Chronicles of Charyl

Is it possible that something so beautiful, so treasure-able, so magnificent, and so extraordinary could be forgotten in time? How? It happened with the so-acclaimed "High Queen" Susan, one of the Pevensie siblings who stepped into Narnia, rescued the land's beings by fulfilling an old prophecy, led the country into their Golden Age and fought and won the Narnian Kingdom back to the rightful leader Prince Caspian when they returned the second time. Susan appeared as the heroine-queen in the two books of the 7-book series "The Chronicles of Narnia" by CS Lewis. So her name naturally is a byword through all Narnian creatures, who are mostly talking and walking animals. If you've read the books, you'll ask this very same question. In the last book of the series, "The Last Battle", we find only the other three Pevensies, Peter, Edmund and Lucy going back to Narnia, this time to witness how the land is going to be restored to its original state...

Laughter is the best medicine, they say. True. But to me, it is a gift. And when it comes at unexpected times and places, and brought by unexpected people, it is mostly cherished – and heartily enjoyed. On my way to work early this morning, I had a stopover again at my favorite “ carenderia ” (some kind of viand store), to buy my breakfast and lunch dishes. As I was waiting for my order to be served, I felt a strong pat on my right shoulder, with a force that caused me to turn around. Along with that, I heard a male’s voice almost shouting, “Rosabelle!” (Well, at least that’s how I think it is spelled, coz I heard it as “roh-sah-bill!”). Obviously, he was referring to me. We were both surprised to see each other’s strange faces. Then the guy, who was probably expecting me to be his classmate because he was in a university uniform, was obviously ashamed of the mistake as he said, “Oh! I’m sorry! (Wrong person, in other words.)” I was ready to make out my laughing-out-loud san...

Our worth before anybody is nothing compared to knowing our worth before God. A story in Our Daily Bread shares about a couple who never had a child for many years in their married life. So when one day they learned that the wife was pregnant, the husband enthusiastically shared to his workmates how God answered their prayer. At this, his colleagues laughed at him, for saying that it was God who gave the child to him. After many months, the baby was born, and the couple found out that the child had Down syndrome. And as the husband was on his way to work, he was wondering how he is going to face his co-workers. So he prayed and asked for God’s wisdom. And sure enough, when he arrived at work, what he feared about took place. His workmates made even more fun of him saying, so God gave you this child. The new father stood silently for a moment, and then he said, Yes, I’m glad the Lord gave this child to me, and not to you. This new father humbly accepted his mentally challenged c...

I often hear parents say that babies or children really have a way of erasing away all their problems or concerns for the day. So, when I finally had the chance to spend half of a day with my one-year old niece, I realized what I heard was true. And now, I wonder why. Perhaps because children have so simplistic view of things that adults can really find refreshing perspective from them. They laugh when they’re enjoying something, cry when they’re hungry or in pain, and don’t have a care in the world, when they sleep on your shoulder. Maybe because they are completely confident that when they’re with the people whom they recognize as the one giving them care, they know everything’s going to be alright. This is probably the reason why Jesus teaches his disciples that we should approach God with child-like faith, one that completely trusts, one which holds nothing back. When we become older, our thoughts become infiltrated with doubts, suspicions and uncertainties we experienced from...

How would you feel when you found exactly the one you’ve been looking for? Oh well, I’m not talking about lovelife matters here, although you could also take it to that. I’m talking about what John the Baptist told his disciples, in John 1:36. He told the two men, “Look, the Lamb of God!”. Previously, he also made the same statement with an addition, “who takes away the sin of the world!” I could just imagine the extreme joy and excitement the disciples must have felt, considering that at this point of history, they were exactly waiting for the One Messiah whom God Almighty had promised to them for their salvation. And to be told that the one they’ve been waiting for had come had to be more than good news, such that the next verses said they really followed Jesus, and became part of Christ’s known 12 disciples. We each have our own waiting and searching moments, and the ordeal could really be frustrating if it takes a long time to take place. But Christ’s coming on earth is a cle...

RELEVANTmagazine.com interviews author Philip Yancey on his book Prayer: Does it make a difference? Here’s an excerpt: What advice do you have for twentysomethings just beginning to embark on their Christian journey, specifically in regards to prayer? In one word, Relax. It’s too bad prayer comes bundled in a package of “spiritual disciplines.” Really, we should see prayer as a spiritual privilege. We don’t do it as a callisthenic exercise to gain points with God; we do it, because it is good for us in every way. I quote the author Roberta Bondi who says so many people worry about “doing it right.” Hey, if you’re praying, you’re doing it right. I try to include some practical hints, but mainly I think a good prayer life depends on a trust relationship. You need to have a strong belief in a loving, merciful God who cares about you and the trust to open up to God with complete transparency. God already knows the naked truth about us, of course. Why not acknowledge it? So many times we ac...

Hallelu Yah! I’m pretty sure the term “Hallelu Yah” (I even spelled it before as Hallelujah ) rings a bell to many ears, whether it’s for church-goers or sympathizers. It was just recently that I learned what “Hallelu Yah” means. It’s the Hebrew line for “Praise the Lord”. In the book of Psalms, that middle part of the Bible filled with many poems, there’s just many sets of “Hallelu Yah’s” there! This line is usually placed at the start of the poem, or at the end, or both. And no matter what the psalm’s content is, be it rejoicing over victory in a war, grief over great troubles, despair over abandonment, or expression of hatred to the enemies, that particular line is still included. I believe the psalmist’s intent is to let the readers know that the best thing to do in every situation is to “Praise the Lord!”. Why do we have to praise the Lord in whatever circumstance? Because it’s in that act of praising Him that we get to recognize He is the one in-charge. When we praise the Lord in...