Catalyst started the new year by honoring the different people who made great strides in the previous year via the first ever Catalyst Awards. Snippets from last year were also shown through the Catalyst vault.

    The 'show' was hosted by David Tangal and David Cua. Rolly and Scarlett also shared their testimony as part of the program that looks back thankfully at the wonderful things that God caused to happen in the year 2007.

    Due to the traffic caused by the Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Dakbayan, a lot of the people were not able to make it. For the benefit of those who weren't around, here's the complete list of the winners for the different categories (not all were shown last Saturday due to some technical problems that were beyond our control).

Kikay Award: Savina D'Avola

Beautiful Frog Award (Transformed the most): Rolly Dan Inosanto

Best Actor in a Comedy Award: David Padin ("David Soccerfield" in Prison Break Kuno series and "Mr. Suave" for Mr. Suave human video.)

Best Actress in a Drama: Janessa Padin

Best in Costume (Christmas Party 2007): Adam Conde

Catalyst Next Top Pastor Award: Albert Padin

Killer Smile Award: Tie between Misha Quijano and Nikki Macarasig

Most Patient Award: Kuya Ades

Pinoy Biggest Brother Award: Jon Manuel

Promil Kid Award: Stephen Legaspi

Sassy Award: SAS (Savina, Aieen and Sarah)

One Liner of the Year: "Almost!"

    To all the winners, congratulations! To view the pictures from last Saturday's event, click here.

(NOTE: CATALYSTs, please read this entry and keep an open mind regarding this matter. This is for the good of the youth and for each of us as well.)

Too much of something is not good.

Even too much of the good ones is not good.

This is a potential concern being spotted by Kuya Ades and it's just wise to post it here so that everyone will be alerted of it.

In the past, one of the concerns of the youth (YM) was that people had their own cliques. An individual always hang out with the same people every Friday night. Imagine the new people who visits. They will have a hard time to get into the youth. It may even lead to rejection (without the harsh words). In fact, some of the regulars now in CATALYST went through this painful experience, and thankfully by God's grace, they continued to visit until they become regulars in the youth. This is not to offend anyone who used to lead the youth before or anything, they are stated so that the new ones who weren't there before will have the knowledge of the youth's history, even including the bad ones.

Lately, it is a victory that the atmosphere of bonds and friendships that was not too noticeable before is now clear as crystal. Kuya Ades pointed it out, and it feels good. We may not be at the point were the bonds are strong as now, some people may not be as connected to us and there may be some areas that we still lack, but still a victory is a victory, and it is to be celebrated. Thank you for the individuals who have helped out in every way, from entertaining the new people every Saturday afternoon, to the following up and the conversations that you have made with them to connect with them and be a friend to them. Your labor and hardwork is not in vain, and the Lord will bless you for that.

Yes we love to have great fellowship with friends, especially Christians. And it feels good to be connected with them, to be with them and hang out with them. BUT TOO MUCH FELLOWSHIP WILL RESULT TO OVERBONDING! Remember guys, the enemy is a deceiver, and he can even use the good ones for his primary evil intentions: to kill, steal and destroy. Fellowship is good. TOO MUCH is overkill. It can take us away from His presence. We might enjoy each others company too much, we forget THE ONE we should spend time with first and foremost. This is not an attack to the fellowship that every one in CATALYST enjoy, in fact we deeply encourage that. But fellowship to others is just minor compared to our FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM!

It's good that everyone is taking advantage of the benefits that Multiply (or any other social-networking site) has to offer, that many are having their own accounts, and that each one has a chance to connect and post replies to the photos, videos and other stuff posted in the CATALYST account, but getting hooked to it is another story. Because when you get hooked, it will take up most of your time, and when your time is focused on the computer (and any other stuff for that matter), it will take out the precious time you will spend with HIM. It will become an idol, and we all pretty much know that the God that we serve is a jealous God. We all know that he hates idols and idol worship. We know that, but are we absorbing it and taking it deeply inside our hearts or are we letting it go out the other ear?

This concern has been brought up to serve as a warning and a wake up call to those who may be slipping away to that horizon. We just came from a very powerful and wonderful camp, and it would be a pity that the fire from that burning bush experience will be extinguished just a few weeks after. We all learned our lessons from last year, and it would be a shame if it happens again this year and the years to come.

SO HOW'S YOUR WALK WITH HIM CATALYST?

Are you getting into a new season of intimacy with God, or is it just as dry before the summer camp? Please, review your daily routine. Are you giving God the time that He deserves, or are you rejecting Him without even saying it?

"Keep the fire burning on the Altar continuously. It must not go out" Leviticus 6:13

Is the fire in your heart still burning for God?

or is it burning for the wrong reasons?

(Note: This article was originally my contribution for my friend's (Kurt) magazine requirement he have to comply in one of his subjects in school. But then I decided to post it here and share it with you all. Hope you'll read it. Enjoy!)

The parable of the talents has some touch of fear into it.

We all know how it happened.

There was a rich man who left for some place doing something that is in line of his business. Before he left his home however, he entrusted different amounts of money to his three servants. To the first servant he gave five talents (the currency used during that time), two to the second and to the third he gave one. Upon the rich man’s return, he asked for an accounting of what the servants did to their different talents. The first servant told his master that he was able to generate five more, which made the rich man happy and asked the servant to join him in his happiness. The same thing happened to the second servant, who was able to generate two more. But the third suffered the fate different from the others. When he told the rich man that he hid the talent because of his master’s hard character, he was thrown out and his hidden talent was given to the first servant.

Now when you come and think of it, it does have a “fear factor”. Just imagine when instead of money being taken away from you, it’s the talent that you have that will be taken away.

Here’s a trivia: the word talent—or synonymous to gift which is our modern understanding of it—actually originated from Jesus’ parable of the talent! Look it up in the etymology of the word in the dictionary or better yet check it out in the website of Merriam Webster.

So you see, the “talent” that Jesus talked about in Matthew 25: 14-30 is the root of our modern understanding of the word “talent”.

Do you want to have your talent taken away from you because you hid it, and didn’t use it, hone it and improve it?

Imagine you are a basketball player, someone of Dwayne Wade or LeBron James caliber. You’re playing in the NBA, get paid well and enjoy the luxuries brought to you by your multi-million contract. Then suddenly one day, you wake up and discover that all that talent disappeared. Then next, you’re kicked out of the team and you lose a lot of money!

Or if you can’t relate to the first example given above, imagine that you are a famous diva, someone that gives Mariah Carey and Celine Dion a run for their money. Then one day you wake up losing that golden voice which brought you to stardom!

Those thoughts surely give you the chills.

Everyone has their very own set of talents. When God created man, He created him in His likeness and His image. No ifs, no buts. He created us the way He wants us to be. That verse is just so familiar. We either got it from our Sunday school or our religion classes. And with that, our talents are included. A package deal as many people would say.

Those talents are supposed to be developed by us—the way Jesus illustrated it in the parable.

But a lot of young people today forget that and instead of honing them for God’s business, they use them for self gratification and in their dealings with worldly business. They miss out on God’s purpose and lean more to their self-purpose. They tend to forget that the talent they have is God-given and that the Source can easily take it away from them in a twinkling of an eye.

Some young people may not fall to the first category, but they belong to the next one. They think that they don’t have the talent or at least the potential just because they see other people as more talented compared to them. They also think that they don’t have a talent at all—that they’re hopeless when in it comes to art, music, sports or whatever those cool kids at school possess. But talents don’t deal with the arts alone! A person known to be a jack-of-all trade has something they don’t know how to do. Or perhaps they know how but the results are BETTER if YOU do it.

You may be this person: you don’t know how to kick the ball when you play soccer or shoot it when you play basketball, but you know a lot and is revered at when it comes to computers. Why keep on feeling sad about not being able to do something you are not good at when at least you know something and you are good at it? If you focus on that single talent you have for now, it will grow, and it will be your trump card when you deal with others. And when you diligently work on it, it will multiply! That’s how God illustrated it to us through the parable!

Have you considered helping out in your church, especially your youth ministry, but often asked yourself how you can help out? Your gift doesn’t have to involve on playing an instrument or dancing or preaching to help out, your gift in meeting people or making their day brighter with your smile is enough, and in most cases very much needed in youth ministries today. It’s not only through the efforts of the leaders that keep the ministry running. It also involves the young people that comprise the membership body!

Hopefully you’ll realize that you’ve got immense potential inside you and that you will be encouraged to tap them after reading this article. Always remember that a potential will remain a potential unless you do something about it. We all have our very own unique talents, and that makes people different from each other.

But if not, think about what happened to the third servant’s talent when he just hid it. It was given away to the first servant. Aren’t you afraid of losing the one thing that maybe only you know how to do? Think about it!

by: Ruvs

Funny how God can call your heart back to your real purpose. Why do i say this? Just yesterday, I was so blessed by the Lord that He spoke to me in a way that I would have never thought of.

Lately, you could say that I've neglected my spiritual duties. He he! (sorry Kuya Ades) And instead of reading my Bible, and spending some quality time with the Father, my ears are glued to the latest tunes of McFly (my fave band---as of the moment), and my eyes explores their website and pictures, my hands busy typing messages in the McFly forum, and giving out reviews and feedbacks. You could clearly see those in my friendster profile and blog, which happens to be all McFly-inspired! But anyway, I am not here to campaign about this band (they have a website to do that). Instead, I am here to tell you how blessed i am.

Yesterday, a few minutes away from my History class, I was at Netopia doing some final research for our report in Entrep 35. However, because i'm a girl, i can multi-task. I was also checking out some music videos of McFly that i don't have. I guess I'm starting to take a trip down memory lane with my craze for bands and such. I mean, these things happen in high school! I never thought I would be this obssessed since I THOUGHT I am mature enough in college not to be smitten by cute bands which will never know me at all! Anyway, since Netopia is the only place I could actually open YouTube, I took advantage of it by viewing lots of music videos by McFly. Never thought ONE video would make such an impact.

One of the videos is You've Got A Friend, a track they revived from James Taylor to serve as a fund-raising song together with All About You for Comic Relief.

Comic Relief is a charity organization that uses the entertainment industry to raise funds to have outreaches and stuff for poor countries. McFly and together with other actors and actresses serve as ambassadors to other countries. McFly currently came back from Uganda after two years and saw a newly constructed building (i think it was a hospital), which was put up because of their single All About You that earned about 500,000 pounds. To know more about comic relief and how YOU can help, visit www.comicrelief.com

Anyway, the video moved me like no other. I was starting to cry in the middle of the video, and i'm still teary-eyed. I actually had to stop the video halfway because I couldn't take it anymore.

The video is so touching that you would have to be a stone if you don't feel anything. It showcases children who lost their parents to AIDS, and who has AIDS---the catastrophic epidemic in Africa. And you can just see how these boys (band) were greatly moved when they were playing with the kids, and talking to them as they lie on their hospital beds (or even worse, death beds)....and what crunched up my heart was the scene where Danny, one member, had to hide to wipe away his tears. As far as i know, you don't get to see genuine help already from bands and artists, they do it only for publicity. But this changed my mind. Comic Relief is a great organization, and it's going to be BIG! Though I'm not from UK, I would really love to help out. It's one way of reaching out to other people through this organization. And it also gave me this suddent urge to go on an outreach together with the church. I never tried, but now i really want to.

Just last night, I continued reading on the book i bought from MV Duolus, The Prayer of Jabez for Teens. This book has been lying on my dusty drawer, and last night, i read on. A lot of thoughts came into my mind that I would like to share to the rest of you who are reading.

One, in the prayer of Mr. Pain, as I would like to call Jabez, he asked God to bless him and expand his territories.Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, 'Oh that Thou would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast [territory], and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou would keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!' And God granted him that which he requested."  1 Chron 4:10

Mr. Pain here would love to be blessed so he could bless others. Don't we want that? It's so ironic really. Because ones we have the things that we need, we don't turn to God already and ask for blessings. God in His own capacity is capable of showering us with blessings but WE NEED to go to Him like a child would do to a Father, and ASK for blessings. While reading, I saw that we need to ask God for the blessings, and with His will, and "blessing", He would give it to us.

After viewing this video, I realized that I want to bless other people. It doesn't have to be in Uganda but just to offer prayers for the people we know, love, and people we don't even know of but are suffering. And even one way of blessing other people is sharing what you've gained when God spoke to you. That is why I was so excited to write this blog not because I want to show off but to be a blessing to you.

Two, Jabez didn't have a whole book in the Bible that tells about his life like David, Noah, or Abraham. He didn't even have one chapter. He only got a verse! But he is this really BIG inspiration to a lot of people. He definately is to me. It only shows that you don't need to a big superstar, or popular to be a blessing to other people. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that big charity foundations, big-name philanthropist cannot be blessed with the prayer of Jabez. It simply means that they should be motivated to do more to help without getting their head big, or shall I say, remaining "small" and humble.

Guys and gals, you don't know how lucky we are to be here healthy and breathing. We have a family, a home, clothing, school, and believe it or not, money. Let's take a moment to thank the Lord for the blessings received, and say a few words of prayer to help our suffering brothers and sisters, not only in Uganda but all over the world. We are not left alone because we have a God, and these suffering people are not alone too because they got us to help them in the smallest ways, and a BIg GOD to back them up. They got a friend. And we do too. I love you all and life is short, so don't complain. Make the most out of it, and you'll realize what great impact your actions are going to be.  DO what YOU CAN! Be Blessed so you could be a blessing to others.

**The video is in my media box. It's the first video. or you could check it out in Youtube -click. Guys, I really encourage you to view this video to see what i mean. Or, you could view it in my Friendster Media Box. It's the first video.**

--Wendy

Today, January 27, 2007 is CATALYST's "Blockbuster Saturday." It means we're going to watch a movie! We watched "End of the Spear,"a true story and a great movie! =]
    The film is about five missionaries who bravely left the comforts of their lives and their families to go the jungle and reach a little tribe known to be violent. But the tribe killed them. However, it didn't stop the family of the missionaries to continue what their husbands had started, which is to share the Gospel.
    At the end of the movie, Tita Chris shared about the fact that the world is not our home. We should be thankful for everything and live a meaningful life so that when the time comes, when we meet face to face with God, we will be confident.
    There is no language that God can't speak! When you know that God is calling you to do something, don't hesitate even though you're unsure of it. Besides, God knows best, just give it up to Him! Jesus sacrificed His own life for us. He was innocent yet He took the spear's end for us to be forgiven, redeemed and saved.

by Nikki and Arshy

    January 13 served as the starting point of Catalyst Youth (formerly Youth-M/YM) for the new year.
    Gathering inside the newly-opened Bytes & Brew.net Cafe, Catalysts, clad in their rain gear, shared their new year resolutions. People had fun laughing at the funny resolutions and encouraging the person who shared that he/she can keep it.
    Tina, a fellow Catalyst and now a full-pledge missionary, also shared her testimony and announced her departure for the Visayas outreach she's involved in. She'll be gone for two months and will be back this coming March.
    Exciting activities are lined up for the next youth gatherings. This coming Saturday (January 27) will be Catalyst's Blockbuster Saturday.
    Catalyst Youth gathers every Saturday, 2:30 - 5:30 PM at the COOK Center, 2nd Level Mango Square Mall beside Bytes & Brew.net Cafe and Monster Radio.

    One of our youth regulars, Tina, will be leaving tomorrow morning for her major outreach. Please help her out by remembering her in your prayers. Written below is her message sent through text:

    "Hey Guys! I'm leaving tomorrow, early in the morning for my major outreach...I just wanna thank you for supporting me...thru prayers or financially...you guys will be my partners in my ministry...because of your support, I will be able to go to where God wants me to be and I will be able to share the Gospel to them...Guys, please continue to cover me with prayers because I will be going to unfamiliar places...I will be in a battlefield...thank you so much guys! I will see you on March bringing all the good news about this outreach! I will miss you...God Bless!!"