Like Incense

How great are these Hillsong Like Incense lyrics?

Your statutes are my heritage forever
My heart is set on keeping Your decrees
Please still my anxious urge toward rebellion
Let Love keep my will upon its knees

To all creation I can see a limit
But Your commands are boundless and have none
So Your Word is my joy and meditation
From the rising to the setting of the sun

All Your ways are loving and are faithful
The road is narrow but Your burden light
Because You gladly lean to lead the humble
I shall gladly kneel to leave my pride

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You

If you don’t know Hillsong, run walk your fingers to your iTunes store and buy the A Beautiful Exchange album. You’ll be glad you did. Now worship your little hearts out.

love,

allison

wallpaper is for dummies

No under-thirty-something is supposed to dig wallpaper. We’ve been conditioned over time to hate any sort of bad border we’ve had to help our parents tear out of their “no-longer-fruit-themed” kitchens and our friends tear out of their “no-longer-the-eighties” fixer-upper bathrooms.

Taking it down is a pain. The spraying, the steaming, the chemicals, the scoring with that weird tool, the picking and peeling and celebrating if you can manage to get a long strip off. Then there’s the gross sticky glue part, the mess, and the accidental ‘oops’ that happen when you inadvertently take off a chunk of the drywall. (Sorry, mom.) Once it’s all finally down, it’s not just game-over. You’ve got to spackle and sand all those stupid places where the stubborn glue won’t leave or the wall decided it didn’t want to part with the once-beloved wallpaper. Oh yes, wallpaper is a giant pain. There was a stretch of time a few years ago when I swore I’d never, ever wallpaper when I walked into my parents’ kitchen and realized it had been transformed into an anthrax lab of wallpaper removal, with plastic hanging from the doorways and a fine white powder on every surface imaginable. They and their lungs may never recover.

This leads me to this conclusion: Wallpaper is for Dummies.

Dummies who commit to a certain “fashion” by gluing and papering and lining up those edges perfectly and want to commit to take it down a few years later when apples, ivy, ducks, pineapples, big floral patterns, Williamsburg blue, and geometric designs are no longer cool in the home arena.

I have no desire for this, none of it, but Julia Rothman makes me suddenly want to be a dummy.

Yes, I know, the owl is the new sparrow, and the sparrow is the new fruit. But c’mon. How can you not want to justify spending a mere $105 for a roll of coolness and sacrifice all of the brain cells that are commanding you to “step away from the wallpaper”…?

Step into the light, my friend. Step into the blue swirly cloud and sparrow light. You need this. And I need your remnant. I just know it.

love,

allison

what I love : twine

Here’s what I’m loving right now:

Baker’s twine.

All colors.

All thicknesses.

All kinds of lovely.

Throw it on a package.

On a tag.

On a card.

On a journal.

Instant pretty, right?

.

Go get some.

I’d like a giant spool.

Hint, hint.

.

love, allison

oatmeal cookie-holic

You may be experiencing PCBD… post-Christmas baking disorder, also known as “I volunteered to make too many dishes, sides, desserts, treats and meals for parties, classes, friends, gifts and open houses.” But I have the cure. Instant Oatmeal Cookies. You can whip the mix up in no time and put it in a jar to be baked now or later, but be warned, you may become an oatmeal cookie-holic, especially if you throw in a handful or four (my preference) of semi-sweet chocolate chips. No? Try crushed toffee. Yum.

Instant Oatmeal Cookie Mix

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups flour
2. 2 teaspoons salt
3. 2 teaspoons baking soda
4. 1 teaspoon baking powder
5. 2 cups granulated sugar
6. 2 cups brown sugar
7. 2 cups butter or shortening (butter’s my go-to)
8. 6 cups instant oatmeal
9. semi-sweet chocolate chips, toffee, or additive of your choice

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, white sugar, and brown sugar.
2. Add butter and mix in with a pastry blender or your fingers until mixture is evenly crumbly.
3. Stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips or toffee.
4. Divide mixture between four quart-sized canning jars and attach the lids.
5. Attach a copy of the recipe below and a tag that says, “Store Instant Oatmeal Cookie Mix in refrigerator up to 3 months or freeze up to 6 months.”

To make your cookies, you’ll need:

2 cups Instant Oatmeal Cookie Mix

1 cup raisins or chopped nuts

1 egg

2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat your oven to 350*. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray. In a mixing bowl, stir together Instand Oatmeal Cookie Mix, egg and vanilla. Stir in raisins or nuts. Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Best part about this recipe? You can give 3/4 of it away. Save one measly jar for yourself and gift three to friends or neighbors. Just think of it as a way to save unnecessary calories.

Or, you can eat one now, refrigerate two: one for next week, and another for the following, and pop one in the freezer for a month from now. Oatmeal cookies baked weekly? Yes, please.

love, allison

jesus

 

Arise, shine; for your light has come!

Is. 60:1

 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Is. 9:6

 

His name is Jesus.

 

love, allison

on the twelfth day of christmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me:

Twelve drummers drumming,

eleven pipers piping,

ten lords a-leaping,

nine ladies dancing,

eight maids a- milking,

seven swans a-swimming,

six geese a-laying,

five golden rings,

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

 

The twelfth gift represents the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles’ Creed.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church (universal body of all believers), the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

love, allison

on the eleventh day of christmas

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me:

Eleven pipers piping,

 

ten lords a-leaping,

nine ladies dancing,

eight maids a- milking,

seven swans a-swimming,

six geese a-laying,

five golden rings,

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

 

The eleventh gift represents the eleven disciples who sat under Jesus’ teaching.

And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. Luke 6:14-16

love, allison

on the tenth day of christmas

On the tenth day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me:

Ten lords a-leaping,

 

nine ladies dancing,

eight maids a- milking,

seven swans a-swimming,

six geese a-laying,

five golden rings,

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

 

The tenth gift represents the Ten Commandments God gave to us through Moses to direct our relationship with Him and with man.

And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.  Exodus 20:1-17

love, allison

on the ninth day of christmas

On the ninth day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me:

Nine ladies dancing,

 

eight maids a- milking,

seven swans a-swimming,

six geese a-laying,

five golden rings,

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

 

The ninth gift represents the nine Fruits of the Spirit produced in the lives of God’s children.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  Gal. 5:22-23

love, allison

on the eighth day of christmas

On the eighth day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me:

Eight maids a- milking,

 

seven swans a-swimming,

six geese a-laying,

five golden rings,

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

 

 

The eighth gift represents the eight Beatitudes: Jesus’ words from The Sermon on the Mount that demonstrate the character of true faith.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Matt. 5:3-12

love, allison