Can a ROCK Make You Feel God's Love?

 As my son and I were walking along the trail and back to Bloomington Lake I noticed a variation in the coloring of the rock. I love to find life lessons around me and most especially in the natural world. I decided to start photographing the rocks. Some might think taking picutures of rocks is very odd. For me I found a lesson in these rocks.

I asked my son what these rocks were made of and he replied, "minerals." I then asked him how big those minerals were. He answered that they were "very tiny." He even remarked that he could see some evidence of iron and copper in the rocks. I then asked him if the tiny minerals in those rocks mattered. Do those minerals make a difference? He agreed that they did. If those tiny minerals can make a difference in the way that rock looks to us just imagine the difference we, as tiny and insignificant as we may feel we are, make in the lives around us.

It is so easy to think that what we do or stay doesn't matter. It's so easy to be calloused or cruel to those around us without even thinking about it. It's easy to become lazy and indifferent in our actions. It's easy to believe the negative voices that tell us that we don't matter or make a difference. Oh, how much difference we can make when we show up as our best selves. Giving all that we can. Sometimes that effort and ability isn't as strong as other times, but we still can make a remarkable impact when we bring our gifts and talents to life and help others. We can still be a light in the darkness.

Never forget that you matter to this world. Never forget that you matter to others and NEVER forget that you matter a great deal to GOD! He loves you! I hope the next time to see a rock (especially a colorful one) that you remember that God placed all those perfect minerals together to remind you that he loves you more than you can imagine! 

See the Dirt

Learning from Family History

See the Dirt

 I love how family history stories can help you when you need them. I've been wondering how to help my boys get better at being more thorough in cleaning the house. Then the other day I thought of my 3X Great Grandmother, Lydia Pilch Thrower. Her granddaughter, who lived with her, said, "She taught me to see dirt, for she said, 'If you see dirt, you will clean it up."

As I thought of this lesson I decided to try it out on my boys. I went through the house and showed them the dirty spots that they weren't seeing. I reasurred them that they were still doing a good job and told them it's easy not to see all the dirt all the time. This last week my youngest was so excited to show me that he had cleaned the soap dish. You can see that they both needed a good cleaning. 😉 He was so happy to have gone the extra mile and cleaned the extra dirt without being told to. 

I'm so thankful for the knowledge we can gain as we learn from those who came before us. What a blessing that I have some many histories and wonderful people who I can learn from!