January 7

Proverbs 6:6.
Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise,

Do you ever picture yourself just watching an ant? I think at some point we have watched them. I have never seen one just stop. An ant is always busy and yes I know that we should be too, but what are we busy doing? Why are we being called a sluggard? I think that we get busy about life and we do get slack in doing what God has called us to do, we should be spending more time with Him and sharing His word with those who don't know Him. I know that we should watch and learn from the ant, but we have to go one step beyond and be busy doing the right things.

Okay, when searching for an ant pictures I realized there are many ants and my thoughts are now going even deeper.

Ants
* There are more than 12,000 species of ants all over the world.
Much like us, we all look alike but we are very different.
* An ant can lift 20 times its own body weight. If a second grader was as strong as an ant, she would be able to pick up a car!
It's probably a good thing that we are not that strong
* Some queen ants can live for many years and have millions of babies!
This makes me tired, Just give me the first part of the statement.
* Ants don’t have ears. Ants "hear" by feeling vibrations in the ground through their feet.
Maybe we should be a little more observant in what is going on around us. Think beyond what we hear.
* When ants fight, it is usually to the death!
Stand for what you believe!
* When foraging, ants leave a pheromone trail so that they know where they’ve been,
I guess these we should learn from where we have been and think about going back there!
* Queen ants have wings, which they shed when they start a new nest.
Glad we don't have to start over when our dead skin leaves us!
* Ants don’t have lungs. Oxygen enters through tiny holes all over the body and carbon dioxide leaves through the same holes.
Just goes to show how awesome God is and how creation is amazing!
* When the queen of the colony dies, the colony can only survive a few months. Queens are rarely replaced and the workers are not able to reproduce.
Don't we think of ourselves as the queen? But we are hopeful that this won't happen to our family if we do die. We want them to go on and maybe not our husbands reproduce but it's okay for the kids too.

After looking at the different types of Ants maybe we need to think about what kind we are:

Argentine Ant: Argentine ants do not pose a health threat, but they can contaminate food by leaving their bodily waste behind.
Now we are technically leaving bodily waste, but do we contaminate what we come in contact with, we can spew awful things from our mouth - what do we cover when it flows from us?
Red Imported Fire Ant: The sting of a Red Imported Fire Ant is painful and often results in a raised welt that becomes a white blister. Persons allergic to insect stings will react more severely. They are frustrating, not only because of the physical pain they can inflict, but because their mound-building activity can damage plant roots and lead to loss of crops.
Are we guilty of stinging others? This goes back to our words that we say. Always remember you can say you are sorry, but the damage is done when those words come out of your mouth! Don't destroy people, you may not think you are doing it but you can!
Carpenter Ants: When they are ready, those workers then get the job of gathering food to feed the next generation. Once mature, this first generation of worker ants work to increase the food supply for the colony.
What are we doing for the next generation. Are we sharing God's food (His word)? Are we preparing the next generation for what is to
Odorous House Plant: This ant gets its name from the strong, rotten coconut-like smells it gives off when crushed and the fact that they commonly nest in or around houses. come, helping them to be ready?
When we are crushed, do we put out that bad odor, always negative, making others want to run from us? Think about what we go through, we are all there, but we must realize that we don't have to be bitter from circumstances, we can be better, give off a sweet aroma that that has Jesus as the fragrance!
Carpenter Ant: Carpenter ants clean their nesting sites, and their galleries are not lined with mud or moist soil as termite galleries typically are. Carpenter ant workers keep their galleries as smooth as sandpapered wood.
We should want this for ourselves, a home for our family, a place where they can come and spend time and feel protected! Give them an enviroment that is healthy, full of love and full of Jesus!

Just want to give you something to think about today! I pray it's a great day for you!

(This was an oldie and I just think it needs to be repeated!)