I listened to a girl preach this weekend. It was an exceptional treat for many reasons, the least of which being the fact that I actually got to sit in service and partake in church like a usual suspect. When you are in charge of the kids in your church family, you miss a few weeks. But she was great. I shouldn’t be surprised really; for years people have been saying, “you know Ally, right? You two would hit it off.” They mean we are the same. They mean we appear to have the same giftings. Honestly, I’ve said hi…
Jennie Allen, you stole my heart when you said “let’s crave God and run our guts out… let’s get real…let’s get literal” ok maybe she didn’t say all of those things, but it’s what I heard between the lines. Every week day morning I join hundreds of other girls to talk about a few scriptures on Jennie Allen’s website. IF:EQUIP Currently we are reading through Acts. Of the New Testament, Acts has always been my favorite book. I believe it’s the OCD in me that is drawn to all the clear lines. The order. The very paired down commission given…
Do you ever look at a situation and suddenly see it so very differently than perhaps you have ever seen it, even though you may have looked at it your entire life? When I was a kid, I would sing along with Bonnie Tyler. I had the album, and I rocked it. Especially the song Total Eclipse of the Heart. And it wasn’t until I was rocking out to it as an adult, having not heard it for a decade, when I realize I wasn’t singing the right words. In fact, I was saying made up words. Really? Why did…
When I was a kid, my three older brothers wrestled ALL. THE. TIME. Seriously, it was their answer to everything and their solution to all of life’s challenges. Don’t like the steelers? LETS WRESTLE. You ate the last cookie? LETS DO THIS! It’s too hot to play outside? WRESTLE!! They didn’t even have Nacho Libre to set a standard saying wrestling is cool. It was inherent. I am not sure if they taught me that phylosophy or if it really is our human response, but sometimes I don’t feel any different. If I were to see inside of my mind,…
When you get to a place in life where you look around, and all you see are bits and pieces of what you think your life is supposed to include, you get a sense of frustration. Well. I do. I’m leading a bible study. The title is Restless. And I am. Restless, I mean. And thankfully I am finding I am not alone. Jennie Allen, the author, talks about threads in our life. She means all the different bits and pieces in our life that God has allowed or given or placed. For me these include my skills as a…
This Friday, and seven Fridays after that, I am getting together with a couple ladies in my house. I’ve invited them so I have reason to clean. Ha. Ok. Partial truth. I’ve invited them to coffee talk and mull over some God conversation through a book called Restless. I’ve written about Jennie Allen. She wrote the book Anything. Boy did she mean it. I’m passionate about how she lives. I want to reflect some of it. Same with Flower Patch Farm Girl. These girls look the world in the face and punch it in the junk like ninjas. Like boss…
Ever come across a quote and know it’s going to change something about you? Maybe change everything about you? Ever read something and wish you hadn’t because once you read it, it’s part of you now? You can’t unhear words. Sometimes you can choose to phase it out or focus so hard on something else you aren’t as affected by it, but sort of you still are. The second you start to wonder, “Am I strong enough to hear this again without freaking out?” You can’t possibly know until you repeat the words or you listen to them again. But…
I was flipping through Pinterest one day and came across a DIY blog that had a well written author and cute ideas. I saved the blog to my bookmarks. This morning, when I woke at five because my internal clock obviously functions on New York time (I don’t have the answers you are looking for), I read my bible, read a devotional, checked my emails, prayed for a few people on my mind, read through my list of blogs in my bookmarks; you know. The yoosh. So this new blog, which has decidedly been removed from my list, hasn’t made…
Before you remind me I am a girl, let me clarify and say Nehemiah is a go-getter. God said jump. Nehemiah did it and added a round of push-ups on the end for good measure. And while he was doing them, he convinced hundreds of men to do it with him. It’s like he sent an invitation to crazy town, and people looked around and knew this goal, this dream, this desire was just what being a Christian looked like in action. I want to be Nehemiah. God spoke to him, and before he dared utter a word, he prayed…
So many things are coming to a close in our life right now. Some are direct, but some are happening to people around us. Friends having final babies (or so she thinks) Nephews graduating The school year My daughter’s first year of high school My first year of full-time work My first year ever of full-time teaching My two mid-kids are ending elementary school Hopefully my little kids’ last year of school outside the home until high school. But with all this comes new. God is faithful like that. He is the God who gives and takes away. And we…