I Set No Corner

Featuring the song “Wait For You” by Elliott Yamin last Friday required me to do some reading for the short article I’ll be posting with it. I was intrigued with the judges good reviews on his performances and how America rallied to support him. Even Simon Cowell, known for his unsparingly blunt and often controversial criticism of the contestants, even commented that Yamin’s rendition of “A Song For You” was a “vocal masterclass.”

I am no American Idol fan so I haven’t watched any of the guy’s performances back then. So I went to the ever reliable YouTube and saw that it was indeed a great performance that even brought Paula Abdul to tears.

However, I was totally impressed and became an instant believer of the guy after watching this particular performance of his…

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“Strengthen yourselves so that you will live here on earth doing what God wants.”
I Peter 4:2

I suspect the most consistent thing about your life has to be inconsistency…

It’s this eerie inconsistency that keeps all of us, to one degree or another, living our lives at the edge of our chairs.

Yet, it was in this inconsistency that God has his finest hour. Never did the obscene come so close to the holy as it did on Calvary. Never did the good in the world so intertwine with the bad as it did on the cross…

God on a cross. Humanity at it’s worst. Divinity at it’s best…

God is not stumped by an evil world. He doesn’t gasp in amazement at the depth of our faith or the depth of our failures. He knows the condition of the world…and loves it just the same. For just when we find a place where God would never be (like on a cross), we look again and there he is, in the flesh.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in No Wonder They Call Him the Savior

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Elliott Yamin (born Efraym Elliott Yamin on July 20, 1978) is an American singer who is known for being the third-place finalist on the fifth season of American Idol.

During one weekly rehearsal, Elliott was told by guest coach Stevie Wonder that he should definitely pursue a career in music. Simon Cowell even stated that he thought Yamin was “potentially the best male vocalist” ever on American Idol and later, after Yamin’s “A Song for You” performance, he declared that it was a “vocal masterclass.” Cowell also said after Yamin’s performance of “Moody’s Mood For Love” that Yamin’s song selection might be “too cool for the room.”

Yamin is 90% deaf in his left ear, and was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes at the age of 16.

(Source: Wikipedia)

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For seven years, I have been a part of a Filipino forum called Barrio Alimasag and just recently, we held a search for the 2007 Alimasag Desktop Wallpaper. Though none of my entries won, it was fun participating in it. Here are my entries:

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This tag is courtesy of Dom Lawrence, OSB; a Filipino Roman Catholic Benedictine monk brother of the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, Abiquiu, New Mexico USA.

And with this, I have fulfilled my obligations to all my friends who have sooo generously tagged me.

What makes your blog unique?

I believe that every person is unique. Though my blog may just be one of those personal blogs out there… but none of them is iRonnie.

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“The Father has loves us so much that we are called children of God.”
I John 3:1

When my oldest daughter, Jenna, was four years old, she came to me with a confession. “Daddy, I took a crayon and drew on the wall.” (Kids amaze me with their honesty.)

I sat down and lifted her up into my lap and tried to be wise. “Is that a good thing to do?” I asked her.

“No.”

“What does Daddy do when you write on the wall?”

“You spank me.”

“What do you think Daddy should do this time?”

“Love.”

Don’t we all want that? Don’t we all long for a father who, even though our mistakes are written all over the wall, will love us anyway?

We do have that type of a father. A father who is at his best when we are at our worst. A father whose grace is a strongest when our devotion is weakest.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in Six Hours One Friday

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After various notverysuccessful bands and record deals I started Aqualung in 2002. I wanted to make grownup music. Write songs about this curious world that would be truthful, articulate, candid, poetic, sometimes beautiful and occasionally a bit strange. I also wanted to not be in a band anymore.

So for the record (company) Aqualung is not a band. It’s the name I decided to give the music I’ve been making since 2002. It’s written, performed, sung, produced by me. I am it’s legal guardian.

Excerpts from Who I Am
by Matt Hales, read the full article in the artist’s official site

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One might wonder why is it important to promote awareness and conservation of the La Mesa Watershed. Simply because:

The La Mesa Watershed… is the last remaining forest cover inside Metro Manila.

The La Mesa Reservoir receives water from several streams within the watershed as well as inflows coming from Angat Reservoir to the north, it provides approximately 1.5 million liters of drinking water to Metro Manila everyday.

That’s how important this reservoir is. Losing La Mesa is losing 1.5 million liters supply of drinking water. That ill-fated situation almost happened during the ’90s, when…
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I was tagged by Jeprocks and this is how its supposed to go…

Instructions: Each player starts with 7 random habits/facts about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

1. I am left-handed. However, you won’t easily notice it because I write with my right hand.
2. As a kid, I once excitedly woke up my mom when a Jehovah’s Witness knocked on our door saying that he has a “mabuting balita ((good news))” for her.
3. It’s hard for me to sleep with just one pillow on the bed. I require at least two.
4. I am still a child at heart. I love anime!
5. I am sentimental.
6. It’s hard for me to do two things at the same time. Especially when one requires to be deep in thought.
7. I am a control freak.

Sorry but I decided not to tag anyone since the previous one cost me nine persons and I don’t have much in my blogroll. However, if you find this interesting, you are free to tag yourself.

I still have one more tag from Dom Lawrence coming up. I am saving it for last since I find the questions quite hard to answer.

“Bless the LORD,…who forgives all your iniquities.”
PSALM 103:1-2 NKJV

God doesn’t remember the past. But I do, you do. You still remember. You’re like me. You still remember what you did before you changed. In the cellar of your heart lurk the ghosts of yesterday’s sins. Sins you’ve confessed; errors of which you’ve repented; damage you’ve done your best to repair…

That horrid lie.

The time you exploded in anger.

Now, honestly. Do you think God was exaggerating when he said he would cast our sins as far as the east is from the west? Do you actually believe he would make a statement like “I will not hold their iniquities against them” and then rub our noses in them whenever we ask for help?

Of course you don’t. You and I just need an occasional reminder of God’s nature, his forgetful nature.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in God Came Near

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