ALY ALLEN | THE BLOG

did you all know i have a degree in history? i haven't exactly used it for anything, but i did earn it just the same. one of the major requirements for this degree were two huge research papers that spanned an entire semester each. for the first paper, we were required to choose a topic and then read as many secondary resources as we possibly could on the subject. secondary resources are basically books written by historians who have researched and learned about the topic, and then written a book about it. it's their synthesis and interpretation of their research.  the second paper required that we choose a topic and research all of the primary sources that we could find. we could throw in some secondary resources too, but the main objective was for us to actually practice being a historian ourselves. i wrote my paper on the development of the city of Coronado, see that fancy photo below? sounds fascinating, right? i basically lived in the Coronado library and his...

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."  Colossians 2:8 when i read this a few weeks ago it hit me hard. i think it's so easy to go about our days, dealing with the big and little trials of life, relying on human tradition and the basic principles of this world to guide our reactions and dictate our steps. we're human after all, so it makes sense that we'd lean that way. what hit me was how naturally i do this, and how i don't even realize that's what i'm doing, because it's not always obvious. the nature of deception is that you don't necessarily realize you're being deceived . the enemy works in the gray areas. he knows he can't get us if his lies are completely 100% false. instead, he'll use something just slightly off from the Truth so that we'll believe it. he'll keep getting us f...

have you ever done an inductive Bible study? i'm assuming that's what this is, when you take a book of the Bible and simply read it, to study it for yourself. not consulting commentaries or other authors. so i'm going through Philippians that way right now, along with hundreds of other women doing the " maximize your mornings " challenge that i told you about. what i love about it is that God is able to teach me Himself, through His spirit. don't get me wrong, i looove me some Beth Moore [that's obvious if you've read my blog for very long], and have learned so much from Bible teachers. but to learn exactly what God would have me learn that day, straight from His Word and through His spirit? that's priceless if you ask me. take Philippians 1:12-18 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else t...

** you may have read this over on Leslie's blog last week. I just wanted to have record of it here, in my own space... It was last  Thursday  and I was downstairs having my morning quiet time. I had been praying for about 30 minutes and God was revealing some pretty earth shattering things to me. There was pride that I hadn't recognized and some impure motives in a few situations I was involved in. God was shining light into so much darkness I hadn't even known was there... Needless to say, I had a really wonderful time of confession and repentance, all before 6:30 AM.  I felt completely alive and filled with His goodness and mercy, ready to face whatever the day would bring.  I looked up at the clock and realized I needed to iron my husband's pants ;)  So I went upstairs and he was just waking up. I got his pants on the ironing table and noticed a tear in the pocket. Still groggy, he remembered that yes, he'd ripped them the other day... so he c...

i went to biblegateway.com and typed in "unfailing love". and these are the treasures that i found. Sow for yourselves righteousness ,  reap the fruit of unfailing love ,  and break up your unplowed ground ;  for it is time to seek the LORD until he comes and showers righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12 Though he brings grief ,  he will show compassion , so great is his unfailing love . Lamentations 3:32 "Though the mountains be shaken  and the hills be removed ,  my unfailing love for you will not be shaken   nor my covenant of peace be removed,"  says the LORD, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10 the LORD delights in those who fear him,  who put their hope in his unfailing love . Psalm 147:11 In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed . In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling . Exodus 15:13 How priceless is your unfailing love!  Both high and...

i've been reading Philippians 1:1-11 all week. each day, looking for new things. i've actually never done this before. i usually focus on quantity : how much can i read each day . now i'm focussing on quality : how much Truth and insight can i glean from just a few verses . next week i'll read verses 12-18 all week. i'm following this guideline [as part of that "maximize your mornings challenge" that i'm doing, remember? best thing ever.] anyway, since i've read it a million times this week, and have had the time to just meditate on every last beautiful word, i just had to share this with you. feel free to print: [click on it to make it bigger, and then save and print] also, it occurred to me to make a few different colors. so here ya go :) maybe green? or blue or aqua? i sure hope one of these works for you!

which is too often. you too? credit it's usually when my husband is out of town and i'm home alone. he used to be gone a lot, but it's much less frequent now. you'd think with experience and age i'd become more accustomed to it, but i haven't. i still go upstairs before it gets dark and close all the blinds and lock my bedroom door and leave the bathroom light on [usually the tv is on really low all night too] . seriously, i know. it's on the verge of crazy.  this last time that i was alone, i decided to take my fear and my destructive thoughts  captive,   to make them obedient to Christ . instead of straining my ears into the silence and hearing every tiny creak of the house and car that drove by, i practiced faith. and by  practice  i mean that i got out a notebook and my Bible, and i started to write about how big my God is. i opened to Job and Isaiah and copied down, with a good-old-fashioned pen and paper, all the works and attributes of God. you...

Psalm 143:8

we've been doing a memory verse, my daughter and i. she calls it "my berse! my berse!" Zephaniah 3:17 (a) "the Lord your God is with you. and He is mighty to save." we videotaped it for you today :) i promise, that's what she's saying, though you probably won't be able to understand her. i'll be your interpreter [see below the video]. please excuse the very low quality, i took it on my phone... "He is... Zephaniah 3:17" "God is with you... He is... mighty to Save" "Zephaniah 3:17" "I'm twooo" "All done!" "Let's read some more" "The lord... is with you... and He is... mighty to save... Zephaniah 3:17"   [without any help, you guys! yay!] "All done!" "One more time" "Dear Jesus, thank you for the day. Have a good night. Amen." "All done" and yes, my big girl will be two tomorrow. it goes by too quickly.

you might get tired of me talking about Beth Moore... i hope you don't, though. most of the Bible studies that i've done in life have been written by Beth Moore, so i've learned a LOT from her. i was in the middle of a study called "Living Beyond Yourself" when i was really pregnant with my daughter. once she was born, i stopped going and never did finish the study [i had great plans to finish on my own and watch the video sessions online, but i think you all know what happens when the newborn arrives]. anyway, i plan to finish it now that i'm done with "Breaking Free". it's sort of a sequel, in my opinion. in the very first video session [way back when i watched it] i remember being so convicted of the fact that your "quiet time", or "devotions", or whatever you call your time in God's presence, needs to be in the morning . listen, i know this is hard. i know it's not easy for moms. especially moms of little ba...

hi friends! have you all heard of the "Inspired to Action" blog? i ran across it a few months ago and i love it. Kat is challenging and full of practical solutions for moms... the biggest thing she advocates is to "maximize your mornings" which is a challenge to wake up before your kids, have your devotional/quiet time, workout time, and plan-the-day time. before they even wake up. i definitely want to do this everyday. i typically do some sort of Bible reading daily, whether it's flipping through my 3x5 cards or reading through a day in my chronological Bible while my daughter eats breakfast, or maybe i wait until naptime to do the whole routine... and most days i have some time that's quiet to just pray [in the shower, during naptime, in the car]. but for about a year, i have wanted to be intentional about doing it in the morning  before everyone wakes up, before i have to put my mom hat on. Kat has set up a "maximize your mornings" chall...

i'm just gonna get right into it: how many of you know that your mind is really the battlefield when it comes to sin? you don't usually sin out of nowhere. things don't happen out of left field. it starts as a little seed in the mind. tiny, sometimes unnoticed, harmless even. or so you reason . you entertain it more frequently, and you justify it a little more, you convince yourself it isn't so bad. everyone else is doing it. okay, at least a few other people are doing it. i deserve it. i deserve to think or feel this way.  until one day it doesn't look so bad and you partake. in sin. sometimes the thought patterns seem unrelated to the actual sin that's later manifested. t hey're completely related . it's a tangled web we weave, isn't it? that's why it's called deceit. sometimes you figure you can stay out of sin just by keeping busy. that you won't have time to sin if there are too many other things on your plate. gosh, is that ...