The Past 5000 Years

An article was posted this week that described how evolutionists now say that changes to the human population have occurred at a much faster pace in the past 5000 years than they did before. It seems they are suggesting that something happened to speed up the evolutionary process. It would be very helpful if they would have explained what they define as evolution. The article describes significant changes to human genetics over the past 5000 years, which are then extrapolated to complement the widely-held belief of slow-moving random evolution in years previous. However, it is interesting to note that the article itself only talks about changes within the human species, which is not sufficient evidence to support between-species leaps.

Let's see, from the Bible what happened 5000 years ago? Wasn't that around the time of the flood? Hmm...could there be any connection with their findings? We find that life spans shortened significantly after the flood, and that the world-wide gene pool was dramatically changed with only 8 people remaining, so could it be possible that the rapidly changing genetics is a result of this event? The grouping of people in terms of their languages happened around this time as well, which would have likely spurred on genetic mutations from familial intermarriage. In addition, the age at which children were born became younger after the flood (according to the Bible), so genetic mutations would have happened more quickly than before.

The article stated, "Even with these changes, however, human DNA remains more than 99 percent identical, the researchers noted." This would indicate to me that humans come from a single source.

Again, we find that science confirms what is written in the Scriptures. Unfortunately, much of the scientific world is not willing to acknowledge it.

So Much Sadness

Again violence has struck innocent people in America. Two senseless shootings within a week is beyond comprehension. First the shootings in a mall in Omaha, NE and then the shootings in Colorado at a YWAM base and at a church. My heart goes out to the people directly affected by these heinous acts. May the Lord turn what was meant for evil into good. Only He can do that.

Feast of Dedication

Tonight is the beginning of Hanukkah, which is an 8-day festival also known as the "Feast of Dedication" or the "Festival of Lights." Up until a few years ago, I was very ignorant about this holiday. I had the perception that it had little meaning and was somehow a Jewish imitation of Christmas. You can imagine that I was pretty shocked to find out that Jesus (Yeshua) observed this holiday as is recorded in John 10:22-23 ("Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade."-NIV). Hmm...was there a reason why he was at the temple at the time of this feast? If He recognized this festival, then maybe I should find out what this holiday means.

The word Hanukkah means "dedication" or "consecration" in Hebrew. It marks the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by Antiochus Epiphanes, and the miraculous supply of oil occurring at that time. According to what was recorded, there was only enough consecrated oil to burn in the Temple for one day, but miraculously the oil burned for eight days. This was just enough time to press, prepare, and consecrate fresh olive oil for the Temple Menorah. God supplied the oil for the dedicated temple.

This is a good time to examine ourselves and rededicate ourselves to His service. We need to receive fresh oil, so we may burn as lights in this dark world. The best part is God freely gives the oil of the Holy Spirit to those who ask. All He needs is a dedicated vessel that is ready to receive this precious oil. It truly is a miracle. It reminds me of the parable of the 10 virgins (Matthew 25), and how we need to be ready with our lamps burning brightly when the Son of Man appears.

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1 Cor 6:19-20 NIV)."

Thanksgiving

I am guessing that most Thanksgiving dinners included a time where everyone stated something for which he/she was thankful. It is a good exercise to do. I know many people might be tempted to say, "I am thankful for everything." However, when we stop and think about it, how much are we REALLY thankful? The opposite of being thankful is grumbling and complaining (unfortunately, I am guilty of that). I may say that I am thankful for my job, but how often do I find myself complaining about it? When we recognize and appreciate the seemingly little things (like running water), I believe we will be less apt to complain about other things in our lives. I tend to complain about traffic, but the truth is that I am very fortunate to have a car to drive and that we have paved thoroughfares on which to drive. It seems like it is so easy to grumble and complain, and much more difficult to be truly thankful. Thanksgiving Day should be celebrated everyday to remind us to maintain an "attitude of gratitude."

Fun with Pumpkins

This past weekend I along with 3 other women coordinated a pumpkin cook-off at our congregation. It turned out even better than I was expecting. We had about 30 entries that covered a wide variety of things including, pumpkin pie (of course), pumpkin curry, pumpkin doughnuts, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin stirfry, pumpkin fruit salad, pumpkin milkshakes, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin custard, and pumpkin alfredo, to name a few. The creativity displayed was really remarkable. Everyone who came got to sample the dishes and vote on their favorites in 4 categories. No one went away hungry.

The comment I kept hearing from attendees was, "This was really a lot of fun!" People seemed even a little surprised at how much fun the event was. I don't think it was so much about the food as it was about the excitement generated when people are able to be creative and are able to share their creativity with others. The excitement was definitely contagious. I think I have almost had my fill of pumpkin for a while, but then again...maybe I should make some pumpkin soup.

Pride

Some people say that the hardest words to say are "Will you forgive me?" I agree that those are difficult words, but I think equally difficult to express are these words, "I really need your help." This is not just in the way of "Help me carry this heavy object," but a deeper admission that we need other people around us to support us in all areas of life. The difficulty in both of the above situations is pride, and I am sure we all struggle with this to some degree. I think about the many times that I have been humbled, and what a lasting impression those times of forced humility have had on me. It is a good reminder for me to remember that we cannot be an island. Not only do we need to fully depend on the Lord "when I am weak, He is strong," but we also need to humble ourselves by letting others help us. Think of how humbled the disciples were when Jesus washed their feet.

Light: A particle or a wave?

I am sure much has been said relating light to the nature of God, but I had a new thought yesterday (I am sure others thought of this before). I was thinking about how God is both a God of mercy and a God of justice, and the Scriptures say that Jesus is the lion and the lamb. At initial glance, we think "How could He be both of these seemingly opposing characteristics?" It is something of a mystery to us, but we know it is true. Similarly, we know that light is both a wave and a particle. How can this be? The properties of light baffled physicists for a long time until Einstein came along and showed how light has both aspects. From a physics perspective, particle and wave characteristics are very different. Wave characteristics include refraction, diffraction, interference, reflection, while particle properties are evidenced in different ways through "bits" or "photons" which are sent like impulses as demonstrated in x-rays and other ways . Everything has both a particle nature and a wave nature, and depending on the frequency, one will be more dominant than the other. Each serves a different purpose, and both are necessary. When Yeshua (Jesus) said He is the Light of the world, why should we wonder how he can be both the Lion and the Lamb?

God's Word: The invisible super glue

I have been discussing creation with different groups of friends lately, and I shared the following with some of them, and they suggested I write it on my blog.

The Bible tells how God performed His creative acts by speaking it into existence. His Word caused something to be created out of nothing. I believe that even still today it is the reverberation of His voice that is holding our universe together. Atoms in a molecule are under constant vibration, which helps to hold the molecules together and determines the energy level of the molecule. Sound is created by pressure waves that cause vibration. It is my opinion that the reverberations caused by God speaking things into existence is what is still holding things together & keeping chaos in check (although the enemy is doing his best to try to break things apart).

I think of how much impact what we speak can make. Proverbs tells us that the power of life and death is in the tongue. I am reminded of how important it is to speak words of life to other people.

Options

Do you ever get overwhelmed by all of the options available to us? There are days where I think about several different jobs that I would like to try and the myriad of travel destinations. It is hard sometimes to focus on what is before me because of all of the distracting possibilities. I had a friend who said she cried in the grocery store when she came back from living several years in a primitive village--there were too many choices in the grocery aisle. Another friend of mine said she would have breakdowns going to the grocery store when she first moved to the US from Russia. It is exciting to be living in a place where there are so many possibilities & choices, but sometimes it can be downright overwhelming. Have you ever looked at all the number of different toilet paper brands available at the grocery store? Who would have thought?

Honor

I was at a retreat this past weekend where the theme was "Empowering a Generation." You may have heard the statistics about how, historically, revivals are typcially not evident in the third generation. The speaker at the retreat talked about how if a "culture of honor" is not built, revival will not pass to the next generation. Essentially, if we do not honor (see value in) each other, the connection to the next generation will be hindered. This gave me a slightly different perspective. People can become disengaged when their gifts and abilities are overlooked or undeveloped by ones in authority. Most of the time we are taught that honor is to be directed toward people in authority (as it should be), but it goes both ways. For example, when you encourage or compliment someone they typically will respond in a similar way, and the tone is set. It is much more enjoyable to work with/learn from someone who recognizes you as a valuable person. Maybe if we see each other as God sees us...

A Simplified Life?

I decided a couple years ago that I wanted to simplify my life--to slow down and not run myself ragged. I don't know how good of a job I am doing in keeping with that idea. It feels like I don't have enough hours in the day to do everything that is on my list. How does that happen?

Maybe there is a false perception about technology. Because technology "makes our lives easier," which it does in many cases, we might think that our lives will be less complicated. That is not necessarily the case. I was talking to my mom last night and she was mentioning how 40 years ago, very large educational programs were run by one secretary. They had methods for charting out their filing systems for quick access to information. Now she says that in those same places (with fewer students) they have a team of office staff in order to handle the load. I was telling her that maybe the expectations are different now--perhaps we expect to have answers/solutions much more quickly than in the past.

I would venture to say that because technology has made some tasks so much easier (running water from a tap, throwing our clothes into the washing machine, driving a car to the store, doing our banking online), we tend to try to pack more into a day. We have much less patient when we want something, so our frustrations become greater. My mom was also telling me that my grandmother designated one day each week for a different task: cleaning, baking, cleaning, shopping, laundry, & ironing. Now we think all of those things should be done in a flash, so we can get on with all of our other things.

So here I am writing a post on my blog (it was on my to-do list).

Judging a book by the first 2 paragraphs

Last night I was visiting with a couple friends when we started talking about books. I read a book that one of my friends highly recommended. It had a great plot and a good message, but I found the writing to be a rather non-linear with lots of extraneous details. We decided to read the first two paragraphs of several books aloud to see if a person could actually make a reasonable judgment about the overall writing quality in a book by the first page. In my opinion, it seemed to be a pretty good indicator; however the experiment wasn't very scientific, so check it out for yourself. I would be interested to hear your methods for "screening" the quality of a book--leave a comment.

By the way, here is the beginning of a very good book (clear, succinct, and very profound):
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (Gen 1:1-5 ESV)

Fast track

I saw a news article today that said they want to "fast track" the reconstruction of the I35W bridge in Minneapolis. It sounds like a great idea, "Let's do what typically takes 3 years in 1.5 years." Hmm...I've been there and done that--trying to build before the design has been completed. I would not recommend it. There are so many unforseen pitfalls in that type of a project. I have a feeling that the new bridge will cost twice as much as it would typically cost and that it will not be finished in the expected amount of time. I guess only time will tell. It sounds like politicians are making engineering and construction decisions...

Collapse

This week everyone has been talking about the collapes of the 35W Bridge in Minneapolis, which was a very tragic event. I have been over that bridge at least a couple times over the last several years when I have been in Minneapolis. I have friends and relatives who live in the Twin Cities who could have been on that bridge when it collapsed, but as far as I know they were not. We can praise God that the anticipated number who perished is much lower than initially expected.

Now comes the investigation period. How did it happen? Why did it happen? Who was at fault? I am sure by incorporating video footage, forensic evidence, and circumstancial evidence (loads, temperature, etc.) that the first two questions will be answered fairly conclusively.

The last question is the one that could continue for a long time--"who was at fault?" I am guessing there will be a lot of finger pointing. The government will probably blame the engineers, and the engineers will blame the government. There will be a lot of finger pointing within each group as well. Of course everyone will want to pass on the responsibility. And in reality, the responsibility does not likely rest on one individual and is probably shared by many. Many times engineering decisions are not based solely on observed data, but are tempered by financial and political considerations. Too often significant repairs are not undertaken because the cost is great and useful service of the entity will be diminished or closed while work is being done.

I have absolutely no basis for assuming the following scenario, but this is a situation that I imagine could have happened. I imagine a meeting where bridge inspectors reported their findings to a group of decision-makers. They probably said that the bridge had some deficiencies that needed to be corrected. The people controlling the budget probably said that there was no money for such repairs and asked for a plan that would streamline the cost for incremental repairs, so they could be planned in the budget for years ahead. This scenario happens all the time in the engineering world. Engineers give recommendations for proper repairs, and the engineering plans are cut back to fit the budget. In some cases, this may not necessarily be a bad thing as it may force an engineer to focus on the essentials, and perhaps cause him/her to think outside-the-box on how to accomplish the goals in a more cost-effective manner. (I am sure we can all think of times when a "Cadillac" solution has been suggested when a "Kia" would be sufficient.) However, when budget constraints overpower sound engineering judgment, the consequences can be devastating. We probably won't really know what happened in this case for many months, but we all can learn some lessons here.

Orcas Island

Today, our lab took a ferry to Orcas Island for our annual outing. We rode mopeds around the island and went to the top of Mt. Constitution. It was a lot of fun, and the scenery was beautiful. Here are a few photos from our excursion. What a great way to encourage team-building!

Some sail boats viewed from the ferry.

The view from the top of Mt. Constitution.

Our group getting ready to ride.

A juggling act

Sometimes I feel like I am becoming an expert at juggling--not with physical balls or knives, but with projects. Today was one of those days where at any given moment my attention would be changed to a totally different project. With emails and telephone calls going in and out all day--firing off another one while waiting for a reply--my multi-tasking brain circuits are definitely getting used. Just thinking about how the human brain works and can be processing so much information at once is absolutely amazing.

Did you know that we have sensors for temperature, pressure, moisture, and pain all over our skin? If we were to physically try to wire the amount of sensors that our human body has to a super computer, it would not be able to process information as quickly as our brain does it. The tremendous trick is that our brain is able to ignore so many signals and yet respond as soon as one fires. We can phyisically hold a phone (head to shoulder), look at a computer screen, type with both hands, listen to a conversation, see info on a screen, reply by talking back, feel how hot it is in the room, think about the time, and feel thirst all at the same time. We can even operate multiple simultaneous coupled 6-degree-of-freedom motions with our bodies (limbs, etc.) without becoming unstable. Find a computer that can do all of that and recharge itself with 8 hours being turned off. The human body is a wonderful creation designed by an intelligent Creator.

Humans from single origin

A Reuters news article this week said, "The genetic evidence has always strongly supported the single origin theory, and now results from a study of more than 6,000 skulls held around the world in academic collections supports this case." Hmm...doesn't the Bible also state that humans come from a single origin?

Good at Being Grumpy

I was telling my sister today, "I don't want to be grumpy, but I am so good at it." It is at these points in time that I have to make a serious effort to dwell on positive things to get an attitude adjustment. That is why the Scriptures tell us, in Phil 4:8, "...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." I am also reminded of what Paul writes in Romans 7:9 "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing." It is no surprise that even though I don't want to be a grouch I keep doing it because my flesh likes to dwell on the ugly, negative things. Life is so much better when I dwell on good things; unfortunately, the battle continues...

Word of Testimony

"And they overcame him [the accuser] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony..." (Rev 12:11).

I read a small paperback this week that was a compilation of several real life stories of various people in one congregation. The stories were a concise recounting of individuals who had endured much pain. However, these were not downer stories, they were faith-building stories. Each one was unique, but had the same thread--God reached down in the most difficult of circumstances and touched a life in a profound way. These people will never be the same again.

As I was reading this book, the verse quoted above kept going through my mind. We will overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. Sometimes I think that my testimony is not so dramatic or interesting, but as I think about it, there are so many things that the Lord has done in my life that have had a very profound effect on me. May we never forget that we (who have been born again) have a testimony to share, which is a very powerful thing.

Science Spin

The last couple days I have noticed the media and politicians "spinning" science. First, yesterday morning I heard a news program where the host kept saying things like, "Why is Bush so against stem cell research?" The guest would respond with statements like "the President feels that embryonic stem cell research is crossing an ethical line." The host, either intentionally or unintentionally, kept putting embryonic stem cell research and other stem cell research in the same category. This definitely causes people to think that if you are opposed to embryonic stem cell research that you are against all stem cell research. I personally think that a tremendous amount of knowledge and understanding can come from studying stem cells that are obtained from less controversial sources (such as skin or umbilical cord blood). By limiting the types of stem cells, the research will hopefully be more carefully constructed, which will likely lead to better scientific outcomes.

Then I heard a prominent politican make a statement about how she thought it was terrible that "ideology was placed before science." That is a scary statement. Who wants science to be placed before morals and ethics? Just because it is scientifically possible does not mean it should be done. Why do you think there are ethical review boards for human science experimentation? In some countries they test drugs and other medical devices directly in humans before doing animal trials and other types of validation. Do we really want that type of mentality here? Stop the science spin!

Ocean Views

I went to the Oregon coast this weekend with my cousin. As we walked along the beach yesterday evening we enjoyed the ocean air and admired God's beautiful creation around us. This morning when I looked out the window I noticed two things (1) the tide was much lower than it was last night and (2) two people were busy writing a message in the sand. Each of these things was very fascinating to me.

1. The phenomenon of ocean tides is really remakable. Think about how a massive body of water like the Pacific ocean is following the gravitational pull of the moon. I am in awe of how God designed the world together so intricately, yet from a distance it appears that things are operating independently. I know sometimes I start thinking more about how I can operate independently, but I forget the fact that we do not function well on our own unless were are working together with others.

2. I watched with excitement as two people were finishing what they were writing in the sand. This much had been written "Blair (heart)'s Barbra," and they were starting to write "will you marry me?" I was trying to figure out if the one doing the proposing was one of the people writing or if he had sent 2 of his friends down to write the message for him (the hotel level was significantly higher than the beach). I was agonizing over the fact that the word "marry" was looking more like the word "mnrrt," when one of the guys went running back out to the message in the sand. I thought he was going to fix that word, but instead he went to add an "a" to the intended's name. They had spelled "Barbara" wrong!

Evolution

I think that the introduction of evolutionary theory was probably the most detrimental philosophy that has invaded our culture. You might ask why a theory that attempts to explain the origin of species could have such a negative effect on culture. At a surface level, it would seem that evolutionary theory is just another scientist's hypothesis that can't totally be proven or disproven in a laboratory, so how could that affect a culture? By the way, I am a scientist who believes that God created the universe and all that is in it.

Lately, I have been noticing some things that I have never tied together before. I would propose that the macro theory of evolution, which attempts to answer how humans, plants, animals, and everthing else came into existence, has had a much deeper impact on our worldview than we realize. This theory has created much confusion and misguided intentions.

1. Medicine--The fact that humans exist as a product of chance makes disposing of human life much more justifiable (from abortion to euthanasia).

2. Law--did you know that in the U.S. the laws were originally made to coincide with Biblical laws? When a new law was being proposed, a common question would be, "where do you find that in the Bible." I have been told that in the mid 1800s the legal approach in the U.S. began to change when the idea of progressive law was introduced at Harvard. The idea is that laws and their intrepation build on previous decisions, so they should progressively improve over time. Unfortunately, I don't think improvement actually occurs because when a bad decision is made, it can negatively influence future decisions. In the end there is nothing solid to use as a foundation, but instead we end up with a moving target.

3. Environment--Have you noticed how some people are prone to worshiping nature? I see this especially on the West Coast. It is my opinion that this stems from Darwin's theory of evolution because inherently we all want something to believe in. We want to rally behind a cause. This poses a problem when God has been erased from the picture. If we don't believe that He exists, then what is there that we can stand behind? Many people decide to "save the world." While I believe that we need to be good stewards of the earth that God has given us, I do not believe that it or the animals on the earth should be held in higher esteem than God Himself. There is a verse in the Scriptures that says that people choose to serve what has been created rather than the Creator. If a person starts with the premise that there is no Creator, then what else is there other than created things for that person to serve? I saw a bumper sticker today that said "Praise dog." I was totally appalled. Only our Father in Heaven who created the Universe deserves all of the honor, glory, and praise.

Frustration

Have you ever had one of those days when you have been frustrated and responded to someone in a manner you did not intend? I had one of those days today. I apologized, but I still feel bad about it. I think it is interesting how a sense of frustration can make a person feel very defensive and perhaps even behave a bit irrationally. The worst part is that when I feel frustrated, I find it difficult to display Godly character. So, is frustration a result of humanity's fall into sin?

Another interesting thing is that each person has different things that frustrate them. I wonder why. What is happening in the brain when a person gets frustrated?

Appointed Times

A few weeks ago, one of my cousins sent me an email asking me my opinion on this topic, which is what spurred me to write about it. My intent is not to trample on dearly held traditions, but to cause you to think about what has been lost through the centuries.

"What are the Biblical Holidays?" Five years ago I probably would have responded, "Christmas and Easter." If someone would have asked me "Can you find any verses in the Bible that say to celebrate those holidays on the specific days when they are celebrated?" I would have likely responded, "No, but..."

Did you know that there are seven holidays for which God gives specific days and specific instructions on when/how to observe them? Yes, I can give you several specific Biblical references. Start with Leviticus chapter 23. A common response I have heard is, "Oh, those are the ones in the Old Testament, so we don't have to do them anymore." My next question is, "Does that mean the Ten Commandments have also become irrelevant ?" Didn't Jesus (Yeshua) say that he did not come to abolish the Torah, but to fulfill it? It is pretty clear from the Gospels that Jesus (Yeshua) observed these holidays.

The following are the appointed times listed in Leviticus 23 (they can also be found in other places in the Scripture):
-Shabbat (Sabbath)
-Passover (deliverance from slavery in Egypt and also deliverance from sin by Jesus death)
-Yom Habikkurim (Feast of First Fruits--the day that the grave was found empty)
-Shavuot (Pentecost--50 days after Yom Habikkurim)
-Yom Teruah (Day of Blowing or Rosh Hoshana)
-Yom Kippur (Day of Atonment)
-Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles)

The Shabbat is an appointed time that occurs every week, the next three take place in the spring, and the last three take place in the fall. They give us a picture of God's Divine plan (there is much that could be written here).

Last Sunday was Shavuot (Pentecost). It was not until 4 years ago that I found out that Pentecost was not just something that Christians observe, but it is a major Jewish festival as well. It is remembered as being when the Law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Then about a couple thousand years later, the Holy Spirit was poured out on Shavuot as recorded in the Book of Acts. Isn't it amazing how God uses His appointed times to do remarkable things?

So, why do many Christians think that it is so wrong to celebrate these feasts now? Most people cannot anwer this question, they just have this "feeling" about them. Constantine and others around his time decided to try to strip Jewishness from Christianity, so they replaced the Biblical Feasts with Christmas and Easter, which coincided with existing pagan holidays. Now you might say, "Is it wrong to give/receive Christmas gifts and listen to Christmas music?" I don't think so. The thing that I notice about these holidays, which don't have any specific guidelines, is that they have morphed into things which are barely recognizable as remembering the birth and death of the Messiah. They have been replaced with lights, candy, and imaginary creatures. There is no Biblical outline for how they are to be celebrated, so it has been left up to humans to define.

There is so much depth and richness to celebrating the feasts that the Lord specified in the Scriptures. By ignoring them, we are missing out on learning more about His nature and character. I look at it this way, many people are settling for instant coffee when they could be having freshly ground and brewed gourmet coffee.

The Tunnels of Hyrcania

I should tell a little more about my trip to Israel in March/April. Besides doing GPR scanning at Herodium, we also did some GPR scanning in two tunnels in Hyrcania. These tunnels are rather mysterious because the archeologists don't know why they were dug, nor do they know when they were built. These tunnels are situated in the sides of mountains in a wadi (dry river bed). The region is known as the Valley of Echor. The photo on the right is looking down into the tunnel from the entrance, so it appears to be well lit, but it was not (this photo used a flash). We had a rope that went down about one-third of the way (it would have been nice to have had one all the way down).

I personally was not totally prepared for the challenge of being in these tunnels. Stairs had been carved into the bedrock 150 m (450 ft) into the mountain. The inclination of the tunnels was about 45 degrees, so it was pretty steep. The tunnels got as narrrow as about 2 ft in places and 5.5 ft tall. Needless to say it was very dark (fortunately I had a head lamp with me). The archeologist (Oren Gutfield) told us that when they had dug in the tunnels to clear hard packed debris, they had run out of oxygen at the bottom. He also told us of other dangers that had been present. Needless to say, this made me get a bit nervous. I was also a little concerned that we might run into some animals that had decided to go into the tunnel and perhaps couldn't get out. He kind of chuckled at my worry about the animals. Little did I know that I would actually welcome the sight of the animals that we saw at the bottom. When we reached the end, we saw two pigeons that were ALIVE! I was thrilled to see that they were alive (in the photo to the right, Oren is holding one of the pigenons)--that meant that there was enough oxygen for them to live, so we probably would have enough O2 as well. Near the end the tunnel split into two chambers, they both ended about the same distance down. It was very strange. Another interesting thing was that there were pockets carved out of the walls approx. every 5 ft, which had been there for oil lamps to light it.

Once we had evaluated the situation, we had to make the climb out to get our equipment to bring down. Two trips in one day was plenty for me! It was physically exhausting. We went back again another day to scan the other tunnel--that one was not as deep. On the right you can see me leaving the tunnel (I carried the water bottles, which was more difficult than you might think).

This experience was one that made me realize that I am capable of more than I think. It was a bit of a mental struggle to go all the way down into the tunnel, but once I was able to get over the head games, it wasn't so bad. However, I can honestly say that I don't have a strong desire to go exploring other long, dark, dirty, warm, humid tunnels.

The photo above was taken without a flash (with only a headlamp on) and shows the "light at the end of the tunnel" as we were exiting.

Created to Create

This is another post which was inspired by the Truth Project. Have you ever thought about the fact that since we are created in the image of God that we have been "created to create?" It is quite a remarkable thought that the Creator of the universe created us to build/create too. Wow! "For six days the Lord made the Heavens and the Earth and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed." The Bible instructs us to also work for six days and then to rest. I have been told that the word for "work" might be better translated as "create."

Sometimes I get a little bit disturbed by American culture's attitude toward "work." There is not much encouragement for being creative (I am not meaning artistic) unless you can come up with some grand new invention that make tons of money. Everything seems so money driven. It seems that mass production, which has made many products cheaper to buy than to make, has put a damper on people's ingenuity/creativity. Many people would not know how to build/make something if their life depended on it. I know I have caught myself thinking, "I could make that, but it would cost me more in time & materials to make it than it would to just buy it." Sometimes we forget the satisfaction that comes from making something with our own two hands.

Excavation Pic from Herodium

This is a photo from Yahoo news that was taken recently at Herodium. If you compare the square opening in the middle on the left with the photo of Yaakov and Roi in the previous post, you will see that it is the same opening. They certainly did a lot of excavating after we left. It really is crazy to think that we were standing right on top of it...if we would have stayed longer (or gone a couple weeks later), we could have been there for the big discovery.

To the right is a photo that also shows this same square opening when we were there (before it was fully excavated). Mika is on the right.

Herodium

I went on a trip as a volunteer to Israel about a month ago to help do some ground penetrating radar (GPR) for a couple archeologists. While we were there, we did some scanning at Herodium at the request of Prof. Ehud Netzer. He has been doing excavations at this site for over 30 years. He told us that he still wanted to find Herod's tomb, so that he could feel good about retiring. There have been many speculations, but they hadn't found it at that time, but there was some new hope because a new area was being uncovered on the side of the hill showed some promise. He asked us to scan in the new area as well as at the base of the tower in the previously excavated area (a GPR team in the past said that the tomb was in the tower, but he didn't believe them).

To me it felt a bit like "looking for a needle in a haystack." There was a lot of area to cover, and we could not really give them any definitive data from our scans because the type of antenna that we had with us could only penetrate about 1.3 m in that type of soil. In addition, the fill on top of the stone was hard packed, so there was not enough of a dielectric change for us to detect with the equipment. We didn't know before we arrived in Israel what the scenario would be like in this location, which was unfornate. We were rather disappointed that we were not able to tell them more specific information (we did find some anomolies, but they weren't conclusive). However, it was a great experience to be able to work with Yaakov Kalman, Roi Porat, and the Bedouins who where helping with the dig. We even got to have lunch in the home of one of the Bedouin workers, which was a real surprise for us (the hospitality was terrific).

While we were scanning, we looked in some of the tunnels/entrances into the side of the hill. In the process, we saw some very large stones that Yaakov got very excited about. He said he had never seen stones like them at Herodium before.

Today, Prof. Netzer announced that they found Herod's tomb. When I saw photos of where they found it, I see that we were walking almost right on top of it. It is very exciting because we were working with this team just one month ago. Below are some photos from the archeological site.

We scanned at the site, but we were not able to detect much because of similar rock/fill dielectric constants and the frequency of our antenna was a little too high to reach the depths that we wanted to see. I guess they found it anyway.

Roi and Yaakov are excavating an area that is near the entrance to where they found the tomb.

Above are a glimpse of the area where "large stones" were that Yaakov saw the day we were scanning. He was very surprised by them and said he had never seen such large stones at the site before. It appears that these may have been the clues that led them to finding the tomb.

View of Herodium from a distance.

Below is the full story on the Hebrew University website.
http://www.huji.ac.il/cgi-bin/dovrut/dovrut_search_eng.pl?mesge117861762132688760

Divide by infinity?

I have been attending some of the weekly sessions of the Truth Project, which is a DVD series produced by Focus on the Family. I was a bit skeptical when I first heard about it, but after watching some of the sessions, I am sold. It contains some well-thought and well-organized foundational material regarding the Scriptures and the concept of Truth. I highly recommend it.

Part of this evening's session was about how God dwells in believers through the Holy Spirit. Believers do not have just a part of God becasue he cannot be divided. His very nature is about oneness. Dr. Tackett on the DVD used the mathematical illustration that when you divide infinity by any number you get infinity, so that is how God can dwell within each believer at the same time. It is truly amazing that God dwells in me through the Holy Spirit!

I started thinking about the mathematical converse. What if you take any number and divide it by infinity? Mathematically this is undefined, but from Calculus, we know that the limit of this approaches zero. Therefore, if we apply mathematics to the spiritual, we could say that if we try to remove (divide) God (infinity) out of anything, we are left with nothing of value.

Tragedy at Virginia Tech

I have been very affected by the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech. I had actually met one of the professors who was killed. Two years ago, I interviewed there for a post-doc position and possible faculty position. The interview was a full day, so I met with many faculty members. I toured the lab of Kevin Granata and talked to him about his research. He was a very nice man who was doing some great research. I took some brief notes from that day, and one thing that I noted about Dr. Granata was that he had taken time out of his schedule to meet with me even though he had a grant application due the next day. I may have also met one of the other professors who was killed on Monday.

I was offered a post-doc position at a lab in the building next to where the shooting occurred, but I didn't accept it because I felt like I was to stay in Seattle. The thought that I could have been there makes me think. How would I have reacted? What would I have done? My first thought is "I am glad I wasn't there." Not just because I could have been killed--"For to me to live is Messiah and to die is gain"--but because it would be such a trauma to witness something like that. The grief must be overwhelming for those who knew the victims well.

I think about the real possibility that some of the people who were killed did not know the Lord as their Savior. That makes me very sad. I saw the webpage of one of the victims who said that Jesus was the love of her life. She is in a better place now. I pray that through this tragedy many people will turn to the Lord and be saved through Jesus the Messiah who offers eternal life to all who call on Him.

May we all be ready to meet the Lord when our time on this earth is ended.

Grief

Grief is such a strange thing. This year I have been reminded of one year ago when my cousin died. I have been wondering why I have been so moody lately, but realizing that this is the anniversary of her death has helped me to get a handle on what I am feeling. It is strange how we can be grieving subconciously, but conciously be unaware of it.

It is difficult to understand how such a tragic and devastating event like that can happen. The one thing I have to remember is that God is good. He does not want to harm us or see us in despair--He wants to give us hope and a future.

Adopted

I had a discussion with a friend last week who was telling me how he finally could see that we as believers are connected to Israel because Jesus (Yeshua) is the Messiah of Israel and we are His children. I don't know how many years I have been trying to articulate that idea to my friends who think I am a little crazy. I thought about the concept so many people have where they think "the church" and "Israel" are two entities that can never mix or else they believe that the former has replaced the latter. Both viewpoints are in error according to Scriputre.

I, as a Gentile believer, am a child of God the Father, who was the One who made covenants with Noah, Abraham, and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai. Therefore, if I have been adopted into the family of God (see the writings of Paul), and can call God my Father and am made a co-heir with Messiah, I am in the same family as believing Israel.

As I thought about this more, I came up with the following illustration from my own life. I have two sisters adopted from South Korea. They are part of a very Finnish family. There is no difference in how my parents treat them compared to how they treat me or my biologic brother. They have all the rights and privileges of being in our family, same name, same inheritence, etc. They would not say they are of Finnish ethnicity, but they would say that they feel very Finnish (and for good reason). However, no one could say that they don't belong to our family. Likewise, I would not say that I am Jewish, but I am grafted into the same olive tree through Messiah (see Romans 11).