GABRIELA YARELIZ

Empty Campus; cold morning

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Hello! It is freezing outside. Yes, the cold front reached us in Florida. Horrible. This time I was prepared. I am wearing a black long sleeve boatneck, a purple scarf tied around the waist. A black corduroy blazer, and a navy corduroy coat from Gap with black fuzzy gloves that leave their fuzzies on EVERYTHING. But I am warm. My hair looks like I did it with dynamite.

The campus is empty. Not a creatue was stirring, not even a mouse…. okay maybe not. A nice looking Asian girl ran into the lab in her heels. Public Relations major- probably. They always walk around here in heels as if this were New York.

I sat here as the fog outside dissipated, finishing my dvd cover design for class. I am starting to become satisfied with it. Now a charming and smiling fellow in flannel walked into the lab. Smiling to himself I am sure about the empty lab. This never happens. You usually have to fight a-la GOP candidates for a lab computer with the sacred InDesign program in it.

Today I greeted a custodian and went straight to the newspaper box as usual. Today is Thursday- which means Fashion and Style section in the New York Times. Except there are officially no newspapers available on campus. Sniffle. This made me sad. Thursday of all days. Oh well.

On Kidd Kraddick, Kelly Raspberry told Jose he should make a live nativity scene in his front yard for Christmas since his wife is going into labor any minute now. I thought this was hilarious.

Anyway. This was a quick update of the happenings and a morning in my life on reading days before final exams start for some and end for me next week.

I am about to start eating my lunch and it’s only 9 a.m. I know- this is what the cold weather does to you.

Stay warm!

PS. I found an awesome story about an Occupy Wall Street Protestor getting a job on Wall Street. I was just thinking of the reporter who found this story. They must have been in utter bliss. It is a great story! Check it out:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/07/us/occupy-wall-street-job/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2

PSS.

John 14:

John 14

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

¹ “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many mansions;^[a] if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.^[b] ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And where I go you know, and the way you know.” ⁵ Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

The Answered Prayer

¹² “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. ¹³ And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask^[c] anything in My name, I will do it.

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2014&version=NKJV)

Changing the hand of God

Recounted conversation by: Gabriela Yareliz

The hand of God is one that cannot be hindered. In ways that is very comforting. His plan will happen; God does not lie.

In a moment of faltering faith, I expressed the opinion that what will happen will happen, could I really change the future?

My mother then reminded me of Moses. God was angry with the people of Israel. They had broken the covenant.

Exodus 32: 9,10 tells us what God said to Moses:

.9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.

And so God is ready to destroy these people. But suddenly, Moses begins to plead for the people.

Exodus 32:11

And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why does your wrath grow hot against your people, whom you have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?

Of course, Moses here is a type of Christ. He represent Christ as a mediator and saviour. Someone who didn’t give up on us, humanity. But here we can also see that Moses’ prayers and pleading with God change the course of history. God listens to Moses and has mercy on the people.

And so, if ever your faith falters, remember that God is good. He hears us and our prayers can change the course of history.

Prayer changes things.

“And the Lord said, “I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in My sight, and I know thee by name.”Still the prophet did not cease pleading. Every prayer had been answered, but he thirsted for greater tokens of God’s favor. He now made a request that no human being had ever made before: “I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory.”

God did not rebuke his request as presumptuous; but the gracious words were spoken, “I will make all My goodness pass before thee.” The unveiled glory of God, no man in this mortal state can look upon and live; but Moses was assured that he should behold as much of the divine glory as he could endure. Again he was summoned to the mountain summit; then the hand that made the world, that hand that “removeth the mountains, and they know not” (Job 9:5), took this creature of the dust, this mighty man of faith, and placed him in a cleft of the rock, while the glory of God and all His goodness passed before him.” Patriarchs and Prophets pg.328, Ellen G. White

When we are filled with the boldness of Moses; when we commune with God; when we are obedient and find favor in His sight; God makes all of His goodness pass before us.

A.W. Tozer

Compiled by: Gabriela Yareliz

“A man by his sin may waste himself, which is to waste that which on earth is most like God. This is man’s greatest tragedy and God’s heaviest grief.”    ―  A.W. Tozer

“No man should desire to be happy who is not at the same time holy. He should spend his efforts in seeking to know and do the will of God, leaving to Christ the matter of how happy he should be.”

A.W. Tozer

“God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which he must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.”    ― A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

“We can afford to follow Him to failure. Faith dares to fail. The resurrection and the judgment will demonstrate before all worlds who won and who lost. We can wait.”    ― A.W. Tozer, Born After Midnight

“True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie.”    ― A.W. Tozer

(http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1082290.A_W_Tozer)

In the midst of finals, study guides, final projects, printers that are spewing out hundreds of pages in seconds, Christmas shopping, crowds, traffic- I hope you retain your sanity. May God give you peace and the stamina to continue.

Holiday Spirit

By: Gabriela Yareliz

So, this weekend was great. Sabbath was lovely, and then after church we went out with some families from the church, ate, and walked around the festival of lights display at the North Florida Regional Hospital. It was magical. Lots of lights and sparkly things- music and young people hand-in-hand having some romantic night out and snapping photos of each other holding candy canes which I am sure will later make an appearance on Facebook.

The weather was really nice. I had my Spain sweater on, and I was a bit of an idiot because I had a racerback under it so I did get a bit cold, but that was because of my stupidity. Then, yesterday was the Sounds of the Seasons celebration concert at The Philips Center. It was hosted by Bernie Machen (UF pres) and he wrote a killer poem including “anthopology-loving” Rick Scott. It was awesome. I was thrilled. The music was divine and the conductors are truly maestros.

While at work, my brothers assembled the Christmas tree (something I was not in the mood to help out with this year), and it looks beautiful.

This weekend I was thinking about how excited I would always get for Christmas. I’d play Christmas music in September. I made a list. I decorated my room, complete with tin-foil snowflakes. My American Girl Dolls would be in their special dresses. I would read Richard Paul Evan’s The Christmas Box. I would find eggnog, and eat Turron sent from Abuela in P.R., a nougat dessert originated, I think in Spain.

It was the best time of the year. My Christmas spirit has fluctuated since. I mean, Christmas is the perfect time to remember the people who are missing in your life (familiy members who have left or died). But still, despite my melancholic apathy this year, between my thin racerback in the lit-up night and my orange-ish foundation look yesterday at the Philips Center (I was very upset about this), I somehow found peace, and I did begin to succumb into the Christmas Spirit. The music seduced us all softly into a tranquility and peaceful joy yesterday.

By the way, my foundation is like orange on me now, because in a lapse of two weeks, now that it gets darker so much faster, I’ve gotten pale. I was tan two weeks ago; and now I am white, white, white. As white as olive people can get, you know what I mean.

And so yes…. and this upcoming weekend is going to be amazing. Not only is it “13th Sabbath” and the children will do the program, but I have a special trip I will have to tell you about after the fact. 🙂 This will hopefully include pictures 🙂 Also, I am preparing for a duet in a Christmas song medley at church. The First Noel. I hit notes I didn’t know were humanly possible.

And so this week begins with jolly good tidings 🙂 A law school acceptance letter (number 5) and a design final tonight. Bummer.

But even though I know I must slave over my law final study guide… There is so much to be happy about. God is so good.

“I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive; I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise- to fly “-Nicki Minaj

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Blessings

By: Gabriela Yareliz

It has been an amazing day so far and it’s only 9:51 a.m. Yup. It started out with me getting an extra hour of sleep after my exam filled day yesterday. I pulled out my new make up palette and had some fun with some new eyeshadows while listening to Kidd Kraddick. While driving to school I belted out to “All I want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey (it was great, too bad you missed that)…

I got to school; the sunshine is everywhere. I found out that I got a good grade on my economics final yesterday, which means a good grade in the class overall. I drank orange juice this morning, and it’s like the whole world is wonderful today. It was great yesterday too, but today takes it to a whole new level.

(If you aren’t having one of those days, I am very sorry. My sympathies.)

Kidd Kraddick is in New York today. I’ve never been there, but I wish I could go see Central Park. That is the one place I’d want to go see. If that was all I saw and then was forced to leave, I’d be satisfied.

Anyway… I have been taking my prayer life to a whole new level lately. I think it’s important to realize the power we can have through prayer. Prayer changes things right? We can make things happen; we can change someone’s world…

I have been spending a lot of time in prayer. Sometimes sacrificing sleep (a lot of the time actually). I can only imagine how Jesus felt when He’d spend the WHOLE night in prayer! I haven’t even done that! But such was the need He felt to be connected to the Father. If He needed to be connected, imagine lowly me! (I really need to stop using exclamation points today. As my reporting professor said, there is only a limited amount of exclamation points one should be allowed to use in a lifetime- I think I just spent all of mine).

The point is, that I’ve felt more in peace and different through this prayer-a-thon situation. I encourage you to try it yourself…

Slowly, He begins to mold our minds more and more, and our desires become His desires, and His peace becomes ours.

I wanted to share the lyrics to Laura Story’s song, “Blessings”

“We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe
‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It’s not our home

‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise”

Have an amazing day-

Fred, darling…

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I saw this picture on www.snippetandink.com (my favorite wedding blog), and it made me smile.

Cat and Holly. My blog, this collection of random thoughts that unravel out like a yarn ball out of control…

Breakfast at Tiffany’s for me will forever be this strange meeting of shallowness meets depth of thought. Holly is often used as a symbol, a shallow one I’d say, but it’s a cute movie anyway, despite the bad dance moves.

1] Anyway, it is 35 degrees outside with no prospects of improving. Horrible. Today, I have two exams to fry my brain. I am later going to get a pumpkin spice bagel from Einstein’s and read the newspaper and then peruse my economics notes.

2]People keep criticizing Tim Tebow- they say he praises Jesus too much. I like how people complain about that. At least he has shown himself to be a Christian and wholesome person. Random celebrities will “praise Jesus” in thank you speeches, etc, when all they do is offer the world trash. No one complains there do they? People need to let him do whatever God is leading him to do. I admire his firmness in character. He is human, but people, get real. Okay, my Tim Tebow rant is done for the day.

3] I am going to miss my ethics class. It taught me to think about repercussions even for crossing the street (kidding). I learned a lot. Those who follow this blog know my virtue ethics stance and how difficult it was to be so logical, but with God’s help-all things are possible.

4] When it comes to our lives… and trusting in God (a topic I am ever-so-deeply exploring- we must realize that He is good and will not uphold any good thing from those that love him (Rom. 8:28)

Proverbs 3: 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

God has left us so many promises and He is not a man to lie. Faith is recognizing that God does not lie.

This hymn is so wonderful:

/’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
and to take him at his word;
just to rest upon his promise,
and to know, “Thus saith the Lord.”
Refrain:
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!

2. O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
just to trust his cleansing blood;
and in simple faith to plunge me
neath the healing, cleansing flood!
(Refrain)

3. Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
just from sin and self to cease;
just from Jesus simply taking
life and rest, and joy and peace.
(Refrain)

4. I’m so glad I learned to trust thee,
precious Jesus, Savior, friend;
and I know that thou art with me,
wilt be with me to the end.
(Refrain) / (http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh462.sht)

5] This is the time when we remember more than ever that God came down to be with us and save us.

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

The Prince of Peace- a God who came down to restore what was broken because of sin.

I can’t believe it is already December 1st.

Crazy. Fred, darling- can we slow down the time?

Tim Tebow

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I am so proud of him! May the Lord bless him and keep him. He will use every opportunity to give the honor and glory to Jesus Christ.

His reponse to the criticism he has received was great! Check it out.

Heartwarming Life

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Today has been a heartwarming day. I had great conversations with people, ate lunch outside with Felicia under the sunshine (which was struggling against the clouds to get some rays out)…

By the Reitz Union I made a card with an organization called “Friends For Life” which does cards for pediatric cancer patients. Mine looked epic. It makes me happy to think my card will end up in a child’s hands. It is blue and it has stick-on letters spelling out: Dream, on the cover. There are glittery snowflakes all over it and a polar bear inside on to whom I drew on a smile.

I hope that whatever child receives it that they dream, that they never give up on their dreams.

As Camila (the band) says,

“lo ultimo que muere es la esperanza-“/ “The last thing that dies is hope”

Sometimes it can be the first thing to go and a succession of problems comes afterward; but for a child- I think hope is the last things that dies (though I hope it never dies for anyone). A life without hope has no meaning- that is why I am so enamored with God and his incomprehensible love for us.

Anyway, I left and ate a mini snickers and ran into Beto, the coolest, most upbeat revolutionary on campus. He can make anyone smile. Blessed are they who have that charisma.

Now, it is time for an economics lecture. Not my idea of heartwarming but such is the stuff of life.

To warm your soul, I leave you with some quotes:

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”    ―      Albert Einstein

“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, Love like you’ll never be hurt, Sing like there’s nobody listening, And live like it’s heaven on earth.”    ―      William W. Purkey

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”    ―      Mae West

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”    ―      Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it.”    ―      Mother Teresa

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”    ―      Dr. Seuss,        Happy Birthday to You!

“Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it can. And just when you think it can’t get any better, it can.”    ―      Nicholas Sparks,   At First Sight

“Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.”    ―      John Greenleaf Whittier,        Maud Muller – Pamphlet

To that extraordinary young man I have profound admiration for 🙂 :

“Sometimes people are beautiful. Not in looks. Not in what they say. Just in what they are.” ― Markus Zusak, I Am the Messenger

(http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/life)

Life your life to the fullest. Not everyday is extraordinary, but each day is a gift. That is why it is called present.

Behke Behke

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. I hope we all ate with moderation, or as my friend Dennis would say, “Temperance brother, temperance…”

I’ve been thinking a lot and I’ve come to some conclusions.

1] Love is an interesting concept. Often times we think of people as deserving love or earning love. Funny enough, love is not about merit. That is exactly what true love is. It is something that is not necessarily deserved at all.

Romans 5:8 “⁸But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Christ died for us and we don’t deserve it. It is like that in life. We can love others even when they don’t deserve it. It is difficult; it is unnatural; it is divine.

2] I stand by this belief:

“When a man sees something good, he goes after it.”

3] We lost the football game this weekend. Uf v. FSU. The only points we scored were in the last 10 min. of the game in the 4th quarter. I am still so unbelievably proud of those players. I think when you meet these young men and realize how much it means to them, even if its not your thing- you begin to care.

4] Is it time to read my David Copperfield again? A waste of time? What? Maybe. I am not sure if I will… maybe I’ll just read my favorite parts.

Maybe it’ll help me come out of this diabetic situation after Thanksgiving (kidding).

5] What must we do for the things we so desire? Will they always stay as some platonic wish waiting to be fulfilled? Not necessarily…

Mark 9:23

“²³Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”

All things…

^“24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

6] And now for AISHA the movie that I picked up becuase I thought it would make me relive being 13. It did. I loved it, even though at one point I thought it was a bit cheesy. At the end I was left content. It is a bright film that shows different aspects of life and love. It shows the shallowness that can arise in femal friendships, manipulation and also good intentions. It shows how sometimes something is in front of us and we never realized it is what we always wanted.