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.”
