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”

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”

Ownership

By: Gabriela Yareliz I was watching Vanessa Fitzgerald’s stories as she was on a walk. She was explaining to those of us on the other side of the camera that she had felt sort of in a funk. She then said something along the lines of, “We always find something to blame, but I knewContinue reading “Ownership”

Celebrating Outrageous Fortune’s Turns

By: Gabriela Yareliz I was listening to a podcast where Piers Morgan was a guest (yes, that Piers Morgan). He said something that caught my attention— the idea of celebrating the good and bad in life. He said, “We treat the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune with equanimity.” He literally goes to a restaurantContinue reading “Celebrating Outrageous Fortune’s Turns”

Thought to Action

By: Gabriela Yareliz Follow every negative thought with a positive action, Erwin McManus said explaining one of his key practices. This is a key to growth and rewiring. This is how we train our brain. It will learn to expect the positive follow-up to the negative trigger. This made me wonder how our lives wouldContinue reading “Thought to Action”

Cultivating Identity

By: Gabriela Yareliz I know someone (who I admire) who is almost 80 and refuses to retire. Now, I do think this person has a sense of calling and vocation. They love what they do. But this brought me to thinking— how many of us are on track to do the same because we failContinue reading “Cultivating Identity”

The Real Real

By: Gabriela Yareliz I love to try things. I am a curious raccoon, if you will. There are types of supplements where I have tried them all. The language learning platforms— I have basically tried them all. Something else I have tried a bunch of are fitness platforms. I have talked about this in theContinue reading “The Real Real”

Dreamer DNA

“Keepers of private notebooks are a different breed altogether, lonely and resistant rearrangers of things, anxious malcontents, children afflicted apparently at birth with some presentiment of loss.” Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem By: Gabriela Yareliz I saw this Didion quote, and I know there is truth to it. As a kid, I would write 15Continue reading “Dreamer DNA”

Words for the Silence

By: Gabriela Yareliz Two out of my three trains are on time. I am overcoming my shock. As I do that, I continue to reflect on a passage in scripture that deeply moved me this week. You know, sometimes, you are in a weird season. You feel surrounded by an environment you could do without.Continue reading “Words for the Silence”