(double click on pic for full view)
A squirrel trying very hard to eat birdseed and a chipmunk eating what falls on the ground.
Gymnastic training at Gene’s house
(photos by Gene, Alex, Va)
The ground is good enough for me!
Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28
thedailylily.com 
‘What should one do?’ From these great pictures it looks like the chipmunk was calm and wise. He kept his feet on the ground and got plenty to eat. He benefitted from the squirrels wild gymnastics since plenty of seed must have been dislodged, but squirrel may not have gotten much at all.
That’s true, Debi, but look how creative that squirrel is!!! He adds a little spice to his life by his daredevil stunt…and looks pretty impressive. I guess he’s a “go-for-it-type. Seems there are all kinds of “personality” traits in God’s creatures as there are in humans.
I think the Book of Proverbs says something about “stolen ‘birdseed’ tastes sweet and that eaten in secret is most pleasant…” 🙂
It really amazes me just how clever God’s little creatures are. They even knew how to walk or fly two by two on an Ark. Look how they help each other. Squirrel makes food from the bird for himself and a chipmunk. They know the power of community, helping and caring and living with humans.
Just think what it would be like outside our homes if there were no animals, trees and breezes? I guess we should ask ourselves what would it be like if our homes were an Ark for God to use for His little creatures? Would the animals find us exciting enough to survive?
Oh, Yes! “If our homes were an ARK for God to use for “…not only for His little creatures but especially for GOD’S children, one another, for fellowship, refuge in crises, for solace, for prayer meetings and studying & sharing God’s Word, and breaking bread together.
How God smiles on His children when they neglect NOT the assembling of themselves with one another….and NOT only at…but beyond church.
I’ve had squirrels empty a bird feeder in a matter of minutes when I lived in LA.
The bird store told us to put in a metal pole to hang the bird feeder on so the squirrels would not get the birds’ food.
The squirrels can also come into your home and love chewing. Even your wires in your house and cause fires sometimes. They don’t know its a home they are working on. I’ve seen them flip themselves into the air ducts on a roof and heard them create rolling alleys in the attic. We would entice them with nuts and dried fruits and carry them 10 miles out so they would not return again.
They are so cute on the outside, but sometimes dangerous. In my case in LA they did unmask a problem with our chimney with a mole eating wood. We ended up getting a whole new chimney. Perhaps God spoke through his critters.
Rena, squirrels are not good house guest. They seem like intruders and destroyers. A guest should be invited and they were not!
God gave us dominion over the animals. According to law, when a human transgresses the law, and is apprehended he/she has to pay a penalty or face incarceration. So it is with those critters who DON’ T live in human habitats, like our Shadow & Lily & JD do, but should stick to their environmental lodgings. When a mouse gets into the house, with its vermin and whatever else it brings….and that goes for squirrels, too, it has to be “au revoir, bebe!” Why should they be allowed to live & infest other populations 10 miles down the road? Chances are they will find their way back to their original place by pheromones emitted and the rest is history.
It’s like the story in the Gospel that Jesus told in
Luke 11:26 when He spoke of a spirit driven out of a man. It is swept and cleaned and set aright. But the spirit roams about, homeless and looking for a FAMILIAR place and returns to the old habitat where it had been before being cast out. But when it finds it clean and swept, “Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that house,becomes worse than the first.” So it is with mice (and squirrels)
MG, you are rough on those poor animals.
Hummmph! I refuse to share my quarters with “construction mice”!!
I thought it was destruction….
Hah!! You got that right! We just have to take authority !!
Well I sure love the animal pictures above. They bring joy and remind me of some of my favorite childhood stories such as Perri (a nature story about a squirrel) or one of my cartoon favorites about the chipmunks “Chip ‘n Dale”.
Yes, Debi, I love it as well. I love the beauty of nature. Watching squirrels and chipmunks out the window makes me realize how amazing God is. What a Wonder He is! The Wonder of it all, sings Bev Shea….
I guess we all have learned that with nature as well as life comes maintenance, education and work. What would life be without them all?
I agree Debi, the chipmuck was the wise one. The patients of the chipmunk paid off as he waited for his mana to fall from the sky getting more than enough food to eat.
But what about the squirrel………….doing all the work? From the picture above, it looks like the squirrel is willing to work hard and take risks to get his food, while the chipmunk sits back and lets the squirrel do all the work? Hum, a lesson in that too, isn’t it?
Good point, Needles.
I agree the squirrel is working hard, but is he working smart? Is the chipmunk taking advantage of the squirrel or is he just smarter?
I wonder if the squirrel will eventually go to the ground to feed and if he knows he has to work hard to knock the seed out of the feeder?
Maybe the chipmunk is smarter?? Some might say that he is just taking advantage of the squirrel? Maybe Mr. Chipmunk will leave some food for Mr. Squirrel, if the squirrel does decide to feed on the ground? Thanks for the thoughts, Debi.
Needles I think your original thoughts on the hard working squirrel seem correct. Whether he is up the pole working hard to get seed from the feeder or comes down to feed, he is still the worker.
Yes, we can all get wise lessons from God’s nature. In one Scripture, the Lord told us to look at the Lilies of the Field. How the Lord has dressed them beautifully in that they neither sow nor spin. Yet they are gloriously dressed. He cares much more for us than the grass of the meadows, so we need not fuss or fume about what we will have to wear or put on.
Then in another place in Proverbs, the Lord tells us to look at the ant.
“Go to the ant. Consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. ” And Proverbs also says, “Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise: the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer”
So as we go through Scriptures about nature and God’s earth we find these wonderful lessons taken from the animal kingdom that God has created.
The following hymn is one of my favorites and children in school have asked for us to sing it in class because they love it. And it is quite
apropos for FATHER’S Day coming up next week. Praise along with me and the students……
THIS IS MY FATHER’S WORLD
This my Father’s World and to my listening ears
All nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres
This is my Father’s world, I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees of skies and seas His hand the wonders wrought
THIS IS MY FATHER’S WORLD the birds their carols sing
The morning light the lily white declare their Master’s praise
This is my Father’s world, He shines in all that’s fair
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass
He speaks to me everywhere
(ending)
THIS IS MY FATHER’S WORLD
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King let the heavens ring
GOD reigns, let the earth be GLAD!!!!
Since we are talking about workers. So often work loads never seem fair. And, volunteers more often than not seem out of sync.
A friend of mine told me this week that she has been hurt/burned since her children were in elementary school. And, they are grown with children of their own now. She said, she gave hours upon hours of volunteering at their school, churches, etc. and felt others did not carry their load.
Of course this story carries lots of opinions. A volunteer gives and maybe needs to know when to say NO rather than develop burn out. Maybe they thought too highly of themselves. If one says NO maybe another will do. I could go on with the maybes but maybes won’t get it. Let’s be like the squirrel and chipmunk and always do our personal best and let others worry about themselves. What do you think?
I think you are right! Surprise!? A volunteer by definition :” Volunteering is the practice of people working on behalf of others or a particular cause without payment for their time and services.” (google ref.)
So those who can & have the time and skill to assist, aid, give a hand, whether approached for the cause, or not, do it of their own VOLITION which is their own conscious choice or decision to do, work, assist, etc. Some see a need and fill it. Some volunteers help organize, while others take orders. Some have specific skills while others are “go-fers”. But the joy is in the “doing” for others. That is the reward of volunteerism. The load you choose to carry is of your own decision. And as you said, Sara, if one gets OVERLOADED, then just say ‘no’ and allow another to come alongside and contribute to the success of the whole.
I have some marvelous volunteers helping me with the musical production which we will be performing this coming week. They are selfless, working not only for their own child but for the good of the child’s classmates and the school. I am thrilled with this kind of volunteering and the joy and fun with which these wonderful parents work their specific talents.
God bless those who volunteer, not counting the cost of time or money but the price of love, charity and good will.
The greatest VOLUNTEER of all was Jesus Christ. He gave of Himself freely, not for money, not for fame, but for love and the prize His Heavenly Father set before Him…that is ….a Kingdom of born-again, godly, blood-washed people to populate the mansions of heaven and to be with Him, forever.
Smarter or taking advantage of, Debi ask? Both seem the same to me.
Yes, Sara, I think you are right. When I looked up the word definitions they do seem the same/similar.
taking advantage of: to make good use of; capitalize
smart: resourceful; canny and shrewd in dealings with others
And, Debi, I think we can find scripture for this. Luke 16:18 NLT “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light.”
Needles and Debi, got me thinking about this? Looks like children of light need to get some wisdom and stop going around in circles. I am sure I will know what to do when Needles gets the footnotes going for this verse. 🙂
Sara, are you sure the verse is Luke 16:18? I read the footnotes for this verse and it didn’t sound like the footnotes for the verse you have here. Or is this the verse you wanted me to give the footnotes on?
Sorry, Needles, my mistake. Luke 16:8….not 18…