My Setter – #17

God has blessed our family with this amazing young woman! God has gifted her in so many areas, and it is so exciting for us to see her use her gifts as she does! God also gifted her with a strong will, like her mother, which sometimes aids in us two clashing and not seeing things eye-to-eye. Even in those times, I need to remember a strong will can be good if used correctly, and can help her achieve many things and take her places in her life in the future! A strong will is not necessarily a “bad” thing! 🙂

Ali has always had a big heart, especially for the hurting, the elderly, young children, and for the less-fortunate. Watching her love and care for the elderly residents in the assisted living facility my mother was in for a short time really touched me. I watch how she interracts with others, and I am impressed with how she tries to get along with everyone. I’m not sure she has any enemies! 🙂 She is the third-oldest of thirteen granchildren on my side of our family, so many times when we get with my brothers and their families, she’s the “grown up” of the kids. She’s caught in between the “kid’s table” and the “adult table” at our family gatherings. I remember that feeling…and that can be a difficult place to be in! Her younger cousins want her to sit with them, yet she’s wanting to hang around the adults. She handles it very well each time though, through her graciousness and love.

Her sense of humor is so fun! She’ll crack me up with some of her one-liners…she has a sense of humor like her grandpa (my dad) did. She reminds me of him so much at times! She’s creative and an amazing artist! I’ll have to post some of her work sometime! She sings beautifully and plays the flute better than her mom did (and I thought I was pretty good)!

She loves God and her Facebook references her love for Jesus a lot. I’ve seen her stand for her faith, and stand up for the One who is her Savior! It’s exciting for me to see how she has scripture verses that she’s written on cards and put up on her bedroom walls! God has planted those seeds of truth deep in her heart and He continues to grow them in her!

Sunday I had the opportunity to again be so proud of Ali. She plays volleyball for her school volleyball club during the late-fall and winter months of the year. Her team played at a tournament on Sunday at her high school, and I was awed again by her talent. She is a “setter” on her team, and sometimes her role is a “hitter.” She certainly has the height for a hitter! But she can set that ball with precision…forward or backward for either the left, center or right hitter! It’s fun to watch her fake the other team out when she pushes the ball over the net, into a “hole” on the other side, instead of setting it up for the hitters on her team! She really knows what she’s doing in this sport at such a young age! Her mom was beaming in the stands!

Not only am I proud of her talent on the volleyball court, but I’m proud of her leadership, her positive attitude and how she encourages her teammates! That makes the most difference…in sports, in teams and in life! She’s got those skills down when most kids I see don’t have a clue about that important stuff!

A proud momma bragging about her daughter…that’s me today! I’m proud of my setter – #17!