Seeing Creator’s touch: An Earth Day contest
Dr. Charley 
Gordon (pictured), Texas brain surgeon, scientist, and author of the new book “In Plain Sight” has issued an Earth Day challenge to “Find Where He Signed.”
Earth Day is April 22.
In his book, “In Plain Sight, “ Gordon uses photos and essays to helps readers develop eyes to recognize scientific miracles of creation.
It seems that he’s asking others to see if they can do the same. Winners of his contest will be announced on May 19 on the website InPlainSightTheBook.com.
Entries may be individual or group/class and are judged for originality, ingenuity, presentation, and explanation. You can find more details on the website. All ages (particularly in teams) are urged to compete.
A signature is defined as evidence in nature of clear intelligence, humor, beauty, natural laws, or unlikely but obvious match-ups. Gordon’s book gives 40 examples, including:
1. Match-up: Galaxies and hurricanes, seen from above, show the same coil.
2. Humor: 1) The cerebellum, the fist-sized structure at the brain’s base, in a salad bar, would be mistaken for cauliflower. 2) Chickens.
3. Beauty: A magnificent sunset or a full-circle rainbow has been known to stop traffic. Why is that? Why do humans brake for beauty?
4. Natural principles: The Golden Ratio, the swirl in shells and roses, shows up also in galaxies and grains of sand. Coincidence?
5. Clear intelligence: Unlike every other substance, water’s solid form (ice) is lighter than its coldest liquid form. Except for this, oceans would be frozen solid, killing all life.
Deadline for challenge entries is May 10.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
April 20 Today’s Prayer
Prepare our hearts, dear Lord, for what You have in store for us. Amen.
March 7 Today’s Prayer
Dear Lord, please continue to watch over and bless our state and nation. Amen.
Jan. 14 Today’s Prayer
Thursday, Jan. 14
Lord, multiply our opportunities to share with others the beauty we have found in You. Amen.
Honestly folks, we need help
I’ve got to appreciate Rick Warren’s honesty.
Some clergy might have been too prideful to say that their church coffers were low, but not Warren. 
As many people already know, Warren (shown here in this 2008 AP photo) recently made a plea for finances due to what he said was a $900,000 shortfall at his Saddleback Church in California. He came back a few days later to report that people answered his plea. He said that $2.4 million had come pouring in to the church.
Apparently, Warren had written an urgent letter to his congregation telling them about the shortfall. According to published reports, Warren said that about 10 percent of the congregation was out of work so donations had decreased, plus offerings for the month of December were down.
Methinks some churches in Oklahoma may have experienced such a shortfall due to the snowstorm on Christmas Eve, and the downturn in the economy.
Anyway, Warren’s plea made for some interesting news. Interesting because he admitted that the church needed help and he wasn’t afraid to ask for it.
I know everyone has their own take on this turn of events . This is mine.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Nov. 2 Today’s Prayer
O Lord, we rejoice in You. May our hearts continually praise You for Your kindness. Amen.
Combining two loves
As promised in today’s edition of The Oklahoman (Aug. 29), I have included an excerpt from “God Moments From a Deer Stand.”
The book was written by a local ministry leader, Mike Fackler, who is minister of middle school ministries at Crossings Community Church, 14600 N Portland.
I borrowed the book from Fackler, hoping to incorporate an excerpt from the devotional into today’s story about ministries that reach out to people who like hunting and the outdoors. Alas, lack of space prevented me from making that addition and then I thought “Aha — I can put it in the blog.”
So here is the excerpt, along with a thank you to Fackler for sharing his passion for his two loves — the Lord and hunting:
———
“Dressed For Success,” an excerpt from “God Moments From a Deer Stand” by Mike Fackler.
Use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on the salvation as your helmet, and tak
e the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistant in your prayers for Christians everywhere. – Ephesians 6:13-18
I had been in my tree stand long enough to fasten my safety strap around the tree, hoist my bow up to me, and begin to secure my bow hanger into a nearby tree limb. You would think it would have been easy to screw that little piece of metal into the branch, but my heart was racing. I didn’t want to make a movement that would alert game to my presence. After what seemed like 10 minutes, I decided to give up and hold onto my bow for the duration of my hunt.
No sooner had I packed the bow hanger back into my day pack, and I heard a loud “Snap!” Not more than 10 yards away was a little yearling button buck making his way through the woods, stopping just long enough to take a bite of a few sugar beats I had set out. I hadn’t been in the woods 10 minutes and already, I was seeing deer!
As exciting as it was for me to see deer, I was even more excited of how well my camouflage and scent-lok system was working. You have no idea how many times I’ve been winded by deer because I didn’t take the proper precautions. Did you know that deer can smell up to 10 different smells at the same time? I didn’t, until the deer kept on busting me.
Today I was dressed for success!
The first layer of clothing I started with was a “base layer” scent-lok suit. I followed that up with my Cabelas 3-D leafy camouflage suit! The suit came equipped with a head dress and gloves for my hands! My rubber boots had successfully carried me into the woods and into my tree without leaving any human scent behind. I blended in well, and my suit had knocked down all human odors.
That deer had no idea I was even in the woods! I was so poud of how well my scent-lok suit and camouflage had worked that I didn’t care if I harvested a deer or not. I was happy that the financial investment I had made in this clothing had paid off!
Let me ask you a question. What type of investment do you put into your life getting ready for your day? Every day I start out by thanking God for the rest He gave me during the night. I thank Him for the gift of life, and I ask Him to help me live a life worthy of Him to the best of my ability. In order to do that, I need to gear up and prepare for battle.
Ephesians 6:13-18 talks about clothing yourself in God’s armor so you can resist evil. Evil lurks around your life, looking for the perfect time and place to cause you to stumble. The only way to overcome that is to put on the full armor of God. Only then can you succeed.
After all, you wouldn’t want to go into the woods without the proper gear and hope to succeed, would you? In the same way, we can’t succeed against the devil and his tricks unless we clothe ourselves with God’s armor daily!
Have you ever given much thought to putting on God’s armor daily? Did you even know it was available to you? What schemes does the devil send your way to test the strength of your armor! Take a minute to write down how you feel when you overcome that area of temptation or weakness. Now write down how you were able to overcome it.
Prayer: God, thanks for showing me that, with your armor, I can overcome Satan’s traps that he has set for me. Lord, the armor you give me is impenetrable, but I am not. I realize that it is open season on my life, and that the devil wants to destroy me. But you have made me and desire for me to succeed. Lord I surrender to you, and I gladly and thankfully put on your armor today. Today I am dressed for success, and I look forward to what you have in store for me. Thanks for this armor that helps me live my life with confidence in you.
———
Fackler’s book is available on Amazon.com and in the Crossings bookstore.
(PHOTO ABOVE: Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman)
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Aug. 4 Today’s Prayer
July 10 Today’s Prayer
July 3 Today’s Prayer
