i would be sad

Well, my dad told me, 

"One day son, this girl will think of what she's done, 

and hurting you will be the first of many more regrets to come." 

And he said, "If she doesn't call, then it's her fault, and it's her loss." 

I say, "It's not that simple, see," but then again -- it just may be.

writer's brain

Photo found here.

Today's the kind of perfect, lived-in Saturday that feels just like my favorite pair of faded jeans.
 As usual, I am sitting before a blank screen with scenes and emotions and fictional humans in my head, eager to find their way onto paper. There is a mini Gourmet Espresso candle flickering to my left, and a floral notebook full of character inspiration photographs to my right.

Today I just really want to praise the Lord for words. For the Bible, and books, for all of the blog post updates about NaNoWriMo, and for the entire concept of storytelling. One day I will see my novel completed, fleshed out, living, breathing. I can't wait for that day, but I'm also enjoying every little moment of crafting it. 

What about you? Currently enjoying a writing day? Reading any good books?
I welcome your recommendations! ♥

+ That Espresso candle really smells like coffee, if you were wondering. #wowza
+ If you love coffee & writing & feeling inspired, you must check out this site I'm using this morning.

for the trees & your eyes & a God who cares

By the time you're reading this post it will be Thanksgiving so I should let you know that yesterday I woke up and missed my grandparents terribly. But I'm thankful, because what a life this is, and what wonderful humans I have been privileged to call family, and in retrospect and even looking forward, I can say that I wouldn't change a single darned thing.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

gather 'round the campfire

It was truly chilly last night for the first time this year.
 So my best friends and I pulled on our sweatshirts and winter coats and sat around a bonfire at my church. There were marshmallows, and smiles, and stars. ♥

Also, I'm done with school for the week and Thanksgiving is just around the corner.
That means a hearty helping of family and pumpkin pie. Yes sir!

What does the rest of your week look like? Any Thanksgiving plans?

+ Here's a song & the verses that are making me smile today.

clouds

Outside, the sky is a foggy, stormy grey-white, yet somehow, that fits Friday. 

In fact, it's almost pleasant.

It's still morning, but I've already run four miles, strolled peacefully in the park, listened to Youth Lagoon's epic Savage Hills Ballroom LP on gold vinyl, and ate a hearty breakfast. Yes, I can feel it; today is the kind of day that makes you ponder life, makes you take a deeper look at things. My head is swimming with Youth Lagoon lyrics and possible prose for my novel. And God is only a prayer away, never too far from reach.

Life is beautiful.

Really step back and appreciate all you've been given today.

+ I took this photo of my mom in a garden in St. Augustine on our trip there last December. I think of St. Augs periodically, and today it is on my mind. Wishing I could be there to stroll through the brick back streets and take photographs. 

take heart

Hey, guys. 

I don't know about y'all, but what with the tragedy in Paris and just life in general lately, I've been feeling a little hopeless. Looking around at the world and humanity can be disheartening. But the Lord whispered one tiny verse to me today:

"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. 

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

~ John 16:33

There is always a reason for hope. 

Lord, help us, for we are small and twisted and desperately longing for a loving touch from You.

+ This photo was taken during my last hiking trip on the Appalachian Trail in April. 

I am currently longing to trek into the woods once more, to stare at the trees and smell the woods and be a whole human again.

click on this post & tell me about your saturday

Currently procrastinating writing my novel again, which is a shame because it's National Novel Writing Month, but who cares, because I ran seven miles for the first time in my life today, and the weather is perfect, and finally warrants wearing a sweatshirt, and my sister and I went on an adventure today, and there's a chance I could redesign this blog again, and Starbucks drinks with caramel in them are my best friends, and life is grand, tell yo' friends.

I'M ABOUT THAT SATURDAY MORNING LIFE

erin marie & the grandiose, delectable appeal of savoring the moment

Somewhere along my epic two-mile I'm-totally-an-old-lady walk in the park last night, it hit me.

The slowness. 

I do everything fast. Or at least, I try to. I eat fast. I read fast. I walk to Ethics class fast. Nothing I do seems to be slow or methodical. My time is owned by The Man, and I speedily accomplish the tasks he has laid before me, hoping to have a crumb left over for myself.

Maybe that's not entirely true; my life certainly has its free moments. But I've noticed that even in my spare time, I speed. I'm always looking forward to the next weekend, the next plan, the next bite of chocolate cake. Everything is so quick, so rushed, that I hardly enjoy what I'm doing.

What happened to slowness?

In the delicate words of noted lyricist Justin Timberlake, I'm bringing sexy slowness back.
Seriously.

I may only be 22, but I'm figuring out that we don't have time to waste. Life is a seriously short event, y'all. But that's just it -- life is meant to be so much more than an "event: it's supposed to be enjoyed. How can I honestly expect to enjoy the gift of the 24 blessed hours the Lord has gifted me for the day if I don't soak up every minute of it?

"This is the day which the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it."
~ Psalm 118:24

I'm tired of not finding things beautiful. I am weary of only seeing the wrong in others, the wrong in myself. Life, grace, and God are all meant to be celebrated. Each day should be filled with victory. 

That's why I'm going to occupy myself with morning walks and sunset skies and sharing smiles with strangers. I'm going to take the time to wrap myself up in a book, to hang on every lyric of my favorite album, to live rejoicing over whatever or whoever God has placed into my life as my gift for the day.

I'm going to savor each moment. 

Because we don't get many.

My beautiful best friend just put up her wedding pictures online and this was one of the shots.
Major photography kudos to Jed Mootsey.

bless your beautiful heart

This weekend, my big brother got married. ♥

What was super sweet was that he asked my sister and I to sing at his wedding. It was really touching. We were all very emotional! It was such a blessing to see he and his beautiful bride say their vows. I'm so happy for my brother. The wedding was gorgeous, too, on a boat that went out into the waters after the ceremony. And this morning we got to take the happy couple out to IHOP, and that was a nice moment of reflection on a beautiful weekend.

Thank You Lord for family, and for sweet weekends like this one.

the whistler

Have you ever had a stranger turn your bad day good 

simply because they asked you how your day was in the elevator?

have a smile on me #2

For as long as I can remember, I have read the Sunday comics. Ever since I was a kid, I would settle down after church with my Sunday lunch (usually Wendy's) and read the colorful, splashy pages. There were always strips I wasn't so fond of (Marmaduke has yet to make me laugh) but every now and then I really take a liking to a certain strip and just die laughing.

In short, this one slayed me today. SLAYED ME, I SAY. Please enjoy.