The Energy From Within

We look up at the stars at night in wonder. They are so far away, but they have so much light to share. We’re so enamored by stars; we call those human beings who are famous or popular, “stars.” We say things like, “You are the light of my world,” “he is a rising star in the sports world,” and “I want to be a superstar.” So what is it about stars that we want to be them?

Some would say it’s just a metaphor for shining bright, but I think it’s something more.

I looked up some famous pictures of celestial bodies (stars) and read about them. I read about what makes a star bright. While looking at some NASA photos, I came across the following definition:

Fusion: A process where nuclei collide so fast they stick together and emit a great deal of energy. In the center of most stars, hydrogen fuses together to form helium. Fusion is so powerful it supports the star's enormous mass from collapsing in on itself, and heats the star so high it glows as the bright object we see today. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/glossary.html

Do we know why stars were created that way? What is the thing, that fusion, which keeps them from collapsing?

Looking deeper into the definition of fusion, the online Merriam Webster dictionary gives these responses:
2: a union by or as if by melting: as a: a merging of diverse, distinct, or separate elements into a unified whole 3: the union of atomic nuclei to form heavier nuclei resulting in the release of enormous quantities of energy when certain light elements unite


Hmmm. Can we apply this same fusion to human beings…“a merging of diverse, distinct or separate elements into a unified whole?” We each have diverse feelings, separate elements of our being that we build on. Many times, we want to be happy but are sad, we want to help others but are afraid, we want to be better people, but have forgotten how.

What happens when we ask God with our whole heart for help with these diverse elements?

He NEVER lets us down. He gives us the strength to find solutions to our nagging issues, and ultimately gives us peace to handle whatever situation we need to mend.

You know that feeling you get when you are so happy—that warmth, contentment, and love that builds inside? When we feel this way, we feel as though we can take on the world! That positive energy keeps our enormous mass from collapsing in on itself. That is the fusion of God with our souls. That is the “union by or as if by melting,” that is our heart in union with God.

The same energy that the stars in the heavens contain is the energy that we contain when we unify ourselves to our God. We can do that in our daily tasks, or in some big problem we feel overwhelmed with, or in some special thing we’d like to accomplish.

Feel like a star today—because you are. Shine bright today because you can. Live life to the fullest because, “with God all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26)

Splendor of Creation

I took the summer off my blog and spent it with my kids doing all the fun summer things. As a family, we took made the annual weeklong trek up to Rocky Mountain National Park to hike, relax, and enjoy the fun things about the town of Estes Park. It’s become almost a ritual for us. Every time we go, I renew my love for those beautiful mountains and all of God’s amazing creation. (Today there’s even a picture of RMNP for you!)

Today I talked to a relatively new friend who lives back east. He saluted the Cape Cod area and New England in general. He boasted that New England was the best place in the world to live. He even (I’m still shocked) boasted that it was better than Colorado!

Imagine my shock! Well, we went at it for a while, but neither party won the other over.

However, it did get me thinking. Isn’t it amazing all the different places, climates, mountain ranges, deserts, oceans, and islands God created just on Earth alone? There is literally something for everyone. It’s as if God sat back and said, “I’m going to create these amazing creatures called humans. I’m going to tell them to be fruitful and fill the earth. Subdue it, and be stewards of it. So I better make it an amazing place that they can live in and thrive.”

A few blogs ago, we learned that the Hebrew translation for the first six words of the Bible is, “In the beginning of God’s creating…” We reasoned that the active word, “creating” meant that creation never really ends.

We see that today in the thousands of new species of plants and animals that pop up around the world each year. Australia alone found 1300 new species of both varieties just in the last decade. One of the most popular has been the flesh-eating pitcher plant that can “consume small rats, mice, lizards and even birds.”

Wow!

God’s creating process doesn’t end there. Each day approximately 216,000 new human beings are born. Each of those precious little ones carry their own unique DNA rich with traits such as eye color, personality characteristics and qualities that no one else has.

We live on a planet lush with constant new creation. Something for everyone! I know I couldn’t be that creative, could you?

Sometimes we are so stuck in our everyday routine that we forget to appreciate the constant creation around us.

God doesn’t. I think that’s why he waits until we’re quiet to talk with us. He calls us to Him in the beauty of the flower, the stroke of the breeze, and the song of the bird. He kisses us goodnight in the splendor of the sunset and beckons us to arise with each brilliant sunrise.

Still doubt the love of God? Revisit my blog from November 21st of last year and remind yourself of how much God really loves you.

In the meantime, while my hat is off to my friend back east, I will sit on my Colorado porch and enjoy the creation the Lord has given me. Thanks, Gerry, for your wise counsel, you helped a great deal. And don’t worry, I’m sure Cape Cod is just as spectacular as the Rocky Mountains—maybe…

Defining Our Carbon Footprint

I did it. I took the plunge. I went to the Nature Conservancy website and took the test. Just what is my carbon footprint? How am I affecting the planet?

I cheated. I took the test twice and used first me as an individual and then me in a family of eight. Neither one are true.

Nevertheless, I wanted to see what effect one person has versus a larger family with regard to carbon dioxide emissions. Current articles argue that large families are an “eco-crime” and that we need to be “phasing out the human race.” Really?

This is what I found out.

As an individual driving 10,000 miles a year in my small gas-efficient car (work and back), no air travel, eating meat at meals in a house that is energy efficient and recycling everything I can, I will create 41 tons of carbon dioxide per year—which is above the national average. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it?

Changing my profile to be part of a family of eight, I drive a large boat (less than 20 miles to the gallon) a mere 20,000 miles a year, with no air travel, eating meat at meals in a house that is energy efficient and recycling everything possible, my family will create 120 tons of carbon dioxide per year—which is below the national average. Perplexing. (A family of eight creates less carbon dioxide than three individuals. Hmmm.)

As an individual I’ll use more carbon dioxide than if I were in a family of eight according to this calculator test. I’m missing something.

Planet conservationists are too.

These environmentalists see me and you as mere numbers and calculate us by our carbon dioxide emissions. They don’t account for the following: We are created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:28) and that according to the Creator, we are so important that He sent his Son to die for us, to save us from our sins. Why would a God want us to eliminate ourselves from His plan?

In fact, what we’ve eliminated is trust in God and an ideal of stewardship. We have forgotten that God created the Earth and that HE has a plan for everything in it. We have forgotten that God left us as stewards of this Earth and that it is our task to take care of it, not by the way of removing ourselves from it, but by being responsible citizens of it.

A godless society has reduced us to carbon dioxide output. Do we really think that God sees us that way? Should we see ourselves and others that way?

A while back I read an article where a British woman chose to sterilize herself to reduce her carbon footprint. Do we really think that a God that created us in His image, wants us to think so little of ourselves? Does this woman think so little of herself, that she’d like to just disappear?

What happened to the God who said, “Look at the heavens and count the stars. If you are able to count them, so shall your offspring be.” (Genesis 15:5)

Did God not mean what He said? Did he abandon us?

No, we’ve left Him.

It’s time to come back.

We are not defined by our carbon footprint. We are defined by our actions, our beliefs and whose Footprints we follow.

Maybe The Neanderthals Aren’t Dead After All

Last time we talked about Dr. Spencer Wells and his genetics work. He spent over ten years gathering human DNA samples from all over the world to show that the first man came from Africa about 60,000 years ago. He uses a marker in the Y chromosome that remains unchanged from father to son to help him determine human ancestry.
However, what we didn’t talk about was something that Dr. Wells found that is more applicable to who we are today. The genetic makeup of human beings from around the world is more alike than we think. Though humans have over three billion base pairs in 23 chromosomes, “…we're all incredibly similar. 99.9% identical at the genetic level.”


So, though we have green eyes or brown eyes, we come from Europe or South America, we are all related—99.9% related. That’s an extremely high percentage, isn’t it?

Does it make you pause and consider the implications for humanity? Does it encourage your mind to reflect on a God that designed us?

Christians, Jews and Muslims know there was a first father and mother, but science has muddied the waters and encouraged us to believe that the Bible is just a series of stories—stories about belief, not of reality. Jesus came along and reiterated what his Father had accomplished with the creation of man by telling us, “Love thy neighbor…” and “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers…”

The movement to keep science and faith separate is divisive as well as counterproductive. It is only when we take ALL evidence and put it together that we get the full picture. Science uses nature to deduce how the world works. That is only half the story. The Bible persuades us to remember that there is more than HOW there is a WHY. It beckons us to make sense of our purpose.

The cooperation of these two disciplines (yes, theology/faith is a discipline) will allow both sides to see the world differently. Science allows faith to see the miracle that the Earth is in a special place and the delicate balance that it maintains to support life. Faith allows science to question the meaning of why the Earth is here. You cannot fulfill your destiny as a human being without answering BOTH questions.

What would happen if we looked at science from a faith perspective? What if we looked at how molecules work and said, “Hmm, the way these molecules work reflects the love of God.” Perhaps we could find a cure for cancer if we looked at the problem from the eyes of our Creator. We could ask what is missing, versus how do we kill this. It’s all in the perspective.

Going back to Dr. Wells’ research, we see that in his discoveries of the origin of man he has discovered something that Christians already know. A reporter made the following comment to Dr. Wells, “You are very critical of racism.”

To that, Dr. Wells simply responded, “Yes. We are all much closely related than we ever expected. Racism is not only socially divisive, but also scientifically incorrect. We are all descendants of people who lived in Africa recently. We are all Africans under the skin."


Though Dr. Wells may believe he is keeping science separate from faith, he has just made Jesus’ case for why we are called to love our neighbor. I wonder if he recognizes that. I wonder if we recognize that.

Typically, we use the term Neanderthal to describe someone who does not see others as equals or when they refuse to use logic and forward thinking. While the DNA of the Neanderthal may be extinct, unfortunately they still exist.

The Neanderthals Are Dead

The Neanderthal is dead. Yes, contrary to popular belief, these species are dead and they’re not coming back. How do we know? I’ll get to that in a minute, but first let me tell you how scientists came to this conclusion.

You may have first heard of Dr. Spencer Wells when he used DNA samples to show that the first man came from Africa about 60,000 years ago. He used a marker in the Y chromosome that remains unchanged from father to son. For more information, follow the link to the rediff.com website, or the Princeton interview of Dr. Well’s book, The Journey of Man.

In a scientific movement started by Dr. Spencer Wells, National Geographic has taken on this new line of thinking with the name: The Genographic Project. This project has taken scientific data from many different disciplines including archeology, anthropology, climatology, and genetics to name a few.

The goal of the Genographic Project is to take data from these and other disciplines and put it together to form a bigger picture of the human journey on Earth. For example, the migration of humans from Africa took place somewhere around 50 to 60 thousand years ago. Dr. Wells’ researchers looked at how the continents were connected during this time period, then used this data in conjunction with the many DNA samples they have taken all over the world and matched everything together. What I like about this type of research is that Dr. Wells doesn’t work in a black box. He takes data from all different disciplines to come up with his theories. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do? The different disciplines shouldn’t be independent of each other. In fact, they are interdependent of each other, which allows a thorough scientist to come to more complete conclusions about the history of mankind.

When the skeletons of Neanderthals were found, it was assumed that because of their skeletal similarities, they were our ancestors. However, recent Mitochondrial DNA has shown that they are “a distinct species and therefore an evolutionary dead end.” Neanderthals are not our ancestors, never have been.

In other words, scientists were wrong. Would the correct version of our hominoid history have happened if we had kept scientific disciplines separate, if we just looked at skeletons and make predictions within that small discipline? Probably not. We would most likely continue to grasp at theoretical straws and make wild guesses in a closed environment.

What’s most fascinating to me is that answers to human history exist in our DNA. Our Creator put these markers there for us to find, which reminds me that God always has a plan. He understands our need to know where we came from and where we are going.

But do we remember where we came from? Do we remember God? What would happen if we took all this scientific data and tried to match it with Biblical data? Though Dr. Wells states that Biblical people began much earlier, I wonder what would happen if we took Dr. Gerald Schroeder’s Hebrew understanding of the Bible and matched it with the Genographic Project. Hmmm…could be interesting!

Ice Age or Global Heat Wave?

Happy Earth Day! Fox News and several other news agencies are reporting that Antarctic ice is actually growing, not shrinking. You would think this would be big news, right?

Well, there seems to be some discussion on this topic (see the linked blog for a good conversation between several individuals). Indications show that west side of the ice is melting while the east side is expanding. Scientists are in a funk.

I highly recommend you read the above blog and feel out what the people are saying. In the end, one person suggests that the reason that Antarctic ice is melting due to an underwater volcano that is heating it up. I guess that would be contrary to evidence that it’s global warming. The pro-global warming scientist who maintains the blog doesn’t respond to this suggestion and in the end, she admits that, “there is no clear temperature trend.” No temperature trend means that any evidence of global warming doesn’t come from the Antarctic.

Some scientists believe we’re going into another ice age and others warn us about global warming. My take? No scientist is considering that the earth is a living thing too. It is a changing and independent creature. All living things change; they do not remain static.

President Obama’s science adviser, John Holdren is so worried about global warming that he and others are considering “dire” options to combat global warming. They say geo-engineering techniques that include reflecting the sun’s rays by shooting artificial volcano particles up into the atmosphere would help stem the soaring greenhouse gases. However, other geo-techs remind us that volcanoes carry their own atmospheric issues.

What can we take away from all this discussion? We have a lot of chicken little’s and no trust in God. Are we so careless to think that God won’t take care of us? Do we think that God looks at us as just little ants and He cares so little about His creation that he’ll just sit and watch us flail? This is just another indication that our society has forgotten God…not the other way around.

What should we be asking? (1) Are we looking at the global warming/cooling problem from God's perspective or is it all about us? (2) Are we looking at the earth as a living creation or something we need to control?

The conclusion: either we trust God or we don't.

Come by next week when I discuss carbon footprints and leveling. Curious? Tell me what you think that topic will be about.

Happy Blessing of the Sun Day!

Today has happened less than a dozen times in the history of man.

Today the sun appears in the sky in the same place as it did on the fourth day of creation according to Jewish tradition. Therefore, the Jewish community celebrates this day as the Blessing of the Sun. The Blessing of the Sun comes once every twenty-eight years. Therefore, this is an awesome day.

Today also begins the Jewish holiday of Passover. The Jewish community remembers the day that the Lord saved His people from Pharaoh and the Angel of Death. The Angel of Death passed over the land of Egypt where the Jewish people were enslaved, and saved the first born of all who had the blood of an unblemished lamb above their doorpost.

Christians recognize the sacrifice of the blood of an unblemished lamb as the Savior, Christ personified. Thus, tomorrow begins the most important four days of the Christian calendar; Holy Thursday, which commemorates the Lord’s Last Supper and the introduction of the Eucharist, and Good Friday, which ushers in the day that Jesus died on the cross. Easter Sunday fulfills the promise of Christ in His Resurrection, signifying that he opened the gates of Heaven that had been closed since Adam’s taste of the apple. To Christians, sacrifice and salvation cannot be separated. For Christians, this coming Sunday marks the Blessing of the Son.

So why has this day happened less than a dozen times? Only once in a thousand years does the Blessing of the Sun come on the same day as Passover. Today I celebrate the friendship between my lovely Jewish friend and myself.

Happy Passover, Dr. E. Thank you for your friendship and guidance. I thank the Lord above for you!