I walk slow

I smell of chlorine.  My mom has decided to swim this whole week.  Today as we walked in the guy at the front desk called us frequent flyers.


"I walk slow.  Take my hand, help me on my way."  That line from this song has been playing in my head.  Probably for two reasons.  1 because I walk slow with my knee issues and 2 because I am slowly walking, metaphorically.  Jesus is by my side and it makes me so happy!  I know, man o man, do I KNOW that I can place everything, all my fears, my future, all my thoughts, all those illusions, into his hands.  The coolest thing about it all, is that from believing and doing that - I feel so loved.  And when I feel so loved, I feel so happy, and when I feel so happy, I love other people and when I love other people, Jesus is loving on them too!  You get me?

So.  I sin.  I fail.  I mess up.  I cry - BUT - God covers me in his grace and loves me through it all.  He picks me up, dusts me off, and holds my hand while I walk slow.  Grateful beyond words.  Fixing my eyes on Jesus.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Alison

Spotlight on Lisie and Shelby

This Blog Entry is for Lisie and Shelby because they encourage me to keep writing!  Thank you.

So this is what I am going to do tonight.  I'm going to talk about their awesomeness.

Lisie is my youngest sibling.  She is almost 21.  She's almost a full grown woman - and she is almost cooler than me.  Almost.  When I type Lisie into dictionay.com nothing comes up, and that is because she is everything.  haha!  Sorry, I had to throw a line in there somewhere.  ...and I really did type Lisie into dictionary.com.

eh em...(clear throat here)  This upcoming summer Lisie will be traveling to Kenya with her friend Hayley to spend time with her good friends on a Hill.  Presently there are about 100 orphan kids living on that hill, and from what I hear, they are full of energy and love.  Lisie loves the kids and I am encouraged by her high energy personality and focus on loving others as a child of God and sister of Alison.  You can learn more about Oasis For Orphans AQUI (here).

Shelby is my friend.  Shelby and I met at an International Teams training in Illinois.  It was there that we found out that we would both be traveling to Cochabamba, Bolivia, I don't think we understood at that moment just how cool that is.  Shelby has been working hard these past few weeks on a center that is being built for kids and their families to work on homework and learn about the love of Christ.  Shelby how old are you?  I think Shelby is 19.  I am so encouraged by Shelby's desire to live a life for Christ and by the love that she has for others.  Shelby is a deep person and just like you and me has a whole lot going on, and if you want to learn more about her, I would encourage you to read her blog HERE

oh and Me?  I'm doing alright.  It has been really humbling to have a knee that is hurting.  I want to be active so bad and have been itching to run and practice soccer for 3 months now.  Instead I stretch, swim, and bike.  I"m grateful that I can do some type of activity but sometimes can get so frustrated with the limited movements. So I do not say this lightheartedly.  Please don't take your health for granted and get out there and be active!!  Our bodies our amazing and so is nature, so you put those together and it can be a pretty great experience.  And if you are reading this and have health limitations, think positively and be grateful for what you do have.  Breathe once, breathe twice, and on that third time thank God for this life because even in pain, discomfort, and limitations, it's good to be alive.

I heard this somewhere, and I really liked it

My mom doing stretches on a balance beam - she won a competition for weight loss at the gym!!!

I spend a lot of time in this room while God spends a lot of time cleaning up this messy heart and sometimes I just need a good flurry from mcdonalds to make it feel better

MUSIC

Where to begin? I'll begin with describing where I am. I'm in my room - eating chocolate chips while drinking wine with a desk lamp for light. Just a few moments ago I took a blast in the past and listened to some of my favorite tunes from the band audio adrenaline. I used to sing some of these songs at the top of my lungs, complete with hand motions (that I made up)and dance moves (equally as coordinated) - just a few paces away in this same bedroom. Years ago. I spent many a time singing and dancing in this room - rock songs, rap songs, love songs, sad songs, and just plain strange songs.

However, the most powerful songs that I've ever danced to or that have come from my lips with everything I have, have been the songs from bands like audio adrenaline, jars of clay, newsboys, and the list goes on. I'm talking about those songs that sing about who God is, who we are in Christ, how much he loves us, or those songs that just give straight up praise to the BIGGEST and the BESTEST. Those songs were the most powerful because the words cut deep into my heart and shaped who I am in Christ. Those songs formed a part of my identity and became my theme songs to life. The world tells me I'm a loser? well "All the losers get a crown." What's that young Alison, feeling pretty down? Well ya "get down, he lifts me up." I took music pretty seriously as a youngin - and I still take music seriously now. What we listen to, influences us. If I listen to sad sappy music, I am going to feel sad and sappy. I know what music to turn on if I want to cry. So one of those things that I have been focusing on lately is filling my ears with that good stuff that will make me into who God wants me to be.

Here's a good idea - turn on those blast from the past, spiritual formation tunes ,that rock you to your core and tell you how beautiful you are in Christ. May I just say? You're a pretty gorgeous human being and no matter who you are, what you've done, or where you have been, God loves you - forgives you - and has his arms open ready to be there with you forever and always. What more could we ask for? So here is one of those songs I used to sing without holding anything back, and it still rings true. That part that says "love conquers all" I used to rewind and replay over and over and over. I'm also adding photos from today's snow storm and workouts! ;)

We saw 7 deer at once!

Pretty drive

lil Bolivian doll - Bolivia remains on my heart

check out my new earring collection

My brother, Eddy, out in the snow taking photos

TRUTH - Ecc 8:5

Amazing BIG trees

Eddy took a photo of me in the snow

Hillsong has a new cd out! Oceans is a beautiful song

LOOK AT HER GO!

It was so pretty driving through, had to stop to take a picture of it all