A very exciting trip to seattle :)

Seattle has got to be one of the most exciting places.... ever. between being chased by a gang of creepy punk-a** kids, and chased by a fish, it was definitely a very eventful weekend. My class got the privilege of being taken to the zoo, the aquarium, EMP, SFM, the space needle, and many other places. it was a very exciting beginning to our week, and i am sure that those memories will last forever. here are a few pictures to share with you the joy and laughter we experienced :)

--> jellyfish!

Easter and random thoughts on his amazingly simple revelation

Just imagine. Just imagine actually BEING there on the day when jesus was humiliated to the utmost degree, brutally murdered, and utterly disgraced in front of everyone he knew, including his mother and his best friends. The all mighty, omniscient, most powerful, God. the one who was, and is, and is to come, being spit on. cursed at. denied all of his rights to live. and he didn't do it because they made him. he CHOSE to do this. I know that its such common knowledge, but SERIOUSLY. that is insane to me. he knew, from the dawn of creation, before there were shopping malls, lexus dealers, before there was WATER, he knew that he was going to have to humble himself entirely, all for one measley little person, smaller than a grain of sand. one pesky, annoying, unloving, dark, terrible, disgusting person. This is what i think of when i think of myself. i am nothing. A broken, empty, weak vessel. worth nothing without his existense. And yet not only does he choose to love me and give all for me, he loves me more than his own holy life. he says i am pure, and he says i am beautiful. and i am worth it. he loves me. he loves me. he loves me. its such a simple phrase, but it moves my heart every time it comes across my mind. the holy God, creator of heaven and earth, became a man, died, and chooses to love, all for me. i am his beloved. And all he asks is that i give him my love in return. he just wants me to love him. and i don't even know how to do that. its insane..... when i used to think about heaven, i didn't understand how the saints could just say "HOLY HOLY HOLY" for eternity. but now, even though god has only given me a tiny bit of rebelation, all i want to do at the moment is tell him how holy holy holy he is! and how much i love him. even though my love seems so insignificant, he says it matters. and he says it is his desire. his desire is for me. and that is just..... the most amazing and wonderful thing that could ever be placed upon me. this is true love that he has for me. and it feels good. it actually feels good. it doesn't feel like a phantom God who just judges me. i know that my bridegroom loves me and says that i am his favorite one. and i can feel it. i can feel his kisses on my spirit every morning when i wake up. and i can feel his love for me that surrounds me all throughout my day. it is sooooo amazing. its crazy. and just the fact that he would ever die for me. that he would creat me in the first place is just phenominally mind-blowing. like..... my thoughts are all jumbled together because i have no idea where to start. i feel so small and insignificant, yet so loved and important. its the most amazing feeling in the world. and i can only pray that God will help me stay faithful to him, that i might make it through the seasons in my life where everything seems to be going okay, and still rely on him for my everything. that i might choose to love him even when i feel like i can prosper fine on my own. that i would choose him. i pray that he would help me love him more and more and more every single day. this is my desire, that i would continue to desire him more and more. i am so in love with him, he is so pure and wonderful to me. words can not even describe the joy he brings me, even through the times when i feel so alone, or when i feel so loved. all throughout the seasons in my life so far (even though there have been very few seasons) he brings me joy, and life, and truth. it is so refreshing. i love it. i have never appreciated what he did on the cross more than i do now. i now feel the effects of what it is. i feel his love. i feel the life that he chose to give to me instead of keeping it for himself. gaH! ITS AMAZING!!!

Abortion

Leviticus 24:17 Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death.

Abortion Statistics:

WORLDWIDE

Number of abortions per year: Approximately 42 Million
Number of abortions per day: Approximately 115,000

UNITED STATES

Number of abortions per year: 1.37 Million (1996)
Number of abortions per day: Approximately 3,700

Types of Abortion…

Suction Aspiration

This is the most common method of abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. General or local anaesthesia is given to the mother and her cervix is quickly dilated. A suction curette is inserted into the womb. This instrument is then connected to a vacuum machine by a transparent tube. The vacuum suction, 29 times more powerful than a household vacuum cleaner, tears the fetus and placenta into small pieces which are sucked through the tube into a bottle and discarded.

Dilation and Curettage (D&C)

This method is similar to the suction method with the added insertion of a hook shaped knife (curette) which cuts the baby into pieces. The pieces are scraped out through the cervix and discarded [Note: This abortion method should not be confused with a therapeutic D&C done for reasons other than pregancy.]

Dilation and Evacuation (D&E)

This method is used up to 18 weeks' gestation. Instead of the loop-shaped knife used in D&C abortions, a pair of forceps is inserted into the womb to grasp part of the fetus. The teeth of the forceps twist and tear the bones of the unborn child. This process is repeated until the fetus is totally dismembered and removed. Usually the spine must be snapped and the skull crushed in order to remove them.

Salt Poisoning (Saline Injection):

Used after 16 weeks (four months) when enough fluid has accumulated. A long needle injects a strong salt solution through the mother's abdomen into the baby's sac. The baby swallows this fluid and is poisoned by it. It also acts as a corrosive, burning off the outer layer of skin. It normally takes somewhat over an hour for the baby to die from this. Within 24 hours, labor will usually set in and the mother will give birth to a dead or dying baby. (There have been many cases of these babies being born alive. They are usually left unattended to die. However, a few have survived and later been adopted.)

Hysterotomy or Caesarean Section

Used mainly in the last three months of pregnancy, the womb is entered by surgery through the wall of the abdomen. The technique is similar to a Caesarean delivery, except that the umbilical cord is usually cut while the baby is still in the womb, thus cutting off his oxygen supply and causing him to suffocate. Sometimes the baby is removed alive and simply left in a corner to die of neglect or exposure.

Partial-Birth Abortion

Five steps to a partial birth abortion:

1. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby's legs with forceps.
   
2. The baby's leg is pulled out into the birth canal.
   
3. The abortionist delivers the baby's entire body, except for the head.
   
4. The abortionist jams scissors into the baby's skull. The scissors are then opened to enlarge the skull.
   
5. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted. The child's brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse. The dead baby is then removed.

Abortion is NOT okay!
it is the brutal, cold-hearted murder of innocent babies! My heart aches for all of the babies and mothers who have been harmed by this despicable act, but especially the babies. i mean, imagine your nephew/niece/brother/sister.... any little kid that you are close to!
imagine if they were taken away, because someone just didn't want them... you would speak against that! scratch and beg, scream and whine until that child was safe. but what about the ones that nobody is speaking for? they need a voice, and you have to speak for them!
i don't mean to like scream at you, but abortion is not okay under any circumstance. and i don't care if i sound like some crazy Christian freak, i can't sit back and not say anything about this horrible act that has become legal in our nation, and in other places in the world... its just not okay.

thats all i have to say... for now...

just a couple pictures...

so, in my last entry i was talking about the sun in my vision, so i decided to give u a couple pictures of like, what i kind of mean in my visions. lol.

Visions

So, i am back from kansas city and it has been like forever since i have written a blog... so here goes nothing. I have so many stories to tell, but one thing that i really want to share is the visions i had, so i am going to try and explain them as well as i can...

1st one...
I was sitting in the prayer room, and i just got this picture of a jelly sandwich on a plate, sitting on the side of a bath tub, and it falls off. you would think the plate would shatter, but the sandwich shatters into like a million pieces! that was it... haha


2 nd one...
there is this sun, like the one in cartoons with the rays that look like triangles, and in one of the rays the word RIGHTEOUSNESS is spelled out. the ray goes down and pierces the heart of a guy who is just like, standing up. and he MELTS all the way down. then in like a split second he rises up and is like super buff and ripped and chiseled. haha. and i was like, "God, who is that? who is that guy and like, whats going on?" and pretty much, i mean, like the abridged version of what he said was that he is raising up his righteousness in India. and so i woke up from this vision, and this random lady comes over and says " I really think you need to go pray for Bhatpora, India." WTC? craziness.


3rd one...
This is actually the first one i had, but anyways....
so, before i had the vision i was sitting in the prayer room, listening to this lady play piano and sing, and a guitarist playing and singing. so i am sitting there, i close my eyes, and then when i look up again i see her walk away from the keys, but i can still hear her singing and playing. and then the guitarist gets up and leaves, but you can still hear the guitar and his voice coming through the sounds system as well. i look around the prayer room and it is COMPLETELY empty, but you can see prayers rising up from the seats going to heaven, like, the prayers are written out in white, cursive letters going up the heaven....
so i looked down, and when i looked back up the prayer room was back to normal. it was the weirdest vision i have ever had ... ever.


So, if you have any idea what these might mean, or anything that stands out to you, PLEASE email me with anything God gives you about it. thanks so much for reading, its such a blessing to be able to share these with you. ♥ashley jeanette


*moomelious@gmail.com* *bignastylute@yahoo.com*

Purity

last night a friend of mine brought to my attention the verse in the Bible (1 Corinthians 7:1) it says that a man shouldn't even touch a women. (Abridged obviously)
Touch is something that we take so lightly. a hug goodbye, a pat on the back, those little things don't even seem important, but they SO are.
It isn't that hugging is illegal, and high fives are from hell, but many men, well most men, struggle with these things, and a lot of women do too. we have to confess our struggles to close friends, so that they can help us in our walk to become pure and holy with God. If we don't confess than we can not improve. It is not a man's fault if he hurts a girls feelings obliviously, yet repeatedly if she never tells him that it hurts her feelings. and it is not a womens fault if she creates lust in a mans sight repeatedly, yet obliviously, if he does not confess his issue.
we have to be open with each other about our struggles so that we can help each other, and hopefully attain purity together. when we confront each other, and share with each other, we are helping each other grow closer to God and seeing God.
this is my prayer for my worship team, and my peers. that we would be open with each other about our struggles and what God is doing, so that we can all together grow more pure and holy and righteous. I want the youth of this entire nation to yearn for purity, and group together with fasting and prayer to completely rid themselves of the murky sin that blotches out their sight to see God, and covers up their emotions for God to take over. Not even babies are born pure, for they are born under the curse of sin from previous generations. I cry out for children to begin being raised in purity, that they would have greater gifts from God than i can even dream of, and that they would speak into MY life, and the life of MY friends. That we would begin to look on purity as not something rare and unique, but normal, every day life that we need to be living by.
I want my nieces and nephews to have a hunger for God and God alone in their hearts even as babies. Because when God puts a greater hunger in their hearts they are going to show the rest of the church that has grown cold, and away from God, how awesome and powerful God really is. We so need purity!

Hello?! wake up!

So, i was in florida for like the past idk... 6 days or so. but on the way back something happened to me that gave me a HUGE wake up call...
so i was reading some verses for my worship team, so i would be "prepared" for friday night... and the lady sitting next to me casually said, " what are you reading?"
see, my bible is red, and kind of looks like a boring book so i replied " my bible"...
so she goes "oh, i think i have heard of that"

"OH I THINK I HAVE HEARD OF THAT?!?!?!?!"

omg... i was so shocked by her response, i am pretty sure my response made me sound like an idiot or something.. i just kind of mumbled out how it was about God and my beliefs, but believe me, if anyone is to witness to her, they are going to have to undo the confusion i caused... i mean, she wasn't from like a third world country where they are stranded from literacy, she was from NYC... NEW YORK!

the state of our nation as is, is only leading us to death. If the Christian church makes up around 80% of the nation's religious beliefs, something isn't right when a women from one of our most famous cities has hardly any knowledge of what the Bible is...

I don't want to write this and have it seem like i am judging the Church, that is NOT my intention at all. i just think its crazy that we live in this bubble of "safety" while there are millions and millions of people out there completely oblivious to the hopelessness that they are currently in the midst of. If God does not purify his church, purify ME, than how are the nations going to recieve the gospel.
all we can do is cry out that God would release purity and answer the groan of his people for something more than our bubble... we have to get out there and do something!

God,
all i can do is ask for my heart to be changed.
that you would purify the hearts of the church that we would be able to see your will, and follow your path. that we would glorify you with every world that we speak. and that all the hearts of our generation would turn to you. let us not be satisfied living under the curses of earlier generation's sins, that our hearts would be the hearts that show your love. that our mouths would be the mouths that proclaim your glory and your return. that our hands would do your works. and our eyes would look to you and only you....
amen?