Review: Purposeful Design

Today's review is for a beautiful hardcover book called Purposeful Design: Understanding the Creation by Jay Schabacker.  I received my copy and opened it up immediately and was surprised (and delighted!) to find that Mr. Schabacker had thoughtfully signed and dated the book for me!  What a thoughtful gesture!

In his book, Jay Schabacker takes the reader through the six working days of creation and highlights some of the amazing and purposeful ways that God created and designed the Earth for His pleasure and ours.  He explains certain things that point directly toward an intelligent, purposeful Designer and directly away from evolutionary theory.  Mr. Schabacker uses his past experiences working with the Apollo Moon Program and Ken Ham's "Back to Genesis" seminar as well as his passions for children and science and exploration to do so in a masterful way, engaging all readers from the youngest in the family to the oldest.

Mr. Schabacker discusses topics like the earth's orbit, rotation and gravity on Day 1.  In Day 2, he discusses the rain cycle and the oceans.  Day 3 looks at an apple to discover the many ways God has purposefully (and graciously) provided a good gift to us in the form of food.  Day 4 is fully loaded and brings about such topics as seasons (and why we have them), the earth's tilt, the cause of climate and times of sunrise/sunset, the many benefits of our moon, ocean tides and stars.  Day 5, he begins to talk about the birds and fish and the instincts that God gave them.  He introduces the reader to several hilarious species that God made.  Day 6 is chock full of information about things from the amazing camel and cuts of beef to cells and the perfect design of the human head.  On the seventh day God rested and the author uses that opportunity to close the book and call the reader to rest in the Lord and His plan for us...for it is a good one~filled with purpose.

I particularly liked reading about the September 11 "ground Zero" Memorial Monument and how the designers utilized the preciseness of the sun and earth's circuit to create skylight openings that allow for a ray of sunshine to hit the memorial below on only one day a year- September 11th and at the very hours the attacks were happening.  How amazing is that?

I also liked that Mr. Schabacker explained that the first three days of creation were "preparation" days and the next three days are "filling" days.  I found this fascinating, as I had heard this before, and wished that he would have expounded upon that with a good illustration.

    Or even a bad one- like mine! (see below)

Interspersed throughout the text are many gorgeous photographs and illustrations to entice the reader further.  Purposeful Design is considered a 'coffee table book' and was a winner in the 2014 Catholic Book Awards and the 2013 Illumination Book Awards within the coffee table book and Home School/Bible School categories.

This deluxe, full color beautiful hardcover book is available here for $18.95 with bulk discounts available (and free shipping!).  When you purchase the book, you get a FREE BONUS Young Explorer’s Club Curriculum that is downloadable which includes a kid's workbook (with questions), a teacher's set (with answers) and a certificate of completion.  This additional resource would make the book Purposeful Design an excellent science unit study opportunity!