One of the wonderful things about being a dad is to be able to watch your kids grow from babyhood to adulthood. When my eldest daughter was born some 28 years ago, my wife and I used to carry her on a baby carrier especially when we were out on a trip or just going to the malls. Fourteen years later, our second daughter was born and we again used a baby carrier to bring her along on our travels.

People sometimes assemble themselves in a particular place and then invite God to come down and join them. The assembly is considered to be holy because God attended. After the closing prayer, when the people go home, God will also go home… up there…

This is the common view of a typical worship service. Initiated by men and God is just a guest… waiting an invitation?

True worship however is not defined by time and space. Our life must be a life of worship. It involves everything we do even in ordinary circumstances of our lives.

Right after SEP Mindanao 2004 (SEP means Summer Enrichment Program), I created Youthoughts, a youth forum for youths and singles in May 2004. Its purpose was for youths and singles to continue their interaction not only during the yearly youth summer camps but all throughout the year throughYouthoughts, a youth forum on the internet.Youths and singles mainly from the Visayas and Mindanao participated in this forum. Some youths in Luzon joined occasionally but I guess the language barrier was a hindrance. The language used would often shift from English and/or Tagalog into Cebuano.

Discussions focused on various youth issues and the youths were encouraged to share each other's thoughts, give advice to one another, help one another, encourage one another and so on. Sometimes, I do give advice (as a pastor and a father) especially when I'm personally asked to give my thoughts on an issue. This forum lasted until about October 2008.

"One thing sure in life is death and taxes." So goes the saying. Just a few hours ago, my wife and I joined some friends to go back to the same place we went to a few months ago... the cemetery. We went to the same spot to see the burial of a fellow church member, an elderly man who died of cardiac arrest a few days ago. When this elderly man's wife died months ago, I captured that moment in a photograph (at right) when he was sitting and grieving while his wife's tomb was being sealed.

These are realities in life which make us stop and think about the meaning of our existence on this planet. It is good to enjoy life to the fullest. But we must not shun some hard cold realities in life like death... and taxes. It's a good thing to search for meaning in life. Find out why we're here on earth. This will better prepare us to face the hard realities of life... and our eventual death.