20-20 + 1

Well, It is done. Lasik is completed and I am as pleased as I can be.







The Dr. tells me that I am 20-20 + 1. He says this means I can read every letter on the 20 ft line and 1 letter on the 15 foot line.





Shari watched the procedure and it really freaked her out. She sat on the other side of a plate glass panel and watched the video monitor in super magnification. She tells me that the only reason she watched is because it was me. I wonder if this has scared her off ever doing the procedure herself.





See what I mean??





There was minimal pain and for the effort it was well worth the extra loss of adrenaline. The past several days have mostly been a regimine of drops in the eyes and fighting the temptation to rub my eyes.




In about a week I should be back to normal, meanwhile it sure is nice to have 20-20 without my glasses.




John

Education vs. School

I recall the words of a pastor friend from my college days; he could frequently be heard saying to students when they would complain about their schedules:

"Don't Let School Get In The Way of Your Education"

I remember thinking he was just trying to be silly, or get a laugh. But the more I think about that the more I really believe he was on to something.

We say the word 'education' and we immediately think about classrooms, books, computers, professors and research papers. But my pastor friend, Josh Hunt, was really trying to educate us by reminding us that we can use just about anything as an excuse to get out of what really matters.

Church is an interesting place. It is where we can come together as the corporate body of Christ and worship, fellowship with other believers, become discipled, and share our burdens with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

It is also a place that can become a burden in and of itself. We can get so busy 'doing' stuff. Good stuff, but just stuff.

We can become a committee-aholic, in no time at all. We can allow ourselves to become codependent on performance in front of others in the Church. We can use it as our 'platform' or stage as we show everyone how good we are. We can become driven by the simplicity of our focus.

All the while missing what God intends for us to see, hear and experience, thus skipping our education altogether.

So, I say all that to say this: Yesterday, God, was trying to educate me while I was in the midst of my education. Let me explain.

Every Tuesday morning is the day I usually devote to prep for my online Greek course I have been taking through Golden Gate Seminary. From 12:00 to 2:00pm I am in class via the internet. I log on to a live chat session with my professor and classmates from throught the US and spend two hours going through excercises in Greek grammer.

Normally I have the freedom to multi-task as needed depending my schedule and what the professor is saying. However, yesterday I was in my office at the church and I came to crossroads in my committment to the members of our church.

During that 12:00 - 2:00 time slot I had four Church members come into my office and sit down while I was online. Each time I came back to my lap top another person would walk through the door.

Finally when I cam back to the chat, I tried to catch up by reading the 'history' and noticed that my professor had personally asked me several questions during that time. Finally his last entry was 'Well I guess John M. isn't There.

I made a formal apology and begged his forgiveness. I told him that I had several unexpected visitors from Church members. He of course gave me and encouraging response of understanding, and thats when I told him what Josh told me. "Never Let School Get In The Way Of Your Education". my professors response was, "Cool".... now John M. try answering excersice # 4....

Praise God for Church members who feel comfortable coming into see me. Praise God that He has blessed me with a church office and with the Greek Online Class that can be interrupted.

Blessings,

John

Training is Slow But Sure.

I have finally done it. Well, at least half done it.

Late yesterday afternoon, I tested my skills of pavement pounding to see where I was in my prep for the Sawtooth Relay in June.

The Sawtooth Relay is, as you know, a 60 mile run with a team of 6 individuals who are trading out five mile increments.

Well, I at least know I can run 5 five miles, because I did it yesterday. I am also still alive to talk about it. The question remains though, can I run five miles - rest a few hours - and run five more miles?

I'll keep you updated.

John

Virginia Shootings

I suppose it was not until this afternoon that I heard of the shooting in our country today. Strange how news coverage consumes a horrific event like a school shooting and ignores the fact that of the 150,000 people that will die throughout the world today, the vast majority will enter eternity as lost a sock in a dryer.

My heart is broken for the thirty-two people who were killed at Virginia Tech this morning, and for their families who now have to endure what noone should have to face in the days to come. I pray even now that the Holy Spirit of God will comfort these families and that out of this great tragedy the name of Jesus be found at the center.

I know that none of those who were senselessly killed this morning, or the dozens that were injured had any clue that their lives would forever be changed in an instant.

We can only pray and ask God to give us opportunity to see those with whom we are associated, experience an instantaneous change as well - that they will encounter the living God and receive salvation from an eternal separation from Him through His Son, Jesus.

All they have to do is ask, and all we have to do is tell.

Never would I hope for tragedy, however, it seems that at those incredulous times in our lives God works the greatest miracles; possibly because it is at those desperate times that we seek Him in earnest.

I pray for the families in Virginia as they cope with their loss and for those who will be given the opportunity to minister at such a needed time.

Blessings,

John

Lasik Eye Surgery

The LASIK Procedure
After your eye has been completely numbed using “eye drop” anesthesia, an eyelid holder will be placed between your eyelids to prevent you from blinking. Next, a surgical instrument makes a protective flap in the cornea. During this process you may feel a little pressure, but no discomfort. You will be asked to look directly at a target light while the laser reshapes the cornea, usually in less than a minute.

To treat nearsightedness, the cornea must be made flatter. This is accomplished by removing tissue from the center of the cornea.
To treat astigmatism, the cornea must be made more spherical. This is accomplished by removing more tissue from one part of the cornea than the other.

To treat farsightedness, the central cornea must be made steeper. This is accomplished by removing tissue from around the central area.

Then, the protective flap is folded back in place where it bonds securely without the need for stitches. After LASIK, there is typically slight discomfort that goes away within twenty-four hours.

??????

Why am bringing up a subject like this you ask? Well, as blessings would have it, I am about to come under the knife -- or should I say 'laser'.

On the 24th of this month I will headed to Boise to undergo Lasik Surgery vision correction for near sightedness. I almost can't believe it myself so let me tell you how it is even possible.

Several years ago Shari told me that on our 25th anniversary she wanted me to take her on a cruise. She also mentioned to me that I would recieve Lasik as her gift to me.

As you may already know neither a cruise nor lasik are cheap. But for some strange reason I heard and responded to an promotion for the first few callers of a new Lasik office opening in Boise and "Low and behold as luck would have it, I am scheduled for the procedure!"

Normally the procedure is around $2,500 to $3,000, but the promotion allowed me to have the procedure done for under $500 per eye - everything included. The other wonderful part of that is that it won't cost our family any out of pocket $$.... Our Health Saving Account will cover the costs.

Isn't God Good. Isn't Shari Lucky. I wonder if God will pick up the cost for a cruise in His grand scheme of things???

Blesings,

John

It's The Moon's Fault!!!

The past several weeks have been very busy with preparation for our Easter services that occured yesterday. The not-so-surprising thing is that right about 12:00 noon I was ready to take a nap!

Shari is so thoughtful of others that her wheels were already turning. She had invited over a couple of families to share Easter dinner with our family. This is always a good thing, and it also means that we get a real fancy dinner..... we did and it was good. We had the traditional ham and scallopped potatoes and one of my favorites: asparugus -- yum yum! She was good though, no hollandaise sauce.

We had a great time visiting with Louis and Lori Howard and Gene and Marge Lawley. But during our conversation the question came up about why Christians call Easter - Easter, and why it happens on a different day of the month every year.

So here is my best "Seminary - Answer": Back in 325 AD, a group of clergy gathered as The Council of Nicea. One of their items on the agenda was to decide upon a fixed date for Easter. Up to this point Easter was celebrated at different times based on Gregorian and Julian (named for Julius Ceasar) calendars and sometimes not even falling on a Sunday.

The Council of Nicea decided upon the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox, March 21. Every three years the Date of Easter Sunday is celelbrated on the exact Sunday around the world because of Leap Year. 2007 is one of those years. This is why Easter can fall anywhere from March 22 to April 25.

It's the Moon's Fault!

With regard to the origins of Easter: Around a 1300 years ago there was a Christian monk Venerable Bede, wrote about the origins of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of fertility named Ostara or Eostre. The obvious connections between fertility and Spring and even the fact that we use bunnies and eggs today comes from the idea that Rabbits reproduce so quickly.

The King James Version of the Bible does use the word Easter, but we have to keep in mind that this is a "translation" The Bible was not originally penned in King James English, but Hebrew and Greek.

So we as Christians, equipped with the understanding that our highest holiday in the Church finds it's nomenclature in pagan roots, are faced with a choice; We can celebrate this day as a rite of Spring and fertility and boiling eggs and eating choclate bunnies and buying new dresses, or we can use this occassion to celebrate the Risen and one true Living God who was raised from death victoriously over the grave and is alive today seated at the right hand of God!

Easter is Resurection Sunday in the Church!

Happy Easter! He is Risen and He is Alive!

John

Yes indeed! June 9th is the day. I will be teaming up with Brian and Alexis Daly and Pastor Paul as well as two others to be named to participate in the Regionally Famous "Sawtooth Relay".

I am always more encouraged to be fit when there is a goal at hand. So I was more than willing to say yes, when asked to participate. I knew it could only help and be fun too, and who can believe that beating your body into shape could actually be fun. Then again, the first three letters of funeral are "FUN"......uuugggh.

I always appreciate when many of our church members invite me for a lunch or coffee or Sonic (Paul's Fav.), but if your do invite, I may be ordering the salad or skinny latte, or diet cherry Vanilla with NO ice.

I actually had to make my first tough choice yesterday. My mother in law sent her annual Easter box of goodies to our family. There was a 1lb bag of Easter colred M&M's with my name on it.... I gave it to the girls to take to Quest last night. .... so sad....

Keep the Daly's, Pastor Paul and myself in mind when you sit down to pray the next time you go to the "All-You-Can-Eat-Chineese-Buffet". Eat a Wonton for me.