Praying Mantis

I was out checking the progress on the garden today and found this.

Pretty cool, huh? He was just hanging out on the jalapeno plant. I only saw him because I was looking to see how many blossoms I had on it.

Nature

This is our first Spring/Summer in Texas and I put a couple of hanging baskets on the back porch. One of them must have been particularly attractive to the robins in the neighborhood, so they built a nest in it.

When we checked the nest one day, we found this.

The next time we checked, it looked like this.

So, today we check again and we saw this.

See the little hole where the baby's hatching? How cool is that?

I'll be sure to keep you all updated on the hatching progress. :)

From My Home Friday

So, I've decided to do the From My Home Friday's from Michele's Blog. This week she is using Laine's letter "Grumbling Causes Stumbling".

What a profound letter. I know that I struggle with grumbling myself. It's a tough one to get a handle on. It's so easy to slip into the grumbling mindset. As women, we tend to surround ourselves with like minded individuals. Those that we have something in common with. Those we feel a bond with. We get together for bible studies, coffee mornings, play groups, bunco, etc. We all have a great time. We set aside our precious time for these "girls nights". We share our lives, our hopes, our dreams. We lean on each other for support. We support those we can. We become friends and strengthen our bonds. Then it happens. We have people that are complaining about their husbands, children, jobs, parents, friends, etc., on a regular basis. I'm not talking about the occasional "I'm having a hard time with my kids." or "My husband is on my last nerve." vents. I'm talking about the constant complaining. The "no one does anything right" evenings. Everyone gets caught up in it and before you know it, has become a giant grumbling session.

Something that has started as a wonderful time of fellowship, has turned into something else. Something sinister, something depressing. It's no longer fun. It's just all around a negative experience. That negativity begins to spread into our home lives. It taints our families. It spreads into our spiritual lives and taints our relationship with God. Instead of being content in God's plan for us and in God's timing, we never find the joy in His plans. The peace that comes with knowing He has us covered. We loose sight of our Godly heritage, the legacy God has left for us. Our roles as children of The King.

It is so easy to fall into this trap. It's human nature. We have a desire to feel like we belong, and sometimes we don't consider the costs. I have fallen into this trap more than once. I would love to say I'm over it, but I'm not. Sometimes it sneaks up on me, then the reality hits me like a semi truck. I'm doing it again. However, I am blessed. I know that my Saviour will forgive me. I know that He will truly forget what I have done and how I have fallen away. I know that He will remind me of all the positives, and help me overcome the negative attitude. He will once again be my bright shinning star, the center of my life, the only one I should ever feel the need to belong to. He is my source, my hope, my everything, and keeping the focus on him and not on the grumbling draws me closer to Him and His wonderful plans for me.