Supposedly, according to the Myan calander, we only have a week left until the world ends. People have purchased million dollar hiding places in hopes of avoiding the dangers of the apocalypse. Not only does the bible state (and remember as crazy as it may sound, I believe everything the bible says), that no one will know when the world is going to end (Matthew) but the prophecies havent yet been fulfilled. A man claims that he has been chosen to save the human race and has been called to jump through a time warp, sacrificing his life for us. Donations can be made online. HA! Ok, now thats funny! I do believe our world is bad. Wars going on overseas, sex trafficking going on overseas, hate and crime, abuse and neglect... wait a minute... did I say overseas??
Yesterday, here in the US, a man murdered his parents and as many as 20-30 innocent SCHOOL CHILDREN who were in their regular classroom. Drug use, child abuse, child pornography and sex trafficking, molestation, murder, theft, robbery, my goodness the list can go on! The war isnt "over there" its right here. Under our own noses. We see it and yet we ignore it. Our One Nation, Under God, is turning into a chaotic mess.... why?? I believe its because we have taken God out. No more prayer in school, no nation under God... People walking around like madmen. This is the apocalypse. People say, "make sure you give your kids a big hug". Shouldn't we have been doing that already? Do we really need reminders like this to tell us to love and honor our families? Do we need tragedies to force us to help others? We should be already doing that! Shoving God out allows satan to come in.
My heart is sad for the families who have lost their babies right before the holiday. My hope and prayer is that they somehow see God through all of this. I hope people can realize how much this nation needs God, needs families to love each other, and have respect, help those who need help. I struggle a lot because as a mother I want Landon to follow the truth. I want him to grow up to be a good, loving man, who respects and honors people and is humble and nice and kind and encouraging. I want him to be a man of God. Everything in this culture contradicts that. How can we as parents do our job? I ask God for guidance, I'd like to say everyday but sometimes I miss days... But I do ask. And I do want it. I need it, during these times.
We all NEED God. We need him to fix this mess. One day he will and we will live in everlasting peace and love. We will feel no pain, there will be no suffering, and we will be reunited with our loved ones who have passed, or like yesterday, who have been robbed from us. This nation needs a King, a Lord, a Savior.... That is Jesus!
Let go and let God
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
I am a Christian
I am a Christian. I believe everything the bible says. Some would say I am naive or just a follower. People might call me judgmental or critical or a hypocrit. They would ask me why I believe in a God who lets bad things happen to good people. They would want to know how I believe in something I cant see or that hasnt been "proven". If God is good then why do we suffer? Why would God want a relationship with us anyway? Was Jesus real? Did he perform miracles? What about scientific "facts" such as the big bang theory or string theory?
People like this often frustrate me because if they only knew how I feel or what I have experienced will they knooowww God. You see, I am married to such a person. A skeptic. One who questions everything. Who asks these sorts of questions. I believe that if you dont feel like you need God then you wont want him. I NEED God. I need him all day, every day, no matter where I am or who I am with or what I am doing. I NEED GOD. I found this out the hard way. You see, I too didnt believe. Not until I was about 15 at least. Then I strayed away, as most, but not all, do. I strayed so far that I didnt even know who I was anymore. Dreams I had once had were lost in a huge mess I had made for myself. I thought I could control my own life. I wanted to take the wheel and I ended up driving straight off a cliff. Things I had sworn I would never do, I had done. Lost, confused, angry, upset, shameful, regretful... Ah, yes, those were the days.
So needless to say, I was humbled. So humbled in fact, I got pregnant out of wedlock with an exboyfriend! How's that for a lesson well learned! I talk a lot about forgiveness, because thats what I think we all need. Its definitely something I needed. My whole purpose of this post, which I have been avoiding, if you couldnt already tell... is to say that my husband is not a believer. So he says. I know the bible tells us to not be unequally yolked. I prayed about this before we got married. I got a reassurance from God that it would all work out. I thought for sure by the time Landon was born we would have made some progress in that area. So its 10.5 months later and I feel like we have gotten no where.
Maybe thats a lie. I dont see it, but then again I dont know whats going on in Taylors heart, nor do I know what is going on in the spiritual realm of things. I do know one thing, this is frustrating. I am going to be honest. I dont want to act like my life is all sunshine and fairies all the time. My life is real. I want people to know that. I always thought that I would end up with a Christian guy, who would push me spiritually and pray and go to church with. I know that Gods plans are usually never my own, but always better. Its just hard because I see other people around him that have claimed to be unbelievers and who are now opening their eyes to the truth. Sometimes I feel like its my fault, or like I am not doing enough. I know that its unreasonable to think that but its still how I feel.
I guess I just feel a little hopeless at this point. I know I shouldnt but I dont know what to do and I am impatient. I am jealous of those people who have a Christian husband. Not that hes not a great husband, its just that that is a quallity I always wanted. Is that wrong?
People like this often frustrate me because if they only knew how I feel or what I have experienced will they knooowww God. You see, I am married to such a person. A skeptic. One who questions everything. Who asks these sorts of questions. I believe that if you dont feel like you need God then you wont want him. I NEED God. I need him all day, every day, no matter where I am or who I am with or what I am doing. I NEED GOD. I found this out the hard way. You see, I too didnt believe. Not until I was about 15 at least. Then I strayed away, as most, but not all, do. I strayed so far that I didnt even know who I was anymore. Dreams I had once had were lost in a huge mess I had made for myself. I thought I could control my own life. I wanted to take the wheel and I ended up driving straight off a cliff. Things I had sworn I would never do, I had done. Lost, confused, angry, upset, shameful, regretful... Ah, yes, those were the days.
So needless to say, I was humbled. So humbled in fact, I got pregnant out of wedlock with an exboyfriend! How's that for a lesson well learned! I talk a lot about forgiveness, because thats what I think we all need. Its definitely something I needed. My whole purpose of this post, which I have been avoiding, if you couldnt already tell... is to say that my husband is not a believer. So he says. I know the bible tells us to not be unequally yolked. I prayed about this before we got married. I got a reassurance from God that it would all work out. I thought for sure by the time Landon was born we would have made some progress in that area. So its 10.5 months later and I feel like we have gotten no where.
Maybe thats a lie. I dont see it, but then again I dont know whats going on in Taylors heart, nor do I know what is going on in the spiritual realm of things. I do know one thing, this is frustrating. I am going to be honest. I dont want to act like my life is all sunshine and fairies all the time. My life is real. I want people to know that. I always thought that I would end up with a Christian guy, who would push me spiritually and pray and go to church with. I know that Gods plans are usually never my own, but always better. Its just hard because I see other people around him that have claimed to be unbelievers and who are now opening their eyes to the truth. Sometimes I feel like its my fault, or like I am not doing enough. I know that its unreasonable to think that but its still how I feel.
I guess I just feel a little hopeless at this point. I know I shouldnt but I dont know what to do and I am impatient. I am jealous of those people who have a Christian husband. Not that hes not a great husband, its just that that is a quallity I always wanted. Is that wrong?
Sunday, December 9, 2012
A daily dose of PMS
Some people would argue that there is no such thing as PMS and that "PMS" is not an excuse to be a crazy psycho emotional freak once a month. I beg to differ! You know its coming the moment you overreact to something small or start crying for no reason. Yes, we women are emotional beings, but come on. Anyway this has been my challange the past couple of days. I am irritated, holding grudges, emotional, tired, and have had a migraine for 3 days in a row.
Repeat after me: I love being a woman, I love being a woman, I love being a woman...
Its days like this where I really feel like a failure. Moments where I raise my voice, get frustrated with Landon, etc, etc... I wonder if blaming this all on PMS is just the easy way out. I wonder how men would react if they had a period every month. I was watching John Tucker Must Die yesterday. Its about four girls who try to get revenge on the high school womanizer. In one part of the movie, they replace his protein powder with estrogen pills causing him to act like a woman. He cries and throws a tantrum in the middle of his basketball game. He is concerned with the fatness of his thighs and complains about always having to do all the work. It really made me laugh. Anyway, I know men will just never understand.
So my blog is about a daily dose of love. Here's mine for today, despite feeling like crap, I did get a dose! Watching church online, Max Lucado was speaking about worship. He said that God made us to yearn for something to worship, obviously thats Him. But we tend to get caught up in worldly gods like money, an idol, things, a sports team, job, etc. These things will never fulfill us, because only God can. We go from one thing to the next and say, "if I only get the job I'll be happy", then we get the job and hate it so we say, "if I only get the promotion then I'll really be happy...", then the promotion happens and we say, "once I retire, then I'll be satisfied.." We keep going until all the "stuff" runs out. And yes, it does run out, or breaks, or breaks your heart, or lets you down. What you worship is usually what you identify yourself as.
This is a good reminder of my life. I take a lot of pride in my home, in doing the right thing and keeping everything in its place. Sometimes I worship the perception of having it all together, which I dont most of the time. Sometimes I am envious of what others have or where they are in life. I really have to try to appreciate and acknowledge where I am and what I have. I do have a lot to be grateful for but we lose that in this world. We live in place where people tell us what we have isnt good enough, what we look like isnt good enough and where we are in life isnt good enough. Its really sad actually. We focus on what we dont have, rather than what we do.
So, although I am PMSing and having one of those days, I also have the capacity to change my perception. Therefore, I will take some time (basically the next 5 minutes because Landon is going to wake up any second now!) to reflect, take deep breaths, forgive those I have held a grudge on, which is Taylor but he doesnt even know, and be thankful that I worship a God who loves me despite my PMS!!
Good. Ok, theres Landon! Time to go!
-alyssa-
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Overview of Me
This is my second blog. The first one, Poppy Love, was a journey through my first pregnancy. Landon is now 10 and a half months! He is such a joy in my life. He is literally the best baby ever. He has a great temperament and is pretty easy going. I'd say that I have been very lucky. I also am married now! I am sure this blog will bring much insight on that as well :) My original goal was to write a reflection on what was going on as Landon grew up... Like a MomBlog. I still intend to do that with this blog, but I also want to write more about my experiences as a person, wife, mother, bible study attendant, and grad school student. Basically, this is just my personal insight on life. Yup, PERSONAL.
I recently had the opportunity to share a bit of myself with someone I hadnt talked to in years. The experience of it was awestrucking! I had never thought God would use my life, my mistakes, my hurts and pains, to help some one else. I really believe that what keeps us down most is feeling like no one understands, and that we are alone in the world. From a counseling perspective, group sessions are aimed at creating an environment where people can relate to one another. Why cant we then use this same concept in our every day lives? When we see someone hurting, our initial reaction should be, "hey, I've been hurt too... This is what I did to get me through it" or "I know your hurting, so am I. Lets get through this together". I think we are liars for the most part, wanting our lives to seem peachy and perfect. This particular person told me that my life seemed perfect. HA! No ones life is perfect, and my life has been far from perfect. But the imperfections, bumps in the road, mistakes we make, and harships we face all make us who we are and take us to where we need to go. They create our own unique story, and if we let him, God will use these stories.
Forgiveness, refinement and grace have been the three tools that God has used in my life the past year or so. For the sake of not making this post 5 pages long, I will just give a brief explination on how these things helped me. Forgiveness of *myself* (definitely the hardest part), forgiving those who have hurt me and accepting that others have forgiven me as well. Refinement (1 Peter- basically the whole thing) means going through a "fire" or trial for the purpose of making you a better person. Lord knows the fires I have had to go through! Grace, like forgiveness, it being thankful for what God has done in my life. I have had to accept Gods grace, undeservingly, but humbly. I have to thank him and remind myself of how far I have come.
Life is still hard. I have my bad days and my good days. I get frustrated, overwhelmed, and exhausted. I want to give up sometimes. I wish life could be as simple as it was when I was younger. I am envious and selfish. But I try my hardest to make things work. I get up in the morning and take care of my son. I study as hard as I can to succeed in school. I try my hardest to be a good wife and mom. Do I fail? Daily.
I titled this blog A Daily Dose of Love, because that is what we need. We need love every single day. We can get it from our friends, our spouse or significant other, our parents, our job, hobbies, our children... but I believe the dose that matters, and that will carry us through all of our life experiences, is the love we recieve from God. Like I said, I fail all the time. But I also succeed a lot too. The bible tells us that God has a plan for us (Jeremiah), and that we can do all things through Christ (Phillipians). If we follow him and his plan for us, then we will never fail. Our lives dont end here on this earth! That is what I am trying to focus on, in all areas of my life... I hope this is inspirational for others and that people can relate to me.
-Alyssa L. Albritton
(I am still getting used to my new last name!! So I might write it a lot... just sayin!)
I recently had the opportunity to share a bit of myself with someone I hadnt talked to in years. The experience of it was awestrucking! I had never thought God would use my life, my mistakes, my hurts and pains, to help some one else. I really believe that what keeps us down most is feeling like no one understands, and that we are alone in the world. From a counseling perspective, group sessions are aimed at creating an environment where people can relate to one another. Why cant we then use this same concept in our every day lives? When we see someone hurting, our initial reaction should be, "hey, I've been hurt too... This is what I did to get me through it" or "I know your hurting, so am I. Lets get through this together". I think we are liars for the most part, wanting our lives to seem peachy and perfect. This particular person told me that my life seemed perfect. HA! No ones life is perfect, and my life has been far from perfect. But the imperfections, bumps in the road, mistakes we make, and harships we face all make us who we are and take us to where we need to go. They create our own unique story, and if we let him, God will use these stories.
Forgiveness, refinement and grace have been the three tools that God has used in my life the past year or so. For the sake of not making this post 5 pages long, I will just give a brief explination on how these things helped me. Forgiveness of *myself* (definitely the hardest part), forgiving those who have hurt me and accepting that others have forgiven me as well. Refinement (1 Peter- basically the whole thing) means going through a "fire" or trial for the purpose of making you a better person. Lord knows the fires I have had to go through! Grace, like forgiveness, it being thankful for what God has done in my life. I have had to accept Gods grace, undeservingly, but humbly. I have to thank him and remind myself of how far I have come.
Life is still hard. I have my bad days and my good days. I get frustrated, overwhelmed, and exhausted. I want to give up sometimes. I wish life could be as simple as it was when I was younger. I am envious and selfish. But I try my hardest to make things work. I get up in the morning and take care of my son. I study as hard as I can to succeed in school. I try my hardest to be a good wife and mom. Do I fail? Daily.
I titled this blog A Daily Dose of Love, because that is what we need. We need love every single day. We can get it from our friends, our spouse or significant other, our parents, our job, hobbies, our children... but I believe the dose that matters, and that will carry us through all of our life experiences, is the love we recieve from God. Like I said, I fail all the time. But I also succeed a lot too. The bible tells us that God has a plan for us (Jeremiah), and that we can do all things through Christ (Phillipians). If we follow him and his plan for us, then we will never fail. Our lives dont end here on this earth! That is what I am trying to focus on, in all areas of my life... I hope this is inspirational for others and that people can relate to me.
-Alyssa L. Albritton
(I am still getting used to my new last name!! So I might write it a lot... just sayin!)
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