FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE

from villages in the Amazon,& Ghana, 

 to the bumpin city life of Capetown, London, & NYC

to the suburbs of Jersey & the farmlands of Lancaster
I've been to them & all and have observed this truth;

Humanity is fighting. for. their. life.

The tendency is to say;

 " Look at how much we have in The States we are so jaded  & ungrateful lets go serve in Zimbabwe"

( or fill in the blank with whatever impoverished nation of your liking).

Whats crushing is 

while people are indeed fighting for the most basic life necessities 

in several  nations (including this one) 

and please don't misunderstand me those necessities are indeed crucial 

 there are people in our lives who are fighting to face each day.

It is universal.

It breaks through all socioeconomic & cultural backgrounds alike.

No matter where they come from or what they have,

Humanity is struggling to feel like they can go on.

and all too often we don't even see it.

It is MORE than fine to cry yourself to sleep after a hard day,

to be frustrated or annoyed,

to wonder when can I start living the dream,

or to not quite have figured out how to start doing what we love.

Those are all important steps as we try to make sense of our person, 

& discovering where we see ourselves thriving.

We've all been there its healthy, necessary, & beneficial for growth.

But this is not why I'm writing  this post.

Today I write because 

my heart is SO heavy

 for so many

 who feel hopeless and pointless

for the beautiful people I've seen reach an all time low

for the time I've spent crying & praying for those who just want to give up.

The truth is; to one extent or another we're all fed with little lies that whisper

failure

replaceable

annoying

boring

unsuccessful

unimportant

etc.

The devil is a liar & likes to see us self destruct and buy that garbage.

IT INFURIATES ME.

When people make genuinely make  fun of others,

IT INFURIATES ME

when people disrespect others 

IT INFURIATES ME

when people ignore people

IT INFURIATES ME

when people act like they're better than others

IT INFURIATES ME

...because humanity is already fighting for their life, 

there is no need for adding to that pain. 

I'm embarrassed to say I don't always notice when people are struggling.

Partially its my oblivion...

but Greg is the most observant man I know & when he doesn't see it

I know it's partially because people guise up their lives pretty well..

The other day Greg & I went to Lititz Spring Park & loved it,

our dog went BUCK and wanted to run after the hundreds of ducks and baby ducklings,

we walked around for a bit peeping at the various artists proudly displaying their art,

 had some delicious chocolate,

& then we saw a bench.

Painted on this bench was the quote

" Be Kind; EVERYONE you meet is fighting a hard battle".

EVERYONE.

not just the impoverished.

not just the famous.

not just the non christians

not just the people overseas

EVERYONE

this is a call to be kind

extraordinarily kind

to go out of your comfort zone 

& SAY to someone they matter

or INVITE SOMEONE OVER

or WRITE A LETTER
or MAKE SOMEONE DINNER

or PRAY FOR SOMEONE

or LET THE WAITER KNOW YOU APPRECIATE THEM.

do whatever it takes to demonstrate love for others in this life, 

even if it makes you look like a fool

even if it means standing up to the mean person

 or showing love to the mean person

None of us have the eyes of Christ who sees all and knows all

we can only beat ourselves up so much for not knowing someone was struggling

but what WE CAN DO is step our game up.

We can practice speaking life to others so frequently that it begins to pour out as naturally & powerfully as PA thunderstorms in the summer.

Please focus on intentionally adding joy & life to one person you come across.

*commit* to loving them

This life we are given is beautiful , good ,& hard.

nobody even for a moment needs to believe they're at it alone.

We don't need to cave into the dog eat dog world that society insists on, because more dog's make life more fun !

Humanity is fighting for their life

won't you join Christ

& join me 

in shouting 

in TANGIBLE ways

to whomever crosses your path

that they are not alone

that speaking + showing love is louder than lies,

& that life is worth fighting for.

It's Just Not The Same

5 years after serving Jesus in PA summer after summer

- which led to Greg sadly saying no to family vacation-

by working at a camp to some of the best kids we've ever known,

THIS WAS THE YEAR

THIS IS THE SUMMER

 that not only was he going but we were going.

we were driving away at  9:15pm 

& when I say we there, I really mean he.

Greg drove the entire way 

down to South Carolina 

a 9 hour drive

617 miles straight

no complaints

(just some jamming to EVERY TUNE under the sun

& a pit stop or two for a quick caffenated pick me up)

like the rock-star husband he is.

his blushing bride well... 

I tried my hardest to fight my bestie Sleep,

but I ended up hanging out with her for a little under two hours.

When we arrived: I felt SO alive, Greg ... not so much.

But we were there.

the same condo,

 the same beach, 

the same turtle footrest, 

the same slightly dented curtains

 {from when a slightly annoyed brother intended to toss a book at a slightly relentless sister

she knew to duck, but the curtains not so much.}

it was ALL THERE pretty much how they last left it.

& just how Greg remembered it.

There's something so refreshing about experiencing the unchanged 

in a world where everything is constantly changing.

I wanted to learn about every memory made there

I wanted to laugh until it hurt and swim until I realized I was no match for the crushing waves

I wanted to be a part of future " remember when's"

I finally understood why during the DaSilva Squad Wildwood Vacation Greg kept saying

" I'M PART OF THE MEMORY"

funny the depth of humanities cry conveyed in my stoic sweet husband:

WE WANT TO BE INCLUDED & REMEMBERED

As much as I am someone who loves change

who loves to explore every new territory I can get my hands on,

there's something so valuable in the tradition, in the constants,

in the returning year after year

to the same place,

with the same tribe.

Only problem was it wasn't the same tribe.

Obviously there was me, who 5 years ago Greg didn't know much less imagined 

"hmmm... in 5 years I'll be here with my wife".

But that's life. ever changing. full of surprises.

THIS SUMMER
THIS IRVING FAMILY VACA was;

 hilarious,

 fun, 

encouraging, 

restful,

prayerful,

silly,

but not the same.

"How can you say that? you don't know Myrtle Beach any other way"

Well perhaps not, but I do know family.

I know how there's no feeling like having everyone come together
despite the changes that life brings
and knowing you are forever included & remembered.
Greg & I have absolutely been guilty of missing out on some prime family time
PLEASE don't mishear me
we can't always make it to every family function
sometimes we just cant
and that's okay.

But rest assured, even when you're not there, your included & remembered.

But oh how precious it is to be together.
Next summer I'll be saying " I knew it just wasn't the same"

My dad always said
" together happiness happens"
& the longer I live the deeper my appreciation for that phrase. 

I crave the summer of 2016.

where my prayer  is to bring my sisters "his" sisters with us

because family time without any members of you tribe 

 its just NEVER the same.
and as I've mentioned sometimes we NEED SAME.

After all
tradition / what makes family vacations so special
lies not in the location

nor the irreplaceable turtle footrest

but the setting aside a time in the crazy changing world that is life

and S T O P P I N G  in your tracks to say;

but TODAY family.

Greg's parents stayed at the beach for another week,
while we grownups had to go back to work.

{ turn up TODAY  they're CELEBRATING

30 YEARS 10, 957 DAYS 946,684,800 SECONDS

of DATING EACH OTHER
& they are still as crazy about each other as newlyweds
( i can say that because I'm part of that newlwed crew ;)  }

The newly made memories are ever so fresh,
the reminiscing on memories past ever so sweet,
but the excitement for future yet to be made  memories...
there's no comparison
nothing like it
one migt even say
IT'S JUST NOT THE SAME ;)

SOMETIMES FIRE WORKS

Since birth my family & I have celebrated the 4th of July at the one and only Jersey shore. This weekend my mamae querida shared that these  FIRE WORKS were so special because my parents had 1st watched them when they arrived in the U.S. 25+ years ago, as a symbol of hope & freedom, & we've been watching them ever since.

As the years went on so much has changed in our family.

We have overcome so many obstacles, but 8 years later

this wildwood these fireworks bring usback together.

They remain this symbol of hope & freedom.

Hope that no matter what sad things take place, good can come from it.

Freedom to not allow those things to keep you from forgiving 

& seeing the beauty from ashes.

NERVOUSLY we approached this weekend, 

after 8 years of no interactions 

after 8 years of experiencing 

a rollercoaster

 - loops, high velocities, steep inclines + all- 

of emotions,

my 1st time meeting my 1/2 siblings.

 Instantly I was met with a love for them

 that I can only describe it's source being the Holy Spirit.

We did so many ofthethings my brothers & I did growing up

sharing with them our memories
& just an outpouring of this bond that is being a sibling.

of sharing the same dad.

I have a sister, who is shy gentle wild & attached to me at the hip.

And what does she do as she hugs me ever so tight to say goodbye?

Gives me her minion she won on the boardwalk 

so we as sisters could have matching minions as sisters.

She is 7 

oh how her compassion towards me melted my heart.

Then she blushingly asked ifshe could call me to talk.

Of course.

What a gift in 8 years I haven't walked the boardwalk with both my parents

but THIS YEAR i did.

though separately

we did.

Greg & I.

but most sentimentally, we did,my brothers & I.

Don't worry Brendan we hopped into Aquabeaches HOTTUB just for you ;)

I spent the weekend in such a special place 

with family old & relatively new

I praise the Lord for Wildwood & Fireworks

because sometimes

FIRE works to mold the broken situations & make them beautiful.

forever as it did for my parents symbolizing hope,freedom, & now redemption.