Oarfish: Fantasy Serpent of the Sea

So, my secret passion or not so secret, is science. I love everything to do with science as you will soon notice based on future posts :) 

While reading through today's news, I came across and article and the title (18-FOOT-LONG SEA CREATURE FOUND OFF CALIF. COAST) instantly the piqued my interest. 

"LOS ANGELES (AP) — A marine science instructor snorkeling off the Southern California coast spotted something out of a fantasy novel: the silvery carcass of an 18-foot-long, serpent-like oarfish. 

Jasmine Santana of the Catalina Island Marine Institute needed more than 15 helpers to drag the giant sea creature with eyes the size of half dollars to shore Sunday.Staffers at the institute are calling it the discovery of a lifetime. 

"We've never seen a fish this big," said Mark Waddington, senior captain of the Tole Mour, CIMI's sail training ship. "The last oarfish we saw was three feet long."Because oarfish dive more than 3,000 feet deep, sightings of the creatures are rare and they are largely unstudied, according to CIMI. 

The obscure fish apparently died of natural causes. Tissue samples and video footage were sent to be studied by biologists at the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

Santana spotted something shimmering about 30 feet deep while snorkeling during a staff trip in Toyon Bay at Santa Catalina Island, about two dozen miles from the mainland.

"She said, 'I have to drag this thing out of here or nobody will believe me,'" Waddington said. 

After she dragged the carcass by the tail for more than 75 feet, staffers waded in and helped her bring it to shore.The carcass was on display Tuesday for 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students studying at CIMI. It will be buried in the sand until it decomposes and then its skeleton will be reconstituted for display, Waddington said. 

The oarfish, which can grow to more than 50 feet, is a deep-water pelagic fish — the longest bony fish in the world, according to CIMI. 

They are likely responsible for sea serpent legends throughout history."

How neat is that? God's creation absolutely fascinates me! I am in awe of God's beautiful design and the many creatures He has created, each one special in their own way;  yet of all He has made we are His most treasured creation! 

What is one of your favorite creatures God has created and why?

All text © 2013 From the Ashes| All Images © 2013  From the Ashes

We were Created for so Much More!

"I was created to live for God -- His kingdom and His glory. I was designed to get my identity , meaning and purpose, and my inner sense of well-being vertically. I was made to my reason for doing what I am doing and my rest in the middle of doing from God."
 -Dr. Paul David Tripp

"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who for their sake died and was raised."
-(2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

All text © 2013 From the Ashes| All Images © 2013  From the Ashes

Why Worry?

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" (Matthew 6:25-27)

"Jesus warns us to be careful of what we assign value to because what we name as our treasure will control our hearts, and what controls our hearts will control our behavior. Worry and rest always reveal the true treasures of your heart. You will rest the most when what you treasure the most is secure, and you will worry the most when what you treasure the most is at risk." -Paul David Tripp

What does your world of worry reveal about the true treasures of your heart?

All text © 2013 From the Ashes| All Images © 2013 Stickyegg.com

About Me

Who am I?

I am...

A Christian

Passionate about my faith, helping others and science

Lover of animals

An enthusiast for the outdoors

In wonder of God’s creation

An adopted child of Christ

A sinner

Forgiven

Free from bondage through my Savior's Blood

A failure

but I am not a quitter

A fighter

Passionate about life and God's creation

Most importantly, I am beautiful, loved, and redeemed by the King of Kings!

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