NowTHINK!AboutIt

What To Expect From Your Hospital Stay

July 20, 2017 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Grateful everyday for medical science, doctors, facilities and staff.

Some Things
Should Be
Automatic

I spent time in the hospital recently. It was short. Only one night, but it gave me perspective on what should or shouldn’t happen in a hospital. I walked away a little wiser and thought I would share the lessons learned.

I’m not a doctor, nurse or hospital technician so this is not intended as medical advice. I’m speaking as a patient and you don’t need any qualifications to be a patient.

The Op

My sinuses were blocked and had been for a very long time. The solution was to remove polyps and, of course, reconstruct the septum. The procedure is done under general anesthetic but is considered minor surgery. Many people go home the same day, but in my case, the infection/blockage was worse than the scans indicated and my nasal/sinus passages weren’t easy to navigate which means the op took a little longer and was more invasive than usual.

Make no mistake, though, major or not this op is personal. Proverbially speaking, it’s in your face. [Read more…] about What To Expect From Your Hospital Stay

IT – Life’s Biggest Obstacle

June 21, 2017 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

IT kills but IT won't die.

You Either Fight With
Or Against IT

Fight IT!

Not him. Not her. Not them. Not that.

IT! That is the trigger. You need look nowhere else.

IT is the obstacle, the non-personal problem standing in your way. IT is that thing that says you can’t do better, you’ll only get worse so there’s no sense trying. Just give up.

And IT is universal. Everyone is plagued with IT. IT is the same for everyone.

IT looms larger for some only because they see IT, observe IT, discuss IT, name IT and believe IT, but they rarely get IT right.

IT isn’t outside you or around you. IT doesn’t happen to you. IT is not the kids, the boss, the wife, the school or anything you can see.

IT loves your inabilities and will take on the appearance of something you can’t do only to draw attention away from all the things you can do. What you can’t do, your inability is not IT.

IT is not god but IT craves and feeds off belief. God wants you to win. IT wants you to do nothing. IT is inertia. IT opposes constructive activity of any kind. Circumstances may flatten you. IT works with circumstance to keep you down.

IT is internal, the little guy on the inside with the annoyingly persistent chatter. The whisper we magnify. But IT has no voice other than the one we give it.

And forward progress isn’t the only issue. The obstacle, whatever IT is, naturally moves us backward. The evidence of IT is self-absorption, self-satisfaction, self-pity and smug complacency. The fruit of IT is insidious decline.

IT is the reason we can’t lose weight, get fit, develop a new skill or reach the goal.

The problem is you can’t destroy IT. IT kills but IT won’t die. IT is always in the background. The trick is to never give in to IT, feed IT or believe IT, but don’t waste time or energy hating IT. IT fades only when we focus on the next step, the one IT doesn’t want us to take.

THINK!About……IT

HOPE: Now or Later or Both

January 25, 2017 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

What Does Hope
Really Mean?

One problem with reading the Bible is the fact that there is a large span of time between the moment it was written and time you read it.

Even the newest parts of the Bible are still a couple thousand years old. It was written at a different place, in a different culture and at a different time, so we shouldn’t be surprised when the words change a bit.

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not questioning inspiration or suggesting the words are unreliable. All I’m saying is that words do take on varying shades of meaning over time. They don’t change entirely, but enough to need qualifying. Without qualification, you get the wrong message.

Not to worry. We know the ancient languages and the meanings of the words as they were used in the past. We also understand these words as they were used over time. We’re not in the dark, but to understand the difference we need to study the process. We call that study etymology. It’s a science.

The word Hope is a good example. [Read more…] about HOPE: Now or Later or Both

“Jesus Saves” Imbues God’s Call

January 8, 2017 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Jesus Saves

The ministry is a calling, not a career. It can become a career but there’s a big difference between a calling that becomes a career and a career that was never initiated by a calling.

Those who answer the call are often well suited for many different types of secular work. In fact, several people move into ministry from secular positions taking their skills with them. Moses was trained in Egypt before leading Israel out of slavery. David’s fighting skills were honed while shepherding sheep. Elisha was a farmer before he became the prophet of God. The qualities he developed in farming – reliability, diligence, endurance, attention to detail, organization – were just as useful in ministry as they were in farming.

But the question is, why would anyone do that? Why would a person move from a successful career path in secular work, one they’ve worked hard to prepare for and succeed at, to take up a position in ministry?

Momma Called, Daddy Sent, Socially Ratified

Sad to say, some do this because others think they should. The response is induced by public opinion. Respected others become the basis for a call. And since the work itself is so desirable – ministry is thought of as doing only good things – it’s an easy shift.

The Bible does say ministry is good work.

If a man desires the office of Bishop, he desires a good thing (1 Timothy 3:1).

What it doesn’t say is that ministry is the only good work or that all other work is tainted, but that is the perception. Secular work is leprous. Ministry is heavenly. It’s all very pie in the sky.

The truth is, you don’t have to be in ministry to do good work.

Secular work isn’t partly dingy and ministry isn’t the purified version of vocation. In fact, sound theology teaches there is dignity in all work. Dignity being derived not from the nature of the work but from the way you perform it.

God Called

Another reason people opt for ministry is the call. They are called by God to the work of ministry and the calling is often attached to some specific location. A town or city.

But is that enough? Career oriented people tend to be decisive individuals. They’re focused. They visualize where they are going, they anticipate specific results and they make and own their choices. Allowing someone else to make those choices, even God, doesn’t sit well with these types.

So what is it that prompts them to leave a well defined career path and move into ministry apart from the call? What expectation captures their attention and keeps them focused on ministry?

In short, the answer is simple: [Read more…] about “Jesus Saves” Imbues God’s Call

16 Life Lessons From The Yes-No Dichotomy

October 18, 2016 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

The Beauty
Of Yes

In this post I want to focus on decision making or what we might call the dichotomy of yes and no. Like 1’s and 0’s in computer language, life is a combination of these two words.

When tested for diseases, we long to hear, “No, found nothing! All is clear!” But a No in that situation is really a Yes to life. It’s a new lease and we love to hear it.

In spite of No being the best response in some situations, we still like hearing Yes more.

When asking for help or a personal day or permission from parents, “Yes!” sounds like a million dollars. It’s like winning a mini lottery.

But we aren’t always subject to the judgments of others or unpredictable circumstances. Sometimes, in fact very often, we sit in the Yes/No driver’s seat. Every decision we make involves a yes or a no answer. Sometimes it’s a little of both.

Even Indecision eventually becomes No.

The point is, Yes and No are unavoidable. There’s no bench warming in life. Yes and No make us a part of the game and Jesus had something to say about this dichotomy.

You have heard that it was said by them of old time, you shall not forswear yourself, but shall perform unto the Lord your oaths. But I say unto you, swear not at all. Neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool. Neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, yea yea or nay nay, for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil. Matthew 5:33-37

First let me address the problematic words. There are two: forswear and swear. They are opposites. A dichotomy of sorts.

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Swearing is the strongest kind of promise you can make. If you swear to something, you have, in a sense, guaranteed it.

Forswearing, on the other hand, is what we call it when a person fails to follow through. They swear to do something and then fail to keep the promise. Or they swear something is true only to be found lying later. [Read more…] about 16 Life Lessons From The Yes-No Dichotomy