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

Fallen Giants and Big Stars - Good Reminders . . .

I have some green plastic washers in a jar in my garage that I collected somewhere, and today, with Mary Ann and Bethany and Abigail watching, I nailed two of them in to the outside wall of our house, one 9' 6" off the ground and the other 15' off the ground (about dead center in the second story of our house). Then, I set a golf ball on the ground below them. No, I haven't lost it.

Sometimes, when life gets hard, we need a reminder of how big our God is. Lately I have really needed that reminder, and I know I'm not the only one who does. So, these nails stand as a place we can come out to and reflect on. The nail at 9' 6" off the ground represents the height of Goliath when God delivered him to David, a simple shepherd boy with a giant-sized faith. The nail at 15' off the ground represents the diameter our sun would be if the earth were the size of a golf ball—and our sun is one of the smaller stars, all of which God breathes out and calls by name.

So, if things get rough, come stare at our wall and be reminded of how big our God is and how giants fall before Him. Then, when you are done, I'll show you the boulder I put in our field to remind us of the day the turkey died . . . but that's another story.

Picture: Bethany and Abigail hold golf balls below the reminder nails, with arrows added so you can see the nails (better yet, just come on over!).