Thy Word is Like a Garden, Lord

 Thy Word is Like a Garden, Lord

By: Edwin Hodder

Thy Word is like a garden, Lord, with flowers bright and fair, 

And everyone who seeks may pluck a lovely cluster there. 

Thy Word is like a deep, deep mine; and jewels rich and rare 

are hidden in its mighty depths for every searcher there.

Thy Word is like a starry host: a thousand rays of light

are seen to guide the traveler and make his pathway bright. 

Thy Word is like an armory, where soldiers may repair;
And find, for life's long battle day, all needful weapons there. 

 

Oh, may I love Thy precious Word, may I explore the mine, 

may I its fragrant flowers glean, may light upon me shine!

Oh, may I find my armor there! Thy Word my trusty sword,

I'll learn to fight with every foe the battle of the Lord.

Matthew 6:28

And why take ye thought for rainment? Consider the lilies of the field,

how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

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

Psalms 119:127
Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above
fine gold.


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Tomorrow, November 1st, starts the 30 days of Thankfulness,
which means I'll be posting something I'm thankful for every day. :)
If you would like to participate in this challenge on your blog,
go right ahead! Or you can just leave a comment with what you're
thankful for. :)
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I hope you all have a very good and godly week!

The Fastest Flower in the Forest

Today's Creation Moment:  The Fastest Flower in the Forest

Matthew 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..."

The peace and serenity of North America's spruce forests is occasionally broken by little other than the rustle of a deer passing by. At least that's what most people think. In truth, there are things going on which would cause us profound wonder.

The bunchberry dogwood flower stands only about one-tenth of an inch tall. Scientists knew that the flowers opened explosively. The flowers do this to propel their pollen further. The scientists decided to find out precisely how fast the flowers really opened. So they decided to tape a flower opening with a high speed camera that is capable of taking 1,000 pictures a second. But the camera proved to be too slow. It was only with a camera that takes 10,000 pictures a second that they could clearly see what was going on. They saw that the petals opened, and in a separate action, the stamens unfold so fast that they catapult pollen into the air. All of this happens in four tenths of a thousandth of a second. That's more than a hundred times faster than a chameleon's tongue captures lunch. The stamens unfold so fast that they subject the pollen to 2,400 times the force of gravity.

There are no limits to the wonders God can conceive and create. His greatest wonder is His mercy which resulted in forgiveness and salvation.

Creation Moments

Drink Your Orange Juice

Today's Creation Moment: Drink Your Orange Juice

 

Genesis 1:29 "And God said, Behold, I have given you every ... tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat."

Presumably, before the fall into sin, we didn't have any bad cholesterol, or at least it didn't do any damage in our bloodstream. The so-called "bad cholesterol" is low-density-lipoprotein. It's called bad because it tends to cause our arteries to clog unless countered by the so-called "good cholesterol" or high-density-lipoprotein.

Based on earlier research, scientists wanted to test the idea that substances in orange juice could improve levels of good cholesterol. Volunteers had their cholesterol levels checked on a regular basis during the test period. After six weeks of a low cholesterol diet, they were to drink one glass of orange juice every day for four weeks. The result was a 5 percent increase in the good cholesterol. Then they drank two glasses of orange juice per day for four weeks. The result was another 7 percent increase in good cholesterol. Then they were directed to drink three glasses per day. The result was a 27 percent overall improvement. Surprisingly, researchers found that five weeks after they stopped the three glasses-a-day portion of the experiment, their good cholesterol remained high.

We can be thankful that, in His perfect foreknowledge, God created some foods that counter the effects of sin on us. We can be even more thankful that His plan to save us from our sins was in place even before there was sin.

creationmoments.com 

// Life Lately //

Hello friends!

On Sunday I realized I hadn't posted but once since
September 30th. Speaking of which, our family took a 
short 3-day weekend trip up to see Sarah at Pensacola
Christian College. We spent all day Friday driving, most of Saturday
at the college, and left on Sunday morning. While there, we spent alot of time
in the college's sports center. It contains so many fun activities to try, 
some of which include ice skating, in-line skating, bowling, playing
pool and air hockey, and climbing the prodigious rock wall, which
can be a great deal of fun, but also quite tiring. :)
 Sadly, Lauren came down with the fever and cough while we were up there, so she
 didn't get to enjoy the sports center at all. :(  If you all think of Sarah, please pray for her. 
She has a couple really hard classes and mid-terms are coming up next week.
 

~~~~~~
 Moving on........  
Meet Cookie.

As of October 4th, Cookie now lives in our yard. Deborah is taking

care of her till January, which is when she'll enter Cookie in the fair. The pig will then be sold to the highest bidder, and taken to a butcher house. She might just end up in one of the local restaurants.
Yes, it is sad, but such is the life of "fair pigs".   :) 
When Cookie arrived, Lacy was so cute as she sniffed out the newcomer. 

 

 

On Saturday, the 8th, she took a mud bath. Afterward, she ran

around all frisky like. :) Taking a mud bath keeps the ticks, bugs and sun

 off pigs. 
 

~~~~~~

 Late Thursday night, October 6th, hurricane Matthew hit. It ended sometime 
in the wee hours of the morning on Friday, the 7th. The hurricane was a 
category 4, but since it was so far off the coast, it only affected us as a 
category 1. The Lord kept us safe...no damage was done. We're so very thankful it
 didn't hit our area as a category 4...much damage would've ensued. Praise be to 
the Lord! However, our yard does have a large number of palm trees. In the morning, 
it looked like a bomb had been detonated...palm branches were everywhere!!!! 
Most of the family spent at least a quarter of the day riding around the yard picking up 
branches. There is now a humongous pile sitting out by the road,  waiting to be disposed of. 
There's a big pile of sand out back, and while cleaning up, look what we discovered:

 The winds and rain made little mounds of sand and each mound had a shell on top, 
making it look like a house with a roof. :) 

 

~~~~~~

Here are some pictures I took on Sunday.

 

 

 

~~~~~~
Have you ever heard of Rush Revere? 
They recently hosted a contest on their website for a chance to win
books for your school for a year. To enter, you had to write about your
schoolroom, so I entered and wrote a short paragraph about our "schoolroom."
I mentioned that we would love to read their History books. (We've heard
they are wonderful.) Much to my delightful surprise, a large box arrived Thursday
evening, and guess what was in it?! Rush Revere had sent me two of their history 
books, a handwritten note, and a Ted-Tea Bear!  I was so thrilled...how thoughtful
it was of them to send me a gift! :D I've started reading one book, but my
 little sister has already devoured it, and absolutely loved the story. I asked
her if she would share her thoughts about the book.

"The book I read was called Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims.  I would highly recommend
 it to all of you book lovers, especially History book lovers. It is exciting, fierce, adventurous, awesome, historic, and most of it true. It was about a substitute teacher named Rush Revere,
and he and his horse Liberty could travel back in time to the Puritans and Mayflower.
I love it and I am  starting to read the second book called Rush Revere and the First Patriots. I actually read  the first book in one day. I was soooo addicted to reading the book. I just couldn't
stop put it down!   I also want to say thank you to Ashley for letting me share my thoughts on her blog.  If you haven't already heard of these books, go and check them out on their website above."
 

 

Hope you all have a good and godly weekend!

Love in Christ,
Ashley
2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

In The Garden

In The Garden

By: Charles Austin Miles

I come to the garden alone,

While the dew is still on the roses;

And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,

The Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own,

And the joy we share as we tarry there,

None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice

Is so sweet the birds hush their singing;

And the melody that He gave to me

Within my heart is ringing.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own,

And the joy we share as we tarry there,

None other has ever known.

I'd stay in the garden with Him

Tho' the night around me be falling;

But He bids me go; thro' the voice of woe,

His voice to me is calling.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own,

And the joy we share as we tarry there,

None other has ever known.

While you read this post, you can listen to this beautiful song.

 

Charles Austin Miles was born on January 7, 1868 in Lakehurst, New Jersey. 

Charles Miles attended the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and the University of Pennsylvania. He abandoned his career as a pharmacist in 1892, and wrote his first Gospel song list, "Tis Jesus Voice". It was published by the Hall-Mack Company. For 37 years, Charles served as editor and manager at the Hall-Mack publishers. In his own words, Charles Miles said:

 

"It is as a writer of gospel songs I am proud to be known,

for in that way I may be of the most use to my Master,

whom I serve willingly although not as efficiently as is my desire."

 

"In the Garden" is just one of the few hymns Charles wrote:

"A New Name in Glory"

"Dwelling in Beulah Land"

"He Is Mine"

"If Jesus Goes with Me"

"I'm Going There"

"Look for Me!"

"Win Them One by One"

 

He wrote the music to the following hymns:

"Somebody's Praying for You"

"Still Sweeter Every Day"

"To Victory"

 

Charles Austin Miles died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 10, 1946.

Have a delightful week!

Yours truly in Christ,
Ashley

Hebrews 13:5 "...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."