The Two Shall Become One

It has been a while since I've posted but there HAS been a reason. :-) Benjamin and I (but mostly Benjamin) have been working on a project which most of you know about. Now we are excited to present our joint blog! We've combined our separate blogs to create BenjaminandAlyssa, a place we can share what God is doing in our lives, our music, and more. I hope you'll stop by occasionally (please subscribe!) because I won't be updating Always, Alyssa anymore.

I've enjoyed sharing God's goodness in my life here on Always, Alyssa and now I look forward to joining the love of my life as we seek to glorify and please the Lord.

Check Out Our New Blog!

BenjaminAlyssa.com

The Actual Proposal

The thought occurred to me that not everyone has Facebook or has subscribed to our new blog who may wish to watch the video that Benjamin made to propose to me. So....I give it to you here. :-) Enjoy!

Engagement Pictures!

Saturday we received a cute little package from Caren Morris Photography. Inside was a thumb drive with over 180 pictures! We had such a grand time that evening taking pictures. How can you not have a wonderful time when you're with the person you love in such a beautiful setting like Mukilteo?!

Click here for more pictures:

 Benjamin and Alyssa's Engagement Pictures

The Best Dip EVER!

So I'm putting a disclaimer right here in the beginning: Once you make this dip you need to have an accountability partner because it's tempting to just clean out the entire bowl. Seriously....the best dip I've ever had!

FRANK'S REDHOT BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP

8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. blue cheese dressing
1/2 c. Frank's Redhot Sauce
1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese
2 c. cooked, diced chicken

Head oven to 350. Place cream cheese in a deep baking dish. Stir until smooth.

Mix in salad dressing, Hotsauce, and cheese. Stir in chicken.

Bake 20 minutes or until heated through. Stir. Serve with crackers, chips, or veggies.
Makes 4 cups. (I doubled the recipe)

Amazing....

Yes....this cake is amazing. :-) I credit the Hall Family for providing this delicious recipe and I think it's a new favorite dessert in our house. Several people have asked me for the recipe so....I now give you.....Chocolate Chip Cake! (If you say it like an announcer it's way more fun. ;-)

CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. sour cream or plain yogurt

Topping:
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
16 oz. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter, sugar, eggs & vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream.  Place 1/3 of the batter in bottom of greased 9x13" pan. Cover with 1/2 of topping. Add remaining batter. Smooth out (it will be thick). Add remaining topping. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Serves 8-12.

ENJOY! :-D

What IS love?!

Yes folks.....I do have love on the brain as of late. :-) It might be due to the fact that the man I love is constantly on my mind. But....ahem....you probably don't want to hear about that. What YOU want to hear about is what I think love is.....hence my title.

But....I'm not going to define love as I see it. Since the Lord has brought this new love into my life I've been contemplating even more what it means to love. The world has its own definition. Often it involves feelings and emotions that change at every turn life brings. Amidst this disillusioned people who seem to think they have love figured out yet can't make a marriage last, how are we supposed to come to a true understanding of what love is and what it means to love?

Just like anything in life, we turn to the One who DOES have it all figured out. There's no need for us to question or wonder. We have all the answers at our fingertips. We just have to crack the Book open and let Its light shine in our hearts.

So what DOES God's Word say about love? I don't think we can go very far without looking at Christ's example of love. It is said that 1 Corinthians 13 is the Love Chapter. I think 1 John 4 is pretty competitive!

1 John 4:7-11

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

Wow.....What an incredible example of love we have in our Savior! So then what IS love? The chapter continues...

Vs. 16-21

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

We love him, because he first loved us.

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

Verse 16 says "God is love". How has God loved you? THAT is how you are to show love to others. Is it easy to love others? Not always. But then....as often as I fail the Lord it would be so easy for Him to choose not to love me. Yet, He doesn't! I'm so grateful for that.

How have YOU shown love today to those in your life?

Funny and Ironic...

So I was scrolling through my photo gallery on my phone today and I came across this picture. 

Here's the story... 

A few days before Benjamin came out to propose I was at Taco Bell with a friend....a friend who happened to know he was coming to propose. HOW she managed to hold in her laughter as I came back to the table smiling about the hot sauce I happened to grab is beyond me! :-) I knew he would propose sometime so just for kicks I took a picture and logged it away in my phone. (Truthfully...I just happened to grab THAT sauce packet out of the whole bunch) Little did I know he would be asking me that very question just a few days later.... 

The Last Year!

Yesterday marked the first day of my last year of school! As you can imagine, I'm eagerly counting down this year towards a much bigger event than graduation. :-D

As usual, the first week is quite overwhelming. Trying to find my classes, and on time, can be difficult with all the construction obstructing the very center of the campus forcing everyone to go the long way everywhere. But, all is going well and I think I'll enjoy the many classes. I've also been given two jobs on campus! I'm now the Aide for the Social Science department and the Aide for the Music department. It will be nice to have a little income but also have the convenience of working right there for my instructors.

Also, amidst the craziness, I found time to make Zucchini Bread today. By far, THE best recipe I've ever found! You can find the recipe HERE...

Now I'm off to Pilates class.....I have to say that working out for college credit is pretty awesome. :-)

Engagement Photo Session

Before Benjamin came out here to surprise me with a proposal, I had scheduled to meet with our photographer just to go over paperwork and details. Little did I know the Ben had already talked to her and scheduled our Engagement session! I'm sure she was laughing as she scheduled our meeting. :-)

Caren Morris was an incredible photographer! I cannot praise her work enough. She found an amazing spot right at the Mukilteo ferry that included a light house, dock, and cute white fence. Can't wait to see what she does with the wedding next summer. :-) We'll get all the photos in a couple of weeks, but for now, here's a sneak peek!

Whirlwind

A little over a week ago the love of my life flew in from the other side of the country to ask me to marry him. What a whirlwind of a week it's been! At the beginning of the year if someone had suggested that by September I'd be walking around with the look of love plastered on my face I probably would have laughed in disbelief. God does work in mysterious ways!

Needless to say, my week went a little differently than I expected! I had a long list of things to accomplish before school starts and my intention was to cross a chunk of things off. Well....that didn't happen. I mean, who wants to be studying music theory and practicing scales when you could be walking on the beach with your fiance or taking engagement pictures! :-)

God has been so good to me. I can't wait to share more about what he's done in bringing the two of us together. But I'll save that for our joint BLOG which will be opening shortly. For now, I'll just say that it's the most wonderful thing when you finally meet the person that God has created just. For. YOU!

So...to my single friends who read my blog, I want to encourage you. I know it seems like such a cliche thing when you hear married or engaged people say "Wait for God's timing and He'll bring you the perfect one!". But I can honestly say...it's worth the wait. Every minute of your single years, God is preparing you to be united with that special person, even though you can't see it at the time. So take courage! And make the most out of these growing moments in your life.

Ahem.....I Have an Announcement!

Yesterday......

The man I love got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

And I said "Yes!!"

To see the proposal video, sign up for our blog: BenjaminAlyssa. 

Time flies...

I'm baaaaackk! :-) Finally getting back to this blogging thing. It's been an exciting summer and I can't wait to share with you some of the things the Lord has been doing in my life. I think it will take a series of posts to cover it all but I WILL tell you all about it. :-) Things have finally slowed down enough for me to process it all!

While you are anxiously awaiting future posts....I give you a few videos to watch. These were taken over the summer and somehow never made it onto my blog. Enjoy!

 More videos to come!

The Highland Games

Each year, the Skagit Valley hosts the Highland Games, a festival put on by the Celtic Arts Foundation. Featuring various traditional games (such as stone throwing, hay tossing, etc.), bagpipe competitions, and clan pride, the kilts seem commonplace! If you are of Scottish or Irish heritage, you are likely to find a tent with your clan's name bannered proudly at the front. Vendors selling their wares are scattered throughout, but these aren't your usual fair vendors. Not only will you find curly fries and root beer floats, you'll find haggis and meat pies. Along with "I love Ireland" t-shirts, you'll see kilts, swords, daggers, celtic jewelry, and an array of traditional apparel. Quite intriguing!

Josh and I spent some time wandering around, observing some dancers and musicians, choking down some Haggis for the first time, and cheering on some of the athletes. And after several days of rain and thunderstorms, we were blessed with a beautiful blue sky. :-)  It was definitely a splendid day!

Lavender and Bell

I hoped to have something extraordinary to blog about on my 200th post. Hmm.....I'll just tell you about my Monday. ;-)

Busy as usual, I was able to accomplish quite a few things. I got a good head start on a rather large printing project that's set for this week. With only one minor setback, I'm hoping to finish it in record time! If you're at all familiar with the thickness of "Manuscript Evidence" you may be skeptical.....but I AM determined. :-)

The thought occurred to me yesterday that our lavender may be ready to harvest -- our lavender that we planted several years ago and is finally producing a good size harvest! Last year, since I was in Thailand I missed the harvest so no dried lavender for us. I barely caught it this time! I absolutely LOVE the dark shade of the Hidcote Blue lavender. Definitely my favorite variety.

    

The evening concluded with a FABULOUS concert featuring violinist Joshua Bell. I have been wanting to see Joshua Bell live in concert for years now, so to finally have the opportunity was incredible! It was actually a late birthday present for Christopher, but he confirmed my thoughts.....it was worth the wait. A few months ago I was listening to the classical music station (at a time I wouldn't normally) and I happened to hear them mention that Joshua Bell would be in Bellingham! *Gasp!* He usually only comes to Seattle and the tickets are outrageous. Well.....you can't beat $30 tickets at the Mt. Baker Theatre in Bellingham! I know....I was shocked myself. And of course, the place was sold out. :-)

This is a piece that Joshua Bell performed last night. It was unbelievable! His music nearly brings me to tears, it's so beautiful.

Well, my blog may continue to remain quiet in the coming month or so. I am preparing to go as a counselor to youth camp next week and I am SO looking forward to that!  Then....take a breath......I'll have a weekend to prepare for a lengthy trip to Mexico. More about that later.

Spring '12 Recital

Here are the results of my work this quarter at school. God's been so good to me in so many ways and I've enjoyed learning all these new things!

Communing with God

I've just embarked on a challenge to read through God's Word in 90-days and thus far it's been so rewarding! To dive into the very wisdom of God will always be rewarding.

This week, one of the books I'm reading is Genesis (obviously, since I just started!). It still amazes me how the Almighty Creator would desire to have a relationship with a creature who consistently fails and falters. One of my favorite people to read about is Abraham, a man chosen by the Lord to bring up a great nation through his seed. Along Abraham's journey we can see times that he had a serious lack of faith. It's easy for me to sit here and think, "Abraham....haven't you been through this before? Why haven't you learned to just trust God?" But how many times have I done exactly that? I can say that God's Word is truly a mirror!

We come to Chapter 18 where Abraham is interceding on behalf of Lot and the city which he dwelt, Sodom. When God revealed to Abraham that he would be destroying Sodom, vs. 23 says, "And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?" He didn't retreat and fret about how he could possibly save Lot himself. He drew closer to his Saviour. After Abraham's prayer and God's reply, vs. 33 says, "And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place."

Wow.....God communed with Abraham. According to Webster's 1828 dictionary, to commune means "To converse; to talk together familiarly; to impart sentiments mutually, in private or familiar discourse". To have that kind of familiarity with the Lord, where HE communes with US, is truly an amazing thing. Is HE your best friend? Is HE the first one you talk to as soon as a worry or a fear enters your mind? Is HE the one with whom you share all your joys and sorrows? I was certainly challenged by this as I considered my walk with the Lord.

Are you communing with God?

The End.....Almost!

The quarter is coming to an end. That means that the school year is coming to an end! *insert huge smile here* It's neat to look back throughout the year and see what I've learned! I praise God for allowing me to go to school and get an education in something that I love dearly, in something that can be used to glorify Him. I hope He'll continue to show me ways I can do just that.

Next week: Recital, Choir Concert, preparing for finals and.....
The next week: FINALS!

Piano lab at school.

Sage wisdom from Dove.... :-)

Many a cup of Starbucks have accompanied me to school this quarter. :-)

I'll be so happy when I can settle back into my "free from school" routine: House work, church print shop, baking, etc. AND when I can actually think about all my summer plans and let myself get excited about them. :-) I'm looking forward to all the different events and how the Lord might use them in my life to grow me closer to Him.

What do YOU have planned for the summer?

It's Tuesday!

What's so special about Tuesday? Well, not much.  This morning as I was evaluating the day at hand, I realized that I love Tuesdays! For several reasons: It's not Monday.  It's a short(er) day at school. I haven't been going to school all week so I'm not as exhausted.  I get to teach piano.

School tends to take up a good portion of my time and makes me quite weary even just thinking about it. It's so easy for me to fall into the trap of complaining and displaying a lack of joy. That shouldn't be! I have SO much to be joyful about. The greatest thing that I can rejoice about is my salvation.  Even if I had nothing else to be joyful about (which I DO), my salvation would be enough to cause me to rejoice every waking moment.

Psalm 27:6- And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.


Today, Tuesday, is the 15th so before I ran to class this morning I sat in my car and read Proverbs 15 aloud to my friend. What a blessing!  Over and over again I read about joy in the believer's life and my heart was affected as I realized that I have not been displaying joy on purpose like I should be!

4a- A wholesome tongue is a tree of life:


13- A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.


15- All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.


23- A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!


My day hasn't been without frustrations and disappointments, but purposing to have joy has made all the difference. How can I hand someone a tract and expect them to read it if I am so consumed with my own valleys and trials? How else will they see the joy of the Lord unless they see it from ME?!

The Weekend

I'm just now getting around to writing about last weekend due to a pretty crazy week, but it was so great that I couldn't just leave it unsaid!

First, let's start with Saturday.  It was mostly sunny and just plain beautiful. I love how the Lord has been blessing us with beautiful weekends. The morning started off with outreach and I had the privilege of partnering up with one of the teen girls. I love our teens so much and I am excited to get to know them even better as we prepare to go to Mexico together at the end of the summer.

In the afternoon I played wallyball with some friends. It's been so long! First, a little background. Bro. Benjamin Hall is here from Lehigh Valley Baptist Church to do some training in our church for the month of May.  We got a group together and headed off to the gym to play a game (or four) of wallyball and I hope we haven't scared him off! :-) But it was great fun. Wouldn't you know, at the start I was the only one who knew how to play but by the end I was the only one who hadn't won a game!! Haha.....I think round two is on the way so that can change. :-)

Sunday morning arrived, and with it, the ordination of a new pastor.  BBC Oak Harbor now has the privilege of calling two men "Pastor".  The Lord has blessed us tremendously with wise leaders who take their responsibility before God seriously.  Men who consult the Word above any of man's opinions and are not afraid to stand strong for its doctrines and teachings.  I hope we'll never take it for granted!  Even though we were exhausted by the end of the day, it was SUCH a joyous time for the entire church. One of those sink-into-the-chair-with-a-huge-smile-on-your-face moments. :-D  After the afternoon service we headed to Rebecca's recital.  Video coming soon......

(Pictures by Linnea Rawls)