Orcas Island

Today, our lab took a ferry to Orcas Island for our annual outing. We rode mopeds around the island and went to the top of Mt. Constitution. It was a lot of fun, and the scenery was beautiful. Here are a few photos from our excursion. What a great way to encourage team-building!

Some sail boats viewed from the ferry.

The view from the top of Mt. Constitution.

Our group getting ready to ride.

A juggling act

Sometimes I feel like I am becoming an expert at juggling--not with physical balls or knives, but with projects. Today was one of those days where at any given moment my attention would be changed to a totally different project. With emails and telephone calls going in and out all day--firing off another one while waiting for a reply--my multi-tasking brain circuits are definitely getting used. Just thinking about how the human brain works and can be processing so much information at once is absolutely amazing.

Did you know that we have sensors for temperature, pressure, moisture, and pain all over our skin? If we were to physically try to wire the amount of sensors that our human body has to a super computer, it would not be able to process information as quickly as our brain does it. The tremendous trick is that our brain is able to ignore so many signals and yet respond as soon as one fires. We can phyisically hold a phone (head to shoulder), look at a computer screen, type with both hands, listen to a conversation, see info on a screen, reply by talking back, feel how hot it is in the room, think about the time, and feel thirst all at the same time. We can even operate multiple simultaneous coupled 6-degree-of-freedom motions with our bodies (limbs, etc.) without becoming unstable. Find a computer that can do all of that and recharge itself with 8 hours being turned off. The human body is a wonderful creation designed by an intelligent Creator.

Humans from single origin

A Reuters news article this week said, "The genetic evidence has always strongly supported the single origin theory, and now results from a study of more than 6,000 skulls held around the world in academic collections supports this case." Hmm...doesn't the Bible also state that humans come from a single origin?

Good at Being Grumpy

I was telling my sister today, "I don't want to be grumpy, but I am so good at it." It is at these points in time that I have to make a serious effort to dwell on positive things to get an attitude adjustment. That is why the Scriptures tell us, in Phil 4:8, "...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." I am also reminded of what Paul writes in Romans 7:9 "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing." It is no surprise that even though I don't want to be a grouch I keep doing it because my flesh likes to dwell on the ugly, negative things. Life is so much better when I dwell on good things; unfortunately, the battle continues...

Word of Testimony

"And they overcame him [the accuser] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony..." (Rev 12:11).

I read a small paperback this week that was a compilation of several real life stories of various people in one congregation. The stories were a concise recounting of individuals who had endured much pain. However, these were not downer stories, they were faith-building stories. Each one was unique, but had the same thread--God reached down in the most difficult of circumstances and touched a life in a profound way. These people will never be the same again.

As I was reading this book, the verse quoted above kept going through my mind. We will overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. Sometimes I think that my testimony is not so dramatic or interesting, but as I think about it, there are so many things that the Lord has done in my life that have had a very profound effect on me. May we never forget that we (who have been born again) have a testimony to share, which is a very powerful thing.

Science Spin

The last couple days I have noticed the media and politicians "spinning" science. First, yesterday morning I heard a news program where the host kept saying things like, "Why is Bush so against stem cell research?" The guest would respond with statements like "the President feels that embryonic stem cell research is crossing an ethical line." The host, either intentionally or unintentionally, kept putting embryonic stem cell research and other stem cell research in the same category. This definitely causes people to think that if you are opposed to embryonic stem cell research that you are against all stem cell research. I personally think that a tremendous amount of knowledge and understanding can come from studying stem cells that are obtained from less controversial sources (such as skin or umbilical cord blood). By limiting the types of stem cells, the research will hopefully be more carefully constructed, which will likely lead to better scientific outcomes.

Then I heard a prominent politican make a statement about how she thought it was terrible that "ideology was placed before science." That is a scary statement. Who wants science to be placed before morals and ethics? Just because it is scientifically possible does not mean it should be done. Why do you think there are ethical review boards for human science experimentation? In some countries they test drugs and other medical devices directly in humans before doing animal trials and other types of validation. Do we really want that type of mentality here? Stop the science spin!

Ocean Views

I went to the Oregon coast this weekend with my cousin. As we walked along the beach yesterday evening we enjoyed the ocean air and admired God's beautiful creation around us. This morning when I looked out the window I noticed two things (1) the tide was much lower than it was last night and (2) two people were busy writing a message in the sand. Each of these things was very fascinating to me.

1. The phenomenon of ocean tides is really remakable. Think about how a massive body of water like the Pacific ocean is following the gravitational pull of the moon. I am in awe of how God designed the world together so intricately, yet from a distance it appears that things are operating independently. I know sometimes I start thinking more about how I can operate independently, but I forget the fact that we do not function well on our own unless were are working together with others.

2. I watched with excitement as two people were finishing what they were writing in the sand. This much had been written "Blair (heart)'s Barbra," and they were starting to write "will you marry me?" I was trying to figure out if the one doing the proposing was one of the people writing or if he had sent 2 of his friends down to write the message for him (the hotel level was significantly higher than the beach). I was agonizing over the fact that the word "marry" was looking more like the word "mnrrt," when one of the guys went running back out to the message in the sand. I thought he was going to fix that word, but instead he went to add an "a" to the intended's name. They had spelled "Barbara" wrong!

Evolution

I think that the introduction of evolutionary theory was probably the most detrimental philosophy that has invaded our culture. You might ask why a theory that attempts to explain the origin of species could have such a negative effect on culture. At a surface level, it would seem that evolutionary theory is just another scientist's hypothesis that can't totally be proven or disproven in a laboratory, so how could that affect a culture? By the way, I am a scientist who believes that God created the universe and all that is in it.

Lately, I have been noticing some things that I have never tied together before. I would propose that the macro theory of evolution, which attempts to answer how humans, plants, animals, and everthing else came into existence, has had a much deeper impact on our worldview than we realize. This theory has created much confusion and misguided intentions.

1. Medicine--The fact that humans exist as a product of chance makes disposing of human life much more justifiable (from abortion to euthanasia).

2. Law--did you know that in the U.S. the laws were originally made to coincide with Biblical laws? When a new law was being proposed, a common question would be, "where do you find that in the Bible." I have been told that in the mid 1800s the legal approach in the U.S. began to change when the idea of progressive law was introduced at Harvard. The idea is that laws and their intrepation build on previous decisions, so they should progressively improve over time. Unfortunately, I don't think improvement actually occurs because when a bad decision is made, it can negatively influence future decisions. In the end there is nothing solid to use as a foundation, but instead we end up with a moving target.

3. Environment--Have you noticed how some people are prone to worshiping nature? I see this especially on the West Coast. It is my opinion that this stems from Darwin's theory of evolution because inherently we all want something to believe in. We want to rally behind a cause. This poses a problem when God has been erased from the picture. If we don't believe that He exists, then what is there that we can stand behind? Many people decide to "save the world." While I believe that we need to be good stewards of the earth that God has given us, I do not believe that it or the animals on the earth should be held in higher esteem than God Himself. There is a verse in the Scriptures that says that people choose to serve what has been created rather than the Creator. If a person starts with the premise that there is no Creator, then what else is there other than created things for that person to serve? I saw a bumper sticker today that said "Praise dog." I was totally appalled. Only our Father in Heaven who created the Universe deserves all of the honor, glory, and praise.