My life #3

Welcome everyone!

To start off, I'm posting some pictures I've taken most recently.

This plant (below) has little eggs (at least we think that's what they are) which hanging on the underside of one leaf.

                               It had just rained, so I decided to see if I could capture 
                                any pictures of raindrops on this beautiful plant. I was 
                                       very please with the pictures of the raindrops!

 The final pictures are of Lacy and our piano teacher's cat. 

I took the cat's picture just as he was yawning.

 While we were at the beach this morning, we saw a great amount of Sea Hares that had been washed up on the beach. It's really cool to watch them swimming in the water. I threw alot back in the water because they were stuck so far up on the sand.

Here's a cool fact. When threatened by predators, sea hares release a dark purple fluid in defense. The ink gets its purple color from a pigment in the red algae that makes up part of the Se Hare's diet. And they can also lay up to 80 million eggs, but only a few hatch, due to predators eating them.

Moving on.......I wanted to give you a quick update on my Bible reading this week. I mentioned yesterday that I read 76 minutes one day a few weeks ago. Well the week that I read 76 min., my total time was 208 minutes. Yesterday I was at 225 minutes, and that didn't count the time that I was planning on reading. I figured it out, and found that if I read 75 more minutes yesterday, I would get a total of 300 minutes, which is 5 hours!!

                                     Bible verse of the week: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly: but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Have a blessed week. 
Blessings in Christ Jesus,
Ashley

Life post #2

Good morning sweet friends and a happy Saturday to you.
I've been wanting to write about what I've been doing for Bible for the past 7 weeks. At the beginning of the summer, June 1st, I joined a Summer Devotions Pursuit hosted by Amy Vest at Loving the Lord Ministries.  
The rules that L.T.L.M. made up are as follows:
-Spend at least 15 minutes a day in devotions with the Lord (including 5 minutes of Bible reading).
-Memorize at least 1 Bible verse a week and recite it to your accountability partner. 
-Call your accountability partner once ever two weeks to check up on daily devotions, memorizing, and to share prayer requests.
At the end of the week, I need to have a total of 105 minutes. I have a chart which helps me keep track of how many minutes I read a day and how many verses I memorize a week. 

Reading my Bible every day is sometimes easy, but sometimes can be challenging. During last week, I found myself pushing Bible reading aside, and not reading everyday.

Since I can read whatever book I want, some days I just skip around to different books, but mainly I continue reading in chronological order. I started reading in chronological order on August 10th, 2014. I'm in Isaiah right now. It was cool to read some chapters in 2 Kings, and then I would skip and read Joel, then back to 2 Kings, then Hosea and so on. It's really cool to see how the Bible fits together like a puzzle. Reading it in chronological order ties everything together, and it's fascinating. If anyone would like a free schedule which has all the books in chronological order to read in a year, you can click here and order one, or however many you would like. 

So far, I have read a total of 1,157 minutes, which is a little over 19 1/12 hours. The longest time I read for in one day is 76 minutes. And the total number of verses memorized so far is 13. I'm working on memorizing a few verses this week.

This has been a wonderful challenge for me, and I look forward to seeing what new things I learn, and what God does in my heart in the next 6 weeks. 

Also, I have decided to move Creation Moment month to September, because I have something special I want to publish, which will probably take a few posts.  :)


I hope you have a very blessed and special weekend friends!

God's richest blessings to you, 
Ashley
Psalms 103:1-4
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

Let God Be Magnified

Hello my lovely readers,

Last night I was reading Psalms, and I came across this verse, which I thought was really neat. Psalms 70:4 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified. But as I kept reading on and on, another verse stood out to me that was even neater than 70:4. Psalms 72:18 declares, Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. I kept thinking about that one part- "...who only doeth wondrous things." This morning I looked up the word wondrous in a dictionary, and found this meaning: exciting wonder: so good or admirable as to inspire wonder or awe.

Then I started thinking about many things that God did in the Old Testament and in the New, and found out that His doings are really wondrous. Here are a few examples of things that God did that are wondrous.
He:

• Created the world-Gen. 1:1-25

• Created man-Gen. 1:27

• Sent a flood which covered the whole earth-Gen.6:17

• Confounded the people of Babel's language-Gen. 11:7

• Made a covenant with Abraham-Gen. 12:2-3

• Spared Lot from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah-Gen. 19:16

• Used Joseph to save a nation of people- Gen. 45:5-8

• Parted the Red Sea for the children of Israel when they were leaving Egypt - Gen. 14:14-16
• Used judges to deliver his people from oppression-Judges
• Gave up his only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross so all men could be forgiven and saved. -Ephesians 1:7 "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;"

I could go on and on as I look through Scripture and find many accounts that testify God working wonders, but I think you get the point. I'm glad the Lord only does wondrous things, and not just mediocre things, aren't you? 

I guess that concludes my thoughts on Psalms 72:18. 

        Hope you have a sweet day walking with the Lord.
                         Your friend,
                            Ashley

 Have you found a cool verse that you really like recently?                   Comment below! I would love to hear it! :)   

Life Post

Good afternoon!
This is a "what's happening in my life" post, and I'll start by telling you about my plants. I have 3 peanut plants and they're thriving...especially when they're surrounded by manure. ;) I can't wait till they start producing peanuts.

On Friday evening, (7/17) my daddy brought home a turtle. He was in the middle of the road and had nowhere to go.

 He was scared, so he hid in his shell and hissed when I picked him up.

A little while after I saw a box turtle. Unlike this big turtle, the box turtle's head wasn't visible when he was hiding, nor his feet. It was actually cool the way he pulled himself in his shell. Next time I'll take a picture for you all. :)  

This lizard was posing for me as I took his picture.

 Yesterday evening, our awesome friends came over for dinner. We had a marvelous time with them; here's a picture of their Border Collie dog, Saint.

For dessert, I made 2 of my world famous Fruit Pizzas!!! Okay, so it's not world famous, but it's a secret recipe. ;)

 Even though it looks pretty, it tastes alot better. ;)

Bible verse of the week: 1 Corinthians 13:1-7

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have no charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.  

 

Have a fabulous, good and godly week.

Thanks for reading!

In the love of Christ,

                                                         Ashley

Vacation Bible School Week

Greetings to you all. 

This week our church had Vacation Bible School. I worked in the 4 year old's class...those little kids just melt my heart! There was this one little boy, Jay, who was the cutest boy! He had two little dimples on his face when he smiled, and he liked to be cuddled. When he saw me walking toward his row today, his face lit up like a sunbeam, and he sat on my lap during the final closing. :)

There were soooo many kids that attended our Space Themed VBS this year...more than any other year. The kids learned new songs, one of which I had never heard before. You can click on the video below to listen to The Crayon Box Song.

      Seek Ye First was another song that was kinda new to the children. 

 
                  Another song the kids loved is Happy All the Time. 

If you have younger brothers and sisters, they would probably enjoy singing this song with you. :)
Even though we were tired when we arrived home each day, I wish so bad it would go on for another week, because it was so much fun.  :D I didn't take many pictures, so you can click here to view tons of pictures and some videos! 

August is Creation Moment month, ya'll!!! That means I'm going to be posting a Creation Moment every day! 

Well, that's all I have for now, folks.  Goodbye!!

Yours truly in Christ,
Ashley

Julie's Ice Cream~ 2nd review!

                                                                 Hello everyone!
                               I have another ice cream company to review today!
                                                                      Introducing: 

 Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

                        This is the "mother" company of Alden's Organic Ice Cream. 
                                           By the way, I really like their label. 
For this review, they sent me two coupons. I had planned to get vanilla ice cream from Julie's so I could compare Julie's and Alden's ice cream, but our Fresh Market didn't carry any ice cream; only ice cream bars. So, I redeemed my coupons for: 
                                                  1. Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches 
                                                                   2. Fudge Bars 

What I thought:  
Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches: The ice cream sandwiches were superbly delicious!! They tasted so much better than other ice cream sandwiches, and the vanilla ice cream in between tasted like Alden's vanilla ice cream! The best part about these sandwiches is that there is no preservatives,  chemical additives, or food coloring in them!
Fudge Bars: These fudge bars.....I couldn't believe how delectable they were! The bars were rich and creamy, and the fudge tasted purer than other fudge bars I have tasted. They weren't overly sweet either. The quality is really good, too. I literally could eat these bars all day long!

Overall: Julie's is my new favorite company that produces Ice Cream Sandwiches and Fudge Bars! :) I highly recommend this company to everyone, and you all should try the ice cream and (or) the bars. 
                                                                        Summary:
                                                                     My Favorite: Both! 
                                   I like ice cream sandwiches alot, but I would have to say 
                        that the fudge bars exceed other fudge bars, so I would rate them
                             as number 1, and the sandwiches come in a close second place.
                              If you like fudge at all, and even if you don't like fudge, you will 
                                                              LOVE these fudge bars!                                                                                                          Rating: 5 GOLD STARS

I want to thank Julie's Organic Ice Cream company immensely for sending me coupons for a review.

                                                        Did you like this review?
                     Do you think you will try any of the products I have reviewed?

Our God, He is Alive // Creation Moment

Greetings to you all!
I found this awesome song called "Our God, He is Alive", which is a new favorite of mine, so I thought I'd share it. You can watch it below.  Hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think of the song. 

I can't remember the last time I posted a Creation Moment, so I decided I should have one on this post today. Today's Creation Moment: The Word's Ugliest Animal
Romans 5:8
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

When this fish it taken out of the water, its face almost looks like a very sad person. In 2013 it was voted the "World's Ugliest Animal." What is this creature that was adopted as the mascot of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society? It's the appropriately named Blobfish.

Photos of the ugly Blobfiish have been making the rounds on the Internet. And yet, even the Blobfish has beauty when you consider that it was designed to function perfectly in its environment. Blobfish inhabit the deep waters off the coasts of Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. If you want to see one in its natural habitat, you would have to dive to a depth of between 2,000 and 3,900 feet where the pressure is several dozen times higher than at sea level. The pressure is no problem for the Blobfish, though. Its jelly-like body is slightly less dense than water, allowing it to float effortlessly just above the sea floor. 

Blobfish don't have much muscle for swimming, but they don't need it. They simply swallowed edible matter that floats into their mouth. Sadly, they are an endangered species because of fishing trawlers dragging their nets on the seafloor.

Yes, the Blobfish is far from attractive. But it serves as a reminder that sinful human beings are unattractive in the sight of God. And yet, while we were still sinners, God sent His Son to die for us and to exchange His righteousness for our sins, making us acceptable in God's sight. What a Savior!

creationmoments.com

Bible verse of the week: 2 Corinthians 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

I hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day yesterday! 

Have a good and godly week!

Love,
Ashley

Alden's Ice Cream~ 1st Review

                                                               Hey everyone!
I have a review to share with you all today. This is the first time I have made a review, and I'm excited about it. :) Allow me to introduce to you:

                                             Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

                                                                           About:
                    Alden's ice cream is located in Oregon and was 
                founded over 80 years ago. I took a picture of their 
                              statement on the back of the box.

 For this review, Alden's Ice Cream kindly sent me two ice cream coupons, which I redeemed for the following flavors:

 

 What I thought:

Most of the ice cream you buy in the regular stores are filled with unnatural artificial flavoring and colors. This ice cream doesn't have any artificial flavors or colors in it. It's all natural! :) 

Here's a picture of the ingredients in the vanilla bean ice cream.

 And take a quick look at the ingredients in the Cookies 'N Cream ice cream.

 Vanilla Bean: This was super delicious and the best vanilla I have ever tasted!! I am a gigantic fan of vanilla, especially organic vanilla ice cream. ;) The ice cream was rich and creamy, and I could taste the real vanilla in the ice cream. :) 

Cookies 'n Cream: This was the best ice cream of this kind I have ever tasted! The numerous cookie pieces throughout the ice cream were soft and yummy. Some cookies 'n cream ice cream brands hardly have any cookies mixed in, but I noticed Alden's had alot of cookies in their ice cream. 

Overall: I highly recommend Alden's Ice Cream to everyone! You all should definitely try some. (I got my ice cream at the local Fresh Market, so if your regular shopping center doesn't have it, try a place like Whole Foods or an organic shopping center.) It's probably my new favorite brand of ice cream. :) 

Summary:

My favorite: Vanilla Bean!

Ranking: 5 GOLD STARS!!!!!

 

I want to give a huge thank you to Alden's Organic Ice Cream company for sending me coupons for this review. 

Did you all like this review?
Would you be interested in seeing more reviews on my blog in the future?

Will you be likely to try, or have you tried any of Alden's Ice Cream products?

 Leave a comment with your thoughts!