Eyes On You

By: Gabriela Yareliz Welcome to another day. A new variant. A new state of emergency. More fear being vomited onto us. (If only we reacted to it as the vomit that it is). That’s what seems to be heaped on us, like a bad record on repeat. It’s the day after the worst day ofContinue reading “Eyes On You”

A Moment in the Mirror

By: Gabriela Yareliz No two Thanksgivings were the same for me, growing up. Maybe it was all the moving around. I don’t know. We had some great ones in Florida, maybe three years in a row we had Thanksgiving at some church friends’ house. They would invite more or less the same group. We ateContinue reading “A Moment in the Mirror”

Nourishment for Hard Times

By: Gabriela Yareliz Where We Are What does it look like to confront moments of uncertainty? We all do it, day after day. I was listening to a doctor on a podcast who is temporarily staying in Harlem, and she was talking about how there is a depressive cloud over NYC. The subways are silent.Continue reading “Nourishment for Hard Times”

Freedom, Faith and Virtue

By: Gabriela Yareliz I had the opportunity to listen to Eric Metaxas the other day, through a livestreamed event about his latest book, Is Atheism Dead? His discussion was on freedom, faith and virtue, and how they are all intertwined. Metaxas has written many best selling books, including one on William Wilberforce, Amazing Grace: WilliamContinue reading “Freedom, Faith and Virtue”

What a Revolutionary Is Made Of

“Sometimes, the greatest safety can be found in taking the right risk. Whether it be an individual, a community or a country, when faced with tragedy or fearful uncertainty, we either become bigger and enter life more fully, or else we accept a diminished life and resign ourselves to a smaller way of being.” MichaelContinue reading “What a Revolutionary Is Made Of”

Carried Home

By: Gabriela Yareliz Recently, my fiancé (yes– you read that right!) and I were driving back from a farm outside of the city. Taconic State Parkway, y’all. Unwillingly crawling our way back into Gotham City. It was late, and it’s a dark highway. The only thing illuminating those narrow, dark winding roads was the occasionalContinue reading “Carried Home”

A Lesson from Jesus’ Selections

By: Gabriela Yareliz Something that has truly impressed me about the series The Chosen is how alive the characters are. They stand before us in their flawed and relatable humanity. Sometimes, when we read Scripture or we have read certain stories over and over again, we see these characters as kind of flat. We missContinue reading “A Lesson from Jesus’ Selections”

Company

“Let me keep my distance, always, from those who think they have answers. Let me keep company always with those who say, ‘Look!’ and laugh in astonishment and bow their heads.” Mary Oliver, “Mysteries, Yes” We all want answers. It’s our human desire. This desire impacts how we communicate with one another. I have foundContinue reading “Company”

Some Gave All

By: Gabriela Yareliz When I was young, I had a little bear that was dressed in a military uniform. I called him Lieu-teddy, short for lieutenant. My dad gave him to me when he was training to join the Air Force. I believed that if I squeezed him hard enough, my dad, out in training,Continue reading “Some Gave All”

Round with Mystery

By: Gabriela Yareliz We don’t always have things figured out before we start. Sometimes, all we have is a question. Beth Kempton talks about this in her summer writing course. I get that, and yet, we often foolishly want to have things figured out, a map charted, a path paved. We like neat little thingsContinue reading “Round with Mystery”