~ A Heart of Thanksgiving ~

Psalm 100

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

I sit here this morning in the quietness of my home praising my God with a heart overflowing with thanksgiving! The turkey is in the oven, the family is still asleep, and I look around my home and thank God for all he has blessed me with. I am not just speaking of material things. I am grateful first of all for my salvation. I cannot even begin to express my thankfulness to my Heavenly Father for taking this wretched sinner and dying for me, marking my life “paid in full”. That is the basis for my life here on this earth. I am here to bring glory and honor to my Savior! In his grace and mercy he has granted me so many blessings.

I am beyond thankful for the precious souls that are still sleeping upstairs right this very minute! Matt is my best friend and love of my life! Almost 20 years into our marriage and he is still (and will always be) the “one”! I praise God that he crossed our paths on that hot summer day at Chick-fil-A on July 21, 1989, when I started my first job. That turned out to be the day I met my husband!

Ben, Callie, and Caleb are the smile on my face and the joy in my heart! Each one is so different but so very special! I look into their beautiful eyes and praise God that he allowed me to be their mom. What a humbling moment! They are wonderful kids that are a joy to raise and I love watching them grow!

I am thankful for my extended family! It is rare that you have a family where everyone gets along, but that is my family! Thank you Lord for these special people in my life!

I am thankful that I can go to work everyday and not only have means for provision, but also to be surrounded by godly women (sisters) who love the Lord and “have my back”! What a treasure each of those women are! Seeing 180 children everyday is also a bonus of my job! Children are a blessing!

I am thankful for Matt’s job! His job is tough and takes him away from home many times, but praise God he is able to work and provide. I am proud of him and his integrity and work ethic! He is a wonderful provider! Thank you Lord!

I am thankful for my church! What a blessing to be able to worship in a church where the Word is preached and worship is raised for our Lord! It is God’s house to grow and learn! I am so blessed by our wonderful pastors and their leadership and our church family!

I am thankful for my home! It is not a mansion with a pool or maid, and to some it may just be a house with four walls just like everyone else, but this is my home filled with love, laughter, and joy! A place where there is safety, warmth, and praise to Almighty God! I love my home and all that dwells here!

I could go on and on in thanksgiving and I know my heart will be overflowing with that all day, but for now I will stop and spend time in prayer to my wonderful Lord for all that he is and all that he will be! I pray that your day is filled with blessings. It has been a difficult year for so many, me included, but when it comes right down to it, the blessings will always out weigh the trials because we serve an awesome God! Give him your praise today! He is so worthy!

“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.” Revelation 4:11

Blessings~

Allison

~ The Beautiful Word of God ~

What a beautiful Saturday morning! Cool and crisp and the sun is shining brightly! As soon as I came downstairs this morning with my big comfy robe on, I could already feel that warm cup of coffee in my hand. Does anyone else know that excitement like I do? Can I get an “amen”? Cool mornings, hot coffee and the Word of God! Okay I am about to shout “Hallelujah!” but I am afraid I am going to wake up the family.

I just can’t even explain how exciting the Word of God is! Over the last couple of months, my time in the Word has been more extensive and in-depth than ever before. I find that all I want to do is sit and read more and more but of course I do have other responsibilities like work, children, house cleaning etc, etc. I was sitting at the kitchen table yesterday morning with my sweet Callie and I was reading the scriptures as she sat beside me writing a new story. Verses I was reading, I have read many times in my life, but how they jumped off those pages in a new way! God is so awesome to take these Scriptures and show me something new. I shared with Callie my excitement and how the Word of God is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12)! She joined me in my excitement that morning and I told her that I would just love to sit here all day and read more and she just matter-of-factly said, “well, then do it mom.” Oh, how I love that precious girl! She is a girl after my heart! I did have to get to work yesterday but I will say that I couldn’t wait to retreat back to the Word at the next chance I could get!

As I sit here this morning, reading and soaking it in and it occurred to me that there are many out there that don’t take advantage of this beautiful book and all the knowledge and life in there. I was one of those people for a long time in my life. Sure, I would take it to church and do my devotions and Bible study, but never really grasped the value of this book. My dear friends, we have been given direct access to our Heavenly Father through prayer and also his words to us. This precious book is the inspired, infallible Word of God!

Okay, now do I have your attention? This book is the living, breathing, words of Almighty God! I challenge you to go pick it up and begin reading it in a new way. There is much power there to equip us to do his will. We are in tumultuous times, and his word is there for us to overcome the evil one. As children of God, this is our gift! His word lives in us and we have the authority of God to use it against evil! Wow! We need to continue to grow at each point in our lives and his word is our source of growth.

I love how John writes to believers and expresses the growth at all points of life through the word of God in us.

“I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. 
I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. 
I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. 
I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”

1 John 2:12-14

I share with you my excitement because I want you to experience God’s word in a new way as I have. When you commit to studying his word, not just reading it, then it infiltrates you to a whole new level! He will show you things in a new way and you will be able to face trials and tribulations armed with the greatest weapon available!

I pray as you finish reading this that you go open your Bible and begin a new commitment to God to dig into his word. I share this with you because I know the mighty, transforming power in this book and there is joy unexplainable! Please share with me the new journey through God’s word that you experience. I would love to hear what God is doing in your life through his magnificent word!

Have a beautiful Saturday and enjoy his Word!

Blessings~

Allison

Happy Birthday Mom!

“Her children arise and call her blessed;” Proverbs 31:28

Today is my mom’s birthday! What a very special day indeed! I have to say that I have the BEST mom in the whole wide world. Yes, Yes, I know I may be a little biased (lol) but she truly is the greatest!

In my 38 years of life (yes, I told my real age!) there have been many people that have had a great impact on my life. Teachers, coaches, Sunday school teachers, pastors, friends, family member, and mentors, but the one person that has had the greatest impact on my life has been my mom! I am the “baby” of the family and as my mom told me one time, I was the “surprise” that came after the four children she already had! Haha! I just keep reminding her that I made the family complete and how much better it became the day I was born! Lol!

As the baby of the family, I had a strong bond with my mom. You could definitely say I was a “momma’s girl”. I was her sidekick fully equipped with the matching outfits she would make for us. A special one that I remember is the green polyester skirts with brown polyester shirts donned with strawberries, oh and lets not forget my white knee socks! It was a fashion statement for sure! We were inseparable and from a very young age, I knew I wanted to be just like her when I grew up! She was beautiful, had the prettiest hands, and was always prepared for a hug just when I needed it. She could cook and clean and make each one of her five children feel so special and loved. She truly was the best!

As I grew and watched my mom, there was something extra special that I noticed about her. She had a joy that was unexplainable. You see she didn’t exactly have the easiest life. She took care of five kids (that she had in 8 years), took care of my dad (which was not easy), worked odd jobs when needed to help pay bills, and was always taking care of others by cooking meals or helping babysit. It was a tough job and there were days when she looked exhausted but there was something about her that gave her joy. I wanted that! I wanted to have that joy that she had. When I would wake up in the mornings, I would see my mom in the living room reading her Bible. That book must have been important if she spent time reading it with her crazy, busy life. I would hear good ol’ southern gospel music playing on Sunday mornings getting ready for church. Singing about God must have been important because she was always singing. We would go to church, so hearing about God must have been important because we were there every time the doors were opened. We would talk about God at home too so he really must be important. Then one day when my sister was talking about how Jesus saves us, I knew deep down in my heart that I didn’t really know this Jesus. My mom was the one who lead me to the Lord right there at home in her bedroom. That was it! My mom had Jesus too and that was the source of her JOY! It all made sense to me! Jesus is JOY! That day began a journey through life learning and growing in my relationship with God and I am so blessed to be able to continue sharing those special moments with my mom!

She lives a life full of glory for Christ that has impacted my life and others in so many ways. She is full of grace and beauty and gives of herself freely for the sole purpose of bringing honor to her God. She always puts Christ first, others second and does so with such joy that is infectious to all those around her. She is a strong woman of character and integrity, and her love for God shines brightly.

You see, when I said that she has impacted my life, I wasn’t kidding. Her testimony and faith in God have made me be a better person, a better wife, a better mother, a better friend, a better sister, and has given me a desire to grow even more in love with my God. Her life says it all…that it is all about GOD! That is what I want!

So today, I honor my mom and this special day that marks her birth. God blessed the world in many ways the day that Toni Sharon Sarver was born November 7, 1944. I thank God for allowing me to be her daughter and giving me a godly example to model. So, yes, the statement is still true; when I grow up I want to be just like my mom!

“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:29-30

Happy Birthday, mom, and thank you for all that you are, I love you!

Allison

~ Trust & Believe ~

I can hardly believe that it is November the 1^st already. We can now say that Christmas is next month. Haha! In a lot of ways this year has flown by, but there are many days this year that felt like time was standing still. I don’t know if that makes any sense to you but in my mind (trust me, you don’t want to go there, lol!) it makes perfect sense. I’ve spent a lot of time this last week pondering over the year and I can definitely say that this has been a year I won’t forget. The year has been full of challenges and trials for me but ultimately it has been a year of great faith and trust in God.

I took a look back on the blog I wrote on New Year’s Day just 10 months ago. God had given me such a yearning to know him and seek him more in 2011 than ever before! I didn’t know what God had in store for me, but I did have confidence that he was in control. This is a portion of that blog……

(Happy New Year, by Allison Jordan 1-1-11)

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.”

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!

What God was burning in me was a passion stronger than ever for him! And praise God the passion is in full flame! My God has taken me through some pretty incredible adventures in 2011. To be perfectly honest, some were not welcomed with open arms but what a time it was to experience the healing power of my Lord. You see, during the trial, God’s presence was such a constant source that I began to enjoy his glory in a new way. God has taken me from “in love” with him to a deeper more satisfying love with him than I ever fathomed before. He has carried me through the valleys and rejoiced with me on the mountaintops and his glory is all that shines! God’s Word has been my strength and his praise has been my song!

So, with two more months left of 2011, what do we do? Give God your all! Dear, precious, friends, I pray that you hear me out. Apart from God, we are nothing. Let me say it again…APART FROM GOD, WE ARE NOTHING! He is the very essence of our being and trusting and believing him to do exactly what he says in scripture is the first thing we need to grab hold of. Believing God in every area of life brings total peace, satisfaction, and a love that is indescribable. When the storms arise, and they will arise, we may not enjoy the storm, but we can learn to enjoy God’s beautiful presence in the midst of the storm. There is comfort there! He loves his children! Give him your trust and total belief in him! From someone that has been tested and tried in these areas this year, please know that he keeps his promises and he is worthy of all we have to offer and so much more!

Enter this season of thanksgiving with a renewed commitment to trust and believe. We have two more months in this year to offer all that we have to him. What better way to say “thank you” to the Giver of Life than you renew your heart to him. Just thinking about my Lord and the tender way he has upheld me this year brings tears of joy to my eyes and an overwhelming sense of comfort to my soul! My daddy has carried me through and will continue! My trust and faith is in him and I give him praise!

With a grateful heart,

Allison