Hi. I am Caloy Diño. I come from the beautiful 7,107 islands of the Philippines. I am a perennially conflicted person. I guess life on earth can never contain the dreams, aspirations and gifts that God has given me. I absolutely believe God meant us for life eternal. Until the time when Christ takes me home, I'm but a shadow of my future self, the person God meant me to be in His new creation. While waiting for eternity, I'm just an artist struggling in the role of a Christian radio executive, a nature lover who'd rather stay at home, a family man with a social cause, a song writer with no musical instrument, and a poet at a loss for words. I'm a man of deep faith but perplexed by life's uncertainties, who is actively seeking spiritually but abhors religious dogma & empty rituals, with strong convictions but embraces human frailty, with broad understanding but can be emotionally dense. I'm a perpetual student of life, always on a learning journey and never arriving, always experimenting and never quite fully discovering. I've been a song writer, a painter, a theater artist, a video producer, a sales trainer, a conceptualizer, a marketer, a corporate executive, a husband, a strategic planner, a business consultant, an advocate of technology in education, a preacher, a pastor, a father of 3 kids, a counselor, a radio network executive, and a writer in a span of almost 5 decades. I'm eager for what's next.
When we do well in life, there is no one prouder of our achievements that our mothers. But even without these achievements, mothers will always feel proud when their children live lives in righteousness. Read Proverbs 23:22-25
I have this picture of myself and my Nanay Tessie in grade school. Nanay Tessie was beaming with pride as she pinned a medal on me as an honor student in Grade 1. That was the first and the last time she went up on stage my whole grade school years. The next time my mom would go up on stage was when I graduated from high school with second highest honors. My Nanay was very, very proud that day.…
There are things we want to achieve, and we prepare long and hard to get them. Yet sometimes, we don't get what we want. Perhaps the time is not ripe. The fullness of time in God's plan has not yet come. Read Ephesians 1:3-10
There are things that we prepare long and hard for. We work very hard to make sure we attain what we’re working for. Yet sometimes, what we wish to accomplish doesn’t happen. Some important elements didn’t happen on time, certain key people failed to provide support, something unexpected happens and things don’t go as planned.
When things don’t happen as we expect, all we can say is that the time…
We are often tempted to think that if we come up with a plan and we pray to God about it, then it’s all set. It’s like God is obligated to bless our plans. Well, we might be presuming on Him too much. Read James 4:13-17
In a company I used to work for, we had a senior executive who in his late 50’s was quite an energetic guy. He was always up and about, and his minds was very active. He was the kind of guy that we thought would be still working in the company even way into his 70’s.
One day he didn’t report for work. He felt very sick and had to go to the doctor. We found out that on that same day he was…
It can be difficult to find the right balance between time for work, travel, sleep, and still having time for the family. Without that balance, you're bound to ask, where did all that time go? Was time well spent? Read Psalm 127:1-2
I had a very challenging schedule a few weeks ago. I had a full schedule at work during the workweek, spending a few hours overtime on certain days. I also had to do some writing on the side, which I tried to fit in every opportunity. Then during the weekend, I had to do a video shoot for this video blog, which I thoroughly enjoyed. And then on Sunday I had to go and preach in a church. Then I…
Some people sound good when they pray in public. But the real deal is how we pray in private. No distractions. No one to impress. No room for pretension. Then, we are one-on-one with God in our truest selves. Read Matthew 6:5-6
I’m sure you’ve heard the advertising slogan of one candy product, “Crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy in the inside.” Sounds interesting and yummy when it refers to some candy bar. What you find on the outside is different from what you discover in the inside.
Everything requires the right timing. Yet, everything today is done at an instant, on demand. People can't wait. It's wise for us to recover the principles of doing things at the right time. Read Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8
I love mangoes. I love the sweetness of Philippine mango most especially. There is nothing like it among all other fruits that you find anywhere in the world. But I only want to eat it when it has ripened at the right time. Whe forced to ripen before the right tiime, it would be sour and it spoils the joy of eating mangoes. Mangoes are best eaten when they have been allowed to ripen in its own…
When people we love pass on, it gives us comfort to know that a time is coming, sometime soon, when we will see them once again. It helps to have clear picture of what's in store for us in the life that is to come. Read Isaiah 65
A well known person died recently. This person has had a great life, she has accomplished so many things and has helped and inspired so many people. Having reached old age, and very close to death she worried about her legacy. A friend of hers, with deep knowledge of the Bible assured her that there was nothing to worry about.
But what brought a twinkle in her eye was when her friend told her…
Have you seen that video about kids and marshmallows? The lesson is clear: it pays to wait This lesson holds true in matters of faith. Life that never ends awaits those who delay gratification in the present life Read Mark 10:29-30
Kids and Marshmallows
There was this cute video that spread on social media about this social experiment on small kids being offered marshmallows. And there was a twist. A child could have one marshmallow immediately, but he or she could have two if he or she waited for a while as the researcher stepped out until his return. Some children couldn’t wait and gobbled up the marshmallow immediately.…
There is colloquial term that I often hear from people when they do something wrong. They’d say “Tao lang.” I’m only human. It’s good because in a way it is an admission that as a person one is bound to make mistakes. But it also sounds to me like an excuse, and that the person who says this doesn’t really want to own up to his mistakes.
Many people reach a certain point in their lives when they ask themselves, “is this all there is to life?” Is there something waiting for us on the other side of life?
Yesterday was the most important Sunday that all Christians the world over celebrate every year.
“Happy Easter!” For our brothers in the Orthodox tradition, I greet you with the Paschal Greeting: “Christ Is Risen!”. For a more contemporary greeting: Happy Resurrection Day!
Today, we celebrate the truth that the Lord Jesus who was crucified on the cross, was risen from the dead. Jesus is alive!
It matters very much what we believe. What we do in life depends so much on what we believe to be true.
As we all grapple with the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic, our attitudes and behavior are driven by the limits of what we believe and understand. If we believe the explanation of health experts about the dangers of the virus, we’d be wise to follow the requirements…
One of the most gripping movies I’ve ever watched was a film starring Mel Gibson, “Braveheart.” It’s the story of the Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace, who led the Scot’s first war of independence against the King of England in the 13th century.
I was still young when I watched it. And the last scene was something I will never forget. Spoiler alert. Wallace experienced a brutal…
It can be frightening to be caught in the middle of a raging typhoon. I recall a particularly strong one once in our hometown in Bulacan. School was cancelled and we were be holed up at home as strong rains and wind hit our house. I can still hear in my mind how the howling winds sounded, and how the rains battered our tin roof so hard we could not hear each other talk.
We Filipinos love to celebrate, and when we do, we celebrate with our family and closest friends over lots of food. We are fond of fiestas, feasts, blow-outs, “boodle-fights”, and birthday parties at eat-all-you-canrestaurants. Somehow, food and sharing meals together make any event special. When we recall the best times of our lives, they are filled with memories of the aroma and taste of…
There are very few things more painful than being betrayed by a friend. Especially a very close friend.
Embarrassed
It happened to me once. I told someone who I thought was a friend a secret of mine. It was the kind of secret that you’d laugh about in private, but would be embarrassed to tell others.
Well, I was surprised one day when all of my friends were teasing me about that secret. How could…
Last Sunday, the Christian world celebrated Palm Sunday, the start of the Holy Week. And because this is a special week, it is a good time to reflect on incidents that happened on that fateful week in Jerusalem, 2,000 years ago.
There was one particular incident during that week that I’d like to focus on; a beautiful thing done for the Lord by one person.
