10 Reasons to Winter Jam {beautiful fun}

Since I know you're probably judging me right now, I just want to be clear that I was not imitating Taylor Swift circa-2011, but following along with what the band led the audience in doing.  So everyone was hand-hearting . . up until the second that this picture was taken, I guess.  

However, I happen to like hand-hearting, Taylor, and this picture (thanks to Allie!) a lot so we're moving on.  Hit play and then keep reading for things with the likes of giant balloons, what a dollar can get you, and new music obsessions. 

Winter Jam is the incredible 10-band concert that I've spent a February Saturday night at for the past two years. Traveling all over the country, the Jam Tour is something that I will definitely be hitting up again next year, and then the next year, and then all the way to when I'm that 80-year-old rocking out harder than the Beliebers at the Justin Bieber movie premiere.  Fortunately, I didn't experience that, but I've been told that you can still hear the fangirls' screams ringing in your ears.  

I'm not taking a math class this year, but I'm still confident that I'm not mistaken when it comes to the price of this event.  Ten dollars at the door for tickets divided by 10 bands means that you can see a live music performance for only a dollar. Cheap date night, anyone?  Seriously though.

Grainy iPhone concert pictures for the win. And yes, we were actually this close -- no zoom here!

Helloooo, the entire for KING & COUNTRY album! For real though, since Winter Jam in Detroit last Saturday I've been doing one of two things: 1) listening to their gorgeous Aussie voices or  2) hearing them replay in my head and trying not to burst out into song.  If you don't want to find some new songs that you will absolutely love, don't click that link.  

Honorable mention: About a Mile.  I had never heard of them heading in to Winter Jam and I left with a CD.  They were fantastic performers! 

 Last year, the University of Mobile was a Winter Jam sponsor and they gave me not only a $20,000 scholarship but A FREE T-SHIRT! How exciting is that?  You'll be even more elated to hear that besides being free, it's probably the softest, most comfy t-shirt that I own.  I mean, $20,000 was cool though, too.  This year I fought a scholarship-thirsty crowd of fellow high schoolers to receive some more free clothes.  I did get a t-shirt, but it's not the softest, most comfy like last year. 

This time of winter is such a dreary, gray time for Midwesterners and it was great to have a night where I could put the crappy weather and the fact that spring will probably never come out of my mind and have an amazing time praising God with 16,999 other people from many different denominations, stages, and walks of life.  Everyone is so uplifting and my mood increased like 320%.  

Look! I met for KING & COUNTRY *obviously* Well, I had the chance to meet them as I did nearly every artist there, but the lines were bazinga people long, and I don't really care for lines all that much. 

"Stop by and see us at our booth after & pick up a copy of our music for $5!" - 80% of the artists at Winter Jam.  And so I did. for KING & COUNTRY was in the minority that their CD cost $10, but the artists are so generous in practically giving away their albums.  I even got an About a Mile CD for less than what it's priced in the iTunes store. Oh, and $40 t-shirts? You won't find any of those here. 

Are words even needed?

That lady with the awesome hair? Yeah, that's Blanca who made up 10% of the show.  It's pretty cool to glance over and see someone who had just been killing it up on stage rocking out to the same bands that you are and getting so, so excited about it.  None of the performers took any of the glory for themselves, but gave it all up to God, which I thought was pretty neat.

Pens, backpacks, candy, and all of those fun shenanigans are at your beck and call if you take a stroll around the concourse and check out all of the sponsor booths that are just begging for you please, please, please, take home their merchandise. So naturally, I didn't want to let anyone down and allowed them to throw as many free things my way that their hearts desired. 

From the ticket prices, to the music, to the people, to the message, to the atmosphere, God is glorified! It's obvious that Winter Jam is not about the money or the gain - it's about spreading the Gospel through the gift of music.  

I will admit that I am not the biggest fan of all the Christian music on the radio; however, Winter Jam does a fantastic job of showing that praising God through music doesn't have to be in the form of "church songs" or hymns (even though I love them!).  Within the few hours that I was in jumping out of my seat, I heard rock&roll (that has toured with the likes of Nickelback), an Indie/pop mix, and so, so much more.  Last year's tour featured two rappers.  I don't even like rap, but you better believe I was pumping my arm like the best of them. Also, one band's act resembled something like a circus act and I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes (their music video had pretty much the same effect on me). The entire night features such amazing and talented performers that dedicate everything to God.

So, are you in? There are still a ton of dates left and Winter Jam just might be coming to your city! 

Have any questions about Winter Jam? I'm not an old seasoned pro, but I do know the ropes pretty well!

xx,

Allison

The One Where I Mention Blood

I tried to title this post in a way that would ease my mind a bit by making me think about Friends, and it worked! For a whole two seconds that is.

Well, Joey, to answer your question, I'm a little bit of a hot mess right now.  You see, I had a crazy impulse last week and acted on it (life advice: usually not a good idea.) and now that impulsive decision becomes real tomorrow.  Tomorrow morning at 10:45, to be exact, right in the middle of government class . . . not that I planned for that to happen or anything.

Anyway, to stop the vagueness here, the Red Cross is holding a blood drive at my school tomorrow. After not participating last year, I decided in the heat of the moment that I could just suck it up and donate.

Me.

The one who put her head down during nearly every biology class while learning about blood because she couldn't take it.

The one whose younger sister had to hold her hand while getting a little bit of blood drawn for a test because she wouldn't calm down.

The one who has opted to get her wisdom teeth taken out with a little help from laughing gas and some gum numbers rather than anesthesia because she didn't think she would be able to handle the IV.

The one who can barely write for five minutes after someone says the word 'vein' (ew.) because her hands get so weak.

Yeah, me.

Let's just say that anything remotely in the medical field is not my future profession, that's for sure.

I don't know what made me decide to put my name on the volunteer list, but it's there.  And in pen, of course, so I can't even erase and pretend I had never written it.  It's there, and it's staying.

Over the weekend, the thought of the blood drive occasionally popped into my head a few times, sending my stomach out onto a rollercoaster consisting of all of the fear and none of the fun.  Now that it is barely 12 hours away, the rollercoaster is only getting taller and steeper and every seat is filled with screamers working their lungs.

I'm so tempted to back out, to avoid the discomfort and fear that donating blood may bring.  However, I know that's not an option.   There are tough decisions to make that become even harder to carry through with.  But such is life.

God has continually blessed me with a healthy body.  I have been fortunate enough to enjoy my life without any major illnesses, broken bones, or even a bee sting.  Major medical treatment has never been something that I've had to deal with, and God willing, hopefully something that I never will have to encounter.  Shouldn't I use this body then to give to those who are in need?  Those that are more familiar with medical treatment than anyone would ever want to be? Thanks to the signs posted on nearly every.single.wall of my school (for real! I can't even fill up my water bottle without one staring me in the face), I learned that one pint of blood can save three lives.  In other words, one little donation from me can give new life to three people.  How could I pass up this opportunity in good conscience?  What if I were the person in need of a life-saving donation, yet I was unable to receive one due to a shortage in blood?

In Romans, Paul hits this topic straight on the head.

Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?” That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out.

- Romans 15:1-4 (MSG)

Instead of meeting my own needs, I can take a page out of Jesus's book and put others miles ahead of myself.  My strength in good health is for service, that much is plain.  

I asked God, "How can I help?" 

He responded by giving me the impulse to put my John Hancock on the blood donor volunteer list.  A place I swore my name would never show up.  

So I'm taking a deep breath and saying a prayer to ask for the peace that only God can bring. I'm facing my fears of blood, and needles, and veins, and people with sterile gloves who are trying to poke my veins with needles to get my blood (that was a good plug for the Red Cross, wasn't it? Go donate!) and trusting that God will sustain me.  

Going to a small Christian school definitely has its perks, one of which occurred last week. Walking into school, I noticed that every single locker had a Bible verse stuck in the top.  Each one was hand decorated and I didn't see any repeating verses.  No one knows who did this, all I know is that I'm very thankful that they did.  The verse in my locker was one that I wasn't familiar with and I've been dwelling on since I received it: 

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

- Psalm 16:8

I will not be shaken.  Even when God calls me to do something that I determined to be impossible for me to do.  I will not be shaken.  

xx, 

Allison

The Heartbreaker

I jumped out of bed this morning.  Like for real, jumped out of bed right as my alarm went off for the first time.  And if you're my mom, you know that's not usual.  Today was exciting - I only had to spend three hours in school today (two of which were study halls and the other was English, my favorite.) while the other five were spent in the Detroit train yard.  Not your typical location for a school day, that's for sure.

I, along with the rest of my school's National Honors Society, and students from other area Lutheran schools spent about 4 hours hauling box after box after box after box (. . . continue for infinity. Seriously.) out of semi-trucks and packed them not so-neatly into boxcars to benefit Lutheran World Relief.  

This is Day 5 of the 365 Days of Photographs project! 

Knowing that all of those boxes, stuffed to the brim with soaps, quilts, health kits, school supplies, and other items to benefit those in need, were being sent off to help others, made the hours fly by.  It didn't hurt that we had a pretty good time while we were at it.

Upon arriving back at school, as we were entering the lobby, a girl was headed out.  This was odd since there were still two hours of classes left in the day.  As she got closer, I could tell that she had been crying. Hard.  As one of my friends went up to ask her what was wrong, I watched my friend's shocked reaction to the answer and I knew that this wasn't your typical breakup/failed test score/emotional breakdown. Something was seriously wrong. 

As my friend came back to us, she answered our questioning looks with a sentence that changed the entire mood of today.

"Jamie* committed suicide." 

Instantly, I felt my heart break. Goosebumps covered my arms and I felt like throwing up.  My mind raced as I searched for some possible way that this could be a sick joke, a misunderstanding.  

To give some background, Jamie was a student that no longer attended my school but a lot of her close friends were made in her time spent there.  I didn't know her well at all, yet I never heard a bad thing about this girl.  She was sweet, funny, and seemed genuinely kind.  I know that she had trouble with a mental health problem of some sort, but that isn't what this post is about.  

What it is about though is how incredibly tragic this situation is. Tragic for her mom, dad, little sister and all of her family who loved her. Tragic for her best friends who found out through a phone call that she had taken her own life.  Tragic for people like me who, from a distance, had no idea that anything was currently wrong.  Shocking, heartbreaking, and terrible for all.  

As I walked the halls of school the rest of today, I noticed tear-stained faces and an odd silence that rarely is accredited to a high school hallway. 

I don't know what was racing across other students' minds today, but I do know what was on mine.  

Why am I so quick to avoid "awkward" eye contact and look down at my phone instead of offering a smile?  Why is it so easy to step over a pile of dropped books to avoid being late to class instead of being compassionate? How come taking the best for myself and leaving the leftovers for others is considered "getting ahead in the world" instead of what it is: selfishness? 

How many people do I walk past each day that are struggling? Struggling with realizing that they are incredibly important and valuable no matter what the world may tell them? Struggling with addictions, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts? Yet how often do I take the time to take the focus off of myself and show love towards them? 

Guys, this is heavy stuff. But it's real. So tragically real.  

I had spent all morning helping those that are worlds away, yet somehow I frequently miss doing the same for those that I encounter face-to-face on a day to day basis.  

As Facebook posts, pictures, and heartfelt goodbyes honoring Jamie are flooding my newsfeed tonight, I can only think of how she would react to knowing how many people there were that cared for her and loved her. 

This is proof of how urgently important it is that we share the overflowing, abundant love of Christ with everyone that we come across.  You and I do not know the personal battles that the people around us are fighting every day.  Maybe we won't ever know.  But what we can do is make sure that everyone realizes that they are valuable and that they are worth it - no matter what the world may tell them. The smallest bit of compassion and love on our part may mean the world to someone who needs it.  You never know. 

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

- Romans 5:8

God, the Creator of the universe, the Almighty, holds each and every person so dear that he sent his son to die for you, and you, and you, and me and everyone else on this planet.  If each person is worth the death of God's only and perfect son, then shouldn't we treat them as such? 

The fact that not everyone knows and is treated like they're that valuable is the real heartbreaker in my mind.  Take the time to share a smile.  Ask how someone is doing and genuinely care about their answer.  Practice compassion in all that you do.  Who knows? You could be saving a life. 

Love,

Allison

Did you hear about . . .?

First of all, let me just put this out there: No, I am not going on anymore vacations (tears, much tears.) even though my last two mysteriously titled posts may lead you to believe so. 

Good. Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business (to defeat the Huns . . .! Sorry, my Disney escaped there for a moment). 

How many times have you heard the words "did you hear about . . ." and without even thinking leaned in a little bit closer to get the latest scoop? If I'm being honest, you could find me in this exact senario playing the role of either the news-bearer or the news-receiver multiple times a day. 

And I hate it. But it feels so good. Relaying secrets, stirring up drama, and repeating stories that most likely aren't true but will probably gather an audience are all things that I do over and over every.single.day. 

But why? 

What do I gain through mindless chatter and intentional gossip? 

Let me play the role of my former math teacher/current cross country coach and answer my own questions here for a moment. 

Here's what I gain: temporary satisfaction, attention from others, knowing the latest news, when in awkward situations, something to fill the silence, and the reputation as someone who sticks her nose into other people's beeswax just so she can let the rest of the world know. 

Yep, that's my reward for running my mouth and tearing down the reputations of others just to build my own (which by the way, is a lie. How is it even logical that I could conclude that people would think of me as a better person if I babble on and on about others? Answer me that.). Are those things listed as so-called "rewards" worth the feelings and social well-being of a fellow human? 

Absolutely not. 

God makes it clear how he feels about gossip. Like extremely Windex-clear. I didn't realize how much God had to say about gossip until a quick google search enlightened me about all that I had been missing. 

Take Proverbs 10:18 where we learn that whoever slanders others is a fool. 

Or 1 Thessalionians 4:11 where we are told straight up to keep our noses in our own business. 

Look at Proverbs 21:23. "Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble." 

Hmmm, not too, too hard to see what God is trying to get across to us. If you're in need of some more proof, check out Proverbs 16:28, Matthew 12:36, and Exodus 23:1. 

None of those concepts are new to me though. I know how God feels about gossip. I've known it for my entire Sunday school life, but that doesn't stop me from mindlessly running my mouth just to be the top dog in the rumor mill. 

However, I feel as though God has really convicted me of this lately. I haven't felt the same amount of satisfaction after I passed on some juicy tidbit of information. Instead, I wish that I could take my words back and have everyone forget the pointless speech that I had just poured out of my mouth. 

But it doesn't work that way no matter how much that I wish it did. 

Remember how I said in my last post that things in my life were going to change? Well, get ready because here comes the change. 

To quote Eleanor Roosevelt, "Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people."

God has blessed me with a mind that can do amazing things. And guess what! If you're reading this, you have a mind too! And your mind came from God whether you believe that or not. He has beautiful plans for each and every one of us. I can bet you that those plans don't include sitting around a table with your best friends, sipping pumpkin spice lattes (because it's fall! Duh!) and talking all about how Laura cheated on Ryan with Morgan's boyfriend, Dan, and now Laura and Morgan aren't friends anymore. 

No! His plans for you and me are so much more spectacular than limiting our minds to discussing rumors that no one even knows for sure if they are true. 

So I decided to run my own mini version of Jen Hatmaker's experiment Seven. However, instead of physical, material things, I've decided to purge myself of one of the biggest things that distracts me from loving God with all that I have. You guessed it: gossip. 

From September 2 - October 2, I am going to work my absolute hardest to keep gossip off of my lips. Instead of gossip, I will replace that mindless chatter with encouragement, heartfelt praise, prayers, and new ideas. If I find that I cannot do that, then I will just stay silent during moments that I am tempted. 

In James 3:8, James writes that no human being can tame the tongue for it is a restless evil and full of poison. I have found this to be more true than I would have originally thought. All of my previous attempts to vanquish gossip have crashed and burned. Hard. I will have to learn to call on God and rely on Him to help me get rid of this harmful addiction. 

So here's to one month of uplifting, encouraging, and positive talk! 

Love, 

Allison

When Intentions Aren't Enough

Well, hey there, Blog! Haven't seen you in a while!

Can I confess something though?  I didn't miss you.  Yeah, the truth hurts sometimes, but I'm not one to skimp on honesty. 

I had the most amazing summer of my life.  By far.  Between traveling overseas for the first time in my life to see and experience some of the most beautiful, spectacular things that I have ever seen or done and being challenged physically, spiritually, and emotionally constantly at camp for two weeks, I had plenty of blog material, let me tell you. 

However, sitting down and typing out all that I had seen, learned, and done over these past few months wasn't on the top of my to-do list. In fact, it was more hastily scrawled in the bottom margin of my list as an after-thought. You know, the thing that you always leave for last and never actually get done? Yeah, that was blogging for me. 

You see, my blog hasn't really turned out exactly the way that I had envisioned when I was poring over names, color schemes, and facts about me when I brought this blog to life last winter. I had ditched my previous blog for two main reasons: 1) It was a travel blog and traveling isn't something that I do frequently enough to make my content interesting and enjoyable for me to write about and 2) I started to care more about the comments, the views, the followers, and the connections that I was making more than anything else. 

And that's not the way I wanted it to be. 

However, I've watched myself get too wrapped up in all the glam and glitz of blogging again instead of being who I want to be. 

Initially, this blog was dedicated to all the beautiful things in my life. The little details that would usually go unnoticed, the big events that rocked my world, and all the amazing things that God was teaching me as I worked to draw nearer to Him.

Instead, I've found that once again, I'm much too concerned with gaining more Twitter followers, commenting on other blogs with the purpose of gaining readers instead of genuinely wanting to share some input, comparing my blog's design to other blogs, and all together NOT focusing on the beautiful things in my life. 

Good intentions are just that: intentions. No matter how many times I tell people that the reason I blog is to show the glory of God, I am a big, fat liar. And that won't change until I make my intentions reality. That means that some changes need to happen around here. Intentions need to become action to become results. 

This summer I was faced with the question of what is keeping my faith from thriving rather than simply surviving? Although it was posed to me weeks ago, it is still up there, rolling around in my brain. 

I found the answer recently after reading Seven by Jen Hatmaker. If you aren't familiar with the premise of the book, Jen, in an attempt to rid herself of all the excess in her life, embarks on a seven month challenge where she seriously alters one area of her life for a month at a time. For example, the first month, she attacks the area of excess food. For an entire month she only eats seven foods (chicken, sweet potato, apple, and spinach are among three other foods that I can't recall). 

Yes, you read that right. For 30 days, this woman limited her diet to seven foods. I think I've passed that already just today and it's only 10 am! 

Throughout her mission, Jen learns what it's like to truly purge the excess stuff in her life that is distracting her from a thriving relationship with Christ. Although not everything in this book made me nod in agreement, the overall message made me stop and reflect on all the materialism in my own life that is keeping me from loving Christ passionately and to the fullest. 

You may have guessed by now that this is the start of an excess purge. Effective immediately both in my life and on my blog. I don't think that I'm going to be cutting my foods down to less than the number of fingers I have, but I do know that things are going to change. 

It's looking like this for my blog at the moment: no Twitter, no Google Analytics, no more blog design updates (unless I actually am in the mood to, not to keep up with the Jones), no "filler posts" that I write just for the purpose to keep the page views coming, and no following blogs just to get followers. I'm weighing the pros and cons of turning off the comments and taking my blog off of Bloglovin' too, so those changes may be happening in the near future. 

Whew. When I said change, I meant it.

I'm excited for this blog to be what I intended it to be: a place for me to record the ins & outs of my life. No glitz, no glam. Just the raw, real me. 

Love, 

Allison 

Did I Mention . . . ? [V.2]

Remember that one time that I didn't really mention the fact that I was headed to Europe until a few days before I hopped on the plane? 

Well, I just pulled out the suitcase again.  

The destination this time is nowhere close to being as glamorous as Europe.  No air travel is required either.  In fact, tomorrow I'll be loaded onto a school bus for a few hours packed full of hyped up kids excited for a week at summer camp.

You're jealous, I can feel it.  

Despite how awful I just made that sound, I am actually extremely excited. The two weeks I will be at camp will be full of hard work, sweat, laughter, new friends, and drawing nearer to God. 

The first week that I'm there, could be classified as volunteer slave labor.  I'll be working my tail off cleaning kitchens, washing dishes, scrubbing toilets and restricting the junior campers' candy flow (the most daunting of them all!).  I had the opportunity to experience this last year, and let me tell you, it's hard work! However, I'm headed back again, so obviously it's not unbearable.  In fact, I'd call it enjoyable.  

Being completely surrounded by godly people in God's great creation doing work to serve my Heavenly Father has everything to do with my wanting to return.  

After my seven days as a servant are over, I magically transform into a camper! High school week at camp is seriously the highlight of my summer! (My parents were concerned with me being gone from home too much this summer between Europe and camp and I was honestly ready to give up Europe, no joke.)

Not my picture. 

I am a little nervous because I've never gone to camp without one of my best friends.  However, this year she was placed on the wait list to work (yes, there is a wait list to be able to scrub toilets! That's how amazing of an opportunity this is.) and never ended up being able to get in.  She will join me for the second week when we camp, but I am going in for a week without knowing nearly anyone.  

At first, I decided to not do the working week, but then I really felt like God wanted me to take a chance and trust Him.  So, here I go! I'm excited to learn more about God and can't wait to see what He does with my life these next two weeks!

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

 ~ Colossians 3:23-24

Those Days

Those days that you just can't win.  Try all that you might, nothing goes right.  You can go into something with a great attitude and a game plan only to watch it crash and burn before your eyes.  These are the types of days that you can relate to Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" more than ever.  The days where you wish you could take back half of the things that you said that day, or at least make it so no one else would remember your mistakes.  The days where you need to remember God's everlasting love and mercy more than ever.  That was today.

"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."

                                                         - 1 Peter 5:7

Knowing that my imperfections, flaws and mistakes make no difference to God is such a relief.  The only opinion that matters views me as His beloved child.  The fact that God forgives sins when you come to him with repentance makes facing tomorrow possible even though it may seem as though the mistakes of today have ruined everything.

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace"

                                                     - Ephesians 1:7

Here's to a new tomorrow!

Love,
Allison

 

 

Overwhelmed

With wind chills dipping the temperature to a slightly chilly -18°, today just seemed like the perfect excuse for cup of hot chocolate.  But not just any hot chocolate, Serendipity 3 hot chocolate! You know, the famous little café in NYC with a 60 year history where the likes of Brooke Shields, Andy Warhol and the High School Musical cast have dined? When my parents took off on my dream vacay to NYC without me, the least they could do was bring me back a taste of the city.

And the city tastes so gooood! It's not a trip to the the Big Apple itself, but it's good enough for now!  

Sitting here, sipping my hot chocolate, browsing Pinterest, and listening to the Frozen soundtrack on repeat, I felt so relaxed and content.  It was perfect.

Until I remembered that math test coming up tomorrow that I don't understand . . .

Until I remembered the feelings I had hurt today with my careless words . . .

Until I remembered the mess I call my bedroom . . .

Until I remembered that many people don't have a place to take shelter in this dangerous cold . . .

Until I remembered a friend that my heart breaks for . . .

and then, everything wasn't so perfect anymore.  I began to stress over every little detail and only succeeded in causing myself to worry even more.

But God gave me a little tap on the shoulder.  Why should I even waste time worrying when the Creator of the universe has everything all under control?  That fact alone immediately gave me a sense of peace that I know could only come from God.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; 

the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior

-Isaiah 43:2-3a

How amazing is that?!? God's got you, so you don't even have to worry about it! That's exactly what that singing fish has been crooning to all along, "don't worry, be happy!" 

I'll leave you with a great and extremely catchy (warning!) Kari Jobe song that is spot-on for this situation.  And I should probably get to studying for that math test . . .

Love, 

Allison