“Maybe I don’t want to be defined by what I do. Maybe I would like to be defined by what I am.” Nicholas Sparks, Safe Haven
About your nickel–
From Destiny, by Dr. Tony Evans, pg. 140
“A little girl came to her father one day and said, ‘Daddy, you promised to give me a nickel.’ Her father had promised her. So he reached in his pocket, but he couldn’t find a nickel. Instead, all he had were dollar bills. In fact, the smallest bill he had was a $20.
He said, ‘You’ve been a really good girl lately, so here is a twenty-dollar bill instead.’
The little girl started to cry. ‘But Daddy,’ she said, ‘you promised me a nickel.’
‘But sweetie,’ he replied, ‘this is a whole bunch of nickels.’
Yet because she could not understand, tears streamed down her face.”
This is not to say that only when we are good God gives us good things. No, His grace is always present with us, and His purposes for us are always greater that what we envision ourselves.
Tony Evans continues, “We tell God what we want to do with our lives. We tell Him what we desire. But God says that if you will simply commit all of you to Him, He has so much more to give you than just what you want…Even if God’s purposes include a cross on Friday, remember–there will be resurrection on Sunday. Trust Him.”
Let’s Play Holi?
Safe Haven
“I’ve come to believe that in everyone’s life, there’s one undeniable moment of change, a set of circumstances that suddenly alters everything.” Nicholas Sparks, Safe Haven
“I truly believe that while love can hurt, love can also heal.” Nicholas Sparks, Safe Haven
Wisdom from Feeny
Tuesday Badinage
By: Gabriela Yareliz
It was a spring day today. I was trapped inside for the entirety of it. In the forecast is: snow. Yes! (Sarcasm dripping all over this people). It seems like we will be experiencing the four seasons this week. New Yorkers are simply living through it and trying to just “let it go,” Frozen-style, and gird our tights and leggings to stay warm. I hope the meteorologists are lying. Is that a bad thing to wish?
This week, even though it’s only Tuesday, has been exhausting.
Today, I finished Limitless by Nick Vujicic. Here is some inspiration from the last chapter:
“The greatest miracle is the transformation from the inside out. The greatest purpose is to know God as a friend and to have the blessing of going home to heaven, where no pain, no sickness, no hardship will ever find you.[…]While I am in this life, I try to have an impact that will last just as long. It won’t matter how much money I made or how many nice cars I’ve owned. What will matter is that I reached out to someone and served a purpose greater than my own.[…]Love each other as if it’s your last day on this earth. Live life to the fullest and appreciate every day that you wake up and take a breath.” pg. 158-159, Limitless, Nick Vujicic
Can I just say, life is strange. Things come full circle. You suffer; you learn; you share with those going through what you went through in the past; you grow; you get pulled up; you pull others up… it’s a fascinating cycle.
Sometimes, some things are never resolved (the way we envision resolution). I have seen so many changes, turning points, big moments–I can’t help but think about life; its intricacies and how God connects us all.
On a not-so-random note: I can’t wait until spring!
xoxo.
-GY
Celebrating Women: Queen Rania
By: Gabriela Yareliz
Queen Rania of Jordan. Her story of becoming queen is every girl’s dream. Her YouTube channel has reached millions around the world. She is a voice for empowerment in education, health, development, youth and cross-cultural dialogue.
She is a mother, recipient of the FIFA 2009 Presidential Award, and she actively works with the United Nations and UNICEF to promote education for young women and a better world.
When I was in middle school, I remember finding her in a magazine, called Vanidades. It was the first time I had ever seen her, and I thought she was so beautiful. The magazine is ironically called “Vanities” (almost like a Spanish version of Vanity Fair meets Vogue). The piece was about her as life and work, and her intelligence astounded me. From that day forward, my admiration for her has continued to grow. I cut out a photo of her, and it was on my wall in my room ever since.
Role-model material. She inspires young Arab women, but as you can see, her influence has gone far beyond the Middle East.
Celebrating Women: Eva Longoria
By: Gabriela Yareliz
She is the producer of Latinos Living the American Dream, The Harvest (showing the truth of migrant farm-workers in the U.S.), Food Chains, among other notable film and TV projects.
She has shown her commitment to activism for the Latino group in the U.S., and she was involved in campaigning for Barack Obama’s re-election. She is also one of the most recognizable Latina faces abroad. Her face is splashed across the world in L’Oreal advertisements. She also, despite her divorce, says she still believes in love. She went global in beauty, power and voice.
“I don’t regret anything I do or say.
I don’t like to live my life being censored.
I like to say what I feel,
and I think people respect that
because you’re honest.”
-Eva Longoria
Our wisdom is folly
By: Ellen G. White, taken from Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2
“He [God] will do more and better for us than to accomplish all our wishes, for our wisdom is folly.” – {2T 148.2}
Celebrating Women: Radhika Coomaraswamy
By: Gabriela Yareliz
Radhika Coomaraswamy is under the UN Secretary General as a Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. She fought an arranged marriage, and in 1994 served as U.N. Human Rights Commission Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (See: pg. 136, Marie Claire, March 2007). When asked who her role model was, she said Mahatma Gandhi, “the idea of fighting for justice while maintaining the moral edge over your opponent.” Enough said.
GABRIELA YARELIZ 