"Fresh View Of The Cross"

sitting here 1 in the morning, sippin on Strawberry Milkis, tired from a long day...

but filled with a fresh view of the cross!

caught the 8pm service @ Hillsong NYC w/ an awesome group of brothers and sister~

up until the final point of the sermon i was convicted and encouraged to let off the chains of self-sufficiency and then his last point did it for me~ i was blown away by the driving point of his msg and encouragement to us all~

talking about letting loose our chains of discouragement and indifference~to not judge and live a faith with love not condemnation... and then he tells us that the only thing that can motivate, compel, to bring life to dry bones..... was to keep a fresh view of the cross daily!

it was a refreshing word~ it was a timely word...

Christians these days need a fresh view of the cross and let off these chains that say the cross of Christ only applies to those who are ready. no one is ready, that's the point of the cross... to meet us in places only the blood of Christ can save us from, to break chains that only the power of God can let loose...


"Lord let us be a generation that seeks your face and sees the center piece of the cross in this crazy mosaic of our lives"

all of us came out needing to catch a breather and just overwhelmed by the Spirit of God that was running so thick in the atmosphere and in the people.

afterwards we went to one of my favorite pizzeria's, if not, the best pizzeria! Rosa's =)


i also bought tickets to the MArch 10th UNITED concert for me and my New Wave Band @ EMC, i can't wait to go with the NWB~ i'm excited to c how God will move in our lives that night!

HOLLA! =)

i was so encouraged to c my friends worship God and even our friend that Curtis invited~ it was amazing =)

the highlight of the night for me was when i met Joel Houston!

this guy has been an inspiration and role model for me as a worship leader and a Christian~ man.... kick 1 in the bucket list!

my friends said i was like a little kid overjoyed in finally getting to meet his hero~

JEsus paved the way, thank u God for blessing me with unspeakable joy and ur undeserved favor!still can't believe i got a picture w da dude, praise God! lol

ne way,

the next couple of days i'll be away with the New Wave and friends on our annual Ski/Snowboard Retreat~ i can't wait! =)
will keep u posted

sigh* i need some rest....

"thank You God for being such a good God... even when i really don't deserve your favor. There's no one else i'd rather live for, then the 1 who gave me life and the 1 who knows how my heart beats...you are amazinngg"

-JPeaceout

Birthday Love

what a crazy weekend!

i was debating whether i should plan a celebration for my birthday or not~ but i was tired and the older you get, the less likely you're to celebrate how old you really are!

although i may not consider myself "old", even though how many of my beloved New Wave and Mario remind me, i consider right now to be my prime!

let's b optimistic here right?! =)

i'm a bachelor, i'm a student, i'm a teacher, i'm a musician, i'm a singer, i'm athletic (occasional joint aches), i still have my hair! (my 5 uncles are all bald incl my dad....), i still have pimples, i'm a historian, i'm a child of God...i'm young! ;D lol, and this blog will remind me throughout the year!

ne how,

this year i wanted to keep to myself and bless the Lord bcuz lets face it.... God has done so much for me that i couldn't or shouldn't ask for more.

when it turned 12 am my roommates or roommate Curtis and friend Victor who was spending the night, surprised me w a heart shaped ice cream cake and we celebrated together~ lol, i was very blessed and touched by that~ something small can go a long way =)

honestly that was all i was really expecting this year and i would've been content w it~

i was really looking forward to going to the "Don't Walk By" homeless event in NYC but the Lord closed that door and then i wanted to go around the community and shovel with my NWB but the Lord closed that door as well~

it seemed as much as i wanted to give to the Lord on my birthday, He wanted me to receive his blessings and grace all the more.

after coordinating the band meet @ 10 AM in the morning and ending the meet around 2, they arranged a small and warm celebration that i really had no idea about! awesome job guys lol

notice the melted wax from the candles that were prematurely lit! some have completely dissipated into the cake lol

due to my 3-5pm shift i had to leave early and so Easter asks me if i will come back~ to which i replied, "do i have a reason to EAsterrrr??" and she tells me she has some cupcakes or some kind of baking she's doing for me, as she does so well ;)

as P.Sang and Sarah drive me to Queens Blvd. PSang basically blows every1s spot and "accidentally" tells me to act surprised!

as i arrived to church @ around 8 pm, i was practicing my surprised look :O

every1 seems to b doing there own thing and i was like "hello". I sat down in the sanctuary and then every1 left... i was like..."okkkk"

and then Enrique asks me to eat w him downstairs and as i walk downstairs all the lights are out and LO AND BEHOLD~ a burst of shouting & screaming to what seemed to be them singing "Happy Birthday"!

i was more overwhelmed then surprised! lol

the food was great, the company was right, and the presence of God was thick!

i was truly blessed for my EMC family esp my New WAve babies lol

afterwards i had gone to a "very special" friends house who is going away to Scotland this Friday to study abroad and as i was leaving she gave me a gift basket/survival basket!! that i loved and was filled with her moms awesome salsa, SPAM, huge bag of tortilla chips and more! lol, what a sweety! gracias carina =)

i was immensely fatigued by the end of the night, but even as i was going home.... the night was not over..... mind u, it's about 1 am.

a bunch of the guys came over and spent the night~ we all slept around 3 am.... let's just say, i woke up to Bruce wearing my hoody as pants!!! (no alcohol involved) it was weird, but funny....

i woke up praising God =)

here's a glimpse of how crazy it got! lol (this pic will b removed soon due to parental discretion)

in all of this i realize that the Lord really does bless and overwhelm His children w provision and grace and mercy and ultimately the blood of His Son through which all of this is possible!

this journey/race called life, is that much more joyous and fulfilling w the Lord guiding each step and year that we're given.

a psalm that reminds me every year that i'm thought about...

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well."

Psalms 139:13-14

God is amazing

*JPeaceout =)

Jesus in a Box

song of the week:

Hillsong Acoustic - This Is Our God

so i saw this @ the store and was like, "WOW, i want 1..."

and u get to thinkin~ why "Jesus in a box" when u can have "Jesus in ur heart"!

forgive my case of Pastoritis, but man, u could preach wit dat!

i remember someone once told me i need to step out of my "Christian bubble", a bit aggravated and offended, i responded, "y? so i can be like u?"

not so crudely of course....

but in regard to my point of this blog,

sometimes i tend to put God in a box and disregard the importance of representing him in my heart~

people judge, Christians judge, people mock, Christians mock, people curse, Christians curse

difference btwn the world and Christians? not much.

This morning, my roommate Curtis and i have committed to spending 10 - 10:30 AM everyday doing bible study and spending that quiet time w God.

Starting our day with the Lord just helps make the day go by that much easier and there's always a lesson or something that God wants us to know each and everyday believe it or not, it is amazing.

As we're going thru Galatians we're seeing people who TWIST and MANIPULATE the gospel the way they want in order to please themselves and everyone else but God, placing "Jesus in a box".

"You are salt of the earth... you are the light of the world"

Matt 5:13-14

Goal of the week- take Jesus out the box (hm, that would make a good song)

some food for thought,

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified."

- John 17:13-19

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Curtis' first deuce ;P

my first chicken! lol yeayuh

(it taste alot better than it looks! lol)