ALY ALLEN | THE BLOG

i always love "american idol" season. the part i don't love, is each time the new season starts, i start hearing it- everyone wants to tell me why they think i should "go on american idol". why they think i would win. why they think i need to try out next summer. i always politely say that it's just not something i'm interested in... the honest truth is this: i can sing, yes. and i sing regularly in my church. let's be realistic, first of all- there are 1,000's of people exactly like me in churches across America and around the world that can sing. they show up every Sunday to worship their God... people scoff at that like it's so silly, like "yeah, i just sing in church." like they haven't been discovered yet, or they haven't gotten their big "break" yet. a couple of things: 1) it would be quite presumptuous of me to think that somehow i'm extra "special". somehow i have that "it" factor th...

so, reese's grandma bought her a walker yesterday. she is *IN LOVE* with it. it's like she totally know that she's not attached to someone's hip, or strapped to a high chair... she knows that she decides where the thing goes. she gets to explore and discover what the wall feels like and what she looks like in the oven's reflection. she has independence! she will walk and walk and walk until her 'lil legs are so tired. she uses both at once, one at a time. she can turn it and walk backwards and sideways... i'll be honest, i may love it more than she does. it's a nice break for me :)

i was a literal *mad woman* last night for two straight hours... why is it that we clean the house like a tornado, RIGHT before the cleaning ladies come? i'll never understand whether it's because i'm embarrassed of the way the house looks, or whether i just want to make their job easier? who knows. but one thing is for sure, i need to get on cleaning rampages like that a LOT more often! all the laundry is done. including the three sets of sheets and five hundred towels that have been waiting to be clean, for probably three weeks. feels good! and now let the cleaning ladies come and scrub the toilets and showers. i * LOATH* cleaning the bathrooms. {and as a side-note, we currently live in a studio apartment above my in-laws garage... so, seriously, there shouldn't be that much to do. that just tells you how messy it was.}

my pastor spoke today about saying "yes" to the open doors, to the opportunities that God gives us to further His kingdom and tell others about Him... but the opportunities always seem to come at the craziest time in our life, don't they? it's too bad "God doesn't check our calendar" before He decides to open a door to something amazing. if we're not careful, we'll let it pass by because we're too busy to worry about it... "we fill up our schedules with the mundane and ordinary , that we're irritated with God when He opens the door to the miraculous and extraordinary " wow. God isn't trying to bless us at our convenience. He's not trying to make sure we've got our taxes finished, our business under control, and our errands done before He throws a wrench and calls us to do something significant , for Him . He doesn't check our calendar... and far be it for me to presume that He should. we get so carried away wi...

you know when you've heard/sung a song a million times but never really listened to the words?? yesterday, standing in the choir, singing "You are my all in all" that i've sung since jr. high... this struck me: "seeking You as a precious jewel..." what if we really did seek the LORD like we seek precious jewels... or, like we seek money . most of us spend almost every waking moment seeking money, if we're honest. we wake up with the sole intent to get ready and get out the door, and get to work. to make money. our lives are completely consumed with seeking money . so that we can seek goods and things . i never think about it, but when Jesus said you can't serve two masters, He didn't mean you had to be rich to be "serving" money. just look at what you're seeking when you wake up every morning. do you wake up with a longing to get into the Word of God? do you wake up excited to dive in and see what God has prepared for you this mor...

well, i had to start sometime, right? i don't know if it was a NY resolution or what, but here it is: my first "personal blog" post. i've always been an off-and-on "journal-er", and it's been sort of a therapy for me like it is for a lot of people. i may not be witty or funny, and maybe my life isn't that interesting... but then again, maybe this 'lil blog will be useful for some one. i'll be posting here and there about life, love, babies, silly things, great finds, work, and very probably- my walk with Jesus. it'll just be my life. nothing will be left out {except probably politics :) } soooo... 5 things about me? 1. i believe in the "Word became flesh". i believe that Jesus Christ was born to a virgin, to become the atonement for the sin of mankind. i believe that all who believe in Him will be saved. i believe it's that simple. i believe He actively intercedes on our behalf, at the right hand of God Almighty. i believe b...