Friendventures

What a week of friendventures!

On Wednesday I was blessed to spend the evening with my

dear friend Cari. 

We worked together up at Hume over the summer.

I started calling her "Cari-Lari"...

but now I mostly just call her Lari. 

{Isn't she lovely?}

She has such a sweet and beautiful and ever so spunky heart. 

She is such a ginormous blessing to me as she sits and listens and asks questions

 as I warble on about my life. 

We wandered to Starbucks and across my campus, exchanging words.

I thoroughly enjoyed hearing all about the big transitions in her life. 

She is definitely an example of strength and consistency in 

the face of change,

revealing such a heart of obedience to the Lord's direction for her life. 

She also hand-made this for me:

and I am thoroughly obsessed with it. 

It is a case for my laptop, hand sewn.

It's thick and cuddly and protective and I very nearly slept with it the first night. 

I am so thankful that my computer is going to be cozy and safe

for his daily nap times.

Oh Lari, what a lovely lady!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thursday was a day for another friendventure! 

The day started and ended with my sweet friend/coworker, Rebecca.

We had been planning a day for thrifting for weeks and this was the day. 

We only hit up two stores, but our time was well spent and produced good results. 

I picked up some epic items that I am stoked to wear.

{I love clothes that require a process to obtain!}

Then, we ventured to Carl's Jr for lunch. 

Rebecca had never.been.to.one.

In my family, this is a very big deal.

I told the cashier that it was her first time and the sweet lady

FLIPPED out.

She was really excited for Rebecca.

I had a good chuckle over that.

Rebecca was clearly WAY stoked too. 

{She was quite delighted by her lunch, lemmetellya.}

We polished off our lunch with the new yummy dessert at Carls.

It's the oreo cookie ice cream sandwich!

{I have consumed a copious amount of these sweet treats in the last week, it's bad.}

What a phenomenal sweet invention.

Just like friendship is a phenomenal sweet invention.

{Good one, God}

Newer Year Resolutions

So last year I had some pretty successful resolves for the New Year.

I was not able to memorize "Handlebars" by the Flobots...

but I am all about the second chances.

New Year, New Resolves 

1. learn morse code

2. call grocery stores "markets"

3. take more hugs and give more smiles

4. bake {but mostly eat} more pie

lemon merengue, obviously

Joking-a-la-zoking aside, my motto for this year is this:

"Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it is in your power to act." 

Proverbs 3:27

I truly desire to enter this year with a heart and mind that is generous with the

  goodness 

I have been given.

I think this starts with praying constantly for a sense of

 humility

so that I can understand what I have been given.

{perfecting the strawstache last year... it's a good omen}

{in awe but passionate about doing something about it is this Maddy heart}

Adventuring is the Best Way to Grow Up

This past weekend was one for the books. 

I smiled so much that my face hurt every night. 

I was BEYOND blessed to spend Friday morning until Sunday afternoon 

in the gorgeous Pismo Beach. 

I drove up with two dear women, 

both of whom are named Melanie. 

{at the gum wall in SLO}

These girls bring me so much joy!

It was such an honor to be able to talk at them

and listen to them for hours and hours. 

I love people.

I love their words so much, too.

Our weekend involved no rigid schedule or plan. 

We quite literally meandered our way through the days. 

We watched gorgeous sunsets.

The viewing of this one involved the consumption

of copious amounts of Gushers and Goldfish.

We really are kids at heart, err stomach.

There was a little airplane that accompanied the falling of the sun. 

The pilot came closer and closer and even waved at us,

doing backflips and showing off. 

But then this big ugly pelican monster decided to imitate the plane and fly straight at us.

{have I mentioned my fear of birds yet? yeah not so much a fan}

Lots of pretty awesome people watching

went down, as we were able to 

walk everywhere in the small town. 

On Saturday, we decided to explore San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay.

We found a place where you can feed Seals. 

{SAY WHAT?!!}

I got to throw ranky, stinky fish parts at this little guy. 

{lookin' yummy eh?}

And he and his friends caught every single one.

They were born at Sea World, in captivity,

so they can't be set free in the wild.

They did all kinds of silly tricks.

Oh my goodness it was just so much fun!!

What a great experience!! 

We watched some movies

(Titanic and Water For Elephants)

and talked

and laughed

and ate

(we cooked all of our meals together)

and snacked

and talked 

and slept

and talked

and laughed. 

A lot.

The timing of this weekend was a significant blessing to each of us.

How wonderful that our Lord knows our needs?!

His timing is so beautiful to me.

Experiencing incredible peace and a lack of stress

really reminded me of how important it is to 

intentionally REST. 

My mind and heart and body

often process life at a speed that is much faster 

than necessary.

I am learning how to handle this phenomenon

as I experience greater levels of pressure

in school and life. 

I'm still very much a youngster, 

the canvas of my life is still very empty

of color and design, 

as I am seeking to develop into the big girl I hope to be some day.

However, this last year has involved

extensive stretching

of my heart and mind. 

I feel that I have grown ever so much. 

This adult skin still doesn't fit very well. 

But I'm getting there. 

In many ways, this weekend 

revealed to me how important it is to be

aware of this growth, and to celebrate it with people.

And God's glorious creation.

Oh I also learned two new things about myself this weekend:

1) I love beach towns.

2) I could quite literally stare at the waves crashing on the beach for hours.

(Looking back, I actually realize that I have down this

many many times throughout my life)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday evening, on the way home I stopped at a friend's home.

We adventured around town, 

driving and exploring

and eating wonderful food,

while talking of God's presence in our lives.

We finished the evening enjoying

so much creative, beautiful music.

My little heart felt near overwhelmed

with the amazing gifts that God has given to others.

I am so thankful for friends who choose to receive and then give, 

rather than hoarding their blessings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This Monday holiday was spent 

traipsing through Laguna Beach with my family.

Such a lovely place.

Such a lovely bunch of Rhodeses.

{relaxed and sigh-happy is this little Maddy}

Created/Creative/Creator

Whilst vacationing with my wonderful family 

in Arizona last week,

I spent some time with my ever so artistic Aunt Linda. 

She makes the most beautiful quilts. 

It was so pleasant to sit with her and listen 

as she shared about quilting and crafting and creating. 

Each of these processes requires so much

love

and a deep appreciation for

beauty. 

When I came back home, 

I decided to buy some yarn and crochet some hats.

Then I started making headbands...

I love the yarn that I bought

{even though it's almost camouflage-y}

I feel a snatch like a hippy 

but

curly hair seems to be all about being loose and fancy free

and sometimes it needs to be tamed by a headband. 

It is just ever so fun to use

the mind and hands and glimmer of creativity

that God has blessed me with

to actually create something. 

I love finishing a project like this and then 

pausing

to look at it, really study it.

This may sound ever so silly...

but these moments of 

pure delight

that I feel when I make something

cause me to look at the world differently.

God must have been so stinkin' stoked

as he created the earth. 

His delight in his creation of everything,

especially his people,

must be so incredibly vast. 

It makes it a little easier to understand

how He delights in me. 

I am his created one.

"When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

human beings that you care for them?"

Psalm 8:3-4

{thoroughly delighted is this Maddy-heart}