Connection in God’s Garden
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
Polar Penguins
Many animals rely on their communities for survival. Geese fly in V-formations as they migrate. Coyotes, wolves, and other predators hunt in packs. Grazing animals live in herds for protection.
In Antarctica, Emperor Penguin dads huddle together through two months of freezing darkness out on the ice. While snow blows around them and wind chills reach can reach lows of -75°F, these penguins must rely on each other to survive.
Each penguin takes his turn on the outside of the group, the place where the winds are stronger and colder. When a penguin gets too cold to stay on the outside any longer, he shuffles toward the warmer center. There the body heat of the penguins around him thaws him out once again.
Check out this Pollinator Color Guide. Go on a scavenger hunt to learn what pollinators are attracted to the colors of flowers that you have in your yard.
Look for CONNECTION this week as a family. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Take a “Nature Walk,”
Take some time to connect to nature through your senses (What do you see, hear, smell, taste, or feel?)
Notice the connections between the sky, the water, and the land
Notice the connections between plants, insects, and animals
Reach out to someone you haven’t connected with in awhile. Call or send them a card letting them know that you are thinking about them.
Volunteer to help your neighbors in some way. Take a treat to your local firefighters or other community helpers. Pick up litter in your neighborhood. Invite someone over for dinner. The possibilities are endless!
Watch this video about honey bees. Notice how they work together with flowers and with the other bees in their colony.
Honey Bee Video
Longing For Spring by Elaine Heath & Scott Kisker
“That phrase from the Lord’s Prayer, ‘they will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ is kind of a vision statement for the new monks, who long to live in such a way that the earth gets a delicious taste of heaven because of the community.”
“[I]t is surely a fact of inexhaustible significance that what our Lord left behind Him was not a book, nor a creed, or a system of thought, nor a rule of life, but a visible community. He committed the entire work of salvation to that community.”
Bringing Heaven to Earth by Jonathan Storment & Josh Ross
“What if God’s burning passion for us isn’t to move people toward heaven, but to move us—His people—into the world as we take heaven with us?”
“[Y]our home is much more than a place of safety and rest. For a follower of Jesus, the home is also a place where mercy, love, and grace flow for the benefit of others. Kingdom-people exist to bring neighborhoods and communities to life.”
Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown
“Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and compassion.”
“Women and men with the strongest true belonging practices maintain their belief in inextricable connection by engaging in moments of joy and pain with strangers.”
“Not enough of us know how to sit in pain with others…I have started to believe that crying with strangers in person could save the world.”