The Emergence of Joy

“Happiness requires that you find meaning – and meaning comes from suffering.” Arthur Brooks By: Gabriela Yareliz SamySam on Instagram has an infectious energy I admire. He stands there and hollers his signature, “Life is goooooood,” and then, does a little dance. I just want to bottle that energy up and keep it in myContinue reading “The Emergence of Joy”

Virtue

On this July fourth, I leave you with some words from Ryan Holiday: “It’s July 4th, 1776. The Founding Fathers are about to make a very loud statement about freedom and independence. They will, over the next several bloody and bleak years, give nearly everything in order to will it-and a new nation-into existence. ButContinue reading “Virtue”

The Good, Too

By: Gabriela Yareliz I was reflecting the other day— sometimes we look at the past or “trauma”, and we think about everything it left us without. Everything we didn’t have or receive. Whatever we lost. But what if we looked at everything we have and are and were grateful for what we went through. WhatContinue reading “The Good, Too”

The Overwhelming Theme

“The overwhelming theme in the Old Testament is not that God is a god of wrath, but that God is a god of love, and that we keep making horrible choices. I think sometimes we think that love is the equivalent of acceptance of action. God always loves us without condition. He does not acceptContinue reading “The Overwhelming Theme”

The Machine

“We don’t know how close we are to feeling good.” Dr. Hyman By: Gabriela Yareliz Have you ever worked so much you started to feel numb? This is a familiar place for me. Familiar but unpleasant. Work sometimes feels like The Machine from The Princess Bride. (I was in The Machine today. More on thatContinue reading “The Machine”

Atomic Age

By: Gabriela Yareliz We always live in a time that is a consequence to previous times and actions, and the present day actions will have consequences of their own, too. As we all wait to see what comes next, I was reminded of C.S. Lewis’ powerful words about living in the atomic age: “If weContinue reading “Atomic Age”

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,Continue reading “Forecasting”

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 isContinue reading “Contribution”

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 isContinue reading “Only the Brave”