ALY ALLEN | THE BLOG

sin had come into God's perfect world. and it would never leave. God's children would always be running away from him and hiding in the dark. their hearts would break now, and never work properly again. God couldn't let his children live forever, not in such pain, not without him. there was only one way to protect them. "you will have to leave the garden now," God told his children, his eyes filling with tears. "this is no longer your true home, it's not he place for you anymore."   but before they left the garden, God made clothes for his children, to cover them. he gently clothed them and then he sent them away on a long, long journey -- out of the garden, out of their home.    well, in another story, it would all be over and that would have been the end... ... but not in this Story.  God loved his children too much to let the story end there. even though he would suffer, God had a plan -- a magnificent dream. one day, he woul...

i opened up one of those "group discount" email promotions today, and this was the first line: Nothing embodies the holiday season like Santa —and nothing gets kids more excited than a personalized letter from Mr. Claus himself. i wasn't ready for my reaction, but my heart literally sank . maybe it's because i'm listening to "Mary did you know" on repeat in preparation for singing it next week at our Bible study? i don't know why it hit me so hard, but the notion that "Nothing embodies the holiday season like Santa"  sickened me. i'm not going to tell you that incorporating santa into your Christmas tradition is bad or evil or terribly misleading for your kids. i've heard all the arguments and i know everyone has their own convictions on the issue, some stronger than others. i've always been sort of indifferent. we don't make a great big deal out of him, but we also don't act like he's an instrument of satan, ...

if you're new to this series, start here:  part 1   |   part 2   |   part 3   |   part 4  |   part 5 so, by now you know that he told me he loved me twice within a few months' span and i didn't say it back either time. well, a few weeks after the "second time" occurred, we were sitting in my room and he was making me laugh as always. [remember, he was funny?] in the midst of laughter, i just blurted it out: haahaha,  i love you , haha... wait. and we both paused. and panicked. i didn't even intend to say it, it just came out of my mouth and now i can't take it back!?! and i'll never forget the look of disbelief, coupled with relief, in his eyes. i can see it right now in my mind and it still makes me melt. like i had just made his entire year. his entire life. by loving him back. i'm pretty sure it was very quickly after that i knew i was going to marry him. crazy, right? fifteen years ...

2000 years ago today... the world was forever changed death was defeated. the grave was conquered. Jesus Christ rose triumphantly to life just as He said He would. Hope is the victor. Life is ours to receive.  abundant, full. Peace is ours to experience.  liberally, daily. Grace has been poured out.  freely, without limit. Joy comes in the morning. i hope so much that you've believed, trusted, received. He did it all for you. i feel lighter this morning. like a burden has been lifted all over again. do you?  Hope has risen from the grave: alive, victorious and seated at the right hand of Almighty God, actively and constantly interceding  on our behalf.   oh, how he loves us. See, what a morning, gloriously bright,  With the dawning of hope in Jerusalem; Folded the grave-clothes, tomb filled with light,  As the angels announce, "Christ is risen!"  See God's salvation plan,  ...

last night we attended a "celebration of life" service for one of my husband's assistant coaches who passed away. he was 23 and he actually took his own life. you would've never known a guy like him was struggling. incredibly happy with an infectious personality, he touched a lot of lives. many of the boys on my husband's football team attended the service. he's not at a christian school, so it's anyone's guess how much these boys have been exposed to real gospel Truth... that is, until this service. the gospel was presented clearly and powerfully and the mood of the entire night was that of joy and celebration for this young man's life. sure, he cut it short, but i can only think of how God placed him on the campus of that school, for just about 8 months, to impact these kids, and then become the reason that they would hear the gospel last night. i imagine satan probably figured he'd won this battle. he'd defeated this young man and co...

being a parent is a heavy responsibility.  and that's the biggest understatement of the century, right?  it requires all of you: your heart, your mind, your physical body.  it evokes every emotion: heartache, frustration, intense love, desperation, sheer joy.  it takes planning, creativity, wisdom, supernatural strength, and mostly a lot of prayer.  sometimes i feel like i can't give my daughter everything she needs. and i can't. but the beautiful thing is that i was never meant to. that's not how any of us were designed. Jesus is the only one who can give us everything we need. over and over again. if He's the answer for me, then He's the answer for my daughter even though it may look differently at her age. as she's getting older, i'm realizing that i can't protect her from every little thing like i could when she was a baby. she's interacting with other kids, other adults, she's away from me frequently. i can...

** reposted from last christmas when none of you were actually reading :) i imagine the shepherds sitting there. they had just finished their head-count of the sheep tired and cold, they sat on a nearby cluster of rocks and hoped maybe tonight would bring an adventure of some kind something to break up the monotony of the night i wonder if the air whispered strangely i wonder if the sky looked different or if the leaves were rattling in the wind like they do just before a storm i wonder if they had a feeling that for some reason  this  night was significant. somehow. on the timeline of history i wonder what they were talking about that evening i can't help but wonder if they were devout Jewish boys did they, deep down, believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did they know about the promised Messiah that Isaiah prophesied? after 400 years of silence, did they  truly  believe in the God of their forefathers? i c...

... Christ Jesus, being in very nature God,  did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,  but made himself nothing,  taking the very nature of a servant,  being made in human likeness.   And being found in appearance as a man,  he humbled himself  and became obedient to death —  even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place  and gave him the name that is above every name,  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,  to the glory of God the Father. phillipians 2:6-11 you know, Christmas is really insignificant without the cross. there's no good news unless Christ endures the cross and takes all sin and all God's wrath on Himself. the reason for this season is Easter. and the best news of all? He's coming again....

i love sara groves . i love her lyrics, her soothing voice,  her beautiful heart that oozes out of her music... her christmas CD is one of my favorites.  this song features her son, reading from the Jesus Storybook Bible .  [if you don't own one , you must. even if you don't have kids, or if they're grown. seriously.] In your heart you know it's true though you hold no expectation in the deepest part of you there's an open hesitation but it's true kingdoms and crowns a God who came down to find you it's true Angels on high sing through the night alleluia heard it told you think it's odd the whole thing fraught with complication the play begins with  baby God and all His blessed implications but it's true kingdoms and crowns a God who came down to find you it's true Angels on high sing through the night alleluia alleluia, alleluia Oh it's true kingdom...