I couldn't resist dropping a Def Leppard lyric into the title of this post! I had some time on my hands Monday, so I geeked out and perused the National Atomic Museum, also known as the National Museum of Nuclear Science and Technology. What can I say...I'm a nerd! While there were large sections of the museum devoted to nuclear medicine, nuclear power, and even nuclear weirdness, I of course focused on the fireworks. If it's space-based or makes a very big explosion, I'm there!
Ever wonder what a GPS satellite looks like? Wonder no more. There was also a display highlighting the different types of satellites used to detect other nations' nuclear tests and stuff, such as the Vela and DSP (Defense Support Program) satellites. They even had sample payloads on display.
These are the three stages of rocket motors of an ICBM. Note that the fourth stage has cones where the warheads would go. I didn't see anything resembling Boston hanging around the third stage, probably because I would make an 80s music reference if they did. Oops, I did it anyway!
The portable, or "suitcase" nuke. Designed to be humped into enemy territory by SEALs or other special forces. Doesn't look very light... I'm not sure I'd want to have to lug that thing into a hostile area!
Cones. These are nose cones from missiles, the left having been tested to see the effects of reentry from space. I can't believe I actually touched something that's been in outer space! Hey, there weren't any signs...
I won't bore you with all the rocket, missile, bomb, and warhead photos I took. This is just a sample. The one in the back is released from a plane and parachutes down. That wicker-looking bundle in the background is the chute. The chute decelerates the 2,500 pound bomb from 920mph to 50mph in about two seconds!
Fat Man, right. Little Boy, left. Just like the ones that stopped World War Two. Thankfully it only took two, since there were some extras left to put in the museum I guess we probably had some more queued up and ready to drop.
The Titan rocket. This was my last stop before the gift store. I somehow resisted the urge to buy all kinds of positively geeky things there! That left just enough room in my carryon bag to bring home some toys for my little boys.
The museum is working toward building a new facility and expanding quite a bit. They also have a lot of science classes and special activities there, something that would be really cool for the kids. So if you're in the mood to fly to New Mexico, stop on in! The geek in you will be pleased.
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Upon hearing the announcement of Home Depot's impending closure, my thoughts immediately jumped to two things: first, where do I get my Cable Cuffs? That one was easy: here! Second, what happens to the birds?
These little birdies make their nests in the bottom of the pallets on which much of the merchandise is shipped and stored. At one point I saw three little fledgelings poking their heads out of one of the pallets... what's going to happen to such feathered fellows once Home Depot goes away?
They're also going to lose a good source of valuable nutrition, as nobody will be leaving bags of seed around or spilling it on the concrete floor. Sadly, these little birdies will have to go back into the harshness of the wild world.
Many employees are going to be impacted by the closure of our beloved Home Depot. We loyal customers (I hate Lowe's) are going to feel the effects as well. But who thinks of the birds? I do.
By the way, Home Depot claims it is closing fifteen or so of its stores because they're underperforming. Could I possibly have been a little clairvoyant when I banged out this joking blog post a couple years back?
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Last month I had the pleasure of meeting a missionary to Vietnam who works with orphaned children. A story he related while preaching at our church was the absolute perfect picture of my life, and I felt moved to share it.
One of the orphans he worked with, along with her sister, saw her daddy hang himself. The children were terribly traumatized, as you can imagine...and this particular little girl wouldn't smile or talk to anyone. After a lot of work, she would smile and talk to Mike.
One day, she heard that he was coming to the village. She dressed up in her best clothes and prepared to come see him. While crossing a canal that was basically an open sewer, on a bridge consisting of a fallen tree laid across the canal, she slipped and fell into the sewage slop.
When he got there, she was crushed and reeked of all the stinky gunk that she was covered in, crying uncontrollably. Moved by the spirit, he knelt down, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek, and told her, "It's okay, honey...I don't care what you smell like, I love you anyhow." The little girl was overjoyed. It was this gesture that convinced the communist authorities that he was the real deal, and that he loves those kids over there.
The same picture applies to the sinner being saved when he/she accepts Christ. I was in the same sorry shape as that little Vietnamese girl. I was covered in slop spiritually, things that would be putrid to an almighty and just God. Things like:
- the sin I was born with. We all are, since Adam. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned..." (Romans 4:12)
- the idea that I was basically a "good person." "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one..." (Romans 3:10)
- the sins I'd committed in my life, most notably, according to Jesus: "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-28)
- the good I thought I'd done to make up for the bad. "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags..." (Isaiah 64:6)
- the religion that I thought would absolve me of my sins: "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." (Mark 7:7)
I was eternally stained with a load of foul, awful mess that neither I or any other man could never wipe clean. Neither could "religion." I was stuck with it. My soul reeked with the disgusting mess of the sin I'd inherited and the slop I'd rolled around in for nearly thirty years. Yet God didn't care about that. When I finally humbled myself and believed that I was a simple sinner in need of God's mercy and grace, It was as if he knelt down, wrapped His arms around me, and told me, "It's okay...I don't care what you've done. I've made a way for you...Jesus died for those sins. You're clean in my eyes." It was then that I knew for sure that God is real.
I remember that night, when the summation of all the witnessing by my Christian friends finally sunk in. I suppose I could simplify things into three choices. One, you could reject Jesus altogether. Two, you could claim to know Him, but trust in sacraments or good works to justify you in God's sight. Or three, you can admit that you're a sinner and only Jesus' dying on the cross for your sins can save you. Only the third will save your eternal soul. The apostle John wrote in the Bible, "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (I John 2:2), "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21) That whole world includes you, me, and everybody. Not only did God love us, but he "washed us from our sins in his own blood" according to Revelation 1:5. But you've got to believe.
Spiritually, the lost sinner feels the same way as that little Vietnamese girl when he approaches God and trusts in Jesus for his eternal salvation...to be accepted and loved, when they feel filthy and unloveable. That was me several years ago. I just wanted to share that with you.
Photo credit: Man Him, Republic of Vietnam (modified for this post within Creative Commons license)
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