6Days - Day Two

No Comments / May 08.09 / Uncategorized / by Gino

6Days - Day One

(From flight journal to sleep)

No Comments / May 07.09 / God does stuff and I've just got to talk about it, My Life, Uncategorized / by Gino

The Overwhelming Capabilities of Providence (Part 2)

It’s 4:30 in the morning. I’m wondering what I’m doing up at this time, but I realise I will be leaving for Sydney Airport in less than 3 hours. I’m flying out to the Philippines for the first time in six-odd years and I’m going there for all the wrong reasons.

My grandma has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and her kids are already there - it’s time for the eldest grandson to come back to the nest.

To this end I have been completely overwhelmed by the power of God’s providence in my life. Everything from the timely delivery of my passport to the speedy acquisition of my ticket to just having the energy to type a blog at 4:30 in the morning - all this through God’s steady hand of provision.

It is tough - I’d say impossible - for me to comprehend why there is so much blessing amid so much grief. I’m amazed at how God just makes things work, and I guess this has been a tough test for me, simply riding on the wave of grace as opposed to pursuing things (although I have been guilty of that).

So here I am, awake and slightly delirious at some ungodly hour of the morning, looking out at the black expanse of the sky, and thinking how crazy the next five days of my life are going to be.

I just know this going into my journey - that God’s hand is over me and He’s in complete control. All I can do is hold on and go through whatever I have to go through well.

No Comments / May 06.09 / God does stuff and I've just got to talk about it, My Life / by Gino

The Overwhelming Capabilities of Providence (Part 1)

Visitors to my blog will notice that for most of the time I will post a depressing or sobering message, to remind Christians and non alike that we have to get our act together, as God is watching us. Christians especially, as the worldis watching us. So imagine how much joy (deep joy, mind) I have had the last week or so to talk intensely abut God and Jesus to those who are verbose and insightful about the subject. I have talked to Misha, a fellow Christian from the Philippines, who carries so much awesome news about God’s working in the Philippines - movements he has seen with his very eyes. Imagine my delight as I caught up with him and a friend tonight, and we all opened up and our conversations revolved around God. And imagine my utter confusion and amazement as I did something today that I’d never usually do, applied myself as I do - and see someone open their eyes to their search for the truth.

I won’t go into much of the details, but I will tell you how it closed - through some shambolic workings by a third party, we shared a cab ride home and I got off at Blacktown as we were starting to have an awesome conversation about God - as I had her contact details, I told her I was going to get in touch with her; all she had to do was open the Bible she had at home and read it, and if she ever got stuck somewhere she could contact me and talk about it. She was quite excited about that, and so was I (seeing someone’s eyes sparkle and tear up because they’re on their way to discovering the Truth is something only God can provide). Then I took money over and above the fare I owed her, gave her the money and told her this is a bit extra to help her get home - and safely - then I asked the cab driver for his name, and I asked him to drive her home safely. And I left with a good-bye.

I believe with all my heart that God had placed me in that position; that my generosity and honour for her position and predicament was sourced directly from God’s love for her and desire that she be blessed and pushed through from Misha’s generosity earlier that evening; and that through all this craziness there is a reason God has put me in her path.

I believe in all these because God loves people SO MUCH. And though I do not know what I shall see tomorrow, I know this - God continues to wow me, each and single day. He uses me, timid little me, to further the Gospel and tell the Good News to those who wish to hear it. Sure, the method (inter-city cab) was rather unorthodox, but if God compels you, you move.

As mentioned in the title, I am in awe of the overwhelming capabilities of God’s Providence. It is such an eye opener that I am here wide awake and cannot sleep just because of how awesome tonight was.

God, You are awesome.

And I am so amazed by everything, everything You did and continue to do with me and through me.

This has really lifted my normally dour and sober spirits. Something like this, that gives me great and deep joy to be part off.

G

No Comments / Mar 27.09 / God does stuff and I've just got to talk about it, My Life / by Gino

Antisocial Networking - The Campaign Against Social Networking Philosophy

I’ve never been a fan of social networking sites.

The reason? I think this ‘future’ of communication will not just replace standard forms of communication, it might just outright destroy it.

Plus I think it’s destroying our perception of language.

Not to get my grip on this, you have to understand my point of view. I shift wildly between liberal and conservative views depending on the issue. In the case of language and its use, I’m quite old-school. There’s a fair amount of eloquence in the English language, and a good command of words translates to power, in my opinion.

No, not in social networking. In social networking it’s quantity, not quality, as you seek ever more farcical means of adding “friends” to your little pool of contacts, although the definition of friend in this context simply fails to relay the quality inherent in friendships. Sure, you have 450 Facebook friends, but how many of these so-called “friends” are actual friends of yours? Thinned that number down? Okay, how many of those do you actually call or contact in a regular basis?

I am sick, so very sick, of the trends in pop culture today, and the adopters of trends. I’ve more or less made it my life’s credo to follow my own path in terms of style and direction, and that seems to be working out nicely for me and those who actually appreciate what I do (yes, you four.)

I shall not say that I am an absolute puritan and remain free of the taint of social networking. I am on Myspace for the simple purpose of maintaining my presence there and following some bands that I like, and nothing more. No friend-hunting, no friend-hoarding, just occasional interest.

As part of a slow and quite vocal campaign against what the brunt of social networking stands for, I have made six badges, which I shall be creating and distributing to anyone interested. If you are, email me and if you’re willing to meet in person or live in the local are, I’d be more than happy to give you any three of the pins, free of charge.

Here they are. They are primarily targeted towards one of the main instigators of this social networking plague, Facebook:




Why Facebook?
1.) It’s the most popular social network out there. Not to mention it’s the one with little advertising.
2.) It’s a popular social trend.

Yes, my dear Facebook, enjoy your popularity while you can - because unlike Google, you serve no underlying utilitarian purpose rather than to facilitate humanity’s desire for superficial social interaction. Have fun living this fad while you can.

G

P.S. - By the way, don’t even attempt to lash out at the fact I use a blog. If you can read it, that’s it. This is a soapbox, not a chatroom.

No Comments / Mar 01.09 / Antisocial Networking, Design and Development / by Gino

A Reconsideration Of Upward Trends, Part Two

Apprehension.

I’m dealing with an intense apprehension towards Humankind. I have crossed the line from general dissociative disorder to full-blown misanthropy. I can’t, I just can’t trust Humanity, and I’ve figured out why.

I think my general distrust and failure to be faithful with Humanity comes from an absolute desire not to be distracted by anything in my quest for the deeper things. As far as some people go, the memories of them serve only to distract me. I try very hard not to let the memories of the past come in and overtake me, but alas, I seem to be losing this battle.

This place has blessed me so much with opportunity and friends and has absolutely opened my eyes to the world, but it has also been tainted with memories - bitter memories.

The purge - my dedicated mission to eradicate the remainder of my bad memories of 2008 - goes on. I am not growing any younger, and have become wiser to the operations of thought. The errors and mistakes of the past are the foundation blocks for the wisdom of tomorrow, provided we learn from them.

Have I learned from my errors in establishing relationships? I’d like to say I have. The true judge of my progress, after all, is time.

But this ends here. My faith in Humanity is nigh-dead. I trust God and only God. He’s got the plan, He knows which people He needs to use, we (people) are all failures but I’m sure He’s got more confidence in my fellow humans than I do.

The world has been changing before my eyes and I think this is a season of trial. It’s time to shed the last threads of the old Gino and attempt to bring the slightly scarier, slightly more psychotic, all-around crazier Gino to light.

‘Ere ends the age of olde
Let the tired mind breathe anew.

No Comments / Mar 01.09 / Rants and Frustrations / by Gino

Happy Valentines, Sarah Shaw

To Sarah Shaw,

Yep, I’m going to be a little late for the customary Valentine’s day date, but you know very well I’m going to make up for it.

See you soon.

G

No Comments / Feb 14.09 / Uncategorized / by Gino

A Reconsideration Of Upward Trends, Part One

To Whom It May Concern,

I have, in the space of a week, been forced to reconsider this long-standing issue I have regarding my utter lack of faith in Humanity.

As you will recall in previous correspondence, the reason for my paltry faith in the human condition is my overwhelming belief that we, as human beings, are utterly subject to God’s Will. We can choose to go against it, but His sovereignty is not in question; He will act to correct and move things according to His plan.

Now I’m not going around saying I actually know His plan (I don’t), but I have a fair amount of bias with regards to this issue - for all the great achievements of the human race, we’re naught for everything compared to the Creator Himself.

Back to the subject at hand - I have found myself starting to restore my faith in Humanity, through the help of friends and colleagues, through listening and learning and understanding more the human condition.

In essence, I was giving faith in the human race another chance.

Well, after a promising start six weeks ago, things have taken a step downwards. This may have been my fault in part - it is perhaps my willingness to gander that people would actually change this year. It doesn’t seem to be the case, I’m afraid.

Now, my detractors will point to two very clear and valid arguments to the contrary. I present, then, these two arguments and my rebuttal to each.

I will freely admit that I am heavily anti-culture; my adherence to Romans 12:2 brings my natural disdain for the mainstream to full effect. I do not attempt to meld into culture nor do I attempt to openly rebel against it; I am simply who I am. Yet my observation over the past 10 months has revealed nothing but world-saturated Christianity.

Humanity must seek to find Christianity - the real one. Not the Consumer Christianity that I so often see nowadays, not even the Pop Culture Christianity so prevalent in the world today.

It is a dark and mournful day in my little world as the last strands of hope that I have in the majority of people around me start to buckle under the weight of cultural norms.

I end this as I ended the last post, but in a more sombre fashion: I pray that I am proven wrong in this reconsideration. Only time will be the testament to the words written here - ere we forget where it was that the final crossroads were passed.

G

No Comments / Feb 14.09 / Rants and Frustrations / by Gino

Forever or Nothing

Happy New Year, by the way.

I’m happy to report that my year ended somewhat well, being able to greet Sarah twice (once when the calendar switched in my time zone, and then again when it switched on hers)

Now for the meaty stuff.

An experiment I carried out last night - nay, it wasn’t even so much an experiment as a simple sit-down observation at a meeting last night - has confirmed several things that I have previously already written and speculated about.

The Facts:

I mourn the death of idealism. I mourn that we have forgotten the credo of unassuming knowledge. I mourn the failure to use academic learning in favour of sheer unguided subservience.

To this degree I am no longer ‘drunken in the Spirit’ as I was in July; rather, I am ’sobered’ by it. I am no longer acting blindly in faith, but have learned that true and righteous application of the Word can only be achieved by wisdom combined with faith. A raw, feverish and ill-tempered faith is misguided at best, dangerous at worst.

And yet it seems to be the most prevalent form. Instead of an intimate desire for application and learning, all I see is hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy, hypocrisy, hypocrisy.

I wish I could say otherwise, but how much of this “fervent faith” lasts long enough to be of use to anyone? In the opening line of one of The Daylights’ songs: I want something that lasts forever, you just want a quick fix.

And frankly, my friends, I am heavily disenfranchised. Heaven forbid I completely lose it mid-year.

To be honest, I have seen great change, great vision and great movement within a crowd whose potential these few years I have been weary off. This new year, renewed with vision, they attack it with an unhinged and revitalised spirit of purpose.

But this is an phase. A tide that will simply wash over and subside in due time.

And I pray to God that this year - of all years - I am wrong in this observation.

G

2 Comments / Feb 13.09 / My Life, Rants and Frustrations / by Gino

Blessed Christmas (part 2)

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

I think it was this hymn that solidified why I’m celebrating Christmas by myself (voluntarily) this year. Because I want to be rid of all this commercial crap.

Let’s go back to basics, guys. Focus.

No Comments / Dec 25.08 / My Life / by Gino

« Previous Entries


© Copyright 2007 Reverse G . Thanks for visiting!