Friday Glee: Appreciative Love

“Need-love cries to God from our poverty; Gift-love longs to serve, or even to suffer for, God; Appreciative love says: ‘We give thanks to thee for thy great glory.’

Need-love says of a woman ‘I cannot live without her’; Gift-love longs to give her happiness, comfort, protection – if possible, wealth; Appreciative love gazes and holds its breath and is silent, rejoices that such a wonder should exist even if not for him, will not be wholly dejected by losing her, would rather have it so than never to have seen her at all.”

C.S. Lewis

Bar Exam Body Image Goals

By: Gabriela Yareliz

When you sit and study for 16 hours a day, something is bound to change or give. I am not going to lie, it freaked me out a bit. While you can remain healthy, the sedentary lifestyle takes its toll. Mind you, I am not planning on gaining thirty pounds. That is not the point. The point is, I guess, as much as it pains me to say it, that even when we think we are over some insecurities, they somehow pop up to haunt us. The truth is, New York and my work schedule made me thinner, and there is some wiggle room my hips used to fill that I have been pretty afraid to gain back.

So, I have decided that instead of fighting the inevitable and falling into a negative body image mindset, it is time to channel an icon. A woman who doesn’t believe in diets or cutting back on carbs. A woman who has always expressed herself with security and loves fullness. The one and only (and very Italian) Monica Bellucci.

My new motto, as I study for the bar and consume more food than usual to fuel the brain power, is: “Instead of going to the gym, I dress in black – a lot more practical and much more fun,” Monica Bellucci told the Daily Mail.  Maybe, if I play my cards right, I’ll score some Bellucci curves by the end of the summer. Or at the very least, I will walk away with her badass mindset.

Soul Structure

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I live in a wilderness that is quietly loud. And while I may not rest here forever, I carry the wild to my every endeavor.

It’s simplicity mixed with what is natural; mixed with extravagant colors and memorable fragrances.

It’s peace, mixed with hope and belief. It’s miles and miles of freedom and openness. It’s honesty, with its pain and beauty.

It’s purpose, mixed with the clean and dirty. It’s loud, mixed with deafening silence.

It’s the hot and the cold and creatures untold. It’s curiosity mixed with discovery; the obvious and the hidden.

This is the world I carry inside.

Elizabeth Brewster was right–“People are made of places.”

And I am made up of here.

Reflections Before Bedtime #26

By: Gabriela Yareliz

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.

Laughter. Love. Uncertainty. Tears. Sacrifice. Joy.

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.

Monday Inspiration: June 8, 2015

“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 

[Images from Tumblr]

Worth It

By: 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.

Reflections Before Bedtime #25

By: Gabriela Yareliz

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?

Keep fighting.