There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.
R. Buckminster Fuller

祝日 / Permanent Vacation

Janaina Medeiros
ojovivo
trying on a metaphor
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
Claire Keane

#extradirty
hello vonnie

blake kathryn
DEAR READER
Sade Olutola

if i look back, i am lost
Keni
wallacepolsom

ellievsbear
cherry valley forever
we're not kids anymore.
will byers stan first human second
Mike Driver

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@hislightseeker
There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.
R. Buckminster Fuller
Afraid of the unknown? There, there He gave us His GRACE!
It has been a few weeks since i last wrote on my blog. I recenty graduated from college and things are definitely not as i expected! By now i expected to have a job and start meeting new people. By now i thought i would be so focus on my career that i will no longer have to ask my parents for support.
Well, things are not always as you expect. I have been home, cleaning, cooing, doing grocery, and getting ready for a long family vacation coming up! I am very excited but all these weeks i have been afraid. Afraid of what you ask?, well i have been afraid of the unknown, of the future, of tomorrow, of what will happen. Afraid of what will happen with me, or with my family, afraid i will not find a job, or get marry, or have kids as i have always dreamed of. These last few weeks i have been asking God so many questions. Of course i trust Him still, but asking so many questions. As i have been doubting of His promises, i have been putting my God, the only God, the majestic God in a little box. And that is why i have been afraid about tomorrow, because i have forgotten about: GRACE.
I met up with a friend that i love so much and she has been there for me for so long. We talked about the future, and i told her how afraid i was of what will happen. I was so in a rushed, thinking about how i want to plan my life so bad, but she reminded me one thing that has changed a lot in my life, and these were very simple words, but powerful: God gives you a big dose of His daily grace, to endure anything the future holds, graces is giving to us daily.
I meditated on these words all day, i know exactly what they mean, but, do i really know?, i kept thinking "God i still do not understand, you spoke to me through my friend, but what does grace has to do with fear of the unknown?"
It has everything to do with not only the future, but every second of our lives. The bible says 'Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.' Hebrews 4:16. God gives us grace daily, to endure anything that the day brings, I learned that i do not need to keep being afraid of what is to come, because whatever is to come, we will be given grace. See, Grace empowers us, His grace is sufficient for you, his power is made perfect in our weakness.
We no longer have to fear, we not only have receive grace but, we receive mercies every morning. This grace, this unmerited favor, the bestowal of blessings, God has given us is what i live for. Now that i know, but yet have to learn, is that i live day by day, by grace.
By divine grace, and in just a few days, that has made a lot of difference. All your dreams, plans, God has placed them in your heart, and as long as you pray for His will to be done in your life, you will see those dreams become true, way better than you actually expected them to be. Not because you are being a good christian, of course as christians we are ministers of His word on this earth, and have to live accordingly, but all the blessings we receive each day, It is by grace! Grace upon grace, upon grace.
I pray you live by grace, i pray you understand the meaning of grace in your life, and i pray that if you have a chance to light somebody's day, you would do it! With our eyes upon the Lord, all things are possible!!
Do not be afraid, live by grace. <3
Erika Silva
What am i supposed to do with my feelings and thoughts?
Pretty good question! Specially when we are in our 20's. Our minds ask over and over and our heart responds. Songs, quotes, stories, movies and the media tell us to 'Follow our heart', to 'Listen to our heart'. But what does it mean to 'follow our heart' or to 'Listen to our heart'?
In my own experience i have come to realized that if i would have followed my heart, i would be anywhere but not where i am now. I realized that if i kept following my heart, i was just going to end up spinning my wheels. Ending up, stuck in the same place again, that place of wanting to belong.
I understood that i have to loved myself and as strange as it sounds, i needed it to get to know myself more. So now i am getting to know myself, my strengths, my weaknesses, forgetting what i want, going after what i need. Because when we go after what we need we are making ourselves a better person. And being a better person helps the people around us, meaning you are actually making the world a better place. However when we go after what we want, we are just worrying about ourselves, we are just being selfish, and selflessness is going to do nothing for the world, it actually destroys it.
But what am i referring with all this, what is the point? The point is to make you see, that thoughts and feelings run the world. Whether they are good or bad, whatever happens inside you comes out as well. So think about who you fall in love with, love yourself first. Do not run after people who have decided to keep going without you, don't forget them, wish them the best, but keep going. As a believer of a God who works things for the good of those who trust in Him, i can tell you that he will place the right people right next to you. Although i am sure you have heard this phrase a million times, 'you need to let go' is a very important one. I thought it was something people repeated over and over to seem strong. But it is actually the key to one of your biggest blessings.
Let go of the excuses, of the sorrows, it is not easy, but it is healthy for your soul. Write a list of the things you need to work on. Surround yourself with people that bring out the best in you, the people that love you for who you are.
And last but not least do not let your feelings determine your actions, because most of the time, feelings are wants, not needs. Be wise about your decisions, do not rush into things, there is a time for everything.
Love, laugh, cry, life is too short.
E.S.
I leave you with a little gift:
There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens;
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather
them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain
from embracing, a time to search and a time to
give up, a time to keep and a time to throw
away, a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-9
The selfie problem...
So i was on my way with my dad to get some exams done. It has become so usual that it doesnt scare me anymore, but i still hate it, i hate going to stupid appoinments with doctors, trust me when you are in your 20's the only thing you think about is dancing all day long, or at least me! I do that. Yeah i think about others happiness as well, but i think about myself most of the time. I mean honestly, i am a selfish young human, what can i tell you, why lie! But it bothers me most of the time too. Sometimes i wish i could let go of myself and look around, stop for a second, breath in, breath out, pause and check if anyone around me needs help! I mean that is exactly what Jesus did when He was on Earth! I love who He is in general but 2 of my favorite things about Jesus are that He was always looking for someone to help and He was always reminding His disciples that taking 'selfies' was definitely not going to get them anywhere! Just kidding, I mean selfishness, you know, ME ME ME ME ME ME. The usual! This 'Me problem' the human heart has, is a disease! It needs medicine! It needs healing, it needs less 'you' and more 'OTHERS'. I am pretty sure God did not create us to feel that way, otherwise, he would have created a world for each one of us, but he didnt, he put us all in one world, one place, it was on purpose i believe! Maybe so we can take care of each other, encourage each other, help each other, two is better than one type of thing. So how can we cure that 'ME Problem'? Well we can't, there needs to be some sort of higher power. To really care for someone, first we have to feel we are being taken care of, to love someone, we need to feel we are being loved, and to help someone, we ourselves need to be rescue! And how do you know you are loved, helped and taken care of? how can we be sure in this crazy, tough life that we are valued? Because it is definitely heard to comprehend God's love. In my personal experience God's love is not like magic, or a fairy tale where everything is white and pink, clouds, rainbows and ponies! God loves us just the way we are, but loves us too much to leave us that way. He wants to change us, to mold us. Just like gold needs to be refine through fire to shine. That's what happens to us when we are being refine by God's love. It is a unique experience. Life is really different when you wake up every morning knowing you are loved, it pushes you, encourages you, it fills you up with strength! I can tell you this because i have been sick for a long time, and my body feels like shutting down any minute, but because i know i am loved and taken care of, my tired body listens to my soul who feels like it can tackle down an army! Just because it knows about LOVE.
'For God so loved the world that He gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life' John 3:16, for i knew you, before you were born 'psalm 139' and many more bible verses that talk about God's love for us.
There you have it, that is where the healing for that terrible 'me, myself and i' disease begins. When you start to realize who really loves you, who really cares for you and who is always helping you, then and only then, when you know you are being taken care of, then you can start loving, helping and caring for others, and there is noting more beautiful than to be there for someone, nothing more rewarding than to see a human being smiling, knowing you were involved in that smile, someway, somehow!
Good to know in this hurtful, tough, broken world, THERE IS STILL HOPE!
ONE CRY!!! One voice, one church, one body, ONE KING, ONE GOD!! And all God's people say AMEN! ❤️ #singitlouder
AND IT OPENS UP YOUR EYES, to see the blessings all around us! The ones we take for granted, the ones we put aside! When you struggle with something you cant deal with, somethings happens, you realize you there has to be someone strong, someone to suffer when you suffer, not someone that feels sorry for you but someone who takes your hand and says: Do not be afraid, i am here, ill keep you steady, keep a firm grip on you. ISAIAH 41:10 #keepfighthing
Because of you Lord, all because of you! ✨
Perfect! 🌺 #walkinlove
Time on them hands!! #offthewall #streetart #photography #photoshop
Life is not a snapchat, it might take a little time to see the bigger picture! #wouldyoudaretobelieve (at THERE OR SQUARE)
Sometimes we need to adjust our life Focus lense! We tend to get so caught up in the way we want things to be, we often miss the big blessings that we already have! #lifecheck
THEY SAY SUFFERING IS PART OF LIFE, I SAY SUFFERING IS WHAT MAKES US APPRECIATE LIFE.
One of my favorites songs is called 'blessings' It goes like this:
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….
Honestly i will think that after so many physical pain, i will actually become stronger, and not be afraid of it! But lately i have been so afraid and scare, spend a couple of hours in the hospital recently, and it was not funny. The same symptoms that were bothering me last summer, have decided to come again! And now as i am writing this, i am feeling weak and although my family and friends are always there for me, there is something deeper and greater that my scare body and soul longs for.
But as i think over and over again, we come to this world and just like fog in a rainy morning, we are gone, just like that. One day here, the next, gone! I try so hard to enjoy every second of my life as much as i can, i try to be the best i can be, but as i try so hard, i realized i just keep failing. I get more impatient, more angry, mad, frustrated, sad. The better person i try to be, the more i see how broken and sinful i am. The more struggles i face, thinking i will become more faithful, stronger, and it just doesn't happen! So i start realizing, there is this thing called 'Infinite, unmerited GRACE'. This grace we don't deserve, this grace that has saved me, this mind blowing Love i have receive, that i don't even deserve, and without it, i honestly do not know where i will be today.
Today i want to encourage you, that no matter your situation, you are not alone, When a man gets on his knees and claims to the one who has created him, that is when He really becomes a MAN, when we finally come to our senses and realized we can't do things without the one that created us, that is when we find our purpose. I am just another human on this enormous earth, but trust me when i tell you, that The artist is the only one that knows the value of his painting….
Much love,
Erika Silva.
NEW YORK CITY!! I had a dream where i wanted to let you go, but i couldn't.... ❤️
IF I EVER LOSE MY FAITH IN YOU, THERE'D BE NOTHING LEFT FOR ME TO DO...
Hello there amazing people;
It is just been 2 days since my first post, but i am really enjoying writing for some reason. I think more than writing, it is the joy of sharing what the Lord has been speaking to me. For those of you who aren't use to the phrase 'God has been speaking through me' and think it's weird, do not even worry, let me explain. God speaks to me every day, literally, His voice is like a lightning, it sounds like a trumpet. Got youuu!!! haha I am totally kidding, i can't hear God's voice literally, like i could hear yours, But God speaks to me through the bible, through worship and when i pray, and other ways too that i will share some other time.
So If you have not look at the picture above this post, It is something i wrote, or draw, yeah, pretty much both. I have been doing this for a few weeks after seeing a post and got inspired! It says: 'IF I EVER LOSE MY FAITH IN YOU, THERE'D BE NOTHING LEFT FOR ME TO DO'.Ohhhhhh That is deep isn't it?. For example; If the best baseball player in the world loses his arm, (Hope it never happens) but what's left for him in his career?, or If the best singer in the world loses his/her voice?, those are just examples, a little similar to what i am trying to say, but let me go a little deeper. What i am trying to say is that for those fictional characters, their careers will be over, their passion for that specific gift will die. There is a song in spanish i loved as a little kid that says: 'If i decided to denied my faith, and never trust in Jesus again, i have no place to go, if i decided to despise in my heart, the grace that saved me, i have no place to go'. When i sing this song, the first thing that comes to mind is what will my life be like, if there wasn't any JESUS in it, and i can not stop crying. Because everything i am, and everything i do revolves around who HE IS. If i was to lose my faith, i might as well just die. See, this faith i have in Jesus, whom i believe is the SON OF THE LIVING GOD, has been the base and the root of my life. It is the only truth i know, the only truth that has set me free, i literally started living the day i understood a little bit about this relationship between Jesus and i (i am still learning, day by day). This does not mean, i am the perfect christian, oh not at all, from all the people i have ever met, i am the least that deserves this grace.
I am not trying to change the way you think about who Jesus is, i am just sharing a little bit of where my faith comes from. There was once, where a few friends and i were giving out some food to a homeless man, to be honest, i did not want to do it, i didn' feel like approaching someone who looked really dirty. My heart was beating fast and after doing this for a couple of weeks i started realizing that they are was just like us, a human beings, with the same needs as you and i, and with the same rights to be loved as you and I are loved. Trust me when i tell you that it was not me who figure that out, as silly as it sounds, i was being selfish, but it was Jesus opening my heart and humbling me. It is not possible for a sinful, broken heart as mine to feel that way, and there was only one explanation 'A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another'. John 13:34
This is what i wanted to share, the little story behind a simple drawing about FAITH. If you are a believer i encourage you to love people, but don't try it on your own, do it through Jesus, ask him to fill your heart with love for others and faith for every morning. If you are not a believer then i encourage you to ask God a simple question, even if you are not sure if He is real, just talk to him as if you were talking to a friend, nobody will know, just do it, you've got nothing to lose, just because you don't know about God, doest mean God doesn't know about you!
Life is not easy, but it is beautiful. Learning to dance in the rain, with no raincoat, no rain boots, just a naked soul…..
Hello Everybody!
My name is Erika Silva and i have been wanting to start a blog for the longest time ever. But for some unknown reason i never did, well until today. First let me start by telling you my story and what is the purpose of this blog. I truly believe that if you are doing something without a purpose, it does not make sense. The first and most important thing in my life is that I am a christian, in other words, some ordinary human being who believes in the greatest sacrifice, done by the greatest man that ever lived, who's name is JESUS CHRIST. I believe He died for you and i, so we do not have to earn God's love, or earn our way to heaven (yeah, i believe in heaven, is in the bible, and yes i believe in the bible too). I know i have been forgiven of all my sins, and i also believe there is no way i deserve all this love that The Lord has shown me.
A little bit about my story; i use to be a very pessimistic, resentful person. I thought nobody would ever loved me the way i wanted to be loved. Because of all my imperfections, and i also thought nobody will want to be friends with me because of all my insecurities. On top of that for the past 2 years, my life has been a series of sickness after sickness. If i was to count the times i have been in the hospital all this time, i would not be able to count them, and if i was to number the amount of physical pain, it will be a little hard as well. I will not get into detail, but let's just say that everything started with the rumor 'You might have cancer' (which was not true) to the point where they told me there was something wrong with my heart. I have gone through so many exams, sonograms, cat scans, MRI'S, x'rays, biopsies, medicines and a few others, and all i can think of is 'I am still alive, i am still breathing and i am still loved'. Of course it was not easy to get to that point, i doubted, i wanted to give up, i hated suffering so much, i asked God many questions, but His answer was always the same, 'TRUST ME'. I was honestly getting tired of the same answer over and over but deep in my soul i knew that was the best answer He could give me. I was mad, a part of me wanted to just burst out, and scream, but i knew, i knew my best option, was to keep trusting. I mean, i have been reading the bible since i was 7 years old, and God never failed when He said the 2 words He seems to love the most 'TRUST ME'. Never, not once in the bible His plans failed, they were always perfect, because He is a perfect God.
I can not say i am totally healthy now, but i am definitely better than i use to be! hahaha. Also i can honestly say that i have learned to trust in The Lord, and that life is different now, i am no longer that resentful, pessimistic person, All this physical pain, all those moments made me realize that life is just too beautiful, as it is short. So we might as well enjoy it, every bit, from breakfast to dinner, from sunrise to sunset, from morning to night, from the moment we first come into earth, to our last day on earth. I have learned to enjoy every aspect of life, from drinking a cup of soothing, calming hot tea in a beautiful freezing morning, to seeing an old person smiling in the park while feeding the birds. Oh this life is too beautiful, if only we didn't take things for granted, if only we learn to appreciate the beauty before the suffering, if only we learn to dance in the rain, instead of complaining about how humid it is...
Follow me, as i continue to tell you more about my life, something very important, I love people and photography, and you will see many pictures of different people, even strangers. Mostly family, I adore my family with everything i have, and i love cats.
And Please, if you have a chance to do something for someone, do it, you will be changing the world, if you do it. <3
Jesus said, “The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.”
Mark 12:30-31