Reflections Before Bedtime #80

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“I knew when I met her that she was so extraordinary and special. And then, I wondered if I’d ever get a chance to date her.” George Clooney being adorable.

When I saw this quote of George Clooney gushing over his wife, I smiled. It’s not the first cute George Clooney quote I post. I love how he expresses himself when he talks about Amal. It’s every woman’s dream to be seen in her totality. To be seen as kind, beautiful, intelligent and “extraordinary.”

I leave you with Oscar Wilde’s words, “Never love anyone who treats you like you’re ordinary.”

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Reflections Before Bedtime #79

“It would be hung in attics, she thought; it would be destroyed. But what did that matter? she asked herself, taking up her brush again. She looked at the steps; they were empty; she looked at her canvas; it was blurred. With a sudden intensity, as if she saw it clear for a second, she drew a line there, in the center. It was done; it was finished. Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, I have had my vision.” To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf, pg. 208-209.

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By: Gabriela Yareliz

I just finished reading To the Lighthouse, this afternoon on the train. The suited guy next to me was asleep, and his head kept bobbing in my direction. I finished the last page, just as the train arrived to my stop.

What a curious book, yes? I read it with great intrigue to see if it was really “one of the two or three finest novels of the twentieth century,” as the back of the book suggests. And naturally, I am a sucker for anything Virginia Woolf. I love her internal monologues, the parties and social gatherings in her books, the social interaction and the reflection of how we perceive and tolerate each other; the analysis on the weird ways we can idolize one another and deceive ourselves; the role of women and creativity– and most of all, I love how she philosophizes about the passage of time and how she bases time passing on experience and not so much on chronology, as scholars suggest.

Woolf is very Henri Bergson. Bergson is famous for his thoughts on la durée (duration), meaning the passing of time is “intuitive and internal rather than external and material.” Time is psychological. (I am intrigued and want to get my hands on Bergson’s: Time and Free Will: An Essay on the Immediate Data of Consciousness, Bergson’s essay on free will, which was a response to Immanuel Kant’s theory of free will not existing, unless outside of time and space).

At one point in today’s train ride, half of the book’s characters died in probably less than a paragraph. I flipped to the back of the book to comfort myself in the fact that Lily Briscoe lives. Thank God, I thought, out of all of the fictional characters in this novel, Lily was the only one, other than Mr. Ramsey, whom I tolerated. She makes it to the end. Good, I thought. Scholars have analyzed the quote above, which is how the book ends.

I like the quote because of the language, which alludes to the Bible. “…it was finished,” is a symbol of death and miraculous resurrection, scholars say. More than that, I love how Lily Briscoe is concerned about her painting and what people will do with the art she has created. But then, at the end, she realizes it doesn’t matter because she had her vision. Her experience made it enough.

We make art as we live life, and I am not talking about just literal art but about the art of living. Our choices, thoughts, decisions, relationships, all that we build and tear down… the art of living. And often, we care too much about other’s perceptions and the value they will give to these things or aspects of our lives. Instead, we should be like Lily Briscoe, and realize that it’s about our journey and growth. “It was done; it was finished.” And I hope, that in the end, you can say that it’s all going to be okay; a resurrection is coming. I hope we can all say: I am satisfied. “I have had my vision.”

The Highest Place

“Without the cross, man could have no union with the Father. On it depends our every hope. From it shines the light of the Savior’s love, and when at the foot of the cross the sinner looks up to the One who died to save him, he may rejoice with fullness of joy, for his sins are pardoned. Kneeling in faith at the foot of the cross, he [the sinner] has reached the highest place to which man can attain.” Acts of the Apostles, 209.

Monday Inspiration: March 28, 2016

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By: Gabriela Yareliz

From a productive weekend to, what I hope will be, a productive week. Happy week. We begin anew.

Last week was absolutely dreadful and draining. Not sure how I survived it, but by the grace of God and my mother’s wisdom, I am still standing. It was a loud week; a headache-inducing, loud week. One of those weeks where you feel like Hillary Clinton, giving well-deserved side-eye.

Hillary Clinton Campigns In Iowa, Meeting With Small Business Owners

I loved Ms. HRC’s quote, saying, “When women talk, some people think we’re shouting.” I felt like that last week. Sometimes, it’s people’s perceptions that mess with our heads. Sometimes, it’s our own perceptions, too. But this week, I am coming into this hurricane with a different perspective. Oftentimes, we aren’t even doing anything wrong, but the lies we are told and how we choose to see ourselves makes all the difference.

 

April is just some days away. Let’s make the last of March count.

Below is some inspiration for the last days of March:

“Pray for the people God has put in your life. Let them occupy your thoughts and command your attention. Then, look for ways to flow the living water of Jesus’ love to them, as often as you can.”
T.M. Moore

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“Love the ones who have been given to you, and leave the ones who left in the past. We have a short time in this world, let’s not waste it on things that are not ours. Love actively, live in humility, and be a person who makes the most of each day we have.”
T.B. LaBerge // Go Now

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“Thirst was made for water; inquiry for truth.”
C.S. Lewis // The Great Divorce

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“Our vision is so limited we can hardly imagine a love that does not show itself in protection from suffering. The love of God is of a different nature altogether. It does not hate tragedy. It never denies reality. It stands in the very teeth of suffering. The love of God did not protect His own Son. The cross was the proof of His love- that He gave that Son, that he let Him go to Calvary’s cross, though ‘legions of angels’ might have rescued Him. He will not necessarily protect us- not from anything it takes to make us like His Son. A lot of hammering and chiseling and purifying by fire will have to go into the process.” Elisabeth Elliot

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“Within the three days that Christ was in the grave; The world mourned, Heaven prepared a throne-room for the Eternal King of Glory, and hell witnessed the collapse of its empire. Sometimes in the silence and sorrow of life, Christ is doing His greatest work.” T.B. LaBerge

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“Breathe fast with the sheer wonder of it.” C.S. Lewis

Marvel at the small miracles, this week. Don’t let them go unnoticed.

[Images from Tumblr]

Nietzsche’s “God on the Cross”

By: Gabriela Yareliz

This weekend, we celebrate God’s intervention in the universe to save humanity. I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to talk about something that is deeply important to me– the most important thing of all. It is what inspires my life, my writing, everything…

“Christianity is the only religion in which God suffers along with us.” Jesus on Trial, pg. 328, Limbaugh.

Jesus came to be a mediator. He reconciled us with God the Father. He took my guilt upon Him, so that I might have life.

Dr. Tony Evans preached that the Friday we call “Good Friday” was a dark day. The disciples saw Him, whom they knew to be Christ, crucified. All seemed finished– and then, came Sunday. Resurrection. Victory. Life. Authority. Power. Redemption.

Our victory comes from that blood that was shed. “By His wounds we are healed.”

“God wants to provide a mediator to redeem us because He loves us. He is not compromising His justice or His standards by providing Jesus to us as our mediator. To the contrary, by doing so, He has made possible our reconciliation to Him and our ability to have permanent loving relationship with Him without compromising His holiness.” Jesus on Trial, pg. 328, Limbaugh.

Today, I want us to see our lives through the lens of Christ’s sacrifice and ministry on our behalf. Christ’s victory and life is a reflection of the power and victory we can have, through Him, in our lives, today.

If you are having a bad day like Good Friday, as Dr. Evans preached, don’t forget that after Friday came resurrection Sunday. Friday did not have the last word. God did. And today, in your life, nothing and no one has the last word, except God.

Our choices and selfishness and the choices of others, plus life’s circumstances, bring about a lot pain, anxiety and suffering.

“For the real sting of suffering is not misfortune itself, nor even the pain of it or the injustice of it, but the apparent God-forsakenness of it. Pain is endurable, but the seeming indifference of God is not.” John Stott, The Cross of Christ, as cited in Jesus on Trial, pg. 329.

The way we see our circumstances changes when we come to the realization that God is always near. He has not forsaken us. Instead of forsaking us, God has paid the ultimate price and shown patient mercy.

“Where love is possible, there pain is also possible. Where resurrection is promised, there is also promise of tears wiped away. Heaven is the confirmation of our choice, to love Him and to be with Him. That is the hope of everyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal.” Ravi Zacharias

John Stott once said, “I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross. The only God I believe in is the One Nietzsche ridiculed as ‘God on the Cross.'” 

Tomorrow, as you see the sun rise and shine over you, remember the life and victory obtained on a certain Sunday that changed everything. Salvation is an open invitation to all. Everything has been paid.

If you are living a dreadful Friday filled with darkness, death and disappointment, remember that Sunday is near. Remember, God is near.

The only God I believe in is the One that left the tomb empty. He lives! And because He lives, I can face today, tomorrow and beyond. I know He is with me every step of the way. I know He cares. His hands were scarred for me. I can be cleansed from my sins and mistakes, only in His blood. He lives. “God on the cross” is my only hope.

I leave you with the words of the angel who was at Christ’s empty tomb: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen…” Matthew 28:5-6

Memories: Washington, D.C. & Maryland

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One hot summer day in the capital.

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Blerta and I were office mates. We were affectionately called, “The meanies.” In other words, don’t mess with us.

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This panel was so fantastic.

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Exploring Maryland with my host family.

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Mucho, the dog. We had an interesting relationship that summer.

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Wearing those Spain stripes.

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I love exploring cemeteries.

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Reuniting with Harshul for lunch.

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Annapolis for the Fourth of July!

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Women’s Month: Marion Cotillard

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By: Gabriela Yareliz

Women’s month is ending, and there are still so many women who inspire me that I want to showcase.

Today, I am choosing a woman who has been such an icon for me. She fascinates me because she is so raw. She has that “stunning” factor. And she uses that power to promote very important causes. I am talking about, the one and only, Marion Cotillard.

Cotillard is a songwriter, actress and super environmentalist. She is a spokesperson for Greenpeace.

She has probably won every film award in the U.S. and Europe. And if she hasn’t won all of them yet, she will. Ha. Something I love about her art is the emotion she brings into what she does. Watching her is bewitching, and the memory lasting. When she appears on a screen, things get real.

I remember an interview she did, years after her movie La Vie en Rose, and she spoke about how she came to deeply identify with Édith Piaf. The woman’s legacy almost haunted her soul, and when I read that, I remember thinking, Wow, she gives 200 percent in all that she does. It just shows. She has a rawness that is rare. It reminds me of how important it is to allow myself to feel whatever I am feeling. And to feel it intensely.

Cotillard has done several significant environmental film projects. Her work with Greenpeace has been extensive. She once traveled to Congo to visit tropical rainforests and support an awareness project. And in 2013, she famously locked herself in a cage in the Louvre to protest the imprisonment of 30 Greenpeace activists in Russia. She held her banner stating, “I am a climate defender.”

She contributed to a drawings book to support the environment, and she designed her own doll with UNICEF France, whose proceeds went to vaccinate children in Darfur.

She works with the Maud Fontenoy   Foundation, which teaches children to preserve the oceans. She is also involved in several campaigns aiming to preserve and spread awareness about the Amazon and its indigenous people. And she has contributed to the cause of children with autism.

Marion keeps busy with her efforts and projects involving the preservation of our unique and beautiful earth. She champions education, children’s health and the arts. She is all about life; whether it be plants, animals or humanity, itself.

If you have seen her Lady Dior commercials, you know she has a wickedly good sense of humor. She is always on the best dressed lists, and her short hair is always impeccable. She has conquered continents with her voice and the raw emotion she transmits through her gorgeous blue eyes.

She not only speaks, but she acts. And today, we celebrate her efforts and vulnerability. She continuously reminds us to respect and love beauty, nature, people– to love and celebrate life.