Neil Bern's World

Neil Bern's World http://neilbern.multiply.com/ Thanks for visiting my site! The things I place here are what hits me at the moment and are purely my own opinions. Please feel free to check out what's new, make comments or post anything if you just want to get in touch. Check out our other websites: <a href="http://web.mac.com/neilbern/iWeb/TheBernardinos.com">The Bernardino Family</a> <a href="http://neilbernardino.blogspot.com">A Follower's Journey</a> <a href="http://blanchebern.multiply.com">Blanche's Site</a> Enjoy! Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:59:48 -0000 Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:33:57 -0000 Neil Bern's World http://images.neilbern.multiply.com/logo http://neilbern.multiply.com 100 100 FUEL Conference, Nashville, TN July 2008 Just finished FUEL, <a href="http://www.everynation.org">Every Nation's</a> 2008 National Ministers Conference in Nashville, TN. What a great time to be with the U.S. pastors! We heard messages that point us to where God is leading us and what He wants to do next in, with and through our movement. Speakers were <a href="http://www.everynation.org/en/top/about-us/global-oversight-structure/international-policy-council/jim-laffoon.html">Jim Laffoon</a>, <a href="http://www.stevemurrell.com/home">Steve Murrell</a>, <a href="http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/">Dr. Ed Stetzer</a>, and <a href="http://www.everynation.org/en/top/about-us/global-oversight-structure/international-policy-council/rice-broocks.html">Rice Broocks</a>. We also heard reports and encouragements from Russ Austin, Kevin York, Bert Thomson, Greg Wark, and a host of others. Aside from hearing great messages, the conference was a time of connecting and reconnecting, focus, unity and vision. I am all the more excited to plant the church in the San Francisco Bay Area knowing that I am part of a great team! Here are some pictures courtesy of Malou Tabelisma and Sam Johnson. http://neilbern.multiply.com/photos/album/32/FUEL_Conference_Nashville_TN_July_2008 Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:33:57 -0000 GET SMART I haven't blogged in a while coz I've been busy with lots of stuff... moving, packing, writing a proposal, etc. Watching a movie is one of my favorite breaks from a busy schedule. A recent one that I watched (twice) that I really enjoyed (purely for its entertainment) is Steve Carell's <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425061/">GET SMART</a> (with Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin & Terence Stamp). It was a remake of the classic 60's TV series of the same title. I can't recall if I have seen any episode of the 60's Get Smart reruns, but it doesn't really matter because this film can stand up on its own. Blanche, Josh and I laughed so hard watching the movie I just had to blog about it. So far, Steve Carell hasn't disappointed me in his recent movies (Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty, Horton Hears a Who, and Dan in Real Life). He surely hasn't disappointed me in his portrayal of Maxwell Smart (Agent 86). Makes me want to watch his TV series THE OFFICE when I get the chance. Here are some of the lines/dialogues in the film (a... http://neilbern.multiply.com/reviews/item/6 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:34:43 -0000 American Idol - Shout to the Lord 4-10-2008 American Idol Top 8 reprises "Shout to the Lord" at the April 10, 2008 Results Show. They first sang this song as the finale of the Idol Gives Back show the night before. In that previous show they changed the original first line "My Jesus..." to "My Shepherd..." Good thing they changed it back to the original lyrics in this performance. Too bad Michael Johns was eliminated. He was one of my favorites this season. My top 3... David Cook, David Archuleta & Carly Smithson. http://neilbern.multiply.com/video/item/13/American_Idol_-_Shout_to_the_Lord_4-10-2008 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 10:57:38 -0000 Merry Christmas to Everyone! May the Lord's unfailing love in Christ be more and more a reality to you this season! A blessed Christmas to you! The Bernardinos (Neil, Blanche, Josh, Luigi & Miguel) http://neilbern.multiply.com/photos/album/31/Merry_Christmas_to_Everyone Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:47:39 -0000 Nashville: Every Nation, Opryland, Famous Dave's & Wii Ed Ballenas (Milpitas, CA) and I had 2-and-a-half long but productive and insightful days of strategic planning with Pastors <a href="http://smurrell.multiply.com">Steve Murrell</a> and Kevin York in the Every Nation office in Nashville for the San Francisco church plant and the Milpitas church transition to Every Nation. In between these very important meetings, the great Nashville Filipinos hosted us and gave us a grand time of Southern hospitality mixed with a Filipino flavor. It really is a blessing to have spiritual family around the world. The relationships built are for eternity. These are the kinds of relationships the world longs for. Thank you to the Nashville people for always making our trips there memorable. Loved the corn muffin, as always! Note: Most of the photos courtesy of <a href="http://malousemail.multiply.com">Malou Tabelisma</a>. You may find more photos of our grand time in Nashville in Malou's photo album <a href="http://malousemail.multiply.com/photos/album/68?mark_read=malousemail:photos:68&replies_read=35&goto=35#reply35">Famous Amos or Famous Dave's?</a> http://neilbern.multiply.com/photos/album/30/Nashville_Every_Nation_Opryland_Famous_Daves_Wii Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:41:35 -0000 Scouting the Bay Area & Strategic Planning in Nashville <a href="http://blanchebern.multiply.com">Blanche</a> and I spent some time in the San Francisco Bay Area to scout the place for church planting opportunities in San Francisco while meeting with a Milpitas church (CFIC) looking at joining the Every Nation family of churches and ministries. Pastors <a href="http://smurrell.multiply.com">Steve Murrell</a>, <a href="http://joeybonifacio.multiply.com">Joey Bonifacio</a> and <a href="http://josephbonifacio.multiply.com">Joseph Bonifacio</a> were also there for those meetings as well as to be the guest speakers for CFIC's Revival weekend. We also got to spend time with a lot of the Victory people in the area. Great to see them. They are excited for the SF church plant. After the Bay Area, Blanche went back to Manila while I flew with <a href="http://edballenas.multiply.com/">Ed Ballenas</a> (pastor of the Milpitas church) to Nashville for some strategic planning for the San Francisco church plant. It was a great time there, and plans were set. We are excited to see the new church in SF in Sept. 2008. We currently have about 20 solid people in our life group in SF, and we are looking at building a critical mass before we officially start the weekly Sunday services. Mo... http://neilbern.multiply.com/photos/album/29/Scouting_the_Bay_Area_Strategic_Planning_in_Nashville Fri, 12 Oct 2007 18:14:38 -0000 Every Nation World Conference 2007 Recap Site For those who want to relive EN.07, or for those who missed it... here is the recap site of the Every Nation 2007 World Conference in Manila last July 20-22. You can see video highlights of the conference, view conference photos, listen to all the messages (via podcast), and more! EN.07 was indeed a life-changing experience! To the ends of the earth we go for the glory of our Lord and King, http://neilbern.multiply.com/links/item/17/Every_Nation_World_Conference_2007_Recap_Site Wed, 8 Aug 2007 17:02:15 -0000 PC or Mac? =) <a href="/photos/hi-res/upload/RrAGagoKCq0AACFVOD41"><img class="alignright" src="http://images.neilbern.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/RrAGagoKCq0AACFVOD41/Vista%20vs%20Mac%20OS%20X.gif?et=Z%2B3PWCvCmz%2CXDVEFjan4iQ" border="0"></a>A friend of mine emailed me this cartoon strip. Thought of posting it JUST FOR FUN. Please click on the image to enlarge it so you could read it better. http://neilbern.multiply.com/journal/item/20/PC_or_Mac_ Tue, 31 Jul 2007 08:46:00 -0000 Oly Reyes' Birthday Party! Blanche and I just came from a wonderful evening celebrating Oly Reyes' birthday at <a href="http://junescosar.multiply.com/">Pastor Jun & Gigi Escosar</a>'s beautiful home. Oly served as one of <a href="http://www.victory.org.ph">Victory Christian Fellowship</a>'s pastors for several years before he moved to the USA. He is in Manila to attend the <a href="http://en07.everynation.org">2007 Every Nation World Conference.</a> Oly's old friends showed up to surprise him, but as it turned out, he kind of expected it somehow. It was a great sight to see old friends reconnect and reminisce the early days of our church. We had a blast... plus the food was great! Thank you, Pastor Jun & Gigi for being such wonderful hosts! Those who attended Oly's party were <a href="http://juraydeah.multiply.com/">Juray & Deah Mora</a>, <a href="http://joeybonifacio.multiply.com/">Joey Bonifacio</a>, <a href="http://jayduque.multiply.com/">Jay Duque</a>, <a href="http://jamboy.multiply.com/">Junn & Maru Besana</a>, Roland & Becc Saavedra</a>, <a href="http://noellandicho.multiply.com/">Noel & Gigi Landicho</a>, <a href="http://winsgigi.multiply.com/">Winston & Gigi Reyes</a> (hhhmm... ang daming "Gigi" na pastor's wife ah!), <a href="http://junleediamond.multiply.com/">Jun & Mabel Lee</a>, <a href="http://bernardmarquez.multiply.com/">Bernard & Ivy Marquez</a>, Ferdie & Zen-Y Del Valle, Gene & Yollie Manaois, Benjie & Bianca Bernardo, <a href="http://gilbertfoliente.multiply.com/">Gilbert & Cathy Foliente</a>, Beth San Diego, <a href="http://blanchebern.multiply.com/">Blanche</a> and yours truly. I... http://neilbern.multiply.com/photos/album/27/Oly_Reyes_Birthday_Party Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:58:13 -0000 It Gets Better Every Generation This photo was taken during the recent <a href="http://www.fort.victory.org.ph/">Victory Fort</a> Staff Outing at Punta De Uian, Zambales. Nice shot of new babies with their young parents. As I took this shot, I couldn't help but think that most of these young parents got saved in their teens or even earlier. I remember <a href="http://dennis128.multiply.com/">Dennis Sy</a> being discipled in his teens by <a href="http://fcabiling.multiply.com/">Pastor Ferdie Cabiling</a> and <a href="http://rommelcervantes.multiply.com/">Omeng Cervantes.</a> By the way, Dennis' wife, <a href="http://thammie.multiply.com/">Thammie</a>, is pregnant! =) <a href="http://caloybert.multiply.com/">Carlos Antonio</a> and wife <a href="http://bantonio.multiply.com/">Belle</a> (nee Hiadan), were part of my small group during their college years in the University of the Philippines in Diliman when we were planting the Victory Quezon City church. I remember <a href="http://lamumar.multiply.com/">LA Mumar</a> (as a child of less than 10 years of age) running around in Children's Church of then Victory Makati. LA's then good friend and now better half (naks!) <a href="">Macy</a> got saved in her teens and became part of Victory Shangri-La (or was it in Valle Verde or Galleria already?). <a href="http://chichitangco.multiply.com/">Chi Chi Tangco</a> (nee Cariaga) also got saved in her freshman year in UP Diliman when I was the Campus Dir... http://neilbern.multiply.com/journal/item/19/It_Gets_Better_Every_Generation Thu, 21 Jun 2007 05:23:00 -0000 Link: Speak LIFE! I just read a blog by <a href="http://chrina.multiply.com/">Chrina Cuna</a> entitled <a href="http://chrina.multiply.com/journal/item/23">"Speak LIFE"</a> which talks about the power of words and how they should bring life. A very interesting and apt post! I highly recommend everyone to <a href="http://chrina.multiply.com/journal/item/23">read it.</a> Chrina is a member of <a href="http://alabang.victory.org.ph">Victory Alabang</a> and is a <a href="http://www.victory.org.ph/content/view/22/107/">small group</a> leader of college and high school students. She is on her senior year at the Ateneo De Manila University taking up Communications Technology http://neilbern.multiply.com/journal/item/18/Link_Speak_LIFE Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:13:00 -0000 Are You Preparing To Run With Horses? I just read a post by <a href="http://bughaw.multiply.com">Don Amador</a> (a friend of mine from <a href="http://alabang.victory.org.ph">Victory Alabang</a>) entitled "<a href="http://bughaw.multiply.com/journal/item/1?mark_read=bughaw:journal:1">Horses</a>." It is a very interesting blog about complaining and God's bigger picture. Read it and you will be encouraged. It inspired me to write some more about it. Hope you won't mind, Don! =) In Jeremiah 12:5, the LORD replied to Jeremiah's complaint: "If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?" Two somewhat similar verses also come to mind: "If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!" (Proverbs 24:10) "“But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved." (Hebrews 10:38-39) The truth about these passages: God wants us to overcome the challenges we face in life! God meant for us to "run with horses" for His glory! How? Let us look at a man in the Bible who literally ran with horses - Elijah. "S... http://neilbern.multiply.com/journal/item/17/Are_You_Preparing_To_Run_With_Horses Fri, 25 May 2007 16:39:00 -0000 The Many Faces of Victory in North America Okay... since Pastor <a href="http://joeybonifacio.multiply.com">Joey Bonifacio</a> started this, I thought of posting all the photos of the different Victory people I have seen in North America. So, if you find a long lost friend from Victory Christian Fellowship here, please drop a greeting or an encouragement. The purpose of this post is to reconnect Victory people. I love this spiritual family! http://neilbern.multiply.com/photos/album/25/The_Many_Faces_of_Victory_in_North_America Sat, 19 May 2007 05:00:51 -0000 The Big Apple - New York City Here are some pictures of my recent trip to New York City - the city that never sleeps. I hung out most of the time with people from <a href="http://www.msny.org">Morning Star New York</a>. Among those I know from <a href="http://www.victory.org.ph">Victory</a> are <a href="http://g3misa.multiply.com">G3 Misa</a> and <a href="http://maycabotaje.multiply.com">May Cabotaje</a> of <a href="http://www.alabang.victory.org.ph">Victory Alabang</a>, <a href="http://robellev.multiply.com">Bing Villanueva</a> of Victory Dasmariñas, <a href="http://evelynjuan.multiply.com">Evelyn Juan</a> of Victory Galleria, <a href="http://charleymd.multiply.com">Charley Dizon</a> (visiting from Copenhagen, Denmark) from VCF Makati & Dasmariñas, and Doris Apolinario from VCF Dagupan. Not in the pictures is Nadia Miller from <a href="http://www.fort.victory.org.ph">VCF Fort</a>. I also met a lot of new people, among whom are <a href="http://karespiritu.multiply.com">Karen Espiritu</a>, Michelle Marcos, Dr. Florence Golamco, Dolly White, Rowena Pringle, & David Miller. It was a great time to be with them. I will see them again when I return to NY sometime in the near future. Please do take the time to view each photo and read the captions. There are some interesting things I have written there about some of the photos. Feel free to leave comments or a greeting to these friends of yours in New York! Enjoy! http://neilbern.multiply.com/photos/album/23/The_Big_Apple_-_New_York_City Fri, 18 May 2007 06:48:55 -0000 Victory people in the Bay Area I just read about Pastor <a href="http://joeybonifacio.multiply.com">Joey Bonifacio</a>'s entry on the <a href="http://www.victory.org.ph">Victory</a> people in the Bay Area: <a href="http://joeybonifacio.multiply.com/journal/item/153?mark_read=joeybonifacio:journal:153&replies_read=1">The Largest Gathering of Victory in the US Ever</a>. Do take the time to read it to see who these great people are. Some of them might be your friends whom you haven't seen in a while. It is indeed interesting to see a lot of them concentrated in one location. I was there last March and I could just see the hand of God upon them as they go about their lives there. Their passion to reach the lost is just incredible! Passion indeed, as it is seen in the fruit of their outreach. The Filipinos there have a vision to see a church planted in San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area. I agree with them. The harvest is indeed ripe in that area, and there is a call from God to plant a church there. Let us stand with them in prayer as they believe God for a mighty church to be planted there! Who knows? You might be one of those whom God will call to go! =) http://neilbern.multiply.com/journal/item/15/Victory_people_in_the_Bay_Area Thu, 17 May 2007 15:40:00 -0000 New York International Autoshow My cousins Nerissa & Aileen Joven took me to the New York International Autoshow at the Javits Center in New York City. Here is a sample of the cars exhibited there. We couldn't get wider shots on most of the cars due to the number of people crowding around them. Our batteries ran out before we could take pictures of the Rolls Royces, BMWs, Alfa Romeos, the different motorbikes, trucks and SUVs (good thing we got some pictures of Hummers before the batteries ran out), the new Toyotas and Hondas. There were just too many vehicles in the place! Well, enjoy the http://neilbern.multiply.com/photos/album/22/New_York_International_Autoshow Mon, 16 Apr 2007 18:05:44 -0000 AMAZING GRACE (2007) Good movies are a dime-a-dozen, but a truly great film comes every once in a while. I recently watched the movie AMAZING GRACE with some friends in Durham, North Carolina. The movie is about the true story of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wilberforce">William Wilberforce</a> - portrayed by Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) - a Member of the British Parliament who led the campaign for the abolition of the slave trade in 18th century Great Britain. In the film, Wilberforce is evidently influenced by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Newton">John Newton</a>, a former slaveship master who repented of his ways and became an Anglican minister, and is best known to have written the great Christian hymn Amazing Grace. Wilberforce sang the hymn early in the film to declare his faith and convictions before a group politicians who support the slave trade. He also sang the song in his wedding day. Wilberforce demonstrated strong faith in God, as he at one time wanted to enter the ministry. He was torn between praising the Lord with his voice and speaking against the slave trade, until som... http://neilbern.multiply.com/reviews/item/5 Sun, 8 Apr 2007 04:06:55 -0000 Do You React or Respond? When you go through a tough time, do you react to the situation or do you respond to God? Read about my thoughts on the matter on <a href="http://neilbernardino.blogspot.com/2007/04/reacting-or-responding.html">Do You React or Respond?</a> in <a href="http://neilbernardino.blogspot.com/">A Follower's Journey</a> http://neilbern.multiply.com/journal/item/14/Do_You_React_or_Respond Sat, 7 Apr 2007 17:23:00 -0000 Sam's Webb Site Pastor Sam Webb from Honolulu, Hawaii has a Multiply site! Check it http://neilbern.multiply.com/links/item/14/Sams_Webb_Site Mon, 26 Mar 2007 17:56:39 -0000 Blue Eyes in Japan Pastor Scott Douma from Yokohama, Japan has joined Multiply! Check out his site and welcome http://neilbern.multiply.com/links/item/13/Blue_Eyes_in_Japan Mon, 26 Mar 2007 17:46:06 -0000 The Bernardino Family Hi there! I just published an update to our family website! There is a slight change to the link I gave you all previously, so if you bookmarked our site, please use the new link instead. Sorry for the inconvenience. A lot of people commented that they had a hard time accessing our previous site, so I had to change it. Thanks to those who told me about the glitches. There shouldn't be any problem accessing the site now, but please let me know if you have a hard time again. I added a photos page and a "Meet The Family" page as well. Check it http://neilbern.multiply.com/links/item/12/The_Bernardino_Family Mon, 19 Mar 2007 20:56:47 -0000 Blanche's Site My wife's site. Check it http://neilbern.multiply.com/links/item/11/Blanches_Site Fri, 9 Mar 2007 02:28:17 -0000 A Follower's Journey A journal of my thoughts, experiences and life lessons learned on my ongoing journey as a disciple and follower of http://neilbern.multiply.com/links/item/10/A_Followers_Journey Wed, 7 Mar 2007 18:02:45 -0000 Victory Fort - Home Victory Fort finally has a website! In this site you can hear the great sermons preached every Sunday by our pastors... know the latest news, updates and activities in Victory Fort... get plugged into a small group... attend one of the scheduled discipleship classes, seminars or retreats... get involved in a ministry in the church... or even send someone a "get well soon" e-card! Check it http://neilbern.multiply.com/links/item/9/Victory_Fort_-_Home Sun, 4 Mar 2007 04:20:10 -0000 the accidental missionary Pastor Steve has joined the Multiply network! You can expect great blogs from him, as well as great paintings from his favorite undiscovered artist - his son Jonathan. Check it http://neilbern.multiply.com/links/item/7/the_accidental_missionary Thu, 15 Feb 2007 16:06:28 -0000 Glimpses of a Canadian Winter January 2007 - our very first Canadian winter. We went to Toronto for our bi-monthly visit to our church there, and it was Blanche's first time to see snow. The average temperature then was around -8 degrees celsius. Then we went to Banff in Alberta, Canada... a historic and famous National Park located along the Canadian Rockies. We stayed at The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel (<A href="http://www.fairmont.com/banffsprings/"></A><A href="http://www.fairmont.com/banffsprings/"></A><A href="http://www.fairmont.com/banffsprings/"></A><A href="http://www.fairmont.com/banffsprings/"><a href=http://www.fairmont.com/banffsprings/>http://www.fairmont.com/banffsprings/</a></A>), which was fashioned after a Scottish Baronian Castle way back in the mid-1800s. The place is just incredible! We were there to attend an annual Canadian and Northwestern senior pastors summit. We had lots of discussions on how we are to be who God calls us to be as pastors. We also had lots of fun! We went cross-country skiing, rode the gondola up to the top of Sulphur Mountain, walked along Main Street to enjoy the different novelty shops in the area, and of course we ate Italian and German food. Too bad we didn't get to see Lake Louise, which is only an hour away from Ban... http://neilbern.multiply.com/photos/album/21/Glimpses_of_a_Canadian_Winter Wed, 24 Jan 2007 07:32:07 -0000