Pulmonary What?

Pulmonary embolisms (PE) have hit the news this past week. First Jerome Kersey, formerly NBA star of the Portland Trailblazers died from PE and now Chris Bosh is out for the season with PE. PE, or blood clots to the lung are very serious. According to the CDC, about 10-30% of people die from PE within one month of diagnosis. I know because in July, 2008 I had an episode of PE.

The quick version is that I had fractured my ankle playing baseball but then did not get it looked at for a week before I went to the hospital for an X-ray. They then immobilized and casted it creating what my doctor brother called a "blood pool factory". After a few weeks, we were on vacation in Indiana when I developed severe cramping to my chest which I called "the worst runners cramp I ever had". Fortunately with a medical doctor in the house (my father-in-law) and a nurse spouse, they diagnosed it correctly and got me right to the hospital. I was diagnosed with two PE clots, one which was deemed severe. The doctor told me likely if I hadn't gone promptly in, I would have died.

I spent five days in the hospital and then was on coumadin for amount nine months which thins out the blood making the risk of nonoccurrence much lower. Some people have to stay on coumadin for life. The problem with coumadin is that it actually is a risk by itself. When on this, you bleed abnormally. For example, I bit my nails and sometimes if I hit a cuticle, I can bleed for an hour. So if you are active and you have an accident, you can bleed internally for a while. That is why people on this drug have to be extra careful and why rumors of Bosh's retirement surfaced because he may have had to stay on coumadin.

The question you have to ask is whether it is better to be alive or less active. When I was discharged from the hospital, I had a series of tests which determined a slight proclivity for me to have clots. However, I determined that I did not want to compromise my active lifestyle (biking, baseball, etc.) so I was willing to take that risk.

So what are the lessons from what I learned from my experience with PE:

1. A realization that life can end at any moment. I had never experienced anything life threatening and having now had that, I have a much greater appreciation for the brevity of life.
2. I have also learned to experience and treasure relationships much more. As author Pat Morley says, I have an appreciation for who will be at my funeral.
3. I have learned that life is worth living to the fullest. I have not stopped playing baseball despite my accident (although I am more cautious about sliding which is what caused my ankle fracture).
4. I am more sensitive to those with illnesses and ailments (2 Cor. 1:4). I know what PE is firsthand.
5. Most of all, I know where I am going when I die. I have placed my trust in Christ for forgiveness so I don't fear death. If you have that reassurance, you can live life here because you have life to come. I hope you have that reassurance. If not, you can.

None of us Likes to Stink

I don't golf very much. It is because I get aggravated at the stupid game in which I can hit a great shot and still get an 8 on a hole because I hit a lousy shot right after. I played yesterday with my father in Arizona. It was the first time I had touched golf clubs in probably two years. Nevertheless, I hit my first drive straight down the middle of the fairway and then hit the middle of the green on all three Par 3's. Still I followed it up with bad putting or bad chipping, all of which translated to a mediocre score.


I don't like to be lousy at something. But in order to be good at golf, I would need to devote significant amounts of time and probably lessons to get to the necessary skills to be decent. And at this point in my life I am not willing to devote the time and money to be good. So I know going out there that I will be hard-pressed to break 100. I should not be surprised that I don't experience hardship in a game that requires practice and precision.

I run into so many guys in the Christian life who do the same thing with their faith. They don't spend any time reading the Bible or praying or memorizing. They treat it like a drive-through at Wendy's. A few minutes here, a few minutes there. Their excuse is that they are too busy. So they should expect to have a mediocre, unproductive faith because with a faith relationship comes an investment of time. I don't show up on a golf course and become Tiger Woods (oops maybe not a good example now but you get the point). I can't become a productive believer without spending the time.

Paul says in 1st Corinthians 9 that we are to treat our spiritual lives as running a race. He also says in 1 Timothy 4:7 to train ourselves for godliness. In other words an investment of time and attention. We can still expect to sin, but when we sin we become much more conscious of our sin and the gap between us and the holiness of God. As golf demands almost perfection so God's standard is perfection.

Resolutions to Habits

We are now well into 2015, a time when we try to get beyond New Year's resolutions to actually making habits stick. When I finished the Christmas holidays, my weight was well beyond my comfort level and I could feel myself slipping more and more into bad eating habits. As it turns out, I started reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Once I started, I could not put the book down. It is an easy read and one that reminds us that there is a pattern to forming good habits.


Without spoiling the premise of the book, you can summarize it by saying that every habit is described by three components, Cue, Routine, and Reward. A habit has to have a cue, something that signals you to the habit. We don't think about brushing our teeth, we just do it. Then there is the routine, the actual thing we do. Finally, the reward - something that is in the end that reinforces the behavior. During the winter, I am always hit or miss on my working out so I decided I would simply do the same minimalist exercise every morning so I could assure myself some exercise. I sit on my butt most days so this is what I need to do every morning. My cue is my alarm clock, my reward is a breakfast.

I have also applied it to scripture memory. I have always been big on scripture memory, but I haven't had the discipline to do it consistently. I found a program Scripture Memory Typer that prompts me (Cue) each day to review the verses I have committed. It also appeals to my competitiveness because it ranks participants and also gives you little badges and points(reward). I have set a goal of cumulatively memorizing 1000 verses of scripture. I strongly believe that holding scripture close to my heart is a critical discipline (Psalm 119:11).

Finally, a friend told me about a concept called Journibles, the 17:18 series. In this, you actually write out the scriptures longhand and then write your notes and observations about the verse. I am a lousy journal writer. I have tried several times and quit. This however, I can sustain because I actually have something to write on or comment on. I am currently starting in the Book of James, one of my favorite books of the Bible.

Our Lord did not read The Power of Habit, but He built in disciplines that were consistent. In Luke 22:39, it tells us that going to pray was His custom. Luke 5:16 so he would often withdraw to pray. Paul rejoices in the Colossae believers their faith and discipline (Col 2:5). But doing so should not be motivated by checking the box, but by genuine desire for growth. It is the key to staying power and moving from resolutions to habits.

Did God Help Seattle Win?

Russell Wilson gave tribute to God and even intimated that God helped/enabled the Seahawks defeat the Packers last week.

I admire that Russell Wilson gave glory to God in this post-game interview. I certainly appreciate that more than guys who thump their chest after making a big play. Did God enable Seattle to win? I don't know - God can do anything so far from me to question that it is not appropriate.  However, the following thoughts passed through my head.

1. God uses our weaknesses far more than our strengths. In weakness, God is most magnified. In weakness there is little else left in us besides God. In most cases, there is little doubt that God is behind it. In an athletic contest, it is pretty murky who is behind the results.
2. Victory in Jesus is based on the forces of darkness against the forces of light not the forces of light against the forces of light. Winners and losers are part of life but I would very much hesitate to say God picks winners at the expense of losers. I would like to think that the Packers would not believe that God is against them. See Aaron Rodgers assessment.
3. I can't think of a single Bible verse that references competition between parties. The domain of athletic contests is more based on preparation, self discipline, and competing according to the rules. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. (1 Cor. 9:24-27).
4. Often, a time gap exists after a point of failure when self reflection occurs and God is able to work through weakness.  Imagine a player pointing to the sky after a fumble or a missed field goal. I think such a player would likely be run out of town. But fast-forward years later and recovery refocuses on the inner strength God gives us to rebound. Consider Ernest Byner who now many years later from a devastating fumble in the AFC championship is able to write a book about it called "Everybody Fumbles". 
5. In the pages of scripture, success often is pointed in terms of spiritual disciplines. Joshua 1:8 talks about for example, Joshua meditating on the word of God day and night and then he would have success as he prepares to go into the promised land.

My Fake Friend

Around Christmas time, I received the following envelope.

Looks like a Christmas Card like the others we receive around the holidays. But I don't know a Chris Thomas in El Segundo, CA. so of course I opened it. And inside is this advertisement for Direct T.V.

I had been duped. As Ralphie would say in A Christmas Story, "A Crummy Commercial". Someone pretended to know me so they could get what they wanted from me. Isn't that terrible? Did not incline me to buy Direct TV at all.

Then the Holy Spirit prompted me in gentle, but firm words "but you do that to people to". I act in a way that is not much different than that envelope scam. As a businessman, I try to get people to do things for me and I can pretend to be interested in them or generate false compliments. In other words, I am not authentic. In the Greek language of the NT, the word hypocrite translated to an actor, someone who is false and fake. Jesus said do not be like the hypocrites, an actor.

Be authentic. Do things for people without expectation of return. Don't manipulate people. Don't be a hypocrite. That is what God requires of me and you.

The Age of Blame

"I'll make them pay"
"Serious lawyers for serious injuries"
"Had an accident - call the man with the bike"

And so on and on it goes. I never thought I would see the day where major media coverage is sponsored by personal injury lawyers. I see prevalence of personal injury lawyers as a symptom of a bigger problem. We are so quick to blame others and so reluctant to accept responsibility. As in everything, there is a balance.  There are situations where it is absolutely necessary to hire someone to represent you. But that should be a last resort, not the first line of thought. I think of my father-in-law who had very substandard care in a hospital before his death. But it is highly unlikely that his care would have changed the outcome. So is blame healthy in that situation? Probably not.

There must be a reason these guys are advertising so often. They are feeding into that "it's someone else's fault" mentality. What most people don't realize is that there is enormous collateral damage fostered by this atmosphere of blame. Costs of services go up exponentially because there is a cost to protect one's backside. Then you have to ask whether it is even worth it. Public services are quickly going away because of the threat of liability.

But I think the most insidious thing is the personal cost of the blame-game. Blaming and getting retribution is never healthy for someone. When Peter asked Jesus how many times should he forgive, he thought he was being generous when he said seven times. Jesus replied it is seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22).  In other words, unlimited. When we seek to blame others, it actually costs us. Strange as it may sound, it is so much healthier to give it up. More times than not, it is not worth for ourselves. If there is loss, absorbing the loss is actually better than fighting for the gain. This is particularly true for Christians where it is actually commanded by Paul to not seek justice where it can detract from personal relationship (1st Corinthians 6:1-8).

Watch Out - Danger Ahead!

The movie ended and we were exiting the theater. Something is amiss.

• People can't exit through the lobby - it is closed off
• Some people appear to not want to leave the theater
• Two police officers with unmuzzled police dog are on our left as we exit the theater
• 10+ police cars lining drive on both sides
• 4-6 police officers in front of main entrance talking to a group of kids and taking notes
• Another group of police officers by the street telling people to leave
• WAY too many young people, most of them guys, milling around
• Raised voices
• Palpable feeling of unrest

These are the clues that my wife told me I missed as we exited the Valley View Cinema on Friday night. Apparently there was a fight occurring just before our movie finished around 9:00. Read about it HERE. I was busy jabbering about how poor the movie was (The Hobbit - Part 3) and how shallow the character Legolas was and how Peter Jackson should have quit with Lord of the Rings....  I noticed kids congregating near the entrance but missed almost all of the clues that told me that things weren't normal. It was only when Debsue gave a gentle tug on my waistband of my pants indicating subtly to me that she was a little scared that I took my focus off of my individual tunnel and noticed the potential danger in front of me.

That little illustration reminded me of the dangers of tunnel vision when it comes to spiritual battles. Sin is "crouching at your door and its desire is to have you" (Gen. 4:7). Do you know that every day is a battle for your soul? Every day there are clues surrounding us that we live in a fallen world; that there is danger surrounding us. We are in serious warfare with an adversary that wants our soul.

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 2 Cor. 10:3-4

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Alertness is what is required. Don't be like me and be caught unaware. The good news is that if you know Christ, the war has already been one. But even though the war is won, the enemy still fights battles. Naivete and passivity leave us exposed. Be aware - be on the alert!