marivicGIRL in Uganda

Exegete \ EK-suh-jeet \: How Great The Father's Love For Us...

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)

I did a wedding last summer. At the rehearsal dinner, the groom asked his father if he wanted to give a speech. The dad simply replied: my heart is overflowing.

24th
March

1 note

marivicgirlinchile:

97 days in a different country, speaking a different language, using foreign currency, working and living in a stable economy and dealing with my innermost fears, learning, living, loving and finding my voice has proven to be a challenge.
location: Santiago, Chile- Cerro San Cristobal
I’ve been wanting an opportunity to live and work in a foreign country for 2 years now and I finally got my wish. Being in a predominantly Catholic country has helped in my yearning to be closer to God and challenging myself to live a more God-centered life. Even with that on the table, I find it difficult to shake off my struggle to live a mentally healthy lifestyle. I read somewhere that, “Rebellion is a knot of the heart, not of the mind,” and yet I feel like I’m rebelling against my own faith and mental capacity to live a happy lifestyle. Why is that? Maybe being on an anti-depressant has been more of a hindrance than a balancing of my chemical imbalances. I don’t believe that people should rely on medication to sort out their life/problems. AND, yet here we are. Here I am…

There is no lack of trying to be in a “Happy Place.” I’ve attempted yoga, meditation, writing, being active, reading self-help books, socializing and prayer to self-medicate but nothing seems to work. I know that its ultimately a CHOICE to be happy and that you cannot rely on anyone for it but yourself but that has proven to be easier said than done.
Krishnamurti’s writings on Happiness states,
“Because man has forgotten that the true purpose of his being is to cultivate happiness within himself and in those around him, there is confusion and chaos, and his actions but add to that chaos. —->THIS has been my path thus far
What is it for which everyone in the world is craving and long? To find happiness. True happiness is neither selfish, nor negative. It is intelligence, the accumulation of all experience; it is Truth, which is eternal. No cloud can hide it nor can any sorrow lessen it. It is such happiness that everyone desires. It is such happiness that I have always desired. I have seen people weighed down with labour, performing great works, accumulating knowledge, struggling to be spiritual, and yet they had forgotten the one thing - happiness - which alone gives life to the mind and nourishment to the heart. There can be no health except in happiness. He who has not found it will never find Truth, will never bring life to its fulfillment, will never have tranquility in this world of travail.
If you desire to establish that happiness within yourself, you must make it your goal and then your life will be as the flame which soars heavenwards. —->NEED TO DO MORE OF THIS
People in search of happiness resort to many things - they will worship at temples and churches, they will gather from books the knowledge of others, they will perform religious rites in the hope of establishing in their minds peace and tranquility. The desire for happiness is ever gnawing at their hearts.
In the great continent of America they are making the physical predominant in the search for happiness. They say that without physical comfort, without a body that is strong and healthy there cannot be a right development of the emotions. But in trying to establish perfect physical conditions, they are losing sight of other essential things. In India, they go to the opposite extreme and in the search for happiness they neglect altogether the physical.
Look where you will, every human being is seeking happiness. He begins his search in the mere pleasures which come from physical excitement. Then, discovering that this excitement does not satisfy his craving for the lasting happiness, he experiments with other experiences, mental and emotional.
Life is a process of accumulating and discarding, of gathering and setting aside. What you gather you reject, and the more you reject the nearer you are to liberation. By setting aside what you have gained, you acquire the knowledge which will give you strength to shape your purpose, which will give you power ultimately to reach the Kingdom of Happiness which each one of you seeks.
As there is sap in the tree which brings forth foliage for the glory of its being, so in each man there is the spark of divinity which through sorrow, through ecstasy, through struggle, through all the processes of life, grows to perfection, to that state of eternal happiness which is the goal for all, which is the truest spirituality - the greatest gift that anyone can give to another.
You will find this undying, unalterable happiness when you are liberated from the tyrannies of the self, its desires and longings. This is not a goal imposed upon you by another; it is the longing of every human soul, of every individual who is striving, who is in sorrow, who is seeking. It is the spark of this desire which grows into a flame and becomes part of the Eternal Flame, and when you are able to lose yourself in that Flame, you are in the Kingdom of Happiness.”
-J.Krishnamurti
I guess even with this golden nugget of wisdom, I struggle. In my faith, often times the size of a mustard seed, I am assured that as long as I

Proverbs 3:5-6
New International Version (NIV)

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Would he? I believe he will but that belief has decreased ever so slowly and slightly as I try and NOT lean on my own understanding. I know that God is bigger than I am and that I probably SHOULDN’T stress out so much but he has given me an active mind with endless possibility which, oftentimes, leads to negativity.

I hate it.
My prayer almost everyday is for him to help me eliminate thoughts of negativity and a strong will to keep going. I’ve had bouts of suicidal thoughts since I was a teen and well into my 20’s and now in my 30’s and it has slowly creeped in again. I’ve experienced a good friend’s death because of his struggle with Bipolar Disorder, and though I’ve been counseled that I DON’T have it, I am not convinced. After all, ONLY YOU can find the root of your ailments. No doctor or church can convince you of yourself. I’ve sought after good counsel again and again from therapists, pastors, mentors, teachers, friends, family, books, support meetings- even God and I struggle. I guess at some point in our lives, we ALL do. I know that I am not alone in this struggle but I find it difficult sometimes to come to this realization and when I do, it doesn’t last and I revert back to depression and thoughts of suicide. Yes, merely thoughts. I have never acted upon them because I know that is not the answer to END these emotional struggles. I am a coward to resort to actions that would lead to ending my life. I know that I was put here for a profound reason. Whatever that is, I hope and pray that I find it.

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A new study by the University of Sussex finds that the repetition is important for little learners.

Dr. Jessica Horst and her researchers say that children who were read the same story three times back-to-back, instead of three different stories, actually retain 3.6 of the new words they’ve been introduced to instead of the 2.6 of the “variety” group.

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Researchers point to the benefits of reading, something that would make Nabokov nod. (via explore-blog)

Uh, this is why “Blues Clues” would show the same episode five days in a row. Because they wanted kids to improve memory.

(via girlwithalessonplan)

RentHackr: 'Pilot Season' Rentals in Los Angeles

renthackr:

Are you, or someone you know, moving to L.A. between January and March? We’re fascinated with this time of year on the West coast because there seems to be quite a demand for housing during this season. It’s a season where fresh, new talent is in high demand, as so is housing — and that’s a part…

Even When

dearoldlove:

Even when I do not like you, I love you.

(via marivicguevara)

27th
November

5,185 notes

arainert:

laughingsquid:

Portal Themed Christmas Tree

Amazing.

21st
August

2 notes