My Friend Robin...

I want to write a quick post about my friend Robin Mose. This dude is graduating!!!! He made it through, suffering through the tortures of genetics and the horrors of physics. But he made it! So I just wanted to congratulate him. I'm excited for him and can't wait to see what God has in store for the rest of his life.



Great Job Dude!!!!!

Running with Perseverance: A story of reaching my goal!

Last Sunday I completed the Pensacola Half Marathon. It was an amazing experience and I wrote this story to tell about it. Enjoy!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us," Hebrews 12:1

So I was almost there. Up ahead was an arch with one of the most beautiful words I could see at that time: FINISH! I was there! Well, almost. There still was just under a half mile and I was so tired. But I didn't care. I had come too far to stop now. Let me back up a couple hours and explain.

4 AM Gulf Shores, AL

After rolling out of the bed and getting out of the shower I am wide awake. I know today is The Day! I felt bad about having to wake my family up and so I figured out how to make coffee that morning for my mom by looking at the picture instructions on the room's coffee maker. If Mom's happy then everyone's happy. Thats an important rule to remember. The coffee turned out horrible but I think she appreciated the effort. Anyway, by 5 we actually are on the road to Pensacola. I was shocked when I went outside because it was so warm, even at 5 AM! I know God has blessed us with good weather!

6 AM Pensacola, FL

We arrived downtown and head towards the start. This morning Pensacola is wide awake. There are tons of people there, runners and friends and family there to support. Despite the very diverse range in outfits all us runners have one thing in common: our bib. The half-marathoners have an yellow one and the full-marathoners (the elite few) have white one (Check out mine!)




I was amazed at the site. So many people there to push and challenge themselves with this run. It was nice knowing I wouldn't be running alone. At the same time I was nervous. This was something I had given my entire semester to train for and here I was. Was I ready? Could I actually do it? I knew though what the answer was. It was a huge, resounding YES!!! This was it! I was psyched!

6:30AM Starting line in Downtown Pensacola, FL

With the race about to start, the runners and supporters began to segregate. All of us crazy folk who were paying to suffer lined up on the street behind the line. I went to the absolute rear and stood on some steps gazing out over the thousands of people there. I couldn't believe this day had come! When the race started it actually took me a couple minutes just to reach the start line. I wasn't in a hurry and so I waited until those in front had gone through. I remember when I finally left the start gate I went out cheering. There was some lady to my right with her kids and when they saw me cheering they began cheer me on too. I felt like a rockstar!

The Run

So here I was, running towards the completion of my goal. To be honest, running can be a little boring and repetitive. So I'll try to just hit on the highlights of my race instead of describing every mile. To begin with I saw my favorite fans around mile 2. My family was there in full support. Dad on the camera, Mom with the cow bell (which I could hear a while before I got there), and my sister holding a sign they had made for me. What a sight to see.

Now about every two miles in the race there were aid stations for the runners. You could hear these spots before you saw them. This is because each one had a bunch of people yelling at the top of their lungs for us. They got me pumped. Each station seamed to have a theme. One of my favorites was where all the people were dressed up in 80's workout clothes and 80's wigs! I remember another had this dude in an Indian Chief outfit yelling at us to keep running. He looked like a cool dude.

I also loved the signs put up along the course. Pensacola has some pretty creative and random people who were nice enough to put up some signs spread out along the course. I thought they were hilarious. Here's what some of them said: "You only have 1 more mile to go... + 1 + 1 + 1... (this was at the beginning of the run), " This is NOT a 5K", and my personal favorite "Run, Justin Bieber is chasing you!" I loved these signs!

Now there was one big momma hill on this course. But I handled it like a champ, thanks to some special training my friend David Seay helped me with.

At 8 mile I had a very special guest join me. No, it wasn't Eminem, but even better, my Sister!!!! She had ran all the way from mile 2 to meet me here and I was excited to see her. So I got to traverse the next four miles with her there to push me harder and faster. I had a blast with her then. I remember we saw two cars almost get in a wreck and had a preacher invite us to church. So yeah, we had some excitement.

But at mile 12 we came accross my favorite fans again. My Mom and Dad were there (with cowbell, sign, and camera) to cheer me on! My sister left me to finish the last mile by myself but she challenged me to not slow down but fight till the end. I took her idea and began to pass people. I was tired but I would pick out someone in a group in front of me to pass. Somehow everytime I summoned the strength to get past them.


Finally I came to the last turn. From here it was a straight shot for about three quarters of a mile to the finish line. I could see it down there but it seemed so far away. However by this point I didn't care how tired I felt. I was going to finish this race and I was going to finish it strong. As more and more people began to line the sides of the road I drew closer and closer to the end! I was pumped!

The Finish Line: 2 Hours and 22 Minutes After Starting

So I did it. I finally finished! I finished a run which I had been preparing for since August. My time was 2 hours, 22 minutes and 55 seconds and I came in 601st place! But none of that mattered to me. All I cared about was that I had just run an entire half marathon, all 13.1 miles of it! A goal in August I thought I would never reach! I had pushed myself further and harder then I ever thought I could go. The coolest thing about this race is simply this: I set a goal months ago, I worked towards it with discipline and I never gave up. Therefore I praise God for teaching me just how to run with perseverance the race which had been set out before me.

So the moral of the story is this: set a goal, find a path to reach it, and stick to the plan till the end. Trust me, it pays off!

Twas the night before...

So tomorrow morning is the day! I'm down here at Gulf Shores and can't wait until I can hit the asphalt tomorrow morning. Earlier today I went with my sister over to Pensacola and we drove through the course that I'll run. It looks awesome and I can't wait. There's one nasty hill at about mile 8 but I'm ready for it.

But before I scratch this goal off my bucket list I want to go through a list of people I need to thank. These people helped me in many different ways to reach my goal. First off I must thank those who ran with me. Miki K, James E, Trey S, David S, and of course Jun Ho and Chrissy! Now Jun Ho did more then just run with me. He pushed me further then I thought I could go and spent hours out on the roads of Troy with me. So thank you Jun Ho! You are awesome and I'll miss having you with me tomorrow!



As for Chrissy, my amazingly awesome sister, I would not be doing any of this without her. She is the one who got me started running and has been a great encouragement to me. This past semester I loved informing her everytime I reached a new personal goal! So thanks Chrissy! I'm so glad you'll be here to cheer me on tomorrow!



Also I must thank Lauren N, who has been a very encouraging friend (and girlfriend). She gave me the running plan that I used to get ready for this. Thanks Lauren!



Now there are many other people who have encouraged me and thanks to everyone at Troy who has cheered me on. But finally I must thank my family. They have been so encouraging and my parents have gone out of their way to let me do this.



Anyway, sorry for getting repetitive with the thanks. Well I'm out of here! Good night!

Goal reached!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1

Yesterday morning I ran yet another record distance for myself and reached my goal. I ran 13.1 miles!

This next sunday is the actual half marathon and I am ready for it.

"I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

To God be the Glory!

Not your usual walkingstick.

So this past Tuesday I received a awesome gift. My professor, Dr. Diamond brought me an interesting surprize in a old ice cream box. It was a Walkingstick! These insects are fascinating! The reason for this wonderful gift was for my collection of insects for my Entomology class which Dr. Diamond teaches. So thanks Dr. Diamond!

Now unfortunately I had to kill this insect and mount it but before I did I took it out and let in crawl around for a bit. It was absolutely fascinating watching this creature. This thing perfectly resembled a twig you would see on the ground. Such a neat experience to me since I'd never really seen one up close like this. Here is a picture I took of it:



Also here is a link to a video of it:

My collection now is one step closer to being finished. Out of everything I've caught, the most beautiful ones are the butterflies and moths. So I'll end with a picture of these wonderful insects.

Mud Run

So this past Saturday on of Troy University's sororities, Chi Omega, had a Mud Run as a fundraiser. I participated in it and it was a lot of fun! It was a two mile run which had some obstacles you went through. My Dad was awesome and he came down and cheered me on while taking some photos. Here are some of his pictures:

This is my friend Ryan and I warming up before the race.

Dakota, myself, and Ryan before the race.

Walking to the starting line.

Me hitting up the tire obstacle!

Myself running up the big hill.

Hitting up the mud! (Photo by Blair Pierce)

Here's me going down the slip-n-slide right before the finish line.

Victory at last! Notice the smile, I was really happy I did this.

This was Ryan hitting up the slip-n-slide.

Here's the three amigos after the race.

So before I left I had to jump in the mud pit one more time.

This was a great experience and its got me pumped for my next race: the half marathon. So yeah, bring it on Pensacola!

I must admit it, I've changed

I never ever thought I would see this day come but unfortunately I must admit I've started doing something I never thought I would. I'm afraid that I have become a coffee drinker (GASP!!!).



Yes, I've joined the ranks of the coffee consumers. In the past the taste of coffee repelled me greatly. However, one morning this semester I went to SAGA and wanted something hot to drink. Since the only option was coffee I decided to try it (with LOTS of sugar in it).

Now I can't stop drinking it. Every morning that I make it to breakfast I have a cup and sometimes I have a cup at dinner! WHat has happened to me!?!?!?!

So yes, out of the many ways college has changed me this is one of them. My life will never be the same again!

Running Hard

So yesterday I set a new personal record in my running. Jun Ho and I completed a 5-mile run without stopping! I was so happy when I finished, knowing that I had just run further then I've ever run before!

The setting was amazing! We started out around 6PM and the sun was on its downward path at that time. Now I found a route which took us all the way from the University out to the edge of town and then back around to the other side of campus. One of the most beautiful sights was when we were running along an empty stretch of road with a field to our right and the sky being full of several colors since the sun had just slipped below the horizon. The air temperature was somewhere in the 70's making it a perfect evening for a run! Praise God for blessing us with such great weather.



Now on a side note, I want to say that running has taught me a lot about my life in Christ. Hebrews 12:1 really makes sense to me when it says "let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Just as this half-marathon is marked out for me, there is a life ahead of me which Christ is preparing me for and I must continue to grow in Christ.

Let me share a little story about how I learned this. There was a stretch in my training where I didn't run hardly at all for about 2 or 3 weeks. At first it was foot problems, which I needed to rest for, but then I had the hardest time getting back into it. I made excuses and put it off. However, I finally got back into the training, but realizing also that I had wasted time.

I do the same thing as a follower of Christ. I get lazy and don't progress in growing in "wisdom and stature" like I should (Luke 2:52). Thus just as my running is not an overnight thing, neither is my life as a Christ follower. I'm in it for the long-term and must persevere.

I know this sounds like a cheezy sunday-school lesson but it is important to remember and I'm so thankful God has used something as simple as going for a run to teach me.

So training is still going and I'm looking forward to this race.

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!

Midterm Madness

Helen Keller once said that "life is either a daring adventure or nothing." There is a vast difference between the two options she gives. I like this quote because it reminds how big a difference there is between just existing or actually living your life.

Yet as I write this post I look at my life and realize how my life resembles more of the "nothing" then it does an adventure. I'm not sure why but I seem to have gotten in a rut. My attitude has been down and depressing to be honest and unfortunately I've been a grouch to be around. I hate this because I'm sure I've missed out on dozens of opportunities that my bad attitude blinded me and kept me from seeing.

But how do you change an attitude? It seems hard to change a constant feeling of depression into optimism. How much of changing your perspective is God's work and how much is mine? I don't know the answers to these questions, but Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that "Nothing Great was ever achieved without enthusiasm" and I want to do something amazing! I want my life to be the coolest adventure I've heard of.

So I pray God will help me recapture the spirit of adventure and hope that I need.

Location of Newest Zombie Virus Outbreak: Troy University

So the last part of this week was really cool. There was an outbreak of Zombies on Troy's campus. What I'm talking about is the game Humans vs. Zombies. Here is the official website for a game that apparently has been spreading from college to college across the country: http://humansvszombies.org/

It's basically a game of tag with all the humans identified by a bandana on their arm and zombies with a bandana around their head (which is a really cool fashion statement!). There are a couple other rules but those are just details. Basically you just put a bandana on your arm and keep a good look out.

I played it and I must say it made a couple days of school a lot more exciting. Inside buildings were safe zones so my commute to class either meant sprinting past on my bike (I felt like I was cheating, but they actually caught me while on my bike) or "hopping" from one building to another. Us humans even did recon for each other to help with safe passage.

However, despite my evasion techniques the zombie horde did overcome. Though, my capture was a little unusual. I literally got taken out by a Troy University Football player (#11 whoever that is). As I was biking across the quad/road/flower gardens with a group of people chasing me this noble knight (who had no clue about the game going on) mistook me for a purse thief and preceded to outrun the actual zombie and push me off my bike. He then held me down and cussed me out, telling me I would not get away. This anger confused me and the zombies around me, but thankfully the game was explained to him before further harm was done. And from that point on I became a blood seeking zombie.

So yeah, that was my end of the week. And it looks like another game is starting next week!

Bring it on!!!

Run of my life!

Well its been about a month of schooling and my life has been busy as normal for a semester at Troy University. However, there's something different about this semester. Here's the big surprise: I've been running! Yesterday in fact I ran four miles (a fact I'm very proud of).

The reason, well let me just say I'm going to run the run of my life! The goal is a half marathon, or 13.1 miles. My sister gave me the idea when she mentioned during the spring she was running The Pensacola Half Marathon in November. I told her then that I would join her but didn't really take it to heart until I got back to Troy.

However, when I got here I knew I wanted to stay healthy and active and since my girlfriend had given me a half-marathon training guide I started to follow it. Since then I've become more and more excited about the race since I've seen myself progressing and being pushed further and further.

Therefore I am determined to keep running each week, building up my endurance little by little until I can complete the race. I never thought I'd ever be able to run that far and to be honest I'm not anywhere near being able to yet, but I'm enjoying the discipline and challenge it provides me.

Also I'm enlisted some guys to train with me. Junho is a new friend I met who came to Troy from South Korea. He is a very good runner and actually has run the distance of a half marathon before. He and I usually run three or four evenings each week and I have really appreciated his company. Another pal has been Trey Stewart. He has run with us a couple times, and helped me to keep going even when I was really tired.

Anyway, this is a long process but I'm committed to it so hopefully sometime around November I'll be able to blog about how I ran a half marathon. I'll be sure to keep Hebrews 12:1 on my mind as I go through this and of course all glory goes to God.


So wish me luck, and I'll be sure to write more about it later.


"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." Hebrews 12:1-2a

life begins again...

Well, weeks have gone by since my last post and now I found myself in the temporarily great city of Troy, AL. The last few weeks of summer were great, but unfortunately they went by too fast. Now I'm about to start my last year of classes at Troy university and am wondering where the time went. This summer was an amazing experience and I can't even begin to describe how much I enjoyed it. I want to say a huge thank you to my friends at DISL for all the fun times this summer and also a thanks to the teachers I had, because they made the classes interesting and fun.

But yeah, I'm back now and new phase of life begins. This semester will be fun, challenging, entertaining, etc... It turns out I'm taking 17 credit hours but I won't let myself get overwhelmed. I am determined to live a balanced and healthy life. First Thessalonians 4:11 describes my desire for life this semester when it says "aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands." If I can do that then I am set. So yeah, bring on the craziness of school. I'm ready because "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:11).

Another week down, two more to go!

So yeah, my posts are getting a little boring. Life is rather slow this time of the summer. Living with senior citizens is not the most exciting life... But I've added some spice here and there.

The other day I had the "ride of my life" on my skateboard. It was more of a ride FOR my life because I wasn't sure I was going to make it. Let me explain. Whenever I can I take my skateboard out in the evening before the sun goes down and seek after some news hills to hit. Mobile isn't really the hilliest city but the its got some thrills. Last week I found a parking garage downtown which provide four stories of fun and this past week I stayed around in the neighbor and found the mother of all hills! The street I was walking on ended at the mid-point on the hill. Since I couldn't see the bottom because of the turns I went down to check it out and decided, eh, why not! Then I made the long hike up to the top, the whole time thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

I finally reach the top and I just put my board down and went for it. I figured the longer I waited the more likely I wouldn't do it.

The hill had two steep parts, one at the beginning and one at the end with a nice, gentle slope halfway. I made it through the first part fine, carved through the middle, still gaining speed, and went into the last stretch. At the very end of the course their is a left turn I needed to make in order to keep from ending up all contorted on someone's front lawn from what would be a very spectacular crash. Therefore I leaned into the turn with everything I had. My adrenaline was flowing, my heart was pounding, and I kept trying not to think about what would happen if I messed up. And yeah, I made it. I'm really lucky there wasn't a car there when I turned but hey that's part of the risk. Anyway, my first thoughts afterworld were "hey, lets do it again!" However it was getting late and the hike back up is brutal so I decided to save it for later.

That hill hasn't seen the last of me though. I taking that ride again. Shoot, if I survive that then Thrill hill back in Troy might just be on the menu for the fall. We'll see. One day at a time.

So yeah, school and the rest of life was pretty much the same. The weekend unfortunately was rather rainy so skateboarding was put on hold but that just means I'll have to hit it twice as hard next week.

So with that I'm out for the night.

God speed and God Bless!

Summer Part 2

Well this past week was the first part of the second phase of my summer. This next month is going to be different from the last one because I have moved. I am now living in Mobile with my grandparents and commuting to DISL on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. It's a good change though and I'm going to enjoy it. Life goes at a much slower pace here which gives me lots of time to get my work done, do some extracurricular research (might blog about it later) and still go on random adventures around Mobile every now and then. Plus I'm bound and determine to beat my grandparents at cards even though they've won every night we've played.

This past Thursday I went downtown and skateboarded around, riding down parking garages and through the many parks around there. It's a great way to spend the evening and I plan on doing it again when I can.

Now I must say though that the highlight of this past week was the weekend I spent in Auburn. Some really good friends, Lauren N and Amanda S rode up with me to go celebrate David S's birthday with him in the great city of Auburn, AL (home of the 2010 National Champions!!!! WAR EAGLE). We spent the weekend hanging out, touring the university, and enjoying their pool. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend spent with great friends. Special thanks to the Seay family for hosting us.

So yeah, today we unfortunately had to make the long drive back since life all starts back tomorrow. Right now I'm beat from all the traveling so I'm about to hit the sack and get my beauty rest before hitting this next week and hitting it hard!

Good night everyone and God's speed!

Lift Off!!!

I'm sitting here at my grandparents house watching CNN's covering of STS-135 shuttle launch and I'm so EXCITED!!! THE LAST SHUTTLE LAUNCH IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN!!!! THIS IS CRAZY!

I hate that it's the last one, but still I'm glad I get to watch it.

God's speed to the crew. We'll see you when you get back to earth!

Catching up

So its been a couple weeks since I last added anything. Sorry about that. The past three weeks have been hectic at times but still lots of fun. Lets just say my strategy was this: work hard and play hard. So yeah, even on the weekends I wasn't very good at getting the rest I needed. But anyway here's a recap of what all have been going on.

Starting with school I'd say it was a success. The last three weeks of the class had a test every week. Therefore many a night was spent in the wonderful DISL library! Our class project I wrote about earlier went well and we pulled off an A (but just barely...). We turned in 70 species (only 4 behind the "professional fishermen" group but only correctly identified 59 of them. Oh well, we tied for second place and still got an A so I was happy. It was a huge relief to have that done. So yeah, I knocked out that class and have only one more to go.

But outside of school there was a lot of fun activities. I have to put in a bit about Tuesday night Trivia. Every Tuesday night since the beginning of June I've gone to Trivia at Serda's Coffee Shop in Mobile, AL. On average there were around 10 of us from DISL and my friend Ashley B would usually join us too. Basically all it is is a thing the coffee shop does to get more customers but you can play for free and if you win you get free gelato. Needless to say though I've never won a round but I'm still trying. I'll get lucky one of these days. So yeah, Tuesday nights just look for me at Serda's.

Another cool event was the Dauphin Island Beach Party. This was a concert series sort of put on by BP. Because of the oil spill last summer the city of Dauphin Island received some money for tourism and so they used it to bring in several music artist for a giant beach party. Now being honest I must say that most of the bands who played completely sucked. However, The Drifters put on an amazing show. I volunteered at the event so I could get in for free but I ended up spending the entire afternoon on the beach. so yeah, it was a rather hot day but well worth it.

Here are some videos I made from that day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6of1-aLH1M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX8yVKr_THc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RejGTMJsWMo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxeDQzQEsHo

Also, there was lots of time spent just hanging out. There were several nights where we stayed up till 1 or 2 in the morning just talking and goofing off. One night my roommate David and I set up his tent inside our room and played cards with some friends in it.

The next night we set it up on the beach so that we could help out Lauren with her experiment and during the down time we played Trivial pursuit. So yeah, I really enjoyed my time spent with the great friends made down there.

So yeah, thats a quick summary of how life's been. I'll try to be a little better about putting up some more posts. But until then that's all I got.

Peace out folks!

Got nothing

Sorry but no post this week. It was a test week so the majority of it was spent in the library anyway.

I'll try to post some more this week. I don't want to reveal too much but I just lost a bet which is going to impact my look a lot. But more about that later.

Peace Homies!

Week 3

Well another week bites the dust. This was the first week of my Marine Vertebrate class. As I stated in an earlier post this class is set up as a competition among student groups. So yeah, this semester might be a little stressful. But it still is interesting and fun. This past week we went out in the field three times for class and went fishing/seining several times outside of class. It was a little exhausting so this weekend I took off from going out.

The thing about this class though is once we collect the fish we need to correctly identify them to get any credit for it. In my opinion that is the worse part because most of the time it is a very tedious process.

The weekend though was really nice. I spent Friday night with the Schneiders and thoroughly enjoyed the R&R. I hit a couple hills on my board and I must say it was awesome!

Saturday consisted of working in the lab and hanging out in the evening. Lauren Nelson made us watch this b-class Shaq movie called Blue Chips. It was really old but I'm not gonna lie, it was sort of funny. The coach was pretty awesome.

Anyway, Sunday I finally visited the great Bass Pro Shop in Spanish Fort. It was like walking into Disney World! I took pictures of it.

So yeah, that was week 3.

On your mark, get set, GO!!!

So the class I'm in now is a straight up competition. We have to build a fish collection and the biggest (and correctly labeled collection) wins. Its only week 1 and its already starting to get cutthroat. One of the group has all the "professional" fishermen (those guys that wear Guy Harvey shirts all the time and know everything about fishing) in it and their already talking about their secret fishing spots and techniques that make them so great.

All I have to say is that they are goin down!!!! Look out Group 1, Group 3 is gonna kill it!!!!


Anyway, I find this class format entertaining. I've never been in a class where the best competitor gets the A. I think by the end of this class all the groups are gonna hate each other! This could get nasty...

Week 2

The last post about week 2 covered the most exciting part of the week. The rest of the week was a little slower and a lot more studious. Since our final was on Friday I spent almost every evening in the library.

One evening however we did visit the skatepark. My friend Ty came out and I guess we will just say he decided to go big instead of going home. He broke his wrist in three places that night unfortunately after taking a bad fall. So yeah, skateboarding was a little too intense this week. One of these days I'm gonna write a post about the many lessons, experiences, memories, etc... I've had at the place!

For class we did presentations on Thursday which went really well. Friday we had our final which was divided into two parts: lab practical and written portion. The test wasn't that bad but I was glad I had studied a lot.

Anyway, the weekend was nice. Friday afternoon I spent at the beach and Saturday I went to NOLA with my friend Lauren Nelson.

So yeah, that was the maymester. Today I just started my next class (no memorial day break for me) so school goes on. However, thats life at DISL.

Anyway, I'll try to keep up with this whole blogging thing as school assuming it doesn't get too busy. But for now that's all folks.

LONG LINING!!!!!

Some pics from Monday's long-lining trip.

First part was baiting

the hooks, a pretty smelly process.

After all the hooks got baited the line was set out. Basically there was a line about a mile long with floats on each end and hooks spaced apart about every 50 feet.

Then after waiting an hour we pulled in it. We set out two times and both times we pulled in Atlantic Sharpnose Sharks and Blacktip Sharks. The biggest sharks we caught were around 3 or 4 feet long and some put up quite the fight once on deck.

A blacktip being pulled in.

Our teachers, Dr. Driggers and Dr. Carlson, pulling up a shark.

"Wrestling" the shark up onto the table to get measurements and get tagged.

The sharks also had to be weighed, and this part was tricky. The scale had a hook we had to catch the corner of the jaw with to hold the shark by. However, these sharks didn't cooperate very well and it was hard to hook it in the right place. Thus, when we would let go of the shark to get the weight many times the shark slipped off and ended up at your feet (not a very pleasant surprise). Luckily though no one got bitten.

One of the last sharks we caught was a big Blacktip shark. I volunteered to wrestle it and so once it was on deck I jumped on its head and another dude grabbed its tail. It wasn't that hard to hold onto but a couple times it would start thrashing around on the table and we'd all let go.

(Photo by Mary Hutson)

All in all it was a pretty sweet trip. Not much beats a day of wrestling sharks!

Week 1 at the DISL

I'm going to try to update my blog every Sunday (if not more frequent then that) since in the past months (sometimes years...) have gone by inbetween posts.

So yeah, the first week was pretty cool. Got to start out learning how to identify specimens and by Wednesday we were cutting them open.

Thursday we went out on the small boats in an attempt to gill net some sharks. The day wasn't very successful in that but we did pull up some Cownose rays and some Atlantic Stingrays in my boat. The boat I was in was a pontoon boat which was awesome (sarcasm!!!!!) in the ocean. We could only go a max speed of about 2 knots because waves would break over the front if we went faster. So yeah, it was a long ride there and back.

Since the water got rougher as the day went on we came back at lunch time and were unable to go back out. But our teacher was awesome and so that afternoon all we did was go back to the class room and watch the movie Jaws! It was freaking awesome! Such a great movie.

Since I had been in that wonderful pontoon boat I now understand the famous line "I think we're gonna need a bigger boat!"

But anyway, on Friday we all woke up at seven AM singing Rebecca Black's famous song.... Just kidding. Friday we did open up a bunch of Atlantic Sharpnose shark stomachs to look at their contents and see what they'd been munching on. Needless to say our classroom smelled pretty ripe that day.

The weekend was pretty cool too and involved studying, Subway runs, dinner with the grandparents, church on the Island, and of course the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie!!!

This next week involves lots of studying but also some really cool things like a long-lining trip in the gulf.

Anyway, I'm out of here. Peace!

(All the photos except for the Jaws movie poster are from Caroline Reynolds)

Life on the gulf coast

Well I'm now a resident of the Gulf Coast. At least for the summer. I started the Sharks and Rays class at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, or as we call it, DISL. Its mainly been a lot of lecture but Monday afternoon we learned how to identify sharks using a dichotomous key.



















Today we disected an Atlantic Sharpnose shark. Got to get all dirty learning about the internal anatomy.

Below is a picture of the jaws of a Great White Shark. Pretty massive.



















Tomorrow is our first day in the field and we will be gill netting sharks somewhere in the waters around Dauphin Island.

Well, I'm off to sleep before our adventure tomorrow. Hopefully there will be some cool stories tomorrow to post about.

photos by Eric Beasley

following Jesus's example

The other day was very special to me, because the gospel became alive and very visible thanks to God working in the lives of some friends and in my life as well. Here is the story of what happened:

It started with a knock. It was three in the afternoon and I was about to start studying. A good friend of mine, Ryan was at the door and he was holding a towel, some soap and a bottle of water (which was actually hot and felt really good). He had come to wash my feet, following Jesus's example (and also something Jesus tells us to do), and he caught me completely by surprise.

However, when he was done he prayed with me and then said he was going on to find more people's feet to wash and I began to realize what I needed to do. I had been frustrated with someone and at times hated him and so I tagged along with Ryan and went straight to this dude's room. We caught him by surprise too and I asked not only to wash his feet but for forgiveness for the hatred I had built up as well. While it might not have affected him that much, it really helped me to forgive him and stop harboring a grudge.

So yeah, it was crazy and thanks to Ryan's initiative I was able to live out part of the gospel. I am very thankful to God for using my friend to teach me how to live out of faith.

However, it didn't stop there. I went to a gospel concert that night. The whole rest of the afternoon however I had begun to think about what it really is like to live by faith. I say I believe in God but do I have faith that obeys Him on a day by day basis? As I thought about these things I began to think God might be calling me to pray for a total stranger, a girl sitting nearby. I honestly don't know if God specifically wanted me to pray with her but I didn't want to miss an opportunity if it was one. I fought it the whole concert and had many opportunities which I reasoned out of happening.

Yet the thought of truly living by faith kept exploding in my mind and I couldn't stop thinking about it. So finally as there was only two songs left in the concert I decided I wanted to actually believe God for more then just salvation that night and believe that He controls and arranges our daily lives and so I went.

It was very awkward, as was expected, and she wasn't too thrilled about the idea but she said ok, and the prayer wasn't spectacular but I went and I prayed. I don't know and don't really want to know if it had any real impact on her life (because I don't want a big head). I just wanted to know that if God had called me by faith to go that I went. Thats all. I've never EVER been one to do that, go pray for a random person even though there have been several times where the call was very clear. This event taught me to take that step and follow. I was shaking before I went out of fear but I went nonetheless. This might sound dumb but that sort of taught me that I can follow God in faith. That I am not destined to fail all the time.

So yeah, all that started with a friend coming to wash my feet and I'm so thankful for that. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Judgement of a nation

Ezekiel 22:23-31

The priests:

"Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them." (Ezekiel 22:26)

The officials:

"Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain." (Ezekiel 22:27)

The prophets:

"Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says’—when the LORD has not spoken." (Ezekiel 22:28)

The people:

"The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice." (Ezekiel 22:29

God examines this nation, looking first at the priests, the "spiritual leaders" of the land. He finds instead compromised men whose efforts are an insult to Him. So next God looks at the leaders of the lands, finding only corrupt men, who receive help for these evil deeds from the false prophets. So God examines the everyday people in this nation, finding the overall result is a selfish and greedy population.

Finally, God begins to look for just one person, a man of God who will go the distance, will "stand in the gap" before God and plead for these people. One man to save the nation.

"I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it..." (Ezekiel 22:30a).

And what does God find?

NO ONE!

Israel was completely destroyed because they turned away from the one true God!

Happy Valentines Day!

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." 1 John 3:1

Lord of the Flies!

Well, the time has finally arrived. The Drosophila flies have begun to procreate and soon all sorts of reciprical crosses will begin. This of course is a genetics experiment I'm doing for a class and I've found it actualy is sort of interesting right now.

So yeah, bring on the flies (or the bees)! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XcT49ms4yg

Skydiving!

Well, my next adventure it looks like is jumping out of a plane from 13,000 ft. I have assembled a "crew" to join me on this expedition and our "drop" date is Feb. 26.

As to why, I must say part of who I am is a guy who really enjoys activities that scare him a little. What's life without facing your fears? However, I don't want these adrenaline rushing activities to become a drug in my life. My hope is that as we go do this adventure, Christ alone will be glorified, and that despite all the fun we will have, I'll find my satisfaction in Him alone.

Anyway, I guess I'll report back about it once my feet are back on the ground.