Leave room for Jesus

For the past 2 years I have debated starting a blog. When this idea first popped into my head, I thought that a teenager starting a blog was something that only happened on the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon. I decided to sit on the idea for a while, and instead start journaling as often as my little heart desired. Journaling was all fun and games. . .until I became obsessed and filled up my comp book and notes section of my iphone.
So here I am world! I'm taking my little old comp book to the next step. I am now a blogger. 

I've found that coming up with ideas for things I can write about is not as hard as I thought it would be, however; I have also found that coming up with an introduction blog post is not that simple. So I decided to google it. . . because that's what you're suppose to do when you want to find out the answer to something right? So here are some responses on what one should do when writing an introduction blog post: 

1. Invite the reader in
2. Be exciting
3. Be personal
4. State facts. 
5. Anecdotes.

Well one thing is for sure: Google did not help me at all. 
But you know what? That is totally fine. Because there is no right way to blog. Sometimes you post something great, and sometimes you post something not so great. So I'm just going to do me, Allie, and be secure in the fact that I will always write the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

So now on to bigger and better things! You're probably wondering what a "Cathlete" is, so I'll go ahead and explain what that is and what you should expect from this blog. 
Cathlete, comes from the words Catholic and Athlete…Catholic + Athlete = Cathlete. 
I chose to title my blog "Life of a Cathlete," because my life is all about Catholicism and select soccer. For many years my life was just soccer, which was great because soccer is my passion and what I excel at, however, when I got into high school my parents pushed me to be involved with other things so I could be a more well rounded person. I tried getting involved with some great organizations, but nothing seemed to fit. I later got in touch with my Catholic Faith, something I neglected most of my life, and through the grace of God found myself in Christ. 

(My reversion back to the Catholic church is a lot longer story than what I just told you, so I'll probably talk more about that in a later post…)
I've learned a lot about myself because of Christ, and have been blessed with the great opportunity to showcase the talents God gave me on the soccer field. It is certainly not easy to balance my faith and my sport, but I manage to do that and still have time for normal teenager stuff. Sometimes that means staying up a little later, attending extra practices, showing up to school events a little late, finishing my english essay instead of hanging out with friends, and much more. Quite often I hear people say "I want to be close to God, but I'm just really busy right now and don't have time." I'm sorry to say this, but that's an excuse. If I can play on two select soccer teams, take advanced classes, participate in clubs at my school, and be an active member at my church, you can do some prioritizing and make time for a relationship with God. 

I hope that my blog will be a testimony to all, that one can be a devoted son or daughter of God, AND have other passions and interests! God is calling each and every one of us to pursue Him in the same way that He pursues us every second of everyday. So let us all be on fire for Christ. Let us all learn how to be a better version of ourselves. Let us all learn how to balance our schedules. Let us all learn how to leave room for Christ. 

Until next time.


-Al