Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Are you familiar with the song?

On the first day of Christmas,
...
On the twelfth day of Christmas, 
my true love sent to me 
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!

This song is not just a simple rhyme or tune. This song, when delved deeper would remind us of our Christianity.

Religious symbolism of The Twelve Days of Christmas (The 12 Days of Christmas)
1 True Love refers to God
2 Turtle Doves refers to the Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens refers to Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues
4 Calling Birds refers to the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings refers to the first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch", which gives the history of man's fall from grace.
6 Geese A-laying refers to the six days of creation
7 Swans A-swimming refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
8 Maids A-milking refers to the eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing refers to the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping refers to the ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping refers to the eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming refers to the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed

Further reading(s): The Twelve Days of Chrsitmas

Goal Setting

Everyday my goals should be;

1.) Learn and understand God's Word.

2.) Apply my knowledge about His Word.

3.) Share this wonderful message to my brothers and sisters. (This, I believe, should be the last because I have to preach what I already practised.)

Monday, November 2, 2009

"Macy, may I have some milk from your glass bottle? I want to add more milk in this container", says Rim.

"Here, get some", answered Macy."But please don't put too much on that small container of yours, some of it might be wasted as you go about in the kitchen."

"Who knows? Your bottle might be broken a little later or so, causing more milk to be wasted."


Lessons along the way:

1.) Nobody except God knows what should happen next.

2.) A person doesn't take control of ALL things around her/him. It is up to her/him to use her/his capaciites in doing the right thing.

3.) Each of us should believe that everything happens for a reason and we should surrender everything to God to gain acceptance and trust.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

...

It would be better if we turn our "wants" to others' "needs".

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Silence

[no pic available. but as i can remember it is all white]

What can you see in the picture above? What can you perceive and what does it tell you?


I can see calmness, purity and innocence in that picture and it’s wonderful really to imagine it. I could feel peace just by looking at it.


In this topsy-turvy world we have today, things are indeed more complicated than before. People need to learn many things, do many things in difficult ways to go with the waves of time, to survive. But I’d like to wonder, do we really need to do this? Absolutely! Yes we need to learn to think logically, be equipped with mathematical analysis we learned in school, study the sciences of things, learn how to communicate, and eventually, earn a living for ourselves and/or for people depending on us, if our goal in life is just to make a living. But what is the sense of living if our attention is only focused in nourishing our physical and mental needs? Our soul also has its needs, the only problem is that we prioritize our physical needs, because for us, it is the essence of life, it is what’s important in living.


Life is a paradox. This whole cycle we continue and pass on to next generation is a paradox. We are striving to become mature and people say that the world is old because of the advancement of technology, the achievements of humanity, and these numerous discoveries (scientifically) which explains things and queries that bothered our ancestors long ago. Know what? The whole world is not becoming mature and it hardly does. Its maturity is in fact going backwards. People nowadays turn twenty or so without even knowing how to handle their emotions. Students earn their college degrees without even knowing their real purpose in life. People, in the prime of their life, recall how well they’ve lived and yet weren’t even a bit contented and didn’t even know what happiness is all about. In short, people grow old without even listening to their hearts.


I believe that what drives us (generally) to live is the common force outside us: the business of our schedules, the demands our society wants, social life, and other factors you now which I don’t need to mention. These factors tend to overpower us that our mind becomes narrow and limited causing us to forget one thing – we fail to understand what’s inside us. We don’t what our uniqueness among others is and we don’t now how to use them. We don’t know how to identify our needs. We fail to become who we’re supposed to be and we function not according to what we are designed for. That is why our world becomes so complicated because deep within ourselves there are already conflicts and battles. The world’s complexity leads to misunderstanding, chaos, war. Could you just imagine the cause and it’s effects?


So what do we have to do? The picture is telling us already… it is white and it symbolizes goodness – positivity. Thus, we have to clean ourselves of negative thoughts, be innocent again like a child, and listen not to the noise outside but to the murmur of our hearts. What does it tell you?


Sometimes in our busy schedule today, we need to connect to what is inside us and ask for enlightenment from our Creator. We need to welcome the break, relax, and be silent. Understanding your heart will calm the greatest storms inside and out.


Why don’t we all give it a try?