Summer at the Ark Encounter

 This summer I had the awesome opportunity to work in the culinary department at Answers in Genesis's Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky. My mom, sister, and I left home on May 22nd, arrived on May 24th, and I started work the following Monday. 

The sunrise the day we left Florida.

Here's a panoramic of the inside of the house I stayed in. Answers in Genesis provides seasonal/ temporary housing for people who live far away and come to work for the ministry. It was a blessing and so much fun to share this space with 45 other ladies. Staying in the housing I met one young lady from South Africa, one from Republic of Georgia, three from Bolivia, and many from around the country. I normally worked 5 days a week with two off days. Every week my schedule varied, but many times my next-door neighbor and I had the same off days, so we explored Kentucky. You'll see pictures from our adventures a little later on. :)

There's a few bird cages stationed on the path outside leading up to the Ark. 

 Silas, a Kookaburra, lives in one.

 CooCoo, a hornbill, lives in the other. If you're interested, the picture below provides information about hornbills.

The skies in Kentucky display such beauty. 

The entrance to the Ark.

A lamb at the petting zoo.

I worked at the Olive Leaf Cafe three days a week and at Emzara's Buffet two days. Here's a panoramic view of the cafe inside the Answers Center. 

Flowers at the Ark.

In May my friend and I drove up to the Creation Museum. I hadn't visited in years, and they've added so many new exhibits. Along the way we stopped at Bigby Coffee. They have some awesome cold brew coffee that I highly recommend trying. :)  

The grounds at the Creation Musuem offer a wide variety of flowers and beautiful scenes to gaze at.

And that's it for now! I hope you are having a joyful week.  :) 

Keep looking up, He's always looking down...

~~Ashley

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

March 2023 - May 2023

Hi friend! 

 Well it's been about six months since the last update post. So much has happened since February. First, a whole semester of college has come and gone, and now I only have one more semester of college left. The summer has come and is almost gone. I enjoyed a different change of pace during these summer months and hope you did too. Here are some pictures from March to May. 

In March the college seniors enjoyed a fun time at the senior party. 

One of the best parts of the party was a food truck that gave out waffles on a stick. 

At Easter break in April, my two friends and I had a painting party while we watched the Sight and Sound production of Jesus. 

The senior supper on the roof at the end of April is a definite highlight. We got to watch the sun set, and it was just fun eating supper outside on the roof. 

The food they served...

At the end of the semester, a teacher took me and a friend to the west campus where we enjoyed several relaxing hours of paddleboarding and kayaking. 

When my mom and two sisters came to pick me up at the close of the semester, Lauren and I had a blast jet skiing and afterwards we all swam in the ocean. On the way back to our hotel, we stopped and enjoyed an awesome dinner at Butch's Bistro & BBQ. The food was the bomb - highly recommend it if you're ever in the Florida/Alabama area. 

On the way back home, we stopped at Falling Waters State Park to look at the tallest waterfall in Florida. 

Walked a few trails at the park and found this interesting bug. . . 

as well as this pretty pond.

Flowers in the park...

Flowers in a field on the side of the road.

The sky at home.

We had a fire one night.

Lake Okeechobee

On May 20th Lauren and I went skydiving. What an awesome experience! Totally recommend it! 😀

Lauren

The plane we rode in. 

That's it for now. I'll post summer adventures next time. 

Hope your August is going well and have an awesome day! 😁

Musings on a Monday Morning

 Proverbs 16:3: Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established."

The past few weeks this verse has been in my head because I now understand it more fully now that I've seen it worked out practically in a Christian's life. When you find yourself in a situation which you wish you weren't in, or if you have an unlikeable task to do, it is so easy to complain about the circumstance. But instead, focus on looking for the good, looking for the blessings God gives daily, and offering thanksgiving to the Lord. When you commit, give, your actions to the Lord, even if you don't feel good about it at the moment, God will change your heart and your thoughts will eventually be in the right place. I was just reading the other morning in Psalms and came across this verse which I think goes along with Proverbs 16:3. 

Psalm 119:133: "Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me." 

What a good prayer. Each one of us as God's child should desire to walk according to God's word and be constantly vigilant lest sin should have power over us. 

I pray you're encouraged to immerse yourself in the truth of Scripture this week, and purpose to commit your actions to the Lord so your thoughts will be correct. 

❤️Ashley

Happy 4th of July!

 Happy Independence Day!!!

America has been a country for 247 years now, and gratefulness floods my heart as I think about how good God has been to bless this country so immensely. I love these verses of "God Bless America."

O beautiful for pilgrim feet whose stern impassioned stress,

A thoroughfare for freedom beat, across the wilderness. 

America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw, confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law. 

O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life. 

America! America! May God thy gold refine, till all success be noblenss, and ev'ry gain divine. 

O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years.

Thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears.

America! America! God shed his grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood,

from sea to shining sea. 

Ronald Reagan said, "We're blessed with the opportunity to stand for something - for liberty and freedom and fairness. And these are things worth fighting for, worth devoting our lives to." 

Liberty didn't originate from the founding fathers. It comes from God. Since every person is created in God's image, each one deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and individual freedom is worth fighting for. I like what the psalmist said in Psalm 61:5:  "...thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name." We have been indeed blessed with a strong, great heritage, and I hope you have an awesome day celebrating! 

Do you have any fun plans or traditions you like to do on the 4th? 

Fried Egg & Tomato

Here's yet another recipe for you, friend. Can you tell I really enjoy cooking? 😀

This recipe was first introduced to me by my Chinese roommate from college. It makes for a quick, easy lunch or supper. The following measurements are enough for probably a two-person meal with some leftovers. (I made this for myself and had leftovers for a couple days.) You can of course adjust the recipe to fit your family size. 

Also, if you can't find the Udon noodle, I've heard that egg noodles work, but I haven't tried it. 

Ingredients: 

-2 tomatoes

-1-2 bundles of Japanese Udon noodles 

-3 eggs

-soy sauce

-Ketchup

Here's what the udon noodles look like. 

Instructions: 

Bring water in a pot to a boil and add the Udon noodles. Meanwhile, cut up the tomatoes. Cook and scramble the eggs and add the tomatoes to the eggs. Cook tomatoes slightly and drizzle a little soy sauce and ketchup over the blend. (For this exact recipe I use 2 packets of ketchup.) You don't want to cook the tomatoes too long else they'll become soggy. 

When the noodles are done, strain them. (I also rinse off my noodles.) 

Add the eggs and tomatoes over the noodles in a bowl. You can drizzle a little more soy sauce over everything and mix together if you'd like. Then enjoy! 😋

Variations: I’ve added lettuce to this blend and cooked it slightly with the eggs and tomatoes.  

Shrimp also tastes great in it. 

 If you try this recipe, I would love to know how you liked it!

Memorial Day & Homemade Granola

A cherry hello to you, friend!

I wanted to post yesterday but just didn't get a chance to.  I hope you were able to celebrate Memorial Day yesterday by remembering and thanking the Lord for those patriots who gave their lives in defense of this land. Did you know that in December of 2000, the National Moment of Remembrance Act became a law? At 3:00 p.m. wherever you're at on Memorial Day, Americans everywhere are encouraged to pause for one minute of silence to remember the men and women who died in service to our country.   

O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life.

America! America! May God thy gold refine

Till all success be nobleness, and ev'ry gain divine. 

O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years,

Thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears. 

America! America! God shed his grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.

Also, Memorial Day marks the official beginning of summer, so happy summer. 😃

Now, I have a new recipe for you to try. If you like granola, I recommend making this. It is much healthier than buying it at the store and it's super easy to make. 

The ingredients you need are: 

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup almonds

Instructions: Add everything together in a bowl and mix except for the raisins. Add a sprinkle of cloves and/or flax seed. If the mixture is still a little wet, add more oats. Grease your pan well so the granola doesn't stick. Spread out the mixture on the pan and bake in the oven at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. Take the pan out, add raisins to the mixture, stir around, and bake again for 15 minutes. Then take it out and let cool completely before putting it in a jar. Scrape it up when you first take it out of the oven while it's still on the pan so it doesn't stick while cooling.   

This recipe is versatile. You can leave out the almonds or the raisins if you don't like them. You could add another nut or chocolate chips, depending on what you like. 

Enjoy! 

If you make this, I'd love to know how you like it. 

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. ~Romans 15:13

Values are a Part of Life

Values. I've been pondering this topic lately since we discussed it in my favorite class. First, here's a couple questions to think about: 

What do you hold most dear? What (or who) is your authority? 

I see more and more Christians living a detached life from the Bible. Do you hold God's word as the dearest thing? Is the Scripture your authority for all decisions you make? 

Lately I've been noticing more and more how vital it is that Christians be constantly in the Word. The devil is out to destroy. This is no time to be passive in your Christian walk. Recently I've heard some young people say, "I don't feel like that was right..." or "I feel like this should be allowed." Why are Christians basing their decisions on their feelings? That is dangerous. Proverbs 28:26 says "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool." In all kindness, it doesn't really matter what you feel is right. What do you know to be right based on what God has said? He has given us a guidebook for how to live life - it's all in the Bible. Psalm 119:105 ~ "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

Being a Christian is something you should not take lightly. It is not something you can take off one day and put on the next. It is part of who you are. You cannot choose to be a Christian only when it's convenient. Do not back down in those moments when you have to make a difficult decision, when you know people will be angry with you and disagree with what you've chosen. Don't let what other people think rule you. Choose what you know is right biblically and do it, even if it's not popular. You'll always be in the majority because God is on your side. 

You CAN NOT separate your work/life from your values. I know probably most of you are not writing books, but I'm just going to use it as an example since I'm a writer and it's a topic that's near and dear to my heart. 😊 Writers should reflect Christ in their books. Even if the book does not necessarily contain "Christian" themes, it should still be wholesome and good, reflective of your right values that are rooted in Scripture. Words are precious. They're powerful. Especially in writing, they can be used to lift up the name of Christ or they can be used to bring harm to him. No matter a writer's motive for writing, every book a Christian writes should never contain vulgarity, disgusting descriptive scenes, or cursing and blasphemous words. Real life can be depicted without including these things. Hard topics can be discussed in a Christ-honoring way. When a Christian has the vocation of writer, welder, or pilot, he is a Christian writer, a Christian welder, and a Christian pilot. Others are watching and learning from your example. If a Christian acts in a way contrary to principles in Scripture, he may bring more harm to Christ's name. 

Here are some valuable Scriptural reminders:

Proverbs 4:23: "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." 

1 Corinthians 10:31: "Whether therefore ye eat, or dink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

Matthew 12:35: "A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things."

Titus 2:7-8: "In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you."

Stay faithful.

~Ashley