Tag: World Youth Day

Let The Music Play

Tina 1 Comment

(Image credit.)

And it’s time for the mid-year playlist, aka the 2015 EP! It’s kind of crazy how it’s already July, isn’t it? The first half of 2015 has been something, really, and sometimes I get a bit frightened that everything’s whizzing by, and I don’t get to enjoy every moment that I get to live this year. Do you feel that, too? Like the days just blend into each other? 

I’m writing this post not just to share a song list, but as a reminder for me to take it slow, sometimes. I think, as we grow older, we should learn to start picking what’s worth our time, what’s worth our attention. It can be picking which friends to meet, what things to do, and even what food to eat so your body will take care of you as you take care of it. I haven’t quite mastered that, but I want to learn that, before 2015 ends. (Because hello, I’m almost 30.)

So here’s the first half of 2015, in 7 songs.

(Title credit: Let The Music Play by Chris August)

1. Tell The World of His Love by Trina Belamide

[youtube L8zwiiSckQM]

Let us tell the world of His love
The greatest Love the world has known
Search the world for those who have walked astray
And lead them home

The start of 2015 was highlighted by one event: Pope Francis’ Papal Visit to the Philippines. I still haven’t written about this, I know, but this was the most perfect start of my year. It was like a World Youth Day experience at my home city, but I was behind the scenes – writing articles,  doing interviews, losing sleep, and walking in the rain just to be with the Vicar of Christ. What an exhausting weekend, but I will do it all over again. This song is not the official song of the Papal Visit, but this was sung over and over again during the visit, and I kept on crying to this song. That weekend, and this song, was a reminder of how blessed I was to be a part of the Catholic Church, and that I would do anything for His love.

2. Stockholm Syndrome by One Direction

[youtube nGYyTw9RIa8]

Oh, baby, look what you’ve done to me
Oh, baby, look what you’ve done now

I heard that One Direction was going here last year, but of course I didn’t try to get tickets because everything’s crazy there. Then they opened another night, and one day while I was at Mall of Asia Arena, I sent a text to my friend Grace, and ten minutes later, we have tickets to their second night’s show. It was my birthday concert, and it was absolutely worth it. The rain, the cold was sort of forgotten because the boys (4/5 of them, anyway, because Zayn hasn’t quit the group yet) were amazing. 

Yes, I’m a Directioner, and I am not ashamed. :P

3. Tuloy Pa Rin by Flip Music All Stars

[youtube HK2742L-De8]

Para lang nawala ang dala dala kong payong
Mauulanan pero muling makakasilong

My friend Alona played this song while we were hanging out at the beach that night at La Union, the birthday beach trip that we had been planning for years (long story why it only happened now). This song was already included in my 2013 playlist, but this version is really cute, plus the rap at the bridge was a nice touch. This is still such a feel-good song, and it’s part of my next novel’s playlist. :)

4. Undeniably You by Avalon

[youtube Pk4BV1xlCzg]

It’s unbelievable, all the things that You do
It’s unexplainable, how Your love pulls me through
And I can’t question, the one thing I’ve found to be true
It’s undeniably You

I loved Avalon when I was in college, but I kind of stopped listening to them for a while. Thanks to Spotify, I found them again, and realized that I actually still know most of their songs. This song is sort of a hidden gem from the album that I really loved, and I found myself humming this truth over and over again in the next days.

5. Set It Off by J. Williams

[youtube gk5jG941Tdg]

In this club
Feeling good
We here to set it off

I’m trying to dance more again, now that I actually had time from work, and I loved it so much that I decided to build a Dance Dance Dance playlist. I found a  bunch of Body Jam playlists in Spotify and started hunting for my favorite tracks. This is one of my favorite tracks ever from an old mix, and I love, love, love dancing to this.

6. Lunatic by Andy Grammer

[youtube t8ArzDCV-6I]

You can do this, you can do this
You are not a lunatic
Crazy would be changing your mind
You can do this, you can do this
You are not a lunatic
Crazy would be leaving it behind

Ah, Andy Grammer. Such a feel-good artist. ♥ I love this entire first album, but this song had me singing and humming it over and over again. It’s such a nice song, too, with doing what is closest to your heart. This song also makes it into one of my future novel’s soundtracks. :)

7. Level Up by Vienna Teng

[youtube U4n_8R5lKnw]

call it any name you need.
call it your 2.0, your rebirth, whatever –
so long as you can feel it all,
so long as all your doors are flung wide.
call it your day #1 in the rest of forever.

This is actually a song from 2014 that I forgot to include in my 2014 soundtrack.  A friend sent me this song, and I had this on repeat especially when I changed roles at work and faced several difficult challenges. This song still applies now, especially since I started the year with a new job with bigger responsibilities, and also because there’s so many new things in 2015 that requires me to step up and be more. It’s scary exciting, but what’s life without a bit of that? :)

* * *

Based on my last.fm listening history, I realized that I’ve been stuck with my novel playlists for a while. So for the next half of 2015, I want to discover new artists and songs – so here: recommend new artists and songs, please? :)

Here’s to the 2nd half of 2015! :)

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Tina 4 Comments

Also known as: I am loved by a generous God who delights in fulfilling my dreams :)
Missed the other Europe entries? Here they are: WYD1, WYD2, WYD3, WYD4, Madrid, Geneva, Paris, Vienna

This time three months ago, I just got home after an amazing two weeks in a place I only dreamed of going to. It’s been three months, but sometimes it felt like a dream, and sometimes it hits me out of the blue that I still can’t believe it happened. To me.

Every time I pray in the morning, I look back at my journal entries for this year and I smile every time I see my prayers for Europe in my handwriting. Please bring us to WYD. Please let us go to Madrid. Please give us our visa. Please help us fix our papers. Please give us airfare. Please, please, please bring us to Europe. Blessed John Paul II, pray for us. So many prayers, so many masses, so many sacrifices. And God was generous enough to hear it and give it to us. To me.

I still don’t know what I did to deserve all of it.

Back when I was still fixing my documents for my visa, I was planning to submit this essay to answer this question in the information sheet: Why do you want to attend WYD 2011? They said we can attach extra pages if needed, so I thought of writing a longer explanation, even if I never really got to submit it. I was reading through it earlier while thinking of this entry and I thought I would share the last paragraph:

I’d like to believe that this time, I’m better prepared to go to WYD. Maybe the “no” I thought God told me before wasn’t really a “no” but really a “wait”. I learned during my job hunt a few years ago that God sometimes makes us wait before He gives us what we ask for because He wants us to experience His blessings in a fuller sense, as well as prepare us in all aspects so we would be able to receive the blessing well. This time, I think I am more financially able to support myself for WYD, I am more prepared in terms of requirements, I have more focus and I have a bigger reason to attend this event. It may not be as big or as noble as others, but I’d like to believe that God delights in His people when they go out of their comfort zones and try reaching higher than they ever reached before, and this is me doing just that. Maybe this time, God will finally give me a “Yes.”

What a humongous YES that was, don’t you think? :) It’s been three months, and I’m surprised I’m still having a hard time writing about this because I should have digested it all now. I should have. But I still get overwhelmed with just how good God is. How awesome and how generous He is. And how blessed I am to be loved by such a good and generous God.

There’s really no doubt about it — my Europe trip could not be possible if it weren’t for God’s generosity. And when you know and believe and have seen that fact, how can you even say no to Him?

It’s been three months since Europe, and I still say thank You to Him. I also thank Him for new friends, new brothers and sisters and for all the experiences I had on that amazing two weeks. I know that maybe five, ten years from now (or even next year), there will probably be some other experience that will top this one (especially since I know God delights in surprising His children!), but I will never ever forget these amazing two weeks in August when I was drenched in God’s awesome grace and generosity. I dared to dream and He just didn’t dare to give — He gave SO much that I cannot help but be blown away. If He can grant a dream like this, can you imagine what else He is willing to give?

So as I end my Europe series, allow me to quote Lifehouse and say sing: Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? :)

I am loved by a God who delights in making dreams come true.

And He loves you, too. :)

Firmes en la fe (WYD Chronicles, Part 4 of 4)

Tina 3 Comments

Also known as: The overnight vigil that challenged our faith
* Here’s part 1, part 2 and part 3 if you want to keep up with the entire story :)

As of this post, it’s been a month since I was in Spain and I was a part of World Youth Day 2011. I won’t even wonder how fast time flies.

So, the World Youth Day activities culminate with an overnight vigil at some big place with all the delegates. This ends with a mass with the Holy Father the following day, with his address and the announcement of where the next WYD will be. I’ve been looking forward to the vigil because of the things I heard from those who came from Sydney: they say it’s going to be a night of prayer, with adoration chapels and confession all around. I wasn’t really expecting it to be easy, but I guess I wasn’t expecting it to be hard, either.

Funny how God challenges these expectations and then blows them all away.

Literally.

So for the first time since the WYD activities started, we got to sleep in that morning since there was no more Catechism. That gave us permission to stay up later that night and run a load of laundry and bond with our host. The next morning, we had a full breakfast again (and wow, was it a big one!) to get us ready for the vigil. Our host mom also arrived that day and she made us eat (again!), and we got to rest a bit more while we got ready to go out.

Truth be told, we were all kind of wary about heading out in the Madrid summer heat. The hottest temperature the previous day was 41 C, and we were supposed to head off to Cuatro Vientos, the venue for the vigil, at around 2, when it was usually the hottest time of the day. Ah well, but it’s not like we can’t go, right?

So we went.

Read More