delight in the gulf

"We will endeavor to love others at all times. We will seek Jesus and His Kingdom and let our hearts be filled with more of Him everyday. We will live in freedom and redemption as chosen and loved women. We will rejoice in hope, seek joy, and celebrate grace. We will wake with open hands and learn to wear our hearts proudly, to tell our stories with laughter and weeping and song...We will be ready with a waiting ear, outstretched arms, and prayerful hearts..."

>> Delight Manifesto << 

i've been in the blogging world for over five years {seriously where did the time go?!} and have been active in social media for just as long. since then, i have learned about the essence of typography, aesthetic design, the art of photography — all valuable arts that i hadn't the slightest idea would help me in what i'm pursuing in college today (isn’t that neat how God works these things out?!). 

but even more valuable are the hearts i have had the privilege of meeting. through millions of typed characters and pixelated skype dates, i have formed the most cherished friendships and — thanks to the Lord — I have been honored to meet some of the loveliest people in person. as a long time reader, you well know the story of how my now best friend Johanna and I met and continue to read the adventures we concoct every time I’m in the big OC. I have also had the opportunity of meeting a Southern belle last year, and the owner of oh hello friend a couple of years ago. within this past semester alone, I’ve had the opportunity of shooting with Hannah and catching up with Marcia! along with blogging a couple of years ago, i joined the facebook group Delight created for young ladies pursuing the arts. little did i know that, the Delight ministry would bless me beyond my wildest imaginings in college. 

taylor, makaela, and i celebrated a week of successful midterms, by packing up taylor's car one monday evening after classes and driving over to the sugary beaches florida is famous for. the weather was balmy and breezy - absolute perfection! we met up with two moriah's, anna, and kristi who were already laughing on hammocks strung from palm trees. instant connections were made, and it felt like these souls had been friends for years {God's so good like that}. 

dusk was spent imprinting the sand with our footprints and shaking the wind with our laughter. it was just us - seven girls and seven cameras and hearts full of jesus - who stood on the beach. the rest of the evening was filled with building real-life community. no more laptops and Facebook group messages. we put away the phones, and over dinner we shared our hearts, no pretensions or façades.

these ladies are an inspiration! their wide-eyed passion and love for the Lord and for people and their smiles that exuberant such joy and love for our Heavenly Father is so refreshing to see. to be honest, to a girl who's not a professional photographer, spending the evening with such talented artists was kind of intimidating, but these girls' hearts for community versus competition is unreal. and that's what we need. more advocates for community in a world busy with competition. more girls who want to be a Delight to their Savior, rather than worrying about competing with others. 

be sure to read moriah nelson's and anna filly's entries about our meet-up + like makaela's, moriah's, and taylor's Facebook pages. these ladies really are phenomenally talented!

Delight{ful} stories? blogging real-life connections? 
do tell & let's be sure to have one together really soon. 
xx

"we were built for this" // spring semester

you never know what you are made of until change rustles in these bones. g.s. 

"it is the nature of grace always to fill the spaces that have been empty."
// johanne wolfgang von goethe // 

meet my wonderful theatre mishpucha {ie family} // post coming soon...

dear miss moriah was in town so all of us Delight girls kind of had to get together for a night of shooting sunsets and reveling in real-life community // post coming soon... 

whilst on the subject of community, here's a sneak peek at the delightful evening my blog buddy Hannah and I had adventuring around old-town Pensacola + the docks // post coming soon... 

and here's where i take a moment just to acknowledge how amazing this semester's fine arts was. not only did the performance of shakespeare's "midsummer night's dream" absolutely blow us away and left us all dying of laughter, but it was brilliant to go with such a dapper chap and one of my dear friends. 

can i just say how much i hate flying? being in the actual plane in the actual air is lovely, but i absolutely abhor terminals. and airlines that keep you grounded for 12 long hours just to let you know that you have to stay an extra night in florida, when all you want to do is go home and see your family and friends -- yeah, that's not exactly what i call the adventure of a lifetime. but when i finally came home to californian {albeit foggy} skies against a backdrop like this....

...well, i suppose it's not too hard to let the nightmare slip away, especially when i came home to people like this...

"home is wherever your mum is." ;) 

what to say about this semester -- about these past five months? it was was full of stressful moments, unforgettable moments, chaotic, dizzying, hilarious, ironic, i-can't-believe-this-is-happening, ecstatic, so-happy-to-be-alive-in-this-place moments. it left me breathless and wide-eyed and oh-so-thankful for the overwhelming grace the Lord is always so willing to show and give. i met so many incredible people who i am now blessed to call my dearest of friends, and i'm so ridiculously blessed to come home to dear souls back in Cali + being able to celebrate my homecoming at the magic kingdom with my family, my bestie, and her family is more than i could ever wish for. 

i also met a dear miss marcia after four years of blogging and guys, she is such a sweetheart. i gave her a tour of the campus, and we sat in the commons for three hours chatting about blogging, life, delight-retreats, moving, designing, traveling, our "californian/coloradian" homes, and just catching up on life! ;) her smile/laugh is kind of the best ever. she's such a gem! 

i want to do life with you too {so come visit me in cali or florida, whydontcha?}. 

xx 
postscript // words are coming slowly to me of late, but bear with me. i've got lots of posts coming up soon. ;) i say it a lot at the end of posts, but i really do mean it when i say thanks for sticking around, lovelies.