Each person hits walls of frustration and sadness. We all have our rough patches. Today, I found my devotional, Limitless, by Nick Vujicic, so inspiring.
“Just know better days are ahead, and this too shall pass. Your comeback, like mine, may come in small steps day by day, over a period of weeks or months. I hope yours comes quickly, but there are benefits to gradual revival. As the fog of despair lifts, be grateful for every ray of light that comes through.”Limitless, Nick Vujicic, pg. 111 (Water Brook)
/Prefiero caer luchando siendo valiente
ya supe que aunque se gane no es suficiente
no se puede ser feliz cuando a tu lado lloran
a veces toca sufrir
lo entiendo a mi persona
prefiero bailar con ganas aunque no sepa
los filos del corazón mueven mi marioneta
no puedo ni quiero ser aquello que no soy
prefiero seguir presente
allá por donde voy/-Manuel Carrasco, Prefiero Seguir Presente
“My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26
“But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.” Psalm 73:28
See the beauty and life in every day. In the boxing ring of life, it’s not about never falling, but about being the last one standing.
Today, be bold, fight brave, find joy and be all there, in the present.
“Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” pg. 22, Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast
By: Gabriela Yareliz
It’s finally warmer than 60 degrees in my little living space. It’s warm out; warm meaning 20 degrees. Yesterday, the weather warmed up when it started to snow. The snow looked so beautiful. It always falls in blinding swirls, but beautiful blinding swirls. The city is bustling with snow. It is in no way dormant or quiet. Delivery guys ride their bikes on the sidewalk, always making for an exciting near-death experience when you suddenly realize that there is a bike coming at you for a head-on collision, but you had failed to notice because you were blinded by snow.
The city isn’t the only thing that seems to be bursting with energy and life, despite the world being frozen over. Some people are sick, but they press on (who has time to be sick?). Recently, there have been a lot of broken hearts. The thing about these hearts is they are hearts that were once frozen in fear and indecision, and suddenly, now that they are free, they are alive again.
Others are thawing the icy philosophies that envelope their hearts. Some are building snow forts around their souls. Some are stubborn and ignoring mistakes, beginning the slide, chest-first, on the icy lane of destruction.
The world is frozen; it reminds me of how we can be so frozen with fear, arrogance, selfishness, indecision, sadness and stubbornness.
Lately, the questions swirling in the air is: Is “this” something you are willing to live with? “This” can be a person, a habit, a decision, a lifestyle, a circumstance–
No matter what happens, it was brought to my attention that we must always dare to dream.
No matter what weather comes our way (sometimes it’s out of our control), we must not lay dormant and blanketed by the snow, but decide to bustle and live in the swirling madness and beauty.
Maybe thawing isn’t possible right now, so instead dance in the magical inconvenience. It can still be beautiful.
Words have power. What we say can cause serious damage.
“With it [tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.” (verse 9)
We got to watch it.
James 3:4-16
English Standard Version (ESV)
4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
Wisdom from Above
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
Pinterest.com I believe the quote is from Eleanor & Park
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” Khalil Gibran
weheartit.com
By: Gabriela Yareliz
Have you ever had a dream where everything you fear may never come true becomes reality?
When we sit back and look at the things we are afraid of, or the things we harden ourselves against, and sometimes even the things we want, we realize our reactions and expectations are a result of our life experience.
It feels like sometimes we are sinking, we are panicking, and we take our eyes off of God. It reminds me of the scene when Peter was on the water walking toward Jesus. (Matthew 14: 22-33). We are sinking– when suddenly, Jesus stretches forth His hand, and He asks us “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).
There is so much out in the world; hurts, pain and suffering that can kill our spirits, but God promises life.
“I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believes in me, though he be dead shall live. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Believest you this?” John 11: 25-26
“Jesus said unto her, Said I not to you, that, if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40
There are things that cut you deep in life, and they do leave scars.
However, as Jonny Diaz sings in his song Scars: /Praise God we don’t have to hide scars They just strengthen our wounds, and they soften our hearts.
They remind us of where we have been, but not who we are
So praise God, praise God we don’t have to hide scars/
Just as there is so much hurt in life, there is so much beauty. Last year, I met people who I noticed were afraid of a lot of things. I actively battled against my own fears (that is still necessary at times). But this year, this year we should not be a people ruled by fear.
Two of the most beautiful things in the world are strength and scars; Strength shows wisdom and scars show healing.
“Had Abraham stayed in his safe and secure surroundings with Sarah (at that time known as Sarai) and the rest of his family, he would never have reached his destiny, which was to be conduit of God’s blessings to all families of the earth. Likewise, had Abraham decided to wait until God gave him the detailed, step-by-step road map to reach his vision, he would never have discovered and lived out his destiny. God gave Abraham a vision. Because Abraham believed and acted on that vision as God had instructed him to, he received his blessing in full and reached his ordained destination.” Dr. Tony Evans, Destiny, pg. 88
Hoy es el día perfecto para compartir esta canción.
Pensé que era un buen momento,
por fin se hacía realidad,
tanto oír hablar de tu silencio,
dicen que te arrastra como el mar.
Llené de libros mi maleta,
también de fotos tuyas de antes,
dibujé tu sonrisa junto a la mía,
me dormí con tu abrigo en el sofá
Quiero estar a tu lado,
quiero mirarte y sentir,
quiero perderme esperando,
yo quiero quererte o morir…
Y en el momento que vi tu mirada buscando mi cara,
la madrugada del 20 de enero saliendo del tren,
me pregunté que sería sin ti el resto de mi vida,
y desde entonces te quiero, te adoro y te vuelvo a querer
Cogí un tren que no dormía,
y vi tu cara en un cristal,
Era un reflejo del sol de mediodía,
era un poema de amor, para viajar
Quiero estar a tu lado
quiero mirarte y sentir,
quiero perderme esperando,
yo quiero quererte o morir…
Te perdí
y no te perdere
nuuuuunca más te dejare
Teeeeeee busque, muy lejos de aqui(de aqui)
te encontré pensando en mí
En el momento que vi tu mirada buscando mi cara,
la madrugada del 20 de enero saliendo del tren,
me pregunté que sería sin ti el resto de mi vida,
y desde entonces te quiero, te adoro y te vuelvo a querer
“So I went on writing. The story was writing itself and I was having a hard time keeping up with it. […]I’ve seen you, beauty, and you belong to me now, whoever you are waiting for and if I never see you again, I thought. You belong to me and all of Paris belongs to me and I belong to this notebook and this pencil.” Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast pg.17-18 (Restored Edition by Scribner)
just-write-to-me.tumblr.com
By: Gabriela Yareliz
In life, there are certain moments where things are intensely–yours. You can be walking down the street, and a child gives you a smile–it’s yours; you may walk into a beautiful place, and you are the only one there–it’s yours; you may be sitting, not expecting a single thing and someone beside you shares your silence and ordinariness–that moment is yours, and that person is your partner in sharing it; you could be discovering a city in your own way–it’s yours; you could be writing, thinking or studying and be so immersed–you belong to it and it belongs to you. That moment. That person. Like a drop of water that slowly falls from its surface of origin.
When you call something yours, it’s a powerful expression. Usually, we think of this symbolic ownership in romantic love. People even change their last names. Then, we have the family context. A child belongs to his or her parents or guardian. A pet belongs to its loving owner. A piece of art belongs to who created it.
When someone or something belongs to you, you have a deep relationship with that person. It’s like this person is a part of you. When you belong to someone, you matter to that someone. This person loves you. It’s like you are a piece of him or her.
Belonging is something we all seek. We want to feel wanted; loved. The power of belonging and acceptance enthralls us. Often times, there is a distinguishing feature or mark that shows belonging or ownership; a name, a signature or an image etched on the surface.
Currency usually has a face or some distinguishing mark that shows where it belongs (or to what country).
Humanity was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).
In Mark 12, we find this exchange:
13 Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him [Jesus] in His words. 14 When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?”
But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” 16 So they brought it.
And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
17 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”And they marveled at Him.
Jesus said, give to God what is God’s. Whose image or marks do we find on ourselves, if not God’s?
God said:
“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.‘”
Isaiah 43:1
He has called us by name, and we are His.
Because we belong to God, He cares for us.
“26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ispan of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”
Matthew 6: 26-32
God has promised us that His eye is on the sparrow, so we should not be anxious for anything. Instead, with faith, we bring our petitions to Him, not because He doesn’t know what we need, but because He wants us to come and approach Him.
“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” Matthew 6:7-8
Keep asking, seeking, knocking.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:7-11
God wants you to know, He’s got plans for you:
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”
Philippians 4:6
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11
God says, “Try Me.”
“Bring all the tithes (10%) into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.”
Malachi 3:10;
And be assured:
“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19
God does not want you to worry or be afraid. Instead trust in Him, bring your worries and problems to Him. Ask Him in faith, and know He is listening. The birds of the air are fed, and you are more than a bird.
God unfolds His will for your life day by day. Your story is being written, and your purpose is established and sure. It’s you and God, walking together through this journey called life. He has promised to never leave or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6). He sees you and calls your beautiful, chosen and precious.
Make a moment with God a daily experience. He says to you, “You belong to me.”
The city was bustling with visitors from all over; it was Passover time. The priests had arrested Jesus, and wanted to “get rid of Him” in the most discrete manner, while the people were preoccupied with Passover.
Pontius Pilate was the Roman ruling in Judea, and his wife came to him disturbed one morning. She had a dream that an innocent man would die. “While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: ‘Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.'” Matthew 27:19
“A message from God warned him from the deed he was about to commit. In answer to Christ’s prayer, the wife of Pilate had been visited by an angel from heaven, and in a dream she had beheld the Saviour and conversed with Him. Pilate’s wife was not a Jew, but as she looked upon Jesus in her dream, she had no doubt of His character or mission. She knew Him to be the Prince of God.
She saw Him on trial in the judgment hall. She saw the hands tightly bound as the hands of a criminal. She saw Herod and his soldiers doing their dreadful work. She heard the priests and rulers, filled with envy and malice, madly accusing. She heard the words, ‘We have a law, and by our law He ought to die.’ She saw Pilate give Jesus to the scourging, after he had declared, ‘I find no fault in Him.’ She heard the condemnation pronounced by Pilate, and saw him give Christ up to His murderers.
She saw the cross uplifted on Calvary. She saw the earth wrapped in darkness, and heard the mysterious cry, ‘It is finished.’ Still another scene met her gaze. She saw Christ seated upon the great white cloud, while the earth reeled in space, and His murderers fled from the presence of His glory. With a cry of horror she awoke, and at once wrote to Pilate words of warning.
While Pilate was hesitating as to what he should do, a messenger pressed through the crowd, and handed him the letter from his wife, which read:
‘Have thou nothing to do with that just Man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of Him.’
(Page 733) Pilate’s face grew pale. He was confused by his own conflicting emotions[…]
Pilate was troubled. He had not thought it would come to that. He shrank from delivering an innocent man to the most ignominious and cruel death that could be inflicted. After the roar of voices had ceased, he turned to the people, saying, ‘Why, what evil hath He done?’ But the case had gone too far for argument. It was not evidence of Christ’s innocence that they wanted, but His condemnation.” The Desire of Ages, by Ellen G. White, pg. 732-734
When Pilate comes face to face with Jesus, he takes him apart to where they are alone and asks him some questions.
“Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’
Jesus answered him, ‘Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?’
Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?’
Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.’
Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’
Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’
Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’ And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, ‘I find no fault in Him at all.'” John 18: 33-38
“Pilate was astonished at His [Jesus’] bearing. […] Hoping to gain the truth from Him and to escape the tumult of the crowd, Pilate took Jesus aside with him, and again questioned, ‘Art Thou the King of the Jews?’
Jesus did not directly answer this question. He knew that the Holy Spirit (Page 727) was striving with Pilate, and He gave him opportunity to acknowledge his conviction. ‘Sayest thou this thing of thyself,’ He asked, ‘or did others tell it thee of Me?’ That is, was it the accusations of the priests, or a desire to receive light from Christ, that prompted Pilate’s question? Pilate understood Christ’s meaning; but pride arose in his heart. He would not acknowledge the conviction that pressed upon him. ‘Am I a Jew?’ he said. ‘Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered Thee unto me: what hast Thou done?’
Pilate’s golden opportunity had passed. Yet Jesus did not leave him without further light. While He did not directly answer Pilate’s question, He plainly stated His own mission. He gave Pilate to understand that He was not seeking an earthly throne.
Christ affirmed that His word was in itself a key which would unlock the mystery to those who were prepared to receive it. It had a self-commending power, and this was the secret of the spread of His kingdom of truth. He desired Pilate to understand that only by receiving and appropriating truth could his ruined nature be reconstructed.
Pilate had a desire to know the truth. His mind was confused. He eagerly grasped the words of the Saviour, and his heart was stirred with a great longing to know what it really was, and how he could obtain it. “What is truth?” he inquired. But he did not wait for an answer. The tumult outside recalled him to the interests of the hour; for the priests were clamorous for immediate action. Going out to the Jews, he declared emphatically, ‘I find in Him no fault at all.’
[…]
Pilate at this time had no thought of condemning Jesus[…]Justice demanded that Christ should be immediately released. But Pilate dreaded the ill will of the people.” The Desire of Ages, by Ellen G. White, pg. 726-728
It always gets to me how Pilate asks Jesus the most important question “What is truth?” (John 18:38) Yet, Pilate immediately leaves after asking and does not wait for the answer. Ultimately, Pilate delivers Jesus to be crucified. He “washes his hands” of the matter (as if that really exculpated him); yet it was by his authority that all of the events unfolded from there on out.
God stops at nothing when it comes to the salvation of all of humanity. Each person seals his or her destiny with a choice that they make either accepting or rejecting God; but God is just, and He reveals Himself to each member of the human family. Each person’s heart is spoken to by the Holy Spirit, and each makes an informed decision.
In the world, there are some of us to whom God reveals Himself in small or abstract things. Maybe a dream, music, nature–but we know it’s Him. Like Pilate’s wife, we may not know the fullness of the matter, but we recognize Him for who He is, and accept His message to us and His presence with us. She said she had “suffered” in her dream.
When God reveals himself to us, it may not be roses and rainbows. It may be a sharp wake-up call for us, but we can either take it or ignore it. When we accept it, we not only accept His presence, but we tell others, as she warned her husband. Even though she told her husband, her husband chose not to listen. Accepting conviction and salvation is an individual matter. Pilate’s wife had a conviction of who Jesus was, her husband chose to ignore the wrestling of his soul, and he took the easy way out.
There are some of us that come face to face with God, as Paul did on his way to Damascus (Acts 9) and as Pilate did in this passage. There are bold turning points in our lives where we are face to face with God Himself. Even when we come face to face with God, we have a choice. He says to us, “Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” Pilate was curious, but he didn’t wait for the answer to his question and decided to walk away and succumb to pressure from leaders and those surrounding him. He thought of his position as a Roman and not his soul.
“Here Pilate showed his weakness. He had declared that Jesus was (Page 732) innocent, yet he was willing for Him to be scourged to pacify His accusers. He would sacrifice justice and principle in order to compromise with the mob. This placed him at a disadvantage. The crowd presumed upon his indecision, and clamored the more for the life of the prisoner. If at the first Pilate had stood firm, refusing to condemn a man whom he found guiltless, he would have broken the fatal chain that was to bind him in remorse and guilt as long as he lived. Had he carried out his convictions of right, the Jews would not have presumed to dictate to him. Christ would have been put to death, but the guilt would not have rested upon Pilate. But Pilate had taken step after step in the violation of his conscience. He had excused himself from judging with justice and equity, and he now found himself almost helpless in the hands of the priests and rulers. His wavering and indecision proved his ruin.” Id. pg. 731-732
As we ask God to guide us, it is so important for us to ask God to help us see Him more clearly in our lives. We must ask God to help us not ignore our convictions and to not live in violation of our conscience. We must be still, and recognize God for who He is. We must plead for the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts every day, and to guide us in the way we should go. We must make a choice, daily, of what we will do with God when He reveals Himself to us through the small or when we encounter Him in a bolder “face to face” moment.
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” John 16:13
God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, seals us, guides us to all truth, and tells us of things to come. Be aware of how God reveals Himself to you on a daily basis. Ask for the Holy Spirit. Choose how you will respond to God’s presence; you can act like Pilate’s wife or Pilate. Live conscious of the fact that you are in God’s presence, and ask with faith.
“If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”Luke 11: 9-10, 11-13
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One of my favorite writers, Marcel Pagnol, wrote Manon des Sources. It’s part II to Jean de Florette. It’s a story about a “source” (spring) that is blocked off, which starts all kind of trouble in a small French village for a family, and it costs the family’s father his life. The daughter of the deceased finds the source and blocks it from the village and those who stole the water. Everything, even the villagers’ very lives, depends and revolves around the source.
The source/spring is a symbol of life and power; and the word “spring” means new life and awakening.
God is a source and spring of unlimited power. A power that gives new life and awakens our souls.God has power:
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matthew 6:13 (Luke 11:4)
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, Jude 1:24
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Luke 11:9-10
In Manon des Sources, not finding the spring caused death, anguish, mystery and pain. Don’t block the source of power from your life; don’t ignore it. Find it and let it bring life, power and joy.
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 1 Chronicles 29:11-12
For the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has planned, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? Isaiah 14:27
Have faith, and pray for Him, who has unlimited power, to act on your behalf.
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GABRIELA YARELIZ 