sickness, communion, earthquake,conversation,cleaning,ladybug

Camp has come and now gone!

I headed up the mountain on thursday morning (to lead worship thursday, friday, and saturday) with Andrew, Jeff, and Lauren ( listening to "The Phantom of the Opera" soundtrack the whole way.) Andrew, Jeff, and Lauren are BIG fans!

Once we arrived, we brought our instruments inside the sanctuary to set up for that night's worship. God did a Crazy work! John Randall spoke and a ton of kids came up to receive an empowering of the Holy Spirit. 

    Friday morning we did worship again for the morning set, and then had the Baptism. It was so sweet. everyone was crying. there were kids that got baptized that in our flesh, we were ready to give up on. At free time i played volleyball with one of them and it was such a blessing because it was like i was with a totally different person. He legitimately had joy.  I wasnt up there the whole week but for the two days that i was there, i was completely blown away by what the Lord was doing. 

please pray

tomorrow i will be heading up the mt. to lead worship at jr. high camp. pray for me and the band. Ie: Lauren Neumann, Jessy V, and Jeff Gonzel. pray that my voice wont go out and that God would bind the enemy. for some reason i get spiritual warfare like crazy whenever im about to do something in Jesus' name...  so please pray.

just when you thought you made it... you do!

This morning i got in my car to go to work only to remember that i have absolutely no gas from the festivities the night before. no matter, God was going to get me to a gas station! with this in mind i made my trek to work. just as i was turning onto fairview from civic center, my car decides to shut off. NOT EXCITING! However, as of late i have been super at ease with bad things happening to my car. IE: flat tire on the fwy. and pretty much running out of gas with cryn and the kids on the way to the beach a couple months back. so i turned my car off and re-started it. the car started! it jerked out of its lane through the intersection. i was so scared it was gonna fail again so i pulled into a Goodwill parking-lot and drove through there for safety. With the gas station in view, i bolted out of the parking-lot onto the street. Victory was mine! just as i was about to turn through the next intersection, my car shut off again. so i restarted it again and drove as slow as possible into the gas station, because this was the speed my car could go. then once i pulled in and parked the payment machine thing wouldnt let me buy gas so i had to go inside and pay, Twice. (cause its retarded). then once my money went through i couldnt get the gas cap off because my dad bought a new gas cap that locks cause there are bad people that steal gas at night ( it happened to my brother too). Oh and might i remind you ... this is all on my way to work... needless to say, i would be late. so i called my manager to tell her and then called my dad to vent because i was so frustrated. 

once i got to work, i remember what the Lord had told me at 2:43 am in the morning when He woke me up. He said, " The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty." so i went on clinging to this promise. It was all in all a HARD day and i was missing someone so much. i just kept trying to cling to His promises and i remembered a song that says, " look to Jesus" in it... with all that the LOrd is to us.  

Night time approached and i had the pleasure of ministering along side char in worship at the wednesday night Bible study at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. So much fun. I love praising the LOrd and i love it even more when i can do it along side friends.

Yesterday: a fun day of following the Lord's voice

Yesterday was the Lord teaching me to trust. Jehosaphat and I (Elisha) followed the Lord's Voice to a Place the Bible calls: Ramoth Gilead. Before we left, we stopped by the gas station to fill up on fuel. once home, i changed my clothes grabbed some snacks and H20 and we were on our way. i have been wanting to take Jehosaphat to a certain place to eat for quite some time. However, once we arrived we realized the place had changed. then after we ate the food of my culture, it came time to pay. i was going to pay in cash but decided to pay with my card and use the cash for the tip. The only problem was i didn't have my card.(remember i changed). After a minor freak out and the grace of God, (having just the right amount of money to pay in cash and some left over for tip)we went and sat on the beach. jeho marveled at the Lord's handiwork and i read my Bible to see the next step. As the day turned into evening and evening turned into 9:30 we hit the road once more. At this point in time my car was only running  on the provision of the Lord. I seriously contemplated a man to get us out of this sticky situation but Jeho urged me to let the Lord handle it. So i did. Needless to say we made it back home in one piece. 

However this morning... my car did stall twice because it was now running on the soil in gasoline. i kept turning my car on and off, praying that God would get me to a gas station. HE DID! some may trust in horses, some may trust in chariots but we will trust in the name of our God!

- vague enough for you cryn?

The family went to the Beach

Robert and Cryn thought it was a good idea to swim to the booie and back. It was freezing!
Caiden Loved the waves
and the sand.
Family pictures!
Yet another one Dave will have to photoshop himself into.

Susie Cakes

I don't care if you hate cupcakes, you haven't had a cupcake until you have had a cupcake from susie cakes. they out do "Sprinkles" for sure.  I have decided if America has to be labeled an obese country, then it should be because of Susie Cakes. They are sooo good. Enjoy one!  It's next to Keane Coffee, on 17th street. 

hair cuts were on the agenda

a last minute call to Candace and we were in. El was able to eat his candy while he got his hair cut and Cryn was abel to be kid free during hers.

We had a great week...

Whenever Cryn comes down with the kids, we usually are selfish and truck the kids around with us doing things we want to do. Just when we cant take the screaming anymore, or we realize the kids really need a nap, we go home or we do something Elliott likes to do: Barnes and Nobles(for the trains), any kind of pet store,the park, the beach, ETC. Elliott is pretty content as long as he can have ALL of his cars.

mom leaves and everyone goes crazy.

Jr. High camp is upon us. Pray for our sanity and for sleep. And if you want i guess you can pray that God's spirit would be poured out.

For Cryn, i have something to share with you when you get home!

The Lord brought about a great Victory! 2nd samuel 23:10

One Hot Wheel at a time

I was amazed at Elliott's trial. He dumped out a truck load of small cars onto the living room floor, and decided it wasn't fair that he had to pick them all up himself. He exclaimed, " I can't do it on my own. I'll never be able to pick them all up."  recognizing  that this was something he had to go through to grow,  I sat on the couch coaching him through his giant feat that lay before him.                                     "You're almost there! Keep going!"

He stopped a couple times to complain and make moaning noises that soon stopped after i told him it sounded like his head was gonna explode. " Elliott, why don't you try picking up one race car at a time?", I asked.  He did and before he knew it, he was done and thrilled with what he had accomplished.

It's amazing how our trials develop as we grow physically and spiritually. Elliott is three years old and has a lot of growing still to come, but for now he takes it one Hot Wheel at a time.

                                   Praise the Lord for His patients !

Lamentations 3:25-29 &31

"THIS I RECALL TO MY MIND, THEREFORE I HAVE HOPE. Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.

they are new every morning; great is You're faithfulness. ' the Lord is my portion,' says my soul, therefore i hope in Him! The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone and keep silent, because God has laid it on him; let him put his mouth in the dust-there may yet be hope." " for the Lord will not cast off forever."

conversation

Elliot asked: Allison, what are you doing?

Me: Reading my Bible

El: why?

Me: Because i want to hear from Jesus

El: oh

Me:what are you doing?

El: Eating pretzels

Me: Eating pretzels?

El: Yeah!

I'm back

the trip was very spontaneous. My mom and i pretty much had nothing to do so we decided to take a 8 hour drive to the Bay area. All in all it was a great trip... Short but great. we also somehow ended up bringing Cryn, El, and Caiden back with us. so if you have time, enjoy their company. 

moments before

Moments before this picture was taken, Elliott decided it was a good idea to use his trains as roller skates. This was such a good idea until he landed on top of them resulting in a large scrape down his back. Jesus heals, this we know.

healdsburg

looking for craw fish
i just got a new filter that is pretty much like having a telephoto lens. its Rad!
the iguana we met in the park
El was scared...
caiden ate shark...

El ate jelly beans...

up in northern california take 2

Elliott was attacked

a second stab at the Piano

Elliott and Grandma made a parkinglot for all His cars that takes up the whole living room
and Elliott became a model

breakfast time

mexican Spencer

i asked Elliott what the tittle of my next blog should be and this is what i got. fortunately this adjective describes us to the T. However, all of a sudden he has had a change of heart. He now wants it to be called spencer.

 Elliott: d  tym t nk67 u7 k87876t ett4 v2q1p;;/.m---- apparently this says spencer. 

i asked el who spencer was and he said, "no, im spencer!" Cryn explained to me that when elliott gets out of the bathtub he likes to be called spencer fish. so spencer it is.

a visit with a Spaniard.

   Today the Lord blessed me with a visit with a spaniard. I hadn't seen jason for over a year. our time was short but sweet. its nice to catch up with old friends and see what the Lord is or isn't doing in there lives. once i was given my free mocha i realized i cant drink it all because i have to work at 5 am. POOP. but good news!... I'm going to see David, Corynne, Elliott, and Caiden Keats tomorrow. so tomorrow there will be greetings from "up in Northern California" which happens to be a song written by Coby Brooks: one of Elliott's favorite melodies.

worship on the FREEWAY

The festivities of today were very interesting. It was as though every moment was orchestrated ( which it was and is). I awoke to a friendly voice on my phone,but was insisted 

to keep sleeping and call later. I then read my Bible and called this friend shortly after. At 12:30 p.m. I was instantly baby sitter. Ana Lee and I fed ducks, watched a couple in love make out, and successfully were able to get the geese to leave us alone ( though i feared for her life). Wahoo's was next on the agenda followed by a phone call to a friend i hadnt seen or talked to in over a year. The next thing i know i am at the beach to spend time with God and instead talked to cryn. I then left the Beach to pick my aunt up for her birthday dinner. once i began to turn onto the on ramp, i turned down my music to pray, only to hear a sound not familiar to me, and the smell of burnt rubber. As soon as i was on the freeway my car started to make louder unfamiliar noises which led the car to come to a stop. Thankfully, i was able to make it over to the shoulder and call triple A. I got out of my car finally able to spend time with the Lord and started singing: "When You stand the tall trees and mountains bow, when you speak the fiercest of oceans is still, and i see sinners seek devotion, lost become chosen, and i fall to my knees."  followed by a little 1 samuel. I guess I was just too busy today. God had to make me break down on the freeway for a little quiet time. God is so good in and out of season.

My Lord is making it so easy to come back

like david...

today i danced before the Lord!!!! and cried 'cause i was so happy.

 I probably looked so stupid but i know my father in heaven was pleased. 

Im more excited than anything!!!!

i have been relying on the Lord to feed me and fill me when I'm empty because He alone only knows. just as i left the Jr. high ministry office this morning, the radio came on telling me of God's faithfulness. I was " Amen-ing" all the way home, and also laughing because God is so good.

As soon as I got home i ran into my house as fast as i possibly could. I couldn't wait to hear what the Lord would tell me next. just as i tuned in, a voice came on the radio said the message was over. i went to close the front door and said to God, " Are you kidding me?" i wanted so badly to continue to hear from the Lord. the Next message was with Pastor Bob Coy and he was talking about waffles...

Bob was saying how he just got a brand new waffle maker as a gift. so saturday morn. comes rolling around and his wife says to the kids, " daddy's gonna make waffles!" immediately the kids could not wait. they were so excited. so Bob went on to make the batter and heat the waffle maker. the kids came in and asked if they were done yet. Bob said that it takes 10 min, so they waited some more. a little while longer they came in complaining and wanting cereal because they were starving. 10 more minutes he said to the little ones. 

soon the waffles were done. he sat the kids down, put some butter on top, some syrup and a little powder sugar and said, " take a bite of this now." the kids flipped out saying, this is the best waffle ever. Bob was convinced it wasn't the best waffle they ever had but it was because they had to wait. He is now convinced the 10 minutes on the instruction was a scam. He says lets make it 30 min. longer and they'll be even better. haahah! we want everything now but God says, " you have to wait, I'm not done yet."

. give God a little space so He can go before me

. so when i get there everything will be prepared for me rather than nothing being ready.

. when ruth left her house with naomie she left during a famine but God brought her back at the harvest. (I love that!)

.get better not bitter

. 2 Cor.6: 8 " For our light affliction, which is but for a moment is working for us far more exceedingly .."

.the wait is what is bothering us

. God says, im not on the same timetable as you

.suffering in your flesh and you stop sinning.. cause you want to hear from God.

. in church there are a ton of people struggling with drinking, smoking, porn... but they all decided for an hour and a half to be clean.

.  and then they leave and fall back in it ... why?

. they are'nt practicing the presence of God.

. "God's promises are still God's promises even if i dont get it right now."

. i think out of all the disappointments this one is the best, cause i know God's not done with it yet. God has a plan!!! watch!

God's still small voice

I was praying for Coby as I was taking a shower and I asked God to speak to him and to show him great and mighty things which he knows not. I asked God to show coby His goodness, and to love coby for me while im not with him. and then i asked God to continue to speak to me and love me and pursue me. just then i heard the Lord say in His still small voice. Allison, the person behind the promise is the power. Lord, i trust you to complete the work you started.

praise the Lord for God's promises!

God is able to keep what i have committed to Him until that day. 

PRAY WITH ME!

still clinging to the cross continued...

1 peter 5

 " humble yourself under the might hand of God. that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you"

. allow God to shoulder the problem

. put the ball in His court

. the weight of it will fall on Him

HOW THE LORD RESPONDED:

vs.14) God sent a prophet

. God answered the prayer and shouldered the problem

. the battle is not mine but God's

. Jeremiah 33:2-3" all unto Me and I will answer you and tell you great and mighty things with you did not know."

" psalm 143:8 " Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning for i trust in you. teach me the way i should walk. for to you i lift up my soul."

.david wasnt doubting God's voice but he was admitting he didnt always hear it

. entering prayer is entering a spiritual battle

. persevere in prayer

. ask! ... seek!... knock!

.Be persistent, God is not always on our timeline

4. Lord GIVE ME A STRATEGY!

. vs.17) " you need not fight in this battle, position yourself. Stand and see the salvation of the Lord who is with you."

*** before i read this i asked God to show me whether or not to get rid of my feelings. it would be so easy for me to ask the Lord to take them away. But God said, Allison " stand! dont withdrawal, dont flip out,position yourself. stand and See!

. The Lord will fight for you WHILE YOU KEEP SILENT.

. joshua 23- " cling to the Lord as you have done to this day."

. submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you

.draw near to God and HE will draw near to you

.jehosaphat sent a worship team into battle first and the ammorites ended up killing each other

.those who are willing to praise the Lord in adversity are the most potent.

.vs.22)  " when they began to praise the Lord, He sent an ambush."

. we are a people called to praise. it confuses the devil. 

. there is a victory that is one in praise.

5. God provided Bountifully

. spoil: God did more that jeho could ever expected. it would have been enough just to survive the battle.

.now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above what i could ask or think..

. mary and martha wanted a healing for Lazarus but God wanted a resurection.

. to remake what once was and make it more beautiful than before.

. so the kingdom was at peace. the Lord gave them rest on all sides.

it was still july 6th an i was still clinging to the cross

2nd Chronicles 20 with Britt Merrick 

again i asked the Lord to continue to confirm and speak to me.

" Nor do i know what to do but my eyes are upon you."- vs.12)

1. get myself up and seek the Lord

. get thoughts on Jesus

. submit them to Jesus

. there is a lot competing for my attention right now but i need to go before God first.

2. Jehosaphat prayed

. Jeho led others to do the same: proclaimed a fast

. prayer starts with praise

. took all his thoughts captive to praise the Lord

3. Praise the Lord in difficult circumstances

. just because my circumstances have changed doesn't mean my God has."

. stop! get it together! and praise the Lord!

. jeho probably didn't feel like praising the Lord but its not dependent on how we feel.

. offer a sacrifice of praise

. there was every reason for him to be afraid except for his God.

. let God know what's going on but praise Him first

. if He was worthy of praise when we weren't in the trial then He is when we are

.Phil 4:8 " whatever is praiseworthy meditate on these things"

. jeho went to the tabernacle: where God would meet and listen

. Jeho was standing on that promise

. " im not gonna leave the land  'cause God promised to keep us in the land as long as we dwell in obedience."

. he knew the promise of the Lord. he knew God said ill meet you and hear you. 

. stand firm on that promise and draw great strength.

. im not gonna speak to my advisors because God promised He would hear me and answer me.

. Jeho was drawing Gods passed record for his future assurance

. josh. 21:45 " not one of the good promises failed, not one failed.

.psalm 19:7 - God, youre Lord over my life! what do you want me to do?

The day after

Judges 6

" The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor."

From my heart to His... " O my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why them has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about?" vs.13)

God said: " Go in this might of yours." vs.14)

 " My Lord, how can i save israel? my clan is the weakest." - exactly how i felt.

 so i read on about Gideon and how he laid out a fleece before the Lord. and that is exactly what i did.

Being so confused from what i thought was a bad dream, I clung to the Lord

July 6th

I told the Lord that i was confused about what just happened but that i knew in my heart that it wasn't over. God is Faithful, and i was just waiting for Him to prove it.

God said to me: Allison, " I will never break my covenant with you" -judges 2:1

" And they were left,: that He might test israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord."- Judges 3

" Has not the Lord gone out before you?" Judges 4:14

judges 5 - 

" oh my soul, march on in strength"- vs.21

" continue to give me rest, Jesus" vs.31

" But let those who love Him be like the sun when it comes out in full strength."vs.31)

*God just showed me what to do while i wait for Him to Prove Himself faithful.

on july 4th and 5th God showed me...

" You have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who fought for you."

" so you shall possess their land, as the Lord God has promised you."

" therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is right lest you go among these..."

" but you hold fast to the Lord as you have done." vs.8)

" one man of you shall chase a thousand for the Lord your God is He who fights for you. as He promised you."

" take careful heed that you love your God or else, if indeed you do go back and cling to the remnant of these nations."

" And you know in all your heart and in all your soul that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you. not one word of them has failed."-vs.14)

                                              JULY 5TH

once again i asked the Lord to assure me of what He told me concerning this...

" i have given you land which you did not labor and cities you did not build and you dwell in them." 

" now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth."

"preserve us in all the ways we went and among all the people through whom we passed"

I had one or two confusing days.

I was confused because what God was showing me seemed to be different than what God was showing another. I know for a fact that God does not lie and that He is faithful to complete what He started. This is what God has been showing me since july 3rd.

Joshua 21- "So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The Lord gave them rest all around according to all He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of al their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands. Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. ALL CAME TO PASS." vs.45)

                                          JULY 4TH

I kept asking the Lord, if it is His desire to continue to grow this than He would have to continually show me day after day,and that He would need to give me specific guidelines to go with it...

Joshua 22- " now the Lord your God has given rest to your brethren, as He has promised them. Now therefore return  and go to your tents and to the land of your possessions."

here are the guidelines: vs.5 (right after i prayed)

" But take careful heed:

. to love the Lord my God

. to walk in His ways

. to keep His commandments

. to hold fast to Him

. to serve Him with all my heart and with all my soul.

My melody

i want to write. 

to write a song in the poring rain.

i want a hug.

i want a  hug in cool, clean air.

i want time.

time to do what i want and no one question it.

but what i need?

Jesus is the melody in my heart... that's all i need

- not a song

so its fourth of July...