ALY ALLEN | THE BLOG

These past two months have been killer for me. I couldn't figure it out until one day it just smacked me in the face: somehow I lost my joy . Being in the Word, listening to worship music all day long, reading and writing about His goodness. Even all of that didn't snap me out of it. I have this tendency to allow burdens to pile up unnecessarily. My kids are driving me crazy, my husband has been working a lot, I have deadlines and due dates and to-do lists a mile long. I let that stuff swirl in my head non-stop. I think about it, mull over it, rehearse it, problem-solve it , and even make up scenarios in my mind.  As if I need one more thing to think about?  My brain is constantly full, taking up all the room I usually like to save for rational or creative or happy thoughts. It's just a jumbled mess in there sometimes. I''m a melancholy girl, and I can get pretty down when I allow myself to. I can feel down about my own life just as easily as I can about the s...

today i had one of those crazy shifts in perspective. do you know what i'm talking about? all of a sudden i'm standing there cutting up the pork shoulder to stick in the crock pot and it hits me: i am so blessed to be doing this. all of this. this morning i woke up like any other. you know, an eleven week old baby, crying and hungry. we went downstairs and i made some fresh juice for Reese and myself.  we had orange-pineapple-apple. seriously delicious and refreshing and perfect.  it struck me how much joy i actually get from taking a few pieces of fruit and juicing them up into something yummy and nutritious. something that Reese begs me for every day.  i get joy from that.  i think it's two-fold: that i even have access to nutritious food for my family,  and also that i don't mind doing the work of cutting and peeling and juicing for what would seem like little return. for me, it's a huge return-- nutrition.  and i finally r...

i've been i a funk the last few weeks. i'm blaming it on the crazy early pregnancy hormones. but still, i've been in a fog, hit a wall, whatever you want to call it. dare i use the "depression" word? almost no quiet time, barely making it through a day without crying, a lot on my mind, not keeping up on emails or blogs, far from the Lord's presence and peace... you know, just  funky. i hate even one day like this, so the few weeks combined have taken their toll. but this morning i opened my Jesus Calling devotional to this: It is impossible to praise or thank God too much and  Fill up the spare moments of your life with praise and thanksgiving. This joyous discipline will help you live in the intimacy of My Presence. and then i was reminded of the earth-shattering truths i learned in One Thousand Gifts . things like: "it is thanksgiving that shapes a theology of trust" pg 152 "if [His] goodnesses toward you end, [He] will cease to ...