Monday Inspiration: March 21, 2016

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Image by Tiffany Mitchell

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Greetings! Ready to not only survive Monday but to thrive on Monday?

It’s Holy Week and officially spring.

SPRING!!!

*Spring*

(Spring)

Spring make us feel like no other season. Autumn is cozy and romantic. I love it. However, there is something about fresh new air, soft rains and flowers. Rebirth is moving. Life is emerging. Spring will probably always be my favorite; it’s also my favorite because I am a spring baby. Spring and I have a special bond. It feeds my bohemian, free-spirit.

I remember being on my dad’s bike. There was one particular spring day when it started raining, and we rode past a bunch of blooming daffodils. I was in kindergarten, and he would ride with me on his bike and take me to school. Spring always reminds me of that. A blur of soft rain and bright yellow flowers.

Spring makes me want to shed the blazers and dark tights. I just want to sit on a dock by a lake, barefoot. *with no splinters, of course, in my perfect imaginary world*

More days in nature, and more sunshine (now that the days are longer) will give life to our souls, in the upcoming weeks. This week, let the beauty and life move you. I hope this week marks something new and different being born in your life. Let all things become new. Let life as you know it change.

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“I am made and remade continually. Different people draw different words from me.” Virginia Woolf, The Waves

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“I think there comes a time when you meet someone, and you just want to make them smile for the rest of your life.”
Anonymous

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“I looked across the expanse of my shame, the ocean of disobedience, Christ took my hands and said ‘This is not for you to see; look to Me.’ I did, and I was made new.”

– T.B. LaBerge // Go Now

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“When you pray,
your prayers are heard
by the same God who
answered Moses’ prayer
for water in the desert,
the God who gave Abraham
and his barren wife a son,
and the God who made
the slave Joseph second
in power only to Pharaoh.”
73/365 reasons to pray | Francis Chan

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“If we are amazed by the stars and all the wonders of nature, can we not also be moved to tears by the grand composition that God is doing to us?”

T.B. LaBerge // Go Now

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Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
Leviticus 19:2

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“She doesn’t want to hear that she is flawless. She wants to hear that she is loved, regardless of the flaws.”
charmingwinds

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Step out in faith. Don’t be afraid to let God reshape you. May we be reborn each day. 

And remember, “These moments… are not to be despised. They come too seldom.” [Quote by Virginia Woolf]

[Images from Tumblr]

Sunday Girl: March 20, 2016

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By: Gabriela Yareliz

Semana Santa (Holy Week) begins. Easter weekend is coming. Easter and Passover always reminds me that God can do and does the impossible. It’s a reminder of His crazy love for us; a reminder that redemption has been completed; a reminder to rest in His provision and leading.

I haven’t been resting much, literally, (I need more ZZZs)– so the plan is to rest a lot this week. Time to take it easy and focus on health. Better sleep; better eating; and retraining and working out.

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Bring out your best Easter dress. I love wearing pastel colors this time a year, no matter how cold it is.

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Yesterday,  it was chilly as I was walking with some new friends. One of them said, “It’s like spring came and left, and now, winter came back and said, ‘Screw you!'” It feels that way. But I walked past an Episcopal Church with a blossom tree in full bloom, (I know that’s not the real name, sue me. I don’t know my trees. It was the one with the pink flowers…), and it inspired hope in me. We are almost there.

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I hope you rest and find some magic this weekend.

This week, I was reading a lot about God and His name, I AM.

When Moses came across the burning bush that was not consumed and received his calling, God told him that I AM was sending him and was with Him. God is so powerful and amazing that the only thing that can define Him is Himself, explains David Limbaugh. I love this thought; especially now, as we approach Passover. Whatever you are going through, whatever you are facing, know that I AM has called you. I AM is with you. Remember that. He has seen your current situation and will lead you out of it.

Find your peace.

I am planning to.

Rest in I AM, this beautiful Sunday.

“But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you… I AM WHO I AM.” Exodus 3: 12 and 14

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PS. As you rest, check out the new pages on the Blog Roll. The Anthropologie Blog is new. The first three photos from the post are from Anthropologie, and the others from Tumblr.

Check out the other new addition, undrthepvmnt, a new creative project piloted by a friend of mine. I hope to be collaborating soon with my friend and having some of my photography on his page. Show your support!

PSS. Bringing this classic back: Rather Be

/If you gave me a chance I would take it, it’s a shot in the dark but I’ll make it/

XOXO

[Images from Anthropologie and Tumblr]

Friday Glee: March 18, 2016

“Compassion and dialogue are essentially vulnerable positions. If you are into control and predictability, you will seldom descend into the weakness of listening or the scariness of dialogue. You will not only be incapable of hearing others, but you will also be incapable of hearing God. How we do anything is usually how we do everything. If we spend all day controlling and blocking others, why would we change when we kneel to pray?”
John Feister, Hope Against Darkness

Happy Friday!

While You Wait

Bringing this little gem back, again. People have been reading it a lot lately. It’s back by popular demand.

Gabriela Yareliz's avatarGABRIELA YARELIZ

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By: Gabriela Yareliz

Waiting is one of the worst feelings. I remember when I was a kid, when I knew my friend Liz was coming to visit, I would sit by the window and wait. That was always a terrible idea because she and her family always arrived later than planned. I would sit by the window, watching intently; get frustrated; eventually walk away; then, I would be mad for a while; I would annoy my parents with questions, and then, I would try to distract myself by setting up doll houses or American Girl Magazines I wanted us to read through together and the quizzes we would take once she arrived.

No matter how mad I was during the wait, when they [she and her family] arrived, I was so happy. The pain of the wait was forgotten. We would hug upon her arrival, go off and play and use up every minute wisely…

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Women’s Month: Maryam Rostampour & Marziyeh Amirizadeh

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[Image from World Mag]

By: Gabriela Yareliz

How many of us believe something so strongly that we’d die for it? How many of us have an integrity that allows us to stare death in the face and not flinch?

Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh met in 2005, while studying theology in Turkey.

After completing their studies, they returned to their native Iran and began spreading Christianity. This is a crime punishable by death in Iran. They passed out Bibles to at least 20,000 people and helped home churches grow.

In 2009, both women were arrested in Tehran and sentenced to execution by hanging. Both spent 259 days in the notorious Evin Prison. This prison is known for its torture, rapes and executions. Both women were interrogated for nine hours at a time, each week, and they were often placed in solitary confinement. While in solitary confinement, they would pray for each other.

The women turned the prison into a place of healing, and they shared their faith with fellow prisoners. They would sing and share with the other prisoners how God’s presence was there with them.

Some prisoners scoffed and asked the women why they didn’t just renounce their faith. Denying their beliefs would have gotten them out of prison.

Marziyeh said, “Our insistence on our faith is not our stubbornness… He [God] is my all. We are inseparable. My life has no value without Him. I love God so much that denying Him would be denying my own existence…”

Later in 2009, the worldwide church engaged in prayer and spread awareness, and as a result, international pressure mounted. The women were then cleared of all charges and released.

Both women are the writers of Captive in Iran. Why are they featured, you might ask? These women have an integrity that defied even death. Their faithfulness to their belief served to promote, not only their faith, but the concept of freedom of conscience, which is a human right and fundamental part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And in the end, their faith and the faith of others led to their miraculous release.

What mattered the most was clear to them. They made an unbreakable vow. Their courage is memorialized in their famous words, “It was an honor for both of us to suffer for our faith.” 

#ThatShahLife

[A special thanks to David Limbaugh, who featured this story in his book, Jesus on Trial, pg. 101-103].

Radiance

“Undaunted radiance is not built on anything passing but on the love of God that nothing can alter.” Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest: March 7

“Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.” Ps. 34:5

I want to be undauntedly radiant.

Monday Inspiration: March 14, 2016

“Beauty is fleeting, but a rent-controlled apartment overlooking the park is forever.” Carrie Bradshaw

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I walked 10.17 miles, on Sunday. You can think of me as a champion, a crazy woman– or both. Have your pick. But it felt good. The day was cloudy and fresh, and I was walking around in a t-shirt. What more can I ask for after a bundled-up winter? Seriously. It’s time to burn the leggings. #Freetheleg

Last summer, I was blessed to get a fantastic and sunny apartment in New York City. A rare treasure. Yes, I do realize how blessed I am. You can read that interesting story, here.

Anyway, the thing is I have been in the slow process of furnishing my space. On Sunday, I went out with a friend to look at furniture and décor ideas. And suddenly, in the midst of our conversation which ran the gamut– relationships to rugs– it dawned on me how time flies.

I think that in life, we often find ourselves waiting for something to happen that is out of our control. We are like, “Okay, I will go on this trip when [insert lame excuse, here]”; “Maybe, I will buy this when I get married or have a family,” or “Once I get this part of my life straightened out, I will do [insert cool idea, here].”

Why are we always waiting? There is wisdom and virtue in certain types of waiting. I am not against that. But still, there are so many dreams or ideas we have pegged on an elusive, future false sense of security or on a person or something that hasn’t arrived to our lives yet, and there are no guarantees.

Life is short. Realistically speaking, there are many things we could lose in the blink of an eye, at any stage of our lives. But that is what life is about: living with risks, taking risks, seizing opportunities.

Why wait, when there are things in your life you are sure of? (And I mean that you are sure that they matter to you; because maybe other aspects of the situation are ambiguous). Time runs through our fingers like sand. If you want something or someone, go for it.

Don’t wait until next year to chase that dream. Work now, and have it come true next year. Don’t put off something waiting for someone else; do it for you. And most of all, know your worth. Make decisions based on the fact that you are a gem and a child of God.

To my single people: Being unmarried, often means you will have to make tough decisions alone. You’ll have to build your own world and do things that maybe you envisioned doing with someone else, initially. Decide. Do it. Build.

My message to you this week is that I hope you do something that takes you closer to your dreams. (Yes, buy those floral sheets that make you feel like Marie Antoinette. Who cares what anyone else thinks!) Don’t just build your world; build an empire, and build it around the things that matter most.

And remember:

“Being single used to mean that nobody wanted you. Now it means you’’re pretty sexy, and you’’re taking your time deciding how you want your life to be and who you want to spend it with.” Carrie Bradshaw

Shall we let the Monday fun begin?

I’m feeling bold. Yes.

#ThatShahLife

xoxo

Friday Glee: March 11, 2016

By: Gabriela Yareliz

“God, finish the work you started in me before I got in the way.” Hannah Brencher

“As you move forward in pursuing your passion and dreams for the future, don’t forget to be grateful for the many ways God has already shaped your life. It’s absolutely necessary for living and leading with passion!” @PropelWomen

“Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right.” Charles Spurgeon

“I am not afraid… I was born to do this.” Joan of Arc

“God is not only more powerful than anything you’ve done but also stronger than anything ever done to you.” Christine Caine

[Inspiration from @PropelWomen]

Women’s Month: Priyanka Chopra

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[Image from People Magazine]

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Yes, Priyanka Chopra is one of the highest paid actresses in Bollywood (and one of the best, if you ask me). She is also a go-getter, singer, producer, and philanthropist; an inspiration to millions of Indian and non-Indian women, alike.

Ms. Chopra is the recipient of the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honor in India. She has won countless film awards, and she is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She was also Miss. World in 2000.

She has advocated for the rights of children, and through her writing, columns and interviews, she has been vocal about women’s rights, women’s safety, women’s right to education, the injustice and dangers of female genital mutilation, and the need for gender pay equality.

Ms. Chopra is also the founder of The Priyanka Chopra Foundation for Health and Education.

She is educated, informed, a cross-over actress and singer, striving to make it globally (she currently stars on ABC’s Quantico, and when I see the ad around NYC, I internally cheer). More importantly, she is not just a pretty face. She has proven to be an advocate for girls and young women, globally. She inspires me.

This is what using your blessings to bless others looks like. Priyanka will continue to mesmerize, advocate, achieve and inspire.