Alison In Africa

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." (Rom. 8:26-27)

I've been claiming these verses for the last few weeks about some things. Isn't in comforting to know that even when we are so tangled up about something, the Holy Spirit is interceding for us, praying for us when we don't know what to pray! I think it's incredibly comforting.

Be comforted by Him today...

Current Mood: comforted by the mercy of God

Saturday was our 5 year anniversary! I'm so thankful for Brad and for our marriage! We had a great time. We went to Atlanta and stayed in a Bed & Breakfast and then went to Six Flags! It was an amazing time!

Praise the Lord!

And Happy Anniversary, Brad! I love you!

Last week, I chaperoned my sister Meredith and 4 of her pals at the beach, along with my pal Meredith. We had a great time! (Besides getting totally fried!) We went to Orange Beach, AL. It's a nice place. Not much there. We travelled to Gulf Shores and Pensacola for places to eat out, but it was nice. We were in a nice condo, too.

It was a very restful time and I'm very thankful for it! Would have only been better if sweet Brad was there with us! AND if we hadn't gotten fried! (turns out, my sunscreen was old! blah!)

Anyway, here we are PRE-burn. Me and Meredith - the chaperones!


And here are the 5 girls.

And here's a picture of SOME of those gals I'm talking about. (Suzanne, Taryn, Alison, Maegan, Wendi) I love these ladies! (missing Kelly, Beth, and Holly)

Current Mood: still blessed!

I had Bible study this morning. I meet with a great group of gals each week. They are my best friends! And the more we grow together in Christ, the closer I feel to each one of them. Ok, to be honest, only me and 2 others are very consistent in coming, and another one has started being more consistent... but all 8 of us have very good intentions!

Anyway, no one else showed up this morning. :) Sad times, at first, but then I realized that I had been given the precious gift of TIME ALONE WITH JESUS! How sweet it is! And there's nothing like it! And how seldom we do actually take time to just be alone with him! It was amazing and I wish that I was consistent with Him like I try to be with these girls!

And I made a new friend this morning after Bible study. His name is Joe. I was telling Joe that I had just left Bible study and had a great time alone with Jesus cause no one else showed up. Do you know what he said? "Well, you didn't miss anyone at all, did you?" How sweet to hear that my totally new friend sees the value in time alone with Jesus as well! Precious! A gift from God!

I worshipped all the way home in my car to "I Love The Lord" from The Preacher's Wife soundtrack... Here's a sampling...

I love the Lord!
He heard my cry!
And pitied every groan!
Long as I live, and troubles rise...
I'll hasten to His throne!

Wow. Jesus is so good and so THERE just waiting to spend time with us! Please spend some time with Him today if you haven't already!!! You won't regret it!

Current Mood: blessed!
Current Music: I Love The Lord from The Preacher's Wife Soundtrack

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." (Heb. 10:23)

It would be easy to get discouraged, Very easy, when things don't seem to be working out like we think they should. But we are commanded to hold onto our hope, which is Christ Jesus, and to be obedient. Great obedience and small faith both draw upon God's mercy towards us. As would Great Faith.... Praise Him, He is faithful, even when I may not be.

There is someone I am trying to share God's love with... please pray for that.
Also, we are waiting for some big decisions to come through... pray for those as well.

"23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful... 35 So do not throw away your confidence [in Jesus]; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For in just a very little while, 'He who is coming will come and will not delay'.... 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved." !!!

Praise Him! Be encouraged. He is faithful.

"Faithful One" sung by Selah

I find no hope within to call my own
For I am frail of heart, my strength is gone
But deep within my soul is rising up a song
Here in the comfort of the faithful One

I walk a narrow road through valleys deep
In search of higher ground, on mountains steep
And though with feet unsure, I still keep pressing on.
For I am guided by the faithful One.

Faithful, faithful to the end,
My true and precious Friend,
You have been faithful,
Faithful, so faithful to me

I see your wounded hands, I touch your side
With thorns upon your brow you bled and died
But there’s an empty tomb, a love for all who come
And give their hearts to you, the faithful One.

And when the day is dawned and when the race is run
I will bow down before God’s only Son
And I will lift my hands in praise for all you’ve done
And I will worship you, my faithful One.

Current Mood: comforted by the mercy of God
Current Music: Faithful One by Selah

A few weekends ago, we had a women's retreat with our church. This was my 2nd women's retreat in my lifetime. Last year, we had all the women in our region (about 600 women) for a meeting in Kenya. That was fun times! This past weekend was quite a bit smaller and this time it was with women I've grown up with at my church. 3 of my very best friends were my roomies and carpool buddies....


Maegan, Taryn, me, & Wendi

We had an amazing speaker, Esther Burroughs, and the ensemble I'm in did the music. (I sing with 3 wonderful ladies for my 2nd stint in the group. I sang with them before we went to Tanzania as well) Anyway, it was such a blessing to be able to lead these 60 or so women in worship of our Lord.

Lake Guntersville is a beautiful place and wow... God rocks! It was so awesome to be in His presence, in His creation! So beautiful.... see for yourself!


Praise the Lord, oh my soul! And all that is within me, Praise His Holy Name!

Current Mood: blessed

Rick Burgess stood in front of the church during the memorial service for his son yesterday and brought the Gospel on like I haven't heard in a while. It was amazing and to God be all the glory! If you haven't heard it, take 30 minutes and listen to it. If this link doesn't work, go to youtube and search "Rick Burgess" and you can find it. Even if you don't know who Rick is, his heart for the Lord is evident as he gives this charge for believers to step out and make a change in our lives.

Thank you, Jesus, for Bronner and for the work you are doing through his life and his death.



We were told tonight that there were 240+ decisions made yesterday during the memorial service, with over 70 of those being salvation decisions. Praise the Lord!

God is working!

Current Mood: grateful

As promised, here are some pictures of the snow. And you won't believe it, but there is still some snow/ice on our back porch today! Crazy. The snow was amazing. I haven't seen snow in so long! Anyway. Those of you up north will totally laugh, but this is a LOT of snow for the Ham! Anyway, here's the pics.

These two are of our house. Look closely in these pics, you can see the snow coming down! Crazy!

And here's our street, from our front yard. See the snow coming down still?


On another note, I ask that you be in prayer for Brad as he is on a mission trip in the Middle East for two weeks.
Also, please be in prayer for our friends Rick & Sherri Burgess, who lost their youngest son (2 years old) on Saturday night. He drown in their swimming pool. Pray for protection and for healing for them. Also, pray for supernatural peace and strength that passes anything we humans could ever understand.

Current Music: Hello Lord by Sara Groves

Well, as it turns out, as soon as I got up from typing the last journal entry and looked out the window, well, it IS snowing and it seems to be accumulating. Can't believe it... I'll put more pictures up later.

Current Mood: shocked

Last night and this morning, we were supposed to get 3-4 inches of snow here in the Ham. (he he he, excuse me while I chuckle at this news again) See, here in Birmingham, it never snows. And if we do, perchance, get some precipitation, it usually just turns out to be slush and nasty-ness. (I know that all my fellow Southern American readers out there will totally understand) So, here are some pics of the BIG snow storm. It's a light dusting, at best. Although, I really don't know how I'm gonna get out on the roads today.... might be too much snow! :)

This is our back porch/deck. It's about the only thing that held any accumulation. (As you can see from the green all around it)


Other news, Brad left a few minutes ago to go on a mission trip to the Middle East. He's gonna be gone for 2 weeks. I'm very sad. But, as this song is saying over and over again... "Jesus is ALL I need! Jesus is All I need! Jesus is All I Need!" (Thank you Caedmon's Call for voicing this for me)

Please be in prayer for him and the team he's with. They will return on Feb 2. Also, please be in prayer for me; that I will remember that "Jesus is All I need!" and practice that and not be too sad. (I've got some great friends and family who are gonna help me keep busy!)

Current Mood: sad
Current Music: All I Need by Caedmon's Call (from Share the Well)

My friend Emily posted on her blog that this week is Delurking Week in the blogosphere. Meaning, those of you who read peoples' blogs, like for instance this one, but don't comment, should comment this week so the writers of the blogs, like for instance me, can know who you are. I've been told by several people that so-and-so reads this blog, and I never knew. Time to 'fess up!

(I never knew Delurking was a word....)

(Addendum: Yes, I realize that I copied the part about Hazel too. Hey, maybe I wanted to know who was stalking Hazel as well! She is precious and I know has lots of fans...)

For those of you who have been following along with everything going on in Kenya recently, here is the latest update from our pals who live in Nairobi, the capitol of Kenya. Please continue to be in prayer for this nation.

Greetings from Kenya -

We bring more good news of another day of peace! Also, a national day of prayer has been set for tomorrow.

The National Council of Churches of Kenya has declared tomorrow, Sunday, December 6th, a national day of prayer. Kenya as a whole will be joining in a special prayer time between 6 and 7 tomorrow evening – 11:00-12:00 in the morning CST. It will also be covered on all of the network channels.

Would you, your families and churches please join Kenya in a special time of prayer tomorrow? Kenya will need relief efforts from the States and other places, but we are praising God for the emphasis we are seeing here calling for Kenyans to help one another.

Pray that miraculously all the tensions will be defused and healing will begin. Change will come only with God’s intervention and men and women truly turning to him and relying upon him at this time.

Continue praying for peace for those in the problem areas, for those who have lost loved ones and homes, for those separated from family, and for those that are having difficulty finding food and safe shelter. Pray for wisdom and strength for Christians in Kenyans, nationals and expatriates, who have opportunities to minister to our friends who are hurting. And do pray for the leaders of Kenya. Pray that they will make decisions and actions that bring about a permanent end to the ethnic, economic and social problems Kenya is experiencing.

Having 2 days of peace in a row is great, and could mean the end is near. Tuesday has a rally scheduled that could spark another round of violence. Pray with us that it will not be.

God works through the prayers of His people!

Join us in prayer for Kenya.

Current Mood: determined

Here are all 3 of my sisters...
Starting with the oldest: Emily. She is a junior in college.

This is Meredith. She is a senior in high school.

This is Lesley. She is a sophomore in high school.

Current Mood: blessed

Here's a very funny video from our fun New Year's eve party. Our pals Bryan and Suzanne had us over for food and games with all our pals from church. Anyway, this is their dog, Rocky. He's so cute and very funny....
Enjoy! Happy New Year!

Here are some pictures from Christmas.
The first one is me and Brad - this was our Christmas card, so if you didn't get one... Here you go and Merry Christmas!!!

And here is my mom (dark hair) and her sister, my Aunt Pat. See how pretty they are? I just think they are beautiful!


Merry Christmas!

God works all the time - even through sewage!

Let me explain. Earlier tonight, I went downstairs to switch a load of laundry over to the dryer from the washer. I had to tinkle, so I decided I'd go in the bathroom that is downstairs, next to the laundry room. Well, to my shock, there was an explosion in the bathroom! And not a good one! (we've had an explosion down there before that was just the washing machine backed up - soapy, clean smelling water) NOT THIS TIME!

So, I promptly plugged in the fan we bought last time this happened to start drying out the carpet and phoned "Aunt" Bonnie, our loving landlady/owner of the house. She called her "people" and got a guy named Wes to come over here tonight! (It's 6:52 pm now and he left about 10 minutes ago) Night time hours.

Wes and his trainee, Shane, come in and do their work. While we are talking, he says, "So what part of Africa were you in?" (Apparently Bonnie told him about us being in Africa). So, we get into a big discussion about how he feels called to go to Africa too! And he told me his whole story of how God brought him from the depths of the pit to where he is today and how he is surviving on Jesus now! How amazing! He and his wife and 6 year old son feel called to go to Africa and work for the Lord! HEY, me too!

So, we talked and traded stories and it was wonderful. His wife is still a bit unsure about everything so we are all gonna get together and talk! How cool!

Back to the sewage - they pulled a root out of the sewer that was about 5 feet long! Brad said that a root was the problem last time too. Wes made the comment, "Well, they may have gotten the roots out last time, but God put this root here so that we could meet and talk." HOW COOL! I totally agree! Bonnie didn't know anything about Wes's call to Africa. It was a God thing!

And God rocks!
Cool. Just thought I'd share.
You ever get to thinking that God's not in control of everything... even the little things like the sewer??? Well, think again!

Current Mood: amazed

I'm so tired of my students all thinking that the things of this world are so amazing. I had a mini breakdown in lunch on Thursday about it all.

I pray that I will be a light to these kids. That they would see Jesus in me. And honestly, I discipline them just like I think Jesus would, but they aren't old enough, mature enough to appreciate discipline and to understand that if I didn't care about them, I wouldn't discipline them; I would let them do whatever they wanted.

So, I pulled out my Bible during lunch and here's what I turned to: Romans 8:18-25
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its
bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly (***Sometimes outwardly!***) as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

See, that's what my kids are doing. They are Groaning for Jesus, longing for something to fill the void only Jesus can fill - but they don't realize what they are longing for. They just long, and look for it to be filled in the wrong places - package stores, street corners, beds of the opposite sex, all the wrong places.

It's very very very VERY sad.

I'm not meaning to depress anyone. Just to encourage you to look at people like this as lost. Something that helped me deal with a bunch of stuff when we were in TZ - you can't be more lost that someone else. You're just lost. One lost person cannot be MORE Lost that another lost person. They both need Jesus. It's my job to try to help them. And discipline, tough love, calling them out on dumb things are all part of that. But so is grace. So is mercy. So is a second chance once in a while.

"This world has nothing for me, but this world has everything. All that I could want and Nothing that I need."

Current Mood: anxious for Jesus!
Current Music: Going Home by Sara Groves and This World by Caedmon's Call

It's no secret that Brad and I are anxious to get back on the field. We know that God has us back in America for a reason and we are trying our hardest to be content and worship Him through this time. But it's hard. Being back in American culture after being in another culture - one so completely focused on spiritual things, one where you can talk about Jesus freely, even with a non-believer, and be well-received, one where spiritual conversations are as natural as anything else you would want to talk about. Thing is, God is still on His throne. He's still there. It's me that changes, depending on where I am, who I'm around, what current thing (SIN) I'm letting consume my day or moment.

Lord, I want to be FREE from these things! I want to be like You everywhere I go, with everyone I speak to, in everything I do. And you have me here, in this job, in this house, in Alabama, for a reason. And I want to glorify You in those things. I want to be a light for You in those things. I want to stop leaning on my excuse - one I've given over and over and over again in my life - "Oh, well this isn't what I'm called to do or where I'm called to be." What a cop out! I am called to be here right now and I am called to be teaching right now.

I want to stop wearing my sin as a cloak around me. I want to embrace my promised land in Jesus and enjoy it! I want "to put off my old self, which belongs to my former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of my mind, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24) Praise You, Jesus!

"I've never known such a perfect love. I had fallen down, but He picked me up. He rescued my soul, now I want the world to know! Because of Love He bore my shame - and He'll be back again someday and I will hear Him say, "because you believe, you'll live eternally" and I'll fall on my knees and I will cry HOLY! HOLY! LORD GOD, ALMIGHTY! YOU ARE WORTHY TO RECEIVE GLORY, HONOR AND POWER, FOREVERMORE! AMEN!"

Current Mood: thankful
Current Music: Because of Love

Last weekend was Robin's wedding. It was such an amazing time! We all had a blast! And everything went off without a hitch! (besides her car battery being dead first thing that morning....no fear, Dad Jerry jumped it right off for us) Robin and Trace make an incredible couple and I know that God is going to bless them as they grow together and in Him. Here are a few snapshots:


Brad snapped this shot as they were walking out after the ceremony. Don't they look completely full of joy? Praise the Lord! This picture shows everything I know God meant for a wedding and a marriage to be - Joyful in Him!

Me and Robin at the reception. She had cheesecakes for the Bride's cake (best cheesecake of my life!) and chocolate cake with chocolate covered strawberries for the groom's cake.

Everything was beautiful. Simple. Elegant. Wonderful. Praise the Lord for a wonderful day!

Current Mood: thankful