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Glimpses of Wonder: Reflections on Jehovah’s Remarkable Design

 

Everywhere we look, traces of wisdom, beauty, and purpose surround us. Glimpses of Wonder invites readers on a journey through the marvels of Jehovah’s creation—from the tiniest creatures to the grandest cosmic patterns.

 

Through vivid storytelling and thoughtful reflection, each entry uncovers something extraordinary: the engineering behind a bird’s wing, the secrets of glowing sea life, the chemistry of smell, or even the silent language of trees. Some entries make us laugh. Others make us think. But all are rooted in the awe that Jehovah’s handiwork inspires.

 

Blending science, history, and heartfelt curiosity, Glimpses of Wonder is more than a celebration of creation—it’s a call to pause, notice, and give credit where it’s due.

Entries in this blog

Desert Design

The Cactus That Doesn’t Jump

— a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ —   It sounds like something out of a desert horror movie: a cactus that leaps out to attack unsuspecting hikers. But despite its infamous nickname, the jumping cholla doesn’t actually jump. It just lets go—and lets gravity (and your clothing) do the rest.   The cholla’s spiny segments are lightly attached to the plant’s main body. All it takes is the brush of a pant leg, a curious dog, or an unfortunate ankle—and snap!—a segment detaches and stic
Plant Life

When Fruit Fights Back

— a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ —   Most of the time, fruit is on your side. Apples crunch, grapes burst, and bananas politely melt in your mouth. But every now and then, one turns on you.   Enter the pineapple.   If you’ve ever felt a tingling, stinging, or even burning sensation after a few juicy bites, you’re not alone—and you’re not imagining things. Pineapples contain bromelain, an enzyme with a very specific talent: it breaks down proteins. And that includes the
Human Design: Nervous System and Sensory Marvels

The Not-So-Humorous Humerus: Anatomy of an Unfunny Situation

— a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ — Have you ever hit your “funny bone”?   If so, you know it’s anything but funny. That sudden jolt of tingling pain shoots down your arm, stopping you mid-sentence and stealing your breath away—like some invisible prankster jabbed a lightning rod into your elbow.   But here’s the twist: it’s not even a bone. The so-called funny bone is actually the ulnar nerve, and it runs just under the skin at your elbow, right near the humerus—the upper ar
Systems of Wonder

The First AI?

a Glimpse of Wonder entry™   Artificial Intelligence—two words that seem to belong to our time, our technology, and our tangled age of cloud computing and digital voices. But what is AI, really? And how far back does it go? A Strict Definition By definition, artificial intelligence refers to a system—created by humans—that can perform tasks requiring intelligence, such as decision-making, problem-solving, or learning. The system must act on inputs from its environment and pro
Glimpses of Wonder – Astronomy

Saturn: A Giant Worthy of Awe

A Glimpses of Wonder Entry   We often speak of Saturn’s luminous rings — delicate, shimmering, and vast — as though that were her defining feature. And to be fair, they are breathtaking: a band of icy particles sweeping more than 170,000 miles from end to end, yet no thicker than a two-story building. They gleam against the dark like spun glass, and within their span, you could lay two Earths side by side with room to spare.   But Saturn is so much more than her jewelry.
Creation

Saturn’s Rings: A Sculpted Wonder

A Glimpses of Wonder Entry   Stretching tens of thousands of miles across Saturn’s middle, the rings sweep outward like a shimmering halo — yet they are astonishingly thin. In most places, they are no deeper than 30 feet — about the height of a modest two-story building. Even if you expanded Earth to the size of Saturn, you could hardly recreate something so wide, yet so delicate. It’s as if Jehovah Himself brushed a perfect ribbon around the planet, like a bow across strings — a harmo
Sensory Design

The Power of the Nip: Animal Reactions to Natural Triggers

A Glimpses of Wonder Entry   It was just a spoonful of peanut butter. I wasn’t trying to do anything special — just being a kid, enjoying a snack, hovering near my hamster’s tank. He was asleep, of course. Hamsters are like tiny, grumpy old men in fur coats who hate being disturbed before sundown.   But then I breathed.   Just a soft exhale through the wire cover, and suddenly the wood chips stirred. Not much, just a twitch — then a nose, rising like it was being dr
Perspective

There is only ONE first time.

A Glimpses of Wonder Entry     There’s something strange happening out there, and it’s not hiding in the woods or floating past Saturn. It’s closer. Much closer. In fact, it’s lodged right between a headline and a hashtag.   It’s the kind of thing you hear when someone leans forward and says with great conviction, "This is the first time this has happened since the last time it happened." Well. Stop the presses.   We used to reserve the word “first”
Creation

The Hidden Flock of Saturn

A Glimpses of Wonder Entry     When Christiaan Huygens first pointed his homemade telescope at Saturn in 1655, he spotted something extraordinary: a tiny speck of light orbiting the distant planet. It was Titan, Saturn's largest moon — and for a long time, Titan was all we knew. One moon. One companion for that giant ringed world.   But Jehovah’s creations often unfold in layers, only revealing their fullness when we are ready to see them. In the centuries that fol
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Sensory

Chareing Laughter is Fun

A Moment of Wonder   They say laughter is contagious. (And if it’s not, I’ve been fake-laughing at the wrong people for years.)   But what if the real wonder isn’t in the laugh itself— but in the act of chareing it?   Yes, I know. “Chare” is a typo. But I’m keeping it.   It sounds like something between cheer and care, and honestly? That’s what laughter does.   It cheers us up. It shows we care. It dances b
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Science & Discovery

“Nothing” Is Stupid

A Glimpses of Wonder Entry   My grandkids were over today, filling the house with laughter, crumbs, and about six different conversations at once. Somewhere between snack time and a very serious debate about which dinosaur is the coolest, I said, almost without thinking, “Well… nothing is stupid.”   You’d have thought I’d said a bad word. Wait—I did, apparently. Big eyes. Shocked faces. “PAPA! You said stupid!”   I tried to explain. “No, no, no—I didn’t call yo
Divine Systems and Navigation

It’s About Time

A Glimpses of Wonder Entry   Time is weird.   We chase it. We waste it. We try to kill it. (Which sounds a bit aggressive, but okay.) We say things like “I’ll be there in five,” even though “five” is flexible, “there” is abstract, and we haven’t even left the house.   But then something finally happens—and out it comes:   “It’s about time.”   Three little words. But listen closely, and you’ll hear the ache behind them: The sigh of someo
History - Food

The Edible Illusion: Seeded in Mystery II

A Glimpses of Wonder Entry   Welcome back. If the first entry left you marveling over the mislabeled tomato, this next installment takes us even deeper into the delicious puzzle. Because when it comes to fruits and vegetables, the confusion doesn't end at the salad bar—it reaches into our snacks, our soil, and the very seeds we munch without a second thought. Peas in a Pod… and Beans, Too Let’s begin with two familiar faces: peas and green beans. They both grow in pods and bo
Kindness and Hospitality

The Tracks We Leave Behind

A Glimpses of Wonder Entry Everywhere we go online, we leave tracks. Not the muddy kind we wipe off at the door—but digital ones. Silent scrolls. Clicks. Time spent reading something meaningful. A quiet digital footprint. On JWtalk.net, we come across experiences and reflections that strengthen our faith—sometimes even moving us to tears. And yet, so often, we close the page without a word. No like. No comment. No trace. But this isn’t about seeking popularity. JWtalk
Divine Systems and Navigation

Divinely Routed

A Glimpses of Wonder Entry   Postal codes feel like a marvel of human ingenuity. With a few digits, a letter can travel from one corner of a country to another, find a specific street, a particular building—even a single apartment door. It’s a system built to simplify complexity and organize the unpredictable sprawl of human settlement. But while we marvel at this efficiency, something far greater quietly unfolds just overhead… and beneath our feet.   Consider the bar-tailed
Sustainability & Design

“They Grow in the Dark”—The Secret Lives of Mushrooms

A Glimpses of Wonder Entry   Tucked away in quiet basements, tunnels, and repurposed barns, a silent crop is at work—multiplying by the millions, even without a single ray of sunlight.   Mushrooms don’t grow like typical plants. In fact, they’re not plants at all. They’re fungi—an entirely different kingdom of life. And that difference changes everything. Unlike plants, mushrooms don’t perform photosynthesis. They don’t draw energy from the sun. Instead, they grow in dark, c
History - Food

The Edible Illusion: Seeded in Mystery

A Glimpses of Wonder Entry   Try this little game: Is it a fruit or a vegetable?   Tomato? Cucumber? Bell pepper? Zucchini?   If you said vegetable for any of those, you’re not alone—and you’ve just stepped into one of the greatest misunderstandings in the produce aisle.   In fact, the confusion runs so deep, it once required the United States Supreme Court to settle the score.   The Tomato on Trial  Back in 1893, in a case ca
Creation

Woodpeckers Are Behind a Lot of the Problems in the World . . .

A Glimpses of Wonder Entry     Let’s face it—if you hear an annoying rattle outside your window at sunrise, odds are good it’s not your neighbor’s car. It’s a woodpecker. And while they might look cute on a greeting card or a cartoon, in real life, woodpeckers are surprisingly destructive.   They’ve been known to: – Punch holes in siding like it’s drywall, – Riddle telephone poles with enough cavities to qualify as dental emergencies, – Peck at chimney cap
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Creation

The Leaf’s Real Agenda: Carbon Construction, Not Air Supply

We’ve been taught to thank trees for our oxygen. But while it’s true that green plants release oxygen during photosynthesis, that’s not why they do it. Oxygen isn’t their purpose—it’s their by-product. Their real work? Carbon construction.   Photosynthesis is a brilliant design by Jehovah, not primarily to refresh the air, but to build life from the air. Every blade of grass, every leaf on every tree, is on a mission: to pull carbon dioxide (CO₂) out of the atmosphere, extract the carb
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Nature

The Fastest Animal? A Race Against Resistance

Glimpses of Wonder   We all know the answer, don’t we?   Ask almost anyone what the fastest animal is, and they’ll picture the cheetah — legs pumping like pistons, spots blurring in the sun, dashing across the African plain at speeds up to 70 miles per hour (112 km/h). It’s raw power married to design: a flexible spine, non-retractable claws for grip, and enlarged nostrils to gulp down air. Every part of this animal seems fine-tuned for speed.   Now move from land t
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Creation

Sunflowers—More Than Meets the Eye

Sunflowers—More Than Meets the Eye A Glimpses of Wonder Entry Have you ever wondered why sunflowers always seem to face the sun? Did you know that a single sunflower isn't just one flower, but hundreds or even thousands? And are all sunflower seeds really edible? A Beautiful Beginning Sunflowers are known for their radiant beauty. Those golden petals stretching gracefully toward the sky, surrounding a dark, textured center, are captivating to behold. Yet, as amazing as the su
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Creation

The Tree That Throws Grenades

The Tree That Throws Grenades   A Glimpses of Wonder Entry   Imagine strolling through a tropical forest. Everything is peaceful—birds call overhead, sunlight filters through thick leaves—until you come across a towering tree with a straight trunk. At first, it seems ordinary. But then you look closer. The entire bark is covered in sharp, conical spikes, jutting out like armor. It’s the sandbox tree, also known as the dynamite tree. And it doesn’t just look dangerous—it explo
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Sensory

A Rainbow of Wonder: Understanding How We See Color

Have you ever marveled at the vibrant colors of a rainbow or wondered how your eyes perceive such a rich tapestry of hues? Our ability to see and interpret colors is a testament to the intricate design of the human eye, reflecting Jehovah’s wisdom and creativity.   What Exactly Is Color?   When sunlight passes through raindrops, it creates a spectrum of colors known as a rainbow. This phenomenon occurs because light is made up of waves, and each color corresponds to a specifi
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History

The Power of One Letter: How Tiny Mistakes Shaped Bible Translation

The Power of One Letter: How Tiny Mistakes Shaped Bible Translation It only takes one letter. One small mark, a tiny stroke, and the meaning of a word can shift like sand in the wind. When it comes to everyday language, a single misplaced letter might cause little more than a chuckle—like mistyping “form” as “from” and suddenly changing the entire meaning of a sentence. But when it comes to the Bible, history has shown that a single letter can mean the difference between clarity and confusi
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Creation

The Might of the Marine Snail: Nature’s Strongest Material?

Imagine a world where the toughest material isn’t forged in steel mills or woven by high-tech laboratories, but rather, it exists within a tiny marine snail. While spider silk has long been hailed as one of the strongest biological materials, scientists have discovered that the humble limpet tooth—yes, the teeth of a sea snail—may actually surpass it in sheer strength. But how could something so small hold such incredible power? A Microscopic Marvel Limpets are small marine mollusks th
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