October 20, 20172 Comments
Everybody needs a do-over from time to time, right?
Whether it’s a new day or a new week or a new month or a new year, life seems to be in the business of consistently offering us second chances.
The first page of a new journal. The first day at a new job. A first date. That first kiss with someone new. We are always surrounded by fresh starts and new beginnings, if we will only open … » Read More
October 16, 20173 Comments
It was never random.
None of it. Not one minute of this past year of my life was ever random.
As some of you might recall, about a year ago I decided to put myself back on the dating scene by venturing into the world of online dating. I downloaded the Bumble app, not having a clue how it would change the course of my life.
I’m not being dramatic. It changed the course of my life.
Here’s something … » Read More
April 13, 20173 Comments
I’ve learned a lot about friendship over these past few months.
I decided back in September to start putting myself out there more not just in the dating realm, but with friendship, as well. As I’m sure some of you have experienced firsthand, it gets harder and harder as you get older to maintain a steady circle of friends because it seems like someone is constantly getting married…having babies…moving away. When I sat back and evaluated … » Read More
April 4, 20176 Comments
Welp, it’s been a hot minute, y’all.
Almost four months, to be exact.
A lot of you have asked me where I’ve been. Why I haven’t been writing. Why I haven’t been posting on social media as much.
The truth is…I needed a little sabbatical. A short season away from the written word. Away from being “The Single Woman.” Away from pithy, 140-character soundbites.
I needed to just be Mandy for a little bit. Actually, I needed to figure … » Read More
October 18, 201648 Comments
Soooooo…
As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, I recently decided to try a dating app for the first time in my life. I’ve had brushes with online dating over the years, but I’ve never committed to it fully. For example, a few years ago I partnered with a pretty well-known dating site during the release of my first book, The Single Woman. The idea was to try online dating through their platform and write … » Read More
December 29, 201529 Comments
I snapped this picture of the sunset last night and it occurred to me as I drove into one of the last sunsets of 2015…What if we just let the sun go down on all our mistakes this year? Our losses? The times we wanted so badly for the answer to be yes but it was no? The times we tried our hardest and still failed? The tears we cried, the friends we lost, the first … » Read More
October 30, 20153 Comments
It can be easy in today’s technology world to allow our friendships to fall by the wayside of texting and tweeting and emailing instead of investing ourselves and our energy into actually spending quality time with people. And in an age where the phrase “I’m crazy busy” has become synonymous with “here’s my excuse why I’ve been a crappy friend to you”…I say it’s time to stop letting our friendships suffer in favor of work or … » Read More
June 8, 201544 Comments
You didn’t know. You trusted, and you loved, and you assumed the best of someone…and that is never wrong. You took a shot on love or on friendship…and that is always brave.You believed that the other person would treat you with the same dignity and respect with which you treated them…and that is noble.You didn’t know. You didn’t know they weren’t capable of loving you back. You didn’t know they weren’t trustworthy. You didn’t know they didn’t … » Read More
May 25, 201541 Comments
As a follow-up to 40 Days to Feeling Good, my dear friend Caroline and I have decided to kick off 40 Days of Surrender, and we want to invite all of YOU to join in with us! Basically the goal of this process (for me, at least) is to learn to loosen my grip on the things that I can’t control (which is most things). To stop trying to force and manipulate and endlessly overthink life and … » Read More
April 17, 201534 Comments
I’ve realized over these past few weeks (as I’ve been dealing with some challenges) that I’m not very nice to myself. I am kind to others, supportive of others, encouraging to others…but when it comes to myself, I can be really harsh and unforgiving and completely lacking in grace. Examples of negative self talk:
“You look terrible today.””You’re so weak. Why does something so stupid bother you?””You’re never going to be normal and happy, like everyone … » 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.
