OJV Album❣️

Years as player/manager of the Junction Band
The Band’s letterhead designed by OJV
The Band’s second letterhead to “seal the deal” with clients.
Pride and Joy – my “G&L M2000” bass crafted to my tonal woods specifications & three-tone “sunburst” paint job (guitars typically come in two-tone colors) with the light-0wood “binding” around the guitar’s body & by the world-renowned luthier, Leo Fender in his Fullerton, CA facility.
OJV in 2020

Sweet Reminiscence

Mario (the Kid) & Uncle Orlando (c.2018_OJV)

~ Old train car 2011 ~

Orlando _ Speech @ Union HQ 2003
23March-8April…17days of back-and-forths ~ 216exchanges 😮🚀🙌💫
Bobble-Head Uncle Orlando from nephew Mario (the Kid)
Magic in the woods…
Magic in the woods 2
More magic …
From left : Orlando, Emilio, Jonathan, Melissa (1987)
From left : Addison, Samuel, Isaac, Jeremiah, Karah-Joy, Caleb, Esperanza (Spanish for “Hope”), Phineas, Micaiah, Asher, and Titus (Orlando, this needs to be reordered and Jonathan and his wife added 😁)
Addison @2024
Karah-Joy @2024
A town somewhere…
Melissa @…
Melissa @…
Emilio @…
Emilio @…
Orlando in his Music Room @2017
Orlando enjoying God’s handiwork on his front porch…book, cuppa, guitar….
The gorgeous crabapple tree on Orlando’s frontyard.
The splendour of God’s creation ~ the crabapple tree close-up…
Orlando’s former residence ~ Kingston, IL
Orlando’s former residence ~ Kingston, IL
Orlando looking comfortable with Jerry Bridges “The Joy of Fearing God” ❤️

Orlando_selfie 160424
Rizzo _ 3 yr old
Rizzo _ pup

“Back when I was fab…” ~ OJV 😁

OJV’s beloved mum ~ Elsa Julia Velez ~ in his backyard
OJV’s beloved mum ~ Elsa Julia Velez ~ at the Chicago Botanic Garden

Once In A Lifetime

(Mei Li’s Song) 🌹

A love like this
It comes along
But once in a lifetime
If at all
Oh, God forbid
It should slip away
It's but once in a lifetime
Once in a lifetime
You must bid it, "Stay!"
One magic kiss
And my life's a song
And you're the melody
That stirs my soul
Oh, God forbid
It should ever end
It's but once in a lifetime
Once in a lifetime
And ... never again
So - you be my potter
And I'll be your clay
Bend me and shape me
Into what you may
You're my life's reason
My destiny
For all my lifetime
For all my lifetime
Spend it ... with me!
For all my lifetime
For all my lifetime
Let it be ... me.

~ Orlando John Velez ~

31st March 2024 Illinois, USA (1st April 2024 Melbourne, Australia)

Authenticity. Sincerity. Is there a difference?

Authenticity means being real and being true to self whereas sincerity is being true to others?

Is “fake it till you get it” a familiar phrase to you? Even some counsellors recommend this technique to their clients….

I once read that authenticity is the quality of being able to ‘stand up for what you believe in and speaking the truth as it seems to you, even if it is not what others want to hear’. That is such a tough call. Is this even possible without us being discriminated against and sidelined as a result…as if we are some kind of society scum? Is being authentic to people around you worth the risk?

There are so many situations in my life that I want to tell people exactly how I feel and think but do I really want people to hiss and spit in my face, and subject myself to a lifetime of malicious slander and gossips? Or risk being called a sticky beak? I don’t like being misunderstood. If I were to open my mouth to say something, I need to know that I’m not wasting my time and breath.

I’ve observed (most painfully) how some people resort to being “chameleons” amongst their families and friends just because they fear being unpopular…the insecurity of not being liked, perhaps? I mean, isn’t that being pretentious and fake? Or should we reason that we “must always try our best to be kind”….

Someone can be authentic and not cause an offense? That is a possibility…. It all lies in the wordings, delivery and timing….and intention.

Anon.

“Blessed” – A commonly Misused and Misunderstood word

Extracted from exploregod.com “WHAT PSALM 84 SAYS ABOUT BEING #BLESSED” by Matt Smethurst.

When I searched the hashtag #blessed on Instagram today, I got over 135 million results. Generally, there are a lot of selfies, vacation photos, or selfies of people on vacation. Most of the posts share a common theme, even if it isn’t said outright in a caption.

The underlying message is often: “Hey, everyone! Look how well my life is going!” And accompanying these photos, there it is: #blessed.

What are we to take away from this about what it means to be blessed?

To be sure, God can and does shower tangible blessings on us in all kinds of ways. What happens, though, when the latest thing he’s handed you is not a picture-perfect trip abroad but, say, a pandemic? A pay cut? A fractured relationship? 

What’s the hashtag for that—#cursed?

Thankfully not. In the twelve short verses of Psalm 84, the psalmist talks of being “blessed” three times:

  • “Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.”4
  • “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.”5
  • “Blessed is the one who trusts in you.”6

Those who praise God, who find their strength in God, who trust in God . . . those are the ones Psalm 84 tells us are blessed.

And for Christians, the spiritual meaning of “blessed” only intensifies after Jesus arrives on the scene. Out of 112 New Testament references to being blessed, do you know how many refer to material blessing?

Zero.

That’s astonishing. And it demonstrates that being truly blessed runs so much deeper than the concept of #blessed that we see plastered beside pretty photos on social media.