Archives for June 2008

Ants! (part 2)

June 27, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Taking our ant problem and making it FUN!

“Ants have three body parts. They have a head, abdomen, and thorax. There is one queen in a colony. They have jaws. They use their antennae to smell. Some ants have stingers. Some ants are brown and some are black. Most of the ants are females. Forager ants collect food. Some of the ants are builder ants. They fix the nest if some of the dirt falls. The male ants meet with the queen. The male ants have wings. After the flighting, the male ants die. The special part about the queen is that she is the only one that lays the eggs.”
by A – age 6

making an anthill with tunnels and rooms for all the ants…

ant hill

our edible ants….

marshmallow ants

We also READ a ton of ant books that we gathered from the library, watched The Magic School Bus has Ants in its Pants (way too many times, LOL!), counted out raisin ‘ants’ with tweezers into muffin tins, made a construction paper ant, and read what the Bible has to say about ants …

Proverbs 6:6-8
Go to the ant, you sluggard.  Consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

Filed Under: The Joy of Children, The Joy of Homeschool

I Need You More

June 19, 2008 by 1 Comment

How come I don’t seem to realize that I am relying on my own strength, and not on my Lord, until the consequences become so evident in my life that I can’t ignore them?

Our pastor is teaching through the book of Colossians and is stressing the importance of having Jesus at the core of our lives.  (By the way, you can access all of the sermons here!) A couple weeks ago, he began the sermon by stating, “Life falls apart without Jesus.”   And, oh boy, does it ever.  I do have Jesus in my life.  He is my Lord and Savior.  But, I do not always go about my day dependent on Him.  Here are some real examples of where I am seeing this right now…

  • School plans and other family decisions that need to be made feel as if they are looming over me.  I work through different possibilities – but sense fear and trembling.
  • I have child training stresses.  I thought we had addressed these  before and were back on track.
  • I have recurring sin issues.  Why can’t I break the cycle and move past this?
  • And a new sin issue…God recently revealed to me that I have been harboring unkind thoughts and have let bitterness take root in my soul.  I thought I was working through this all right on my own.

Okay,anyone else notice a pattern here?  A difficulty, that God in His wisdom allows, is brought into my life and I react.  I attempt to do something – on my own.

Our pastor said we should have three confessional cries and I can honestly say that these are three confessional cries breaking forth from my heart to God right now….

1) “I’m dependent on You.”
I can’t make it on my own and I need God’s help!

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
(John 15:1-8)

2) “I need Your power.”
I am inadequate.  I can not rely on my own strength and wisdom.
I need His!  I need the power of the Holy Spirit working in my life.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,
so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults,
in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

3) “I need You more than anything.”
I need Jesus!

I need you more, more than yesterday.
I need You more, more than words can say.
I need You more than ever before.
I need You Lord. I need You Lord.

I can not fathom how to accomplish school each day with a 1st grader, preschooler, toddler, and infant – BUT Jesus, can.

I can not adequately reach the heart of my children, to raise them up to live for Christ, and to obey His commands – BUT Jesus can.

I can not learn from my mistakes and completely snuff out the sin areas in my life – BUT Jesus can.

I can not cultivate a tenderness and true forgiveness for the person I am holding grudges towards -BUT Jesus can.

It is a foreign concept in our culture, but I must admit that I can NOT do life without Jesus.  I just can’t make it on my own.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him
and He will make your paths straight.
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

Through different situations, God is making me more dependent on Him.  That’s a good thing!   May there be less of me and more of Him as I grow in Christ.

Filed Under: Mom's Heart, The Joy of God's Word

Ants!

June 12, 2008 by 3 Comments

I have no problem with insects and spiders being outside.  That’s where they belong – in nature.  Let every insect and spider be forewarned, however, that once they crawl into our home they are traveling into dangerous territory!

We had our lawn service spray the foundations of our home a couple weeks ago – to keep the insects and spiders OUTside.  Well, all this week we have been seeing ants INside on our main floor and up in our bedrooms.  Argh!  The lawn service came back out and reapplied the spray and left a note stating, “Please remember:  This is a barrier treatment.  It not only stops insects trying to come in, but also prevents them from going out…”  So, since the ants were here before they sprayed, they are now stuck inside our home and have no place to go, except up and inside our house.  Just what I wanted to hear =)

So, to eradicate the ant colony(ies) we need to get some ant bait/traps.  (Love, if you are reading this, please stop by and get some ASAP =)) Until then, I have been seen on my hands and knees, squishing the ants, sweeping multiple times, and removing rugs or anything else that would normally be on the floor in the areas where we have spotted the little guys.  I have been doing this so much in fact that one day this week our toddler was calling to me from the basement playroom and asking, “Smoosh ants, Mommy?”  Um, yes.  The kids have even got in on the ‘fun’ of finding them…

Ants

You know, I am going to great lengths to make sure we get rid of the ants in our home, but what measures am I willing to take to eradicate the sin areas in my life?  One of the areas that God has recently pointed out to me is my use of time -specifically my time spent on (uh, oh) the computer.  Do I really need to check my email every time I go to the office to get something? Must I check the homeschool forum to see if any additional answers to my question have been added –again?   Do I have to check your blog to see if you have posted any new entries for me to read ?  The answer I am hearing – No! At least not as often as I have been.  Nothing is wrong with these things in and of themselves.  I need to have support and correspondence with other moms, but I also need to set some limits so that I can better manage the affairs of my household.

Maybe I should place my Bible or a verse to memorize near my computer and read that instead.  Then, I could go read a book to my children, sit on the floor and play a game with them, play cars, etc.   I want to build strong and deep relationships with my children.  That doesn’t just happen by chance.  I have to make my little ones a priority over those times of ‘quick’ checking of my email and what I am discovering are actually a few moments of trying to escape my responsibilities.

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
Ephesians 5:15-17

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Filed Under: Mom's Heart, The Joy of Children, The Joy of Family, The Joy of God's Word