This is a sextant, a tool used for navigation Crash! Another monster wave loomed towering over the boat, then hurtled down and swept over it, engulfing it in ice cold seawater. Then another rose up under it, lifting it high into the black sky and flinging it down again into the depths below, where it was only buffeted again from the side by yet another furious wave. The year was 1916. The tiny boat and the 5 men on board were in the most treacherous waters in all the world—Dr

Photo by Jenny Venturo My last devotional  was a bit of an introduction to a series on the sinfulness of mankind. If that sounds like an...

©2025 by Joshua Venturo “There’s a Daddy-long-legs eating my pepperoni!” That’s what Caleb said as we sat by the Glen Ellis river in New Hampshire, eating our dinner of “pizza rice.” Caleb quickly snatched his pepperoni away from this lanky thief. As he said, “I want my pepperoni.” The Eastern Daddy-long-legs lives east of the Rocky Mountains in the US. In the evening, Daddy-long-legs will climb up trees in search of extra heat from the sun. They can be found clustered togeth

Photo by Daniel Venturo You step into the ice-cold water. You wonder whether you really want to do this as the water rises about you. You...

Photo by Jenny Venturo Part 1: The Holiness of God God is holy. Maybe you’re a Christian and have known that all your life. Maybe you’ve...

Wolves, lions, bears, sharks—these are all ferocious predators that hunt down prey. With their strong jaws and sharp claws, they are experts at catching other animals for food. You probably know about a lot of predators. If you have read some of our previous posts, you will know that the Northern Pike  is a fish that is a nasty predator. You also learned that the ichneumon wasp  is a fascinating creature that preys on insects and spiders. Can you think of any other predators?

Photo by Jenny Venturo Sin is an uncomfortable topic in today’s society. It always has been. The religious leaders’ reaction to Jesus’...

Which fish has huge scales, can survive in polluted water, and eats berries? Which fish grows to 100 pounds and lives across the country? You’re about to find out. While we were in New York, on Lake Ontario, Daniel caught a carp with his hands. We think something was wrong with him, because he did not speed away like most carp. We were excited to have caught him with our hands! Carp are large fish that are native to Europe and Asia but were introduced to the US. There are 3 m

Photo by Jenny Venturo “There’s a storm coming, just so you know.” - lady we should have listened to   “Guys!” I looked around at...

A small amphibian steps onto a bright green leaf. His gray body stands out against the green. A perfect target for predators. Very slowly, the gray fades out and is replaced with brownish, and then dark green. When the change is complete, he is very hard to spot on the leaf. He is green. What is this small amphibian? Treefrogs live in the eastern United States. The Common Gray Treefrog lives throughout the East, but the Green Treefrog can only be seen south of Pennsylvania. T

Photo by Jenny Venturo Little does Dad know that an Amos Situation is about to strike. Maybe you are familiar with the Scripture passage...

Artwork by Daniel Venturo Practical application should always be a natural outflow of Bible study. Now that you have studied what God’s...

At first glance, it might look like a huge stinger that would make a big welt on your skin. But you don’t have to worry about this thing stinging you. Or do you? . . .   The ichneumon wasp is a large wasp that lives worldwide. There are many different species of ichneumon wasp, but one species, the Giant Ichneumon grows to 3 inches long, plus a 4 3/8-inch ovipositor. Most ichneumons do not sting, but some are able to inject venom through their ovipositor! The Giant Ichneumon

Photo by Paul Venturo Sometimes the boys and I walk back from the bathhouse in the dark. And sometimes we forget to bring a light. It is...

All night long, the storm raged. Wind howled in the treetops. It whipped over the water of the lake, ruffling it into turmoil. It ripped the leaves off the trees and scattered them everywhere. It tore tree branches loose and flung them onto the ground. Throughout all this uproar, two little baby squirrels were huddled high up in a hole in an enormous tree. With each blast of wind, the great tree shuddered, and the two frightened squirrels cowered and cuddled up closer to each

Photo by Paul Venturo Yes, Icelandic State Park looks pretty "northern" if you get the right angle. Icelandic State Park, way up in the...

Photo by Jenny Venturo Are you starting to develop a more reverent awe for the holiness of God? Over the past few weeks we’ve been...

He hasn’t eaten for a while now and he’s hungry. He is lurking around in the rocks, deep down in the water, looking for prey. Suddenly, a flash off to his side catches his notice. A shiner is struggling through the water—a perfect target. One powerful thrust of his tail and the shiner is in his mouth, down his throat . . . Wait a minute. Something is different about this shiner. He feels a sharp pang in his mouth—something is pulling him towards shore. He struggles and wriggl

Photo by Jenny Venturo The sun was just sinking under the hills when we pulled ourselves up the last rock to the top of a small mountain....

Photo by Jenny Venturo In my last devotional, I discussed the meaning of holiness and explained why it is so important to be constantly...

He runs about on talus fields all summer with bundles of small plants in his mouth. He spreads the plants in the sun to dry and brings them down in his hole when it rains. By the end of summer, he has a small haystack on the mountain where he lives. Do you know what he is yet? . . . He is a pika!   Pikas are small, brown mammals that live high on the mountains of Colorado. They are herbivores, which means they eat plants. Pikas grow to 8 ½ inches, but most are about 6 inches.

Artwork by Daniel Venturo Life gets complicated. Life gets confusing. Hopes, dreams, disappointments, failures, quarrels—all these tangle...

Photo by Paul Venturo It certainly wasn’t Colorado. And we were a little sad to be here. We had left behind the glorious snowy mountains,...

Photo by Jenny Venturo Last week, we celebrated the birth of a nation completely separate and independent from her former controlling...