1st Scripture Swap // Happy New Year

Happy New Year, friends!!!! I hope this coming year is filled with God's goodness and amazing love. Did any of you stay up till 2016?! Do you have any New Year's resolutions?

Now, I have a little surprise to announce..........

I'm having a Scripture Swap and am so thrilled about it!!! 

Please read the entire post for details.

 

In September I participated in Stephanie's tea cup and mug exchange, and after that, I really wanted to host an exchange on my blog. I thought and prayed about what kind of swap I could host that isn't very common in the blogging community. Then a Scripture swap came to my mind. I LOVE things that have Bible verses on them and I know other people do as well.

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 I would absolutely L.O.V.E. it if you participated in this exchange.  All you have to do is buy or make something that is related to Scripture, or has a Scripture verse(s) on it. Here are some examples: Bible, journal, bag, note cards, mug, candle, stickers, stationary, drawing, towel, tea, devotional book, apron, key chain, etc...Be creative!!!!

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It would be just lovely if you could add at least one other gift and a letter, (because who doesn't like getting an extra little surprise; you may add as many as you'd like) but it isn't necessary. If you're wondering, the extra gift does not have to have a Bible verse on it, but it would be nice if you could include something that is Scripture related.

Here's how it works. You send a Scripture parcel to one lady, and receive one from a different lady. You'll be blessed with two new friends in the end!  :) You do not have to have a blog to participate.

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This exchange is open to all U.S. residents. If you are from a different country and would like to participate, feel free to sign up and I'll see if there is anyone that could exchange with you.  :) 

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The sign up starts today, January 1st, and ends on January 11th, so you will have 11 days to sign up and spread the word!! I will email each of you on Tuesday, the 12th, with the information you need to send your someone special their Scripture package.  We have until January 20th  to get our packages together and shipped out. Please don't send your package any later then Jan. 20th.

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I will be giving your email address to the lady who's sending to you, (just in case there's any issues with shipping; it's not necessary though) but if you would not like me to, please let me know.

To enter, simply fill out the form below and click Submit! If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to email me using the contact form on the right, or leave a comment.

Please put your first and last name when you sign up.

*SIGNUP IS NOW CLOSED*

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Here's a button I made for the swap. Feel free to grab it and share it on your blog or anywhere you like. (It's also on the right hand side of my blog.) Please spread the word about the Scripture Swap!!! :)  Now you can start signing up. :D 

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Don't forget to leave a comment and tell me if you stayed up till midnight, and what your 

resolutions are.  :)  Happy New Year friends, and thank you so much for being a part of 

my blog. I really appreciate all of you.

Blessings and love in Christ,

Ashley

2 Corinthians 13:11

Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind,

live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.   

Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

"Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne"

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown, when Thou camest to earth for me; 

But in Bethlehem's home was there found no room for Thy holy nativity.

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee.

Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang proclaiming Thy royal degree; 

But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth, and in great humility.

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee. 

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest in the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, o thou Son of God, in the deserts of Galilee.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee. 

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word that should set Thy people free;

But with mocking scron, and with crown of thorn, they bore Thee to Calvary.

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee.

When the heavens shall ring, and the angels sing, at thy coming to victory, 

Let Thy voice call me home, saying, "Yet there is room, there is room at My side for thee."

My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus, when Thou comest and callest for me.

Philippians 2:5-7

 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed New Year!
Yours always in Christ,
 Ashley

Hark the Herald Angels Sing // Merry Christmas

 "Hark the Herald Angels Sing"

Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled!
Joyful all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies;
With the angelic host proclaim
'Christ is born in Bethlehem'
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.

Christ by highest heaven adored
Christ the everlasting Lord
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of a virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail, the incarnate deity,
Pleased in flesh with us to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King.

Hail, the heaven-born Prince of peace!
Hail the Son of righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that we no more shall die,
Born to raise us from the earth,
Born to give us second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing

Glory to the newborn King.

Merry Christmas friends!! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas day filled with God's love and joy as we celebrate His birth. I hope you enjoyed the song.

Warmly yours and eternally His, in the unbreakable and glorious bonds of Calvary,

Ashley
Luke 2:11
 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Do you have a favorite Christmas song?

Leave a comment and tell me what it is.  :) 

Who Is He in Yonder Stall

"Who Is He in Yonder Stall"

 Who is He in yonder stall, at whose feet the shepherds fall?

Who is He in deep distress, fasting in the wilderness?

Who is He the people bless for His words of gentleness?

Who is He to Whom they bring all the sick and sorrowing? 

Who is He that stands and weeps at the grace where Lazarus sleeps?

Who is He the gathering throng greet with loud triumphant song? 

 Lo! at midnight, Who is He, prays in dark Gethsemane?

Who is He on yonder tree, dies in grief and agony?

 Who is He that from the grace comes to heal and help and save?

Who is He that from His throne rules through all the world alone?

 'Tis the Lord! O wondrous story! 'Tis the Lord! the King of glory! 

At His feet we humbly fall, crown Him! Crown Him, Lord of all!

 

Blessings and love in Christ,
Ashley

Colossian 1:12-14

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

The First Noel

 "The First Noel"

 The first Noel the angel did say, was to certain poor shepherd in fields as they lay;

In fields where they lay keeping their sheep, on a cold winter's night that was so deep.

Noel, noel, noel, noel, born is the King of Israel.

They looked up and saw a start shining in the east beyond them far;

And to the earth it gave great light, and so it continued both day and night. 

 And by the light of that same star, three wise men came from country far;

To seek for a king was their intent, And to follow the star wherever it went.

 This star drew night to the north-west; O'er Bethlehem it took its rest;

And there it did both stop and stay, right over the place where Jesus lay.

Then entered in those wise men three, full reverently upon their knee,

And offered there in His presence, their gold, and myrrh, and frankincense.  

Then let us all with one accord sing praises to our heavenly Lord,

That hath made heav'n and earth of naught, and with His blood mankind hath bought. 

 Noel, noel, noel, noel, born is the King of Israel.

 Merry Christmas friends!

This morning our church had their Christmas cantata which was so wonderful-I wish you all could have heard it. I videotaped a couple of songs (but the videos are a little shaky due to the fact my arm was getting tired) and plan to upload them soon. The songs may be posted on youtube, so I'm going to wait and upload them from there if they are.

I hope you all have a joy filled week as we celebrate Christmas. In all the business and excitement of this holiday, let's not forget why we celebrate Christmas-because of Jesus Christ. As the song says, He was born to die that man might live, came to earth new life to give. And anyone can have that new life if they will believe on Jesus that he died on the cross for your sins, and was raised again the third day. 

John 3:16  

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Jesus is the reason for the season! 

Much love and Christmas blessings in the Lord,

Ashley 

Crockpot Taco Soup

Hey friends!
I am finally getting around to posting the recipe for Crockpot Taco Soup, which I wrote last year. This is a great recipe if you're going to be out all day and you want supper to be ready when you get home. It's also great to cook when it's cold outside. :D

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 pound hamburger, cooked and drained
• 1 can white Great Northern Beans, undrained
• 1 can red beans, undrained
• 1 Hidden Valley Ranch packet
• 2 cups water
• 1 can whole kernel corn, undrained
• 1 can black beans, undrained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 taco seasoning packet. We don't use the seasoning packet in our soup. It tastes fine without it. 

Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Stir and cover. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese and sour cream.  *I personally like to eat my soup with chips and lots of cheese sprinkled on top.  I've never tried sour cream in my soup.*

I hope you try this yummy recipe sometime! If you do, please let me know how it turns out and how you like it. :)

In Christ, who is the reason for the season, (every season)
Ashley

Guest Post by Bonnie

Hello friends,
Recently, Bonnie asked if I would write a post for her blog, and I agreed. She wrote a post for my blog, which is below. Enjoy!

Hi everyone!

Firstly, a massive thank you to the very lovely Ashley who agreed to let me do a guest post on Precious Moments! :)

I’d like to talk about Psalm 116:2 today. Here we go:

“Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath.”

Perhaps you could stop a minute, and think about that idea. Read the verse again.

“Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath.”

Because he bends down to listen….. ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! This is serious stuff here! Take a look at this a bit at a time.

He - this is talking about God, of course. Our God. The King of the Universe.

Bends - This God, the King of the Universe, the Name above all other Names, the magnificent, mighty, absolutely amazingly indescribably awesome God... bends. He’s moving. He’s stooping. He’s changing his position so he can be closer to us. Isn’t that amazing to think?

Down - He’s coming lower. His position is one of immense authority and power. But he is bending down, putting himself on a lower level. Perhaps even humbling himself, if you like. And for what purpose?

Listen - His purpose is to listen to us. To hear what we have to say. He is interested, no, he is more than interested! He wants to listen to us. He is bending down to listen.

Our God bends down to listen.

There are billions of people on this earth. And God wants to listen to…… me. Is that not the most humbling thing ever? That he would actually be interested in hearing what I have to say?

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m amazed at that thought!

Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath.

Our natural, our right reaction to this fantastic thought, is to offer up our prayers and our praise to this wonderful King. He is interested in me, therefore I’m going to worship him! If he’s going to show interest in me, no way am I missing out!

The verse says that the purpose of him bending down is to listen to us. What we have to say is important, sure. And that’s what he wants to hear. But don’t you think, too, that with him bending down and being close to us, there’s a chance that he might share what’s on his heart?

I do. And boy, do I want God to speak to me.

You know the exciting thing? He does speak to us. When we show we’re interested in getting closer to God, he gets closer to us. God is a gentleman. He does not push or force his way in. If we want a close relationship with God, we’ve got to make it happen.

James 4:8

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.

Are you excited by the thought of God bending down to listen…. to us?

I am.

May you be greatly blessed!

About the author: Bonnie

I’m a seventeen year old homeschooled music-lover living in the beautiful south island of New Zealand. I’m the second oldest in a big family, a self professed chocoholic, lover of the color yellow and an absolute journal addict. Feel free to check out my blog, Bonnie’s Blessings. :)

You can see the post I wrote for Bonnie here.

Blessings in Christ,
Ashley

Angels We Have Heard on High

Luke 2:9-10

And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 

Angels we have heard on high sweetly singing o'er the plains,

And the mountains in reply echoing their joyous strains.

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Gloria, in excelesis Deo! Gloria, in excelesis Deo! 

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Shepherd, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong? 

What the gladsome tidings be which inspire your heavenly song? 

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Gloria, in excelesis Deo! Gloria, in excelesis Deo!  

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Come to Bethlehem and see Christ whose birth the angels sing;

Come, adore on bended knee, Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

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Gloria, in excelesis Deo! Gloria, in excelesis Deo!

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  See Him in a manger laid, whom the choirs of angels praise;

Mary, Joseph, lend your aid, while our hearts in love we raise.

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Gloria, in excelesis Deo! Gloria, in excelesis Deo!  

I hope you have a wonderful week in Christ.

In the glow of His glory,

Ashley 

Luke 2:11-14

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men.

Happy 18th Birthday, Sarah!!!!!

Today is my awesome sister Sarah's 18th birthday!!!!!! Happy happy birthday, Sarah. I love you so much and I feel blessed to call you my sister. You're sweet, artistic, special, helpful, and God is molding you into a beautiful godly young lady. Just continue to be shaped and used by Him.  :) 

Yesterday evening, we had our grandparents, aunt, and uncle over for a little party for Sarah. She was graced with a few gifts, one of which I would like to share with you all. 
For a present, I made Sarah a candy card, and it was quite fun to put together. I got the idea from Stephanie, over at The Enchanting Rose. The card consisted of 2 pages, and I included 2 pictures below.

 Here is what the card said.   
Dear Sarah,
Happy 18th birthday to my kind sister. Your  helpfulness, love and generosity has been good & plenty for our family. It's your birthday, and just think; you could be in New York watching the 3 Musketeers on Broadway, or exploring in the Andes mountains. But instead you're surround in mounds of your loving airheads. You bring us a cup-o-gold of almond joy, especially when you krackle those stories we all love to snicker about. You're the starburst of my day, and I would love to be shopping with you and going to a theme park in Hershey's, Penn. than by my lonesome self visiting the milky way. I was going to give you 100 grand for your birthday, but it slipped through my butterfingers and I didn't have a  whatchamacallit to replace it. Sorry! Hopefully you'll skor big somewhere else for your birthday. Hopefully you don't rollover while eating all this candy.  :D      Sweetheart, I love you to Reses Pieces. God bless you. Mountains of hugs, love and kisses, Ashley

I attached a balloon to the top of the card with a rolled up piece of paper inside that had a code for a gift card to Dainty Jewell's. She was really excited about that!!!  Oh, and since I couldn't find a cup-o-gold candy bar, I got a small green cup, and attached chocolate gold coins inside so it was a cup of gold.  

 I hope you have a sweet birthday, Sarah. 

2 Peter 3:18

Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.

Have a good and godly day, and if you would like, leave some birthday love for Sarah in the comments. :) 

Walking with Jesus, your friend,

Ashley

Extra day of thankfulness....December 1st.

This is the extra post about thankfulness I wanted to add. :) 

I'm thankful for the Saviour, who has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. I'm thankful for the One who died, who's the image of the invisible God. I'm thankful for the Creator, who made all things that are in heaven, and in the earth, whether things invisible or visible.  I'm thankful for Christ, who was before all things and by him all thing consist. I'm thankful for the Cornerstone, who is the head of the body, the church, the beginning.  I'm thankful for Jesus, who made peace through the blood of the cross, and reconciled all things unto himself. Jesus came to earth to die on the cross for all our sins, and offers eternal life to anyone who believes the gospel. (Romans 10:9 states the gospel clearly.  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ~Rom. 10:9)

The paragraph above came from Colossians 1:12-20
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Filled with all the fulness of God, and hoping you enjoyed this post,
Ashley
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.  ~Ephesians 3:19