The Good Shepherd: A Son's Perspective

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." - John 10:11

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday.  And the gospel of John talks about a good shepherd who is ever willing to lay down his life for the sake of the sheep. 

In our everyday reading of the bible, we always associate a Shepherd to a Leader. Someone who leads. Someone who guides the flock to the right way. As I contemplate on the Word, I was reminded that the call to be a good shepherd is not only for leaders but for every single christian who wants to follow Jesus. 

In that light, I realized that as a SON to my PARENTS, the calling to be a good shepherd to them towards me, is the same call to be a good shepherd for me towards my parents. It is true that in the very beginning, God commanded that we honor our parents and the importance of this calling was highlighted with the fact that it was included in the Ten Commandments. 

In the beginning, God taught us to honor and respect our parents. This commandment prepared us so that later on, God will give us a higher calling, and that is not just respect and honor them, but to be a good shepherd to them, someone who will willingly lay down their lives for the sake of their parents. 

To respect them is one thing. For me, this is easier to do. But the call to shepherd and actually care for them is a totally different thing. One may respect and honor a parent and not actually care about them. But to genuinely care towards our parents would first require proper respect and honor towards them. 

As we celebrate the fact that Jesus lay down his life for us on the cross in order to save us, let us be reminded that He is also calling us to be good shepherds for his people. Let us remember those people who lay down their lives for us to live the life we are now living.

P.S. Also remember that He is not just calling us to shepherd those who are "good" to us. He is also calling us to shepherd those who are not-so-good to us as well. :)

Sa Mundo ng Pangarap (Part 1)

Isang beses binigyan ako ng isang fortune cookie. Wala sa loob kong binuksan ko ang laman. Nakasulat sa salitang banyaga ang laman nito. Simple lang ang ibig sabihin ng nakasulat. 

huwag mong hayaang maglaho ang iyong mga pangarap.

Sa mga oras na yun, may munting kurot akong narandaman sa aking dibdib. Pangarap! Ang aking mga pangarap! Masarap sanang tuparin ang aking mga nais gawin at isabuhay ang mga ito ng buong puso. Pero paano? Dahan dahan na lang akong napa-iling at naisip kong isilid sa wallet ang mensahe. Paano ko nga ba matutupad ang aking mga pangarap?

Nang matapos ako ng high school, wala akong ibang inisip kundi ang mag aral sa UP. Bakit naman hindi, marami sa aking mga pinsan ay nagsipagtapos sa UPLB. Pero ang problema, PERA. Syempre hindi ako nagpatalo sa pera. Humanap ako ng scholarship. Pinalad naman akong makapasa sa DOST. Buti na lang at tamang-tama ang pinasa kong kurso sa UPLB, B.S. Computer Science. Mabilis na lumipas ang panahon, ako ay nagtapos at pinalad na makakuha ng trabaho bilang isang guro sa UPLB.

Habang nasa kolehiyo ako, nangangarap na akong makakuha ng MBA (Masters in Business Administration). At bilang paghahanda, lahat ng free electives noon ay inilaan ko sa mga Management Courses. Lubhang napakasaya ng mga klaseng iyon. Ang nagagawa nga naman ng masidhing damdamin. Nang magturo ako sa ICS, napagalaman ko na kailangan kong mag aral ng MS ngunit hindi pede ang MBA kundi dapat ay ang kursong iyong tinuturo. Paalam MBA. Lumipas ang mga taon at masyado akong nalibang sa aking pagtuturo at dagli kong nakalimutan ang aking mga pangarap.

Minsan, nakikipagkwentuhan ako sa isang staff ng akademya at tinanong ko siya kung bakit naisipan niyang magtagal sa UPLB. Hindi ko makalimutan ang sinabi niya sa akin.

"wala eh. Nandito na. Nakatandaan ko na ang magtrabaho dito. Tsaka ok na rin naman. Nakaraos na rin naman kami kahit papaano."

Hindi ni minsan man sumagi sa isipan ko na minamaliit ko itong taong ito. Sa totoo lang, isa siya sa mga minahal ko at tinuring na tunay na kaibigan sa UPLB. Pero malaman ang mga sinabi niya. At ito na yata ang gumising sa aking natutulog na diwa. Sa mga oras na yon, isa lang ang pumasok sa aking isipan.

Ayokong umabot ako sa punto ng buhay ko na 

wala na akong magawa sa aking mga pangarap kundi ang manghinayang.

itutuloy...

Multitasking

with my hands filled with harry potter and his adventures, i went to national bookstore and got myself a book entitled "NEGOSYONG PATOK" 

the book contains articles for meat processing, cooking native kakanin and the likes. Now, what am i thinking buying this 285php book? this will be my first step for some food cart business. 

im really not a fan of franchising. i think franchising are for people who does not want to get their hands dirty in developing their own brand. i want to do things on my own little and sometimes hard way. :D 

with the plans for some business expansion this coming june, some more food items will be available soon! 

im excited to do some food testing! :) hehehe game? :)

data gathering

i have been surfing the net, book store hopping, downloading lots of stuff all related to cooking and baking zeroing to catering. there were a lot of development in the past days that made me so busy!

anyway, another thing that kept me busy was harry potter. oh book 4 is love! :)


just updating. :)

Catering Manager - a definition

Catering managers plan, organise and develop the food and beverage services of organisations and businesses, whilst meeting customer expectations, food and hygiene standards and financial targets.

The role varies according to the size and nature of the business. In a small establishment, the catering manager usually has a hands-on role and is involved in the day-to-day running of the operation. In larger organisations, however, the catering manager might have other managers and supervisors to handle the different catering functions.

Catering managers can work in-house for a variety of organisations, including hospitals, schools, factories and prisons, or can work for a contract catering company providing catering services to a range of clients.

Typical work activities

Typical tasks include:

• planning menus in consultation with chefs;
• recruiting and training permanent and casual staff;
• organising, leading and motivating the catering team;
• planning staff shifts and rotas;
• ensuring health and safety regulations are strictly observed;
• budgeting and establishing financial targets and forecasts;
• monitoring the quality of the product and service provided;
• keeping financial and administrative records;
• managing the payroll and monitoring spending levels;
• maintaining stock levels and ordering new supplies as required;
• interacting with customers if involved with front of house work;
• liaising with suppliers and clients;
• negotiating contracts with customers, assessing their requirements and ensuring they are satisfied with the service delivered (in contract catering).

In more senior posts, principal tasks involve:

• setting and agreeing budgets;
• monitoring quality standards;
• overseeing the management of facilities, e.g. checking event bookings and allocation of resources/staff;
• planning new promotions and initiatives, and contributing to business development;
• dealing with staffing and client issues;
• keeping abreast of trends and developments in the industry such as menus, trends in consumer tastes and management issues.

Source: http://www.prospects.ac.uk

something to start with

i was looking for references on catering planning and i saw this site

http://www.atasteful-affair.com

it gives insights on some important aspect of catering. planning and some tips.

i need a notebook to cram all my notes about this venture.

good night everyone! :)

almost a year!

it took me a lot of time to ponder on my next journey. indeed there are so many options to choose from. but in the end, i need to decide on things regarding business and career.

i want to be a caterer.

there was a time that i was obsessed with the idea of a full blown restaurant. but as i ponder on the thought, i decided that big time restaurant is not my game. i want something classy. something flexible. something creative and engaging. something dynamic. all roads lead to catering. but the problem now is i don't have enough money to finance my way to culinary school. i was hoping to get a culinary diploma to support my future business. but i don't think raising 400k is an easy task. so i decided to learn it the long way, which is self education.

thus, this blog will document my adventures in learning how to be a great caterer. oh! let this journey begins! :)