‎"Here’s my heart, 
O take and seal it. 
Seal it for 
Thy courts above."

Arise my Love

Arise My Love by katelynalexander

"examine carefully, and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and to direct all my forces against it."

Summertime, Selah Sue.

It’s out there summertime bring me joy
‘Cause I can’t seem to find it no more
It’s never them but you are so defending them
I just know, but I can’t change
After all this time I still don’t know
It hasn’t been what I hoped for
So here am I, my restless soul, yeah

Do you feel alone
All by yourself
Or do you need something more
Do you feel alone
All by yourself
Or do you need something more
Than this
Than this
Than this

It’s out there summertime bring me joy
’Cause I can’t seem to fight it no more
It’s never them but you are so caressing them
And I just know but I can’t change
After all this time I still don’t know
It hasn’t been what I hoped for
So here am I, I rest my soul, yeah

But do you feel alone
All by yourself
Or do you need something more
Do you feel alone
And do you feel scared
Or do you need something more
Than this
Than this
Than this
Than this
Than this

It’s out there summertime bring me joy
‘Cause I can’t seem to find it no more

heavy summer sunshine has nothing on the happiness inside me.

“safety or suffering?”

"Life" has been a big topic on my mind this week. the struggles, the temptations, the downfalls. i read a post tonight about life. about how hard it is. how it will be okay even when it doesn't seem so, urging us to push on and smile through the tears. it talked about struggles and there always being someone worse off than yourself.

some people look at struggles and say, 'this sucks!' or 'why would god do this to me?' the fact that you are saying, 'why?' is exactly why. God wants us to need him. yeah, it's great that he's there, but there is a fine line between 'God being there' and 'needing God there'. what if we all spent every second, every minute of our life in enjoyment? what kind of life would that be? if you are thinking a pretty dang good one, i advise you to rethink it. the struggles, the challenges, are all a part of god's plan.

yeah, sure it's hard. but if life wasn't hard what would be the fun of living it.

struggle has been something i've been praying for lately. not against it but for it. honestly, i haven't ever had much struggle in my life while growing up. god's been good to help me along, occasionally slipping and falling but always getting back up. i want to break and cry out to God. i want to need nothing more but him. the battles we face draw us closer to the Lord--they fix our hearts on what should be our focus.

I want to struggle. I want to get my hands dirty . I want to be so “in love” with him, that nothing else matters.

”Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it.” -Helen Keller

photo via.

i'm sitting on the back porch, swinging in a hammock. there is a beautiful sunset sprawled across the sky that i like to think is my own. cup of tea in hand, and this, to me, is peace. on days like this, i feel blessed. Admiring what God gave me. everyone has their ways, some admire from mountain tops, some from the middle of the ocean, some don't admire at all. i try to admire all things though. like sitting at home on a quiet friday night. i thank God for these nights. they're good to just sit and think, and sort life back to the way it's suppose to be.
i thank god that i can be content with so little.
love, mandy.

lovely moon(mandy's song)

"It's nice to be important,
but it's more important to be really really nice."-unknown.

Graduated

"I thought growing up was something that happened automatically as you got older. But it turns out, it's something you have to choose to do."

i don't know what to do next.
but, god has it all under control.

love, mandy.

uh.

a lot of everything is happening.
i graduate in one day. my grandparents come tomorrow. i have to help my seester make 100 cupcakes for my party. my slide show isn't done. i lack creativity right now, big time. i stapled my finger today. my dresser drawer broke. i forgot about lunch. i missed my quiet time this morning. and to make it even worse, i can't find my journal.

i'm gonna go spend some serious prayer time under the stars.
goodnight world.

kissing faith hello.

Gods been teaching me about faith lately.
i'm sorry to admit that i've been lacking in that area.
majorly.

i was late on signing up for my college courses for fall term. a bunch of nonsense happened and i allotted to telling myself i wasn't gonna get anything i wanted because i missed my sign up date by 2 weeks. it was like everything was piling up and the world was screaming at me,"there is no way."

i was finally able to sign up yesterday.

i got every single class i wanted but one. and than the Lord caught my attention and said, "Ye of little faith."

He was right. i had little faith.
we're never alone.

Matt 17:20

 ²⁰And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

For the Boys.

Listen.

i'm going to name my daughter june.

june is teaching me patience. like how not to freak out when i can't find my graduation cap. and realizing cookies take longer to bake in the oven than i thought. and even though my cameras broke and i feel like crying most all the time, i have to enjoy the day anyway.

laughing with god.

i like to think most of the time, i'm a pretty decent listener. but when it comes to praying, i'm a conversation hog. sometimes i feel bad that God has to listen to my big mouth. i go from one thought, to the next problem, to yet another thought, and etc. usually i realize my fault, slow down, and listen. he doesn't always talk back. and sometimes, like tonight, it was mostly just me talking. i had lots to say and needed the outlet. but after i realized i had been blabbering on for a good 45 minutes at a rapid pace, i laughed.

i'm sure he laughed too. he has the right to.

he reminded me that he has a plan. my beloved Lord holds me in his hands and he will never let me go. i don't have anything to worry about. psalms 55:22 entered my head,

"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, 
and he shall sustain thee: 
he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

i'd be silly to forget that. 

and than it was my turn again, but all that came out of my mouth was

thank you.

Funny Little World