<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131994036753230964</id><updated>2012-02-16T03:51:48.820-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Alison Baker</title><subtitle type='html'>"Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." James 1:2</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://alisonoakesbaker.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3131994036753230964/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://alisonoakesbaker.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Alison Baker</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08404809825361657942</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='27' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_guFv-4b16E4/SPzyiFKADRI/AAAAAAAAAEM/YARD-gFmtOE/S220/dancing.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>3</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131994036753230964.post-3537941088442973157</id><published>2008-10-23T07:54:00.016-05:00</published><updated>2008-10-23T08:27:35.146-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Fall Favorites</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_guFv-4b16E4/SQB6MQ3mOJI/AAAAAAAAAG4/A5sEnbo3L10/s1600-h/fall.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_guFv-4b16E4/SQB6MQ3mOJI/AAAAAAAAAG4/A5sEnbo3L10/s200/fall.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260338715873917074" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;Without a doubt, Fall is my favorite season.  I just can't live without my pumpkin spice scented candles and lattes when there's a chill in the air, beautiful foliage, and falling leaves outside.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Enjoy these quotes as you enjoy this beautiful season:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"  &gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_guFv-4b16E4/SQB6TvKUDyI/AAAAAAAAAHA/Z1Ds_oVbPM8/s1600-h/pumpkins.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 126px; height: 92px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_guFv-4b16E4/SQB6TvKUDyI/AAAAAAAAAHA/Z1Ds_oVbPM8/s200/pumpkins.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260338844264566562" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote  style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" &gt;"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn."&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;                - Elizabeth Lawrence&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;    &lt;p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote  style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" &gt;"No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" &gt;As I have seen in one autumnal face."&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;               - John Donne&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;!--, &amp;#34;Elegy 9: The Autumnal&amp;#34; CTO--&gt;  &lt;p  class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote  style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile."&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;- William Cullen Bryant&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;a href="http://thinkexist.com/quotes/william_cullen_bryant/"&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3131994036753230964-3537941088442973157?l=alisonoakesbaker.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://alisonoakesbaker.blogspot.com/feeds/3537941088442973157/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3131994036753230964&amp;postID=3537941088442973157' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3131994036753230964/posts/default/3537941088442973157'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3131994036753230964/posts/default/3537941088442973157'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://alisonoakesbaker.blogspot.com/2008/10/fall-favorites.html' title='Fall Favorites'/><author><name>Alison Baker</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08404809825361657942</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='27' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_guFv-4b16E4/SPzyiFKADRI/AAAAAAAAAEM/YARD-gFmtOE/S220/dancing.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_guFv-4b16E4/SQB6MQ3mOJI/AAAAAAAAAG4/A5sEnbo3L10/s72-c/fall.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131994036753230964.post-5599037530946055919</id><published>2008-10-21T21:57:00.002-05:00</published><updated>2008-10-21T22:02:19.577-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Trust Him</title><content type='html'>&lt;p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;While brainstorming for this blog, I came across a couple of entries in my current evening devotional by Joyce Meyer that I found very pertinent and intriguing.&lt;span style=""&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;I feel sure that many people can relate to these as well. &lt;span style=""&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;    &lt;p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The first says:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote style="font-style: italic;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;“A fainthearted person cannot take much. &lt;span style=""&gt; &lt;/span&gt;He has to have everything a certain way or he gives up and quits. &lt;span style=""&gt; &lt;/span&gt;He gets discouraged and depressed quickly….Instead of thinking and saying 'It is too hard,' say, 'I can do whatever I need to do &lt;st1:cpsmarttag st="on"&gt;because&lt;/st1:CPSmartTag&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;God is with me&lt;/span&gt;.'”&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;    &lt;p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;It is interesting that most of us would not consider ourselves fainthearted; this term has a very negative connotation, but in reality many of us, at times, would fit this description.&lt;span style=""&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;On a daily basis, everyone is placed in situations where it might be easier to say “it’s too hard” and just complain and stress over the situation rather than relying on God. &lt;span style=""&gt; &lt;/span&gt;When faced with difficult situations, we must learn to trust God as our first response rather than feeling stressed, complaining, giving up, then going to God when all else fails. &lt;span style=""&gt; &lt;/span&gt;If we could make this a routine, I know that it would simplify all of our lives.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;    &lt;p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The second says:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;    &lt;p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;“You may not understand what is going on in the world around you, but you must trust God through it all….God will make all the pieces work together for His purpose, even when you don’t see tomorrow clearly.  Tomorrow’s answers usually don’t come until tomorrow.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Calibri;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt;Wow!  What an amazing message.  Most of us could probably say that at some point in our lives we have questioned how everything will work out.  Sometimes it seems impossible.  I am guilty of this &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:cpsmarttag style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" st="on"&gt;because&lt;/st1:CPSmartTag&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"&gt; I am a planner (my husband would say this is an understatement).  I know that many of you share this trait with me, and if so, you know how hard it is to live one day at a time, without worrying about tomorrow.  We must learn to trust God to put all of the pieces of our life together.  We cannot make the pieces work ourselves, and we cannot see how they will fit, because it is His perfect plan that only He can see.  This is something that I am still learning.  I hope that you can learn something from these as well.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3131994036753230964-5599037530946055919?l=alisonoakesbaker.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://alisonoakesbaker.blogspot.com/feeds/5599037530946055919/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3131994036753230964&amp;postID=5599037530946055919' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3131994036753230964/posts/default/5599037530946055919'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3131994036753230964/posts/default/5599037530946055919'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://alisonoakesbaker.blogspot.com/2008/10/trust-him.html' title='Trust Him'/><author><name>Alison Baker</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08404809825361657942</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='27' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_guFv-4b16E4/SPzyiFKADRI/AAAAAAAAAEM/YARD-gFmtOE/S220/dancing.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131994036753230964.post-8863072451480038000</id><published>2008-10-20T07:16:00.008-05:00</published><updated>2008-10-23T08:30:01.936-05:00</updated><title type='text'>The Beginning</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_guFv-4b16E4/SPx4HW29pkI/AAAAAAAAABg/E_OE9aH7PeE/s1600-h/100_3113.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 116px; height: 140px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_guFv-4b16E4/SPx4HW29pkI/AAAAAAAAABg/E_OE9aH7PeE/s320/100_3113.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259210532652426818" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" &gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;Perhaps this blog will give everyone a small window into my life. I'm starting it on a whim, so I am not sure how it will end up, but my hope is that it will bring joy to some who read it.  Enjoy!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'll start with a photo of my family thus far: that's my husband Chris and me with our baby Jack at his first Auburn game.&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3131994036753230964-8863072451480038000?l=alisonoakesbaker.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://alisonoakesbaker.blogspot.com/feeds/8863072451480038000/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3131994036753230964&amp;postID=8863072451480038000' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3131994036753230964/posts/default/8863072451480038000'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3131994036753230964/posts/default/8863072451480038000'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://alisonoakesbaker.blogspot.com/2008/10/perhaps-this-blog-will-give-everyone.html' title='The Beginning'/><author><name>Alison Baker</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08404809825361657942</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='27' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_guFv-4b16E4/SPzyiFKADRI/AAAAAAAAAEM/YARD-gFmtOE/S220/dancing.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_guFv-4b16E4/SPx4HW29pkI/AAAAAAAAABg/E_OE9aH7PeE/s72-c/100_3113.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry></feed>
