Glass Insects In Space!!

I just realized I haven't posted a creation moment in a very long time!!  :( So here is a very interesting article!!
Creation Corner.
Today's Creation Moment: Glass Insects in Space!
 

Psalm 9:1     "I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all Thy marvelous works."

Brine shrimp and water bears are tiny animals that are able to basically freeze dry into a state of suspended animation and then return to active life. Scientists have learned that they do this by replacing the water in their cells with a sugar called trehalose.

The larvae of a fly native to Africa makes its living eating organic material that settles at the bottom of puddles. During periods of drought, the larvae replace the water in their cells with trehalose. The sugar acts just like other sugars, solidifying into a glasslike state. In this state, the sugar acts to stabilize the larvae's tissues. The larvae can remain in this state for up to 17 years and still come back to life when water is again available.

Scientists would like to learn more about this ability. Their hope is to apply such knowledge to preserving blood for transfusion in a dry form. They may also learn how to preserve organs for transplant. As part of their research, they have sent dry larvae to the International Space Station. They want to see if the larvae can be revived after they have been exposed to space outside the space station.

Not only are the wonders that God has created marvelous, but we can learn from them for our own betterment.

creationmoments.com 

Warmly in the glow of His glory,
Ashley

Is God your Rock?

This morning in Sunday school, our pastor preached an awesome message taken from Deuteronomy 32, a song that Moses sang. I'm going to list a bunch of verses, and they all have something in common.
Verse 4- "He is the Rock..."
Verse 13-  "...and he made him to suck honey out of the rock..."
Verse 15 "...then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation." 
Verse 18- "Of the Rock..."
Verse 30- "...except their Rock had sold them..."
Verse 31- "For their rock is not as our Rock..."
Over 7 times, Rock is mentioned in this song of Moses. No where in Genesis do you find the word rock mentioned anywhere. That's because, the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt (in Genesis) and all they saw around them was sand. It's not until you get to Exodus when you start seeing the word rock. 
Deuteronomy 32 talks about 4 different rocks.
1. The Rock of perfection.    verse 4: "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he."

2. A Rock of provision. verse 15- "But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxed fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. 

3. A Rock of protection. verse 30- "How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?"
You're not going to be able to get through the seas of life, especially when the storms come, unless you're standing upon a rock. Not just any rock- a solid rock.  
Here are some songs that talk about Jesus being our solid Rock. 
"The wise man built his house upon a rock. The wise man built his house upon a rock. The wise man built his house upon a rock, and the rains came tumbling down. The rains came down as the floods came up. The rains came down as the floods came up. The rains came down as the floods came up, and the house on the rock stood firm. 
The foolish man built his house upon the sand. The foolish man built his house upon the sand. The foolish man built his house upon the sand, and the rains came tumbling down. The rains came down as the floods came up. The rains came down as the floods came up. The rains came down as the floods came up, and the house on the sand fell flat."

" Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure."

 "My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand."

4. A Rock of permanence. verse 37-40 "And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,  Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection. See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever." You might say, why is he holding his hand up to heaven? Because there is no greater than God swearing by himself, because He does not change. God is always the same, no matter what. Praise the Lord for that!! There's a song that I just thought of that goes along with what I'm talking about. "Yesterday, Today, Forever." Here's the chorus:
 "Yesterday, today, and forever- Jesus is the same. All may change, but Jesus never, glory to His name. Glory to His name! Glory to His name! All may change but Jesus never- Glory to His name!!" 

If you start at Genesis, an start at Revelation, and go word by word, verse by verse, you will find that the middle verse in the Bible is: Psalms 188:8 "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man."  That verse is so true. There is no firmer rock you could stand on, than on the Lord Jesus Christ. Even when rough storms come and there's 15 feet waves all around you-God is there, and if you stand on Him, there's no need to be afraid. 

Bible verse of the week: Joshua 1:9 submitted by Deborah.
Joshua 1:9 "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whitersoever thou goest. "


Saying of the week: 

                                                                                                                 
In Christ's boundless and eternal love,
Ashley       

 

Fabulous Books

Recently, I have been reading some great fictional books by Robert Elmer. (I highly recommend reading these books!! ) He is a Christian and has written many series of books. Here are the series I have read:.
The Young Underground
1. A Way Through The Sea
2. Beyond the River
3. Into the Flames
4. Far From the Storm
5. Chasing the Wind
6. A Light in the Castle
7. Follow the Star
8. Touch the Sky

Here is a little paragraph, written by Mr. Elmer, that tells what The Young Underground books are about.
" In my first series, the "Young Underground," each book is based on a real historical event or character. They're set in World War II-Denmark. It was a natural, because my family is Danish; both my parents grew up during that time. I would look into history books for exciting things that happened, then ask them questions to find out how it really happened. A Danish man—I used to clean his yard and he was a friend of my parents—would tell me stories about being in the Danish Underground movement, and one of the stories he told me inspired book number three, Into the Flames. My uncle was in the Underground, too, although I never met him. I hope you'll enjoy reading these adventures as much as I enjoyed writing them."

Adventures Down Under   (I have only read the first 4 books in this series so far.)
1. Escape to Murray River
2. Captive at Kangaroo Springs
3. Rescue at Boomerang Bend
4. Dingo Creek Challenge
5. Race to Wallaby Bay
6. Firestorm at Kookaburra Station
7.  Koala Beach Outbreak
8.  Panic at Emu Flat

This is the summary Mr. Elmer wrote about the Adventures Down Under series.
" These eight adventures were inspired by my connection to the wonderful country of Australia through my uncle, who immigrated there in the late 1940s. The "Adventures Down Under" begins years before that, however, in 1868, following the pioneer adventures of the McWaid family. From their beginnings in Dublin to their danger-filled trip up the Murray River, you'll follow the McWaids "down under," and maybe learn a few things along the way!"

The Promise of Zion
1. Promise Breaker
2. Peace Rebel
3. Refugee Treasure
4. Brother Enemy
5. Freedom Trap
6. True Betrayer

This is the summary Mr. Elmer wrote about The Promise of Zion series.
" These stories are close to my heart, inspired by the life of a Holocaust survivor I met while researching the series in Jerusalem. Set in 1948, the adventures follow a young Jewish teen, Dov, and Emily, the daughter of a British army officer. Together they witness the explosive events around them as the state of Israel emerges from the ashes of World War Two."

I checked out the The Promise of Zion series and The Young Underground at the library. They even ordered the Adventures Down Under series for me!!  My favorite series would probably have to be...well, it's so hard to pick one because they are all such excellent books!!! But I think I would pick the Adventures Down Under series as my favorite. :) We read True Betrayer as a family, and we all loved it. (All of the above books would be great to read as a family.)
Have you read any awesome books lately? Which ones?  
With eternity's values in view,
Ashley

Here are some quotes I found. I really like the first one. :) 

New Life!!

A couple weeks ago, Sarah discovered a mockingbird nest in our mulberry tree. You can see the nest, but it's hard to see inside the nest. Here's what the eggs looked like.

After about 15 days, one baby hatched on Saturday, July 19th!!! I saw the mom, and she had something in her mouth. She sat on the edge of the nest, gave the baby the food and flew away. Here's a picture of the newly hatched mockingbird baby. (I don't know why the other didn't hatch.)

Here's a picture of the momma mockingbird. I don't know if you can see her very well-she blends in with the leaves a little bit.

               Here are 2 videos of the baby mockingbird. Since I couldn't see inside the nest, I held my camera above it and took some videos.

You know, when I saw this baby bird, I thought of this Bible verse: 2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are past away; behold, all things are become new. .

Last night, I took a picture of the nest, and there's only 1 egg in there, and no baby!! :( We don't know what happened to it. Maybe the mom had another nest somewhere else, and she took her baby there. I was really looking forward to watching the baby grow up. :)

Bible Verse of the Week: Proverbs 16:18  submitted by Deborah! 
Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

In His incredible name,

Ashley

More Vacation Bible School pictures.

Well, Vacation Bible School has come to a close. I am really sad that it ended today, but we had a great time. Today was pizza day, and the kids loved it!! In my class, a little girl got saved today, and we were so happy about that!! Praise the Lord!  

Romans 5:8- But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.   

 The puppets: Jimmy Pitfall, Dr. Pitfall, Feathers, (the Booky Booky bird)  Coral, and Jane. 

 They (the puppets)  have been searching for the Everlasting Lamp on Arrow Island all week, and yesterday (Thursday) they found it- God's Word. (I was going to post a video of the last puppet show, but sadly, the video was taking too long to upload.)

Psalms 119:105  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. 

Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 

This is Castaway Collins and one of the 4 year old teachers.

       

                                  This is Jenagan. :) (Instead of her name being Gilligan, it's Jenagan )
                                                                      Puppets!!

                                      Children singing Happy Trails at the end of the day.  

 Psalms 98:4-5  Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise and rejoice, and sing praise. With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.



 These fish were remote controlled, and they flew above the kids. They were all screaming and laughing!!! :)







                                             This Nemo fish looks like a balloon!!!
 

                                                These kids really want to touch the shark!!


                                               Here's Castaway Collins and Chanco Man!!!!

                             The Preacher Man (Pastor Blalock) leading the kids on a snake hunt. :)
                                (Note: the sign says "Save the Date 7-18-14    Chanco + Bride :)
 
                                       The volcano erupted and out flowed confetti!!!!

                                      These puppets joined the kids on the Happy Trails song.


                                                     This is our 4 year old's class. 


If you would like to see more pictures and day 4 and 5's videos, click here
(Note: I wrote this post on Friday, but posted it on Sunday.)

Pictures from Vacation Bible School

Hey everyone!!!
This week was Vacation Bible School at our church. Everyone has been having so much fun- I wish tomorrow didn't have to be the last day!!! :( There have been so many workers and kids. Normally, the 4's and 5's are together, (that's the class I work in)  but this year they decided to separate them. We would've had over 60 kids in one class, and that would've been too much to handle!!
 The theme was Arrow Island- Choosing God's Way. The tune of the theme song was Gilligan's Island, and there were some silly pictures of the castaway!! (They changed the words around a little bit.)You know, you could also sing the Gilligan's Island song to "Amazing Grace"!!! Here are some pictures from this week. :)

                This is what the stage looked like. 

       This was the 'boat' that Castaway Collins rode in.

 

                          This is the sign that was in front of my class.

                                          Here's a map of Arrow Island!!!!

                    

                  4's and 5's class listening to the Bible story. 

This giant appeared for the last 2 days and the kids made him go away by singing!! It was a reminder for us: when giants come in your life, trust in God because He will never leave you!!!

                         He's going...

                                                            He's going...

                                                               He's gone!!!! Yeah!!

   Two days ago, Chanco man was hanging around! :) His outfit was pretty funny!!

      The 1st and 2nd grade class playing a game outside. 

  Today was cupcake day, so my sister made monkey cupcakes.

                 Aren't they soooo cute?!!!

  (Note: the noise you hear at the song was when Castaway Collins came in his 'boat'!!)

 To watch day 1's video, click here

 To watch day 2's video, click here

To watch day 3's video, click here

 I hope you enjoyed the pictures and videos. :)  I am going to try to post some more pictures and videos tomorrow!!!

Have a godly day!

With eternity's values in view,
Ashley

The Light-Emitting Swallotail

Thank you to all who left comments with your favorite Bible verses. You can still leave a comment anytime with your favorite verses.

Bible verse of the week- submitted by my daddy.
Colossians 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Creation Corner.
Today's Creation Moment: The Light-Emitting Swallowtail.  
 

Genesis 1:3     "And God said, 'Let there be light;' and there was light."

 Though tiny, the scales of the swallowtail butterfly's wing are similar in design to light-emitting diodes. We say similar because the design is closer to a specialized light-emitting diode that puts out six times as much light as a standard LED.

The blue-green wing of the swallowtail is covered with millions of tiny scales. Each microscopic scale has three layers. The top layer is made up of thousands of hollow cylinders shaped in a honeycomb pattern. There is fluorescent pigment within the sides of those cells. The second layer adds the blue-green color to entering light, and the bottom layer reflects it back out. As the light enters, the top layer focuses and reflects all the blue-green light that enters it. The second layer turns any other color entering light – including ultraviolet light – blue-green, and the bottom layer reflects it back out.

The efficiency of the delicate structure has been compared to LEDs that have two-dimensional photonic crystals that put out six times as much light as a regular LED. As one scientist put it, they had no idea that the design would be so "precise" and "refined."

Of course it's precise and refined, showing an understanding of light! It was designed by the same Creator Who created light in the first place.

www.creationmoments.com

This week is Vacation Bible School at our church. They are expecting alot of kids. Please pray that many children will trust in Jesus as their Saviour.  Stay tuned this week, as I hope to post pictures from VBS!!! :)

Have a fabulous and godly week!! 

In the Saviour's love,

Ashley