"And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she (Mary) should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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. 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 toward men.

~Luke 2:6-11~

What a tremendous, precious gift!!! That God would send His only begotten Son, Jesus, to come, live upon earth and die for for the sins of men...in our place, then for Him to rise again, that through Him, we might have the hope of eternal life! What an awesome God we serve!

A very Merry Christmas to you all!

Blessings!

~Chloe~ :)

~Dinner Anyone?~

For our meal this evening, we decided to go with Taco salad, veggies, fruit and ice water! It was quite delicious!

For the Taco Salad we simply used...

taco salad shells,

cooked, ground hamburger meat,

pinto beans,

brown rice seasoned with chilli powder and mixed with a veggie blend,

lettuce,

shredded cheddar cheese,

diced tomatoes,

and garnished it with picante sauce.

For dessert, I made up an easy recipe of peanut butter cookies and decided to top them each with a chocolate chip. ;)

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter

1 egg

Cream sugar and peanut butter. Add egg and mix well, until smooth. Shape into balls 1-1 1/2-inches in diameter and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten the balls by crisscrossing with a fork to about 1/3-inch thickness. Bake at 325* until lightly browned, usually about 10-12 minutes. This recipe makes about 2-2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Blessings to you all!

~Chloe~ :)

"O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"

~Psalm 34:8~

~Amazing Love!~

This afternoon the Lord was so sweet to remind me of His great love for us...I was quite humbled. Just think. The fact that the CREATOR of the entire universe would care for...me...and you.

"What is man that You take thought of him,

And the son of man that You care for him?

Yet You have made him a little lower than God,

And You crown him with glory and majesty!

You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet..."

Psalm 8:4-6

Isaiah 49:16 says, "See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands...".

Luke 12:7 says, "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows."

Ps.139:13,14 says,

"For You formed my inward parts;

You wove me in my mother’s womb.

I will give thanks to You,

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works,

And my soul knows it very well.".

God not only cares deeply for each one of us, but He desires to have a close, intimate relationship with us!

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." James 4:8

God sent His only Son, Jesus, to die... on the cross...in OUR place...for sins He didn't commit! He came down to earth to take the punishment for OUR sins, while He himself was completely blameless and spotless.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16

"If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." 1 Peter 1:17-19

God has a plan and a purpose for each of our lives...and His plan for us is good!

For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Jer. 29:11

He is there for us, to listen to our deepest cares and concerns.

"And cast all your cares on God, for he takes care of you."

1 Peter 5:7

And He even cares about the little things in life.

"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?"

Is. 49:16

He is faithful to meet our every need.

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

Phil 4:19

With a God like that...wow. What can I do but give back to Him the life He gave me, to be used for His service, for His will and for His glory!

"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."

Col. 3:17

After all, I am not my own!

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."

1 Cor. 6:19-20

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."

Eph. 5:1,2

Let's live our lives for Him, because He gave His life for us! Let's give Him our ALL (He didn't hold back!). What an AMAZING Savior we serve! To HIM be ALL glory honor and praise!!!

Blessings!

~Chloe~ :)

P.S.

Here's the link to a song that I recently discovered that talks about how God views us...it's called, "Someone Worth Dying For". Listen and be blessed! :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtBfTfgeb4A&feature=related

~New Devotional Blog!~

Hello all! Hope this post finds you well! :) This morning we were BLESSED to receive some MUCH needed rain! The cooler air that came with the rain, was such a relief after weeks of intense heat! The same is true in our spiritual lives! When the ground of our hearts and lives become dry and parched with the heat of things that go on in our every day life it can be SO refreshing to be washed by the water of the word and to let it cleanse us and to "settle the dust" and cause spiritual growth in our lives! Just as plants can become withered and dry up without rain, we too can become weary and grow faint if we become negligent in watering our souls with God's life giving word! With that being said, I am excited to introduce to you my new devotional blog...Striving To Fall More in Love With Jesus! This blog is not intended to be separate from my original blog for "more spiritual posts", but rather to organize the posts, where we can possibly have book studies, encouraging songs and more! My vision for this blog is that it would have the same kind of atmosphere as a specific room or place in one's home, set aside for quiet times with the Lord, or perhaps gathering for a group Bible study. A place where one would purpose to remove distractions, to be able to really focus on Christ and press in and seek Him with our whole hearts! This blog is certainly not intended to be a replacement for one's quiet time with the Lord, but to simply be a place where we can draw strength and encouragement with others by sharing insights and encouragement the Lord has shared with us as we continue to seek Christ and grow in Him! My desire in all my blogging (as well as in every area of my life) is that Christ would be lifted up!

So please feel free to stop by for a visit! (My most recent post is about some encouraging books I've enjoyed reading over the summer!) I pray it is a blessing to you! :)

Love in Christ!

~Chloe~ :)

"Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;

hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

Let my teaching fall like rain

and my words descend like dew,

like showers on new grass,

like abundant rain on tender plants.

I will proclaim the name of the LORD.

Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

He is the Rock, his works are perfect,

and all his ways are just.

A faithful God who does no wrong,

upright and just is he."

~Deuteronomy 32:1-4~

~Summertime Reflections~ :)

Hello all! Hope everyone is having a blessed summer! (I know I am!) :D

This year has been filled with many fun activities such as swimming, volleyball, working out with my brother and friends, dancing, cooking, cleaning, organizing, reading God's Word, singing, playing the piano and violin, (teaching my younger brothers some piano as well,) :) blogging, sewing and more! :D

In June I was blessed with the opportunity to attend a week long camp as a team leader! The first two days were for training and preparing the hearts of the leaders and the rest of the week we were able to invest in the lives of the youth attending the camp by leading small groups. I had never been there before and I was a little unsure of what all might come up during the week as to what questions might be asked...and if I would know how to answer them. But the Lord was gracious and reminded me of a clip from the film "The Prince of Egypt" that tells the story of Moses and how he had felt inadequate in what the Lord was calling him to do, yet the Lord assured him that he would give him the words to speak. HE is our enabler! (You can see the clip here .) The Lord also later showed me these verses...

"Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

And before you were born I consecrated you;

I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Then I said, “Alas, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak,

Because I am a youth.”But the LORD said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,

And all that I command you, you shall speak.“Do not be afraid of them,

For I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me,

“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

~Jeremiah 1:4-9~

I desired to be a willing vessel the Lord could work through and as I yielded myself to Him, He was SO good to encourage me that He can give us the words to say and the wisdom to know what to do and how to respond in every situation that comes our way! He also seemed to continue to present me with situations for me to be bold in Christ! Stretching and growth took place that week and I'm thankful for the work He is accomplishing in my life!

While there, I was also refreshed and renewed in my walk with Him! During that week we were encouraged to daily spend time in God's word and to not just hurriedly read through a chapter, for example, as if to check Bible reading off our list of "to-do's", but to pray and ask the Lord to reveal Himself to us through His word, to listen to His voice and to really ponder and meditate on what we are reading. (Looking up the definitions of words and cross-referencing verses with other verses that contain the same word or theme are great ways to gain insight and a fuller, deeper meaning of scripture!) I love the visual picture of a sponge being immersed in water...that's how our lives should be! We should be so full of the Word of God that we are full and overflowing, so that He will spill over into every aspect of our lives!

A theme verse in our group was Romans 12:2 which says... "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Here's a couple of definitions from the above verse...

transformed=Make a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance, or character of

renew=to make like new: restore to freshness, vigor, or perfection

So...here's the verse with the definitions inserted.

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed (Make a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance, or character of) by the renewing (to make like new: restore to freshness, vigor, or perfection) of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

If we are born from above and are children of God, we should no longer be looking to the world for the standard as to how we should live our lives, but to God and His word. By reading His word and learning what is pleasing to Him, our lives can be changed from following our own

selfish desires and pleasures and we can surrender to His perfect will. Through Him, we can die to sin and live to righteousness!

That brings me to the theme of the second church camp I attended this summer where I also went as a sponsor! :) At that camp we focused on being consumed by Christ and giving HIM our ALL!

"Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name!"

~Psalm 103:1~

Here are a few definitions for the word all...

all=the whole amount, quantity, or extent of, as much as possible, every member or individual component of, the whole number or sum of, completely taken up with, given to, or absorbed by, used up : entirely consumed

1 Kings 15:14b says...

"...the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the LORD all his days."

That is how I want to be! WHOLLY devoted to the Lord ALL my days! I desire to be consumed by Him, to be so caught up in Him that when others look at my life they wouldn't see me, but Christ that is within me! That my hands would be His hands and my feet His feet...that I wouldn't live my life for myself but for Him and that I would glorify Him in ALL I think, say and do!

One of the songs we learned while at camp was titled "Arrest our Minds" and was referring to us allowing Christ to "arrest" our minds with the vision of Him and that He would be our first love. I looked up the definition of arrest and here is what I found.

arrest=to stop or check, to seize by authority of the law, to catch and keep (one's attention etc.) an arresting or being arrested, in legal custody

At first glance, the word "arrest" might seem like something that would be undesirable...something that would bind us and remove our freedom. But when you apply it to the context of Christ...it is really quite the opposite! Now, I won't deny that Christ will ask us to put off certain things in our lives that may seem "fun for a season" such as sinful desires, selfish pleasures etc...He will! But in doing so there is freedom beyond all measure! He is able to SAVE us from our sins! How freeing is that??? In Him we can overcome! As Christians, we are His, we are bought with a price! He has redeemed us! He has broken the chains of bondage where we no longer have to be enslaved to sin because He is our deliverer!!! Praise God!!!

While at these camps I was reminded of what great love the Lord has for us! He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for ALL our sins. He did nothing wrong, yet He bore the punishment of our sins for us. What an AMAZING sacrifice! That through Him we might have the hope of eternal life...what a MIGHTY God we serve! He gave His ALL for me...the least I can do is give my ALL for Him. This requires the daily choice to pick up our cross and follow Him, to die to sin and live to righteousness.

May the Lord richly bless you all as we seek together to give Christ our

ALL in EVERY aspect of our lives!

Looking to Him!

~Chloe~ :)

P.S.

Have you ever heard the song Christ is Risen? It's very pretty and has a very powerful message...to listen click here. ;) Also, I recently purchased some new books that have been encouraging to read in my free time this summer :)...I hope to post about them in the near future on my new blog...so stay tuned for the link! ;)

~Photo Contest~

Hi everyone! Hope you're all having a great summer so far! :)

Just wanted to do a quick post to let you all know...my aunt is a photographer and my cousin's picture is in a photo contest! If you would like to vote for him, please click here and you can vote by leaving a comment just be sure to change your comment to vote for "this photo". He's the little fella with the cute smile, wearing a black shirt and is in a meadow surrounded by lovely blue flowers! Your vote is most appreciated! :)

Thanks SO much and may God bless!

~Chloe~ :)

~A Shelter in Time of Storms~

Early this morning we were pleased to have the addition of a storm shelter made to our yard! We were all very interested in watching the whole process and took lots of pictures...soooo... if you would like to see too...feel free to scroll down for a virtual field trip of how one is put in! ;)

Breaking of the ground...

and moving in the shelter.

Digging...

and more digging.

Leveling out the ground...

Lifting the shelter off of the trailer...

and into its hole!

In it goes! :D

Packing in the dirt.

Now to make it a little more "homey". ;)

And there it is...all settled!

Blessings to you all!

~Chloe~ :)

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

~Psalm 46:1~

~Dinner Delights~

Tonight for our evening meal I decided to make a Cheeseburger Pie with a side of delicious baked beans followed by a pan of brownies for dessert! We enjoyed it at our house and I thought you might enjoy it in yours! Here's the recipes! ;)

Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

1 lb. ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

(Note: We aren't that big on onion around here, so we use just a 1/4 tsp. minced onion and it is still quite tasty. ;) )

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup Original Bisquick

1 cup milk

2 eggs

(Note: We double the last three ingredients to make the dish more filling. Also, if you don't have Bisquick, you can make your own self-rising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp, baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt for every cup of flower you use.)

Heat oven to 400*. Grease 9" pie plate.

(Note: We use cooking spray and put the ingredients in a 9" x 13" baking dish.)

Cook ground beef and onion until beef is brown; drain. Stir in salt. Spread in pie plate; sprinkle with cheese.

Stir remaining ingredients until blended. Pour into pie plate.

Bake about 25 min. or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

For the side dish...here's a recipe we came up with. :)

Baked Beans

2 cans vegetarian beans

about a Tbsp. of bacon bits

Let simmer for 15 min. stirring as needed. Next add...

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tsp. mustard

1/4 tsp. minced onion

1/3 cup brown sugar

Stir and and let simmer 5 min. more to let flavors blend.

And now for the brownies! ;)

Brownies

1/4 cup nuts

1/2 cup vanilla chips

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tsp salt

1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 cup oil

3 eggs

Combine ingredients and pour into a greased 9" x 13 " pan. Bake at 350* for 27-32 min.

We decided to top our brownies off with a little frozen vanilla yogurt...SOOO yummy! :D

Happy cooking! :)

In Christ,

~Chloe~ :)

"I shall delight in Your statutes;I shall not forget Your word."

~Ps. 119:16~

~Birthday Bliss!~

Hello all! :D

This week we were blessed to celebrate two birthdays at our house...the first one being my youngest brothers! He turned 10 years old! Upon his request, we decorated in a NERF theme! :)

Joshua is such a special blessing in our family, I am SO thankful for him! :)

A few days later we celebrated my older brothers birthday! He is a WONDERFUL brother and friend!

This weekend we hosted a party with relatives! Such fun! :)

As usual we came up with a design for the cake to go with the birthday theme and got busy baking and decorating! :)

We also prepared a trail mix for additional munching. ;)

All set and ready!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! :D :D :D

Picture time...

cake...

smiles...

fellowship...

and presents. :)

We then ventured outside for some Nerf gun adventures. ;)

Ready...

aim...

and let the fun begin! :)

Blessings to you all!

~Chloe~ :)

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above... "

~James 1:17~