A Short Picture Update

A happy hello to you!

I hope you have had a great summer, despite the changes that came with the virus.  Here are a few recent snapshots from the past few months. 

God has given us some beautiful, sunny weather, and we have enjoyed many beach days. 

 Gracie has a new look-a-like puppy friend. Meet Watson.

He's not ours, but once in a while his owner brings him over to play with Gracie. When they're tired out, they both lay on the floor with their paws spread out. It's very cute to watch. 😁

We celebrated my papa's 91st birthday yesterday, (Aug. 26th). My aunt made apple pie, and wrote his name "POP" on it. 😊

Zoey and Toby have been doing great. Zoey injured herself a couple months ago when she jumpped on a moving tractor, but she's healed well.

I'm about to start college, so you may not see any posts for a while. I would love to hear about your summer in the comments!  May God bless you, dear friend.  

Until next time, God go with you. 

~Ashley

How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

-Psalm 36:7

Thankful for Freedom!

Freedom is only free for you because someone else paid for it. 


This year America celebrated the 244th year of becoming a nation. With the celebrations of Memorial Day, Independence Day, and just recently the elections on August 18th, freedom has been on my mind a lot. 

I love the parallels between the freedom we enjoy as Americans, and freedom we have as children of God.

• Someone had to die.

As Americans, we honor and remember the fallen soldiers- those who have died fighting for freedoms. As Christians, we will never forget that Jesus Christ gave up His life so we can be free from the law and sin.

"But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." ~Romans 6:22

• Freedom cost a high price.

Hundreds of thousands of men and women have died for this great country, America. They valued and paid for freedom with their own life. Christ paid for salvation with his own life when he willingly died on the cross.

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;" ~Ephesians 1:7

“Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood.” ~ John Adams

• Freedom is free for Americans today. 

Americans can live in freedom today because the price of freedom has already been paid. Salvation is free too. It certainly can not be earned or paid for because the price has already been paid. Salvation is a gift. All one can do is just accept it.  Freedom in America didn't come easily, and neither did salvation. We can not repay those who have died, and neither can we repay Christ for his gift of salvation and eternal life. As the saying goes, freedom ain't free. Nope, it isn't. But I am so thankful someone was willing to pay for it.

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

~Revelation 1:5-6

Any One But Me ~ Book Review

About the book: 

Fear is the primary reason we fail to share the gospel with our friends, family, and coworkers. We're afraid of looking weird or out of touch. We're afraid we won't have the right answers to their questions. We're afraid that if they reject the gospel, they're really rejecting us. We don't want to make things awkward or strain our relationships. So we say nothing because our discomfort feels bigger than our loved ones' ultimate destination if they remain outside of the body of Christ. We know it's not, but it's just so hard to get over our fear.

Apologist Ray Comfort can help. In Anyone but Me, he shows you how to overcome your fears by developing ten critical, biblical characteristics so that you can confidently share the message of salvation with those you care about most. If you've been longing to see a dear friend, family member, or coworker come to Christ, now is the time to begin becoming the faithful witness they need. We never know how much more time we will have to proclaim God's good news.

My thoughts: 

This book challenges and encourages the reader to share the gospel more, even if that means passing out tracts to those we come in contact with in public. Many people have unsaved family members, and sometimes it can be awkward or hard to bring up the gospel, and we fear their response. Ray Comfort understands this, and he shares numerous, personal stories about his witnessing opportunities as well as helpful tips he's learned that work. I very much enjoyed this book and am inspired to look for opportunities to share the gospel with others. I believe teenagers and adults would benefit the most from reading this book. It can be purchased here.


**I received this book from BakerBooks and happily provided my review.**