Fruit Pizza

Fruit Pizza is one of my favorite desserts, actually, my favorite pizza :) and soooo yummy, I thought I'd share the recipe. :)

Crust:
1/2 cup of butter
3/4 cup of sugar  (Note: I usually use honey instead of sugar. If you do use honey, I would recommend you using 1/2 cup because the honey will be very dominant if you use 3/4 cup. )
1 egg
1 1/4 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in egg. Combine flour, tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into creamed mixture until blended. Press into ungreased pan and bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned.

Frosting:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup of sugar (Note: I use honey for the frosting too. Only use about a 1/2 of the 1/4 cup if you use honey.)
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest (This is totally optional- I never use it.)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine the frosting ingredients with a spatula. (If the cream cheese is to hard, you can use the mixer.) Mix/stir until smooth. Spread the frosting over the cooled crust.

Fruit:
I usually use strawberries, grapes, kiwi, mandarin oranges, bananas and blueberries.
Place the fruit wherever you would like on the pizza.  You can either refrigerate it or eat it!!!

This is what my fruit pizza kind-of looks like. I took a snapshot of the picture on the recipe paper because I couldn't find the picture I took of my own fruit pizza. If you decided to make this recipe, please let me know how it turned out!!!! What's your favorite pizza?

Saying of the week:

 

Bible verse of the week: Romans 3:21-23

"But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"

Have a fabulous, good and godly week everyone!!!

     In the Lord's love and mercy and grace,

         Ashley

The Ten-Hearted Fertilizer Factory

Creation Corner
Today's Creation Moment: The Ten-Hearted Fertilizer Factory.
Psalms 22:6 "But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people."

The lowly earthworm is one of the most under-appreciated little creatures on Earth. People probably don't appreciate the earthworm because it's not very pretty. Biology textbooks say that the earthworms were among the first simple land creatures to evolve. Well, clearly there hasn't been much evolution since, and they are not that simple. The earthworm has a well-developed nervous system, a brain and ten hearts!

Earthworms tunnel through the soil by literally eating the soil itself. As the worm draws nutrition from organic matter in the soil, its digestive system processes these chemicals to produce excellent natural fertilizers. In one recent test, soil scientists compared earthworms and the best fertilizers you can buy. The earthworms easily won the contest. The ground they fertilized had five times more nitrogen, twice as much calcium, two-and-a-half times more magnesium, and seven times more phosphorus than the best that modern science could produce.

Since earthworms like lots of organic material in the soil, you can encourage earthworms in your garden by digging lawn clippings and most types of tree leaves into your soil this fall rather than throwing them away. One caution, however. Some leaves like red oak are acid and best left out of the soil.

So, while earthworms are not pretty, our Creator has provided them to enrich the soil and help to feed us all.
Copyright © 2014 by Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 893, Foley, MN. 56329
 

Wasp Nest // Fun Biology Class

This morning, Lauren and I knocked down a wasp nest that had many eggs in it. (Last night, daddy sprayed the nest with poison to kill all the wasps.) After the nest fell in a bucket, we took 2 sticks and pulled some eggs out. We opened the eggs and pulled out the larva. Here's what it looked like.

                    I opened another egg and a bigger larva was in it.

                    The larva was more developed in the next egg...

Here's the pupa. It looks kind-of like a wasp, but it still has some growing to do.

Here's the adult. When we pulled it out of the egg, it was still moving it's feet a little bit!

Here's a close up of the adult wasp.

 

And here's all the different stages: larva, pupa, adult.

 Since I talked about these wasps, I thought I'd tell you a story. A couple years ago, Lauren and I found a bee's nest out by the chicken coop. We shooed away the bees and brought the nest inside so we could look at the eggs and larvae under the microscope our grandpa had given us. (Note: we did not kill them. We just took away their nest, chased the bees away and made them mad. ) We put it on a table out in the porch and forgot about it for a couple of days. Then Lauren came out in the porch and saw a few adult bees crawling on the nest! She excitedly told everyone that the bees hatched and were crawling all over the nest!! Well, mommy wanted it to be taken outside as soon as possible, but no one wanted to touch the nest with bees all over it! And mommy didn't want to spray poison in the house and get it on us, so Lauren just ever so slowly, pushed the nest onto a piece of cardboard and started carrying it outside. (We were all walking with her making sure the bees didn't fly away.) When she was just about halfway to the door, they all started flying around and she dropped the nest!! It was a funny scene: mommy trying to smash the bees with something and someone getting very a little upset, :) while we're all trying to shoo them outside and keep track of how many there were. It was chaotic, but finally, we managed to kill some. The rest escaped and flew outside. And that was the end of our little adventure with bees in our house. :)


I had a very fun Biology class today. After we had gone over our lesson, our teacher gave us candy to make a plant cell or an animal cell. I choose to make a plant cell. Here's a picture of my cell.

Sorry about the circles. I created a picture shortcut and was going to write what the candy was supposed to be on one picture and then show the other picture without any circles. Well, it saved the circles on both pictures and I can't take it off. :(
The container is the cell wall. The red string around it is the plasma membrane. For the cytoplasm, we used whip cream. The nerds are the ribosomes. The rainbow strips right in front is the smooth ER. (They don't have any ribosomes on them, but the rough ER does.) The chocolate ball on the left was the nucleolus. The rough ER is the red strips to the right. A sweet tart was the vacuole and the bottle caps represented the Golgi body. (The Golgi body looks kind of like a stack of pancakes.) The yellow sweet tart in the top right corner is the leucoplast. And the yellow jelly beans represented the central vacuole. The chloroplast is represented by the green gummy to the right of the yellow jelly beans. And finally, the rainbow strip to the top right of the chocolate ball is the mitochondrion.
I hope you enjoyed this post! :) Have a fabulous evening!!!
Have you ever made a candy model of something? :)

Is the Shark a Living Fossil?

Creation Corner
Today's Creation Moment: Is the Shark a Living Fossil?

Job 12:7-8 "But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee."

There are over 350 species of shark. These remarkable creatures range from about the size of a shrimp to the whale shark that can be over 60 feet long. Most people view sharks as an ancient form of primitive fish, often because they are popularly presented to the public as a so-called "living fossil."

The truth is, sharks are not primitive or simple. In fact, scientists who classify living things are uncomfortable classifying sharks as fish, preferring instead to call them "fish-like vertebrates." Unlike all other fish, the shark has no skeleton. In fact, the shark's skin serves as the anchor for its muscles just as bones serve for anchors in other animals. Unlike fish, sharks have no gill coverings and even have a placenta very much like mammals!

Sharks are also much more complex than fish. They have sophisticated sense organs, their brains are much larger compared to body weight than fish, and they can learn a route through a maze as well as laboratory rabbits. Sharks are also socially complex, and they communicate with each other in a variety of ways.

Among the many kinds of creatures God has created using His unlimited imagination, it appears that He followed some similar themes in each kind. This offers us a better principle than does evolution for classifying living things, which arranges them from simple to complex.

creationmoments.com

Living for Jesus

Living for Jesus a life that is true,  Striving to please Him in all that I do; Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free, This is the pathway of blessing for me.

Living for Jesus who died in my place, Bearing on Calvary my sin and disgrace; Such love constrains me to answer His call, Follow His leading and give Him my all.

Living for Jesus wherever I am, Doing each duty in His hole name; Willing to suffer affliction and loss, Deeming each trial a part of my cross.

Living for Jesus through earth's little while, My dearest treasure, the light of His smile; Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem, Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.

O Jesus, Lord and Saviour, I give myself to Thee, For Thou, in Thy atonement, Didst give Thyself for me; I own no other Master, My heart shall be Thy throne,  My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

Creation Corner
Today's Creation Moment: The Most Complex Structure In The Universe.
Job 38:36 "Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?"
      

Whether you know it or not, you are the proud owner of the most complex arrangement of matter in the universe. I am speaking of your brain. Even though it weighs only three pounds, the brain's structure is so complex that it defies all explanation except to admit that a higher intelligence created it.

The average brain has ten billion neurons and multiple billions of connections. It has been estimated that the brain is able to hold one million times more information than anyone could possibly learn in a lifetime. If true, this suggests that man was smarter in the past or meant to live much longer. Thanks to the brain, you can listen to someone talk and begin to put your reply together for him while your brain is also directing a number of other projects – like your heart beat, breathing, and blood chemistry – without your conscious attention. Your brain, through its extended sensory system, allows your finger to feel a vibration of less than eight-one-thousandths of an inch and lets you see 10 million different colors.

The brain is so marvelously complex that even scientists who deny the soul and believe that the material stuff is all that exists have admitted that the brain leads them to wonder if there is not more to reality. Some are now even willing to talk about a spiritual reality.

creationmoments.com

Scripture of the week: Romans 3:9-12                   
"What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." 

Saying of the week:    











Have a blessed week everyone!!
In the Lord's love and mercy,
Ashley           

 

 

 

Tae Kwon Do promotion!

Yesterday, Saturday, October 11th, we had our Tae Kwon Do promotion from white belt to yellow belt. I was very nervous, but after we started, my nervousness went away. :)We got there at 9:30 and practiced some kicks. The yellow belts were going to promote to orange belt with us, so we had to take turns showing Mr. Morris, the man who runs Kids Kickin' for Christ, our forms and 1 steps. All the white belts did the form together, and then we watched the yellow belts do their form and their 1 steps.Then we white belts did our one steps. Next, all the white belts found their boards, and sat down. We went up one at a time and broke the board using the Step Behind Side Kick. It took me 2 tries to break the board. Sarah's board was a really tough one to break. She kept trying and trying but it wouldn't break. A helper took Sarah aside and let her kick at a foam target. Then when Sarah tried again, the board finally broke! :) Deborah broke her board on the first try and Lauren broke hers on the second try. Then we watched the yellows belts break their boards with the Axe Kick.  Next, we all lined up and sat down. Mr. Morris picked 4 kids to tell him the 4 white belt Bible verses, and some kids with yellow belts told him their Bible verses and the yellow belt creed. Then he came by each one of us and gave us our yellow belts. (For the yellow belt kids, he gave them their orange belt.) Finally, we all lined up at the wall and got our pictures. :) It was fun, actually. Sorry, there's no pictures or videos.  Daddy took a video, but it's very blurry, and the pictures are blurry too. :(  Maybe next time. Hope you enjoyed reading about our little fun experience. :)

Have you ever done Tae Kwon Do or a self defense class? Leave me a comment! I would love to hear from you!!! :)

Precise Blood

Creation Corner
Today's Creation Moment: Precise Blood.
Genesis 9:4 "But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall you not eat."

While most would agree that our circulatory system is vital to life, many of us don't fully appreciate the almost miraculous workings of that system.

Your heart pumps about one-hundred thousand times every day. That means that your heart pumps the equivalent of 10 tons of blood every day or 80 million gallons in a lifetime. Your circulatory system brings that blood to every cell in your body through a capillary network that is so large that the combined capillaries of only four people, stretched end to end, would reach from the Earth to the moon!

But your circulatory system involves quality as well as quantity. The chemistry of your blood is monitored and adjusted to within incredibly fine limits to keep it in precise balance second by second, day by day, year in, year out. For example, the acidity of your blood is adjusted constantly to within one part in a hundred million.

Our circulation system cannot be simply "good enough"; it has to work perfectly. So if mindless evolution created us, it had to make the whole system perfect the first time. There is no room for millions of years or for a poorer circulation system to be improved by mutations. Here, the facts clearly support Scripture, strongly indicating that we were created in finished form – not developed slowly by trial and error.

creationmoments.com

Are you standing on the Solid Rock?

This afternoon, daddy, Sarah, and I drove to a beach on Hutchinson Island.  The weather was perfect- not too hot, and not too windy. The waves were absolutely beautiful. I took many lovely pictures, as usual. We won't say how many I took, but let's just say, it was 
A LOT!!! :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy these few pictures that I posted. ;) 

On our way to the beach, we saw this gas station sign with ridiculous gas prices, as you can see. $9.99 for regular and diesel gas!!! (I think we would rather walk or bike to the beach since it's such a beautiful day and we could all use some exercise... ) It was all closed off because the gas station wasn't getting any business, because no one wants to pay that much for gas. 

You know I was kidding, right? (smile) The gas station was undergoing some remodeling. Enjoy these pictures I took at the beach, even though they don't really do it justice. I just love listening to the sound of the waves. Praise the Lord for his amazing, beautiful creation!  

At one point, a big wave came up and splashed against the rocks, getting Sarah and Daddy wet. :) I was standing on another rock, taking some pictures. 

The ocean was like 2 different blues: an almost light blue, and a greenish blue. That, combined with the white foam of the waves provided a very pretty picture. 

As I was watching the waves crash against the rocks and feeling the midst, I thought of this Bible verse: Psalms 69:34. "Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein."

I know you can't see it very well in this picture, but I had been standing on the rock that's to the right of this picture. I walked over to another place to take some pictures, and probably, one minute after I had left that dry rock, a gigantic wave came and drenched it! I would've been drenched, too, if I had been standing there. 

It was like a little canal in between these rocks every time the waves came. 

The white foam around all these rocks looks so much like snow! :)

And this picture was taken just as we were getting in the car. The water looked so sparkly and inviting. It was just glistening in the sunlight. 

Our God is so amazing. Just imagine, He created all the beauty of the ocean. You know, as I stood on the rocks and observed the waves, I thought of how powerful God is. We were standing on solid rocks at this beach. Rocks that didn't move or crumble beneath us when the waves beat against them. Well, we as Christians are standing on a Solid Rock. Our Rock never moves and we can always feel safe because our feet are firmly planted in it. When the waves of life come and try to knock us over, or the storm comes with the thunder and lightning, we can still stand and feel secure, unharmed, because our Rock is the Lord Jesus Christ. And He is always ready to lift us up if we fall, and listen to our every prayer. 

2 Samuel 22:2-3 says "And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence."    Hebrews 13:8 says "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."

Saying of the week:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Scripture of the week: Romans 1:16-17                                                                                   

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."

So, this week, think and meditate about how God loves us so much, that He provided a high tower and a Strong Rock for us to cling to- His Son, who payed for our sins, so we could have eternal life, with His precious blood on the cross of Calvary.

Standing on the Solid Rock,

                 Ashley                     

ps. I just thought of a few songs that talk about standing on the rock, but here's the  song "I'm Standing on the Solid Rock."

Through my disappointments,

Strife and discontentment,

I cast my every care upon the Lord. 

No matter what obsession,

Pain or deep depression,

I'm standing on the Solid Rock.

Now I'm pressing onward,

Each step leads me homeward,

I'm trusting in my Saviour day by day.

And close is our relation,

Firm is its foundation,

So on the Solid Rock I'll stay.

Even though He's gone now,

I don't feel alone now,

With comfort came the Spirit of the Lord. 

Now with His word to guide me,

From temptations hide me,

I'm standing on the Solid Rock.

I'm standing on the rock of ages;

Safe from every storm that rages,

Rich, but not from Satan's wages,

I'm standing on the Solid Rock.

Christ Liveth In Me

Last night, in Bible time, we looked at Ephesians 2:10. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."   
We, christians, are supposed to walk in the steps of Jesus, and put on the new man. The old man is always going to be with us our whole life. And we have to kick and punch him,and crucify him, until we get a perfect, new body. But, since we've been washed with Jesus' blood, our lives are supposed to be filled with Him because His blood washes away all our sins. We're supposed to shine as lights. 1 Thessalonians 5:5 says, "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness."  
Ephesians 5:8 says, "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:"
We're to be different- molded into the image of the Lord. There's not supposed to be any room in our lives for Satan. Our life should be filled up with God's goodness. Romans 13:14 says, "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."  
So let's go back to Ephesians 2. Let's look at some verses throughout Ephesians that talk about letting Christ dwell in your hearts. Ephesians 3:17-19- "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and ground in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." 
 Chapter 4:22- "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;" verse 24- "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."
Now, since we've put on the new man, fornication, uncleanness, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talking, jesting, and fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness should all be done away with. Chapter 5 verse 3 says: "...but rather giving of thanks." So, according to that verse, we should have put off all the things Paul is listing above and below, and we should have a thankful heart. 
If we examined your life under a microscope, would we see that your life is filled with Christ? Or would the old man still have room to dwell in your heart and life? I know I have to examine myself constantly, and realize that I'm nothing but by God's grace. We all have to battle Satan because he is "as a roaring lion...seeking whom he may devour:" But with God's help, our lives can be filled with Him and we should be earnestly be seeking Him with our whole heart every day so that others can see, that Christ liveth in me. 

Here are the awesome words to the song, "Christ Liveth In Me."
Once far from God and dead in sin, 
No light my heart could see; 
But in God's Word the light I found,
Now Christ liveth in me.


As rays of light from yonder sun,
The flow'rs of earth set free,
So life and light and love came forth
From Christ living in me.

As lives the flow'r within the seed,
As in the cone the tree,
So, praise the God of truth and grace, 
His Spirit dwelleth in me.

With longing all my heart is filled,
That like Him I may be, 
As on the wondrous tho't I dwell
That Christ liveth in me.

Christ liveth in me,
Christ liveth in me,
Oh! What a salvation this, That Christ liveth in me.

Then we sang "O To Be Like Thee."

O to be like Thee!
Blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I'll forfeit all of earth's treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

O to be like Thee!
Full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand'ring sinner to find.

O to be like Thee!
Lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless,
patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee!
Lord, I am coming,
Now to receive th' anointing divine;
All that I am and have I am bringing.
Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.

O to be like Thee! 
While I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit,
fill with Thy love; 
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and heaven above.

O to be like Thee!
O to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer,
pure as Thou art; 
Come in Thy sweetness,
come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart. 

This is an awesome song! You could pray this as your prayer. You know, our bodies are a living temple for God. A temple is a dwelling place for God. Isn't that an amazing thought to think, that we're temples for a Holy and righteous God? Our bodies should be meet for Him to live in them. Romans 12:1 says "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

As I was writing that verse, the song "Lord Prepare Me to be a Sanctuary" popped into my head.

"Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary,
Pure and holy, Tried and True,
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary For You.

 It is you, Lord
Who came to save
The heart and soul
Of every man
It is you Lord
Who knows my weakness
Who gives me strength,
With thine own hand.

 Lead Me on Lord
From temptation
Purify me
From within
Fill my heart with
You holy spirit
Take away all my sin.

Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary,
Pure and holy, Tried and True,
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary For You."

Awesome Books!

Well, last week and this week, we have been getting alot of rain! And I mean, alot! Our yard is saturated with water. The sun shines in the day, and sometimes at night, it rains alot. Last night, it rained really hard.
This is how the sky looked last night. That huge grey, almost black, cloud was covering a huge space in the sky. But we could still see a clear blue sky and white clouds amidst that dark, rain-filled cloud.

Then, my sister found this baby gecko. She caught it in a net and brought it inside to show me. It's mom was waiting outside, probably on the wall. 

She called it, an Australian Baby Gecko. It's really not an Australian Baby Gecko- she just named it that. :) I said, "How do you know it's not an Australian Baby Gecko?" She answered, "Because it wouldn't live in Florida." ;) 

I also just wanted to write a quick review about some awesome books I have read for the 2nd time.

There are 4 books in "The Baker Family Adventures" by C.R. Hedgcock, and let me tell you, these are such good, clean, adventurous books! They're good for any age to read, and they have alot of suspense in them.
The 1st book is called "Summer of Suspense."

It's about a family of 6- the parents, 3 boys, Phi, Andy, Tom and 1 girl, Abby, whose cousin, Millie, comes to visit, and she ends up getting kidnapped at a horse auction.

The 2nd book, "Peril on Providence Island" is also very intriguing. The Bakers get stuck on an island with some men who are desperate to find a hidden treasure chest which is full of money. It reminds me of 1 Timothy 6:10. "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Since the men in this book loved money, they would do anything to get it. We should not love worldly possesions as much as we should love the One w

The 3rd book, "Riddle of the Ruby Ring, is about a ring that is found on the Baker's Neighbor's Property. The children try to find it's rightful owner, and it seems that everyone they talk to says it's theirs. After the Baker's dad and their neighbor's kid's dad gets kidnapped, a detective, Phil and Andy use clues to find the dads. Will they find them before the dynamite explodes in the building where they're at?

In the 4th book,"The Treacherous Trail" the Baker family, along with the neighbor family, go on a retreat. The boys and the dads spend a few days hiking and then plan to return back to the cabins. But, little did they know they would find themselves in a dangerous situation. 

So, I hope you want to read these books!! Vision Forum used to sell them, but since they're no longer in business, you can find them here.

Have a blessed weekend!!
Yours in Christ,
Ashley