Secrets of a Medical Professional

Outside of the blogworld, I'm a medical professional.   A medical professional who has now been in practice long enough to have to renew her boards with the professional powers that be.  I was studying for this mega-terrifying test a couple of weeks ago at my mom's place (I called it "vacation") and I noticed an interesting point.  

If we all lived life how God told us to, we'd be such a healthy population!  Many diseases that plague the general population would be eliminated and doctors/extenders like me could spend some serious time with patients who truly need serious medical attention.  God's way truly is the most healthy way to live. "But, Kim, you say I'm free to be "me" with God. He knows my issues. It doesn't matter if I like to get drunk now and then.... If I don't sleep with my boyfriend he'll just go find it somewhere else."  That's so not how it works. Let's examine a few of God's doctrines: 

1 Corinthians 6:9-19  

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. "Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything. "Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

1.  Abstinence and Monogamy, ie no sex before marriage and sticking with the one you chose. In Romans, Paul says that we should be celibate, and if an man can not be celibate, he should take a wife. He writes a whole chapter devoted to this, see 1 Corinthians 7.    Why is this important?? Oh, but it is so important.  If you only knew the number of patients I have tested and/or treated for gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis.... all treatable sexually transmitted diseases... let alone the incurable ones... like genital herpes and warts.  I'm supposed to counsel these last 2 patients on the importance of abstinence and, of course, not to be ashamed b/c many people get these diseases and teach them to "control" outbreaks.  (By the way, the diseases can still spread even when you DON'T have an outbreak.)  Don't forget Syphillis which can come and go without you even knowing it... and silently destroying your nervous system in your later years.  Oh, and most importantly, HIV/AIDS.  The one that can take you out forever.  Do you realize that the large majority of issues surrounding abortion could be eliminated if we followed God's plan? 

2.  Prohibition, ie avoidance of drugs/alcohol, anything that can alter your perception of reality.

Luke 21: 34-36  "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. ³⁵For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."  

Do you know how many accidents and senseless arguments, acts of violence are started/based with these products??  How many good decisions do you know that started with having a drink or taking a hit of something?  Besides the obvious mess this makes for our justice system, it also leads to chronic diseases. I can hear my patients now.  "Well, I only smoke because my boss is such a *****."  "I only use to relax a the end of the day."  "I only smoke when I drink."  "Using makes me forget the mess I'm in. But when I come back to reality, the mess is still there and I want to use again."  See the STD's listed above.  Cirrhosis, a disease that in many cases is caused by alcohol abuse.  It's deadly over time. It's not reversible.  Hepatitis B & C... can be transmitted with sex (usually multiple partners), blood, IV drug abuse, tattoos.   Hep C is the #1 cause of liver transplants in the US.  Almost totally preventable. Cocaine abuse (over time) causes heart failure.  How many car accidents, 4wheeler accidents do you know that started with somone drinking or using drugs?  How many lives have been affected by the pain of losing a loved one to this kind of foolishness?   Smoking kills, as if you didn't know.  Cigarette related deaths involve lung cancer, bone cancers, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, brain cancer, espophagus and stomach cancers, strokes, and heart attacks. Smoking is also a major role player in acid reflux, stomach ulcers, or even very morbid diseases like COPD/emphysema that can cause you to require daily oxygen therapy.   

3.  Gluttony, ie weight control.  Your body is a temple. See the scripture above.  This is a big one, literally.  The US is the largest population, maybe not in number, but in pounds.  Why???  Probably because we've been the most "blessed".  Despite our failings, God has blessed this nation with enough money to buy food to eat, someone else to do our grunt work and machines to do the work for us.  God's plan for us was to be active. To work.  Paul says, "If a man will not work, he shall not eat".  God's plan was not for us to be lazy.  His plan was for us to eat the bounty of the harvest.  He provided foods for us that grow from the ground or feed from it.  Fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs....all have a place in our diet.   We hire someone to clean our homes, work our crops, mow our yards instead of doing the work ourselves. We drive ourselves to work. We drive ourselves to the mailbox. Eliminating obesity eliminates a large majority of cases of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes.... those are biggies, but how about the things you may not associate with your size, like acid reflux, hemorrhoids, back pain, hip pain, knee pain, heel spurs, heat rashes, fibromyalgia, depression and the list does go on.  And on and on.  

Father, please help us to make a change in our lives.  If we don't know you, help us to start a relationship with you. Forgive us for the ways we have hurt you and help hold us up as we start anew.  If we do know you, help us to maintain a lifestyle pleasing to you. Help us to put YOU first in every day we live--not another person, not a bite of food or a cigarette/drink or drug.  Help us to be willing servants in healthy vessels for your service.  In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.  

Have you seen my charger??

I know it has been a while since I've blogged, but it's also been a while since I've taken time to really dig into my Bible. I know it sounds bad, but it's realistic and why lie about it? Snippets of time here and there just don't cut it when what I need is true revelation/renewal/revival. It's been a tough couple of months and busy, too. Robbie is still looking for full time work, my cat ran away, we got a new puppy who takes a LOT of attention, and my Granny died unexpectedly on the 15th of March. I feel like I'm spinning in circles most days, homesick, feeling guilty for not being home right now (I live 5 hours from my parents), catching up on work and life in general, so I was feeling some true disconnect from God. I pray a lot, especially in the car between work and home and vice versa, but somehow my Word time just got shorter and shorter.

One day I actually prayed jokingly to God and asked him for more time in the day so I could get a few real minutes with Him. Would you believe it if I told you he somehow made 1 1/2 hours of time in my schedule where I was ALONE in the house (no puppy and no husband) and my phone didn't even ring? It was that day that I realized, again, how amazing God can be. That he really does desire relationship with us. It's kinda like my cell phone. There's a big difference in the charge the phone can get from the car charger vs. the at home charger. If I plug in just going from point A to point B, I'll get enough boost to get through the day, the work at hand. But if I want enough power to get me through the really tough spots, the long haul, then I gotta go for the house charger, where I can plug in and stay connected for an extended time before I am fully recharged. He wants to come sit with us, hear our crap and advise us in how to make our next moves. If we only spend a blink with him daily, then we'll get to share snippets and we'll only hear tiny snippets in return... but if we take the time to spend with him in reflection (not just thrown up prayers or the Psalm I rushed through one morning) then we will reap the counsel of wisdom at it's best. Life is short, we never know when the end will come, we don't have time to play games with God. Take some time and get to know Him, it's totally worthwhile... I found so much peace and comfort in just that little bit of time.

During my time with him, I studied on revival, restoration and renewal. It's like I feel so "beat down" right now. I guess that is like opression or burdened. I feel tugged in every way. Here are some scriptures that have given me hope and some joy in this time of my life.

Psalm 80: 14-19
Return to us, O God Almighy! Look down from Heaven and see! Watch over this vine, the root your Right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself. Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish. Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name. Restore us O Lord God Almighty, make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Isaiah 40: 27-31
Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by God"? Do you not know? Have you not heard The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Psalm 51: 10-12
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Dear Lord, please help me to remember that you and you alone can renew my heart and give me the strength I need for the day. My Diet Mtn Dew won't do it, my husband can't pull me through it, going home and being close to my family won't do it... Lord, ONLY YOU can restore a heart or revive a soul. You alone are worthy of the praise for giving me renewed energy and the grace to move through this situation and into the next phase of life. Hosanna!! Praise the God who saves, who is merciful, the light and salvation of the world. Amen.

love dares

So, it's official, I am totally out of the loop and behind the times in the Christian world.  It took me this long to see the movie Fireproof.  Here's what's so funny about that: 

Last week, I was browsing CBD (online christian bookseller) and looking at bestsellers.  I came across this book called "The Love Dare"... it's coming up on Valentine's day, I'm on a Christian website, so I'm tempted.  I gotta know what it's about.  CBD has this thing where you can read excerpts from books. Like an entire chapter before you buy.  So, I tried it out and I nearly cracked up the whole first chapter.  It was on patience.... ahhh, patience... that thing I don't really have so much of.  

I have a tendency to have something my sister and I have affectionately dubbed, "tone issues".  I will be fine, happy even, joking one minute.. and the next, it's hard to know if I'm really mad at you, very tired or just have "tone issues". Things come out bad (abrupt, a harsh tone), but I don't usually mean it. Sometimes everything I say comes out in that tone. (If I'm talking with my sister, she'll say, "Are you mad with me or do you just have "tone" today?"  That little term has helped my sister and I overcome a lot of issues with each other.  I'm also prone to apologize a lot, but I know that it's hard to take something back once it's been said.  The first dare from that chapter is to, essentially, hold your tongue.  If you can't say something nice, don't say anything.  Nothing. hahahahahah.  I broke out in rolling laughter.  That got Robbie going asking what had me so tickled and stuff. I read the chapter to him... he also busted out in laughter... then he dared me.  He said, "You couldn't do it."  That was it, I was in! 

Per the book, you are supposed to do the dares for 1 day, 24 hours, but he wanted to take it farther. He said I might not even make it a few hours.  Then he added a twist. He said if I could make it 30 days, we could buy the book and do the whole thing together. WHAT?  T-o-g-e-t-h-e-r.....for real??? Now that was truly tempting.  This is important in 2 ways:  1. We've been minding all our pennies lately and 2. Robbie is not much on reading self-improvement type books, much less together.  We've been married for a little over a year and have definitely gotten to that point where all that glitters isn't gold..... we know each other well, and the pet peaves are brewing at times.  My "tone issues" are Robbie's #1 pet peave.  I took him up on it and here we are 5 days in and I'm doing fine. It's very hard though.  I have to think about what I'm gonna say (most of the time mid-sentence) and turn my words or my tone so ends up better than I am starting out.  When I told my mom about the dare, she also burst into laughter (she had just been here over the weekend to see  our current banters first hand).  She just said, "Kim, doesn't it take 21 days to form a habit?" and then she laughed some more.  I hope she's right, maybe I could cure this issue once and for all!

We celebrated Valentine's Day last night with an experimental dinner (that he actually liked this time) and cheesecake, we watched Fireproof (finally) and I saw where The Love Dare came from and how it plays out.  I thought it would be a movie I'd have to be watching myself sometime b/c I didn't think I could get Robbie into a Christian movie that he'd stick with me through, specifically one with Kirk Cameron (oh how I love him from the 80's) given his specials on TBN that totally turn Robbie (and even me at times) off.  But, this movie was actually very well made.  It's a mushy movie that even my husband liked!  We both had tears at times.  We cheered and cheered for the couple.  I was totally impressed with this movie.  And, I'm really excited!! Cause I know I'm gonna make it 30 days and we're gonna get that book!  I might even splurge for the old leather looking one instead of the paperback!    Now, if I could only learn to turn my words before I start my sentences... 

the anatomy of surgery

Disclaimer: (This means you James) 

1.  This post is not for weak stomachs...

2.  This is a long post...sorry....it got out of hand, but I couldn't decide what to trim...

I love surgery. I got my first taste of guts and gore when I was working as a nursing assistant (CNA) in Boone, NC.  It was after college at LRC, before PA school.  For those of you who don't know, CNA's are pretty much glorified butt wipers, doing the grunt work no one else wants to do. Labor intensive chores like baths, putting people in bed or getting them up and dressed, feedings, cleanings and even (Lord, I can't believe I ever used to do this stuff)... enemas!  Nasty work, but someone had to do it and it was definitely a learning experience for me.  I had worked as a CNA in nursing homes, an ER, and, finally, in a birthing center at a local hospital.  I loved that job.  I still had to do some nasty stuff there, but most of it involved infants or cleaning up a new mama so she could be with her baby.  And that is also where I got to feel a persons "innards" for the first time.  The birthing center had their own surgical suite dedicated to c-sections.... planned or emergency. I worked night shift, so I usually saw emergencies or at least unexpected deliveries.  It was a rush.  It was crazy and, at times,  it was absolutely a mess!  But I loved it.  They took me to the OR, taught me the instruments, how to pass them, how to help the doctor, how to scrub.  My mom thought it was fun to ask me what I did at work that day until the day I answered (truthfully), "I caught the ovaries".  She didn't ask so much after that :D  

Then I came to PA school. Just in case you don't know, PA means "Physician Assistant".  In this state (NC), I can see patients, diagnose them, treat them, write medicines for them in prescriptions and all sorts of stuff. And, after a few years, I now work with a surgeon, back in the OR, except, this time, I'm  asking for the instruments, not passing them.  I help with surgery, suture ("close") from time to time, my opinion is heard, I write orders and help manage patients.  I understand more about what is going on.  And here is a truth that I have noticed in the OR.  

As you walk the halls of the operating room, you will see a lot of scrubs.  At our hospital, everyone in the OR is decked in green ones. All the same color of green. A few of them may be a "girl" style (2 lower pocket shirt, elastic waist pant) vs. a "boy" style (one pocket shirt, drawstring pant) but pretty much we all have on scrubs. We wear masks and protective eyewear, booties and caps.  It's pretty hard to tell who's who!  There are also a lot of people in the OR.  There are patients (obviously, they have on gown or are naked), nurses, scrub techs, PA's, residents, doctors, CRNA's, any variety of student from any of these groups, and OR assistants.  All varying levels of education depending on the job they do.  The patients lay on the table, the nurses chart and run the room, the CRNA's monitor the patients while they sleep, the scrub techs pass instruments, the PA/resident/student for these may scrub in to assist/help suture/hold instruments, the doctor operates and the OR assistant, well, they get the dirty work.  They clean up the beds, take specimens to pathology or the lab or mammography, they clean up the scrub spaces, they physically help move patients, then they take the trash and linens out of the room, mop and clean for the next case. They get the grunt job.  So, if we're all dressed the same and we all have the same external anatomy, how can you tell who's who????

Here's the truth I've seen in my observations:  By their words.  

Just so you know, I'm just talking about "instances" here... I'm not stereotyping each group...  Many times, I have come upon two doctors (surgeons or anesthesiologists) talking to each other about their day.  Could be their cases, could be their homelives, could be "the man".  You have to be prepared when you listen in, because you're probably gonna hear some words you don't want to hear.  The f-word comes to mind among others.  Or you'll hear someone joking about an ex-spouse or how many hours they can work in a month/how many cases they can get trying to make more money, which subdivision they plan to move into next and which private school their kids are going to. Their OR conversations are more likely than not about politics, the stock market, housing prices, etc.   The nurses, well, they are always a lot of fun.  You'll find them talking about patients usually with compassion, trying to decipher what's best.  Sometimes they gripe about "the man" but you usually don't hear so much cussing.  They are trying to finish shifts to get home to family and they talk about their families often.  Then there are the scrub techs and ORA's.  These guys are the lowest paid employees in the OR.  The scrub techs do a job that even the nurses don't do, take call like nurses, but don't get paid half what nurses get paid.  But as you walk down the halls of the OR, you will hear them encouraging each other... with scripture... with prayer... asking earnestly about each other's families....asking about church or Bible study.  They remember details about you that you forget you've even shared with them.  

The scrub techs and ORA's are the "guts" of the OR.  The doctor may be the head, directing all the hands... the nurses are the lymph nodes, cleaning up and keeping order.... the CRNA's keep the heart and lungs working... the PA's/residents are like hands and feet running here and there to help hold things in order for the doctor to do more... but the techs and ORA's, dirty as their jobs may be, are the guts.  They do work that is down and dirty at times.  They even get treated like poo from many surgeons and even PA's/residents who talk down to them or act like they don't exist or throw temper tantrums. But they are the ones who have the guts to live with a Christ-like heart. They are unafraid to speak of the love of God in the halls. There is even a transporter that tells every patient that she rolls from one area of the hospital to the other... "Have a blessed surgery."  I honestly believe that as she pushes these stretchers with patients of all sizes that she prays for them with each step.  

When I was a CNA in that birthing center, I talked about Bible studies at work.  The girls there invited me to some and I went with them and loved it.  We encouraged each other and prayed for families and sometimes even over the babies in the nursery if they had odd home situations (like abandonment or any dangers we could feel).  When I was a PA student, I led Bible studies in my house. I had scripture crammed everywhere!! I was constantly studying in different books and notebooks and I had sticky notes of scriptures to encourage me at some place in all of them (I still find them now sometimes).  I knew other students---med students and PA students who did this, too.  Many who claimed they would carry God into their practices and share God with their patients.  I wonder how many actually did?  There are occasions when I get to pray with patients or share my faith or encourage with scripture. I feel so blessed when I see those opportunities, because I know that I did not create them, I am just speaking up to fill the position that was created for me.  There are a few times that I've even discussed faith with co-workers, but that seems to be tougher.  

What opportunities has God made for you to encourage someone or for you to carry your words to someone that you may see every day or maybe even never again?  Who cares if someone is watching you as you pray for someone if the person has asked you to or finds comfort in it?  Who cares if you support a co-worker who may not be of your "class" by encouraging them with scripture or a note or even, "I'm praying for you and your family."  Who cares if you don't wear a dress and heels to church?  Who cares if you give you shirt to a homeless person? or hold hands with a drug addict?  God cares.  What has he called you to do?

John 15:15-17

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other."

actions speak louder than words

Robbie and I have been bored lately and trying to relax after the holidays, so we have been watching a lot of TV shows we've DVR'd for just such a day... the main show he has been recording is House, MD. Neat show, odd premise, (as always) Jeopardy, lots of Food Network programming and, recently, True Beauty.

Leave it to Ashton Kutcher to make another thought provoking show. If you haven't True Beauty, get ready for a really petty show, that is actually interesting. The show is made up of these contestants who think they are the most beautiful person in America. They think at the end of the contest they will be told which of them is the most beautiful. There are 3 judges who are judging their "beauty", but in reality, they are taking in both their physical appearance and their inner beauty. They measure the inner beauty by planting secret challenges to see how the contestants react... do they help a friend in need? do they reach out a helping hand to a stranger? would they look at other contestsants private medical files if they were left alone with them?

Watching this show, it is amazing how conceited people are, how "special" or "perfect" they believe they are. When you watch it, you'll see I mean. It just goes to show that people who think they are beautiful and perfect, really aren't. And the more you get to know them, many of them grow even uglier. Most of all, if you confront them with their flaws, they become very defensive. I was like, wow! who saw that reaction coming... this person that got eliminated even lied about looking at files (said it was hers) and when they showed proof that it wasn't, she tried to act like she was justified for looking and that it didn't matter. She was standing there disputing the importance of honesty, looking uglier and uglier as her true colors showed.

There was also an interesting moment in House. In this episode, House is in trouble with the law because of stealing prescription drugs and taking them. He goes to the prosecutor and apologizes for what he has done. It is a heartfelt apology that seems all mushy-gushy. When he is done with this seemingly heartfelt monologue, the officer says essentially, "Thanks, but I don't care what you say. What you say makes no impression. It's what you DO that impresses me."

1 John 1:5-10

God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

Actions speak louder than words. To be truly beautiful and to get your life in order means to live a life not of pride, but of humility. Lives submitted to God, in his will, following his order and rules. Without Christ, we could not be truly beautiful, we would still have a huge weight of sin. If pointing out a flaw makes you erupt like a volcano, you probably have some work to do (and that includes me, I don't like being told I'm wrong). If you don't know the love of Christ, then you can pray a prayer asking him to come into your heart as you submit to his ways and believe in Him.

I once was lost, but now I'm found... Thank you, Lord!

Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope you have a very blessed day with your families and a blessed new year, too!!!

for the Love of Christmas...

I love Christmas and all that it brings.... family, friends, Christmas music, presents (no matter how big or small), food, Christmas trees, ornaments I've had since my childhood, my grandmother's nativity set which was made by my great-grandmother... what is there not to love! Oh, and I can't forget Christmas movies... no matter how cheesy they are!!

I was watching one of my favorite "standards" this time of year last night with a friend, Miracle on 34th Street. Wonderful, wonderful movie. As I've seen in several other cheesy movies this year, there is a little girl in the movie who no longer believes in Santa. Santa.. the guy who spreads joy to all on Christmas. A guy tries to rationalize with this little girl, "What if there really is a Santa and you don't believe in him? What if you are really missing out? Wouldn't it be better to hope, than to not believe at all?" Each time I've heard similar lines in these movies, all I can see is Christ. There is such a close connection in the way we relate to Santa. For example, Santa's story is quite unbelievable in many ways. You know, the North Pole, flying reindeer, magical sacks of toys, chimneys, traveling around the world in one night... So is Jesus's story if you think about it: Born of a virgin, the son of God in human form, 1/3 of a holy trinity, he could heal people with a word and raise the dead (Lazarus) and come back from the dead himself to ascend to his heavenly throne.  Here's some scripture I came across this morning:

Luke 18:15-17

People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

We take our kids to Santa to reinforce their faith in him, to give them something concrete to bolster their belief in him. Sometimes we take them to hear what they tell Santa, but most parents I know, already know what the kid plans to tell Santa. But we take them, to "prove" Santa is real. Do we do the same with Jesus? This goes with both the children and ourselves. Do we read the Christmas story one night during all the festivities out of obligation?  What do we do daily to prove to ourselves Jesus is real? "Now faith is the being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1). What are we doing to bolster our own faith?

How can we prove to ourselves Jesus is real? This is what I think (and this is my opinion... you can try it for yourself and see if you think it works or not). When it all boils down to the nitty gritty, God is love. He is the epitome of it. The Bible speaks of faith, hope and love, these three abide, but the greatest of them is LOVE (see 1 Cor 13:13). His whole plan and purpose is Love. In Mark 12, Jesus is asked the question,

"Of all the commandments, which is the most important?". "The most important," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

So, the best way I've found to reinforce my faith in Jesus (and hopefully to spread that faith to others like an airborne infection) is to praise God for all that he has blessed me with-- salvation, new life through him, forgiveness of sins, redemption (worth and value), an inkling of understanding of what love truly is, etc-- and to share with others out of the overflow of love he has poured into my heart. It may not be a monetary gift, but just giving of your time or your skills can be an unbelievable gift of Love to someone this Christmas. Show them you love them, that they are worth loving and that someone out there cares for them..... whether they are family, friends, acquaintances or even strangers.... It may be the gift that sparks their own faith that God is real and worth believing in, a gift that changes a heart for eternity.

Merry Christmas, Blessed New Year!!