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Unicorns & Sporks
05 May 2011
by Kayla Mertes These cracked me up … and are perfect for Random Thursday! Hope they make you smile! We love you sweet girls and think of you all the time.
in Allie Marie Smith
HerStory Film Recap
03 May 2011
by Allie Marie Smith Last Tuesday myself, Christie, our cinematographer Nathanael of Heschle Video Production, and Christie’s sweet boyfriend Will (and talented second shooter) set out on the coastal bluffs of Santa Barbara in search of a field of mustard seed to film her story. The mustard seed in California this time of year is nothing short of magical. I was moved by Christie’s humility,...
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The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift
30 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith So you girls probably already know how much we love 31 Bits. If you don’t have any of their jewelry pieces you’re going to want some – not only because they’re funky, unique, handmade, high quality and tell a story, but because of the radical change these beautiful little bits of paper are making in the lives of Ugandan women and...
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Royal Wedding Thoughts
29 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith Happy Friday lovelies! So, the big question today is who watched the Royal Wedding? I almost went to a friend’s party at 3am to watch it and sip tea and eat crumpets in a big hat, but I have to be up at 3:30am in the morning tomorrow to drive to the “Breaking Through” Young Women’s Conference” at Calvary Chapel Costa...
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Random Thursday: Wonderfully Made Conference Design Inspiration
28 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith Happy Thursday girls. Glad you loved last week’s Random Thursday post featuring Kayla and “Handy”. We have footage of another ridiculous shenanigan I promise to post soon – this one is even more wacked. Brace yourself. Anyhow, I’ve been in the midst of creating the stage design plans for our upcoming Wonderfully Made Conference on May 14th in Santa Maria. I’ve...
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in Allie Marie Smith, dating and relationships
Dating Wisdom
27 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith Two of my dearest friends are in dating relationships right now. One is very close to getting engaged and the other is still figuring out whether or not they should continue seeing each other. The three of us were having a conversation and there were a few golden nuggets worth sharing with you girls. Here’s a recap: Date more with your...
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Lessons from my Mad Chair Hunt
26 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith Ever since I’ve stood under four feet tall I’ve known what I wanted and was determined to get it. At age eight I went to Shortcuts for a haircut and very firmly told the lady I wanted my bangs to look like a wave (it was the early nineties) – to my frustration she just didn’t get it and they looked...
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Wonderfully Made Conference – Saturday, May 14th (Santa Barbara County)
25 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith Hey Lovelies, Hope you girls had a great Easter! I wanted to be sure you all knew about our upcoming Wonderfully Made Conference on Saturday, May 14th in Santa Maria, California (Santa Barbara County). Kayla, Christie & I are all speaking and one of our other wmVoices, Danya Collyer will be making a special appearance all the way from Gulf Breeze,...
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The Beautiful Paradox of Good Friday
22 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith Today I paused for what I admit to be the first time at the irony of this day – that it is called “Good Friday.” “Bloody Friday” seems a little more fitting. Our natural, physical selves wonder how anything “good” can come from such a day: “They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull)....
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To Make the Dead Alive
21 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith I heard a message while driving today with my windows down. The pastor said this: “Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He didn’t come to make good people better. Jesus came to make dead people alive.” The most important question we should ask girls this weekend isn’t about their cute little Easter dress, or their Easter plans, but rather,...
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BIG NEWS! We’re LEGIT!
20 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith I just wanted to share some big news with you all! Today I got a much anticipated letter from “the big guys” (the IRS!) deeming Wonderfully Made an official 501c3 non-profit organization! That’s the fancy way of saying we are “legit” and are exempt from federal income taxes due to our chairtable work. It’s been a long journey with lots of...
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Girl Nights, Girl Drama and Girlfriends
18 Apr 2011
by Kati Smith “Are we going to sit in a circle and cry?” That was one of the better responses to a message I sent to about 20 girlfriends to invite them over for girl’s night. I’ll admit, the message was a bit mushy, but mostly it was just honest. Really, I didn’t plan to sit in a circle and cry, but I couldn’t make...
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Random Thursday: Meet Handy
14 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith We thought we’d give you a frightening behind-the-scenes look at the nonsense that regularly happens in between our WM events and conferences. Kayla is usually at the forefront of any shenanigans and I’m usually the instigator. In addition to being the Executive Director for a literacy foundation, teaching children’s bible study classes, and volunteering countless hours on WM’s Exec team, Kayla...
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Virtuous Is the New Sexy: Commentary on Proverbs 31
13 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith I stumbled across this commentary by Matthew Henry on Proverbs 31:10 as I was preparing for my last talk. I like to call the wise woman described in Proverbs 31 a “hard to find” woman because girls like her are scarce in our world today. It might not be sexy to be a considered a “virtuous” woman today, but like Proverbs...
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Snapshots From Radiant: Our SCU Chapter’s Annual Spring Seminar
11 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith Showing our Psalm 139 short film… Meghan leading acoustic worship… Kayla bringing the truth (in dangerously high heels of course!) Our photo booth backdrop… Posing pretty… And of course Kayla & I are doing the “rabid squirrel” pose. Santa Cruz girls! Next time I think we’ll make the photo booth a little bigger! Speakers… Who says white girls can’t jump?
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1 Day Countdown to Radiant!
08 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith We’re officially on the one day countdown til tomorrow’s event! Saturday will mark our Santa Clara University chapter’s six annual spring seminar event! I’m so excited (and a lil’ nervous to speak) – I can’t wait to be with all the girls and have a mini WM reunion! The Santa Clara wmGirls have worked so hard to make this event a...
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On Idleness and Killing Time
06 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith I’ve got some lazy bones in me. When my bare feet tap the floor each morning I’m as slow-going as molasses (I wrote that in a southern accent…did you hear it?). I came across this quote this morning from, yes, a friend’s FB wall (confession: I was reading my FB feed in bed & hadn’t had my quiet time yet) and...
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Our New Venture: HerStory Film Series!
05 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith I’m so excited to give you girls the inside scoop on new a venture Wonderfully Made is doing! We are launching a new professional short film series we are calling “HerStory”. Each short film will feature a different young woman sharing her journey – the real, raw, unscripted story of what God has done and is doing in her life. Our...
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Dear Wonderfully Made: Advice for Callie
04 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith Happy Monday Girls! Hope you had a lovely weekend. I’m busy gearing up for our Santa Clara University chapter’s spring seminar this Saturday [insert loud holla and happy dance here!]. I cannot wait to be reunited with our amazing team of SCU wmGirls! I’ve been running behind on responding to girls who email us and so many of them are giving...
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Have I Told You Lately?
01 Apr 2011
by Allie Marie Smith I don’t know if this happens to you, but old, cheesy, catchy songs have the tendency to intrude my mental jukebox during the most obscure moments. Like today, when I was washing my feet. Yes washing my feet. Today it was Rod Stewart’s ancient hit “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You.” Are you singing it yet? As I...
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in Allie Marie Smith, style
Random Thursday: Free People: Fishtail Braid How-To
31 Mar 2011
by Allie Marie Smith So as you probably know, feathers and fishtail braids are “the rage” this spring and summer. The hippie tendencies in me have been coveting a feather or two in my hair, but I haven’t taken the plunge yet. One of my goals this summer is to master the fish-tail braid. It’s going to be challenge considering I hardly brush my hair...
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