time for love

"Make every heartbeat count." -Nutschell Anne Windsor

Time is ticking. Take every opportunity to LOVE MORE

When a man loves a woman" by Bro. Jay Lucena (SFC Teaching Night)

“Who are our neighbors in SFC? Our fellow brothers and sisters.” – Kuya Jay Lucena

For those who know me well, they know that I am not comfortable around men in general. Due to experiences that happened in my earlier years, I avoided contact or interaction with boys. When I joined Singles for Christ (SFC), it was a challenge for me to interact with the brothers. Since I became part of the SFC community, I was always bonding with the sisters. I thought that I can “survive” being part of the community just like that, being in their company and “loving” only the sisters.

A year passed and I enjoyed having service with the sisters. We danced, we praised, we sang, we worshipped together. I even had many friends from other chapters who are also sisters. I felt a sense of belongingness, I felt happy, blessed and loved.

Though Jesus said “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12: 31)

If the only ones whom I consider my “neighbors” are my sisters, did I really “love” according to Jesus’ teachings? Obviously, not. To help me better understand “loving thy neighbor”, I was sent a gift to help me experience, first-hand, loving God through my neighbor. My gift is my dearly beloved God’s Gift, Bjoy Isolana.

Why him? He was the only brother who broke all my defenses, made me realize than not all men are opportunists, and assured me that the brothers will not harm me, in fact, they will even protect me as a sister. He “forced” me to face my fears and be open to different opportunities. You could call it “tough love”, his intention was to help me appreciate other people, step away from my shell and discover the greater love by not limiting myself to a number of people. Of course, it took a lot of quarrels, misunderstandings and of course, patience from both our part.

Bjoy proved to me that “loving thy neighbor” was beyond the romantic relationship we had. Once, we were in a verbal and emotional fight; we were at the peak of almost giving up on each other. Then, he fell silent, closed his eyes and prayed. Upon seeing this, I remembered why I loved him. I was humbled and I knew that I had to accept defeat. I remembered where we started; he proved to me that before we even became gifts to each other, we started as a loving brother and a loving sister from the SFC community.

I believe that’s how “loving thy neighbor” is. Going the extra mile, acknowledging defeat, accepting the mistakes of your neighbor, forgiving them, swallowing once pride, making an effort to reach out and making them realize that they are more than what they think of themselves. Encouraging one another and supporting each other in different tasks and services.

Like what me and Bjoy always say to each other, “If everything crumbles and seems to go wrong. Stop, and go back to basics.” Remember where you started, love as the base of all relationships.

Gifts from God

A gift given by our family and friends are usually given to please us and to make us happy. There is not much responsibility that is attached to these gifts other than taking care of them and preserving them.

How about God's Gifts?

Like gifts from our family and friends, the gifts we receive from God are to be taken cared of and preserved, though it does not stop there. The gifts we receive from God are to be developed, enhanced and nurtured. We grow with these gifts for it builds up our faith. Of all of God's creations, we are the ones who are blessed to receive the Gift's of the Holy Spirit. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to us upon our entry in the Christian world.  Though we were still young to nurture them, we receive them and some of us have already used them. Now that we are aware of conscious of the gifts we received from God, our mission is to build it up and use it for the good of the people around us. We are given gifts not only for our own growth in faith but also for the growth of the people of God. We ourselves are gifts and instruments to encourage more men and women to be closer and stronger in faith in Jesus Christ.

Human interaction is one of the gifts we receive from God. Through interaction we can move, acknowledge and experience as a group the love God has given to his people.  This is why we have families, friends and communities. We build nations in honor of our Creator. We are the stewards and the most superior of God's creations. This makes us responsible not only of our surroundings/nature, but also, we are responsible for our fellow human being. Being responsible for one another and reaching out to others are forms of spreading the love we received from God.

In the community, the term "God's Gift" is what we call our partners whom we are in a romantic relationship with. Though before we go into a relationship, we discern, pray and ask for advice from our household heads about the relationship we will be pursuing. This is no joke, for like what my "idols" told me before, "Do not be in a relationship if your purpose in merely for companionship. Be in a relationship because you already see yourself together for a lifetime." This is quite a tedious process because this specific gift from God is a huge package. Accepting this specific gift is a responsibility not only for one person but for two people who have made a commitment in honor of God. I will be creating a post to elaborate more on this specific gift from God.

God willingly provide all these gifts to us. We as his people are tasked to improve, develop, enhance and build up these gifts with other people.

Can God take back these gifts?

Personally, I would say yes, but he takes is away temporarily. Why? Why would God take it away? Because He would like to challenge us. He is the only one who knows how great we can grow. He temporarily paralyzes us to make us realize our worth. Though he does not leave us, what he leaves us paralyzed. He stays behind you, supporting you and cheering for you till you end the paralysis in your faith, until you return to his embrace. Then he rewards us with greater gifts that are beyond our expectations.

But what if I give up from the challenges he gives?

Even if you give up, he will catch you and pull you back again in the most unexpected way. He will never leave you because He loves you. Why would he create you if he did not love you?

For us to accept these gifts, we merely need to open our hearts, our minds and learn to listen to His voice in silence. And once we have accepted them, spread the love. But a word of caution, always, always be humble, for God himself humbly gave His love to us.

Who are we to be selfish and not make His love grow?

my Beloved Mom

Praying everyday and believing our faith is strong. Encourage others to join, to have a stronger faith in Him. They look up to us and pride creeps in the veins. Eventually humility is shaken aside.

One song, changes it all.

Realization.

I fall at his throne, throwing myself down. Weeping at the foot of His cross and desperately asking for forgiveness. Beating my breast, attacking and blaming myself. Senses betray me and I shiver in fear, loneliness and sorrow.

Warmth envelops my shaking body.

A calming voice. A lullaby.

"Peace! My dear, take rest. Hold not any grudge or trouble against yourself, for my heart weeps with yours. Behold! Your brother smiles down on you for you have returned."

I look up and witness the Virgin Mother, full of grace, compassion and love.

Surrendering in her embrace I weep and yearn to feel her tight embrace.

"My child, your pains are my pains. No matter how sinful and how far you have drifted away. I will always be here to welcome you with open arms and a warm embrace. For you are my child and I love you."

A feeling of serenity in her soothing voice and I lose myself in consciousness.

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This is the story of your servant. It is never over and it is a continuing journey. Every servant of yours goes through a journey of a lifetime that will forever change their lives.Struggles are inevitable and prayers will always be out weapon against oppression. Our "crosses" are not meant to punish us. They are there to serve as our bridges, to help us be closer to Jesus, our brother. Every battle is an experience to find ourselves towards our path, our journey that will bring us to the loving embrace of God the Father and Jesus, His Beloved Son. And in this journey, there is always the loving Mother who intercedes, guides, pleads and prays for us.

I am a sinner, I am no exception even if I am a part of the community. I fall and lose hope. Though that is not a reason to give up and forget my faith. Because of who I am, these gives me more reasons to return to the Mother's loving embrace.

To see the face of God is our hearts desire. We long for Him, to be in His kingdom.

To see the face of the Virgin Mary is a grace. She is the one who reaches out to us. Who runs to our aid in times of need. She cares too much for us that she even pleads in our behalf just for us to feel at peace. She is meek and endures the pain of her children. She is hope and peace.

She is our loving mother, Mama Mary.

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Inspired by the talks from ICON 2014: Journey Beyond and the music Song of the Beloved by Tito Arnel Santos

sfc icon 2013: witness

hi everyone! (^_^) how are you? the last time i posted an entry, i mentioned something about dance practice.  well, the dance practice was for the opening night for the annual SFC ICON. (^_^) the theme for this year is "witness". this is in relation to the CFC theme this year, "obey and witness." anyways, it was mentioned in one of the talks that one cannot truly witness, if one does not obey.

to make it more concrete, in my case as one of the many performers, i had to obey the choreographer to be able to witness and be part of the performance. i saw the differences in people and those who really have the talent. i met people who were humble and they are willing to reach out to those who have difficulty getting the steps, at the same time, i met people who were too proud and were nagging and "selfish." despite this, we all had to obey to be part of the whole performance.

to be able to be a witness to the greatness of God, i have to learn to obey to his will and plans for me. this is easier said than done. as humans who are given the free will, we have plans for the future that we plan to accomplish. obeying God's plans may be difficult but it may mean going against hat we plan for ourselves. obeying means accepting, accepting what God has planned for us even if this is very challenging and difficult to achieve. obeying needs trust, strength and courage. we don't know what the future has for us, we are left to trust to whatever the God decides to plan for us. we need strength and courage to live out the plans of God, we have to admit, it's a battlefield in this world. we experience challenges and oppression that are just too painful to bear, but in the end we still rise up and face this journey we call life. (^_^) obeying means surrender. we surrender everything to God, whatever our plans are, whatever we face, whatever we do, we all surrender it to God. the smiles, the tears, the ups, the downs, the success, the failures, everything, we surrender it all to God. what do we get in all of this?

we become a witness.

we become a witness to how God can greatly influence our lives. we become living witnesses that despite the cruelties of this world, we can live day by day with hope and positive disposition. we know that at the end of the day, however shitty the day is, we still look forward to the gift of life we receive upon waking up the next day. (^_^) is that all that is to being a witness?

of course not!

being a witness also involves the people you interact with. the people you make memories with, the people who influence you, the little girl you teach in catechism, the kids who wait for you in the classroom for you to teach them, the stranger who smiled at you as you two were passing by each other, the cashier who gave you your change when you bought food, the guard who greeted you as you entered the building, the demanding boss, the strict mentor, everyone! every person that becomes a part of your life has involvement in you being a witness. how you talk to them, how you treat them, how you think of them, these are manifestations on how far you have witnessed as God's servant and how you share being a witness a living witness to God's love.

in my case, despite the clash in ideas and personalities during the dance practice for the SFC ICON, the choreographers were patient, strict and professional. they had every good intention even if they can be very harsh in their criticisms. as performers with different levels, experience  in dancing, from different chapters and clusters, we shared our knowledge and experience. we learn from each other and we form new connections and friendship. we learn how to deal with different people, we learn to spread and share the love of God that is within us.

lastly, prayers. there is nothing impossible in prayers. say prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of sorrow, prayers of happiness, prayers of doubt, prayers for family and friends, prayers for the sick, prayers for the dearly departed. you will never go wrong with prayers. prayer time is the time for reflection, your alone time with God, you one-on-one date with God.

in this SFC ICON 2013, i obeyed, i witnessed and i became an involved witness to God's greatness. (^_^)
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ps. here are the pictures from the conference. majority of the pictures are from my household head, jen ocbena. others are from my friends. (^_^)

lenten season

last wednesday was ash wednesday,

this is the start of the lenten season.

this is the time in the catholic calender when we do sacrifices, fasting and abstinence.

it is also a time of prayer and reflection.

as i said earlier, it starts at ash wednesday and ends on easter sunday, around 40 days.

a little clarification about the lenten season.

the sacrifices, fasting and abstinence should be done willingly and with purpose by the person.

there should be an effort and sincerity in abstaining.

there is more deeper meaning in the lenten season.

as the holy week approaches,

prayers ans reflections seems to increase.

i'm no saying that this is the only time where people pray.

i would say that it's all because of the religiousness, influence and tradition over the years.

prayers or passed down from one generation to the next.

and more people actually pray more during the lenten season because they are thankful for the blessings they received in the previous year.

there are many more stories and information about the lenten season,

unfortunately, this post does not do enough justice about it.

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4th household meeting

the other night, we had our fourth household meeting.

we had this activity wherein we would randomly pick a card and share our reflection about it.

mine said, "I am God's temple"

i would say it was close to home and my reflection was also an eye-opener for me. (^_^)

the four of us also had a kris kringle and gave tokens to each other for we may not have the same household members next year.

these are the tokens i received. (^_^)

oh, i almost forgot, we also had this activity wherein we write letters to each other.

it's like a letter of appreciation or an encouragement letter for each other. (^_^)

unexpectedly, that same night, we had our first fellowship.

fellowship is like a "bonding time" with our household.

it was unexpected for it was all out of whim. (^_^)