Hope

Tonight I said to God, "Please dont let me be disappointed again!" (with a heavy emphasis on whining and begging), and do you know what His response was?  

"In Me you will never be disappointed".  

Translation: 

"God, I don't think I can handle disappointment again...it will crush me." 

"Alison, put your hope in Me alone.  Everything else fades away except for Me"

"Oh"

Cut to the core by a few words.  

What/who are you putting your hope in today?

tattoos, dreams and unknown bloggers

I'm in a very 'listy' mood this week. Yes, I just made up another word. -I met a girl while I was waiting in line for coffee that had a Latin word tattooed rather largely on the inside of her right forearm. I asked her what the word means and she crossed her arms and said very bitterly, "it means 'I've made mistakes'", and then looked off in the opposite direction. Hindsight is 20/20 because I wish I would have then said "There's forgiveness, you know". I didnt. Opportunity lost. Pray for her. -I had a dream on Monday night set in the 19th century that included proposals, fainting, tears, and lots of dramatics. I love how God entertains me in my sleep! -On that note, my dreaming dry spell is over! Now if only I could get my interpretation chops back in line, I'd be set. -Today I am contemplating for what I am thankful. I want to be prepared for the inevitable Thanksgiving tradition of sharing my Thanksgiving list with the fam. -Dave Barnes is my music of choice for this holiday weekend. I want to book him for a special event that I hope takes place sometime in my life. I wonder how much are his booking fees... -My current list of favorite 'not personally known to me' bloggers is as follows: Maundering Pondering All These Things Flowerdust.net Lynse Leanne Matt, Liz and Madeline Pinkhairedgirl.net Ragamuffin Soul Whitaker Woman OK, enough listiness for today.

Happy Holidays and other randomness

-Have you ever had dreams that are so vivid you wake up and still feel a physical touch or emotion? Try having 3 of those dreams in the last week...intense!  

-The holiday season should prove to be interesting this year...especially since they are not traditionally very vegetarian friendly.  I guess I'll be enjoying the sides...I have always liked the sides better than the Turkey anyway.

-I'm in a wedding on Valentines Day.  Not the best of days for a single person to be in a wedding, but at least my friend is ordering a vegetarian meal for me!  Considerate friend FTW!

-Jess, my uber talented cousin, has a shop on ETSY.com.  Check it out here ---> JCF Designs

-I've finally mastered turning in my library books on time! This is a huge improvement from a few years ago.  I was on a self-imposed ban from renting DVD's or checking out books. Lets just say that I spent way more than the items were worth in late fees a few times too many.

-I hate when someone tramples on my friend's feelings...not cool. 

-Spiedy got married?!  I have no words.

-The Biggest Loser always makes me cry.  I love seeing people achieve something perceived to be impossible.  It inspires me to keep doing what I'm doing even though the results can be slow in coming.

-Last but not least...photoshop gone terribly wrong.

I've gone veggie!

Yes, the rumors and twitters are true. I, Alison Hunt, have become a vegetarian.

You may be asking why on God's green earth would I give up yummy steaks, awesome cheeseburgers, and fabulous chicken. The answer is simple:

I cannot in good conscience eat meat from abused animals.

You may or may not know that most of the animals that are slaughtered for food are raised on factory farms. Factory farms are places that breed animals for food. They keep animals in cages slightly bigger than their bodies, medical needs go untreated, they are injected with growth hormones...do you want me to keep going? I could, you know.

I do understand that not EVERY farm treats their animals, but how can I guarantee that the meat I buy at Publix is not from one of these farms? I cant. Not even organic meat is guaranteed to be "factory farm free". [side note: my friend Angela grew up on a farm that had their own cattle slaughtered for food for the whole family. I would DEFINITELY eat meat from her farm! Their animals are treated as God intended them to be treated and they aren't injected with all sorts of unknown chemicals.]

I've known for a long time how animals are treated on these farms, and happily kept eating meat on a regular basis. A few weeks ago that all changed though. Out of nowhere (well, from God) I started feeling conviction about eating meat! This was more of a shock to me than how the animals are treated.

I started praying and asking God to show me why I should be convicted about eating meat because at this point I had not connected it to the factory farms. I also began researching vegetarian diet needs, and saw some pictures of factory farm animals. Then God hit me like a ton of bricks and basically told me "I never intended for the animals to be treated that way. Not even food animals."

To be honest, I didn't stop eating meat right away. I had to sit on that word for a time, I read Genesis, thought about how shepherds took care of their flocks throughout the Bible, and prayed some more. As the days wore on, I began feeling nauseous just looking at meat, both cooked and uncooked. I knew I had to make a decision and be obedient to what God was asking of me. So, I gave up meat as a faith based decision. I didn't go veggie because it fashionable, or because I value animals higher than humans, or just to lose weight. I went veggie because eating meat crosses my conscience, and I'm responsible before God for the decisions I make. One thing I am committed to is to not go on a "Veggie Crusade" to convert all my friends. However, I will freely talk about all of the reasons I based this decision on, and what people do with that information is up to them. I am very fortunate to have several vegetarians in my life. They are helping me, along with my own research, to know what to eat to get all of the nutrients I need, and how to safely transition. Don't worry, I'm not going vegan.....that's too extreme. If you want to know anymore about my decision to go veggie, please feel free to contact me! -A

Happenings

So, a lot has been happening since the Yoga post.  

For starters I was incredibly sick last week.  Was out of work for 2.5 days sick.  Lost 6 pounds sick. Didn't get out of bed for 36 hours sick.  It was bad.  My anthem for those days was the song Healer.  I don't care what people say about the controversy surrounding that song. Every time I sang it, I had hope God would ultimately heal me, and He did!  It is times like that, that I am incredibly thankful to be living with my mom!  She took great care of me.  Thanks, Mom!

Second, I saw the movie "The Secret Life of Bees".  It was amazing!  Finally a movie has followed the book's story line.   Of course some things were left out, but still amazing.  If you haven't read the book "The Secret Life of Bees" it is on my Top 5 Books of All Time List.  I'm an avid reader, so it has to be good to make that list! 

The bigger thing going on is that I will be going on a missions trip to the Amazon River basin in Brazil in June 2009!

Let me back up a bit.  I normally have an aversion to anything that resembles 'roughing it', but whenever someone brings up the annual mission trip to the Amazon I get this aching in my chest.  A good ache of longing to be with the people of that area.  

Well, last weekend was missions weekend at my church, and the Amazon trip was brought up again.  This time though it was time to sign up, and I did.  I could no longer avoid the fact that God has been preparing my heart for the call to go on this mission.  I did it in faith because this is way outside of my comfort zone and because it is an expensive trip.  

I've also recently made a conscious decision to do things that scare me because a life lived in fear probably means I'm not trusting God enough to actually LIVE.  I don't know about you, but I want to LIVE!

If you would like to be a prayer partner with me as I prepare for this trip OR you would like to sew financially into this mission I would love to hear from you!  Just shoot me an email at alisonlhunt [at] gmail [dot] com, and I'll answer any questions you may have. :-)

-A

Yoga Lessons & Revelations

I've recently been going to ashtanga yoga classes 3 times a week.  Before I get angry "Yoga is the devil" comments, let me tell you how God has been speaking to me through it. Everything we do in life requires prayer and faith.  God can redeem anything. I know that yoga is rooted in hinduism, but I am fortunate to have an instructor that does not focus on spiritual aspect of yoga. My prayers in yoga class started out as prayers of spiritual covering, but I've found my prayers morphing into great conversations with God!

Lesson #1: Ashtanga yoga requires focus on the connection between breath and movement.  For example, on the inhale you do one move and on the exhale you do the next move.  

Revelation #1: Through that focus, I've been able to lay down worries of the day, focus my mind on God and have set myself up to hear from God without distraction.  

Lesson #2: Yoga is also about being in the moment. 

Revelation #2: I've begun to realize that I should not 'live for the weekend', but for each moment that God gives me.  I often say, "I'm glad I had a busy day because it makes the day go by so fast!"  It is causing me to ask God more, "how do you want to use me in this moment, this hour, and this day?"

Lesson #3: Yoga requires listening to your instructor for maximum results and minimum injury.

Revelation #3:  Hello!  Read your Bible! What better way is there to listen to my Instructor, but through reading His words?

Lesson #4: Improvement happens through consistent practice and discipline.

Revelation #4:  Change doesn't always happen over night and it's easy to become impatient and give up.  Don't give up.  Instead press into my relationship with God and surrender to His will. The change will follow.  How can I not change in the presence of God?

I'm sure many more revelations will come!  If you decide to start going to yoga classes, it is important to know that it's foundations are rooted in an eastern religion.  Find a class you feel comfortable in.  There are also a lot of Christian yoga DVDs for sale online too!

Christmas in October

Being the planner that I am, tonight I started writing down what I want to get my family for Christmas.  In this day and time, it pays (rather saves) to start Christmas shopping now, rather than later.  It's the only way to Christmas shop on a budget.  This way I can pick up things as I find them.  

I am not sharing my gift ideas this year because some family may read this blog!  I've also made a decision to not exchange gifts with friends this year.  I want to dedicate my resources to my every growing family.   Not only is my last sibling engaged, but my brother and his wife are expecting another baby!  I get to be an aunt again!  

OK, enough Christmas in October...

-A

PS.  I LOVE my nephew!

Mini NYC Wrap-up

I've been home from NYC for 3 days and all I want to do is go back!  

The trip started off a little rough though.  My flight was cancelled because Delta could not locate an FAA approved fire extinguisher to put on the plane!  They gave me a meal voucher and booked me for a later flight.  That would have been fine, except my second flight was delayed 3 hours because NYC was experiencing a nor'easter!  I finally got to NYC 8 hours later than expected, but was so happy to finally get there!  

The rest of the weekend consisted of some serious bonding with 2 of my best friends, and going to the Pure Life conference.  My heart and soul were completely rocked by God.  I wish I could tell you everything, but some things are too precious to put out there for the world wide web to read.  I will tell you that spending time with Shelby and Tanner really really blessed me, and reconnecting with Amy and Shelby was the best gift of the whole weekend.  

I wish everyone could have friends as good as mine!

Here's a link to my NYC pics.

-A

Knowing What to Say...

Last week I read a back issue of one of my favorite magazines that is no longer in print...Radiant Magazine.  Fortunately, they still have an online presence.  The reason I was rereading it was because I ran out of books to read and my requests hadn't made it to the library yet.  As you may know, I LOVE to read, and especially on my lunch break.  So, I needed something to read and why not a back issue of Radiant?

Anyway,  as I was reading an article written by 2 female friends; one is married and one is single.  This article addresses how single and married women can better relate to each other.  I wish I had a link to the article online, but you can buy this issue at the Relevant Store.  It is a great article about how single and married women can and need to be friends.  

The best part of the article are 2 lists title, "Loving Single Friends" and "Loving Married Friends".  Each had different things each group needs and wants from their friendships.  

Here are the lists: 

[DISCLAIMER: just so you know it comes from the fall 2006 issue of Radiant in the article What Not to Say by Marlene Baer and Cari Stone.  This is my anti-plagiarism statement.]

Loving Single Friends:

1. Initiate.  Get a sitter if you need to and plan a date with me, without your husband and kids.
2. Invite me over for dinner.  It's tough to fend for yourself every night or to eat leftovers at the kitchen sink.
3. Ask me to come on a weekend family trip or outing.  I want to get to know your spouse and your kids.
4. Join me on my turf.  Pick me up for lunch at my office, go on a walk with me in my neighborhood or go out with me on a Friday night.
5. Include me at your couples' parties.  Rather than trying to protect me from an awkward situation, let me decide if I feel like coming to the party so I don't feel excluded.

Loving Married Friends:

1. Ask me about my marriage and family.  I value your perspective, and you have insights that can help me navigate my world.
2. Meet me at a park to chat sometimes.  If you can be patient with my divided attention, meaningful conversation can prevail.
3. When you need advice about your professional life, call me.  Remember that I still like to think about things other than 2-year-olds.
4. Get to know my spouse.  You interest in him and what makes him tick means a lot to both of us.
5. When I have to say "no" to a fun getaway or evening because my family needs me, trust that this is a decision I didn't take lightly.  Support my commitment to keep my family my first priority.

As a single woman, I can affirm that those 5 statements are true for me.  It is important that not all activities with married friends revolve around kids, marriage and family events.  On the flip side, it is nice to be included in those events because I only get to experience that perspective through my married friends.  Basically, I want to be involved in my friends lives, but every good friendship needs some focused time too.

Being that I'm not married, I don't know if the "Loving Married Friends" list is true.  Is it?

What would you add or remove from each list?

Mismatched Shoe Policy

As you know, I am going to NYC in a matter of 11 days! In preparation for my trip, I had to buy a few things. One of those things was a pair of shoes to go with my new cocktail dress. Well, today I visited the DSW - St. Johns Town Center in Jacksonville, FL to purchase that pair of shoes. I found the perfect pair of shoes and went to the register to purchase them. The cashier checked the shoes and told me they were 2 different sizes (the difference was a 1/2 size). I told her I found them on the clearance rack, so she went back to find the matching pairs. She was unsuccessful, and decided to check the back of the store. When she came back to the register, she told me that the matching shoes were not in the store and it was the last pair in the store. I told her that was ok, and that I still wanted to buy the shoes because I couldn't tell a size difference when I put them on. She then informed me that she could not sell them to me mismatched because of a store policy. I understand the policy in theory because they do not want to sell mismatched shoes if the matching shoes are in the store, but in my case their matches were not in the store at all. That leads me to believe the other shoes were sold as a mismatched pair. After she told me the store policy, I asked to speak to her manager. The manager told me about the same policy, and so I asked what he would do with shoes he wouldn't sell to me. He told me that he would send them back to his vendor and they would be recycled. I was shocked that he was unwilling to sell me the shoes and send them to be recycled!! Recycled!! He would rather recycle the shoes than take my money! I like to shop at DSW, but the manager was unsympathetic, and unwilling to make a sale. Basically, the lack of attention to detail caused a mismatched pair of shoes to be sold and the other mismatched pair to be left in the store, and my perfect shoes could not be bought. Fortunately, my awesome mom was with me and encouraged me that we could find another pair of shoes just as great. 2 hours and 6 stores later, we found them. I like to shop, but I have never spent so much energy to find shoes to go with a dress! My mom is a trooper to go to all of those stores with me. Thanks mom!