June 9, 201619 Comments
I attended the CMT Awards last night for the first time in several years…only the second time I had attended since I lost my dream job at CMT in my mid-20’s. (That full story is in my second book, I’ve Never Been to Vegas But My Luggage Has, which just happens to be $1.99 on Kindle & Nook right now). Once upon a time I interviewed celebrities on the red carpet at those awards, a … » Read More
July 1, 201528 Comments
I’ve been in a bit of a creative slump lately that has definitely affected my writing and tweeting and posting. I’m not sure why, but every summer around this time, I hit a creative wall. And because I don’t really have anything brilliant to say, I stop saying anything at all. When I saw this beautifully perfect quote by Brian Andreas, it occurred to me that perhaps I don’t have to say anything brilliant. Or … » Read More
May 6, 20159 Comments
I was reading this well-known and beloved quote from The Velveteen Rabbit today that popped up in my Timehop and something occurred to me that I’m not sure has ever occurred to me before.
Love is messy.
We always talk about life being messy, and it is. But love…LOVE…real love, true love, life-changing love…is impolite. It’s untamed. It’s not always pretty. It knows no boundaries and lives by no rules.
Love is messy.
Look no further than a grandmother’s … » Read More
April 30, 20159 Comments
Today I hereby give you permission to feel exactly how you are feeling without apologizing or stifling or excusing or resisting. I give you permission to drop the politeness and the masks and the sugar-coating and just be REAL. To stop wasting time justifying and rationalizing and analyzing and just say what you mean and mean what you say. To accept yourself in all your brave, broken beauty and to stop trying to pick up … » Read More
October 29, 201417 Comments
I’m sitting here in my tiny little kitchen that I don’t own…gazing out at my cozy little loft with the turquoise carpet that someone else picked out long before I ever arrived here…watching my sweet kitty, Prince Hairy, stalking a bug across the room, carefully following the bug’s path so he can “protect his domain.” (He never actually harms the bug, he just likes to monitor the bug’s every move.) Steam rises from my coffee … » Read More
October 27, 201472 Comments
It hit me yesterday that I talk regularly about how strong and independent I am as a single (and fabulous) woman…
…and yet, it’s all a big, gigantic LIE.
The message in church yesterday was about singleness and how our contentment can only be found in God, not in the safety of marriage or the independence of single life (Thank you, Pastor Trevor Atwood, for BRINGING IT). And as I sat there and listened and let the … » Read More
September 5, 20148 Comments
Makeup and spanx and hair extensions and photo shop and airbrushing and false eyelashes and plastic surgery and Botox and on and on and on. There are so many ways to cover and conceal and trim and blur and enhance who we are. And don’t get me wrong. I’m a fan of a few of these things. (Especially hair extensions. Why does my hair grow a half an inch every 3 years?!? Okay I’m exaggerating … » Read More
May 15, 2013Comment
Quote of the Day: I admit it’s tempting to wish for the perfect boss, the perfect parent, or the perfect outfit. But maybe the best any of us can do is not quit, play the hand we’ve been dealt, and accessorize what we’ve got. ~Sex & the City The Single Woman Says: When I was growing up, my dad was a bit like Chevy Chase in … » Read More
October 17, 20121 CommentQuote of the Day: “There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a person being themselves. Imagine going through your day being unapologetically you.” ~Steve Maraboli “Scholars, theologians, and even poets have yet to be able to truly describe and touch upon the beauty, romance, and magic of a relationship built on 100% authenticity.” ~Steve Maraboli The Single Woman Says: Let people be who they are. … » Read More
June 25, 2012CommentQuote of the Day: God’s light shines greater through “cracked pots” than it does through those who have it all together. ~Joyce Meyer The Single Woman Says: I’m messy. Disorganized. I turn into a control freak at times, and I don’t like doing anything without making a plan first. I watch WAY too much Netflix. I eat peanut butter straight from the jar. I get passionate about stuff that I believe in…so … » Read More
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Life doesn’t always look the way we want it to look. In Mandy’s upcoming book, Turn Toward the Sun: Releasing What If and Embracing What Is, you’ll find encouragement to live in the moment, sit with your experiences, and trust God with the unknown.
