The Other Side of the Table

If you have been following my posts, you, probably, already know by now that I am part of the training and development team of the company I work for.

Training classes can be very demanding especially when it happens back to back. Being able to impart knowledge and develop others can be very daunting and fulfilling at the same time. Trainers/teachers are known to be the go-to persons of any organization. However, we have to understand that your trainers/teachers also need development.

I grab every chance I get to be at the other side of the table for two reasons:

1. Development.

I take care of other people's development but who takes care of mine?

2. Humility

When everyone goes to you for answers, it could destroy you if you are not careful. Destroy you in a sense that you might think you know everything, that you hold the absolute truth of all matters, and that you can't be questioned. No matter how familiar you are with the topic at hand, being on the other side of the table positions you somewhere below yourself and your huge ego. Listening to your teacher (who may be younger, maybe with less experience than you do, maybe newer to the role and the team), and the people you are learning with in the class can humble you and make you realize that you don't know everything and that there is something new from everybody, always.

I always tell my class that I treat every single person I meet as my teacher. There is always something to learn. Learning is a pursuit. There is no destination to reach. This is one journey where the destination should not be sought after. It would break my heart to see myself in a place where there is nothing else to learn.

What have you learned today? Who was your teacher?

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An Apple I Did Not Bite

Last Friday, I posted the attached photo on my Facebook page. It immediately garnered 'likes'. Some of my friends thought that I bought myself a new Iphone. Well, I did get an Apple but I did not bite it. Here's the story:

On our way home from a mall, my friends and I decided to hail a cab instead of commuting. I was the first to get in. Immediately after I opened the door, I saw a phone lying on the car floor. I took it but kept my silence as I was trying to observe the driver if he knew of it. Then, I called the attention of my friends. I knew right away, without an iota of doubt, that I will be returning it. I was just too hesitant to hand it over to the driver. Not to sound judgmental but I did not want to place him into that 'middle road' - whether to return it or not.

We checked the phone. We had to so we can, at least, get a number or receive a text. Unfortunately, the phone was locked. Dannie, my friend, tried to remove the SIM from it so we can place it in my other phone and call someone, until it rang. Someone was looking for someone. I did not talk about finding the phone yet as I was not sure who I was talking to. I wanted to make sure it was the owner I get to talk to. I waited for him to tell me about the missing phone first before I give him instructions on how to get it from me. He figured out right away so he called again and put his girlfriend (the owner) into the three-way call.

To keep the story short, I arranged a meet-up with her. I initially wanted to meet up in a mall but she couldn't make it to the time I suggested. I went home first and gave her instructions on how to see me. I tried to put myself in where she was. I knew that she would not feel comfortable seeing a stranger so I gave her instructions to go inside the bank near my place. I thought it would make her feel safer to meet me when she is inside a secured place. We saw each other and I met her dad . (I would, also, drag someone else with me if I were in her shoes.) The gratefulness I saw in her, her boyfriend, and most especially, her dad, was enough to compensate for the long day.

I am writing this not because I want to glorify myself. I am writing this because of the two things I want to stress:

1. When you suffer with others, you will do more than just the good thing. I placed myself in the shoes of the lady. I made it my own situation. I knew and understood exactly what her fears were in meeting me. This way, I made her feel comfortable in meeting me.

What made me strongly motivated in doing what I did? I asked myself, "What if this happened to me?" I would want someone else to do the same for me. She was scared the first time I talked to her over the phone. I could feel her trembling voice.

2. Pay it forward. When I was Nicaragua, I lost my phone. I was outside my country and in a place who does not speak my language but I was served with kindness. The stranger who got my phone returned it to me. So you can praise me all you want for doing this but I, actually, just paid forward.

There's already too much pain and suffering around. Let's feed the good one!

PS: I made the right decision of not surrendering it to the driver. My friend said the driver did say that he hoped he got it for himself.

A Closer Look at Gloryfall and their Newest Album, Be Glorified

We are about to release the new album...this link we have not released. Listen to it. 

I jolted out of bed upon reading this. It was my brother's private message on Facebook about two weeks ago talking about the newest album of Gloryfall. He asked me if I can listen to it and write what I think. 

My limited human knowledge and prideful, rotten human mind immediately did what they are good at -worry about what and how to write, and whether I will be good enough to write about it. It was all this (points to self) doing all the thinking; until I played my first randomly chosen song from the list, Be Glorified.

I listened to it and I sat still. It then dawned on me that the album is meant to glorify God, not the song, not the album, not the band, and definitely not my writing. So, on this entry, we will glorify God and what He has done in each of the lives of these individuals to manifest His glory as we get to know the band and their music.

Here's a short interview with the band members: 

Q: Who makes up Gloryfall?

Gloryfall is made up of the following: 

Toby Huyssen (Vocalist/Acoustic Guitarist)

Ginny Huyssen (Vocalist)

Cylynn Huyssen (Vocalist)

Cylas Contreras (Keyboardist)

Dennis Llante (Electric Guitarist)

Jenry Pawhay (Acoustic Guitarist)

Ryan Pecardal (Bassist)

Harald Huyssen (Drummer)

Q: Why did you name yourselves Gloryfall?

Toby: One of our very first songs to record even before the band was formed was called “Glory Fall.”  It spoke of our heart to see God’s glory manifest.  When we write songs, lead worship, or train in worship, our one desire is for God to reveal himself in such an awesome way that our lives will be changed forever!  We adapted the name for our group from that song.

Toby Huyssen, worship leader and acoustic guitarist of the band, has been leading worship since he was 8 years old.  Currently, he leads World Missions for Jesus team in the Philippines as well as a team for a church plant in Antipolo.  He works with his brother in TrueSound Recording Studio to help produce quality Christian music in the Philippines.

Q: Who writes the songs? Any particular story behind any of the songs?

Toby: The song I Sing Blessing was written in 2008 during our first worship training.  While prayer time, I opened the Bible and read in the book of Revelation.  During that time the Lord gave me the song “I Sing Blessing” which we have used to lead others to worship Him.“Be Glorified” is a newer song that I wrote. My heart was stirring for some time with a discontent wanting something more from my songwriting. I prayed, telling the Lord, I want to write a song that really brings you glory.  At that moment I wrote the song “Be Glorified”

Harald: Primary writers are Toby and myself.  Cylynn also wrote one track on the album.  The songs I write are born out of quiet time with the Lord or during a time spent in prayer or the Bible.  I think the material is a response to God, who He is and how He is working in us and moving us.  My goal in writing is to give all glory to God.  

Harald is also the drummer of Shamrock and jazz group, Lowcal.  He has been a faculty member at UST Conservatory of music since 2006 teaching drumset, jazz studies, and music technology courses.  He also works as a sound engineer TrueSound Studio where he has been involved in numerous projects for both local and foreign artists.  

Q: What challenges did you encounter in making this album? How did God bring you through it? Any unforgettable moments while recording?

Toby: This  has been our biggest project yet, combining audio and video live recording all in one night took months of preparation.  It was challenging to stay at everything for that long, but something that consistently happened whenever we practiced.  There was always a moment, during the practice, when the atmosphere and heart of worship would push past the musical practice.  This helped me keep going through everything.

Ginny: There was a lot of hard work involved in making the album. We all rehearsed every week, perfecting each song - making arrangements and also coming up with harmonies. Another challenge for me was being about 9 months pregnant. That made it challenging but still fun!

 Ginny Huyssen, vocalist, has been a choir member since high school. She has always loved music as a child. She has been in the music ministry since 2005. Now in Gloryfall, she leads sometimes and does a lot of harmonizing for the band.

Cylynn: Learning all 13 songs (words, melody, harmony. Being committed to always be prepared every week for rehearsals. Making sure I know and do my every part right. The Lord showed me ways that I can learn the songs in fun and meaningful ways. As I studied the words, I am reminded of how amazing and wonderful our God is. I get to worship and praise Him as I study the songs for the album. The album is something we all worked and prepared really hard for, and something we had been waiting for for 6 months. Every experience that night during recording was memorable! Extra unforgettable for me personally since I had 39+ C degrees fever  during the recording night, but that didn't keep the experience from being fun and meaningful. To top it off, after finishing the recording at almost midnight, the whole group made a ‘starbucks run’ and celebrated everyone’s efforts, the Lord’s goodness and grace, and a successful project! 

Cylynn also works for World Mission for Jesus, Inc doing admin work. She is also the Bldg. Manager for Springs of Living Water Retreat and Seminar Center in Antipolo Rizal. She is a part time photographer and a mother to two amazing daughters and 1 son.

Cylas: Rearranging the songs to get the feel that we wanted. Grace brought us through. If it wasn't for Him, no idea what would've come up and I won't have the skill needed to do this. I also believe that God wouldn't have let us accomplish this if we didn't have the right heart. This being my last project with Gloryfall, the whole experience was unforgettable for me. We practiced for months and the excitement just grew as the recording date drew closer. 

Dennis: Being able to play it live in a studio. You can always go back and re-record parts, but for this one, we had to play everything correctly without losing the feel of each song. God has been good that I only had to do some minor edits just to take out live playing nuances.

Jenry:  I usually play the rhythm part and in this album, I have to come up with my parts. That is the most challenging thing I did in this album. During my daily devo's, God kept reminding me (different verses pointing out to one message) to keep doing my best. The bonding time during rehearsals - that's what makes it unforgettable. 

 Jenry is also a freelance Graphic Designer, part of the Worship Team at church and a hobbyist. He makes bracelets during his spare time and sell them.

Ryan: For me, learning 13 new songs at once is challenging plus giving my own style without compromising what the Band already made. The songs are very heartfelt and speaks to whoever is listening to it. It is not hard to put your heart into songs like these. Plus having bonding moments with the band made it easier for me to "get tight" with them musically as well.The "feeling of excitement" is unforgettable for me. Being able to record the Album and at the same time shoot a video of it (like an mtv) is a first for me.

Harald: This is the first time we have done a live recording and also a first time we have done a video as well. So many firsts. We really prayed about direction and everything we were doing.  We prayed about material, every rehearsal the group meets to not only play music but seek God and grow in God.  Though it seemed like a huge task and we worked hard, oddly in the end it felt easy and effortless and everything just came together awesome.  God brought us the perfect partners like Mr. Mike Pigar who helped with the set, video crew changed last minute due to scheduling issues,  so every point where we lacked God opened a door. 

Q: God breathes a new song to His words all the time. What's the new song in this album that makes it different from your other albums?

Toby: I feel that each song has a “new song” moment.  It really was our goal to have the songs come alive, as we arranged and recorded each song did come alive for me.

Ginny: This new album captures even more the heart of Gloryfall. When it comes to worship, our desire is for God to be truly glorified.

Cylas: The whole album actually sounds different from the previous ones. If you've heard the other albums, you would notice the difference right away. You would know it's Gloryfall but at the same time it would sound fresher.

Aside from playing with Gloryfall, Cylas also works as a Quality Monitor Specialist for a bank. 

Dennis: The bible encourages us to sing new songs, people who are on fire for God would just burst into singing worship songs. Songs like "Breathe on Me" "Your Love" "Sing to You" will sound very different from the previous albums, from those 3 you will my hear diverse musical influences.

Jenry:   BIGGER. Iba kasi ang impact sa akin ng song. (The song has a different impact on me,)

Ryan: For me, the songs in this album breathes. We changed the tempo around a bit to get the correct feel of the songs. Plus the message of the songs created a perfect match.

Harald: We have 5 albums to date.  The difference here is the live aspect which for worship I think makes it more real and more intimate.  This is something we have wanted to do for 6 years. Gloryfall started in 2008. 

Q: What is your favorite single? Why? 

Toby: Be Glorified is a favorite of mine.  The heart, message, and arrangement all combined create a beautiful worship song.

Ginny: I love all of them! :D I'd say Be Glorified. It's an easy song to sing, I like the melody a lot and also the message of the song. 

Cylynn: Because of Who You Are.  It’s a song that is very personal to me.  God gave me the words and melody to this song as I was driving home from bringing my daughter to school. Being a mom of 3 means my day is full and crazy busy!  A lot of my experiences alone with the Lord are being in the car driving alone. I was worshiping and singing to Him about who He is, and how amazing and awesome He is.  The “YOU ARE” in worshiping our God. To just focus on Him and Him alone, not including or putting “me” in the picture just focusing on God and who He is. Next thing I know the words and melody of “Because of Who You Are” just came to life. 

Cylas: I Sing Blessing. We've done this song countless times and in different places and it never gets old for me. It helps take you to that place wherein it's just you and God. 

Dennis: Breathe On Me, because it's the heaviest (genre) and I like heavy things.

Dennis is also the Ministry Coordinator of Sowing Seeds Ministries Inc., a worship team member at Union Church of Manila, and a guitar teacher at Faith Academy.

Jenry: Bigger. Before I joined Gloryfall, my favorite line is "LIFE SUCKS…  Life is like a tire, sometimes I'm up and sometimes I'm down; but mine is flat so I'm always on the DOWN side of the tire." When I first heard the song, ang sabi ko (I said)… SAKTO (exactly)! Everytime I sing, hear or play the song, I'm declaring to myself that God is bigger than everything. 

Ryan: Spirit of God. Listen to it and you will know why it's my favorite. Seriously, the song talks about inviting the presence of the Holy Spirit which changes you life and empowering you to do great things for God.

Harald: Ruler of All – I wrote this song in a quiet time before the Lord – 1 Chronicles 29:10-13.  Realizing who God is puts everything in perspective in this life.  It’s something that brings peace, comfort, joy.

Q: Album's title is Be Glorified. How did God reveal His glory in your lives while creating this album?

Toby: There were always moments where in each practice I could feel God’s presence strongly.  No matter how many times we sang the same song, the Lord continued to reveal Himself in a new way.  His mercies are new every morning.

Ginny: God would always show up and speak to us as we worked on the songs. Gloryfall also does devotions every week and every time there is a "refreshing" from God. It's amazing how God can make His presence known and felt even in the simplest of things and times, like when we are practicing the songs.

Cylas: By providing strength and wisdom throughout the whole process. 

Dennis: The writing and arranging processes took longer than normal. We spent months listening to demos and fine tuning the arrangements. Throughout the writing process, God has provided everything that we needed to complete the album. All members have their own jobs to support families. Everyone was busy but somehow we always found time to do it until completion. 

Jenry: There's this song that is very hard to play. My timing is off, I can't memorize the chords, and in every rehearsal I always mess up. And then a month before the recording, the band agreed to change some parts of the arrangement in the song… What a relief, it made my life easier. God taught me to persevere to reach my goal, not just for the album but in my life as well. In everything I do, it must be to glorify God. 

Ryan: I guess it's the way He gave me strength to do what I have to do that day. The day of the recording, I came from the office, no sleep then after we're done, I still have to go straight to the office again for work.

Ryan aka Rye is also an MD at Jesus Christ Sun of Righteousness Church Marikina. He works as a Level 2 Technician for Apple Computers and a full time Dad.

Harald: God reveals his glory daily.  If we will take the time to realize the world, opportunities, blessings we have.  It’s a matter of perspective and looking at things from the side of a free, blessed and redeemed child of God.  We can’t respond any way other than give glory to God. 

Q: Any message to the readers or people you want to thank.

Toby: There are so many people to thank for their support.  The ones who have already given their support to the ones who still will give their support.  Each person sows into our ministry making it possible for us to keep on going.

Ginny: I would like to thank everyone who has prayed and supported us in this project. Prayers are powerful! I'd like to say a special thanks to Jeanne Vicars for helping us out vocally, giving us amazing advise and tips in singing. My prayer is that everyone who gets to listen to this album would get to experience God's awesome presence like never before and go deeper in their worship and walk with God. To God be ALL the glory!

Cylynn: Thank you to everyone who has supported and prayed for us throughout this project.  I hope that the Lord will reveal Himself in a very personal way to everyone who will listen to the album. In the end, I pray that all glory, praise and honor will be given to God!  

Cylas: My prayer is for people to experience God as they listen to this album. Thank you to everyone who has been supporting our ministry and partnering with us. 

Dennis: I hope this album will become a tool to bring God's people to real worship.

Jenry:  In everything you do, persevere to reach your goal. Keep on praying and trusting God.  Life is short, use it to glorify God. Many thanks to my wife for the support and to Harald for pushing me to do my best.

Ryan: I want to thank my wife for her never ending support. My two beautiful princesses that never fails to inspire and make me feel blessed.

Harald:  Of course thank you to God our Father for making this group and album possible.  My family has been 100% supportive and a constant inspiration.  The band members, everyone is a joy to work with. Thank you to every one who has supported the group over the last 6 years.  Absolutely amazed and humbled.  

End of Interview

Knowing that the lives of these eight individuals were not the same as when they started working on this album tells you that God has, indeed, moved His hand. We can sing songs of worship all day long and read Bible passages every single day, but our lives and how we speak of it will be the real manifestation of God's glory. On this album, the band didn't just play songs or recorded tunes, you have read how they spoke of how God brought them through from start to finish. The songs didn't magically come out while on a luxurious vacation or a song writing class. The songs came to them during a quiet time on a simple day. This tells you that a song of worship and gratefulness can come any time of the day, at any place, and to anyone. 

Make these songs yours, too. Join Gloryfall as they sing new songs of worship for an audience of One. 

You may check the album from Indieheaven or from Reverbnation. 

You may also follow their Facebook page. 

Visit their website. 

All photos on this entry were used with the permission of Gloryfall. 

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