GABRIELA YARELIZ

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.

We’re all in the dance

Ending of: Paris, Je t’aime– I love this song.

Celebrating Women: Ms. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo

By: Gabriela Yareliz

From her biography information from the United Nations Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights:

“Joy Ngozi Ezeilo is a lawyer, feminist and scholar/activist. She earned a post graduate degree in law (LLM) from Queen Mary College, University of London, and a BL from the Nigerian Law School. She is a Senior Lecturer and teaches law at the University of Nigeria (Enugu Campus). She attended the International Institute of Human Rights and the International Centre for University Teaching of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. She holds a diploma in gender studies and also a diploma in peace studies and conflict resolution from CODESRIA, Dakar and the Uppsala University, Sweden.

Joy Ezeilo, was appointed the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children (2008-2011) in June 2008 and took up office in August 2008.”

Celebrating Women: Ana de la Reguera

By: Gabriela Yareliz
This month, March, is Women’s History Month. I have begun featuring women and their accomplishments. Women who make us feel empowered, women who are redefining beauty, and women who strive to make the world a better place.

Today: Ana de la Reguera– Actress and president of VeracruzANA A.C., which was born to help the people of Veracruz after Hurricane Karl in 2010.

“Just because you like to look good
doesn’t mean you stop being an intelligent person.
I can talk to you about the arts or makeup.
And tomorrow I can be with the governor
and discuss how we are going to drain a river.”
-Ana de la Reguera (Interview for Esquire)

Teaching girls they can be themselves

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I am absolutely adoring the faces emerging in the media:

Becky G
A new Latina rap artist. Where was she when I was growing up, when we were all praying 17 prayers a day for God to close the gap in our front teeth?

Mindy Kaling
Writer and actress. She is beautiful, and her humor is on point.

Fifth Harmony
Singers and dreamers.

[From: Fifth Harmony Wiki]

As women, we often feel pressure to change. As a culture, Americans have always been striving for perfection; perfect body (even if you have to starve), perfect hair (even if you have to clip in fake hair), perfect nails (even if you have to pay way too much at a place where your lungs are perforated by chemicals), perfect height (even if the shoes are painful) and perfect smiles (even if it means veneers).

Now, there are women of all shapes, sizes and colors that we can identify with. We can still improve, but we’ve got to start somewhere. Above all, diversity shows that what matters is what is in your heart and that there is beauty everywhere.

It’s nice to see women who remain true to themselves. It inspires other young women and girls. Girls are now being told it’s okay to be uniquely themselves.

Pave your own path.
Never forget where you came from.
Embrace even the things that make you different.
As we begin doing this, we show others that what makes you different makes you beautiful;
It’s fantastic to be yourself.

Can Women Afford to Lean Out Instead of Lean In?

This was great. Very interesting.

Look to God

You must look to God and trust in Him. Lean upon Him, and He will not forsake you. He will not leave you to perish. Precious is the word of God. “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life.” These are the words of Christ. The words of inspiration, carefully and prayerfully studied and practically obeyed, will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works. Ministers and people must look to God. – {2T 120.2} by Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2

Who we are supposed to be

Quotes by Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2

“We are forbidden to wrong our neighbor in anything. We should not view the matter from the worldling’s standpoint. To deal with our fellow men in every instance just as we should wish them to deal with us is a rule which we should apply to ourselves practically. God’s laws are to be obeyed to the letter. In all our intercourse and deal with our fellow men, whether believers or unbelievers, this rule is to be applied: ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself.’” – {2T 43.1}

“God calls you to separate from the world. You are not to follow their practices, nor conform to them in your course of action in any respect. ‘But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’” – {2T 43.2}

“If you separate from the world in your affections, and remain free from its contamination, escaping the corruption that is in the world through lust, God will be your Father, He will adopt you into His family, and you will be His heir. In place of the world, He will give you, for a life of obedience, the kingdom under the whole heavens. He will give you an eternal weight of glory and a life that is as enduring as eternity.” – {2T 44.1}

“If you walk contrary unto God, He will walk contrary unto you.”– {2T 45.2}

“In order to render to God perfect service, you must have clear conceptions of His requirements.”– {2T 46.1}

“The treasure we are seeking is imperishable, eternal, immortal, all overglorious; while that of which the worldling is in pursuit, endures but a day; it is fading, perishable, fleeting as the morning cloud.” – {2T 46.3}

“Keep the eye steadily fixed upon Christ, upon the divine image. Imitate His spotless life, and you will be a partaker of His glory, and with Him inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” – {2T 49.2}