Author: Queenie Basilio

I just came from a Liveloud practice and one of the questions asked during the practice was what does Liveloud mean to you? And how have you been living loud?

What does it mean to live?

To live is to stumble, to get hurt, to feel pain, to laugh, to struggle, to be serious but at the end of the day still have that smile on your face for you know that despite all the things that happened, the Lord is still in control, and for every end, there’s a new beginning.

To live is to die to oneself and let Christ be revealed to the world through you. To live is to let other people not see you but see Christ through you. To live is to be Christ-like.

What does it mean to be loud?

To be loud is to reach beyond our limits. To give everything I have and everything I can when I feel like there’s nothing else to give. To keep on trusting the Lord that everything we do, we can do it for our God is limitless. To be loud is to reach beyond our limits. To reach beyond what we can. To reach beyond what I can reach.

When I was in the room where we were practising earlier, one statement really captured my attention. It was the statement written on the picture of Mother Mary. It says “Put your faith in my Son, Jesus Christ.”

This message really struck me because I was affirmed of what have I’ve been doing, been experiencing, and been discerning for. This is what it means to Liveloud.

LIVELOUD: Putting our full trust on Jesus Christ, despite everything else. To live Christ-like, reaching beyond our limits.

Praise God!

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.  – 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

For the past few weeks, the Lord’s messages to me have been about love. What is love? Why do we love? Who do we love?

Love is something that’s very hard to define yet everyone knows about it. Although everyone seems to know it, sometimes (or rather most of the time) people confuse love with infatuation, that “feeling” that we get when we “fall in love.”

According to the Bible, Love is God. Love originated from God. Love is one of the primary characteristics of God. God’s love is unconditional. God’s love is agape – non-partial, unconditional, gives, and sacrifices. Since we are created in the image and likeness of God, we too are capable of loving – loving unconditionally and selflessly.

God sent Jesus Christ to save us because He loves us. And…

We love because He loved us first. – 1 John 4:19

We don’t love because we have to. We don’t love because we have no choice to do so. We don’t love because it is the right thing to do. We love because we are loved and we are created to love. The Lord calls us to love and to be loved. That simple but most of the time we make it so complicated. Love can be as simple as opening a door for someone to dying for someone, like Jesus Christ. Every single day we are challenge by the Lord to love.

These past few weeks, little did I know that the Lord has been challenging me to love. There were so many times were I am put in a situation where I just need to love someone despite all the unreasonable arguments I’ve have with them. There were so many times when my patience was tested. I was put in various situations where I was challenge to help someone, where sometimes I did, but sometimes I did not.

Love does not just simply about “love” for another person. Love is doing everything that we do according to the will of God, for God is love and we are called to love. Love is to love more regardless of what happens.

So who do we love?

Every single person we encounter, everything we encounter, and everywhere we go – there should be love; for God is everywhere and with everyone, and as we are called to love for He loved us and we are created out of love.

^“Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’” – Matthew 22:37-39

I call to God. Please assist my efforts to find love. I open to love in all ways. Let love meet me around the next corner. I throw my arms open to love. Amen.

St. Valentine, Pray for us.

The priest from last Sunday’s mass posed a question at the beginning of the mass that really struck me. He asked, “How far would you go in following Christ?” How far can we actually go in serving Him? Are we willing to just drop everything and follow Him like what the disciples did? Are we mission ready?

It seems very easy to answer, but actually it’s hard. A good amount of us would say “to the ends of the earth but…” or “wherever He calls me but..” Most of the time we are very willing to say yes, but we always have our “buts and ifs.”

One of the songs that is stuck on my head from the recent TNC is the song “Mission Ready.” As the song goes

“We’re ready to go for Your glory, Shouting a praise, Oh God Almighty, To be salt of the earth and light to the world For You, Jesus

We’re laying down our fears and worries, Your love will lead us to our victories, To be salt of the earth and light to the world For You, Jesus”

After listening to this song, a lot of questions came to my mind. Am I ready to proclaim His words? Am I ready to be the salt of the earth and light to the world? Am I ready to lay down all my fears and worries and just follow Him? My answer? I don’t know, but I trust in Him that He would reveal it to me at the right time. He would know when the right time would be. All I have to do is to wait. Like what Jesus did. He didn’t bother the Father to simply reveal everything to Him and get everything done. He waited. He waited for the right time and the right place to reveal God’s plans and to fulfill them. He waited for God’s time.

I am firm believer of the phrase, “God will never put you in a situation where He knows you can’t handle it.” Sometimes, God has planned us to go through various victories and obstacles because He wants to prepare us for our mission. Sometimes, it would be easy, sometimes it would be hard, but the time to be mission ready for Him will eventually come, in His time.

With God: Nothing is impossible and our impossible turns into nothing.

The year 2013 was probably the most difficult time of my life so far. I lost someone special to me, various changes happened in my life, and I’ve been through a lot. Little did I know, God is preparing me for something greater. Yes, it was tough, but at the end of all of it, He made me stronger and looked at life in a different angle. Being able to experience all those struggles allowed me to let God take care of the rest and I was able to learn to fully trust in Him and all His plans. I realised those struggles were really not struggles, but blessings.

Following Him doesn’t only involve us, but Him within us.  In order for us to follow Him, we need to let Him work within us first. Most of the time, we tend to live in our own “secured” worlds. Secured: because sometimes we tend to ignore Him even though He is just right there. Sometimes, we close our doors to Him because we don’t want His way to happen. Sometimes we have the tendency to not let Him work through us. Sometimes we are just so afraid of what could happen so we choose to turn our back away, but sometimes it’s okay to be scared. Changes happen because the Lord wants to prepare us for our greater mission. In every mission, there is a change. Changes happen so we can grow and be closer to Him. I know sometimes, change seem so scary, but it’s okay. Being scared is perfectly normal, but we just have to remember that the Lord is always with us. With the grace of the Lord, our impossibilities turn into nothing.

If the Lord is limitless, so can we; if we just have to allow Him to work through us, with us, and in us.

Praise God!

Lord, help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere I go.
Flood my soul with Your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly,
That my life may only be a radiance of Yours.

Shine through me, and be so in me
That every soul I come in contact with
May feel Your presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus!

Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine,
So to shine as to be a light to others;
The light, O Jesus will be all from You; none of it will be mine;
It will be you, shining on others through me.

Let me thus praise You the way You love best, by shining on those around me.
Let me preach You without preaching, not by words but by my example,
By the catching force of the sympathetic influence of what I do,
The evident fullness of the love my heart bears to You. Amen.

It’s been a really long time since I wrote a blog. I’ve just been really busy with so many things, but I know this shouldn’t be an excuse to not write one. This summer has been one of the busiest times of my year, considering all the conferences and events happening. I pretty much said yes to everything that I was asked to do. I said yes to leading Music Ministry for TNC, I said yes to doing a creative for the CFC Conference, I said yes in being a part of the production team for the CFC Conference, I said yes to doing some trainings, and I said yes to so many other things, not only in service but also at work. Praise God for all these opportunities to serve and glorify the Lord, but one thing I learned from it is, sometimes, it’s okay to say no.

Matthew 5:37 Let your yes mean yes and your no mean no.

I was reminded by a brother a couple of days ago about the meaning of saying yes. He said, “Saying yes to one thing means saying no to another.” This line actually hit me because I have the habit of just saying yes to everything, even though it seems unrealistic for me to do so, or it will be difficult for me. I think this is what the Lord has been trying to tell me this whole summer. If i said yes to one thing, it means saying no to another. I can’t really say yes to everything because without our NOs our YESs mean nothing.

Saying no to a service doesn’t mean that we are not glorifying the Lord. In fact, we are opening new doors to other people. Our NOs could be their YESs. Or even better, our NOs could be God’s YES to working through us.

Last TNC, one of the messages that struck me was the message given by Kuya Noli. He said during his talk, where our limits end is where God’s grace begins. When we realize that we can’t do something, that’s when God can work through us because we depend not on our own strength but on God’s strength.

Sometimes, saying no to something will allow us to let God do the work. It will allow us to not depend on what we can do but depend on what God wants us to do. Saying no also means that it’s not yet the time that the Lord has planned. It is simply us saying, “No, Lord, I’ll have it Your way, not my way; in Your time, not mine.” Sometimes, saying no is okay.

Lord, please guide our hearts to follow what You want us to follow. Allow our yes be our yes in glorifying you, and our no be our way in allowing You to take control. Amen.

I recently started doing the 33 Days to Morning Glory and this formula discussed by St. Maximilian Kolbe caught my attention.

W + w = S (God’s will + our will = Sanctity)

According to the book of Romans, God is calling us to be saints. As St. Kolbe discussed, in order to be saints, our will should be united to God’s will. After reading this, I saw myself reflecting on these questions: What is God’s will? What is our will? What is my will? Is my will in the direction to God’s will? Is my will united to God’s will?

This equation seems so simple but in reality it’s not easy. Most of the time, we have the tendency to follow our will because sometimes we see it as the “right” thing to do. Sometimes we follow our will because that’s what the world tells us to do so.  Sometimes we follow our will because it’s the “easy way out.” Then we forget about God’s will. I, myself, am at fault for this.

I am a very controlling person, in a way that I plan my day. Sometimes, I even write a schedule to my day and if something goes wrong, I get upset. If I am given a schedule, I am always so anxious to follow it. I am also an over-thinker. I think too much of what’s happening that most of the time I forget the reason why I am doing it. Sometimes, I don’t even finish certain things because I think way too much. Sometimes, I tend to over-schedule my day and make it so tight. Or even in things that I do, for example, in planning my day, if something goes wrong, I feel upset because it didn’t happen the way I wanted it to wanted. But is that what really matters? What if the way I wanted it to happen is not the way God wanted it to do so? What if because I think too much, I’m not giving space for God’s message to be revealed? Most of the time, I think I forget about this, I forget about God’s will and plan, which are the most important things that I should always be remembering.

This made me realise that I should be more sensitive to God’s calling and plans. I should learn to live my day not according to my plans but to God’s plan. If something goes wrong, I should not feel upset because maybe that incident needed to happen because God wanted it to happen. What made the day wrong maybe will be the one to actually make it right. Everything happens for a reason, may it be good or bad. There is always a learning experience from it. In fact, every single moment of our lives is a learning experience given by God, a learning experience that should be applied not only to our lives but to the rest of the world.

This is such a good reminder for me to always surrender myself to Him. In making decisions or plans, to remember to ask myself, “What would God do? What would He want to happen?” Because at the end the day, we are still called to be saints. We are called to unify our will to God’s will. 

Lord, please let Your thoughts be my thoughts, Your words be my words, Your actions be my actions, and Your will be my will. Amen.

 

 

A couple of days from now  (June 04) is the first year death anniversary of my aunt. I can’t believe that it has been a year now. At exactly around this time last year, I was on my way to the Philippines to see my aunt that raised me up for 16 years. During those times, my heart was so troubled. I felt fear, anxiety, and sadness because the person that I cared the most is fighting for her life.

When she passed away, I was told to be strong for her, for my family, and everyone else around me. That’s what everyone kept telling me. To be honest, it was one of the hardest things to do. I remember there were times that because I needed to be strong for them, i couldn’t even cry even though I wanted to. I needed to always have a smile on my face and be the one telling everyone “Don’t worry, she’s in good hands now.” I wanted to let the pain out, but I couldn’t. I felt cheated because I couldn’t express what I feel while everyone else around me can. The burden that I was carrying was getting heavier every single day. I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle it, until one day, this verse caught my attention:

“Even though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I fear no evil for You are with me.” – Psalm 23:4

This was the verse that’s engraved on her gravestone. I was reminded of one thing, to trust in Him; to put my full faith in Him; that everything that happened has a reason. It may be difficult but He is with us.

Reflecting on these things that happened last year, I realized one thing, when we ask for things, we truly are tested on it. I remember in the beginning of 2013, I asked the Lord one thing: to have stronger faith in Him. Little did I know that I would be tested on it. This experience brought me down that I had nothing but my faith in Him. Because I didn’t know how to handle the pain and get back up, I was able to fully surrender everything in Him and trust in Him that eventually everything’s going to be okay.

It’s been almost a year now and I know that the wound that was caused by her death’s not fully healed yet. I’m not regretting anything that happened because through it I was able to hold to His hand again and was able to fully trust in Him again. Although a door closed, few more doors opened in my life. Praise God that He allowed me to experience this.

One thing that I learned from this incident is that we don’t need to experience such things in order to realize that we should fully put our trust in Him. He has a plan and reason for everything. Sometimes, things don’t go our way because His plans are greater than our plans. We may experience hurts and struggles but most of the time, He is just testing us. Sometimes, we need to fall in order to come back up again. In fact, Jesus died in order to be resurrected. Jesus suffered in order for God’s plan to be fulfilled.

Praise God for struggles for it’s through them that we are made stronger. It is through them that we learn to open our hearts and lives to Christ.

Lord, allow us to fully put our trust in You. Let our words be our words. Let our actions be our actions. Allow us to be not afraid of what’s to come because we know that You are there with us. Amen.

Lately, I have been listening to the song “Christ is Enough” by HIllsong Live. The message of the song is just so beautiful, especially in what I have experienced and what I am experiencing right now.

I have decided to follow Jesus

No turning back

No turning back

It’s been about 3 months and 20 days since I joined (handing in my essay, etc.) the MV program. I would say that on February 10, 2014 at around 12:10 am, I decided to follow Him. Since then, my life has been so different. There were so many things that I did not expect to happen, things that I do not want to happen, things that I hoped to happen but did not, and things that happened which I hoped to happen. My schedule got more hectic. I had more responsibilities. In fact, there were so many times already when I asked myself why I am even in this program. And the answer? I don’t know. All I know is that I want to keep pursuing Him. Yes sometimes I question myself, but at the end of the day, no matter how much I do ask these questions, He still affirms me of the calling, no matter how big or small the affirmation is. One thing I realized is that when I doubt myself, it means I am putting my trust on my own strength and capabilities, because if I trust Him, I can never have doubts. But no matter how much I doubt, He is always there to affirm me. Praise God for all of these because this keeps me going, knowing that at the centre of all of these is Him, who provides me love, joy, and strength. To be honest, I have never been happier than this before. Yes, it is tiring sometimes, but it is funny because once you said yes, you can never stop; you can never turn back; you just want to keep going, to keep pursuing Him.

The cross before me

The world behind me

No turning back

No turning back

Often times, when you ask people what’s the first thing that they associate with the cross, they say pain and suffering, but in reality it is sacrifice and love. The cross symbolizes God’s love and the beauty of sacrifice. He is calling each and every single one of us to embrace the cross before us, leaving the world behind us, sacrificing everything to show to the world God’s love. This is what it means to follow Him; it is to leave everything behind, including ourselves. We need to give everything up so He can fill us. How can we be filled with His love and grace when we are full of all our earthly desires? Jesus gave everything up for God’s love to be shared to the world. I believe this is what He is calling us to, to embrace our crosses; not to suffer in pain, but to suffer out of love. Let us embrace our crosses and be the symbol of God’s love to the world.

Christ is enough for me

Christ is enough for me

Everything I need is in You

Everything I need

Is Christ really enough for us? We often say this, but do we really mean it? In our society today, I know it is hard for us to fully say this without the “ifs and buts.” What does it mean to fully surrender ourselves to Him, to fully trust that He is all that we need? When we say we are giving up everything, do we really mean everything? Since I joined this program, I feel like I have been continuously tested on trusting in Him and being able to give up everything in Him. There were so many times already when I feel like I have given everything but He is asking for more, He wanted me to give more; literally to give everything that I have. It is very hard. I feel like sometimes I can’t even do it, but when I get to give up everything, He gives me everything too; in fact, more than everything. I am reminded of a story about Jesus and a little kid holding a small teddy bear. Jesus was asking the kid to give Him the little teddy bear. The kid without knowing that behind Jesus was a bigger teddy bear, refused to do so. This is what we often not see, that if we give up everything to Him, He will show His greater plans for us. All we have to do is to give our all, until nothing’s left of us, so He can fill us and reveal to us His plans.

Lord, please help me to fully surrender everything to You. Allow me to have the courage to follow you, carrying and embracing my cross and leaving the world behind. You are all I want and You are all I need. If I am face with doubts, allow me to put my trust in You for I can never doubt you. Let Your will be done. Amen.