November 2023 Favorites

Photo by Morgane Le Breton on Unsplash

This was a month that brought some magic. This month, I met one of my favorite writers and some pretty incredible women. I spent time in Manhattan, which I always love. I saw the homage to Matthew Perry at the Friend’s building. Speaking only for the city, we voted in the same criminals into public office. I got sooo back on track with my workout routine. I could have slept more, though.

We saw the coolest Jaeger-LeCoutre exhibit and ate the most beautiful pastries. We cooked up a delicious Thanksgiving dinner complete with these very cool mushroom burgers. I voted for my favorite dancers on DWTS (finale is next week). It got so cold. (SO cold, guys).

I didn’t read very much. I replaced my reading time with working out, so it was either read or sleep, but I am still making my way through three great books, little by little. With the bitter cold moving in on us, I know more quiet and warm evenings are in the future.

I wanted to flag that yours truly will be featured in the Hot Mess Free Virtual Summit. You can register and sign up here! If you are feeling the chaos, this season, or you just love being encouraged, make sure to support this beautiful project. I am honored to be a part of it.

And what can I say, the holidays also are a solemn reminder of the people we miss. Absence is always felt deeper. The world, each day, shows us it has gone mad. Yet, I know this adventure has a purpose. I recently heard the question, ‘Are we fit for the work ahead of us?‘ Whether we realize it or not, there is work laid out ahead of us. There is a role we are tasked with. Have we sat in the quiet to discern it and hear the guidance that will take us home?

Winter constantly reminds us that light shines brightest in the darkness. There is nothing to fear, because light shines out of darkness, and love, the greatest gift of all, will make us whole.

Wishing you, and yours, a beautiful festive season. Let nothing spoil the joy of knowing God came down to save us. Extravagant love changed the world and will change us, if we let it.

Post of the month: Reflecting on Courage and Rising

Quotes

“Thinking is my fighting.” Virginia Woolf

“Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think.” Jean de la Bruyere

“I have a kind of courage you do not understand. I am far from blind, far from indifferent, but I will not indulge in impotent, passive despair. I will not add to the despair of the world. I am working on counterpoisons… I create a space in which people can breathe, restore their faith and strength to live.” Anais Nin (YESSSSS)

“Writing is not life, but I think that sometimes it can be a way back to life.” Stephen King

“God will not protect you from anything that will make you more like Jesus.” Elisabeth Elliot

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” William Shakespeare

C.S. Lewis addressing the fear of atomic bomb and the decay of the world: “This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”

“Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life. Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand. And make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care of itself.” William Martin, Source: The Parent’s Tao Te Chin

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” Henry David Thoreau

“We have let far too much go unchallenged. Too many lies have spread in the face of inaction as a result of fear or politesse. No more. Do not bite your tongue. Do not tremble. Do not go along with little lies. Speak up. Break the wall of lies. Let nothing go unchallenged. Our enemies’ failure is not assured and there is no cavalry coming. We are the cavalry. We are the last line of defense. Our civilization depends on us.” Bari Weiss, You Are the Last Line of Defense

“Face everything, you will survive anything.” Matt Higgins

“When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.” G.K. Chesterton

“We can’t withstand China, Russia, and Iran if we can’t explain to our populations why it matters that we do. We can’t fight woke ideology if we can’t defend the civilization that it is determined to destroy. And we can’t counter Islamism with purely secular tools. To win the hearts and minds of Muslims here in the West, we have to offer them something more than videos on TikTok.” Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Why I am Now a Christian

“If you want to be rare in this world, never give up on hope. Hope is the singular power that can destroy apathy and give you the strength to endure the dark violence of the human story.” Erwin McManus

“My head is a hive of words that won’t settle.” Virginia Woolf

“There is no loss too small to grieve. If you feel the loss, acknolwedge it by grieving. Grief recognizes the void and invites God to fill it up with Himself.” Debra Fileta

“I wanted God to meet me in faith, but He met me in faithfulness.” Erwin McManus

“The healer also needs healing. The planner also needs surprises. The giver also needs to receive. The thoughtful also needs to be thought of. The considerate also needs to be considered.” The Good Quote

“Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It’s about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy. Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.” Stephen King

Articles and Things

Career rules from the late Charlie Munger

Prepare + Enrich THE HIDDEN COMPLEXITIES OF HOUSEHOLD TASKS

Another favorite dance (my first favorite is here):

These precious critters.

Argentina elected a new president. Loved this coverage of it. Made me smile.

I listened to the art of energy management.

These Mind Shift Pods were gold:

I also re-watched Breakfast at Tiffany‘s and appreciated Holly just a bit more.

Then, back to energy management…

Played this on repeat!

People Who Intrigue Me

Jamie Kern Lima (Founder of IT Cosmetics and Author of Worthy)

Jim Kwik (Coach and Author of Limitless)

Already time for December.

The Unfinished Attic

By: Gabriela Yareliz

The current dropping temperatures and howling wind remind me of winter as a kid. I would take my favorite Christmas catalog and set a cushion or pillow by the heater vent on the floor (old Northern houses), and I would bring a blanket and get cozy and read. Every girl or doll had a story. I created all sorts of stories in my head. I would cut them out and create little booklets and slip the pages into those plastic slip covers that made it look glossy. (Bless my parents for never rationing my computer paper stash. While they printed, I was out here making snowflakes and fake tabloids.)

Maybe twice, I snuck up to the attic at my great aunt’s house. An old old house in Michigan. I still don’t know what that attic looked like, properly lit. It was intensely dark. I would tiptoe until I reached a point of incredible darkness. I was sure that past that point one would fall through the floor into the wall of the house or into some abyss. It felt like the end of the flat earth to me. Beyond that point was free fall. I would tiptoe around hearing the faint noise of a Chicago Bulls game downstairs and voices talking. It always remained a mystery. God only knows what that blueprint looked like. Maybe, it was just an optical illusion. Much of life is.

Sometimes, when I would wash the dishes propped up on my chair, I would peer around and any little light I saw counted for a wish. All you had to do was believe. (If you didn’t wish upon a star— I don’t know what to tell you. Try it sometime. Yes, I am a dreamer).

I adored all the string lights that would dangle from the houses. I loved the little lamps that lined the snowy paths up to the front doors. I loved seeing people’s Christmas trees through their foggy windows. I still do.

As someone who has realized they probably have an addiction to cortisol, the idea of wintering leaves me unsure of how to proceed. Winter invites us into a stillness. I tiptoe around this dark attic, wondering— if I don’t stop, will I fall off the floor into a pocket of the wall?

The winter darkness reminds us to not keep tiptoeing into the darkness but to gravitate toward the twinkling lights. They shine and dance for us. The little warm lights— they lead us home. Back to the cozy corner padded with blankets by the floor vent where the world disappears, and we stay enthralled with all the possibilities.

That Slow-burn Passion

Dance is magical when it makes us feel something.

I think last night we saw the dance of the season on DWTS. It was a tango.

As I watched, I found it to be a beautiful reflection of my Latin culture.

Dances, I feel, reflect emotions and personalities. The jive is a peppy one. The waltz is majestic. I think dances like salsa are loud and joyful and reflect a contingent of the culture who is passionate like that. We all know those larger-than-life personalities. I know many.

I have to say that for being Hispanic, I don’t fall into that category. I am not loud. I am more on the serious, quiet side. But that doesn’t make those of us who are like that any less passionate. I think this dance depicted another type of passion. It wasn’t loud. It was serious and precise but burning the place down. I loved it. It was, if I use a word I have heard to describe me, “intense.”

The leg ganchos are everything. Daniella Karagach always brings it with her creativity. This one goes out to the intense, serious ones with the slow-burn passion.

Jason, go win that Mirror Ball trophy!

Destiny

At the age of twelve, the word “destiny” began to fascinate me. I think Billy Shakespeare did that to me. I began thinking about it in a nuanced way, intertwined with the idea that we all have free will and always have a choice. The word “destiny” then sort of was replaced by “purpose.”

I saw the trailer for the Napoleon movie. I must watch it. In my adolescence, Napoleon was someone who fascinated me (still does, who am I kidding?). As a true francophile, I read a lot about him. I remember I once sent in a question about him to a live Amazing Facts conference on Bible prophecy and world history.

Napoleon is flawed like any human who gasps this air we share, but what I have always found interesting about him was his sense of destiny. He was clear on who he was and where he was going. He was unstoppable. (The man kidnapped the pope, for crying out loud!)

I am drawn to people who feel purpose deeply, and I think it’s because I feel it, too. (Probably sounds odd, and no, I am not saying I am gonna leave some sort of footprint like Napoleon). This isn’t something we talk much about, and this morning, God nudged me to listen to a message. I needed to hear it. I heard words that I resonated with deeply because I believed and held them as my own personal belief even before I heard them from someone else. I was busy making tea, when I heard them spoken through my headphones, and I literally stopped in my tracks. I blinked. I smiled.

This mindset has been present for me in my own life, and I wanted to share this quote because I have never heard it articulated so beautifully. Leave it to Erwin McManus to do that.

I believe the Creator has instilled in each of us a sense of purpose. I think in scripture it is clear that many were born with a specific purpose– look at the prophets and kings. And then, you have stories of those who run from their purpose. Look at Samson, Jonah…

As William Wilberforce says in Amazing Grace about God finding him– “Do you have any idea how inconvenient that is?”

You have a story like Saul, when he runs into Jesus and is converted to Paul. This changed the course of his entire life. If we are humble and willing, if we don’t run and waste the purpose, God finds us and transforms us to do His great works, and often, that changes history.

The quote below explains my magnetism to McManus. This common thread sews us together. I once did a Bible study based on his book Wide Awake, and I got feedback that a lot of people didn’t connect to it. Be real; life isn’t this grand or dreamy, I was told. But the life of the author says otherwise.

It’s tough to articulate this knowledge because you can end up sounding downright delusional, but this has been the best way I have seen how:

[This quote is transcribed from the Mind Shift Masterclass by Erwin McManus.]

“I had an insane sense of destiny.

I’m making $10-12,000 a year. Kim and I are sleeping on the floor when we were first married. No one saw any potential or talent or gifting in me. I didn’t talk about it out loud because it would be arrogant. I didn’t talk about it out loud because it would seem like I was detached from reality.

I had an insane sense of destiny.

I believed that I was put on this planet to make a difference; to leave a mark in human history. I believed that God called me out to do something that was gonna be breathtaking, extraordinary, unexplicable, and I carried it every day in my heart.

So, here I was living the most seemingly insignificant life. Didn’t matter ’cause it wasn’t insignificant because I was on a journey. It’s not something you really talk about because it seems so inappropriate, but you couldn’t take that away from me. I believed I was created to do something that mattered in the world.

No one else is responsible to help me fulfill my destiny– that was on me. There was this tension of destiny, of calling, to do something God called me to but of personal responsibility, ownership. That this is something I have to create from personal responsibility and agency.

You have to make the decision that you are going to live your life as if you are unstoppable.”

I carry it in my heart every day, too. I hope you do, too. Be unstoppable.

Reflecting on Courage and Rising

By: Gabriela Yareliz

We near the end of this year. This morning, I came across the words, “Courage, dear heart,” written by C.S. Lewis. Those words came to mean something so much more profound to me this year. I read and held onto them before one of the darkest seasons of my own personal experience. I had no idea the grief and pain that was around the corner, and yet God was already whispering to me, “courage.” I recorded those words and thoughts here. And then, again here.

Even before that, the phrase that came to me in January of 2023 was “Arise.” I wrote about it here. The song that reflects on Lazarus’ rising from the dead (by CAIN) was on my heart. I didn’t understand it in the way I do now. I had no idea what the year had in store. Few of us did. As I look back now (hindsight is always fascinating), I realize God speaks to us and prepares us for what He knows is ahead, as we unknowingly wander in. As Pastor Shane said today, that is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guides us to all truth and tells us what is to come. (John 16:13)

At the beginning of 2023, I didn’t know I was going to go through a year of death. There was a quite literal death and deep loss experienced with the loss of my father-in-law, who I absolutely adore. And following that, came a confusion that only people who have been plunged into a deep grief recognize. A fog. A confusion. A standstill. A pain, later followed by many tiny personal deaths.

I was only half jokingly remarking to someone close to me that this year was cursed. I am not so sure I am sad to see it go. It left me feeling stripped, with loss touching almost every aspect of my life.

And yet, I am writing to you here. I am in a much better place. A lot of us are. I feel like a different person. A lot of us are. There are moments where life irreversibly changes. Like burning paper. A chemical reaction occurs, and you can’t go back. This was one of those “burning paper” years. (I see myself in high school chemistry burning paper on a Bunsen burner). So, while I may say it was cursed, as I have learned through coaching, there is always joy that can be found in pain.

“If you are passionate about something, you will suffer for it,” Pastor Shane said today. There is something about being relentless through pain. Despite it being a face-numbing year, I felt God’s presence in the darkness. I met a remarkable woman this month at a community event, and while we hadn’t hit a religious note in our conversation, I surprised myself when I blurted out that life brings us a certain darkness. Certain, meaning, it touches us all-guaranteed. We can’t evade it. Yet, I know we are never alone, I explained. This woman, who had undergone volumes of suffering I have never been touched by, told me she knew it for certain, too. We are never alone. God is with us. God also heals us as we spend time in His presence. A scripture that brought tears to my eyes recently was, “His banner over me is love.” Song of Solomon 2:4

I wrote on January 15, 2023 (in Rise), “May you allow Him to make you truly alive. […] Life is hope. There is no room for despair. Arise.” And I still feel that in my bones. I had no idea how deeply I would need those words. How many of us would.

“Faith changes the end of the story. Always. There is no exception. No exceptions. That is something I feel in my very depth.” (Rise)

Debra Fileta wrote something I so resonate with. She wrote, “The best way I know to describe the heavy burden of grief and loss is to say that the load itself never gets lighter– but you get stronger.” After everything– I can say I feel stronger.

To circle back to C.S. Lewis’ Aslan and Lucy:

“Aslan” said Lucy “you’re bigger”.
“That is because you are older, little one” answered he.
“Not because you are?”
“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

― C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian

I feel a strength that comes from finding Him bigger. He continues to show up in my life, and as I get older, I see just how grand He truly is.

This year is almost gone. We have two months that I know will fly by. As I journal and reflect over a year that has felt like a decade of change, I want to circle back to my year’s word, rise.

When He said your name
The thing that filled your veins
Was more than blood
It’s the kind of love
That washes sin away
Now the door is open wide
The stones been rolled aside
The old is gone
The Light has come
So come on and

Come on and rise up
Take a breath, you’re alive now
Can’t you hear the voice of Jesus calling us
Out from the grave like Lazarus
You’re brand new
The power of death couldn’t hold you
Can’t you hear the voice of Jesus calling us
Out from the grave like Lazarus
Rise up, like Lazarus

CAIN

Rise up. The old is gone. The Light has come.

October 2023 Favorites

Yesterday, I saw a discount Harry Potter posing for photos in the dark and another full grown man in his mid-thirties in a Spiderman suit. An elderly man wearing black rollerbladed across the West Side Highway in the dark with his arms up. A dog skateboarded in Union Square. The Brooklyn Bridge was shut down because of protests. A man in one of those bike rickshaws decided to plunge his patrons into the unending traffic as he charged per minute (he ain’t no fool). Welcome to Manhattan in October 2023.

The month of October is often filled with delightful things and nature’s glorious scenes. The tiny skinny leaves have turned yellow and are carpeting the sidewalks. Some trees remain green in the background, still confused with the weather and fluctuating temperatures.

Yesterday was a summer day, and today, it is rainy and cool, and a perfect day to watch Frasier or Just Shoot Me!. I have candles lit and the playlist Autumn Jazz playing in the background.

The apples are ripe and delicious. I have a nice plate of them on my table, minus the smaller one that weirdly exploded in the sack. I learned, this year, that there are more than 7,000 varieties of apples. One of the most interesting names I heard was the King David apple. Speaking of King David, the attacks on Israel this month has shocked many of us to our cores. The violence on civilians and also nonsensical hate everywhere made October a month of grief. And speaking of loss, we also lost Matthew Perry yesterday. The world can’t catch a break.

It has been a busy month. I have been doing a lot of recordings, videos, and prep for conferences and other things coming soon for Modern Witnesses, my passion project. Our gift guides there are dropping soon. I keep brainstorming around our gratitude challenge, and other fun upcoming things.

October… Traffic was wild. Pizza wait times were unheard of. Trader Joe’s looked like the hunger games.

I spend mornings and evenings trying to pick out gifts for those in my life. I have to say, this year, I am really at a loss as to what to get for people. Also, in the midst of so much tragedy in the world and the fact that the world is teetering on the edge of something– it feels like we have so much.

The month was so busy that I didn’t read as much as I usually do. I did finish Blackout by Candace Owens, which was excellent. It is one of those books that belongs in the permanent library.

I am excited to try Tasha Franken Studios pilates, this upcoming month. This week, I will get the opportunity to meet someone I have admired for a long time (years). I am taking very seriously the post of the month called Daring to be Alive.

Below are some of my favorites from the month. There are less quotes, as I read less, and more talks– the ones I listened to on a packed train on my way to the office. Happiest November. I have a feeling it will be a month that feels like a blur. I will be weaving in and out of different trials. The holidays are upon us! Time to read the almanac…

Quotes

“In a world of cortisol spikes, make feeling safe in your body a priority.” @theholisticvenus

“When we lie, we become unhealthy. When we believe a lie, we become unhealthy. When we live a lie, we become irreparably unhealthy because humans are designed for truth.” Erwin McManus

“Truth emerges out of trust, and trust emerges out of trustworthiness.” Erwin McManus

“There is no difference between communism and socialism, except the means of achieving the same ultimate end: communism proposes to enslave men by force, socialism –by vote.” Ayn Rand

“You know something is truth not because it is objective but because truth becomes a subjective transformational power that changes you.” Erwin McManus

“The only people I would care to be with now are artists and people who have suffered: those who know what beauty is and those who know what sorrow is. Nobody else interests me.” Oscar Wilde

“A writer is a world trapped inside a person.” Victor Hugo

Articles + Stuff

How to Light the Dark Months

Free Press: (Two Murders) The Cost of ‘Luxury Beliefs’

Woke Ideology is a Murderous One by Noelle Mering

This month, I started reading Mind Shift, and this accompanying series was fire:

This one was my favorite:

This tribute to Len Goodman made me cry:

People Who Intrigue Me

Chef Benny Rivera (of CityCakes)

Candace Owens

“November comes, and November goes. With the last red berries And the first white snows. With night coming early and dawn coming late, ice in the bucket and frost by the gate. The fires burn, and the kettles sing, And earth sinks to rest until next spring.”

Clyde Watson

May your November be lived fiercely. xx

Some Chandler Nostalgia

Rest in peace, Matthew Perry. Friends was a big part of my childhood (and I think any 90s kid’s memories). Yesterday’s news made us all feel a pang in the chest and knot in our throat. It feels too soon. Thank you, Matthew, for all the laughs. Chandler and Monica were my favorite couple. I lived for their secret dates behind Ross’ back. 😂 #BingForever

Could we be any more sad? No.

Daring to be Alive

By: Gabriela Yareliz

There has been so much pain and heaviness this month. I have wanted to come close and write but have sort of been at a loss for words.

The attack on Israel on October 7 was horrific to watch. Hostages are still being held and away from their loved ones.

I could write a whole post about the things made evident in the past few weeks:

1) How language is manipulated and misused to control ideology;

2) How when you love something or someone, you strive to protect it;

3) How dehumanizing and othering people is still easy, and we aren’t too far from the 1940s (some people didn’t pay attention in history class, and it shows);

4) How U.S. citizens should be wary to travel because it is clear that if something happens, no one is coming to save you;

5) How weak (or nonexistent) leadership has consequences;

6) How words have consequences (see withdrawn job offers from openly antisemitic students);

7) How antisemitism is rampant and seen as something to aspire to (extra disturbing);

8) How people care more about feelings than fact;

9) How a chunk of America’s youth sympathizes with a terror group; and

10) How unprepared we are for what we have yet to experience (it will require a different level of resilience from us).

I could go into depth on each of these points, but I won’t. There is no lack of commentary and fear-mongering from all sides, including sometimes the church. We can see reality for what it is. All it takes are open eyes and honesty.

I read this week in Erwin McManus’ book Mind Shift about the show The Walking Dead. The idea of people surviving a zombie type invasion is amusing and fantastical and yet the metaphor is not lost on me. At the end, the people/survivors say, “We are the ones who live!”

I am drained by reality. I think we all are. And in the West, we have the privilege to step away and look away, if we so desire, even if the person next to us has made clear they would kill us given the opportunity.

The truth is that life’s harshness and reality will touch us all. In this country, I do feel like we think we are owed more and entitled to different, yet we fail to realize that all we have had that has been good and unique from this country has been a gift, not an entitlement. It is something that requires responsibility to hold onto. Work. Values. Virtue.

It is easy to lose one’s marbles and plunge into despair. The world has shown us a variety of ways to do it.

One of the most courageous things a person can do is live. Truly live. To live with joy, courage, hope and integrity. Contrary to popular belief, that is not easy, and it is not weak.

I was reminded of this while watching a tribute to Len Goodman. (RIP, Len). It was a moving ballroom dance. All I could think while watching was how much beauty was in every movement and extension. So much intentionality and grace. So much emotion in every face. What if we lived like that? What if we embraced beauty, emotion, intentionality and grace?

What if we lived in a way that reminded the world what it is like to be alive? To love? To create and cherish beauty? We aren’t wired for hate. It destroys us. We were made for truth.

What if we kept in mind how fleeting all this is? And as Scripture says, how all of this is but a drop and fleeting moment in the ocean of eternity?

What if instead of relying on other voices for security or instruction, we made it our passion to seek for ourselves and filter out the noise?

What if we lived? What if we trusted the only One who can be trusted? What if we decided to be the most courageous ones of all? To trust when it is all falling apart? To show beauty when despair and hate rules?

What if we decided that being truly human and our souls surviving this world’s atrocities was a sacred mission?

September 2023 Favorites

This season’s color mood.

Happy October!

I ended September dressed like a storm chaser. I wore a poncho last weekend (bright blue, for those interested in fashion), and this Friday, I was one of the unfortunate souls to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge back home when the city canceled all train service due to flooding. I am grateful for my fitness level. Thank God I can walk for miles like a little wet rat.

You know how much I have been looking forward to October book releases. (If you missed it, find it here). I did read some magnificent books this month. Some in progress include Burning the Boats, 5 Practices of Highly Resilient People, Anne of Green Gables and A Memoir on the Craft of Writing (by Stephen King; THIS ONE SURPRISED ME. DON’T SLEEP ON IT).

The most transformative book of the month was Good Boundaries and Goodbyes by Lysa Terkeurst. A true gem. One of those books that is therapy in a book.

I had serendipity on my mind. It came to me randomly, and then, while doing the Arena coaching call, Erwin McManus started speaking about it. Left me with chills. We were on the same wave length.

via Pinterest

Speaking of Erwin– his message Leverage: I Appeal to Caesar was for me. I think it has been his best of 2023, so far. Including it, and some of my favorite quotes from it, below.

I made some pão de queijo, continued through my book course, and slept so well with the cool air coming in through the window.

Lastly, just yesterday, I saw the most breathtaking view of the Empire State Building. It’s light shimmering in the night. I saw an old familiar place I used to frequent years ago, while in law school. It was magical.

The autumn darkness brings sparkle. I hope it is a cozy and sparkling start to the season for you. Thank you for being here.

Post of the month: Everything Can Change

Quotes

“You have to eliminate the options. You can’t become a settler; you have to become a pioneer. You have to decide you are going to go all the way through, no matter what it cost you– no matter what it takes.” Erwin R. McManus

“The divine does not allow our pain or dark nights to have the final say. Don’t rush the process. It takes time returning to yourself.” Vibrate Higher Daily

“Every time I have followed God to the edge, the people in the center didn’t like where I was going. I started this community so that you would be fearless as you follow Jesus. So that you would live a life that other people would not understand. So that you would know you have permission to be unique, to be courageous, to be creative. And that is how God created you.” Erwin R. McManus

“Keep a notebook. Travel with it, eat with it, sleep with it. Slap into it every stray thought that flutters up into your brain. Cheap paper is less perishable than gray matter, and lead pencil markings endure longer than memory.” Jack London, March 1903

“We have to quit with this comfort-zone behaviorism and get back to our innermost needs.” Wim Hof

“Ah, September! You are the doorway to the season that awakens my soul…” Peggy Toney Horton

“I want you to be the intersection of the sacred and the secular. I want you to be the person who appeals to Caesar, and people cannot figure you out. I want you to be the person who does what you do so great and so extraordinary, and with so much brilliance, creativity and genius that people come up to you and go, ‘What in God’s name got into you?’ And you can say, ‘You are exactly right; it’s that God got into me, and I cannot help but elevate to the highest level.'” Erwin R. McManus

“Don’t you love New York in the fall? it makes me want to buy school supplies.” You’ve Got Mail (1998)

Via Pinterest

“Adults inform. Children explain.” Jim Cress

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” F. Scott Fitzgerald

“If you’re my friend, I want to lose time with you, to spend a whole day, to get bored together to the point of laughter.” Garance Dore

“Wisdom comes with winters.” Oscar Wilde

“And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.” Oscar Wilde

“Life is not merely a series of meaningless accidents or coincidences. It’s a tapestry of events that culminate in an exquisite sublime plan.” Serendipity (2001)

“I am part of everything that I have read.” Theodore Roosevelt

“People spend a lot of time talking about other people’s bodies, gossiping about other people’s relationships, critiquing other people’s business, etc. Keep your eyes on your own paper. Work on your body. Nurture your relationships. Improve your business. We all have plenty to improve.” James Clear

“I don’t know what lies around the bend, but I’m going to believe that the best does.” Anne of Green Gables

“You cannot trust a person desperate for validation.” @Jessicaalixhesser

“The wars will end and the leaders will shake hands, and that old woman will remain waiting for her martyred son, and that girl will wait for her beloved husband, and the children will wait for their heoric father, I do not know who sold the homeland but I do know who paid the price.” Mhmoud Darwish, I think any war-torn country feels this deeply.

“Life with my parents and the other family members was natural and pleasant. Mutual support happened spontaneously and guaranteed the survival of people as well as of material and spiritual values. Until a few years ago, those bonds were so strong in the rural culture that they safeguarded ideals. The willingness to make sacrifices for others, to be able to wait for a reward, the devotion to work; for me, these are everlasting values. The joy of working together and sharing what was being produced turned work into a joyful liturgy, not a punishment. We all knew what was being done in the fields, in the garden, in the pastures, at home; planting, cultivating, raising children and helping parents. There was no wealth, but we were happy. And it makes me think: having enough is itself a form of wealth.” Brunello Cucinelli

“But we can’t enable bad behavior in ourselves and others and call it love. We can’t tolerate destructive patterns and call it love. And we can’t pride ourselves on being loyal and longsuffering in our relationships when it’s really perpetuating violations of what God says love is. Please hear me clearly say, the purpose of this book isn’t to quickly call out issues in others without looking honestly at ourselves as well. We need to examine our motivations and our mindsets.” Lysa Terkeurst

“Books hold most of the secrets of the world, most of the thoughts that men and women have had. And when you are reading a book, you and the author are alone together—just the two of you. A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered. Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people—people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.” E.B. White

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People who Intrigue Me

Stephen King

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

L.M. Montgomery

Thoughts on the First Day of Autumn

via giphy

By: Gabriela Yareliz

-The Strongest Virtue: Resilience-

There’s a Russian saying that says something like, even the strongest piece of metal will break if it takes enough hits. Something like that. Do not quote me. I am not a Russian philosopher. This has had me thinking. The true virtue is not in being strong, but in being resilient. Resilient things/people don’t snap, they bend, and then, they fling themselves forward. Resilience is the virtue that tops strength. How can we cultivate resilience every day? I think the world needs more resilience. Most people freak out when normal life happens, never mind what happens when life goes into dark mode. The TSC podcast was hinting at the idea (and I agree) that if people read more, they would be more resilient. You know, your life wouldn’t seem as crappy after reading about a crew in the 1700s who survived shipwreck and typhoid fever. We need to read more history and nonfiction, not the fiction that rots the brain.

Yeah, these are the thoughts on my mind. I am eyeing my almanac. It’s time to read it and make a s’more or something.

-A Rainy Day in New York-

Happy first day of autumn. And just like that, NYC has decidedly gone in the direction of rustling leaves and drizzly rain. A perfect day to watch A Rainy Day in New York. A perfect day to live it.

A Rainy Day in New York gif via Tumblr

I am pretty sure I am gonna end up in a George W. Bush poncho tomorrow for the 5k.

#neverforget

The autumn vibes have been real. Rest was lacking last week, so I am trying to recharge this weekend today. I did some low impact pilates from MWH, and thought about curling up with a good book. #buildresilience

-A New Fact-

I was listening to Lauryn Bosstick who was saying that people should bring a new fact to dinner every day. It sounds old-fashioned, but I love this idea. It is an excellent way of inculcating the discipline of reading and learning into children and even adults. What new thing are you literally bringing to the table, each day? And if you aren’t, how can you change that?

-Autumn Inspiration-

Alex Riviere via Pinterest

Isn’t this Alex Rivière look wonderful? It just screams falls; and I love it. I leave you with this autumny outfit. The season is here! It has embraced us. It’s time to slow down, read and make every minute count. Everything is starting to die and darken outside, but the season reminds us of the beauty that comes with every new chapter.