Encounters

Have you ever encountered someone from your past, who you used to be very close to (or perhaps WANTED to be close to) and you see that they are now very close to someone else?
You see the joy that they now have because of it.
And it's refreshing, in a way.
It's like an affirmation that you letting them go really was the right decision, because now they have this joy with someone else that they couldn't have with you.
And that's a really cool thing.

"One of the remarkable things about love is that, despite very irritating people writing poems and songs about how pleasant it is, it really is quite pleasant." 

- Lemony Snicket, Horseradish

Weird

A few months ago, when I was living in Portland, Oregon, I had a conversation with an artist fellow at the Goodwill Outlet who was searching for audiobooks to listen to while he worked on projects. He asked if there was anything I recommended.
I suggested two works to him: Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld, being a steampunk retelling of World War I, and a delightful nonfiction titled The Disappearing Spoon, by Sam Kean, which is a history of the periodic table of the elements littered with entertaining anecdotes. 
When he asked which one he should start with, I told him to start with the nonfiction.
He raised an eyebrow. "It's that good?"
I insisted that it was. But then, in a moment of insecurity, I shrugged. "Maybe I'm weird."
"Oh, I've no doubt that you are," he replied, "But that doesn't mean that you can't also be right."

His last comment stuck with me. Being weird doesn't mean that you can't be right. 
It immediately brings to my mind the Church and the radically counter-cultural ways we are called to live our lives. Giving generously to the poor. Inviting people into our homes. Showing love to the unlovable.  We are called to live in a way that doesn't make sense to most of the world, but makes perfect sense if you believe in a Creator who is going to set the world right again, and who is asking us to be a part of it along with Him.
So let us be bold.
Let us live without fear and be a part of bringing His Kingdom into this earth.
Let's be weird.

Mandilynn Makes Pretty Things.

I thought I'd try something a little different for me and start up an Etsy shop! I've always loved wearing and making unique accessories, and now I'm sharing them with YOU! Take a look. :)

"Vaguely Homeless"

To say “I travel a lot,” is a bit of an understatement.

I play in a band, and we sometimes tour for months at a time.

I love it.

I love every aspect of it.

Meeting new people, trying new foods, sleeping on the floors of strangers, getting up on that stage every night with my best friends and playing songs together, trusting God that He will take care of us every single day. 

But I don't know where home is anymore.

I haven't stayed anywhere for longer than a few months in almost two years.

It feels like pieces of me are scattered all over the country.

Places I want to be, people I want to spend time with.

When boys at parties ask me where I'm from, I smile and answer that I'm vaguely homeless at the moment.

They usually reply with something like, “Oh man, that's so cool!”

Yes. It is.

But,

sometimes, 

I can't help but wish I had somewhere - or someone -

to come back to

and know that I was where I belonged.

My sister's mother-in-law's brownie recipe! (I'm posting this here partly so I can find it easily later :P)

"You know one me.

Just like I know one you.

But you can't know every me.

And I can't know every you."

- David Levithan, Every You, Every Me

A Walk in the Woods

Winter is so lovely sometimes.

Trees. Frost.

Frozen spiderwebs are so beautiful. Walking through the woods and seeing them everywhere feels so magical.

Music You Should Know About: Lauryn Peacock

I first met Lauryn two summers ago, when we were both on tour and happened to be staying with the same host family. I didn't actually become acquainted with her music until several months later, when my brother-in-law, Tyler, put on her CD in the car one day. Since then, her debut album, "Keep It Simple Let The Sun Come Out," has become one of my favorites and is probably my most-listened-to album of the year.
The album, produced by Daniel Smith and full of guests such as Mike Weiss and Denison Witmer, weaves together stories of love, loss, regret, hope, and healing; painting pictures which are sometimes carefree, sometimes haunting, and some both at once.

Untitled

Two strangers

Each with their thoughts

Walking hand in hand

Under the moon

He climbs the fence

To go down by the lake

Glances back with a smile

“Are you coming?”

She hesitates

And she wants to say “No.”

But she doesn't.

No, she doesn't.

Two strangers

Walking hand in hand

By the water

Under the moon

Without her permission

He kisses her lips

And she wants to say “No.”

But she doesn't.

No, she doesn't.