A Day to Remember

Today was Memorial Day.  My daughter and I attended the local Memorial Day Parade with my mom, my aunt and a couple of friends.  It was great fun with high school bands, horses, motorcycles, old cars, fire trucks, crazy Shriner cars and lots of veterans.  People passed out small American Flags, candy, and flyers advertising local events.  

As I watched the parade, I thought about my Dad's father.  Papa served during WWII.  He so rarely spoke about it that I didn't even realize he was a veteran until I was almost 20 years old.  Like many servicemen, he viewed what he did as a duty and not as a path to receive glory.  

Luke 17:5-10 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”  So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’”

This passage is a little confusing to me because Jesus appears to be talking about two different things: faith as a mustard seed and a servant doing their duty.  We each have an assignment from The Lord.  In completing our assignment, we are as a servant doing our duty.  We have done nothing spectacular, but rather we completed a task that God himself gave us the ability to do.  Our reward is not in praise we might receive from others, but in the promise of eternal life - which comes through faith.

I think my Papa had it right when he looked on his military service as a duty, seeking no praise but having faith that all was as it should be.

Thank you to those who served in the U.S.Armed Forces!

The Flood - Revisited

As I look out my window at my rain-soaked yard, I thought it would be a good time to revisit my Noah's Ark question.  A biologist once told me that 'the story' was impossible because the ark could not have contained the waste produced by the animals for such a long period of time.  I just listened.  I didn't agree or disagree - mainly because I didn't know how to defend the account. After a little research using "A Pocket Guide to Noah's Ark" from Answers in Genesis, here is what I have discovered.

Genesis 6:15-16 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall bethree hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.  You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.

Noah's Ark did not look like the cute little nursery ark that comes to mind.  It was BIG.  The Ark described in Genesis 6 had the same proportions of a modern cargo ship built to withstand waves.  The Ark was almost 500 feet long.  In comparison with another famous wooden vessel, the Santa Maria was roughly 100 feet long.  ( This was the largest ship used by Christopher Columbus on his 1492 voyage to the Americas.)

Noah's Ark had three levels.  Nests and stalls for the animals were constructed (Gen. 6:14).  Each level could have been divided like shelves in a closet.  The Bible isn't specific about the placement of food, water, animals or Noah's family.  Perhaps water and food were stored on the top level where gravity could be used to help pipe it where it was needed.  

So after the animals eat, we eventually have to deal with animal waste.  Well, how do pet stores deal with waste?  In general, the cages (or nests) have slatted floors for waste to fall through to a holding area.  Hmmm.  That could be done for each stall.  Wouldn't it smell?  Of course.  But people and animals once lived in the same houses, so they would have been accustomed to the smell.

Would there just be too much waste?  Well, there was a window on the Ark that could have been used for dumping.  Alternatively, since people in Noah's time took care of animals regularly, it is reasonable that they had experience with composting.

There are lots more fascinating things to learn about Noah's Ark.  If you have any specific questions, send them my way and I'll try to find some answers.

A Gift for Mom

About 1:30 p.m. on Friday I called my Mom and said, "Hey, there's an estate sale with sewing stuff.  Do you want to go?"  "Yeah, I'll go with you," she said.  By 3 o'clock Mom, Dad and I arrived at the sale.  The guy in charge was the one who sold me the sewing machines last fall.  I smiled and asked him where to find the sewing stuff.  He told me which room and off I went.  The room was full of fabric and I was thrilled to say the least.

We packed my car to overflowing.  There was not enough room for it all, so a return trip was planned first thing Saturday morning.  When we finally left around 6 p.m., my poor dad had to ride back with a dress form in his lap.  (That's like the torso of a mannequin.)  Mom was in the front with an aching back and a sore foot after helping sort through the sewing room.

We left at 7 a.m. the next morning.  Dad drove the truck and I rode with Mom in the SUV.  We ate biscuits and talked all the way there.  When they opened the doors, we loaded the rest of the stuff into the truck.  Even my 7 year old was a big help.  It was 9:30 a.m. by then, so we were ready to make a pass through the house.  At 11:15, we were finally done and both vehicles were full.   After a great lunch at a fifties-type diner, we headed home, utterly exhausted.

After church on Sunday, I visited with my parents for a few hours.  Daddy brought in Zaxby's and Mama made us a cherry cream cheese pie.  I gave Mama a big hug and said, "Happy Mother's Day!"

Proverbs 31:28a  Her children rise up and call her blessed; 

My Mom is so cool and all I gave her was an exhausting weekend and no Mother's Day gift!

So let me rise up and say: "I have the World's Greatest Mom!"

I love you, Mama!  Thank you for spending your weekend with me!
²⁸

The Flood

It's raining.  It's been raining for days.  My grass is going to be a foot tall when it finally dries out.  I'm not sure if my lawnmower is capable of cutting grass that tall.  I planted a couple of Magnolias a few weeks ago and watered them each day to be sure they survived the hot GA summer.  They will probably rot now because of so much water.  I'm sounding a little pessimistic, so let's turn this around.  

Lake Lanier is full.  There is no drought, after how many years?  The grass and trees are green, not brown.  I don't have to water any new trees or flowers.  The pollen is washed away!  It's not really a flood.

'The Flood' is told in Genesis.  Everyone recalls Noah and Noah's Ark.  

Genesis 7:23-24  So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

Have you ever had anyone question that account?  I have.  A biologist once told me that 'the story' was impossible because the ark could not have contained the waste produced by the animals for such a long period of time.  I just listened.  I didn't agree or disagree - mainly because I didn't know how to defend the account.  At this very moment, I'm still unsure about how to respond.  But I'm going to change that.

Today, Dr. Ken Ham from "Answers in Genesis" was our guest speaker.  Originally from Australia, he came to the U.S. 1987.  He is an outstanding presenter who really makes you think about your own views of the Bible.  Here is part of his bio.

A biblical apologist, Ken gives numerous faith-building talks to tens of thousands of children and adults each year (he receives hundreds of invitations to speak annually) on such topics as the reliability of the Bible, how compromise over biblical authority has undermined society and even the church (which is seeing a massive exodus of young people), witnessing more effectively, dinosaurs, “races,” etc. Ken co-founded AiG in 1994 with the purpose of upholding the authority of the Bible from the very first verse.

If you have never heard him speak, I encourage you to visit Blackshear Place Baptist Church May 5th and May 6th at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. both nights for four different presentations.  Dr. Ham and another guest, a former atheist, will be speaking.  If you can't make it, check out the website at answersingenesis.org.

I'll give you a Flood response soon.