The Goseck Circle, Sundials and Time

In 2002 Peter Biehl and Francois Bertenes excavated a circular enclosure outside of Goseck, Germany. Now believed to have been there for seven thousand years, it was revealed in a 1991 aerial photograph of a wheat field in that east German location. When Biehl and Bertenes combined GPS data with the archaeological evidence from the site, they discovered that the two southern gates of the henge marked the summer and winter solstice, thus possibly making it the world's oldest solar observatory. 

I'm not sure how accurate the dating may be of the Goseck Circle, but one thing is clear. As long as mankind has lived on earth, he has been fascinated with time. Ancient calendars - using lunar and solar measurements - have been discovered around the world.

Sundials, indicating the time of day by the position of the sun, must be aligned with the axis of the earth's rotation to tell the correct time. There are several types of sundials, but in the horizontal sundial, the style (that part which casts a shadow) must point toward true celestial north.

Our lives revolve around time. Each year is marked by birthdays. Children divide their years into school time and vacation time. Working adults mark their calendars for retirement. Productivity is measured by how much we can squeeze into each hour of the day. Periods of refreshment come when we have a minute to ourselves. On and on it goes. Every minute counts.

As a Christian, I know that God has given us the gift of time and expects us to use it for His glory. Our true north is His purpose and will for our lives. The psalmist declared, Yours is the day, Yours also is the night; You have prepared the light and the sun. You have established all the boundaries of the earth; You have made summer and winter (Psalm 74:16-71).

Stewardship of our time is as important - or even more important - than what we do with the monetary resources He gives us. Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do. Make the best use of your time, despite all the difficulties of these days (Ephesians 5:15-16 Phillips Translation of the New Testament).

The Life Span of a Tree

I love trees. One of my criteria for a good place to live is that there are trees - in the surroundings and around the house. Trees add such a wonderful dimension to enjoyment for me.

I am often amazed at the difference between standing in the sun and slipping under the shade of a tree on a hot day. The welcome temperature change is immediate. Sitting under a tree while sipping a cool glass of sweet tea - well, what could be better than that?

Another reason I love trees is that they provide a habitat for my favorite animal - birds.Without trees, my feathered friends would not have a place to call home. My enjoyment of sitting under a tree or near them is magnified because of the chatter of the birds to each other and their songs - pure bliss.

Unfortunately, lately, I have been noticing the death of trees - in my yard, my neighborhood and throughout the landscape of the larger area where I reside in Texas.  There have been many causes for these, but I am always sad to see the death of a beautiful tree.

Some trees have a predictable and fairly short life span. For years, when I sit on my back porch, I have enjoyed sitting in front of a beautiful red bud tree. That once healthy productive tree is on a terrible downward spiral. It is dying. I'm really not sure there is anything we could have done to save it. Red bud trees rarely live past forty years. Our home is over one hundred years old, so this tree could have been here for a long time.

Recently one of my neighbors lost a huge oak tree in their front yard. A strong wind blew it down, revealing a trunk that must have been diseased for quite some time as it was completely hollow. That tree might have lasted for many more years had it not been for the decay that had been hidden from view. After thunderstorms in our area, I notice more trees that have toppled, sometimes resulting in damage to property around it.

God made all these trees and He knows the life span of each one of them. There is one tree that He created that will never die. For those who know Christ as Savior, we will all get to enjoy this tree and all it has to offer. I am looking forward to seeing this tree. It will be one of the great gifts of eternity.

Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat and live forever" - therefore, the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden...To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God (Genesis 3:22, 23;  Revelation 2:7).

The Cure for Worry

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength - carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” ― Corrie ten Boom


How right Corrie is. Anyone who knows her life story can respect her advice. If anyone had reason to worry about tomorrow, it was Corrie.


Approximately thirty people were arrested in the ten Boom home by the Gestapo in 1944. Although Corrie's family were sheltering six Jews and resistance workers in their home, their presence remained undiscovered while the ten Boom family and others were taken to a penitentiary. Subsequently, all but three of them were released. Corrie, her father and her older sister Betsie remained in prison. Her father died there only ten days after their arrest. Corrie and Betsie were later transferred to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp in Germany where they encountered unimaginable persecution. 


Betsie, who died in the camp, always encouraged Corrie to see God's hand in their circumstances, no matter how hard those circumstances were. Betsie's calm assurance of God's love and presence in their lives, as well as Corrie's strength and courage, got them through some horrific experiences in the camp.


After the war, Corrie's telling of their story through books and speaking engagements made their experience well known. Her infectious joy as she spoke to large groups - many of them young people - about God's love and forgiveness led many to became Christians.


Corrie was a very courageous woman. She was not willing to relinquish any of the strength God gave her to worry. In every picture I have seen of Corrie, she has a huge smile on her face.


In the Old Testament, Nehemiah took on a seemingly impossible job with incredible opposition. He refused to be anxious about the trials. He stayed true to his task and declared that his strength for doing so came from the joy of the Lord. Just like Nehemiah, Corrie's trust in God and her joy in serving Him gave her the strength she needed for each day.


As someone who has struggled with worry, I have learned a lot from people like Nehemiah, Corrie ten Boom and others. Worry is a true handicap. It can lead to depression. Many times the things you worry about never happen, but your anxious feelings can stifle your productivity. 


Resisting worry is hard, but necessary. The only real cure is to replace worry with the joy of the Lord. When you substitute His strength and His joy for your imaginations, He is able to do what He desires to do through you. 


Corrie says that worry carries tomorrow's load with today's strength. It is interesting to me that when Jesus invites us to come to Him with our burdens, He doesn't offer to take the load off of our shoulders, but instead invites us to take His yoke upon us. It is sharing His yoke that teaches us humility and gives us rest for our souls. It is His joy that makes our joy full. He has overcome anything that we could possibly worry about. The joy of knowing Him is the cure for worry.


"So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34 Amplified). Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance (James 1:2-3 NIV).