Americans Don't Trust Their Government

Sad to say but Americans don't trust their government. It's very simple, people don’t have confidence in their leaders if they feel they’re being lied to and if those leaders don’t play by the rules.

We now know that proponents (Jonathan Gruber) of the Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare intentionally misled the public to get the law passed and the President went ahead with immigration reform without the consent of Congress.

It's a dangerous place to be for a country. As a Christian and a dad concerned for the well-being of my children, it drove me down my knees and prayed for our leaders. 

As Chuck Colson once said, “free democratic governments function only with the consent of the governed. And the governed only give their consent when they have confidence in those who are governing them. If that confidence fails, then the [American] experiment . . . known as ordered liberty, fails as well.”

Left or Right, Democrats or Republicans, nobody wants a broken country.

(Adapted from BreakPoint)

Remember the Prisoners on #GivingTuesday

On Dec. 2, 2014, the world comes together to give. Join Prison Fellowship as we participate on #GivingTuesday to support our mission to change the lives of prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families through Jesus Christ. We ask our friends, donor, fans, and followers to remember the prisoners on the first Tuesday in December. We made everything easy for online giving.

Here’s how you can help:

• Give to Prison Fellowship through the online gift catalog; or,
• Give to Angel Tree; or,
• Give your time and volunteer for Prison Fellowship and Angle Tree this Christmas

Fans and friends of Prison Fellowship may also  support our cause by sharing our #GivingTuesday memes below. Helping us spread the word about Giving Tuesday will help us reach new potential supporters and grow public interest on what we do. To help, simply choose an image below, click on it to view the full size image, right click it, save it in your computer and share it to your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media pages. Remember to use the hashtag #GivingTuesday when sharing.

Together, our steps can help mothers and fathers behind bars and their children take their first steps to a better future towards a happy and Gospel-filled life. Please mark it on your calendar, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, December 2, 2014, it’s GIVING TUESDAY.


(Originally posted on Prison Fellowship)

Thanksgiving: Good Time to Teach Kids to Serve the Poor

If you want your children to grow up with a heart of serving the poor and needy, then parents should actively look or create opportunities where children can practice what they learn and parents to practice what they preach.

Last week, my kids and I had a little food drive to help raise food items and grocery gift cards to Loudoun Interfaith Relief, the local food bank in our area. We asked mostly our friends in the neighborhood and church small group for food items, gift cards or cash for Loudoun Interfaith's annual Thanksgiving Meal bag distribution.

Giving Back on #GivingTuesday

Don’t look now, but the holiday season is right around the corner. Thanksgiving is only two weeks away, immediately followed by the retail-driven Black Friday and Cyber Monday, encouraging people to go out and start making their Christmas purchases.

And then there is Giving Tuesday.

What is Giving Tuesday?

The Top Reason Teens Keeps the Faith as Young Adults

Here's a supporting reason why my wife and I should be more involved in telling our kids what we believe and why we believe. Moreover, modeling to them how our daily actions are shaped and guided by those beliefs - not because of our Filipino American heritage but because of our Christian beliefs. Parents, for better or worse, are actually the most influential pastors of their children.

The holy grail for helping youth remain religiously active as young adults has been at home all along: parents.

Mothers and fathers who practice what they preach and preach what they practice are far and away the major influence related to adolescents keeping the faith into their 20s, according to new findings from a landmark study of youth and religion.

Just 1 percent of teens ages 15 to 17 raised by parents who attached little importance to religion were highly religious in their mid-to-late 20s.

In contrast, 82 percent of children raised by parents who talked about faith at home, attached great importance to their beliefs and were active in their congregations were themselves religiously active as young adults, according to data from the latest wave of the National Study of Youth and Religion.

Read more: David Briggs, The Huffington Post 

Filipina Actress and Fiance Vowed to No Kiss and No Sex Until Marriage

I don’t know who this young actress is (except that she looks like Sharon Cuneta’s daughter KC Conception) but I stumbled upon an article about her recently on Facebook. Soon to be married, actress Jewel Mische said she and her American fiance are waiting for their wedding day to share their first kiss.

She explained they vowed not to engage in any sexual activity before their wedding.

In an interview with ABS-CBN's entertainment talk show “The Buzz,” Jewel said: “Alister and I, first and foremost, we believe that sex is God's wedding present." She added, "we believe that sexual intercourse or the physical and emotional union of two people should be a means of celebrating love, producing children and experiencing pleasure together protected by the commitment of marriage.”

The actress admits she and her fiance made “mistakes in the past.” But now that they found each other, they are willing “to pursue what we think is right.”

 

“We are both grounded and we believe that sex is for married people. But we messed up also in the past,” Jewel said.

Jewel met Alister in a Christian church two years ago. They got engaged December 2013.

Kudos to Jewel and her fiance and I hope they influence more Filipino couples to make the same vows. Have a fun and memorable wedding night!

Click here for other Filipino celebrities who vowed no sex until marriage.