Hey Ladies -
I just wanted to share with you a link to one of the recent radio interviews I did for the book. I really enjoyed the host Jill Hart and appreciated her honesty and vulnerability. I think it was a great discussion and thought you might enjoy it as well.
Click here to listen to it.
Stop striving and rest in God's grace!
Love,
Allie
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
A New Year, A New Mindset
A New Year is here and we’re well on our way through ‘09. Many of us have forged resolutions and goals with the hopes of a new and improved self.
A self-confessed goal-setter and chronic list-maker, it has taken some time to learn how to set forth goals that are realistic, beneficial and honorable before God. For years since age 14, each New Year (and summer and fall!) I would write out my new plan to drop down to an “unhealthy-for-me” number on the scale – an effort that set me up for emotional eating, binges and mental misery. I’d be lying if I told you that temptation never crossed my mind from time to time, but I’m grateful God has given me the strength to rest secure in His truth that I am beautiful and healthy just as I am. Girl, let me tell you that NO number on the scale feels as good as freedom!
Maybe it’s finally time to do things different and examine any expectations, goals or resolutions you’ve made this New Year. Are they beneficial? Realistic? Will they draw you in fuller reliance upon your Maker? Are they rooted in a spirit or striving or are they grounded in God’s grace?
Proverbs 16:2-4 instructs us to, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” But what exactly does this mean? That whatever goals we commit to God will come to pass? Unfortunately, it’s not that easy, although I often wish it were! To commit our plans to God is to present our desires, plans and dreams before the Lord and humbly ask Him to examine our heart and search our motives. “Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24). To commit our plans to the Lord means that we give Him the say and seek His will in our life, not our own! It means trusting that God’s will is better than our own wants and desires. To commit our plans to Him is to genuinely want His plans for us to succeed, not the ones we have made for ourselves.
As we reassess our resolutions by committing them to the Lord, let us ask that He will give us the discernment to distinguish the goals and plans that are pure, noble, beneficial and honoring to Him, from those that are not in His best interest for the woman He’s created us to be. The result is success in God’s eyes – the molding of our inner selves – lasting transformation that begins with our heart. Give it a try! Let go and let God succeed in His plans for you!
Love & Blessings on Your HEAL Journey!
Allie
A self-confessed goal-setter and chronic list-maker, it has taken some time to learn how to set forth goals that are realistic, beneficial and honorable before God. For years since age 14, each New Year (and summer and fall!) I would write out my new plan to drop down to an “unhealthy-for-me” number on the scale – an effort that set me up for emotional eating, binges and mental misery. I’d be lying if I told you that temptation never crossed my mind from time to time, but I’m grateful God has given me the strength to rest secure in His truth that I am beautiful and healthy just as I am. Girl, let me tell you that NO number on the scale feels as good as freedom!
Maybe it’s finally time to do things different and examine any expectations, goals or resolutions you’ve made this New Year. Are they beneficial? Realistic? Will they draw you in fuller reliance upon your Maker? Are they rooted in a spirit or striving or are they grounded in God’s grace?
Proverbs 16:2-4 instructs us to, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” But what exactly does this mean? That whatever goals we commit to God will come to pass? Unfortunately, it’s not that easy, although I often wish it were! To commit our plans to God is to present our desires, plans and dreams before the Lord and humbly ask Him to examine our heart and search our motives. “Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24). To commit our plans to the Lord means that we give Him the say and seek His will in our life, not our own! It means trusting that God’s will is better than our own wants and desires. To commit our plans to Him is to genuinely want His plans for us to succeed, not the ones we have made for ourselves.
As we reassess our resolutions by committing them to the Lord, let us ask that He will give us the discernment to distinguish the goals and plans that are pure, noble, beneficial and honoring to Him, from those that are not in His best interest for the woman He’s created us to be. The result is success in God’s eyes – the molding of our inner selves – lasting transformation that begins with our heart. Give it a try! Let go and let God succeed in His plans for you!
Love & Blessings on Your HEAL Journey!
Allie
Saturday, January 3, 2009
It's Here!!!
Yay! So the book is now here! It released a few weeks ago in December just in time for HEAL Journey Groups to start up in this New Year! We hope you enjoy it and find this resource to be a blessing and encouragement on your HEAL Journey!
Happy New Year Girls!
Love & Hugs,
Allie
Friday, October 24, 2008
When Truth is Stolen and Lies are Spoken
How do you feel when you find out someone has lied to you? Angry, betrayed, hurt? Those are a few of the emotions I've experienced when the truth has finally come out. But let me ask you how you actually respond when you discover you've been blatantly lied to? Do you confront the person? Ignore them completely? Cut them out of your life? Punch them (yikes!)? Or after these array of emotions do you finally forgive them and then eventually forget about it?
Well, I believe there's one liar we've all been victimized by that's isn't necessarily deserving of our forgiveness. The Bible exposes this invisible liar we all face, and face daily: "He [the devil] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44b)." Of all the things God could call the devil (the father of evil, hate, destruction...) He calls Him the father of lies!
Are there any lies you've accepted as truth? The lie that you're not beautiful, desirable, worthy? The lie that this world would be better off without you? The lie that you'll never be happy or amount to anything? How about the lie that if you looked like the cover girl of the month everything would be fine and chipper?
As I write in my book "HEAL: Healthy Eating & Abundant Living" (which comes out in Dececember - yipee!):
"Satan is the master deceiver. Subtly he speaks lies that steer us away from the voice of truth. He knows that physical beauty is fleeting but that the strength of a woman who loves God is powerful beyond measure. Obsessions with food and body are impediments to living the abundant life, and the enemy knows this. This is why he will do anything to keep our minds, hearts, and eyes fixed on our outer appearance."
Think about it girls. We live in a blessed country. We have an abundance of food we don't know what to do with. We have the freedom to vote, to worship, to be educated. We can dress ourselves in pretty clothes, have nice things, live a life of comfort, but yet we're still not satisfied and believe we need more! We need to be thinner, tanner, richer, taller. As Maslow, the famous 14th century psychologist would put it, since our basic needs are met, we pursue self-actualization, which when applied to many (but not all!) women pursuing idealistic "beauty" is making us internally ugly, empty, envious and void of joy.
As a nation we spend over $40 BILLION a year on diet-related products alone. Not to mention billions more on beauty products and cosmetic surgery. A total amount I don't doubt we could wipe out world hunger with. So who's behind this madness? Victoria Secret? Cosmo? Nope, guess again - our messed-up, media-crazed, culture is just one of this liar's tools.
I challenge you to respond to the voice who speaks these lies. Give 'em what he deserves. A kick in his tail! Begin to fill your mind, your life with true things. "Finally, brothers [and sisters], whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Phillippians 4:8)."
Shut out the noise and call upon your Maker, your Savior, and hear His loving voice. As you do, your true, unfading beauty will grow. Joy, peace, gratitude, and contentment will follow. Wake up to the trash this liar has been telling you. Toss out those so-called "beauty magazines" and turn on the words of your loving Father. The world is craving a taste of your authentic beauty, not the false Hollywood "beauty" that is causing girls to jeopordize their health and question their value, beauty and purpose in this world.
Wake up girls and reclaim the truth!
Well, I believe there's one liar we've all been victimized by that's isn't necessarily deserving of our forgiveness. The Bible exposes this invisible liar we all face, and face daily: "He [the devil] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44b)." Of all the things God could call the devil (the father of evil, hate, destruction...) He calls Him the father of lies!
Are there any lies you've accepted as truth? The lie that you're not beautiful, desirable, worthy? The lie that this world would be better off without you? The lie that you'll never be happy or amount to anything? How about the lie that if you looked like the cover girl of the month everything would be fine and chipper?
As I write in my book "HEAL: Healthy Eating & Abundant Living" (which comes out in Dececember - yipee!):
"Satan is the master deceiver. Subtly he speaks lies that steer us away from the voice of truth. He knows that physical beauty is fleeting but that the strength of a woman who loves God is powerful beyond measure. Obsessions with food and body are impediments to living the abundant life, and the enemy knows this. This is why he will do anything to keep our minds, hearts, and eyes fixed on our outer appearance."
Think about it girls. We live in a blessed country. We have an abundance of food we don't know what to do with. We have the freedom to vote, to worship, to be educated. We can dress ourselves in pretty clothes, have nice things, live a life of comfort, but yet we're still not satisfied and believe we need more! We need to be thinner, tanner, richer, taller. As Maslow, the famous 14th century psychologist would put it, since our basic needs are met, we pursue self-actualization, which when applied to many (but not all!) women pursuing idealistic "beauty" is making us internally ugly, empty, envious and void of joy.
As a nation we spend over $40 BILLION a year on diet-related products alone. Not to mention billions more on beauty products and cosmetic surgery. A total amount I don't doubt we could wipe out world hunger with. So who's behind this madness? Victoria Secret? Cosmo? Nope, guess again - our messed-up, media-crazed, culture is just one of this liar's tools.
I challenge you to respond to the voice who speaks these lies. Give 'em what he deserves. A kick in his tail! Begin to fill your mind, your life with true things. "Finally, brothers [and sisters], whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Phillippians 4:8)."
Shut out the noise and call upon your Maker, your Savior, and hear His loving voice. As you do, your true, unfading beauty will grow. Joy, peace, gratitude, and contentment will follow. Wake up to the trash this liar has been telling you. Toss out those so-called "beauty magazines" and turn on the words of your loving Father. The world is craving a taste of your authentic beauty, not the false Hollywood "beauty" that is causing girls to jeopordize their health and question their value, beauty and purpose in this world.
Wake up girls and reclaim the truth!
Monday, September 15, 2008
A Prayer for Honest Health
Loving Father,
Awaken in me a pure desire to be a woman of emotional, physical and spiritual health. Teach me to enjoy the process of tending to, nourishing, and renewing my body. Awaken me to the sight, smell, and taste of foods and nutrients which can provide me with the energy and health to accomplish your will for my life. I rebuke any selfish, insecure or vain desire to match up to the false standard of beauty set before me by this world. Test me God, and know my thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in my relationship with food or my body. Teach me the meaning and fullness of your grace in this area of my life. Lord, I choose to live a life of health, freedom and true beauty for your glory.
Awaken in me a pure desire to be a woman of emotional, physical and spiritual health. Teach me to enjoy the process of tending to, nourishing, and renewing my body. Awaken me to the sight, smell, and taste of foods and nutrients which can provide me with the energy and health to accomplish your will for my life. I rebuke any selfish, insecure or vain desire to match up to the false standard of beauty set before me by this world. Test me God, and know my thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in my relationship with food or my body. Teach me the meaning and fullness of your grace in this area of my life. Lord, I choose to live a life of health, freedom and true beauty for your glory.
Monday, September 1, 2008
The Comparison Game - To Complete not Compete
I recently came across the results of a survey which asked women which area of their lives they are most competitive with their friends. 80% of respondents said they are most competitive with their girlfriends about their weight.
My secret comparison game started back in Junior High, when with my feet dangling off the edge of our pool I stared at the tan naked thighs of my two best friends, back to my own, and back to theirs' again. Seeing that my upper thighs were much wider in circumference, I automatically concluded that in the body department I didn't quite measure up.
As women, comparing one another has become like a survival game for our sense of self-worth. We constantly feel less than, not pretty enough, not stylish enough, not worthy enough. We simply don't stack up against that model in the magazine, that girl in our class, or that hot mom on the treadmill, and so to keep from coming undone, we discount others who maybe the world says do not stack up to us in a certain department.
I can't believe she's eating that. I'm so much "healthier" than her.
She has such a great figure, but she's not that pretty.
I wish I had her legs, but at least I have a smaller waist.
Pretty sad, isn't it?
I imagine it hurts God to tears when His daughters fire invisible arrows at one another, hiding behind false smiles and kind words. "I love you the same," He wants to scream. "You are beautiful just the way you are. You are all equal in my eyes. Don't speak to my daughter that way...I made her. She is fearfully and wonderfully made - and so are you my child."
What comparison games do you entertain with the women around you? With strangers, your friends, your sisters? Behind our smiles, our kind words, our self-assuredness or insecurity we are all fragile. We are all wanting the same thing - to be found beautiful, desirable, understood, accepted, and worthy of fighting for. And so let us disrobe our spirit of competitiveness and put on a spirit of love - a desire to complete one another with genuine words of affirmation giving praise to God for the radiant beauty in others, giving grace generously as our Father does us.
Here are some words of truth to live by:
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. -Colossians 3:11-13
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. -Romans 12:3
My secret comparison game started back in Junior High, when with my feet dangling off the edge of our pool I stared at the tan naked thighs of my two best friends, back to my own, and back to theirs' again. Seeing that my upper thighs were much wider in circumference, I automatically concluded that in the body department I didn't quite measure up.
As women, comparing one another has become like a survival game for our sense of self-worth. We constantly feel less than, not pretty enough, not stylish enough, not worthy enough. We simply don't stack up against that model in the magazine, that girl in our class, or that hot mom on the treadmill, and so to keep from coming undone, we discount others who maybe the world says do not stack up to us in a certain department.
I can't believe she's eating that. I'm so much "healthier" than her.
She has such a great figure, but she's not that pretty.
I wish I had her legs, but at least I have a smaller waist.
Pretty sad, isn't it?
I imagine it hurts God to tears when His daughters fire invisible arrows at one another, hiding behind false smiles and kind words. "I love you the same," He wants to scream. "You are beautiful just the way you are. You are all equal in my eyes. Don't speak to my daughter that way...I made her. She is fearfully and wonderfully made - and so are you my child."
What comparison games do you entertain with the women around you? With strangers, your friends, your sisters? Behind our smiles, our kind words, our self-assuredness or insecurity we are all fragile. We are all wanting the same thing - to be found beautiful, desirable, understood, accepted, and worthy of fighting for. And so let us disrobe our spirit of competitiveness and put on a spirit of love - a desire to complete one another with genuine words of affirmation giving praise to God for the radiant beauty in others, giving grace generously as our Father does us.
Here are some words of truth to live by:
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. -Colossians 3:11-13
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. -Romans 12:3
Friday, August 8, 2008
A Random Blog...
Okay, so I’m sitting in my over-heated apartment working away. I just acted upon what my senses sensed as a “good thing” and dove into a freshly-baked pan of banana bread I made this morning. Not to mislead you - I’m no Betty Crocker. I just read the directions and thankfully pulled it out before it caught on fire.
I wasn’t hungry for it - at all, but I ate it anyway. I just wanted to be “filled up.” Fully acknowledging that I was hungrier for more than what banana bread could feed me, I immediately heard what I call a God-whisper - some inaudible, but very real voice inviting me to “hang out” and just be still with my Maker. Not now God, I’m blatantly told Him as I worked away - I want to get this done!
Sometimes (okay, a lot of times), I’d rather do stuff for God than set aside time to be with Him, or let some lesser pleasure like banana bread try to fill me up. It’s this crazy paradox because what I’m working so hard at is to help young women know their value and to know where it really lies. I want them to know it doesn’t come from the clothes they wear, the shape of their body, their socioeconomic status, external beauty, or what they do. I want them to know who they truly are and who they belong to.
Coming from a family of over-achievers it’s natural for me to search for worth in the work I do - in what I produce and have to place before the world. Achievement (or beauty or personality or I’ll let you fill in the blank) seems to give significance to our seemingly insignificant lives. But my story of brokenness and God’s intervention in the midst of it has taught me better than that. Having been hospitalized for severe depression at age eighteen, I was unexpectedly stripped away of everything I had or appeared to be that the world deemed valuable. Brokenness stripped away my pride, sanity, personality, physical beauty and all I had placed my hope in: college on the east coast, Friday night football games, fraternity parties, and true happiness - someday.
But in being stripped away of everything I had gotten my worth from, I was free to receive my TRUE value. The God that was always there, but I never really knew met me supernaturally and began to free me with a true sense of my value and worth as His daughter. I was introduced to His truth, His living word - the mysterious book we had on our family bookshelf but never opened and the one I studied in my religion class, but never really listened to for myself.
Today, I joyfully walk in the truth of who I am; beloved, redeemed, forgiven, heaven-bound, blessed and made to glorify my Maker and Savior Jesus Christ. Reflecting on my season of utter brokenness, I am gently reminded that our worth comes from Him alone. So I can just relax, stop striving and just be. I think I’ll go do that now. =)
I wasn’t hungry for it - at all, but I ate it anyway. I just wanted to be “filled up.” Fully acknowledging that I was hungrier for more than what banana bread could feed me, I immediately heard what I call a God-whisper - some inaudible, but very real voice inviting me to “hang out” and just be still with my Maker. Not now God, I’m blatantly told Him as I worked away - I want to get this done!
Sometimes (okay, a lot of times), I’d rather do stuff for God than set aside time to be with Him, or let some lesser pleasure like banana bread try to fill me up. It’s this crazy paradox because what I’m working so hard at is to help young women know their value and to know where it really lies. I want them to know it doesn’t come from the clothes they wear, the shape of their body, their socioeconomic status, external beauty, or what they do. I want them to know who they truly are and who they belong to.
Coming from a family of over-achievers it’s natural for me to search for worth in the work I do - in what I produce and have to place before the world. Achievement (or beauty or personality or I’ll let you fill in the blank) seems to give significance to our seemingly insignificant lives. But my story of brokenness and God’s intervention in the midst of it has taught me better than that. Having been hospitalized for severe depression at age eighteen, I was unexpectedly stripped away of everything I had or appeared to be that the world deemed valuable. Brokenness stripped away my pride, sanity, personality, physical beauty and all I had placed my hope in: college on the east coast, Friday night football games, fraternity parties, and true happiness - someday.
But in being stripped away of everything I had gotten my worth from, I was free to receive my TRUE value. The God that was always there, but I never really knew met me supernaturally and began to free me with a true sense of my value and worth as His daughter. I was introduced to His truth, His living word - the mysterious book we had on our family bookshelf but never opened and the one I studied in my religion class, but never really listened to for myself.
Today, I joyfully walk in the truth of who I am; beloved, redeemed, forgiven, heaven-bound, blessed and made to glorify my Maker and Savior Jesus Christ. Reflecting on my season of utter brokenness, I am gently reminded that our worth comes from Him alone. So I can just relax, stop striving and just be. I think I’ll go do that now. =)
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