So thankful...

Sunday night, well, Monday morning in the weeee hours, I am finishing up the kitchen. (Pretty talented, huh? Finish kitchen and blog... well, I am just cool like that.) I am just thinking about how thankful I am. I am so incredibly blessed.
I had 18 people around the table for Thanksgiving. 3 tables technically. How amazing was that? To be able to host such an amazing and diverse group of people. I look around at this home that the Lord has lent me, the provisions He has brought. It takes my breath away. I can only hope that in the hustle and bustle and the dog hearding and deep breath taking, each person here knows how incredibly grateful I was for each and every one.
Maybe thank you cards are in order. That would be a neat tradition...
Anyway, I digress. I am so thankful for my children. From the oldest preparing for her first baby, to my youngest fighting off a cold to get back to school. For all of their quirks and hiccups, they are precious to me, one and all.
Lord,
I am blessed beyond belief yet again. Your mercies and blessings are always new. Thank you. Thank you.
Love to all.

Steady...

So the 2nd week in October brought 2 concussions in the same week. Liam and Seth both went to the concussion clinic in Fort Worth on Monday October 15th. That was the same day as my beautiful oldest daughter Jayde's 21st birthday. My goodness, how time flies. Anyway, as Liam's symptoms were resolving themselves, Seth's did not. He now has a condition termed "vestibular dysfunction". He had to practice saying that word about 4 times so he could sound cool to his friends.

This involves getting therapy, which we experienced for the 1st time today. It was really hard seeing my baby there on the table (all 5'10" of him), getting moved around in order to assess all of his dizziness and imbalance issues. I have however been reassured that everything is going to be fine, by about December. How I wish they were still this size...

I feel almost dizzy by all of the upcoming events in our life.
-Jayde and Tanner get married on Nov. 15th.
-Thanksgiving at our house.
-Austyn Laine due on December 6.
-Christmas!

All the while, balancing home, and trying to get a job.

Tomorrow, I will explore the struggle between mom and career woman. Please weigh in.
Love to all!
Allison

I'm embarassed to say that it has been more than a year since I blogged, however, as of now, let me revive this therapeutic form of communication. My life is very different than when I last communicated. What an amazing ride this is.
I love my life, even though it comes with its various frustrations. More to come. Who would want to hear everything all at once? I guess I can give just a little every day... then I can actually have more to say, and I might be able to dialogue more than just once in a year. Ha!
I love this time of year. I love the Thankfulness of it all. I have seen many of my friends doing this Thankfulness countown to note each day something they are thankful for.

Being that I only have 2 followers, I am very thankful for them.

I am thankful for my beautiful sister Mary.  For as long as I can remember, she has been one of my biggest fans. When I lived at home, she was my baby doll, that made me feel needed in a way that nothing else did. She gave me a glimpse of what motherhood felt like. It must have been an exhilerating feeling, as now one of the greatest joys in my life is my role in my beautiful 5 childrens' lives.
As we have grown older, we have not had the opportunity to live close together, but the 2 years we did, how great it was. She has such a passion for me and my family. It is beautiful to see her bless my kids with her love and hilarious wit. I am so thankful for her. She is amazing.

I am thankful for my parents. Mama and Papa. The evolution in our relationship blesses me in a way I could not imagine. I have finally been able to leave the confines of childhood experiences behind and been able to see my wonderful parents for who they are, not who they are to me. I love sharing the little mundane details of my life with them. How I wish that they really lived closer. Years ago, I'd never expected to feel that way, much less admit it. Ha!

ok.. in the hope of restraint, I shall save the other things for tomorrow.
Love to all,

Allison

Forgive Everyone Everything

This is short. I am hurting because there is so much anger and hostility revolving around a couple of dear people in my family. The bottom line is that life is too short to continually react to an affront by someone else. Yes, life is painful. Sometimes, it is those who are supposed to love us the most that hurt us the deepest. Unfortunately, that is part of it. Judas was a close friend of Jesus. Jesus also knew that his FATHER had planned for Jesus to die for all of our sins. He knew pain, rejection, and true heartache. Jesus did not promise us a smooth road. He did say we would have hard times, but He never leaves us. Each pain is an opportunity to show everyone around what He looks like, how He would handle things, how He is working in us. I just read the book, "Fear No Evil" by Pastor Brady Boyd, the Pastor of New Life in Colorado Springs, CO. They experienced some devastating events that the devil tried to use to take them out. It didn't work. To God be the Glory. They are stronger and purer for going through the fire.

May we all be.

Forgive Everyone Everything. Don't take it personally. We are not warring against flesh and blood, but against principality. Remember this. Don't give the devil an inch in your life. It is too valuable to the Kingdom of God. I love you all, be blessed.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Keep going. Don't give up. I know it is hard. I know that everytime you turn around, there is another mountain in the way that is preventing you from really seeing the sun and feeling the warmth. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. This season might end soon, it might not. The fire refines the metal, and all of the impurities are brought to the top, to be skimmed off, leaving a more pure, more streamlined form of the metal that existed before. The same analogy is represented in our lives. When God allows us to be in the fire, the things that we don't need fall away. Desperation may set in and show us that the one thing we can really count on is God and one another. The real friends show up. The real family that loves you- blood or not- become clear. Just as in Job, when his world fell apart, all those that had been his friends, eaten at his table, shared in his prosperity, vanished. Sometimes struggle and pain is what clears the fog so that we can accurately see a glimpse of His glorious face.

Don't wait. Submit to Him. Heaven is better than Hell. Jesus is more than fire insurance. He is hope. He is favor. He is grace.

Amen and Amen.

A little blue...

Ever just feel a little blue? That was me today. I honestly don't know why. It was a very eventful day. Tracey and I drove to Abilene to see my sister Vonda receive an amazing Sociology student of the year award, right before she graduates on May 14th. I cried. I don't usually spontaneously cry, but today, as I saw her walk across the front of the banquet hall, all of the stuff she has been through really hit me all at once, and there she was, looking majestic and precious, just getting the slip of paper, that translated, just said: Vonda is really cool. Then, we stopped at her house and drove home. Then, a storm brewed in the west, and it flew over our house quicker than the wicked witch of the east, and all seems quiet again. I wanted a real downpour. A drencher. A knock the lights out barrage of liquid. Nothing of the sort. I am however only working half a day tomorrow. I am going to a conference in the afternoon by Alliance for Children, that teaches people how to identify children who have been sexually abused, and then who have communicated about it, how to handle that. I am excited since I am anticipating doing a counseling internship with them in the fall. So, I am going to go cuddle up with my husband and try to get some rest before my adventures tomorrow. I will try not to cry as I am tucking myself in.... at least for no reason. I love you all, I love Jesus, and I am very thankful for Him! Beloved, Have a blessed week.

Breathe it in... Drink it in...

The Glory of God. It is fluid, like the air around us....

I had a conversation with a very dear and longtime friend of mine today. She is struggling with some pretty difficult circumstances in her life. She feels extremely alone.
I feel so sad for her. I encouraged her as best I could. The fundamental difference is, she isn't a Believer. She feels alone right now, because she is alone. She hasn't realized that her worth doesn't come from her children, her husband, or her work. It comes straight from her Lord. We were raised in church together. But my faith is now very different from the church we grew up in. My faith is my joy and my salvation. I hear her say that church for her is a behavior modification approach for her children. This saddens me. I want the joy I have, for her. I want her to know how amazing she is. I am praying so much for her to be led by the Holy Spirit. He does miracles every day. He is more powerful than any circumstances that could be in her life or any of our lives.

Looking back on my last post, I know that I have been under attack lately. Stress, exhaustion, and busyness has definitely given the enemy opportunities to get to me in more ways than usual. I am trying to just focus on being in God's presence. Thankful for all the gifts I receive every day. Thankful for my husband's strong arms around me. Thankful for my flannel nightgown my Mama gave me that gives me a hug every night, thankful for my beautiful sister, Red who is the household math guru, thankful for my daughter Jayde who was accepted to the Art Institute of Fort Worth today, thankful for my daughter Ashley who encouraged me to try skiing just once, thankful for my son Spencer who shared his vehicular adventures with me, thankful for my son Liam who is working his tail off to pass all of his classes this 6 weeks, thankful to my son Seth for being taller than me but still giving me his little boy, sleepy hug first thing in the morning....

My Father knows my heart, He has my heart, and I want every day to revel in His majesty, and be the daughter he wants me to be.

If you are struggling with deciding if He is real, if this God thing is all it is cracked up to be, jump in. With both feet. He is real. He is near. Beloved, YOUR name is tatooed on the inside of His hand.

I have a word for you. Soak it, Breate it, Drink it in...

Psalm 139. It was written for us.

O Lord, you have examined Allison's heart and you know everything about her.

You know when Mary sits down or stands up.

You know Barbara's thoughts even when she is far away.

You see Kay when she travels and when she rests at home.

You know what Joanne is going to say even before she says it Lord. (ha. inside joke)

You go before Vonda and follow her. You place your hand of blessing on her head.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for Kasie to understand. (Ha ha. it keeps getting better.)

Pilar can never escape from Your spirit! She can never get away from Your presence!

If Ashley goes up to heaven, You are there; If she goes down to hell, You are there.

If Jayde rides the wings of the morning, if she dwells by the farthest oceans, even Your hand will be there to guide her and Your strength will support her.

Ashley could ask the darkness to hide her, and the light around her to become night, but even in darkness, she could not hide from You.

To You, the night shines bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to You.

You have made all of the delicate inner parts of Pilar and knit her together in in her mother's womb.

Thank you for making Kasie so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous-How well Vonda knows it!

You watched as Joanne was being formed in utter seclusion, as she was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw Kay before she was even born, Every day of her life was recorded in Your book.

Every moment of Barbara's life was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are Your thoughts about my Mama, O Lord. They cannot even be numbered!

We can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!

And when Mary wakes up, You are still with her!

O God if only You would destroy the wicked! Get out of our lives, you murderers! They blaspheme You; Your enemies misuse Your name. O Lord, we all hate those who hate You. We despise those who despise You!

Yes, we hate them with a total hatred, for your enemies are our enemies.

Search us, O God, and know our hearts; test us and know our anxious thoughts.

Point out anything in us that offends You and lead us along the path of everlasting life.

Amen.