The Journey

When I was younger….

John Alley — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 06:13:49 +0000

I have been thinking a lot lately about what I used to enjoy when I was a whole lot younger. And why is it that as we get older we put aside the things that we enjoy just because some people think certain hobbies/activities have age limits? So I am going to take a minute to list just a couple of things I liked to do as a kid that I am starting to enjoy again:

1) Comic Books: Some of my favorite comics growing up were Superman, Batman, and The Flash. Now I don’t have time to collect all the individual comics, so I have moved to buying graphic novels. For those who do not know what graphic novels are, they are a collection of a comic story arcs combined into one or more volumes.

2) Role-Playing games: Don’t let your mind go there, I am talking about games like Dungeons & Dragons. Growing up my friends and I would play about anything; D&D, Star Wars, Gamma World, Shadowrun, and Star Frontiers were some of our main staples. Role-Playing games are a great way to exercise ones imagination and creativity. To this day I still remember some of the dungeon delves we went on; thanks Kit for being a great DM. I just recently purchased the Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Role-Playing Game Starter Set (The Red Box), partly out of nostalgia, but mostly out of a desire to start playing again.

WIBO

John Alley — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:10:26 +0000

Yesterday was just awesome, I attend The Whiteboard Sessions with some of the leaders of Image Church. It was a very moving and thought provoking time, and the Worship was incredible.

A few things that really hit home with me was when Darrin Patrick spoke on Idolatry. Two of the points that he made was “We don’t fall into sin, but exchange the object of our worship.” And Also that “I am completely sinful, yet I am fully accepted by God.” Mark Batterson spoke on Dreaming Big and said, “God is huge, but our dreams are to small,” and that we need to “start dreaming and stop imitating those around us.” The other six speakers were also very inspiring, and if I wrote everything down that I took away from WIBO this would go from a blog to a book.

Well, I need to stop blogging now and start confessing and dreaming BIG.

Being a Pharisee

John Alley — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 22:15:40 +0000

I’ve been thinking alot lately, and let me be totally honest. I AM a Pharisee. I have a tendency to be more concerned with peoples outward behaviors and appearance than I am with their spiritual needs. As I was reading in the scriptures in Matthew 23:1-36, I felt as if Christ was addressing me directly. I am a very cynical person; self absorbed in my own interest and problems. BUT, I don’t want to remain this way. I want to be a Christ-follower who is full of love, mercy, grace and forgiveness towards all people, just as Christ has shown it to me and to the world. I am not perfect and never will be, but with the help of the Holy Spirit I can become more Christ-like.

Hello World!

John Alley — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:34:36 +0000

Well, I finally broke down and started a blog. I never really wanted to blog before today, but figured that it seemed like half the world is blogging about what matters to them so why not me. The first couple of blogs may be mindless dribble until I figure out if I am going to have a theme or not, but I will be writing about how God is working in my life and the lives of my family. So I just want to say thanks for stopping by and reading my blog, and I hope you return.