Sometimes, we discourage people even though we mean well. Often, we can’t see when people are really unhappy because all we see is what we want for them. We keep pushing them out of love, not out of malice, because we think we know what is best.
I heard Wilson Wilson Jr. tell Tim Taylor a quote: “You don’t raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they’ll turn out to be heroes, even if it’s just in your own eyes.” — Walter M. Schirra, Sr.
I think this is something a lot of parents know. I know my mom always guides us with wisdom and patience. However, I recently realized that I was not being very understanding about something. Instead, I was holding others to the rigid expectations I have for myself. And this doesn’t just apply to raising children, it applies to how we treat and the expectations we have of everyone around us with whom we relate.
Life is complicated. We learn something every day. Thank God.
Some nights, I listen to Delilah on the radio. Old habits that stay a lifetime, I guess. There is something soothing about her voice and wisdom when night falls. Stories and old favorite songs float around in the darkness as slumber finally seduces the senses into stillness. I love the stories, and I have written about the stories I hear on the show on the blog before.
Tonight, I was listening to the radio show, and I heard a story that was so sad. It is a tragedy. A woman called to let her friend know she is there for her. Apparently, the friend’s brother was killed in an accident. He was getting out of his car to help a dog, and a truck hit him.
The woman started sobbing on the phone while talking about her friend’s loss.
I didn’t want to share the story to depress everyone, but hearing this story helped me remember how important it is to constantly be praying for one another.
Let us pray for this woman and her family. They have suffered a terrible loss. Let us pray for all of the broken hearts and shattered spirits around the world.
The woman who called sobbing for her friend also reminded me about the meaning of love. It’s about crying together and celebrating together. It’s about being there no matter what.
Let’s be true friends. Let’s be a caring outstretched hand. Let’s allow ourselves to be moved for others. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to feel pain.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)
Some promises to keep in mind:
“Be of good courage,
and He will strengthen your heart,
all you who hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:24
“These things I have spoken to you, that in me you might have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation:
but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering;
(for He is faithful that promised;).”
Hebrews 10:23
“Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer;
thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.”
Isaiah 58:9
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:18
God’s promises never fail.
“God is patient; God is kind. God does not envy or boast; God is not proud. God is not rude, self-seeking, nor easily angered. God keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. God never fails.”
[I thought I would bring this back for a minute. People still look up my old weekly compilations.]
Temperatures are dropping, lines at the Apple Store are forming, and some of us are planning our next moves (literally).
Interview Season One ended, and now Interview Season Two is beginning. Jewish holidays are liberating some people’s Thursdays and Fridays. Pumpkin Spice is back. You know what that means… AUTUMN.
1]
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” ― Rumi
2]
3]
I LOVED this.
4]
5]
6]
7]
I was watching the Kidd Kraddick Radio Show (Kidd Kraddick in the Morning on the App; Kidd TV), the only radio show you can watch, pretty much. During one of the breaks, the studio played this 1995 classic. It made my day. Perfection.
8]
9] ALWAYS REMEMBER
10] Is this not cuteness to the fullest?
11]
12]
13]
14]
The story of every law student:
15] THE REVENGE IS REAL
Their relationship was born out of infidelity. Francois Hollande, then goes and cheats on Ms. Trierweiler with actress Julie Gayet. Trierweiler spends a couple of sleepless nights, and in a fast turn around, she publishes a tell-all book slamming the sitting French president (her Ex after he dumped her via press conference) calling him a “snob” and saying he hates the poor. Hollande is demoralized at an international level. There is a debate about whether such a tell-all book violates an untold loyalty that should still exist. Does it cross the line? Does it go too far into the President’s bedroom?
Some are victimizing Hollande. Please. He made his choice, and she certainly made hers. Ms. Trierweiler now knows what it feels like to be betrayed and tasted some of the pain she caused another. So she wrote a book, but didn’t the loyalty some are calling for break when Hollande shattered it? He shattered her dreams, and now she is making sure his are shards among her own. For two people who have proven to be very dishonest, it amazes me that anyone is surprised.
I was talking with some friends about the reality of what people face in this country. I think that as law students, we often sound jaded and bitter. Actually, we are jaded and bitter, sometimes. It’s no secret that we deal with life’s tragedies, racism and injustices every single day. Some of us have lived those very things ourselves. I remember mentioning the American Dream, something I myself have mocked at times. Everyone at the table sort of scoffed. How could I be so naïve to believe in the American Dream? The American Dream is long dead, some said. Everyone was kind of spilling their opinion at the same time (this is what happens when you have a table full of lawyers and law students).
Still, my view of the American Dream has matured. To me, it’s not so much about the white picket fence, but I recognize that people’s choices can take them far in this country. Choices and hard work can take you farther here in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world. My friends at the table begged to differ because apparently many have the view that people have no choice. I beg to differ. I have seen too many people in my life succeed when everything was against them. Some argued that those are exceptional people. I say no one is born exceptional, but through our choices, as we continue to fight against the odds, our choices make us exceptional along the way.
As it is Hispanic Heritage Month, my mind went back to this notion of the American Dream. You know what, I won’t lie. The struggle is real out in the streets. Being able to pay even a rent stabilized apartment is difficult, and feeding your family is comparable to a luxury at times with the price of food these days. But you know what? When I think of the American Dream, I think of the mother on the sidewalk selling mangos and water bottles who is happy because she knows her children are safe. I think of the father who works long hours in construction because his dream is to see his child study. Not all of our dreams are the same. The American Dream is what you choose it to be in your heart. The American Dream isn’t always about having, but sometimes it’s about sacrificing. This Hispanic Heritage Month, I want to recognize the Latinos in this country who I see making their dreams come true every day at their jobs, during their long hours, through their sweat, through their love and through their faith.
I thought the American Dream was dead, until I took a good look around me and saw families pressing forward for a better tomorrow. I also took a good look at how far God has taken me.
When I say I am Latina, I am proud to belong to a culture that is known for its hard work and its persevering spirit.
In my heart and mind, all of these fighters and persevering people have made it in this country. My people, mi gente, every day, you are the ones who show me that the Dream is still breathing; the Dream is achieving–the American Dream is still alive because you give it life.
I wanted to share a story to inspire you (see video below). Because with God, hard work and hope, all things are possible.
This post celebrates all who keep the Dream alive.
Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa
“It doesn’t matter if you are successful or not, what matters is that you give the world the best, and the best will come back to you.” -Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa
Keep the Dream alive. Make the choice. Dare to dream.
In life, some of us travel light, others of us have more to carry. Sometimes, we make many stops in different destinations, and we don’t have the time to unpack.
If you don’t have time to completely unpack, then you haven’t reached your ultimate destination, yet. It means you will go far.
You won’t always need your luggage; not forever.
Someday, you will have that moment when things will be where they belong.
Perhaps, even when we think we are moving aimlessly, things have a purpose; even what seems small, insignificant and random. When we are on a journey, we are moving toward something.
Our journey has a lot to teach us.
This is for all who are walking their journey with eyes wide open. Don’t stop believing.
“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it by yourself. It is not far. It is within reach. Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know. Perhaps it is everywhere – on water and land.” ― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
“Would you like to know your future?
If your answer is yes, think again. Not knowing is the greatest life motivator.
“The seeker embarks on a journey to find what he wants and discovers, along the way, what he needs.” ― Wally Lamb, The Hour I First Believed
“Your journey has molded you for your greater good, and it was exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think you’ve lost time. There is no short-cutting to life. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And now is right on time.” ― Asha Tyson
It was a chilly night, but I was blessed to be warm and wrapped up in sweaters and blankets. Yes. We are already there. I woke up to a sunny, 55-degree morning. I feel autumn in my bones. It’s Monday. Garfield hates Mondays–That is why Monday calls for EXTRA inspiration. We are trying to turn Mondays into Garfield’s favorite day…
I wanted to share some inspiration, from an awesome Twitter feed. It’s Anil Kanda’s Twitter feed. He has awesome messages and talks on Audio Verse. Below are some of my favorite posts he has written or reposted. I hope you are just as inspired by them as I was.
“‘If it’s God’s will, it’s Gods bill’ -unknown source but good stuff still!”
“Those who take Christ at His word, & surrender their souls to His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace & quietude. – DA 331”
“My worry isn’t society’s growing evil, it’s that the church won’t repel it. Right now, world shapes church but should be other way around.”
“The life of Jesus is a guarantee of who God really is…”
“‘If weak in prayer, we are weak everywhere.’ — Leonard Ravenhill #prayer“
“‘At the cross of Calvary, the worst of man met the best of God.'” Andy Bannister retweet
“Caleb did not ask for himself a land already conquered, but the place which above all others the spies had thought it impossible to subdue”
“Looking good and feeling good have replaced doing good and being good. Many no longer know the difference.” Nabeel Qureshi retweet
“God speaks to His people in blessings bestowed & when these are not appreciated, He speaks to them in blessings removed” PP 470
“Moses after communing with God, had a divine light about his face. The more quality communion with God, the greater our light will shine.”
“‘The path where God leads may lie through the desert or the sea, but it is a safe path.’ {EP 199.1} …And really is the most beneficial!”
“God teaches us two things. Be fiercely intelligent and fiercely love…yup.”
“Honorable men cry out to God until curses are broken and a grander purpose is achieved” Mansfield
“Heavenly opportunities have another name on earth. We call it ‘inconvenience’…”
“Grace, like water, always flows downward, to the lowest place.” — Philip Yancey (Andy Bannister retweet)
“Because Jesus lives, the sinner has hope…always.”
“New definition of Sin. Sin is all that which takes you away from Life and robs you of an eternal relationship with God.”
“You can have good without evil..but you can’t have evil without good.” Frank Turek
“Jesus wants to destroy sin because sin destroys you. He hates it because it hurts His children. That’s the primary reason-plain and simple.”
“We have only one perfect photograph of God, and this is Jesus Christ” (M70, 1899)
One of my favorite things to do in New York is visit churches. Many of them are old and filled with exquisite beauty and detail. This post is about how I recently found one of my favorite churches in the city.
I was walking the Highline Park some weeks ago, and I decided to get off in the Chelsea area. I figured I hadn’t walked through those quadrants by those avenues, and the architecture was intriguing. I was walking around 20th St., by Ninth and Tenth Avenue in Manhattan, when I ran into a gate enclosing a world from 1817. Its motto: “Thy Word is Truth”.
Belongs to Gabriela Yareliz
The buildings reminded me of a castle or the old British colleges I spent hours looking at online in high school. It was like finding Narnia + another century + another country. These photos are from the exact day when I walked past the gate. I almost smushed my face into the gate bars, trying to get a better view. People were moving into the place. I then noticed the sign that said it was a seminary school. Of course, I thought. I knew there had to be a chapel in there somewhere.
Belongs to Gabriela Yareliz
I stood at the gate for as long as I could without looking suspect. I kept walking to see if there was an entrance, and I found nothing. Still, I walked home with a gigantic smile plastered on my face.
Belongs to Gabriela Yareliz
I walked home through the NYC I have come to know filled with taxis, tourists, students with strange haircuts–you name it. As I walked home, I knew I needed to see the seminary inside. It was going to happen.
Belongs to Gabriela Yareliz
The seminary stayed on my mind. I wanted in. I was in the fluorescent law school building taking a break, and I Googled the seminary. I found it on Yelp. Weird, I thought. It said there were gardens inside and that it was open to visitors. I got heart palpitations. I would be able to see it inside and not look like a freak because I was honestly considering just calling the place and begging the administration for a tour. So I worked my butt off and drank Kale juice for energy through the torment of doing double assignments to free the following afternoon. I went the next day.
Belongs to Gabriela Yareliz
The next day was glorious; sweater weather that felt like early spring. The sun was bright, but I was brighter. I was walking down another street this time because it turns out you can enter the seminary through a street that is north of where I had been before.
Belongs to Gabriela Yareliz
When I arrived, a kind Latina greeted me at the reception. She took my ID and gave me a visitor pass. I assume they take ID to make sure you exit the place; so weirdlings like myself don’t stay and sleep on the green grass courtyard.
Belongs to Gabriela YarelizBelongs to Gabriela YarelizBelongs to Gabriela Yareliz
I walked past the dormitories, a tiny playground and a BBQ grill surrounded by cute tables and chairs. I looked up and down and around; examining every building and open window. The place was lovely. It was old world, for sure.
I imagined the buildings when they were new in the 1800s and the people that must have lived in them. I wondered what struggles the people might’ve had, and whether they sat on the same steps reading their Bibles and wondering what God’s plan was for their lives.
Belongs to Gabriela YarelizBelongs to Gabriela Yareliz
When I started walking toward the gardens, I started to see some of what I had seen through the gate. There was green grass everywhere. It was marvelous. Grass you could sleep on. Grass that was soft and without noticeable ant piles (can you tell I am from Florida?).
Belongs to Gabriela YarelizBelongs to Gabriela Yareliz
Then, I saw the church. I sat on a bench in front of it to enjoy the view. This was another world tucked into a corner of Manhattan. I then walked in through the grand front doors into the empty sanctuary.
Belongs to Gabriela Yareliz
It was unique from the others I had seen. It was well lit and not dim and mysterious.
A verse I really love in the Bible, where God describes Himself, is Revelation 22:13: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” When you walk into the church, the stain glass window shows Jesus in many stages of His ministry and life, if I remember correctly, and at the top, He sits on a throne as King. On both sides of the window are the symbols for Alpha and Omega. This moved me deeply. It was a profound, artistic detail I had never seen before.
Check out the photos below of the seminary campus:
Belongs to Gabriela YarelizBelongs to Gabriela YarelizBelongs to Gabriela YarelizBelongs to Gabriela YarelizBelongs to Gabriela YarelizBelongs to Gabriela YarelizBelongs to Gabriela YarelizBelongs to Gabriela YarelizBelongs to Gabriela YarelizBelongs to Gabriela Yareliz
I have a great love for churches, and it’s not so much about the building, but it’s about what the beauty inside inspires. Having the opportunity to be at the seminary was lovely, and I wanted to share my photos with you all so you could see the old beauty and inspiring art. More than that, we live in a day and age when people are skeptical of religion. People think of religion as something shallow and delusional.
I think of religion as seeing God’s hand in my life every day. I see how He orchestrates the details of my life like the artist that must have organized and planned each incredible detail one can find in a church building. I think of peace and stillness. I have seen God’s hand in my life in a powerful way, dramatic and beautiful way.
This chapel, with its many symbols, reminded me that: God is the beginning and the end. He is merciful and mighty to save me from myself. And more than anything, He is not a distant God that watches me from a distance; He is not a God I need to pacify or try to please out of fear. Instead, He is a God that has blessed me so abundantly and has shown me His unfailing love, no matter what I have done. He is a God that is constantly drawing as near to me as I allow Him to be. He walks with me. He guides me. He is that strong hand that lifts me when I fall. He is king.
In an old church, I love to look at the windows. I love looking at stained glass. Each window tells a story. And as many of you know, I love a good story. Each window’s story reminds me of the miracles and the walk my God walks and lives. Each window reminds me that the powerful God I see has not changed. He is my God, and I am His child.
In the stillness, in the peace, in the conversation, in the beauty and in the light, I see His faithfulness through and through, and I know that with God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. (Mark 10:27)
.jpg)
GABRIELA YARELIZ 