happy merry

it's a happy merry christmas over here.
we just got done with the chaos of opening gifts after a nice breakfast. there's a pile of wrapping paper up to my knees sitting in the doorway.
i am now the proud owner of hunter boots, some lacey unmentionables, a load of dishes and ikea knives, art books, and a french record. i like all those things, but most of all, i like my family.

happy christmas to you.
i hope you like what's important most of all.

mandy

this love is seasonal

my house is full of love lately.
i blame the holidays.

lights are up. cookies were made today. presents under the tree. there are twelve boxes of gifts laying around the living room. much blessing is being poured into our little home this season. i am so thankful.

i am counting down my days of freedom with much dread and uneasiness. i love these days so much i don't want them to go. who could complain of such holiday bliss? thinking of the school term ahead doesn't make life any sweeter. yet, i remind myself this special time comes once a year. that's what makes it so special.

i hope you are having a very happy holiday.
hold your love ones tight and enjoy every single second of it.

a g a p e

[Agape love] is spontaneous. There was nothing of value in the persons loved that called forth such sacrificial love. God of His own free will set His love on us in spite of our enmity and sin. [Agape] is love that is initiated by the lover because he wills to love, not because of the value or lovableness of the person loved. [Agape] is self-giving and is not interested in what it can gain, but in what it can give. It is not bent on satisfying the lover, but on helping the one loved whatever the cost. [Agape] is active and is not mere sentiment cherished in the heart. Nor is it mere words however eloquent. It does involve feeling and may express itself in words, but it is primarily an attitude toward another that moves the will to act in helping to meet the need of the one loved.

D.W. Burdick

introducing

it's been a long time coming.

i have been planning a project for some darlings in Africa. i mentioned them in this post here.

and now,
you can take a look at my project here and here!

love to you all.

feel

my prayers are for the orphans of Cambodia tonight.

i wrote this for my love

what if you couldn't
say
"i love you"

what would you do for me
and
i for you
if we couldn't
say
"i love you"

would you
pick me a bouquet
or
kiss my forehead?

i promise,
i would lay with
you
and
hold your hands

cause love
is not
always what you
say
but what
you do

though
i cannot help but
say
"i love you"

brother dear.

happiest sunday.

love, mandy

i know, they are darling. i thought so too.

sometime here soon, you will hear about a project i am dong for these dears.
they live in Jinja Uganda at the Redeemer House Orphanage.
i don't know them, but i love them.
that's all i'll tell you for now.

-mandy

mom, you take my words away.

i really love you.

happy birthday.

love, mandy

this is for my "Him"

can you
measure feelings?
what if
mine
and yours
are the same element
but different weights
this is
nothing i fear
but something
i wonder
does
not
matter
because they will
all
bleed
together


via

in the air

weeks have grown shorter with much to do. it's been pleasant planning a wedding, nannying days away, and enjoying the last short weeks summer has to offer.
i suppose it's only natural that as we prepare for the end of warm days and freedom from our busy fall schedules, a bit of uneasiness will stir inside.
i keep telling myself i will be ready to move on and greet fall with open arms. one can hope.

this weekend is brimming with love. a wedding, a shower, family, & seeing old friends.
happiest august days.

21. the happiest birthday

(this image reminded me of you. ha. anyways, if you are reading this, you probably just found clue #10. yeah, i'm making you climb sur le toit. advice: don't fall, it's a long ways down.)

dear bella,
i love you dearly.

i don't consider myself qualified to give you any birthday advice, but people say that pretending to know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you're doing. so here we are, and that's what we'll do.

advice enters:
you’ve only got one life to live, so live it dancing. live it laughing. live it with grace.
don’t live it taking yourself too seriously. please wear mismatched socks. walk on your tiptoes like we did when we were little. laugh louder than everyone else in the movie theater. ask lots of questions. stand up for yourself. put glitter on everything tangible. be nice to others. drink copious amounts of tea/coffee. believe in miracles.
also, try to see as much of the world as you can in your short amount of time.
and please—love your flawed, beautiful self wholly.

but you dear, are living a wonderful life already. and for you, i'm not worried at all. your combined wit, wisdom, and wondrousness has baffled me. i am happy, so very happy you are my sister.
you have made me proud, and am sure to only become more so.

i am excited for all the adventures we will have together and alone.
hand in hand or ten million miles apart i know you will be living your heart out. you taught me, so i will too.

i love you.

with love,
mandy

jealous for him

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves

We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way

And oh, how He loves us
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us so
how he loves

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how he loves
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

.

we all so often claim, "we need to live what we believe."
as Christians, we overlook our responsibilities. we find ourselves in spots where it's hard to lend a hand to those in need. we can no longer reach our arm out and put it around them.

you see, we live in a community where we hear the hate and disgust for one another displayed before our eyes everyday. there's distrust, gossip, anger towards each other neatly tucked away in an envelope of self-righteousness.
all about fat people. about gay people. about alcoholic people. about people that gossip. about people that smoke and use drugs. about people that act differently. about people that dress differently. and so on.
we see it every single day. whether it's from our own outlook or someone else's. i am just as much a culprit of doing so as anyone else. and i did these very judgments buried with the term 'christian' by my side. thinking that somehow, because i am a christian my judgments i make on others will be approved because they were done out of love. we have attitudes where we think it's okay to push our so called 'christian' name aside and replace it with our ugly picket signs.
i'm a christian, except when you're prettier than me.
i'm a christian, except when you are going to get the job i wanted.
i'm a christian, except when you cheated.
i'm a christian, except when you fall inlove with the person i fell inlove with.
i'm a christian, except when there's a homeless man on the side of the street.

but if you are dressed nice, and have a job. if you act the way i think you should act and believe what i believe, you meet my approval. and then, at that moment, i am a christian. you have somehow gained my acceptance. these kind of feelings drive us to the point where we no longer have a hand to lend or arm to wrap around those that are weak and in need. we no longer have the longing or want to help those we think 'below' what our standard of acceptance is.

but this very way of thinking,
needs to stop.
if we really want to make a change and live up to our so called 'christian' name, we need to reach out.
we need to be a christian, when she is prettier. we need to be a christian, when he got the job we had been praying for. we need to be a christian, when they've cheated and gotten away with it. and so on.
there are those we looked down upon and have made us feel hateful, but they are who we need to put our arm around and tell them 'you're alright.' forget about telling them they are dressed immodest or shouldn't believe what they believe, tell them you love them.

those three words will gain more impact on their life than any 'look' or 'glimpse' you could shoot their way. and after this, with our judgmental hearts set to rest, we can proudly live up to what we believe is true. just by loving.

sincerely,
mandy.

you may or may not be invited.

i'm a bridesmaid.
a really hot bridesmaid.

perhaps you may have known aleady,

la, my beloved sister is getting married.

its all begun.
pre-wedding plans. post-wedding plans. and just plain wedding plans themselves.
my stomach feels sick thinking about the amount of garlands to be made and prices of tulle. this will be the best/worst six months of all our lives yet.

congratulations lovebirds.

instagram by: la&nat(the bride and groom themselves)

happy loveday.

oh yea.

my dear emma

 the movie.
the book.
the moment Mr. Knightly says, "I cannot make speeches. If i loved you less, i might be able to talk about it more."

swoon.

Acoustic and inlove.

before i die

i am convinced that i will learn to

lindi hop

with my love before i die.