Blogs

With all the 'not studying' that I have been doing this month I have had the chance to pick up Egg Splatter's copy of 'Gray Matter: A Neurosurgeon Discovers the Power of Prayer . . . One Patient at a Time'. I must say it is an interesting read that Tyndale Publishing House provided us a free copy of!

Of course, the book appealed to me straight away, since I am of the opinion that all medicine should be holistic. We already know that trauma, both physical and emotional is held in the myofascial tissue of your body like a kind of 'memory' as well as the cognitive pathways in the brain that change when such an event occurs. The former can cause years of pain and discomfort that no physiotherapist, chiropractor or drugs can fully relieve without the psychological aspect of the trauma also being dealt with.

So, when you put a book in front of me that addresses the matter of dealing with the spiritual health of a person parallel to conventional medicine you most definitely have my attention. The book was fascinating as it wove through case by case addressing so many of the issues that a medical practitioner would face bringing prayer into a place where it almost felt like a taboo.

The key, that was emphasised over and over again was 'respect'. Being respectful of patients belief systems (and, yes, believing there is no God is still a belief) and being respectful of their right to say no to the offer of prayer. This was the same when he offered his professional team and other staff, including some of the pre-operative nursing staff, to be included in patient prayer.

I strongly believe that the state of mind with which you enter surgery (and then recovery) will most definitely affect your outcomes physically. Our mind has such power over our body but it is our spirit which guides the mind and shows it where the energy needs to flow. From my perspective, giving a person the opportunity to find peace in what can be a chaotic set of hours before surgery lays the foundation for strong outcomes on the other side. Even if something goes wrong, a positive attitude and a determination to push ahead can change the long term prognosis. I experienced that personally with my two foot surgeries last year and vouch for it, anecdotally anyway.

As for brain surgery, if you can give someone a sense of peace and the right attitude before they head into one of the most serious and complicated types of surgery a person can have and encourage their spirit to face whatever happens on the other side of that surgery then you are doing something amazing. After reading this book, I must say that I take my hat off to David Levy for sharing his brave journey of bringing prayer into what can be very socially sterile hospital walls.

At top read that I can highly recommend!

Back in 2007, whilst still residing interstate, I had the pleasure of listening to Francois Gagne address the local members of the NSW Gifted and Talented Association. He presented, to us, his Model of Giftedness and Talent [link to PDF].

During the event, that evening, I perused the Association's library and ordered a copy of Mary Sheedy Kurcinka's 'Raising Your Spirited Child' with PJ Bear in mind. He was only just two at the time but I felt that the subtitle (A Guide for Parents Whose Child is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic) acknowledged something I saw in him even back then.

Recently, I stumbled upon the book again. I am looking at it now with new eyes. I can at a single flip through the sections I read last time and those I did not. Now that we know that his issues are not strictly behavioural or flat-out medical it makes be wonder if the missing pieces of the puzzle can be in that his coming of age has brought out new challenges that are addressed in those untouched sections of the book that I find before me?

Already, I find myself captivated with lots of small examples that encapsulate my experiences. Like, for example:

[I] needed to talk with other parents who understood what it is like to live with a child who could scream for forty-five minutes because his toast was cut into triangles and he was expecting rectangles. The kind of kid who would rather die than take no for an answer and knew the perfect trigger to "push my buttons".

Kurcinka, M.S. (2006), Raising Your Spirited Child,p 1.

Oh, how did she know. Is there a hidden camera in my kitchen? No? What about my kids bedroom, then? Because how could she know about the bedroom trashings too?

..much of the advice for raising other children is ineffective with spirited kids. To ignore your child's tantrums is ineffective with spirited kids. He can rage for an hour because you opened a door when he was expecting to do it himself. Send him to his room for time-out and he is liable to tear it apart. There is no distracting him from anything he wants.

Kurcinka, M.S. (2006), Raising Your Spirited Child,p 15.

I don't know if the answers are really here but I suspect this is a reread that I will come to enjoy as I am sure there will be many more tales that I ignored last time because they were not relevant to that stage of PJ's life but perhaps are now. I suspect this is a reread that I am really going to enjoy!

Well howdy-do everyone! I did promise updates on my plans to qualify myself as a Pilates Instructor as I signed up for education for the first time in a very long time. Well, with the plans of mice and men, my plan did not go as I hoped. My course required an 'Anatomy and Physiology' unit as a prerequisite.

I enrolled in the required Anatomy & Physiology class at a college and arranged my other commitments around the session time. However, like the plans of mice and men, things just did not work out. The class was rescheduled for later in the day. This meant that I could not make the commitment and I needed to withdraw until it is again offered later in the year.

Life!

So, I think I have stumbled across what may just be the best book of 2011 and it is amazingly titled 'It's a Book'. In a world full of gadgetry everything can be by replaced by one. With Kindle and other E-book viewing and reading devices it is not surprising that the 'jackass' of this book has no idea what one is. It is a full illustration of the separation that is starting to occur between the individual and the everyday bound paper book.

Put in my hands by a young child hoping that I would read it for them I was totally blown away by the content of the book. I have not seen a book like it since 'Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus' and loved every page of it. I think I have found my 'gift of the year' not just for nephews and nieces but also for each and every one of my geek girl and geek guy friends. :)

This is my book of the year for sure. Set with a sense of irony that it is published in a print format rather than an online cartoon this great book illustrates the gap between a reader and the hard copy print of a book as a result of the digital age. Poking fun at the gadget comparisons of what a device can or cannot do this book shows the absolute wonder that comes from opening a seemingly plain book. It is fantastic book and I recommend it for any child or adult as it has put everyone I have spoken to about it into roars of laughter and even tears. It truly shows how times are changing...

Last night, a family member and I went through all the 'Kids Storage' at church. We cleaned, tidied and sorted. We used of all of the dozens of storage containers that we bought to make things easy to find and easy to pack away.

All in all, from sorting out creche toys, to books, to craft supplies, it took us around three hours before we were ready to pack up and go home. We moved quickly and with diligent hands I achieved what would normally take days in just hours. I am so thankful that I had willing assistance.

As we finished, so did an event in the Church's auditorium. As we packed the last bits away a Church Elder walked in. He is one of those people who notices everybody and everything and is a strong encourager. After observing our scurry to get finished before someone decided to lock-up the building he said, 'People should know what you do here, eh?"

I responded in the negative telling him that, "It just needed to be done and that if I want for the Children's Ministry leaders to be able to do their jobs effectively."

Of course, afterwards, I was asking myself why I didn't just come out and say that I liked to do things behind the scenes that no-one would normally notice. You see, what this Elder missed is that, at the end of the day, it does not matter who here knows what I do or don't do. It matters to the one person who sees everything - God.

I love to do things that make a difference to others. However, fanfare and hullabaloo about what people have done on any given day are not. For it is so easy to see what some (like Worship Teams) do and miss all the others who set up, pack up, prepare communion, vacuum the floors and clean the toilets. We don't pay anyone to do these things and someone does need to do them. The good news is that God sees those people who willingly volunteers and is made glad by their act of service to Him.