This is who we are: Americans

By: Gabriela Yareliz

We are a bit crazy, a bit conceited, a bit privileged, a bit super-sized, a bit obsessive, a bit judgmental, a bit hard-headed, a bit hopeful, a bit funny, a bit ignorant, but we are certainly unique and known around the world (whether it be for good or bad)…

We are proud and arrogant;

We make commentators journalists;

We like denim;
We are preppy;



We like things big;
Super big;

We eat whatever tastes good;

We are loud;
We are punctual;

We have certain people we love to watch;

We like to look good and do YouTube tutorials;



We take High School very seriously;
We make the English language evolve;

We say “I am sorry” too much;



We make expressions the world adopts;

We are judgmental and seldom accurate;

We like musicals;

We are into violent things;

We are individualists;
We can’t be alone with ourselves;

We love labels;
We stereotype unforgivingly;


We ride trucks through mud;



We are dramatic;

We are regionally oriented;
We like tans;

And drink enough coffee to cover for the rest of the world;
We are obsessed with youth;

We are strangely political;
We love Disney;

We are hood;

We are classy;

We are crazy;

We believe in reaching new heights;

We love music;

We go to camp in the summer;

We love technology;

This Fourth of July, live it American style 😉 Unity in diversity.
We are citizens of a country where anything is possible.

Happy 4th of July

Happy Birthday Great Nation.

We have come a long way. We began as a nation made up of immigrants. People here found refuge, freedom and hope for a better future. We had dark moments. If one looks back it was not too far back that we had minorities disenfranchised. It wasn’t even a hundred years ago that we had Jim Crow laws.

Those who came seeking refuge sometimes came and established themselves and became like the ones they ran from.

However, this is a Great Nation. A nation that promises equality, freedom to believe, freedom to pursue happiness. We can worship freely and build a different and better life.

Hundreds still come with a dream, either by diversity lottery or ambition.

Each day, however, there are detention centers where immigrants are held and mistreated in this country. Racism and discrimination are still lurking around every corner. While people become tolerant of some things, intolerance arises about other things.

Some who are uneducated and isolated mentally, want to not be isolationists in our relationship with other countries, which results in a mess.

There are children working in agriculture jobs in our fields, and we help other governments exploit their own people by paying a low wage to obtain goods cheaply.

Though we are great, and I could not have the life I have if I would’ve been in any other place–we still have a long way to go to ensure that this nation that is still an immigrant nation, remains that way. We have a long way to go to ensure all have equality, freedom and value.

Thank you United States of America, for your gift of allowing me to follow my ambitions. The fact that I can write this piece and publish it for the world to see–that is freedom.

God bless the United States of America, from the sunny West coast where they carry surf boards into blue oceans to the grassy Midwest where children sit on porches drinking soda pop on hot nights after swimming in lakes to the bright and vibrant East coast where some of our most amazing minds reside and the ivy towers withstand the clock of time. May God forgive us for the atrocities we have done, and help us to move forward in a changed way.

I pray USA, that you begin to see others as the human beings of value that they are; that you begin to care over humanitarian crises in countries that can give you nothing in return.

I hope that the inscription on the Statue of Liberty remains true. Be a shelter for the tired, poor and huddled masses. Lift up your golden lamp, and let us feel the warmth of its glow. –Gabriela Yareliz

A letter for a confused, frustrated and sad soul

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Dear confused, frustrated and sad one,

For the person who feels no true joy, I am writing to you. There are people around you who love you. There is at least one; one who would do anything for you to feel valued, worthy, precious and happy. Sometimes the path is dark. We are all human. The path is twisted, unexpected and strange. We end up feeling perplexed and desiring a feeling of relief; and this feeling of relief, we suppose sometimes, comes from resignation or denial.

How do we find out which way we are going? Truly, we never reach a place in life where we have it all figured out. The whole idea is that as time goes by, however, we learn to trust our Guide more and more.

When we don’t know where else to go, don’t fall where others do. They fall into self-pity, self-loathing and self destruction. When all seems wrong, it is not time to be angry, for we don’t know what tomorrow brings. It is not time to indulge in destructive habits or sedate ourselves as if we are beings that cannot face our own voices or thoughts. There is one who would like to see you destroyed, give him not the satisfaction.

We often want music, or some breathing technique to rescue us from ourselves. We then find ourselves weak. Unable to be social or be any semblance to normal without an aid or crutch to get us by. Some say religion is a crutch, but how is it so if it acts as a mirror and forces us to face ourselves as we really are?

There gets a point where there is nothing else anyone can say to us– we must simply believe it ourselves. Believe what? We must believe what rests at the bottom layer of our hearts, where all things with certainty lie. Believe that in the end that it will all be okay, and that God works together all things for good for those who love Him.

Life is like walking along a foggy path. Our direction becomes clearer as we go; each time we reach a new point, we see more ahead.

Frustrated soul, be not dismayed. Be at peace; do not be troubled. Do not be afraid. When all seems hopeless and messy, you must keep pressing forward. Is it not after death and sleep that spring comes? Is it not after sleep and what seems like death that the butterfly breaks through?

Do not be sad. There are many who sit in hospital beds who wish to be us. Do not depend on a person or place for happiness. Be happy first, with yourself. Do not expect the worst and hope for the best, for no such thing exists. Hope for the best, and expect miracles.

Be sure of God’s omnipotence. He is Creator of all and holds all in His hands.

When we feel we have come to our worst, we must then begin to spend. Spend what? Spend ourselves. Give yourself. Pour yourself out. Give in every opportunity you have. Allow God’s blessings to flow through you to others. Give, give everything you have.

See the grass, how it points up. Symbol of hope. See the sun how is warms and facilitates growth. Symbol of life. Look at the plants and animals, with all of their intricacies, and know that the same designer who fashioned them has fashioned your life.

Place not your happiness on what can be taken away from you; money, success, favor, clothing, beauty–instead place your happiness in One who is not moved. In One who satisfies. The One who is faithful.

Know that nothing is impossible. If you know this, other insecurities and uncertainties will be solved. Speak in faith, until you believe it as the truth it is. Recognize your purpose on this planet is unique and God given. Go after what is worthy, and what makes you feel connected to the divine. Don’t give up on something you will not forgive yourself for letting go of. Let go of what needs to be let go of, so to not lead to misery.

Hope is the last thing to die. Let it not die in you. It can be fed with a spark or tiny seed. Accept every word of love and warmth as a soft wind blowing on the flame to keep it alive. Hold the hand beside you, and do not let go.

Always be joyful for the gift of another day. Surround yourself with those who are honest. Set confusion aside and know you only see a drop in the ocean of the grand scheme of things; send frustration to find peace, and take sadness and replace it with the joy that comes from being loved.

You are loved.


Giving your all

image

Paraphrase from Ravi Zacharaias:
There was a little boy who had many marbles, and a girl who had candy. The little girl told him she would give him all of the candy if he gave her all of his marbles. The little boy went and took his finest marble and stuffed it under his pillow. He then went and gave her the rest of his marbles; the girl gave him her all of candy.

At night, the little girl was sound asleep, but the boy kept tossing and turning wondering, with one question in his head: I wonder if she gave me all of her candy.

If you have never totally committed your will to Him, you go to bed wondering every night if He has given His all to you.

The artist bets his life by: Adam Gopnik

From the New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik about Vincent Van Gogh:
“Some stories in history we want to have neatly finished; some we like to have always in play. We accept without too much trouble the ambiguity of the old and new stories because they add up to something similar in the end. Van Gogh’s ear makes its claim on the world’s attention because it reminds us that on the outer edge of art there is madness to pity, meanness to deplore, and courage to admire, and we can’t ever quite keep them from each other. Gauguin was a miserable moral gambler, and a maker of modernism; van Gogh was a self-mutilating madman, and a poet of all the visions. We accept an ambiguity in the story of van Gogh’s ear because the act is itself ambiguous.

It’s true that the moral luck dramatized by modern art involves an uncomfortable element of ethical exhibitionism. We gawk and stare as the painters slice off their ears and down the booze and act like clowns. But we rely on them to make up for our own timidity, on their courage to dignify our caution. We are spectators in the casino, placing bets; that’s the nature of the collaboration that brings us together, and we can sometimes convince ourselves that having looked is the same as having made, and that the stakes are the same for the ironic spectator and the would-be saint. But they’re not. We all make our wagers, and the cumulative lottery builds museums and lecture halls and revisionist biographies. But the artist does more. He bets his life.”

You are the Light

This is one of the songs we sang Sabbath.

You Are The Light
Tom Fettke

You are the Light we see.
You are the Truth we know.
You are the Life we live.
You are the Hope,
You are the Joy,
You are the Song we sing.

Living God
Loving God we glorify your name
High and Holy One come down
We lift our hearts in praise
Prince of Peace, Emmanuel
Jesus Lord of love

Within our hearts Your light.
Within our minds Your truth.
Within our lives Your love.
Living Your hope,
Spreading Your joy,
Singing Your beautiful song.

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