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-by Melanie Mercedes-

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Some posts you may like...

My Puppy & Grace

December 27, 2018

Marked Post

July 3, 2019

Make up, Passions and Jesus

June 28, 2018

Home
About
- About Melanie
- Why ThirtyOne30?
Posts
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Contact Me

Menu

Home
About
- About Melanie
- Why ThirtyOne30?
Posts
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Contact Me

mercedesmel_

I had a bad wash day this week. I have NO idea how

I had a bad wash day this week. I have NO idea how to fix it so I did an Indian clay mask because it usually resets my hair to perfection. NOPE. Didn’t work this time. I think I just need to balance out with some protein. ⁣⁣⠀
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🅃🄸🄿: your hair needs a balance of moisture + protein to stay healthy.⁣⁣⠀
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Anyways, my curls are elongated + I usually prefer definition over length. But it’s ok, cause day 1 hair is bigger than usual. ⁣⁣⠀
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The bigger the hair, the closer to God or whatever those teasing comb girls say. 😜⁣⁣⠀
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#curlygirls #curlygirlsofaz #azcurlies #azcurlygirls #indianclaymask #naturalhair #rizos

Hi. I am obsessed with home decor. 😍😍😍⁣

Hi. I am obsessed with home decor. 😍😍😍⁣⁣⠀
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I found this gem at @homegoods. It was super affordable + it gave me RH vibes. RH Modern (Restoration Hardware) is my home inspo.⁣⁣⠀
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There were only 2 left, I took one cause I was sure my husband wouldn’t like it. We put it up and fell in love. It’s exactly the vibe I was looking for. So I went back to @homegoods to buy the second one but it was gone 😭😭 someone else bought it. ⁣⁣⠀
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But that’s ok, this one will obviously be the unique piece in this room.

First selfie in my new home. ⁣⁣⠀ ⁣⁣⠀ C

First selfie in my new home. ⁣⁣⠀
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Can you see the bags under my eyes?⁣⁣⠀
I’m exhausted. ⁣⁣⠀
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But bills are paid, pizza is waiting for me in the kitchen. My hair is growing long + fluffy. Alexa only listens to me + my husband let’s me go to target as many times as I want. Ahem... need... for the house of course 😜. ⁣⁣⠀
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#curls #curlygirl #azcurlygirl #azcurls #azcurlies

I did it!⁣⁣⠀
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ＯＮＥＹＥＡＲＮＡＴＵＲＡＬ⁣⁣⠀
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I told myself a year ago to “just try it” for a year. I was so used to seeing my long straight hair that seeing all these coils and kinks come of out my head was strange. I would give myself a year to see where my hair would be and then I could go back to straightening my hair if I still felt ugly. ⁣⁣⠀
I battled with feeling “not beautiful”, “not put together”, “not neat”, “how will I do my hair in professional settings?”. Yes. I thought ALL of that, about the hair that naturally grows out of my head. Beauty wasn’t being defined by how God made me. ⁣⁣⠀
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So I did it. I did the year. ⁣⁣⠀
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And I love it. I can’t wait to see my hair in another year! I feel confident in exactly how I was created. My hair is bra strap length when wet and shrinks to shoulder blade length. I remember when it wouldn’t pass my chin lol⁣⁣⠀
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I even wore my hair natural for my wedding. Something I never pictured myself doing. ⁣⁣⠀
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Here’s to one year! I’m never going back lol

Happy National Dog day to this little guy who thin

Happy National Dog day to this little guy who thinks the whole world revolves around him. ⁣⁣⠀
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Well, my world revolves around him so he’s only half right. ⁣⁣⠀
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#nationaldogday #dogsofinstagram #myfurbaby

You see this kid on the right?⁣⁣⠀ ⁣⁣⠀

You see this kid on the right?⁣⁣⠀
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I’m going to run the risk of sounding like that ONE auntie but, I used to change his diapers, babysit him, help feed him. I remember asking to push him in his stroller. I was 13 and he was the new baby I got to play with. ⁣⁣⠀
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My baby cousin isn’t a baby anymore. ⁣⁣⠀
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He’s now 18, graduated from HS and about to start his adult life and wow. ⁣⁣⠀
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Time does fly. ⁣⁣⠀
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You see the guy on the left? He’s not from the west coast so I have no idea why he’s holding up the west coast signs 🤷🏽‍♀️

ｒｅｓｔｉｓｇｏｏｄ ⁣⁣⠀
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I’ve been MIA for a while + I’m not sorry. Life happened. 2020 has been crazy. We’ve had some amazing highs and low lows. ⁣⁣⠀
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I needed a break. Life was calling me, so was my peace + mental health. ⁣⁣⠀
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My heart was so broken + hurting for what has transpired the last few months. ⁣⁣⠀
I learned the hard way that people harbored hate in their hearts + called it normal. I learned people considered racism a “difference of opinion to be respected” + they were asking me to “respect their opinion”. NO. Just no. So many things wrong with that. ⁣⁣⠀
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A pandemic became political. Wanting to love your neighbor became political. Wearing a mask became unsafe, not wearing a mask became unsafe. The church became political. ⁣⁣⠀
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I missed church dearly but going back wasn’t the same. ⁣⁣⠀
I missed friends dearly, but grew apart. ⁣⁣⠀
I miss the kids I work with, + probably won’t see again. ⁣⁣⠀
We lost one of our kids to gun violence + I was angry, upset + sad. ⁣⁣⠀
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Social media wasn’t helping. ⁣⁣⠀
So I took a break. I will slowly be back, once I’m settled in our new home. ⁣⁣⠀
Thanks for sticking around.

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ＩＭＡＲＲＩＥＤＵＰ!⁣⁣⠀
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I knew that I was marrying a great man. What I didn’t know was that he was much more than that. He’s amazing. Caring. Patient. Kind. I feel every bit of loved. ⁣⁣⠀
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My lovely single ladies, PLEASE, PLEASE, BE PATIENT. ⁣⁣⠀
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I understand the pain of waiting. The tears no one sees, the jokes about marriage and babies, the questioning. ⁣⁣⠀
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Trust me! I understand being single when all your friends are getting married and having babies. I understand the pit in your stomach when you ring in 25, 26, 27, then 30, still single. ⁣⁣⠀
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Marriage is serious work, I couldn’t imagine having to do it with someone who didn’t love me as Christ loved the church. Someone who didn’t put me first while I put him first. I don’t say this lightly when I say; WAIT ON GOD. I know waiting isn’t easy but do it. ⁣⁣⠀
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In the waiting, steward your singleness well. Learn about yourself, learn about God. Learn what you love and don’t like, get hobbies, be ambitious. Don’t just prepare for a future husband, take the time to cultivate the woman God has intended you to be, all on your own, all because of Him. Your relationship status does not define you. Please don’t let it define you. ⁣⁣⠀
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#curlybride #wedding #husbandappreciation #singleadvice #marriageadvice

ＴＩＲＥＤ. ＤＲＡＩＮＥＤ. ⁣⁣⠀

ＴＩＲＥＤ. ＤＲＡＩＮＥＤ. ⁣⁣⠀
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Christian,⁣⁣⠀
I have a lot of questions,⁣⁣⠀
Why do you bring up abortion during race conversations? Why bring up race on race crime? Do you not know it is possible to be outraged at all of it? That you do not have to choose to be outraged at one to become “more holy”?⁣⁣⠀
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I have never heard a Christian, church or pastor on a pulpit say; “abortion is a myth”, “abortion rates are inflated for a political agenda”, “sure it happened years ago but abortions aren’t like that anymore”, “people bring abortions upon themselves, it’s not my business”, “we shouldn’t protest about abortion, it’s a heart issue”. Yet, all of those things are said about racism. Openly. Publicly. Then other believers agree. Why?⁣⁣⠀
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Is it that you’ve been ingrained w/ stereotypes so much so that you’ve become comfortable w/ racism? You actually believe all the lies told to you about a certain race? Is it because we’ve never studied the Bible outside of the white washed traditions we were told? Is it because slave masters ripped out parts of the Bible when they taught slaves + we’ve become accustomed to those stories? Is it because our schools have coddled our American egos instead of revealing the true grotesque history of our ancestors and American forefathers? ⁣⁣⠀
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Why does the dehumanization of an unborn baby to a clump of cells bother you more than the dehumanization of a birthed person to an animal, thug, criminal, a “threat”?⁣⁣⠀
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I fear that I do not understand why someone God has commanded to love me, chooses not to. Why the value of my life fluctuates dependent upon the issue at hand? ⁣⁣⠀
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I am mad at it all. Sadly, also at the silence + compliance of my brothers + sisters. God welcomes us with open arms, after we’ve been received, we become the brother in Luke 15. Telling our father what should be accepted + what shouldn’t. Church I’m afraid we’ve become the priest + Levite in Luke 10. The scribes + Pharisees of John 8. Those who bore false witness in Acts 6. King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3. Much more closely, Haman in Esther 3. ⁣⁣⠀
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“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have..."⁣⁣⠀
‭‭Jn‬ ‭13:35‬

⁣⁣⠀ I need to be honest. ⁣⁣⠀ ⁣⁣⠀

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I need to be honest. ⁣⁣⠀
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I feel times of losing hope, especially when I see all of the evil in this broken world. Evil coming from every side, even those who profess to be my brothers + sisters. ⁣⁣⠀
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But then I am reminded of what God can do in + with brokenness. I take a deep breath + rest in truth, not what my emotions tell me. ⁣⁣⠀
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I am committed to personally fighting for the oppressed; the foster kids I love so much, the special needs children who teach me more than I teach them + on behalf of my brothers + sisters suffering injustice at the hands of the sin we know as racism + white supremacy. ⁣⁣⠀
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Praise be to God. ⁣⁣⠀
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“for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.”⁣⁣⠀
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭94:15‬ ‭ESV‬‬⁣⁣⠀
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“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”⁣⁣⠀
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭34:18‬ ‭ESV‬‬⁣⁣⠀
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“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”⁣⁣⠀
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭147:3‬ ‭ESV‬‬⁣⁣⠀
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“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."”⁣⁣⠀
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21:4‬ ‭ESV‬‬⁣⁣⠀ ⁣⁣⠀⁣⁣⠀ • ⁣⁣⠀
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#bibleverse #biblequotes #hope #christian