Bone marrow biopsy by Dr. Hans Janovich, Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC (PD-Federal govt.)
This needs little introduction, except the reminder that Pete — Peter Hileman, Esq. — is the Executive Director of Christian Legal Clinics of Philadelphia. You can find more information on Christian legal aid under that heading (above). By the way, I don’t agree that Pete’s faith was ever weak or shallow.
“In November 2012, as I was transitioning from my law practice to full time work with the legal clinic ministry, a…tumor burst my appendix, spilling cancer cells into my abdomen. I was treated by a team of cancer surgeons…who explained the gravity of my diagnosis: those cells had a 75% chance of growing into new tumors and available treatments were either ineffective or very risky.
The median life expectancy of someone with this rare appendix cancer is 7 years …
I decided to undergo a high risk surgery known as HIPEC, at a specialty surgery center… During a 6 hour procedure, heated chemo-therapy was poured into my open abdomen, in the hopes of killing the cancer cells before they could grow. Several small cancer seeds were removed during the surgery.
Not fully recovered from the surgery, I underwent 12 chemo-therapy sessions over a 6 month period, which ended in December 2013. Over that year, I endured 3 lengthy hospitalizations, 2 surgeries, 9 CT scans, and countless IVs and blood tests. It’s been over a year since my last treatment and I am feeling well again. But more importantly I’m changed.
We get old, we get sick, and we die. And there isn’t anything we can do about it. After being so healthy all of my life, I had lived in denial about these truths. My faith was weak and shallow, as I had never been forced to truly trust Jesus, or anyone else for that matter. I was able to get by just trusting myself. However facing the reality of sickness and death put my faith to the test.
I have always insisted on being strong, capable, on never being weak or needy. That made it hard for me to receive love from others. This battle with cancer made me so sick and weak that I couldn’t take care of myself.
“In sickness or in health, till death do you part” took on new meaning as [my wife] Wendy took care of me. Marriage seems to be going out of style in our culture, but when you are suffering, you need someone to lean on. Wendy was with me every step of the way, from my first stomach pain to the last chemo treatment.
I shared my trials with many people and it was very comforting to know that so many friends were praying for me. I’ve learned that a lot of people care about me. Friends brought meals and neighbors mowed my lawn. My heart was often overwhelmed, and I was often moved to tears of appreciation for the love and support that was shown to me.” Read more…
Transformers Optimus Prime (Hasbro booth at 2011 Comic-Con), Author Doug Kline – Pop Culture Geek Network, Source Flickr (CC BY-SA 2. 0 Generic)
TRANSFORMERS, all associated names, terms, phrases, and slogans are Copyright 2003 Hasbro. All related characters and toys are registered trademarks of Hasbro and Takara Tomy. All rights reserved.
NOTE: Hasbro and Takara Tomy have no relation to this blog or the posts it contains.
I sat in a darkened theater with a wonderful little boy whose father is not present in his life, and thought about fathers everywhere.
We were at another in the series of TRANSFORMERS ® movies. For those who may not be familiar with them, the Transformers are a race of giant robots from a distant galaxy. They engage in a war of good against evil, some of which takes place on earth.
Sometimes beaten and broken, abandoned and uncared for, these robots can assume different shapes, as the need arises. Though not immortal – some perish – the Transformers personify heroism while the human beings in the plot often fail or fall short, at times even betraying individual Transformers whose desire is to help them.
What the little boy with me could not see, but I did, was that the Transformers were as much pictures of real human beings as the human characters in the story were.
It is a thrilling story, this war of good against evil. And we all play a role, whichever side we choose to take. At times, we struggle against impossible odds, unbeatable foes – the challenges of heart disease or breast cancer, grief and loss. We stagger forward under loads no one should have to bear – the burdens of single motherhood, the daily toil of a thankless job to which we remain faithful for the sake of our children.
In the process, we are transformed. Oh, our parts may rust, become worn and broken. But our hearts become something else, something shining. Read more…
Women washing clothes in a ditch along the main road, Mumbai, India, Source Agencia Brasil, Author Hajor at en.wikipedia (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0-Brazil License)
One million people live in the Dharavi slum of Mombai memorialized in Slum Dog Millionaire [1]. As the film indicated, only one percent of the houses here have their own toilets. Whole families live in bare concrete rooms, only a few miles from the palatial homes of Bollywood stars.
Yet, there are over 20,000 micro-businesses, in this congested area. And recycling is the single biggest industry – employing 50,000 people in plastics, alone. Salaries, however, are slim; hours, long; the work, arduous and sometimes dangerous.
India is not the only third world country with a garbage problem. Garbage removal in impoverished countries is unsystematic, at best.
Garbage may be discarded alongside the nearest road, or in random lots. Some garbage may be burned by those disposing of it. More often than not, garbage accumulates wherever it is discarded and left undisturbed. The result can be both noxious and harmful to health.
Now, however, garbage is holding out new hope to some distressed communities. Non-profits like ChildFund are setting up “garbage banks”, a variation on the recycling businesses in Mombai. Read more…
Coventry Cross of Nails, National Cathedral, Washington DC, Source http://www.flickr.com/photos/23165290@N00/6623015469/, Author Tim Evanson (Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic)
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7: 15-16).
The Southern Poverty Law Center currently lists over 750 active hate groups in the United States. These include Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi, white nationalist, white power skinhead, and neo-Confederate groups. They, also, include what are termed “Christian Identity” groups.
This should be of great concern to us.
Despite adopting the label, Christian Identity groups are actually anti-Semitic racists – not Christians. Loosely affiliated by a twisted theology of their own making, Christian Identity groups are usually hostile to fundamentalist and evangelical Christians because of the belief by such Christians that the return of Jews to Israel is integral to the fulfillment of end-time prophecy.
The names adopted by Christian Identity groups are innocuous enough: Faith Baptist Church and Ministry, Watchmen Bible Study Group, Kinsman Redeemer Ministries. But they spew a hate-filled venom combining distorted Bible verses and outright lies.
You will remember that, when Satan tempted Christ in the wilderness, the adversary likewise misconstrued Scripture (Matt. 4: 1-11).
The challenge for genuine Christians is to distinguish themselves from these hate groups. Christ, Himself, said, “ ‘By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another’ ”(John 13: 35). The Apostle John added, “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother” (1 John 3: 10).
Scripture makes our task very clear. We are to love others. Not sneer at them, pontificate over them, or turn our backs on them.
If we truly believe that love is stronger than hate, we have to be prepared to live it. Those who believe the opposite are.
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
“Christ Washing the Apostles’ Feet” by Dirck van Baburen (c. 1616), Gemaldegalerie, Berlin, Source Web Gallery of Art (Public Domain-Art, Age-100)
We are constantly being urged to compare ourselves to others.
If we fear there may be something lacking on our part, we are exhorted to rectify the perceived deficiency at once with newer cars, larger pools, faster boats, and more expensive homes. Better yet with miracle nostrums, cosmetic surgery, hair plugs, and younger wives.
This is deception on a grand scale. If we buy into it, we will never be satisfied with our lives, our relationships, or ourselves. Our priorities will be confined to our own ends, our energies directed to self-aggrandizement, and our time here wasted.
As Christians, we may consider ourselves above such things, immune to cultural influences. That, however, is a form of pride.
We compare gifts of the Spirit as if we had earned them. Those who speak in tongues criticize those who do not, and vice versa. Virtue is measured by readership, and merit by congregation size.
Paul cautioned, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord” (1 Cor.. 12: 4-5). This verse makes clear that gifts of the Spirit are entrusted to us for service to others. The full passage instructs us to view all gifts as of equal value.
We are not to seek praise for such gifts, and not to be discouraged because our gifts seem less “important” than those of someone else.
“For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise…But ‘he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.’ For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends” (2 Cor. 10: 12, 17-18).
I am reminded of the scene where the mother of the Apostles James and John asked that her sons be seated at Jesus’ right and left hand, in the next world. You will remember what the Lord said to His disciples:
“‘…[W]hoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many‘” (Matt. 20: 26-28).
Lord Jesus, forgive us our vanity. We are so easily tempted to focus on ourselves, rather than on serving others.
Help us to recognize this failing, and to resist the influences of a worldly culture. Shift our attention from the temporal to the eternal that we may use our time and our talents for Your glory and the good of others, as You intended.
Help us to realize our sufficiency is in You.
Amen
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
US Army 82nd Airborne Division, advancing in a snowstorm, Battle of the Bulge, WWII (PD-US federal govt.)
It is once again Memorial Day, a day honoring the men and women who gave their lives for this nation. We can and should give speeches in their memory, plant flags on their graves.
But the patriots who froze at Valley Forge, who landed on the beaches of Normandy, the heroes who lost an eye at Khe Sanh or a leg in Mosul, who gave their lives at Pork Chop Hill were not fighting for empty words.
They were fighting for their wives and children, for their brothers-in-arms. They were fighting for the American Dream – a colorblind dream of freedom and equality, a fair wage, sweat equity in a three-bedroom colonial or ranch, and the chance for their children to rise in the world.
That is a dream worth dying for. The rest of us will be the ones to decide whether or not it has become a pipedream.
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance” (Ps. 33: 12).
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
“Joan of Arc” by Jules Bastien-Lepage (1879), Metropolitan Museum of Art (PD-Art, PD-Old)
We live at a time when terrorists (foreign and domestic) pride themselves on taking the lives of innocent men, women, and children then style themselves “martyrs” engaged in a holy war.
It may be worth recalling what devotion meant in the day and age of a real martyr.
During the Hundred Years War, an untutored peasant girl led a small French force to victory against a larger English army, lifting the siege of Orleans. It was from this battle that Joan of Arc derived her title as the Maid of Orleans.
Captured by the English in 1430, Joan was placed on trial for heresy and witchcraft. Questioned by church officials, Joan responded with amazing insight and unfailing faith. Despite that, she was burned at the stake at the age of nineteen.
Her testimony, however, was preserved. Here are a few excerpts:
A: I was thirteen when I had a Voice from God for my help and guidance. The first time that I heard this Voice, I was very much frightened; it was mid-day, in the summer, in my father’s garden…
Q: This Voice that speaks to you, it is that of an Angel, or of a Saint, or from God direct?
A: It is the Voice of Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret. Their faces are adorned with beautiful crowns, very rich and precious…
Q: What was the first Voice that came to you when you were about thirteen?
A: It was Saint Michael; I saw him before my eyes; he was not alone, but quite surrounded by the Angels of Heaven…
Q: Do you know if you are in the Grace of God?
A: If I am not, may God place me there; if I am, may God so keep me. I should be the saddest in all the world if I knew that I were not in the grace of God. But if I were in a state of sin, do you think the Voice would come to me? I would that everyone could hear the Voice as I hear it… Read more…
Medical ultrasound showing fetus in womb, Author Havelbaude at German language Wikipedia (CC-BY-SA-3.0-migrated)
Babies still in the womb can hear their mother’s voice as early as the 16th week of pregnancy.
There is some evidence that newborns recognize the sound of their mother’s voice from birth. Not only do they recognize her voice, babies prefer their mother’s voice to all other female voices.
Babies respond to the sound of their own name at about 5 months of age.
“ ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine’ ” (Is. 43: 1).
Father, You know each one of us by name. You made us Your own before we yet had form or substance.
We have been bought and paid for. We have been redeemed from bondage. We have been saved by the blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Whatever else may befall us in life, we cannot be lost for we know Your voice, and rest safely in Your loving arms.
Amen
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
https://avoicereclaimed.com
Prison cell, US Penitentiary, Fort Leavenworth, KS, Source http://www.miamiherald.com/graphics/rich_media/1027903.html (Public Domain as a work of the US federal government)
The American system of justice is the foremost in the world. We pour enormous resources into federal, state, and local investigative and law enforcement agencies, and the associated court structures. Even our system of justice, however, has its shortcomings.
In recent years, terrorism has increased the challenges exponentially. As resources are stretched to their limits, both wise and unwise decisions are being made in the effort to respond. This is an instance of the latter.
USA Today confirms that law enforcement agencies and prosecutors across the nation have unilaterally decided not to pursue well over 300,000 fugitives out of state [1]. That bears repeating.
State and local police and District Attorneys have abandoned many outstanding warrants, notifying the FBI that they will no longer be seeking extradition of hundreds of thousands of accused felons. This represents a 77% increase in an 18 month period.
Once these fugitives – accused rapists, murderers, and child molesters among them – have crossed a state border they will now, for all practical purposes, be home free. Read more…
Mamertine Prison, Rome, Author Chris 73 (CC BY-SA-3.0 Unported)
“Remember the prisoners as if chained with them – those who are mistreated – since you yourselves are in the body also” (Heb. 13: 3).
Before being put to death as enemies of the state, the Apostles Peter and Paul are thought to have been confined to the infamous Mamertine Prison (then known as the Tullianum).
Located on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, the Mamertine contains a spring on the lower level. Prisoners there were forced to stand, sit, and lie in the accumulated water. The saints were not disheartened. A tradition holds that Peter used the water for baptisms.
Sadly, our system of justice is still far from perfect. We most often lament this when those who appear guilty to us evade punishment, for one reason or another. Few of us have much sympathy for convicted felons. The temptation is to wish them good riddance, and banish any further thought for their welfare.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, however, reports that conditions at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF) are barbaric [1]. A federal lawsuit initiated in 2013 alleges that the prison is grossly filthy and violent in the extreme, with prisoners at “grave risk of death and loss of limbs” [2].
The EMCF is a for-profit facility meant to provide intensive therapy to psychiatric prisoners. Many such prisoners are kept in long-term solitary confinement, sometimes for months or even years. Others are housed in rat-infested cells without working toilets. Prisoners may go without showers for weeks.
Rapes and gang violence are common at the EMCF. Prisoners have been known to light fires to draw the attention of guards, in an emergency. A number claim to have been denied necessary medication, with permanent detrimental consequences including blindness. Read more…
A Lawyer's Prayers 