Thank you to my sister Ava for this link. Lovely, lovely song.

 

Good night, my dear friends!

 

May Jesus cradle you tonight as you sleep and listen to this song.

 

 

Love,

Cathy

 

My sister Viola`s already home after an awesome night at the Switchfoot in Manila Concert!

I gave her my complementary passes and just asked her one thing: Bring me home photos from the concert.  Click here for the whole story.

So here are they.

 

And now I`m wishing I have gone with them too. Too bad, I have a job interview early in the morning tomorrow to prepare for. ;(

 

 

Viola said Switchfoot was super-rock and she had been blessed by the band`s message. And she said Carlo had a really awesome, awesome time being a Switchfoot fan.

 

 

Viola said the lighting was cool and the whole thing was so cool…everyone was enjoying and having a great time during the whole event.

 

In fact, in the middle, people in the courtseat area got so excited so they stood up to their seats and my shy sister, along with the reserved/slightly conservative Carlo, remained seating on their seats! Haha They really wouldn`t stand on those chairs at all!

 

All in all, judging from these “fan photos”, I really think I missed so much BUT… yes, that`s all caps… I`m happy I made two people happy on a their first concert date tonight.

 

And here is the couple of my day, today!

Thank you Switchfoot and Becca Music (for the courtseat complementary passes)!

 

Till Switchfoot returns to Manila!

 

Good night!

I think I`m having too much of a sweet thing this morning. Not in a bad way though (`cause I don`t mean food, but something else.),You`re  like smiling all the way to your ears and your heart feels so full can`t breathe. It`s funny. haha

 

I told you before that I like colorful words, colorful blogs, colorful bloggers… {whew! colorful bloggers?}…and colorful songs, btw. And I have one favorite that fits well into that category.

 

When I need to smile, even just in my heart, I would head over to his blog and read any random post. I drop by like a tired, wandering adventurer… and come out refreshed like a happy, pretty flower. hehe My analogy`s weird but seriously, when creativity somehow eludes me, this far away friend inspires me. I feel like I see a part of me in him and how he writes.

 

I dream of one day writing as colorful as he does.

 

And I love, love, love his song I`m posting below.

Switchfoot is coming to Manila in 7 days for their Hello Hurricane World world tour! How cool is that?

 

I’ve got two tickets, courtesy of Becca Music Philippines, their local concert organizer and I’m excited to see the rock band, who popularized “Dare You To Move” and “Meant To Live” in the Philippine music scene, singing live at the Araneta.

 

Of course, Switchfoot is well known for being a mainstream rock band with Christian members and music that has Christian meaning…

 

Good idea to spend the last weekend of April, aight?

 

Catch you guys there!

 

Switchfoot

LIVE IN MANILA

April 30, 2011 (7 days left!)

Phil. Sports Arena

Ticket prices:
VIP                                 P3500
Courtseat                     P2500
Ringside                       P1800
Lower Box                     P1500
Ringside II                     P  800
General Admission        P  500

For more details visit Becca Music`s official site or The Switchfoot Concert In Manila Facebook page

I was on Blog The Beat last Thursday, Becca Music‘s first-ever music and events media night and I was so amazed and inspired to meet these super awesome Filipino bloggers and people from Becca Music that even now, I still have a hangover about the whole thing!

 

Becca Music gave an exclusive preview of their upcoming events,   particularly the Switchfoot concert on the 30th. Switchfoot music videos were played during the whole time. We also played Blogger Binggo, had really good food plus gourmet coffee from Folger. Perfect! How I wish Blog The Beat lasted more than a couple of hours. It was bitin! :)

 

 

I really, really feel so blessed to have been a part of this and to have met very, very nice people at Blog The Beat. Thank you so much to Becca Music for the invite! My heart found a home around the bloggers present that night.

 

I was honestly expecting that Ganns of gansdeen.com would be there ( because of a previous contest on his blog teaming up with BMI) but I was surprised when he greeted me while still at registration `cause I`m like a fan of his, seriously!  And it was actually great to find out he`s gonna be hosting the night! I know my fellow bloggers can attest to this that Blog The Beat was fun because Ganns was also an awesome host!

 

I  also met Maine from Stache Magazine who`s such a sweetie! Jay and Adz from Think Like A Beginner were so nice I felt like I`ve known them for a long time. Edan of Videoke Queen and her sister Virna…both of them were funny and so nice to talk to.

And of course, JC of J-Zone who finished  Blogger Binggo ahead of everybody! His excitement was contagious! I had to get rid of my shyness seeing him roam around. He was so active even just as he came in! I told him I think he`ll win the game and he really did!

 

LJ Salceda of 702 DZAS was also there. I shook her hand, introduced myself and found out later that she was LJ. If I knew who see was, I would`ve been too shy to introduce myself. (Blog The Beat really helped me overcome shyness that night! haha)

 

I also met Mighty from Transformational Leadership (and yes, he said his real name was Mighty), Miggy of At The Womb, Junjie and Gel of Gigs.com.ph, Justin of JustinBreathes , and Joenard and Alyssa of Truthonair, and many more!

 

Again, thank you so much to Becca Music, to Najee, and to my new friends, many of whom I only got the chance to talk to while signing each other`s Blogger Binggo cards…I`m sorry if I missed some of you. But please know I`m so blessed to know you all. I`m inspired to write more and never stop writing for the glory of the Lord. I hope to catch you guys at the concert!

 

And everybody, please don`t forget to get your tickets for Switchfoot`s Hello Hurricane Tour Live In Manila!

switchfoot

LIVE IN MANILA

April 30, 2011 (27 days left!)

Phil. Sports Arena

 

Ticket prices:
VIP                                 P3500
Courtseat                       P2500
Ringside                         P1800
Lower Box                      P1500
Ringside II                      P  800
General Admission         P  500 

 

For more details visit Becca Music`s official site or The Switchfoot Concert In Manila Facebook page.

 

See you at the concert, guys!

Yesterday, my hands were really full with all scripts to write, program to finalize, and people to contact. But God really is amazing and he brings people (or things) that reminds you to put that smile on your face `cause He is always there to bring brighter days.

 

 

It`s so bad I don`t have a picture, but Kuki came over to the sanctuary to practice Ava`s songs for Love Story. He`ll be playing guitar with her.

 

(Viola and Kuki in Cambodia last summer. Sorry didn`t have a relevant photo. They`ll kill me for this. haha)

 

I was thinking it was just an ordinary day, ordinary rehearsal. But God fills our days with pretty surprises when we least expect it. We had a great time laughing the whole day over everything.

 

It`s so cool because they also decided that Kuki would sing with Ava and Honey and I were giggling because their voices sounded great together.

 

We were singing with them and never stopped eating! I loved the dumplings, congee, and spring rolls! Mom was asking as to buy this and that and then Jessica came bringing a lot of chips for us to munch on.

 

Kuki will be back next Tuesday and we couldn`t wait.

 

Kyle, who will be hosting with me on Acoustic Night also left me a message on Facebook and his excitement is contagious! I also couldn`t wait for Love Story!

 

Acoustic night is fast approaching, and although we are nervous, we know that God has greater things in store. So excited.

   Last Friday, Viola got a call back for an international girl band audition. Everyone in the house was surprised `cause we never really expected it at all.

Viola told me how she had been praying and asking God to show Him his will, not for her, but for the nations. We were at the premiere of 1040 where Jaeson Ma kept on saying that instead of praying for God`s will for our lives individually, we should pray for God`s will for our generation and tell Him that we want to be a part of it. Since then, Viola said she`d been praying “Lord, give me the nations. Give me the nations.” It was her dream to sing and tell the world about Jesus. So when we learned about the call back, we thought that maybe it was God`s answer for her prayers.

So yesterday, Papa and Viola went to The Manila Peninsula for the live auditions. There were 30 girls who were asked to sing live, chosen from video auditions that had been sent online. At the end of the day, the top 10 was chosen, but Viola didn`t make the cut.

When Papa and Viola got home, I  didn`t see even a bit of frustration in them. They both learned that the girl band audition was actually for some kind of a Spice Girl thing and you know Spice Girls. Viola wasn`t for it—the dancing, the outfit and all.

But I was so blessed because of the stories they have with them. Even if Viola didn`t win, God had a purpose why He brought her there. His purpose is really higher than what what we could ever come up with our finite minds.

If you have auditioned for TV or music or anything, you know how heartbreaking it is to fail. People who get a call back are considered lucky. Many go home with less confidence that when they came in. Star searches can be a mean world for a fragile soul. Sadly, many girls and boys aren`t so strong for this kind of tough and merciless competition.

Yesterday, somehow, God has used Viola in the lives of the girls who were with her. She was sharing about her faith boldly and why she was auditioning. She was sharing about Jesus. In fact, she was even able to share that in front of the judges. Later on, she tried to comfort the girls, who like her, didn`t make it to the cut. At the end of the day, even if she didn`t win, you see God`s hand moving and doing His will. 

Sometimes, it`s like that. God brings us into special situations only to find out that He placed us there to share about him to somebody. If Viola didn`t win but brought one soul closer to Christ, God`s purpose still prevailed. In the end, she didn`t lose but she became an instrument for God`s greater purpose. All things still  work together for good. At the end of the day,  Viola may not have made it to the auditions but she became an ambassador of the Jesus Christ to some of the most talented girls of this generation.

And I think that is so much more amazing than becoming an Asian Spice Girl.  Right? ;)

Today was the jamming session at the park where the music team sang a few songs and gave away promo materials for Love Story.

We met this young girl named Janet who was waiting for her mom and we got to chat with her and even jam with her. Later she said she`s gonna see us on church on Sunday and it really felt great `cause we were aiming to promote for the acoustic night but God gave us an even prettier…and a very early gift. We really didn`t expect it. But God really works in mysterious ways and you just can`t put Him inside a box. He works in wonders that will really sweep you off your feet.

This picture of Ava and Honey was taken exactly where we were singing (Yeah, I sang a few lines! haha) and everyone was just having fun, really having a good laugh and a good snack time, thanks to the little santol fruits that honey brought with her.

It was really a tiring day. We walked around for more than an hour slipping invites into mailboxes and handing out flyers to people we pass by. But it was very rewarding and very fulfilling because we know that our work is never in vain. We know that God will do wonders and we just did our part in becoming his hands and feet.

We also got to visit Edison at Concorde and you wouldn`t believe how surprised his face looked the moment he saw us at his doorstep. We were all laughing the whole time and we couldn`t say a single word even after we stopped laughing. And Edison never really stopped laughing. He kept on saying that he couldn`t move on.

Anyway, I just got a message from Kuya Uriel and he said he`s in the Philippines and he might be coming to church on Sunday. Isn`t that amazing?

I`m a fan! I`m really loving her songs. I read from one of the comments on Youtube that Francesca`s songs are honest and I couldn`t agree more with that.  I feel that I can actually relate to her songs. I`m always looking for songs that are “real”…those which speaks the things my heart wants to say.
This song is really speaking what`s in my heart right now. People may think I`m doing well, that everything is really going on smoothly…but like any person, I also have my own struggles and sometimes, they get to me as well. It just proves that no one of us is really ever strong on  our own. We all have failings, we all run out of strength and it`s only God who always pulls us through no matter what. On the outside we may look as if nothing can ever beat us down, but on the inside we are children clinging on to our strong Heavenly Father who has always and will always be fighting for us.
Behind the scenes, we are fragile human beings…but also behind the scenes, God is the strong, all-powerful and ever-loving God who always backs us up. Behind the “behind the scenes”, we have a God actively working and that is a big, big relief.