A Dad's Plan for a Personal Spritual Retreat

For the first time, I’m going on a personal retreat this weekend. I’m doing it for personal reflection and spiritual renewal. I’ll been feeling spiritually dry and stressed lately and thought being away for few days free from any distractions will help me recharge and organize my life back to its proper order.

I honestly don’t have a specific plan for my retreat except for finding a place that will provide me solitude and silence, which I found at Holy Cross Abbey, a Catholic monastery in Berryville, Virginia.

My first thought was just to let the spirit lead but I realized I should to be intentional of what I need to do and organize what I need to pray so I can maximize my time at the Abbey and truly make this experience a memorable one.

From Kermit Gosnell to a Dad’s Wish for Abortion to End in Our Generation

Stories that came out of the murder trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell were so gruesome that pro-lifers should be shocked of the gruesomeness of his practice and the way he viewed the life of a late-term baby.

If you don’t know who Kermit Gosnell is, you’re not alone. The mainstream media has been very slow in reporting this story because it doesn’t fit the liberal narrative on the women’s right to choose that the media openly support. Gosnell is the abortionist from Pennsylvania who is found guilty today of killing one woman and multiple late-term babies who’d been born alive after failed abortions. The babies he terminated were outside the womb and fully developed that he once said the baby was “so big, he could walk with me to the bus” before snipping its spinal cord with a pair of scissors.

Is Plan B the Most Convenient Solution to Teen Sex?

Yesterday, the FDA decided to allow girls as young as 15 to purchase Plan B without a prescription. Just to be clear Plan B is not merely a preventative birth control pill. It can stop fertilization, and it can be taken up to 72 hours after intercourse to stop the implantation of an already fertilized egg to the uterus; thus, the name Plan B.

Filipino Christian Dad Blogger Buys a Brand New House from Van Metre

 

It was pre-drywall inspection last Wednesday and we finally had a close look of what our new house will be like inside and out. We recently purchased a brand new house and we've been very excited about it these past few weeks. We picked a decent size end unit townhouse (3 bed/3 bath) for our first major real estate purchase in the 12 years we’ve been married. We waited for years to jump in the housing market and we’re glad we waited. We got the house just in time when housing costs and interest rates are at its lowest.

Remembering Chuck Colson

Yesterday, April 21 was the 1 year death anniversary of Chuck Colson. To commemorate this event, I'm re-posting an article I published about Chuck and how he influenced my life. The article was also published around this time last year immediately when Chuck died. Continue reading below for the entire article. It's an honor and a blessing to work alongside my boss and mentor Chuck Colson. I was personally drawn to Chuck because of his personal connections to my personal hero, Ninoy Aquino (I think they also look alike).

Waiting in Wonder Book Launch & iPad mini Giveaway

My friend and former colleague at BreakPoint, Catherine Claire Larsen has a new book, "Waiting in Wonder: Growing in Faith While You're Expecting.” She is also giving away a free iPad mini to celebrate the book's release. "Waiting in Wonder" is a devotional journal inviting women to embrace the spiritual journey that awaits as they prepare for the high and holy calling of motherhood. This is a good spiritual preparedness book ideal for your wife or any female friend or family member who's expecting a child. I hope you get a copy.

I also recommend Catherine's other book As We Forgive, a collection of reconciliation and forgiveness stories from the Rwandan genocide. Click here to get more details on Waiting in Wonder and to enter the iPad mini giveaway.

Lessons from Steubenville: Teaching Boys to Be Kind and Brave

In the months since the news broke about the horrific case in Steubenville, Ohio, the nation has been reeling from it and the attempts to cover it up. The questions about what’s been called our “rape culture” are flying around: “How was this situation allowed to spiral out of control?” “How could two high school boys so heinously assault, humiliate, and exploit this girl?” “Why didn’t anyone try to stop it?” “How could the victim be the one shamed by both adults and kids in her community?” And, what does all this tell us about ourselves and our culture?

Reasons for the Media Blackout on Kermit Gosnell Trial

It's hard to ignore the horrifying details coming out of the Kermit Gosnell trial. If you don't know who Kermit Gosnell is, don't feel bad. The mainstream media has been silent about reporting such heinous crime because of its so-called "liberal" agenda. Dr. Gosnell is an abortionist from Philadelphia who is facing the death penalty if convicted of performing medical procedure without license, and the intentional killing of infants born alive during abortion procedures. You can read more details of the Gosnell trial here.

What added to the horror of what is already a disturbing story is the mainstream media's silence on the issue. To date, ABC, NBC, CBS and major print publications has not reported the story. As a believer and a dad, I've always been open with my pro-life convictions and have taught my kids to respect the human dignity of the unborn. Rarely does news make me too sick for words - the Gosnell trial and the media black out does. Now, I plan to make more opportunities to talk to my two kids about babies and the humanity of the unborn. No way will I allow anyone to convince them that children inside the womb are blobs of tissue or somehow less than human because they are small. I want them to see abortion the way I see it - not as a "rights" issue, but as a "moral" and "ethical" issue.

Filipino-American Dad Blogger Goes to Final Four 2013, Atlanta

Thanks to the great dads of Dad 2.0 Summit and the champions of freshness Dove Men+Care, my wife and I had a chance to attend the NCAA Final Four game last weekend in Atlanta, GA , where the Louisville Cardinals beat Michigan Wolverines for the 2013 NCAA Championship title. We're winners too. It was our first time to win an all-expense-paid trip out of town and "bonus round" winners because we have an entire 5 days-4 nights stay at the fine Sheraton Atlanta Hotel without our kids to bother us, and boy did we have a blast. The pictures below are proof of our exciting, relaxing and “finally-just-the-two-of-us-have-fun-while-it-lasts” trip to Atlanta.

Are You Raising a Narcissist?

Every time my daughter leaves the house for school, I always whisper to her, “You’re special and beautiful.” However, someone once told me that I should not tell her that because it could put ideas in her mind that she is entitled or above everyone else. My daily words of affirmation to my daughter in short can turn her into a narcissist. In the culture that my daughter lives in, more people will be telling my daughter she’s unattractive and not-good-enough.

The media’s obsession with beauty and perfection sends her the message that to be accepted, she has to keep up with celebrities and trends she sees on TV and the internet. That’s why I truly believe that as dads, I need to tell my daughter that she is beautiful and one-of-a-kind. Not better than anyone else, but not less than any other, either. Just beautiful the way God made her to be. I honestly don’t think that complimenting my daughter’s appearance builds an unhealthy and grandiose sense of self-importance.