ALY ALLEN | THE BLOG

tear down the lies. put up the Truth. bow to the Truth. that is [in a really short nutshell] what Beth Moore teaches in Breaking Free, for how to live in freedom on a daily basis. reject the lies that the enemy throws at you, replace them with Truth from God's Word, and then listen to that Truth. do what it requires of you. last week, as part of our weekly study, Beth asked us to practice these steps in the area of forgiveness. she wanted us to write it all out, look up specific verses, bring it to our group when we met. i'll be honest. i didn't do the exercise, because i'd already [more or less] done it in real life just a few months earlier. i wanted to share my personal story with my Bible study group last thursday, but we ran out of time. so i'm sharing it with you now. not the in-depth details, but the most important parts. it's pretty long, but i hope you'll stick with me to the end. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  a few month...

i went back to the normal "blogger" commenting system. i know. i just can't help myself. i think it's more convenient for you guys to comment really fast, rather than fill in all your info (but i appreciate all of you who continued to comment despite the time it took). PS i'm sort of, a little bit, debating whether to sign up for this ... blog sugar. it looks super awesome and it's only a few hours north, and really close to my brother. i could visit him on the way? what do you think? i know its totally crazy, but i feel like i would be trying to break into the popular girls' group. like i shouldn't really be there. i mean, no one invited me, so who do i think i am, just showing up? i don't usually put myself out there like that.  i know, i'm laying bear my insecurities for all of you to see. i should just register already, right? and get over myself?

the decor in my house, that is... i hung a few more things last week, and i even found the perfect [for now] spot for my lovely  hoop art that i won from Leslie . i plan to give it a permanent home on the wall, in a different location, but i need to finish up a few projects that are going to be displayed with it. i'll keep you posted on that. for now, it sits here in the dining room [which is functioning as a playroom while there's no table in it].  the bottom book was a graduation gift from my parents. they snuck onto my computer and downloaded every single paper i wrote in college [i was a history major. there were at least 1 to 4 papers per week]. and published them in this book. are you kidding me?!? it is priceless. wondering if i should do this to the top two books [and lots of other books that i use as decor] . i might cover them in paper first, since they're actually new-ish books. the little guy on the right was a ross find. it was a bright green, like the color...

i don't know if i share song lyrics too much on here.. oh well, it's my blog :) anyway, i stumbled upon t his Bethany Dillon song a few weeks ago called "You Are on Our Side": Th e orphan clings to Your hand Singing the song of how he was found The widow rejoices For her oppressors are silenced now You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore When You could just be silent and leave us here to die Still, You sent Your Son for us You are on our side The runaway falls at Your feet You are what he has searched for The rich man is broken When he stands beneath a sky full of stars You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore When You could just be silent and leave us here to die Still, You sent Your Son for us You are on our side   how poignant are those  lyrics? i mean, the fact that she uses the "w" word... you have to ...

i wanted to pop in and let you know that the fundraiser/giveaway that i shared with you last week raised $ 200 [and i wo n TWO of the giveaway items??!? yay! this has been my week for giveaways: leslie's hoop art , these cute cards from danielle's giveaway , and now, all from  Kim's giveaway :  a gift card to dunkin donuts and to itunes, and jewelry from here . yay!]  okay, back to the real reason for this post: i hope you'll take a few minutes to head over to Kim's blog again . she's hosting another giveaway, with tons of great items, including some items that are being carried over from last week. here's what Kim has to say: Please,   don't   assume that   someone else will do it . We need   ALL   of the help we can get. I can't stress that enough. The need at this particular orphanage is  great .   They need our help.   If you think that your $10 or $25 won't make that much of a difference,  you're right ....

ah, the joys of spray painting. i literally have a hundred picture frames. i've just collected them over the years. usually black or some sort of dark metallic. but since that doesn't really fit my decor style anymore, i'm embracing the spray painting  addiction  trend that's taking hold of the [mostly blog]  world. my husband thinks i'm nuts, until i place everything back into the house and he loves me again because it looks perfect. i even spiritualized spray painting/repurposing here . yes, i really did. this is my little bookshelf. given to me by my mom. the corkboard is from Homegoods. the other items i've had for years [except the lantern which is a $1 Goodwill find, painted black]. the "a" holds up my books, "j" holds my husband's, and "r" holds my daughter's. she knows that she can only touch her shelf but she always talks about ours.  the crate might be sprayed to match the [krylon "jade"] frames. not sure...

i don't know about you all, but my heart has been burdened lately. burdened by the injustice all over the world, the fact that we have it so easy while the rest of the world suffers from lack of basic things that we take for granted i asked you last time to consider donating to the water well project in northern uganda and God delivered ! i love blog world. because i love the inspiration, the real-life examples of women who are doing God's work, the fresh Word that God speaks to me every single day through all of you in the comments and through the wonderful blogs that i read regularly.  Kim happened to comment on my blog one day [i think it was on the "water" post, actually] , so i headed over to hers. and this is what i read . [pretty please take the time to read it] . this woman is doing what God has asked her to do. and we all know that takes courage and strength and constant reliance on God's provision. the process of saying "yes, Lord" is a daily...

we were on our way to Disneyland yesterday. as we pulled out of the driveway, my current cd of choice was playing in the car. it's a compilation of all those songs that i gave to my worship pastor , that i'd be preparing in case he needed me to sing any of them in the near future. so they're on repeat in my car all the time. one of them is Kathryn Scott's "Beauty for Ashes" . every time it comes on, my daughter will say "song, sad" with a big frown and furrowed brow. i'm not really sure why she thinks it's sad, maybe it's just in comparison to the other songs on the CD? anyway, she started repeating the lyrics. after each phrase was sung, she'd repeat the key words: "I'll trade these ashes in for beauty" [ashes for beauty] "And wear forgiveness like a crown" [like a crown] "Coming to kiss the feet of mercy" [kissing mercy] "I lay every burden down" [burden down, lay down] when ...

i am growing to love our little yard. from the surprise flowers blooming everywhere , to the convenience of actual food growing on trees... i love it! and i've never really been an outdoorsy girl or a gardener. but i'm becoming one. here are the latest picks from the tangerine tree, and there are literally hundreds more. we have a lemon tree too, which is so nice. fresh lemon is a staple in so many recipes but i always hated buying them. i want to plant an apple and/or avocado tree soon. mmm, or what about plums or peaches? i think we only have room for two or three, so that will be a tough decision. any thoughts? we also planted some flowers yesterday afternoon. my husband is off for two weeks and he gets really bored really quickly. he started by de-cluttering the junk drawers and vacuuming the house , and then moved on to surveying the projects that need to be done around the yard. first was planting flowers and second will be re-painting the patio overhang. i love that he ...

spring is in full bloom here in san diego. at least in my little corner, in my yard. we've never seen our house in early spring, so everything is a surprise. when we got home from mammoth a few days ago, we were greeted by three white calla lilies blooming by the front door. i didn't even know that was a calla lily plant? [my wedding bouquet was all calla lilies. i adore them] i don't think i've ever appreciated spring so much. not since i started counting the gifts , noticing the beauty. and certainly not since spring became so symbolic of my life  right now. there is beauty all around. it is breathtaking. so my husband suggested that i cut them off and bring them inside. i'm no floral designer like shauna  ;)  but i just placed them in a simple glass vase, leaning to the side. i love them. i hope they last a long time here on my kitchen table. but if not, i know there will be more where they came from. God is too good. ** to leave a comment, ...

okay, i think i just activated "comment luv" on my blog? i love that you can reply directly to comments, and i love that you can see the last post that the commenter wrote. let's see if it works? let's see if i like it! learn how to add it to your blog, here .

we took a little ski trip up to mammoth earlier this week. a much needed and much appreciated vacation. everywhere i looked, especially at the top of the mountain, ready to ski down, i was struck by God's extravagance. His beauty. His magnificence. breathtaking, spectacular and so vast. there aren't enough adjectives in our language. that's why [at least for me] sometimes music describes that which words alone cannot. i was reminded of this song by Keith and Kristyn Getty [writers of In Christ Alone] called Creation Sings.  i couldn't stop singing it the entire week as i beheld His glory at every turn: [these mountains definitely made my "one thousand gifts" list] [no, i don't know those people] Creation sings the Father's song;  He calls the sun to wake the dawn  And run the course of day  Till evening falls in crimson rays.  His fingerprints in flakes of snow ,  His breath upon this spinning globe,  He charts the eagle's flight;  Commands...

i'm sure you've heard about the newest and latest craze in blog-land? faithblogs.net is a cool little [growing quickly] community of bloggers like myself, who write from a Christian worldview. well, this past weekend i received a sweet email from Katie, the co-founder, letting me know that they've chosen "the mommie diaries" to be part of their growing list of blogs! i couldn't be more excited [and humbled] to have been selected and placed among some of my favorite blogs, ladies that i look up to and that i can't wait to read everyday. i can't wait to see the connections and relationships that will hopefully blossom from this awesome community. please check out faith blogs if you haven't already. you will likely recognize many of the blogs there... so you know it's legit ;)  and of course check out  their blog  for the latest updates!

[photo credit] have you read The Five Love Languages ? well, neither my husband nor i have actually read it, but we know the five languages, and we refer to them all the time when we  argue  discuss things  [it's actually pretty comical, now that i think about it, since we've never read the book].  he thinks that mine is "quality time", and i think that his is "acts of service". and that's pretty right on. we've recently also discussed the fact that my language is changing. i still want the quality time, for sure, but i also need "words of affirmation" right now. his, however, has remained "acts of service"... mostly in the form of my keeping the house clean. i don't know why it took me almost six years to figure this out, but he really really appreciates a clean house. not just clean , but neat too. all the time. for almost six years of marriage, this has been our number one argument. i'm messy, he's neat. for so man...

... just because it's way too beautiful not to share, did you guys catch  this link hidden in Ann's post today ? maybe you've seen this video? maybe i'm behind? if not, watch it. it's just breathtaking:

nothing makes you feel worse than going to the doctor for your coughing daughter, to hear that she has a double ear infection, and one side is really really bad... you feel like a bad mom [for a minute] , until you remember your child is not even two, so she's not great at communicating that her ears hurt. and she's generally happy, so i had no idea she was in that much pain. i just thought she wanted to cuddle because she had a cold and cough. poor thing. but these are the times that i'm so thankful for modern medicine, in the form of antibiotics. so, so thankful. i wonder what people did when there were no antibiotics? surely they got bacterial infections? did they use natural remedies? did they even know the difference between viral vs. bacterial infections, to know which remedy to apply? did they just die, like, all the time , from basic ear infections? this is something i'd love to research. it's that history degree i earned, begging to be useful, i guess . any...