Florida Forever

By: Gabriela Yareliz

The Florida Panthers are back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. I told you guys, they are undeniable.

One of the TNT commentators (I think it was Lundqvist) said this team is a masterclass in teamwork and the game of hockey. They are.

This team is fierce. Their coach— iconic. Underlying everything is their belief.

I was listening to Matthew Tkachuk, a player they say that shifted the entire Panthers culture, talk about his injuries and the fact that he wasn’t sure he would be able to play in the playoffs. He didn’t just play, he played well. A commentator rightly observed that he was “never a liability.”

TNT’s Jackie spoke to Sergei Bobrovsky who spent the whole time praising the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It was particularly moving, blunt and heartfelt. Belief.

The players continued to underscore how much they love each other and their cover and fight for one another. Belief.

Belief is different from pressure. Belief is different from isolated precise execution. Belief is the thing that keeps you going when others quit. Belief gives you trust in the person fighting alongside you. Belief opens a door to achieve what others underestimate you for.

Last night, all of the pro-Oiler commentators were forced to acknowledge that there is something in Florida that is a force. It can’t be copied. If this were a tree, it’s not a leaf thing, it’s a root thing.

The Florida Panthers are a team of insane belief that leads to a rare grind. There are no star players. Each is integral. Their belief has made it so.

If you missed the game, here are some highlights.

Some words from Coach Paul Maurice.

Florida forever.

Complete. (Via @Flapanthers)

Snoopy

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I am staring at this girl who has used her bronzer like self tanner as this train barrels toward the bridge tunnel. I forgot my bronzer, I think to myself. I did not forget my self-tanner. It’s one of those mornings. I woke up feeling like I had had a stroke (or what I imagine that feeling to be), and I remain groggy and skeptical of surroundings. There is a woman reading a book about Italy in Spanish next to me. An Asian man with a cute snoopy cap. How does the illustrator always manage to make Snoopy look so peppy? Here, Snoopy is dressed like a park ranger. Ranger hat and all. I admire the Snoopiness.

Ironically, on the morning I feel like my brain is fried, I finished the Dr. Amen brain course. My podcast won’t load until we hit the station before the tunnel.

As we arrive to that station, a woman gets on the train looking super dressed up. She wears a long black skirt with a high slit and sling back flats. Her blow dry is so on point for the level of misty rain we all had to walk through to get to this train. Everyone watches her as she opens her book The Turban and the Hat. I admire her silently with the rest of the train.

A guy with an “Amira” tattoo on his ear has his broken arm draped across him. I wonder who he fought. He definitely looks like the type who fought someone to break his arm. Maybe he did it for Amira?

In the corner, I see a familiar woman who takes up like three seats. She is very rude about it. She spends the whole train ride playing games with elbows up ready to elbow you in the face. I have been crushed and elbowed by her before. (It’s not so much how large she is but how inconsiderate as she decides to take up even more space, everyone near her be damned). I am relieved I chose a different seating area.

All the men standing at the grip polls are still staring at the pretty woman reading. She pretends to ignore them, but she has a slight smirk on her face that gives her away. That is magnetism at its finest. On a scale from gamer lady to pretty lady with the book, I am feeling like the best I can reach today is Snoopy. I am slowly pulling myself out of my Garfield the cat mood and trying to be peppy like Snoopy.

Snoopy in a raincoat will be the mood of the day.

The Minister’s Daughter

Photo by Jesse Williams Photography

By: Gabriela Yareliz

“Remember who you are; forget who they told you to be.” Jessica Simpson is back with new music, and I am here for it. This new music feels part gospel, part folk. In many ways, it feels like a homecoming. The pastor’s daughter is back.

If you were a Y2K girlie and you strived for the squeaky clean image, you were a fan. Sometimes, I look at Jessica, and she still dresses the way we all wanted to back in 2002. From The Newlyweds, where we all saw her grow up in a marriage that by today’s standards makes our hearts hurt (Nick was so mean to her); and then, seeing her evolve, divorce, succeed on her own; to her most recent separation from Eric Johnson— hers is a story of resilience. A woman who was known for her Christian values and entering her marriage “pure”— this was a big deal in Hollywood back then. She was the antithesis to Britney Spears when I was a kid. She tried to do so much right. We don’t talk about this enough. Sometimes, you do the very best you can in life, and you still end up as a burn victim, so to speak.

Whether it’s the music industry, Hollywood, politics (a big one) or even religion, it’s all the same in that it worries more about image and judgment (and I mean this more as stark thinking, not always criticism) rather than truth. It often teaches a judgmental form of thinking that makes us tired, harsh, weary and appearance-driven. It doesn’t matter who you are; if they don’t want you to win, you won’t. People struggle with this more than they’ll admit because it’s part of the human condition. We drown in the thoughts, rules and judgments of others. We drown in our own.

Now, we see a Jessica rising from the ashes and coming back to music. I would argue that even after all she has done and weathered, she remains an example. She has come back to speak truth. In my book, someone who speaks truth earns respect. She has come to tell us she is free and to expose the dark twists and turns of the mind that led her to this point.

It has been a wild ride, but dare we call it life if it isn’t? Growing up, we thought life would be like her Christmas special, singing Baby, It’s Cold Outside with our husbands or something. Growing up means knowing it’s about who we become and help others become. It becomes more about the silent nights that bring us to peace.

Back in 2003, we wanted her sunglasses, her bag, her body and southern sense of humor. But now in 2025, we want her spirit. 🤍

Image via @jessicasimpson
Photo by Jesse Williams Photography

Forecasting

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Last night at church, Erwin McManus reminded us of something powerful— our hope and anticipation for the future is tied to whether we believe God is good. Erwin walked us through Ezra, where the people of Israel laid the foundation for the new temple (the temple known as the inferior temple. Ironically, it was this “inferior temple,” as we know, that held the very presence of Jesus, Himself. God has a way of doing His own thing).

If all we do is complain and forecast doom, this is a direct reflection of a distortion of God’s character. If we have this dark vision, our view of God is dark, too.

A.W. Tozer once said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” The truth is— it shapes everything. It changes the direction of our lives. It determines whether life is wasted and passively lived or if it is seized and passionately experienced.

A lot of life comes down to the question— do you believe God is good?

Contribution

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Why does the world breathe easier today because you are in it?

This was a question that came up in Dr. Amen’s brain course, which I am finishing up.

The world isn’t fair, the course reminds us (hilarious that they thought we needed that reminder), but rather than looking for what is wrong each day— you can look at the world from an empowering perspective. You can ask yourself what you are bringing to the table. How are you working to make an unfair world a little better?

Florida Heat

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Even if two teams play brilliantly, only one wins. There will always be someone who falls second. Even if it’s barely second in a game that goes into overtime. (Overtime is something we can talk about later— life sometimes feels like an OT. You are exhausted, but still in the game, fighting for your life).

But back to second place— there are ways to lose. You can lose with excellence, with humility, and you can also lose spiraling.

This year’s Stanley Cup Final is a rematch between last year’s final two. The Florida Panthers (reigning champs— reign red), and the Oilers who have forced a do-over.

If you watched the Panthers and Oilers game last night (6.9.25), then you witnessed an Oilers team that lost while spiraling. The score was Florida 6-1. The game was a stop-and-go between batches of penalties from both sides. What was obvious was that a lot of penalties were initiated by a very emotional Oilers team.

The announcers called the Oilers “responsive.” The announcers are also huge Oilers fans and have stated their bets, so what are they going to say?

If you have been here for even ten minutes, you know I am a Floridian who is rooting for the Panthers. I believe they are undeniable. And I will say this— if you listen to the Panthers’ postgame, the Panthers are gracious and humble. They say the other team played well and keep saying their focus is on the next game. (That’s why we cheer for these guys. Class). It was also Coach Paul Maurice’s 1,000th game win. When asked about it, the Coach simply said there are people much better than him, and he moved on. Another class act.

I am not a pro-Oilers announcer or a classy Florida Panthers player— so we are gonna break this down for what it was— a sore loss.

Yesterday, you would think, would be a dream for any hockey fan who loves a good fight like I do. The fights abounded. You know what, though? It wasn’t interesting. Why? The fights lacked discipline. The penalties were not a result of assertive forechecks that made sense. These were petty moves. It was like the players were throwing a tantrum. Let’s call it for what it was— they were mad at the score, and instead of collecting themselves, they slapped guys in the face with sticks and put them in headlocks. Unhinged.

Florida is like the Florida heat. It’s hot and sticky like molasses. It spills all over you. There is no escaping it. It gets on everything. You are annoyed at first, but then, before you know it, it’s a part of you. It makes you resistant. It seeps so deep into you, once there, it never leaves. The heat is a slow steady roast. For the Floridian, it feels sweet like home. For the stranger, it feels like scorched hell.

The Panthers played with heat and scorched the rink last night. The Oilers were acting like they had been attacked by mosquitoes on a hot Florida porch night, and they were slapping their frustrations out on the ice.

The Oilers allowed the Florida players to seep under their skin, and they got burned like a spring break gone wrong at Daytona Beach. They ended the game with a stung-by-a-jellyfish level of shock

There is a proverb that says: “You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.”

Last night’s game was not about a team that was simply reactionary, as the overly botoxed commentators want you to think. No, what we saw was a team that had no control over its emotions. It was an undisciplined and entitled team who figured that if they can’t win the game with excellence, they will try and injure players on the other side to win by default.

If you apply the principles to real life, that is a dangerous game to play. It’s one you always lose.

There are still games left to play. We don’t know what will happen next. Hopefully, the Oilers can gather themselves in this break and bring us a less unhinged game. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to see them lose. All I am saying is their fans and opponents deserve better. They deserve better. They should go down fighting the right way.

Oilers should beware. Florida heat can be dangerous. If you aren’t ready for it, it will leave you shocked and riled. 😉 I think they got a taste of it.

Only the Brave

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I loved this message from Erwin McManus. It was a powerful reminder of the call to courage, and the role our measure of courage plays in laying hold of the life God can help us achieve. The interesting thing is courage is a decision. It is up to us.

The message is a beautiful reminder of the story of Joshua. It reminded me of my first Sabbath in NYC, where a random older woman slipped me a piece of paper that had verse 9 written on it:

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

The verse was a powerful reminder then to me, as it is now.

God has a way of reminding us of things and what He needs from us. May we always listen, and may we always dare.