Posts

Showing posts from April 21, 2013

Wheelchair to Walking

Image
I had a very remarkable experience the other day. I decided to do my killer four mile run that exists as the doppleganger to my beer drinking. I burn calories through the running, I restore calories by beer drinking. It is a real co-dependent relationship. Maybe even dysfunctional. As I came off the path around the lake, I was dying. I had given blood about two hours before and was feeling the lack of red blood cells and oxygen. And age. And an extra 20 pounds. I saw a group of people coming towards me. As I approached them, I saw a woman was being surrounded by a man and a bunch of kids (presumably a family) and she was walking with the man holding her closely. She was moaning with delight as she came to the lake. Her steps were halting, her grin was not. Behind her was a young boy rolling an empty wheelchair. Arm rests were laying on the ground several yards behind the group. As I passed, I saw the arm rests and asked if they wanted me to pick them up. The man ...

Whiskey Cure and Curse

Image
Mark 7:15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them. I have been smacking around the cold virus all winter here in Pennsylvania with a shot of 90 proof whiskey. Better than all cold prevention strategies I have ever found combined. Keep your Airborn, Cold-Eeze, Nyquil, and Vicks. And at a fraction of the cost. So far, so good. When I sense the virus is at work in my sinuses, where colds commence for me, I snort some of it into the nasal cavity and gargle down into my throat. If it burns, it is working. However, Pennsylvania weather keeps slipping back into freezing temps like a drunk falling off the wagon. We are not yet out of the woods and the menace of getting cold is still lingering...I seek not to provoke its wrath through excessive confidence. I kind of put two and two together with the Whiskey Cure (and I am very reticent to use that term carelessly as the cold vi...

Sleep in Peace

Image
Proverbs 3:24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Not being able to sleep is one of the most vexing problems a person can be cursed with. I would rather have boils all over my body rather than not enough sleep. Not that I am looking for a choice here. Fortunately, I typically sleep soundly.   Sleep for many can be elusive as a ghost and sometimes the more a person needs and wants it, the less likely it is to occur. Truly vexing. From my experiences and observations, it seems a big theme in the inability to sleep is being unable to resolve a problem. Sometimes we can take steps to address the problem, sometimes we just have to accept that we can't and make our peace with it, as onerous as the issue may be. We are inclined to desire a change in our circumstances and that desire may lead us astray into anxiety. It may be better to stop striving, let go, and trust that God works in our advers...

The Evidence of Hope

Image
I had a Comp Day on Friday. We work for free over the summer for five days and get to trade these days during the school year. It has been great yet I do dread Mondays because a double-load of work is waiting and usually it is more than just two days of linear work...some multiplier that is exponential for work not done gets piled on by the new work and it takes three days of work plus over-time to catch up. I am not complaining though. I have been able to put in some serious quality time into ironing out the formatting wrinkles in my book . Exhausting but I think I have the book to a place where it is smoothed out. The goal with a book on Kindle is to present the content cleanly. Any issues with the formatting on the tech end of the book reeks of piker status. I felt like giving up and letting to book be raw but then considered that I have already poured so much energy and time into it, what is another Saturday. Maybe it is a bad bet. I...