Friday, October 27, 2006
Voting for Christians...
There is a whisper going around that Christians should not vote, that we should withdraw from society, thrown our televisions out the window, heat with wood, home-school our children, and wait for the Second Coming. Probably some of these people are sincere, but I'll just bet our enemy is behind some of the whispering. He is a liar and the truth is not in him. He would love to take us out of the battle.
Vote. Pray, read your scriptures, vote for the people who are closest to your beliefs. And next cycle, consider something radical: pick one political party or the other, and get involved at the local level. If you wait for the primary, it is usually TOO LATE. Our politics will only work if we get involved and help pick good candidates, early in the process.
Vote. Pray, read your scriptures, vote for the people who are closest to your beliefs. And next cycle, consider something radical: pick one political party or the other, and get involved at the local level. If you wait for the primary, it is usually TOO LATE. Our politics will only work if we get involved and help pick good candidates, early in the process.
Medical Missions
We have folks in Kenya, Guatemala, Haiti, upcoming in Juarez, downtown Denver. Those are just the ones I know about. I've heard about others in Africa, South America, Thailand, we're everywhere! Thank you all.
No more lone rangers!
Last night I went to the Resident's group, where we listened to Daniella. She has devoted her life to service. We all discussed how to balance work and life, how to not burn out, but that service is what we are all called to. Daniella, who is a ministry person from Peru, said that she relies on some pillars in her life to keep her strong and fresh. One is prayer: she prays for an hour and a half a day. (How realistic is that for us docs? Not very of course. But we CAN keep up a running prayer conversation during our days. Get the book "Practising the presence of God" by Brother Lawrence for an inspiring short read. By the by, the Resident's group introduced me to that one last year.)
Another pillar is community. She has six other women and they share lives and service. How many of us docs truly live in community? Most of us are Lone Rangers riding in to battle each day. Soon we become Lonely Rangers. The loneliness weakens us and makes us more susceptible to temptations. The local CMDA has the ability to start to become our community if we will let it. Other christians don't really understand the pressures of managed care, malpractice, or the drain that a sick patient or tragic situation can be. Other docs don't really understand the spiritual side (yet!).
At Porter, every Tuesday morning at 0700, there is a Physician Prayer breakfast. There was one at Avista, I think it may be on vacation. At Parker, the chaplain has a noon prayer time Monday in the chapel. (Get to know your local Hospital chaplain, too.) Are there other opportunities at other places? I suspect so. Send me the information and I'll publicize it. Matthew 18:20--"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Another pillar is community. She has six other women and they share lives and service. How many of us docs truly live in community? Most of us are Lone Rangers riding in to battle each day. Soon we become Lonely Rangers. The loneliness weakens us and makes us more susceptible to temptations. The local CMDA has the ability to start to become our community if we will let it. Other christians don't really understand the pressures of managed care, malpractice, or the drain that a sick patient or tragic situation can be. Other docs don't really understand the spiritual side (yet!).
At Porter, every Tuesday morning at 0700, there is a Physician Prayer breakfast. There was one at Avista, I think it may be on vacation. At Parker, the chaplain has a noon prayer time Monday in the chapel. (Get to know your local Hospital chaplain, too.) Are there other opportunities at other places? I suspect so. Send me the information and I'll publicize it. Matthew 18:20--"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Saturday, October 14, 2006
That they may have life, powerful statement
Evangelicals and Catholics Together has published another landmark paper, "That They May Have Life." It is a powerful statement in the magazine First Things, something I highly recommend to you as a regular read. I caught the habit from John Patrick, MD, one of CMDA's favorite speakers. (For John's take on abortion and life issues, listen to this MP3 file some time.) Fortunately First Things put this article up on their website as the showcase article so it is available sooner than usual.
Some good quotes:
"We...firmly reject the claim that disagreements over the culture of life represent a conflict between faith and reason."
"The contention over abortion, for instance, is not about when human life begins...The moral and political dispute is over which human beings, at whatever state of development or decline, possess rights that we are bound to respect."
"In the present state of our tragically disordered law, citizens are given, in the case of abortion, a private "right" to kill those who are too young, too small, too handicapped, too burdensome, or, for whatever reason, not "wanted."
"The healing professions in our society have been deeply corrupted by the culture of death."
"Men beyond numbering are complicit in the culture of death. The legal abortion license has made it easier to exploit women sexually; to abandon them or refuse to support them in the bearing of the new life for which men are equally responsible; and even to coerce them into having the child killed. This is a wickedness of unspeakable proportions..."
Amazing stuff. Read it.
Some good quotes:
"We...firmly reject the claim that disagreements over the culture of life represent a conflict between faith and reason."
"The contention over abortion, for instance, is not about when human life begins...The moral and political dispute is over which human beings, at whatever state of development or decline, possess rights that we are bound to respect."
"In the present state of our tragically disordered law, citizens are given, in the case of abortion, a private "right" to kill those who are too young, too small, too handicapped, too burdensome, or, for whatever reason, not "wanted."
"The healing professions in our society have been deeply corrupted by the culture of death."
"Men beyond numbering are complicit in the culture of death. The legal abortion license has made it easier to exploit women sexually; to abandon them or refuse to support them in the bearing of the new life for which men are equally responsible; and even to coerce them into having the child killed. This is a wickedness of unspeakable proportions..."
Amazing stuff. Read it.
