, it means it's eating time, and I love eating. I know I overeat sometimes and that I'm not in my best shape, but that shouldn't stop me from loving myself and food.

Distressed

As some of you might know, I get anxious quite a lot. No, a doctor has not said that I suffer from anxiety or panic disorder, but I don't need a doctor's confirmation to know if I'm anxious or not.  A lot of people deny that they have anxiety and it's partly because of the common idea that a person with anxiety is too sensitive or maarte. Anxiety isn't a joke. Anxiety is hard and difficult in all forms and stages. Why have an emoji represent it as a part of me then? Because I know that I have anxiety and acknowledging that I do have anxiety is a good first step to overcoming it.

Relaxed Blushing

I don't know why but I really like this emoji. I think it's because it's literally me in different situations. That's me whenever I eat good food. That's me whenever I get to rest after a long and tiring day. That's me whenever I give or receive hugs. That's me whenever I'm encouraging others or encouraged by others. That's me after a good conversation with my friends. That's me after getting the lesson in school. That's me whenever things feel right. This emoji is very comforting to look at. I don't know why. It just is.

Those are the five emojis that I think best describe who I am. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed looking for emojis. I know I haven't posted in a really long time but I will start to post consistently again. I have a lot of things planned already so stay tuned! Because it is part of the Emoji Tag to tag other people, I would like to tag my friends Chloe Rodriguez, Jt Valiente and Mayumi Paras to do the tag too. It's a pretty fun tag and it won't use up so much water or compromise your lips so hopefully you guys take part in it. That is all I have for you guys today. I really appreciate the time you spent reading this. I really do.

Until Next Time!

~Luis~

Previous Post: http://whatdoesluissay.blogspot.com/2015/05/april-favourites.html

April Favourites

Hello everyone! I am back with another set of favourites all from the month of April. As usual, the links to some of the things I mention will be at the end of the post.

~ Disclaimer: I am not paid to advertise any of the things that I mention below. I also am not affiliated with any of the companies that I mention below. ~

Julie & Julia

I've always wanted to watch this movie because of many things. First of all, it's Meryl Streep. Who doesn't love Meryl Streep? (Probably a lot of people) Second of all, there's food involved. Who doesn't love a movie about food? The movie follows the lives of two different cooks. In the early 1950s or so, Julia Child, portrayed by Meryl Streep, embarks on a culinary journey that eventually leads her to become a well-known chef and author. The timeline of Julie Powell, portrayed by Amy Adams, is set in the early 2000s. She creates a blog where she tells stories about her attempts to create the dishes found in Child's cookbook. Both Streep and Adams were amazing in this movie. It's a wonderful movie that I recommend for people who loves food and blogging.

Freedom Writers

I was with my friends this past month and we remembered this movie during our conversations. I remembered watching it a few years back and absolutely loving it. So, I watched it again this past month and I am very happy. In this film, Hilary Swanks portrays Erin Gruwell, a new teacher, who tries to connect with and help her students who are affected and influenced by racial discrimination, gang wars and political injustice. In spite of the lack of support from the people around her, Gruwell continues to work on her students. It's a very inspiring movie about many things, but I think the most evident theme that I saw was: teachers have a huge influence on their students. It's a movie that's very much worth your time. There is cursing in the movie so if you're bothered by that then I suggest caution. If you're an educator, I really encourage you to watch this movie.

America

This past month, I flew to the States with my family for vacation. It's been a long time since I last visited and it was great to be back there. We stayed with our relatives and had so much fun with them. I ate at Panda Express and In-n-Out, places that you should definitely go to because they are amazing. I will say that I gained a few pounds after that trip, but thankfully, a lot of walking was involved in the whole trip so I probably would've gained more if I didn't walk so much. We also went to Universal Studios and that was like heaven to me (film enthusiast over here). I think I most enjoyed the Studio Tour because it brought us around the actual sets of movies and TV shows. The part of the tour that really got me interested was the airplane crash set from the movie "War of the Worlds". There was an actual Boeing 747 that they destroyed for the movie, and that's just one of the numerous things that they bought and destroyed for the movie. 

Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver from "Avengers: Age of Ultron"

Why not the entire movie? For a lot of reasons that I might share in a different blog post. But for this post, the focus is on the Maximoff twins. Don't worry I won't spoil the movie for you which means you can keep reading. Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson's portrayal of two well-known superheroes in the Marvel universe is outstanding. With their performance, you can really see and feel the connection between twins, their pain, and their power. Aside from that, both of the characters are amazing. They bring new elements onto the MCU and it's exciting to see the change they're going to bring. They were the highlights of the movie for me. Go watch Avengers now!

Taya Smith of Hillsong UNITED

If you don't know who Taya Smith is, she is a member of Hillsong UNITED and the vocals behind Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) and Wake among other songs. But it's not the songs that she led that brings her to my favourites. It's her passion to worship God and lead others to worship God that brings her here. Whenever she leads worship, people can't help but sing along and praise God with her because of her genuine love for God that compels her to lead with so much passion. Her vocals are always on point too but that's only a bonus. She is worship leading goals to be quite honest.

"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" by Hillsong United

Speaking of Taya Smith, here's the song that she's most probably known for leading. Oceans is such an amazing song, and I'm not saying that because other people love it or stuff like that. This song is not just a worship song. It's a prayer to God. This past month, I really connected with this song on a very strong level. Listening to it gives me the chills. I don't think I'll ever get tired of listening to it. If you haven't listened to it, there's a link at the end of the post to my favourite version of Oceans.

"Bring Him Home" by Josh Groban

I am tremendously pleased with this rendition of the Broadway song from Les Misérables. Josh Groban gives justice to this song in his version and it is amazing. I mean nothing can beat Alfie Boe's version but this is just heaven to the ears (well to my ears at least). I can't properly express how pleased I am with this song so just listen to it later. Link is below.

My Drunk Kitchen

This past month, I have been hooked onto this web show hosted by the one and only, Hannah Hart. Hannah Hart, who is a New York Times Best Selling author for her book, My Drunk Kitchen, shows the world how to create different cook different kinds of foods while she enjoys a good glass of alcohol. She basically cooks while she's sort of drunk. Not the most ideal thing to do (which she does mention in some of her videos) but tell that to her one million subscribers. She not only brings joy to my heart (hart) by cooking but she inspires me to do what I'm passionate about and inspire others to the the same. I know some of you might be bothered by drinking and even more by drunk cooking, but I hope you see good in the things that Hannah Hart does.

And that is all the things that I have been loving this past month. I hope you enjoyed reading them and that you check them out. Again, links will be below. That is all I have for you guys today!

Until Next Time!

~Luis~

Links:

Julia & Julia Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozRK7VXQl-k

Freedom Writers Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhXMJlm852A

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDAt7ZWeamA

Bring Him Home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXnRf3TQcpk

My Drunk Kitchen: https://www.youtube.com/user/MyHarto

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Other Favourites: http://whatdoesluissay.blogspot.com/p/monthly-favourites.html