GABRIELA YARELIZ

Let it Breathe

Be kind to your sleeping heart.
Take it out in the vast field of light
and let it breathe.

Hafiz

[Image from Tumblr]

Reflections Before Bedtime #20

Monday Inspiration: April 20, 2015

By: Gabriela Yareliz

This weekend: I went to a beach in Long Island by impulsively stepping into a van that looks like an Access-a-Ride (totally unplanned trip); made it to the beach, but it was too cold to stand outside; got stuck in crazy traffic on a bridge as we were making our way back into Manhattan; a girl in our van vomited (poor girl–and we were still stuck in traffic); waited for a train that never came; walked about 40 blocks home in platforms; and then got home at the darkest hour of early morning. I learned that at night/early morning, that is when deliveries are made and artists decorate the windows of NYC boutiques and shops. Then, I talked to my best friend until we were practically asleep (Gilmore Girls style; I love my Ma).

I then woke up later than my set alarm and realized I had no food in the house; worked; bought sustenance; discovered that the Jordin Sparks station on Pandora plays the best hits from my high school days; read long briefs (for today’s court case); Did a template for an M&A agreement…

It was a wild weekend with little that was actually planned since Friday. It was one surprise after another–except for the empty fridge… I knew that was coming. It wasn’t procrastination; it was priorities. You know it’s going down when buying food is not your priority. It’s week 13 out of 14. My degree and student career is coming to an end. In about a month, I will have a Doctoral hood slung on me (praise the Lord!).

I am trying to keep it real as everything is coming to an end. I mean, right now, life is saying, “Pay attention, because I am only going to say this once.”

So, this week looked really bad. If I could have a forecast for the week, it would say thunderstorms 200%; allergies; fires; hurricane–you get the idea. It is going to be more insanity (got to end with a bang, right?). But yesterday, I somehow ended up giving a pep talk that inspired me to attack the week with enthusiasm.

Are you ready? We are putting the cold beach, traffic, vomit, missing trains, blisters on the feet, long briefs and hours in front of a computer during long awaited spring weather behind us. We are going to live this week out, and live it avec passion (with passion). Go big or go home. Do it with passion or not at all.

live. Live. LIVE!

Bam. *mic drop*

“Any arbitrary turning along the way and I would be elsewhere; I would be different.” Frances Mayes

“Who can tell, dear friends, how much peace you may give by only telling the story of our Savior.” Charles Spurgeon

“Five tender apricots in a blue bowl, a brief and exact promise of things to come.” Frances Mayes

“Some hearts understand each other, even in silence.” Yasmin Mogahed

“The world cracks open for those willing to take a risk.” Frances Mayes

“If there is one thing I could plant in your heart, it’s that you matter, you’ll always matter.” T.B. LaBerge // Unwritten Letters to You

“By your side I’m most quiet and most unquiet, most inhibited and most free.” Franz Kafka, Letters to Milena

Be wise. Be free. Be prepared. Be noble. Be well-fed. Be humble. Be excited. Be loved.

And always, expect miracles.

[Images from Tumblr]

One Step At A Time

By: Gabriela Yareliz

The problem is we always want the best and most worthy things to come fast. But they don’t come fast; they never do, nor should they.

No matter how life seems to break you, even still, it is preparing you for where God wants to take you.

Reflections Before Bedtime #19

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Sometimes in life, we make the mistake of thinking that people will have to come around to respecting and accepting us and our ways of thought. It doesn’t always happen, obviously. We know this, but it stings a little when it unfolds in real life. People owe us nothing, and best of all, we owe them nothing, either.

Not all people are meant to stay in our lives. Some people should fade, and fade into the background quickly. Others come closer until we can almost hear their heartbeat pounding in our heads.

In life, we sometimes reach a point where people’s tentacles are wrapped tightly around our arms. Someone wise once said that life is movement. There comes a time where we must pry off the things and people holding us captive. We often don’t even know how we got there in the first place.

We often forget that what people think and say is a reflection of who they are, not a reflection of us and who we are.

It is time to remember: too many people around you can suffocate you; if you are being genuine, it doesn’t matter what others think about that; only you can lock yourself in the prison of other’s opinions and expectations; and respect is to be given, but like with much that is given, you should give expecting nothing in return.

The only opinion that matters is God’s opinion. People don’t own you. You decide where you belong and what matters.

God gives us freedom, and we shouldn’t give that to anyone. Be free. Live. Move.

The ones who aren’t around you for the right reasons, the ones who want you to be who they want you to be will fade, and the ones that matter and respect you will stay.

I am free, free like the sea… and despite what others may think, sometimes, I am not right, I am not wrong, I am me.

To let go is an interesting thing. For me, it is kind of like when you let go of something tiny in the ocean. It will probably never make its way back to me. Sometimes, it is necessary for tiny things to get engulfed in a vast and majestic sea.

Tonight, I am sending out my own message in a bottle.

Friday Glee: April 17, 2015

“He will provide the way and the means, such as you could never have imagined. Leave it all to Him, let go of yourself, lose yourself on the Cross, and you will find yourself entirely.” Saint Catherine of Siena

By: Gabriela Yareliz

It was one of those days. I slept through all of my alarms (somehow). It has been quite the week. I hope that you find some peace this weekend. Keep your head up; keep believing.

“How completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none.” A.W. Tozer

“God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.” John Piper

[Haven, Oakland’s Jack London Square | Honesty YUM]

“The great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.” C.S. Lewis

“I don’t want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit. I want people to look at my life and know that I couldn’t be doing this by my own power. I want to live in such a way that I am desperate for Him to come through. That if He doesn’t come through, I am screwed. (I probably shouldn’t write that word here, but it’s how I truly feel about this.)” Francis Chan, Forgotten God

“We can’t heal others, but we can be committed to their healing. We can’t make others whole, but we can be committed to their wholeness.” Jackie Johns

“God is always present. even when it seems like all is silent and lonesome, He is present; loving you like only He can.” T.B. LaBerge // Go Now

[Images from Tumblr]

Reflections Before Bedtime #18

Does God rule in our lives? Or do we only allow Him to make suggestions? – Dr. Tony Evans

Monday Inspiration: April 13, 2015

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Last week felt a bit like struggling for air. This week won’t be that way. This week will be filled with air, lots of good, clean air. Helloooo Monday.

I hope that this week you feel safe and at peace. No sinking this week. And if the struggle hits, let’s look up and float.

“Remind me gently, Oh Lord, what it means to have a heart that breaks like Yours; but if it cannot be gentle, I beg that You walk with me in the pain of Your answer, so that I may know not only Your goodness, but also Your face.” T.B. LaBerge // Thy Will Be Done

“I wish we could
see ourselves
with God’s eyes.
Flawed,
but still worthy of loving.” anne. n | [01/03/2015 – 12:15 a.m.]

“Why should your heart not dance?” C.S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Maya Angelou

“It’s a beautiful thing to have lungs that allow you to breathe air and legs that allow you to climb mountains, and it’s a shame that sometimes we don’t realize that that’s enough.” Unknown

“You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want.”

– S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders

“Find someone that makes your heart race, but not with anxiety.”

[Patricia Manfield]

[Images from Tumblr and Webstagram]

Tough Stuff

“Life is tough, my darling, but so are you.” S.L.

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Life is not a car you can just steer in whichever way you want. It’s more like a canoe in a river with a mind of its own. I think that we often put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make things go the way we think they should go.

Life doesn’t quite work out like that. Ask anyone who has reached “success”… Often, life takes us down unexpected roads, which take us to where we need to be.

The key? An open mind, room for failure that ends up not being failure, a desire for growth, creativity, a vision and some faith that will carry you through the storms of uncertainty.