From Pine Cone Lodge

Think there are any ants under these picnic tables?  This photo was taken at an ice-cream place, so ants are pretty likely!

Here is one of the posts concerning "little things" from Proverbs 30, from the kids' devotional book Pine Cone Lodge.  I know Tori is looking forward to these, so here is the first one.  It's from the category

IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS  and is the devotional page for May 27.

 “The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.” 

 (Proverbs 30:25)

     Today’s verse talks about one of the “little things” God has made that is very wise.  The little things in this verse are little insects called ants.  Everyone has seen ants and knows what they look like.  Sometimes in summer, ants come into our houses and try to find food in our kitchens.  We don’t like it when ants swarm all over our kitchen counters or decide to help themselves to the sugar in our sugar bowls!  We really wish they would stay outside in the great outdoors and find their food there,  not in our houses.
 
There are many different species, or kinds, of ants.  The different species of ants have different favorite foods.  Some ants like to eat other insects, or small creatures such as spiders and caterpillars.  Other ants like to eat seeds.  Some ants, especially the ones that come into our kitchens, like to eat grease or sweet foods.  Most ants do like sweet foods, and sweets are very important for ants.  They give the ants the energy they need to work hard.  Ants are sensitive to the smell of sweet foods, so they can easily find what they need.  Sweet foods that ants eat include things like sugar and honey in our kitchens.  But other sweet foods that ants eat outdoors include fruits, the nectar of flowers, and also the body fluids of caterpillars!

 Ants work very hard to find food and bring it back to the nest.  If an ant finds a piece of food that is too big for it to carry alone, it goes back to the nest and gets some other ants to help carry the food.  On the way to the nest, the first ant leaves a trail of scents as landmarks so it will be able to return to the place where it found the food.
 
Ants work hard to gather and store their food, don’t they?  And our verse reminds us that if tiny creatures like ants can work so hard and so wisely, we should be able to do the same.  God wants us to work hard.  Whatever our work is, whether it is schoolwork or chores around the house or even a part-time job, God wants us to do that work in the very best way that we can.  He wants us to use our time wisely, too, just as the ants do!
 
*  Thank God for good object lessons in the Bible that remind us of how He wants us to live.  Ask God to help you do your very best work every day and to use your time wisely.  *

Hope you have enjoyed learning a little lesson from ants today!  And, if ants inside your house happen to be an issue, check out this Homemade Peppermint Ant Spray from Mom4Real!  I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I sure intend to!