Teaching Cali Psalm 23

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+23&version=NIV1984
Today I am ready to teach my child Psalm 23 without looking at my Bible or the copy of the verses I printed for Cali since I have already memorized it by heart. It is by God’s grace of course that I can remember since memory is a “needs improvement” thing for me. Whenever I’m not doing anything like when I’m waiting for my husband to fetch me, I try to practice reciting it in my mind. It’s a joy that I’m finally confident reciting the six verses of David’s very popular, meaningful, and rich in God’s promises, the lovely Psalm 23.

Teaching to a 3 year old boy would require some patience though. He said that if the sheep would lie down on the green grass, won’t they get tickled? Haha. I just answered him by saying that sheep love lying in the grass because the grass is their food and they love to munch it.

He can recite up to verse 3 now, but he still tries to make his own version, like for verse 2, he said “He leads me beside quiet tubig”. Cali is fond of changing or creating his own lines ever since I can remember. Tubig is Filipino for water.

Explaining the verses may not be that easy but I’m planning to give more illustrations on the following:

1. What it means when you’re lacking and what it means when you have enough. Maybe I can show a clip art of an empty table and one with food.

2. How God guides us in paths of righteousness. I need to show how God helps us to become good and how He gives us opportunities to become a blessing to make His righteousness shine in us.

3. How God is so close to us that we should never fear especially when we are in the dark. This will be a bit easy since he has this little book “Jesus Is with Me” that I’ve been reading to him since he was I think a few months old. He always says “I’m not scared Mama, because Jesus is with me”.

4. What goodness and love of God really mean. Yesterday I found an interesting Salvation presentation for kids. I didn’t know the impact until after dinner when while jumping on the sofa, he began to shout in a singsong manner “ang sarap sa heaven”, meaning, it’s so nice to be in heaven. It’s a relief to me he now somehow understands the beauty of heaven. About God’s goodness and love, well, that I think I need to repeat again that everything we have comes from God because of His love and grace.

I would gladly welcome any suggestions in explaining or getting more of Psalm 23 for my son. I would hopefully post again the result of whatever we’ll be doing for the week. Here are some of what I printed yesterday.

God bless us!

January 19 Devotion

Evening Devotion
Revelation 21:8

New International Version (NIV)

8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”


Reflection:
It's frightening to read this verse. Who could ever be saved from the "fiery lake of burning sulfur"? The good news is whoever believes that Christ died for his sins so he can be redeemed, AND acknowledges that Jesus is Lord is saved from hell.
Jesus said "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me." He is the only way by which our sins can be forgiven, He is the only Truth--the only gift that God gave to men that can bring salvation, the true expression of God's grace and mercy, the only Life--for apart from Him, our lives are meaningless, powerless, and doomed to eternal consequence.
But once Jesus becomes our LIFE, we are not just forgiven and freed from hell, but also have been set free to enjoy all the gifts that He has in store for us.

Dear God,
Thank you because without Your Son's sacrifice on the cross, I would end up experiencing second death for I am not sinless. But because of your grace, I know You have made a way for me in heaven. Thank you so much that I can always look forward to the day that You'll take me home. I pray that while enjoying the life You gave me here on earth and looking forward to the eternal life with You in the future, may I always share Your good news of salvation with my loved ones, my friends, and all those whom You've entrusted me to share Your Word. In Jesus' name, Amen.

My Morning Devotions

Bible verse for the morning: Galatians 1:22-24
English Standard Version (ESV)
22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.

Reflection:
I'm always amazed how God used Paul to preach the gospel. This morning, while reading Galatians, trying again to digest this letter of Paul, chapter by chapter, God reminded me that we can make a complete 180 degree turn around after an encounter with Jesus Christ. When the Gospel was yet unknown to us, we may have been so indifferent to people, but now that we have known the Gospel and have lived claiming that it has transformed our lives, God too will supply us the grace to make us turn 180 degrees and preach it.
If we've been silent in preaching the Gospel before, it's now time to surrender to God, ask Him for strength to be bold in telling how Jesus changed us, how Jesus turned our mourning into dancing, how Jesus gives us a thousand reasons to smile every morning.
Join me in my prayer today:
Dear God,
I pray that by Your grace, I'll be able to speak Your Word today to someone who is in need to hear from You. Give me that courage and boldness to speak. I can't do so with my own efforts but with power from your Holy Spirit, I will declare what David declared after receiving forgiveness, mercy and salvation from You, I too may say, "I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will return to You." Be glorified Lord in what I do, speak, and think today. In Jesus' name, Amen.

My Faith Goals this Year

In 2010, I prayed that God will help me love Him more amidst all the difficult adjustments I was going thru that were brought about by the Storm Ondoy in 2009.

In 2011, I prayed that I will have more time for my family.

Those prayers were truly answered. So what is now my prayer or prayers for 2012?

This year my ultimate prayer is that God will really use me to touch more people's lives as I share to them the good news of His salvation.

I'm also believing that this year God will make a way for:
1. His love to be felt by all my family members and that they would worship Jesus as their Lord and Savior;
Bible verse Act 16:31: "..believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."
2. His outpouring of anointing on my son Caleb to excel in wisdom and knowledge not just of the things of the world but of God's grace and love-- that for me are far more valuable than the highest educational degree and that Caleb will truly love Jesus much deeper than his parents ever experienced so that he would truly live to his name for God has spoken in Numbers 14:24 "But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it."
3. His grace, provision, and strength so that I can spend more time with my parents and have more outdoor trips with them like going to Tagaytay, Davao, and Singapore;
Bible verse Exodus 20:12: “Honor your father and your mother,.."
4. His abundant provision for a new house and not just an ordinary small house but one with a garden where I can learn to plant and make fertilizers, a library where I can read and study, a music room where I can learn more how to play the keyboards and where Cali can start his drum & guitar lessons, a big kitchen where I can bake and experiment different menus, a playroom not just for Cali but for the entire family, a function room for gatherings/small group activities and parties, and a small pool where Cali and I can learn to swim, in short, I'm believing that God will give me a little mansion here on earth before I go the huge one He prepared for me in heaven since nothing is impossible with Him and that He can give back what the enemy has destroyed; Bible Verse John 10:10 using the New Living Translation, Jesus says:
"The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."
5. His mercy for one more helper when He gives me the new house since I don't think I would want to spend more time cleaning and not enjoying the activities I mentioned above;
Bible verse Proverbs 10:22 in World English Bible translation: "Yahweh's blessing brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it."
6. His wisdom to be poured on me as I want to be used mightily in the office to bring about great improvements to help it make a great company, that I would be like Daniel and Joseph, wherever they go, whatever they do, God's Spirit is upon them and God's glory is truly shown in their work;
Bible verses:
Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.."
Daniel 2:20-23:
20 “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.”
7. His supernatural strength to be with me as I would want to start a ministry for mothers with little children, to be able to learn and share bonding activities with our very cute toddlers.
I've tried having some mommy talks and activities w/ mommy friends and their families and we have enjoyed them so far. I believe that God has placed in my heart that by His grace I can do some more like reaching out to first time mommies who are working. For now I'd like to call it Project Proverbs 31. What's fueling me up is this verse from Luke 12:48:
"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."
Now my faith goals are a mixture of the things that I'm claiming from God,and some look like goals God has set for me to do. But what I believe in is that God gives us the grace to wait for the things we long for and gives us the grace too to carry out the seemingly impossible things He has set in our hearts to do.
May all my Victory Group sisters help me in praying. May God be glorified in all that we do and achieve!
Let's all have a splendid 2012!

6th Day of Prayer & Fasting Week

It's the sixth day today of our church's annual Prayer and Fasting Week. Though I can't fast as I used to (for the last 4 years every January) due to my prolonged cough that made me take medicines, God has still been really quite near as He kept reminding me to pray of not just my needs but of others too.
Today's devotion focused on living by the Spirit. And that means living out the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22 says "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.." It's easy to be and to do good to those who are good too and of course during favorable circumstances. But living in the Spirit would actually require us to love the unlovable, be kind to the unkind and be gentle when inside you just want to scream.
What moved me in the last few days is that God is also reminding me that we can effortlessly be good. How? It's by relying more on the power of the Holy Spirit that changes us rather than on our own efforts to do good.
So my prayer today is that by God's grace thru His Son Jesus, I can always have the Spirit's fruits, not only when things are okay, but also when things are not so okay, not by my own efforts but by the "enabling power" of Christ whom I claim that lives in me.