Attitude of Gratitude-Always Have a Thankful Heart Day 5

I am thankful for:

• Tae Kwon Do! 
• Biology! I am learning so much in my Biology class and I love it! 
• Dishes. (Plates, forks, knives, spoons, pots, pans, etc. ) 

I am doing DIVE Biology and David Shormann has a lecture about the lessons, which I watch on the computer. My lesson today was on origins, and I learned some things about Charles Darwin which I didn't know. 

Who was Charles Darwin?

- He entered Cambridge University in 1828 and graduated with a degree in theology. (which is the study of God.) 

-In 1831, he embarked on a 5-year journey aboard the HMS Beagle as a head naturalist. 

-He was influenced by William Pale and other "design theologians", (which look at creation and look at the design and realize there is a designer, God.)  Darwin shared their view of special creation by God until at least 1834. 

-His grandfather and Jean Lamarck influenced his ideas on evolutionary theory. (Jean Lamarck thought animals evolved different characteristics just because they wanted to. For example: Giraffes wanted to have a longer neck so they could reach into the trees to eat the leaves. So they evolved a neck that was just the right length.) 

-He married Annie Wedgewood in 1839.

- They had 9 children. Three of his children died, and his 9 year old daughter Annie suffered a particularly slow, painful death in 1850. It had a negative impact on his faith. This may have been a turning point in his life. 

-The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life was published in 1859. 

-Darwin eventually lost faith in God: He said "Disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete."

-In The Origin of Species he wrote "The Old Testament, from its manifestly false history of the earth, was no more to be true than the sacred books of the Hindus, or the beliefs of any barbarian. The New Testament is a damnable doctrine. I can hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity to be true." 

-Charles Darwin rejected God during his adult life, and soon after developed the theory of natural selection as a way to explain the origin of life without the need for God.

You can see how Charles Darwin was influenced by wrong thinking. We need to be careful who our friends are, and who we listen to and obey, because they could influence our lives for good or bad. 

Have a godly evening, friends. :) 

~Ashley 

Attitude of Gratitude-Always Have a Thankful Heart Day 4

Today, I am thankful for:

• The Freedom to vote.     

  

• Lacy. 

• French Toast Casserole. This is such a delicious breakfast dish! The recipe is below. 
  

You need:

- 1 loaf Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl Bread. 

- 5 eggs

- 1 3/4 cup of milk

- 2 tsp. vanilla

Directions: Break bread into small pieces and place in pan. Mix together the eggs, milk, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Pour mixture over bread; cover it and let it set in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes. This next part is optional: Sprinkle confectioners sugar on the casserole.

If you make this yummy dish, let me know what you think! :) 

Attitude of Gratitude-Always Have a Thankful Heart Day 3

I am thankful for:

• Airplanes and the air show. The air show started on Friday evening. Yesterday, daddy took Sarah and I to look for a place where we could watch it. We found a place right next to the airport where quite a few people were gathered. It was almost right next to the runway, and we had a better view of the airplanes. Here are some pictures:

                                         

                        

 

A man climbed up on the wing of the plane when it was flying, and somehow strapped himself on it so he couldn't fall off. The plane was flying upside down and sideways! That must've been a little scary!

 

This jet was going super fast! When it flew above our heads, it was extremely loud, but I had a fun time! 

 

• The different animals God has made.                                                                                          

 

 

 

 

 

•  Creation Moments :) I know, I haven't posted one of these in a long time!                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Today's Creation Moment: Delicate, Precise Designs.                                                                         

Genesis 6:28 "And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:"                                                                                                           

When a flower lives in harmony with and is dependent upon, say, an insect for fertilization, this is known as symbiosis. Creation Moments programs have given many examples of this, and each one defies the notion that these relationships could have developed by chance over very long times. We have another example today. 

Chicory spaces out the opening of its flowers through the summer on a precisely timed schedule that is in perfect harmony with its pollinators. Early in the season, chicory flowers nearest the bottom of the flower stalk open first and, as they are pollinated, they close, and the next flower up the stem opens and so on. There is a remarkable efficiency to this, but there is more: The flowers usually open only in the cool morning hours, not only to protect the delicate flower from the heat of the sun but also because this is the time the pollinating insects are about. Other flowering plants open their flowers only at night and tend to have white flowers so that they are easily seen in the dark. These are the flowers that are pollinated by night-flying moths.

Such coordinated inter-relationships between the plant and the animal kingdoms could not have developed through accidental situations. They provide more evidence that the wise Creator designed these and all creatures within their relationships from the very beginning!

creationmoments.com  

 

Attitude of Gratitude-Always Have a Thankful Heart Day 2

I am thankful for:

• A Fire. Last night, we sat around a fire and ate supper. It was fun eating outside in the cold.  One of my favorite things about winter is that we get to have a fire!  :)                                                              
• Taco Soup. We had taco soup for supper last night and it is so yummy! (It feeds alot of people, too. I will post the recipe another time. )                                                                                                  
• A Cup of Hot Chocolate. 
  

Saying of the week: 

                                           Bible verse of the week: Romans 3:28-31

"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."           

Have a good and godly week, friends! 
In His glorious love,
Ashley                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                

Attitude of Gratitude- Always Have a Thankful Heart Day 1

I am so thankful for:

• The cold weather!  I just love cold weather and am so thankful that the summer is over! :) The whole day has been lovely. 
• The Bible.
  
    We really are so blessed to have so many Bibles in our houses. Most Christians have at least 2 Bibles, and that is such a blessing. And if we don't have any Bibles, we can always go to a store and buy one. There are Christians in other countries who are so thirsty for the Word of God, and they have no way of reading it. :(  As I am writing this, I just thought of a story I listened to a while back.  I was going to write an overview about the story, but I think I'll just let you listen to it. I encourage you to do it, because it's so fascinating. And, it's so important that we all be very thankful for the many Bibles we have access to. Click here to watch and listen to John Benti tell the story- "Blue Hat and T-Shirt Bible". (Scroll down until you see the video; it's under a picture of a lady in a blue hat.) 
• Family. Family is so important and I am so blessed to have the wonderful family I do. :) 

What 3 things are you thankful for today? 

Coming up: Attitude of Gratitude

I am super excited to announce: Attitude of Gratitude- Always Have A Thankful Heart.  (I came up with the name last year, when I did this on my "fake blog.")  We don't have to wait till November to be thankful, but I thought it would be appropriate if I did the Attitude of Gratitude this coming month. Even though Thanksgiving is in November, and it only comes once a year, our hearts should always be full of thankfulness to God, because He has blessed us with so many things that we take for granted.  So, starting on November 1st, I will be posting 3 things I'm thankful for every day throughout the month of November. (If anyone would like to comment and tell me 3 things they are thankful for, I will write them on my blog. For example: Your name is thankful for the ocean, cookies, and cars. ) 
                                      
This picture reminds me of the Veggie Tale song: The Thankfulness Song.
"I thank God for this day, For the sun in the sky, For my mom and my dad, For my piece of apple pie! For our home on the ground, For His love that's all around. That's why I say thanks every day!

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart! I'm glad for what I have, That's an easy way to start! For the love that He shares, Because He listens to my prayers- That's why I say thanks every day!

Thank you dad for our day, for our trip to the mall, for the time just with me, for my big red bouncy ball! For the fun that we had, I'm so happy you're my dad. That's why I say thanks every day!

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart! I'm glad for what I have, That's an easy way to start! For the love that He shares, Because He listens to my prayers- That's why I say thanks every day!

We thank God for this day, For the sun in the sky. For the friends that we have, for our yummy apple pie. For the love that He shares, because He listens to our prayers. That's why we say thanks every day. 

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart! I'm glad for what I have, That's an easy way to start! For the love that He shares, Because He listens to my prayers- That's why I say thanks every day!"

Random Pictures

Here are a few random pictures from the week.

Warning! Chicken crossing the road! (No, this is not one of our chickens. We would not let it go on the road. :) A couple of times, this chicken and its look-a-like buddy have stood in the middle of the road looking for bugs. They have several acres to peck on and look for bugs, and yet they go on the road. They are coming to our house more often and hanging out with our chickens. :) 

This squirrel is coming down the tree with a nut in its mouth. 

He's looking to make sure Lacy is not around. :)

This is what the moon looked like tonight. (Sorry, this is not the best picture.:) It was really neat because we could see the whole outline of the moon. :)                                                                                        

Saying of the week: 

Bible verse of the week: Romans 3:24-27

"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith."

Have a blessed week, friends. :)

Warmly yours and eternally His, in the unbreakable and glorious bonds of Calvary,

Ashley 

                                                                          

Ladies Fall Fellowship

Yesterday evening, mommy, Sarah and I attended a ladies fall fellowship at our church. A few ladies made soup or chili. Everything was so beautifully decorated and everyone had a sweet time of fellowship. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. :)
                                                          The Decorations

This is the dessert table. 

This wreath was so pretty!

This fall ribbon was woven throughout the wreath. 

Each table had a candle as the centerpiece. 

The decorator said she wanted to see if she could get the kernels underneath the candle popping!

The Food

You can see some pots of soup and chili. There were also 2 salads, and little pinwheel sandwiches. 

These were like smores. They had chocolate, marshmallows on the bottom and graham crackers around the outside with a pretzel to represent the skewers

The Games          

There were 6 tables so there were 6 teams. Each team came up with a name and then 1 person from each table had to go up and do the first activity. Whoever got done first won, and then whoever got done next was the 2nd place winner. Then a different person from each table had to go up and do the next activity. There were 7 different activities: 1. ) You had to put an Oreo on your forehead and try to get the cookie in your mouth without using your hands. 2.) You had to put a stocking on your head which had a ball at the end of it, and knock water bottles down by swinging your head. 3.) You had to pull all the tissues out of the box using only 1 hand. 4.) You had to separate a bunch of skittles according to color. 5.) You had to blow up a balloon and use the air to knock 3 cups off the table. (Yours truly competed in that one. :) 6.) You had to put the end of a spoon in your mouth, (the end you eat off of) and balance 6 candy corns on the other end of it without them falling off. 7.) You had to put both hands in a stocking and try to get the penny, which was at the end of the stocking, without using your hands. So, here are some pictures of the ladies participating in the games. :)

Knocking down water bottles with a ball at the end of a stocking. :)

Separating candy.

Balancing candy corn on the end of the spoon.

The Campfire   

After the games, we all went outside and sat around the campfire and had smores. We all joined in singing while we were gathered around the fire. 

 This is not a very clear picture, but you can see the fire in the middle. 

These poles were placed here and there in a circle.

We ended the night by singing the songs on this paper. We had a very nice time fellowshipping with all the ladies. I hope you enjoyed the pictures! 

Chelsy Bontragger over at  It's a Beautiful Life is having a giveaway! She's giving away this bead hairband! Click here to find out more about it!

Have a blessed weekend, friends! :)