Feeling Crabby

One thing about having to be on the road a lot lately is that it gives us a chance to stop now and then and check out some road cuts for fossils. On Monday Mary Ann and Abigail and I were blessed to do a little fossil hunting, and then Mary Ann and I did some more in a different location yesterday. I thought you might enjoy seeing the treasures we found. God is so good, and the Bible so trustworthy. He told us how He created the world. He told us how He flooded it. And He put the evidence of it all around us to just find. Enjoy a slice of our life with us. God bless you.

It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. Proverbs 25:2

Crabs found after we split open an "innocent" looking rock.

Probably a sea urchin. Still in rock matrix.

Huntin' together.

Clam like shell still in rock matrix.

On a lighter note . . .

On a lighter note . . . if you've known or followed me any length of time you know that I am passionate about fossil hunting. I love to uncover evidence of Noah's flood and Genesis' trustworthiness, and to find things that no human eye has ever seen. I love doing it with my family because the only cost is getting to a place to look, and you have the thrill of the hunt and the exultation of discovering a treasure.

Well, being the hopeless romantic I am, for our anniversary last weekend Mary Ann and I did some poking around for fossils (no, that wasn't all we did, we had other great adventures, so no comments chewing me out).

Look what we found some 31-plus miles from the nearest coastline of the Pacific Ocean, and over 1,300 feet above sea level . . .

Follow the Clues . . .

Proverbs 25:2 — It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

The other day Mary Ann and I dropped our girls off at camp. On the way home we stopped at a roadside cut that we know has had some fossilized shells impressions in the past. I'd been really looking forward to it, as I haven't been fossil hunting in awhile. The spot is miles from the ocean, and in mountains high above it, and it is to me a wonderful place to collect evidence of the flood of Noah.

Arriving at the spot, we looked at where we usually find fossils and found some good, small ones. I then decided to look for some new veins of fossils in the bent shale layers. After some searching along the road I found a couple small impressions in the sluff pile below the large cliff. We started to scale the slide area, looking for clues to where the vein of fossils might be in the wall, and soon started to see some other impressions, still in the matrix of the wall. Out come the rock chisels and hammers . . . and soon we were rewarded with a beauty! I have include the rest of the series of pictures below so you can share in the fun of the hunt! (Clicking on each picture will give you an enlarged view of it where you can really see the fossils!)

In following those clues and finding the "treasure" I am reminded of the coming of Christ, by Whose death and our faith we are united back to God, with God Himself dwelling in us. This mystery of the ages, set in place from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) was a plan God had in place for the fullness of time, when Christ would come. But it was not a plan without clues, as the entire Old Testament points to this moment and foreshadows it. In fact, Christ is the best lens I have found to interpret the Old Testament through.

God has left His "clues" all around us. Evidence of His hand. Examples of His love and power. Testimonies of His love. It is but for us to step in and explore them. He invites us to "taste and see that He is good" (Psalm 34:8). The evidence for His existence, the evidence for the truth of Genesis (hence of the Bible), the evidence of His involvement in our lives . . . it surrounds us! In fact, regarding the evidence of His existence that is found in Creation alone—He says in Romans 1 that it is so evident that man is without excuse to deny Him!

I love God's "clues"! I love the nudges of the Holy Spirit, the glimpse of His hand, the breath of His leading. I love to follow the "clues" and take the trail and see where He leads. He is so good. May you enjoy the journey of following Him. I think He enjoys leaving us the clues, and having fun with us as well!

(Note: If you are on Facebook, and you enjoy being blessed through God's Creation, you might enjoy "liking" my daughters' and my page "Just a Closer Look" where we put macro parts of a picture from Creation that we've taken and people guess what it is. Even if you don't guess, it is a lot of fun and it encourages us to be still and know that He is God.)

Building "Memorials"

The Bible, especially the Old Testament, is strong on the theme of building memorials so as not to forget the mighty works of God. It repeatedly talks about teaching His works to our children, and it repeatedly displays the danger (and propensity) of turning from Him when generations pass that remember His works and new generations arise that don't.

I believe the flood of Noah is one of the greatest acts recorded in the Bible for us to never forget. I believe this for many reasons, a few of which are:
1. It is a reminder that God is holy and will not tolerate sin.
2. It is a foreshadowing of Christ, our ark of refuge.
3. It is the dominate geological vehicle by which we can explain topography around us and show there is no need to run from believing Genesis means what it clearly says in its young earth, six-day Creation account. (This is the primary area the Bible is being undermined in our culture, and from there natural doubt in the trustworthiness of the rest of the Bible often follows.)
4. Peter makes it clear in 2 Peter 3 that those who doubt the initial flood will be those who scoff at coming judgment (hence at a need for a Savior).
5. Jesus and other Bible authors refer to Genesis and the flood as literal and true and if they are wrong in that area we have basis to doubt them in other areas.

Along these lines our family is experiencing a growing passion for finding evidence for the flood, and we are stunned by how much is out there. Once we start looking and asking around we are seeing overwhelming evidence for catastrophic water movement, coverage, and force around the world. This is seen in planation surfaces that are not forming today but which display tremendous evidence of massive water presence and flow, folded sedimentary layers revealed in road cuts, and the billions of marine fossils found all over the world—from sea level to the tops of our highest mountains.

So . . . the other day, lest we forget the mighty works of God, we took advantage of our blessed privilege of homeschooling and taught the girls the basic of woodshop, tool uses and safety, etc., and then we built a shelf to display a few of the fossils and similar things we have that we have either found or purchased. I hope you enjoy the photographic display and share the day with us!

Blessings to all of you, and thanks for sharing in our life.   —Erick