astronaut

Second Hand News

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

timeThe rhythmic and timely sound of a ticking second hand has been hushed by the advance of technology and the proliferation of digital watches. The value of a second isn’t found in its sound but in the action that transpires within this brief span of time that’s 1/86400th of a day and 1/60th of a minute.

Most people don’t give a second thought to the length of a second, but something unusual will happen on New Year’s Eve. When clocks strikes midnight in England, the final minute of 2016 will be 61 seconds long to adjust the world clock to the correct time.

Just how important is a second?

  • If you’re an astronaut it’s important since the speed of light travels at 18600 feet per second ( At the speed of light, the moon is about 1.5 seconds from the earth)
  • If you like hot rods, you know that a fraction of a second is the difference between winning and losing at the drag strip.
  • If you play baseball, one second is the time it takes for a baseball to leave the pitcher’s hand, get hit by the batter, and then be line-driven back to the pitcher.
  • Beekeepers think of one second as the time it takes for a honey bee to flap its wings 200 times.
  • One second is the amount of the time it takes for the earth to receive 48,600,000,000kw of energy form the sun (kilowatt = 1000 watts).

What is one second?  It’s the time it takes to say three words: “Goodbye and Hello.” When you bid farewell to 2016 and roll out the welcome mat to 2017, I hope you’ll take a second to turn a frown into a smile; change a bad impulse into a good one; and to say a simple “God bless you” to the person who is on your heart and in your mind.

Psalm 90:12: Teach us to number our days carefully, so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts 

Vintage 1969

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

moonprintThe picture to the left was taken 45 years ago. It is the remnant of one of the first foot prints to be left on the surface of the moon.

On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. touched down on the surface of the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission. At 10:39:33 PM EDT, Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module and climbed down the ladder to the moon’s surface. He then made his historic statement: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

moonbootArmstrong and Aldrin were wearing boots made from a special silicon rubber developed by GE. To commemorate this event, GE decided to make 100 pairs of a moon boot sneaker called The Missions, and they will sell for $196.90 a pair.

Even though the Bible doesn’t say anything about walking on the moon, it does say quite a bit about walking for the Master:

• We are called to follow the example of Jesus and walk in love (Ephesians 5:2).
• We are to follow in the footsteps of the faith of Abraham (Romans 4:12).
• We are to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
• We are to walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8).
• We are to walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10).
• Paul issued a warning to those who walked in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but were busybodies (I Thessalonians 3:11).

You don’t have to buy a pair of fancy boots to go on a mission for God, but you should take the time to acknowledge Him and allow Him to direct your paths: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).”