#so hashtag mission accomplished hehe

[petrichor-moss-and-lightning]

late october

i could read fortunes by the twisting and unfurling of breath,

by the arrangement of veins under my skin

[longing like a baring of arteries] --

violet and blue and green and the hollow shape of her name.

an absence that drags the edges of my body inwards;

a collapsing of heat,

a folding of breath.

girl made god that does not die.

pull lightning from between my ribs.

make me something holy.

make me something wanted.

[thefuturepastor]

What Christians Can Do About the Drug Problem

The alleged extrajudicial killing (EJK) of 17-year-old Kian Loyd Delos Santos has become the moon that pulled a strong tide toward disapproval on the Duterte drug war as of late. Many of my Facebook friends who used to be mum on the issue have suddenly shattered the ice cube of silence that had long held them in suspended animation, Captain America style, as they found enough motivation to speak out against EJK. Duterte drug war believers, of course, have been more than ready (as always) to respond to them with equally scathing passion.

Because I am a pastor, I am keen to observe these things from a pastor’s point of view. And one thing I both notice and commend is the number of Christians on my social network fearlessly coming out with their opinions because of Kian’s controversial death. I commend this newfound courage for many Christians who are new to social media discussions that affect society because them tackling justice, even if it were just through a hashtag, is a quantum leap from their usual fare of 9GAG memes and Super Tekla videos. Okay na ‘yan kesa wala ‘di ba hehe, so stop accusing them na bandwagoning lang or nakikisawsaw. Slow clap para sa mga kapatid kong Kristiyanong may paki-alam na ngayon sa current events :)

I highly recommend that every Christian be aware of what’s happening in their world, develop a biblical opinion about it, and air that opinion with prudence. Admittedly, though, I find something lacking in this procedure. 

What we often lack

It is easy to be misled into thinking that we’re doing enough just because we became aware, had an opinion, posted it on social media, and garnered likes and reactions. Because of the kind of technology at our disposal, we may acquire the delusion of accomplishment just because we got to voice out on social media. 

But a social media post that cries out for justice is not enough. Our opinions are not enough. We need to actually do something to dismantle the evil of illegal drugs in the country and prevent anymore loss of human lives.

Whether you are “pro-” or “anti-Duterte”, I know we agree on one thing. We want the drug problem (and its multifarious and nefarious consequences) over and we want no more Filipinos dying.

This is a societal sickness government and its police force cannot solve on their own. Now more than ever, the church as Christ’s living body in the Philippines must awaken to the truth that we can actually do something to help solve the problem.

BUT HOW, right? Should I volunteer to a crime watch organization? Should I be active in neighborhood junkie crackdowns? Would organizing a vigilante group cut it?

Chill, Norman Osborn.

Here’s how

Actually, I’m talking about evangelism and discipleship. Yes, good old evangelism and discipleship. That simple.

If you’re a Christian who wants to do something about the drug problem, you should really try getting involved in the work of evangelism and discipleship. 

And if your problem is you don’t know how to go about the work of evangelism and discipleship, your first step could be connecting with a church ministry or leader that can train you how to do it.

If every Christian would just get seriously involved in their local church’s evangelism and discipleship efforts, more would be won to the kingdom of Christ. And every soul brought into the kingdom is one less potential drug user in the world. If there are two of them, then make it two less potential drug users in the world. 

If the logic sounds mind-boggling or far-fetched to you, then you must have not yet met people who got saved from heavy drug misuse after finding salvation in Jesus and much needed support from church friends and leaders. OR you must have not yet encountered Christians who fell away from the faith and ended up using drugs.

Whatever battles we face on earth, we must always come from this perspective: Our battle is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12); the weapons of our warfare are not of this world (2 Corinthians 10:4); Jesus is the savior and hope of humanity (John 3:16 and basically the whole Bible).

I believe that every Filipino Christian’s diligence in the great work of evangelism and discipleship is also an effort to mitigate the Philippine’s drug problem (and whatever else ails the world). This is work the church should be proud of (in a good way).

Of course, it’s something the world won’t understand and media won’t necessarily report in a breaking news. But this is truth.

Evangelism and discipleship impacts individuals, families, and societies. They accomplish more than posting your opinions on Facebook. I’m not saying we should stop posting them, but we should definitely not stop at just posting them.

We can act now by keeping people away from drugs (and other works of darkness) by showing them eternal life in the kingdom of Christ’s light. That’s your role; that’s my role.

Log out and reach out. Don’t be an armchair justice crusader. We can actually do something by committing our lives to the greatest rescue mission of all: evangelism and discipleship.

[betweenthesteps-blog]

Can you believe we are setting up for May already? Time flies! And I have moved to a brand new Leuchtturm1917 in Emerald colour, woohoo!

CARPE MENSIS ‘Seize the month’ is the title of my monthly log spread that is focused entirely on accomplishing my goals/mission for the year 2017. Focus on is a section for things I want to accomplish within the second quarter of the year, Not working is for activities that are not taking me anywhere near to my goals or things that are simply not working, and Reach out is where you can write down any name or company you would like to get in touch with during the month of May. My mission is a part of my big yearly goals that are broken down to monthly goals and actions to make them happen. You have probably noticed that I have added ‘What does it mean to me?’ section which is my WHY – the reason why I am working on these goals and what it means to me. This is very important if you want to make progress, improve your life etc. Without a reason, there is no point of doing things, is there? Mini monthly calendar is for scheduling my BTS blog posts/videos. Monthly tasks for anything you’d like to complete this month and future Coming up for any events, tasks, appointments etc. I have used my favourite pastel Tombow dual brush pens for colouring this spread – except for Focus on, Not working and Reach out where I used a regular colouring pencil Marco Raffine.

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Monthly review

Monthly tracker

I incorporated the weekly review into this monthly review in April and it has worked out very well – it is great to have everything together so you can clearly see how you were doing the entire month! At the end of each week, you write down how your week went and then you will do the same at the end of the month only you will focus on the entire month. This month, I am sticking to the same monthly tracker we had during the month of April and you can find it as a printable in our Community library – I left it all blank for you and without that separating line ;)

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week 1

week 2

week 3

week 4

There are four weeks in May (18-21)!  You can see that instead of ‘This week outcome’ there is a Focus on instead – this is to make sure I am working on my ‘3-month accomplishment’ list! It is an awesome tool to keep you motivated and really focused on the big picture. Have you tried it yet? Everything else is the same and the space in the right corner is for…. yes? That’s right! Our weekly tracker!

This food log is awesome! Seriously, I love it so much I have it for the third month in a row in my journal! You know how much I like to mix things up but this one is sticking around, hehe.

May mood mandala inspired by Fiona @bujo.mama is a new addition to my bullet journal – I tried this last month and really enjoyed the process and how it was turning out. Even if you wouldn’t draw the mandala in black pen over the colours, it would still be pretty!

Say hello to my newest project Tell me you love me with its very own hashtag #mylovelog ! WORDS ARE IMPORTANT and so are the actions. This spread is basically a reminder of nice words and things that your loved one tells or does for you during the month of May (please note, it doesn’t have to be your partner only, it could be your parents, your pet, friends etc.). You can write it down or doodle something pretty :) Share the love by using the #mylovelog in your picture description and if you’d like, you can tag me in it (@betweenthesteps) I can’t wait to see what you will have in your love log!

After a few months’ pause, I am embracing a gratitude log again! This one is inspired by Helen @journalwithpurpose and the idea is to have all the lovely words together on one page only separated with small bullets. On the opposite page will be my Moments to cherish doodles and memories of the month.

  Would you like to watch the video now? Come this way 🙂 → Youtube | May 2017 setup

New blog post is here! May 2017 setup #bulletjournal #betweenthesteps Can you believe we are setting up for May already? Time flies! And I have moved to a brand new…