Are You a Rock Hound?
Are you a Rockhound? Have you ever taken a walk along a creek and kept your eyes peeled for stones? Or have you ever parked on a gravel driveway and looked at the rocks as you walked to the house? Do you have a pile of rocks on your dresser or done laundry and found rocks from the pocket of your jeans in the bottom of the washing machine? If you answered yes, then you might be a rock hound.
What Exactly IS a Rock Hound?
Collins Dictionary gives this definition: Rock Hound – a person whose hobby is hunting for and collecting rocks, esp. semi-precious stones; a person who collects or who is interested in rocks and minerals (“Rockhound Definition and Meaning | Collins English Dictionary”).
Simply put, if you like rocks, and pick them up, you are a rock hound, just like my hubby in the picture above! He is standing in a rock bottom river in Tennessee looking for smooth flat rocks! Why? Because he loves me!
My Family is full of RockHounds
Some of my favorite memories of my childhood are my family “rocking” trips. My Momma would pack a picnic lunch, and buckets for holding our newly found treasures, and Daddy would drive us to a nearby gravel pit, where we would sit on mounds of gravel looking for that special rock. We were happy to sort through a million tons of gravel to find the perfect treasure.
We spent many days looking for rocks along creeks, rivers, and lakes, especially if there was a dried up rock bed where dams had been built. And last but certainly not least, were the plain old gravel roads, where some of our best finds were collected.
We learned early what garnets looked like in the raw, and agate, and even emeralds and our best times always involved a rock hunting adventure.
What do you do with your collected rocks?
Some people study rocks. They learn to classify and label each type of rock for display. Some just put them in a jar or a bucket and take them out occasionally to admire.
There are collectors like myself, that paint on rocks, (yep, I am that girl)! My favorite rocks are river stones that have been tumbled smooth from years and years and miles of tumbling. They are perfect for painting small scenes or designs. You can see some of my painted rocks here in my Etsy Shop.
And then there are those collectors that polish their rocks, my Dad is one of those collectors! Rocks can be polished in a little machine called a rock tumbler. A tumbler works by tumbling barrels filled with rocks, abrasive grit, and water. A tumbler runs for a long time, rolling the rocks until they become smooth and rounded. There are different sizes of abrasive grit and they are used in stages, with the finals stage being the finest grit. After some time, your tumbled treasures become smooth, shiny, and perfectly polished, often revealing surprising results. 
A Perfect Gift for My Favorite RockHound
Last year, we bought my retired dad, a new rock tumbler. We have owned smaller tumblers over the years, but it had been a long time since we had polished our rocks. Our whole family enjoys collecting rocks and this new rock tumbler has renewed our interest in our family hobby.
With so many of us interested in rocks, including myself, my kids, and grandkids, my dad has quite a major job polishing our collections. Every time he opens the tumbler we are all so amazed at the beauty of our “plain old rocks”. Many, if not most of our rocks are found on gravel roads or our gravel driveways and we are always delighted when he opens the tumbler and reveals the transformation of our treasures.
Rock Tumblers
You can find a rock tumbler just like the double barrel one we bought my dad here. 6 Lb Rotary Dual Drum Rock Tumbler Lapidary Polisher
You can buy rocks for polishing if you are unlucky enough to live in an area where there are absolutely no rocks. We have purchased rocks for polishing and they turned out beautiful.
God Created these Treasures
We are always so amazed at the beauty of our rocks, and how amazing it is that God created so many different types of rocks. God, in all His Glory, has created gazillions of rocks over millions of years, precious stones that always remind me of the immensity of God.
I love the story in the Bible about when Jesus was on the road to the Mount of Olives. His followers began to shout and sing praises to Him. They were praising God for all the miracles they had seen Jesus perform. Some Pharisees that were in the crowd said to Jesus, “Rebuke your followers for saying things like that!” Jesus replied to them, “…if they keep quiet the stones along the road would cry out!” (“Luke 19 NLT”) God’s creation will cry out Praises to God if we don’t! God gives us the voice to share the Good News. He gives us a spirit of thanksgiving and praise. We are created to praise Him and if we don’t the stones will!
Father God, you have created me. You have redeemed me and saved me. I praise you and thank you that you have provided a way for me, through Jesus. Forgive me when I fail You and Lord, let my praise never be so small that the rocks have to cry out in my place. Let my spirit be prompted to praise you every time I see a rock. Let it be a reminder of your Glory and your amazing Grace.
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