Bangtail

A horse bred for racing doesn’t know why it runs a race.

It runs because of the whip and pain.

Life is a race:

If you are in pain, then clearly,

...you are a horse!

Just kidding...

Seriously,

If you are in pain, then clearly,

God wants you to win.

Bahay Kubo (English Version)

Nipa hut...

Even though it is small...

The plant therea are various...

Turnip and Eggplant...

Winged Bean and Peanut...

String Bean...

Hyacinth Bean...

Lima Bean........

Waxguard...

Loofah...

White Squash and Pumpkin...

And there are also...

Radish...

Mustard...

Onion...

Tomato...

Garlic and Ginger...

And all around and full of sesame weeds.

BINOCULARS

How many of you have a pair of binoculars? Binoculars are really amazing. You can look at something that is very far away and it brings it right up to you. A lot of people take binoculars to football game, baseball game, or basketball game so that they can see the action better. Some people take binoculars when they go hunting to help them find the animals they are hunting. I have a friend who likes to watch birds. He can look through a pair of binoculars and he can watch birds from a great distance and watch what they are doing. The birds don’t even know that he is watching.

This reminds me that we are all being watched. Other people are watching us to see what we are doing, but more important to remember is that the Bible tells us that God is watching us. It says “His eyes are on the ways of men; he sees their every step.”

That means that He sees us when we are fighting with our brother or sister. He sees us when we don’t act the way we should act in school. He sees us when we talk back to our parents. He sees every thing we do.

Since God is watching us and sees everything we do, we should be very careful and make sure that we are doing things that will please Him.

X-RAY

Some of you have probably seen an x-ray. Many times when we go to the doctor, he cannot tell if we have something wrong just by looking at us. We may look just fine on the outside, but there might be something wrong on the inside. To see what is on the inside, the doctor takes an x-ray. By looking at the x-ray, the doctor can see what's on the inside and helps us to get well. You can't always tell by looking at the outside.

The Bible tells us that man looks at outward appearance, but God looks on the inside. You can't always tell what a person is really like by looking at the outside. Some people may be beautiful on the outside, but they may be very mean, selfish, and hateful on the inside. Some people may not be very beautiful to look at, but on the inside they are loving, gentle, and kind.

We spend a lot of time making sure we look good on the outside, but what are we doing to make sure we look good on the inside? When we look at people, we need to remember that we can only see what's on the outside, but God can see what's on the inside - and it's what's inside that counts.

Rootless Tree

A loveless life is like a fruitless tree,

But a friendless life is like a rootless tree.

Trees can live without fruit,

But not without roots.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Did you ever played the game Rock, Paper, Scissors? People all over the world play that game. Not just children either -- even adults play the game. Did you know that there is an international tournament each year and players from all over the world come together to compete in Rock, Paper, Scissors? Yes, Rock, Paper, Scissors is a very popular game.

As you probably know, each player holds one fist in front of him and hits it with his other fist three times. Then, on the fourth time, the player's top hand forms either a rock, paper, or scissors. This is how you know who wins: a rock smashes scissors, paper covers a rock, and scissors cut paper.

Let's play! You can play against me and you can keep track of how many times you win. Ready? One, two, three, go. Okay, I made a rock. If you made paper, you win. If you made scissors, I win. If you made a rock, we tied.

The great thing about Rock, Paper, Scissors is that any one of them can be a winner. I have a real rock, paper, and scissors here. If you are going to write a letter, a rock or scissors wouldn't be much help, but a piece of paper would, wouldn't it? If you wanted to cut a piece of paper, a rock or paper wouldn't help, but a pair of scissors would. If you were really thirsty and needed a drink of water, a piece of paper or a pair of scissors wouldn't be much help, but a rock might be exactly what you need.

What? Maybe you think I'm crazy! Don't you think a rock would help you if you needed a drink of water? Well, in our Bible story, that is exactly what happened.

Moses was the leader of the people of Israel. He was leading them from Egypt to a land that God would give to them. They were wandering through the desert and people were thirsty. They began to grumble and complain to Moses. "We are dying," they said, "our children are dying, our cattle are dying. Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die out here in the desert?"

Moses went to his tent and fell on his knees before God. "What should I do?" Moses prayed. "There is no water in the desert. The people are thirsty and they are ready to kill me."

God answered Moses and said to him, "Take your shepherd's staff and walk ahead of the people. I will meet you by the rock at Mount Sinai. When you come to the rock, strike it with your staff and water will flow from the rock. The people will be have plenty of water to drink."

Moses did exactly what God told him to do and guess what happened? He got water from a rock!

So, what should you and I do when we face an impossible situation? We should ask God for his help, and then trust in him. Sometimes we may not understand the way God is leading, but we just have to trust him. After all, who would have thought you could get water from a rock?

Blindfold

When we do something for the very first time it can be a little bit scary.

Do you remember your very first day at school?

Your mother probably went in with you to help you find your room and meet your teacher.

When you got on a bicycle for the first time, someone probably walked along beside you and helped hold you up at the very beginning.

That gave you confidence and soon you were riding on your own. When you went swimming for the first time, you didn't just go out and jump in the pool, did you?

No, there was someone with you to hold you up until you you could swim on your own.

It really helps if we have someone we trust to be with us when we are about to do something we have never done before.

What if I will blindfold you and find your way back to me and bring a water?

How do you think you might feel?

Would you be worried that you might bump into something and hurt yourself?

Would you be afraid that others might laugh at you when you went the wrong direction?

What if I said that I would go with you and hold your hand?

You trust me, don't you? I will be with you every step. How does that make you feel?

How about you, do you ever take a journey into the unknown?

Sure you do. Just about every day we face things which we have never done before.

They may be a bit scary, but we know that God is with us. We just have to trust him to lead the way.

How do you see the morning today?

Scientist: Another day to experiment.

Prisoner: Another day to repent for my sin.

President: One more valuable time to lead.

Doctor: Countless moments to save a life.

Artist: Timed event for a masterpiece.

Child: A whole new day to play.

How about you? How do you see the morning today?

Common Sense

An illiterate father with his educated son went on a camping trip. They set up their tent and fell asleep.

Some hours later, father wakes his son and ask:

“Look up to the sky and tell me what you see?”

Son: “I see millions of stars.”

Father: “What does that tell you?”

Son: Astronomically, it tells that there are millions of galaxies and planets.

Father slaps the son hard and says:

“Idiot! Someone has stolen our tent!”

Moral: Too much education can ruin your common sense.

FB

20 YEARS FROM NOW:

“Mommy, how did you meet dad?”

Camei: Well, it all started when he added me on facebook =)

Follow Your Dreams

Nike: Wait!...

Camei: Why are you always following me?!!

Nike: Because my parents told me "FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS."

Promise

Nike2x: I'm sure that everyone has seen a ring like this one. It is a very special kind of ring. Do you know what kind of ring it is? It is a wedding ring. It is a very simple ring. It has no diamonds or any other precious stones. It is just a plain, simple band of gold, but it is very special because it is a reminder of a promise that is made when a couple gets married. On the day that they are married, a husband and wife make a promise that they will love and stand faithfully beside one another "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as they live." Each of them wears a wedding band as a reminder of that promise that they made. The ring also tells everyone who sees it about the promise that the couple made.

We all make promises, don't we? You might promise your mother that you will clean your room and do your chores before you go out to play. Or you may promise to keep a secret told to you by your best friend. You may promise to return something that you borrowed from a neighbor.

Has anyone ever broken a promise they made to you? How did that make you feel? What did you say? You were probably very disappointed and said something like, "But you promised!" Sometimes we aren't very good at keeping our promises.

God makes promises. Our Bible lesson today is about a promise that God made to a man named Noah. I'm sure that you know the story of how God sent a great flood to destroy the earth because the people had become so wicked and evil. He destroyed everything he had created except for two of every kind of bird and animal and Noah and his family. He spared them because Noah was a good and righteous man who walked with God.

After the flood waters went down and Noah's family and all the animals could leave the ark, God made a promise to Noah. He promised Noah that he would never again destroy the whole earth with a flood. Then he did something to remind Noah of that promise. He placed a rainbow in the sky and he said to Noah, "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the promise between me and all life on the earth." God said that every time he saw the rainbow, he would remember the promise that he made.

God has kept that promise, hasn't he? God keeps all of his promises. In fact, the Bible says that, "No matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ." (2 Corinthians 1:20) The next time you see a rainbow, remember the promise God made to Noah, and remember that just as he has kept that promise, he keeps all of his promises.

The Stick

Nike2x: I am looking for someone who is very strong to help me this morning. Who would like to help?

One kid volunteers.

You look pretty strong to me. Do you think you can break this stick?

Nike2x gave the child one small stick that can easily be broken.

Wow! You are strong! You easily broke that stick.

Let's see if you can break these sticks.

Nike gave the child a bundle of sticks that are bound together. After giving the child time to try to break the bundle of sticks he said...

“The sticks in this bundle are just like the stick that was so easily broken. Yet when they are bound together, they are much stronger than they are when they are by themselves. Even the very strongest person here this morning could not break this bundle of sticks.”

These sticks can teach us an important lesson about the church. Sometimes when we think of the church, we think of a building where we come to worship, but the church isn't a building. The church is made up of men, women, boys, and girls who have chosen to follow Jesus. You, me, all of the people here today -- all of us together -- we are the church.

Some people say, "I can be a Catholic without going to church" -- and that may be true -- but by ourselves we are not very strong. When Satan tries to tempt us to do something that we know is wrong, it may be difficult to resist him if we try to go it alone. But if we stand together with others who follow Jesus, they will be a source of strength and encouragement. We will be much stronger than we would be by ourselves.

One day, Jesus went off by himself to pray. He prayed for his disciples because he knew that his disciples had to live in the world and that they would be tempted by the evil things of the world. He also knew that if his disciples would come together as one, they would be much stronger than they would as individuals. So he prayed and asked God to protect them and to help them to be one, just as he and his Father were one.

When Satan tempts you to do things that you know are wrong, remember the lesson of the sticks -- there is strength in unity.