ARK Encounter

We were first amazed by its size... the parking lot is some distance away, and as you travel by bus through the rolling hills surrounding it up to the actual location of the Ark, it just grows and grows!

The Ark was built exactly according to the dimensions and directions from God as are recorded in Genesis.

Over four football fields long, the Ark measures 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high. It has 3.3 million board feet of lumber; making the Ark the biggest timber frame structure in the world!!

As in the Creation Museum, the depictions of Noah, his family, and the created animals were vivid and life - like!

As we made our way through the first level of the Ark, the sound effects of a storm and flood "outside" Noah's Ark built the anticipation... "movement" and the rustling of animals in the cages grew as we continued further into the Ark.

 They have model animal types in cages with sound effects bringing authenticity to the display. Of course, Noah would have brought the dinosaurs on-board as juveniles: less food to feed them, they were easier to manage, and they would have been young enough to procreate when they got off the ark.

This video clip gives a glimpse into the Ark experience... 

There are more beautiful scientific displays that show how the continents used to be one giant landmass pre-flood and then the changes that happened to the Earth, and are still happening, because of the global flood. All the exhibits are state-of-the-art, engaging, and educational for viewers of all ages!

The rustic beauty of the ark kept everything so real, it was as though we were on the ark with Noah and his family experiencing what they went through!

It was fascinating to learn, of course, that they weren't just thrown onto the ark with a bunch of animals. (God is too wise and orderly for that kind of scenario!)

There were methods and ways Noah and his family conducted waste management, brought fresh water on-board, and fed and watered the animals. It was organized and manageable for 8 people.

Noah had in fact studied ship building for years before completion of the Ark. To the contemporaries of Noah's day, the oddity was not that Noah was building a ship - there were plenty of seafaring vessels - the oddity was where he was building the ship and why he was building it. There had never been a global flood before - and never will be again!

At the outdoor Mt Ararat Zoo, the children watched a brand new Joey in his mama's pouch. Born in October the size of a jelly bean without hair or eyes, he grows in his mom's pouch ... this little one hasn't even fully come out into the wide world yet!

It's beautiful to see Scripture again everywhere throughout the exhibits, pointing the way for our need for a Savior.  

And just as God closed the door of the ark, for each one of us, there will be a point when the door to Salvation is closed ... and if we haven't entered through Jesus (John 10:) we too will be left outside the ark.

Creation Museum trip!!!

On April 23rd our family toured the Creation Museum in Kentucky. It was a terrific experience to walk through their unique displays and see God's amazing Word brought to life!

We took our 7, 6, 4 and 3 year olds. We arrived armed with water bottles, fruit snacks and our Onya kid carrier - by far, my favorite child carrier - as well as my brother's fiancée (a nursing student graduating this Spring from Cedar Hill University; 1 1/2 hrs. away from the museums) ... 'cause it never hurts to have more adults around, right?!

Monday morning was bright and shiny with perfect temperatures to walk the museum grounds. They have Botanical Gardens to walk through with lush folliage even in early Spring, and an outdoor petting zoo where we had the unique opportunity to ride a camel, named Gomer!

(I can see how some people could get seasick riding a camel for long periods of time; it is a very rolling up and down motion!)

There were a lot of dinosaurs! Their exhibits tell tales of knights fighting dinosaurs throughout history. We learned that Noah brought juvenile-sized dinosaurs onto the ark, so many of these dragon tales are historically accurate accounts of epic heroism in the days of wild beasts.

We ran into one of Answers In Genesis famed archeologist! Buddy Davis is a singer, songwriter and the sculptor of many of the dinosaur exhibits at the Creation Museum. 

Our children have watched several of his Amazing Adventure DVDs and were thrilled to meet him as we waited to enter the theater for his program! 

Buddy Davis is also a renown archeologist who was a member of one of the expedition teams searching for Noah's Ark, climbing Mt Ararat in Turkey! (They didn't find it. )

Scripture permeated every exhibit. The Creation Museum is a wonderful place to bring unsaved friends and family members who may be questioning the Authority of Scripture and even the existence of God. 

Visiting the museum was probably a little like going to Israel for Christians. I'm a visual learner, so seeing the talking/moving Bible characters, the amazing Bible history, and reading about the science behind all of creation, was very moving for me. 

 The Creation Museum helped deepen my faith and trust in our incredible Creator God! I certainly will never read my Bible in the same light again.

The museum grounds are beautiful and the entire place is very family-friendly. 

Outside food and drink is allowed everywhere, except in the theater and planetarium. We enjoyed our picnic lunch near the tower of the zip line course! 

Due to the ages/attention spans of our children, we skimmed through a lot of the scientific displays refuting evolution. The Answers in Genesis team do an excellent job proving the Truth of Intelligent Design and contrasting the lies of evolution. They have an entire exhibit devoted to revealing the damage the lie of evolution has done to nearly every area of society. 

We can't wait to come back when our crew is a little older to let them ask all the Q's they want about the authority of Scripture, and how science aligns with the Bible!

 It was fun to take our daughter Eden Grace through the Garden of Eden! The sounds and visual effects as you take a self-guided tour are incredible.

I think the best part of the Creation Museum is the fact that you cannot walk through the exhibits without hearing, seeing, and reading about the origins of Earth; the creation of man, animals, and every living thing we see. 

When Adam & Eve chose their way over God's way; the Fall & corruption that followed and our desperate need for a Savior are clearly presented. 

Anyone who visits the Museum is faced with the reality that they have to choose. To have knowledge of the existence of God is not enough (even demons believe in God and tremble, but they don't have a saving faith). To do nothing, is to choose Satan's side: the side of death, confusion, pain and suffering and ultimately spending eternity in Hell. 

That's why He sent Jesus; to shed His perfect blood to cover our sins so that when God looks on us in our humanity, He doesn't see our sinfull pride & corruption. 

Instead, He sees Jesus: 

Perfect, Holy, Righteous enough to enter into His Presence. 

Praise God for this indescribable Gift!

North Korean Orphans tortured for their faith

In light of the current climate in Korea,  we ask for specific prayers for the many orphans, especially the children who follow Jesus.  We continue to pray with faith that God will bring us to our child, or bring our child to us! In her Precepts Bible Study on Covenant, Kay Arthur wisely said,

faith isn't faith, until it's tested.

The following article was posted on Christian Post.

Christian Orphans in North Korea Tortured for Their Faith in Jesus Christ

By BRANDON SHOWALTERApr 28, 2017 | 11:44 AM

WASHINGTON — North Korean orphans are "tortured harshly" if it's discovered they're Christian, and the Chinese government is complicit is these atrocities, according to human rights activists and freedom advocates for North Korea.

Several human rights advocates, including a North Korean defector who wore sunglasses to conceal her identity, told harrowing accounts of orphaned children in North Korea and refugees living in China to draw attention to their plight during a panel held at Georgetown University on Wednesday.

The event was part of the week-long North Korean Freedom Week sponsored by the North Korean Freedom Coalition, hosted by the Isabella Foundation and Georgetown's Truth and Human Rights in North Korea.

Lim Hye-Jin of the New Korea Women's Union recounted through a translator one such story about the North Korean dictatorship's treatment of  17 North Korean orphans who decided to defect and made their home under a bridge in China. They were arrested and detained at a detention center in China and forcibly repatriated to North Korea. Three of the 17 were discovered to be Christians and were sent to a political prison camp.

"Under North Korean law, children under the age of 18 should not be sent to a political prison camp. But in this case, they were found to be Christians and had been in a church, [so] they were separated from their group" where they were "tortured harshly" while the other orphans were sent to a reeducation camp with other children, Lim said.

The North Korean security agents found out that they were Christians because they discovered calluses on their knees, as they had been praying for a long time for God to help them, Lim said.

The other 14 orphans were told that the three Christian orphans who had been separated from the group had been sent back to an orphanage in North Korea. But those children told Lim that if that was so, they knew that they would try to escapebecause they were "100 percent sure" they would starve to death if they had stayed in the orphanage. They at least had a chance at survival begging in the streets.

Stories like these continue to happen today, Lim added, concluding her remarks by asking people to pray for North Koreans.

Suzanne Scholte, founder and president of the Defense Forum Foundation, who co-hosted the panel, noted that North Korean refugees are unlike any others worldwide because they have a place to go for immediate resettlement as they are citizens of South Korea under the South Korean Constitution.

"There's no reason for China to continue this brutal inhumane policy of how they deal with the North Korean refugees and the orphans," Scholte added, noting that the crisis could be solved overnight if the Chinese government would abide by its international treaty obligations.

The severe persecution of Christians in North Korea isn't new. Open Door USA consistently ranks the totalitarian nation as the most oppressive place in the world for Christians.

The Christian Post asked the panel why the North Korean regime considers Christianity particularly threatening so as to even torture children.

"The Kim regime established itself using some of the doctrine of the Christian faith," Scholte explained, adding that Kim Il Sung, the first of the Kim dynasty, recognized the power of the faith since many of those who stood up to Japanese oppressors were Christians and were instrumental in the Korean independence movement even though they were a small minority of the population.

But Kim Il Sung "perverted it for his own purposes, setting himself up as God," she said, appropriating his son as the Christ figure and "Juche," which means "self-reliance," for the Holy Spirit. The regime has a creed of its own which is patterned after the Apostles Creed, which declares religious allegiance to the dictatorship.

"So if you're a Christian and you believe in God [and not the dictator] that's a direct threat to the regime," she said.

He IS Risen!!!

 I took my walk early this morning. After the rain overnight, everything was iridescent green and dripping with raindrops and the new life of Spring! The birds were singing shrilly with excitement for the day.

 I couldn't help but think that this is how it must have felt on the morning His followers realized with jubilation that Christ IS risen, just as He said! Everything must have seemed new and fresh and hopeful! The darkness of the last 72 hours faded in the brilliance of that moment of realization that His promises are TRUE ... they are everlasting!

We live because death could not hold Him; the grave could not keep Him!! He is as alive today as He was that Easter morning when His friends saw His nail pierced hands and feet  and looked up  into His eyes so full of kindness and love, mercy and forgiveness, triumph and gladness!! Hallelujah!! He IS Risen just as He said... Happy Easter from all of us ♡