I'm so glad you are here! Currently I am doing a series on some pretty amazing stuff God created, pointing to what it shows us about Him. I hope you like it! I'm kinda thinkin you will. ;)
Glow Worms I saw these beautiful glowing worms talked about on Planet Earth and was totally facinated. But after researching and asking the Lord how these guys reveal His glory, He showed me something pretty crazy about them. These guys live in caves in Australia. Basically they have glowing goo they let down to lure insects. So get this, they let out a light to deceive the prey they want to devour. Said another way, "When night falls, glow-worms lure insects into their fishing lines using their bioluminescent taillight. The blue-green light is produced by a chemical reaction between luciferin - a waste product produced by the glow-worm - and the enzyme luciferase, in the presence of oxygen and a form of energy known as ATP (adenosine triphosphate). When an insect is caught, the glow-worm reels its catch upwards using its mouthparts, and attaches it to the mucus tube to prevent escape." 1Does it strike anyone as weird that this worm that parades as light to lure and kill has a chemical reaction between luciferin a waste product and the enzyme luciferase?! If this isn't a warning in creation, I don't know what is! Satan, the great deceiver offers what seems like life and pleasure, just as this worm, but in the end it leads to death. Let us be wise and recognize glowing goo and not be lured in the by the attraction. Let's flee temptation by the strength of the Holy Spirit so we don't get trapped in a death machine. Death starts with just one glance. which starts the progression James describes in 1:13-15, "...each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." Death begins at conception of desire, in the thought life. And whatever you feed grows and death is never satisfied. I am helping to lead a summer project for college students right now and we just finished up doing soul to souls. Basically that is when a small group of girls share their life stories. The goal is vulnerability so many times girls share things they have never shared with anyone. Yet every time I hear girls stories I am struck by the similarities of struggles. No two story is the same, but there truly is no struggle or temptation that is something no one else struggles with (1 Cor.10:13). We are all in this battle together. The lure, the tailor fit scheme of the enemy is strong. The lie of just one bite, then I'll be satisfied is so easy to believe. But that bite is the beginning of death.
So what is your glowing goo?
Lies grow in the dark but the light brings healing. Are you willing to bring your goo into the light? Are you willing to share with a close friend how you are struggling? Growth comes when we get to see we are still loved and accepted after sharing the junk in our hearts, not to mention freedom comes from lies being exposed. Faith Filled Friday We exist to glorify God, to display His heart and character. And I just love how we are all uniquely built to do that. So every Friday I want to give you, uniquely designed by God , an opportunity to link up your thoughts on God, art, baking, photography, parenting, marriage, writing or blogging and more if they tie into or display the the Lord somehow. So go ahead and link up below by clicking the link below and following the prompts. I just humbly ask that you please let your readers know by including a link at the bottom of your post (or somewhere on your side bar) or put my button code (found on my side bar or the Faith Filled Friday Tab) so they can find these other great people glorifying God and we can continue to grow as a community. Thanks! In effort to encourage others in their writing by faith, please take a minute to comment on the two posts linked up before you. I'm linking up with Spiritual Sundays, Create with Joy, The Beauty in His Grip, Nebraska Graceful, The Wellspring, The Better Mom Who do you know that would enjoy this? Please share
I'm so glad you are here! Currently I am doing a series talking about some pretty amazing stuff God created and pointing to what it shows us about Him. I hope you like it! I'm kinda thinkin you will. ;) I also host a blog link up called Faith Filled Friday's. I would love for you to join us. Check out all the awesome blog posts linked up last Friday.  Today I have Laurie from Saved By Grace Bible Study as my guest. She has a background in nurology and I am excited for what she has to share about how the Lord has revealed Himself through His creation.
Hard-Wired for God Not only did God create us in His image (Genesis 1:26), He designed us to know Him!
God is a three-part Being: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we reflect that Trinity in our mind (soul), body, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). As amazing as it seems, the all-powerful, all-knowing, self-sufficient Creator designed us for His pleasure (Revelation 4:11), so that His children could have fellowship with Him (Acts 17: 24-28).
About a decade ago, evidence from the field of neuroscience began to reflect these Biblical truths, showing that brain function changes and intensifies during spiritual experiences. It is as if God hard-wired us to communicate with Him! The research used a specialized type of brain scan known as SPECT (single photon emission computerized tomography), in which injection of a radioactive tracer into a vein allows it to travel to brain cells, showing areas of increased and decreased neuronal activity and blood flow within the brain during a specific experience. The photo above shows a “slice” from front to back through the brain using a similar technology, with red indicating areas of most intense activity and blue indicating areas of reduced activity.
Dr. Andrew Newberg and colleagues (1) analyzed SPECT images of Franciscan nuns at the peak moment of their spiritual experience as they entered into deep meditation and prayer, which they later described as “a tangible sense of the closeness of God and a mingling with Him.” Dr. Newberg, who is considered a pioneer in this field of neurotheology, noted the similarities of their description to that of 13th-century Franciscan nun Angela of Folino: “How great is the mercy of the One Who realized this union…I possessed God so fully that I was no longer in my previous customary state but was led to find a peace in which I was united with God and was content with everything.”
To me, these descriptions echo Isaiah 26:3: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
So what did the SPECT scans show at this moment of perfect peace through communion with God? There was an intense burst of activity in the attention association area (prefrontal cortex), the area of the brain associated with attention and concentration, near the front of the brain beneath the forehead. At the same time, activity fell sharply in the orientation association area (posterior superior parietal lobe), the area associated with awareness of time and orientation of the body in space, located in the top rear portion of the brain. One of the main functions of the parietal lobe is to draw the boundary between the physical body and the surrounding external world. The SPECT scan data therefore suggest to me that the mind is highly focused and concentrated on God, while the sense of self practically disappears.
At the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit indwells every believer, making us His temple and dwelling place (Acts 17: 24). If we seek Him with all our heart and soul through meditating on His Word and through prayer, we will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29), “for in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17: 28). How awesome that He designed our brain with the circuitry to experience being “in Christ” and complete in Him! (Colossians 2: 6-9).
What a privilege to have Laurie share how she has seen the Lord reveal Himself through her expertise!
Deep Sea Creatures Have you ever thought about how many creatures there are that you have never seen? Well remember when scientists thought they knew how many stars there, thinking it wasn't that many. It's pretty much the same thing with sea creatures. At first they thought there were about 20,000 sea creatures and then 230,000 but check this out.
"What variety there is in your works, ADONAI! How many [of them there are]! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creations. Look at the sea, so great, so wide! It teems with countless creatures, living beings, both large and small." Psalm 104:24-25
Did you catch that!? The sea has countless creatures. Countless! Crazy. Think about that, each one of these guys is fashioned, designed and put together by a very artful Creator.
You've got to see some of these crazy things. Ones I'm pretty sure most of you've never seen before. But, the music on the top video is just a little too crazy to watch. So here's the deal. Play and mute the BBC Planet Earth video directly below and then push play the Gungor video under the BBC one at the same time. You're gonna love it. :) The Lord's creativity is simply amazing! Unending. He could create new sea creatures for all eternity and would never run out of animals to make. His ideas, His beautifully creative ideas never come to an end. I love that about Him!
Ok. And since I said I would tell you about these guys, (though I wish I didn't) here are some sea pigs. Yuck!! All I can think about when I see these guys is when Jesus cast the demons out of the guy and sent them into the pigs and then the pigs ran into the sea. They totally give me the hebegebies! These hang out together in the deepest abyss 3.7 miles under the oceans surface (the deepest part of the Grand Canyon is only 1.1 miles down, so these guys are way down there.), in large numbers, eating mud. That's pretty much all that's known about them. But just because I really don't like these guys and just don't want to end with them. Here are some almost cute ones. Well at least little guys that make me smile.
I'm so glad you are here! Currently I am doing a series talking about some pretty amazing stuff God created and pointing to what it shows us about Him. I hope you like it! I'm kinda thinkin you will. ;) I also host a blog link up called Faith Filled Friday's. I would love for you to join us. Check out all the awesome blog posts linked up last Friday.  I am so excited to have my sweet friend Angi as my guest today. She loves Jesus a lot and has this ability unmatched by anyone I have yet met to learn. She is a sponge. She is on staff with us here in Denver so she spends her time preparing students to reach and influence the world for Christ. She blogs over at StuffAngiDoes.com
Rejection Hi! I’m Angi from StuffAngiDoes.com I do a lot of stuff. Mostly I get to hang out with Laura as we hang out with college students. I run on grace and good coffee. You might have seen this post where Laura tried to set me up on random internet blind dates :) But really, I feel so honored to be here. I just love Laura a ton and she is one of my favoritest people in the whole world. Her heart for the Lord inspires me to know Him more (as I’m sure is true with many of you!) So when Laura asked if I wanted to post about Creation declaring the Glory of God I was excited but also had zero idea what I was going to write about. I am the least nature-y person alive. But the more I processed the things God was already teaching me, the more I saw how he created our bodies to display his glory. And I saw all this through learning about dating. Sometimes in dating, and in life, we’re rejected. Nothing is always a “yes” And when you put your {heart on the line} it’s scary and the fear of rejection is real But do you know the medical definition of rejection? “an immune response in which foreign tissue (as of a skin graft or transplanted organ) is attacked by immune system components (as antibodies, T cells, and macrophages) of the recipient organism” Basically, your body rejects something that could harm it. Like for example if you have type A blood and you’re given type B blood your body will reject it. Or if you get a splinter, your body doesn’t just absorb it, it fights it off and rejects it because the splinter doesn’t belong in your body. Or when you sneeze because you have dust in your nose- that’s rejection too. If our bodies didn’t reject the things that hurt us, we would die nearly instantly. Rejection is God’s grace on bodies. When you feel rejected, take heart. It is grace. Remember, Jesus knows the pain of rejection. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses...Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and grace in our time of need” Hebrews 4:15-16 When you feel rejected, delight in the Lord’s grace. Thank Him that He loves you enough to protect you from the things that aren’t right for you. Go to him, because he understands. And receive mercy, grace and love in your time of need. Isn't this series so fun! I'm linked up with the beautiful ladies at A Holy Experience, Nebraska Graceful, The Wellspring, The Better Mom, Homestead Revival, Pause on the Path, Create with Joy,Carissa Graham, Finding Heaven, Women Living Well, Good Morning Girls, Deep Roots at Home Mind Sharing?
I'm so glad you are here! Currently I am doing a series talking about some pretty amazing stuff God created and pointing to what it shows us about Him. I hope you like it! I'm kinda thinkin you will. ;) I also host a blog link up called Faith Filled Friday's. I would love for you to join us. Check out all the awesome blog posts linked up last Friday.So let's get talkin about how awesome God is. Meet the Thorny Lizard So I really am not a reptile fan. One time Austin was watching his sisters 5 foot phython and the day before he moved out of his apartment, it got out of its cage and he couldn't find it. He had to leave town the next day and a girl moved in. To my knowledge they never found the thing. That girl had guts. I am pretty confident I would NEVER move into an apartment with a loose phyton slithering around. Reptiles are just gross. But this guy... he's a wow.
Want to know why? This guy drinks drops of dew from the condensation on his skin through channels between the spines going toward the corners of his mouth. So basically this guy catches water between his thorns and drinks it off his back with built in straws. That is amazing isn't it! How smart is God!
And that's not all. This guy squirts blood from it's eyes! He can squirt a predator up to 10 feet away.
Ok seriously, would you ever believe me if I told you there was a lizard that drank off his back from built in straws and shot blood from its eyes? Just in case you just need to see it for yourself, here's a video. If you are super fascinated by this guy, give it a watch. But if you're already grossed out or faint around blood, you might want to pass. ;)
Ok, so the point. How in the world does this thorny lizard give us a glimpse into what God is like? How does he display the glory of God? The Lord tells us that we overcome the enemy, the great deceiver, through the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony; not loving life so much as to shrink from death. ( Rev.12:11) Just as this little guy overcame the wolf by squirting blood, we also can have confidence that though we are small, we have been given what is needed to be more than conquerers, being covered by the blood of the King of all creation. We are defined by His blood and His blood is enough. And the water droplets? Well, scripture compares water to the Holy Spirit many times. Like John 7:38, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." So through the thorny lizard we see not only a picture of the power of Christ but also the sustaining ability of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who teaches, comforts and enables us, the One who dwells in us and is able to produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control through us. Just as the thorny lizard always has enough, so do we. Through Christ, we have been made more than a conquerors, and He is able to make all grace abound to us, so that in all things at all times, having all that we need, we will abound in every good work through the strength of the Holy Spirit. (2 Cor. 9:8) Oh Lord, where are we not believing this in our life? It is so easy to have head knowledge and just not really get it. Show us where we are trying to be something apart from You, where we are trying to earn grace. Lord, show us where we are gripping something other than You, unwilling to yield to Your work in our life. Oh Lord thank You for the thorny lizard and the reminder that You do give us all we need when we need it, that You are enough. Lord, what other things are we looking to to find our enough? Help us trust You Lord. Counting 1,000 gifts #468 An afternoon to my self with smoothie, coffee and gift card to kohls. Wow! #469 The example of my pastor of doing a hard thing and leaving to use his gifts and maximize what he's been given for the kingdom. #470 Cute hair bows #471 Eden wearing her cute little cowboy boots #472 Things working out for the boys to meet their birth mom and sister this summer #473 Heath challenge with master plan ladies I'm linked up with the beautiful ladies at A Holy Experience, The Beauty in His Grip, Nebraska Graceful, The Wellspring, The Better Mom, Homestead Revival, Pause on the Path, Create with Joy,Carissa Graham, Finding Heaven, Women Living Well, Good Morning Girls, Deep Roots at Home Mind Sharing?
I'm so glad you are here! Currently I am doing a series talking about some pretty amazing stuff God created and pointing to what it shows us about Him. I hope you like it! I'm kinda thinkin you will. ;)
Meet the Star-Nosed Mole Isn't he kinda cute. He digs tunels and eats insects and worms. He is almost blind but his nose makes up for it. Each little appendege moves individually and is 6 times more sensitive than the human hand, the most sensitive organ in the entire animal kingdom. This little guy is a super fast. He can sniff out and decide if something is food in 25 milliseconds (ms, or thousandths of a second) even underwater! "By comparison, it takes us humans approximately 600ms to press the brake pedal in response to something that steps out in front of our car. The star-nosed mole can touch 13 separate areas of the ground every second, and can locate and consume 8 separate prey items in under 2 seconds. " 1 You gotta see how cute this guy is. Well, except the worm part. But hey it's only 5 seconds. ;)So what does this crazy creature reveal about God's character? That He could have made our receptors quicker, our smell greater and given us the ability to do a lot of thing a whole lot faster. He is capable of building a brain that does things very very quickly. Can you imagine eating in less than 5 seconds? He could have given us the ability to do laundry and cleaning up after dinner or a host of other things we don't really like to do in under 5 seconds.
But He chose not too. The Lord intentionally created us with the speed we have of eating, cleaning and talking. The star-nosed mole shows us that pace is important to God. So why so slow? To remind us that life is not about just getting things done, it's enjoying Him through it. Remember Mary and Martha?
So why not slow down today and enjoy the Lord as you live? God built you to. Have you seen the rest of the series?Sound; From Stars to SnowflakesBlueberries from Blossoms Solar EclipseTelomerase & the Carrier ProteinThere is still so much more to look forward to in this series, glowing goo worms, sea pigs and a lizard that drinks through the built in straws on it's back. I honestly believe you are going to be in awe of God as a result of seeing His creation (because I am as I have put this together). So if you haven't yet, subscribe so you don't miss any. (And you'll get a link to a free copy of the Life Purpose Plan; discovering how your uniqueness, current reality and the mission fit together for the glory of God. Faith Filled Friday We exist to glorify God, to display His heart and character. And I just love how we are all uniquely built to do that. So every Friday I want to give you, uniquely designed by God , an opportunity to link up your thoughts on God, art, baking, photography, parenting, marriage, writing or blogging and more if they tie into or display the the Lord somehow. So go ahead and link up below by clicking the link below and following the prompts. I just humbly ask that you please let your readers know by including a link at the bottom of your post (or somewhere on your side bar) or put my button code (found on my side bar or the Faith Filled Friday Tab) so they can find these other great people glorifying God and we can continue to grow as a community. Thanks! In effort to encourage others in their writing by faith, please take a minute to comment on the two posts linked up before you. I'm linking up with Spiritual Sundays, Create with Joy, The Beauty in His Grip, Nebraska Graceful, The Wellspring, The Better Mom
 Today I am honored to write a joint post with Luwam Teame, a girl I disciple. Luwam is from Eritrea and gave her life to Christ a couple years ago. Since then God has done incredible things in her heart and life. She is studying to become a medical missionary and has a mind tuned in to seeing how God is revealing Himself through His creation. I just love her and am so often amazed by her creativity. I know you're gonna love her too.
Carrier Protein There are between 50-75 trillion cells in our human body. And just one simple cell needs 100,000 Nucleotides and 10,000 Amino acids in order to even exist. The probability of the formation of those Nucleotides and Amino acids has been calculated to be 1 in 10^40,000. God is able to breath massive stars and yet also breaths 75 tillion cells each with 100,000 nucleotides into being. Let me introduce you to one of these little guys. Do you know about the carrier protein? A carrier protein is embedded in a cell’s membrane to help move it across things like glucose. The picture above is a picture of what the carrier protein does. It carries substances from one side of a membrane to another. It changes shape in order to do for the substance what it can not do itself. What a picture of Jesus! Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) Jesus is our Carrier Protein! Just as there is no other way through the membrane but by the carrier, there is no other way to heaven but through trusting in Christs perfection and work on the cross. Isn't that amazing! God wrote the gospel into even the tiniest part of us! And check out this thing, it explains Eccl. 3:11 "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Telomerase
This is a gene in the body that activates an enzyme, telomerase, that repairs the telomeres of chromosomes and stops aging. But the activator is broken, it doesn't work and that is why we age. That is why death happens. I believe before Adam and Eve ate the apple, this activator worked, but now there's death. Even though technology and science has made leaps and bounds to prolong life, we haven’t been able to activate this gene.
We were built for eternity!! That’s why our hearts desire it so badly! That’s why as soon as we enter heaven, we will be given new bodies that are eternal. (John 10:28 and 1 Corinthians 15:40)
Isn't she awesome!! I love how her brain thinks and the connections she makes seeing God revealing Himself in science. Check out the rest of the series:Sound; From Stars to SnowflakesBlueberries from Blossoms Star-Breathing GodSolar EclipseThere is still so much more to look forward to in this series, glowing goo worms, sea pigs and a lizard that drinks through the built in straws on it's back, the star-nosed mole. I honestly believe you are going to be in awe of God as a result of seeing His creation (because I am as I have put this together). So if you haven't yet, subscribe so you don't miss any. (And you'll get a link to a free copy of the Life Purpose Plan; discovering how your uniqueness, current reality and the mission fit together for the glory of God.
I'm so glad you are here! Currently I am doing a series talking about some pretty amazing stuff God created and pointing to what it shows us about Him. I hope you like it! I'm kinda thinkin you will. ;) I also host a blog link up called Faith Filled Friday's. I would love for you to join us. Check out all the awesome blog posts linked up last Friday.So let's get talkin about how awesome God is. In a solar eclipse, the moon blocks the sun from the earth. But in order for solar eclipses to be solar eclipses, the sun has to be 400 times bigger than the moon and exactly 400 times further away. (Or a different # with that exact ratio) There is something pretty amazing about solar eclipses. It allows astronomers to measure atmosphere and allows for discovery of the chromosphere. If the moon were a sliver smaller it would allow too much light and therefore scientist couldn’t see the light spectrum, and if it was bigger it would block part of it. So this perfect proportion allows for astronomers to understand how the stars work and also for scientists to learn about light. Ok, how crazy, that this event in creation, where the radiance of the sun is blocked just enough for us to get a glimpse of light. Wow! This shouts Exodus 34 to me. Moses is calling out, Lord show me your glory, let me see You, let me know You. Let me see your extra-spectacularness, let me see the S on your chest. And guess what God does? He answers Moses request, but has to block His radiance in order for Moses to be able to see and understand His incredibleness. He gives Moses a glimpse of His patience, grace and justice. The Lord allowed for His creation to a glimpse of Him. Solar eclipses show us that God makes a way for us to know Him. He brings together all the right circumstances for us to be able to get a glimpse of what He is really like, just as the sun’s radiance is blocked making way for us to understand light. God wants to be known. Clearly evident when He came to earth as a man to be the image of the invisible. (Col. 1:15) He made a way for us to understand what He is like by coming in the flesh. And His pursuit of making Himself available for us to know didn't stop there. He wrathed Himself to make a way for us to be forgiven and stand blameless before Him, what it takes to know Him. He makes Himself available to you. Amazing! The Creator, the Star-Breathing God humbles Himself to His creation. Because the sky darkened and the Light of the world wasn't permitted to shine for 3 days, forgiveness for offending the Living God is possible. Have you put your trust in Him? Here's a good question to help you know if you really are trusting in Jesus or if you're trusting in your own religiousness. "If you died tonight and God said, 'Why should I let you into heaven?' What would you say?" If your answer is anything about you, about how you're a good person or aren't that bad, then you are trusting in yourself to make you right with God. An impossible thing. While a the offer of forgiveness from the God who wrathed Himself in order to forgive you sits on the table. Why not put your trust in Him instead of yourself? Ok and get this, the very best place to view solar eclipse is from the earth, not anywhere else in our solar system. So the one place that has observers, is the one place that has the best eclipses. “The same narrow circumstances that allow us to exist also provide us with the best overall setting for making scientific discoveries.” The Privileged Planet God created a place for us to be able to discover. He knows the satisfaction it would bring for us to learn and discover and be in awe of His creation. So not only does God want to be known, He created this universe in the most pleasurable way for us, in a way for us to find deep satisfaction in discovery and delight in Him as the Creator. Check out the rest of the series:Sound; From Stars to SnowflakesBlueberries from Blossoms Star-Breathing GodThere is still so much more to look forward to in this series, glowing goo worms, sea pigs and a lizard that drinks through the built in straws on it's back. I honestly believe you are going to be in awe of God as a result of seeing His creation (because I am as I have put this together). So if you haven't yet, subscribe so you don't miss any. (And you'll get a link to a free copy of the Life Purpose Plan; discovering how your uniqueness, current reality and the mission fit together for the glory of God.
I'm so glad you are here! I hope during your visit you get a glimpse of God's heart for we become what we are gazing at. Currently I am doing a series talking about some pretty amazing stuff God created and pointing to what it shows us about Him. I hope you like it! I'm kinda thinkin you will. ;) I also host a blog link up called Faith Filled Friday's. I would love for you to join us. Check out all the awesome blog posts linked up last Friday.So let's get talkin about how awesome God is. "By the word the Lord the heavens were made, their starry hosts by the breath of His mouth." (Psalm 33:6) We worship a God who is massive. Who is powerful beyond our comprehension, a star-breathing God. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and he said, let there be light. And light came out of the mouth of God at 186,000 miles per second! He spoke and the 10,000 degree, 1 millions times the size of earth sun came into being. The Lord spoke and it was so intense that we don’t want to get any closer than 93 millions miles away. Louie Giglio (who I mentioned in Sound; From Stars to Snowflakes, one of my favorite teachers) made great comparison, (check out the How Great is Our God Tour) If the earth were a golf ball, the sun would be 15 feet in diameter. That is so big you could put 960,000 earths inside the sun, enough golf balls to fill an entire school bus. And yet, the sun is just one of hundreds of billions of stars. Check out this star, Betelgeuse. Do you know about it? I didn't. Well, it's 427 light years away. That is 427 X 186,000 miles away. That's far. It is twice the size of the earth’s orbit around the sun. That is huge!! Just try to picture that. If the earth were a golf ball, Betelgeuse would be the height of 6 empire state buildings on top of each other. Try to picture that a second. Check out the empire state building below and stack 5 more on top of and draw an invisible circle around you 6 buildings. Then set your golf ball beside it. That is how big Betegeuse is in comparison to the earth. You could fit 262 trillion earths inside it, enough golf balls to fill the super dome…. 3,000 times.
Is your mind blown yet? Well, guess what there are stars bigger than Betegeuse. Meet Mucephei It is 3,000 lightyears away. You'd have to hop in a plane and go 186,000 miles a second for 17.64 quadrillion years to get to Mucephi. If the earth were a golf ball, Mucephi would be the width of 2 golden gate bridges end to end! Whoa! So picture 2 golden gate bridges next to each other, draw an imaginary circle and set you golf ball down next to it. That is how big Mucephi is in comparison to the earth.
That is what comes out of the mouth of God. 2.7 quadrillion earths inside of it. Quadrillion is a big number. So big that all I think is "big" but really have no concept of it. So, this will help. A million seconds ago is12 days ago. A billion seconds ago is May 1975. A trillion seconds ago is 29,700 BC. A quadrillion seconds ago 30,800,000 years ago. Wow!
And yet 2.7 quadrillion earths could fit inside this star that came out of the mouth of God. And you'd have to travel at the speed of light for 17.64 quadrillion years to get there. Are you in awe yet?
Guess what. Mucifi isn’t even the biggest star. Meet Canis Majoris
If the earth were a golf ball, Canis Majoris would be the height of mt Everest, almost 6 miles above sea level, the highest place on earth. You could fit 7 quadrillion earths inside of it. That is enough to cover entire state of Texas 22 inches deep.
Here it is in comparison to the other stars. Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” but then it goes on, “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. " Well yeah! Of couse! What other response could there be!?
He’s enormous, bigger and more capable of anything we can even dream of and He left His imprint all over creation to make sure we knew He is God. Every problem in life stems out of a not thinking too little of ourselves, but thinking to little of God.
Our God is massive. Truly nothing is impossible for Him. So that hard thing in life right now, that hard circumstance or hard relationship, where it seems like God is not able to intervene, He is able. But this God who we can't even see as far as the things He created, let alone build them ourselves, this star-breathing God, knows what is best and is doing what is best. He is not unaware. He is not powerless.
He is concerned with every detail concerning us. Did you know that in order to even be able to exist on this planet, on our little golf ball, there has to be at least 20 things true about the universe for us to be alive on this planet.
Yup. Here they are: - We need to have a large moon-¼ the size of earth so the gravitational pull stabilizes the angle of our axes, keeping our seasons straight.
- Have just the right thickness of the earth’s crust. Which it is. 4-30 miles thick to regulate the earth’s interior temperature.
- We have to be in the exact right place from the sun, the galactic habitable zone. If you’re too close to the sun, or the main star, it is too hot and our oceans would boil, if we were further away it would be too cold and our oceans would freeze. The habitable zone is relatively narrow. If we were 5% closer to sun, it would cause temperatures of 900%.
- Movement of liquid iron generates magnetic field.
- Type of Star we rotate around has to be a G2 main sequence dwarf star. If it were smaller, the habitable zone smaller and we would have to be closer which would knock our rotation into synchronization with the sun and only ½ of the earth would get sun.
- The atmosphere has to have the perfect ratio of nitrogen and oxygen. 78% nitrogen, 21%oxygen, 1%carbon dioxide which ensures protection from sun.
- Have to have liquid water
- Be protected by gas giant planets
- Have a nearly circular orbit
- Correct mass
- Magnetic field
- Plate tectonics
- Correct ratio of liquid water and continents
- Moderate rate of rotation.
And the probability of all these things coming together in one location at the same time is 1 one thousandth of one one trillionth. This massive, star breathing God is concerned with the tiniest of details that we arn't even aware exist. Surely He is concerned with you. Does that boggle your mind? It should. “Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone-- while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?” Job 38:1-7 God is not a God who needs to be ordered around or told what to do. He is not a God who is unknowing or negligent. He is not a God who is careless or selfish. He is perfect. Perfect in everything He does and He has His hands all over you and your life. Creating, building, restoring, redeeming, reviving, refining. If you have put your faith in Jesus' perfection instead of your own, "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Phil.1:6 I hope you're liking the series so far. Here's the rest of the series:Sound; From Stars to SnowflakesBlueberries from Blossoms There is still so much more to look forward to in this series, glowing goo worms, sea pigs and a lizard that drinks through the built in straws on it's back. I honestly believe you are going to be in awe of God as a result of seeing His creation (because I am as I have put this together). So if you haven't yet, subscribe so you don't miss any. (And you'll get a link to a free copy of the Life Purpose Plan; discovering how your uniqueness, current reality and the mission fit together for the glory of God. Have you had a chance to check out Pressing into Awkward on the Just Thinkin tab? I'm linked up with the beautiful ladies at A Holy Experience, The Beauty in His Grip, Nebraska Graceful, The Wellspring, The Better Mom, Homestead Revival, Pause on the Path, Create with Joy,Carissa Graham, Finding Heaven, Women Living Well, Good Morning Girls, We Are That Family, Deep Roots at Home Mind Sharing?
 Today I am honored to have Nicole from Motherhood Confessions as my guest. She wise and a this great combination of funny and real, I just know you'll love her! She stays home with her two kids and works part time from home for Catalyst in Illinois. Here's a little bit about her in her own words. You can also find her on facebook.
Blueberries from Blossoms "Whether it was fishing, gardening, or picking blueberries fresh off the bush, my Grandpa was probably the person in my life who best taught me about how to enjoy God's creation.
I don't know if "loss" is an emotion, but that's what I felt when he passed away just a couple of weeks ago. After the news of his death, I spent some time wandering through his backyard and the place where a vibrant garden used to be. It was now overgrown with weeds, with no sign of the strawberries, tomatoes and green beans that had delighted me as a child. I was overcome with sadness.
But then, I wandered over to my Grandpa's beloved blueberry bushes. I did not expect to see any blueberries there, as it was only April. But I stopped in front of a twig, and studied it closely.
And there they were. No, not blueberries...
Blueberry blossoms.
I was pretty sure I had never seen a blueberry blossom before…probably because I had never bothered to look. I was suddenly in awe at the inner workings of it all and how the little flower protected all the “magic” going on inside. What an exceptional design! I was captivated by such beauty in the midst of this dying backyard. Then I heard God whisper to my heart. “I make all things new”. Slowly, I felt as though I were being lifted from my sadness and invited into something higher, something TRUER. As I stared at the blossom, I realized I was witnessing a miracle…a miracle far greater than if I had seen actual blueberries on that bush. This miracle held a promise that in the midst of a groaning world, a dying garden, and a broken heart, there IS Life. If we will only choose to see it.
It reminds me of this verse: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18). As Ray Stedman puts it, “Paul's argument here is very simple. The visible things of this life are but transient manifestations of abiding realities which cannot now be seen. If the transient form can exist, surely the reality behind it exists”. In other words, we must not focus on the thing we are looking at, but the truth behind it. I think God wanted me to see something that day…something even more “unseen” than that little blossom. Death brings forth life. Night leads to dawn. Winter produces spring. OVER AND OVER again. Grief is a tough journey. I cringe when someone says that death is just a “natural part of life”. It’s the most unnatural thing a person can experience. Death has nothing to do with life – it’s a part of the curse of this world. “ For the wages of sin is death… …But the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. (Romans 6:23) For now, we will have to endure death and separation in this life. We will experience long winters…and dying gardens. And when it happens, our souls will groan. Jesus wept. The disciples wept. For a time, the finality of death leads us to believe it has won. And we will weep. But, when we’re ready, we can lift our eyes and cling to the hope that Spring is in our midst. God is speaking this truth to us every day, if we’ll only open our eyes to see it. The promise of new Life will manifest itself. Somewhere. Somehow. And we WILL taste the sweetness of the harvest once again." What a privledge to have Nicole share how she has seen the Lord reveal Himself through His creation. Don't forget to pop on over to Motherhood Confessions to say Hi.Check out the rest of the series Sound; From Stars to SnowflakesThere is so much more to look forward to in this series, glowing goo worms, sea pigs and a lizard that drinks through the built in straws on it's back. I honestly believe you are going to be in awe of God as a result of seeing His creation (because I am as I have put this together). So if you haven't yet, subscribe so you don't miss any. (And you'll get a link to a free copy of the Life Purpose Plan; discovering how your uniqueness, current reality and the mission fit together for the glory of God.
Have you had a chance to check out Pressing into Awkward on the Just Thinkin tab?#462 Learning from awkwardness #463 Kids quick to share the gospel #464 Starting a healthy challenge with my sweet staff ladies #465 Finding $20 in my pocket. #466 Having our sink break and getting to see how the Lord had already provided the money to fix it. #467 My incredible parents. I'm linked up with the beautiful ladies at A Holy Experience, The Beauty in His Grip, Nebraska Graceful, The Wellspring, The Better Mom, Homestead Revival, Pause on the Path, Create with Joy,Carissa Graham, Finding Heaven, Women Living Well, Good Morning Girls, Deep Roots at Home
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