Hi Praise and Coffee reader. “I’m Alli.” Anytime I am invited to speak somewhere, I always start and end my talk with that simple sentence. I confess, I’ve wanted to craft some incredibly inspirational opening remark or closing comment, but oddly enough, “I’m Alli” fits me. I’m a simple girl, from simple roots, living out a pretty amazing life with my husband, five sons, 2 guinea pigs and a dog. I trust that since this magazine is called Praise and Coffee, you have a nice warm cup of coffee in your hand. I do too. So let’s pretend we’re two good friends sitting down over a cup of coffee. That’s the beauty of the Internet. Instant community. It’s always humbling to me when someone asks me to write about myself. I have two initial thoughts, “What in the world will I say?” and “What in the world would people want to know?” But I always end up doing what I do best. I tell my story; the real version of it, not some polished up Internet marketing version of it. I decided a long time ago, when my internet career 15
began, that I would be real, and honest, and transparent, knowing that living my public life that way would be the greatest way I could honor God, and also the most likely way that I would be of any help to anyone else. So how did my career on the Internet begin? Well it’s a long story; so sit back, settle in, and enjoy your coffee while I tell you. I married right out of college, and made a very intentional decision to stay at home and support my husband as he developed his career. He was in a very niche’ sector of the finance world, and he was climbing the corporate ladder quickly. But climbing the corporate ladder also meant moving our family all around the country. We packed and unpacked our household so many times in those early days; almost as quickly as we had kids! Once we started having kids, the decision to homeschool them seemed wise, given the nature of how often we moved. And as much as I loved my husband and kids and homeschooling, I was bored intellectually.
Praise and Coffee | Spring 2013