Tried With Fire

"Poets say science takes away from the beauty of the stars - mere globs of gas atoms. Nothing is 'mere.' I too can see the stars on a desert night, and feel them. But do I see less or more? The vastness of the heavens stretches my imagination - stuck on this carousel, my little eye can catch one-million-year-old light... Or see them [the stars] with the greater eye of Palomar , rushing all apart from some common starting point when they were perhaps all together. What is the pattern, or the meaning, or the why? It does not do harm to the mystery to know a little about it. For far more marvellous [sic] is the truth than any artists of the past imagined! Why do the poets of the present not speak of it?" ~ Richard Feynman I agree with the eminent Dr. Feynman that science does not detract from the beauty of nature. But I would add that knowing Who created it doesn't diminish the wonder of science. As David wrote in Psalm 19, "The heavens declare the glory of...

Messier 94 galaxy Now that my daughter is at university, I've been able to vicariously enjoy tidbits from her classes. In her astronomy class, her professor said there are four fundamental forces in physics - strong nuclear, weak nuclear, electromagnetic, and gravity. Which one do scientists know the least about? The answer is gravity. I found this very interesting because gravity is so common that we take it for granted. Yet this force is still a mystery to the best brains in physics. But for those who believe in a Creator God, we may not be scientific geniuses, but we can acknowledge gravity as His handiwork. So for this thankful Thursday, I am thankful for the privilege of knowing God as Redeemer and Creator. I am thankful that I can see and experience the work of His hands, and this leads me to worship Him.

The grand-design spiral galaxy Messier 74 It's my turn at Out of the Ordinary : The first chapter of Genesis is probably one of the most familiar passages in the Bible. It's read by many believers on January 1 to kick-off their Bible reading plans. These verses are also scrutinized when discussing the origin of the universe both inside and outside of Christendom. But after listening to a recent  sermon  on Genesis 1, I've looked at this chapter in a fresh way. My pastor stated that our response to this text should be to  look at our God as He is gloriously displayed . His words gave me reason to pause. I've focused so much on the details of what happened on which day and what it could possibly mean in terms of time, space, and science that I may have missed the forest for the trees. So I reread Genesis 1, and it brought me to worship… Read more here . And as a bonus, check out the Scale of the Universe and consider the greatness and awesome creativity of ou...

The temperatures are going to dip again next week, so I wanted to capture the daffodils while they were still in their prime. I was concerned they wouldn't survive the crazy yo-yo weather this winter, but they weathered the storms rather well and put on a quite show for the first day of spring. Enjoy!

Science and God by Scott Petty, Matthias Media, 2011, 108 pages. Science and God is one of six books written by Scott Petty for Matthias Media. Each book in this series addresses typical questions asked by the 14-20 age group. The author begins by addressing the false dichotomy between science and Christianity. He advocates a multiple-layered approach where science answers questions from observing the physical universe and Christianity answers metaphysical questions such as the existence of God and the purpose and meaning of life.  Petty cites examples of well-known modern scientists who profess Christ as well as ones throughout history to illustrate that science and Christianity are friends. He then goes on to cover the Big Bang theory with its evidence that points to a beginning of the universe, not unlike the creation account in Genesis 1. The book then  looks at the universe's fine tuning which also seems to indicate a Designer rather ...

This morning's fog highlighted these webs. Spiders are not welcome inside , but I do appreciate their amazing handiwork outside where it belongs.

I was mowing the yard today and found some surprises. (Click the pics for a better view.) Wild cyclamen growing in a rather neglected flower bed Moths on the blue mistflower

The Orion Nebula We took an impromptu field trip today to the Virginia Air and Space Center to see the Hubble 3D IMAX movie.  The film covered the 2009 space shuttle mission to perform necessary repairs to save the telescope.  However the best part of the film were the Hubble images of the universe. Star nursery One of the featured images was the Orion nebula.  Located near one of the 3 stars in Orion's belt, the nebula is literally a star nursery.  The estimated distance across the nebula is 90 trillion miles.  (90,000,000,000,000 - I don't think Blogger supports scientific notation.) That's an almost incomprehensible span to wrap your brain around.  As soon as we were back home, my daughter calculated the nebula's size in earth diameters (7,900 miles).  If you can imagine 11 billion 350 million earths, that's the distance across the nebula, which is only one of the amazing features of an even larger universe. In typical fashion, the movie end...

This is a wild butterfly garden, in every sense of the word. The purple flowers are swamp milkweed which is a favorite food of swallowtail butterflies. Amazingly this patch of beauty is behind a gas station and next to some trailer homes off the interstate.  We meet here as a drop-off point for visitation and were astounded by the sight.  Only a week before none of the flowers were in bloom.  The photograph doesn't capture the number of yellow swallowtails that were flitting here and there.  I don't think human hands planted this garden, which makes me marvel even more at the beauty of God's creation.

It's interesting to see what plants are growing in the garden. Sometimes it's hard to know if it is a weed, volunteer, or intentionally planted by the previous owner. There was a large-leafed vine that I could not identify. I waited to see if it would produce flowers or fruit, but it produced neither. It was beginning to creep over the fence into my neighbor's yard, so it was time to say good-bye to the mystery vine. I still don't know what it is, but at least it wasn't kudzu. Here are a few more surprises: Mystery plant #2. The flowers resemble tiny rosebuds, and the stems are slightly thorny.

If you could have two Biblical characters over for dinner who would you pick and why? Give 1st and 2nd choices, if you like. (Thanks to Chris Brauns for the idea.) 1st choice: Philemon and Onesimus.  Forgiveness is a big issue on my mind and heart recently.  We studied the book of Philemon in small group, and I am still meditating on it.  I would love to hear the details of how Onesimus was brought to repentance, how God providentially sent him to Paul, and what went on in his mind before he returned to Philemon.  I would also like to learn how God enabled Philemon to forgive and be reconciled to his brother.  Incidentally I highly recommend Pastor Brauns' book Unpacking Forgiveness . 2nd choice: Adam and Eve.  Questions about creation, when death entered this world, dinosaurs, whether Adam and Eve had umbilici, and what life was like before the fall could be resolved once for all! So, who would you choose?

This is Hibiscus syriacus better know as Rose of Sharon. The flowers are about 4 inches across, but close once the sun is high in the sky. There were two fat bees fighting over who would get the nectar as I was taking photos this morning. Each blossom opens for just one day as yesterday's bloom was tightly furled. I marvel at the beauty that God bestows on a flower for a single day. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. 1 Peter 1: 24-25 [A horticultural correction: This is not Hibiscus syriacus AKA Rose of Sharon but Hibiscus moscheutos AKA swamp-rose mallow or rose mallow. The rose of sharon shrub has flowers very similar to this, but they are smaller in diameter. This proves that you can't trust everything you find on the internet.]

I thought I would pass along some interesting facts about human physiology. The more I study, the more I am in awe at how God has formed us. Did you know... The kidneys are more than just the main site of our personal waste water treatment plant. When the red blood count is low, the kidneys secrete the hormone used to stimulate production of new red blood cells. 1.5 million red blood cells are produced and destroyed in the human body every second. A red blood cell does not have a nucleus and is unable to divide or repair itself. It only lasts about 120 days. At that point specialized cells break down the molecules. The amino acids are used by the body to build other cells. Iron is stripped and stored in the liver and spleen to build more red blood cells when the diet does not contain enough iron. Some of the remainder is converted to bilirubin which is an antioxidant, protecting cells from free radicals. It is not unusual for the clavicle (collar bone) to break during the birth process...

Today's sunset over the James River.

This is a Monarch caterpillar. It is eating climbing milkweed outside the schoolroom window. The larva is about 3 inches long and is gobbling the leaves at an amazing rate. The milkweed has taken over the flower bed which is bad for the hydrangeas but good for the butterflies which have been in abundance this summer. Milkweed is the favorite food of the Monarch caterpillars. When Monarch larvae ingest milkweed, they also ingest the plants' toxins, called cardiac glycosides. They store these compounds in their wings and exoskeletons, making the larvae and adults toxic to many potential predators. Vertebrate predators may avoid Monarchs because of their terrible taste. We're hoping the caterpillar will turn into a chrysalis. If it does, we'll bring it into our butterfly hatchery and observe its metamorphosis.

Guess what we did in school yesterday? There's nothing more fun than having your kitchen counter turned into a biology laboratory. I hope the few folks who stop by aren't too put off by this. At least I didn't post close-ups of the inward parts of our frog. It's actually quite interesting to see how wonderfully God designed His creation. This is number eight of nine specimens my daughter and her friend have dissected. Although the invertebrates were interesting, I think the students enjoyed this one the best, so far. This was the first one where they could clearly identify the various internal systems. To further confirm the fundamental difference between girls and boys, the girls were fascinated with identifying the various internal organs while being as careful as possible in the dissection. The younger brother who was present just wanted to take the frog's head off. It's sad when scientists study God's handiwork and completely miss the boat. But thank God...