Expect miracles.
“¿Cómo se manifiesta el amor a Dios? Por el amor al hombre. Para encontrar la paz en los cielos, es preciso encontrar el amor en la tierra.” Paulo Coelho
“How does one manifest love toward God? By loving man. To find peace in the heavens, one must find love on Earth.” Paulo Coelho
By: Gabriela Yareliz
I left my house and felt something was different. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, until I reached the intersection, while I was waiting to cross. I wasn’t wearing leggings; that was it! In the winter, leggings become a second skin, if you will. I wear leggings under everything. The reason: warmth.
It felt like a spring day, and I could feel my jeans on my legs. I could feel the denim. I felt strangely free and different. It was a feeling I hadn’t felt in months. One of those feelings you can’t just describe to understand– it just has to be experienced.
It made me think about love. We have our ideas about love; not all those ideas are wrong. We have our ideas as to how love arrives, and how it will make us feel. We long for love to arrive, just as we long for spring to warm us after a long winter. Love melts us like sunshine. It doesn’t always arrive as expected, and in fact, it may take you by surprise. You just need to live it to understand it.
Love is an action word. Love frees us. There is friction, sometimes. Surprises, too. Mostly, we realize that everything has changed; not because every little thing has changed but because we are seeing the world through a different lens. We feel something is different. We can’t put our finger on it, until we can. It then hits us. Hits us hard.
Love has a way of breaking us into little pieces and then putting us back together. It makes us feel whole; fragile but strong; ideal; at peace; safe.
Maybe, love isn’t what I had expected all along. Maybe it broke me and made a mosaic. Maybe, it surprised me. Maybe, I had to realize that I had what I thought I had been waiting for.
Love. It is as real as my jeans touching my skin on a late winter day. At first, I was a bit confused, but then, when I realized what was going on, it made me feel free and everything was different.
By: Gabriela Yareliz
It’s a new week!
Diverse trials and perhaps exhaustion awaits some of us, this week. If you are already looking at your week, and your eye is twitching– here is a word for you:
“But now, says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.'” (Isaiah 43:1-2).
“Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you… fear not… for I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on dry ground; I will pour my spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. I am the first and the last; besides me there is no God. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not of any.” (Isaiah 44:2-3, 6,8).
As I have been chatting with friends about life, our struggles, and our desires– our conversation has turned to the topic of prayer. This week, if you are going through something (we all have needs and burdens that weigh heavy on our hearts), I encourage you to be as Augustine’s mother. I was reading about her, and how she prayed for God to impact the life of her son. I read that even as she did not see the answer to her prayers, she was not discouraged. Instead, what she did was she prayed God’s promises found in the Bible. She presented “before God His own words.” (5T 322). “Her deep humiliation, her earnest importunities, her unwavering faith, prevailed, and the Lord gave her the desire of her heart. Today, He is just as ready to listen to the petitions of His people. His ‘hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear…'” Id.
This week, if there is someone or something you are praying about, do not waver. Press forward, and present before God His own words.
This week, let us reflect on what is in our hearts. I keep reminding myself that it is not my job to transform the ugliness or flaws I find within me. It is my job to simply submit my heart to God, and He will cleanse me. He is that potter that molds until He sees a masterpiece.
God doesn’t make ordinary things or write plain little stories. He makes and writes masterpieces.
Here are some quotes that I found inspiring in my weekend reading. I hope you find something to hold on to and meditate on as your life unfolds this week.
Happy week! Let’s rock.
“It is only through Christ that Satan’s power is limited. This is a momentous truth that all should understand. Satan is busy every moment, going to and fro, walking up and down the earth, seeking whom he may devour. But the earnest prayer of faith will baffle his strongest efforts. Then take ‘the shield of faith,’ brethren, ‘wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked'” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, 294
“He [God] orders everything in righteousness, and we are not to be dissatisfied and distrustful, but to bow in reverent submission. He will reveal to us as much of His purposes as it is for our good to know; and beyond that we must trust the hand that is omnipotent, the heart that is full of love.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, 301.
“Those who talk faith and cultivate faith will have faith, but those who cherish and express doubts will have doubts.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, 302.
“Do not show distrust of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Do not for a moment pain the heart of the pitying Saviour by your unbelief.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, 316.
“[God] is pleased with the faith that takes Him at His word.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, 322.
Go. Conquer.
[Images from Tumblr and Pinterest]
By: Gabriela Yareliz
And so, that is what I have learned; that when you love someone, you never give up on them. Because, “love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” 1 Corinthians 13: 7-8
By: Gabriela Yareliz
[Adapted from an earlier conversation with Feliz about love and the people we choose to care about and build with…]
There’s a ‘you’ and a ‘me.’
Together, these become ‘we.’
And given the chance– I think we would be pretty amazing.
[Image from Tumblr]
By: Gabriela Yareliz
Today, we mourn the assassination of a great indigenous rights and environmental rights champion and activist, Berta Cáceres.
She is known for her tireless work to bring awareness to important issues. She was co-founder of the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations in Honduras and the 2015 winner of the Goldman Prize, the most prestigious grass-roots award dedicated to those working to preserve the environment. She won this award for her work and campaign against the powerful dam builder at Agua Zarca. Her work organized and empowered the Lenca people.
Earlier today, the Honduran activist was shot in her home. She had been receiving threats, and today, her life was cut short.
She worked arduously to help protect lands and territories that belonged to the indigenous community in Honduras. She fought inequality and human rights violations.
Cáceres is a woman who embodies a lot of what I believe makes women so special. She was a woman who loved people, and she worked to better those people’s lives. She worked insatiably, with determination and passion; passion that drove her to continue her work boldly, in what is called the most dangerous country in the world (Honduras). She had the type of passion that burns fear and lights a path for those who follow.
I love the way Amazon Watch paid tribute to her, and I repeat it here: Berta Cáceres rests in power.
Starting in high school:
Then, came college:
“I met the woman I desperately wanted to marry […] I am very aware of how good it is when life is good, and I try to celebrate that because I am very well aware of the times that life isn’t so good.”
“From the first day I met Amal, I began preparing for the most important phase in my life. For me there is no greater joy in the world than the idea that we’re going to stay together. Never did I ever dream that I would have such a beautiful, successful and fulfilling life and also be able to find a woman as wonderful as Amal.”
George Clooney being adorable. The Clooneys, America’s royalty.
[Images from E! and NY Daily News]
By: Gabriela Yareliz
First day of March! March is Women’s Month, and throughout the month, I like to feature notable women who marked history, show boldness, take up action or causes, or minister to people in a special way.
The first woman I want to feature is one my mother told me about, Katharina von Bora. I hadn’t heard much about her, except an anecdote. Haven Today, a great podcast and radio show, featured her, and I learned a lot about her.
Katharina von Bora was a former nun. Not just any former nun, but a former nun who married a former monk; a monk by the name of Martin Luther
She was convinced of Protestant belief by Martin Luther’s tracts, and as a result, she and some other fellow nuns escaped the convent they belonged to.
Luther began marrying off the nuns to good Christian men, but he couldn’t convince Katharina to marry any of her many suitors. Katharina had a better idea…
She basically made it known that she wouldn’t marry anyone but Martin Luther. (The woman knew what she wanted– and can you blame her?!) Luther was concerned about whether he’d be able to provide for her, but he ended up convinced that marrying her would be a great idea. (He would get into in-depth Biblical theology discussions with her. The best kind of relationships stem from friendship.) When they married, von Bora was 26 and Luther was 41.
Katharina was a pillar in Luther’s life. He always acknowledged her and treated her as an equal, and he included her in his journey, physical and spiritual. She made gardens and brought light into his life. She ministered to people all over town and cared for others. Both had cute, playful nicknames for each other and embodied the faith they professed.
Both were filled with wit, love and light. This household reflected, as Luther said, “Marriage is a school for character.”
One time, when Martin Luther was depressed, von Bora put on a black dress and stood in the doorway. Luther was alarmed and asked her Who died? She replied, God apparently, or Dr. Luther wouldn’t be so sad. (Paraphrase). This action and comment called Luther out of his darkness. She had a way of reaching him and uplifting him.
We often think of Martin Luther as the revolutionary, but he himself stated he would not have been the man he was without Katharina. Both revolutionized the world, together.
I love Katharina von Bora’s life story. She was decided, knew what she wanted, a Bible scholar in her own right, strong, caring, young and filled with beauty of character that flowed out of her and changed people’s lives. The month of March is all about women empowerment and inspiring ourselves to become the best women we can be.
Katharina’s life shows the power of a woman who is filled with faith, and how she can inspire and change the world.
[A special thanks to those involved in the Haven Today podcast! Information reflected here came from Professor Russ Reeves, of Providence Christian College in California, and Charles Morris, host of Haven Today.]
We are called to be holy and consecrated. But what does “holy” mean? I think the following quote illustrates holiness beautifully:
“Holiness is not rapture; it is an entire surrender of the will to God; it is living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God; it is doing the will of the Heavenly Father; it is trusting God in trial, in darkness, as well as in light; it is walking by faith not sight; it is relying on God with unquestioning confidence and resting in His love.” Acts of the Apostles, pg. 51, Ellen G. White
GABRIELA YARELIZ 