new church, new friends, new life!

                                  the church getting ready for the baptism
                                               the crew that got baptized
                                             new life!
                                                sea slug causes commotion 

As of late God has blessed me with the opportunity to become the new worship leader at Calvary Chapel San Juan Capistrano. However, i am still praying for God's guidance and direction on it. For now i am leading there but not as a permanent fixture. i would appreciate your prayers as i seek to follow God's plan.

then alex happened.

Yesterday was by far one of the weirdest days i have had in quite some time. i decided to go bra shopping before Brian's study. with only thirty minutes before church, i grabbed as many bras as i could to try on at lightning speed. i had a plan. i had a goal. then Alex happened. 

as i was shopping, a ridiculously gorgeous woman came up to me and asked me if i needed help. "No", i said, "i'm really pressed for time. i just want to get in and out" Alex, being the sly woman that she is said, " what size are you?" i told her, " well, i'm in between sizes right now, because i  have just lost some weight." she gave me a good look and told me what size i was. she told me she would measure me if i wanted as well, so i let her. i thought she would just put the dumb measuring tape around my bust line and that would be it. NOPE! i have never been so wrong in my life. 

Alex got maggie and i a dressing room and urged maggie to go in with me. Apparently she wanted to have a party in my dressing room. Ive known maggie for 20 years so i thought it would be ok for her to be invited to the party in my dressing room. anyways... alex brought me some bras in my "size" to try on. i was almost done trying one on when i heard a knock on my door. " allison, this is alex. can i come in?" ...... "Can she come in? can she come in? im naked!" i said to maggie. so i grabbed my shirt as fast as possible and said yes. alex walks in and takes a look at me and says, "yes, this is definitely your size" she then leaves to go get more for me to try on and as soon as she does so maggie and i start busting up. i almost peed. alex comes back to the dressing room and decides she wants to help me put my bras on. i was so uncomfortable but she was giving great advice and teaching me about how they are suppose to fit etc... 

i was thrown into the thick of things. i had to become comfortable with my body and fast. not only was i naked in a dressing room with myself dealing with how i felt about my body but maggie was there sharing the nightmare along with the stranger who got to know me more than any other person probably ever should with the exception of my husband. sorry babe!

sooner or later Ill get around to it.

Those who know me well know I get annoyed with things rather fast. Mostly people. However,this was a special case. Yesterday i told Cryn i wanted to re-due my bedroom. I was tired of looking at the lackluster blue and red combination. But instead of an encouraging Yes, i was greeted with a resounding answer. CURTAINS. Apparently i thought it was a good idea to buy fabric and make the curtains instead of actually buying them already made like normal people. i have had these curtains stowed away in my bed side table for probably half a year. Needless to say i most likely wont be doing this again. It's one of those things where you see something you really want to buy but your brother says to you, " dont buy that i can make you that." so you dont... and neither does he. therefore leaving you shy of what you wanted.  

the LORD is thy keeper

THE LORD IS THY KEEPER; THE LORD IS THY SHADE UPON THY RIGHT HAND.- psalm 121:5

    " now to Him who is able to keep  you from falling to present you blameless and faultless on that day," Jude writes (vs24).  I'm so glad i dont have to keep myself. I'm so thankful i dont have to struggle and strive to make it in my christian experience. I'm so relieved that the Lord is the One who promises to keep me.

             the story is told of a man who wanted to cross a frozen lake. He got on his knees by the edge and tapped on the ice to make sure it was solid. then he carefully scooted out on his hands and knees and tapped some more. when he found it was still solid, he scooted still farther. Every few feet, he would tap the ice to make sure it was strong enough to hold him. the hours went by. his face turned blue. his knuckles turned red. he was almost to the other side when he heard a rumble behind him. as he looked back he saw 12 clydesdale horses  pulling a heavy wagon. they made it across the lake in a few minutes, leaving the man to think how foolish he had been.

           we are like that man. we wonder if we are going to make it in our christian experience. " tap, tap, tap, I wonder if the Lord's going to keep me." we say. tap, tap, tap, i wonder if He's going to continue to work in my life." doubt fills our minds.  Discouragement fills our hearts because we dont realize that we;re on solid ground. the Lord has PROMISED that He would never leave us or forsake us, that we are in His hands, and that no man can pluck us out. what a difference it makes when the truth sinks into our hearts that we can rest in God's keeping power.

            Newer translations render the word " shade" as  "shield." In battle , soldiers would be exposed on their right side because they wielded  the sword with their right hand. Here,  the psalmist is saying that the Lord is the shield in the area that is vulnerable to attack.  You know  the areas of strength and weakness in your own life. Here, the lord says he will shield,protect,  and cover me  in the areas where I am most vulnerable.

--------------- jon courson------------------

 the Lord is able to keep what i have committed to him until that day.

the Lord is able to perfect that which concern me!

El Dorado Kitchen...

                        homemade vanilla soft serve,chocolate ganache, peanut nougatine,      

                                                          and whipped cream- a delicious combination!
                                         Elliott's vanilla soft serve and sprinkles

sonoma: wine country

Caiden's kisses

                   The only choice when kissing her is to keep you mouth closed real tight...

                                                              But she's adorable!

TRAIN TOWN...

                              SONOMA

LEADING WORSHIP AT REFUGE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, SANTA ROSA

                                                  

The encouragement of today

Sing aloud to God our strength! For this is a statute for Allison. I removed her shoulder from the burden. i tested her

at the waters of

Meribah ( strife). O Allison, if you will listen to Me! there shall be no foreign gods 

among you. I am the Lord your God who

brought you out of the land of Egypt. open your mouth wide and I will fill it. 

Psalm 81

Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed.-ps. 85:10

yes, the Lord will give what is good; and our land will yield its increase. ps 85:12

teach me Your way, O Lord; i will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear 

Your name.- Ps.86:11

You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, and high is your right hand. for You

are the glory of their strength. Nevertheless my

lovingkindness I will not utterly take away from him, Nor allow my faithfulness to 

fail. My covenant I will not break, Nor alter

the word that has gone out of my lips. Ps.89:13,17,33,34

really?!...

i know it's a bit random, but i saw this picture of me and my freckles and i thought, what is the purpose of freckles? does anybody know? I know what they are and how they are formed (Melanin), but why did God give us freckles? Interesting! i guess its just something He wanted to do. i'm not upset about having them. just curious... thats all.

one of the best things about my Lord:

 ... He knows my heart even before I tell him.

     Psalm 73 starts off saying, " Truly God is good to Israel." As you may or may not know, Israel is used as a picture of us as God's Children. So it would really read (for me) " Truly God is good to Allison!"

      vs.2) My feet had almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped.

      vs.13) Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long i have been plagued, and chastened every morning.

      vs.16- 17) When i thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me- Until i went into the sanctuary of God...

      

   I know i can testify to this. Every time i try to understand what God is doing, it's too painful for me. Everything on the earth in my situation says, its over! there is no hope! EXCEPT my God...  It is in the Times when i set my mind and my heart to praise God, to direct my attention to Him, it isn't until i go into His sanctuary that i have a peace that passes understanding. Praise the Lord!

      vs.21-26) Thus my heart was grieved, and i was vexed in my mind. I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel. whom have I in heaven but You? and there is none upon earth I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 

I love the picture here. when i tell Elliott to hold my hand to cross the street, he grabs on. But i'm not just letting him hold on to me thinking he will be safe. NO! I wrap my hand around his wrist so if i need to intercede to protect him, i can. so too, the Lord holds me by my hand, as if to say, though you hold on, i'm holding on even tighter so that i may intercede when I need to. I'm going to guide you! I'm going to make sure you are safe! 

       vs.28) But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all Your works.

a nice day of fellowship

                                                  COUGH DROP?.. Jesus saves!

so this morning i woke up and my voice was thrashed. This was so exciting ( sarcasm)! i was to lead worship with John Randal at his church in San Juan. WONDERFUL! 

       The whole way there i was praying and hoping my voice would come back. it did but not as much as I would have liked. Still, it was a blessing to lead God's people into worship. After worship, a friend i hadnt seen in a long long time came up to me. It was so cool to hear and see what God was and is doing in Peter and his wife's life. It's funny, he told me that as soon as i got up to sing he knew who i was because i looked like my brother, Robert. I never get that... ever! it's always dave i am told i look like.

After the study maggie and i drove back up towards Laguna Hills to have lunch at CPK(danyelle's work). once we were done eating we made our way to san Clemente to go to the beach. That was a joke. coast hwy just keeps going and going and going. there is never a place to go to the actual beach and when there was, we would have had to pay a butt load of money. so we left and went down to Oside, Carlsbad, Vista, area.

    maggie and i made a stop at a 50% off sale at SurfRide and then we were gonna head to the fwy to go drop some capos off at a church in Vista.
                                            

just as we were trying to find our way back to the freeway, we saw a street fair (in Carlsbad). it was cool for the most part. It had your usuals: glass jewelry, paintings from local artists, lots of dogs, food, etc... but while we were there, we saw a table that we had never seen before. It was a table that had animals, and just weird things made out of spoons... i dont really know what there purpose was or what they even were.  As we were looking at these things we came across some really cool rings. 

      we paid ten bucks for them. Now i realize that we only got the handle of the spoon, and these people are making tons of money off of people because they are probably just buying silverware from thrift stores. but ... it was wonderful and i love my ring. 

       After the street fair maggie and i made our way to NorthCoast to find Andrew and Jen. once we found them we drove down further to San Diego to go to the " Loud and Clear message" at Horizon. When we got to Horizon, nobody was there. we thought maybe they had cancelled the study, but much to our surprise it wasnt the Loud and Clear message. It was a quaint little fellowship held in the courtyard. hahahah. so we left! apparently maggie and i dont do quaint. 

     We couldnt think of anything else we needed to do and we didnt want to waste gas... ok, I didnt want to waste gas, so we just drove home. But the View was amazing!

God opens up a door of hope in the valley of trouble

August 5th- strength

 the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with His hand." Psalm 37:23-24

       i opened Jon Courson's footsteps of the flock today. Everything is ordered by God: situations at home, events in your life, in your heart, they are all from God. If you stumble along the way, God wont cast you away. " He'll just pick you back up and keep you going with His own hand." 

      " Lord save me!" Peter cried as he sank beneath the waves. And Matthew says Jesus stretched forth His hand, lifted a drenched peter out of the water, and plopped him back in the boat.( Matthew 14:30,31) Thats a strong hand!"

         "Riding an unbroken donkey, the hand of Jesus was able to control the animal (Matthew 21:7) Thats a strong hand!"

          "Jesus was able to overturn tables and throw out the money changers (John 2:15) thats a strong hand!"

          

         you may think you are the only one who knows what's going on in your heart. physically, that may be true, but spiritually Jesus knows. you may not be able to confess what you have done aloud (even to God), but He knows. Jesus says, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Let Him shoulder the problem. there is nothing you can do with it anyway. what appears to be a problem is actually an opportunity. an opportunity to get us thinking differently. the problem gets our attention and focus on God. Maybe God has previously given you a vision, but He has taken you out of this circumstance for clarity. Our vision is too small. we didnt realize all that the Lord would be doing until the problem got us praying. Ask God, " what is the opportunity?"  

                                  "IF IT IS A MATTER OF STRENGTH, INDEED HE IS STRONG!"

                                                                        job 9:19

August 5th

"If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong." Job 9:19

Meditate on that one today. And allow yourself to be distracted by the person of Jesus Christ.

                           Make it a habit of saying, "Yes" to Jesus.

everyone, meet josiah

currently i am sitting in front of the office up at camp. Andrew decided it was a good idea to make me sit here, in the dark, with bugs... that at this moment i choose not to see, or hear. anyways i am sitting here trying to download bewitched off itunes. originally it was phantom of the opera because, andrew, lauren, and jeff are obsessed and they figure i should be too. not true..  so bewitched it is(andrew's choice- he loves chick flicks!)

just as i was setting up the laptop, this little boy walks up to the pay phone (Josiah). he called his mom and is telling her of his eventful day. "Today, No Today! so i got my wallet back today (apparently some kid named john stole it) and i got baptized today! when he told her this she asked him what it means to get baptized. He replied, " it means to show everybody that you know God."( so cute)

and For Cryn... i know im a little late on telling you so... here it is!.. i declare at 9:24 pm that today is blog rediculous  Myspace pictures of yourself... as we have previously discussed. JUMP ON THE BAND WAGON!...  its kinda like tag so i have decided to tag , CRYN. have fun love!