Creation

Anyone who has known me for a while, understands that I have a certain fondness for the outdoors.  By rite of fatherly and husbandly duty, much time is not spent in the forests and mountains these days, but every-day living in this area is like living in some vacation-destination spot anyway.  So, it is natural for me (pardon the pun) to philosophize about "natural" things - the way things are and the way they came to be.

I have always been a convinced Creationist - which is to say that I believe that God created the Earth and everything that exists apart from Himself in a span of 6 24 hour periods (which we know as days).  The Bible states this plainly and positively - actually excluding all other possible explanations.  The fossil record backs the Bible up.  The present materials all around us attest to it.  Yet, we are inundated with "scientific conclusions" that not only question Creation, but also directly and overtly conflict with it.

Science itself, which I consider to be the pursuit and proving of truth, does not actually conflict with the Bible.  It's just that many of the present conclusions presented to us in our text books, periodicals or other media today are not really scientific.  Much of what we see is beatiful 3D renderings, animations, paintings or what have you that are at most something of a guess.  At worst, many have been proven faulty or fraudulant, in some cases decades ago.  Lest you think me unfair, I will also propose that the Biblical origin is not truly scientific either.  No scientist observed it.  No one can repeat it.  No one can prove it the way you would in some experiment.  But the Bible is not wrong.  Everything around us points to the Creator simply by its very existence, let alone the complexity, beauty and function.

"Natural" or rather "Supernatural" evidence is all around us.  I have had more than one person tell me that they just couldn't believe that "God could just do all of this".  I have replied to them, "Congratulations, your faith is greater than mine, because I can't believe that all this could just make itself."  It must have started somwhere, somehow.  There is a watchmaker, a computer geek or an artist for every watch, electronic device or painting, yet we humans think that we just happened somehow?  Really?

You see, the issue of origins is not about the true facts for anyone.  Facts are all present for all of us to see.  The issue is instead entirely about the interpretation of the facts.  The facts are all around us. How you interpret them and where you place your faith is instead at issue.

By way of the Bible, I understand the purpose of God and the purpose of Creation.
...I understand how everything that has its being exists...
...I see that sin mutated and destroyed the whole of Creation...
...I see that the result of sin is death, judgement - the Flood...

I percieve things around me that corroberate the Biblical account of Creation and the Flood...
...I see how "kinds" of living things produce after their "kinds" - staying recognizable in form and purpose over countless generations...
...I see how a firmament (waters over the earth) might have made an ideal environment for every kind of creature extinct or not...
...I see how continents were literally broken up in a catyclismic, world-wide flood...
...I see how fossils by the millions, coal and crude petroleum, natural gasses and other deposits were formed...
...I understand how marine fossils are found in the highest of mountains...
...I understand how mountains and valleys took their shape.  (Use Google Earth or take a flight somewhere - it seems as though someone pulled a plug and the whole pond drained, leaving gouges where the sediment was scoured away in mind-blowing run-off.)

...Perhaps most of all, I see the tremendous effects of sin and death.

The effects of sin affect us daily. We hurt each other, lie to each other, on and on... ...eventually each of us dies.  According to the Bible, death is the result of sin. 

I often see this idea that "death is a natural part of life" on TV or whatever, and I am constantly reminded that, according to the Bible, God didn't intend for us to die. The original creation did not need death. Man and everything around him was orginally "perfect". Sin ruined it. Death was brought to limit sin.

Why is your belief about origins so important? 

Perhaps the biggest reason is the authority of the Bible.  You can take God at His word, as revealed to us in Scripture, or you can reject it.  Those who believe that they can discern away portions, trying to align the Bible to present day "science" (rather, interpretations of observable facts) will find themselves in a conundurum of conflicting and opposite faiths.  Bottom line, if God is not in complete control of finite Creation, then there is no reason to believe that He controls infinite eternity.  If He does not control eternity, then He cannot deal with sin, righteousness and judgment, and, in turn, men are not truly or fully accountable to Him.

However, in the biblical narrative, we are told that God is still in control of all of this.  Not only is there complete accountability, but there is also complete forgiveness.  He made a way to pay for sin Himself - something we could not pay for in a billion years of eternal suffering.  No matter how long we might suffer for our own sins, we cannot fix them.  No amount of self-indulgence, flagellation or penetance can sweep sin away.  But praise be to Jesus Christ, being fully God and fully man, He took on the sins of the world and offers redemption.  It took an eternal, infinite God in the form of a man to take on the sins of millions upon millions of men. 

The simple, brutal truth is that we want to avoid being accountable. We want to be our own boss, but avoiding the issue doesn't get rid of it - whether you are avoiding the issue of your own sin or that or origins of matter.  In order to ignore sin, some have taken this to levels of obsession, rather choosing to believe that advanced alien life seeded earth.  (Forgive, me this, but even if there is alien life, it had to come from somewhere, didn't it?) Pursue the truth in truth and it will lead you to the Truth, who is Christ Jesus.

It just takes some recognition from our part to our need for Him.  He can make you a new creature - all things becoming new.  He is the Creator, after all.  It just won't work any other way.

The Lil' Red Truck

The Lil' Red Truck has a long history in our family - quite possibly more history than I do, though a little clarification from Dad might help me there.

While its not the doll it was when I was a toddler, (and I do remember it back then - have the "thumb" to prove it - sorry Mom) it ain't a rust bucket either.  I gave up on it years ago.  Family and work, and all the other things that keep us busy have kept me from doing much.  My father in law found out about it and pitched in a little jump start to see if we can get the Lil' Red Truck to the parade in a few weeks.

No promises yet, but lots of progress.  Years of sitting are hard on machines that are meant to operate regularly.  Rubber dries out - hoses, belts and seals fail.  Gas left in the fuel system turns into a nasty, putrid stuff that burns more like deisel - worse yet, condensation builds inside the tank and rust accumulates. 

The gas tank had to be drained - the fuel had turned into a green, nasty substance that didn't smell much like gas any more.  I set it aside for fire starting - with mixed results at actually burning at all.  The tank is being cleaned and treated now to neutralize the rust and then to coat the tank.

As I work on this, I am constantly grattified to find that the old ways were simple and reliable. Bolts, not plastic retainers and clips that break fasten nearly everything - and have lots of access to get a wrench in there - usually.


The radiator checked out great - which was a huge relief.  I cannot find the coolant leak yet though - somewhere there is likely some dried-out old seal that has decided to let go - I hope not, but cannot find much so far.

Electrical on these old trucks was all cloth insulated.  Years have apparenlty taken the flex out of the wires and I am a little nervous to work around them, for fear of breaking a wire.  Worse yet, anywhere that there is a splice, it consists of a couple of twists and a bit of tape.  I used to try that with my headphones when the wires shorted out - with pretty poor results.  Some wires are just going to get replaced regardless, I haven't decided whether I want to tackle the whole harness yet.

Here is the gas tank - attached to the running board still.  Dad and K helped me get the last part of this project out from under the truck - definitely nice to have extra hands!

Real Motivation

It is increasingly apparent to me that no amount of internal or external cajoling is effective in true, personal change.  I have always believed this to one extent or another, but in an ever-increasing reality to me, the only real change that a person can hope for is found in their own personal, life-long discovery of the depths of God.

I am prompted to write this after hearing John MacArthur use the same ides as the basis of worship - the deeper the understanding of God the more intense the desire to worship and praise Him.  Worship, not merely being the sum of our musical talent on Sunday morning, is really the living of our daily lives with Him.

"With Him" is a term that I fear may be unappreciated - I mean to say that each day is taken frequently, and constantly to Him as in a conversation - un-ceasing prayer.  Constant awareness and consideration of His presence.

This, and not the persuasion of well-meaning do-gooders, ought to be the foundation of our lives.  One works from the outside in, which is impossible and terrible to live up to.  The other works from the inside out - which is real change based on the relationship with our Father in heaven.

When I remember this, I know that I truly can do all things through Christ; yet all to often, I forget and I do suffer...

G.K. Chesterton

"God is like the sun. You cannot look at it, but without it, you can see nothing else."

San Diego Spring... ...or was it winter?

We have just returned from a very special treat to see Crystal's grandparents who are working in the San Diego area.  It was a wonderful time spending time with family and friends, putting up with close quarters in airplanes and cars, stretching our legs across sandy beaches and scampering away from sneaker waves.  We found that fish tacos can be delicious.  We followed crowds of people through SeaWorld and delighted in the arial displays of trained porpoises... ...and I think we easily shot over a thousand photos.

Here are a few from our first day.  These are from Solana Beach, north of Del Mar and San Diego.  The cliffs shown here are not solid rock, except where workers have installed concrete walls that are carefully and artfully matched to the actual textures and colors of the natural cliffs, and there are warning signs that the cliffs are active... ...I guess that means they are eroding in less than milliions of years.

Seashells by the seashore were on the meager side...

The tide was receding while we were there, but the shallow slope of the sand meant there were lots of "sneaker waves" that had Gigi and Ava running fast...

There was a different hue in the light while we were there.  (No, not the radiation...)  It was very rich, but the marine layer added a lot of green/blue, while the ocean added lots of green.  Before and afters of these are very different, though Crystal will undoubtedly be able to draw more from them.

There is way too much - maybe I'll get to some of it later.  I have a lot of pics that I enjoyed taking and I am trying to learn the editing side too.

New Must Read Added

My boss, an elder brother in Christ has been a constant source of encouragement to me over many years.  He has been more than patient as I (we) struggle through lean times, persevere with new projects and improve old ones.   He has a big picture outlook, while my coworkers and I try to keep up with the details.  He has several huge successes under his belt that bring him broad recognition, but you might not know it to talk to him.  Still, things do affect him - though they are bigger things than I might ever face - and it is reassuring to work for people that are seeking to please the Lord and serve His purposes with their whole life.

I really don't know exactly what happened to me a year or so ago, but suffice it to say that my wife, my boss and one friend in particular have been instrumental while God worked things out with me.  Maybe someday I will have words, but right now, it still feels too close to see it clearly.  I guess I am still recovering...

The point of this post is a book that my boss mentioned a few weeks ago, called Red Sea Rules.  My boss shared the principles that he learned from it and then bought a few copies to hand out - one of which I got and read in one evening.

As I read, it ocurred to me that God had prepared me for this time - using the story of the Red Sea even before things got crazy.  I haven't gone back to look, but I know that I posted a bit about that back then.  The point is that God's purposes will not be thwarted - something we can take comfort knowing. 

I might be trying to get a few copies ordered soon, but for now, here is a link and I will be leaving another in the side of the blog as well... ...normally, I yawn a little with books, but this one is different if you have been anxious, worried and/or depressed, this is a great read! 

I hope that you will put this in your library at least if only for the occassion that it might later be an encouragement for you or your family, and then share it as well?

Envy

I hope to do a deeper study of this and have been thinking about this subject in particular regard to the "Have's" and the "Have-Nots".  Parts of my thinking about this have surfaced in recent posts, and I am still trying to reach a more "circumspect" conclusion, but this article hits one of the major things that I am processing personally...

http://www.breakpoint.org/features-columns/displaced/entry/35/16470

I am not endorsing everything in this, as I have just glanced through it for now... ...but it brings up some points that I have been thinking - except I am not, apparently, as excited about the Christian reactions that the author is observing. 

I think of things on personal levels - how does this affect my own life?  How should I adjust my thinking?  This does two things right off: 1) Keeps me from missing the logs in my own eye - or at least keeps me busy removing them; and 2) it helps me make prudent decisions before the situation hits full force in my personal finances.  (The latter assumes a national or international cause with an eventual personal effect - such as world food shortages for instance...)

Envy - hmmm... ...to be honest I might be guilty of that from time to time.   But for the most part, I happily defend those who are "blessed" with wealth and have no ill-will for them.  And there is a logical reason in addition to the Biblical that I hope to offer sometime, but for me it starts with Jesus' comment that the poor would always be with us. 

This seems like a hopeless, heartless observation coming from the Authority of the Universe.  I suspect though, that it isn't because he wants a certain percentage of people to be miserable and dejected.  Instead I think it is an indication of His knowlege of the human heart and His Omniscience or His Sovereignty.  (That is to say in short, His all-knowing nature and His predetermination of our lives...)

This is a different "poor" than the "poor in spirit" that is blessed in the Beattitudes, however.  The Sermon on the Mount is speaking of poor in spirit - a realization that we bring nothing to the table in and of ourselves.  It is, after all, the work of Christ that we are even able to believe.

This is instead the fincial sort of poor.  Poor, as in "I can't pay for stuff..." 

Funny though... ...we all kind of rise and fall a little bit with the tides of our own society, don't we?  I mean, the poor in our country are pretty wealthy by human standards against other coutnries, right?  Most of the poor among us have TV's, carpeted living rooms, one or two cars (maybe even a few that don't run out in the yard)... ...I could go on, but I look a lot like that too, and I suspect that most of us can relate to this version of "poor".  Yet, "poor" in Africa, Asia, Indonesia, etc is a different paradigm altogether.

We in the U.S. have developed a certain envy though, and it is making a collective divot in our culture.  You don't have to watch very much news to find protesters demanding this or that benefit, pundits who endorse or detest government spending, politicians who are in a full court press to buy votes, and a daily dose of news anchors reporting about the record deficits.  In spite of dramatic changes needed, we do not seem to have the backbone to make hard choices - in other words, we are not willing to sacrifice "luxuries" for even drastic necessity.

We (generally speaking) seem to be looking at the wealthy among us, justifying our needs against someone else's gains.  That, my friend, is envy.  It isn't enough to justify your thoughts by telling yourself that those rich people are really misearable wretches who stole their money from unsuspecting strangers.  The wealthy are not evil because they have money, nor are the poor saintly just because they don't. 

Most of us have been making decisions based upon our current desires, instead of looking prudently ahead, considering what the best use of God's money really might be. 

....and that, my dear friend is the real reason that the poor will always be with us.  It is a moral, spiritual as well as financial bankruptcy.  While some will be broke for their decisions to invest in the kingdom (missionaries, pastors, full-time ministers of the Gospel) most of us are broke for our decisions for much lesser motives, aren't we?  Making decisions for the present alone will eventually leave us high and dry (or sunken) as the tides of our economy ebb and flow.  Don't justify your lifestyle against those around you.  Manage your lifestyle as a steward of the Father's wealth. 

In the meantime, our Father is the owner of the cattle on a thousand hills.  It isn't mine to spend, save or invest; but where I do these things prudently, I also do it with the knowlege that He will prosper it however He sees fit.  That means that I give where He leads, I spend to take care of my family and I invest so that someday, I leave a heritage for my family - spritual and immediate.  It is His to give, His to lose, and His to bless.

Cold Photo Shoot (Take II)

Lance took me along on a shoot yesterday.  It was cold enough to make 20 degrees Fahrenheit feel really nice.  Lance is really good at finding color in an exposure - something that I could not, and knew it.  I would point and grunt, "Hey, you need to get this one..."

I did get a few that I liked.  I shot in RAW +jpg, to learn the differences between the two.  I am also learning about basic post-processing.  For a guy that learned to shoot with film, digital is both a gift and a curse. You can see the exposure immediately, and at least get close quickly.  At the press of a button, you can change the focal point, the shutter speed, the aperture and even the film speed. The flexibility and clarity is really amazing to me.

In comparison, shooting film was more like shooting with a blindfold on, and the expense of the film and its processing was highly prohibitive - at least for me.  You took your shot film for processing and then had to go pick it up a week or so later.  You try to plan on the lowest ISO that you could - say 100 on a good outdoor shoot.  If you were caught with low light conditions you could push or pull the film a bit, but you were at the mercy of the developer to mind that you had shot it as something else.  On a good day, I would shoot 4 or 5 rolls of film and get about 125 prints - most of which were throw-aways.  Now, I make up for that by shooting 3 to 5 shots if I am really trying to get one shot - something that other photographers kind of laugh at me.  But it only costs me memory.  I love it...

You would have to see these in before and after stages to really appreciate the results - at least I did...

Original .jpg - no edit (except re-sizing)

Clark Fork River 2/26/11 - edit from RAW

-edit from jpg

Though I tried to follow the same workflow on both of these, I obviously did not use the same levels.  I can say that the RAW image seemed to withstand more extremes before artifacts and noise began to be an issue. Still, both versions were pretty high quality and the editing had more effect on them than any other factor.

-edit with HDR

The third one is done with a trial version of Photomatix HDR Pro.  I am barely a beginner on editing, which is probably evident; but this photo has some fairly obvious differences in that the better aspects of higher and lower exposures can be quickly combined, which allows greater capacity for saturation and color levels changes.  Notice that the trees and mountains are lit more and have their own color in the HDR edit.  The only problem that I had with this photo was that the HDR version had the most noise and I had to mask and desaturate the snow to make it less obvious.  

I also want to point out that in the hands of more experience, such as in Lance's hands, the exposure can be taken with the edit in mind at the time of the shot. This greatly increases the photo's capabilities during the processing stages.

I learned that the slightest color on the grayest day is a huge bonus.  Shooting 99% of what we shot yesterday, but in film, would have been a huge waste of time and money.  Light has always been the biggest factor in photography, and that is the same in the digital side as well - but with the added benefits of your own edits light becomes an even greater potential ally.  

In summary, quality light and editing can produce huge variations on your shots.  RAW and jpg are both good in my opinion, but the RAW had the advantage of having seemingly less colorful noise.  I think I will continue shooting RAW for now.  I need all the help I can get.

Barns and Wealth...

I just heard a great conversation on the Dave Ramsey show and had to mention it...

Caller wondered is saving money, investing, becomes "storing into barns" vs. investing in the kingdom.  At what point does prudence become selfishness.

Dave's answer was pretty good, and worth listening to (at the end of the 2nd hour of 2/16/11 broadcast), and I can't say it right... ...so I will refrain from trying.

He did quote Larry Burkett in saying, "The difference between saving and hoarding is attitude."  He explained that it is a question of who owns the barns.  The Bible is repeatedly clear that saving and investing is prudent and expected. However, if you have "ownership" of these barns of stores in your heart, then it doesn't really matter what things you try to do with them thereafter, you will not find peace.  We are just the stewards - like in the parable of the talents.

The bottom line to me is that the amount of money that you are entrusted with is determined entirely by the Master; and He already knows both what He intends for you to do with wealth and what you will actually do with it.

He will not fail to finish His work in you, and while His many blessings are too abundant to recount, He does not over-indulge His kids to their detriment.  If it is bad for you, then He will not necessarily grant your requests... ...but He is faithful to provide, particularly comforting to those that are truly seeking His will.

The question is, "Are you being faithful with the Master's blessings, or will you, like me have to learn about it through experience and heartache?"  I don't know about you, but I can find plenty of room for improvement...

Surrounded...

I read today about one of the few righteous kings of Judah, Hezekiah.  2 Kings 18 starts off with a glowing report about his zeal for the Lord and that, unlike all his predecessors, he struck down even the high places where false gods were worshiped – even the few other good kings failed to that, leaving the high places, well, in place.  It is noteworthy that Hezekiah took pains so thoroughly.

Hezekiah also ceased paying tribute to Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, which provoked him to attack.  He tried to appease the king with gold and silver - much of it from the temple - but this was not to last.  Assyria's army shows up, its leaders telling Hezekiah's advisors that they had provoked the Lord's wrath and that they were sent to implement it.  The Assyrian king’s official then addressed the people, telling them not to listen to any reassurance of the Lord's protection Hezekiah might later offer.

To Hezekiah, things must have looked very dark.  What if the Assyrians really were delivering God's punishment as they had claimed?  The Assyrians had brutally defeated nation upon nation.  Certainly, he must have added up his defenses, agonizing over his options.  The Assyrian leaders had promised certain destruction, and in the next breath, had reasonably undermined Hezekiah's influence with the people.  The equation was simple: he could not defend his people, and he was a risk of losing the allegiance of the nation.

Things were about as dark as could be imagined, in every imaginable scenario.  But he entered the house of the Lord and sent out for the advice of Isaiah, a prophet of the Lord.

With the written Assyrian ultimatum in hand, Hezekiah “spread it out before the Lord”…

…and the Lord’s answer is beautiful and His deliverance is sudden.  That night 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were stricken by the angel of the Lord. Later, as predicted by Isaiah, the Assyrian king falls in treachery at the hands of Adramelech and Sharezer.

Later today, I listened to a sermon by Dr. Michael Youseff as he studied King David.  He contrasted King Saul, looking across the valley at a super-soldier named Goliath.  Saul was big, Goliath was bigger – much, much bigger.  Saul’s army was afraid.  Saul seems afraid too.  Enter: David, young shepherd who is first written off as naïve, then as proud.  You likely know what happened next…

David the shepherd had spent vast amounts of time in the fields – communing with the Creator.  He had experienced God’s deliverance firsthand in defending his flocks against a lion and a bear.  Goliath was nothing more…

The moral of the stories can be summed up in Hezekiah’s actions as he “spread it out before the Lord”.  Time with God to “spread it out” is the common thread in these stories.  So often, we (I) measure the situation in human terms and things can get pretty dark in a big hurry.  Spreading it out before the Lord, talking to Him about the situation is too often the last thing that occurs to us.  Whether you are in the thick of it like Hezekiah, or in the fields, prepare yourself for battle by calling in the ultimate in reinforcements.

Philippians 4: 6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

This concludes my sermon to myself – one that I will have to daily repeat, I am afraid.