Time to announce the winners!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey ya'll!!!!!! 

It's time to announce the winners of the giveaway!!!!!!!! :) 

I want to say thank you to all of you who entered my giveaway. :D 

Congratulations Paige from Paiges Pages, and Mrs. Harris!!!!!!!!!! Please use the contact form on the right to send me your address, and I'll get your prizes shipped out to you soon. :) 

I want to thank Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Reinsma again for sponsoring this giveaway. :) 

If any of you would like to buy a Bible from Mrs. Reinsma's shop Rustic Journals, she is offering a discount to those who entered the giveaway. So if you are interested in purchasing something from her shop, leave me a comment and I'll send you the code so you can get the discount.

I hope you all have a good and godly day! 

With eternity's values in view,

Ashley

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

What does the Bible mean to you?

Well, friends, this is my last post in the Bible series. Tomorrow I will announce the winners of the giveaway, and I'm so excited!!! 

I'm going to end today with a thought for you all to ponder.
      Where would you be today, right now, without the Bible? 

I'm including a video below and it's about how precious the Bible is to people who don't have access to them. John Bechtel was a missionary to China, and he tells a story about the T-Shirt Bible he made to give to a Christian Chinese woman. It's an amazing story. I hope you take the time to watch it. Don't take the Bible for granted friends. Treasure it, and memorize the Word. :)

                                          
Christ's richest blessings to you all, 
Ashley 
Philippians 1:9-11
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

What the people of the Bible thought about God's Word

Saturday greetings to you all! I did a little studying about what some people in the Bible thought about God's Word. Here are my findings. 

 David's thoughts- In Psalms 119:70, David writes that he "delights in God's law". In verse 42, he writes that he "trusts in God's word." In vs.50, David said God's word quickened him. In vs. 103, God's words are sweeter than honey. In vs. 161, David mentioned that he stands in awe of God's word. In vs. 34, David said he would keep God's law and observe it with his whole heart. In vs. 44, he said he would keep God's law for ever. In vs. 72, David wrote that God's law is better than thousands of gold and silver. In vs. 77, David said God's law is his delight. In vs. 97, he wrote, "O how I love thy law! It is my meditation all the day."In chapter 40:8, David wrote "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." He delighted to do God's will and had his words hidden in his heart. We should be like that. We should love God and his Word so much that we are constantly mediating on it, and delighting to do what He says in the Bible.

Solomon's thoughts- Proverbs 4:4- "He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live."

In Job 4:4, Job said "Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees."

1 Kings 2:3, David told his son Solomon, "And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:"

In Colossians 3:16, Paul admonishes us to let the Word of Christ dwell richly in us and influence our lives. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."

There are many more references referring to what God's people thought of His Word, but I'm going to end there. As David, Solomon, Job, and Paul said,  Delight in God's Word, be quickened by the Word, Love the Word and keep God's commandments, Let the Word dwell in you, meditate on the Word, walk in His ways, and hide the Word in your heart. 

Have a fabulous weekend friends.
Blessings to you in the Lord,
Ashley

The Bible Is......The Word of God & Awesome!

A happy day to you, friends!

The Bible is called many different names, some of which we are going to look at today.

The Word of God is...

Pure - 

Psalms 12:6 "The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times."  

Psalms 119:140 "Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it."

Proverbs 30:5 "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him."

Settled -

Psalms 119:89 "For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven."

Sweet -

Psalms 119:103 "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

A Lamp/Light -

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

True/Truth -

Psalms 119:160 "Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever."

John 17:17 "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."

(Jesus was talking to His Father in verse 17.)

Ephesians 1:13 "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise."

Forever -

Matthew 24:35 "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."

 1 Peter 1:23 "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."

1 Peter 1:25 "But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."

God -

John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

the Sword of the Spirit -

Ephesians 6:17 "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"

Life -

Philippians 2:16 "Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain." 

Quick, powerful, & sharp -

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any towedged 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." 

Good -

Hebrews 6:5 "And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come," 

Hope you enjoyed reading the names describing the Word of God is called.  

Have a sweet day filled with the love of Jesus. 

Yours truly in Christ,

Ashley

Memorizing the Bible (speical post 2)

Hello everyone. 
I talked about how good it is to read your Bible in the last post, but now I'm going to talk about something else you should do in addition to reading your Bible daily.  Memorizing. 
Listed below are a few reasons why we should memorize Scripture. 

1. We should hide verses in our hearts so we can combat Satan when he tempts us to sin. Jesus used the Old Testament Scriptures to respond to Satan when he was he came to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. (Matthew 4:1-11)  Psalms 119:11 "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."
2. We should hide verses in our hearts so we can answer people when they ask us about our faith and why we believe what we do. 1 Peter 3:15 "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"
3. It's good to hide verses in your heart so you can witness to people better. When you're talking to someone about the Lord and don't have a tract, it's good to have verses stored in your memory about salvation so you can just quote them to whomever you're talking to.

A good way to memorize Bible verses is to write the reference on one side of an index card, and write the verse on the other side. Keep saying one part at a time to yourself over and over. Once you have that memorized, you can move on. That's how I memorize verses, and it helps me tremendously! 

Even though it may be hard for you to memorize, don't give up. As I mentioned in the last post, you may not always have the Bible. And if there's ever a time you don't, you can still quote and meditate on verses if you have them memorized.  :D  God has given each of you a great mind. Use it for His glory! 

~Blessings in Christ,
  Ashley 

Reading through the Bible (Special post 1)

Hello again friends!

I hope you're all having a godly,  profitable day.
I have access to a 7 part large print Bible, and it's pretty neat. In the front of the Bible, there's a few pages about reading your Bible through.  First off, I want to encourage you to read your Bible through if you've never done it before. Reading the Bible is how we know what God's will and mind is. In the pages are answers for life's questions; it's a road map God's given us to guide Christians through life. I've read the Bible in order with my family for several years, and a couple years by myself.  The first time I read it through (by myself) in about 5 months.  I'm reading it in chronological order currently, and it's so interesting to see how the Bible books fit together.  We need to read the Bible because "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." as Matthew 4:4 mentions.

 So here are a few things the author mentioned.  :) 

• 2/3 of the books in the Bible can be read in 30 minutes or less. So if you read one hour daily for seven weeks, you can read the Bible seven times a year! WOW!!!! If anyone accomplishes this, please leave a comment and let me know! You deserve to win the Bible.  ;)
• Praying and studying do not take the place of reading the Bible.  
• 98% of believers never read the Bible through. That is so sad and shameful.  And why people fail to read through the Bible is because they have no desire,  plan, or system. I think another reason is because people aren't encouraged to read it anymore.
• People look upon Bible reading as a duty, rather than a pleasure. But  don't forget we do have an adversary that doesn't want you to read the Bible or understand it.  There are many many people in this world that don't have one Bible to read, but when they finally do have access to one, they're extremely grateful for it and treasure the Bible.   So just because we have easy access to lots of Bibles, don't take it for granted because one day you might not be able to get a copy or read it. That's one reason why it's good to hide God's word in your hearts now.

Reading the Bible-God talks to me. 
Praying to God-I talk to God. 
Studying the Bible-I talk to others.

Here are a few tings to keep in mind that will help you with successful reading: 

1. Purpose to know God's will found in the Bible. 
2.  Schedule reading a set number of pages each day to finish on a set day. Sticking to the schedule as close as you can will help you to succeed and form a good habit. 
3.  Keep a record of times you read the Bible through. 

I made up a schedule when I read through the Bible in about 5 months; it helped me stay on track and know what I was going to read the next day. If anyone would like a copy of my helpful schedule, I'd be glad to give you one.  :) 

So for those of you who are currently reading your Bibles through, don't give up. Don't quit. Spend time with your Saviour. You'll be glad you did.  :D

In the Word which became flesh,
Ashley
Psalms 119:11
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

It's Time For A................

IT'S TIME FOR A..........................................GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!

I am soooooooo thrilled and grateful that Susan Reinsma & Janna Smith both agreed to do a giveaway for all you wonderful followers. :)  

One winner will receive this beautiful KJV Bible from Rustic Journals; the leather smells really good and feels super soft.

And another winner will receive these lovely note-cards from Delightful Daisy.  (click on pictures to enlarge.)

To enter:   
- Leave a comment and tell me what your favorite Bible verse is, & tell me whether you would like to win the Bible or notecards. (Make sure you write your name too.)

To gain more entries: 
- Follow Mrs. Reinsma's shop
- Buy something from Mrs. Reinsma's or Mrs. Smith's shop.
- Follow Mrs. Smith's shop
- Post about this giveaway on your blog, and leave a comment with the link.
- Post about this on facebook, instagram, twitter, or any other social media sites & leave the link(s) in your comment.
- Follow my blog. (if you haven't already done so)
-Tell your family members & friends about this giveaway.

*The giveaway is open to all U.S. residents, and will end on August 31st, 2015.*

Since I'm giving away a Bible, with Mrs. Reinsma's help,  I'm going to be posting quite a bit this month about God's Word, and some different things about it. Here is a little glimpse of the topics. The Bible is a.....Sword, Light/ Lamp, Truth, etc. I'm so excited about this, and I hope you are as well. :) 

Have fun entering and hope you have a joyful week! 

With eternity's values in view,
Ashley
Ephesians 2:4-5
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Wilds Trip-North Carolina ~ Recap

Hello friends!
Sarah, Lauren, and I rode up with our church youth group to the Wilds camp on July 26th-27th. You may remember the recap I did on it last year. You can see it here and here. We stayed the whole week (July 27th-July 31st) and had a blast!
This year's theme was Battle For The High Seas. It was a competition between the Emerald Coast Galleons, the Scarlet Cove Clippers, and the Sapphire Bay Schooners. Sarah and I ended up on the Red Team (Scarlet Cove Clippers), and Lauren was on the Blue Team (Sapphire Bay Schooners). 
We had the sweetest counselor who encouraged the 8 girls in her cabin to plunge in and start memorizing the 4 passages chosen for the summer: Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 5:17-20, Matthew 5:21-26, and Matthew 5:27-30. Our cabin had a devious plan we were going to fulfill if our cabin won the Scripture memory challenge against our brother cabin. ;) For the God & I time booklets, the theme was "Make A Difference By Being Different".
Here's a schedule we followed almost every day.

7:30		Rise & Shine
8:15 – 8:45		Breakfast
9:15 – 10:00		Chapel
10:00 – 10:30		God & I Time
10:45 – 11:30		All Camp Game
11:30 – 11:45		Cabin Pictures
11:45 – 12:30		God & I Time Follow Up
12:45 – 1:15		Lunch
1:30 – 2:15		Christian Life Seminar
2:15 – 5:30		Freetime
		Superslide
		Land Trolley
		Snack Shop
		General Store
		Craft Shop
		Cool Beans
		Giant Swing
		Climbing Wall
5:45 – 6:15		Supper
6:30 – 7:15		All Camp Game
7:15 – 8:30		Snack Shop
		General Store
		Craft Shop
		Cool Beans
8:45 – 10:00		Evening Service
10:30 – 10:45		Cabin Devotions
10:45		Lights Out

  And here are pictures taken throughout the week.

Sarah and I had the grand opportunity of riding the new zip-line that went over 3rd falls. I would have videotaped the ride, but cameras weren't allowed.

There was an observation deck that people could see 3rd falls better and take pictures of it, so I walked down a ton of steps to take pictures for everyone, so enjoy these pictures.

All the girl campers and counselors hiked to the waterfalls on Thursday. This year, Sarah and I hiked to 1st falls.

This is a small waterfall I saw along the way.

There it is!!! 1st Falls!!! It was just magnificently beautiful, and everyone had so much fun swimming in it!

I think waterfalls are a special part of God's creation, and they always make me stand in awe of our loving Creator.

These are all the counselors singing a song during the evening service. And by the way, the Wilds music is AMAZING!!! I am including a couple music videos by them below. 

 

 

On either Wednesday or Thursday evening, everyone watched a skit. This one was about some pirates who were trying to find a treasure. One of the pirates on the ship was trying to cause a mutiny. It was a really hillarious skit. :)

This was mine and Sarah's cabin- the S.S. Armada.

The sermons we heard were superb. Morris Gleiser preached every morning from Matthew chapter 5, and different passages in the evening.

I told you above that we were having a competition with our brother cabin for Scripture Memory. Guess who won?!!! The S.S. Armada Girl's Cabin!!! It was super exciting for everyone in our cabin because we got to "torture" our brother cabin. ;)  Here's what we did: On the last day when everyone started gathering outside the dining hall for lunch, we collected our brother cabin boys and lined them up. Our counselor made them turn their palms up, cross their arms, and started duck-taping the boy's hands together. It was HILARIOUS to watch them try to sit down, pick up their cups and silverware, and try to eat. We were all dying of laughter. A counselor came by from the green team (bad timing) and untied the counselor's hand, then he was able to help the others get their hands untied.   

That night we had final scoring, and the RED TEAM WON!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's always a joyous time when everyone finds out what team won, and the lead counselor gives a talk about how, even though winning is fun and exciting, living for God after we leave camp is more important. He challenged us to 'continue in the things which we had learned' as 

2 Timothy 3:14 states.

It was a wonderful experience, and I highly recommend going to the Wilds camp. Oh, and I'm so thankful to the Lord that He held off the rain. (The weather man had predicted it was going to rain every day.) It only rained really hard one evening while we were getting ready for service, but by the time we left our cabins it was just sprinkling. 

Hope you all enjoyed reading about our experience! Have a blessed evening. 

Joyfully His,
Ashley

Colossians 2:6-7

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Prisoner of the Pyrenees~Book review

     Mr. Baker steered too far away from the edge and almost lost a side-mirror against the mountain wall. He touched the brake to regain control and nudged the steering-wheel to the right. In that moment of delay, the SUV surged up from behind and crunched their bumper. 

     "God have mercy!" he gasped. "They're trying to kill us!"
                                                                                                                            
     The Bakers are minding their own business when Briosa Del Quera bursts into their lives. She is an orphaned Catalan girl who is still reeling from her grandfather's death.  His last words instructed her to find people called 'Baker' and get in contact with a secret agent they know-but Jigson has gone missing in suspicious circumstances and not even his agency is able to contact him. 

     Detective Mortimer says that Mr. Jigson was last seen in the Pyrenees mountains, and the Bakers are determined to find him and help Briosa get to the bottom of the plot against her grandfather. But as their journey through northern Spain becomes a breathless race to avoid villains and meet allies, they wonder if Briosa has really told them everything....

     From a desperate car-chase to a stealthy escape from a Spanish fortress, the Bakers are tested to the limits of their courage and their trust in the Lord. 

     Can they find Jigson and stop a global conspiracy, or will they all become prisoners of the Pyrenees? 

 

      The Baker Family Adventures follow the exciting lives of Mr. and Mrs. Baker and their four children: responsible Phil, sensible Abby, daring Andy, and inquisitive Tom. The Bakers are a Christian homeschooling family who, in their desire to help others, frequently find themselves in dangerous situations where they must grow in courage and learn important lessons of godliness.

What I thought:

 This is the 5th book in the Baker Family Adventure series. I was so excited to learn that Caitlin Hedgcock had published a new book, and I couldn't wait to read it. This book was so captivating and thrilling-I truly did not want to put it down once I started it. The only thing I was disappointed about was that I was left hanging once I reached the end.  ;) Hopefully she has a sequel to this book in mind. ;D  I have read all 5 books, and let me tell you, they're some of the best fiction books out there. All the books are well written, adventurous,  purely clean, exciting, and teach godly principles.  Children of all ages and grown-ups will love reading these delightful and awesome books! Even though Prisoner of the Pyrenees is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone book.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING PRISONER OF THE PYRENEES AND THE WHOLE BAKER FAMILY ADVENTURES! 

You can visit the author and order the books on Caitlin's website: C.R. Hedgcock. 

I want to give a huge thanks to Caitlin for allowing me to do this review.

***I was given a free copy of this book from Caitlin Hedgcock for an honest review. 

All thoughts are my own.*** 

Praising the Lord,

Ashley

Psalms 145:8-12

The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

More Love To Thee, O Christ

 More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee! 

 Let sorrow do its work, come grief or pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;
This be the parting cry my heart shall raise;
This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

*Many thanks to my daddy for taking a couple of the pictures.*

I hope you all are having a lovely, good and godly week!

Singing his praises,

Ashley

Psalms 34:1-3

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.