pasko na naman!

my family is celebrating christmas a little differently this year. first off, we ditched the yuletide decors except for our occasional holiday pillow covers. we did not put up lights in the garden or in the palawan cherry blossom tree or in the balcony. and we thought better than to hang our annual christmas angels on the third floor and the parol on the second.

it's not that we are being the neighborhood scrooges [although that would be a good identity, hmmm] this time of the year but we thought it a good idea to scrimp on the bling and splurge on giving instead. so all the moolah we save from decorations and electricity will be given to the church to expand the work of the Lord.

i think i speak on behalf of my family when i say that the true meaning of Christmas is not/should not be confined in just a day or a month-long celebration marked by lights and mistletoe and trees. the babe in the manger should be celebrated all year round and i suppose we have pretty much covered that essence. everyday is christmas because the baby that was born on christmas day still lives.

::::::: (",) :::::::

on january this year, our church launched the building block project. we aim to raise funds for our new building to go with our acquired lot.

>> these boxes were empty that time.

we broke the bank a while back and weighed the boxes, had a guessing game for the amount, counted all those bills and coins and came up with a whopping P110,000+ [i lost the actual count; i mentally breakdown when numbers are involved].

and now, tada, through God's grace we were all smelling like coins and bills. i vaguely remember a Bible story when i was a kid about how the Israelites contributed in the temple treasury for the building of a grand temple. i think that was in Joash's time. the clinks and tinks were enough to send good kinds of shivers all over me knowing that little by little, we are going to get our very own place of worship in God's promised land.



>> this could very well be the first floor of our building. or maybe the right wing of the children's sunday school. or the pastor's office. or the gym floor. but that is another storey. hahaha.

from coins clinking, the sound i want to hear next is jackhammers, erm, hammering and heavy machineries digging through the very foundation of the new Sampaloc Bible Church. until then, until then. :D

photos nicked from potjenipot.multiply.com.  thanks. :D