How Should We Celebrate Father’s Day?

 My dad left us for his eternal home 44 years ago. The dad of my children bade us goodbye last year.

How then should Father’s Day be celebrated?

A song entitled You Are Strong, Dad is a tribute for the head of the home. The exact songwriter or composer is uncredited because it is an independent production for socmed, not written by a commercial music artist. The track is a copyright-free, specialized Christian worship and reflection music.

The lyrics are told from a child's POV, recognizing the silent sacrifices, quiet strength, and hard work of a father. It is a Father’s Day tribute, focusing on the subtle, everyday endurance of fatherhood. It is about aging, gratitude, and the shift in perspective when children grow old enough to appreciate the heavy burdens their dad carried for them in silence. 

This we witnessed in our church on Father’s Day. 

While all the fathers stood behind the pulpit, a seven-year-old girl sang the song. You could hear a pin drop and tears cascading freely over many cheeks in the pews. 

“Today may God bless your tired hands,

May heaven give you peace. 

For every quiet sacrifice,

You gave much to me.

You are strong, Dad,

I finally see it now.”

After the song, our chuch community prayed for the dads standing there, trying hard to be stoic and unemotional but visibly moved. 

Then I remembered the dads no longer with us but were just as strong.

And for me, that’s how Father’s Day should be celebrated: Paying tribute to the dads the Lord blessed each child with, and being grateful to our Father in heaven Who created earthly dads in His footsteps.

Top photo credit: PVGC Media Team

Broadcasting is in ICU

Broadcast television isn’t dying, but it is going through a massive transformation. Traditional radio and TV networks have evolved into digital-first, multi-platform media organizations.

While over-the-air audiences are shrinking, the strengths of broadcasting have shifted to streaming to capture viewers who have moved away from traditional media. Content is now distributed across podcasts (YouTube, TikTok, and mobile apps) to reach younger audiences.

A huge part of my workplace life was on broadcasting (advertising and radio hosting)—it was like my home, my comfort zone.

It’s because I had always been behind the scenes: voice-over, critic, writer, creative director. But when I became an author, it became necessary to face the camera in interviews and messages to readers. Those freak me out. My common excuse, “I am better at writing than speaking.”

But.

I got invited to DZAS, operated by the Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) Philippines, with the mission slogan: "Communicating Christ Until All Have Heard." It’s similar to the reason why I am an author—the Gospel should reach people and Christian writers need to help spread the Word till our last breath.  

I could not pass it up. It was a venue—with its wide reach of audiences—to talk about my books on grace and my writing ministry. I was asked about the W’s of my writing: what, why, when, where, who.  Although I tried not to show it, the jitters crept into every part of my anatomy.

The host and the production staff were so calming; the tour around the place were my sedatives.

Collection of old radios and a huge Bible, perfect for fading eyesight

Watching the taped interview again a few days later, I saw the numbers: 3.4K views.

Broadcasting in ICU is not a bad thing. There, patients receive round-the-clock care and life support to keep breathing—till the second coming. 

Time’s Rare Masterpiece

Schedule used to mean: routine.

Dress up for work. Kiss the three sons good-bye. Work. Overtime for a client meeting or an ad shoot. Go home. Ask the three kids how their day went. Late dinner or short catch-ups with the hubby. Sleep a little. Then wake up to the same routine.

Now schedule means the opposite: iffy.

It depends on Sammy’s (son #3's driver) free time. If none, I stay home and read and write and write. Or I fill up my empty jars with some tunes on the piano, some crossword puzzles, some arts and crafts, and some (okay, lots)  nibbles or munchies.  

Then came one day when son #3 was out of town. That freed up Sam for one whole day. Son #1 had online classes at home, so that freed up Mother Teresa from keeping watch and answering calls at home.

“Le’s go out and have fun!” I declared to the two angels who see to my now very few needs after Tony left. 

Off we went to the mall—to a coffee shop. With Gen Z’s around us, we indulged ourselves leisurely in caramel latte and pastries. I got lost in (but enjoyed) the conversation with two people whose interests are contrary to mine.

It was my and their first time to share a table and spend the afternoon without worrying about the clock ticking.  

In three hours, grace painted colors in different lines, hues, and shades. And time rendered a rare masterpiece.  

P.S. A coincidence: this happened on 6-26-26, a palindrome! 

Circumcised Heart

Once every three months or less, son #3 delivers the Sunday Message behind the pulpit, as requested by our pastor. A lawyer/professor, he is wont to first present the context of the core message. 

On that point, we are on the same page. Context is non-negotiable in creative writing. 

Context provides the background, setting, and relationship dynamics that remove ambiguity from words with multiple meanings.

But on one particular Sunday, son #3 was trying to look for a euphemism for circumcision, as it is a raw word that could unsettle the listeners in the Philippines.

After repeatedly voicing his unease about the word, I was surprised to read “Circumcised Heart” flashed in large fonts on all screens inside the church as the title of his message. 

"Circumcised heart" needs no euphemism. It is by itself a profound metaphor for spiritual transformation enabled by grace. It represents a heart that is cleansed, obedient, and fully devoted to God.

While physical circumcision was the outward, visible sign of the covenant among God’s chosen people in ancient times (context: law), the Bible (both in the Old and New Testaments) consistently emphasizes that God ultimately desires an internal reality—a heart set free from stubbornness and sin.

Romans 2:29 (NLT) reads, “No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise fom God, not from people.”

Self reflection: Do I have a circumcised heart? 

A Must: Vacation Bible School

If you grew up in a Christian family, you'd know what Vacation Bible School (VBS) is. It is a week-long education program hosted by local Christian churches for children during the summer vacation.

It is similar to a summer camp and a community outreach program designed to introduce children to the Bible and Christian values--through interactive, fun, and age-appropriate learning.

I never missed a VBS in the town where I grew up. That was where I learned about how much the Lord loves children like me. VBS is packed with grace. That’s why I get excited when summer comes and the VBS schedule is announced in our church. I am even happier to read about other churches also having theirs.

The VBS brings together not only the children who come to learn but volunteer teachers and donors, who provide assistance through services and allocations for expenses. This year, our church hosted almost 100 kids. 

I was humbled when I read about a VBS somewhere in Manila that used one of my books (The Real Thief, published by Hiyas of OMF Lit and illustrated by Leo Kempis Ang) as its resource in teaching the Gospel. 

 

The VBS concept originated in 1894 when Virginia Hawes, a Sunday school teacher, started a summer Bible school in New York City to keep local children occupied with spiritually enriching activities while on vacation.

By the 1920s, the program had evolved into a tradition with standardized publishing materials and structured curriculum kits supplied to various denominations across the world. Our materials this year came from CSM, which conducted a workshop among teachers prior to the execution of the short-term curriculum.

If you are reading this and you have a young child, bring him/her to tthe VBS. The learnings cannot be quantified. They will be lived. 

“ . . . ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’”  Matthew 10:14 (NIV)  

Promises, Promises

"Promises" when repeated is an expression of disappointment. It implies that commitments are not kept. 

You and I might have promised one thing but did not fulfill it, or vice-versa. How often do we hear friends or ourselves say, “I’ll keep in touch.” But do they or do we?

“OPM” (Oh Promise Me) responds to someone who makes a promise but will not keep. We say it with matching eye roll. 

And then, there’s this saying, “Promises are made to be broken.” (Politics?)  

Sigh. We frequently make "throwaway," unkept promises. While we do not intentionally lie, casual promises are broken. Promises are cheaper than a cup of coffee today.    

In contrast, God’s thousands of promises in the Bible are nothing but casual. They are pricelss and many have already been kept. 

One example:

The promise: Genesis 12:3, to Abraham, “. . . all peoples on earth will be blessed through you,”

The Fulfillment: In the New Testament, this was not just about the physical nation of Israel, but about Jesus Christ as Abraham's descendant. In Acts 3:25–26 and Galatians 3:8, Paul explains that the "blessing" is the grace of salvation and the Holy Spirit, which is available to people of ALL nations through faith. 

Example two:

The Promise: Isaiah 53 (written roughly 700 years before Christ) describes a "Servant" who would be "pierced for our transgressions" and "crushed for our iniquities," bearing the sins of many so that they could be healed.

The Fulfillment: The Gospels and Epistles explicitly point to Jesus’ crucifixion as the fulfillment of this.  "He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross... by his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24)This transformed the Old Testament system of animal sacrifice into a final, one-time fulfillment. 

Unfulfilled ones?! Believers in grace would rather call them just delayed. Not YET realized in this current world, but these promises will be fulfilled when He comes again. 

Revelation 21:2-3 says, “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’”

I’ve soaked in abundant joy in God’s many kept promises, but I choose to dwell in what is most relevant, after deciding to stop dying my hair: "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.” Isaiah 46:4 (ESV)