Walking around here is like walking through a thick stew. It’s warm, thick and pretty much spicy.
It’s the land where seashells crackle under our feet, where lizards come out to greet us, and where the sky, even after sunset, is drop-dead gorgeous. We almost envy the stars.
The salty air and swooshing waves remind us to go where fear dares not beckon. So much in life is about moving past pain and comfort. It’s about realizing that we have a purpose that goes beyond us, but also not allowing others to have undue influence and control. It’s about realizing that the stars in the deep blue shine for us. The dark night sounds and buzzing fade into a personal stillness.
In the hot, dreamy nights of summer, we find that life is waiting for us to shape it. It takes beating fear and finally being assertive about what we want. We then take our dreams and mix them into a medley with reality and the impossible that loves to wink at us and bolster our wings.
It is about seeing present sacrifices as small compared to great rewards; about holding a hand, even if it is just for a minute; about enjoying the rain even if it lasts all evening.
Such a sweet song. It’s as sweet as the heat that melts us like butter. Tonight, and forever after this, the world is ours, and the sea reminds us of our endless possibilities.
“Stop planting flowers in people’s yards who aren’t going to water them.” Unknown
By: Gabriela Yareliz
So much has happened. Life continues to change in delightful ways. Nostalgia grips; beginnings commence; and other things end. Moments of transition are so bittersweet. Regardless, moving forward is always something positive no matter how huge the growing curve ahead of one seems. When important things are achieved, less and less seems impossible.
Summer is sending us sunny days with cool breezes. Sidewalks bustle with curiosity, delight and frustration.
It’s time to take a break from the city hustle-bustle and move out to wide-open spaces, soft showers, and a silence that allows the rustle of the trees to be loud.
I was sitting out on the stoop the other evening. The breeze was perfect. It felt so human. Take a break from the routine this week, and be human.
I hope you have a wonderful start to your week. Make it a positive one. Do something that is extra summery this week. Embrace the season. Embrace life. Even though it’s Monday, take time to unwind. Find rest and something beautifully unexpected in God.
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” Jimi Hendrix
“Can you imagine the world if we only saw souls and not bodies?” Hedonist Poet
“Christ wrecks us, holds us and rebuilds us: it is the greatest blessing we can ever hope for.” T.B. LaBerge // Jesus, His Grace, and The Gospel.
“I have so much of you in my heart.” John Keats
“If, when no one is watching us, we are building ourselves up in the Word of God, then, when a crisis comes, we shall stand; but if we are not building on the Word of God, when a crisis comes we shall go down, no matter what our wills are like.”
Oswald Chambers
“We please Him most, not by trying to make ourselves good, but by throwing ourselves into His arms with all of our imperfections and believing that He understands everything–and still loves us.”
A.W. Tozer
“Man are mirrors, or ‘carriers’ of Christ to other men. Usually it is those who know him Who bring them to others. That’s why the church, The whole body of Christians shown him to one another, is so important. It is easy to think that the church has a lot different objects-education, building, missions, holding services… The church exist for nothing else but to draw all men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the Cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became man for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose.” C.S. Lewis
“In my deepest wound I saw your glory and it astounded me.” St. Augustine
“Some things don’t work out how we want them to, but in the end we get what we want, even though we didn’t know we wanted it all along.” Gabriela Yareliz
Why is it that we quickly forget our value and worth? This happens often when we have kind of pinned our worth on a person, position or thing or when we look around to compare ourselves to others.
We must stop looking for our worth to be reflected on us by something exterior that isn’t God. We have to stop apologizing for being unique. We need to stop measuring our worth with a plastic mini-ruler that can snap in three seconds.
“The price paid determines the value,” Dr. Tony Evans said.
God paid the ultimate price for us. Just like in Beauty and the Beast, love can change our ugliness and make us into the royalty we actually are, through Him. God’s love takes everything that is ugly in us, and He transforms us into who we should be. (Paraphrase of Dr. Tony Evans).
You don’t need to prove anything. God already paid a high price and determined that you are worth it.
It is in moments of transition that life asks us who we are, not who we want to be, but who we are in the present. Really, the present is all we have for sure.
This question of our identity can be scary, tricky, and sometimes confusing.
There is the part of us that may want to protect itself, another part that wants to please or rebel from others, a part that wants to conform to society or a particular group–but who are we when everything fades and our souls are still and breathing in pure solitude?
I have realized that:
If it weren’t for the risks, I wouldn’t be here.
If it weren’t for the support I have received from people who love me and believed in me, I wouldn’t be here.
If it weren’t for the tears that cleansed my soul, I wouldn’t be here.
If it weren’t for my stubborn determination to make it despite not taking the typical path or coming from the typical background, I wouldn’t be here.
If it weren’t for the times I put myself in uncomfortable situations that forced me to grow, I wouldn’t be here.
And above all, if it weren’t for God and His patience with my growing faith, I wouldn’t be here. He has an amazing plan.
The most unexpected things have happened. I have learned that life ends up being all about the people who surround you and the times you fight mano a mano (hand-to-hand) with fear and the bad that attempts to disarm you.
What has brought you to where you are? Where do you want to be? And what can you do now to get there?
May. It’s over. I can’t believe it. Law school. It’s over. I can’t believe it.
This month was so hardcore. So many emotions. It’s an end. It’s a beginning.
This month, I lost a friend and mentor to cancer. That was very tough and unexpected. Some unexpected things were bad, other unexpected things were good, very good. The month had its joy and sadness.
In other ways, the month was dreamy. Sometimes, it felt like I was walking a tightrope. Me, trying not to lose myself in a dreamy world with no time, and at the same time, trying not to fall into a pool of stressful realities. My feet touched the water on both sides, but alas, I think I am now safe on the tightrope, again. Or as safe as you can be on one, anyway.
The key, as always, is to be grateful in the state we are in.
I’ll embrace the hellos that June will bring, and I am making my goodbyes the best I could leave behind.
And to those I will see again– I’ll see you in a bit.
Let the summer adventures begin!
Bring it, June.
“Anxiety, heartbreak, and tenderness mark the in-between state. It’s the kind of place we usually want to avoid. The challenge is to stay in the middle rather than buy into struggle and complaint. The challenge is to let it soften us rather than make us more rigid and afraid.” Pema Chödrön
1] I found Suits to be a fantastic legal drama. Tardy to the party. Loving Harvey Specter. The 10 Things We Can Learn From Harvey Specter was interesting. There is a lot to learn from the charismatic dream attorney.
2]
“Nothing that has happened to you gets the final sentence on who you are. The final word is His, and His hands say everything.” J.S.
*Since this article, The Mindy Project was picked up by Hulu. I am still praying someone will pick up Cristela.
4]
“She was beautiful, but not like those girls in the magazines. She was beautiful, for the way she thought. She was beautiful, for the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved. She was beautiful, for her ability to make other people smile, even if she was sad. No, she wasn’t beautiful for something as temporary as her looks. She was beautiful, deep down to her soul.” F. Scott Fitzgerald
5] A friend shared this moving video, and I had to share.
Ink Talks: Singing in The Lifeboat
6] Loved this surprise, and Mayra Castillo’s work is fantastic. We may not be Ellen or Danilo, but let’s always take a moment to recognize those around us who inspire us.
7] Dancing Through the Ages: Dancing with the Stars
8] Val and Rumer winning the Mirror Ball Trophy. They were my team. Rumer inspired me so much about what it means to be uniquely yourself, and how we can find strength in vulnerability. Anything can happen.
I still can’t get enough of these two dancing…
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“When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability… To be alive is to be vulnerable.” Madeleine L’Engle
10] Always working on letting go of fear…
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“The best way to show people that God is everything we say He is – is for us to be everything He says we are. Become love.” Bob Goff
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“Do not settle for the first person who buys you dinner or for the person who says you look pretty, do not settle for the one who does not share your dreams but laughs at your jokes. Do not settle for attraction without depth, or good conversation with no intent to stay. Do not settle for charm when they do not value what you value, do not settle for convenience without love. Do not settle for a candle when you were taught to love the sun, do not settle because of time when you know that love is patient. Do not settle, please do not settle because there is someone out there who refuses to settle, and you are worth so much more than convenience and ease, you are worth a heart that fights for you.” T.B. LaBerge // Do Not Settle
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“Note to self: Don’t seek to be relevant, or liked, seek to be undeniable. Seek to be compassionate. Seek integrity. Seek humility. Seek Light.”
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“We need people in our lives with whom we can be as open as possible. To have real conversations with people may seem like such a simple, obvious suggestion, but it involves courage and risk.” Thomas Moore
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“But occasionally, love would cut in and open a door. It grew my heart. It embraced me in.
Love sees a greatness in someone who cannot see it in themselves.
Love keeps no record of wrongs. It hopes in all things, it does not rejoice in evil. It perseveres.” J.S. Park
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“Freedom and love go together. Love is not a reaction. If I love you because you love me, that is mere trade, a thing to be bought in the market; it is not love. To love is not to ask anything in return, not even to feel that you are giving something- and it is only such love that can know freedom.” Jiddu Krishnamurti
“Like a wild flower; she spent her days, allowing herself to grow, not many knew of her struggle, but eventually all; knew of her light.” Nikki Rowe
By: Gabriela Yareliz
The past few days have been filled with flowers, sunshine, computer screens, notebooks, friends– a whirlwind. Bar studying and other tensions have taken a front seat. And while life’s normal stresses linger, things are exciting and emotionally charged.
Bar prep has us like:
Studying and lectures:
Motivation for us all to enjoy the journey:
The weather is beautiful:
“I need Christ, not something that resembles Him.” C.S. Lewis
Happy Memorial Day weekend. Of course, on a day like today we remember those who have died while serving our great country. It’s also a day filled with BBQs, food, family and relaxing (something we can do because of those the day honors).
I hope my U.S. readers had a lovely and relaxing long weekend. And for those of you not in the U.S., I hope you had an inspiring and fun Monday back in the grind.
New York is hot, sticky and noisy. We are all out and about, children dancing in park fountains and dogs dragging their owners down the congested sidewalks. Winter has finally retreated, I think. I hope. Let’s just declare it as so.
My weekend was filled with good conversation. That is rare and always a treat.
“To me, a man is someone who is brave enough to love, and let himself be loved.” Louis Sachar, Small Steps
[How bar review days are spent:]
“You will never know the fullness of Christ until you know the emptiness of everything else but Christ.” Charles Spurgeon
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
“No star stops burning in the sky because it isn’t a planet, it does what it needs to do, so must you. So be, and continue to be, until you realize what that truly means because when you see what you really are, you start to see life differently. You were never meant to compete with those around you, you were meant to live life in a way that invites others to join you in this journey.” T.B. LaBerge // Go Now
[Kendall Jenner @Cannes2015]
“When I saw you, I knew my one day was today, and every day to come.” T.B. LaBerge // My One Day is Today
GABRIELA YARELIZ 