Problem Solved

What do you do when your children won't stop fighting, bickering, taking toys from one another, etc? You roll them up so tight that they can't move! There...problem solved!

Blessings,

Ali

Memories for years to come...

Last Friday evening, on the way home from Holiday for Her, I called my dear sister Lauren to tell her all about the night, as I was still bubbling over our speaker that was there. As we were talking, she brought up the upcoming Amy Grant Lead me On concert that John, her husband, had gotten her tickets for for their anniversary. Unfortunately, John was not going to be able to get the time off work and so, Lauren had decided to make the trip by herself. It was on this call that I half joking half wishing had mentioned the possibility of me making the drive and meeting her there to join her for this most special of nights. After I said it, I instantly started thinking about how amazing it would be, but quickly tried to not get my hopes up as it was only 4 days away and I wasn't sure about child care or even if David would be ok with it. The next evening, I mentioned it to David. He certainly had his reservations with it, mostly due to the fact that it was 4 hours away and I would be making that drive alone. I just love that he is so protective over me in that way! I told him to think about it and to let me know the next day. Late Sunday night, he gave me the go ahead and my mind started racing with excitement. Early the next morning, I called Lauren to tell her the good news.

Now, let me give some history on the relationship with Amy and our family. My dad, who was in the Christian music Industry for the majority of his life, knew Amy as a very young girl trying to get her feet wet in the Industry. He befriended her and wrote reviews for her that I'm sure were very helpful. As time went on, they kept up with each other and 20 years ago, on her original tour of the "Lead Me On" tour, we were all at one of her concerts. I was only 7 or 8 but I can still remember her hugging on us and us on her, and her referring to herself as our "big sister." What a sweet memory!

Now, back to the story...
It wasn't until Monday evening that I had pinned down child care for the girls (Thank you so much Janet and Kristie!) and it started to feel real. I must admit, I was a bit nervous about making that drive alone, but excited at the same time. I knew I would be driving through the mountains and I also knew with all that time alone, that I could have sweet worship with God the whole way there! What a gift in of itself! I packed my little bag, grabbed my pillow, kissed my precious family goodbye and off I went! My expectations for the drive were far succeeded. It was amazing! The clouds were singing, the mountains seemed to be on fire from all the reds, oranges and yellows on the trees. I made it to Greeneville, TN in exactly 4 hours from the time I left which means I DIDN'T GET LOST! Praise God for that! After a quick reunion, freshen up and dinner, we were off to the concert!

It was amazing! Lauren and I knew most all the words to the songs, having grown up listening to them, but they took on a whole new meaning now that we were hearing them with our "new" God given ears. Amy's voice was soothing as usual and her heart for the Lord shone through strong as ever! At one point she shared this story with us and Lauren captured it:



After the concert ended, Lauren and I just knew we had to find a way to see her, though we didn't hold any backstage passes or "know" anyone that could get us in. The audience trickled out and the only people left behind all seemed to have a shiny backstage sticker pass on the front of their clothes. Still, we were hopeful to wait around to see if it was HIS will that we get back there. Good thing we're mommies and have pretty good patience! After they called back people with passes, we noticed a group of about 6 ladies left in the performance hall with us. We quickly made friends and learned that they too were "hopefuls." We shared our story with them about our connection with Amy and they were all very motivated to find us a way back there. We decided to step around the corner for a quick second to meet and greet Chris Eaton, a member of her band and singer/songwriter. After a brief chat and a quick picture, we hurried back to our group of new friends only to find they were GONE! After a quick exchange of "oh my goodness, I can't believe their GONE!" faces, Lauren and I quickly moved to plan B. The door leading to backstage had about a half inch crack in the middle, so Lauren pressed her face against it only to see our new friends standing in line and....AMY! They were so close....so what else could we do but open the doors, quickly scoot next to them (who obviously were allowed to be back there) and act like we had the authority to do so! We waited with great anticipation, emotions and old memories stirring through our minds and hearts. After making her way to us and taking a few moments to process and remember who we were, she grabbed us and pulled us both close for a big hug. Though we knew she MUST be exhausted after putting on a 3 hour show and meeting, taking pictures and signing autographs for a half hour, she not only chatted with us, but was asking us questions about our lives now and what we were doing. We both shared with her about our new transformations in Christ and how her songs took on new depth in our hearts. She once again pulled us close and said "I know it's been a tough road, but your Mom is smiling down on your girls right now. She was a wonderful woman." I can't tell you what these words meant to me. Not having any real memories of my mom means that anyone who did know her and who she was is so special to me. I had no idea that Amy knew my mom, and the fact that my mom made such an impact on her that she would remember her 23 years later meant so much. With tears in all of our eyes, we snapped a quick picture and the night came to an end, though it's imprint will be forever in my heart! What a special God we serve that would orchestrate such a night for Lauren and I to have!



Blessings,

Ali

Snow treats

I saw that there was a light layer of snow on the ground, but just couldn't get it together in time to get right out there, so around 10 a.m., just before all of it had totally melted, me and the girls headed out for just a few minutes and a few photo ops. All they wanted to do was eat it, so I had to scrape a layer off David's truck (the top clean layer, of course) so they could have their snow treat! Fun times....and I hope there's lots more to come!!!

Marriage

Written by: Lysa TerKeurst

To expect another person to make you feel happy, secure, and fulfilled will leave you disappointed at best and disillusioned at worst. Even a great husband makes a very poor God.

Only God can settle those deep heart-needs. A man can never do this. If a husband could meet every need his wife had, we'd have no need for God. Therefore, instead of just focusing on finding the right partner, let God work on your heart to help you become the right partner. The time to start working on becoming a wife is now. Before the white dress, delicate bouquets, unity candle, bacon wrapped shrimp, and reception punch, there is some heart stuff to consider:

Getting married doesn't instantly make you selfless... it makes you realize how very selfish you can be at times.

Getting married doesn't make you feel loved... it makes you realize love is more of a decision you make than a feeling you feel.

Getting married doesn't take away loneliness... it makes you realize true companionship comes not when you demand it but rather when you give it to another person.

So, what does marriage give?

A beautiful chance to make the choice to ...

Laugh whether or not the jokes are funny.

Love by folding his collar over his tie every morning.

Pretend like you don't need flowers, but delight when he buys them anyway.

Cheer him on through both failures and successes.

Tell him he's a great man everyday.

Thank God for the privilege of being his wife.

After our time together, my friend thanked me for our talk. She said it gave her a lot to think about. To be honest, it gave me a lot to think about as well.

Dear Lord, only You can fill my heart, right my wrongs, and make me feel loved. I pray that You would show me how to keep my expectations of my husband in check. Help me to be the wife he desires. And help me to remember that marriage was never meant to make me happy all the time. Marriage is a decision to honor You by honoring the one you've entrusted to me to be my husband. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Christianity is NOT a buffet line

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27


"But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves." James 1:22


God requires our obedience. It's that simple. What kind of obedience does He require? Complete obedience. In fact, if one does not give their entire obedience to the Lord, or partial obedience, it is considered rebellion.


"For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king." 1 Samuel 15:23

Loving God is not enough. It is important, yes, but without the obedience that MUST come with that love, we are hypocrites. His word tells us that “If you love me, obey my commandments." John 14:15

Going through our day in partial obedience, or like we're in a buffet line, might go something like this...

"Love? Sure, I'll have a helping of that! Forgiveness? Ok, but only a little spoonful. Tithing? Not this week! We're tight on bills as it is! Compassion? That sounds good, plus it'll make me look good too!"

When we are HIS, we hear his whispers throughout our day. We read HIS word and know the truth, but if we stop there, we are not completing the work that needs to be done.

Dear Lord,
We are so thankful for your presence in our lives. Help us to be accountible to your Word, your Truths, your complete breath of life. Let our lives be a light in a dark world. In your Son's precious name we pray,
Amen

The many faces of Kayla

Kayla's new favorite game is the "faces" game. She has a book where you try to guess what Big Bird is feeling by looking at his face, so this must be where she has gotten it from. It cracks me up....everytime! She is so animated and precious. I thought I would share this, as I get the giggles just looking at these pics. Hope they bring a smile to your face as well....




Blessings, Ali

Christian Lingo

"Is the glass half empty, or half full?"

"Oh, how lucky you are!"

"Wasn't that such a coincidence?"

I'm sure there was a time when we've all used one or all of these phrases. After regeneration, God gives you new eyes to see, new ears to hear, and new desires of your heart. This is not to say that you will never again sin or have the temptation to do so. In fact, quite the opposite. The devil will hit you even harder then before. The difference is now you will recognize it for what it is....evil. I pray each one of you sees the "luck" in your life for exactly what it is....blessings. For there is only one place that it comes, and that is from God the Father. I pray that everytime you start to think something is a coincidence, you will look deeper still and see that it was only due to God's perfect orchestration. Finally, I pray that as you look at your own life, you are able to see the abundance of joy in it, a joy that can only and will only ever be found in HIM.

Blessings,

Ali

Love this guy!

Ok....gotta make a dedication blog to my adoring husband. He had Monday off from lack of work around ol' TIMCO, so we had a 3 day weekend of sorts as Tuesday and Wednesday are his regular days off. What a blessed time we had! Monday night he came home from class around 9 with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me....just because! Now, I know what some of you ladies must be thinking....he was either appologizing for something or had done something wrong and was trying to butter me up, but neither one of those are true! It really was, "just because!" What a sweetie! Also, he more then did his share around the house, everyday cleaning dishes in the kitchen. I even convinced him to clean a VERY dirty diaper of Anna's today (I took pictures, but unfortunatly can't post them here as he is in his boxers, but trust me when I say they are FUNNY!!!) I am just so blessed to have a husband who cares....cares about me, cares about his children, cares about helping me with our home, but most importantly cares about the Lord! I love that he's just as goofy as me (see attached pic), I love that he's a dedicated father, I love that he's handsome (hey.....it doesn't hurt, right?), and I just plain LOVE HIM!! Here's to growing old and grey with the love of my life.......

Blessings,

Ali

A New Day in America

Written by Leslie Nease of Survivor China

Today is a day when many people have some pretty heightened emotions. Some are excited beyond words because their Presidential pick won the Presidency last night, others are feeling hopeless and like the world is crashing down.

I must admit, I haven't been so affected by a voting process since a certain time when I was actually the one whose name was on the ballot. In Survivor, when I was voted off the show in the 3rd episode, I was devastated and I felt as though the world was crashing down. I felt rejected and even a little hopeless initially.

I have learned so much about rejection through my experience. No, my experience is not comparable in status to the presidential election, I realize this, but the principle is the same - man's rejection is God's protection. God allowed Senator McCain to be rejected for a purpose and allowed Senator Obama to win for a purpose. We do not know the purpose but we know our God! He is faithful, even when we are faithless because He cannot deny Himself. (2 Tim 2:14)

The purpose is known only by God and even if it is a purpose of discipline, we can rest assured that God only disciplines those He loves. If the purpose is to prosper us, then the fact that the election doesn't make sense to us shouldn't matter, we should trust His ways, not ours. If it is to teach us a lesson (like the Israelites were taught when they wanted a King and the Lord gave them King Saul) then let us learn! Friends, let's listen to what God is saying, seek Him first and trust Him!

Today, no matter how you are feeling, please don't forget something. Our God is in control! We may have stood in line to cast our vote and let our voice be heard yesterday, but ultimately, God is Sovereign and He has a plan for our country. Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God has a plan for us, to prosper us, not to harm us, to give us a hope and future. I can't help but know that even if this election was a huge mistake on the part of the voting Americans, God has a plan. I can rest in that, I can trust in that.

One last verse that I am clinging to this day after the election...Romans 13:1(NLT) "Everyone must submit to the governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God." Did you get that last part? The new President was placed in office by GOD, not the people. He allowed this for His good purpose. We know not what that purpose is, but it's certain. Our job is to submit, but also to stand firm in our values and what we believe to be true.

I don't know who you voted for yesterday but I do know that God knew who would win long before our votes were cast. Today is not a day to feel hopeless, my friends! If you are one of the ones who voted for our new President, today is a day of gladness and hope for you and if your choice for the Presidency lost, it can also be a day of hope and gladness because we can remember that this decision was made by God, not man.

So, rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say rejoice!

Proverbs 16:31 (MSG) "Make your motions and cast your votes, but God has the final say".

Every life has purpose

This video has been circulating for some time now, but with the sanctity of life being so passionately on my mind these days, I wanted to share it here. Some will argue that babies who are found to be ill in the womb are one of the circumstances where abortion may be an option. This video so beautifully illustrates why that is not so. God's perfect will is in everything....We must have faith that it is so.

Blessings,

Ali

What it's NOT about for me...

Tomorrow is election day, and I have so many emotions running through my mind and heart today. First and foremost, I am leaning on HIM for support in my moments of weakness concerning this election. Let me share with you what this is NOT about for me...

It's not about race
It's not about age
It's not about experience
It's not about cultural background
It's not about gender
It's not about tax cuts
It's not about health care
It's not about charm
It's not about good speeches
It's not about charisma

For me, it's pretty simple. It's about life. It's about leaving life up to the Creator, the Lord God Almighty....

It is not, nor will it ever be up to us to decide who dies and who lives. Period.

I am praying for this election....fervently. I trust HIM and know that HIS plan is perfect.

Blessings,

Ali

WAY too much fun!

Well, another year's Halloween behind us and it was a hit! David and I decided at the very last minute (I'm talking about an hour before leaving) that we would dress up. Since all I had was some kitty ears and a tail, that's what I went as and David, being the native Texan that he is, went as a Cowboy (a very handsome one, I might add!) The girls were simply precious and had a BIG time! I loved showing them off in their costumes this year, as I made them, so I was especially proud! After a night of riding ponies, jumping in inflatables, playing games and eating WAY TOO much candy, we fell hard when we got home. After all, isn't that what it's all about after all.....work hard, play hard?!