Outside my window at work, little raindrops of mercy that we have so desperately prayed and begged for are falling on Colorado. Seeing my beloved little home up in flames is too much for my heart to handle. Texas last year, and now Colorado. Please pray with me for more and more rain, knowing full well that God holds every droplet in every cloud in his hands, and also for all of the families whose homes have been destroyed because of this fire.
I have officially told my full time job that I am leaving at the end of July, and therefore I can now relay the message to you, faithful blog readers.
God has really been doing something special here in the life of Ally lately. And I will give you a glimpse into all of the magic that’s been happening. First of all, I have the opportunity to work at the (part time job) FULL TIME! Yes and AMEN! I will be doing Student Life through the Fellows Program at Valor next year, and also participating in the missions program! (And still coaching track & field.) God has been so good throughout the entire process of a major career change, and I cannot wait to see all of the opportunities that he provides in and through this transition! Ready to act like I am 15 again, and party like its 1999 with my fellow Fellows: Addie, Brian, and Greg. Their introductions will come later. When I meet them.
Please pray for me as I prepare my heart to minister to high schoolers on a DAILY basis!
What else is going on?
Well. Savannah’s back! She just completed a year-long mission trip called the World Race (google it) and has FINALLY once again graced the US with lots of color and too many bracelets. She has returned with minimal hair and a new tattoo, both of which are the least shocking things to happen in our friendship thus far. WELCOME HOME, SAV! We are OH so happy that you are back.
Mumford and Sons is coming to RED ROCKS! So help me if I cannot get tickets to that concert, I will pick up my shovel, dig a very large hole and throw myself in it.
Last night as I was serenading myself with the last part of the song that I was listening to in the car, I stopped to unlock my door, only to look over and see my housemate standing there. It is in that moment when one truly realizes where their level of confidence is at. Mine is at a zero with an audible “AW HELL”.
I’ve been working out again. It was time to get my crap together, assuming I have made a personal goal in my life to not be obese. Time to put down the chips and salsa and pick up the dumbbells. Anyways Bethany conned me into signing up for crossfit and let me tell you….CROSSFIT IS A BUNCH OF….BALONEY. {Full disclosure: your grandma and I are teaming up to bring "That's Baloney!" back as an expression}. These crossfit people are psycho and they lift massive amounts of weights while I stand in the back with 10 lbs, sweating like I am guilty. It lasts for an hour, and then I usually can’t walk for 4 days. It hurts so good.
Carson and Roman are officially Aggies! THE NERVE of them growing up so fast!
Really looking into a vacation during my time off in between careers there in that sacred last week of July. Anybody got any ideas for where I could find a beach?? For CHEAP. Because I got 99 problems, but a beach ain’t one.
And with that…I’m embarrassed and out.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
I saw someone else list their recent searches on google, so I looked back through my phone. I quickly realized that I also needed to come clean. On the list of google searches I have made in the last week, these things are included:
Channing Tatum wife?
Boondocks lyrics
Heat vs. Thunder scores
Crossfit LoDo schedule
Lean wit it rock wit it lyrics
Who can own guns in Colorado?
Weather
Myers Briggs ‘Performer’
ESFP
Old person outfits
Ice cream shops nearby
Coldstone hours
CMT top 20 Countdown
Something Bout a truck lyrics
Wet blanket meaning?
Best food Estes Park
Koalas hugging
Symptoms of lockjaw
Snooze menu
My kind of crazy lyrics
Redbox cheat codes
Cheap flights to Australia
Cheap flights to New Zealand
Where to buy fanny packs?
Marmots
How to play card games
Sorry I’m not sorry.
Channing Tatum wife?
Boondocks lyrics
Heat vs. Thunder scores
Crossfit LoDo schedule
Lean wit it rock wit it lyrics
Who can own guns in Colorado?
Weather
Myers Briggs ‘Performer’
ESFP
Old person outfits
Ice cream shops nearby
Coldstone hours
CMT top 20 Countdown
Something Bout a truck lyrics
Wet blanket meaning?
Best food Estes Park
Koalas hugging
Symptoms of lockjaw
Snooze menu
My kind of crazy lyrics
Redbox cheat codes
Cheap flights to Australia
Cheap flights to New Zealand
Where to buy fanny packs?
Marmots
How to play card games
Sorry I’m not sorry.
Monday, June 18, 2012
90MPH With No Recovery
FOREWARNING: I am writing this blog in order to stay awake at my full time job. I am the kind of nauseous you get when exhaustion is at a level 10. Just dropped the kiddos (siblings) off at the airport, and hugged and kissed them goodbye. On a completely unrelated side note, I was wearing my “I moose have a hug” nightgown and I felt confident about it. It will probably be Christmas before I see those precious faces again…which I will promptly put to the back of my mind in order to save myself the heartache. Oy vey.
This weekend the sibs and I packed as many activities into a single weekend as humanly possible. We drove to every corner of this state, and saw every mountain range. A recap would include a Colorado Rockies baseball game, where we scored first deck tickets for free (because God loves us). We laid on a big rock over a creek in Buena Vista looking at the stars, and built a fire despite the fire ban in Colorado and the repercussions of getting caught.
The next day we spent the entire day on the river with our handsome New Zealand native of a rafting guide, Isaac, whom we lovingly referred to as “Daddy.” He guided us down a very low river with extreme precision and even performed a somersault off of the front of the raft at one point during the trip. His accent really made him adorable, regardless that he did not understand our jokes whatsoever. That night was spent playing various sports in the park and inevitably giving Lindsay a concussion as she attempted to become Air Jordan. That night ended prematurely with frozen peas on Lindsay’s head and a movie while lying on the couch.
We drove to Granby Lake for the weekend and canoed, threw rocks and frisbees, and grilled chicken over a bonfire. Then Lee had the brilliant idea of making jank s’mores which included cinnamon pop tarts and a rice crispy treat in the middle, warmed on a stick. I opted out of that midnight snack, and you should opt out of ever trying it to save yourself the embarrassment. The next day we hiked and scrambled down the rocks of a waterfall, drove on the highest paved road in America to see a herd of elk and ended up at the Hi Country Riding Stables in Estes Park, Colorado where we took a trail ride on horseback.
I need to stop and pause to give this experience its due respect.
First of all, it smelled like horse crap. Which makes sense. Roman was a natural and immediately bonded with his horse, Smalls. He even wore boots, so it really wasn’t a competition of who looked the most comfortable in this scenario. Brittney’s horse, The Black Pearl, was adventurous and preferred going OVER rocks, rather than around. Pearl also had a bad case of gas, which was only a problem for me since I was riding behind her. Carson and my horses were related, and they were total assholes. (HINT: This is the best part of the story.)
Jesse and James started the day off having their own agenda of what our trip would look like. Seeing that I was wearing yoga pants and aviators, and Carson looked like he had come straight from longboarding on the beaches of California…these horses knew we were foreigners and piss poor horseback riders. They took advantage of us from the beginning and leapt over creeks, stopped to graze, and galloped to catch up with the group, bouncing us out of our saddles. They also walked on the edge of every cliff, were clumsy as hell, and preferred that we didn’t use the reigns whatsoever. In response, Carson and I did not stop laughing, screaming, squealing, cursing for the entire 2 hour trip. Carson made brutal threats towards Jesse, and I instead tried the method of sweet talking James. Neither proved successful. It was probably the most fun I have had since moving to Colorado. My abs are so sore…along with other choice parts of my body.
I loved having my brothers and sister here. It’s like a little piece of home showing up in the mountains, wrapped in movie quotes and exceptional senses of humor. But upon the closing of my car door as I departed from the airport, the quiet engulfed me like a warm blanket. I reflected on the weekend and relayed details to the parents, reminiscing on all the laughter and idiocy of our time together.
After a week full of 90 miles per hour, I am exceedingly ready for an afternoon in my hammock dozing off in the sunshine. I need solitude, and some one on one time with Jesus. Just to think. To rest. To sleep. I find this need more apparent in myself as I get older. Maybe I am going to end up turning into my mother after all.
There is something about paying attention, about prayer, about being present to the world in every moment. This weekend I abandoned my phone and my computer (for the most part) and just lived mostly outside. I think it’s what we were created for despite the fact that everyone knows I am a complete technology whore. (I am not proud of that fact, and there is something within me that desperately wants to change it.) But, there is a way of choosing to live in the now, whatever it might look like. There is something about preserving my sense of wonder, presence, and attentiveness to the beauty of the world that God has placed me in.
And stopping to breathe, it heals me. I need my days to be punctuated by moments of rest and awe in the beauty of my God and the beauty of his creation. Because the beauty and wonder and awe, they are always there just waiting for me to pause and look around. Here is some photo documentation of the weekend:
This weekend the sibs and I packed as many activities into a single weekend as humanly possible. We drove to every corner of this state, and saw every mountain range. A recap would include a Colorado Rockies baseball game, where we scored first deck tickets for free (because God loves us). We laid on a big rock over a creek in Buena Vista looking at the stars, and built a fire despite the fire ban in Colorado and the repercussions of getting caught.
The next day we spent the entire day on the river with our handsome New Zealand native of a rafting guide, Isaac, whom we lovingly referred to as “Daddy.” He guided us down a very low river with extreme precision and even performed a somersault off of the front of the raft at one point during the trip. His accent really made him adorable, regardless that he did not understand our jokes whatsoever. That night was spent playing various sports in the park and inevitably giving Lindsay a concussion as she attempted to become Air Jordan. That night ended prematurely with frozen peas on Lindsay’s head and a movie while lying on the couch.
We drove to Granby Lake for the weekend and canoed, threw rocks and frisbees, and grilled chicken over a bonfire. Then Lee had the brilliant idea of making jank s’mores which included cinnamon pop tarts and a rice crispy treat in the middle, warmed on a stick. I opted out of that midnight snack, and you should opt out of ever trying it to save yourself the embarrassment. The next day we hiked and scrambled down the rocks of a waterfall, drove on the highest paved road in America to see a herd of elk and ended up at the Hi Country Riding Stables in Estes Park, Colorado where we took a trail ride on horseback.
I need to stop and pause to give this experience its due respect.
First of all, it smelled like horse crap. Which makes sense. Roman was a natural and immediately bonded with his horse, Smalls. He even wore boots, so it really wasn’t a competition of who looked the most comfortable in this scenario. Brittney’s horse, The Black Pearl, was adventurous and preferred going OVER rocks, rather than around. Pearl also had a bad case of gas, which was only a problem for me since I was riding behind her. Carson and my horses were related, and they were total assholes. (HINT: This is the best part of the story.)
Jesse and James started the day off having their own agenda of what our trip would look like. Seeing that I was wearing yoga pants and aviators, and Carson looked like he had come straight from longboarding on the beaches of California…these horses knew we were foreigners and piss poor horseback riders. They took advantage of us from the beginning and leapt over creeks, stopped to graze, and galloped to catch up with the group, bouncing us out of our saddles. They also walked on the edge of every cliff, were clumsy as hell, and preferred that we didn’t use the reigns whatsoever. In response, Carson and I did not stop laughing, screaming, squealing, cursing for the entire 2 hour trip. Carson made brutal threats towards Jesse, and I instead tried the method of sweet talking James. Neither proved successful. It was probably the most fun I have had since moving to Colorado. My abs are so sore…along with other choice parts of my body.
I loved having my brothers and sister here. It’s like a little piece of home showing up in the mountains, wrapped in movie quotes and exceptional senses of humor. But upon the closing of my car door as I departed from the airport, the quiet engulfed me like a warm blanket. I reflected on the weekend and relayed details to the parents, reminiscing on all the laughter and idiocy of our time together.
After a week full of 90 miles per hour, I am exceedingly ready for an afternoon in my hammock dozing off in the sunshine. I need solitude, and some one on one time with Jesus. Just to think. To rest. To sleep. I find this need more apparent in myself as I get older. Maybe I am going to end up turning into my mother after all.
There is something about paying attention, about prayer, about being present to the world in every moment. This weekend I abandoned my phone and my computer (for the most part) and just lived mostly outside. I think it’s what we were created for despite the fact that everyone knows I am a complete technology whore. (I am not proud of that fact, and there is something within me that desperately wants to change it.) But, there is a way of choosing to live in the now, whatever it might look like. There is something about preserving my sense of wonder, presence, and attentiveness to the beauty of the world that God has placed me in.
And stopping to breathe, it heals me. I need my days to be punctuated by moments of rest and awe in the beauty of my God and the beauty of his creation. Because the beauty and wonder and awe, they are always there just waiting for me to pause and look around. Here is some photo documentation of the weekend:
Hope you are having the most fabulous Monday. I think I will take a nap under my desk now.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Some Advice, Maybe
I have been thinking a lot lately about life. Deep thoughts, mostly. Like how silly most everything we are worried about really is, how dachshunds aren’t as bad as I have always thought, and how running is actually the worst thing on the planet. Things like how frustrating it is to run beside a girl in a sports-bra who seems to be giggling as she jogs, while you puke on the sidewalk in your oversized t-shirt. (I’m looking at you Becca Feagin.) Other things I’ve thought of involve me wanting to straight blow-up the train that passes my house every half hour during the night and never fails to toot it’s horn MULTIPLE TIMES right as it crosses my window, shaking the walls of my house while I scream “GET BEHIND ME SATAN!” from beneath my pillow.
I digress.
Honestly though, life is funny. Everyone lives this completely different reality and none of them can really ever coincide. I can never get someone to FULLY understand how I feel and what I think. Probably because not even I know how I feel and what I think most days. Don’t get me wrong; one of the biggest blessings in this world is to be able to walk alongside others through the ups and downs and twists and turns of life. To love and be loved. However, we are each living our own story – I can’t have yours and you can’t have mine, and sometimes the story includes the same people over and over again and sometimes it moves you across the country to walk (or ski) with people you’ve never met.
Some of the greatest people I know live in Texas, some live in Colorado or Florida or Tennessee. Even Louisana which is baffling. Futher, one actually lives in New York…which is a phenomenon because there can probably only be one good person in New York at a time. New York is the anti of everything I value in life (sweatpants/nature&outdoors/naps/etc.) Some of my friends are terribly happy, some frustrated, some mad as hell, some wondering what’s next, and some exhausted to the point that it manifests in what appears as drunkenness.
Everyone’s problem is how we are going to spend this one odd and precious life that we have been issued. Whether we are going to push, and stress, and fight to the top trying to achieve whatever goal it is that we think will quiet the throbbing ache and anxiety inside us. Or whether we are going to stop, rest, taste and smell life, enjoy it, and figure out who we really are as opposed to who we think we are supposed to be.
Some advice, maybe:
I don’t know where you are right now, if you are hurting or crying or laughing or dancing or doing drugs in the girls bathroom, but I do know that you are not the sum of whatever it is that you think defines you. Unless of course, you think that God defines you…in which case you would be spot on correct and you should immediately consider stopping the drugs. In the end we are all exactly as God says we are, despite every achievement and every rejection or failure. And God says we are fiercely loved. And, while it’s extremely hard to believe during these hard times of the mundane 8-5 schedule, we are free. We are here to love and be loved, freely.
I don’t know about you but I think sometimes I get caught up running the rat wheel. And WE ALL KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT RUNNING. (See paragraph 1.) And lately, I’ve remembered that life isn’t about being famous or making money or gaining respect from people who actually could care less because, for me, I feel best when I’m not doing much. When I’m in nature preferably by a campfire with beloved other souls, or very quiet, or paradoxically, listening to music. That’s when I can sit back and remember that I am here for a purpose, and that purpose is not to become “the best version of myself.” I am here to love and be loved, and to glorify the One who created me for exactly that.
So for shit’s sake, let’s all lighten up. Can we all agree that nothing feeds the spirit like a sense of humor? We should just try to laugh a lot - at everything, and travel…and rest. Try yoga. Try a different form of yoga where you just lie around as much as possible. Do that yoga in a hammock outside under a big tree and read a book. Calm down. Pray alot. And when things are hard, we are free to cry hard, pressing into suffering in hopes that there is a future glory where pain doesn’t exist. And let’s do something for people who need help, because the day is coming where you are that person. Be thankful. And let’s stop being so asthmatic with anxiety because that just culminates in us wasting this gift that is life. Also, it ends in wrinkles, and fatal diseases caused from stress.
If you hear nothing else: Get to know Jesus. He is infinitely and eternally worth it. Read the bible and just find out about Him. Ask one of your friends who knows Him. Ask Him about himself. Ask him what he thinks about you. He is crazy, and amazing, and perfect, and worthy of our worship. Jesus is the only thing that makes our human existence REALLY mean something; it is only through him that we are able to enter into something of significance that is much, much bigger than ourselves.
Finally as one of my favorite authors so BEAUTIFULLY advises: “Refuse to wear uncomfortable pants, even if they make you look really thin. Promise me you’ll never wear pants that bind or tug or hurt, pants that have an opinion about how much you’ve just eaten. The pants may be lying! There is way too much lying and scolding going on politically right now without your pants getting in on the act, too.”
In conclusion: wear sweat pants. That will solve most of your problems right there.
I digress.
Honestly though, life is funny. Everyone lives this completely different reality and none of them can really ever coincide. I can never get someone to FULLY understand how I feel and what I think. Probably because not even I know how I feel and what I think most days. Don’t get me wrong; one of the biggest blessings in this world is to be able to walk alongside others through the ups and downs and twists and turns of life. To love and be loved. However, we are each living our own story – I can’t have yours and you can’t have mine, and sometimes the story includes the same people over and over again and sometimes it moves you across the country to walk (or ski) with people you’ve never met.
Some of the greatest people I know live in Texas, some live in Colorado or Florida or Tennessee. Even Louisana which is baffling. Futher, one actually lives in New York…which is a phenomenon because there can probably only be one good person in New York at a time. New York is the anti of everything I value in life (sweatpants/nature&outdoors/naps/etc.) Some of my friends are terribly happy, some frustrated, some mad as hell, some wondering what’s next, and some exhausted to the point that it manifests in what appears as drunkenness.
Everyone’s problem is how we are going to spend this one odd and precious life that we have been issued. Whether we are going to push, and stress, and fight to the top trying to achieve whatever goal it is that we think will quiet the throbbing ache and anxiety inside us. Or whether we are going to stop, rest, taste and smell life, enjoy it, and figure out who we really are as opposed to who we think we are supposed to be.
Some advice, maybe:
I don’t know where you are right now, if you are hurting or crying or laughing or dancing or doing drugs in the girls bathroom, but I do know that you are not the sum of whatever it is that you think defines you. Unless of course, you think that God defines you…in which case you would be spot on correct and you should immediately consider stopping the drugs. In the end we are all exactly as God says we are, despite every achievement and every rejection or failure. And God says we are fiercely loved. And, while it’s extremely hard to believe during these hard times of the mundane 8-5 schedule, we are free. We are here to love and be loved, freely.
I don’t know about you but I think sometimes I get caught up running the rat wheel. And WE ALL KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT RUNNING. (See paragraph 1.) And lately, I’ve remembered that life isn’t about being famous or making money or gaining respect from people who actually could care less because, for me, I feel best when I’m not doing much. When I’m in nature preferably by a campfire with beloved other souls, or very quiet, or paradoxically, listening to music. That’s when I can sit back and remember that I am here for a purpose, and that purpose is not to become “the best version of myself.” I am here to love and be loved, and to glorify the One who created me for exactly that.
So for shit’s sake, let’s all lighten up. Can we all agree that nothing feeds the spirit like a sense of humor? We should just try to laugh a lot - at everything, and travel…and rest. Try yoga. Try a different form of yoga where you just lie around as much as possible. Do that yoga in a hammock outside under a big tree and read a book. Calm down. Pray alot. And when things are hard, we are free to cry hard, pressing into suffering in hopes that there is a future glory where pain doesn’t exist. And let’s do something for people who need help, because the day is coming where you are that person. Be thankful. And let’s stop being so asthmatic with anxiety because that just culminates in us wasting this gift that is life. Also, it ends in wrinkles, and fatal diseases caused from stress.
If you hear nothing else: Get to know Jesus. He is infinitely and eternally worth it. Read the bible and just find out about Him. Ask one of your friends who knows Him. Ask Him about himself. Ask him what he thinks about you. He is crazy, and amazing, and perfect, and worthy of our worship. Jesus is the only thing that makes our human existence REALLY mean something; it is only through him that we are able to enter into something of significance that is much, much bigger than ourselves.
Finally as one of my favorite authors so BEAUTIFULLY advises: “Refuse to wear uncomfortable pants, even if they make you look really thin. Promise me you’ll never wear pants that bind or tug or hurt, pants that have an opinion about how much you’ve just eaten. The pants may be lying! There is way too much lying and scolding going on politically right now without your pants getting in on the act, too.”
In conclusion: wear sweat pants. That will solve most of your problems right there.
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