Just Because – If It Fits, I Sits Supercut Video

Owl in Drain - If It Fits-I Sits

Owl in Drain – If It Fits-I Sits

Here is the  – If It Fits, I Sits Supercut Video

If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasantness and joy. (Job 36:11 AMP)

I couldn’t resist. I received an email with a lot of photos and then found this video. Enjoy!

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Additional Photos

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Dubai’s New Year’s Celebration – Did You See It?

Have You Seen These? Dubai’s New Year’s Celebration had 500,000 explosions. Guinness was there for a record event. The worlds tallest building is where most of these are going off from.

Here are two different versions. Enjoy

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Absolutely Amazing Videos of Eagle Receiving A New Beak

How long will the land have grief, and the plants of all the land be dry? because of the sins of the people living in it, destruction has overtaken the beasts and the birds; because they said, God does not see our ways. (Jeremiah 12:4 BBE)

Because of someone shooting a Bald Eagle, which is against the law, this bird was seriously injured.

Below are two video explaining what happened to Beauty, the Bald Eagle, and how they came to make a new beak for her. Enjoy.

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Eagles are one of the Birds of the Bible and are in the Accipitridae – Family (Kites, Hawks & Eagles)

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Wordless Birds

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Interesting Things – The Amazing Camel and It’s Creator

What an amazing animal! God did some very special engineering from the git-go! None of this “grocery store” new and improved nonsense. He got it entirely right the first time.

The Amazing Camel and It’s Creator

(From Moody Press)

If you ever doubted that God exists, Meet the Very Technical, Highly Engineered Dromedary Camel.

When I’m hungry, I’ll eat almost anything-A leather bridle, a piece of rope, my master’s tent, Or a pair of shoes.

My mouth is so tough a thorny cactus doesn’t bother it. I love to chow down grass and other plants That grow here on the Arabian desert.

I’m a dromedary camel, the one-hump kind That lives on hot deserts in the Middle East.

My hump, all eighty pounds of it, Is filled with fat-my body fuel-not water as some people believe. My Mighty Maker gave it to me because He knew I wouldn’t always be able to find food As I travel across the hot sands. When I don’t find any chow, my body automatically Takes fat from the hump, feeds my system, And keeps me going strong. This is my emergency food supply.

If I can’t find any plants to munch, my body uses up my hump. When the hump gets smaller, it starts to tip to one side. But when I get to a nice oasis and begin to eat again, My hump soon builds back to normal.

I’ve been known to drink twenty-seven gallons of water in ten minutes. My Master Designer made me in such a fantastic way that In a matter of minutes all the water I’ve swallowed Travels to the billions of microscopic cells that make up my flesh.

Naturally, the water I swallow first goes into my stomach. There thirsty blood vessels absorb and carry it to every part of my body. Scientists have tested my stomach and found it empty Ten minutes after I’ve drunk twenty gallons.

In an eight hour day I can carry a four hundred pound load A hundred miles across a hot, dry desert And not stop once for a drink or something to eat. In fact, I’ve been known to go eight days without a drink, But then I look a wreck. I lose 227 pounds, my ribs show through my skin, And I look terribly skinny. But I feel great! I look thin because the billions of cells lose their water. They’re no longer fat. They’re flat.

Normally my blood contains 94 percent water, just like yours. But when I can’t find any water to drink, The heat of the sun gradually robs a little water out of my blood. Scientists have found that my blood can lose up to 40 percent of its water, and I’m still healthy.

Doctor’s say human blood has to stay very close to 94 percent water. If you lose 5 percent of it, you can’t see anymore; 10 percent, you can’t Hear and you go insane; 12 percent, your blood is as thick as molasses And your heart can’t pump the thick stuff. It stops, and you’re dead.

But that’s not true with me. Why? Scientists say my blood is different. My red cells are elongated. Yours are round. Maybe that’s what makes the difference.

This proves I’m designed for the desert, Or the desert is designed for me. Did you ever hear of a design without a Designer?

After I find a water hole, I’ll drink for about ten minutes And my skinny body starts to change almost immediately. In that short time my body fills out nicely, I don’t look skinny anymore, And I gain back the 227 pounds I lost.

Even though I lose a lot of water on the desert, My body conserves it too. Way in the beginning when my intelligent Engineer made me, He gave me a specially designed nose that saves water. When I exhale, I don’t lose much. My nose traps that warm, moist air from my lungs And absorbs it in my nasal membranes.

Tiny blood vessels in those membranes take that back into my blood. How’s that for a recycling system? Pretty cool, isn’t it. It works because my nose is cool. My cool nose changes that warm moisture in the air From my lungs into water.

But how does my nose get cool? I breath in hot dry desert air, And it goes through my wet nasal passages. This produces a cooling effect, and my nose stays as much as 18 degrees cooler than the rest of my body.

I love to travel the beautiful sand dunes. It’s really quite easy, because My Creator gave me specially engineered sand shoes for feet. My hooves are wide, and they get even wider when I step on them. Each foot has two long, bony toes with tough, leathery skin between my soles, are a little like webbed feet.

They won’t let me sink into the soft, drifting sand. This is good, because often my master wants me to carry him one hundred miles across the desert in just one day. (I troop about ten miles per hour.)

Sometimes a big windstorm comes out of nowhere, bringing flying sand with it. My Master Designer put special muscles in my nostrils that close the openings, keeping sand out of my nose but still allowing me enough air to breathe.

My eyelashes arch down over my eyes like screens, keeping the sand and sun out but still letting me see clearly. If a grain of sand slips through and gets in my eye, the Creator took care of that too. He gave me an inner eyelid that automatically wipes the sand off my eyeball just like a windshield wiper.

Some people think I’m conceited because I always walk around with my head held high and my nose in the air.

But that’s just because of the way I’m made. My eyebrows are so thick and bushy I have to hold my head high to peek out from underneath them. I’m glad I have them though. They shade my eyes from the bright sun.

Desert people depend on me for many things. Not only am I their best form of transportation, but I’m also their grocery store. Mrs. Camel gives very rich milk that people make into butter and cheese. I shed my thick fur coat once a year, and that can be woven into cloth. A few young camels are used for beef, but I don’t like to talk about that.

For a long time we camels have been called the “ships of the desert” because of the way we sway from side to side when we trot. Some of our riders get seasick.

I sway from side to side because of the way my legs work. Both legs on one side move forward at the same time, elevating that side. My “left, right left, right” motion makes my rider feel like he is in a rocking chair going sideways.

When I was six months old, special knee pads started to grow on my front legs. The intelligent Creator knew I had to have them. They help me lower my 1000 pounds to the ground.

If I didn’t have them, my knees would soon become sore and infected, and I could never lie down. I’d die of exhaustion.

By the way, I don’t get thick knee pads because I fall on my knees. I fall on my knees because I already have these tough pads. Someone very great thought of me and knew I needed them. He designed them into my genes.

It’s real difficult for me to understand how some people say I evolved into what I now am. I’m very technical, highly engineered dromedary camel. Things like me don’t just happen.

They’re planned on a drawing board by Someone very brilliant, Someone very logical.

John 1:1 says,
“In the beginning was the Word.
And the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.”
The Word means “logical, intelligent One.”

(Received in an e-Mail, but found it on the Lakeside Church of Christ website. Not sure who to give the credit to. Could not find it on the Moody site. We do know the ultimate credit goes to – The Creator.)

How Birds Are Named

American Robin (Turdus migratorius) eating by Jim Fenton

American Robin (Turdus migratorius) eating by Jim Fenton

HOW BIRDS ARE NAMED

From ~ Color Key to North American Birds, by Frank M. Chapman

Birds have two kinds of names. One is a common, vernacular, or popular name; the other is a technical or scientific name. The first is usually given to the living bird by the people of the country it inhabits. The second is applied to specimens of birds by ornithologists who classify them.

Common names in their origin and use know no law. Technical names are bestowed under the system of nomenclature established by Linnæus and their formation and application are governed by certain definite, generally accepted rules. The Linnæan system, as it is now employed by most American ornithologists, provides that a bird, in addition to being grouped in a certain Class, Order, Family, etc., shall have a generic and specific name which, together, shall not be applied to any other animal.

Our Robin, therefore, is classified and named as follows:

CLASS AVES, Birds.

ORDER PASSERES, Perching Birds.

Suborder Oscines, Singing Perching Birds.

Family –Turdidæ Thrushes.

Subfamily Turdinæ Thrushes.

Genus, Turdus Thrushes.

Species, migratorius American Robin.

The Robin’s distinctive scientific name, therefore, which it alone possesses, is Turdus migratorius. There are numerous other members of the genus Turdus, but not one of them is called migratorius and this combination of names, therefore, applied to only one bird.

The questions Why use all these Latin terms? Why not call the bird “Robin” and be done with it? are easily answered. Widely distributed birds frequently have different names in different parts of their range. The Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus), for instance, has over one hundred common or vernacular names. Again, the same name is often applied to wholly different birds. Our Robin (Turdus migratorius) is not even a member of the same family as the European Robin (Erithacus rubecola.) If, therefore, we should write of birds or attempt to classify them only by their common names, we should be dealing with such unfixed quantities that the result would be inaccurate and misleading. But by using one name in a language known to educated people of all countries, a writer may indicate, without danger of being misunderstood, the particular animal to which he refers. Among people speaking the same tongue, where a definite list of vernacular names of animals has been established, they can of course be used instead of the scientific names.

European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) by Robert Scanlon

European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) by Robert Scanlon

Such a list of North American birds has been prepared by the American Ornithologists’ Union. It furnishes a common as well as scientific name for each of our birds, and is the recognized standard of nomenclature among American ornithologists. The names and numbers of birds employed in this Color Key are those of the American Ornithologists’ Union’s ‘Check-List of North American Birds.’

It will be observed that in this ‘Check-List,’ and consequently in the following pages, many birds have three scientific names, a generic, specific, and subspecific. The Western Robin, for example, appears as Turdus migratorius propinquus. What is the significance of this third name?

In the days of Linnæus, and for many years after, it was supposed that a species was a distinct creation whose characters never varied. But in comparatively recent years, as specimens have been gathered from throughout the country inhabited by a species, comparison frequently shows that specimens from one part of its range differ from those taken in another part of its range. At intervening localities, however, intermediate specimens will be found connecting the extremes.

Generally, these geographical variations, as they are called, are the result of climatic conditions. For instance, in regions of heavy rainfall a bird’s colors are usually much darker than they are where the rainfall is light. Song Sparrows, for example, are palest in the desert region of Arizona, where the annual rainfall may not reach eight inches, and darkest on the coast of British Columbia and Alaska, where the annual rainfall may be over one hundred inches. In going from one region, however, to the other the gradual changes in climate are accompanied by gradual changes in the colors of the Song Sparrows, and the wide differences between Arizona and Alaska Song Sparrows are therefore bridged by a series of intermediates.

Variations of this kind are spoken of as geographic, racial, or subspecific and the birds exhibiting them are termed subspecies. In naming them a third name, or trinomial is employed, and the possession of such a name indicates at once that a bird is a geographic or racial representative of a species, with one or more representatives of which it intergrades.

Returning now to the Robin. Our eastern Robins always have the outer pair of tail-feathers tipped with white and, in adults, the back is blotched with black; while Robins from the Rocky Mountains and westward have little or no white on the outer tail-feathers, and the back is dark gray, without black blotches. These extremes are connected by intermediate specimens sharing the characters; of both eastern and western birds. We do not, therefore, treat the latter as a species, but as a subspecies, and consequently, apply to it a subspecific name or trinomial, Turdus migratorius propinquus, (propinquus, meaning nearly related.)

A further study of our eastern Robin shows that in the southern parts of its breeding range (the Carolinas and Georgia), it varies from the northern type in being smaller in size and much paler and duller in color; and to this second geographical variety is applied the name Turdus migratorius achrusterus, (achrusterus, meaning less highly colored).

After the recognition of western and southern races of the Robin under three names (trinomial) it would obviously be inconsistent to apply only two names (binomial) to our eastern bird, the former being no more subspecies of the latter than the latter is of the former. In other words, to continue to apply only generic and specific names to the Eastern Robin would imply that it was a full species, while the use of a trinomial for the Western or the Southern Robin shows them to be subspecies. As a matter of fact we know that there is but one species of true Robin in the United States, consequently in accordance with the logical and now generally accepted method, we apply to that species the name Turdus migratorius, and this is equally applicable to Robins from east, south or west. When, however, we learn that the Eastern Robin is not a species but a subspecies, we repeat the specific name by which it was made known and call it Turdus migratorius migratorius.

It may be asked, Why give names to these geographical races? Why not call Eastern, Western and Southern Robins by one name, Turdus migratorius, without regard to their climatic variations?

In reply, two excellent reasons may be given for the recognition of subspecies by name; first, because in some cases they differ from one another far more than do many species, when it would clearly be inadvisable to apply the same name to what are obviously different creatures. For example, it has lately been discovered by Mr. E. W. Nelson that the small, black-throated, brown-breasted, Quails or Bob-whites of southern Mexico, through a long series of intermediates inhabiting the intervening region, intergrade with the large, white-throated, black-and-white breasted, Bob-white of our northern states. It would be absurd to call such wholly unlike birds by the same name, nor could we give a full specific name to the Mexican Bob-white since at no place can we draw a line definitely separating it from the northern Bob-white. Furthermore, the use of only two names would conceal the remarkable fact of the intergradation of two such strikingly different birds; a fact of the first importance to students of the changing within species.

For much the same reason we should name those birds which show less pronounced variations, such as are exhibited by the Robin. Here we have a species in the making, and in tracing the relation between cause and effect, we learn something of the influences which create species. Thus, climate has been definitely proven so to alter a species, both in size and color that, as we have seen in the case of the Song Sparrows, marked climate changes are accompanied by correspondingly marked changes in the appearance of certain animals. In naming these animals we are, in effect, giving a ‘handle to the fact’ of their speciation by environment.

Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark. (Genesis 8:17-19 NKJV)

Since it is evident that a bird may vary much or little, according to the governing conditions and its tendency to respond to them, no fixed rule can be laid down which shall decide just what degree of difference are deserving a name. It follows, therefore, that in some cases ornithologists do not agree upon a bird’s claim to subspecific rank.

In North America, however, questions of this kind are referred to a committee of seven experts of the American Ornithologists’ Union, and their decision establishes a nomenclature, which is accepted as the standard by other American ornithologists and which has been adopted in this volume.

Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus) by W Kwong

Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus) by W Kwong – Listed as a Recent Sighting – NARBA

Foreign birds of wholly accidental occurrence, most of which have been found in North America but once or twice, are included in the systematic list of North American birds, but are not described or figured in the body of the book, where their presence would tend to convey an erroneous impression of their North American status. Furthermore, records of the presence of birds so rare as these can be properly based on only the capture of specimens.

In the preparation of the following pages both author and artist have had full access to the collections of the American Museum of Natural History, and they are also glad to acknowledge their indebtedness to William Brewster of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Robert Ridgway, Curator of Birds in the United States National Museum, and to C. Hart Merriam, Chief of the Biologic Survey, for the loan of specimens for description and illustration.

(Some editing to correct a few names and wording. Bolding is mine.)

Today, the I.O.C, which I use here on the blog, is now the International Ornithologist Union. They are trying to standardize an English Name and a Scientific Names for all the birds of the world.

The article is a little technical, but helps explain the naming process. As I have said previously, Adam had it a little easier. There were less species and subspecies. Now there are over 10,400 species and at present, 20,989 subspecies. God commanded the birds to multiply and they have been obeying. Now we have the challenge of trying to put names on all of them. Every time they grow a different colored feather, I think they name it either a new species or a subspecies. :o)

See:

Birds of the World

Birds of the Bible

Leaving the Ark

Seven by Seven

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Baby Golden Eagle Survives the Utah Wildfire

Here is an amazing video from YouTube about a Baby Golden Eagle that survived the Utah Wildfire this year.

As the fire burns the woods, And as the flame sets the mountains on fire, (Psalms 83:14 NKJV)

From YouTube

Published on Jul 8, 2012 by OptimizeSite

BigNewsStory.com – Baby Golden Eagle Survives Utah Wildfire

A baby golden eagle is recovering at a wildlife rehabilitation facility after officials say it miraculously survived a Utah wildfire last month.

Kent Keller told The Salt Lake Tribune (http://bit.ly/NKy8WO ) he feared the worst when he returned to the nest site west of Utah Lake to retrieve a leg band he had attached to the male eaglet June 1.

But the veteran Utah Division of Wildlife Resources volunteer found the burned bird alive on June 28 behind a charred tree, about 25 feet below the nest that was burned to a crisp in the 5,500-acre Dump Fire near Saratoga Springs.

“I thought there was no chance he would be alive. I was stunned when I saw him standing there,” Keller said. “I thought maybe I could rebuild the nest a little bit, but I took a good look at him and realized that was not going to happen.”

The 70-day-old eaglet had suffered burns on his talons, beak, head and wings. His flight feathers were melted down to within an inch or two of his wing and tail. He’s very underweight at just over five pounds.

Keller realized the eagle would not fly for at least a year and that the parents eventually would stop providing food. Not a stick from the nest was left after the fire sparked by target shooters swept through

“I’ve seen nests burn before, but this is the first year I have seen one burn with young in it,” he told the Tribune. “They are usually long gone and flying when fire season starts.”

After permission was secured from state and federal wildlife agencies, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah in Ogden assumed care of the eaglet this week.

“I wasn’t sure he was going to make it,” said DaLyn Erickson, executive director of the center. “He kind of had that look like he may have given up.”

But the eagle named Phoenix has since taken to eating beef heart and venison. He’s treated several times a day for his burns and seems to be gaining strength.

“He looks good now,” said Amber Hansen, a member of the center’s board of directors. “But we think if he had been there (at the nest site) another day, he probably would not have survived.”

What seems to have saved his life during the fire was the insulation offered by his down feathers and once-thick body, according to the wildlife rehabilitation center.

Officials hope the bird can be released back into the wild next year, but say it’s too early to tell about its future. Volunteers will work to keep him as wild as possible.

“It depends on how much follicle damage there is to his wings,” Hansen said. “If they are not too burned, he should be able to molt into new feathers next year and hopefully be able to fly.”

-usnews.com

Wow! More Awards! Thank You

Wow! I just received another award today and I haven’t even written up my latest one before that yet. Been busy gearing up a new blog with will launch soon. Oops! That is still a “secret” for a few more days.

These are the Awards that have been given to me and links to their websites and some information about those blogs:

Creationscience4kids has just nominated me for the Reader Appreciation Award. That is a very neat site that:
“This is a site to celebrate the amazing world God made.  This site is for all of you who love to learn new things about nature and science without a bunch of big words.  This site is also to help us all understand the differences between evolutionary thinking and young earth creationist thinking.  This site believes that God spoke everything into existence in six 24 hour days as stated in Genesis 1 and that the wold that then was perished in the global flood of Noah’s day as II Peter 3:6 says.

Seasonsgirl nominated me for the Inspiring Blog Award. She is a “I am a Christian, working wife, and puppy mom living with my husband, dogs, chickens, and disabled father in Virginia. We have a dream to someday own our own small ranch with horses, cows, goats, chickens, and dogs to boot. Right now we are working to start our family.” She has been visiting my blog, and I have been to her’s where she has some really neat photos and recipes. I am not a cook, but the photos are super.

Faithrises nominated me for the Beautiful Blogger Award. “Faithrises is a place for readers to be encouraged and motivated, through stories, quotes, and biblical examples.  My name is Faith, and I hope that you will be uplifted and inspired here, as you rise above personal difficulties and challenging circumstances.”

Sandra Conner nominated me for the Genuine Blogger Award. Sandra has this to say about her three blogs in her About section; “So here I am, Sandra Conner, beginning the “About Me” article on my third blog site, My first blog “Hangin’ Out With God,” is a site devoted exclusively to things about the Lord Jesus Christ and ministry. My second, “Happy Patriot,” is a blog on which I feel free to comment on any number of subjects, but mostly on patriotic and political issues. And today, I embark on number three, Sandra Conner…By The Book.

Previous to those, two nominated this blog for the Versatile Blogger Award.

Beauty and Brains nominated me back in April for this Award. Her site, “Beauty & Brains” is a blog geared for anyone and everyone. The “beauty” posts concern themselves with makeup/fragrance reviews and tutorials. Please note I am not paid to review products. All products were purchased by me for me. The “brains” posts consist of reviews of books, music, films, or any other item of conversation.”

and Dou Dou also nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award. She makes “Handmade Art Birds and Animal Sculptures” and is very good at them. They appear to be right small, but nice details. She also write about other topics also.

We are suppose to tell 7 random things about ourselves and then pass them on to 7-15 other worthy bloggers. Personally, I would like to nominate all those who come to this blog and my Birds of the Bible blog for an Award. I appreciate all of you who stop by and read the articles. Many of you are following the blogs and leave likes and comments. There are more than 15 who do so. So how do you choose just a few?

Not sure what I would call it, maybe something like Thank You Award, or Thanks for Stopping By Award, Thanks For Your Support Award, or Thanks for putting up with my mistakes Award, or something like that. What ever it would be, you would all be nominated for it.

The Best Award any of us could hope to get is the “Well Done the good and faithful servant” Award from Our Lord Jesus Christ.

  1. Love you all and I do pray for all the visitors that stop by.
  2. I Love the Lord and He is my personal Savior (1960)
  3. Married almost 49 years (July 1963)
  4. Love birds and watching them and learning about them
  5. Graduated College after taking 16 years to do so (1977)
  6. I am thankful for all my family and friends
  7. Don’t have a bucket list – maybe I should

Now for the nominations. (This will be hard)

For the Reader Appreciation

All who are followers of this blog, you are nominated because you are appreciated. Not sure who started that award, but I think it needs to include more readers, which I just did.

If you chose to accept it, you are suppose to tell 7 random things about yourself, link back to this page, and then nominate who you think deserve the Reader Appreciation Award, then leave a comment on their blog or send an email with a link to the page that you nominated them.

For the Inspiring Blog Award

These sites come to mind as Inspiring:

The Fountain which is from my home church and has lots of inspiring articles on it.

Hearing His Voice – Learning to hear and recognize God’s voice

Hanging’  Out With God – A site devoted to getting up close and personal with God, through knowing and believing His Word.

The Birding Bunch – Amateur ornithologists with a Christian worldview.

Postcards from Colorado –  the joy of seeing, capturing, and sharing the images of our daily surroundings

Forest Forward – The Northeast’s Wildlife Photo Blog

The Sovereign – Living holy lives in light of prophecy and the return of Christ.

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The Other Awards were written up previously.

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Interesting Things – Ancient Plane from Ancient Egypt

And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! [for then] would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, [then] would I wander far off, [and] remain in the wilderness. (Psalm 55 6-7)

These days, we don’t have to wait very long before we hear some nonsense about how flight or – more recently – space travel are but stages in human evolutionary development. As Christians, we know that when Adam, the first man, is described as perfect, he is perfect in every way – spiritually, morally and intellectually. This probably explains why Scripture says that within the first few generations of human existence on Earth, the arts and sciences were flourishing.

 

In 1898, an object that was thought to be a small wooden model of a bird was discovered in Egypt. The “unremarkable” find was tossed into a box marked “wooden bird models” and was rediscovered in more recent times. The Egyptian Ministry of Culture set up a special panel to study the object. As a result of that study, the object is on display at the Cairo Museum today as the centerpiece of a special exhibit. It is now officially labeled as a model airplane.

The plane’s design shows that it is an excellent glider, and with a small engine it could carry huge loads because of the unique design of its wings. This 2,200 year old model airplane had wings that angle slightly downward at the ends—exactly the same improved wing design that was first used in modern times on the supersonic Concorde!

Everyone agrees that humans have always been interested in flight. But now it appears that we creationists were right – we have always been smart enough to do something about our interest in flight as well!

Prayer:
Lord, help people understand that they are not simply glorified animals but are Your creations. Help us all to see that You made each one of us for a purpose, and help me to live for Your purpose.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Notes:
Photo: Courtesy of Dawoudk and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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The Wombat’s Backward Pouch (Re-post)

Common Wombat - Cairns CC

Common Wombat - Cairns CC

The Wombat’s Backward Pouch (Re-posted from Creation Moments)

Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Australia has many animals that are not found anywhere else in the world today. One of the most unique is the wombat, which looks like a small bear with brown fur. The wombat is a burrowing animal.

Like many of Australia’s animals, the wombat is a marsupial, having a pouch in which its prematurely born young complete their development. The pouches owned by most marsupials are open at the top toward the mother’s head. This works fine for the kangaroo and other marsupials – no one ever saw a kangaroo standing on its head.

Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)-Maria Island National Park

Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)-Maria Island National Park

But the wombat is a burrowing animal. If its pouch opened toward the mother’s head, it would very quickly fill with dirt, which wouldn’t do the young wombat inside the pouch any good. So, unlike any other marsupial, the wombat’s pouch opens toward the animal’s hind legs – it points backward!

The marsupial’s pouch is a wondrous enough invention all by itself. But this pouch is a clear case of a specialized intelligent design for a unique situation. If the wombat’s backward pouch had been produced by mutations, how would baby wombats have gotten by during the millions of years of trial and error needed to redesign the pouch? It’s easy to see the wombat’s backward pouch as a humorous hint from the Creator that human theories simply cannot replace the account of creation that He has revealed to us in the Bible!

Prayer:
Lord, I thank You that You have so carefully planned every detail of the creation for the benefit of every creature. When things don’t seem to be going well in my life, comfort me with the fact that You are still in charge and that You care about the details of my life, too. Amen.
Notes:
Major, Trevor. 1989. “The backward wombat.” Reasoning from Revelation, August. p. 3.

©Creation Moments, 2012

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Interesting Things – Dragonfly (from Creation Moments)

Dragonfly by Phil Kwong

Dragonfly by ©Phil Kwong

Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. (Psalm 34:11 )

Evolutionary naturalism paints the picture of life as if it were a haphazard series of accidents that just barely resulted in a range of living things that just manage to survive. This fanciful picture destroys our sense of wonder over the sophisticated engineering designs in nature.

SmileyCentral.com

Consider the mystery of flight, for example. Some evolutionists suggest that perhaps birds are descended from lizards that fell out of trees a lot. Other evolutionists say that birds came from lizards who grew wings, not for flight but to chase down and catch insects. Yet, they have little to say about the fact that we humans have come by most of our sophisticated knowledge about flight from studying the birds.

Then there is the problem, for the evolutionist, of how flight accidentally evolved so many times for so many creatures. Scientists studying the dragonfly are learning even more secrets of flight. Our best high-performance aircraft can barely lift themselves off the ground. However, the dragonfly can lift 15 times his own weight into the air. Scientists have learned that this is because the dragonfly’s wings are designed to create little whirlwinds over their top surfaces. These whirlwinds are the secret to creating incredible lifting power. Ways are now being planned to apply this secret to new aircraft designs.

Dragonfly by ©Raymond Barlow

Dragonfly by ©Raymond Barlow

The engineering excellence found in nature and from which we have learned so much even in this day of interplanetary probes is not witness to a mindless process of evolution, but to a wise and mindful Creator.

Prayer:
Father, it seems a shame that humans learned about flight from the dragonfly and fail to see a witness to You. Yet, I know that I don’t learn from You as I should, either. Forgive me for Jesus’ sake and make me a better learner. Amen.

Notes:
“Dragonfly model for future wings.” Science Digest, Mar. 1984. p. 87. ©Creation Moments, 2011

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The lessons being learned about the dragonfly’s wings are a good example of:

But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; (Job 12:7 NKJV)

We can learn much from the critters by learning about how the Lord created them and then applying those lessons to better our lives.

More Interesting Things

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Interesting Things – The Weaver Bird

Lesser Masked Weaver (Ploceus intermedius) by Bob-Nan

Lesser Masked Weaver (Ploceus intermedius) by Bob-Nan

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:28)

Intelligence – as much as is needed and no more – is generously found throughout the creation. So we cannot say that intelligence alone makes humans special.

Consider the weaverbird. The weaverbird nest consists of woven strips of fiber and grass. Using beak and feet, the male weaverbird uses both loops and knots to weave his hanging nest. Then the nest must be inspected by a prospective mate. If she doesn’t like the nest’s construction, she will turn down the hopeful mate. The male must then tear down his work and start over. Some males have been observed constructing and tearing down their nests two dozen times before finding a prospective mate who is satisfied with his work. Some weaverbirds actually build huge cities of nests protected by a woven roof. One roof over a weaverbird city was 15 feet across!

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Human intelligence spans much more than animal intelligence. However, what sets us apart from animals is the fact that our Creator made us to have a special relationship with Him. And even when Adam and Eve placed their will above God’s Word, He still loved us enough to pay the highest price to restore us to Himself. Jesus Christ lived in perfect obedience to God for us and then suffered the penalty of our disobedience against God. In His resurrection from the dead, all those who embrace Christ in faith receive the promise of being made new creations again – beginning right here in this life! That’s the wide gulf between humans and animals!

Prayer:
Dear Father, I thank You that You have given me being and life, and that when I was lost in sin, You still sought me out with Your gospel. Help me to truly live as Your new creation in Christ. For His sake. Amen.
Notes:
Science Digest, Aug. 1983. p. 73.

©Creation Moments 2011


Lee’s Addition:

Thought you might enjoy watching the weaver birds at work. Most of the Weaver Birds belong to the Ploceidae – Weavers, Widowbirds Family. Some of the Old World Sparrows – Passeridae Family have Weavers.
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Wordless Birds

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