Before it is too late…
Tocca: Violette
This ad made me feel warm and fuzzy. I wandered the streets of Paris all over again.
Song: “Comme des enfants” Coeur de Pirate
The name
“To some He is a name, but to me, He’s my everything– I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” – Heritage Singers, I am not ashamed
Lost
By: Ravi Zacharias-From his talk The lostness of man part 4 of 4
“Man is not just unethical, he is lost and dead.
If a man is only lost in guilt, what I have given you is bad news;
but he is lost in sin, and our great priviliege is to tell him we have a Saviour.
The biggest difference between Jesus Christ and ethical and moral teachers
who have been deified by man is that
the moralist came to make bad people good.
Jesus came to make dead people live.
East or West, North or South, ancient or modern,
the problem is the same and the solution is the same.
Once we understand the heinousness of sin,
we will gain a deep and lasting gratitude for God.
I was 17 years old on a bed of suicide in Delhi when I gave my life to Jesus Christ,
I was not a bad man becoming a good man,
I was a dying man who was now going to live for a cause that was greater than he was.”
-Ravi Zacharias
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
“I just know there is God. He has strange ways of charting things in my life.” Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
New York: Queens-Jackson Heights (Little India) and Flushing (Chinatown)
By: Gabriela Yareliz
On a day with no school, it is time to explore the city. That is exactly what my friend and I did Monday, when we hit the train stations and the streets of Queens to see the ecclectic and ethnic neighborhoods of Jackson Heights and Flushing. Here is a bit of our journey through pictures.
Instructions: FOLLOW THE CAPTIONS, PLEASE 🙂
This is what you see when you emerge into the sunlight from the train. Restaurants and jewelers. Welcome to Little India.
Someday, I will wear one of these. They are so gorgeous.
When you cross the street there is an Indian supermarket. when you walk in you are engulfed by the smell of incense. They have a wealth of variety of food and hair products (yes, even amla serums) and the cutest eggplants I have ever seen. It seems to keep busy. The guys who stock were very nice and one smiled at me when I caught his eye.
After walking by more jewelers than I could count (amazing how they all compete side by side and have card and flier wars on the sidewalk), I saw this. Hyperventilation. OH YEAH!!!
I even saw Hrithik Roshan- I know what you are thinking. He is sexy. The guy at the shop probably thought I was insane when I went in only to have a look at this. He drew me in with his gaze, you know?
TRANSITION-ROUTE 7 TO FLUSHING
POOF! We are gone to Chinatown. This Chinatown turned out to be more legit than the Manhattan one. No offense, dear Chinese friends in Manhattan, but FLUSHING OWNS!
WE ARE HERE!!!!
We visited posh Chinese boutiques that had boots for $100, necklaces that looked like belts with buckles and fur and fabulous jewelry. Think Aisha, except the Chinese and not Indian-Sonam Kapoor version. POSH!
Even five-star hotels… This place was incredibly gorgeous. I recommend it. 😉 Sheraton Hotel in Flushing Mall. A-MA-ZING.
I make friends quickly… my flight attendant friends. You know I think they wrote a beauty book or something. I once heard Asian flight attendants are the most glamourous. I believe it..
After eating a yummy meal (vegetable fried rice) and stopping at the Flushing Library, which is great–I decided to go blonde (thank you to ELVABEAUTY in Flushing for your kindness in letting us have our hair changed on a whim…)
For more on ELVA BEAUTY, click here for her Twitter. This woman is really great. 🙂
We ended the day with CoCo (a place that does smoothies and tea).
Word to the wise: Carry cash with you; Most places only accept cash.
Go into all of the malls and supermarkets, it is amazing.
I learned a lot that day. I learned a lot about features and feeling different almost like an outsider. Usually, I can blend and go unnoticed with many cultures and ethnicities, but in Chinatown, that was not the case. It puts things into perspective. It was pretty awesome. We had a fab day, and I thank all of the lovely people in Queens who made our day possible and God, who made our day safe (and we didn’t wait on one train, smooth rides) 🙂
Queens was everything I wanted it to be.
Too cute. 🙂 At the candy shop.
Vision
By: Gabriela Yareliz
LOOK WITH THE HEART AT WHAT THE EYES DON’T SEE–MAKE THE DIFFERENCE.
-UNICEF
Temple
By: Ellen G. White
Let none who profess godliness regard with indifference the health of the body, and flatter themselves that intemperance is no sin, and will not affect their spirituality. A close sympathy exists between the physical and the moral nature. The standard of virtue is elevated or degraded by the physical habits…. Any habit which does not promote healthful action in the human system degrades the higher and nobler faculties. Wrong habits of eating and drinking lead to errors in thought and action.The Review and Herald, January 25, 1881. – {Te 17.6}
No Christian will take into his system food or drink that will cloud his senses, or that will so act upon the nervous system as to cause him to degrade himself, or to unfit him for usefulness. The temple of God must not be defiled. The faculties of mind and body should be preserved in health, that they may used to glorify God.—Manuscript 126, 1903. – {Te 18.3}
How important it is to remember that we are God’s and not of our own selves.
‘Put your hearts up’ and ‘Send it on’…
By: Gabriela Yareliz
Songs on my inspiration playlist:
‘Put your hearts up’ with Ariana Grande.
/You think you’re so small
Like you’re itty bitty.
Just one match in the lights of the city
Walking by strangers on the side of the street
Like a quarter in a cup’ll get ’em up on their feet, like
You think you’re never gonna make your mark
Sit back and watch the world while it falls apart, like
Out of sight, out of mind, like, like
It’s just a waste of time,
***
If we give a little love
Maybe we can change the world
***
Let me see you put your hearts up, yeah
Let me see you put your hearts up, yeah
If we give a little love maybe we can change the world (change the world)
Wishen on a shooting star in the sky
We can do anything if we try
Can’t resurrect Ghandi, resurrect king
But if we put our heads together
We can do anything like
You don’t have to be a billionaire
You don’t have to have much to show how much you care
Like give a wink, give a kiss
Like give a little happiness/
‘Send it on’-Disney Channel Stars: Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato
A word’s just a word ‘Til you mean what you say,
And love isn’t love ‘Til you give it away
We’ve all gotta give
Yes, something to give To make a change
Send it on, on and on
Just one hand can heal another
Be a part, reach a heart
Just one spark starts a fire
With one little action
The chain reaction will never stop
Make it strong
Shine a light, and send it on
Just smile, and the world
(Just smile, and the world)Will smile along with you
That small act of love
Is meant for one who will become two
If we take the chances
To change circumstances
Imagine all we can do
If we send it on, on and on
Just one hand can heal another
Be a part, reach a heart
Just one spark starts a fire
GABRIELA YARELIZ 