I love you, Aida!

You see, before I got married to my wife (Aida), I didn’t know much about romance and how things worked. Yes. I was cuddly and showy with my feelings. But there are just some things a guy doesn’t know about love.

Ten years ago, in a Starbucks Coffee in Makati, I gave my wife an engagement ring. Unfortunately, I gave it in the most stupidest way. No music. No flowers. No nothing. How unromatic, isn’t it? Yup.

And for years, my wife had longed to have a proposal that is truly worth remembering. Every time she saw something like that on television or in movies, she wished he had that too. And I wish that for her as well.

Today, I get to change everything. I’m given a second chance.

By the time you read this, I would have already swept her off her feet in surprise.

She doesn’t know that I will be singing to her today or giving her flowers or proposing in front of a crowd with a ring in tow. Yes. A ring.

So I hope that as I write my next post, I have photos and video to show you all.

Frankly, I’m scared to death. But I’m willing to do this because I love my wife. I have been with her for 14 years. Married for 10 years. We’ve gone through a lot.

I want to give her something I neglected to give her – a proper proposal.

And today, we start again. Anew.

I love you, Aida. Hope you like my surprise.

Rodney

“I’m busy.”
“I got lots to do.”
“I have to go somewhere.”
“I don’t have time.”

Have we all said these statements many times in our lives? I’m sure we all have.

Whether it is going to the gym, losing weight, learning a new sport or hobby or even going back to church and getting right with God, we sometimes feel other things are more important. It robs us of our time and energy.

But are all the things we do important or distractions?

Sometimes, the things we do are distractions to what really needs to be done.

Work is a blessing. But it can also be a curse when it robs time away from God. Opportunities are great especially when they provide for our family. But when these opportunities take us away from our family, then is it all worth it?

If there is anything I’ve learned these past few weeks, it is this: the enemy will send us plenty of distractions so we can lose focus to what God wants us to set our eyes on.

Don’t let the enemy blur your vision!
Don’t lose your focus!
Don’t be distracted!

When Peter lost his focus on Jesus, he started sinking.

Do we feel the same way sometimes when we lose FOCUS on God?

Perhaps, we can do something about it.

Like what I always say, “Put God FIRST and everything will fall into place.”

I pray that you will not be distracted with the things that make you busy and have the time to things that really matter more.

God bless you!

Until then,

PR

Time does fly fast. Perhaps, I was too busy with things concerning WWCF Rockwell Campus that I didn’t get to blog. Besides, when you reach home at 3am, the last thing you want to do is blog.

There are certain things I want to share to you in another post. But I just want people to know that I’m still blogging and will continue to blog. For me, writing is a good therapeutic activity. And I would like to use this to encourage people. I hope I am.

For those who have not tried it, I suggest you do. There are countless free sites like Blogger that will permit you to make a blog site. Go ahead and try it. Just be sure you are careful with your words and with what you post.

Till my next post.

Now, some people say that I don’t look fat. And I think I’m not fat..as in obese fat. But I do need to lose some pounds that I gained during the holidays. It seems that my midsection area gained a few inches and my pants are protesting against the changes.

Off to the Cross Trainer. With my Pink iPod (Yes Pink! A gift from my wifey with my name specially engraved at the back. And YES…Pink!) strapped around my left arm, John Maxwell’s “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” raging in my earbuds and with level 7 resistance on the machine, I started running.

Cardio was my goal that day. I wanted to do as much cardio as I can without pushing my body too much. Remember, this was my first time in a long time in the gym and I don’t want to have a sudden breakdown. Besides, falling off the Cross Trainer would be very embarrassing.

John Maxwell starts teaching about “The Law of the Lid” (which I will talk about here soon). I took my towel and covered the dashboard that displayed my stats namely the calories that I was about to burn, the number of strides I will eventually take and the number of minutes I will be spending on the machine.

Why you may ask? I don’t want to give my mind bad ideas.

See, sometimes, these number can play tricks on your mind. When you see that you only did 5 minutes when it feels like forever, your mind starts telling your to stop. You feel tired suddenly. Then you feel like giving up.

So to stop from being tempted, I covered the console. Not to mention, John Maxwell was giving me a constructive distraction through his teachings. I think I was more concerned that I don’t miss what he was saying than counting how many strides I took.

Minutes went by and I started sweating. I was a great feeling. It’s been a while since I got drenched in my own sweat. It felt good knowing that my body was responding to the exercise. Though I may not be sweating pounds, I sure was on my way in doing so. Plus my heart is pumping and I’m helping my blood circulate better.

Little did I know that I had already been Cross Training for 30 minutes and had burned an estimated 340 calories. Not bad for my first day. I felt good.

When the Bible said that “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19), it was speaking in the context of sexual immorality. However, if the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, then the body should not just be respected but be taken cared of.

Shouldn’t we take care of God’s gifts to us including our bodies?

I’ll share more in the coming days of my new adventures in the gym. There might be some little nuggets of knowledge and wisdom worthy of sharing along the way.

Till then, I pray you lose weight this month for the right reasons and the right means.

God bless.

PR

Posted via email from rodneygarcia’s posterous

As you begin this New Year, remember that as Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.

This New Year, it’s time to face your fears. Stop running away. Running away won’t make it go away.

Post your comments. I want to know what you think

Now, I’m not saying that you should not pay your debts or deny the pain or pretend that disappointments never existed.

But what I am saying to you today is that 2010 is a new season for you. The new year brings new hope to all of us. Hope is something vital to each person. Without it, probably more than half of Earth’s population are now dead. Without hope, we won’t get up in the morning and start the day. We need hope and God is giving us that hope in 2010.

Let me encourage you today. It’s the new year. Don’t let the disappointments and the hurt of the past year pull you down this year. Remember that God is doing something wonderful in your life everyday. If you set your eyes in the past rather that God and the future, then you will miss it. This year, I am believing that God will do great things in your life that you will never expect. That’s just how God is. Always delivering more than what we expect.

If you have a debt last year that you need to pay, pray that God will open doors of opportunities to help you pay for that debt. Don’t run away from it. Face it and pay for it.

If you have pain carried on from last year, pray to the Lord and tell Him what you feel about it and release forgiveness to the offender.

If you have disappointments, see where you went wrong and make sure that you do not do the same mistakes.

It’s a NEW YEAR! It’s a NEW SEASON for you and me.

I know God has great plans for all of us. Just wait and see.

Happy New Year!

PR

Then, hell froze over.

Tonight, at the Live WWE Raw show, Bret Hart returned and buried the hatched with Shawn Michaels. For those who do not know, Shawn Michaels is a Born-Again Christian and has completely changed all these years since that incident in Montreal.

For twelve years, they have exchanged heated words and pointed fingers as who was at fault. However, there were no pointing fingers today. No heated words. Only words of encouragement, a handshake and a heartfelt hug. At last, there was closure.

Let me be honest – I shed a tear or two. I shed a tear because I know how it is to carry such weight and the relief of letting it go.

I was happy for both men who has carried such a burden for twelve years. Makes me wonder how we have carried the same things – bitterness, unforgiveness, grudges.

You don’t need to carry this heavy burden for twelve or so years. It’s been too long and the only one who has been having a hard time is you. Isn’t it time to bury the hatchet and let things go.

You may say that it is the other persons fault. True. But it does not change the fact that this bitterness and unforgiveness has haunted you and placed you in an invisible prison. Only you hold the key to get out of it.

It’s the new year. Perhaps we can consider forgiving someone today. Perhaps we can consider burying the hatchet. Perhaps we can let someone off a huge debt. Perhaps 2010 can be the year when you can set someone free from any guilt or bitterness.

As Bret Hart had the “HART” to forgive, maybe we can too.

After all, God forgave us first. Why shouldn’t we forgive others?

This evening, I spent the night in prayer with my team members at Rockwell Campus. I am privileged to be surrounded with people who are passionately seeking God’s will. The living room of our tita Olive became Holy Ground because God was there. We prayed together and for each other.

Now, I’m not sharing these things to you to make me look good. Nor am I typing these words to make me more spiritual. No e-mails please.

But what I am trying to tell you is that we need to PRAY.

Prayer is a conversation with God that never ceases. It’s not like a phone call when you press “CALL” and “END THE CALL”. It’s not just done before a meal or before you sleep. Pray not because you are in danger or you are in trouble. Pray because you want to talk to God.

Madame de Stael once said that “Prayer is more than meditation. In meditation, the source of strength is one’s self. When one prays, he goes to a source of strength greater than his own.” Beautifully said.

It’s the beginning of the year. We’re barely a week into January 2010. Let me encourage you to take time in prayer. Talk to the Lord. If you do, He will respond. Those who truly seek God will find Him. God is not hard to find. It is usually harder to find the time for God.

If there is anything I learned today, it’s a basic and unchanging fact – PRAYER IS IMPORTANT.

If you want to seek guidance, PRAY.
If you want wisdom, PRAY.
If you need something, PRAY.
If you are confused, PRAY.
If you are God’s child, PRAY.

My friend, let me encourage you to pray today. God listens.

“Prayer is the voice of faith.” – William Van Horne