Recently our son had to have blood work done.  He says needles and spiders are his greatest fears.  Because this was going to be such a challenge for him to get through we offered a reward to look forward to after the task was complete.  For over a year he has been wanting to see the 1993 movie "Jurassic Park."  It's an intense show so we wanted to wait until he could handle the adventure.
   Our son bravely completed his medical work and we watched the movie the same afternoon, to his absolute delight!  Since he has grown up hearing about the Creationist viewpoint he knew there would be points in the movie that would contradict what he's been taught.  The movie talks about dinosaurs living billions of years ago, before man.  The Creationist view says that dinosaurs lived at the same time as the first humans, and were created on Day 6 by God.
   When the movie mentioned dinosaurs evolving from birds he knew the opposing theory.  Creationists say that dogs are created as dogs, birds are created as birds, and dinosaurs created as dinosaurs.  Genetic variability exists in DNA code, and creates species within a "kind," however nothing has ever been proven to evolve from one kind of animal to another.  
   These aspects of the movie didn't keep us from allowing our son to watch it, however if you are trying to help a young child learn about Creationism (that God created the Earth in six, literal days, with the information He gives us from the Bible being a true account) it's important to point out the differences of philosophy when you come across them.  The more you know about both models (Creation and Evolution) the more you will recognize how often the Evolution Model is taught as fact to children through many sources, even a Science Fiction movie, such as Jurassic Park. 
If you want to know more about the scientific reasons why evolution is impossible read the book Evolution Impossible or Refuting Evolution or watch the DVD set Rocks Cry Out.

​An amazing event will take place on August 21st 2017, a total solar eclipse,  It will be view-able in the continental United States along a 70-mile-wide path from Oregon to South Carolina.
 
It’s an opportunity to give glory to God for the provision of the moon and get a better understanding of the purpose of this “simple” celestial body.

As the Psalmist says, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.”   So, what is this eclipse telling us or reminding us about the moon as it relates to the Lord.

First of all, the size and position of the moon is critically important for an eclipse to happen.  Of the approximately one hundred moons in our solar system ours is the only one known to be capable of a perfect total solar eclipse.  The reason for this is that the moon is 400 times smaller than the sun but it is also 400 times closer to the earth.  This ratio allows for the moon to completely block the sun and look as if it is the same size.  Secular scientists would have us believe that this is some terrific accident. 

God created the sun, moon and stars on the fourth day of creation.  The moon has a number of critical roles that it plays in day to day life here on earth.  One of the most important is the tidal action that the moon helps cause each and every day.  While the sun plays a role in the tide, about two thirds of the gravitational pull that causes tidal action comes from the moon.  Twice a day the moon causes a “high” tide.  These occur when it is on the near side of the earth and when it is on the far side of the earth. 

The tides, and to some degree wind, help provide our ocean currents.  The value of the tides can’t be over-emphasized.  They cleanse our shores, break down waste coming off the land and reinvigorate the water with oxygen.  Without them sea life would stagnate and eventually die.  Over 70% of our world is covered with water the majority of oxygen producing plants are actually in the sea.  So, without the tides provided by the moon to keep our oceans healthy we would literally be fighting to breathe!  Thank God for designing a wonderful system to deliver oxygen the next time you sing the popular praise song lyrics, “This is the air I breathe...”

While the visible effect of the moon’s gravity is in the water, it also effects the land and air.  The crust of the earth actually rises from one to two inches as the moon passes!  There is a similar effect of tidal action in the upper atmosphere.

One of the aims of secularists is to steal God’s glory and rob Him of the title Creator.  However, the scripture says, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.  … Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!  For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm”.
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Of course, one of the major purposes of the moon is to mark the seasons as stated in Genesis 1:14. Not only does it help us mark spring, summer, autumn and winter but also determines the date of Easter every year.  To determine Easter, you determine the first day of spring, find the next full moon and then Easter will be the first Sunday afterwards.  
 
Did you know that without the moon the seasons would be chaotic and severe at best?  The moon literally helps to keep everything from going sideways on earth.  It helps keep the earth’s tilt at the perfect 23 ½ degrees.  Without it the earth tilt could fluctuate between zero and 90 degrees.  According to Our Created Moon by Don DeYoung, who I credit for the fascinating information in this blog,” …an earth tilt substantially greater than 23.5 degrees could lead to a permanent freezing of the oceans and the end of all life.”  Maybe we should just give glory to God for placing us in just the right solar system with just the right sun and a perfectly placed moon.
 
Lastly, the moon and Jupiter also have a purpose in protecting the earth.  There are 150 mile-wide craters on the unseen or far side of the moon which shows a great number of impacts left behind by space objects.  The visible or near side has the Maria or seas (these are the dark spots) which are left behind by basalt layers but the unseen or far side has taken the majority of the collisions.  I mention Jupiter because of its mass and massive gravitational pull which acts as a guard against many unwanted visitors to our solar system.
 
In any case, the eclipse may cause you to feel an uncertainty and sense of trepidation that you may never have experienced before.  Remember, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  An eclipse is a dramatic pause that reminds us, “the heavens declare the glory of God” and remind us of His provision.   And whether you are reading this before or after the American solar eclipse of 2017, it is a good time to take a moment and worship the creator…not the creation.

At the end of May, my family took a trip to the Ark Encounter which is located in Williamstown, Kentucky.  We were headed to South Carolina for an end of the school year vacation, and had been wanting to see this life-sized reconstruction of Noah’s ark.  I like to gather the most information that I can before a trip like this, and so I went to the Ark Encounter’s website to get more details to plan our day.  Their website was helpful, but I had some general questions like would I get cold inside?  How long would it take to get through?  Where could we stay overnight?  Here are my top ten tips for making your trip to visit this new attraction easier!

10.  ARRIVE EARLY  We arrived right at opening time, pulling into their parking lot at nine a.m..  They have good parking attendants that helped us find a spot, and directed us to the ticket booth.  There were long lines and a bus loading to take people to the Ark by the time we walked over. 
 
9.  BUY TICKETS IN ADVANCE   While there were lines (about 5 family units long) at each of the many windows, the window to process tickets that were pre-purchased had a much shorter line. 
 
8.  DRESS IN LAYERS  I wondered what the temperature would be like in the Ark.  The weather outside on the day we were there was beautiful (mid 70’s by afternoon).  The inside of the ark felt comfortable to me, like the outdoor temperature.  I had dressed in a zip-up sweatshirt and a t-shirt.  In the morning I was glad to have the two layers, and by the afternoon I had the sweatshirt tied around my waist.
 
7.  EAT AT EMZARA’S  I LOVE a good meal.  On vacation we tend to stay in places that have kitchens, to save on money, and eat in instead of dining out.  We only had a few meals out on our ten day trip, and the buffet lunch at Emzara’s was one of them.  I had read many reviews on Trip Advisor saying this restaurant’s buffet, that is a few hundred feet from the Ark itself, was fantastic and they were right!  Lunch is $12.99 for adults, $9.99 for 60+, $5.99 for 5-12 yr., and under 5 free.  There is a combination price where lunch and dinner are $19.99 for adults, $16.99 for 60+, and $9.99 for 5-12 yr. olds.  If you think you'll stay long enough to eat twice this is the way to go!
 
6.  PLAN FOR 6 HOURS  By the time we got to the Ark itself (after paying for our tickets, taking the bus to the Ark, and then doing a short video for this website) it was 10:00 a.m..  We went through the first and second floors by 12:45 p.m..  Then we stopped to eat lunch. We went to the gift shop for about a half hour after lunch, and then finished the day by 3:30 after touring the third floor.  This was a little over six hours.  I wouldn’t say we sped through, but I also wouldn’t say we hit everything.  By the third floor we were a little tired, and my son and I skipped a few exhibits because they were crowded. 
 
5.  FEEL FREE TO SKIP THE PICTURE ON THE WAY IN  When you first enter the ark you go up a long ramp.  At the top they have two professional photographers taking pictures of the groups that enter (family units, big groups, singles, etc.).  We did not want to pay for a picture taken by them so we just walked to the front of the line, and walked past the photographers when they were stopped for a second.  It would have slowed us down, probably another twenty minutes, to stand in line and wait for a picture we didn’t want as there were about 15-20 groups of people in front of us.
 
4.  SNACKS ARE AVAILABLE ON DIFFERENT LEVELS OF THE ARK  We brought in our own water bottles, but there are snacks on the Ark.  Our 12 year old son got two things on the second floor snack stand.  It was good to see they offer healthy things like hummus and crackers, or yogurt.  (Although our son chose potato chips!) The prices are, as you would probably expect, high.
 
3.  PREPARE FOR CROWDS  I asked the lady checking out my wares at the Gift Shop if they were particularly busy the day we were there.  It was Memorial Day weekend, and it just seemed like everywhere we went in the complex there was a crowd.  She replied, “Oh no, this is not busy at all.  We’re expecting a much bigger crowd tomorrow.”  If our day was a normal, or light traffic, day it was still crowded by my standards.  I personally don’t love crowds, but the Ark’s busyness didn’t bother me at all.  However, I didn’t like having to fight the crowds at each exhibit, and you would have to move at the pace everyone else was moving in the exhibits because they would get tightly packed. 
 
2.  ENJOY THE MOVIES  We all really enjoyed the movies on the second and third floors.  The creators of the films tied the two together in theme, so it made it even more enjoyable to laugh at the characters and see them developed in each story line.  There are long, wooden benches to sit on to see the movies, and you can come and go as you like with the films playing on a continuous loop. 
 
1.  DOING ONE WAS ENOUGH  One of the biggest questions we had was could we do both the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum in one day?  Dave and I had been to the Creation Museum, but our 12 year old has not.  We considered trying to fit them both in on the same day.  I am REALLY glad we didn’t.  There is so much information at each of the two places, plus they are not right next to each other (under an hour’s drive).  One was enough!
 
Overall, we loved our experience at the Ark Encounter.  I think we all would say it was not only one of the best days of our vacation, but also of our summer!  We hope everyone has the chance to go, at least once.  If you have been to the Ark Encounter would you let us know in the comment section?   If you have any tips to add to our list please let us know!