Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Noccalula Falls

Hey friends!

Friday, August 24th, Mommy and we girls said farewell to Sarah at Pensacola Christian College and stayed the night in Birmingham, Alabama. The next day, we were driving toward Tennessee and spied a sign for a Veteran's Memorial Park. It was a neat stop.



 Outside there were probably 25-35 pillars. Each one had something different engraved in them from the wars...letters, pictures and quotes are just a few of the ones I saw.



 

Inside the memorial building, every wall was filed with names from wars......Vietnam, both World Wars, Korean, etc. There were a few quotes by the presidents engraved as well. 
From there we traveled to Gadsden, Alabama, where we spent a large portion of the day walking around Noccalula Falls Park. 

First, we hopped on a little train that stopped at the petting zoo, lion habitat, and pioneer village. 





 

 About 45 minutes later, we were hiking to the Noccalula waterfall.


It was beautiful. One could actually walk behind the 90 foot waterfall.

Here's a covered bridge near the villages.


This pleasant sight was near the place where one could stand and look down on the waterfall.
After leaving Gadsden, we continued driving toward Tennessee on the Lookout Mountain Parkway. It spans across 3 states: Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. The drive was just wonderful. So many beautiful houses set in the mountains, miles and miles of rolling hills, and old little towns are some of the unique sights we saw. 
And that concludes our adventures for the day....I will try to post part two soon, but I am now at college so we'll see how it goes. :)

Praying for you!

love,
Ashley


Sunday, August 19, 2018

Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him!

Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him! 
By: Thomas Kelly
Praise the Savior, ye who know Him! Who can tell how much we owe Him?
Gladly let us render to Him all we are and have.
Jesus is the name that charms us, He for conflict fits and arms us;
Nothing moves and nothing harms us while we trust in Him.
Trust in Him, ye saints, for ever; He is faithful, changing never. 
Neither force nor guile can sever those He loves from Him.
Keep us, Lord, O keep us cleaving to Thy self and still believing; 
'Till the hour of our receiving, promised joys with Thee.
Then we shall be where we would be; then we shall be what we should be;
Things that are not now, nor could be, soon shall be our own.
The author of this hymn, Thomas Kelly, was born on July 13, 1769. 
He was from Kellyville, Ireland, where his father was an Irish judge.  Thomas planned to follow in his father's footsteps, so he enrolled at Trinity College, Dublin, and majored in law. While at school, Thomas became a Christian. He believed the Lord was convicting him about the ministry, so following his graduation, he was ordained in the Irish Episcopal Church. 
Thomas was on fire for Christ, and his robust messages about justification by faith greatly troubled the Archbishop of Dublin. Soon, Thomas was forbidden to preach in that diocese, but he preached anyway. Besides being a scholar of the Bible and having a warm and winsome personality, he was also a man of means. Thomas devoted himself to helping those in need. He is remembered because of his acts of mercy during the Dublin famine of 1847. 
I didn't know this, but he wrote 765 hymns during his lifetime!  Many were published in 1802 in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns. Two years later, more were published under the title Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture. And in 1815, yet another volume was published entitled Hymns of Thomas Kelly Not Before Published. 
His best known hymn is "Look Ye Saints, the Sight is Glorious!"  
"Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him!" is perhaps the easiest and happiest song to sing. 

1 Chronicles 29:13
Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.

Psalm 44:8
In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.

Have a joyful Lord's day and a godly week, friends! 

with love, 

Ashley


Isaiah 25:1
O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.


Wednesday, August 15, 2018

The Coronation - Book Review

About the Book:
Prince Addison is only several weeks away from inheriting the Kingdom of Tarsurella. The entire Palace is ablaze with excitement, as the Royal Family prepares for the event of a lifetime. Despite the exciting event which is near at hand, Addison and his younger siblings (all seven of them!) must carry on with their daily activities. Addison’s sisters, Princesses Bridget, Chasity, and Hope, have their struggles with being iconic European starlets of a modern day monarchy. The teen heiresses grace magazine covers, smile for photoshoots, and gracefully glide through important interviews–until a certain American popstar arrives on the scene. 

Kennetic Energy, the wildly popular band from the United States, is chosen to play at Addison’s Coronation. David Carter, the band’s handsome lead singer, fumbles through awkward moments with Princess Hope–in front of the cameras. When an embarrassing rumor sparks that Princess Hope is dating the young fellow, she is determined to get the band fired from their Royal gig. 

Meanwhile, Princess Chasity is dealing with her own fragile affairs of the heart. Her new security guard, Hanson Fletcher, is completely captivating, yet entirely frustrating. She attempts to keep the entrance of her heart firmly protected, while following the wisdom of Proverbs 4:23. But can she be successful in guarding her heart, from her security guard?

My Thoughts:
The Coronation is the first book I've read by Livy Jarmusch and was very enjoyable, as well as humorous, exciting, and dangerous. It has an intriguingly dramatic plot and conflict, which made it both a fun and captivating read. The story was well written and is one like I had never read before. The setting is in a make-believe country in Europe, and the main characters are a king and his royal family who live in a palace. Terroists try to take over on the day of the new king’s coronation, and that was a very suspenseful part.  I enjoyed how it had the slightest bit of a medieval feel mixed with our modern day times and conveniences. I also appreciated how the author chose to switch to different character’s point of view often — that kept it quite interesting and was done very well.  The ending though....that left me on a cliffhanger wanting to know what happened to a certain character who was just hired to work at the palace.  ;)  (I need to read book two to find out!)
Even though Livy is a Christian and this was a “Christian book”, (there were several mentions and paragraphs referencing God, praying, the Bible, etc..) I was greatly saddened at how many substitute curse words I had to mark out that were scattered throughout. Also, some of the characters were so infatuated with each other, I felt like it was a little too much, and that it did take away from the main story line just a little.Those who had a "crush" were almost constantly thinking about him/her, and it got to be a little tiring to read their thoughts about  each other over and over.  For these reasons , I would recommend this content to girls 17+. 

Buy it on Amazon here.


*I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.* 


Friday, August 10, 2018

A Little Chat & Recent Pictures

Hello and a good day to you! 
For those of you who don't know, I'll be leaving for Tennessee at the end of this month to attend a small Bible college located in Murfreesboro. I may just end up taking a 3 month blogging break since I'm not sure when or how much blogging I'll be able to do. But I do hope to be able to write an update once in a while and maybe even share a few pictures.
For now, here are a few animal pictures...


 Mocha (our pet dwarf hamster) is just so cute!





I'd love to know, how has your summer been? :) 


Monday, August 6, 2018

When Beauty Blooms Book Spotlight and Giveaway

Victoria from Ruffles and Grace is publishing another book, this time a novelette called  When Beauty Blooms.
About the book:
Set in Revolutionary War Era England

“Marjorie Kirk is a woman with no fortune, no prospects, no family, and no skills. Or she thinks. She is awkward, shy, and the farthest thing from any semblance of a society lady. 
The new minister keeps turning up in the most awkward of places and she can't help but feel that her life is doomed to one of embarrassment. But will her flaws actually be the thing that others find the most attractive? 

A story of a young woman with social anxiety and how she learned to bloom.”

There’s a special giveaway going on in celebration of this new book. Enter either through the widget below or click on this link.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway


About the author: Victoria Lynn is in her 20's and if she's not writing, she is probably sewing, singing, playing the piano, washing dishes, creating something with her hands, or learning something new. She has a passion for serving her Creator, encouraging others and being creative. She blogs at www.rufflesandgrace.com about writing, fashion, modesty, her walk with God and life. She lives in Michigan with her parents and 8 siblings.


There are many other bloggers who are sharing the book on this tour. Here's the schedule in case you'd like to visit them.  :) 

Aug. 6
Michaela Bush // Spotlight //

Aug. 7
Gabriellyn Gidman // Spotlight //

Aug. 8
Liv K. Fisher // Review //

Medomfo //Review //

Aug. 9
Kaylee // Review //

Giana // Interview //

Aug. 10
Gracelyn Buckner //Review //

Aug. 11
Angela Watts // Spotlight //

Aug. 12
Allison Tebo // Interview //

Aug. 13
Jana Tenbrook // Review //

Lilly Shyree // Review/Interview

Aug. 14
Hosanna Emily // Guest Post //

Aug. 15

Lydia // Review //

Allyson Kennedy // Interview/Review //

Aug. 16
Madison Guy //Spotlight //

Aug. 17
Tammy Lash // Guest Post/Spotlight

Aug. 18
Laura Guenot // Review //

Aug. 19
Grace Maples // Review //

Aug. 20
Sunny Houk // Interview //

Aug. 21
Rebekah Morris // Review //

Aug. 22
Abigail Mckenna //Review //

Raechel Lenore // Review //

Aug. 23
Sarah // Review

Aug. 24
Kaitlyn Smith // Interview/Review //

Aug. 25
Faith Potts // Review //


And if you would like to follow Victoria on social media, here are all of her links. 
Website: https://rufflesandgrace.com/


And finally, you can pick up a copy of the book on amazon here. I would say that girls of a younger audience would enjoy the book, perhaps those ages 12-16. 

Blessings to you,
Ashley




Saturday, August 4, 2018

Chicken Update

A few weeks ago, the girls and I brought home 7 Silkie chicks. A lady on craigslist was giving 7 away, so Deborah called immediately. :) Since they hatched on May 15th, they're almost 3 months old. Silkies are so soft; their top feathers feel like down feathers. Unlike most of the other chickens we've had, Silkies are very sociable and don't run away when we go to pet or pick them up. Not to mention they are the cutest chicks around!  :)


 





I thought this was a cool picture. ;)

 Just last Monday, (July 30th) the lady gave us one more Silkie chick...it's a rooster. He is the sweetest rooster I've ever met and he loves to be petted. This morning he was trying to crow.

 
These chickens are almost 5 months old.
This one's a rooster. Combined, we now have 13 chickens. :) 


Do you have any animals or have you ever petted a Silkie chicken? 


Have a great weekend!