Tag: Day #1

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I was tagged by the lovely and inspiring Cinderzena blog to do the Three Days, Three Quotes tag.

Here is my Day #1 quote:

“After the prayer is made, if the answer is not realized immediately, do not weary of waiting and become unstable. Waver not. Cling to the promise, ‘Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.’ Like the importunate widow, urge your case, being firm in your purpose. Is the object important and of great consequence to you? It certainly is. Then waver not, for your faith may be tried. If the thing you desire is valuable, it is worthy of strong, earnest effort. You have the promise; watch and pray. Be steadfast and the prayer will be answered; for is it not God who has promised? If it costs you something to obtain it you will prize it the more when obtained. You are plainly told that if you waiver you need not think you shall receive anything of the Lord. A caution is here given not to become weary, but to rest firmly upon the promise. If you ask, He will give you liberally and upbraid not.” Prayer, by Ellen G. White, pg. 80 (citing Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 2, pg. 131).

So, for all of you out there praying about something special, don’t grow weary, but stand firm on His promises.

I think I am supposed to tag someone on each day… (Hopefully, I am not doing this wrong!). I tag the wise CandidKay, if she wants to participate. Her blog is always full of wisdom. Check it out!

XOXO

Reflections Before Bedtime #72

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I was catching up on podcasts, and I *so* enjoyed listening to one of my favorites, BBC: World Have Your Say. I love hearing the diverse guests call in and comment on interesting international topics. I was listening to Egypt Protests Five Years On.

It took me back to five years ago: I was at The Hub, a lounge and food court type area at The University of Florida. I had rushed from a journalism class to go to the lounge and watch Al-Jazeera, live from Tahrir Square, when Mubarak stepped down. It was just me and like three international students from the Middle East watching the screen. Isn’t it crazy to think of how time flies? Do you remember something historic you lived through or observed? It’s interesting to remember…

According to a BuzzFeed quiz, I am an ancient soul. Sometimes, we take these ridiculous quizzes that tell us what we already know. I always cringe when I hear that, but I know it’s true. I feel old. I am not, but inside, I feel like I have lived 100 years. It irks me, but with every year that goes by, I accept it more and more.

My friend pointed out that I was listening to this podcast for fun in my spare time. Hmmm… Somethings don’t change over time, just like many countries didn’t change after the Arab Spring. The young journalism student who found inexplicable joy in getting to the library early to grab a new, glossy copy of The Economist, still listens to BBC for fun and scans the magazine rack for Foreign Policy. *Sigh* I am hopeless, at this point.

The truth is, I was young enough to watch the protests in Egypt while in college, but my soul was old enough to care.

 

Eyes on You

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Today, I was studying the passage in 2 Chronicles 20, when Jehoshaphat receives news that there are armies coming to kill him and take the kingdom of Judah.

In verse 2 he was told, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom…” We often receive this kind of warning in our lives, whether it be in the physical or spiritual realm (or both). Bad news. Bad news comes, often. Verse 3 tells us Jehoshaphat was alarmed (naturally so). And verse 4 says he and the people of Judah came together and decided to seek the Lord. They knew exactly where to go.

Jehoshaphat then prayed a memorable prayer, and ended it with a beautiful line in verse 12: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You [God].” He looked to the one who could keep him in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3-4).

The Lord answered through Jahaziel saying: “This is what the Lord says to you, ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the vast army. For the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow, march down against them…You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out and face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.'” (v. 15-17).

The Lord fought for them, and verse 30 says, “And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.” 

I pray that this week, as we face: bad news, anxiety, pain, and all this sinful world offers, that we may know where to go; that we may say “we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You,” O Lord.

The absence of fear comes from trust in an Extraordinary Love.

The righteous will not be moved because they rest in His hands. Our battles will glorify our Father in heaven who gives us victory, and more importantly, the stories are memorialized in the books in heaven. Through Him, we overcome.

The enemy flees from the name of Him in whom we trust.

Our eyes, God, are on You.

 

 

Monday Inspiration: February 15, 2016

“To heal is to touch with love that which was previously touched by fear.” Stephen Levine

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Happy week to all of you, my fellow cold survivors. I had an amazing dinner on Saturday night. As we were walking outside, we checked the weather, and it was below zero temperatures. Craziness. It was so cold. It brought a whole new meaning to that stupid song that says, “I can’t feel my face when I’m with you.” #MillennialTakeOver #ColdHasUsNumb

They say, “Summer is a state of mind.” It’s summer right now, wherever you are. Make it summer. For my Australian readers, it’s actually summer… Anyway. Enough weather and hemisphere confusion. Greetings from NYC. The cold has our cheeks rosy, and we look related to the Michelin Man. That’s all you have to know.

This week, I was thinking about the mysteries of life. We often come to a point where we understand, perhaps, very little.

Life is like art. It’s not always meant to be understood, just experienced, and that experience changes you.

There is a verse that has kept coming up in my readings that says: “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings to search things out.” Proverbs 25:2.

While chapter 25 is an interesting chapter with many treasures and counsel, I like this thought of searching things out.

Oftentimes, the only person worthy of keeping or obtaining something is the one who sacrifices time and effort to search it out. Herein lies his glory and merit. Action. Risk. Determination. Recognition of worth.

Love is quite the theme this month. Continuing with that theme, this is a reminder, as we live out this week, that “perfect love drives out all fear.” Love unfolds for the persistent, the believer, the sincere, the one who is willing to go search it out.

xoxo.

And in other news…

Leyla Milani and her husband Manny Khoshbin announced her pregnancy with this photo!

image

Bun in the oven!! Too cute. Congrats to the Khoshbins!! I love seeing women who prioritize family and the people they love. Love is the most important thing of all. It never fails.

And now, some thoughts for every occasion and heart in this season:

“In your light, I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest like no one sees you-but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art.” Rumi

“When God says no, it can be heartbreaking, suffocating and something that will cause you to examine your entire life. But it is also for a greater good, a good that has not been seen by our eyes, a good that has not been touched by our hands, a good that will ultimately bring glory to Christ and a good that will ultimately bring about restoration to ourselves. For now, it’s okay to mourn and cry out; Christ understands the pain of rejection more than anyone in all of existence.”
T.B. LaBerge // Jesus, His Grace and the Gospel (via tblaberge)

“To love is not to be fragile; it is to be unlocked and open. And when something is open, other things can come in.”
Susan Meissner, Secrets of a Charmed Life (via wordsnquotes)

“I wish with all my heart that things were different — someday soon they will be. And now I know what was meant by ‘to say goodbye is to die a little’ — because when I walked away from you that last time and saw you standing there so darling did I die a little in my heart.”
— Humphrey Bogart’s first letter to Lauren Bacall

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” 1 Corinthians 13:7-8

This week, lay fear aside, and choose to love.

[Image from @LeylaMilani]

Believe

“We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.” C.S. Lewis

cinderella2015

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I believe in God; innocence; being noble; the magic of providence; the small; the glow of nature; simplicity; the kiss of sunshine; honour; friendship; honesty; kindness; hope; friendly critters; joy; walking through rain; maps; spring; rooms full of books; smiles; flowers, lots of flowers; laughter; heat; sitting in trees; beauty; surprises; letters; miracles and love.

Believe and hold on to all of the good. Believe, always believe. See the beauty in what others call the ordinary. Be you. Never change that. “Have courage and be kind,” and shine.

“Would who she was, who she really was, be enough? There was no magic to help her this time. This is perhaps the greatest risk that any of us will take, to be seen as we truly are. Have courage and be kind.” Cinderella (2015)

“Hold fast to kindness, your light shines forever and ever.” ‘Strong,’ performed by Sonna Rele