Monday Inspiration: January 4, 2016

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Does anyone else’s week seem a bit daunting? Don’t worry. I am not going to sit you down, so to speak, in a dark, dusty study with the tick-tock of an old grandfather clock in the background and tell you my to-do list for the week, while I pace the floor. I will spare you from the scary details.

This is what we are going to do. I am going to pray for you (yes, I believe my prayers can reach you), and you can pray for me. If you need someone to intercede for, hello. (A huge ‘thanks’ in advance). *angelic smile*

Here is the thing:

Sometimes, we intellectualize faith and God’s promises. We repeat the promises we find in scripture, we recite them, and we stare at them blankly. This will do us no good until the words leave our brains and go to the very marrow of our bone. The promises need to shake us to our core. It is only then that we will begin to cling to them in the way He wants us to. It is then that we believe. It’s not about the promise but about He who promised.

I pray that this week, you focus on God’s promises. Look at your discouragements, distractions, and pick a promise to focus on. Focus on what the promise tells you about God, the promisor. If you need ideas, you can find some promises, organized by topic/issue, here.

Believe. Know that He loves you. He chose you. He chooses you again and again, day after day. He works on your behalf. He guides you.

“Draw near. Nearer still, my child. Do not dare not to dare.”

Aslan | C.S. Lewis

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“The power of prayer is not in the one who says it but in the one who hears it.” Mercy Lokulutu

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“Consistency is the most underrated word in the English language.” John Maxwell

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“How do you know what faith is, if you don’t use it? Remember that we need to experience God, too. He is not a pretty word; He is an eternal being to be experienced. Faith is an experience to be lived! Faith is the result of knowing who promised, and that is God–who is not a man to lie to us.”  Yamid (that is my mother’s beautiful Arabic name) aka: the wisest and most beautiful person I know.

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“Come boldly, O believer, for despite the whisperings of the enemy and the doubtings of thine own heart, thou art greatly beloved.”

Charles Spurgeon

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“Holy places are dark places. It is life and strength, not knowledge and words, that we get in them. Holy wisdom is not clear and thin like water, but thick and dark like blood.”

C.S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces

 

 [Images from Webstagram @PropelWomen]

Autumn Thoughts

I love the quotes in this one. Many have been rereading this post, so I figured it deserved a reblog. Back by popular demand. Happy Sunday!

Gabriela Yareliz's avatarGABRIELA YARELIZ

Below are some picks from http://autumnindie.tumblr.com. A very quotable blog.
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She asked, ‘You are in love, what does love look like?’ To which I replied, ‘Like everything I’ve ever lost came back to me.’

Nayyirah Waheed

Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others. You must either learn to carry the universe or be crushed by it. You must grow strong enough to love the world, yet empty enough to sit down at the same table with its worst horrors.

Andrew Boyd

Marry your best friend. I do not say that lightly. Really, truly find the strongest, happiest friendship in the person you fall in love with. Someone who speaks highly of you. Someone you can laugh with. The kind of laughs that make your belly ache, and your nose…

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Friday Glee: January 1, 2016

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Good morning! Happy New Year! As we start a new chapter, I wanted to share some words that have inspired me. May your year be one of spiritual growth and victory.

“Do not give way to fear.” 1 Peter 3:6

“In fact, if you feel a little scared, then you’re probably on the right path. Of course it’s scary. It’s vulnerable. It’s naked. God calls us to stop hiding, to stop dominating, to trust Him, and to offer our true selves.” Captivating, pg. 143

“We do not always get what we want, but that doesn’t mean that we no longer want it. It means we stay awake to the unmet longing and ache. Wait there. Invite Jesus to come there. And He will come. Not always to satisfy us by giving us what we want. But to come Himself; to meet us with His very Person and to satisfy us with Himself… The waiting doesn’t diminish us. As a pregnant woman is enlarged in her waiting, so are our hearts. He [God] is after something much more valuable than our happiness… He is restoring and growing in us an eternal weight of glory. And sometimes…it hurts. But the experience of sorrow in no way diminishes the joy of living. Rather it enhances it.” Captivating, pg. 145-146

“Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic self-hood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so, we will not only find the joy that every human being seeks–we will also find our path of authentic service in the world.” Parker J. Palmer

 

“Water is powerful. It can wash away earth, put out fire, and even destroy iron.” Arthur Golden

Be open. Be authentic. Be pure and strong like water. Invite Jesus into the gaps in your life. Grow radiant through waiting. Walk hand-in-hand with the Savior this year.

I hope that at the end of this new year, someone looks at me and says, “She spent another year living in the presence of God.”

¡Gracias 2015!

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By: Gabriela Yareliz

I am about to fall asleep, and I probably won’t wake up until it’s time to see Dilip, Prateek and Harshul. I can’t wait to see these guys. ❤  (This is why sports reporting is the best kind of journalism. You watch a good game, get inspired, watch and travel with amazing athletes who become friends for life). While I wait for these men and 2016, I thought I would give 2015 a proper goodbye.

God, you did some amazing stuff in 2015. Thank you.

I am grateful because my family is well, we are close, and my brothers are growing up to be good men. I am grateful for all we have experienced together and for our summer full of travel and new places. Texas, you were amazing.

I am grateful for having had the opportunity to travel to Florida several times and because I was able to see high school friends on some of these visits. It’s such a blessing to keep friends from high school and undergrad. Friends that become family give life brilliant color.

This year, I graduated with a doctorate and began my professional life in the career of my choice. I love what I do and the people I get to do it with. I witness miracles every day.

I found my first grey hairs, and I finally had time to read more new books.

The year was filled with health.

I am grateful for the “failures” and the things I tried. I am grateful because I choose to grow every day.

I am grateful because I am finding strength in vulnerability.

I am grateful for all of the laughter, hope and new dreams.

I had many answered prayers this year, including meeting new friends and finding a new place of fellowship and spiritual growth.

I am excited about the person I am and the woman I am becoming. I am grateful to God because He has guided my every step, and He walks with me. He never gives up on me. I am grateful to have a family that encourages me, and a mom who is my best friend.

Thank you reader friends for your love, support, letters, texts, emails and time. The blog’s readership grew a lot this year. Thank you for taking the time to read my quirky stories and insight, for laughing with me, for reflecting with me and for sharing.

And I am so excited. I am excited about the new hopes, new dreams, new experiences and new growth that is coming in 2016. I can’t wait for more laughter, more trust, more service, more sharing, more beauty, more family, more friends and more prayer.

I want us to give more love, inspire faith and continue to expect miracles.

2016, you will be utterly fantastic. Bienvenido.

And to my favorite cricket players in the world, I can’t wait to celebrate the new beginning with you! *waiting impatiently with a grin on my face*

[Imagen de Fórmula TV]

Reflections Before Bedtime #58

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“And the more I considered Christianity, the more I found that while it had established a rule and order, the chief aim of that order was to give room for good things to run wild.”

G.K. Chesterton

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I deal with people, day in and day out. I get to see the consequences of people’s choices, and sometimes, how crazy things can come out of nowhere– though it be no one’s fault. Usually, though, there was a choice made by someone somewhere along the way.

Things change, people change, and one decision can make life a burden. One decision can also bring you inexplicable joy you forgot was possible.

Simple things can be encouraging and inspiring. Change can happen quickly, and it’s not always bad. Change often means growth. It can also be well-deserved and providential, almost.

I have seen that one action can change the course of everything.

And a lot of things in life, believe it or not, are once-in-a-lifetime. The most important ones are.

Never forget to choose what matters most.

Make choices that “give room for good things to run wild.”

[Image from Tumblr]

Monday Inspiration: December 28, 2015

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By: Gabriela Yareliz

A new week. New opportunities to be who we want to be. Every choice, every minute, every word, every gesture. Fresh, clean slate.

Recently, I have been enthralled with the beautiful nature I have witnessed. I saw clear skies, at times there were clouds that looked painted in, a glowing sun, a moon with a halo around it, flowers in full bloom– amazing stuff. All so inspiring.

God doesn’t just make things; He makes masterpieces.

The new year is coming this week. I am so excited. It’s fantastic to reflect on all that has been lived and realize that even more amazing times are coming. It’s amazing to reflect on all the pain endured and know that you are that much stronger.

There will be some hard work, some rest, some risks, some assurance, some tears, some laughter, some heartbreak, some love, and we will be filled with the fullness that is life when we pick up of the presence of God that is always near the heart that seeks it.

This week, I am wishing you: delicate beauty, walks at noon under a warm sun (even if it’s just a ten minute break), yummy food, deep rest, intoxicatingly good conversation and a bond with someone so special that the love you have for him or her makes you grow, and it inspires you to be extraordinary. 

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“One of the hardest things you will ever have to do, my dear, is to grieve the loss of a person who is still alive.”

My father’s advice #1 (via northern-proper)

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“If you hesitate between me and another person, don’t choose me.”

(via bl-ossomed)

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“You belong among the wildflowers. You belong in a boat out at sea. You belong with your love on your arm. You belong somewhere you feel free.” Tom Petty

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“I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far–I will find you.” Nathaniel to Cora in The Last of the Mohicans

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“Even to see her walk across the room is a liberal education.” C.S. Lewis

“Romance is the deepest thing in life. It is even deeper than reality.” G.K. Chesterton

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“I have loved you with an everlasting love.” God (Jeremiah 31:3)

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[Images from Tumblr]

Sunday Girl: December 27, 2015

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Just arrived to NYC. I am on a random bus. #adventure

I am in a Cheryl Strayed kind of mood.

        “I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave.”

Cheryl Strayed, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail