THE DELIGHT RETREAT 2015 | rooted & grounded in love

"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 LIVEin 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 seekers, sojourning souls walking narrow and long roads leading HOME..."

- THE DELIGHT MANIFESTO

APRIL, TWENTY FIFTEEN

almost three years ago, i stumbled upon a facebook group for young creatives called Delight. i joined and ever since, i've found a family. earlier this spring, i had the amazing chance to attend the annual Delight retreat in Leavenworth, Washington. i boarded my plane to Seattle with a full heart and a stomach full of butterflies. soon enough, i was in the Seattle airport food court with a giant group of girls. As each girl arrived, Anna Gray squealed and started running. there were hugs and a few tears and so much happiness, and that was only the very beginning...

four days with thirty-four beautiful women. 
i learned about community in a way i have never experienced before. community over competition. community over comparison. 
the entire weekend was filled with more laughter and tears than i've ever experienced. we danced and ate and took photographs and prayed and took over starbucks on the way home from an afternoon in town. we had late night dance parties and ate icecream in the kitchen at 3:00 a.m on our last night together. we had prayer groups on the stairwells and four of us sat on a daybed, and watched God defeat the attacks of the enemy through prayer. we held hands in a circle before dinners and then shared stories around the table of how God worked and how He was leading. it was small groups and declaring the victory over chains that had held us back. it was dwelling on the Truth of God's word and finding freedom in that. it was worshiping in the firelight and feeling someone's hand on your shoulder when God was wrecking your heart. the Holy Spirit was there and working and binding hearts and lives together, what precious times!

on the last morning, after our luggage was loaded and the first of the goodbyes had started, we all gathered in a tight circle and getting ready to pray together one more time when one of the video guys said, "hey guys, look... this is community." and honestly i think that was the best description of these few days. yes, we laughed. yes, we photographed. yes, we cried and worshiped together. yes, we danced and ate good food. but, we found how community looks and it's beautiful.

PHOTO CRED: Tamra LaRae Photography

these women are so passionate and so talented (omg, seriously. the skillz, i can't even.) and running hard after the heart of Jesus. and i am forever grateful for these vibrant and fierce souls (hashtag warrior princesses).

xoxo. -marcia
(for more information on Delight and the beauty that this ministry is, here is the website, the facebook page, and on instagram @delightandbe)

a rainy roadtrip.

[some rainy frames from the our quick little roadtrip to nebraska last week] 

"it will come sometime. some beautiful morning she will wake up and find it is tomorrow. not today, but tomorrow.  and then things will happen, wonderful things."

- l.m.montgomery

xoxo. -m

winter adventures | a photo essay

it's been a while, i know i know.  my laptop crashed a few weeks ago and i'm just now finally getting my old programs re-installed and getting around to photo editing again. life has been full of surprises and new adventures and old friends and midterms. but, it's good to be back in this little space of mine.

we are currently living in the mountains until spring and over president's day, the national park we currently live about two miles from, had a free day in the park. so even though it was snowing all day and our car has terrible snow capabilities, we grabbed our coats and coffee mugs and drove 20 mph through a whole loop and saw a lot of elk and frosted pine trees and mini mountain sheep along the road.good times, good times.xoxo. -m

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK | part iii

  --------------------------------------------------   V I S I T I N G  O L D  F A I T H F UL  -----------------------------------------------------

(pc: a kind stranger)

we walked 2.5 miles in the drizzling rain, wearing garbage bags. (okay okay, they were ponchos, but i prefer to call it as i see it.)
and watched Old Faithful through 3,700 to 8,400 gallons of water in the air, twice.
we also had the world's best froyo-- you guys, i don't care how overpriced it is, you have to try huckleberry froyo.

xoxo.
marcia

also: this is getting kind of embarrassing. our trip was in the first week of august... and it's october. i've been having some trouble getting into the groove of blogging again,but i really really want to. i miss blogging. so, there should be some changes around here in the near future... stay tuned!

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK | part ii

despite the constant drizzle and fog covering the views, yellowstone captured a piece of my heart. 

(or maybe it was because of the drizzle and fog??) 

i. the grand canyon of yellowstone + yellowstone falls

ii. adventuring in yellowstone

xx.  -marcia