Updated on July 2, 2016
Purple Poppy Mallow
Captivated by the vibrant magenta color dotting the patchy grass, I gently plucked one of the roadside wildflowers by the Kansas state sign. I had been admiring those colorful, cup-shaped flowers out the car window for at least the past twenty miles. Back inside the car, I admired the way its five delicate petals folded around the pale center of my wildflower. It sat on my dash for the next several miles . . . until the intense afternoon sunshine coming through the windshield wilted the poor thing. Sad to let it go so soon after finding my little treasure, I rolled down a window and let the air sweep it out of my fingers.
During the same trip, going to a fossil dig in western Kansas (more about the dig here), I noticed many other patches of the same flowers, only a slightly different color. These purple/magenta colored wildflowers are commonly called “purple poppy mallow” or “wine cups”, and their scientific name is Callirhoe involucrata. The root system of these plants is designed with a single, deep taproot, allowing these flowers to grow well on rocky terrain and drought conditions. In some plants that live for several years, these roots can grow big like a carrot and historically have been eaten by Native American people.
Poppy mallow can be seen blooming from late spring through mid summer. Like tropical hibiscus flowers, another type of “mallow” plant, poppy mallows thrive in warm conditions. The flowers open in the mornings, two to three hours after sunrise, and close for the night around sunset. They continue to open for six to eight days after first blooming. A rarer Texas species of Callihoe that looks very similar to the Kansas flowers is called scabriuscula. When this type of flower is ready to form the seeds that will start the next generations, the petals are permanently closed within ninety minutes of being pollinated.
The flower essentially has to give up its own dandy lifestyle by permanently closing so that seeds can form. Speaking of those seeds, to plant your own poppy mallow, it’s recommended that you rub the seed between pieces of sandpaper to help grind down the hard outer coating of the seed. Planting in the fall, you can leave that seed in the ground all winter. There the seed waits, buried in the dark, cool, rough soil. When the spring time comes, that seed dies. Or at least, so that poor, sanded seed seems to die, as it gives up everything it has ever known living life as a seed. There’s no going back to that relatively safe, comfortable seed-life. It takes full commitment to becoming the plant it has always been destined by the Creator to become. The plan for that seeds life, including the death it takes to become a plant, is written in its DNA – the set of instructions originally designed by God, built-in with a little room for variety. By “dying” according to that plan, the seed can truly live the life it was meant to live . . . as a purple poppy mallow flower!
Seeing that our Lord dots the grass along highways with these stunning flowers and perfectly orchestrates their life cycles, how much more does He orchestrate the life cycles of His most precious creation – you, me, and all people? Many of those poppy mallows that I saw in Kansas were gone the next week. The life of the seed, as well as the flower that gives up its life for the seed, may look a little rough and painful. Like the seed, choosing to be fully committed to new life in Christ will also require death – death to my own plans, will, desires, flesh, etc (see Romans 6 &7). Choosing to let those things “die” doesn’t mean that they must not be “good”, merely that they are not necessarily the God’s best for my life plan. Seeds are good, but they were meant to become flowers that point people to God. Dying to self merely means choosing to be fully committed to God’s plan, for you, too, were meant to bring glory to Him.
Copyright Sara J. Bruegel, July 2016
References:
- Texas Poppy-mallow (Callirhoe scabriuscula). Wildlife Fact Sheets. Texas Parks and Wildlife. Last accessed 7-1-16 http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/popmallo/
- 2007 Kansas Wildflower of the Year. Purple Poppy Mallow. Callirhoe involucrata (T. & G.) A. Gray. Text by Dr. Stephen L. Timme. Kansas Native Plant Society. Last accessed 7-1-16 http://www.kansasnativeplantsociety.org/wfoy_2007.php
- Poppy Mallow. Plant of the Week. Poppy Mallow. Latin: Callirhoe involucrate. Gerald Klingaman, retired. Extension Horticulturist – Ornamentals. Extension News – July 25, 2008. The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. Last accessed 7-1-16. http://ouweb.uaex.edu/yard-garden/resource-library/plant-week/poppy-mallow-7-25-08.aspx
Updated on June 25, 2016
Fossils in the Field
A snappy breeze broke the intense heat of the mid-afternoon summer sunshine. Rolls of thunder sounded in the distance, now a little closer than before. Looking up at the growing storm clouds, I knew it was time to wrap up working for the day and get back to shelter. We got to just the right stopping point when the time came to head in before the storm hit. Just like other paleontology digs, out in the field, working time goes by remarkably fast. A couple of weeks ago, I got to spend some more time excavating fossils in Kansas (read about previous Kansas digs here).
While it would have been neat to discover something big or beautifully complete this year, finding fossils is only part of the process of a fossil dig. Today, I’d like to walk with you through part of the fossil excavation process that happens in the field. Sometimes it takes a while to get familiar with how the fossils in different areas look, and tell what distinguishes them from rocks and minerals of the region. Once you find a fossil, don’t just pick it up. First you need to mark the spot you found and scan the area for other pieces of the fossil and collect any loose, broken pieces on the surface and keep them in a labeled bag.
Once you have searched for and collected loose pieces, you are ready to really start digging. Ideally, it’s best to keep as much of the original dirt on top of and around the fossil while you are out in the field. Uncovering the entire fossil can be done later, in the lab where it is being prepared. Your goal in the field is simply to find the edges of the fossil so that you know how big of an area to take out of the ground. In the picture below, you can see part of either the tail or fins of a fossil fish sticking out between the rock layers of a small hill. Part of our team worked on finding the edges of this fossil so that we could cut out an entire chunk of rock with the fragile fossils still intact, called a fossil “field jacket”(more about field jackets here).
To make a field jacket, you have to leave a little extra space beyond the edges of the fossil and start digging a deep trench to create a pedestal- like chunk of rock. Once you have a nice, deep trench dug, you are supposed to undercut the fossil by digging underneath the rock pedestal. This is so that the whole field jacket (fossil and rocks included) will break off easily when the time comes to load it up and take it to the lab. To create a field jacket around your fossils, you need to use tin foil to cover the fossil and all the rock you are taking out with it.
After it’s protected with foil, you’re ready to get to the messy business of mixing wet plaster. Loosely woven burlap cloth is used to strength and structure to a field jacket. You make the field jacket by dipping pieces of burlap into the wet plaster, then covering your tin-foil layer with that plaster-soaked burlap. Once the plaster is set and other details in place, your field jacket is ready to be turned over and taken to a lab. Fossil field work can be messy, hot, cold, windy, elusive, and sometimes exhausting, but it’s totally worth it (even enjoyable) because you know that you are seeking something valuable. Sometimes life can be a lot like working on a dig – exhausting, elusive, stormy, and downright messy. But as long as you are seeking what is most valuable, as long as you are seeking the face of Jesus Christ, our Creator and Redeemer, you will discover that it’s totally worth it. You may even find it enjoyable . . . a thrilling adventure with the dearest Friend you could ever have.
Article and Pictures © June 2016, Sara J. Bruegel
Updated on June 18, 2016
Magnificent Minerals – Part 2
“Is this a fossil? Or petrified wood?”, I was asked during a fossil dig in Kansas last week. After looking at the item of interest, I explained that the find was not a fossil, but the mineral, gypsum. I showed how scratching it with my fingernail left a mark. One of the handiest ways to recognizing gypsum is that it can be scratched with a fingernail. This is because gypsum is a very soft mineral. In “Part 1” of this article, we talked a little bit about the Mohs’ Scale of Hardness, ranging from 1-10 (diamonds are the hardest at a 10). Relatively harder things can scratch softer minerals. Since your fingernail is about a 2.5 on the Mohs’ scale it will scratch gypsum, which is slightly softer, as this mineral is ranked at a 2 on the Mohs’ scale (more about the mineral gypsum here).
There are a number of other ways to solve the mystery of what mineral you have found. Often, the best thing to do is just play around with it and test what different things do to your special find. Of course, the simplest place to start is by looking at the mineral. You will want to keep an eye out for what shapes its crystals are in (if there are visible crystals), what color it is, and how shiny or dull it looks. Sometime the minerals quartz and calcite can look very similar, but when you look at the crystals, you can notice that calcite crystals have more slanted look than quartz. If you still can’t tell, put some drops of vinegar on your mineral. The chemicals that make up calcite will react with the acid in vinegar, causing it to bubble, but quartz will not do anything. The same idea applies to some other minerals, too.
You may have to slightly damage your find to really identify it. The way it breaks apart can tell you a lot about a mineral. One of my favorite minerals is biotite. Biotite comes in super thin, flaky, transparent black sheets. Because of the way it breaks apart in regular sheets, all stacked in the same direction, biotite is said to “cleave”. Minerals that break apart in less perfect, regular directions are said to have different types of “fracture”. For example, if you break a mineral and it shows a circular pattern, that means it has “conchoidal fracture”. Looking at the way glass chips, whether in a car windshield or somewhere else, you can see this circular pattern showing up in those chips.
Identifying different types of minerals and rocks is a great example of observational science in action. Observational science is when we use our own senses and other tools to do repeatable tests, come to conclusions, and apply those conclusions to the future. Knowing what minerals we have can help us know how to put those God-given resources to use in everyday life. Many people will point to all the amazing discoveries and scientific breakthroughs like curing diseases and using minerals to advance technology and ask why young earth creationists challenge the “science” of evolution. But, this observational science is very different from historical science which tries to explain where things came from (evolution, creation, age of the earth, etc.). We can’t do repeatable experiments to observe things that happened in the past – that is history. Any historical science should be taken with a grain of salt, remembering that only people who there can really tell us what happened. The problem with evolution and and old is not so much a question of science, but one of history. Who do you trust for your history – the Lord of all, or the changing winds of current dominant opinion?
Copyright Sara J. Bruegel, June 2016
Updated on May 28, 2016
Magnificent Minerals – Part 1
Captivated by the wonder of the rows upon rows of colorful minerals, I enjoyed slowly looking over each one. It was like slowly eating a favorite dessert, savoring one bite at a time. After several days of busily going about on “sensory overload”, trying to process all the activity, new people, and information, it was nice to have a few uninterrupted minutes just to appreciate the minerals that my paleontology-focused group had a tendency to overlook. Here at the annual mineral, gem, and fossil show in Tucsan, Arizona, there were more minerals than I had seen anywhere else before.
It’s important to understand the difference between a mineral and a rock. A rock can be a bunch of minerals clustered together, like granite, which includes three minerals (read more about granite here). However, a mineral is more exclusive, as each one has a specific chemical composition. In its most common form, the mineral pyrite, familiarly known as “fool’s gold”, is iron sulfide (The chemical formula is FeS2). That special chemical identity gives each mineral certain ways that it can be recognized. Patterns in the way crystals of each mineral form and how they break often give away their identity pretty quickly to a trained eye. Some minerals fizz when you put vinegar on them, reacting to the acid. The things that tell us which mineral is which relates back to their chemical formulas.
Thinking back on my first college geology class, the minerals I saw in Tucson were so much more diverse than the ones in my lab tray I had learned to identify. One of the most memorable minerals I saw looked exactly like juicy blueberries within peaks of a delicious cream. Odd as they looked, they were made of quartz and fluorite, which were two of the minerals we studied pretty seriously in that class. Quartz is a common mineral, and fluorite, though more rare, is very collectible. Both of these minerals can be seen in a number of different colors and forms. Blue fluorite like the “blueberries” I saw is one of the more rare colors. The blue color comes from trace amounts of the chemical yttrium inside the fluorite.
Fluorite is where we get fluorine, which is a common ingredient in toothpaste and drinking water, and is used in a number of other places. It’s thought of as a fairly soft mineral. We use the Mohs’ Scale of Hardness to compare how hard or soft minerals are. The hardest mineral, diamonds, are a 10 on the Mohs’ Scale, while gypsum (used in the sheetrock walls of houses – more about gypsum here) is a 2 on the Mohs’ Scale. Fluorite is about a 4 on the Mohs’ Scale. Since both fluorite and quartz can come in purple colors, one way you can tell the difference is by testing how hard the mineral is. Since fluorite is a 4 on the Mohs’ Scale, it’s soft enough to be scratched by a metal nail, but quartz, being a much harder 7 on the Mohs’ Scale, cannot be scratched with a nail. If it keeps the scratch, you know you have fluorite and if it doesn’t, you know you have quartz or something else harder.
Just as we can test minerals to tell what their true identity is, it’s important that we examine ourselves and test our hearts to make sure our identity is right with Christ. Second Corinthians 13:5-6 says, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you are disqualified. But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified”. Next week, we will talk more about minerals and how to identify them.
Copyright Sara J. Bruegel, May 2016
References:
Hobart King. Fluorite (also known as Fluorspar). Minerals. Geology.com. Last accessed 5-27-16 http://geology.com/minerals/fluorite.shtml
Posted on May 20, 2016
Glorious, Glistening Geodes
Late in the afternoon, the sun finally began to break through clouds that chilly February day in Tucson, Arizona. Sunlight glistened off the many rows of purple crystals lining the giant shells. These enormous crystal-lined geodes were large enough for me to fit inside. Just a few decades ago, giant geodes like this would have only been available to well-funded museums, but now they could be seen for sale on just about any street corner of downtown Tucson during the annual gem, mineral, and fossil show. It was almost mesmerizing to see their perfect crystalline patterns and the way they glisten in the sunshine. I saw many different types, sizes, and colors of geodes while at the Tucson show this year – some were just small balls, a couple inches in diameter, while others were gigantic enough to swallow me whole. They look like plain balls of rock from the outside, but contain sparkling wonders on the inside.
Seeing these incredible geodes often makes people wonder how they were formed. While there is a lot that scientists have learned from studying geodes, these gleaming underground wonders are still somewhat elusive. Probably part of the reason why they are so elusive to geologists who believe in long ages is that these scientists try to explain everything with their belief that the “present is key to the past”. In other words, they assume that things we see from the past were made by processes similar to what we see today. But not everything can be explained with processes we see today. This goes against Biblical history, including a global, catastrophic flood that forever changed our planet. There were many things happening during the flood that are very different from what we usually see happening today. Sometimes small-scale catastrophes, like the eruption of Mt. Saint Helens, can give us hints as to what may have been happening, large-scale, during the flood.
We do know some things about the formation of geodes. They grow in bubbles inside of rock formations through chemical precipitation. Chemical precipitation happens when something that has been dissolved in water turns back into a solid, basically making it fall out of the water. If you have ever made rock candy, you can see how this happens by making a sugar-water solution and watching the crystals form over the course of several days. True geodes are fairly rounded in shape. A similar type of formation that happens in the more irregular shapes of cracks in rocks, but is technically not a geode, is called a vug. Vugs also do not have a hard outer shell. On the other hand, the tough outer shell of a geode is usually harder than the rock it formed it, which is why the rock around it wears out before the geode, leaving the rounded rock with its hidden beauty. You have to break open that shell to see the magnificent crystals inside.
Another mineral formation similar to a geode is called a nodule. While on fossil digs in western Kansas (more about the Kansas digs here), I have seen tons of pyrite nodules all over the place. A nodule forms from the core, growing outward, while a geode does the opposite, starting with a thin outer shell and growing inwards. While many geodes are hollow, some are solid because the crystals have grown all the way to the center. The crystals closer to the center of the geode are much larger than the crystals closer to the edge of the shell.
The next time you see a beautiful geode remember how important it is to keep on growing inwardly. Like the geode, we all start out with a rough outer shell (we have all sinned and all fallen short of the glory of God), but as we allow our Creator to change our hearts and grow us on the inside, something beautiful starts to happen. Like the geode, sometimes the wonder of the beauty that God is transforming on the inside is only revealed when we are broken. You may be broken, but you do not have to be shattered and ugly. Choose to let the Lord transform your heart into something beautiful, so that, though it is broken, it glistens with His glory.
© May 2016, Sara J. Bruegel
References:
- Brian J. Witzke. “Geodes”. Posted on August 13th, 2014. Iowa Geological Survey. University of Iowa Hydroscience and Engineering (IIHR). Last accessed 5-20-16. http://www.iihr.uiowa.edu/igs/geodes/
Updated on May 14, 2016
Brilliant Blue
Kneeling on the floor with bated breath and camera in hand, I waited for the butterfly to move. The large, stubborn Blue Morpho butterfly kept its wings tightly shut as it stood on the plant. While the butterfly rested, all that was visible was the dull brown/gray pattern on the bottom side of the wings. Looking the creature with closed wings, you would never guess what a brilliant, iridescent blue colored was on the other side of the wings. Some of the other butterflies resting on the same place would slowly open and close their wings as they rested, but not the Blue Morpho – their wings were kept tightly shut. Without even a second’s notice, the butterfly took off and fluttered in circles around my head. It was joined by two others who fluttered away and then back to where I was. Most of the other butterflies were much more cooperative models, but not the Blue Morpho that I found so very spectacular.
Watching their hyperactive fluttering and circling made me laugh as I tried to chase down these shy, beautiful insects with my camera. At one point, a group of three flew straight towards me and ran right into my camera, probably drawn to the bright blue color on part of the camera. Later on, I held an injured Blue Morpho on my finger. It’s the incredible iridescent blue color of their wings that make these tropical butterflies especially fascinating and drove me to continue trying to capture the shy creatures on camera. While the flat orange and black colors of monarch butterfly wings are made by the pigments (dyes) of their scales, this iridescent blue is instead made by the way light waves interact with the intricate structure of the scales.
Biologists have been able to look at the wing scales of a Morpho at 20,000 times magnification (seeing them 20,000 times larger than normal) and noticed some very precise grid-like pattern of ridges made in miniscule structures of the scales. The color of a Morpho butterfly is made by the way light bends and reflects through these microscopic structures in the scales. This is called diffraction grating. Even the black patterns on the wings of this type of butterfly are colored differently from the black of a monarch. To make it twice as intricate, another type of butterfly, classified as Lamprolenis nitida actually has two diffraction gratings (giving it two colors) on the same scales.
Were these intricate butterfly wings made by random chance accidents of evolution? I think they are better explained by a Divine Designer – God. Their design is surprisingly precise and their beauty breathtaking. Scientists have tried (and are still trying) to copy many aspects of the design of butterfly wings and scales. It takes brilliant minds and high-tech equipment to even try to copy what we see in butterfly wings. To top it off, the spectacular beauty of these butterflies really isn’t necessary. We can see some marvelous aspects of the character of God illustrated here: He cares about even the tiniest details of a short-lived creature and loves graciously giving beautiful gifts for us to appreciate. (Read previous articles on butterflies here)
Copyright Sara J. Bruegel, May 2016
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable.” ~ Isaiah 40:28
References:
- Jonathan Sarfati. Butterfly brilliance: Dual diffraction gratings produce two colour signals. Published: 1 January 2009. Creation Ministries International. Last accessed 5-13-16 http://creation.com/butterfly-brilliance
- Frank Sherwin, M.A. 2006. Blue-t-ful Beetles, Birds, ‘n Butterflies. Acts & Facts. 35 (6).Institute for Creation Research. Last accessed 05-13-16 http://www.icr.org/article/blue-t-ful-beetles-birds-n-butterflies
- Butterflies Alive: live butterfly exhibit. Science Spectrum Museum, Lubbock Texas. As seen on Friday, April 29th, 2016.
Posted on May 6, 2016
Where the Buffalo Roam
Crunch . . . Crunch . . .“Huhhhgh” – a loud sigh followed the heavy noises, close to a tent where the energetic girl and her mother were sleeping. Over breakfast, stories were told of strange noises heard before dawn throughout our camp. Some rather large wild animal had been roaming through the grassy wilderness area where we were sleeping. At breakfast the following morning, I enjoyed the company of our suspected camp snooper – a young male bison. The bearded creature slowly munched on grass just a few yards away from where I stood. I froze when he looked up from his grazing to gaze directly at me, then humphed and turned back to his meal. The lyrics from “Home on the Range” came to mind – “oh give me a home where the buffalo roam” (technically, this is a bison, as true “buffalo” do not live in North America). He especially seemed to enjoy munching on the brush right where my uncle’s tent had been set up minutes before. It was amazing to see this creature so very near, in person.
Looking at that contemplative bison, the word “heavy” came to mind. His double coat of dark, coarse fur, broadly humped shoulders, and large head gave him a very somber look. His wise-looking dark beard and low grunts would be quite the contrast to the fluffy light beard and high-pitched bleating of a goat. Watching this large creature walk around with his heavy, humped shoulders reminded me of how I felt hiking with my heavy backpack full of camping gear (read more about that trip here). Standing at up to six and a half feet tall, adult bulls (males) can weigh one ton and the cows (females) weigh about half as much. I was amazed at how gracefully he walked on the rough terrain of the mountain. These bison can run at up to forty miles per hour.
I enjoyed this personal close encounter with a young American Bison (classified as Bison bison) while camping at Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. Wichita Mountain is in southern Oklahoma, north of Wichita Falls, Texas. The wildlife refuge is 59,020 acres, sitting right next to Fort Sill Military Reservation. Large animals on the refuge include bison, elk, and Texas longhorns. A number of interesting birds, rodents, and reptiles, and other creatures also make their home in the Wichitas. Wildlife refuges like Wichita Mountain often bring to mind questions about animals, the environment, and what we (as humans) should do to change things. There is a lot of fear about the environment and various animals going extinct, but it’s important to stay balanced and firmly grounded in what the Bible says about these issues, rather than getting caught up in the emotional changing winds of the world around us.
As humans, we do have a special role over creation. Our Creator made mankind with souls, different from animals, and gave us the command to take care of His creation, having “dominion” over it, like a good ruler or leader (a reflection of Who He is). Preserving certain rare wildlife is a good thing, because it is having good dominion over creation, as long as we keep our focus correct. Worshiping God and caring for other people (made more special than animals) takes priority over animals and the environment. It’s important to make sure you worship and serve the Creator rather than the creation. Creation – animals, nature, landscapes – was meant to remind us of God, turning us back to Him, not to distract us from Him and His priorities.
Copyright Sara J. Bruegel, May 2016
References:
- American Bison: Bison bison. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Oklahoma. Last accessed 5-6-16. http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Wichita_Mountains/American_bison.html
- America Bison. Mammals. Animals. National Geographic. Last accessed 5-6-16. http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/american-bison/
Posted on April 29, 2016
Crab Eyes, Fruit, and Rocks
From far away, the two short stacks of rocks, sitting precariously on top of the mountain, looked like they had been put there by someone. As we hiked closer to the “Crab Eyes” rock formation, I started to realize just how large those boulders are. No way could a person stack them. The next day, we hiked to place where massive boulders were piled at the base of a mountain. Gaps between (and under) these boulders created a network of above-ground caves, large enough for people to explore. Climbing through the pile of huge rocks, I would often look up at the two large boulders still perched atop the mountain. Those two rock formations are called the “Apple and Pear”, because people thought they looked like fruit. I thought about what would happen if those rocks fell to meet their companion boulders that I was climbing on at the time. While I enjoyed looking at those balanced, fruit-like rocks, the thought of personally experiencing a piece of them was not so appealing.
Delicately balanced rock formations like the “Crab Eyes” or “Apple and Pear” that I saw at Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge can be seen in many different places. I’ve written about “Balanced Rock” at “Garden of the Gods” in Colorado Springs and some of the formations at Colorado National Monument, including the “Kissing Couple” (read about those rock formations here). The famous Natural Arches National Park in Utah is very similar to these balanced boulders. Seeing these dramatic rocks that almost seem to defy laws of nature, people often ask how they got there. Evolutionists will try to tell you that they are evidence of erosion over long ages of time, and they’re right about erosion, but wrong about how long it took because they leave out the catastrophic results of the global flood.
Last week, I wrote of how the Wichita Mountains were formed during the Biblical global flood, just a few thousand years ago (read that article here). Since these mountains formed early in the flood, they are very well-weathered by erosion. The chemistry of the waters, harsh weather after the flood, natural crystallization patterns, and movement of the rock layers are all factors that were probably involved in how these rock formations came to be. Since water expands when it freezes, water that got trapped in small cracks in the rocks would spread the crack farther apart as it froze during the “ice age” conditions that naturally followed the global flood. As those cracks became deeper and wider, the rock around our special formations broke away and fell as boulders below. Hiking right below “Crab Eyes”, I found one of these cracks large enough for me to walk into. In other places, I had to be very careful not to step into one of these cracks.
Even if you’ve seen balanced boulders many times over or seen them in different places and studied how they are formed, the question, “why?” may still echo deep inside. Why here instead of ten feet over? Why this shape instead of another? Perhaps each of these distinctive rocks could be traced back to one crack, strong point, or weak point in a rock layer, once upon a time. The question could still remain – why this crack here and that strong point over there? Instead of coming up with a list of mathematical probability relationships and hypothetical scenarios or philosophy, perhaps the question of “why” is best answered simply by the sovereignty of God. The same Divine Artist that used science to sculpt these beautiful rock formations and set them in the perfect place to bring Him glory is the One Who is beautifully sculpting you and sets you in just the right places to fulfill the purposes He has for you to bring Him glory. I can’t always explain exactly why He chooses to place me where I am or sculpts me in such a way, but I can say that I know Him and trust Him. Like these odd rocks, you, too, can be a monument to the sovereignty of God.
Updated on April 21, 2016
Oklahoma’s Wichita Mountains
Inching my way across the steeply tilted rock, I grabbed the top edge to keep myself steady. The rock felt very rough and sharp. By the end of the day, I had sore, red palms and scratched, bloody knees. These granite rocks were hard and rough, but incredible and fascinating. A few weeks ago, I went camping at Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma (more about that trip here). When you think of mountains in America, states like Colorado, New Mexico, and Montana probably come to mind long before Oklahoma. The Wichita Mountains have a story behind them different from the enormous western Rocky Mountain chain.
The main type of rocks found in Wichita Mountains is granite. Granite is a very beautiful type of rock made by magma (lava is above ground and magma is underground) squeezing up into pre-existing rock. It then hardens and crystallizes, separating into three different minerals that you can see in the speckled patterns of granite (more about granite here). The granite of Wichita Mountains looks like it’s had a pretty rough life, battered and worn, as if to say, “you have no idea what I’ve been through”. Truly, the catastrophe these mountains have been through is unlike anything we see today. This rock probably went through the entire global flood, mentioned in the Bible.
While there are a couple of different interpretations you could have of exactly when this granite formed, we can tell that it has been around since at least the beginning of the flood. One thought is that this rock formation could be creation rock, made on day 3 of creation week, when God separated the waters and created dry land (Genesis 1:9-10). However, it seems more likely that this granite started forming at the very beginning of the flood, when the “fountains of the great deep” began to break up. This would have caused volcanoes, earthquakes, magma pushing up into layers, and more. The continents also would have started to break apart at this time. On the classic geologic column, this granite is classified as Pre-Cambrian to Cambrian. Other types of rock made by underground magma and above ground lava were formed in the area around the same time.
This granite was formed by magma squeezing into the Tillman rock group. It was covered by flood waters and mud layers. Still in the early phases of the flood (classified as “Carboniferous”), Wichita Mountains began to rise as sections of earth’s surface were squeezed, pulled apart, and pushed up. Progressing farther into the flood (Permian rock sections), these mountains were worn down quite a bit by the flood waters, and covered with more mud and gravel. Later, that mud and gravel was cleared away, revealing Wichita Mountains. Wichita Mountain is a beautiful monument of the world-wide flood and the awe-inspiring power of God. The next time you feel like Wichita Mountains – covered by the deep waters, battered, and worn – remember that you, too, can be a monument of the power of God to all who see you.
Copyright Sara J. Bruegel, April 2016
References:
Excerpt from the C.A. Merrit, School of Geology, University of Oklahoma and the Programs in Geosciences at the University of Texas at Dallas. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Oklahoma. Last accessed 4-21-16. http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Wichita_Mountains/habitat/geology.html
Updated on April 11, 2018
The Amazing Moon – Creation Clues for Kids Vol. 5 No. 2
Amazing Moon
Have you ever noticed that the moon sometimes looks like a fingernail? Or noticed it in the sky during the day time? Maybe you’ve tried to imagine what it would be like to become an astronaut and fly to the moon. The moon is like our special night-light built in by God from the beginning. Try looking at the moon every day for a few weeks. You can watch how it changes from a tiny fingernail sliver to a full moon. It looks pretty amazing when you see a full moon or funny patterns in the craters, but the moon is more than just a nice thing in the sky to look at. Life on Earth as we know it would not be possible without the moon.
It took three days for astronaut Jim Irwin to travel from Earth to the moon
Seasons, Fish, and the Moon
The moon goes around Earth once every 27 and 1/3 days. Earth pulls on the moon, keeping it in orbit, but the moon is also pulling on Earth. Our planet is tilted, which is what gives us seasons. The moon pulling on Earth helps keep that tilt stable. Without the moon, our seasons would go crazy. The moon pulls on the oceans, creating tides. If you’ve ever been to a beach, you can see these tides in action, pulling the waters farther into the ocean sometimes and letting them go farther onto the beach at other times. Tides help keep our oceans moving and keep the waters from becoming too still and dead.
Genesis 1:14
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years”
Drifting
Did you know that the moon is actually moving farther away from Earth? Every year, it gets about one and one half inches farther away. The moon causes tides to happen in our ocean, but because of that, the moon is being pushed away from Earth. This is a big problem for people who say that Earth and the moon are billions of years old. If you went back in time, putting the moon in reverse, so that it was headed closer to Earth, it would be touching Earth in 1.5 billion years. Since these people say that Earth and the moon formed about 4.5 billion years ago, it would be a very big problem to have the moon touching our planet 1.5 billion years ago. The truth is that Earth and the moon were both specially designed by God, made together in the same week, just about six thousand years ago.
Other Moons
Earth is not the only planet that has a moon. Jupiter and Saturn both have long lists of moons where newly discovered moons are added every few years. While some other planets have moons, called “satellites”, because they orbit around a planet, our single large moon is very special. Other planets tend to have moons that are much smaller than themselves, but our moon is different. Earth is nearly four times bigger than the moon, making it unusually large for a moon.
“Ganymede”, one of Jupiter’s many moons, is bigger than the planet, Mercury
Making of the Moon
Have you ever wondered how the moon got here, circling around Earth? Over the years, people have come up with many different stories of how the moon became the moon. One of the most recent stories says that there was another planet about the same size as Earth that crashed into our planet. The story says that the broken, left over pieces from this crashed planet eventually gathered together to form the moon. This is a made-up story, like a fairy tale, that even a lot of adults believe. The biggest problem with this and most other moon making stories is that they leave God out of it. The Bible is the history Book of the universe – God has always been around and knows better than we do how He made things. Genesis 1:16 says that on Day 4 of creation, “God made the two great lights; the greater light [Sun] to rule the day, and the lesser light [Moon] to rule the night: He made the stars also”
Dark Circles
Have you ever noticed that the sun and moon look about the same size in the sky? The moon is actually about 400 times smaller than the sun, but the sun is 400 times farther away, so it all evens out and they look the same size. Because the sun and moon look the same size in our sky, we are sometimes able to see a spectacular solar eclipse from Earth. A solar eclipse happens when the Earth, Moon, and Sun, are all in a line. To us on Earth, it looks like the moon is covering the sun. The moon looks like a dark circle over the sun. These solar eclipses help scientists study the sun and stars. God specially designed the sun and moon so that we could learn about them. We can learn more about God by studying what He has made.
Did you know that the same side of the moon always faces earth? The “dark side” of the moon was quite mysterious before space crafts flew around it
Mirror Moon
While the stars and sun have their own way of making light, the moon just acts like a mirror, reflecting light from the sun. Just like the moon does not have any light by itself, we do not have any “light” or good to shine on our own. The Bible says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God – no one can really be good on their own. We do not have any light ourselves, but, like the moon, we can reflect the light of the Son of God – Jesus. When His light of love fills your heart, you can truly shine.
For Your Information . . .
CCK is written by Sara J. Bruegel. Many thanks to Eliza Haley for her cartoon. If you have a question, comment, cartoon, or drawing about God’s creation that you would like to share, please write to Sara at: CreationCluesForKids@gmail.com and it may get published in the next issue. Also, you can visit www.CreationClues.com to read a new clue each week or read & print past issues of CCK.
We encourage you to print as many copies as you like for yourself, friends, church, private school, ministry, or other groups, free of charge. All we ask is that you respect the author’s copyright by 1)giving full credit to the author, 2)DO NOT charge for this newsletter or in any way try to make money off of Creation Clues for Kids, and 3) DO NOT change any of the content
This is the April-June 2016 Issue – Vol. 5 No. 2