Category Archives: Interesting Things

Birds With A Memory To Envy – Re-post

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Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) ©USFWS

Clark’s Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) ©USFWS PD

BIRDS WITH A MEMORY TO ENVY from Creation Moments

“Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.” (Job 38:41)

Interesting Things from Smiley CentralThe shy bird called Clark’s nutcracker collects food during the growing season and stores it for the cold winter months. In one year, a bird will store between 22,000 and 33,000 seeds in as many as 2,500 locations, which can be more than ten miles apart. But does the little bird remember where he put all those seeds?

Biologists tracked the activity of Clark’s nutcrackers in the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona. A small army of researchers tracked the birds’ seed gathering and storing activities. One of the first things they discovered was that the birds quickly figured out that they were being observed. Some refused to store food when researchers were watching them. Others faked storing seeds when they were watched. Back in the lab, researchers studied the storing activity of Eurasian nutcrackers. After the birds stored seeds in a large sand floor, the birds were removed. Then the seeds they stored were dug up. When the birds were allowed to return, they quickly discovered that their seeds had been stolen, so they refused to store any more seeds. In the end, researchers concluded that the nutcrackers recover as many as two-thirds of their stored seeds within 13 months.

The remarkable memory of these little birds is their gift from God that enables them to be fed all year around.

Prayer:
Father, I thank You because You are gracious and generous, not just to the birds, but also to me. Amen.
Notes:
Science News, 2/14: 2004, pp. 103-105, Susan Milius, “Where’d I Put That?”

Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) by Ian

Lee’s Addition:

“Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” (1 Timothy 6:19 KJV)

Even though this was posted before, 6 years ago, it was still very interesting and worth reviewing. Interesting Things – Birds With a Memory to Envy. That is why Creation Moments. “Repetition aides learning,” or so they say. Here are some more articles along this same chain of thought.

The Space sharing seed storing Redpoll…

Birds of the Bible – Woodpecker & Friend’s Storehouse

Nuggets Plus – Ants, Gravity, and Mulberry – by A J Mithra

Oilbird – Mission With A Vision

Scripture Alphabet of Animals: The Bee

More Interesting Things

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HORNBILLS THAT UNDERSTAND MONKEY – Re-post

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Yellow-casqued Hornbill (Ceratogymna elata) ©Wiki

Yellow-casqued Hornbill (Ceratogymna elata) ©Wiki

Hornbills That Understand Monkey by Creation Moments

“Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus…” (Colossians 1:28)

Interesting Things from Smiley CentralWith the exception of basic messages such as aggression, communication between two entirely different species has seldom been observed among animals in the wild. We know that many animals among the same species give each other specific warnings about an impending danger. However, scientists have never noted one species recognizing the specific warning given by a second species.

Diana monkeys on the Ivory Coast of Africa face two primary threats: leopards and crowned eagles. When one of these threats appears, the spotter gives a very specific bark-like call depending on the type of threat. Of course, the monkeys need to respond differently to each threat, whether it comes from the leopard below or the eagle above. So it helps them to know what they are facing. On the other hand, a bird named the yellow hornbill is threatened only by the crowned eagles. Researchers noted that these birds ignored the monkeys’ warning about the leopards. But when the monkeys signaled danger from the eagle, the yellow hornbill took defensive measures. Researchers confirmed their observations using tape-recorded monkey calls. The researchers were amazed that these birds understood the monkey warnings in an intelligent manner.

Diana Monkey at the Henry Doorly Zoo ©WikiC

Diana Monkey at the Henry Doorly Zoo ©WikiC

Such intelligence comes from the Creator, Who has given the gift of such intelligence to His creatures in a way that provides for their survival. This shows His loving care for His creation.

Prayer:
Father, thank You for Your love, especially for Your forgiving love to me in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Notes:
Science News, 3/20: 2004, p. 188, “Hornbills know which monkey calls to heed.” Photo: Diana Monkey at the Henry Doorly Zoo ©WikiC. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Creation Moments ©AD2016 (Used with permission)

Hornbills That Understand Monkey by Creation Moments

 

 

Fossil Inventory: Surprises For Some – Re-post

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FOSSIL INVENTORY: SURPRISES FOR SOME by Creation Moments

“And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.” (Genesis 1:24)

Interesting Things from Smiley CentralEveryone will remember those school textbook diagrams showing the ever-upward progression of living organisms, including man. We recall the horse series, found in textbooks and the museum displays showing the evolution of the horse – the first stage as a small mammal and, after several transitions, the modern horse. The claim that fossils in the rock layers show a progression from simple life in the lowest layers to the most complex life at the top accompanies these diagrams.

Horse series diagram promoting evolution from I.C.R.

Horse series diagram promoting evolution from I.C.R.

Recently, the journal Science, reported that paleobiologists who study these fossils reevaluated all the fossil-bearing rocks that have been found in the last 180 years. What was their reaction to the meaning of the fossil record after their new inventory? “We may have been misled for twenty years,” said one scientist. Another commented, “For the first time, a large group of people is saying paleobiology has been making a mistake.” Why are they reacting this way? They have had to conclude, on the basis of the fossil evidence, that there never was an ever-upward progression of complexity of life forms as they had expected. The species that are represented in the fossil record show no evidence of the classic evolutionary development traditionally found in school textbooks.

In short, the fossil record supports the biblical claim that all the kinds of animals appeared about the same time.

Prayer:
I thank You, Lord, for the great diversity and beauty You have created in the living world. Amen.

Notes:
Creation, 9-11: 2001, p. 7, “Fossil re-count limits diversity.” Visual: Horse series diagram promoting evolution. Courtesy of the Institute for Creation Research. (Permission Creation Moments ©2016

Lee’s Addition:
It is good to see that some of the evolution scientist, paleobiologists) are opening their eyes to the true evidence.

More Creation Moments Re-posts

Tsunami and the Animals from Creation Moments

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“But now ask the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee;” (Job 12:7)

Almost everyone in the world today knows of the terrible disaster that struck the coasts of South East Asia. The North American news media gave daily body counts, reported human tragedy and inflicted damage … yet, as far as is known, none mentioned the animals.

Elephants in ThailandHowever, Asian reports from the damaged areas comment not only on the ability of trees to withstand the devastating waves but the almost total absence of animal deaths. It appears that the animals, from flamingos to elephants, took off for the hills long before the humans. The Chinese have done extensive investigations on animals and earthquake detection but are at a loss to explain it. Chinese scientists simply conclude that animals have far greater sensitivity than the best of scientific instruments.

Interesting Things from Smiley CentralReuters reported from Thailand that the elephants used in the tourist business at Khao Lak began to “cry” at 9 am, about the time of the quake. Some elephants broke their hefty chains, but they all raced away toward the jungle-clad hills, taking their surprised tourists and guides with them. Some people were even picked up by the elephants using their trunks. They all came to a point on high ground where the waves stopped just short of where they stood. Three thousand, eight hundred people died in that area. God is merciful to those sensitive enough to His warnings.

Prayer:
We thank You, Father, for teaching us by this example of our insensitivity to Your warning signs and Your mercy to the animals. Amen.
Notes:
Reuters. Mark Bendeich, “Jumbos Save Tourists from Tsunami.” January 03, 2005. Photo: Elephants in Thailand. Courtesy of Siebrand. (CC BY-SA 3.0)
©Creation Moments 2016 (used with permission)
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What an absolutely amazing protection the Lord give these animals.
More Interesting Things from Creation Moments
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Solved! – Chicken or Egg – Which Came First?

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Chicken Hatching © WikiC

Chicken Hatching © WikiC

Creation Moments Had This To Say About The Age Old Question?

CHICKEN OR EGG – WHICH CAME FIRST?

“And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.” (Genesis 1:22)

Interesting Things from Smiley CentralWhich came first – the chicken or the egg? Well, I’m happy to report that this age-old dilemma has finally been solved. It was the chicken that came first – something that creationists have known all along. After all, the Bible tells us that God created every winged fowl and gave them the ability to reproduce after their kind.

Though atheistic evolutionists don’t look for answers in the Bible, they have now come to the same conclusion as those of us who do take the Bible seriously. According to a news item in the U.K.’s DailyMail, “Researchers found that the formation of egg shells relies on a protein found only in a chicken’s ovaries. Therefore, an egg can exist only if it has been inside a chicken.”

The article adds that the OC-17 protein acts as a catalyst to speed up the development of the shell. This hard shell is essential to house the yolk and its protective fluids while the chick develops inside.

Professor John Harding, an evolutionist from Sheffield University’s Department of Engineering Materials, predictably left God out of the picture when he said, “Nature has found innovative solutions that work for all kinds of problems in materials science and technology – we can learn a lot from them.”

Professor Harding, the only reason why we find innovative solutions in nature for all kinds of problems is because nature itself reflects the creative genius of its Creator!

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I pray that You will remind me of today’s Creation Moment whenever the conversation I’m having turns to the question of which came first – the chicken or the egg? In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Notes:
“They’ve cracked it at last! The chicken DID come before the egg,” DailyMail, 7/14/10.

Creation Moments ©2014 (Used With Permission)

Lee’s Addition:

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) Chick and Egg ©USFWS

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) Chick and Egg ©USFWS

This was today’s Creation Moment article. Oh, my! Took the scientist long enough to figure out the truth.

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, (Romans 1:19-22 KJV)

Interesting Things

Unbelievable Migrations from Creation Moments

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Artic Tern near Iceberg

Arctic Tern near Iceberg

Unbelievable Migrations from Creation Moments

“For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.” Mark 13:34

If you have ever traveled to a distant city on vacation, you know how much planning you have to do before you leave. And, of course, you need to know where you are going and the route you must follow to get there. But the creatures we’ll be talking about today know exactly how to get where they are going. In fact, they were born with an internal GPS system to show them the way.

In his book, Billions of Missing Links, Dr. Geoffrey Simmons devotes an entire chapter to the topic of migration. He begins by telling how baby loggerhead turtles migrate 8,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean. But that’s a short trip compared to the staggering 25,000 miles that arctic terns fly each year. That’s like flying completely around the Earth at the equator!

Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) ©WikiC

Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) ©WikiC

As Dr. Simmons points out, “Every species seems to know how to prepare for the arduous trip far in advance, but no one knows how they acquire the capability.” After describing all the preparations migrating birds must take care of, he writes: “One would think all these preparations had to have come as a whole package. There is way too much purposeful change for random mutations.”

How true! And even though Dr. Simmons is not a creationist, we have come to the exact same conclusion – namely, that animal migrations could not have come about slowly by trial and error, as Darwinian theory would have us believe.

Prayer:
Oh Lord, though I may get lost while going on a long trip, Your creatures never seem to lose their way. You have boggled my mind once again! Amen.

Notes:
Geoffrey Simmons, M.D., Billions of Missing Links, pp. 165-169 (Harvest House Publishers, 2007).

©Creation Moments, 2016

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Previous articles about the Arctic Tern:

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Magellanic Penguin Swims 5,000 Miles For Reunion

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Magellanic Penguin Swims 5,000 Miles For Reunion With Man Who Saved His Live

Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) ©Globo TV

Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) ©Globo TV

Best Buds

Dr. Jim sent this article to me today and I thought we would work it up. After checking online, there were quite a few news articles about Dindim the Magellanic Penguin and his rescuer. Here is the article:

Interesting Things from Smiley CentralToday’s most heartwarming story is brought to you from a beach in Brazil.

It’s the story of a South American Magellanic penguin who swims 5,000 miles each year to be reunited with the man who saved his life.

Retired bricklayer and part time fisherman Joao Pereira de Souza, 71, who lives in an island village just outside Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, found the tiny penguin, covered in oil and close to death,
lying on rocks on his local beach in 2011. Joao cleaned the oil off the penguin’s feathers and fed him a daily diet of fish to build his strength. He named him Dindim.

After a week, he tried to release the penguin back into the sea. But, the bird wouldn’t leave. ‘He stayed with me for 11 months and then, just after he changed his coat with new feathers, he disappeared,’ Joao recalls.

And, just a few months later, Dindim was back. He spotted the fisherman on the beach one day and followed him home.

The prodigal penguin returns. Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) ©Globo TV

The prodigal penguin returns. Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) ©Globo TV

Look who’s back

For the past five years, Dindim has spent eight months of the year with Joao and is believed to spend the rest of the time breeding off the coast of Argentina and Chile. It’s thought he swims up to 5,000 miles each year to be reunited with the man who saved his life.

Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) ©Globo TV

Dindim the Magellanic Penguin ©Globo TV

‘I love the penguin like it’s my own child and I believe the penguin loves me,’ Joao told Globo TV. ‘No one else is allowed to touch him. He pecks them if they do. He lays on my lap, lets me give him showers, and allows me to feed him sardines and to pick him up. It’s thought Dindim believes the fisherman is also a penguin ‘Everyone said he wouldn’t return but he has been coming back to visit me for the past four years. He arrives in June and leaves to go home in February and every year he becomes more affectionate as he appears even happier to see me.’

Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) ©Globo TV

Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) ©Globo TV

But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. (3 John 1:14 KJV)

Biologist Professor Krajewski, who interviewed the fisherman for Globo TV, told The Independent: ‘I have never seen anything like this before. I think the penguin believes Joao is part of his family and probably a penguin as well. ‘When he sees him he wags his tail like a dog and honks with delight. And, just like that, the world seems a kinder place again.

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You might want to check out these articles as some of them have videos of these two.

Penguins belong to the SPHENISCIFORMES Order, the Penguins – Spheniscidae Family.

Wordless Birds

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“Young Blood” by Creation Moments

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YOUNG BLOOD by Creation Moments

“His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.” (Job 41:24)

Interesting Things from Smiley CentralAs dinosaur bones containing blood vessels and blood cells are continually being found, more and more laboratories are assigning dates to these bones in the thousands, not millions, of years. This makes evolutionists just like the patient who goes to his doctor, convinced that he is dead. After failing to convince the patient he is alive, the doctor pricks the man’s finger, causing it to bleed. “See?” the doctor says. You must be alive because dead men don’t bleed.” And the patient replies: “Imagine that! Dead men do bleed after all!”

Blood vessels found in a supposedly 80-million-year-old hadrosaur fossil. Evolutionists know full well that dinosaur bones that are millions of years old should not have blood and blood vessels in them. To defend their position, they usually say the bones were contaminated, throwing off the dating. But North Carolina State University said that their researchers “have confirmed that blood vessel-like structures found in an 80 million-year-old hadrosaur fossil are original to the animal, and not biofilm or other contaminants.”

But like the patient who kept thinking he was dead, the university went on to say that their findings “add to the growing body of evidence that structures like blood vessels and cells can persist over millions of years.”

Photo Blood vessels found in a supposedly 80-million-year-old hadrosaur fossil. Courtesy of North Carolina State University. (Fair Use)

Photo Blood vessels found in a supposedly 80-million-year-old hadrosaur fossil. Courtesy of North Carolina State University. (Fair Use)

Evolutionists just won’t admit that their evolutionary dating of dinosaurs has finally been falsified. After all, that would be like admitting that the Bible is right, and this is something that atheistic evolutionists will never do.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, without You opening the eyes of evolutionists, I know it is impossible for me to get them to believe. Open their eyes to the truths found in Your infallible Word, I pray. Amen.
Notes:
“Researchers Confirm Original Blood Vessels in 80 Million-Year-Old Fossil,” NC State News, 12/1/15.
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An Elegant Quilt of Relationships – Creation Moments

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Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) Passing Berries ©WikiC

Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) Passing Berries ©WikiC

“The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted; Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.” (Psalm 104:16-17)

There are many incredible designs around us that are unlikely to exist if everything is the result of mindless chance. Many birds eat insects through the summer. While such high protein diets like this are good in mating and reproductive season, they do not prepare the birds to survive the cold weather of winter.

Alaska Wild Berries ©WikiC

An Elegant Quilt of Relationships – Alaska Wild Berries ©WikiC

Interesting Things from Smiley CentralWhat they need to do is build a layer of fat both for calorie storage as well as insulation. So, as winter nears, the berries that have been growing and ripening all summer on various shrubs become more numerous. The high sugar content of the berries’ juice helps the birds to quickly build up fat. The freeze on cold fall mornings even helps to increase the sugar concentration in the berries. Even more amazing is that the various types of berries eaten by the birds ripen in a staggered fashion so that berry season is long and the supplies are always available. For example, as the elderberry supply is just about consumed, highbush cranberries are in production. Often, the summer’s hatchlings’ plumage doesn’t reach full color until they eat the various pigments in the berries, and those pigments are incorporated into the new feathers. In exchange, the birds spread the seeds in the berries.

Cranberries ©Pixabay

Cranberries ©Pixabay

All of these complex, interrelated systems depend on each other in an elegant, fine-tuned design.

Prayer:
Father, thank You for the beauty and song of the birds which bless and enrich our lives. Amen.

Notes:
Val Cunningham, “Why bushes are better for birds.”

©Creation Moments 2016

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More Interesting Things

Hummingbird and a Dog

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Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) ©WikiC

Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) ©WikiC

“The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.” (Isaiah 65:25 KJV) (emphasis mine)

Here are two very interesting videos about a hummingbird and a dog getting along very well. It reminded me of these verses.

“And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.” (Genesis 2:19-20 KJV)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4irAd5N7koA&rel=0

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.” (Isaiah 11:6-8 NKJV)

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Wordless Birds – With Hummingbirds

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Designed For Flight – Creation Moments YouTube

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Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) by Lee

Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) by Lee

“Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” (Proverbs 23:5 KJV)

“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.” (Isaiah 40:28 KJV)

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)II at Bok Tower By Dan'sPix

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)II at Bok Tower By Dan’sPix

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Interesting Things

Creation Moments

Wordless Toucan

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Creation Moment’s Barreleyes

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Barreleyes (Opisthoproctus soleatus) ©WikiC

Barreleyes (Opisthoproctus soleatus) ©WikiC

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27)

Almost all sighted animals that aren’t insects see with eyeballs. But that is not true of a fish named barreleyes, and that’s for a good reason.Interesting Things from Smiley Central

Barreleyes has that name because instead of eyeballs, the fish sees through tubes. The fish live a third of a mile below the surface, so studying them in detail was not possible until the last few decades. Barreleyes can move its eyetubes in different directions, depending on what it wants to look at. Even stranger, the eyetubes are inside the forehead and do not come into contact with the water at all. How can it see if its vision organs are inside its head? It has a transparent forehead filled with transparent liquid. What is the purpose of such a strange arrangement? Scientists believe that barreleyes eat siphonophores, which are jellyfish-like creatures that sting. The transparent forehead protects its eyes from getting stung.

Barreleyes’ uniquely designed eyes are impossible to explain with gradual evolutionary modifications of regular fish eyes. Yet, they are well designed for barreleye’s unusual way of making a living. As Scripture reminds us several times, nothing is too hard for God. As we read Scripture’s record of what God has done in the past and what He has promised He still will do, especially for His people, this reminder is a comfort.

Prayer:
Father, when I read of what You have promised me, remind me that nothing is too hard for You. Amen.

Notes:
Susan Millius, “Barreleye peers at the world like a fighter pilot does through a windshield.”
©Creation Moments 2016

Lee’s Addition:

Barreleye Fish ©Bit.ly

Barreleye Fish ©Bit.ly

Is that amazing or what? Here is a YouTube I found for you to see this amazingly created critter from our Fabulous Creator:

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