Do you have any idea…

what we are going through?

New York is under a mattress of snow. I have seen people try to get out of their parallel parking spots and slam into the car behind them. I have seen people try to park between mountains of snow. Some guys were shoveling today outside of the church, and the pile of snow was taller than me (perhaps not hard to do, but nonetheless impressive).

Walking outside is virtually impossible because there is so much snow coming down so fast. The chess players, art vendors and people usually there to chill (they are probably thawing now) weren’t even around Union Square.

Walking across the street becomes some awkward slide fest–but lucky for me, no one saw because the snow had them blinded.

I feel like going outside and finding Narnia…
but with all of this snow, I may not see the lamppost.

No winter lasts forever, though.
So, I guess we’ll enjoy winter storm number 6(?) while it lasts.
-Gabriela Yareliz

Historia de Amor: Ulises y Ainhoa

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By: Gabriela Yareliz

Una de mis historias de amor preferidas…la de Ulises y Ainhoa.

“El hogar no son cuatro parades y un techo. Ni una hipoteca de 30 años. Es mucho mas. Es a la gente a la que quieres.”-Ulises

Feliz dia del amor y la amistad. Y que tengas el amor y a la gente que quieres contigo, siempre.

Valentine’s Day

“To love another person is to see the face of God.” Jean Valjean, Les Miserables

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Happy Valentines Day! I thought the storyline in the ad [above] was so cute…and Hrithik Roshan looks ah-ma-zing.

Here is a beautiful remix of songs that I found. Paying some tribute to a language that inspires so many to believe in the beauty of love.

Here is to all of the types of love:

the familial;

the unfulfilled; the sacrificing; the broken;

the inspiring; the everlasting; the overcoming;

the unmatched; the incomplete; the hopeful;

the impossible; the enduring;

the unperceived;

the friendship;

the confusing; the passionate; the innocent.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 1 John 4:18

A Moveable Feast

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By: Gabriela Yareliz

Here is some inspiration from Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast.

1. We become better people when we laugh and make others laugh

“They say the seeds of what we will do are in all of us, but it always seemed to me that in those who make jokes in life the seeds are covered with better soil and with a higher grade of manure.”

pg. 86, Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

If there is something I have learned working with other people and dealing with a lot of not-so-happy situations is that you need humor. Life gives us too many opportunities to smile, and none should be wasted. Make that soil well graded. /Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket…save it for a rainy day/.

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2. Mystery is good in books, but even better in people

“We need more true mystery in our lives, Hem [Hemingway],”

Evan Shipman, poet. Pg 112, A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway

I don’t know if we know what mystery is anymore. We should practice. Not just mystery, but true mystery. Hemingway himself left more unsaid than said. Many scriptures and amazing writings need to be deciphered by studying and perusal. Oftentimes, the things most worth knowing take time and effort to discover.

The definition according to Google:
mys·ter·y /ˈmist(ə)rē/noun

noun: mystery; plural noun: mysteries

1. something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain.

“the mysteries of outer space”
synonyms: puzzle, enigma, conundrum, riddle, secret, problem, unsolved problem More

-the condition or quality of being secret, strange, or difficult to explain.
synonyms: secrecy, obscurity, uncertainty, mystique More

-a person or thing whose identity or nature is puzzling or unknown.

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Be charming. Be mysterious. Be you.

Paint the world with happiness.

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Your moment

Alia Bhatt.
Alia Bhatt.

 

“Everyone has a moment in history which belongs particularly to him. It is the moment when his emotions achieve their most powerful sway over him, and afterward when you say to this person “the world today” or “life” or “reality” he will assume that you mean this moment, even if it is fifty years past. The world, through his unleashed emotions, imprinted itself upon him, and he carries the stamp of that passing moment forever.” -John Knowles, A Separate Peace

Kindness

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“No one that I ever knew was nicer to me.”

A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway [said this about Sylvia], pg. 31

Oh, to have that said about oneself!

We must be kinder people.

“That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.” -Emily Dickinson

From Madame Figaro

Photo by Benoit Preverelli for Madame.lefigaro.fr Purifiée : mise en beauté Mickael Noiselet pour Clarins

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I read an article that was all about restoring our body and skin and detoxing. It speaks of the dangers of some fad diets and fasting, but the benefits of some simpler purer diets and a more controlled and safe fasting. Here is an excerpt (the heading is linked to the article):

Les 24 heures du moins

Être en forme physique et mentale. Ne pas le concevoir comme une punition mais comme un cadeau que l’on se fait. Choisir un jour off et le transformer en rituel beauté et bien-être, avec massages, bains, masques, hammam relaxation, […] Se réveiller naturellement, boire un verre d’eau à température ambiante (si possible déminéralisée). Aller marcher une ou deux heures (de préférence au vert) ou pratiquer une activité physique douce. À midi, un jus de fruits frais de saison (fraîchement pressé ou centrifugé). Sieste avec compresse chaude sur le foie. Balade ou activité physique douce. Le soir, un bouillon de légumes (carottes, poireaux, navets, oignons, tomates, herbes fraîches…). Boire régulièrement eau ou tisanes (romarin, thym, fenouil, chardon-Marie…). Le lendemain, prévoir des menus légers, faciles à digérer.Infusions coups de pouce: Melissane Digestion, Detox Tea de Detox Delight, Detox de Kusmi Tea.-Marion Louis, La folie diete

Google Translation: “Be physically and mentally fit. Do not think of it as a punishment but as a gift that we do for ourselves. Choose a day off and turn it into ritual beauty and well-being, with massages, baths, masks, steam relaxation, […] Wake up naturally, drink a glass of water at room temperature (if possible demineralized). Go for a walk an hour or two (preferably green) or playing a gentle physical activity. At noon, juice fresh seasonal fruit (freshly squeezed or centrifuged). Nap with hot compress on the liver. Walking and gentle physical activity. In the evening, a vegetable (carrots , leeks , turnips, onions, tomatoes, fresh herbs … ) . Regularly drink water or herbal tea (rosemary, thyme , fennel, thistle … ). The next day, provide light menus , easy to digest. Infusions: Melissane Digestion, Detox Tea Detox Delight, Kusmi Tea Detox.”

2014 has been a year of detoxing for me. Getting rid of gluten, GMO, processed products (including veggie meat), and eating a lot more veggies and juicing. After my detox and withdraws (there were times when I felt terribly hungry and not very happy), I feel great, and it’s reflecting on my skin and body. Something worth considering…

The Lord will provide

Based on Tony Evans: Jehovah Jireh-The Lord Will Provide message (click here to listen)

Sometimes, a condition to a blessing is action. God provides when He sees us act in faith.

Jireh, means to see. Provision requires pre-vision. “It’s when He [God] sees, that He provides.”

“Could it be you’ve been waiting for five years for something God would’ve given to you in five minutes, if He still wasn’t waiting for you to complete your sacrifice.” Dr. Tony Evans

Just as in the case of Abraham, when he was tested and told to sacrifice Isaac, God often waits to see if we are willing to sacrifice what we love most (the blessing) to obey and show superior love to the blessor. Sacrificing Isaac was a test because God provided a ram for the sacrifice.

Sometimes, our solution is right next to us (like the ram in the story of Abraham), but we’ll never know it until God sees we are ready for Him to reveal it. Abraham had to put Isaac on the altar for the provision of the ram to be revealed.

God gives, but He often wants to see what we are willing to give up when we worship.

When God instructed Abraham, Abraham arose immediately to comply.

“Delayed obedience is immediate disobedience. Partial obedience is complete disobedience.” Dr. Tony Evans.

We often want delayed or partial obedience and full manifestation. God doesn’t work that way. (Paraphrase)

God put Abraham in a situation that only He [God] could fix Himself.

Are you willing to give to God the thing you love most?

“Are you willing to trust God with your Isaac?”

Isaac is a type of everything God wants to give you. He wants to know He has you before He unleashes the blessings from heaven and pours them on you. (Paraphrase)

“When Abraham was willing to put Isaac on the table, He got Isaac and everything else. Some of us are willing to keep Isaac and give up Isaac plus everything else.” Dr. Tony Evans