Merry Christmas!

Image result for Royalty free merry Christmas image

Merry Christmas! I hope today you have a wonderful day with family and friends, and you keep in mind the real reason for the season, Jesus Christ! Christmas is always a special time for me and my family, because normally relatives who live in other states come out, and we always celebrate at home with everyone.

In replacement of a regular post, I decided I'd put up the Christmas story from Luke 2.

This is my last post of 2018, so I will see you in 2019!

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

~Graciepopstar91

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Luke 2:1-52 (NIV)


The Birth of Jesus
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to their own town to register.
4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
21On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
Jesus Presented in the Temple
22When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”
33The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
The Boy Jesus at the Temple
41Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49  “Why were you searching for me?”he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”  50But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

The True Meaning Of Christmas

Hellooooo everyone! Can you believe Christmas is less than a week away?! Pretty crazy. It honestly doesn't seem like Christmas was that long ago...

Today I wanted to talk about the true meaning of Christmas, because over the years, we've seemed to get a corrupted view of what Christmas really is about.

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A lot of people think that Christmas is about big get togethers, Santa, presents, cookies, snowmen, and everything else that falls into the "stereotypical" kind of Christmas.

But none of that is what Christmas is really about. All of that can be fun, but that's not what it's about. What Christmas is really about, is this.
Image result for Royalty free manger picture

A little baby boy who was born in a manger over 2,000 years ago. A baby born to save the world from it's sins. A baby born to heal those who cannot be healed. A baby born to love the unloveable. A baby born to save those who cannot be saved. A baby born so that we could be with Him for eternity. A baby born to do everything that we cannot. A baby born to show His justice.

That baby boy is Jesus. The Savior, and Maker of the whole world. The one foretold in the old testament. The King of Kings.

He came to earth for us.

Can we even wrap our heads around that? All this material stuff that we've turned Christmas into is fading. It does not last forever. But Jesus is the One gift that will last for all of eternity. Even though Jesus was a gift, He doesn't want any gifts from us. He just simply wants us. He wants our hearts. He wants you! That's what Christmas is really about. Christmas is about Christ. It's not about anything else.

So, let's all take a moment to reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas, Jesus. Before we get all caught up in presents, and everything else the world has to offer on Christmas, remember Jesus. Remember the One gift that tops any other gift we could ever get. Will you give Jesus what He wants for Christmas? Because all He really wants is you. He wants to spend eternity with you. Will you put your faith and hope in Jesus this Christmas? I'd be more than happy to talk to you about what that means in the comments, or on Animal Jam. Let me know!!

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Here's todays Bible verse!

Luke 2:8-14

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

God made you. Uniquely. Beautifully. Intentionally. Purposefully. Wonderfully.

Let's Do... Something!

Hi guys! I hope you are having a wonderful Tuesday! Today me and my dad went Christmas shopping for my mom, which was a lot of fun! We got her a lot of special stuff. :) Have you finished any of your Christmas shopping yet? I can say I'm completely done, because me and my mom already did shopping for my dad, and I already got gifts out in the mail to friends! I feel very successful. XDD

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Yes that's my moms account, mine got locked out because it kept saying my password was wrong, so I kept trying it again, and it kept giving me the little jammer security check thing. Has AJ ever done that to you? o.o

I didn't really have any time to post during the day today, so when I finally sat down to write this tonight, I didn't really have any ideas. But then I thought, "what if we do a project?". Not something too huge and elaborate like that one story project I was doing on my blog (that got very complicated and I had to end that XD), but just something small. I'm not sure what yet. Maybe it could be a story, but on a very small scale? I'm not sure...

Or it could be a collaborative masterpiece, or something like that. I feel like the blogger community has become a little disconnected, and I'd love to do something together as Animal Jam bloggers, to get to know everyone a little better! I think a community project would be so much fun, and would get people more involved.

So.... What do you guys think? What ideas do you have? Please let me know! It would be so much fun to get a bunch of bloggers involved in whatever we start! Maybe we could even start a Google+ community to discuss this project. No idea what, but... Let me know!

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Here's todays Bible verse!

Romans 14:7

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

God made you. Uniquely. Beautifully. Intentionally. Purposefully. Wonderfully.

Party Canceled

Hey! Just want to let you all know that the party is canceled due to me not really wanting to go on AJ?? XDD  Hope you have a good day!!

Christmas Joy!

Hellooooo everyone! How's your week going so far? Today my allergies have been bothering me like crazy. I hope it is allergies, and I'm not getting a cold. :P I've been pretty miserable all day. I'm writing this post outside in the freezing cold because that seems to be the only place that doesn't make my allergies go crazy. XDD

It's so crazy that we're only 21 days away from Christmas! It seems like this year just flew right by us!

Let's get started with todays post, which is actually about Christmas!

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Jesus was the best gift any of us could of ever gotten, so we should reflect the joy of Christ in everything we do. One thing we could do is give people things, or give them an encouraging note, and we can do that right on Animal Jam! You cold send them a JAG with an encouraging message, maybe even with a gift attached.

Except... you can't say merry on Animal Jam


I dunno


It could be as simple as saying, "Happy Jamaalidays!"

You could also give new jammers gifts too!

Animal Jam tends to have new jammers (or other people) first land in Congo, or unpopular lands it seems. Some of the places you can find new jammers are in Bakoy, Sawtooth, or Congo.



Find a jammer that doesn't seem to have much, and only has a few items on their trade list.


Even though they aren't extremely rare, people do still like the new spiked collars! I bought some of those and traded people them. Or if theres some items you know you'll probably never use, you could trade them that!


That's really all you have to do to make someones day. It could be as simple as that, just a little something to give them joy this holiday season.

Are you up for the challenge?

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Here's todays Bible verse!

Psalm 62:1

I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.

God made you. Uniquely. Beautifully. Intentionally. Purposefully. Wonderfully.

What I'm Thankful For (Part 2)!

Hellooooo everyone! I hope you're having a great week so far! Yesterday we set up our Christmas tree! I can't believe Christmas is only 28 days away. It seems like the year just slipped right by us! 2018 had a lot of ups and downs for me, but it was one of the best years yet. I got to meet so many people who are inspirations to me, and became so involved in the Christian music community. more recently i started writing some songs (which I didn't think I would do again becuz 8 yr old gracie songs were cringey therefore i haven't told anyone ive been writing songs (: ) There's something so cool about all that, and I love it. I'd have to say God has blessed me a lot this year.

Anyways, let's get going with todays post! Today I'll be doing What I'm Thankful For (Part 2), which I completely forgot to do last week, oops. XD

This list isn't in any particular order, and could easily be switched around...

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There are so many countries where an abundance of food just isn't a reality to them. It's really sad to think. So I'm very thankful that we have food, and food to spare. It's such a blessing, that we need to share with other people too!


I'm thankful that we're living in a time where there is peace, and not war. I mean, there are lots of wars in other countries, bombings, and other things like that, but I'm thankful we're not living in the great depression, and that it's safe to live in America.


Again, there are some countries that don't have clean water. Sometimes in other countries they have to drink dirty, unfiltered water, that carries bacteria and germs, which people could die from. It's a horrifying thing to think about. So I'm thankful for clean water, and also organizations that help get clean water to other countries!


I'm thankful that I have clothes to wear, that are clean and new. It's sad that some people don't have this convenience, or don't even have the money to afford clothes.

My coyote looks very interesting in this picture XDD
I'm thankful for you! I'm thankful for each and every one of you reading this, even if I don't know you. I'm glad that you chose to read this post, and support this blog. Without you, AJC probably wouldn't even be here!

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...And I'm also thankful for my computer cooperating with me, to let me go on Animal Jam to get pictures, and type out this blog post without kicking me out of Safari or telling me my storage is full. XDD

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Here's todays Bible verse!

Philippians 1:3

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

God made you. Uniquely. Beautifully. Intentionally. Purposefully. Wonderfully.

"Don't Feed Your Animals Jam"

Hello hello everyone! I hope you're having a great day so far! Today was pretty busy, because I had a dentist appointment, we had to go get some things at two stores, went to mail a package, aaaand went to Hobby Lobby. XD Also ran into a lady who is seeking a church, which is a long story, but we invited her to ours! Pretty cool how God works things out just at the right time.

Today's post isn't about Animal Jam, it's more about what not to feed your animals on Thanksgiving, hence the play on words. Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and there are some foods that you for sure don't want to feed to your pets. I found a few lists from ASPCA. Here it is!

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Turkey: If you do give your pets turkey, you need to make sure there's no bones, and that it's fully cooked. If you give your pet undercooked turkey, thaaaat might not be so good. Undercooked turkey could contain a bacteria called salmonella. And don't give them the carcass, or any other bones.

Raw bread dough: The yeast converts the sugars in the dough into carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. This results in bloated, drunken pets, which can be life threatening. That's pretty crazy! So absolutely do not give pets raw bread dough. But just to let you all know, this does not effect humans in the same way. Raw bread dough would be gross though. XD

Cake: Mainly raw cake batter. It, again, could contain salmonella from the raw eggs.

Avocado: This mainly only applies to birds, rabbits, horses, donkeys, sheep, and goats. I was pretty surprised to find this out! It could make them swollen, or even cause death to birds. So that's a big no no!

Coconut and coconut oil: These things could just cause an upset stomach or diarrhea.

Grapes and raisins: No one knows why grapes and raisins are toxic to animals, but it could cause kidney failure.

Onions, garlic, chives: This is a risk to cats, and dogs too could be at risk for red blood cell damage if they eat these.

Salt and salty snack foods: We sometimes feed my dog salty stuff, which after reading about this, we probably won't anymore. This could cause excessive thirst and urination, sodium ion poisoning, vomiting, diarrhea, depression, tremors, elevated body temperature, seizures, and even death. Not good. So don't give your pets heavily salted things, such as potato chips, pretzels, and salted popcorn, and things like that.

Nuts: The fat in nuts can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and potentially pancreatitis!

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I got this information from the following two links,



Be very careful about what you feed your pets. I hope this list was helpful, and you have a great Thanksgiving with your pets!

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Here's todays Bible verse!

Psalm 95:2

Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him.

God made you. Uniquely. Beautifully. Intentionally. Purposefully. Wonderfully.


.....Then after I write this whole entire blog post I forgot I was gonna do What I'm Thankful For (Part 2)
Stay tuned next week my friends.
Next week.
Maybe.
If I remember.

Rare Item Monday - Gracie Edition

*News reporter* Your scheduled rare item Monday is about to begin-
*Gracie tramples over new reporter*
WITH GRACIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Helloooooo everyone! Welcome to your weekly rare item Monday post- GRACIE EDITIOOOOOON! (where did that crazy title come from) Today I'm covering Coolcat's post since she's going through some things with family things right now.

Today's rare item is a really cool one, so let's get started with it!

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Today's rare item is a rare plaid blanket and is located on the first page in the Shiver Shoppe in the Cocoa Hut at Mt. Shiveer. It's being sold for 750 gems, and is for all jammers! I really love this blanket, and would be great for a Christmas morning outfit!

I didn't know if there was a RIM today, because there wasn't a post about it on the Daily Explorer, and I couldn't find it in Jam Mart Clothing or Jam Mart Furniture. So I thought of another place that sometimes has RIM's, the Shiver Shoppe! Sure enough it was there!

I'd totally rate this item a 10, it's super cute!

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I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving (or if you're Canadian, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving last month!)! Do you have any plans?

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Here's todays Bible verse!

Colossians 2:7

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

God made you. Uniquely. Beautifully. Intentionally. Purposefully. Wonderfully.

Birthday Party Plans!

Hey Jammers!

Sooo as you can tell by the title, I am having a birthday party! 





Where: Sarahkey8's den
When: 2:00 CST December 8th
What we will do: Just chat, probably play a few games




Hope to see you there ☺️

What I'm Thankful For (Part 1)!

Hey everyone! Sorry this post is late again! I kinda forgot about it until like 20 minutes before dinner... Sooo... XDD I started working on this post, but had to finish it after dinner. So, without any further ado, let's get started!

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With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I decided that this week, and also next week, I would be reflecting on a few things I'm thankful for! This week I'd do things on the very top of my list! It's kinda in a particular order, but kinda not. #3, #4, and #5 could all be moved around depending on what day it is. XDD But really, #4 should come before #3 but it's kinda too late so-
Anyways


Of course, Jesus is at the very top of my list, and forever will be! I'm so thankful that He died on the cross for our sins, and loves us so much.


My family is always there for me, so I'm very grateful for them. Especially in the last few months when we were dealing with all those health issues with my sister, they were always right by her side, and my side too. :)


Christian music has gotten me through so many challenging situations, and my love for it keeps getting bigger and bigger everyday! I love the people who write the songs, and the songs themselves.

And my mom's account... XDD
I've been best friends with Coolcat for about 5 years, and I'm so grateful for her. She's super sweet, and always is there for me if I need prayer, or just someone to talk to. Some friendships you aren't sure will last a while, but with Coolcat, I'm sure it will last forever. I'm also thankful for my other friends on Animal Jam! I don't want to write out a whole list, but I love all of you. :)


In particular, my dog Flynn! I love all animals in general, but I really do love him. He's super sweet, and basically the best dog ever.

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Name 5 things that you're thankful for below!

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Here's todays Bible verse!

2 Thessalonians 1:3

Dear brothers and sisters, we can't help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.

God made you. Uniquely. Beautifully. Intentionally. Purposefully. Wonderfully.

Rare Item Monday!

Hey, Jammers! It’s CoolCat here with another post! I apologize again for this post being so late, like last week I haven’t had time to do it until now. So without wasting anymore time let’s just get started!

Today’s Rare Item Monday for Animal Jam is the Rare Leaf Pattern Skirt!

Thoughts: Although I like this weeks Rare Item Monday, I feel it is a bit out of place with it being fall. If you spend most of you time in crystal sands this is for you!

Overall I rate Animal jams Rare Item Monday a 7. Now let’s move onto Play Wilds Rare Item Monday!

Today’s Rare Item Monday for Play Wild is the Rare Horned Pilot Hat!

Thoughts: I love unique items, and I would say this is definitely just that! This is a great item if you are looking for something different.

Overall I rate Play Wilds Rare Item Monday a 9! Comment down below what you think.

Here is today’s verse.

“Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” Colossians 1:9

As always, bye Jammers! And -Jam On!-

Pet Turkeys And Pet Caterpillars?

Hey guys! I'm so sorry this post is so late!! We were just relaxing, watching TV, when all of the sudden it hit me- I FORGOT TO DO MY BLOG POST so uh... Yeah.. I didn't really want to post because it was so late, but figured I probably should. But I'm gonna keep this post kinda short.

Let's get started!

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It's fall, so Animal Jam just recently added the pet turkeys back into the game! These pets are so cute, so it's always exciting when they come back! I love it when the holiday pets come back. Like these turkeys, and the reindeer!


They're available in the Diamond Shop for three diamonds!

After halloween when Animal Jam changed the homepage, they made a cute fall homepage! But they put a pet on the screen that isn't yet released...


It looks to me like they might be planning on releasing a pet caterpillar soon. It's super cute, and I'd totally buy one of these! I love it's big eyes. XD

Here's a picture of the pet closer up,


What do you think of this unreleased pet?

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Here's todays Bible verse!

Revelation 3:19

I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.

God doesn't discipline because He has to, or to make us angry, He disciplines us because he loves us. What kind of kids would we be if our parents let us get whatever we want, do whatever we want, without any discipline? I can tell you that we would probably be selfish, unloving, and sinful. But parents discipline so their kids can learn. That's why God disciplines too.

God made you. Uniquely. Beautifully. Intentionally. Purposefully. Wonderfully.

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