Saturday, December 27, 2008

the electric company is ecstatic!


If this family is anything like mine, in order for these parents to be convinced this is  a good idea, is for one of the children to step forward and say," we will ALL give up this years Christmas presents if you put up this Christmas display." Apparently, the clincher is in the word "ALL", and the rest of the siblings are convinced this is way better or more likely, unknowingly forced. sadly, only a few truly know of to what i speak. 

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

never before skint like this

scratch that last post. i just checked my balance and never has it been this sad. exact balance: $0.00 

apparently i either love people too much or i just dont do well with finances. I'm hoping and praying it's the first.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008





One night Cryn, Elliott, Mom, and Myself were Ichatting, when Cryn suggests to us that she wants to come down for a visit. Elliott had been wishing he was at Grandpa's house and one can only wait so long before giving into a child ( especially your son). Needless to say, the next morning Cryn, El, and Caiden were on there way down to Grandpa's house.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Remember Jesus!

some how along the way i have lost sight of christmas. I have found myself in a place i never wanted to be. As I was walking through south coast plaza trying to buy last minute presents and growing more and more depressed, i realized this is not what Christmas is about. And though i have heard it many times year after year, I found myself in this compromising position. I never wanted to be the person who puts their heart into the season so much so that they loose sight of the Lord. I'm down to my last couple of dollars and it seems as though i would rather be broke than to by less pricy of gifts. And somehow with every gift bought, the less thought that went into them. I hate that! 

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

mustache madness...


a ridiculous amount of Jr.. Highers (that cannot produce their own facial hair) join this day with party city and acquire their own facial hair. what an evening it has been! An evening where the 11 year old, 12 year old, and the occasional 13 year old can pretend for a brief 2 hours that they have indeed been through puberty. something to look forward to i guess. though for elliott, he has just asked me, "wait!.. Allison, why are you turning into a man?" hahahah! I probably should take my mustache off now. It's time.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

tis the season...



      saturday night seemed like the perfect night for a gingerbread house making party. As i was planning a time for it to start(5:00pm)and tried to figure out a way i wouldn't have to buy tons of graham crackers, candy, icing, sprinkles etc,
the Lord worked everything out. the week prior, the Jr. High ministry at CCCM had a gingerbread house party, making me one blessed lady. I grabbed the ridiculous amount of leftovers and headed home. originally when i was planning, i thought the party wouldn't last long.
 in my head it was going to be a small window of time to get together with some ladies. as the night progressed, and the craziness grew, i looked at my cell to see that it was already midnight. For some reason my tiny get together that i thought was only going to last 3 hours at the most, turned into a 7 hour party. what a blessing it is to have friends who wont go home!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

thanksgiving came and went( the holiday that is)


Every year my family participates in not one, but two thanksgiving dinners- Extra fun,Extra food, Extra pounds. I remember asking God to make this a thanksgiving i would remember, and was answered by His charming sense of humor.  For our first thanksgiving, we realized about 3 hours into cooking the turkey,  the oven was broken. In the end, our turkey was BBQ. Literally. some enjoyed the turkey. i did not. 
thanksgiving number two started off a little shaky but the Lord totally cleaned up the mess- inner family turmoil. All in all the Days were  a hit.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Bloody sunday- November 16th





Coby's birthday was bloody- He just doesn't know it. sunday morning i woke up to a little present: Blood gushing out my nose. i don't think this bloody nose tops the bloody nose i had up at camp with cryn but it definitely made the list. Thankfully two of my friends spent the night with me so i had aid. Because of my bloody nose, we were late to sound check, but the Lord is faithful. I hate the feeling of letting my team down. As i called each member of my team, one by one i heard them say they too were running late. And so it was sunday the sixteenth of november that the Lord took care of Allison.

Friday, November 14, 2008






one of my favorite things to do is to make cards. The whole creative thing... I'm pretty much a fan of. I finished one of my favorite cards just recently and have decided to post some pictures. I hope you enjoy!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

My favorite time of year


i would just like to make everyone aware that it is now christmas time at South Coast Plaza!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

an offering of hope comes to employee

               I don't know what came over me. I was working with a guy I hadn’t worked with for a long while. But every time we work together, somehow, our conversation turns ever so serious. And for some reason he feels comfortable enough to confide in me. So it was, Tuesday the Twenty Eighth of October, that the Lord poured out His spirit in the Container Store.

The day started off anomalous. On Tuesdays I usually work with my friend Michael. And for those couple of hours we have more fun than any two people should at their Job. However, This Tuesday we were starting storage displacement to make way for all of our Christmas items. Needing more people to work than usual, I was pared up with this certain individual. As we were working, he asked me if I wanted to hear a crude joke about a pirate. I said NO.  Then amiably started to say, " If I wanted to hear a crude joke about a pirate then I would have walked up to you and said, Hey! Tell me a joke about a pirate." He noticed the unmistakable agitated tone in my voice, and questioned my response. I was at the point where I was done. I was tired of hearing the "F" word like it’s an article, people talking about Porn, and just the overall tone of the world in my ear. Soon after, we some how segue way into the topic of death. He talked about his friend who recently died and I talked about my friends who have died. The conversation had turned all too grim. After his comment of now being depressed, and our agreement that tomorrow is promised to know man, there was an almost awkward feel to the air. The uneasiness of the atmosphere led to an explosion of scientific thought.

                  " Isn't it weird that right now we are floating in space? That we are on a planet, spinning, yet we are able to stand still on earth? And isn't it weird that we are the exact distance away from the sun that we aren’t freezing or burning up right now?" and so he said, yeah, I guess that is weird. A quick pause of thought led to curiosity." are you religious?" “ Yes I am. Well actually, no. I wouldn’t describe myself as a religious person. I think there is a definite limit in its definition.” I started to explain to him how religion is working for something. The person is trying to earn salvation; trying to earn grace. The dependence of Heaven Lies strictly on the person, and why would I… why would anyone want to take that on themselves? I walked him through various religions: what they believe and explained to him how they are all works oriented. “ Religion of the Law screams responsibility whereas a Relationship say, Just Respond. And in responding to God you will do far more than you ever would under religion.” (Jon Courson- loosely translated) He then asked me what I was. “ I’m a Christian!” He couldn’t believe it. A Christian? I could all of a sudden feel the store grow tense. I would have backed off but I wasn’t about to leave him without offering him hope. I told him the hope that lies in me. The work is done; the price has been paid. I am no longer under law but under grace.

         All of this being said, please pray for him. It seems as though the Lord is trying to get his attention.

My heart breaks for the broken

As i was driving through my neighborhood (having a little chat with Elliott), I saw a young woman on the corner of someone's front yard.  She had dropped to her knees and began sobbing. As she grasped for every breath, the smoke from her cigarette filled her lungs. It was as though i could hear her questions run through her mind; the agony in her heart. And for those few uneasy moments, the Smoke answered her. Only, there were no words of comfort. there were no words of hope. The answers were relentless, tearing every invention of hope back to reality. 

Thursday, October 23, 2008

2 more photos from carp!

despite the looks on our faces, we really were having fun. we were probably just tired from the long day.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Jehovah Jireh


The Lord is named many things. One of which, and my favorite: Jehovah Jireh- the Lord will PROVIDE. 
   Monday night was pretty difficult for me emotionally. However, the Lord once again proved Himself so incredibly faithful to meet my need physically and emotionally. He truly is upholding me. 
Every monday night I meet up with a couple of girls at the District in Tustin to pray. As we were sitting in Panera and my turn came to share my prayer requests, i started to cry. i have been so overwhelmed as of late to the point where i feel like i cant stand. the cares of the world have been pounding me. I had been praying all day that God would send shepherds to feed me according to His heart, and that night He did it. Two friends stood in a parking lot with me and encouraged me. it was such a blessing. and as i was about to open my car door, my friend hands me a check, and says, " the Lord told me to give you this." i have never been good at taking money from people. I gave her this look as to tell her with my eyes. she told me to check the date; that she had been carrying the check around since that time. once she said that, i knew it was from the Lord. 
        Once i got home i dove into the Word and i received a text with verses to encourage me. and as i was looking up these verses, The Lord completely spoke to me from Job 39:11 -12.  " will you trust him because his strength is great? or will you leave your labor to him? will you trust him to bring home your grain. and gather it to your threshing floor? But for me the Lord said, " Allison, will you trust Me because my strength is great? Will you leave your labor to Me? Will you trust Me to bring home your grain, and gather it to your threshing floor?
- THE LORD WILL PROVIDE!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

All Nighter








Friday night was the Jr. High all nighter. The event starts at 10:30 pm friday night and goes until 8:00 am saturday morning. From 10:30 pm to 2:00 am the kids played at  Newhope  Gymnastics. from 2:00 am to 6:00 am we were at Boomers in Irvine. from 6:00 to 6:45 we drove along the coast watching the sun rise, and from 6:45 to 8:00 am we ate breakfast at Calvary Costa Mesa.
The night went pretty well: No one was seriously injured, it was cold but not too cold, there was a constant flow of coffee, I almost beat Jeff Gonzel at miniature golf, I was able to drive my own car, and because I did, I was able to go to starbucks on Baker and do my devotions. 

Thursday, October 16, 2008

I came this close to Heaven... Dying that is.

It was amazing: glassy, perfect barrels. I ran back to the truck, grabbed my board, and headed down to the beach with my cousin. As we ran toward the water she asked me one last time if i was going to be fine without a wetsuit. Of course I was gonna be fine. Why wouldn't I be fine? I do amazingly in cold water. However, this was not cold water. It wasn't even close to cold water. We got past the waves and started paddling as fast as we could toward the sets. As I began  to look to my right i heard her yell, " I'm gonna take this one!"  The last thing i saw was the nose of the board dive straight into the water. I knew she was a goner. The board flying in the air proved it.  Seeing a set in front of me, I paddled as fast as I could to get past it. I knew I was gonna get trashed. By this time my body had almost acclimated to the freezing temperature. though, I never fully submerged my body in the waves.  
     The wave came full force forcing me to duck under it. As I was underwater my mind went completely blank, and i stopped breathing. It was awful. Even after I surfaced, I was without breath. finally, my body allowed me to gasp for air. I looked back, thanking God it was all over. However, seeing another wave heading my way, I swam as fast as I could toward shore. Without getting very far, I dove under again. The same thing happened as before. My mind went blank and my breath left. I surfaced once more and could not breath.  Finally I was able to stand and air filled my lungs. My cousin was on shore about to go back out when she saw what was happening to me.  Once I was out of the ocean, I started Hyperventilating.I put my hands over my mouth as tight as possible trying to get the whole "Paper bag" effect. For the most part it worked. Once my breathing was normal,I pretty much narrowed it down to the water being so freezing that it took my breath away. Hug me the next time you see me. I'm alive!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Jonah

    " What to you mean sleeper? Arise, call upon your God; perhaps  your God will consider us, so that we may not perish."(vs.6)  " For whose cause is this trouble upon us."(vs8) The people knew this was no ordinary storm. they knew it had purpose. Jonah told them what they needed to do to stop the storm but they fought it and tried to resist. Despite Jonah's unequivocal plea to be throne into the tumultuous sea, they strove to row their way to shore. " Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them."(vs.13) It always seems to happen that we try to exhaust every option before coming to the Lord. Like He is the Ace in our deck. But we save Him for our craziest games. When did the Lord become our last resort? " so they picked up Jonah, and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from raging. See what goodness the Lord has? He's waiting on the sidelines wanting to calm the storm for us, but we wait. We wait to use him. Our desire to exhaust every option before allowing the Lord to step in only exhausts us. God never desires for us to go at it alone. " now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah."(vs. 17) Notice, " the Lord had prepared," signifies a previous plan, that is now being fulfilled. Despite Jonah's disobedience, the Lord still desired to take care of him. God will never force Himself on us. He waits patiently on the side for us to call out His name. God still desired to calm the storm; the Lord still sought to keep Jonah safe. He sent a whale to swallow Jonah in-order to take him out of the conflict. It may not have been Jonah's ideal solution but God allowed him to make his own decision and when he failed, God sent a whale to swallow him. He does the same for us. For some reason God doesn't do small scale.  God does whatever He has to to accomplish His will. Apparently God knew it would take a whale swallowing Jonah, for him to submit to His will. Jonah sat in a belly of a whale for 3 days and 3 nights in order for him to learn brokenness - sitting in stomach acid, smelling the decay of fish, thinking of all the places he would rather be, thinking if he had only done it the Lord's way. I wonder what would have happened if Jonah  said, " yes" to the Lord from the beginning. Sometimes God has to send a great fish to swallow us to get our attention. to sit. to wait. to think. to cry out. to obey. 
                     Lets try saying, "YES" to the Lord and see what happens.
                                   let me know how it goes.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

The Heavens Declare His Glory

 most days my head is somewhere in the clouds or focused on some unimportant pleasure in my day. however, today is just one of those days i want to barry my head in my Abba's chest and cry.
  work has grown increasingly awkward as a fellow employee has not so suddenly proclaimed his like for me and some times likes to say he loves me. how do you avoid the awkward conversation of: " you're not a christian, the Bible says not to be unequally yoked." as these will not make sense to him. this morning he referred to me as his girlfriend and I'm pretty sure i didn't sign up for that one. i didn't even know what to say. i just looked at him like he was crazy. and friday he kept asking me out. he said, " so are we gonna hang out this weekend?" i laughed... hard. his reply? " so i guess that means no." then there was an awkward pause. i said, " i don't think you want to hang out with me. Im kinda boring." He looked at me somewhat puzzled and let out a small laugh. but honestly to a  person who spends his time partying and wasting countless times waking up and not remembering anything from the night before, I probably would be really boring. i don't drink. i don't smoke. i don't swear. And i don't party. I love God. sunday morning i lead worship at a church. monday night I have a prayer group with a couple of girls. wednesday night i go to church and help out in the Jr.. high ministry. and saturday night i go to church. everything else kinda just fills in the holes. Despite the whole him not being a believer, we have too much in common. However i know with all my heart that the Lord has NOT called me to him.  And on top of that i have no idea what God is doing in a certain situation. Im in a waiting period. but my eyes are fixed upon Him. I just want to sit on the couch with my fathers arms wrapped around me. The Lord promises rest is found in Him. so if anyone needs me thats where I'll be.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

what happens in Autumn


 driving down bear to meet up with my brother at the apple store, i felt autumn. it was as if the trees around me breathed a sigh of relief. they had been holding up there branches for far too long. Giving up their control, their colorful leaves fall to the ground. - invest time over coffee! -Fall in a cup.

Dave's fake birthday