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.