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.

Summer Fridays

By: Gabriela Yareliz

There is this guy on the train in a beige linen suit. He has on a blue shirt and thick glasses. He looks like one of those wealthy attorneys who has a house in Miami. You know, the kind that wears loafers. He is vibing. He is dressed for Friday (but it’s Thursday!).

How did I spend my first summer Friday? Sick as a dog. We approach a new Friday, and I am planning and scheming. I know for sure I need to schedule a chiropractor adjustment for an upcoming Friday (seeking alignment), I need to fix my hair, do some writing, type up some stuff for a project, I want to visit that forest expo by GP— I am ambitious with what I want to come out of the summer with. I need to make up for my lost Friday where I was blind with a fever.

Florida Panthers lost Game 1 yesterday. Wayne Gretzky needs to stop his Botox; he can barely speak— he is so frozen. Paul Maurice will go back to the videos, as he does, and come up with an annihilation plan for the Oilers, I am sure. The announcers have to stop blindly praising the Oilers. We get it— you want them to win.

Temperatures are rising in the city. We are on track to hit 90 soon. Before we know it, trash will be melting on the sidewalks. I don’t know if we are ready for it. I am wearing a sleeveless dress. One I haven’t touched since last May. I am determined to wear my dresses a lot this summer to make sure I wear everything at least four times. That’s the thing with good quality lasting clothes, things last, and you wear it for years. I was cleaning my closet the other day, and realized I have a ton of pre-pandemic clothes. Stuff that is already more than seven years old. It’s wild. The other day, someone said 2011, and it feels like yesterday but also like ages ago.

I got my head filled with New England Summer scenes. What plans do you have for the summer?

Whole

“Entitled people are never happy.” Dr. Amen brain course

By: Gabriela Yareliz

We live in a “blame-y” culture (borrowed the term from Emma Grede). It’s someone around us who is to blame or the government. We complain about things for precious hours we won’t get back. We become overly absorbed in pointing and feeling cheated when we have so much, and so much of the rest is in our hands. Regardless of circumstance, we are responsible for our lives.

Today, the reminder is two-fold: we must take responsibility for everything in our control (and it’s more than we think); and we must approach life with gratitude and not entitled.

I loved this thought from Erwin McManus:

“When you’re ungrateful, you’re actually postured toward the world as, the world owes me something.

When you’re grateful, you’re actually postured as, l owe the world something.

And so it’s really just a differential between being a taker and being a giver.

Gratitude is the only internal ingredient that makes you whole.

No matter how much help you get, no matter how much of the Bible you read, no matter how much church you go to, or synagogue, or whatever it may be, you will never be whole if you’re ungrateful.”

Let’s be whole.

To My Brothers

[A note to celebrate my brothers on their birthday.]

Happy birthday, Luis and Sammy. ♥️ I struggled a lot with loneliness as a kid. I spent hours by myself reading or up in some tree. I would pray a lot for a sibling, and so, when I was told you were on the way, while other kids pout, or reject their siblings for a while— I laughed and cried from happiness and rolled on the ground until I cried tears of joy. I remember it now like it was yesterday. I remember thinking that clearly Jesus and I were tight because he favored me so much that He gave me double for my years and years of little prayers I thought went unheard. But you, and that moment, are a reminder that God works like that. We ask for something, and He surprises us with a gift beyond what we imagine. The key in life is that when those gifts arrive, you cherish them to show your steadfast gratitude.

I haven’t been a perfect sister. (Far from it. Been to therapy, lol). But one thing I can tell you despite the flaws in expression— I have loved you from day one. I am grateful that we share this bond forever. That in old age, we will have each other, and I am sure we will be laughing. That is what we do. There are more memories to make, more laughs to have, more high school musical songs to sing.

Watching you grow up has been a supreme privilege. I know for certain it has shaped me as a person. There is no me without you. Anytime I had you with me, I took it as a supreme responsibility because of the gift you were and are.

Thank you for growing into kind, hard working, loving and funny individuals. Each of you unique and resilient in your own way.

Thank you for all the joy. Truly. I can’t imagine life without you, and I am glad I don’t have to. ❤️