Brain Overload: What I Have Learned This Week

Okay... I have always been a book worm. But this week, I have been so hungry to read the most I can about my God. 

Note: The Max Lucado book is 3-in-1. There are also about 3 or 4 mini-books that are not there that I have read. I think my favorite one was "Heart Like Jesus" by Max Lucado. Max never ceases to amaze me. <3 


So a few things that have really hit home with me and I feel could really be put to good use in my life are... : 


1. Heart like Jesus. 

If my heart were replaced with the heart of Christ, how much different would I be? How many people would notice a difference? What might change in my daily life if just my heart were switched with God's?  How much more forgiving would I be? (That question made my heart twinge. I could have really put that information to use in the past few weeks.) 


2. Thinking like God.

"We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5


Dude. If I could just put a filter on my thoughts for 10 minutes, I think that'd be a good start. I have the biggest attitude problem out of anyone I have ever met... But if I would just stop letting my brain run wild, I would probably have more Christ-like thoughts, which then would change my heart, and then I would have the heart of Christ, and the "overflow of my heart would come out of my mouth." Luke 6:45  (I have this theory that everything God says ties together somehow. ^_^ )


3. God loves to be called Father.

Who knows better than Jesus? Jesus called him Father over 200 times in the gospels. Thats just a fun fact. Thought it was cool :) 


4. Spiritual house. (Aka, God.)

When sin is near, step into your spiritual house. Live in Him. (Sorta knew that, just never thought about it.) 


5. "Hallowed be your name" 

                                                     Yes, that's Matt :) 

Think of the amount of praise in that one line. Hallowed! ... Anointed, divine, consecrated, holy, sacred, honored. Ahhhh!! Its one of those things you say, and then sit in silence afterwards in sheer awe of God and who He is. 


6. "Thy Kingdom Come"

When you say this, you invite the Kingdom of Heaven into your life. <3 <3 


7. How does God speak to us?

Kinda something I already knew too. But still cool. How does God speak to us? Through the body. Who's the body? The Church. He uses fellow believers to speak His Will. Jesus proves this on Resurrection Day. When John and Peter saw Jesus, He told them, "Spread the good news...go and tell the others! I am risen!" 

So they did. They ran to tell the other disciples but they didn't listen to them. Ever catch yourself doing that? The next step after a fellow believer tells you something is back it up with Scripture. Which is what Jesus did. Jesus appeared to them and reminded them of what the prophets had prophesied. Pretteh sweet! 

8. What sets you on fire for God?

To meet the Saviour is to be set aflame. To discover the flame is to discover God's Will. To discover His Will is to access a world like none you've ever seen! - Max Lucado 

9. When you pray....

Heaven stands still! 

Revelation 8:1-3


"When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour. I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets. Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God's people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne." (Italics mine)


10. But alas...


God tells me to experience Him first hand. Its cool reading all these books...learning all this stuff. But in the last one I read, Max made a good point. Don't read a bunch of books of people who seem to be close to God and take their word for it... Experience Him first hand, in your own way... Break out the Bible and read what He tells you to read... 


It's not like I haven't been reading my Bible. But I have been reading other books A LOT more.



I also learned a few new things in photoshop this week as well! 

You think my brain would be tired. But it's not. Talk to you all soon! 

Don't Make Plans For Wednesday

"Don't make plans for Wednesday."


"How come?"


"Just don't. I have a surprise for you." 


:D


Those are the best words ever to hear from your husband. He told me on Friday he had a surprise for me on Wednesday. I was stoked all week. I kept thinking and thinking and thinking of what it could be... He told me at 3 in the morning. What did he see at 3 in the morning that made him think of a surprise for me? Was it a dinner? Dinner on the beach? ...A house? A new car?! Yeah I got a little ahead of myself. But I never thought he would have picked a surprise that fit me so well, one that made me SO happy, one that....I just can't find words to describe how much I loved it. 


In my excitement, I got a new dress (10 whole dollars ha!), did my hair and took about an hour getting ready. 

I was too excited to do anything else. I couldn't sit still.

And finally, the surprise my wonderful hubby had picked out for me...

A cocktail dinner on a yacht! 

Ahhh! Are you serious!? 

The Sundancer :) 

Full bar. 

"Best beer of my life"

Live music.

The inside was beautiful if you can't tell. I was so excited. I couldn't wait to get moving. We got there 30 minutes early. But I was just excited to be sitting on a yacht. I felt like we were a rich couple. However, what made this whole surprise even better was that Matt got a huge discount on the whole thing. He worked at the Hammock Beach Resort and this Marina was a part of it. When he was locking up at 3 in the morning, he grabbed a brochure and instantly thought "Ally would love this!" 

And we take off!  

 He was waving at us :) 

If you look close enough, you can see a doggy swimming. 

At least one reason why doing something like this is my favorite, is because its a chance to marvel at God's creation. I was so excited pointing out things to Matt that just baffle me about what He's made and how He thought to make it. 

 Mah hubby :) 

His wifey :)  

The happy couple :) 

Our yummy little cocktail dinner :) 

I love my hubby for knowing me so well, and surprising me with such an awesome date! I literally didn't stop smiling the whole time. 

An act like this from my husband also makes me think how much God loves me to give Matt this idea. It may not seem like such a huge thing to you, but God knows me soooo well. He knows something like this is HUGE to me. 

"So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him." Luke 11:13

Life of a Happy Girl

I have been exceedingly blessed more and more by my God. 

I got married! 

Thats the best thing thats happened so far. Things have been tough the past 8 or so months, but its true that hard times bring good times. 

Matt shows me little ways every day how much he loves me. I recently told him about a dream I had where I saw him riding home from work on his bike, and he stopped in a field and picked me some flowers. When he got home, he woke me up and gave them to me. When I woke up from the dream, I felt all warm and fuzzy. 

Long after I had forgotten my dream, Matt came home from work and presented me with these. It made me all cheesy and I told him he always makes my dreams come true ^_^* 

God reveals to me that he has plans for everything. Two days before my wedding, my dad passed away. 

       This is the only picture I have of my Dad and I.

   I was 12; and I still wore tennis shoes with dresses! 

As if it wasn't bad enough that his heart was too weak to make it to my wedding, this had to happen. On my big day, I told God that I didn't want to be happy and have a day about me when my Dad was gone. I cried at my computer as I tried to take it all in. 

Then a gentle thought entered my mind... My Dad would have a front row seat to my wedding with Jesus Christ at his side. My heart was filled with joy and I couldn't stop smiling. What a cool thing! 

At my ceremony, my dear friend and bridesmaid, Christiana, gave me a beautiful candle for us to light in remembrance of my Dad. 

As I went to light this candle, my hands were shaking so bad I almost couldn't do it. Two close friends of mine, who don't know each other reported to me that once I did get the candle lit, the winds starting picking up in the gardens after it had been still the whole time. 

When I was 13, it was my biggest fear to lose my parents. I had asked my Mom and Dad that when they did die, would they please come show me that they were in Heaven and they were okay. My Dad's response was, "If Jesus will let me of course I will."  

I think with after the thought I had gotten that morning, of Jesus and Dad at my wedding; the winds were a sign or confirmation that he really was there, and he was perfectly fine. 

In recent weeks, massive tornado's hit Hanceville, Alabama where my Dad lived, along with my brother, Cody and his girlfriend, Candice. The power was out for about fourteen days. It just makes me think, what would my Dad have done, being as sick as he was? I heard that he was a lot more sensitive to cold during his last months, and he always had the heat blasting. I am guessing the only thing he did all day was watch tv, since he had a hard time walking because of his stroke. I am just thinking that God didn't want him to have to suffer through all of that. 

I don't know what God's plans or reasons are, but I have to believe this didn't happen to hurt any of us. 

"For I have plans to prosper you, and not to harm you." Jeremiah 29:11

My parents were two in a million. I am thrilled to have so many of their qualities. 

I think every girls wedding is the best day of her life, but mine was seriously the best day ever. I could not decide on one color for my girls to wear. So I picked a color for all three. Sage green, lavender, and pink. 

     Here we have, the celebrated couple of course! Matt and Ally Smith, Maid of Honor, Megan............ Best man, John Clark, and the rest of the party Lisa Santiago, Jedediah "Bubba" Smith, Christiana Clark (coordinator, the one who made everything perfect!) and Justin Smith.

Flower girl, Ava Clark :) 

I expressed the joy and love of my day with dances...and it was so much fun. 

Entrance dance

Ministry dance. 

It was definitely a beautiful day and the beginning of a beautiful life! 


Matt and I have been continuously blessed day by day. He was blessed with a new job at Halifax Hospital that includes a pay increase, bonus's for working nights and weekends and its only 5 minutes from our apartment. That is a definite step up from driving 45 minutes to Palm Coast every night.


As an added bonus, I have been job searching for about a month now with nothing to promising to show for it. I have a very strong recommendation now at Halifax Hospital as a unit clerk full-time, AND they will schedule Matt and I for the same hours. That is just a dream come true for me. We continue to pray and ask God for this wonderful blessing. 

This sweet hound dog will be the newest addition to our family here! His name is Booger, he was originally my dog when I was 14. However as a puppy, he was a baby demon. My Dad took over raising him and they were inseparable. As the years went by, Booger and I did end up getting along again. When I visited for Christmas in 2009, Booger greeted me in jumps, tackles and kisses for about ten minutes. I never saw my Dad laugh so hard.

My Dad did do a very good job of spoiling Booger over the years. He has his own couch, and my Dad's office was Booger's shared bedroom. Since Matt and I do have an extra room (Matt's man-cave/computer room), we decided to go to the thrift shop and check out some cheap couches. And we just so happened to find an old, dated, uglier-than-sin couch for only $30. Booger will be so happy :) 

My family. Me, Kahli, Sadie and Matt :) 

Those are all my recent blessings in a nutshell! I could keep going but this blog would be endless! 


Also, I am very excited about my two new Godly friends that have been such a light to me this past week, Angie Smith and Laura Ogrodnik! I'm so excited to share with you ladies and delve into all the great things of our Lord and His Word! It's gonna be awesome!! :)