Friday, July 31, 2015

counting.my.blessings{1} + Texas church camp notes

So I'm starting these "counting my blessings" posts which I'll probably do once a month or so... just listing things I'm thankful for! The Lord has blessed me with so much!

The litter of 11 Golden Retriever puppies our Kinsley had!
Completing some sewing projects

Hearing Lilliana say new words

Sweet tea in a mason jar on a sunny afternoon
A sweet letter from a friend in the mail

Doing a photo shoot with Paige, will share a few photos soon

Fresh picked wildflowers
Finding bunches of blackberries on our land...

...and Mom making a pie with them! Yum!

Time in God's Word + iced coffee!!
Bike rides with Dylan

Finishing a few wonderful books

Adorable little smiles to brighten my day
Jeremiah 29:11

Encouraging texts from friends

Caden's birthday on the 14th! :)
My rabbit getting better after being sick

Antique milk cans

Baby sister at breakfast wearing a fuzzy sleeper, cowgirl bib, and a morning smile :)

Going to a "Low Country Boil". T'was fun! My little sister, Paige, started her own blog (check it out!) and blogged about it here. :)

God's beautiful design being displayed everywhere, down to even this little bitty moth I found one day. Isn't it neat looking?
Fishing and swimming at Roaring River

Succeeding at a couple new recipes

Loving on my horse. <3 :D AND how good he's doing with his training/riding, I'm so proud of him!
HAY BALES

Taking the little ones to Flat Creek and watching them have so much fun

Finding a bunch of great reads for only 25 cents for every 4 books!
Surviving a week with Mom gone ;)

Finding great trails to ride horses and four wheelers on

Two hour trail ride with the sister 

Talking with a sweet friend on the phone

A recent clothes shopping spree at the thrift store

Meeting two blog friends!! It was so wonderful meeting these *sweet* girls, so glad it worked out! :D
And ya'll need to seriously go check out their blogs because they are wonderful: Heather and Tashia


 Date with Mom<3
Having fun wandering through Hobby Lobby with a friend, love that place!

Being given a big bag of sweet corn/shucking it/eating it :)

Okay, so I really don't have many good pictures from the trip that Dylan and I took down to Texas sadly. But that is definitely a big highlight from this month! We were able to hitch rides with friends and go down there for a church camp. There was several great messages, wonderful singing, youth Bible study, volleyball, rip-skating, and I got to see a friend that recently got married and moved down there as well! It was a very encouraging time, so thankful we were able to go. So, yeah, there's a glorious picture from our MacD's stop on the way home for ya. :P
One of the men who spoke at the camp shared this verse (John 15:9)

"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love."

He spoke on how much the Father loved His Son, His one and only begotten Son. Can you even imagine how great a love that was? And just as He loved His Son, Jesus loves you. He loves me. And we're to show His great love to others. He then wanted everyone to take out the you and put your name in that place instead. Like this:

"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved Ashley Trask: continue ye in my love."

 I'm not sure anyone really said the whole verse aloud as he asked us to because halfway through he broke down crying. But I wrote it down in my journal anyway. He was a very sweet old man (the kind you just wanna go up and hug, y'know?) and what all he said meant a lot to me.

Saturday almost everyone was wearing a sticker that said "It's not about me!" and the message that night was on our focus needing to be on the Lord, not ourselves. Striving to be full of the Lord and then we won't have a need to talk or think about ourselves, but instead a need to talk and think about Him, giving Him all the glory and desiring for our lives to show Christ! I want to trade in all that I am: my selfishness, worry, wanting instead of being content = my weaknesses, for all that He is: love, mercy, kindness, hope, joy = His strength to be able to work in and through me for HIS glory. I want to diligently seek Him and His will for me and have Jesus be what people see, not my talent, courage, gifts, money, or sacrifices made. Anything good in me is all because of Him.We have no greater privilege than representing Him!


Tuesday, July 21, 2015

I have been blessed

Every morning we sing together and Mom reads a chapter (or two or three ;) from a book to us. Recently we have been working on learning a new song as well. We heard this song at a church camp and I love it. I am really enjoying memorizing it. It's called, I Have Been Blessed. 


When He moves among us, all that He does. All of His mercy and all of His love. If the pen of a writer could write everyday, even this world could never contain how I've been blessed. 


Warmth in the winter, flowers in spring, laughter in summer and the changing of leaves. Food on my table, a good place to sleep. Clothes on my back and shoes on my feet. I have been blessed. 

I have been blessed. God is so good to me. Precious are His thoughts for you and me. No way I could count them, there's not enough time, so I'll just thank Him for being so kind. God has been good, so good. I have been blessed. 


Arms that will raise, a voice that can talk. Hands that can touch and legs that can walk. Ears that can listen, eyes that can see. Oh I've got to praise Him as long as I breathe. I have been blessed. 


A father and mother who nurtured and raised. A brother and sister, memories made. Our pastor to lead us, the altar to pray. Stripes that can heal, the blood that still saves. I have been blessed. 

I have been blessed. God is so good to me. Precious are His thoughts for you and me. No way I could count them, there's not enough time, so I'll just thank Him for being so kind. God has been good, so good. I have been blessed. 


He's my shoulder to lean on when I am down. The rock where He leads me when I'm overwhelmed. The place where He hides me under His wings. He's not just a song, He's the reason I sing. I have been blessed. 

I have been blessed. God is so good to me. Precious are His thoughts for you and me. No way I could count them, there's not enough time, so I'll just thank Him for being so kind. God has been good, so good. I have been blessed. 


Have any of you heard any new songs recently that have blessed you?

~*~*~*~
"While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being."
 -Psalm 146:2


Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Little bunny hugger + volleyball player


*melts*


Last Saturday I baby-sat my siblings and decided to do yet another fun little spur of the moment photo shoot of Lilliana! Paige's new bunny, Sugar was in most of them too. :) Ah, it was so much fun! 






She is too fun and adorable! :D



:D Smiley lil' girl! :D


Dad and Mom got a new volleyball net and we've been spending hours playing! Lilli loves to try and join us when we're playing volleyball so one time I just had to pull out the camera and snap a few pictures of her cuteness. :)


The only thing is she likes to get the ball from us and sit on it. Haha!