On Removing Ships

The Lord Jesus challenges his disciples twice in Matthew 14. First, when the disciples advise Him that the hour is late and He must send the people away in order that they may go into the surrounding towns and get food, the Lord Jesus says, "You feed them." Later, He sends them on ahead in a ship to cross the lake while He goes up into the mountain to pray, knowing that they would be caught in a storm.

In the first instance, they look only to themselves to meet the need. "We have here but five loaves and two fishes." What does Jesus say to do? "Bring them hither to Me." They should have confidently brought the need to Him to meet.

While they are tossed about on the ship, Jesus comes to them and says, "Be of good cheer; it is I: be not afraid." Peter, ready to trust, calls to the Lord and He bids Peter, "Come." Come to Me, Peter. I am your hope and stay in the storm. Not the ship. That ship nor all your skill on the sea will be able to save you. Learn this. Come to Me. Bring the need to me.

Peter comes, but then he doubts. The word doubt in this passage is the Greek word, distazo: dis - double; stasis - a standing. Peter was standing in two ways. What were those two ways? He could have continued toward Jesus, hoping only in Him to save him in the storm. Or he could have looked to the ship and his skill to direct it through the storm to save him. To Peter's everlasting credit, He boldly looked to the Lord Jesus and got off the ship. But then the crisis. Was I foolish to get off the ship? Was I mad? I just let go of the only tangible safety net I had. Standing in two ways, Peter sinks.

We often do this in the storm. We stand in two ways, hesitating about which one to cling to and trying to walk in both. And so we sink. It goes against every grain to trust only in Him for our day to day needs. Often we don't realize we aren't trusting Him until we are brought to a point of need so great that we are like Peter, too far from the ship for it to be any help. But that is exactly where the Lord wants us. Most of us can't even claim to be like Peter. He may have sank, yet of his own volition, Peter got off the ship. We (or maybe just me) are like the other disciples who clung to the ship, not daring to look to Jesus alone. For us, He must tear down the ship around our fearful, knocking knees, and it is a frightful, naked feeling. Nothing but Jesus to save us. Nothing to hold onto. If He doesn't save, we will sink beneath the waves.

It is precisely because Peter didn't have a ship to grasp onto that he cries, "Lord, save me." He knew in that moment that his deliverance was completely dependent on the Lord. There was no ship, no help apart from the Lord. So the Lord had to let him begin to sink so that he would know that the Lord Jesus is his only hope and stay, that He is trustworthy.

"And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand and caught him." I love that. Peter was never in any danger. Only in his own mind. The Lord was always there even if Peter lost sight of Him. It's all about learning. Whether we jump ship of our free will or whether the ship is removed, the lesson remains the same. He alone is our hope and stay.

A Crown for Courage, a retelling by Haley

Long ago in ancient Greece, a wicked creature, called a sphinx, put a curse over the city of Thebes. This dreaded creature had the head of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. Its presence loomed as a shadow over the city. Every person lived in constant fear of the great monster. Every day the sphinx swooped down from the sky and picked off a helpless victim like a sniper for his dinner. Then, one morning, he defied the Greeks to solve his riddle. If they could, the city would be relieved of the curse and he would leave them alone. If they could not solve the puzzle, they would become his supper. Desperately, all the wisest and bravest scholars of the village tried to free their people. The sphinx must have grown in size then, because most of the scholars sadly ended up on his dinner plate. Soon none were left that were brave enough to solve the monsters clever riddle. The city quaked with fear.

One day, a small speck appeared in the distance growing bigger and bigger as it neared. As it approached, the people that were left in the city could see that it was a sturdy, fairly good-looking, middle aged man walking up to the city gate. He turned out to be a wise man, who had traveled from a far off land. As soon as he learned of the city’s troubles, Oedipus (for that was his name) set out to find the evil sphinx. Soon he stood on a hill scanning the gully below where the monster lived. Suddenly, a frightening dark shadow blocked the sun from Oedipus’s sight.

“Do you dare to trespass on the Great Sphinx’s territory?” snarled a voice behind him. Oedipus whipped around to see two glaring eyes blazing like fire right in front of his face.

The sinister monster looked at the wise man with satisfaction. “You will make a most scrumptious meal.” It snickered wickedly. “But first, of course, you want to have a try at my most clever riddle. Foolish people,” he mumbled under his breath and rolled his eyes. “This is my riddle. At dawn, it crawls on four legs. At noon, it walks on two. At sunset, it totters three. What is this thing? What is so different but the same?”

Oedipus thought hard. The sphinx was certainly clever. However, he was cleverer. “I will only have one chance to figure out this baffling puzzle,” Oedipus thought. Then, to the sphinx, he announced confidently, “I’ve got it.”

“You do, do you?” the beast mocked. “Remember you only have one chance before you’re my dinner, so you better be sure.” He smiled evilly and licked his lips.

Evenly, Oedipus smiled back at him just as evilly and then replied bravely, “It is a human.” The sphinx looked shocked. Oedipus smiled with pleasure this time and went on. “In the beginning a baby crawls on all fours. Then, it learns to walk on two. When he becomes old, he walks using a cane.” With a terrible, ear-piercing scream of defeat and the sound of flapping wings, the sphinx was gone. All throughout Thebes, the people hailed Oedipus as a hero. Later, the people crowned him king for the daring deed which he had been so courageous and wise to accomplish.

Everlasting Mercy

Psalm 23 gave me,one who is constantly failing and doubting, much encouragement this morning. Jehovah is my Shepherd. The self-existing God, who needs no one to exist or be fulfilled, who was and is and is to come, is my Shepherd. This Shepherd or Caretaker provides for my every need, feeds me sweet morsels, guides me to places of rest, and continually brings my wandering soul back to Himself. He sets me in carriage tracks, great ruts made by the Lord Jesus while walking this earth, that I may know the righteous path.

Even when those carriage tracks lead me into valleys of pain and suffering and even death, I need not fear because He is right there with me. Psalm 22 is a picture of such a valley that the Lord Jesus must needs go through on our behalf. Yet three times we are told that God was not with Him. "Why art Thou so far from helping Me? Be not far from Me, But be not Thou far from me, O Lord." He was alone and forsaken. Yet God does not deal with us in that way. He is with us and comforting us in the valleys.

We all worry about the future at times. Especially when things are less stable than we would like. But the word of God describes our future and it is there for us to believe or not. "Sureley goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." I thank God that His mercy follows me like a shadow. The weak and the failures need mercy and we shall not want. "The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him."

The Hero of Crete, retold by Kevin

Once upon a time in a land far, far away in the Mediterranean Sea, where ferocious creatures of the unknown roamed sea and land, lay a little island named Crete. In the center of this tiny island was a massive labyrinth with stonewalls ten yards tall and twenty yards wide. It slowly wound down like a serpent until all light and connection to the outside world was lost forever. In the shadows lay the skeletons of valiant heroes, who had tried to kill the most dreaded thing in the heart of the maze: THE MINOTAUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was half man and half bull. Its skull was five feet thick, and it could smash through walls two feet deep. Its horns were as sharp as the sharpest sword in all the known world. Its hooves were six inches thick and could trample anything that got in its way. Every year seven maidens and seven youths from Athens were sacrificed to the Minotaur because evil King Minos forced Greece to pay tribute. This time one of those youths was Theseus, Prince of Athens.

Theseus was a strong, muscular, dashingly handsome young man. Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, gave Theseus the sharpest sword on the island made of steel and iron because she had fallen in love with him. Its golden handle was wrapped with red velvet cloth, and on its bottom rested a blue topaz inlaid in gold. On either side of the golden hand-protector lay a ruby and a sapphire. She also gave him a ball of silken thread like no other in the world. Ariadne whispered to Theseus, “Tie this ball of string to the doorpost and hold on to the other end of it. When you have slain the Minotaur, follow the string back to the entrance.” Theseus, with sword and string in hand, led the prisoners down into the labyrinth. Soon they heard a loud bellowing roar and Theseus cried “Now for the sword fight!!!!!!!!!”

The Minotaur, which stamped the ground with its gigantic hoof, charged, shaking the earth as it came. Eyes burning and red with fury, he lowered his head and aimed his horns. While the Minotaur rushed towards Theseus, the prisoners watched in horror and yelled, “Run! Jump out of the way!!!” The Minotaur drew closer, 50 feet….40 feet…20 feet….10 feet…5 feet… Just as it passed, Theseus leaped out of the way, drew his sword, and cut off the Minotaur’s leg just above the knee. With a loud, howling cry, he tried to get up, but Theseus quickly plunged his sword deep into the beast’s heart. As the blood gushed out, the prisoners gave thanks to Theseus with joy. The Minotaur was DEAD!!!! They happily followed the thread outside where a crowd of onlookers hailed Theseus as a hero because no more people would have to die. With his beloved Ariadne, Theseus, Prince of Athens and Hero of Crete, sailed back to Greece.

The Trojan War, Retold by Haley

Long ago in the land of Greece, King Menelaus awoke to find that his wife, the beautiful queen Helen, was gone. It was not long until a servant rushed into his chamber with news of the princess Helen. This news rapidly depleted any calmness that the king might have had minutes ago. Secretly, the princess had boarded a ship with the Prince of Troy at midnight, and had been seen by one of the king’s servants. Some time before, the young prince, had come to the palace saying he was passing through and had heard of Menelaus’ hospitality. Now Menelaus knew the real reason he had come -- to view the renowned beauty of his wife Helen. Seeing that he was young and handsome, Helen had become enchanted with the Trojan and together they fled for Troy. Menelaus quickly jumped into action. He summoned his brother, the High King, and all the great men of Greece and sailed to Troy. They surrounded the city. They plotted its destruction. They waited for victory.

For ten long years, the Greeks waited. There were countless attempts to get through Troy’s walls. Each time they failed. Finally, Odysseus, one of the Greek leaders, had an ingenious idea. If his plan worked, they would have Helen back within a few days and the ten years of waiting would not have been in vain. He suggested that they cut 50 tall trees to build a wall to hide their work. Then he ordered a colossal, hollow, wooden horse made on wheels. A couple nights later Odysseus took 30 men and silently crept inside the wooden horse. The rest of the Greek soldiers sailed to a nearby Island and prepared for the battle. Hiding in the shadows, a Greek warrior awaited the time to give the signal to the ships.

When the Trojans arose the next morning, there was a grand celebration. The Greeks had surrendered! It was all very baffling. For ten years, the Greeks had persevered. Then, miraculously and mysteriously, they just packed their bags and sailed away! They left a great wooden horse with a message that said, “For their return home the Greeks offer this to the goddess Athena.” With great shouts of joy, the Trojans wheeled the horse into the city and feasted. From her terrace in the palace, Helen looked out of her window and cried softly, “Oh, Menelaus.” For now she regretted the scandal which she had caused and longed to be with her true husband. “What have I done!” she murmured. That night the Greeks sailed back to Troy, and Odysseus and his men crept out of the horse to open the gates. The Trojans were still celebrating and oblivious to the Greek warriors sneaking around in the shadows – not until they attacked anyway. There was a horrible battle and little by little the Trojans were driven back and the city destroyed. Helen and Menelaus happily sailed back to Greece as if nothing was between them.

Haley's Ancient Greece Saltdough Map

Kevin's Human Body Lapbook

Lost and Found

I was lost. My heart was as cold as the January weather outside. Sitting in front of the warm fire my father had built could not warm it. In fact, sitting in my living room, staring into the fire, and watching the orange and blue flames lick the logs, I knew with certainty for the first time that if I died as I was, I would be like those logs. Yet I would burn eternally. Repeatedly, I had listened to gospel messages teaching from the Bible that I was on the broad road leading to hell and the lake of fire.

That night, January 20, 1975, I understood for the first time that it was not a bunch of nameless faces trudging down that road. I was on that road. I needed salvation. Dread and fear triggered a flood of tears. My mother read verses to me from her Bible. One in particular stood out: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

I thought, “How simple!” God said that whoever called upon Him shall be saved. One thing my parents taught me growing up is that God’s word is trustworthy. If it’s in the Bible, it was true. I believed that with all my heart. I kneeled down in front of the couch and asked God to save my soul. In that very moment, the weight of my sin lifted, and to this day, I remember the smile that spread across my face. I knew without a doubt that God had saved me. Not because I prayed. Not because I felt happy. It was because God said. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” God said it. I believed it. I was found.

Kevin's Japan Projects

Outstanding Ocean Life

Day After Thanksgiving!

Our special day included making homemade donuts. After trimming the tree, we huddled in front of the fireplace sipping hot-mulled cider and feasting on warm donuts while listening to Christmas music. As always, it proved to be a cozy day.

Antarctica Project

Proud Penguins by Kevin

God made penguins to catch their prey easily from the surrounding sea life. Emperor penguins eat squid, which are very slippery and hard to grasp creatures. Penguins, however, have advantages. Their prey cannot squirm out of their mouths because they have spikes on the top of their mouth and their tongue. They also have long beaks to snap up their food. Although squid are very fast, penguins are faster and can swim at speeds of 30 mph. They can dive to depths of 1,500 feet and stay under water for over 18 minutes to catch their food such as squid, shrimp, krill, and small fish. God created these peculiar birds especially unique to catch their food.

Penguins have ferocious enemies. Sea birds hungrily devour penguin eggs before they hatch. They will also feed on unguarded or unwatched chicks. Humans are also an enemy of penguins even when we do not purposely kill them. Sometimes pollution and litter will cause harm to the penguin colony. For instance, in 1989 hundreds of birds died because a massive Argentine oil tanker accidentally spilled 170,000 gallons of gas into the ocean. In addition, tourists visit nesting grounds and penguins become disturbed and leave their nests causing many chicks never to hatch out of their eggs. There are also sea creatures such as killer whales and seals that would love to get a tasty snack like a penguin or two. The worst enemies of the penguin are the leopard seals, which are strong, muscular, swift, and powerful. They are above all the terror of the ocean for the penguin. Sometimes a leopard seal follows a penguin’s shadow as it walks along the ice. Smashing through the ice, the seal will grab the penguin before it knows what happened. Although penguins have fierce enemies, they can swim up to 30 mph if they need to escape their predators.

Mother and father penguins care for their babies. Both males and females spend months feeding at the ocean because they will not eat for a long time to come. Once they dine, they head back to their nesting ground where they will choose a mate and the females will lay the egg. The mother penguin keeps the egg in a tuft of fur hanging down from the bottom of her stomach to her feet. This extra flap of fur protects the egg and the chick from the cold, freezing winter. Carefully, the mother trades the egg to the father penguin. Sometimes they are too eager and will let the egg stay out too long or will lose it. Others who are patient will trade the egg successfully. After the trading, the mother will return to the sea to feed. The father now has the egg and he and all the other male penguins stay in a huge huddle to keep warm. They will have to endure one of the toughest ordeals in the world: the Antarctic winter. The father penguins will suffer for one speck of life inside a tiny shell. The temperature can reach 100 degrees below freezing, the winds around them can reach a speed of 150 mph, and snow can fall several feet per day. Yet the father perseveres for the egg. When the egg hatches, the mother returns and regurgitates partially digested food into the chick’s mouth. The father returns to the sea to feed after two months of not eating. The penguin parents are proud of their chick, which they have both brought into the world.

Haley's Ancient Egypt Project

New Zealand Pavlova!

Simply Spectacular by Haley

Did you know that a blue whale’s spout can reach up to 30 feet high in the air? A killer whale’s fin alone can stand to six feet tall! Whales are called cetaceans (see tay’ shuhns) because they come from Kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Mammalia, and finally order Cetacea. Cetaceans are split into two groups: toothed whales and baleen whales. Toothed whales obviously have teeth and baleen whales have brushes like a giant toothbrush. It is fascinating that cetaceans protect each other from their human enemies, have a built-in sonar detector, and migrate thousands of miles to give birth to their young.

In the 18th and 19th centuries whaling was a popular but dangerous job. Whales were hunted for their blubber and a substance inside of them that made oil for lamps and extremely expensive perfume. It was a risky job, but it was also high-paying. Those who were willing to take the risk paddled small boats out to sea and attached harpoons to ropes which were then fastened to the boats. Having learned their migration routes, the whalers sat there, watching and waiting for a whale to surface to breath. Although sperm and right whales were the whaler’s favorite catches, gray whales were a fine catch too, yet very fierce. They were so ferocious that the whalers trembled with fear when they found one. Whales are very loyal and protective over each other and, when found, they would give a warning cry that could be heard for miles around to keep other whales away from that area. If a whale had its young with her, it would fight to the death to protect its calf. After a while the poor whale, hurt and exhausted, would give up to its enemies. Today, there are conservation laws against whaling, but, sadly, the damage has already been done and many species of whales are in danger of extinction.

Toothed whales have a system, called echolocation, for navigation and hunting. A special sound sent out by the melon, a rounded structure in the forehead, hits something and bounces back to the whale. The whale can tell if prey or predators are up ahead. Also, whales can tell the size, shape, and the location of the object. They can tell how far off the shore is or how deep the ocean is in a particular spot. Jacques Yves Cousteau discovered this when he was sailing on the best course through the Strait of Gibraltar and noticed a group of porpoises tailing his ship. Suddenly, he had a brilliant idea. He changed course a few degrees, and the porpoises pursued him for a couple minutes but then turned back to the better course. Cousteau thus concluded that toothed whales had a sort of sonar system. We now know this to be their extraordinary system of echolocation.

Whales migrate to warmer waters in the winter to have their babies. Since there will be no food in the warmer waters, the mother whale gorges on food all summer long, storing up blubber that she will live off in the winter. Journeying with the herd of whales, the pregnant mother sacrificially denies herself her own blubber and eats only when she absolutely has to, because she knows that soon she will have her calf nursing off of her. When she finally arrives and her young is born, she immediately helps it up to the surface to breath. The mother’s milk glands are in a little spot near the tail where the calf latches on and hitches a ride. Whales are truly great mothers. The young does not usually leave its mother for years after its birth, therefore, the two get very attached to each other. She teaches her calf to hunt and fight and to be a great whale. Soon they must make the long and dangerous journey back home with the herd of whales. The mother, who is now growing weak from her calf feeding off of her, may fall behind which is very dangerous. Killer whales are just waiting for a chance like this. The calf, adding to his mother’s fatigue, will presently get tired and piggyback on his mother’s back. Finally, when they return to cool waters the mother whale eats and is now able to protect her young.

In the end, we can clearly see that whales are amazing creatures. Unfortunately, in the 1700’s and 1800’s whales were hunted almost to extinction until conservation laws protecting whales were established. We can thank Thomas Edison for inventing the light bulb so that oil lamps are no longer needed! The toothed whales’ echolocation system, enabling them to know the exact size and shape of something even if they can’t see it, is truly astonishing. However, the most remarkable feature of all is the mother whale’s love for her young, sacrificing everything for her calf even if it means her life. Surely, cetaceans are simply spectacular in every way.

Haley's Ancient Egypt Project

One Thing is Needful

Luke 10:41-42, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful (anxious) and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

The Lord impressed this scripture upon my heart this week. I am always trying to focus on too many things and, thus, many things get done but not very well. I have to prepare for a school lesson, be caught up in my reading, spend time with the Lord, clean my house, spend time with my family, wash clothes, spend time helping the kids through their lessons, empty the dishwasher, exercise, prepare dinner, prepare a Sunday School lesson......deep intake of breath. There is just not.enough.time.in.a.day. Yet recently He used this scripture to remind me that only one thing is needful. Not two things or many things. One thing. What was Mary doing? Sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus listening to His words. It is amazing that when you focus on that one thing, all the other things seem to get accomplished and accomplished well. Then yesterday virtually nothing got done--but no worries. I did the one thing that was needful. He will take care of it.

Kevin's Australia Project

Aloha!