There have been a few times in my life when someone that I was close to or that I looked up to and respected failed. Bro. Encil reminds us from time to time that we are all someone's "joint". (See Eph. 4:16.) When someone you have confidence in fails, you lose some of your support. We need one another, and we must draw strength from many people so that if one fails we still stand. I was thinking on some of these things today and I sat down and wrote the poem below. For me at least, it pretty well captures the grief I have felt when I've been let down and the desire to restore a brother or sister who has fallen.
When my brother falls,
It brings me to my knees.
How shall we escape, Oh God?
And not end up like these?
My brother was a strength to me.
He helped me on my way.
When I saw him choose this path,
How dark became my day!
Without him I will carry on;
I'll find a way somehow.
For others may gain strength from me;
I cannot let them down.
How can I prevent
The failure of a friend?
What can I do to stop someone
From rushing to his end?
We've prayed and preached;
We've prophesied.
Stood strong through storms;
Held standards high.
Perhaps if we'll keep praying
Knowing where we could have been,
The love we show may draw them back,
Restore them once again.
We must fight on who here remain!
We can't concede the fight!
Rely on one another
To make it through the night!
But as we go, we can't forget
Those lost along the path.
To be like Him we must show love
And mercy more than wrath.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
4/11/2007: A whale of a long time to hold your breath
I just found this information interesting and thought I'd post it. We humans are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made, but it is so amazing to look at the rest of creation as well! What wonderful works God has made! The article pasted below doesn't mention evolution specifically, but does frequently use the term "adaptation". Not a problem if you simply realize that God made the adaptations! ;-) You can find much more information about whales and other marine animals at the following site:
http://www.whalesonline.com/eng/FSC.html?sct=forum&pag=msglst.asp
Diving adaptations
Champion breath holders
Whales can remain underwater for long periods of time. How much time? A human can hold its breath for an average of a minute or a minute and a half; the world record is over 7 minutes. The record for whales belongs to the beaked whales and male sperm whales that can dive in excess of 120 minutes.
How is this possible? Some may believe that it is because their lungs are immense. However, all things considered, humans’ lungs are comparatively larger! A human’s lung represents approximately 1.75% of its total mass, while for the blue whale, this ratio falls to 0.73%. Curiously, it appears that small lungs are an adaptation for diving. In fact, water pressure, which increases with depth, compresses air filled lungs causing stress for lung tissue and the rib cage. A marine mammal that minimizes the volume of air that it carries with it while diving minimizes this stress. Some marine mammals actually expulse air contained in their lungs before diving.
Obviously whales must store their oxygen reserves elsewhere; namely in their blood and muscles. As with us, breathing oxygenates their blood. A whale exchanges 85% to 90% of the air in its lungs with each breath. Land mammals, by comparison, renew only 15% of the volume of air in their lungs with each breath. Whale blood is therefore oxygenated more efficiently, especially when one takes into account the fact that it is very rich in red blood cells, the cells responsible for the transportation of oxygen.
Whales also store oxygen in their muscles. Oxygen-fixing molecules similar to those found in red blood cells are present in great quantities in their muscles. This also explains why whale meat is so dark, almost black in the case of the sperm whale.
Yet, it is not enough to have good oxygen supplies when diving, it is also important to be frugal. Whales have several ways of doing this. While diving, they slow down their heart rate and their blood is used to supply oxygen to only the brain and vital organs. As well, they have the ability to adjust their behaviour and lower their temperature in order to save energy, which, of course, conserves even more oxygen. They can also use mechanisms that do not require oxygen. These are called anaerobic mechanisms, and they are the same as those that our tired muscles revert to when our lungs and heart can no longer supply enough oxygen to sustain their work.
All of these adaptations allow whales to efficiently live in the underwater world where they spend over 80% of their time, foraging, travelling and socialising. Whales are still tied to the surface and must come up periodically to breathe… to the great pleasure of whale watchers!
http://www.whalesonline.com/eng/FSC.html?sct=forum&pag=msglst.asp
Diving adaptations
Champion breath holders
Whales can remain underwater for long periods of time. How much time? A human can hold its breath for an average of a minute or a minute and a half; the world record is over 7 minutes. The record for whales belongs to the beaked whales and male sperm whales that can dive in excess of 120 minutes.
How is this possible? Some may believe that it is because their lungs are immense. However, all things considered, humans’ lungs are comparatively larger! A human’s lung represents approximately 1.75% of its total mass, while for the blue whale, this ratio falls to 0.73%. Curiously, it appears that small lungs are an adaptation for diving. In fact, water pressure, which increases with depth, compresses air filled lungs causing stress for lung tissue and the rib cage. A marine mammal that minimizes the volume of air that it carries with it while diving minimizes this stress. Some marine mammals actually expulse air contained in their lungs before diving.
Obviously whales must store their oxygen reserves elsewhere; namely in their blood and muscles. As with us, breathing oxygenates their blood. A whale exchanges 85% to 90% of the air in its lungs with each breath. Land mammals, by comparison, renew only 15% of the volume of air in their lungs with each breath. Whale blood is therefore oxygenated more efficiently, especially when one takes into account the fact that it is very rich in red blood cells, the cells responsible for the transportation of oxygen.
Whales also store oxygen in their muscles. Oxygen-fixing molecules similar to those found in red blood cells are present in great quantities in their muscles. This also explains why whale meat is so dark, almost black in the case of the sperm whale.
Yet, it is not enough to have good oxygen supplies when diving, it is also important to be frugal. Whales have several ways of doing this. While diving, they slow down their heart rate and their blood is used to supply oxygen to only the brain and vital organs. As well, they have the ability to adjust their behaviour and lower their temperature in order to save energy, which, of course, conserves even more oxygen. They can also use mechanisms that do not require oxygen. These are called anaerobic mechanisms, and they are the same as those that our tired muscles revert to when our lungs and heart can no longer supply enough oxygen to sustain their work.
All of these adaptations allow whales to efficiently live in the underwater world where they spend over 80% of their time, foraging, travelling and socialising. Whales are still tied to the surface and must come up periodically to breathe… to the great pleasure of whale watchers!
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