Take time with your loved ones: bible

Showing posts with label bible. Show all posts

Monday, August 25, 2014

Back to Basics

By Cherry Moriones Doromal

Hello there! This is Cherry D. speaking

I was invited to speak before a congregation of a small community Christian church in Manila last Sunday. And in my attempt to prepare the message, I was waiting for a perfect internet connection last weekend whereby, for whatever reason, all my internet providers at home failed to give me a stable internet access (not sure if it’s only in the Philippines that we experience it).

Therefore, I ended up manually outlining my message using a recycled notebook, pen and my Bible --not the electronic one. It was a realization that despite full exposure to modernization, we couldn’t rely on technology all the time; hence, the best thing is to get back to basics.

Yes, “Back to Basics” had been our topic which I’m simplifying into a blog today.

My hope is that we all learn from the book of Ecclesiastes which was authored by no less than King Solomon, who also wrote the books Proverbs and Song of Songs.

King Solomon, son of King David, as we know, was blessed with unsurpassed wisdom, with bonuses of power and riches, allowing him to rule over Israel for 40 years. He enjoyed life at its fullest-- drinking wine, rejoicing, and having, literally, a thousand wives and mistresses. Many scholars believe that King Solomon died in his 60s, calculating that he began his kingship at about 20 years old or less, and ruled Israel for forty years.

With his stature and wisdom, what else could a King Solomon ask for? In Ecclesiastes 1, we can see that after all his achievements and glory, King Solomon was at a point of consciousness that everything is life is meaningless. Probably, what he was experiencing is comparable to some signs of midlife crisis that people in their late 40s experience today. In verse 3, he said: “What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?” And in Chapter 12, the last chapter of Ecclesiastes, the author clearly emphasized the need for us to remember our Creator in the days of our youth. He ended up saying that ultimately, the whole duty of man is to "fear God and to keep His commandments”, because every work, good or bad, exposed or done in secret will be judged in time.

Back to basics!

Academically, I finished four courses already, plus one honorary degree, and at present, concurrently taking up another masters and a diploma program. Not to mention that I’m a wife and a mom, too. Busy huh? Having said these, the story of King Solomon allowed me to contemplate on my most important title: “Servant of my Father God”. That is the basic me, which I need to fully assess continually, and while I am still physically strong.

In reality, no matter what we do, what we achieve, and wherever we go, at the end of the day, we will get back to basics. I agree with King Solomon when he opined that he had achieved much, and at the prime of his life, what he sowed would be reaped by others. The thing is that life is a cycle and all our accomplishments will be forgotten in time.

Have you seen the guests of the recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President Aquino? Or are you not stunned by the luxurious outfits celebrities wear on awards night? No matter how sophisticated and expensive the evening wears celebrities put on, at the end of the day, these superstars will go to bed with the simplest and most comfortable outfits, with no makeup on and have only the basic sleeping wears as they retire at night.

Getting back to basics…

Remember what we learned during our Pre-school and Kindergarten years, where we were trained to distinguish the difference of every thing in terms of color, size and number? “Encircle the biggest.” “Which is the tallest?” Things like that. So that, later in life, we will get to be scrupulous in observing our day- to- day experiences and get used to knowing or perceiving which is right or wrong. In the same way, we get to become good writers by applying the basic knowledge of the alphabet and spelling which we learned in elementary years.

King Solomon knew the basic law in his heart since day one. Before inheriting the throne, his father King David reminded him to always follow God’s decrees and commands (1 Kings 2:3-4). However, along the way, Solomon broke specific commandments God gave to the future kings of Israel such as: “Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away” Deuteronomy 17:17, among others.

None of us is above the law! For instance, one may temporarily fight aging-- which is a law of nature-- through botox, stem cell therapy, cosmetic surgery, etcetera. Those processes may only take effect for a moment, but, in the long run, the law of nature will prevail. Meaning, all signs of physical deterioration will be visible, whether we like it or not.

Just like Solomon, we are kings of our lives. And due to numerous priorities we are busy at, we tend to forget that we are governed by different laws which we cannot get away from—the law of nature, the law of man, and the law of God. With our fast-paced and high-tech lifestyle today, may we learn to set aside our vanity and decide to get back to basics.

If you have time, read the whole book of Ecclesiastes; it’s only 12 chapters, anyway.

And before we end up, let me leave you these words of wisdom from King Solomon:

Ecclesiastes 2:4-11

4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. 10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.My heart took delight in all my labor,and this was the reward for all my toil. 11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve,everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

And in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: 13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

Video: The Whole Duty of Man as Recited by the then 4th Grader Zekie Doromal (He's 8th Grader now)

Video: The Whole Duly of Man as recited by the then pre-schooler Zecheriah (He's 4th Grader now)

Monday, March 24, 2014

PASS THE MESSAGE

By Cherry Moriones Doromal

Nearly thirty years ago, we used to play a game called “Pass the Message” where the leader would whisper a message ( for instance:“supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”) to two contending team leaders who would each pass the message to the next person in his team, until the message reaches the last member of the team who would shout out the message. Other than the speed, the message to be passed and shouted out has to be correct and precise; otherwise it’s useless.

With my husband Wilson, taken a week ago

Exactly a year after I wrote my blogs entitled “Through the Strong Winds Part 1” and “Through the Strong Winds Part 2 (Learning from an Eagle in Pain)”, I realized that the very words I wrote were meant for me the same month and day a year after. The blogs disclosed the incredible strengths of an eagle, as well as the ironic unimaginable weakness and pain it suffers during the molting process where the supposed robust eagle becomes helpless, necessitating support from stronger eagles.

Recently, the eagle in me got into its molting stage, that one night, I was so anxious that I couldn’t even open my Bible, nor utter a prayer. It was at this fretful time that my husband sat beside me, opened “Our Daily Bread”, read for me God’s message, shared his insights, and led me into a prayer. Incidentally, the text was my life verse Isaiah 40:30-31 saying: "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Then I remembered the previous blogs I mentioned above and read them once again. Here, I had a different appreciation of my writing. I felt like they were not authored by me and that the Lord was talking to me directly.

God’s message is always clear. Though it comes in many forms—direct, indirect, Bible, life’s circumstances, through nature, through media, dreams, etc. -- it’s always timely, correct and precise.

My husband and I regularly attend Sunday Worship with our children Zekie (12 years old) and Strong (8 years old). During the Sermon/ Message part, I noticed that my kids would grab their Iphone units and would concentrate on somewhat texting or gaming gesture. I called on my kids’ attention one time, and I was surprised that contrary to what I thought, they were not texting or playing. They were actually writing their own notes while listening to the Pastor’s message. It’s a moment of discovery that my kids, at their own level, can write well and fast, hahah… and more importantly, understand what’s being preached. Yesterday, I took shots of my 8-year old’s notes (as is, no edits!) which I would like to share with you:

Photo1 (Strong's Notes 3/23/2014)

Photo 2 (Strong's Notes 3/23/2014)

Photo3 (Strong's Notes 3/23/2014)

One significant lesson I learned in this life is that sometimes it takes silence to get to hear clearly what God says, and in all cases... “an open heart!” John 10:14 says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me”, and verses 2 and 16 mention that the sheep recognize the voice of their shepherd. In the same way, when we listen to the Lord our Shepherd and follow His voice, we will never go wrong.

Like a child, may we listen to the words of our Father, all the days of our lives.

Hebrews 4:12 For the Word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Grabbed from Facebook (L-R): Strong, Wilson, Me, Zekie

Click to Listen: A LOVE SONG FOR THE NATION Composed by: Cherry Moriones Doromal

Previous Posts

What and Where We Eat in the Philippines

More Eats Coming Up

10 Secrets to a Peaceful Family Home

Dating Ideas for Married Christian Couples

How to Strengthen Parent-Teen Relationship

To Spank, or Not to Spank: That is the Question

How to Discipline the Child with Minimal or No Spanking

A Dozen Secrets To Enjoy Your Work

Through the Strong Winds Part 1

Throughthe Strong Winds Part 2 (Learning from an Eagle in Pain)
How to Teach the Bible to Kids
Oratorical Piece THE SCHOLAR by Cherry Moriones Doromal

DPublisher News Website

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

How to Teach the Bible to Kids

By: Cherry Moriones Doromal

My two sons both enjoy reading the Bible and watching Bible stories online. As they have both developed this interest, I’m blessed enough for not having to exert extra effort in convincing them to read what they call the “Super Book”.

Strategy, of course, is another issue. How to make kids understand the Bible is an imaginative task. Here are some ideas on how to teach the Bible to the little ones:

1. When to begin. Teaching the Bible to kids is not a difficult job to parents who start early. As we say: “Early bird catches the worm.” Begin exposing your child to the Bible as early as possible. As soon as the child is exposed to Bible principles through applicable means, like Biblical songs or kids’ praise, exposure grows into interest and interest forms a habit.

2. Where to begin. In teaching the Bible, start with the basic and most important character—God, the Supreme Being. It is really important to start right because this becomes the foundation of your child’s faith. This may be effectively taught by starting with “creation” in the book of Genesis, where the power of God was shown when He created the world and everything in it. The next step is to introduce Jesus, which may be begun with a lesson on the promise of Savior to Mary through Angel Gabriel; to be followed by the story of the birth of Christ. For kids of all levels, the many miracles of Jesus Christ, which can be easily imagined, are ideal sequence of lessons.

3. Use visual aids to illustrate. Visual aids have three main purposes—to catch the kid’s attention, for better comprehension and retention. If the kid is two to seven years old, use colored pictures to help him understand the story better. Online resources may also be used. For kids older than seven years old, any form of visual aids, such as puppets, may be used.

4. Involve the kid. After telling a story, you may engage your child to helpful activities like games, creative arts, and drawing, in relation to the story he learned, for enhanced recall. If you have more than one kid, interactive activities may be done indoors and outdoors.

5. Memory verse. Since kids have good memory, take this opportunity to make them keep the Word of God in their hearts, while developing their memory skills, by having them memorize Biblical verses. Start with short verses, like Genesis 1:1,“In the beginning God created heaven and earth.” As the child improves, you may have him try longer verses.

6. Helpful videos. One passive yet effective way to teach the Bible to your kids is to leave them alone in the room while watching Bible animation. To complete the feel, treat them with snacks, like what they would have in a movie house.

7. Bible story telling at bedtime. Instead of counting sheep before he sleeps, share a Bible story with your kid at bedtime. It doesn’t have to be long, and it doesn’t matter if you repeat similar stories many times. The logic here is to make God’s Word a vital part of your kid’s daily life.

8. Sunday School/Vacation Bible School. Since I’m a Sunday School baby, too, I can attest on how this experience has influenced me. Those I learned 30 years ago are still fresh in my memory. While not all churches offer Sunday School sessions, when given an option to send your kid to Sunday School or Vacation Bible School classes, don’t hesitate to have him join the class, even if you feel your child won’t understand the lesson. Trust that God will have your kid understand the Bible in due time. Isaiah 55:11 says, “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Raising our kids in the knowledge of God is a wonderful decision. Let’s take it from the great psalmist King David who said: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119:105) May the Word of God enlighten both our path and our kids’ today and everyday .

Links:

Watch: The Whole Duty of Man by Ezekiel Wilson Doromal

Watch: Speak to Me by Zecheriah Wilson Doromal

Watch: The Whole Duty of Man (at Home Version) by Zecheriah Wilson Doromal

Watch: Speak to Me by Ezekiel Wilson Doromal
International School MGIS

Note: This article is supposed to be published for Balsam Brands by the author. At the time of this posting, the herein author attests that she did not receive any form of payment/royalty due her from Balsam Brands with respect to this article; hence, the author claims full ownership of this piece of writing. This post may be shared and reproduced by anyone provided that authorship by the undersigned be recognized. Change of author’s name or the use of aliases to misrepresent authorship of this blog in favor of another person, real or fictitious, will be deemed a flagrant act of fraud and plagiariasm of contents.

Authored by: Cherry Moriones-Doromal