More on living

-I have pet a manatee

-I have been chased by a rattle snake

-I have ridden an elephant

-I have ridden a camel

-I have been on a safari

-the first car I ever drove alone was a Model T Ford

-I have been parasailing

-I have been rock climbing

-I have rafted the 6th dangerous river in North America

-I grew up waterskiing, snowskiing, and rafting

-I love backpacking

I keep thinking of these things, and then forgetting, so I will add as I go along. As for now, I better get to Praise Team practice!

Get Motivated

I have the hardest time getting motivated on the days that we have all nighters. Tonight's all nighter is going to be AMAZING! I'm really looking forward to it. I think I'm ready, and all is good to go, but as I realize that I have to leave in 45 minutes, I just don't feel ready yet. I took a nap. I should have energy, but fighting this illness all week has really knocked me out. So, I need to spend some time praying and changing my attitude to being one that is ready to go! I know we're going to have a great time! I know it will be awesome! So I need to be ready to go!

Let's go!

I'll tell you what we did, tomorrow!

I have LIVED life!

I started thinking this morning, and realized that I have done some really cool things in my lifetime! I wonder if I share these stories, I think most go forgotten, but I should start sharing. It's kind of neat to look back, and realize where the journey has taken me. So, I want to start making a list, and go little by little, about some of the amazing things that I have done in my lifetime.

- I have lived in Oregon, Idaho, Texas, and Washington

-I have travelled to over 28 states, and 9 countries

-I lived in Venezuela

-I met the President of Guyana, and had a private meeting with him about how we can better serve his country

-I have been peed on by a lion, amongst many other animals

-I have fluently spoken a foreign language

-I went to college

-I have made friends from all over the US and world, and kept in touch with many of them.

-I have worked at 5 churches and ran a Young Life club

-I started youth ministry right out of high school, and am still loving it as a full time ministry today.

-I have been on TV

-I was a smile winner on "Ramblin' Rod"

-I have been interviewed on the radio

-I have been camping

-I was on the ski team

-I participated in sports and music in high school

-My parents have fully supported me in anything I have ever done

-When living in Venezuela, I experienced a political coup

-I have lived in the desert, on the Puget sound, in the city, and in the country

-I have seen beautiful works of God's creation all over this world

-I have led numerous mission trips, including an all church mission trip to Guyana, which included people from ages 12-75

-I have seen or stood next to numerous famous people, including Barbara Bush, Ice-T, The Mowerys, Billy Graham, and shook the hand of Luis Palau, and Shaun Groves

-I sang in a back up choir for Michael W. Smith, Avalon, Twila Paris, and many others

-I sang in the Billy Graham Crusade Choir

-I spoke at my first retreat when I was a senior in high school

-I have ridden the world's tallest, fastest, wooden roller coaster

-I have seen the worlds tallest free falling waterfall

-I have been to the largest waterpark in the US

-I have been on family vacations, with families other than my own

-I was in the first group of campers at the Young Life camp, Wildhorse Canyon

I have done some really cool things in my life. I'm going to continue this list later, but for now, it's time to go meet my friends for our "4th Tuesday Friends of Friends" celebration!

Relaxation Station

If there is one thing that I have learned over the last few years, it's the blessing in visiting old friends. There's something about coming to Idaho that relaxes me more than anywhere else on earth, and that includes going to the beach! Coming here is a joy of spending time with my best friend, doing nothing. Everytime, it is as if no time has passed. Not to mention, I usually come home with a new favorite movie, TV show, and favorite recipes!

To be able to do nothing, and enjoy time...that is a beautiful thing!

Blessing

Tonight we had our house blessing. It was such a special time, having 30 close friends and family, come into our home to pray over it, to pray over my life. It was beautiful! It's not just a housewarming or party, but it was a time to bring God into this home, and into all of the things we will do here. It was great to turn this place over, with a group of friends, mentors, family, practically family, and even my youth. I am truly blessed. I am blessed to be in this place, to be with these people, to be in this home. I am blessed!

Silence and home

I'm sitting in my living room, in silence, listening to the rain on the roof. I love moments like these. I'm coming up on the one month mark of owning my house. I always wondered what house living would be like vs. apartment living. What I imagined is true. The TV is on a lot less, I'm reading more books, I'm enjoying the sound of the rain, watching Daisy chase birds, and just staring out my window. House life is great!

Even now, I need to finish cleaning to get ready for my house blessing tomorrow, but I am enjoying the silence a little too much. I am so relaxed, and enjoying the life I dreamed of living. Who can believe it?

Yes, home ownership has its downfalls (like having to get rid of your own mice....or really, just having mice for that matter) but it is a great thing.

Today, I sit, read, and enjoy the silence. Pure Bliss.

Checking out Different Blogs

So, I'm figuring this whole blog thing out. I was checking out my blog, to see what I had written last, and noticed there was a "next blog" button. Curious, I checked it out. I'm guessing this is where they suggest blogs like yours, or the one you are reading. If that's the case, somehow I think I'm supposed to be writing about life as a mom, and the birth of my next child. It's really weird. At first I was excited because it was different women talking about their faith, but then I started realizing that it was mostly women, and raising their family and keeping their faith. So, should I go ahead, get married, and have kids so that I can join the blog line?

I'll keep that in mind!

Students of the past

I was checking out people on facebook, and I came across one of my old students. This is one of those kids that I lost contact with, but have always wondered about, and even worried for. This is so encouraging, and such a great reminder that these kids are in God's hands and not our own. Here's what he wrote...

I am a servant of Jesus Christ. I dream of living a life as close to the example of Jesus as I can, and I dream of living a life free of hypocrisy and facades. I hate religion and I want to live as free from it as I can. Religion is something a person does at a certain time and place while people are watching them and giving them credit for what they do. A relationship with Jesus Christ is a way of living life that is 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, whether people are watching or not. My goal is to live a life that shows love to everyone I come in contact with, and not some "love" that only hopes to get something in return or because I think God will reward me for showing "love" to people. He sees my heart and I can't hide anything from Him, and I hope I love people unconditionaly simply because I love them. I want people to know that they have value regardless of what they can do, regardless of their looks, who their friends are, their personality, or even their identity. It's their very existance on this earth that is so valuable, and that should be a good thing to hear, because they don't have to do any thing at all in order to measure up and be "good enough". I hope I use any blessings and gifts God has given me only for Him and not for myself. My greatest desire is to know God intimately. My second greatest desire is to see people accept the gift of salvation for which Jesus is the sacrifice. I will go wherever the Lord tells me to go, and wherever I do go, I want to worship and bring the message of the gospel. I want God to be glorified. I love Allison xxxxx and I want to unconditionally love her all the years of my life. God is what I love to talk about more than anything, and if that ever changes, please kick me or something because something would be dreadfully wrong

One more try

After reading old blogs, I've decided to give this a try again. Unfortunately, I can't sign on to my old account, so I'm starting all over. Here we go...