3-4 weeks ago a small (emphasis on small) bump appeared kind of on the backside of where my shoulder and armpit meet. didn’t think much of it – actually thought it was a small pimple starting up, so i didn’t mess with it.

after a couple of weeks of being there i decided, “i’m going to pop this thing and get it over with,” but when i tried to mess with it, it felt hard like there was a pelet or BB under my skin. so again i let it go, until …

overnight one night it went from the size of a BB to a golf ball!!!! not only was it golf ball size, but it became purple and red and sore … a good enough sign it’s time to go to the doctor.

So, the doctor decides it’s an abcess and says, “let’s cut it out.” Now, it looks like i’ve got a gunshot wound next to my armpit!

that dark stuff near the bottom is tape residue

I ACTUALLY HAVE A HOLE IN MY ARM!!!!!
It’s about the diameter of the inner hole of a CD/DVD and about as deep as your average pinky finger up to the first knuckle. Crazy insane.

I know I know, I feel strange enough just watching

BUT … What is it about these cheesy movies that lock me in and I just can’t change the channel?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTHCWfP4q_8

Well, well, well … check this crap out …
(full article)

… Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he wants to consider taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they burn — an idea that has angered drivers in some states where it has been proposed …

… Governors in Idaho and Rhode Island are talking about such programs …

… A tentative plan in Massachusetts to use GPS chips in vehicles to charge motorists by the mile has drawn complaints from drivers who say it’s an Orwellian intrusion by government into the lives of citizens. Other motorists say it eliminates an incentive to drive more fuel-efficient cars since gas guzzlers will be taxed at the same rate as fuel sippers …

… The system would require all cars and trucks be equipped with global satellite positioning technology, a transponder, a clock and other equipment to record how many miles a vehicle was driven, whether it was driven on highways or secondary roads, and even whether it was driven during peak traffic periods or off-peak hours …

… The device would tally how much tax motorists owed depending upon their road use. Motorists would pay the amount owed when it was downloaded, probably at gas stations at first, but an alternative eventually would be needed …

(full article)

BULL-CRAP!!! Despite the major fact that it is outright Orwellian, what happens if my car gets stolen? I’m responsible for the mileage tax racked-up by that joker?

Idaho? Rhode Island? Massachusetts? Seriously? You can walk across Rhode Island. What about large land-masses like Texas, Montana, Alaska?

Should have known – LaHood is from crook-ville Illinois.

About half way through, one of the sections hit me as one of those “Everyone needs to have this checklist” moments. It’s a table that gives some indicators of how to identify stress versus burnout.

We may all feel overstressed at times, no matter in what ministry capacity you serve. I would bet nearly all of us have been to the point where we’ve wanted to throw in the towel, but were (or are) we really at the burnout stage where we risk never to return?

Here is a table of indicators that Anne lays out in her book. Keep in mind this is just a snapshot of one page … GET THE BOOK – it’s worth it!!!!

Maybe you feel you’re there, or maybe this book will be able to give you some key indicators and help you avoid coming anywhere near the brink of burnout. If you are burned out, maybe this book will give you some refreshing hope that others can empathize with you – having been in a situation similar to yours and have been restored.

This book is filled with such good stuff. It is written in a conversational language that makes it easy to read and understand quickly … not like some of those high-brow, intellectual, theoretical books that claim to have answers who were written by people who haven’t experienced their own book’s topic.

Buy Mad Church Disease »

For me, though we lived in a couple of places (Memphis, Tulsa, Springfield) most of my growing up was spent at 5721 E Bennett in Springfield, Missouri

If you’re game, where did you grow up?

To those of you who have the later (first, i’m sorry) but … what would happen if you broke out with this arrangement?

[video here]

Ordered my official copy today … get your copy of Mad Church Disease. I’ve read a few sections and they are great!!!

Just go get it. Sure the title is Mad CHURCH Disease, but let me tell you, the burnout epidemic is rampant in all parts of life, and the biggest cause of burnout is (in my opinion) relational. We’ve all been through times like these whether we were on staff at a church or not.

Once you start reading this book, you will feel as though Anne is speaking directly to you. You’re going to start seeing, “hey, that same (similar) thing happened to me” … or to someone you know, who you should buy the book for or suggest they buy it and read it.

Just go get it.

So here it is, the amazing miracle story of Reid, Stephanie and their daughter Hayli …

Well our world was rocked on December 11. We perhaps had gotten the worst news of our lives. Nothing prepares a parent to hear anything like this.

We were scheduled for a regular routine visit to the hospital for Hayli to have tubes put in her ears. She hadn’t had many ear infections but she did have fluid in her ears for roughly 4 months straight. They said we would only be there a couple of hours but it was more like 6. We wondered why the surgery and testing was taking so long. Since Hayli had fluid on her ears for so long they decided that while she was still asleep they would do some hearing testing since they couldn’t before because of the fluid.

The Audiologist came in with another doctor and sat us down and explained what was going on. She told us that Hayli had significant hearing loss in one ear and moderate in another and one of the tests showed nerve damage. Nerve damage is permanent. She talked about the possibility of Hayli going deaf and started to instruct us on all the things we would need to do to be ready. (hearing aids, hearing impaired school, and so on). How does a parent take all of that in? A few days later we had a follow visit with Hayli’s ENT and he confirmed all of the tests. She had hearing loss. So, we proceeded to do all of the things the Audiologist suggested.

Stephanie and I have an awesome faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We posted prayer requests on facebook. We asked people we saw at work to pray for our girl. We decided that 1 week after we found out the news we would visit our Intercessory Prayer Team from church and have them pray over Hayli and annoint her ears with oil. It was awesome. I bet some of you can still remember some of my status updates. I made a comment about having an awesome night of prayer. That was it. Once we were all done, man the room was electric. The team was convinced that the Lord did what He does best and she would not have to worry about anything and either would mom or dad. I went on to say “so the schedule will be that on the 20th of January Hayli will be in hearing aids.” Barb said no she won’t. She won’t need them. Hayli can hear fine.

On December 19th, the day after we went to see the Prayer Team, we went back to hospital this time to rule out any syndromes that might have caused her hearing loss. Hayli took a CT Scan, an echo-cardiogram and they drew blood to test her kidney function and thyroid. Then on the 29th, we visited the Pediatrician Ophthalmologist to rule out anything wrong with her eyes that could cause hearing loss. Well since then, the eye exam went great. Hayli is seeing fine and her eyes are functioning well as they should. The CT scan came back normal. We haven’t heard anything on the echo or blood work but we don’t need to at this point.

On December 31st, we were then headed back to the hospital to have Hayli’s ear molds taken for her hearing aids. Stephanie mentioned to the Audiologist, the same one from the 11th, that we thought Hayli’s hearing was actually improving. Of course, she was convinced that was impossible since it was nerve damage that has caused it which again is irreversible. The doctor decided that she would do some testing before we took impressions. Stephanie got in the sound booth with Hayli and a speech therapist. I was in the machine room with the Audiologist. She began the testing and as she started getting some results she would look back at me and say, “she is hearing fine.” She would show me why she thought that. She showed me Hayli’s first tests and these news graphs were completely different. She was speechless. She couldn’t say anything but “I can’t give you any medical or scientific reasoning why this is happening. She can hear fine and is hearing better than most kids her age.” She said we have to do another test. We went into the booth and they did a bone conduction test where they look at the nerve itself and again she was marveled to find no nerve damage. Then we moved from there back to the room and they did one more test. It was an AOE which is what most pediatricians do in their offices for all kids. This test was fine, too. The doctor teared up. Stephanie took the opportunity to witness by sharing the story of Hayli being prayed over and annointed with oil. The doctor said that was it then. It is the only other explanation she said. That Friday, January 3rd, our ENT called late that night and told us he confirmed the tests, the hearing loss and nerve damage was gone and again he didn’t know what to say. Stephanie again shared with him that Hayli was prayed over. He said, “make sure you go and tell those people thank you.”

The greatest gift anyone could ever receive is a miracle. Hayli received one. That is enough for me in this lifetime. I already believed that God can and does make miracles. There is something though about being a part of one. How can anyone deny that there is a God? I will never know why they think that. I can testify that there is a God and he is ALIVE AND WELL in the Spirit.

To that I give you the Miracle.