Hiya peeps!
I hope you've enjoyed your summer. I must say; for me, God has really made this one a great one. Though there were ups and downs, I REALLY think God used this summer for great things to come in my life. I know this sounds kinda corny, but.. I think I've really changed as a person, comparing myself from this summer to last summer. I don't really know how to describe it, but I just think I've really grown spiritually, and grown alot closer to God. I started going to my Youth Group at my church (I was an AWANA leader prior to that), which I think played a big part of it.
ANYWAYS. This really has nothing to do what I was going to blog about, but it's actually turning out to be a pretty good post anyway, haha.
Now, on to the topic I was going to bring up..
Isn't it awesome how God uses little (or big) things in our lives that just make us happy?
A couple months ago, I wrote a blog called "This is the stuff You use" (or something like that..), talking about how God uses things that occour in our lives that we don't like; but uses it for the better in the end. But now I'm talking about the stuff that is just awesome all-around.
I'm going to a concert this Saturday, and I am PUMPED. I won't go into all the details, but I must say, I am EXCITED. ;) And a bunch of other little things just over the past couple weeks (of which I won't go into, just because they're just little things and there's alot of them), but it just seems that God is REALLY putting these happy things in my life for a reason.
Now you don't think I just wrote this blog to talk about how happy I am, do you? Well, sorry, there's always a question to ask or lesson to learn when I post a blog. ;)
When something awesome/good/fantastical happens to you, do you thank God for it?
I've been wanting to write this blog post for a while, but I hadn't really gotten a chance to really sit and do it for a while. But I started really thinking about it, after my Youth Pastor brought this same subject up. I could go on and on about how many things he's said that have made me REALLY think/question myself, but I shan't, since that would be about a houndred posts into one. ;P But anyway. When he brought this subject up, he kept saying: "Do we thank Him?" (Not his exact words I don't think, but I'm doing my best here.) This really got me thinking, since I was kinda-of on a happy-streak. When DO I thank Him? DO I thank Him??? When I really, REALLY thought about it, I do thank Him for some things. But I truely don't thank Him enough. I mean, there is no way I could count the things He's done for me.
As I'm writing this blog post, I'm listening to the PERFECTLY appropriate song for this post. The song "Hold Me", by Miss Jamie Grace, (featuring TobyMacster himself. ;))
I shall share the lyrics she is singing:
"Oh, I love the way You hold me, by my side You’ll always be
You take each and every day, make it special in some way
I love the way you hold me, in Your arms I’ll always be
You take each and every day, make it special in some way
I love You more than the words in my brain can express
I can’t imagine even loving You less
Lord, I love the way You hold me"
Now isn't this perfect? This song COMPLETELY describes how I've been feeling lately. Thanks Jamie! :)
Now, to wrap up this blog post:
When do you thank Him for ALL He does for you? Big or small? Not so fun stuff, or fun stuff?
Oh, this brings up a good point: (So much for wrapping this blog post up, haha)
We SHOULD thank Him weather we have AWESOME things happen, or not so awesome things.
WE SHOULD PRAISE HIM FOR EVERYTHING HE DOES!!!! ALL THE TIME!!!!!
No matter the situation, HE IS HOLDING YOU!!!!!
Isn't that amazing? No matter what we are going through, happy or sad, hard or easy, God KNOWS how you are feeling. AND HE WILL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR YOU!
And now, back to what I was saying at the beginning: HE NEED TO THANK HIM FOR ALL HE DOES! Do you see how much He does for us, and how little we REALLY do for Him?
So, now to finally wrap this thing up.
In the coming fall weeks, know I am praying for all of you, and we should THANK HIM for ALL He does. EVERYTHING.
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control,
-Allie.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
WE Are The Body.
Hiya peeps!
It's been a while.. Hope you've all been well. :)
ANYWAYS, now onto my blog post.
Last night at church, my (AWESOME) youth pastor talked about The Body of Christ. Conveniently, the night prior I had just rad the same scripture as he shared, so my mind had sorta already been on the same subject. ANYWAYS, time to share we he shared:
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Long passage, but SUCH a crucial, nessisary-to-read, awesome one.
Since my awesome Youth Pastor always breaks the verses up, and hits the "points" he wants to talk about, I'll do the same.
Lets start with the first verse, shall we? It reads: "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ". We, as Christians, are ALL a part of The Body of Christ.
Can we just go over this for a minute?
WE ARE CHRIST'S BODY. Do we ACT like we are doing the works of HIS body?! I can safely say, though it saddens me, I at least do not always act like I'm part of The Body of Christ. We as humans, we NEVER be perfect. Period. Christ is the ONLY perfect thing. Like, ever. (This making sence?)
On to the next couple verses..
"For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many."
This is saying again, the same point, we are ALL parts of The Body. I love verse 14, that the body is made up of MANY parts, not just one. We cannot be the body of Christ alone. It's just not going to happen. We ALL as Christians NEED to unite, as ONE BODY. (This might sound corny, but it's the truth!)
Verse 15, says:
"Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body."
I love how my Youth Pastor put this verse. He explained, that just because "I can't do this", or "I'm not good at that", doesn't mean you're not part of the body of Christ. We are ALL blessed with a unique spiritual gift, (How my youth pastor put it,) ''Weather you're the crossing guard, or the Pastor of a Church, doesn't mean you aren't serving the body of Christ'' (Not his exact words, but I try.). No matter the importance of your job may seem here on earth, it is equally important.
Now, as I'm reading back at this blog post, I began to think: Why am I posting this blog post?
Honestly, I didn't really think of why.. The only explanation I could come up with, was this:
This topic was something that really hit me hard. I could go on and on about this passage, just because there are SO many good points it brings up.
But the bottom line, is this:
We are all part of the body. No matter what. And as verses 21-26 state, WE ALL NEED EACH OTHER. God created us to build each other up, and spread His wonderful news!
What we are: Bringing each other down. Too much.
What we SHOULD be doing: Building each other up. BECOMING ONE.
So, I'll go ahead and wrap this thing up, and simply state, that we need each other. And lets come together, and MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness and Self-Control,
-Allie.
It's been a while.. Hope you've all been well. :)
ANYWAYS, now onto my blog post.
Last night at church, my (AWESOME) youth pastor talked about The Body of Christ. Conveniently, the night prior I had just rad the same scripture as he shared, so my mind had sorta already been on the same subject. ANYWAYS, time to share we he shared:
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Long passage, but SUCH a crucial, nessisary-to-read, awesome one.
Since my awesome Youth Pastor always breaks the verses up, and hits the "points" he wants to talk about, I'll do the same.
Lets start with the first verse, shall we? It reads: "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ". We, as Christians, are ALL a part of The Body of Christ.
Can we just go over this for a minute?
WE ARE CHRIST'S BODY. Do we ACT like we are doing the works of HIS body?! I can safely say, though it saddens me, I at least do not always act like I'm part of The Body of Christ. We as humans, we NEVER be perfect. Period. Christ is the ONLY perfect thing. Like, ever. (This making sence?)
On to the next couple verses..
"For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many."
This is saying again, the same point, we are ALL parts of The Body. I love verse 14, that the body is made up of MANY parts, not just one. We cannot be the body of Christ alone. It's just not going to happen. We ALL as Christians NEED to unite, as ONE BODY. (This might sound corny, but it's the truth!)
Verse 15, says:
"Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body."
I love how my Youth Pastor put this verse. He explained, that just because "I can't do this", or "I'm not good at that", doesn't mean you're not part of the body of Christ. We are ALL blessed with a unique spiritual gift, (How my youth pastor put it,) ''Weather you're the crossing guard, or the Pastor of a Church, doesn't mean you aren't serving the body of Christ'' (Not his exact words, but I try.). No matter the importance of your job may seem here on earth, it is equally important.
Now, as I'm reading back at this blog post, I began to think: Why am I posting this blog post?
Honestly, I didn't really think of why.. The only explanation I could come up with, was this:
This topic was something that really hit me hard. I could go on and on about this passage, just because there are SO many good points it brings up.
But the bottom line, is this:
We are all part of the body. No matter what. And as verses 21-26 state, WE ALL NEED EACH OTHER. God created us to build each other up, and spread His wonderful news!
What we are: Bringing each other down. Too much.
What we SHOULD be doing: Building each other up. BECOMING ONE.
So, I'll go ahead and wrap this thing up, and simply state, that we need each other. And lets come together, and MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness and Self-Control,
-Allie.
I haven't posted anything since JULY?!?! I disgust myself.
Hi peeps!
This is the second time I've written this blog post, so I'll just make it short and sweet. ALOT has happened lately, such as:
CELEBRATE FREEDOM,
Youth Group fun-ness,
CELEBRATE FREEDOM,
Wrote a couple songs (since I'm an award winning songwriter, and all that.)
CELEBRATE FREEDOM,
and bunches more!
I have a few blog posts from NewReleaseTuesday that I've written (and just forgotten to post here), so hopefully that will keep y'all entertained until I can write about the other events in my life. :) (Mostly Celebrate Freedom..)
Peace out, my homies!
-Allie.
This is the second time I've written this blog post, so I'll just make it short and sweet. ALOT has happened lately, such as:
CELEBRATE FREEDOM,
Youth Group fun-ness,
CELEBRATE FREEDOM,
Wrote a couple songs (since I'm an award winning songwriter, and all that.)
CELEBRATE FREEDOM,
and bunches more!
I have a few blog posts from NewReleaseTuesday that I've written (and just forgotten to post here), so hopefully that will keep y'all entertained until I can write about the other events in my life. :) (Mostly Celebrate Freedom..)
Peace out, my homies!
-Allie.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Cute Cousins
Hey friends! :)
I made these collages of Audrey and Silas, and thought ya'll might like to see them. Silas' is of Jan '09 to present. Audrey's is of March '10 to June '11. (I didn't have room for July, haha.) Anyways, enjoy! :)
-Allie.
I made these collages of Audrey and Silas, and thought ya'll might like to see them. Silas' is of Jan '09 to present. Audrey's is of March '10 to June '11. (I didn't have room for July, haha.) Anyways, enjoy! :)
-Allie.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Make Your Move. (PS, I'm alive!)
Hey guys! It's been a while. ;)(I'm alive, huzzah!)
Hope you're all enjoying your summer.
Thus far, my summer has been great. Though it wasn't in the summer, earlier this year I went to a "Make Your Move" concert, featuring Third Day ("Make Your Move" is one of Third Day's songs, from their new AMAZING album "Move".), Tenth Avenue North, and Trevor Morgan. Prior to the concert, I was PUMPED. Tenth Avenue North is my favorite, and I couldn't wait to see them (And TM and 3D) live. And at the concert, I was TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY. Like, seriously. But one part of the concert (other then Mac waving at me, the awesomeness, etc.) really stuck with me. The theme of the entire tour. "Make Your Move". During Third Day's performance, Mac Powell was talking about what the theme means to him/the whole band, and I thought to myself: "What am I doing to Make My Move?"
I know, I talk about this kind of stuff alot. But I mean, it's a REALLLYYY important subject! Making Your Move is the REASON we (should) live!
One (actually two, but anyway.) of my very favorite verses, John 15:16-17, says:
"You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, usuing my name. This is my command: Love each other."
Pretty powerful stuff, right there. I was actually just flipping through the New Testament a while back, and stopped in the book of John. I was just looking at some of the verses, and these verses totally stuck for me. Those words: "You didn't choose me. I chose you." COMPLETELY put a new perspective on what I was doing at the time. God chose ME to be His servant. God also chose YOU to be His servant. And in verse 17, the answer to SO many problems in this messed up world, is sitting right in front of you. "Love each other.". 3 of the simplest, most powerful words one could use. Though "love" is a word that SO many of us use, so frequently, it kills me how lost this world is when it comes to love. This world is CRYING out for love. (I know it sounds dramatic, but it's true, people.) It's amazing to me how easy it is to love ourselves, but how hard it is to love others. As sinful people, we really can't love others without Jesus in our lives. I mean, we can say we love someone, but (in my opinion) you can't even know what love IS untli you know Jesus. Jesus is love. This is why Jesus tells us to LOVE. So we may grow closer to Him, and be more like Him.
So, love each other.
Jesus loved you, so He made His move.
As Third Day would would say, "Make Your Move".
-Allie.
Hope you're all enjoying your summer.
Thus far, my summer has been great. Though it wasn't in the summer, earlier this year I went to a "Make Your Move" concert, featuring Third Day ("Make Your Move" is one of Third Day's songs, from their new AMAZING album "Move".), Tenth Avenue North, and Trevor Morgan. Prior to the concert, I was PUMPED. Tenth Avenue North is my favorite, and I couldn't wait to see them (And TM and 3D) live. And at the concert, I was TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY. Like, seriously. But one part of the concert (other then Mac waving at me, the awesomeness, etc.) really stuck with me. The theme of the entire tour. "Make Your Move". During Third Day's performance, Mac Powell was talking about what the theme means to him/the whole band, and I thought to myself: "What am I doing to Make My Move?"
I know, I talk about this kind of stuff alot. But I mean, it's a REALLLYYY important subject! Making Your Move is the REASON we (should) live!
One (actually two, but anyway.) of my very favorite verses, John 15:16-17, says:
"You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, usuing my name. This is my command: Love each other."
Pretty powerful stuff, right there. I was actually just flipping through the New Testament a while back, and stopped in the book of John. I was just looking at some of the verses, and these verses totally stuck for me. Those words: "You didn't choose me. I chose you." COMPLETELY put a new perspective on what I was doing at the time. God chose ME to be His servant. God also chose YOU to be His servant. And in verse 17, the answer to SO many problems in this messed up world, is sitting right in front of you. "Love each other.". 3 of the simplest, most powerful words one could use. Though "love" is a word that SO many of us use, so frequently, it kills me how lost this world is when it comes to love. This world is CRYING out for love. (I know it sounds dramatic, but it's true, people.) It's amazing to me how easy it is to love ourselves, but how hard it is to love others. As sinful people, we really can't love others without Jesus in our lives. I mean, we can say we love someone, but (in my opinion) you can't even know what love IS untli you know Jesus. Jesus is love. This is why Jesus tells us to LOVE. So we may grow closer to Him, and be more like Him.
So, love each other.
Jesus loved you, so He made His move.
As Third Day would would say, "Make Your Move".
-Allie.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
THE WORLD IS ENDING MAY 21ST!!!!!!!! .....Not.
Hi friends. :)I'm sure most of you have heard, that everyone thinks Jesus is coming back this Saturday, the 21st. If you are a believer, (which I hope you are,) you know that no one can predict the year, month, day, hour, minute, or second our Savior will return to take us home. So basically, it's all un-true. Personally, it highly offends me that ANYONE would have the NERVE to even THINK that they could predict such an event. It SPECIFICALLY says, in The Bible, NO ONE can predict it. I mean, how much more specific can you get?! It just flat out disgusts me that ANYONE would think such a thing. I mean, who are we, to QUESTION GOD'S WORD?!?! We, as sinners, have ZERO authority as to predicting when Christ shall return. For me, personally, this whole "2012" hooplah has gotten my mind alot more on Christ's return. But obviously, there is no way we can predict it. I mean, it could happen at ANY time. It could happen in 2,000 years, or it could happen 5 minutes from now. Thinking about the rapture, has ALOT to do with trust. I, myself, plan ahead. (Probably too much.) It isn't scary in the aspect that we know, EXACTLY, what's going to happen. The only slightly scary part, is not knowing when. I, myself, as a believer, give myself to God. I am His servent. And I want to do as much as I can, to spread The Word, before His return. And not knowing when the rapture is, really puts on the pressure for me. Jesus could return tomorrow. Would I have made a difference? So, that is my main goal in life. To MAKE that difference. No matter when Jesus returns. Now, question time. What is YOUR main goal in life? If Jesus came back tomorrow, would you have made a difference?
Well, thanks for listening to me ramble, yet again. :P
I'll blog again soon!
-Allie.
Well, thanks for listening to me ramble, yet again. :P
I'll blog again soon!
-Allie.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Trust You.
Hi friends! :) So, life has alot to do with trust. When you go on a car ride with one of your friends, you have to trust them that they will drive safely. If you order a coke at Taco Bell, you have to trust that they didn't put anything poisonous in your drink (okay, now my examples are just getting weird. I'll move on.). My point is, trust is a major part of life. Most importantly, we have to trust Jesus that he knows what's planned for our future. I've gone through some things in my life, where I wish I knew why something happened, or what's going to happen. But, the ONLY thing I can do, is trust Jesus. There isn't a thing in the world I could do to be in COMPLETE control. Only Jesus is in control of my life (and everyone else's.). Trust me, there are times I wish I could control what is going to happen. But I just have to let it go, and be at peace knowing that Jesus is in control, and he knows what is best for my life. One of my very favorite songs, is by Brandon Heath, and it's called "Trust You". The chorus goes, "I'm not gonna fight You anymore, I'm not gonna try to lock the door, You took Your life, and gave my Yours, there's no reason why, I shouldn't trust you with mine.". Those words really hit home for me. There isn't one reason in the entire world that I shouldn't trust Jesus. Not one! I could make up excuse after excuse, but there is no legit reason that I shouldn't give myself to Jesus. Alright, now for the question portion of my sermon. Do you trust Jesus? Do you know, that EVERY worry you have, is useless? Because JESUS IS IN CONTROL. He knows what is best! Over time, I've gotten better at trusting Jesus. And I hope you have, or will, too. ;) Thanks for listenting to me ramble.
-Allie.
-Allie.
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