Back from Camp!

Happy Sarah in her camp t-shirt.

And we're back! Our family has been spending much of our time recently preparing for and attending a fantastic Homeschool Family Camp at Jenness Park. This years guest speaker was from the popular apologetics ministry, Answers in Genesis.

Dr. Tommy Mitchell- was not only an engaging and dynamic speaker, but a genuinely humble man we instantly admired. He took time over the four days to lay out the truth of God's Word, Science, the fossil record and Noah's flood in a way that kept all of us captivated.

In an age when Genesis is continually under attack, this was such a timely message.

All five of our kiddos with respected teacher Dr. Tommy Mitchell of Answers in Genesis.

Campers observing a "Flood in a Jar" - demonstrating how land layers are laid down and fossils are formed. The catastrophe of a worldwide flood may explain many popular landforms and fossils, such as the Grand Canyon and the trees at Yellowstone.

Is Genesis really important to our daily lives? The reality is, much of today's public debate is found right there at the very start of God's Word.

• Where is marriage defined? God said it was not good for man to be alone so He created woman to be man's mate~ Genesis 2.

• Where do we discover how life began? In the beginning, God~ Genesis 1.

• Where are we told about sin- where did it come from? Genesis 3.

• What about explaining the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and the fossil record? Catastrophe~ Genesis 7.

A mom and son explore the Fossil Discovery Station, which explained how fossils are formed and what comprises the fossil record. Camp attendees were even able to handle a real fossilized potato.

SIX LITERAL DAYS?

A few weeks ago my sister and I were talking with a neighbor (who also happens to be a secular public school science teacher) about various topics- including how things in our experience, such as language, seem to "wind down" and become less complex rather than grow in complexity as one might expect in an evolutionary model. She agreed that things do appear to be loosing information rather than gaining information- which she added- is what the scientific community is now finding and documenting.

When I began to talk to her about a literal six day creation model she told me that she didn't need to believe in six literal days because a Christian friend of hers told her that the Bible may not really mean six literal days. It could really mean a very long time instead because there are verses about a day being like a thousand years to God.

I shared with her that while it is true that there are passages of Scripture that state a day is like a thousand years to God, that is not the language God chose for Genesis. When it says "evening and morning" were the first day, the second day and so on, He's explaining that these were literal days.

The Wintons did such an amazing job leading worship and blessing those in attendance.
They are our very favorite band. Period.

By the way, in Genesis God also used the Hebrew word:

YOM with the words evening and morning- which always mean a literal day. In other words, God did not leave the creation week to our imagination.

My sister's cute family.

ET TU, BRUTE?

I thought it was odd that a Christian had encouraged my neighbor not to believe the creation account - then, yesterday my oldest daughter pointed this out to me- from the commentary "help" of the NIV Life Application Study Bible (Tyndale House and Zondervan):

"How long did it take God to create the world? There are two basic views about the days of creation: (1) each day was a literal 24-hour period; (2) each day represents an indefinite period of time (even millions of years). The Bible does not say how long these time periods were. The real question, however, is not how long God took, but how he did it."

Page 5, 1:3-2:7

Huh? The Bible commentary tells it's reader that the Bible doesn't say how long it took to create the earth... and then infers it's not really very important anyway?

Huh? Fun cousins. They always have a great time together. Lots of sillies.

Oh my! Tell me that I am not just being picky here- shouldn't we be concerned when the folks writing the notes for one of the most popular Bibles in our country won't clearly and boldly proclaim a literal six day creation teaching?

It got me thinking... fuming... whatever- Why is it that we Christians so readily bow the knee to "Millions of Years" molecules to man Evolution? I think it is largely in part to the simple fact that we forget that Science must be:

1. Testable, 2. Observable and 3. Repeatable.

We see so much around us that proclaims man's "wisdom" that we forget evolution is simply a theory- and one that goes against basic scientific law (such as the Second Law of Thermodynamics).

It is not science. The truth is:

Medicine is a product of Science.

Space shuttles are a product of Science.

Evolution is not a product of Science.

It is a belief.

REAL ANSWERS EQUIP.

There was a time when our girls would hear the word evolution and not even blink an eye. They didn't know the word- it simply wasn't a part of their reality. They spent most of their media time enjoying Moody Science videos. Now that they are getting older, we are seeking to equip them with more information that will enable them to boldly take on this well accepted falsehood.

Maybe you are doing the same- or maybe you are ready to start. Well, if you are still here sweetly reading my bit of a rant, I hope you will enjoy the following section that includes resources our family has enjoyed as we prepare to engage the world around us.

Richest blessings fellow warriors!

_________________

RESOURCES


FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD (5-11)

As they have gotten older, we've enjoyed these Family Night DVD's. (Great for all ages- but see editing notes below applicable titles):

Some editing/ muting may be required for limited immature humor.

Audio Programs. May require some "fast forward" editing; Intense, but highly equipping. A side note- Jonathan is educated outside the home in set 1 but becomes homeschooled in set 2; some people completely skip 'Mystery at McBain Manor' on set 2

For olders and adults- check out the AIG Clearance section for significantly reduced prices on their fantastic magazines (as low as $1.99 each- a really great deal!).

And Demolishing Strongholds. A helpful in preparing to engage the culture. Some editing may be required.

And just as a helpful tip:

When shopping the AIG website for DVD's- the covers with a very plain look to them like the one below, are college level lectures and semi-technical, not really family night material unless you have much older children.

Also remember there are always FREE resources out there.

Answers in Genesis (AIG) has many articles as well as video clips available for free! They are sorted by topic so you could study them subject by subject- maybe print out a few articles, have an older child to read them and write a report with their findings. Just think of it- free high quality Christian Science material for months!

Topics we've enjoyed researching include: How Long does it take to make a Fossil? Why do People From Different Geographical Areas have Different Skin Color? Why does the Almond Eye look different than other eyes? What did Mt. St. Helen's teach us about the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone Park? Is Natural Selection Evolution? Were dragons really dinosaurs?

All the information to answer these and questions and more is available on the website.

And don't forget to check out the free Unwrapping the Pharaohs video clips. We loved them!