my own happiness and well-being is bound up in the lives I touch.

Good morning friends, what a beautiful Sunday morning it is! The heat is already beginning to move in so the air conditioner is humming happily along in the house....it sure feels good but I am sure the bill will be a headache for us...LOL. I have the television turned on to a concert with Alan Jackson singing only gospel music...happy, happy, Sunday in our house! I love the song he dedicated to his momma and his daddy...I want to stroll over heaven with you! Wow what a powerful song...I indeed want to stroll over heaven with each of you one day!!!

In prayer this morning as I sat here looking at the sky I was amazed once again, as I am every morning, at the handiwork of God...I prayed that this day would be a happy one for all, that any angst, woe, sadness, anger, negative....will be overcome with love, joy, happiness and laughter and positive. I asked God to continue to bless those suffering illness and disease that they might feel no pain today, that they might have time to sit and reflect over healthy times, that their bodies be renewed and cleansed by the hand of God if it be his will. Father we love you so much and are so humbled to be a part of your world, thank you for always ensuring that we have what we need to survive. Father bless us all with your continued love, I ask this favor in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Growing Good Corn

Have you noticed how all of life is connected? You probably know about the relationship between honey ants (farm ants) and aphids. The ants can't seem to get enough of the tasty honey dew left behind by aphids, those tiny sap-sucking insects probably living in your garden. These two insects have a fascinating relationship. In exchange for all the sugary treats aphids deposit on leaves, the ants wage fierce battle against wasps, beetles and spiders that try to dine on aphids for lunch. As those aphids keep their ant friends happy, the ants keep their aphid buddies alive. Everyone wins, except the plants, of course. 

The ants do better because of the aphids. The aphids do better because of the ants. It's a relationship called mutualism, and the rest of us could probably take a lesson. People, too, succeed best when they help others out. 

James Bender, in his book How to Talk Well (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1994), illustrates how it benefits to everyone when we mutually help each other. He relates a story of a farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his best corn in the regional fair where it won a blue ribbon. 

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him to learn about how he grew blue-ribbon corn year after year. The reporter discovered something interesting. He learned that the farmer actually shared his best seed corn with his neighbors. 

"How can you afford to share your best seeds with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition against yours each year?" the reporter asked. 

"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn." 

It's a simple and important principle. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor's corn also improves. He cannot succeed simply by watching out for Number One. He succeeds best by helping his neighbors succeed. That's mutualism. 

And I am aware that it goes for me, too. Do I want to succeed? Then I must help others to succeed. 

Do I want to live in peace and harmony? Then I need to help my neighbors also live in peace, and the very peace they experience will add to my own. 

Do I want to live meaningfully and well? Then I should help to enrich the lives of others, for my own happiness and well-being is bound up in the lives I touch. 

In other words, if I want to grow good corn, I need to help my neighbors grow good corn. Call it mutualism. Call it a principle of success. Call it a law of life. I only know that none of us truly wins until we all win.