Did you know . . .

. . . I love growth. As I walk the irrigation roads behind our house, I am amazed by the miracle of growth through the seasons: rich, bare, milk chocolate brown fields eventually turn into beautiful uniform rows that will soon hold seeds that contain life waiting to burst forth.
As I was meditating on the beauty of the green cotton and corn plants reaching for the sun, I was reminded how much I love growth in people. I love growth in myself. I am not the same woman I was five or two or even one year ago. I am growing. There are seasons of dirt. But I am now confident that even my dirt has potential to turn into green, life giving beauty! I'm just cooperating with the Master Farmer. He knows when to let me sit as dirt, when to plow me up and prepare my heart, when to plant His seeds and when to water. I get the blessing of bearing the beautiful fruit, but it's only in cooperation with the hard work of the Farmer! Thank you, Jesus, for my growth and all the seasons that are necessary for beauty to break forth. I am so very pleased to be cared for by You!

Did you know . . .

. . . it may be possible to project hopelessness into an ant colony??!!! I don't know. I have no other explanation for our hard working, little ants odd behavior. A few posts ago, I told you that Harvester ants are fascinating creatures for children and adults to observe. Well, it only took me two days to realize that they actually drive me batty. I mean really, these poor little things digging, digging, digging . . . and for what? To get where? To just dig and dig and then die? I couldn't stand it. After declaring (more than a few times) what a sad existence these little guys have, I started to notice over the course of the week they were slowing down. They started congregating all together at the bottom of the ant hill in their biggest tunnel. Hopelessness had set in. They had two little guys posted at the top waiting to give the signal if the lid came open and there was chance of escape. And when I cracked the lid, you should've seen the commotion! They certainly weren't dead, they were trapped and they knew it! (That's my take on it.)

Finally, I couldn't take it. I asked the kids if we could let them go free. The novelty of the ants had worn off and this was a new exciting thing to observe. They were on board! We took them out in the dirt, opened the lid, and stood back to watch them scurry to freedom with great vigor. I'm certain I saw some of them sprinting. One even looked back and thanked me, even though there were over 25 of them.

I'm incredibly thankful I've been released from my prison cell of hopeless digging, digging, digging. Sure feels great to be FREE!


(Now someone is going to tell me it's illegal to let Harvester ants go free in California, right?! I should've checked into that BEFORE I let them go!)

Did you know . . .

. . . Harvester Ants can entertain children and adults for hours? If you need some mindless fascination, buy a Discovery Kids Ant Gel Habitat. The ants aren't digging in dirt but instead in a bluish, gel that is their food and water also. So you can observe them much more easily than a normal ant farm. Amazing little creatures.

Did you know . . .

~ I L O V E the library? And at any given time, you can find anywhere from 75-90 library books lying around our house! If we can't be traveling the world, we can still be exploring it! (That's not counting yours, Mike!)

~ I am a coffee snob? If you knew that, then you know me better than I know myself! In the last two weeks, I have desperately tried to drink cheap coffee, proclaiming to myself that it's simply about the experience every morning, not the taste! Well, I give up. Doesn't matter how much cream and sugar I put in that stuff, I can only choke down half a cup! I now know, my morning ritual is . . . about the taste. And since Heath is back on the job . . . Starbucks Coffee, here I come!

Did you know. . .

Did you know classical, in particular, baroque music, is reported to stimulate brain areas that facilitate learning.
- Mariaemma Willis and Victoria Kindle Hodson in "Discover Your Child's Learning Style"

Did you know . . .

Did you know that research says we need 4 hugs a day to survive, 8 hugs to maintain and 12 hugs a day to grow!

Since hearing this, I have started hugging the kids more and Judah has done a 180 degree turn in his behavior!! I'm not kidding. The only change has been hugs and lots of prayer! Might be worth testing out on your own family!

-----
(Not sure who's research or what you're growing in but it was an incredibly intriguing statistic I heard from a friend and then read on someone's blog!)