Carl says…

Heyy everyone, it’s been awhile since I blogged. But yeah, I wrote and posted this recently on various SFC and YFC eGroups, and I thought I’d share it with you all too.

God Bless

Heyy guys,

It’s me, and back to doing random thoughts for the day. For those of you who know me well, you all know that I can be random as one minute and then randomly say something which sounds kinda smart. This is one of those moments. Hahahaha! And for those who’ve never seen me do one of these before, they’re kinda a semi-regular thing, where I just randomly share something I learnt.

Anyways, normally, I’d share something quite general, but today, I want to share a personal story. A wake up call from God I suppose, hence the title of today’s random thought.

Let’s take a few steps back. I’d recently felt like I’d hit a wall (not literally, you know, the figure of speech kind…figuratively…dat’s da 1) with my service. I felt that I wasn’t growing as much anymore. Then I heard that there was to be a CLP for SFC held here in Wellington. I was both reluctant and excited. Excited because I thought, maybe this is the chance I have to grow more in my prayer time and my relationship with God. But relecutant because of that misconception that SFC is boring and too serious (trust me YFCs, it’s not. It’s actually quite fun).

Anyways, so I attended and began experiencing new things, but it was only a few hours ago that I had my real wake up call. Ate Mia had asked me to lead worship at the household meeting, and I agreed. But the household meeting was done slightly out of order, because cooking dinner took so long, we had our discussion while we cooked (Tapa, fried egg, rice and roast chicken…yumm!!!). Worship came at the end of the meeting, which was fine by me. I thought back to the Worship Leader’s Workshop from YFC Leader’s Summit 2005. "Worship is the central point of any YFC(or SFC and CFC) gathering", which meant that we’d saved the best for last. And I shared to them about the first time I let myself go in worship, and how God brought me to tears that day.

After the singing had ended, and we were nearing the end of our thanksgiving and lifting up of petitions, I felt something in my heart, "sing me this song" it said, "sing Awesome God". So, I picked up my guitar and started playing it and singing it and I remembered something that I had never really forgotten, but it had been awhile since I actually pushed myself to do this. And I was in such shock and awe that God reminded me of this that I could barely put words together anymore, and all I could do was begin to cry at how awesome God is.

What was this wake up call you ask? To go above and beyond in our service. We as Christians are called to spread God’s word to not just our fellow Christians, but to all men. I guess what it was that made me feel so dry in my service was that, I felt that I was doing enough. I felt that because I was organizing meetings, being active in the music ministry that, that was enough, that’s all I needed to do. But if we’re going to have that attitude, then we’ll never grow.

It’s much like a child always trying to please his or her parents, trying their best to make them proud, so too should our attitude be with our service to God. If we always do what we’ve always done, then we’ll always remain in the same place, but if we constantly push ourselves to do better, then imagine how much we could accomplish for our God. Remember that He’s always there guiding our every step, and giving us the strength to keep on doing what we’re doing.

One day, I want to stand face to face with God and have him say to me, "my son, I’m proud of you and I love you". And I want to be able to say back, "thank you father, I love you too, and I’m proud to be Your son".

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that was the wake up call God gave me. He told me not to be complacent and just do what I’ve always done but instead to challenge myself and give my best. He told me to always give 100%, to go beyond my comfort zone and to try my best at all times. And like any parent, it’s not whether we succeed, of course there will be times we fail, but God sees like any parent that we’ve done our best with what talents we have.

Let us keep pushing and working hard, relying on His strength to complete the work He’s called us to do. It’s cliche for me to say this I know, but remember, God has won the battle, all we need to do is go out and claim that victory.

May God be Praised

Your Brother in Christ

Carl Non
SFC Wellington NZ

Taken from the blog of Ate Marifei

Effective Immediately, please be aware that there are changes YOU need to make in YOUR life. These changes need to be completed in order that I may fulfill My promises to you to grant you peace, joy and happiness in this life. I apologize for any inconvenience, but after all that I am doing, this seems very little to ask of you. Please, follow these 10 guidelines

1. QUIT WORRYING: Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here to take all your burdens and carry them for you? Or do you just enjoy fretting over every little thing that comes your way?

2. PUT IT ON THE LIST: Something needs done or taken care of. Put it on the list. No, not YOUR list. Put it on MY to-do-list. Let ME be the one to take care of the problem. I can`t help you until you turn it over to Me. And although My to-do-list is long, I am after all… God. I can take care of anything you put into My hands. In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I take care of a lot of things for you that you never even realize.

3. TRUST ME: Once you`ve given your burdens to Me, quit trying to take them back. Trust in Me. Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs, your problems and your trials. Problems with the kids? Put them on My list. Problem with finances? Put it on My list. Problems with your emotional roller coaster For My sake, put it on My list. I want to help you. All you have to do is ask.

4. LEAVE IT ALONE: Don`t wake up one morning and say, "Well, I`m feeling much stronger now, I think I can handle it from here." Why do you think you are feeling stronger now? It`s simple. You gave Me your burdens and I`m taking care of them. I also renew your strength and cover you in my peace. Don`t you know that if I give you these problems back, you will be right back where you started? Leave them with Me and forget about them. Just let Me do my job.

5. TALK TO ME: I want you to forget a lot of things. Forget what was making you crazy. Forget the worry and the fretting because you know I`m in control. But there`s one thing I pray you never forget. Please, don`t forget to talk to Me - OFTEN! I love YOU! I want to hear your voice. I want you to include Me in on the things going on in your life. I want to hear you talk about your friends and family. Prayer is simply you having a conversation with Me. I want to be your dearest friend.

6. HAVE FAITH: I see a lot of things from up here that you can`t see from where you are. Have faith in Me that I know what I`m doing. Trust Me; you wouldn`t want the view from My eyes. I will continue to care for you, watch over you, and meet your needs. You only have to trust Me. Although I have a much bigger task than you, it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing your simple part How hard can trust be?

7. SHARE: You were taught to share when you were only two years old. When did you forget? That rule still applies. Share with those who are less fortunate than you. Share your joy with those who need encouragement. Share your laughter with those who haven`t heard any in such a long time. Share your tears with those who have forgotten how to cry. Share your faith with those who have none.

8. BE PATIENT: I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime you could have so many diverse experiences. You grow from a child to an adult, have children, change jobs many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands of people, and experience so much. How can you be so impatient then when it takes Me a little longer than you expect to handle something on My to-do-list? Trust in My timing, for My timing is perfect. Just because I created the entire universe in only six days, everyone thinks I should always rush, rush, rush.

9. BE KIND: Be kind to others, for I love them just as much as I love you. They may not dress like you, or talk like you, or live the same way you do, but I still love you all. Please try to get along, for My sake. I created each of you different in some way. It would be too boring if you were all identical. Please, know I love each of your differences.

10. LOVE YOURSELF: As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself? You were created by me for one reason only — to be loved, and to love in return. I am a God of Love. Love Me. Love your neighbors. But also love yourself. It makes My heart ache when I see you so angry with yourself when things go wrong. You are very precious to me. Don`t ever forget…..

Here’s an email a friend of mine sent me hahahahah!!

Folks: These are so bad, they’re good! Ginamit na kaya ni Tony Chong o ni Ric Librea ang mga ito?  Cheers, Rene
———————————————————————————————————-

Grand compilation ng mga pamatay na hirit:

1) Kumain ka ba ng asukal? - ang tamis kasi ng ngiti mo.
2) I’m a bee - can you be my honey?
3) May lahi ka bang keyboard? - type kasi kita
4) Papupulis kita! - ninakaw mo kasi puso ko
5) Are you a dictionary? - coz you add meaning to my life
6) I lost my number - can I have yours?
7) I forgot your name - can I call you mine?
Ice ka ba? - crush kita, okay lang?
9) Sweswertihin ka sa pagibig ngayong taon - pag naging akin ka
10) Meralco ka ba? - pag ngumiti ka kasi may spark
11) Crayola ka ba? - kasi nagbibigay ka ng kulay sa buhay ko
12) EDSA ka ba? - di kasi ako makapagmove on
13) Bangin ka ba? - nahulog kasi ako sa’yo
14) May butas ba yang puso mo? - natrap kasi ako, can’t find my way out
15) Pustiso ka ba? - kasi I can’t smile without you
16) Miss, alam mo ba? Hindi tayo Tao, hindi tayo Hayop, at hindi rin tayo Halaman, Bagay tayo, Bagay.

Yeah, well, back home on Monday, and I was straight back to work on Wednesday. While it’s nice to see everyone one again, my body still feels extremely dead. But what’s nice is I’m slowly getting back into routine.

Wednesday we had SFC household meeting
Thursday we had a meeting with the YFC coordinators
Friday (today) is work again, but a rest day
Saturday (tomorrow) I’ve got basketball

And all next week, I’ve got SFC household, GK show planning meeting, upper household meeting for YFC, GPM for YFC Wellington and then I’m serving at the CFC-CLP as part of the music team.

It’s nice to be back…kinda. If only I wasn’t so jetlagged!!!

Well, it’s home time. I’m currently sitting at Ninoy Aquino international airport, waiting for our flight which leaves in less than an hour.

Our last night was good, got to catch up with two old friends (Marie and Ralph) before being called home since the whole family gathered to see us off. I seriously love my family man, they’re awesome.

Today was spent doing final packing and all that stuff, before saying bye to everyone. I know it’s only been a few hours, but I honestly miss my family already. We’re already discussing when the next reunion is, next wedding apparently (running joke is that whoever asks when the next reunion is, it’s their wedding).

Trip Summary:

• I finally rode  a roller coaster (and liked it) and have begun the process of getting over heights
• I ate alot but only put on like 2kg (sitting at 93kg, was around 91kg when we left NZ)
• The food here rocks
• My cousins are dorks, but you gotta love them for it
• Voltes V is awesome
• The music here is way better live than on CD (Apo Hiking, Parokya ni Edgar, Side A, Moonstar88…)
• Mall of Asia is huge

I guess that’s it really. Soon I’ll be on a plane heading to Hong Kong, then Hong Kong to Auckland, and then Auckland to Wellington. To those of you who took the time to read my blog, thanks for caring enough to read it

Kiwis!! I’ll see you soon

Aussies, maybe at SFC OLC (for those of you in SFC)

Cousins and other relatives, you’ll be missed, thanks for all the memories

Friends, same to you, was good to catch up with all of you

Take care everyone, and God Bless

It’s quite sad really, the trip comes to an end tomorrow. Sigh…and as always things were just getting interesting here. LoLz!!

Well, as you could probably tell by the title, we never made it to Enchanted Kingdom. We ended up in Megamall instead. Huge as mall (not as big as Mall of Asia though). Just did some shopping there, I bought myself a copy of the Infinite Crisis Trade Paperback. After that, it was time for our final family dinner together.

We went out to this place, not sure where exactly, somewhere near Roxas Blvd I think, where you buy raw seafood and stuff from the market, bring it into the restaurant and they cook it for you. Now that was pretty sweet! Now I’m not sure who bought the food, or if we just ordered the restaurant’s food, but man did it taste good!!! As usual, we had rice (dude…what meal is complete without rice man?) and we had garlic buttered prawns, tempura prawns, garlic and chilli crabs, fish sinigang and baked mussels. Oohhhh man it was all soo goood!!!!! And me, I normally don’t eat mussels (childhood phobia…choked on one a long time ago, now I can’t seem to get near them…until last night that is) but man….did they taste good!!! They were baked, with cheese on top…oh man soo good!!

Following dinner, the cousins got together for our final night out. Unfortunately we couldn’t get into any bars or anything because the recently wed Kuya JV was wearing tsinelas instead of shoes. We finally found a place where we could just sit and chill, and that’s exactly what we did. We also discovered that Kuya Rommel has a very good radar for detecting…well let’s just leave it at that shall we. A few hours later and after the girls went to eat at Jollibee and the boys played a few billiards games, it was time to say goodbye. I will miss my cousins, they’re an interesting group of people. At least we’re back here next year I think.

This morning was very sad…I started packing my bags. Sigh…at least today I get to see one of my best friends before we go tomorrow. But still…all in all, it was a good trip. One definitely worth it, and I know it won’t be the last.

For you New Zealanders…see you in a few days.

So…our visit to Enchanted Kingdom was canceled…yeah it was closed. Not open on Tuesdays apparently. How dry is that? So we spent the day doing everything we planned for Friday on Tuesday. So for me, that meant making a visit to the CFC Center in Ortigas to grab a few things for stuff for the year (yes my household, I didn’t forget you…and YFC HH leaders, didn’t forget you either)/

The next day was Valentine’s Day. Worst day of the year to be single hahaha!  But I had a great Valentine’s Day.  I spent the morning with my Lola, Tita and cousin just catching up. Lunch time and after, two old friends arranged to take me on a visit to a GK site, the one out at Baseco. I’d never seen a GK site up close before, and I have to be honest, it was absolutely awesome…I was so amazed. It was nice to have a look at what the money we raise is doing. It was my first visit, but definitely not my last. Next time I come back, I want to help build a house myself, rather than just walking around. There’s a goal for me to work towards.

Afterwards, the whole family went to watch a concert…the Apo Hiking Society. One of my favorite bands of all time. And I know the word awesome is over used, but they were awesome!! I couldn’t help but sing along and enjoy the show. Those of you who’ve seen them live before know what I’m talking about.

Good news is, we’ve moved our trip to Enchanted Kingdom tomorrow. Haha so we get to go see it after all. It’s kind of strange, the fact that we’re going home Sunday. Kind of sad too really, I wish I had more time here, there’s still so much I want to do, but we’ve got so little time left. Oh well, I guess that I’ll have to come back here again. After all, Philippines is home right? Hehehe!

See all you New Zealanders soon!!

God Bless

So…Last Saturday was the big day. Kuya JV and Ate Malou’s wedding. It was nice to see, Kuya JV’s the third of the cousins in the Non family to get married. That leaves quite a few of us left, but hey, who’s rushing LoLz!

The wedding ceremony itself was quite nice. I was one of the Groomsmen, and lucky for me I was one of the Groomsmen with very little to do except sit there and pose for pictures. LoLz!! How lucky for me. Other cousins were secondary sponsors for other stuff, and Kuya JV’s younger brother TJ was the best man.

The reception was held in the garden outside the church straight after. THing is, it was afternoon, the sun was pouring down and it was HOT AS!! So our table (with all the cousins sitting together) must have finished half the Iced Tea that was being served at the reception.

After the reception finished, Abby and I were picked up by Roland, our Tito Jun’s driver, we were spending the weekend with Ma’s side of the family. We went out to Antipolo to meet up with Tito Jun and Tita Lou. Afterwards, we went to pick up our cousin Tom from Assumption High School in Antipolo, where one of his friends had invited him to a concert they were holding there. There were several bands playing, so we got curious and asked. As it turns out, Parokya ni Edgar was the final act, and so Tito Jun let us watch.

After a minor dress code issue (nice one Abby!!!) we were able to get inside. After all these presentations, before Parokya came on, they called on another special guest band for a small set, and it was Moonstar88, so that was pretty cool. They had the whole audience singing Panalangin and Torete! Hahaha!

Then the main event of the concert…Parokya!!! And man, do they sound awesome live!! After their first song (Buloy), the band started playing a song which sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite identify which one it was. Good old Chito then turns his back to the audience and starts singing,

"Anong balita…sa radyo at TV…", he paused, then turns around,
"Hahaha! Joke lang joke lang!!!"

Right at the end, the band left Gab on stage (I think it was Gab anyway…hard to see from afar) who sang Your Song. Right after the applause, Chito came back out, for "one last song", an all time favorite, Harana. Then we had to go, but before we were out the gates, the whole band came back for one more song, the title escapes me though.

We spent the weekend chilling with Tom, all of Sunday was just eating, breakfast at Red Ribbon, lunch at Teriyaki Boy and dinner at Marina’s. Monday was spent watching Prison Break before heading to Sta Ana to meet up with Dad again for our Tita Tessie’s despedida. It was cool to have that little reunion again, after the wedding. Laughing at all the different things that happened. Then it was home time, and we were confronted by the lady whose store we parked outside. There was still ALOT and I mean ALOT of room to walk to the store, and we got yelled at because she thought we were blocking the entrance to her store/house and asked us if we could have a little consideration. And there I was thinking, dude…people park there all the time, I’ve seen it…why are we the ones getting yelled at? Hehh…anyways, after an eventful weekend, you’d think we’d had enough and would need a rest right? Wrong! LoLz! Today, we’re off to Enchanted Kingdom for the day. I’ll let you know how that goes in a day or two!

See you soon!!

Yeahh….you guessed it, we went to Boracay for 2 nights.

We left Tuesday morning, really early as, and we went to the Philippine Domestic Airport, tiny little place, smaller than Wellington Airport (yep…exactly) and arrived in Boracay and man I gota tell you, the view is amazing. It’s like walking into a postcardm it’s that picture perfect. Half the photos we took look kinda like, the background has been added afterwards, because you never see pictures that clear or that awesome looking, but once I manage to get the photos off my phone and into an online album, you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Just to sum things up because I’m kinda sleepy here’s what we did.

Island Hopping - which included checking out underground caves and some snorkelling in clear as water.
Snorkelling was definitely cool, maybe something I can get into when I get back to NZ. There’s just something cool about checking out what’s down there.

Lying in the sun for hours - nuff said

Getting a massage - again, nuff said. It was the equivalent of about $10-$12 for a full hour’s massage. Ohh man so comfortable. Sooo relaxing. I was so tempted to get another one, but yeah…ran out of time because I got mine in the morning of our last day…so yahh…oh well.

Some shopping at the local market. Managed to get a Philz bball singlet with Boracay written on the back.

Oh we also did alot of eating. Ahh too much food here! I weighed myself, still the same weight as I was when I left NZ, which is reassuring really. That means somehow I’ve managed to maintain even though I’m eating heaps.

And the other thing that me, my sister and our cousin did was all get into the hall of fame at this bar (Summerplace) down at Boracay. So if you’re ever in Boracay, go to station 2, look under the New Zealand list at Summerplace and my name’s there, and so is Abby’s. Ate Jen’s is under Philippines. If you want details, ask me LoLz!

Other things that happened afterwards…our flight back to Manila from Caticlan was delayed by about 20mins. Which wasn’t so cool because everyone was completely dead and impatient and yeahh…not cool at all.

But yeah…bed time now. It’s late as, and tomorrow is a rest day before the main event of our trip…Kuya JV’s wedding.

Friday, we went out to the market at Greenhills, managed to score myself some cheap as but cool shirts, ask to see them when I get back, otherwise, once I get the chance to upload photos I’ll show you.

The weekend was extremely awesome. Most of the extended family traveled out to Batangas for the weekend.

The trip started with all the cousins getting into one van, and the oldies but goodies in the other. In the cousin’s van, good old Pipo fell asleep first and as per family tradition was the victim of the first prank, which wasn’t too bad really, just me sticking my foot in his face and kicking him, while one of the other cousins (Haha nice team work there Jen!!) videoed the whole thing. After the 3 hour drive Saturday morning, we arrived at the beach and had lunch. The food was, as always, awesome. The beach itself was an awesome sight to see, clear skies, cool breeze, light sands, clear waters. After chilling for a bit, we decided it was time to take a dip and go for a swim, and little were we expecting, the water was colder than we all thought, but after a while it wasn’t too bad. It was also around this time that the Non Family Tradition kicked in, a right of passage that all male members for some odd reason need to experience. I won’t explain what it is, it’s a family thing, but yes, Sam was initiated.

After more chilling out and other stuff, it was time for dinner. Followed by various card games, either tong’its or various variations of poker. It was then that Ms Jennifer Non came over to us guys and said, "we’re starting now". Out came the alcohol. Not too much, a bottle of Bailey’s and bottle of Jagermeister (mmmmm…!!!).  After various toasts, Ate Mae Ann (sorry Ate if I spelt it wrong!!!) decided that we should play cards, loser takes a shot. The funny thing was, she kept losing! After the bottles were empty and a few of us cousins had some funny drunken moments (I won’t mention who…but it was funny anyway…every time I hear the word TANGA!!! I will always remember this person…LoLz!) we finished off the night quietly with more card games.

The following morning, to end our beach trip, a group of us decided to hire a couple of boats and go snorkelling out by some coral reefs. I’d never been snorkelling before, and I gota tell you, it was absolutely amazing! The water was so clear and crystal blue, I wish I had one of those underwater digital cameras! Oh man!!!

And after that, it was home time. Another long drive, but on the way home, we were granted one last piece of excitement. A flat tire in the middle of a highway. Once we got home, it was chill time, and more family traditions happening.

Once that was all over, we went to Church (first time I;ve been in weeks because of our schedule…thank you Lord!!), dinner, and I’m about to join everyone else being KO’d around the house.

A lengthy blog today I know, but there’s too much to tell. Just wait til I get the photos!!!

God Bless everyone!!!