Ada Brownell's Blog, page 10

IMAGINE THE FUTURE YOU;Imagine outdated textbooks. Excerpts continued.

IMAGINE OUTDATED TEXTBOOKS
By Ada Brownell

One psychology professor openly ridiculed Christians in one of my university classes with more than seventy students. As the instructor made sarcastic remarks about Christians in the news and preached his atheistic ideas, I wondered why no one challenged him. One day I raised my hand.
 “You said this textbook will be outdated in ten years,” I began. “So what you are saying today might not be true in ten years?”
The questions flowed.
“Can you prove evolution? Isn’t it true you accept it by faith? Are you aware that many scientists have thrown out missing links because they couldn’t find them? Did you know scientists are even putting forth the idea that man might have fallen from outer space?
“How did creation turn out so perfectly without a Designer? Why aren’t monkeys turning into hu­mans now?”
He admitted that, yes, the textbooks and the theories and knowledge in them would soon be outdated; that he didn’t have all the answers; and, “Yes, we do accept some things by faith. But when something is universally accepted, we treat it as fact.”
I should have asked, “Then because the God of creation and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ are universally accepted, that should be treated as fact?”
A few weeks later, I asked a science teacher if the first and second laws of thermodynamics violated evolution. The teacher had opened the class on the environment by stating everything would be based on evolution.
No more than thirty-five pages into the text, Living in the Environment, by G. Tyler Miller Jr., the class was studying the law of energy degradation, also known as the second law of thermodynamics. The law states that matter, if left to itself and undergoing physical or chemical changes, will always change in the direction of decreased order and decreased energy content. The entire universe obeys this law, and this includes every chemical reaction.
In words plain and simple, the law means anything left to itself will slowly fall apart. Every time you see an old barn with the roof sagging and the walls falling in, you see demonstration of this law. Despite galaxies thought to be expanding (are they expanding, or are we increasing our knowledge?), scientists will tell you the entire universe is slowing down, growing old, and, as the saying goes, is running out of steam.
The second energy law also tells us energy tends to flow or change spontaneously from a compact and ordered form to a dispersed and random, or disordered, form.
“No one has ever found a violation of this law,” Miller states.When the teacher read that, I put up my hand. “Isn’t evolution a violation of this law?”
In order for evolution to occur, many complex chemical changes must take place, and they must all be in the direction of in­creased order and energy to move from the simple to the com­plex.
The teacher paused a moment, cleared his throat, and said, “Well, evolution is the only violation.”
The theory of evolution also violates the first law of thermodynamics, which simply says energy (or matter) neither can be created nor destroyed.
A story goes that God and Satan were having a discussion.
“I can do anything you can,” Satan said, stretching his puny body so he looked taller.
God smiled. “OK. Make a man.”
Satan bent over and began scraping up dirt.
God grabbed his shoulder. “Use your own dirt.”
IMAGINE DECEPTION
In the camp of atheism, we even have deception. Among attempts to “prove” evolution, we have the Piltdown Man, which for forty years was acclaimed as the “missing evolutionary link.” In 1952 it was proved to be a hoax designed by Charles Dawson. The skull actually was the cranium of a man and the jaw of an ape. The specimen was believed to be a million years old before it was discovered to be a fraud. The teeth had been filed and stained to suggest age.
Among other attempted deceptions was the Solid Muldoon, which ap­peared to be a petrified giant with a tail about three inches long at the base of the spine. The figure was dug up in 1877 near Pueblo, Colorado.
The Solid Muldoon was exhibited by W. A. Conant, the “discoverer,” and George Hull, who planned to show the figure with P. T. Barnum, the showman. But scientists were skeptical because Hull exhibited another “petrified man” known as the Cardiff Giant. Hull later confessed he and a stonecutter carved the “giant” out of stone and buried it for “discovery.”
Hull finally admitted that, in an attempt to make the Solid Muldoon appear authentic, he made it from pulverized stone and bones, clay, blood, plaster, and dried eggs. He pounded the “skin” with a needle-studded mallet to give it “pores.” Then it was fired in a kiln for two weeks.
Now, even a person who rejects evolution must admit there are few blatant decep­tions such as these in the scientific realm today. But that is not to say you can rest your future and eternal destiny on science.
IMAGINE NEW EVIDENCE
New evidence makes it necessary to continually revise the theory of evolution. In fact, according to US News and World Report, the theory is radically being revised.An article several years ago by William F. Allman says, “The branches of the human family tree are being given a thorough shaking.”
One of the recent shakings, Allman said, concerns Lucy, a primate thought by evolutionists to walk upright and represent the oldest known human ancestor. But he said a number of distinct creatures, and possibly ten different species of upright, large-brained ape-like creatures, have been discovered, changing thought about Lucy’s species being the evolutionary link. Some creationists discount Lucy entirely because pygmy chimps wander about upright much of the time in rain forests today.
One of the most hotly debated issues among experts on human origins concerns Neanderthals—stocky, primitive hominids thought to be a direct ancestor of modern humans.
Researchers recently recovered DNA from a Neanderthal fossil and decoded it to see how closely it resembles human DNA. The Neanderthal DNA differed from human DNA in twenty-seven places, while human DNA differs from person to person by an average of just eight variations in genetic sequence.The author of the article in US News and World Report concluded the DNA tests showed Neanderthal men died out and were not the ancestors of modern humans.
The “prehistoric” models used by evolutionists also are sometimes built on a very few bones and often rely on artists for fossil reconstruction. For instance, Science Magazine showed a half whale and a half land animal on its cover on April 22, 1983, and according to Dave Nutting of the Alpha Omega Institute in Grand Junction, Colorado, the picture was reconstructed from teeth, a small fragment of the jaw, and one bone at the back of the skull.*Copyright 2014
Next: Imagine Creation[6] Laura Tangley, “Not So Close After All,” US News and World Report, July 21, 1997, 9.


[7]Pueblo Chieftain, Pueblo, CO, Jan. 12, 1991, page 1B; and The Alpha Omega Institute, bulletin, Grand Junction, CO. 

IMAGINE GOD CHANGING YOUR FUTURE

Excerpt from the book IMAGINE THE FUTURE YOU, by Ada Brownell
Also available in Audio. Read or listen to first chapter free! #Teens #Family #DevotionsLinks: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1489558284    http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KJ2C06ITunes  http://ow.ly/TY6uO

The Creator of the universe loves you and will guide you into blessed tomorrows.


God— the One who is, who always has been, and who always will be, is the most important person you can meet. He is your Creator, and what your future is like depends on your relationship with Him.
I know more and more young people are atheists today. This is by design by the secularists who write curriculum, teach in our schools, the universities, and have taken over our government and media. As I’ve said before, there is active brain washing to assure you won’t believe in God.
I’ve said many times in the past “atheism is the opiate of the sinner.” If wicked people at least think they don’t believe in God, it helps quiet their conscience. But their conscience won’t quit, so they blame it on other people . Apparently they know what Christians believe is real, so they target Christians. They think stopping the influence of Christianity will help them feel better in their sinful state. That is why religious freedom is in danger in the United States.
So, your future is wrapped in whether you believe in the God of the universe. For that reason I will present the truths to you in this chapter you might not have heard.
Besides creating you, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”That sentence is where the debate begins, but it’s nothing new. Atheists and agnostics argue extensively on this subject. Yet, they can’t prove God is not there. Neither, however, have Christians proved without a shadow of doubt God is the Creator and interested in humankind.
Because we can’t prove how we got here, atheism takes faith, as much or more faith than it takes to believe in a loving God. To be an atheist, man must be­lieve the eyes he sees with and everything he sees and even things he can’t see just happened, including the origin of matter, life and the exact mixture in the air we breathe: nitrogen, oxygen, water, argon, carbon dioxide and trace gases.
IMAGINE HOW YOU GOT HERE
Now, some Christians do believe in evolution—but with God starting the process. But those who believe in God don’t believe the universe or the magnificent human body happened by itself.
Most secular professors and teachers will not hesitate to tell you what to believe and not believe about your origins, but even scientists disagree.
One of the most interesting debates on evolution occurred in October 1980, when 150 scientists met in Chicago and began openly bickering among themselves, thundering forth conflicting theories.
Some scientists at this conference promulgated the “big bang” theory.Darwin’s theory also came under attack from scientists—because missing links are still missing after more than a century since Darwin.
“Fossil hunters have not found the fossils needed to explain the glar­ing differences between major species,” Associated Press newspaper columnist Hugh A. Mulligan reported. “In the whole cycle of environmental selection, with all the genes and embryos playing splitsville according to the evolutionary plan, no six-legged vertebrate has yet walked forth upon the earth.”
Science has pro­vided few or none of the examples of one major species shading gradually into another.
Fossil experts, not clergymen, are Darwin’s most formidable opponents, according to Phillip E. Johnson, author of Darwin on Trial.“There always will be missing links if we think in terms of link between all change,” a university anthropologist argued when I interviewed him. He said changes in Darwin’s theory have occurred, the most recent the theory of “punctuated equilibrium,” which he explained relates to the time taken for one species to shade into another.
“A form which had been a small variant, might have great rapid growth,” he said.
He used the doubling of chromosomes in some species as an example of radical change in a short period.
On the other hand, he admitted such doubling could be caused by the environment and also that most mutations are undesirable rather than desirable.
He used a fruit fly as an example of a species with a short life span where such changes in chromosomes could be observed. But he admitted the insect still was a fruit fly.
“It is very difficult for an average scientist to test evolution,” he said. “Our lives are too short and the research too specialized. The theory is the result of collective effort.”
IMAGINE OUTDATED TEXTBOOKS
One psychology professor openly ridiculed Christians in one of my university classes with more than seventy students. As the instructor made sarcastic remarks about Christians in the news and preached his atheistic ideas, I wondered why no one challenged him. One day I raised my hand.
 “You said this textbook will be outdated in ten years,” I began. “So what you are saying today might not be true in ten years?”
The questions flowed.
“Can you prove evolution? Isn’t it true you accept it by faith? Are you aware that many scientists have thrown out missing links because they couldn’t find them? Did you know scientists are even putting forth the idea that man might have fallen from outer space?
“How did creation turn out so perfectly without a Designer? Why aren’t monkeys turning into hu­mans now?”
He admitted that, yes, the textbooks and the theories and knowledge in them would soon be outdated; that he didn’t have all the answers; and, “Yes, we do accept some things by faith. But when something is universally accepted, we treat it as fact.”
I should have asked, “Then because the God of creation and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ are universally accepted, that should be treated as fact?”
A few weeks later, I asked a science teacher if the first and second laws of thermodynamics violated evolution. The teacher had opened the class on the environment by stating everything would be based on evolution.
No more than thirty-five pages into the text, Living in the Environment, by G. Tyler Miller Jr., the class was studying the law of energy degradation, also known as the second law of thermodynamics. The law states that matter, if left to itself and undergoing physical or chemical changes, will always change in the direction of decreased order and decreased energy content. The entire universe obeys this law, and this includes every chemical reaction.
In words plain and simple, the law means anything left to itself will slowly fall apart. Every time you see an old barn with the roof sagging and the walls falling in, you see demonstration of this law. Despite galaxies thought to be expanding (are they expanding, or are we increasing our knowledge?), scientists will tell you the entire universe is slowing down, growing old, and, as the saying goes, is running out of steam.
The second energy law also tells us energy tends to flow or change spontaneously from a compact and ordered form to a dispersed and random, or disordered, form.
“No one has ever found a violation of this law,” Miller states.When the teacher read that, I put up my hand. “Isn’t evolution a violation of this law?”
In order for evolution to occur, many complex chemical changes must take place, and they must all be in the direction of in­creasedorder and energy to move from the simple to the com­plex.
The teacher paused a moment, cleared his throat, and said, “Well, evolution is the only violation.”
The theory of evolution also violates the first law of thermodynamics, which simply says energy (or matter) neither can be created nor destroyed.
A story goes that God and Satan were having a discussion.
“I can do anything you can,” Satan said, stretching his puny body so he looked taller.
God smiled. “OK. Make a man.”
Satan bent over and began scraping up dirt.
God grabbed his shoulder. “Use your own dirt.”
IMAGINE DECEPTION
In the camp of atheism, we even have deception. Among attempts to “prove” evolution, we have the Piltdown Man, which for forty years was acclaimed as the “missing evolutionary link.” In 1952 it was proved to be a hoax designed by Charles Dawson. The skull actually was the cranium of a man and the jaw of an ape. The specimen was believed to be a million years old before it was discovered to be a fraud. The teeth had been filed and stained to suggest age.
Among other attempted deceptions was the Solid Muldoon, which ap­peared to be a petrified giant with a tail about three inches long at the base of the spine. The figure was dug up in 1877 near Pueblo, Colorado.
The Solid Muldoon was exhibited by W. A. Conant, the “discoverer,” and George Hull, who planned to show the figure with P. T. Barnum, the showman. But scientists were skeptical because Hull exhibited another “petrified man” known as the Cardiff Giant. Hull later confessed he and a stonecutter carved the “giant” out of stone and buried it for “discovery.”
Hull finally admitted that, in an attempt to make the Solid Muldoon appear authentic, he made it from pulverized stone and bones, clay, blood, plaster, and dried eggs. He pounded the “skin” with a needle-studded mallet to give it “pores.” Then it was fired in a kiln for two weeks.
Now, even a person who rejects evolution must admit there are few blatant decep­tions such as these in the scientific realm today. But that is not to say you can rest your future and eternal destiny on science.
IMAGINE NEW EVIDENCE
New evidence makes it necessary to continually revise the theory of evolution. In fact, according to US News and World Report, the theory is radically being revised.An article several years ago by William F. Allman says, “The branches of the human family tree are being given a thorough shaking.”
One of the recent shakings, Allman said, concerns Lucy, a primate thought by evolutionists to walk upright and represent the oldest known human ancestor. But he said a number of distinct creatures, and possibly ten different species of upright, large-brained ape-like creatures, have been discovered, changing thought about Lucy’s species being the evolutionary link. Some creationists discount Lucy entirely because pygmy chimps wander about upright much of the time in rain forests today.
One of the most hotly debated issues among experts on human origins concerns Neanderthals—stocky, primitive hominids thought to be a direct ancestor of modern humans.
Researchers recently recovered DNA from a Neanderthal fossil and decoded it to see how closely it resembles human DNA. The Neanderthal DNA differed from human DNA in twenty-seven places, while human DNA differs from person to person by an average of just eight variations in genetic sequence.The author of the article in US News and World Report concluded the DNA tests showed Neanderthal men died out and were not the ancestors of modern humans.
The “prehistoric” models used by evolutionists also are sometimes built on a very few bones and often rely on artists for fossil reconstruction. For instance, Science Magazine showed a half whale and a half land animal on its cover on April 22, 1983, and according to Dave Nutting of the Alpha Omega Institute in Grand Junction, Colorado, the picture was reconstructed from teeth, a small fragment of the jaw, and one bone at the back of the skull.IMAGINE CREATION
 One of the biggest stumbling blocks to belief among educated people is the idea that the Earth was created in six days.
Recently a young man asked, “But how can Christians be right? I heard someone counted genealogies of the Bible and figured the Earth is about six thousand years old. We know it’s older than that!”
Do we? How do we know scientific dating is correct? During the early 1960s in Leadville, Colorado, I worked at the Leadville Herald Democrat and did a story on the town’s old opera house. On display in a small museum at the opera house was what appeared to be a petrified foot in a high-topped shoe. The toe of the shoe was torn and a very real-looking big toe and toenail protruded from the end. Every detail, including the eyelets and strings, appeared real, but the shoe and foot, broken off above the ankle, were stone. The specimen was found in a mine.
Years later I tried to find this artifact again to get more information, but it was gone from the opera house, and I couldn’t discover where it was taken.
Dr. Carl Baugh of Creation Evidences Museum in Glen Rose, Texas, believes man and dinosaurs walked together. In his museum is a fossilized human finger and fossilized human footprints in dinosaur paw prints. He says there are other human and dinosaur footprints together in the Paluxy River Basin in Texas.BaughDating methods are being challenged by some of today’s Christian scientists. The potassium-argon dating method, which dates the Earth’s age in billions of years, is said by scientists to be valid because of the amount of time needed to make evolution seem reasonable, say textbook authors Emmett L. Williams, a former metallurgical engineering professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and George Mulfinger Jr., a physics specialist (Physical Science for Christian Schools). The radiocarbon dating method also is challenged by Williams and Mulfingers, who say it is unreliable because the calibration curve cuts off at about five thousand years ago and because the amount of carbon-14 in the atmosphere does not remain constant and appears to be continually increasing.
But suppose scientific dating is correct. It does nothing to undermine faith in God. Many Bible-believing Christians accept a very old Earth.
Often people try to make the Bible say something it doesn’t. The Bible doesn’t say the Earth was created in six twenty-four-hour days, although some people believe it was. Neither does the Bible say when “the beginning” was.
Here are some Christian ideas about the days of creation:
 Twenty-four Days of Re-creation:The belief there was a creation before Adam that was somehow destroyed. (This idea leaves a gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.)
Age-Long Days of Creation : The belief that creation occurred over six different ages that could have been thousands of years in length.
 Revelatory Days of Creation : The idea that the days had nothing to do with creation but with the amount of time God took giving Moses, the writer of the Book of Genesis, information about creation.
Twenty-four-hour days of creation : The belief that God literally created the Earth and all that is in it in six twenty-four-hour days, as we know days.
So when Genesis says, “So the evening and the morning were the first day,” “The evening and the morning were the second day,” and so forth until God rested on the seventh day, the length of time can be interpreted several ways.
One thing that makes me believe in a young Earth is population. Scientists use the “population J curve” to show exponential growth of the number of humans. The “J curve” is any system that grows by doubling—one, two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, etc., or geometric growth.
Experts estimate the world’s population was two hundred million in 1 AD and population continued to double and double until 1850—the curve of the J— when eight hundred million people lived on the Earth. Estimates and censuses showed two billion by 1930, three billion in 1960, four billion in 1976, five billion in 1990, six billion in 2002, and an estimated seven billion in 2011.
It took nearly two thousand years to quadruple the number of people from the time Jesus walked the earth but only eighty years for the population to grow from one to two billion between 1850 and 1930 and twelve years to grow a billion between 1990 and 2002. The US Census Bureau estimated the world population to be 7.073 billion in 2012.
 This increase is despite diebacks because of disease and epidemics, natural catastrophes, and wars. In my mind, there is no way man could have been here millions of years. Again, science uses millions of years to make evolution seem plausible because we can’t see any evidence for it in a lifetime of one hundred years.
 But the length of time that it took to create the Earth is not exceedingly important. What is important is that we know and believe Genesis 1:1, that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
The whole world’s scientific thought constantly changes and often contradicts what scientists thought was solid evidence. On the other hand, the Creator and his witness never change and will never be outdated.
IMAGINE EVIDENCE FOR FAITH
It is not difficult to believe in God. Archaeology has found evidence for many decades to support much of the Bible’s historical information. Cities mentioned in the Bible have been discovered. According to the Biblical Archaeology Society, on July 18, 2013, the Israel Antiquities Authority reported in a news release: King David’s Palace was uncovered in the Judean Shephelah.
The Pool of Siloam where Jesus healed a blind man was discovered after excavations in the Jerusalem. From reports, another pool was thought to be the Pool of Siloam, but when this one about the size of two football fields was discovered along with a series of steps leading down to the pool. The pool was uncovered by a Jerusalem utility crew. Work was halted and archaeologists took over.
The pool is at the end of an amazing aqueduct discovered in 1838 by American biblical scholar Edward Robinson. The tunnel was far more spectacular than anyone imagined, hewn out of solid rock and 1,750 feet long. Skeptics claim the tunnel must have been created more recently than 1,700 years ago, but analysis of the ancient writing found in the tunnel, carbon 14 dating of the plant life disrupted by the tunnel, and uranium-thorium dating of stalactites and stalagmites that grew after completing of the tunnel, support a date of around 700 BC, the date given in the Bible.
Why did Hezekiah build the canal?
At about that time, the Assyrian Army led by King Sennacherib conquered nearly every prominent town in the southern kingdom of Judah. Israel lay in ruins. Sennacherib’s strategy was to cut off all food and water outside the fortified city walls, then when the people inside were near death from thirst and starvation, begin the siege.
When King Hezekiah heard what was happening around Jerusalem, he sought the Lord, and built a tunnel, a canal, from the springs outside the city through solid rock to bring water under the wall and to the people. You can read about it in 2 Kings 18-20 and 2 Chronicles 32.
There is much more archaeological evidence to support the Bible.  Ancient writings also have been found that verify people mentioned in scripture lived at the time described.
 Archaeologists have found so much evidence for the Bible accuracy it takes books to tell it.
 Fulfilled prophecies also show the Bible is something on which we can depend. The Jews returning from being scattered over the earth after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and Israel becoming a nation in 1948 fulfill Ezekiel’s prophecy concerning the valley of dry bones. You may remember the song about the “dry bones” connecting.
 Fervent study of scripture reveals many fulfilled prophecies.
IMAGINE EARTH THE WAY GOD MADE IT


Anyone who will look with an open mind will see that creation is “programmed” the way God designed it. Species reproduce only after their kind. The body returns to dust—from which the Bible says it came.
If we look at creation, there is too much perfection to be attributed to chance.
It is with awe toward the Creator that we see not one but two kinds of humans, animals, insects, reptiles, birds, and fish—which keep reproducing to populate Earth. Doesn’t it take too much faith to believe two kinds evolved so per­fectly so as to join together and have the capacity to create others just like them?
Any part of the human body or any other part of cre­ation defies explanation outside of the design of Almighty God.
 More evidence for faith surrounds us. The power of God at work in the lives of men and women today is a great testimony. First, a personal relationship with God is the only thing that really satisfies the soul of man. Even if we have access to everything the world has to offer, if we don’t know God, we have emptiness.
IMAGINE WHY FAITH IS IMPORTANT TO YOUR FUTURE
Dr. Andrew Newberg, neuroscientist and author of Why We Believe What We Believe, says our brains seem to have a special place for faith. He has tracked how the human brain processes religion and spirituality. It's all part of a new field called neurotheology.Newberg says the frontal lobe, the area right behind our foreheads, helps us focus our attention in prayer and meditation. The parietal lobe, located near the back of our skulls, is the seat of our sensory information. He says this place in the brain is involved in that feeling of becoming part of something greater than one’s self. The limbic system, nestled deep in the center, regulates our emotions and is responsible for feelings of awe and joy.
Newberg says similar areas of the brain are affected during prayer and meditation. He suggests brain scans may provide proof that our brains are built to believe in God. He says there may be universal features of the human mind that actually make it easier for us to believe in a higher power.
 I believe people search for God because of the “God-shaped void” within. If they haven’t heard the Gospel or reject it, they worship the earth, an idol they know is nothing but a figure humans created, or devise their own religion—even making unbelief into doctrine.
IMAGINE GOD GIVING YOU JOY AND PEACE
Besides satisfying the longings deep within us, we can see other results of the Lord in the lives of men and women today. When people accept Jesus Christ as Savior, their lives are changed for the better. They won’t be perfect, but they will be much better individuals than they were before they came to know God.
Parents who neglected their families begin to care for them. They clean up their lives and become solid, dependable individuals. The Bible says they are “new creatures in Christ Jesus. Old things are passed away. Behold all things become new.” If someone claims to be a Christian but doesn’t turn from sin, however, he probably didn’t submit himself to God. By the same token if they say they know God, and no longer walk in obedience to Him, they are not Christians.
In addition to changed lives, if a person gets to know a Christian well he will learn of many answers to prayer. In most Bible-believing churches, all you would need to do is ask, “What is the greatest answer to prayer you’ve experienced?” I’ve done that and discovered many wonderful testimonies: God turning a forest fire from a home; a man with a head injury from a motorcycle accident back to work in six weeks—after doctors said he probably would never work again; a slowly dying child healed; God keeping a rainstorm behind a highway paving machine for three days so a man with a large family could work. 
We’ve experienced miracles in our family—a daughter thought to have multiple sclerosis totally healthy years later; a son where tests showed he had only 40 percent kidney function, but later tests determined his kidneys worked perfectly. Our six youngest grandchildren are miracles, four because of pregnancy issues of their mothers, and the last two loving gifts of adoption.
God doesn’t always work the way we wish. We lost a daughter to cancer, but the Lord was our Comforter and gave peace. He does great things in answer to prayer.
In the church, especially, one can see the work of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promised He would send when He went away, drawing men and women to salvation, filling them with power, and teaching them.
When all information for belief in God or all information for belief in atheism is given, however, there is still room for doubt.
Why would God leave room for doubt?
IMAGINE YOUR FAITH
Because faith is necessary for salvation. The Bible states, “Without faith it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to him must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”In another scripture the Bible says, “All who believe in God’s Son have everlasting life.”If God’s existence could be proved, there would be no reason for faith!
When the whole matter of man’s existence on Earth is questioned, there is nothing to settle it—but faith. So why not believe in God? It’s the only thing that makes sense.
Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ International, said he has never seen a single individual who has honestly considered the evidence who was unable to believe in God. But he has seen some who are unwilling to believe.Belief is a matter of the will. God created man with freedom of choice. We aren’t forced to serve or obey him. Adam and Eve had that choice from the beginning, and so do we. We can serve false gods, Satan, or ourselves if we choose.
It is only when we choose to believe in the Creator that we begin to build our life on the Rock where the hurricanes of life can’t destroy us.
God’s love was demonstrated when He sent His only Son to die, arise from the tomb, and be the Savior of sinful men. Belief in God the Father is not enough, however. Devils believe and tremble (James 2:19). We also must believe and confess Jesus Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9) and obediently follow Him and His Word.

Genesis 1:1 Charles Percival, Pueblo Chieftain, Aug. 9, 1992, page 6B. Darwin on Trial (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 45. G. Tyler Miller Jr., Living in the Environment (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.), 34–43. William F. Allman, “A Family Legacy for Lucy,” US News & World Report, April 11, 1994, 55. Laura Tangley, “Not So Close After All,” US News and World Report, July 21, 1997, 9. Pueblo Chieftain, Pueblo, CO, Jan. 12, 1991, page 1B; and The Alpha Omega Institute, bulletin, Grand Junction, CO. Ada Brownell, Pueblo Chieftain, Nov. 4, 1989, 1B; and Carl Baugh and Dr. Clifford Wilson, Dinosaur (Orange CA: Promise Publishing Co., 1987). Baugh’s credentials for making these claims are challenged by some experts, however, and even some creationists are skeptical about the Paluxy footprints, although they are in a protected national or state park. Carl Baugh, Panorama of Creation(Oklahoma City, OK: Southwest Radio Church), 55-62. Bob Jones University Press, Greenville, SC, 1974, 271. CNN report by A. Chris Gajilan on April 4, 2007. 2 Corinthians 517 Hebrews 11:6KJ John 3:36 Josh McDowell, Foreword, Evidence That Demands a Verdict (San Bernardino, CA: Here’s Life Publishers Inc., San Bernardino, CA, 1979).

INVEST IN YOUR FUTURE

By Ada Brownell
People ask for all sorts of different gifts for Christmas. Somebody wishes for his two front teeth, as the song goes. Others want toys, diamonds, furs or cars. One singer promises he’ll be home for Christmas.
 Just seven days later, we almost forget what we received.  We make New Year’s resolutions where we plan to give ourselves things we dream of – slimmer healthier bodies, a better job, new love, more education, or accomplishing something great.
Jesus already gave us the greatest Gift and we celebrate that at Christmas. But we can open it—or rather open our hearts to the Savior— any time of year and receive not only forgiveness of sins, but eternal life, and he also gives us joy here. How wonderful is that?
This year He brought peace in the storm when a family member was stricken with cancer and now he is cancer free.  When a persistent antibiotic-resistant infection lingered in my body off and on for about three years, God gave victory! Many other prayers were answered. In trials of life the Lord teaches me my joy doesn’t depend on other people. it’s all in my relationship with Jesus, my Redeemer and Friend.
If you’re interested in the future for you, or your teens, there’s information in my book, Imagine the Future You that could change your life.
Here’s the Summary:


IMAGINE THE FUTURE YOU
A motivational Bible study by Ada Brownell
Ready or not, you’re going into your future.
If you continue to do what you do now, what kind of future will you have? This Bible study will help you discover evidence for faith in God; how to look and be your best; who can help; interesting information about dating, love and marriage; choosing a career; how to deposit good things into your brain you can spend; and how to avoid hazards that jeopardize a successful life on earth and for eternity, all mingled with true stories that can make you smile.
Review:  How I would have loved to sit at Mrs. Brownell's knee when I was a teen. This wholesome book resounds with sage, Godly advice and could be picked up again and again as needs arise. Worthwhile for parents too. Much fodder for family discussion.
            Also available in Audio. Read or listen to first chapter free! #Teens #Family #Devotions
Links: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1489558284    http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KJ2C06
ITunes  http://ow.ly/TY6uO

MYSTERY WRITERS FROM THE BIBLE TALK ABOUT THE SECOND COMING

  
By Ada Nicholson Brownell


Did you know the Apostle Paul was a mystery writer? He was among those who wrote about the return of Jesus Christ to earth.
One of his most famous passages begins, “51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’”
What a wonderful passage of scripture from 1 Corinthians 15:51-57!
During Christmas I thought again of how wonderful it is that God became a human, lived among us, and gave his life to ransom our souls from sin. Then Jesus walked out of the tomb alive and later ascended into heaven.
The hope the angel gave when he said Jesus would come back means everything to me. I am excited to go to heaven and see Jesus, lots of people I know from the Bible, and also embrace my loved ones. First probably would be our daughter Carolyn, who has been with the Lord since 1990.
Then I’d find Mama, Daddy, and my siblings, Virgil, Marjorie, Clara, Erma, Joan, and a stepbrother Clarence, and aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces, cousins, and friends I expect to be there, and my two living brothers Everette and Joe, will be there too.
Today there’s sadness here on earth among friends where doctors have discovered a brain tumor, a damaged heart, kidney failure, and cancer among so many. We’ll never hear those diagnoses in heaven.
But we all live in hope because the Bible says Jesus will return!
 
 FROM ACTS:1:9:
  “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
 
Is there anything we can do to get ready for His coming?
ST. MATTHEW WROTE:  “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” (Matthew 24:42).
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. Matthew 25:13
THE APOSTLE PAUL DESCRIBES WHAT HAPPENS:
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).


THE WRITER OF THE BOOK OF HEBREWS SAID IN HEBREWS 9:28:
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin untosalvation.”


FROM PETER (2 PETER 3:9-11)
 
“…Scoffers will come in the last days walking according to their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation…  
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat, both the earth and the works that are in it will burned up.
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of the Lord, because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
Nevertheless we, according to his promises, look for a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
People argue about when the end will come. All I say BY GOD’S GRACE I WILL TO BE READY!”
MORE SCRIPTURES ABOUT THE SECOND COMING, We've heard from the Apostle Paul, Matthew, and Peter.
Mark
Here's a scripture from Jesus, quoted from Mark, who precedes this with information about the tribulation.
"Watch, therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming--in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning--lest, coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all, 'Watch!'" (Mark 13:35-37).
***
FROM LUKE:


Luke 21: 25-28
“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon and in the stars; and in the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, men’s hearts failing them for fear and the expectation of things that are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.
Then they will see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when you see these things begin to happen, look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.”
LUKE ALSO WRITES:
“Watch therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36).
NOTICE THESE WORDS FROM ST. JOHN:
“Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
FROM REVELATION
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to every man according to his work. I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (Rev. 22:12).
“Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city…” (Rev. 22:14).
“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And whoever desires, let him take of the water of life freely” Rev. 22:17).
.

WHY CHRISTMAS JOY IS RELEVANT AND REAL

 
By Ada Nicholson Brownell


The church today is accused of being irrelevant.
      Irrelevant?  What is more relevant than we’re all destined to die, but Jesus Christ came to get us off this planet alive?
What is more relevant than John 3:16? “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
      The relevance of the gospel of Jesus Christ is never more real than when death invades your life. When our oldest daughter died of cancer less than a month after her 31st birthday, I knew there was hope because of Jesus.
      Jesus did something about death, and since then people have been singing “Joy to the World! The Lord is come.” Not necessarily the words written by Isaac Watts. The song wasn’t written until 1719.
      But on that first Christmas, which became the dividing point of time—B.C. and A.D.— a choir of angels sang a joyful song about tidings of comfort and joy. The tidings were for all people, “for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
      Why did humankind need a Savior? Because sin brought death.
      God warned Adam and Eve that although they could eat everything else in the Garden of Eden, they were not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they would die.
 “You won’t die!” the Tempter told Eve.
So Eve ate, shared the fruit with her husband, and not long afterward they sat at the gravesite of a murdered son. Eventually, death claimed them.
      When Adam and Eve disobeyed, the Heavenly Father still loved them. He created them for fellowship. So He designed a “just” way to restore humans to righteousness and life forevermore.  He would bring a Redeemer to reverse the penalty of sin (Genesis 3:15). But blood would be required, because sin is so serious and always hurts someone, especially the sinner.      Yet, death became the enemy of every mortal person, despite a glimmer of hope with repentance and the sacrifice of bulls and goats. Bull and goat blood wasn’t enough to thwart the Tempter—the Enemy who is delighted when people fall into sin and are destined to eternal death away from God.
Then God-the-Son slipped into a baby’s skin, and He landed in a straw-filled manager surrounded by cattle, sheep and the smell of manure. A long, hard road stood between the Christ Child and victory. He grew and demonstrated His love, but people loved themselves more than God and killed Him. His blood trickled down a splintery cross and He died. Hope seemed lost.
 Three days later, Jesus’ walked out of the tomb alive without even unwrapping the grave clothes. He told the Apostle John, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death (Revelation 1:17-19 ).
      Isaiah wrote in his prophesies about the Messiah, that “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:2-4). But we’re like Adam and Eve. We decide whether to obey God. It’s up to us whether we accept the gift of salvation and the resulting joy.
      Joyful singing about Jesus has erupted from mortal lips since His birth and for good reason. And we’re still singing, “Joy to the World!  The Lord is come!”
      If you’re human, that’s relevant--and REAL!.
      © Copyright Ada Brownell

See Genesis 3:14-15

Interview with NIke Chillemi about her new book, Courting Danger

Courting Danger , Ada Brownell, Spotlight-Interview
Blurb:
Newly installed Pelican Beach, Florida detective Katerina "Kat" Andruko fears the prime suspect will get off in the murder of a teen with the help of the department's forensics psychologist, a man she's just started to trust.


This case has national security implications that gives former US Army Ranger, Dr. Dimitri Garmonin a chance to work with the FBI. The case could give him the chance to obtain the funds needed to expand his small Behavior Analysis Unit. He's unmoved by the chic FBI agent sent to assist but is intrigued by Kat with whom he shares a Slavic heritage.


Kat and her partner detain two wrong suspects, giving the department negative press. The predator turns his anger on Kat, targeting her. Can Dimitri use his profiler skills to catch this killer before he hurts the woman he's growing to love?


Questions:
Q: Give us an insight into your main character(s).
A:  In COURTING DANGER both Detective Katerina "Kat" Andruko and forensic psychologist Dimitri Garmonin share a Slavic heritage. They even share more than that. As children both spent years in a Slavic country. Dimitri was born in Russia and lived there at the fall of the Soviet Union. His father was murdered there, and his mother escaped with him to America. As an adult, he still speaks with a faint Russian accent. After her parents were killed by a drunk driver in northeastern Florida, Kat was shipped off to an aunt and uncle she didn't know in Ukraine. She spent two of her teenage years there. Yes, Kat and Dimitri share a Slavic heritage, but culturally and politically, the Ukrainians and Russians hate each other. So, Kat not only distrusts Dimitri, she actually has him as her number one suspect in the murder case of a teenage girl whose body is found on the beach.


Q:  What inspires you?


A:  The truth is its the little, many times off-hand things that inspire both my novel and blog writing. Several years ago, I was totally taken by a pair of cardinals who flew north for the summer and how they related to each other for the two days they came to my backyard. I put a red cardinal and his mate in two of my novels as a symbol of love between spouses. COURTING DANGER is the exception. My own Slavic/Baltic heritage is Ukrainian, Czechoslovakian, and Croatian. When Russia was invading Crimea, I saw photographs of unarmed Ukrainian Orthodox Priests, in their robes, standing in front of the invading Russian tanks. Some held a Bible, others a cross. It was sort of, "You have to get through us firsts before you can get to the people." Those photographs are seared into my consciousness. I knew I'd write a story about a Ukrainian American woman who doesn't trust Russians and yet she's falling in love with a Russian born man … as they try to stop a wanton killer.

Nike Chillemi


Bio:
Nike is the founding board member of the Grace Awards and its Chair, a reader's choice awards for excellence in Christian fiction. She has been a judge in the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017 Carol Awards in the suspense, mystery, and romantic suspense categories; and an Inspy Awards 2010 judge in the Suspense/Thriller/Mystery category. Her four novel Sanctuary Point series (out of print), set in the mid-1940s has finaled, won an award, and garnered critical acclaim. The first novel in the Veronica "Ronnie" Ingels/Dawson Hughes series HARMRUL INTENT won in the Grace Awards 2014 Mystery/Romantic Suspense/Thriller/Historical Suspense category. She has written book reviews for The Christian Pulse online magazine. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and John 3:16 Marketing Network.  https://nikechillemi.blog/


Purchase Courting Danger on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Courting-Danger-Katerina-Authorized-Operations-ebook/dp/B07KCBMFCX/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541866039&sr=1-1&keywords=Courting+Danger%2C+Chillemi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nike.chillemi
Twitter:  @NikeNChillemi

DO YOU LIKE WHO YOU ARE?

A MOST UNUSUAL CHRISTMAS GIFT
By Ada Brownell
Do you like who you are?
An old guy I knew well told me one day before he died he’d like to live his life over—as somebody else. I was astounded. I thought he had an inflated ego, and viewed himself as better than others. I was wrong.
While they were small children, our granddaughters used to play dress up. I don’t remember if they were pretending to be someone famous, or themselves as adults, but it somebody else. Yet they did grow up to be beautiful young ladies.
God, who designed us in the beginning, has a special feature he added to humans, that can only occur supernaturally. We can be changed into a new person!
People who repented and accepted Jesus as Savior after living a life of sin are most noticeable when the change occurs.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a newcreature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Jesus discussed supernatural changes when he talked to Nicodemus (John 3) who I’ll call Nick. Jesus told Nick, “Unless one is born again (changed), he cannot see the kingdom of God.
I imagine Nick’s eye’s bulged when he said, “How can a man be born when he is old?”
Jesus explained at first we are born “in the flesh,” but we can be changed when we are born again by the Holy Spirit. And a few moments later He said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Faith in Jesus changes everything about a person when he repents and accepts Him as Savior. I’ve seen the drunkard set free, the wicked changed in a moment, different inside out.  Those filled with hate, fear, bitterness and greed find it all washed away with the rivers of living water, joy unspeakable and full of glory. A black heart can be washed white by the blood Jesus shed on the cross. Then the love, joy, peace and other fruits of the Holy Spirit flow in.
When I was a child, my aunt screamed, “I’m lost!” in the middle of the pastor’s sermon and ran to the altar crying out for God’s mercy. She was changed from that day, dancing for joy—and loved on people until she died in her 90s.
I know she liked the new person she became.
Some people have said all they want for Christmas is their two front teeth, but God made it possible for us to become a totally new person because Jesus came to earth to be our Redeemer.
Forget sitting on Santa’s lap. Instead kneel at the feet of Jesus who made it possible for us to receive things we’ve never dreamed we could have, but would fill us with incredible joy. You’re promised in Psalm 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
Perhaps it will be things you didn’t even know you needed!
Merry Christmas!                              

A Tall Christmas Doll

A TALL CHRISTMAS DOLL
By Ada Brownell
The Great Depression left tracks all over my family, so in the early 1940s with eight of us children and I the youngest, many Christmases we had no gifts. But one year, probably while I was 4 or 5, I received a doll almost as tall as I was. She obviously was used because she had little cracks all over her hard "skin," even up into her molded hair. Her clothing, however, clean and new, showed someone made it for her, probably Mama.
 I hated that doll. I wanted a soft baby doll like I saw another girl have, with a bottle that you could fill with water, and when you stuck the nipple into the hole in the doll's mouth, the bottle emptied and the baby doll wet its pants. That big doll I had did nothing but stand up.
 Just a little growing up, and every time I looked at that doll, I was ashamed of myself--a selfish, unthankful kid who hated a gift given in love. I didn't like the doll any more than I ever did, but I loved my parents more. I saw myself, probably as God saw me, and that did something in me.
I learned whether or not there are gifts under a tree, or who we share the holiday with, it's possible to have a merry Christmas. Jesus came, and I knew He loved me because I learned to sing Jesus Loves Me in Sunday school. He brought the gift of hope to anyone who will receive it, and that not only made the angels sing, humankind has been singing year 'round since that day.
©Ada Brownell

History, Mystery and Faith: MAGIC IN A BLOSSOM

By Ada Brownell
Ever thought about the DNA in a flower? Or the wonder of love?
In my new book, Love’s Delicate Blossom, being edited now after I was sidelined by the shingles—not those on my roof, but a disease that feels like you’ve had something nailed to your body—I discovered fruit blossoms are much more than pretty flowers. Maybe that’s why bouquets are part of weddings. Here’s what the leading man in the book has to say about blossoms and love.  Joe Nichols, explains it to the beautiful redhead, Ritah O’Casey, who has another fellow after her.
They were almost to Aunt Charlotte’s house, and Joe slowed the team to a crawl. He turned his dark-haired head toward Ritah. “The way I figger it…” He paused, looked away and then back to her. “Love is sort of like growing peaches in an orchard. Doesn’t your uncle have a peach ranch?”
She adjusted her pretty hat trimmed with white roses and moved the hat pin a little to hold it atop her head. “Yes. In Colorado. Uncle John inherited it.” Ritah wondered where Joe was going with his thought. “John grows wonderful tree-ripened peaches, and it’s the best fruit I’ve ever eaten. It’s so sweet, juicy and wonderful.”
Joe smiled at her, his white even teeth reflecting the evening sun. “That’s what I think love is like. Some of the girls I know are like a sour pie cherry. Others are like a plum, sweet but still a little sour. I’ve gone out with one or two who never laughed, smiled, and I felt after I got home like I’d been eating green apples. Yet peaches aren’t as easy to raise as many other fruits. The blossoms are so delicate it doesn’t take much cool weather to kill them. I think real love is like that, something special that must be cared for, like a peach.”
Ritah jerked her head up and blinked at him. “That’s awesome. I’ll have to think on that, and sometime maybe I can tell you why Edmund is in love.”
“Edmund?”
“That’s his name.”
He grinned. “Interesting.”
Then she realized she’d never said she was in love. Her smile flashed back at him and the connection they made with their eyes sent sparks through her.
***
Toward the end of the book Ritah discovers lots more about love and peach blossoms, and it has to do with the pesky seed.
Hopefully Love’s Delicate Blossom will be published by Dec. 1. The e-book should be out sooner.There have been many delays..
Here’s the summary for Love's Delicate Blossom and the link to Ada Brownell Amazon page, which has links to the other two books in the series, The Lady Fugitive and Peach Blossom Rancher.
Love’s Delicate Blossom, an historical suspense By Ada Brownell Sequel to The Lady Fugitive and Peach Blossom Rancher Edmund Pritchett III wants to marry Ritah Irene O’Casey, but she says wait. The beautiful redhead is trying to rescue Tulip, a 14-year-old orphan kidnapped by Henry Hunter to work in his brothel, and Ritah doesn’t have much time. She has a train ticket to go to college and fulfill her dreams. Ritah hopes to become a teacher who can help widows keep their children when tragedy strikes. She also wants to teach mothers how to prevent dangerous diseases and treat health problems, in an era when few have access to a doctor. Instead Ritah ends up fighting for the lives of injured soldiers in a World War I Army health clinic, and finds her own life threatened by illness as well as sorrow. But Ritah finds a teaching job in Penokee, Kansas, and there Joe Nichols, a handsome farmer, edges his way into her heart. But Edmund Pritchett III isn’t giving up, and neither is Henry Hunter, who is about to open his brothel. Will Rita be able to continue to fight for women and families, understand enduring love, decide on the man she loves, and defend herself and her students when Henry Hunter bursts into the school shooting a pistol? COMMENT FROM A READER: Your book set a tone and world from your grandmother’s time, the historical elements are what readers read the genre for. Amazon Ada Brownell author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KJ2C06

CHILDREN: AMAZING LITTLE PEOPLE

By Ada Brownell
Busyness filled my days when our five children came into the world and although I thought about how cute and wonderful each are, I didn’t grasp the whole picture about the wonder of a child.
My husband and I walk in the mall frequently. Lately I’m struck by the amazing little people everywhere. The mall has a play area and yesterday a little fellow, probably about 18 months old, climbed up and considered going down the slide head first.
A sister, about age 3 or 4, went around him and showed him how to go down on his bottom. He watched, sat his back side on the slide and slid down, delight all over him. He figured it out himself by watching.
One of our grandchildren had baby lingo no one could understand, but when our son told with a laugh about some of the child’s ornery antics, the child grinned. He understood every word.  That ended sharing the boy’s mischief, even if it was cute, when he was present.
What struck me recently is how wonderful God’s creation and design is, and it shows up most amazingly in children.
How they got here in the first place is more than our minds can fathom.
I’ve watched our grandchildren look their mommies and daddies over shortly after birth, and they’re not very old when they can recognize them across the room.
New brains are like a blank sheet of paper, although fantastic stored data governing our neurological systems and instincts operate even while we’re still in the womb. What God “programmed” into us commanded our arms, legs, fingers, toes to move even before birth. Instincts God installed in our DNA prompted us to suck, swallow, cry, and feel hunger, as well as caused the various inner parts of our body to function.
 Babies arrive with a brain download to literally cry for love, care, and being held, and they won’t thrive without these things.
When we were a few months of age, we learned to coordinate movements so we could reach for things because our muscles and brains developed that capacity. Nevertheless, we needed outside stimuli to use the potential from the brain. Children given no attention often don’t learn to sit, walk, or talk.
We learned language skills by imitating. If Mom kept saying “Mama” over and over to us, soon we worked our mouths and tongues around, using our vocal cords so we could come up with a fairly good imitation. Sometimes the child says “Dada” first, and “no” comes soon after.
If the parents speak Chinese, the child obviously learns Chinese instead of English, and children of Spanish-speaking parents communicate in Spanish or whatever language is spoken in the home.
All through childhood, children imitate what they see and hear. We imitate others all our lives. For instance, we imitate experts on everything from sports to dancing, to gardening, to playing or singing music, to doing tricks on a bicycle or skateboard.
But imitation isn’t all there is. At some point we think for ourselves. Nevertheless, the decisions we make are based on input we receive around us.
As a parent I exposed our children to godly teaching, wonderful Christian people, and challenges of learning things that matter.
Too bad I wasn’t a perfect parent, but none of us are. Yet God gives wisdom if we ask, and ask I did. I’m so thankful all of our five children love God with all their hearts and live for Him. But the other wonderful people who invested their time and energy in our children deserve much of the credit and to God the glory.
©Copyright Ada Brownell