Are you inspired by Rica Peralejo’s wedding to Pastor Joe Bonifacio? I know most of you are probably thinking if it’s real that it’s their first kiss on the day they were wed, and some would find it outright unbelievable. But it’s true. Being that I am from the same church Rica attends, which is Victory Christian Fellowship, I am very much aware of what the church encourages to its members. No, the church doesn’t push you or “require” you to do things their way, or to shove the teachings of the Bible in your face. They do encourage and make it a point to let everyone be aware of those teachings and what is right and wrong. It’s up to you if you wanna follow or not. Maybe that’s why I love VCF so much. I don’t hear the pastors preaching about how immoral someone is by doing this or that.. All of the sermons and services that I have attended were mostly positive. Pastors speaking from their own experiences, and the pastors themselves are a living testimony of what life is like serving God.

Rica and Pastor Joe’s love story isn’t something new for those who are from VCF. In fact, I remember back in 2003, as a member of the Youth on Fire (the church group of VCF for teens), that we were encouraged to read Joshua Harris’ books titled I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Boy Meets Girl. I Kissed Dating Goodbye focuses on how important it is to start a relationship with a solid foundation of friendship, and how important it is to remain pure while waiting for Mr. Right. The book discourages boyfriend-girlfriend relationships, it encourages one to only commit..if you’re ready to commit for life. That’s why it focuses on establishing a meaningful friendship with someone, getting to know that someone..before taking the big leap. Yes, friendship going straight to marriage may sound weird for some, but I have seen the pastors and their wives who are living testimonies of this, and they are very, very happy couples. Boy Meets Girl is a follow-up of I Kissed Dating Goodbye.

You may want to read these books. Or have your teens read them for inspiration.

I was on my way to an interview last night, and I was VERY surprised to see that in place of several security guards checking each and every passenger’s bag, there is now 1 line for the x-ray scanner. Similar to those being used in airports. I didn’t have to open my bag anymore! I simply placed my bag on the conveyor belt, and I was done in a jiffy. This is certainly new, but a very good change to the LRT system. Finally, something the government did that made me smile. Riding the LRT is now hassle-free. No need to open my bag to be inspected, and no need to tug at the zipper while rushing up the stairs. Way to go. Hopefully, even the MRT system will be using x-ray scanners as well.

*No, this isn’t what my bag looked like when it went through the scanner!*