I was about nine or 10 when my dad moved to the U.S. to get another degree. Me and my mother moved to Atlanta to join him when I was 14.

Mara, that's the life I want to give you. That's what I'm offering you. I want to fill you life with color and warmth. I want to fill it with light. Give me a chance

Another example of this is astrology. Multitudes of believers are subconsciously bound to the characteristics and weaknesses of their "zodiac sign." In their search for identity, this mixture of deceptive facts and illusions was absorbed into their soul, where it continues to stand even today in direct opposition to God's work of transformation.

The only One who has a right to shape our lives is Jesus Christ. We must determine to allow nothing and no one to shape us, not even our personal experiences, unless they are consistent with the promises of God.

The best is yet to come.

Fairy tales can come true It can happen to you If you're young at heart

Favor comes because for a brief moment in the great space of human change and progress some general human purpose finds in him a satisfactory embodiment.

Passion is born when you catch a glimpse of your true potential.

Coincidences are God's way of getting our attention.

Lord, when I feel that what I'm doing is insignificant and unimportant, help me to remember that everything I do is significant and important in your eyes, because you love me and you put me here, and no one else can do what I am doing in exactly the way I do it.

While optimism makes us live as if someday soon things will soon go better for us, hope frees us from the need to predict the future and allows us to live in the present, with the deep trust that God will never leave us alone but will fulfill the deepest desires of our heart... Joy in this perspective is the fruit of hope.

Your unique presence in your community is the way God wants you to be present to others. Different people have different ways of being present. You have to know and claim your way. That is why discernment is so important. Once you have an inner knowledge of your true vocation, you have a point of orientation. That will help you decide what to do and what to let go of, what to say and what to remain silent about, when to go out and when to stay home, who to be with and who to avoid.