A Response to the Election; or, Hypocrisy, Thy Name is You, The Church

Barack Obama has been elected the 44th President of the United States. And in a stunning turn of events, Christians nationwide have thrown out their belief in God’s sovereignty, their holding to the scriptures as completely inherent, and their PRAY acronym, leaving out PRAISE and jumping straight to ASK! Don’t believe me? Take a look at Facebook statuses saying that God is now judging America or that Obama is the uninformed decision. Take a look at Facebook groups: Smell the BO? Movin’ to Mexico.

We selfish, me-centered people. My goodness! Has God been thrown a curveball? Has God conveyed to us in ANY divinely inspired venue that His plans for 2009 – 2012 are an adamant and wrath-filled judgment of the States? NO! God is still in control! Romans 13: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”

Obama has not (and will not) take away our right to free worship. Praise God for that! God is still on the throne and knew that the senator would get the election before He even named Adam! Praise God for that! God not only knew about it, but according to the Romans passage, He instituted it! Praise God for that? YES!

You of little faith! You ignorant people! Why in the world would God judge America and leave places like N. Korea, Liberia, etc. untouched? What basis do we have to think that America ever was a “Christian Nation” and is now being judged for falling away from that foundation? We have none! Sure, the first legislation and most current laws are based on biblical teachings, but that in no way makes America a Christian Nation. We are a nation run by humans. A free nation, yes. But a human-ran nation nonetheless.

Christians, we have a responsibility to act maturely as a response to this election. I don’t care if “your guy” lost. Acknowledge that hard work that Senator Obama put in to overcoming something that got another African-American assassinated not 50 years ago. Respect and praise our country for overcoming our tolerance. And pray for God’s will and God’s guidance. And c’mon! Stop this nonsense about running away! My God’s bigger than the boogeyman. I’m so sorry that He isn’t for you folks who think that Obama is an unstoppable terrorist.

1 Thessalonians 5: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Get a hold of yourselves!

Yes, I voted for Obama. I am not saying to not be sad that the man you supported did not win. Be sad. But fall on God.

Pray for Steven Curtis Chapman, et. al.

Tragic news found here concerning the family of Contemporary Christian Music singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman. Keep this family in your prayers.

As of Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Today, I had an EMG study conducted by my Neurologist on my legs to determine the extent of the damage as well as to attempt an estimation on recovery time. I have considered becoming Amish because my hatred of electricity was spawned as a response to the pain that comes with an EMG.

Here’s how it works: For the first hour, they strap three electrodes to your feet and place a conductor at various lengths up your leg. They then proceed to feed electricity from that conductor (be it at your knees, your shins, etc.) to the electrodes at your feet. Most of the electric feeds are only one burst at a time. However, when they want to not only read your nerve travel time but also your spinal cord reaction, they will send electric feeds at eight bursts per feed. Your muscles and nerves then proceed to pack up their things and leave you to sit in what feels like Jell-o. This lasts about an hour for both legs. This is to determine how quickly the nerves are sending information from one point to another.

Part two. They remove and unplug the electrodes and proceed to plug a needle into the EMG machine. The Neurologist then inserts the needle into three places: 1) your foot muscle at your ankle, 2) your calf, and 3) your spine. Keep in the mind, the needle is plugged in… it is coursing with electricity. He then places the conductor right next to this needle and has you flex whatever muscle has become the new habitat for Electric Needle from Hell. This lasts 30 minutes. It is to determine the extent of any muscle weakness. It is the worst part of the test because your muscles Charlie Horse upon immediate contact with Electric Needle from Hell. (Flexing a Charlie Horse muscle is, well… just try it sometime.)

The results of this test showed that I had considerable nerve damage to both of my legs. However, the test showed that the damage is on the recovery side of being hurt. Praise be to God. The weird part is as follows: my Neurologist is beginning to believe that what happened to me was a result of an unknown, aggressive virus that caused my body’s immune system to attack the nerve tissue in my legs. This virus and its antibodies are now out of my system (or so it seems), and, therefore, we have no way of knowing what virus it was. He is not able to prove this diagnosis and basically left me undiagnosed for the time being. I have a chance of contracting this virus again; however, that chance is very slim.

My doctor claimed that I should make a full recovery. He cannot, however, assert that with 100% confidence. I do still have considerable pain in my groin upon contact. He believes that my weakness is due to an unconscious fear of that pain and will be able to make a more clear statement as to my recovery when both the fear and the pain in my groin subside.

I return in two months for a follow-up. Your prayers are, as always, coveted.

As of Monday, April 7, 2008

Type of Doctor: Neurologist
New Symptoms: N/A
Diagnosis:

As of Saturday, April 5, 2008

As you can tell, I did not visit a doctor today. Please realize this: what I’m about to tell you is not an attempt to give you false hope or instill an artificial peace upon you. I am keeping my mind in this reality: I am still sick. I haven’t lost hope, but I’m not going to give way to naivety. Please do the same.

Nevertheless, I am writing to inform you that today has been the best day (physically speaking) since I have shown my first symptoms. I have only taken 2 doses of my pain medication, which is a personal record. My left knee is still in the most pain. My right knee hurts as well and I do have a new symptom: bruising on my left foot. However, my right hand and shoulder are not in pain.

I do not know what is to come even tomorrow morning. The pain may return. My knees may (may) feel better. I do not know. I know this: I am deeply thankful for every prayer said for me. I thank you all for caring enough to even check this blog on a regular basis. You are all God-sends, even if I don’t know you.

I am definitely going to keep my Neurologist appointment. Please, please, realize that I do not consider myself healthy or even feel confident enough to say that I am healing. I am just having an exceptionally good day.

…more to come…

As of Friday, April 4, 2008

Type of Doctor: Neurosurgeon
New Symptoms: Right shoulder/hand pain; swelling in right hand; loss of strength in right arm.
Diagnosis:

As of Wednesday, April 2, 2008

I don’t know how many of you who read this site actually know me personally. Nonetheless, I’ve decided to take the next couple of posts and keep my personal relationships up-to-date on this medical journey. Each post will be “as of last post.” It will be emotionless, nothing but the facts. Therefore, if you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask. Oh, and one more thing: despite the fact that my legs aren’t really into the whole “being legs thing” anymore, I am still capable of having good days. I promise.

Type of Doctor: Orthopedic Specialist
New Symptoms: Left leg/foot swelling; loss of function in left leg.
Diagnosis: