~ Rainbows ~

Don’t you find great comfort in the promises God has for us in his Word? I know during these uncertain times when everyone is making promises; we can’t always count on them. It is as if making a promise to someone has lost some of it’s’ credibility. It is a sad thing to admit but nonetheless true. I do know that God’s Word is full of promises that have been kept and are still holding firm. Now that is something to ponder. Promises from man don’t always follow through, but promises from our God are etched forever in his Word!

I have always been fascinated with God’s creation. The way he uses a blank canvas everyday to paint us a beautiful picture in the sky, has always been one of my favorite things to look at. Every morning on the way to school, we look for the magnificent artwork God has designed just for us to enjoy that day. Special are the days when we see a rainbow in the sky. I would always tell the kids that when we see a rainbow, to remember that he placed it there to remind us of his wonderful promises. Then we list as many of God’s promises as we can. Now the kids are always looking for those beautiful rainbows. One day I was at the store having some pictures developed and I came across a beautiful picture of a double rainbow. The day I took that picture, we were driving to my mom’s house right before I left for a preschool conference and the kids, all at the same time, started screaming in the car. Good thing I was on a back street because I just about ran off the road. They pointed to this magnificent double rainbow and we were just in awe! I pulled off the road to take a picture of it and Ben reminded us that day of God’s promises. He said that we had received a double promise!

I referred back to scripture when God placed the rainbow in the sky for Noah. After all that Noah endured, he remained obedient and faithful and God protected him and his family. He tells Noah in,

Gen. 9:12-17 “And God said, This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth. So God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

This promise is not just for Noah, but for all life on earth! God keeps his promises! When we can’t be sure of anything else, we can be sure that God keeps his promises. We all love to see a rainbow, they are definitely beautiful, but sometimes we take for granted the significance of the rainbow. Take some time this week to write down promises from God’s Word. There are so many, but you will discover as I have, that in a world of uncertainties, his promises are forever!

Focus and celebrate this verse during the week,

Genesis 9:14-15a “Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind.”

Blessings~

Allison

~ Medicine for the Soul ~

The cold and flu season is upon us once again. Remember the dreaded “swine flu”? During that particular flu season, so many people were “under the weather” and the term “H1N1” became a new part of our daily vocabulary. It seemed as though you couldn’t turn on the news or hear a conversation without hearing that term. We actually experienced some of that in our own house as well. In the midst of that time, Callie battled with a cold and fever that lasted for about a week. It broke my heart to see her so sick. Callie brings such joy to our home! She is so full of life and loves to sing and write stories. One thing she enjoys, is to give us all sweet notes and beautiful pieces of art that she creates. On the back of every note she gives, she puts her trademark, “You Make Me Smile!” with a big smiley face! She is our little encourager! When she first developed her fever, she immediately got quiet and just wanted to lie around. Well, anyone who knows her well understands that this is not normal behavior for her. I took her temperature and sure enough it was 101. I gave her medicine and within an hour she was back to herself. Smiling with those big dimples and just being Callie. As the medicine would wear off, she would feel bad again. This went on for quite a while. As long as she had medicine, she felt great, but when it would wear off, she felt awful again until finally she was over it. That medicine was a wonderful thing!

I started to think about the people we encounter on a daily basis. We have those people around us that are always cheerful and have such joy that you just love being around them. It is contagious! Then you have the people that just always seem to be miserable. They can’t find a positive thing to say and everything appears to be gloomy. Grumbling and complaining just seem to seep out of their pores. They are the “glass is half empty” kind of people. You almost want to go the other way when you see them coming or go crawl in a hole and have a good cry after you have spoken with them.

Proverbs 17:22 says, “ A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

What kind of person do you want to be? Do you want to be good medicine or do you want to dry up bones? Well I want to have the cheerful heart that is medicine to the soul, of course. I want to be an encourager; I want everyone around me to see the love of Christ and to know that whatever the future holds, we have the joy of the Lord, because he is in control. That is what makes my heart cheerful! I, in no way, want to be a complaining presence to those around me. Life is a beautiful gift from God and is to be celebrated! Then we get to give him all the praise and glory for it!

Just as the medicine Callie took brought her relief, our cheerful hearts can be just the dose of good medicine that so many hurting people need. I want to continue that contagious spirit of God’s love and marvel in seeing the Great Physician heal those that are hurting!

Have a cheerful week!

Allison

~ Salt and Light ~

A couple of years ago, I rode down to Southport with a lady that seemingly “had it all together”. You know, a person that you don’t know very well but have an impression of based on what you have seen or heard from them. I had not spent much time with her but I have to admit I was a little intimidated by her. She had a demeanor that came across very dedicated to work, and not a lot of room for mistakes. She also could laugh and cut up but had a dry sense of humor to where you weren’t really sure if she was unhappy with something you had done or just joking around. It was very difficult for me to understand her. Well, she invited me to ride down to Southport with her to a meeting. I thought it was a little strange that she asked me but I felt as though I should go. During that trip down and back I learned a lot. As she referred to me as a “woman of faith”, she began to open up and share things with me about her life. She began to ask me questions about what is right and wrong. I remember as she started talking, I just prayed and asked God for a listening ear and a careful tongue. I quickly realized that I was there for a reason. I was there to share God’s love to a woman who I thought, “had it all together”.

I learned on that trip, that I became quick to judge someone I didn’t really know well. She was a woman that was searching and hurting and I almost let my “impressions” of her ruin an opportunity to share the hope that is in Christ. I also learned that people all around are watching us. I had never told her I was a Christian but she was watching. People everywhere around us are hurting and they are searching for something or someone that can give them hope. What a wake-up call that was to me! The Lord convicted me strongly that I need to be less quick to judge others. We are the salt and light! We are the ones who should share the love of Christ and follow his example of loving others.

Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

I don’t want to lose that saltiness! I want a flavor-filled life for Christ whose aroma is infectious to all those around me! When we live for Christ, our light shines brightly for the entire world to see. We have the awesome responsibility to come in contact with many people who are hurting on the inside. Our “impressions” may be that they have it all together, but we need to have sensitivity to their needs. I know that I want my light to shine brightly and not have it hidden “under a bowl”. I pray that my light for Christ will bring light into the lives of the hurting and induce the flavor-filled life for my Lord that salt can bring. That is when they can receive the hope and love that is God.

I praise God that he showed me my failures yet again. It is in my failure that I see his glory and realize that I am nothing without him.

Have a blessed week in the Lord!

Allison

~ Be Still & Listen ~

Life can be very busy! It seems as though, for all of us, things keep getting busier and busier and we are constantly going. Even now as I write this devotion I just put a load of clothes in the wash, got supper started, I can hear the joyful sounds of the kids fussing at each other, still have a science project to help finish, a Weight Watcher meeting to prepare for, and I can hear the dog at the back door ready to go out. What do I do? Laugh! Laugh at the chaos! There are days when I wonder what boredom is and how that would feel. But then reality sets in and I get back up and get busy. There is never a dull moment around here! I’m sure you all have stories like mine and you keep the candle burning at both ends. All these things are necessary parts to daily life, but are we still keeping God in the forefront of our day? This revelation came to “slap me in the face” as I went from task to task one day. I find, sometimes, that I am so wrapped up in getting the “necessary” things done that I remember that my time alone with God has been very shallow. My time with God is the most important thing that I need! He is a NECESSITY!

God has to take the lead in our lives. A life going from job to job, errand to errand, or even ministry to ministry without first conversing with God is a life that is setting itself up to fail. God is my strength! God is my LIFE! How could I put him on the “back burner” to fulfill my daily duties? Well I am not very proud to admit that I have been guilty of this from time to time. Just the other morning I awoke at my usual 5:00 and was ready to enjoy my quiet time with God. I went to the quietness of my living room, sat down, opened my Bible and then…my “to-do” list began going through my head. You know, making sure I had everything lined up for the day and appointments scheduled, etc. My time with God was being hindered by my “daily duties”. At that moment, I just had to stop and pray out to the Father to renew my mind!

Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

I had to pray that God would take everything that was hindering my time with him and help me put it aside so I could concentrate and focus on what he had for me in his Word. That is just like my Abba Father, when you ask him to show up, praise God, he does! He showed me that in the busyness I call my life, that I needed to be still. Yes, be still when you are busy! It sounds crazy, I know, but this is what God’s Word says.

Psalms 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God:”

It doesn’t say, be still when everything is done for the day and your “to-do” list has been completely checked off. It says, “Be still”, so be still is exactly what I did. You know what? My time with him that day was so much sweeter! Praise God! When I surrendered my time, my day, that very moment to him and let him saturate my heart, what a time of refreshing for my soul!

I urge you to do the same this week. During this time when schedules are overcrowded and you need about 4 more hours in the day, be still and know that He is God! What sweet fellowship there is with him when we will just be quiet and listen! He is life and breath and he deserves all of me so that I can live this life he has blessed me with!

Thank you Father for reminding me that you are always there and waiting to spend time with me! I will be still and know that you are Sovereign God!

Have a wonderful week and listen for the sweet whispers from our Awesome God!

Allison

"SIN-ECTOMY"

About a year and a half ago, a few days after his 13^th birthday, Ben had his tonsils out. Yes, a tonsillectomy! What a big word! I had heard how painful they could be on a child, but the older the child gets , when the surgery is done, the harder the recovery. Poor thing! He could hardly swallow, he was nauseous, and just felt crummy for days. He could hardly eat anything and even lost about 10 pounds in a week. It is so hard, as a parent, to see your child in pain. I wanted to take that pain and make it go away, but at the same time, I knew that pain was necessary to make his overall quality of life much better. When his doctor came out of the surgery to give us the report, his comment to us was that Ben’s tonsils were “mammoth” (enormous, huge, massive). He said his life would be dramatically better now that those “mammoth size” tonsils are out. His breathing will be better and he will have a more peaceful life, physically. What a statement that was! Ben had struggled for 8 years with congestion, breathing difficulties while sleeping, and overall sluggishness because of not sleeping well and then to hear that his quality of life would be dramatically better was wonderful news! Of course, he had to go through many days of pain and discomfort before it got better but we knew there was a light at the end of that tunnel.

After sitting with Ben during his recovery one night, I decided to go out for a run. I began to ponder that statement the doctor made. “Now that the mammoth size tonsils are out of the way, his quality of life will get better.”

It made me think of my walk with Christ. There are times in my life when sin gets in the way, it becomes “mammoth size”, and hinders the quality of my Christian life. The very breath of my soul becomes labored when sin gets in the way and there is much unrest. There are times when the Great Physician needs to do a “sin-ectomy” so that my quality of life in him can once again be what he designed it to be. This “procedure” is often painful and can be uncomfortable but oh so necessary for my overall health. The end result is rest, peace, and breathing the sweet oxygen that permeates to the depths of my soul and gives me life! How sweet it is! I began to praise God and ask him to reveal to me the sins in my life that need to be removed. Though I knew it could be painful, I wanted to live a clean life that was pleasing to him and I was willing to let him cut it out. Forgiveness and mercy are there to cure the sin that has been repented to our Great Physician! Only he can heal our sin-infested souls and make them beautiful for his glory! It is all about him anyway. Any pain that I endure could not hold a candle to my sin he carried on the cross.

Acts 3:19 “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”

What areas of sin in your own life need to be “surgically” removed? Maybe there are areas of bitterness, selfishness, envy, bad attitudes, harsh words, grumbling and complaining, or the sin of “me-ism”. Whatever the sin, it hinders our relationship with God Almighty and needs to be removed. I pray that this will be a time of great healing in all our lives so that we will be able to breathe and worship the way God intended. It’s time for us to dig deep and reveal ourselves wholly to him!

To prepare for your procedure, read your “surgical” instructions from God’s Word and allow the Great Physician to do his work in your life!

Blessings~

Allison

~ Cell Phones ~

One of the greatest, modern day inventions is that of the cell phone. It used to be a luxury to have a cell phone, but now almost every person has a cell phone, or smart phone. People are even doing away with their landline phones and going strictly to their cell phones. What did we used to do before we had these wonderful inventions? It’s hard to believe, but we would actually have to wait and talk to people in person, or on our home phone. Yes, yes I know, it’s hard to relive that suffering! Lol! Back in the day when I was a teenager, (okay, it hasn’t been that long ago) I would have to call my parents and check in from a pay phone or when I got to my destination and that was a little hard to do. They had no way to check in on me unless I called them. Now we have easy access to everyone. We can talk in the car, at the grocery store, and pretty much in the middle of anywhere. We don’t even have to talk! We can text, IM, email, Facebook and many other things right from our cell phones, or smart phones. What an amazing thing, I guess. You see just as we have the luxury of this great invention, it is made by human hands and does malfunction from time to time. You all know what I’m talking about; the dropped call right in the middle of an important conversation, the “dead” spots where there is no signal, and sometimes the “all circuits busy” message we can get. I call it a “frustrating luxury”.

Well, last spring Matt was in Mexico on business and didn’t have the greatest of signals on his cell phone. Matt and I talk several times a day, so it was difficult not being able to pick up the phone and call him whenever I wanted to talk to him. Though I knew he was okay, I missed our conversations and just hearing his voice. The times I answered the phone and he was on the line was so special and comforting.

I thought about the privilege we have to be able to talk to our Heavenly Father at any time and any place we choose. We never have to be concerned that he doesn’t have good reception, or run the risk of our call being dropped, or getting a busy signal. There are no roaming charges, expired rollover minutes or overage charges! Our contract with him never expires and never costs us a thing! We have a direct line and he is always there waiting to converse with us. When I was a little girl I remember the first time my Sunday school teacher told me that God had a phone number. I was so excited! I thought that she was going to give us the 7-digit number and I was prepared to write it down. Instead she gave us this reference in Scripture:

Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

Okay, so it wasn’t a 7-digit phone number, but it all made sense! God is on the line! When we come to him with our requests, our hurts, our needs, our praise, and ourselves, he is there prepared to answer and tell us great things that we didn’t know! WOW! What wisdom and direction we get just by conversing with our Creator! There can be things in our lives that are out of our control; a family member with cancer, job decisions, family dilemmas, financial hardships, and many more, but we have the assurance that when we call, he is there! It is there where peace & comfort await and fellowship is sweet!

Call your Lord and talk with him! If you want a 7-digit phone number for God, just remember this, 772-9377. P-R-A-Y-E-R-S! He is on the line 24-7!

Have a blessed, conversation-filled week with your Lord!

Allison

~Striving for Excellence~

Christmas break is over and we dove head first into a New Year! School bells have rung again and we are back in full swing! The school supplies are in use again, uniforms have been laid out, schedules are posted, and lunch boxes have been pulled back out of the pantry! Of course, the first day back to school is always the most fun! Seeing all your friends again and catching up is great, but then that fun starts to wear off as soon as the homework is handed out and early morning wakeups hit. Reality sets in and as parents; our job is to encourage the kids to continue the year with good study habits and routines so they can finish strong. We are also their “cheerleaders”, if you will, to encourage them when the going gets tough and they just don’t think they can do one more piece of homework. We also want our kids to strive for excellence in all they do. In our home, we do not demand all “A’s”, but we do expect them to do their very best in all areas. God doesn’t expect perfection in us, but he does expect our best. That is something that we try to instill in our kids, through God’s Word.

Our best! That is what God deserves in all areas of our lives. Not just for the kids in school or sports, but from all of us in every thing we do. We wholeheartedly need to give our all to God. In our parenting, our marriages, our jobs, our relationships, our ministries, and every other area, we need to work to give God our best, to strive for excellence! King Hezekiah was a king that had a close relationship with God. Though he did make mistakes at times too, he was credited for trusting the Lord and seeking excellence.

“This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.” 2 Chronicles 31:20-21

“He sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.” We, as children of God, need to seek God daily. That requires us to be in a deep prayer life, and daily reading of his Word for guidance and direction. We expect our children to go to school with homework done and prepared for tests and quizzes, and the same is true with us. How can we expect to go through the daily tests of our lives without being prepared by studying our textbook for life and consulting our Teacher? As servants of the Lord, people are watching our lives. Does your life reflect the grace, love, and mercy of our Savior or does it reflect how the world lives? I want my God so honored that people around me find it contagious! They should crave what we have when they see his greatness! He deserves our BEST! He is worthy of all that we have and all that we are!


Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

May the cry of our hearts be to seek excellence for our King!

Blessings~

Allison

~Happy New Year~

How exciting a New Year can be! A fresh new start and with the reality of a New Year most people have a long list of resolutions that they intend to stick to; losing weight, exercising more, paying off debt, being a better person, etc., etc. You may even have a list that looks similar to this. These are all great and things we should strive for but I am not a fan of making a list of resolutions. Don’t get me wrong, it is great to have goals and work toward those goals, I have many myself, but there is a stigma attached to New Year’s resolutions and many people never follow through. Working at Weight Watchers, I see it every year. The first week of January there is standing room only in the meeting rooms, but come March and the newness has worn off and the resolutions fade as the year progresses. Why is this?

Resolutions can be shallow without God’s divine guidance!

I have had my lists of resolutions before too, but what the Lord has shown me has taken on new meaning. Throughout the last several years, the Lord has taken me on some amazing journeys to know him more. Some of these journeys have been quite painful, just being honest here, but they have been completely necessary to bring me to a place of complete and utter dependence on him! As you can see these journeys, I can attest, were AMAZING! What the Lord would show me was that everything I do needed to be bathed in prayer and given to the Lord for wisdom and discernment. When I depended on my own strength, I would fail miserably, but when I put my faith & trust in Christ to follow through on his plan, goals were met and he received the glory! That totally changed me!

I am so excited to enter 2011! As I have taken a long walk this week looking back on 2010, I can only give praise to my God! This has been a very busy year for my family and me and the Lord has stretched me so far out of my comfort zone in many areas of my life. But all praise be to God for all the wonderful things he has taught me! When I began 2010 I had no idea what was in store, and I admit if I had known, I probably would have run away kicking and screaming! Lol! God is the one that holds the future. He knew what was in store for me, but allowed me to hold to my faith and trust him completely to go in his footsteps. What a journey it has been! I have seen his face and clung to his Word to get me through every curve and turn I encountered. My God is so good!

Now as I begin 2011, I enter with such peace that what God has in store, I will trust and have faith! I want to seek my Father’s face even more! I want to grow so much more in love with him this year than ever before! That is why I don’t make “New Year’s Resolutions”. You see for me, every day is a new day to love and follow my Lord! I can wake up every day and have my goals and my plans set, but it is all about him. Every day I will wake up and commit that day to him and commit to do his will. I have to die to myself. I am an old wretched sinner, and daily I have to deny myself and allow the Holy Spirit to fill me to overflowing!

Luke 9:23 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Oh the joy that comes from allowing God to rule your day! With Christ in our lives, every day is a fresh start and daily we need to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow our Master! His ways are perfect and his mercies are new every day!

Lamentations 3:22-24 “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

Welcome 2011! Our family has already sat down together and looked back at 2010 and prayerfully considered our goals for 2011. Where we have been and where God is leading us individually and as a family in all areas of our home, our personal lives, our ministries, & our relationships with our great Lord! What we have concluded is, 2011 belongs to God and we will strive to do his will and further his kingdom! We want our priorities to be in line with his. Because he is the Giver of life and all that we have, all that we are, are only for him and his glory!

I love to sing to my God! Sometimes in the quietness of my home I give my Lord a personal concert and sing praise to him for all that he is! When I sing, it is to an audience of One! All for him and him alone! And one day I will stand in his presence and be able to sing to him face to face and proclaim his GREATNESS! Woohoo! Can I get an AMEN?

One of the songs that I sing to my Lord is one that has become my anthem of prayer for 2011. May the words be a prayer to you Lord:

It's all about You, Jesus,

And all this is for You,

For Your glory and Your fame,

It's not about me

As if You should do things my way;

You alone are God and I surrender.. To Your will!

Abba Father, it really is all about YOU! I surrender every fiber of my being to you! May my life reflect the beauty that is you so that others may come to know you and your will be done!

I pray that 2011 is full of blessings for you and your families! We serve an AMAZING God and he loves you so much! No matter what this year holds, we can have faith that HE holds this year in his hands! He is in control! I can’t wait to see the blessings unfold and his glory revealed in every passing day!

For His glory in 2011~

Allison

Psalm 145:2
”Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.”