Our visit to Washington D.C.

“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”

~ Colossians 1:16 ~

We drove up to Maryland on Wednesday  and were up bright and early Thursday morning to explore Washington D.C.  Our day began with a game of carpet soccer!

We took the train from New Carrollton to D.C.  Right after we snapped this picture, we met a missionary family on furlough that we enjoyed talking to.  They were going to go to the Creation Museum in a few weeks.

Our first stop was the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  This was one of our favorite stops of the whole day.

The Spirit of St. Louis.

A replica of Sputnik, the first object launched into space.

We really enjoyed seeing all the spacecraft.  This is Apollo 11; the carrier of the first men to the moon.

A Gemini spacecraft.

Miss Clara sketching John Glenn’s space capsule.

Philip taking a closer look where John Glenn first orbited the earth.

A bicycle manufactured by the Wright brothers.

Then…

…and now.

It was really interesting and encouraging to read how these two brothers worked together so well.  Their personalities complimented each other and they could not have accomplished what they did on their own.  This is the original plane that the Wright brothers flew in Kitty Hawk, NC.

A house on the moon.

God’s masterpiece.

Enjoying lunch while figuring out our next destination.

The clouds were in and out but the Lord blessed us with a perfect day.

In a week or two, the mall will be in full color.

Philip working on pressing some pretty leaves.

Journaling as we go:)

The Supreme Court was under construction so a printed sheet was hung in front:)

On our way to the other side of town.

We took many beautiful pictures of the Washington monument.

We didn’t have much time in the Museum of Natural History, but we did enjoy looking at lots of fossils.  What incredible evidence for the flood!

Dinosaurs are always fascinating!

Looks like Leviathan!

Philip’s favorite.

There were some beautiful photos that I couldn’t resist snapping myself.

Curious George:)

Weeeee.

The White House.

The memorials were pretty when evening came.

We enjoyed the WWII memorial.  There were many quotes on the walls.

We found a good friend of my grandparents on the Vietnam memorial.  He was the best man in their wedding.  Mr. Eliason was a helicopter pilot who was killed before the war officially began.

The Lincoln memorial was one of our last stops.

By the end of the day, we had probably walked about 6 miles and were very tired.  Even our socks were ready for a rest:)

Why Does God Allow Evil in the World?

Since last September, Kyle, Clara, Davis, and I (Emilee) have been a part of an apologetics group affiliated with the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association (NCFCA).  We have enjoyed it and are looking forward to beginning again next month!  It is so important to truly know what you believe and the implications it has on your life.  Our list of 100 apologetics topics can be found here if you are interested.
I would like to share with you one of the speeches I gave earlier this year.  The statement I was to respond to was, “If God is holy, why did He allow evil in the world?”  I would really enjoy hearing any comments you may have about it.  Thanks!!
 
“One of my favorite things to listen to on road trips is “The Great Debate” (you can read the whole debate here!).  It is a formal debate between atheist Gordon Stein and theologian Greg Bahnson over the existence of God. Some arguments that Dr. Stein used against the existence of God are common ones used by atheist. These arguments include what they call, “the problem of evil.” For example,

“If God exists, and desires things to be all good, and is all powerful so He can get what he desires, then evil should not exist.”

“If God exists and desires only good yet evil does exist, then God can’t be all powerful because He doesn’t get what He desires.”

“If we define “GOD” as all powerful and all-good and yet evil exists, then the “GOD” we have defined does not exist.”

How would you answer? Today I will be addressing the question, “Why does God allow evil in the world.”

It is very clear in Scripture that God is all-good. Psalm 100:5a says “For the Lord is good.” So how are we to deal with evil? If God is holy, why would he allow evil in the world?  I will answer this question by addressing 3 issues: Evil, Freewill, and Love. 
 


1. Before we discuss evil, we must ask a simple question, what is evil? Is it an entity of its own or not? According to theologian Norman Geisler, there is only true goodness and the absence of goodness. So therefore, evil is not a thing or substance but the lack of the goodness of God.  Think of it this way…In science we learned that what we call “cold” really isn’t cold.  Why? Because cold is just an absence of heat. There is always some heat present even though we may not be able to feel it!  So, in the same way, evil is the absence of good.  Now this doesn’t mean that evil isn’t real, it is very real! It is not an actual thing but a corruption of an actual thing; the goodness of God.
You know what? The fact of evil actually points to the existence of a good God. You may be thinking…how is that possible? Allow me to explain. It is impossible for total evil to exist, why?  Well, since evil is the absence of good, then if something was totally evil, there would be no goodness left, and therefore it would be nothing. Think of a moth eaten garment. A garment can’t be completely moth eaten because then it would be all gone, there would be no garment left. So it is with evil. You see, evil points to the existence and goodness of God because there is always some good by God’s common grace.
Now that we know what evil is, let’s move on to freewill.
When God created all things, He decided to give man free-will. This allows him or her to choose God’s goodness or reject it. You see, evil didn’t have to exist, but because we humans chose to reject God’s goodness, evil exists. God is responsible for making evil possible but we are the ones guilty for making it real.
So why did God choose to give us freewill if He knew that we would ultimately reject Him?
This question leads me to my final point which answers this question. I John 4:16 says “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him.
According to Webster’s 1828 dictionary , “the sense of love is to be free and willing.” True love is chosen, not dictated. So, there is no real love without freewill.
We must not forget God’s sovereignty in all this. Yes, He gave us freewill but even here, He knew what we would choose before the foundation of the world. He created and controls our brain by which we honor or reject God. God has placed love above all else. He has planned a way to outdo our corruption through the cross. He desires and commands us in turn to love Him with all our beings. If we choose not to, then we will live eternity apart from Him just as we have chosen to in our life on earth.

 


So you may be wondering, what about natural disasters? These are certainly acts of God which cause evil to happen. This answer is the same as before – freewill. When Adam and Eve sinned, it affected not only them but the whole universe. This caused a corrupted world where earthquakes, tornados, tsunamis, etc. occur.
So, we can conclude that, God did not create evil but He allows it to exist because of His great love for us in giving us freewill. This same love is why God sent His Son to die in our place so that if we by God’s grace believe on Him, our relationship of love will be restored. Christ will ultimately conquer all evil when He returns again.

Garden Time

Every time of year is beautiful in its own way and is designed by God for a specific purpose.  Late spring and early summer is an especially exciting time with the garden.  It is wonderful to see God rewarding the fruit of our labors and the promise of a fruitful harvest.

Our herb garden with a few flowers thrown in:)

Beautiful before the Japanese Beetles attacked!

Hopefully in just a couple more weeks we’ll be having blueberry smoothies, blueberry pancakes, blueberry cereal, etc.

The fig tree is doing great!

The unconquered zinnia.

If you plant them once, they will come back year after year, more and more.  Our row of tomatoes has been almost taken over by them!

The bee’s soda fountain.  During these hot summer days, it is usually quite busy.

Here comes a cucumber!

We have found lettuce easy to grow, bountiful, and delicious.  It is lasting quite a while as well.

Here comes the squash!

Beans are also very easy to grow.  Here are some regular green beans…

…Burgundy beans…

…snow peas.

Yum-yum!

We got 20 new chickens a month or two ago.  They are waiting for their fence to be built.

Our egg suppliers.

“Only a face a mother could love!” ~Papa

Our bees are doing great as well.  A few months ago, the hive naturally split and we had a swarm on our hands.  Daddy was able to catch it and put the bees in a second hive.

Our first hive.

We praise the Lord for all His blessings!

Vegetable leather

For Christmas, Daddy got us a nice BIG dehydrator which has been so much fun.  I (Emilee) have been doing a lot of experimenting with different leathers.
Here are some ideas and instructions for making vegetable leather.  The finished product tasted like a condensed vegetable soup.  You could probably use these to make a broth or just eat it as it is.  By the way, I did not take exact measurements, so have fun experimenting on your own and modifying if you so desire.

First of all, chop one onion.

Sauté the onion in a little olive oil.

Next, finely chop some squash (I probably used one or two) and add to the sautéed onions.

Puree one or two tomatoes and add to the vegetable mixture.

Finely great a few carrots.

Mix the vegetables and allow them to sauté until tender.

After the vegetables were tender, I added a tablespoon or two of some Italian seasoning consisting of garlic, basil, rosemary, and sea salt.  Feel free to taste your vegetables to determine if you need more seasoning.  Just keep in mind, the flavor will be condensed in the leather.

Fill the blender a third or half way full of spinach…

…then spoon in your vegetables until the blender is about three-fourths full.

Add a little water, just enough to allow the food to blend.

Give it a spin until all the chunks are gone.

If you have a dehydrator, lay your paraflex or thick zip-lock bags cut to lay flat on your trays.  If you don’t have a dehydrator but your oven can go down to 135 degrees Fahrenheit, take a cookie sheet and lay your bag on it.

Next, spread your vegetable mixture on the trays, about an eighth to a quarter inch think in the middle and a quarter inch thick around the edges. 

Place you trays in the dehydrator or oven and turn it on to 135 degrees Fahrenheit for 4-6 hours or until completely dry.

When the leather is done, carefully remove it from the paraflex or bags.

Role the leather up beginning rather tightly.  Mine cracked a little at the beginning but it finished nicely.

Cut the leather as long as desired…

…and seal completely with plastic wrap!

That’s all there is to it!!  These are a healthy quick snack that are easy to take along.  Give it a try and let me know how it works!