Quality Decisions and Skateboards

By Lane R Johnson

I sat glued to the television. On the screen a 17 year old male, bare headed and determined, was perched on the ridge of a two-story roof overlooking a lower slope covering the first floor. He seemed focused, which was probably the right mindset, because he was standing on a skateboard.

Before I could gasp my incredulity, he had begun his rocket ride to the ground. The second floor slope went fast but successfully and he even negotiated the jump to the lower level, but somewhere about halfway to the end, he and the skateboard parted company and the balance of the ride concluded with him crashing abruptly onto the pavement below. The good news is that he survived this heroic feat and eventually was able to discuss it coherently with the interviewer that had hosted his moment in the sun.

Read more

Psalm 139 Can Help You To Lose Weight

By Julie Morris, RN

Psalm 139 has been an awesome help in my weight-loss journey and it can help you too. Read each verse, followed by the thoughts I wrote years ago in my personal journal. Then try writing your own thoughts.

“O LORD, you have searched me and you know me….you are familiar with all my ways….You have laid your hand upon me.” (Lord, you know me. You know all about me, all of my negative thoughts and bad choices. You are always with me, reaching out to me, holding me—when I let you.)

Read more

Teach Your Children

By Dorothy Ward-Winters

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6  NIV)

Our duty as parents is to train our child to be a responsible adult, just as our parents trained us. Why did we think they could only be happy if we gave them their heart’s desires?

I had it rough when I was small, and I wanted my children to have an easier life. Easier and happier. Happier meant stuffed animals, tricycles, bicycles, (I balked at motorcycles), designer clothes, cell phones, computers, I-Pods, and so on, things I did not have. No matter how hard I tried to satisfy her, there was always something new she craved. I never could make her understand that money does not grow on trees.

Read more

Waiting

By Caroline T. Jackson

The dictionary (yes, I still use one) defines waiting as “a period in which one waits.” Now that explains it all, doesn’t it? It leaves out the element of anticipation, excitement and, yes, even dread when you are waiting on some event to take place in your life. We had made plans for an extensive road trip and already packed and ready to roll when the doctors decided it was necessary to do some extensive testing on a recent and recurring medical issue my husband was experiencing. The doctors involved didn’t know what was wrong and finding out that we were going to be gone longer than a week, decided that they better test now rather than later. That way we wouldn’t have to wait! I find it necessary to share with you that the so called patient is not a patient man…having spent a life time in a very precise occupation.

 As we all know, the wheels of medical testing don’t always run on the fast track and I can attest to the fact that we felt like we were on the side track. The MRI’s or the CAT scans were done on a Thursday afternoon two weeks in a row and ,of course, no results would be available before the following Monday. The following week a biopsy was again performed on a Thursday with the promise of results the following Monday. I thought all doctors took Thursday afternoons off! Yesterday was Monday and when finally pinned to a wall, the nurse responded that it might be 5 to 7 days before we heard!  What was it I said about waiting?

Read more

Stop the Cycle of Shame

By Julie Morris, RN

“Congratulations!” she said cheerfully, not realizing that her words would send me spiraling into shame.

She continued, loud enough for the other nurses and even some of the patients in the ICU to hear, “Congratulations on your pregnancy!” Suddenly seeing the horrified look on my face, she changed her tone and said quietly, “You are pregnant, aren’t you?”

Read more

Next Page »