The One Who Holds Everything in His Hands

"who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him." - 1 Peter 3:22

This verse is obviously speaking of Jesus. The one of whom it is said, "Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. " Recently I have been in fear for my future - not knowing what it holds for me, and not wanting hardship for myself but especially not for Claire. The truth is that none of know what tomorrow holds, but I can cling to the word of God, and the fact that ALL of my days (and Claire's days) have been planned by him. If hardship does come, which is entirely plausible in this life, it is because he has allowed it to come. If angels, authorties, and powers are all subjected to him, then NOTHING can reach me that he hasn't pre-ordained. And because I know his love for me is sure, steadfast, and unchanging, everything I face in life - even the most difficult trial - is laced with love from above.

Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." This is the truth on which I stand. I have no reason to fear anything in this life when God, the creator and sustainer of the universe, who has planned every single one of my days, can in his infinite power and might cause all my trouble and pain, and even my own foolish choices and failures, to result in good. This verse also says that I am called "according to his purpose." He has a purpose for me, and he will do all he must to fulfill it.

My heart sings in praises to him for his unfailing love and sovereign power over his creation.

But I Don't Want To Go To Bed!!

Last night Claire and I went to stay with her cousins, Gabi and Isabella, so their mommy and daddy could go out on a date. We had a lot of fun playing, singing, dancing, giggling, and so forth. She was very tired after playing so hard and we were going to make it home just in time for bed. What Claire didn't know was that I had plans after we got home (and she went to bed) to watch Ratatouille with both my sisters and parents. It isn't every day that both my sisters are at the same place at the same time for Claire to enjoy, including my younger sister's boyfriend and very large dog. So when we pulled up at the house and she saw their cars, she got VERY excited. I was a little concerned for how bedtime was going to go. I mean think about it, how would you feel if you got home right at bed time with a house full of people you love to have around but don't see very often who are all sitting down to watch what looks like a really fun movie and you have to go RIGHT to bed??!!??!! I felt really bad for her. So after several attempts to lay down and several cries for more water, and other such bedtime stalling ploys, I finally let her snuggle on my lap while we watched one of the "shorts" before we started the movie itself. After the short, we had to actually turn the TV off and pretend the movie was over so she would agree to go to bed. I hear from onlookers that the look on her face while she was sitting on my lap read something like, "He he, look at me, I got Mommy to let me watch the movie with all the grownups."

A Refuge in the Day of My Distress

"But I will sing of your strength;I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love." - Psalm 59: 16-17

Claire & Bella

Claire's cousin, Isabella, came to stay with us for two days this week so her mommy and daddy could get away for their anniversary. Claire and Bella had so much fun playing with each other. It was so nice for Claire to have a playmate since she is usually left to playing with her much less imaginative and energized mom. These two make such a cute little pair!!

Trick-or-Treat!

I thought this year for Halloween Claire could dress up as a butterfly since she LOVES butterflies. I asked her about a month or so ago if she'd like to be a butterfly, and she said, "Yeah." However, whenever anyone else asked her what she was going to be for Halloween, she'd say, "A ladybug." I have no idea where she came up with this ladybug idea, but I asked her if she'd rather be a ladybug or a butterfly, and she said, "ladybug." So, I made her a ladybug costume. Last Thursday morning (we were going Trick-or Treating Thursday night) she started crying and saying, "I want to be a butterfly!" After working hard on a ladybug costume, I tried to appease her by saying that she'll have to be a ladybug tonight, but if she wanted to, she could be a butterfly tomorrow. That seemed to calm her down, and I didn't hear anything about a butterfly after that. Here are some pictures of my little ladybug...

Going through her loot with Mimi...

Playing a balloon relay race with Daddy...

Gummi worm eating contest: Everyone's a winner!

Get Ready, Get Set...

Go!!!

I can't post Halloween pictures without including this picture of my adorable nieces, Gabi and Isabella, or should I say Cookie Monster and Elmo...

Our Trip to Stone Harbor

Claire and I went to Stone Harbor, N.J. with our family this past weekend. The beach is so beautiful this time of year. Here is a picture of Claire and Pap on the beach.

We saw a lot of beautiful birds including a great blue heron, snowy white egrets, even bald eagles! Thanks to my parents, we know what we're looking at. :) There were also tons of beautiful butterflies flying around. It was so relaxing and refreshing. My sister and her boyfriend found an awesome playground for Claire to enjoy. Here are some picture of her at the playground.

It's Pumpkin Time!

Even though it doesn't feel like it these days, fall is finally here! I love fall - apple cider, pumpkins, baking pies, beautiful autumn leaves. It is by far my favorite season of the year. We went to an orchard the other day to pick out a pumpkin for Claire. Here is a picture of her by the biggest pumpkin they had. (No, we didn't buy this one for her. )

Ephesians 6:1

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." -Ephesians 6:1

Random Comments by Claire

Today we were riding home from the store, and Claire and I had a few very interesting conversations. They went like this:

Claire: There's a brown bus
Allie: Where? (Didn't see any other cars, trucks, or buses on the road)
Claire: There's a brown bus in the tree

Claire: I want to sit in the back seat
Allie: You are sitting in the back seat.
Claire: No, I want to sit in the back seat (pointing to the front seat).
Allie: Oh, you mean you want to sit in the front seat?
Claire: Yeah.
Allie: Well, you can't sit in the the front seat while Mommy's driving because it's against the law.
Claire: (trying to repeat Mommy) I can't sit next to the law.
Allie: laughing, No, you can't sit next to the law.
Claire: Where's the law?
Allie: speechless

Claire: (grabbing at her ear) I want to hold my ear.
Allie: Okay, you can hold your ear.
Claire: I want to take it off.
Allie: You can't take your ear off, sweetie.
Claire: I want to hold my ear.
Allie: You can hold it while it's on your head, but you can't take it off.
Claire: smiling and apparently satisfied with my answer

Reasoning with a 2-year old is quite interesting. I recommend it to everyone.

Pony Ride

Claire, Justin, and I went to an apple festival on Saturday, and they had pony rides. We weren't sure if Claire would be scared or not, but we tried it anyway. She loved it!! We actually did it twice! We didn't get any good pictures from the front, which is unfortunate, because she was beaming the entire time!

Justin took her by himself the first time, and I stayed back and watched. We both decided to go along the second time, and Justin warned me to watch where I step. Well...I tried to do that, but I got so caught up in the moment of Claire enjoying the ride that ~~~SQUISH~~~ yep, you guessed it, I stepped in a HUGE pile of pony poop! Fortunately, my shoes didn't have too much of a tread, and it worked its way out pretty quickly.

Learning to be Pruned

I read an excellent chapter from the book Biblical Womanhood in the Home titled "Pruned to Bloom," by P. Bunny Wilson. The chapter as well as the rest of the book can be read for free on the website http://www.cbmw.org/. The link to this specific chapter is

http://www.cbmw.org/images/onlinebooks/biblical_womanhood/pruned_to_bloom.pdf

Here is an excerpt from the chapter:

"Since you have given your heart to Jesus,

are you sweeter? Do you make a sincere

attempt to do what is right? Hopefully the

answer to these questions is yes. However,

even with all your efforts and growth, have

you arrived? Are you where He wants you

to be? The answer to that question is no.

The fact that you have not reached perfection
means you will be pruned—regularly. Like

that old grape branch, we need to come to

the place where we willingly surrender

ourselves to be pruned, as uncomfortable as

that may be. As the old grape branch would

say to the young grape branch, 'Remember,

you’re just being pruned to bloom!'"

Claire's Recent Birthday

My little Claire-Bear just turned two a few weeks ago, and here are some pictures of her birthday.

From Mourning to Dancing

"You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!" - Psalm 30: 11-12

As I read these verses this morning, I was reminded of just how much he has changed my life. My sin has been my biggest problem, and Christ took the punishment for my sin on the cross. Therefore, my biggest problem has been solved, my greatest need has been met by the sacrifice of one. Because of this, no matter what I face in life, whether I am in drought or in plenty, whether life on this earth is happy or sad for me, I can rejoice in the God of my salvation. He has indeed turned for me my mourning into dancing.

My First Post

Well, after being asked a few times, "Have you decided to start a blog yet?," I finally decided to go ahead with it. I've titled it "The Many Adventures of Allie-Cat and Claire-Bear" because my name is Allie and my adorable (no, I'm not biased) daughter's name is Claire. Together, we do have a lot of adventures. After all, she is a two-year old, and that in itself is an adventure. Although Claire will provide much entertainment to my readers, I hope to also include some content on what is MOST interesting in our lives - the person and work of Jesus Christ. Seven years ago my life was forever changed when God gave me the gift of faith in his Son, and since then it has been the most exciting relationship I have ever been a part of - including my precious daughter. So, I pray that this blog not only provides some laughs, but that it will also be a place to find comfort, refreshment, and encouragement in the midst of this crazy world we live in.