Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday, Mom!
We are so thankful for you and your heart for the Lord! 
Thank you for...

...Your love and dedication to your family...

Mom, thank you for reading us interesting books at lunch time, making us yummy treats, and helping me with my chicken business projects. Happy birthday! -Samuel

...Your generous servant's heart to others in need...  

Mom, thank you for all that you do around here for your family. Thank you for teaching us girls how to be homemakers and for making each day special! I remember playing dolls with you when I was little. I hope that you have a wonderful day. I love you! -Rachael

...Your hard-working, diligent work all the time in nutritional health,
soap making, ironing, gardening, and so much more!

Happy birthday Mom. Thank you for being a good and loving mom and taking care of us all these years! Thank you for playing legos and having fun with me when I was little. -Jonathan

Thank you for caring about us and cooking such good food for us. I remember us swinging on the porch some afternoons when we lived in Korea. Thank you for all your help with my farming adventures this year. Happy birthday! -Nathan

Mom, happy birthday blessings to you! Thank you for your constant work and dedication to your family and raising us in the ways of God. One of my fondest early memories was waking up as a little girl on sunny summer mornings to you singing, "This is the day the Lord has made - let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Thank you for teaching me about the Lord from an early age. Have a wonderful day. I love you. -Sarah

Happy Birthday! Thank you for being a godly wife and mother. I love you. -Tom

And your birthday post wouldn't be complete without letting out the secret - 

that you love chocolate ice cream!

We love you - happy birthday!

"Be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, 
forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."
{1 Corinthians 15:58}

God's Creation - Ant Trivia

This week, we found a ant colony relocating across our driveway. It was fascinating to watch the hard workers quickly moving eggs as big as the ants themselves, and to see how they all followed in the exact same path.

As we observed the ants at the entrance of their nest, we noted that there some standing around the entry that looked obviously different from the worker ants. They were larger and had jaws. We found out that they were "guards" to the nest and protect it from intruders! There is so much to learn about and from ants - they are very diligent and strong workers. We can learn a lot about God's creation just by observing His work in it.

Did you know...

• Ants are capable of carrying objects 50 times their own body weight with their mandibles. Relative to their size, their muscles are thicker than those of larger animals or even humans. If we had muscles in the proportions of ants, we'd be able to heave a Hyundai over our heads!
• Ants follow scent trails laid by scout ants to gather food. By following pheromone trails created by other ants from the colony, foraging ants can gather and store food efficiently.
• Soldier ants use their heads to plug the entrances to their nests and keep intruders from gaining access. When a worker ant returns to the nest, it will touch the soldier ant's head to let the guard know it belongs to the colony. {We noted this in action - amazing!}
• Certain ant species defend plants in exchange for food and shelter. The ants defend the plant from herbivorous mammals and insects, and may even prune away parasitic plants that attempt to grow on the host plant.
• The total biomass of all the ants on Earth is roughly equal to the total biomass of all the people on Earth. A single acre of Amazon rainforest may house 3.5 million ants.
• Ants sometimes herd or tend to insects of other species, like aphids or leafhoppers.
• Ants will enslave other ants, keeping them captive and making them do work for the colony. 
• Some ants form "supercolonies," massive communities of ants that can stretch for thousands of miles. Scientists recently discovered that massive supercolonies in Europe, North America, and Japan all share the same chemical profile, meaning they are, in essence, a global supercolony of ants.

"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.

Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

Provideth her meat in the summer, and 

gathereth her food in the harvest."

{Proverbs 6:6-8}

Fourth of July Celebrations

Celebrating freedom...

We are grateful to live in a nation founded on Christian principles

A picnic with friends

Reading the Declaration of Independence

Playing our favorite "sticker game"

We continued our fun tradition of watching Fort Leavenworth's firework display with friends

...and enjoying fellowship afterwards

The men talked...

...while the ladies had "tank wars"!

"If the Son therefore shall make you free, 

ye shall be free indeed."
{John 8:36}

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day! 

237 years ago, fifty-six men risked their lives and honor and signed the document that has been the core foundation of the United States of America. This was followed by years of bloodshed, as countless men fought for our freedom - and with God's blessing, went on to establish this nation. Our generation stands today on the sacrifices and untiring efforts of patriots, who throughout two centuries, have sought to defend the principles of freedom and Biblical morality upon which our nation was established. However, evil opposition has also been destroying the freedoms we enjoy as a nation throughout the past century. Do we realize this and do we see the sins that have become the norm in American culture (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)? True freedom is not found in rejecting God's laws and fulfilling our own sinful desires, but only in walking in righteousness. "For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness" (Romans 6:20). "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2). Herein is liberty!

"In every nation he that feareth him, and
worketh righteousness, is accepted with him."

{Acts 10:35}

While we rejoice this Independence Day in the freedoms we have been given - and enjoy family celebrations and fireworks - let us not forget that our righteous God does not overlook the wickedness and perversion that has infiltrated our land (Psalm 5:6, Isaiah 11:4). While we thank the Lord for His blessings, let us, as Christians, also humbly cry out to Him in repentance for our people's sins and ask for His mercy upon our country and future generations (Daniel 9). We must remember, "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people" (Proverbs 14:34). Our God is just, merciful, and forgiving!

"If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us."
{1 John 1:8-10}

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD;
and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance."
{Psalm 33:12}