Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."   Micah 5:2 Personal Christmas Note From Ashley: You know, during this Christmas season, everbody has been buying gifts and thinking about what they are going to get one another. Well, there is one gift that has been given by the One who loves us so much; His love is unconprehensible, and He has given us a gift, which is free, and all you have to do is receive it. God is the One who has given us the gift, and that gift is eternal life through Jesus. Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." God sent His Son, Jesus, down to earth as a baby, to do many miracles and heal many people, but His ultimate purpose was to die on the cross and take our penalty for sin, which is death. I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!  Merry Christmas everyone!  I can't believe that a year is finished and we are about to enter into another one. As you celebrate Christmas with family, remember: Jesus is the reason for the season, and take some time to thank Jesus for coming as a little baby in a manger, and giving himself for you on the cross.  Luke 2:10-11 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Museum Pictures

On Tuesday, Dec. 16th, we went on a field trip to the Museum of Discovery and Science, along with Sarah's Chemistry class. Everyone had an enjoyable time. We went on some simulators, watched a 3D movie called Bugs, and walked around the museum. And of course, I took lots of pictures. :) If you can't tell, this is a panoramic photo. I figured out how to set my camera to take panoramic photos, and it's really cool! 

      At the entrance of the museum, there was this thing.

I don't know what to call it. It's a huge contraption that had balls rolling around on it. 
Inside the museum, there was a case with different kinds of brain coral. They really do kind-of look like the brain.
                       This is Maze Coral or Tan Brain Coral

                             This one is Grooved Brain Coral.

                                 And this one is Rose Coral.

                             This is a neat looking sea-snail. 

                    There was a tank with horseshoe crabs...

                                And a tank with tarantulas.

              These cute baby geckos were in another tank.

                This coral was pink and green. Very pretty!

                              The museum had a fish tank...

As well as a shark tank. If you look closely, you can see the huge lobster sitting on the rocks behind the shark.

                                                

                        These 3 baby alligators were so cute.

                         This baby alligator was smiling. :)

For lunch, we went across the street and had a picnic. After lunch, we took a lovely walk by the water. These Hibiscus flowers were the main focus of my pictures. 

      Many ladybugs were resting on the buds and flowers. 

                And here are some more beautiful flowers...

And finally, this is the otter's habitat. I took the picture from a window...I didn't have to opportunity to see the otters, but I know they're so cute!

*The saying of the week may be substituted for the thought of the week.* 
Saying of the week: A Bible in the hand is better than 2 on a shelf.

Bible verse of the week: Romans 6:22-23 
"But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

And the song of the week that goes with the Bible verse: Once For All.
"Free from the law, O happy condition, Jesus has bled and there is remission. Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall, Grace hath redeemed us once for all."

Remember: the reason this season is so special is because Jesus came to earth as Emmanuel, which means God with us, to die for the sins of this whole world. 2 Corinthians 5:19 says "To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."

Abiding in the joy of the Lord,
Ashley

Life Lately...

Life has been very busy this whole week. Things are finally starting to slow down since classes are ending. Sarah's birthday was on Tuesday. When we arrived home around 4 pm. from our homeschool classes, there was an Edible Arrangements basket for Sarah sitting on our front porch. There was a little card attached to it, but there was no name at the end, so we don't know who it's from. :) We were very surprised and enjoyed eating the delicious fruit! (I didn't think to take a picture of the beautiful arrangement. :(
Take a look at some pictures from this week.

On Thursday, my daddy took us to Sony's because my mommy had a cookie exchange, which she attended. We made and decorated gingerbread cookies.
                            

After we finished eating, we stopped to see this huge manger scene. Every year, this little store called Castro's Interior sets up a huge nativity set. The cover is thatched from many palm tree branches that are stapled together. It's quite amazing. We went to look at it on Thursday night.

 

  On Friday afternoon, mommy took me and my 2 sisters to a birthday party. They had these beautiful flowers and I just had to take a picture. :) 

On Friday night, my older sister, her friend, and I camped out in our tent. I finally decided to go inside at 5 am. because I couldn't get to sleep. On Saturday morning, we 3 girls went for a bike ride. I took these pictures of flowers that were lining the fence along the street we were biking on.

                                                                        
 Sarah and our friend had a picnic lunch at a beautiful spot by the water down at our neighbor's house. The water was so sparkly!!

Saying of the week:
 

Bible verse of the week: Romans 6:6-14
"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." 
After I read that last verse, I thought of the song "Grace Tis A Charming Sound."  This is the first verse and chorus of the song.
                                                        "Grace! tis a charming sound,
                                                              Harmonious to the ear; 
                                                    Heav'n with the echo shall resound, 
                                                         And all the earth shall hear. 
                                                            Saved by grace alone!
                                                              This is all my plea: 
                                                         Jesus died for all mankind, 
                                                          And Jesus died for me.

Hey! I just thought I should have a song of the week, that ties into my Bible verse of the week. :) What do you all think? 

Hope you all have a fabulous, good and godly week, for what good is a good week if it is not also a godly week? It's a no-good week!!!!

In the grace and truth of His majesty the King,
Ashley

Genesis 22

Hello friends! Sorry I have not posted in a whole week. I was super busy this week with school. This morning, our pastor preached an awesome message. I didn't take notes, so I am just going to recap what he talked about.

The passage was Genesis 22:6-14. In verse 8, Abraham tells Isaac, "God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering..." It's really cool, because God provided Abraham a lamb, and God provided sinners a lamb: His only Son. Jesus was the "ram caught in the thicket by his horns..." Jesus was our Sacrifice, just like the ram was. And it's cool that Abraham called the place Jehovah-jireh, which means "Provider". I thought of the song "Jehovah Jireh" when I read verse 14. If you would like to listen to this song, click here. 

Saying of the week:

 

Bible verse of the week: Romans 5:7-11

"For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dark to die. 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. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement."

May the Lord bless you all, dear friends. Have a good and godly week!

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

Ashley