15 Top Posts from 2015

15 Top Posts from 2015


It is amazing how fast this year has flown by and it is time to reflect on the many blessing from 2015.  Below are the top 15 blog posts from God's Growing Garden in 2015 in order of popularity. 


Please click on each title to view the entire post:


Minted Lava Cake Made with Lindt Truffles



Strawberry Blonde Sunflowers




Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Living a Childless Life - Dealing with Guilt



Sonrise Easter Eggs



The Toledo Zoo Feature #5 & Name That Plant




Photo by Monique Ouellette-Fittler

Recipe Genealogy Through Moms Baking



Christian Camp Songs & Chorus Hymns



Our Heavenly Father is Always Working



5 Must-Grow Veggies For Home Gardeners



Upside Down Lemon Meringue Tarts



Sandwich Sliced Dill Pickle Recipe



Obedience - Obeying God with Your Body



Heartnut Cake - It's All in the Frosting



Pounce My Calico Cat - 2003 to 2015




Photo by Angie Ouellette-Tower

Swedish Skorps - Similar to German Zwieback

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Linked to:
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Simple Saturdays Blog Hop

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Take Up The THANKFULNESS Challenge!

I challenge you to thank God for something everyday for one year!  Either write it down in a diary OR share with us on a blog.  If you have a blog & would like to share your THANKFULNESS posts with us, then please fill out this form: 365 Days of Being THANKFUL form - click HERE and you will be added to the THANKFULNESS page.

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Time To Link Up! Tuesdays With a Twist #143

Welcome to Tuesdays with a Twist #143!
I hope that every one had a

Merry Christmas    and now I wish everyone a Happy New Year! - God bless!


Click the button below to enter the Great Giveaways going on now!!:

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Good Morning and Welcome to another No Rules Party!

We're your hosts & co-hosts 

Mary @ Back to the Basics and Mary's Kitchen
Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
Angie @ God's Growing Garden

Checkout my amazing "Featured" Pinterest Board

(click HERE to view & follow)

Features!

Each co-host will be sharing her own picks for Features. This gives everyone a better chance of being featured. Be sure to check all of our blogs to see if you were featured! 

My Features this Week are:

1. "Eggnog Pancakes" by Julie's Lifestyle

2. "Flowers and Wreaths at the Botanical Garden" by Labor of Love

3.  "Seek & Find I Spy Cloth Book"  by Joy's Jots, Shots & Whatnots

If you've been featured we'd love for you to grab a button.

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The party starts every Tuesday at 7am EST and will continue until Saturday at 11:59pm.  Feel free to stop back any time and "like" your favorites.  Please visit other blogs if you have a moment. 

Share older posts as well as new ones.  No limit on links!

*Pictures should be your own* 

By linking up you give us permission to use these photos

 (with proper link backs) in our features.   And now for the party!

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12 Treats of New Years - RECIPES

12 Treats of New Years - with RECIPES & Song

A few weeks ago I shared with you the "12 Cookies of Christmas" (click HERE to view) - Just for fun I changed the words in the song: "12 Days of Christmas" to the "12 Treats of New Years".  I included a musical version of this Holiday favorite so that you may sing along if you like (using my new words of course) - ENJOY!

(To view the entire post with recipe - click each title)

For the first treat of New Years my true love made for me an Olive Onion Almond Cheeseball
Olive Onion Almond Cheeseball




For the second treat of New Years my true love made for me 2 Minted Lava Lindt Cakes
and an Olive Onion Almond Cheeseball
Minted Lava Lindt Cake
 

For the third treat of New Years my true love made for me 3 Tomato Desperados
2 Minted Lava Lindt Cakes
and an Olive Onion Almond Cheeseball
Tomato Desperado




For the fourth treat of New Years my true love made for me 4 Jello Rainbow Jiggles
3 Tomato Desperados
2 Minted Lava Lindt Cakes
and an Olive Onion Almond Cheeseball
Jello Rainbow Jiggle



For the fifth treat of New Years my true love made for me 5 H o m e m a d e  
E g g R o l l s 
4 Jello Rainbow Jiggles
3 Tomato Desperados
2 Minted Lava Lindt Cakes
and an Olive Onion Almond Cheeseball

Homemade EggRolls




For the sixth treat of New Years my true love made for me 6 Peppermint Pudding Pops
5 H o m e m a d e   E g g R o l l s 
4 Jello Rainbow Jiggles
3 Tomato Desperados
2 Minted Lava Lindt Cakes
and an Olive Onion Almond Cheeseball
Peppermint Pudding Pops



For the seventh treat of New Years my true love made for me 7 Sausage'n Rice Stuffed Mushrooms
6 Peppermint Pudding Pops
5 H o m e m a d e   E g g R o l l s 
4 Jello Rainbow Jiggles
3 Tomato Desperados
2 Minted Lava Lindt Cakes
and an Olive Onion Almond Cheeseball
Sausage'n Rice Stuffed Mushrooms



For the eighth treat of New Years my true love made for me 8 Chocolate Swirled Rice Krispies
7 Sausage'n Rice Stuffed Mushrooms
6 Peppermint Pudding Pops
5 H o m e m a d e   E g g R o l l s 
4 Jello Rainbow Jiggles
3 Tomato Desperados
2 Minted Lava Lindt Cakes
and an Olive Onion Almond Cheeseball
Chocolate Swirled Rice Krispies



For the ninth treat of New Years my true love made for me 9 bags of Caramel Cranberry'n Almond Popcorn
8 Chocolate Swirled Rice Krispies
7 Sausage'n Rice Stuffed Mushrooms
6 Peppermint Pudding Pops
5 H o m e m a d e   E g g R o l l s 
4 Jello Rainbow Jiggles
3 Tomato Desperados
2 Minted Lava Lindt Cakes
and an Olive Onion Almond Cheeseball
Cranberry'n Almond Caramel Popcorn



For the tenth treat of New Years my true love made for me 10 Pita Chips
9 bags of Caramel Cranberry'n Almond Popcorn
8 Chocolate Swirled Rice Krispies
7 Sausage'n Rice Stuffed Mushrooms
6 Peppermint Pudding Pops
5 H o m e m a d e   E g g R o l l s 
4 Jello Rainbow Jiggles
3 Tomato Desperados
2 Minted Lava Lindt Cakes
and an Olive Onion Almond Cheeseball
Pita Chips



For the eleventh treat of New Years my true love made for me 11 Bacon Wrapped Zucchini Strips
10 Pita Chips
9 bags of Caramel Cranberry'n Almond Popcorn
8 Chocolate Swirled Rice Krispies
7 Sausage'n Rice Stuffed Mushrooms
6 Peppermint Pudding Pops
5 H o m e m a d e   E g g R o l l s 
4 Jello Rainbow Jiggles
3 Tomato Desperados
2 Minted Lava Lindt Cakes
and an Olive Onion Almond Cheeseball
Bacon Wrapped Zucchini Strips



For the twelfth treat of New Years my true love made for me 12 Pickled Pigs in a Blanket
11 Bacon Wrapped Zucchini Strips
10 Pita Chips
9 bags of Caramel Cranberry'n Almond Popcorn
8 Chocolate Swirled Rice Krispies
7 Sausage'n Rice Stuffed Mushrooms
6 Peppermint Pudding Pops
5 H o m e m a d e   E g g R o l l s 
4 Jello Rainbow Jiggles
3 Tomato Desperados
2 Minted Lava Lindt Cakes
and an Olive Onion Almond Cheeseball
Pickled Pigs in a Blanket

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Linked to:
Tuesdays with a Twist
LouLou Girls
Turn It Up Tuesdays
Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop
#WakeUpWednesdayLinky
Weekend Retreat Linky 152
Happiness is Homemade
You're the STAR
Friday Feature Linky Party
Thursday Favorite Things
Pretty Pintastic Party #187
Oh My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday

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Cynthia from "ShorelineDesigned HANDMADE on Amazon"

Great Lakes stones & planet earth nautical jewelry - beautifully Handmade!

(click on the button below to visit her shop)

Find out more about this amazing artist CLICK HERE

A New Year - Rejoice in Jesus!

A New Year - Rejoice in Jesus!


There will be mixed emotions for most of us as we look back on 2015 and look forward to 2016.  Maybe 2015 was a difficult year for you with many hardships and heartaches or maybe you are worried about things to come in 2016.  Or maybe you had a successful year and expect an even more prosperous year in 2016.  Either way we have reason to rejoice in Jesus!  As stated below - greatly rejoice in salvation.  Our "inheritance" of eternal life with Jesus Christ will never "perish, spoil or fade."  The value of our inheritance will never go down; there will never be a recession or bankruptcy that will affect our spiritual inheritance.  Even though we "may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials" - we can still face tomorrow knowing that in the end our reward will erase all the difficulties of the "here and now."

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, through now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."  1 Peter 1:3-9


No matter what you are facing today or in the future - you can always rejoice in Jesus!!  It is because of His sacrifice that we have an inheritance of eternal life!

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Christmas Day 2015 - It's Because God Loves Us So Much!

Christmas Day 2015 - It's Because God Loves Us So Much!

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.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  John 3:16 & 17

Let's not forget that it is because of our Heavenly Father's love for all of us that He sent his one and only Son!! 
God loves the entire world - EVERYONE!
All you have to do is believe and accept his gift of forgiveness through Jesus Christ who was born, died and rose again for our sins so that we might have eternal life!

Merry Christmas!

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I received a comment about this post & instead of replying through the comment section I decided to add this to the bottom of this post. 
Here is the comment that I received:

It is sad that many people quote only John 3:16, leading ones to falsely think that ALL one needs to do to be saved is to BELIEVE in Jesus. Perhaps because of this people don't realize that there is so much more one needs to do - see 1 John 3:5, John 3:36, or Romans 6:16, for example. And this is certainly confirmed when we read of such ones who DO BELIEVE in Jesus (James 2:19) who will definitely NOT be saved.

Here is my response:

First - the passages that were quoted in the comment -

1 John 3:5 "But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins.  And in him is no sin."

John 3:36  "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

Romans 6:16  "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or obedience, which leads to righteousness?"

James 2:19  "You believe that there is one God Good!  Even the demons believe that - and shudder."

There is a big difference between believing that God exists and believing that Jesus died and rose again for our sins.  The first example of believing that God exists is of course NOT a saving belief (like it says in James 2:19 - even the demons believe that).  However, the second example IS a saving belief.  If you truly believe that Jesus, who is God's only Son, came to earth and died for you so that you might have eternal life - then that belief is life changing for YOU.  One cannot continue living in sin with this belief.  That is why believing that Jesus died for your sins and accepting His gift of forgiveness IS what it takes to be saved.  What naturally follows a true belief in Jesus will be a change in character, a change in action and a change in our goals.

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.' "  John 14:6

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Take Up The THANKFULNESS Challenge!

I challenge you to thank God for something everyday for one year!  Either write it down in a diary OR share with us on a blog.  If you have a blog & would like to share your THANKFULNESS posts with us, then please fill out this form: 365 Days of Being THANKFUL form - click HERE and you will be added to the THANKFULNESS page.

<a href="http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/p/thankfulness-challenge-365-days-of.html" rel="”nofollow”" target="_blank"><img alt="THANKFULNESS Challenge" src="http://i1145.photobucket.com/albums/o501/AngieOuelletteTower/Title%20Pages%20or%20Buttons/THANKFULNESSchallengeButton_zpsooegvagd.jpg" /></a>