Sunday, May 31, 2015

UNUSUAL BRISK WALK TODAY: Met a Lot of "Walkers" Like in Walking Dead

damselsworld.com
First day of classes today for my youngest kid and also his first time to be in high school. So we woke up at 4.30 am and helped him prepare--though I told him he should take care of himself from now on because he's not a grade school kid anymore. But we wanted to be part of his first day of classes so we decided to help him out today.

After he and my wife left (my wife decided to go with him this first day before she proceeded to her own school as teacher), I did a vital  ritual in our CR. Then I wore my workout clothes and hit the streets. Then they appeared, one by one, in the partially dark early morning. I mean the walkers. These were people exercising early in the morning by walking slowly with bowed heads and didn't make any sound even if they sometimes almost rubbed elbows with each other.

They were like that at first, probably needed to focus on warming up. After having been warmed up, they come to life again. Well, this morning I was one of them. I also was a walker in some sense, starting slowly and quietly, not making any sound or even greeting anyone, except my neighbor, the Sprinkler. We were scattered in the street walking slowly like real zombies, and I was laughing to myself. So this is how it feels like to be a walker, I told myself.

Oh, and the Sprinkler. She was going out her gate just as I was starting my brisk walk warm up, pail of water in one hand and a dip with the other. She was ready to water whatever it was she planted in the street. She does that each morning--watering the street--for a year now. No growth yet. Sometimes I want to ask what she planted there.

Actually, it was my first time to brisk walk again in months. I had decided to just workout regularly at home with push-ups, pull-ups, squats and jogging in place, among others. But working out outdoors is still different. And I have to make use of the uphill climb our inclined streets here offer. They're great for bone strength. Because it was my "first time" again, I had to do everything slowly. So, today, it's just a brisk walk. After a while, I'd do my jogs.

I met Benjie and was delighted to see me back in the streets. I said, "First time again," as I quickly passed him by. He repeated my words: "First time again!" and chuckled a bit. Later, I met Paul, another jogging "classmate" of mine who never got rid of his fat belly though he regularly jogged. At least Benjie had some improvements.

Then much later, the other walkers came to life and started greeting me, "Good morning!"

I studied them each time I went past these joggers as I made rounds around the block. There were the two Ilocanos who I call the Dijay Duet because they discuss a lot of things with loud voices and hard accents as they do their slow walks each morning. Sometimes they seem like in a heated argument and almost ready to punch each other. They'd sometimes stop to watch me do my arnis kata and shadow boxing and later applaud.

There is this snobbish guy with a bulging tummy who looks like my classmate in grade school at St. Patrick. So I call him "Snob Classmate" in my mind. Then there's another one--I call him "Marathon man" because he once ran in marathons. He'd often do brisk walks with his friendly German Shepherds. A lot of my other jogging classmates are not around anymore. I wonder where they are.

This morning there were newcomers. There was this young skinny girl whose flat rubber shoes had hard, concrete-like soles that made her steps too loud. I wanted to tell her that she had the wrong pairs of running shoes, but I had no business doing that. I guess she wants to achieve a sexy body form so she thinks running and walking would help her do it. How did I arrive at this conclusion? Well, by the way she walks. But I don't think she needs to run more than she needs to eat to be sexy.

Then there was this young biker who watched me and my arnis stick each time we crossed our paths. He seemed a bit bothered by my stick. Later, he smiled at me when some dust rose from the ground and we both had to cover our noses.

There was also a woman who walked casually while holding an uprooted plant in her left hand. This one really looked like a walker, especially with the roots of the plant still dripping soil from her hand. She later rode a motorcycle when her rounds were finished and drove fast past me.

Then there was this tall, a bit overweight bespectacled man with the balding head and who looked like a geek. He smiled at me as he approached and we both greeted each other. After him was an old man who just walked a little to and from and smiled  at me. He, too, looked like a real walker.

Finally, there was this tall American with his big fat dog. He also carried a stick, probably to ward off stray dogs which loitered in the streets. Sometimes his wife went along, but she was not around this morning.

And there were the two street sweepers and the gardener at the plaza.

Me? I wore a blue green camouflage shirt with, white lines on the short sleeves, and gray jogging pants. With my short flat-top hair, arnis stick and belt bag, I probably looked like a military survivor in a zombie movie. Or, did I merely look like a zombie soldier?

Friday, May 29, 2015

ON BEING FOOD DETECTIVE: The Wiser You Become the Less You Eat Just Anything

autismspectrumgps.com
FOOD AND HEALTH. When I was young I ate anything. I thought, anyway, I was a workout-holic (a guy who always works out physically), so anything I ate was neutralized by it. But then with research I found out that it wasn't that simple. Truth is, what you swallow has lasting effects in and on you which workout mostly cannot re-do or improve on.

For instance, all the aspartame you swallow is forever in your system, especially in your bones. What's aspartame? It's the wicked sweetener used in many powdered juices and other beverages in the market today. It's even in most sodas and softdrinks you love. After enough accumulation, it may give you cancer if your immune system is weak. And foods with artificial sugars weaken your immune system.

As you learn these things in your constant search for knowledge (at first I was just an online health researcher. Later, I became a licensed health and wellness consultant of Vital-C) you change your lifestyle and wisen up. And I learned that the wiser you become the lesser you eat just anything. You start finding out the ingredients in food products and carefully look up product contents on labels. Any term you can't understand you look up on Google.

You become a food detective.

Sometimes, you have no choice but to eat junk when you're out of the house. But now your conscience bothers you when you do it--unlike before when you just ate anything and then forgot about them. Now, you sometimes can't stop imagining what the ingredients are doing inside your body after you swallow unhealthy junk food. You do all you can to detox--take alkaline water, do water therapy in the morning, drink kalamansi or other fresh fruit juice, and of course, pray.

Oh, taking apple cider vinegar with water is among the best ways to detox. Costs less, too.

To me, a truly wise person is always after good health--spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, social, and financial. It's a total waste to know lots of things and then remain willingly unhealthy. You're a fool who learns everything but never see truth.

"..always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth." [2 Timothy 3.7]

JESUS CHURCH CONTINUED: There is No Other Church

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HISGROUP DISCIPLESHIP. A continuation of what Jesus started some 2,000 years ago--or what he started in the Gospel. That's what churches ought to be today. Don't create something separate or different. Just have what I call "Jesus church continued."

Thus, there's absolutely no need to form your denomination or denominational doctrines because you're supposed to merely continue what Jesus started. Just rely on the whole bible as your sound doctrine, just as Paul and the apostles did. They didn't have any Baptist, MethodistPentecostal, Nazarene, Calvinist or Armenian doctrine or way of seeing the bible in the Book of Acts. 

Don't re-invent church with your own denominational policies, rules and regulations, or beliefs, no matter if you bombard it with bible verses. There's no need to form denominations. Just continue with what Jesus started and will finish.

Do a Jesus-Church continued.

God gave me a vision in 2004--vision of the Jesus church, without spot or wrinkle or any blemish, where he and his works alone are seen [not man's programs and ministries], and which is just a continuation of what he started--a Jesus church continued. It's a church fulfilling Jesus' prayer in John 17--that all believers be completely one just as the Father and Son are one. No, it's not all born-again denominations combined; rather it's a complete unity of all true believers. Zero denominations. Just like the Acts church. And among local churches of this global Jesus Church Continued is the church he let me handle temporarily.
I always say "temporarily" because he's the real owner, and I dare not lay any claim to it. I don't call it "my church." And because it isn't mine [it's HIS], I dare not register it with the government under my name or any group or denomination's name. It was his blood that was shed to purchase it and redeem souls, not mine. I own no soul, not even mine. During church conferences, just to give it a name or something in the list of attendance, I refer to it casually as HISgroup. When asked when it was founded, I say almost 2,000 years ago. They laugh, thinking I'm kidding. When asked who the founder is, I say Jesus Christ. Now they smirk, thinking I'm either nuts or a heretic or some cult leader.
But it's the truth. No one can register under his name or organization the church for whom Christ died. No apostle of Christ did that. And you cannot re-invent church and form your own church system and denominational doctrines, manuals, policies, rules, and regulations, (I repeat) though you bombard them with bible verses. All you can do is simply continue the church Jesus started, exactly as he did it. He is the Way. There's no other way. You can never say he is obsolete in our modern times. He is eternal. What he did and how he did them then is very relevant today. He never changes.
Some church folks dismiss supernatural healing as "obsolete" because today we have doctors and medicines. If you hint at doing what supernatural things Jesus did in this regard, they'd mock you--and these are supposedly Jesus believers.
That's why I wonder about the type of evangelism denominations do. They use God's money to recruit people to their denominational membership to attend their church, not the church Jesus started in the Gospel. They raise up souls there to be loyal to their denominations, not to the Jesus glorious church, which is without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. They claim their denominations are part of the Jesus Church continued, but they all look very different from it, operating in the ways of the world instead of using Jesus' supernatural ways.
Fact is, they laugh at anything supernaturally of Jesus and they're the first to admit disbelief in God's Word. Strange, but often when the real Jesus speaks, they fail to recognize him.

Monday, May 25, 2015

PROJECT 8 BLOG: About an Ordinary But Must-See Place You Won't Forget


PLACES. Project 8 in Quezon City has become a favorite shortcut route among lots of motorists. If you're heading toward the North (like NLEX) from the South and you want to bypass heavy traffic in Balintawak, Camachili, and the toll gate there, you may try passing through Project 8.

Before I continue, congratulate me for reaching this 100th blog article for Choy's Cut! I know this calls for a celebration, so I give you this special FREE article on Project 8.

Now, back to the article. As I was saying..

Oh yeah. Or, if you're coming from Manila or the South and you want to be connected to Quirino Highway or Novaliches fast, you can try going through Project 8 via Congressional or Mindanao Avenues. You can do this either through the back of SM North or the intersection of Congressional Avenue and EDSA.

So, no wonder even public buses going to Novaliches through C5 pass through Project for a quicker route and lesser traffic.

So, I decided to create a blog on Project 8, the place where I spent most of my childhood and teenage life (and where I now live) after transferring from La Loma where I also spent some years of my early life. Since a lot of people from various localities pass by this area daily, probably they ought to know something a bit special about the place. It's nothing luxurious or exclusive, but Project 8 is definitely something to experience.

I've always kept the place dear to my heart because I have a lot of fond memories here--the adventures of childhood, boy scouting, teenage years, college life, my parents, being a young professional, a married guy raising a family, and more. Most of my contemporaries here have gone to live somewhere else and I'm among the few original settlers left--and it happens that I'm a blogger--so I thought I should create a blog on it for residents, passers-by, and Project 8 future generations.

And growing up in this area, I've always imagined some mysteries surrounding it, probably from the tales I heard from old folks here when I was a kid. There's always a kid in me and it often shows up on my blogs. Particularly, I find the river snaking through the area most mysterious because it has been there since the place used to be a hilly wilderness frequented by Katipuneros in the 1800s.

So, I also decided to place some mystery stories on the blog on a special page. To add to the mystery fun, try to locate it if you can.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

WHAT BODY PART IS MOST IMPORTANT TO WORKOUT? Fact, It's the Real Health and Fitness Indicator

alive.com
HEALTH. There's always a strong temptation to workout or strengthen the part of the body that gives us physical appeal. So we see people mostly working out their muscles in gyms. Again, basics are ignored. This generation seems to be hellbent at that--ignoring basics and majoring on minors. Anything that makes us look good--that is basic for us.

But the body part we really need to workout is the heart. Heart health does not make you look sexier or give you physical appeal, so it's least thought of when people are aiming to be fit. When they talk of fitness, they often mean developing muscles. So, the ridiculous thing is, you see so-called "fitness buffs" working out in gyms and then later smoking and drowning themselves in liquor and other vices, including staying out late at night and having anger galore.

Because the only thing that matters to them is a muscular physique.

But real health is all about inner health, which includes the following:
  • Inner peace, no negative stress and having enough rest and relaxation.
  • Health of internal organs
  • And internal organ health, like lung health, basically starts with heart health
But you seldom see guys who focus on the above. Most of them just want to look great. They want the form, not the essence. I've met guys with great physiques but who are not aware about their inner health--their daily stress level, blood chem, BP, and things like that. And often, when talking of inner health, the health of your marriage, family, and standing with God counts a lot--especially standing with God. Your spiritual health. These things should be included in your daily "workouts."

So be mindful, first of all, of your heart health--it's spiritual, physical and emotional conditions. That usually covers all your body organs as well, including oxygen pumped to your brain. And then it also concerns the right diet and exercise. The right aerobics is important, like brisk walking. Running fast like hell is not recommended. I sometimes see guys running crazily in the morning thinking it is good for the heart. 

The proper workout for the heart is a stride that is somewhere between a very fast brisk walk to a slow jog. It's like merely enjoying your light jog. But you should consult your medical doctor first about it.

Saturday, May 23, 2015

GUARANTEED TO MAKE YOU FEEL YOUNG AGAIN: Make Sure You Do It on a Regular Basis

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I'm 55, and I can say I feel so much better than I did at any age of my life. Well, I was so strong as a young man, especially when I was 18 to 27 years old, my peek strength being at 25 when I was active at my friend's gym and my body had muscle bulk.

But at age 18 to 21, I also performed superbly in martial arts. My high kicks were powerful and lightning-fast and my punches were devastating and mostly unseen by the naked eyes. I was very strong in my youth. I even remember having no one else in our neighborhood or school who could do better than I did at push-ups, isometrics and horizontal bar.

Indeed, God has blessed me with physical strength.

But I must say, too, that I feel so much better today. I mean, at age 55, I still move nimbly like a teenager, especially during sparring and martial arts demos. On top of that, despite my age and some aging-related health problems (which I feel are decreasing gradually, all by God's grace), I feel great. So great that I believe, if you take me back to my earlier years with this same health condition I have now (minus the age and the problems it brings), I'd outperform my tiptop strength then!

It's because in my teenage and adolescence years, I wasn't taking any natural health supplements. Not even synthetic ones, because I was scared of their side effects. Sometimes, synthetic supplements gave me trouble so I kept away from them. But in spite of that, I was lots stronger than other young people my age, though I had a medium build.

What if I had taken the natural health supplements I'm taking today? I can only imagine what would happen. If today, taking these supplements makes me feel so young again, what more if I had taken them then?

These are the supplements I'm taking--MX3, apple cider vinegar, and VITAL-C health products, especially Vital-C non acidic Vitamin C.

You'd have to take them regularly to feel the benefits. I used to feel so weak especially after a workout. I really felt the aging effects especially when workouts didn't have the redounding effects anymore right after as they used to. It was because there was no reserved strength to talk of and my immune system didn't have any boost to fight the stress you got after a workout.

After workouts, stress is in your system, though you aren't aware of it. That's when you need to counter it with antioxidants. Your natural antioxidants (which your body naturally produces) reduce as you age, and at 55 you lose your ability a bit to recover fast from exhaustion and stress--unless you take natural supplements high in antioxidants, which is powerfully anti-aging.

Supplementing is not an option or luxury anymore. At past age 25, you start losing more healthy and young cells than losing defective cells. Free radicals also more easily ravage healthy cells. So you need to supplement at age 25 onward--especially if you smoke or drink alcohol.

So, workouts, healthy diet, and natural health supplements--with regularity, they can guarantee that you feel so young again. And don't just be entertained by this article--do it!

Friday, May 22, 2015

LIVE GPS TRACKER IN YOUR CAR: How It Helps Secure Your Family's Protection

Live GPS tracking used in vehicles is not just for spying, police or detective works today. Even ordinary employees and citizens like you and me may have need for it for a number of reasons. One is security.

You may not be able to watch your family personally in their travels and keep them safe, especially if you're tied up with work in your job. But live GPS tracking will do the monitoring for you. You can see where your loved ones are if they're targeted by tracking and see their whereabouts each minute on your PC or mobile screen.

Just imagine if your teenage kids are in a car driving on a deserted road in some remote place and then suddenly meet an accident and their mobile phones are all disabled. If they're not monitored by live GPS connected to your mobile phone, you'd never know what happened to them and time will go by without help or rescue coming from you or anyone else.

If the car is installed with live GPS, then you'd get immediate alert the moment the car stops due to an accident or emergency. Your mobile phone will receive a text message saying your kids' car suddenly stopped (or the GPS in it was "tampered") and you'd see their last location of your kids and what time it all happened.

Your first instinct of course is to call them on the phone. But you won't connect because their mobile phones are busted. So the next thing you'd do is to send rescue, if not go to them yourself. That immediate response is crucial and won't be possible without live GPS installed in the car.

The same thing with your spouse. Should an emergency suddenly happen--earthquake, fire, hostage, civil war, or anything like--and your spouse's mobile phone suddenly goes dead for some reason, you can always refer to the GPS signals transmitted from her car to know his or her exact whereabouts. Time interval is crucial here. It can mean life or death. If you don't know where your loved ones are and still have to look for them in various places, precious time would be wasted.

But with live GPS installed in the car of your loved ones, you pinpoint where they are right on the spot. For more live GPS information, you may visit this link.

Monday, May 18, 2015

HOW HEALTHY IS BANANA CUE? For Banana Lovers Like Me

ecop.pbworks.com
If you're a banana lover like me, you probably love eating banana cue and turon as well. Banana cue is dip frying "saba" or cardava banana rolled in brown sugar. Turon, on the other hand, is "saba" or cardava banana wrapped in egg-roll wrapper, the type used for spring rolls, sprinkled with brown sugar. Sometimes, they even put slices of langka or jackfruit in it. SM Save More outlets sellthem for only P15 per big piece.

Anyway, if you eat these cooked bananas, what health benefit do you get? Do you get all the health benefits bananas give?

Cooked bananas give you dietary fibers, nothing more, nothing less. Well, you also get some carbohydrates from the brown sugar and fat from the cooking oil. By the way, included here is sweetened "saba" which is banana boiled in water with brown sugar and sometimes added with vanilla extract. At least with this, you eliminate cooking oil.

Bananas are supposed to be super healthy with lots of vitamins and minerals plus digestive enzymes to give you healthy digestion. Bananas are healthier than apples. But all those benefits evaporate in the air when you cook banana. Sorry about that, but it's the truth. Bad news for me, too. Anyway, cooked and sweetened banana is still lots better than other desserts. I'd settle anytime for banana cue or turon or banana with syrup than pastries, cakes, candies, or other junk desserts. At least you still get fibers from cooked bananas.

And definitely, I'd settle with anything made of banana than anything with caffeine.

Health buffs say you have to have some raw plant food in your diet regularly. Among my choice is "saba." I love eating uncooked ripe "saba" because of its rich flavor and plump meat. Now and then I eat 2 to 3 a day and that's plenty of energy and vitamins and minerals plus heart health boosters. It also cleanses your system and improves digestion and bowel movement. It kills stomach acidity, too.

Banana cue and turon are okay, but eating ripe "saba" uncooked is definitely better.

Saturday, May 16, 2015

SERIOUS DEBATE THIS MORNING: Sauteed Monggo or Chicken for Lunch?

Here's what's left of it.
We had a debate about lunch--what's more fitting, sauteed monggo or chicken? I and my dear wife were discussing advantages and disadvantages this morning as we had a short brisk walk in the neighborhood and did some local shopping.

First, we went to the street corner grocery, Nori Mart, and bought some ingredients. I left my wife there and went to the nearby bakery for some local pandesal and had a brief chat with the woman proprietor who is a born again Christian. Later, my wife and I met and continued with our "soft" debate while buying fresh chicken at the nearby "talipapa."

We bought the chicken, finally, when my wife decided the monggo dish could come later. She said the sauteed chicken (Tinola) would be ideal for lunch. So, the debate that started democratic ended up with a totalitarian decision. When she said, "It's tinola for lunch," that was it. The discussion ended right then and there. We discussed about another topic in the agenda.

Then we dropped by Nayon--the other talipapa (small wet market) along Assistant Street where fruits and vegetables were sold. I and my dear wife call it Nayon because the ambiance is like that of a small town in the province. Among things we bought there was my favorite saba (a type of local banana) which I love eating uncooked.

So, when we reached home she prepared the recipe with the help of my son while I continued with my online job and my business blogs. Here are the ingredients:

  • Chopped fresh chicken (any part will do)
  • 5 pieces of garlic
  • Ginger about twice the size of  nose, peeled and sliced
  • Chopped onions
  • Peeled and chopped almost ripe papaya
  • Some sliced tomatoes 
  • Moringa (malunggay) and red chili leaves
First, saute the ginger until light brown. Then add the chicken with the chopped  onions, garlic and tomatoes (put a little fish sauce to taste) until the spice flavors have been absorbed by the chicken. Then pour the right amount of water plus the chopped papaya and bring to a boil. Add some salt to taste.

When the papaya pieces are cooked, add the green leaves. A few seconds more and it's all ready to be served. So, that was what we ate, and you know what? My wife was right. The monggo dish could come later (though it's also among my favorites). We had a swell lunch, thank God!

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

STREET CANALS IN THE EYES OF AN ANT: What You Don't Know Hurts Them


You always walk past streets and take them for granted--especially street canals. You think they're just there to take dirty fluids out of houses and down into the messy and musty drainage. In fact, you never stop to intently look at street canals and marvel at their existence.

Because you're not too appreciative of down-to-earth city life, like ants do. But you should know better--a good perspective always comes from the bottom up.

Did you know that street canals have an awesome rushing sound like what mighty rivers have? You wouldn't, unless you're an ant--or at least have one for a friend, like Adam. Adam here (he's watching this article being typed as it appears on the PC screen) has been a friend of mine for years. And among exciting things he tells me from an ant's point of view is the rush of a mighty street canal.

As Adam Sees It 

From about a few meters away (using ant measure), you'd hear the awesome sound of rushing water like a thousand thunders going rapidly downstream and feel the earth shaking a bit. Sprays of vapor hit your face and the distinct scent of street canal is heavy in the air. You know that it's just a few steps from you now. Then, walking further (and then you run in excitement), true enough, you start seeing the edge of the street canal. Nothing like it in the city. It's just breath-taking!

Then you soak your feet just at the water's edge, feeling the coolness but careful not to be carried by the waves. Then you "shoot the rapids" by riding on a stick or leaf rushing you by (you quickly jump onto it with perfect timing) and enjoying the crazy ride downhill. A lot of us ants do that--and we scream at the top of our voices--but I guess you humans don't hear a thing. It's because you're all engrossed with your petty, robotic lives in the city.

(Ants sometimes talk like that--insulting). Adam continues:

But if you just stop and open your ears and be sensitive, you'd hear the faint echoes of our boisterous enjoyment as we brave the rapids kayaking. Some of us take a cockroach leg along for a picnic-lunch later, and that's super cool.

But all the fun gets spoiled once you humans clog the canals and drainage. That's El Nino to us--no water in the canals. Drought. Or sometimes, stagnated canals. So we start marching into houses, spoiling your food and grains and even hiding under your bed to bite you at night. Then we hide under glasses and cups so we can suddenly surprise you when you get a glass of water to drink--you look and there we are, floating in your drinking water. Sometimes, we even invade your underwears.

End of Adam's Story (It's me talking now)

So fellow humans, don't clog street canals. They may be nothing to you but they're posh vacation spots to ants. To preserve the city ecology, make sure street canals are preserved properly.

HOW YOU SEE SMALL: It's How God Sees You

equalizerpost.com
HISGROUP DISCIPLESHIP. How you see small reveals the size of your heart--and your mind. And I'm talking about both small things and small people. You're right, I'm not supposed to refer to them as "small people" because there's no such thing. But the way most people treat them, they're seen as "small." That's reality. Why are there people of little repute--those looked down by others? And why are there poor folks? 

Well, they're there to serve a great purpose--to reveal hearts. The world may belittle them but in God's eyes they serve a big purpose. In fact, they have a more crucial job than do executives and managers and CEOs and even presidents of countries. A lot of fates both here and the hereafter rely on how people of lowly standing are treated in this life, because how you see small determines where you end up later.
No wonder Christ said "the poor you will always have with you." God doesn't approve of poverty, but he continues to allow the existence of the poor and the small because how people see them is also how they see Christ. If you've been kind or cruel to them, you did the same to Christ. If you've been callous, unconcerned or unresponsive with their situation, you've been callous about God even if you worship good and actively in your church.
He continues to allow the existence of the poor and the small because how people see them is also how they see Christ.
Now, take houses for instance. How do you see a small house that's poorly constructed or old and dilapidated, situated in a crowded, shanty and uncomfortable environment? What do you feel when entering one? Would you enter it as you would a posh mansion in an exclusive subdivision--with respect and politeness? How do you see people living in mansions and those living in squatters?
All these are recorded in God's book. You may be critical of those who haven't made it good in this life--those unrecognized by society and failing its standards--considering them lazy, lacking talent, weak or even accursed, yet extending no compassion on them. Or, if you handout a sum of compassion, you make sure you get every cent in return, enslaving poor people you help or feeling superior to others because of it. Or worse, broadcasting to everyone about your good deed--posting it on FB. It's how you see small that reveals your heart and makes you accountable to God.
Hence, it's better to remain anonymous when you help, being quiet about it all, not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Can you give out help of considerable sum incognito, without making those you help feel obligated to be nice to you? Or, can you give a good sum of money without expecting even a "thank you" from the recipient?
And last, can you sincerely listen to the success stories of small folks of low status and get sincerely interested, while remaining mum about yours? In almost everything about Kingdom values, it's really how you see small that matters. That's Choy's Cut for you.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

YES, THEY'RE DELICIOUS: But You Have to STOP Eating Them If You Want to Live Long

bowelcanceruk.org.uk
I know a few people who hate these delicious food items and they're about a hundred plus years old now. In fact, I had a grandfather from Catmon, Sta. Maria, Bulacan who lived over a hundred and still carried 50 kilos of rice. He was a member of the Katipunan in his teen years and he lived to see me as a teenager. Amazing.

What did he eat? Nothing but organic veggies he planted in his backyard, mostly string beans, and he never had high uric acid levels. And especially, he didn't eat these delicious junks because they weren't available yet in his days.

Processed Meats are definitely a no-no. But who can avoid them these days? They're the quickest things to cook when you're in a dead hurry and they're easy to buy. They're beautifully packed and sold in nice air-conditioned groceries unlike raw meat and fish which you buy in messy wet markets. Anyway, you have to stop eating them.

Margarine, whether the best brand or not, puts your heart at risk, along with your blood sugar. Health experts say butter is better. But again, margarine is more readily available in street corner stores and groceries than butter is. If it's so unhealthy, how come margarine is sold more easily than butter? Tell me. Anyway, stop eating it.

Sweet cereals taste good and though they give you dietary fibers, they're also rich in sugar--which is so bad for your heath. But cereals are so perfect for breakfast and if they're so bad for the health, how come they're so delicious? Isn't there another way around this? It's among my favorite breakfast choices next to pancakes. But, just the same, you have to stop eating them.

Burgers are in and they make it a lot tastier these days. But don't think you get a lot of protein from them. Commercialized burgers have only about 2 to 14 percent meat, says one Yahoo News, and the rest are crap, even extenders like flour. I love huge burgers with lots of cheese and lettuce and tomatoes. But, experts say, you have to stop eating them if you want to live longer.

Donuts come in varied tasty and really delicious flavors today. Years ago they were just rolled in sugar and that was it. I love donuts that taste like ice cream, but now you have to stop eating them. You get zero nutrition from them and they just make you fat. Period.

HOW TO HAVE AN ATTRACTIVE DISCIPLESHIP: Make it Worthy of Jesus

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HISGROUP DISCIPLESHIP. Most churches would like to have everything attractive--attractive worships, Sunday school, church programs, church building and interior, evangelism, and perhaps an attractive discipleship. They like to attract people.
Jesus didn’t have an attractive ministry and he never tried to make it so to attract people. His discipleship likewise was far from being alluring--nothing’s attractive about giving up all to follow him. You have to love him over and above all, more than anyone else--more than you love your family. In fact, you have to hate your father and mother and other important people in life to make it to his discipleship, give up everything you have, and suffer persecutions. You have to be least and servant of all.
Now tell me, is that attractive?
Love him more than anyone else? Forsake all to follow him? Why, who was he anyway? How attractive was he? When Jesus made these challenges he was not someone attractive. For instance, he was poor and didn’t even have  a steady job. He didn’t have any property or even a church building, and at the outset he didn’t have any member. He was a “street bum,” as it is called today, doing nothing but roaming the streets, going here and there, being out of job. He didn’t even go to school. So, how can you challenge people to forsake all and follow you with that kind of ministry profile?
In churches today, you may join ministries that can make you popular–worship teams, choirs, dancing, singing, drama or skit clubs, or what I call stage-acts ministries. Stage performance makes you a celebrity or an icon, no wonder active church people want to be seen on stage. Churches offer this "exposure" and "publicity" and people like it so much. Pastors, on the other hand, get all the titles and degrees they can get to be attractive to people.
In Jesus’ discipleship, only Jesus could play the major role, and even the role he played wasn’t attractive. What attraction did a Sabbath law breaker have in a Jewish community? Some even saw him as demon-possessed. You could not brag about Jesus then unlike how you can brag of your titled and degreed pastor today, your air-conditioned mega church, posh church facilities, CCTV, big screens, and corporate church management. The Pharisees had similar ministry attractions in their days. Not Jesus.
So you see, Jesus didn’t have an attractive ministry.
Jesus and his ministry looked like failures, and his disciples looked no better. They were a bunch of unemployed young people who did everything contrary to Jewish customs and traditions–even contrary to law–making them a lot more unattractive. No wonder, only a few made serious commitments to him, and even they later abandoned him when the going got too tough.
Well, there were multitudes of crowds tailing behind him, amazed at the signs and wonders he wrought. But Jesus was not after audiences. He was after genuine disciples, followers who would give up everything–lose their lives and reputation–for him. Those who would carry their crosses and die with him. When it came to that, almost nobody wanted to get involved with him. Would you promote your church today by telling folks they’d lose their reputation, dignity, and properties if they joined you? Those were what Jesus said.
Churches today are worlds different from Jesus, his church and ministry, and discipleship. They want to get the world’s attention and they’d do everything to have it–even connect with corrupt government people or compromising showbiz personalities. They dare not look unattractive to the world. In fact, they spend millions just to be attractive to it. My Jesus would never do that. His Word said, friendship with the world is enmity with God.
So, you want to know how to have an attractive discipleship? The first step is to make it attractive only to Jesus. And the rest, God will add to you. Now, when I say “the rest God will add to you,” I don’t mean you’d live happily ever after. It may mean you’d only get more unattractive to the world.
If you want to teach the bible more effectively [not more attractively], the way you teach it should change lives, by God’s grace and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

IF THE WORLD HATES YOU: You're on the Right Track!

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HISGROUP DISCIPLESHIP. The world should hate you. That’s how you know you’re doing things right–whether discipleship or Kingdom building on earth. It’s Jesus’ own specified gauge to see if we’re really walking with him in the light and rightly representing him on earth.
If the world loves or applauds us, then we’re no better than the false prophets, Jesus added. Imagine how many false prophets and false church ministries there are today, applauded by the world. And believers crowd them each Sunday, enjoying their “good worship and sound teachings.” The world approves of them, too.
Beware that you get the world’s approval. My Jesus never did. Many churches today seek approval from politicians, showbiz, businesses, rich people, TV folks, the worldly church, and men’s organizations. They believe such recognition is also God’s recognition–vox populi vox Dei.
But Jesus’ Words will never change. Once you start getting approval from the world, you get lumped up together with false prophets. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. But to many church leaders, this Word has become obsolete. Today, you have to go with the flow or trend in the world  to be successful.
"Once you start getting approval from the world, you get lumped up together with false prophets."
Worldly Recognition
It’s not just the world’s recognition, but the ways and systems we borrow from the world, like when we decide who gets recognized in ministry. God warned us never to use the ways of this world, but churches just stubbornly go on doing it. Who do we reward or applaud? Churches who have lots of money, possessions, standing and influence in the world, big memberships [because they have big incomes], modern facilities and instruments, and many other standards we got from the world, not from my Jesus. These things also make us out to be among false prophets.
It’s not just false teachings or doctrines--it’s false value systems that put us among false apostles and prophets today. We can have the soundest Christian doctrines in church and yet remain false in God’s eyes. Many in church fail to see who God really is. They think he can go easy on his standards for us, pointing out how God understands how we’re weak, that we’re just humans anyway. So, they think he sometimes tolerates our little stubborn falsehoods.
That’s not who God is. The true God is always serious about his Word--no, he’s eternally serious about it. And he tells us to watch out that the world does not approve of who we are and what we do. The moment it hates us because we fanatically [and narrow-mindedly] stick with Christ and his standards, then we’re on the right track. I’ve seen many churches and ministers fear the world’s rejection. They like hearing how the world calls them broad-minded when they easily compromise to accommodate the world.

HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN BEAUTIFUL BLOG NOW: Put Your Person on Your Site

Nice blog for you!
There's nothing like having your own blog--either for personal or business purposes. Well, personal blogs can always be monetized anytime you want. But a business blog makes things more specific for your niche marketing.

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Sunday, May 10, 2015

EATING MAKES HIM INCREDIBLY LOSE WEIGHT: What If You Had His Body?

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Let's call him Darol or Dar for short. I knew him in college in our freshmen days and what you'd always remember about him is his appetite (and Jughead). I never saw him without food in his hand and mouth. We both had classes in the morning and the rest of our subjects began at 4 in the afternoon and ended at about 9 in the evening. So, in between, we would separately roam around the corridors of the Institute of Architecture in FEU or else stroll around the campus or nearby vicinity.

Well, I liked reading books most of the time, but Dar loved eating in his free time. He'd try this and that pastry or food dish specialty and bring some to the institute, sit in a desk lying idly along the corridor and start munching--sandwiches, crackling chicharon (crunchy and spicy fried pork skin), junk food, pies, dimsum, peanuts, cakes, rolls, burgers, chocolate bars--and then wash them all down with Coke or Magnolia chocolait.

Our school mates marveled at how he didn't gain weight with all that caloric snacks (in fact he remained skinny) but I marveled at where he got the money to buy them. Or how much was his daily allowance.

I'd sometimes sit beside him the few times we chanced upon each other at the corridor and we'd talk about food and how even at home he had the same appetite. "I've been waiting to gain weight, to no avail," he once told me. He would offer me some of his munchies--and I'd try some chicharon, which was my favorite then--and shared with me once how he'd sometimes cook his own meals and make sure they got plenty of fat and protein. He was desperate to gain weight.

Years later, when I became a health and wellness consultant, I learned that it all had to do with metabolism. Dar was not a physical workout enthusiast and never had any special diet (in fact, his eating seemed like the reason why he never gained weight) and yet his body kept burning lots of calories even if he was just sitting idly almost all day along our institute's corridor.

Now, what if you had that metabolism? Your metabolism may not be as hard working as Dar's, but you can make it work harder just a bit to lose significant amount of body fat--and lose weight even without dieting or punishing yourself with heavy workouts. Yup, there are ways to "manipulate" metabolism a bit.

If you want to learn more about metabolism, you can listen to a respected TV fitness expert in the world, Gilad Janklowicz. Visit this link.

Saturday, May 9, 2015

UNHEARD OF BUT REAL BENEFITS OF VITAMIN C: The More You Should Take It Seriously

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We all know how vitamin C is essential for immune boost and blood circulation health. It is also important for collagen production to repair connective tissues. And in one article in Choy's Cut I discussed how Vitamin C strengthens the bones. Plus, we all know it's vital role against stress. But wait, there's more!

Lowers Bad Cholesterol: Vitamin C helps the conversion of your cholesterol into bile salts. This makes cholesterol easier to eliminate from the body and normalize your cholesterol count.

Prevents Heart Attack: Blood vessels that don't dilate may lead to a heart attack. The failed dilation can cause obstructions in the blood vessels and especially in coronary arteries that bring blood to your heart. But studies found that even minimal takes of Vitamin C can help improve blood vessel dilation.

Controls Sugar Levels in Diabetics: Vitamin C helps regulate the sugar levels of diabetics and prevent complications. Need I say more?

Helps Treat Cancer: Though this is something popular, many people still don't believe that Vitamin C can help treat cancer and sometimes even become wholly responsible for its cure. Cancer cells survive in acidic environment but natural Vitamin C, especially non-acidic sodium ascorbate, can keep your body alkaline. Cancer cells and infections die in alkaline environment. The notion is still that Vitamin C is acidic and may worsen cancer. They should search more on natural and non-acidic sodium ascorbate Vitamin C.

Helps Treat Neurological Problems: A German study found that people with mild dementia had very low levels of Vitamin C in their blood, along with low levels of beta-carotene and lycopene. The suggestion is to increase takes of Vitamin C.

Relieves Breathlessness: Broncho-constriction, or the narrowing of airways after physical exertion, can be lessened with regular intake of Vitamin C. This was discovered by a study done at the University of Helsinki in Finland. You can reduce shortness of breath after rigorous physical activities with Vitamin C.

Relieves Asthma Symptoms: Did you know that Vitamin C has antihistamine and antioxidant properties? This is good news to asthmatic people who suffer inflammation of airways and problems with the lungs. Antioxidants are excellently anti-inflammatory.

And the number of benefits go on. They always find new discoveries on the wonderful effects of this super, all-around vitamin. There's no reason why you should skip your daily Vitamin C supplementation aside from eating fruits high in it. Funny how a lot of people won't take health supplements but invest on cigarettes and liquor! They take them daily, spending huge amount of money annually on them.

Don't forfeit yourself even of this nutrient's anti-arthritis, anti-eye cataract, and anti-tuberculosis effects. And to be safe, take only non-acidic, sodium ascorbate Vitamin C in vegetable caps. Thus, I always take VITAL-C sodium ascorbate. It's been doing me great health improvements (from being easily susceptible to cold, cough, and flu)--all by God's grace and power.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

WHY LOFTS FIT PH HOMES: If You Want Yours to Have One, Call Me


Early this morning while I was idling in bed, I thought about how lofts are perfect for my small dream house (I hate mansions on earth). I've always been crazy about attics, mezzanines and lofts, not because they're seen in the US, but because they're practical space savers. In fact, ancient Pinoy architecture often included them as storages or extra quarters.

Why don't home builders always incorporate them in their projects and promote them to their clients? They're comfy, aesthetic, smart, and add room.

When I get the chance to build my own house, I'd put lofts on the living room, bedrooms, and my study. And then also put a small attic on the loft of my master bedroom. You'd have to adjust your ceiling height a bit to accommodate them, plus the cost, but that's okay because you get extra rooms.

Lofts, attics and mezzanines not just give you extra room--they're also excellent heat insulation. If you want your house to be green-relevant, employ these semi-floor levels. Especially when climate change have worsened temperatures in the country, you can cool down your house a bit with them. And they're cute and fun to have, especially if you have kids. Kids simply love them.

Lofts, for instance, are both multi-functional and have multi-tasking benefits. It can serve as an extra room for your library and study (especially if you want them to be in the same room--the lower level as your mini library and the upper level your study, or vice versa) extra room for your bedroom, living room ,kitchen, or dining room. A small dining nook will be cute on a loft.

There's my lil pal peeping
from the loft.
Besides, having different levels in your house is healthy for you. You get to climb up and down different levels and that works you up aerobically. That's why I love to have staircases placed in my future house, even to 4 levels--a second floor with a rooftop and attic. I'd love to run up and down them early in the morning, especially if it's raining and running outdoors is not an option.

Are these semi-floor levels safe for small kids? Sure. It all depends on how you design it. Just use your common sense. And anyway, small kids are not designed to be left alone. :D

Here's more on lofts and functional small homes.

Monday, May 4, 2015

ANTI-CANCER BANANAS: But Not the Smooth-Skin Ones. Here's Why

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Ripe bananas with some black and light brown spots on the peel--this is what you should choose when buying bananas. Tell you later. We Filipinos love bananas and folks anywhere in the world love it, too. It's a global fruit available for all seasons.

And it's super nutritious. Experts say it's more nutritious than apples so that a banana a day helps keep ailments away--especially cancer. If you choose fully ripe bananas with some black and light brown spots on the peel, the more nutrition and anti-cancer properties they have. Ripe bananas are rich in TNF or Tumor Necrosis Factor (or apoptosis).

Necrosis means death of defective cells. In the case of TNF in bananas, it's death of cancerous cells.

TNF Power

TNF power helps your immune system resist cancer by fighting the abnormal cells that mutate and turn into cancer or tumors. TNF also helps prevent other deadly diseases due to harmful cell mutations. In Japan, researches found that the riper bananas are, the more TNF they have and the more antioxidants they give you. They're sweeter and tastier, too, and this means their starch has turned into simple sugars that are easier to digest.

In a gist, eating fully ripe bananas with full nutrition:
  1. Triggers more white blood cell production. 
  2. Boosts your immune system to fight diseases and infections.
  3. Gives you more TNF.
Eating a banana a day is strongly recommended. It's not just a dessert--it's like taking power-packed natural vitamins and minerals daily. And mind you, eat bananas before meals so your body can absorb its nutrients better and easier. I eat about 2 to 3 bananas a day. Just don't eat more than 5 a day to prevent potassium poisoning. And yes, bananas are good for the heart due to its potassium content.

Smooth Peels Versus Spotted

Smooth bananas may look better and more attractive, but bananas with black spots on the peel are 8 times more nutritious, say experts. I like eating latundan bananas (the smaller variety) because they are sweeter, have more black spots, and my grandma said it has more nutrition. It's cheaper, too, compared to lakatan, the bigger variety popular in Manila.

Bananas are sometimes likened to Lentinan which is an immuno-stimulant given intravenously to cancer patients as an anti-cancer. Thus, ripe bananas powerfully help fight cancers by triggering more white blood cell production which fights cell mutation.

But keep away from over-ripe bananas, though, especially those with breaks on the skin.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

HOW DO YOU EFFECTIVELY GET RID OF FEAR? How Fear is a Choice


There are people who opt not to be happy. Have you seen a guy who refuses to laugh even if he feels like it? I've seen lots of them. They have found an effective way to get rid of happiness or laughter from their lives.

Have you seen a ruthless guy who'd stop at nothing just to get what he wants? We've seen criminals who have no qualms about the wrongs they do. They don't feel sorry or feel regret about what they did. They even manage to enjoy them.

Somehow, these people have found a way or "system" to control their emotions so they can perform better at what they do. Now, why don't we get the system and make it work for us? For instance, why don't we use the system to control or get rid of fear when it doesn't help us in times of emergency.

Example--you witness a holdup or shooting incident right before your eyes and you freeze in shock and don't know what to do because fear keeps you from thinking right. Or, a bully humiliates you and you can't do anything about it because of fear. Or, your boss tells you to do a crucial business presentation but you stutter and perspire a lot because of fear.

Now, why does fear seem impossible to control in these cases? And how do people who are able to control their emotions do so for bad purposes?

Without being aware of it, these people use a system regularly to fight off emotions they don't like. And they become successful with consistent practice. It's a system that uses mental conditioning and discipline.

Emotions are choices. You cannot automatically love or hate anyone--you have to choose to do it. I used to hate the bitter taste of amplaya (bitter melon) but my dad kept saying how nutritious it was so I taught myself to love it. And after years of practice, I now naturally love eating amplaya--fruit and leaves.

I used to have crushes on a lot of pretty girls when I was in high school and college. But when I saw their bad characters, I decided I didn't like them, and that was how it turned out. No sweat.

I found out, emotions can be controlled and manipulated. Why not use it to your advantage and for your own good? Why not use the system to get rid of unhelpful fear, for instance.

I believe strongly in prayer and using God's power for casting out fear and I use it. But not all people believe this. Instead, they can believe in something practical and intellectual--people like being "intellectual" than "religious." So they'd buy this idea.

In my many years of training and teaching Filipino streetfighting arts and working with difficult bosses and doing public speaking, I have developed a system for getting rid of fear (it's in an e-book). If some people can do it to mean harm, why not use it to reach your full potentials?

To see what the e-book is about, click here. To buy it, click here.

Friday, May 1, 2015

IF WE'RE AVID BOXING FANS: Why Not Adopt a Boxer's Routine?

boxercisedublin.com
They say Pinoys love boxing, especially if it's about Pacman. National highways like EDSA suddenly turn empty and abandoned and busy districts become ghost towns because everybody's busy watching and hollering for Manny. Even criminals are said to take the day off to witness Pacman's fight.

And we marvel at boxers' strength, physique, and punching power. We're astonished at their discipline to stay on tiptop shape and health and how they stick to no less than rigid healthy diets and lifestyles. They workout regularly and we love to watch how they actually do it.

It's all near phenomenal--our amazement and interest for professional boxing.

Unfortunately, it's all admiration. In actual life, we go on with unhealthy lifestyles--no exercise, unhealthy eating, zero discipline, plenty of vices, staying late at night, etc. Aren't sports heroes there to "inspire" us. Pacman often sings: "Para sayo ang laban na 'to." These heroes supposedly put their lives on the line for us--to inspire and entertain us.

Well, is it working?

Probably, we can glean the answer from how the Philippines is still the favorite dumping site of giant multinational cigarette companies in the world. While other countries ban all cigarette ads, they're welcome in this country, just as long as they admit that cigarettes can kill. Liquor also still sell well here as well as all junk foods and softdrinks. Where's boxing's inspiration here?

I'm an avid boxing fan (I like boxing as a fitness sport, not a way of hurting someone seriously just to prove your a champ, even in the name of the country's honor) so I take care of my body well. I run, build my body up athletically, eat healthy, drink all-natural health drinks, shadow box and spar because I'm inspired by how disciplined and healthy boxers are.

In short, I'm a true avid fan of boxing and I make it a lifestyle. Others are mere fakes that shout hooray only when watching major world boxing bouts but live the complete opposite of what inspiration boxing brings--and yet they talk about boxing like they're experts at it.

11 Sites for Virtual Appointment Setter Jobs

What do you need to be a work-from-home (WFH) virtual appointment setter (VAS)? Nothing but imagination, guts and a doer spirit. High school...