Pardon the Dust..... Life in Process

Step Back Disguised as Step Forward

2009-03-09T15:11:00.000-07:00

As has been declared from the White House just this morning, federal money will now go into the scientific research community for the purpose of making advances in stem cell therapies and cures. How do you feel about your money going into the coffers of the federal government and then being funneled into the wallets of universities and companies killing human embryos in the name of science? Though I was not suprised based on the comments President Obama made during his campaign, I was disappointed to see that he did follow through on those specific comments surrounding the reversal of the Bush administration's restrictions on stem cell research. As a citizen of the United States, or an advocate of the integrity of human life, you should care.... and care enough to be informed. The following is a link to an article written today by Al Mohler, President of Southern Theological Seminary and a highly respected theologian within the Evangelical community. Take a look when you get a chance...
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3393

Let Me Toss Out a Question

2009-03-02T20:05:00.000-08:00

The following is a snippet of an entry from the blog of Al Mohler, president of Southern Theological Seminary. Take a second to peruse what he says, and then....I have a question or two for you.

The real problem with Barbie is the one often cited by feminists, but they see only the surface dimensions of the issue. Without doubt, Barbie represents the objectification and commodification of an exaggerated vision of female beauty. She is everything many feminists charge, and they are probably right in seeing Barbie as a problem for many girls. They want to look like Barbie and emulate her fictional lifestyle (also projected by Mattel through advertising and the marketing of accessories.)
As some feminists complain, few girls will grow up to look like Barbie. As a matter of fact no girls will grow up to look like Barbie. Her exaggerated features are just not within the human range of proportion.
Conservative Christians have been rightly concerned about Barbie's in-your-face sexuality. Her immodest dress and romanticized patterns of presentation leave little room for the imagination.
But the most basic problem with Barbie is the fact that she lies. Constantly. The entire Barbie package presents one huge lie about the nature of true beauty. According to the Christian worldview, beauty and truth and goodness are identical. A lie cannot be beautiful and the truth is never ugly. Barbie's total presentation represents a lie about feminine beauty, suggesting in not-too-subtle ways that external attractiveness (even artificial attractiveness) is the foundation of true beauty.
But, according to the biblical worldview, genuine beauty is found within -- in the being and character of a person -- not in their external appearance. The first principle of human beauty is the fact that every human being, male and female, is made in God's image. No one made in God's image can be anything less than beautiful. Nevertheless, one of the signs and consequences of the Fall is that we are all too confused about true beauty. We are too easily bought off with the "pretty" at the expense of the beautiful. Furthermore, our notions of the "pretty" are themselves evidence of the Fall.
The second principle of the biblical worldview concerning beauty is that it is a function of the person's character, not external appearance. Some of the most beautiful people ever to have walked the planet have fallen far short of prevailing standards of prettiness. Conversely, many of the people who have been most pretty in popular perception have been devoid of demonstrated moral character and spiritual graces.
Barbie turns fifty this month, but she doesn't show it. Meanwhile, the girls who first played with Barbie dolls are now over fifty themselves. Millions of them have grown up to be women of virtue and character, raising families and serving others. By now, many show some signs of aging and the passage of time. Yet, in their faces and lives we see far more beauty than Barbie has ever been able to muster -- then or now.
So, Barbara Millicent Roberts is turning fifty. I won't expect an invitation to her big party.

Though I haven't had the opportunity to experience the blessing of being a mother, I have wondered at various times how I would teach my daughter the true nature of beauty that woman can possess, and should possess. I firmly believe that it is best impressed upon a girl's heart by a life that emulates it consistently (though not perfectly) and with humility, and the power of the Word spoken into her life. Women need to talk about these things with their daughters and give them an opportunity to think through these things in an avenue of thought that is not just the one that the world wants them to travel down regarding this issue. It is such a big deal for women, and one that we, in many ways, have to tackle every single day. What Truth about beauty are we going to believe?

So, my questions are: What do you believe is the biggest influence upon girl's perceptions of beauty today? Why?

Do you have a plan in mind as to how you will approach this subject with your daughter(s)? Or, if you have boys, do you intend to try and help them see where true beauty lies?

When you picture a woman who is the essence of true beauty, what is it about her that impresses you that way?

For some, this may seem a bit frivolous or unnecessary, but it's just a chance to dialogue, and I enjoy getting others' perspectives. I'll chirp in with my answers at some point in time as well. Just thought I'd throw the questions out for starters. And no....I don't have a vendetta against Barbie (though I must comment that I was a bit disappointed one Christmas when my mom bought me the off-brand Barbie; was that somehow supposed to be more 'sanctified'?).

Kentucky or Bust #2

2009-02-24T19:55:00.001-08:00

Kentucky at last!!! I spent this past weekend hanging out with my brother and sister-in-law, Ben and Kelly, and my nephew, Owen, in Louisville, KY. Thanks for letting me invade! I had a great time, even though Kentucky weather did not behave for me; I traveled South to escape the Michigan cold and ended up wearing my winter coat and mittens the entire time anyways.

Ben and Kelly: they delivered the news to me that there is to be a new addition to their family in September of this year. How could I not be excited???!!!! Yep, I'm going to be an Aunt once again. Though Ben's arm is covering the logo, I just wanted to clarify that yes, Kelly is once again wearing her Crush shirt in a blog photo....some things just never change. But to those of you who fear that she threw the shirt out, be reassured....its legacy lives on.
My O-bug!!! The sweetest, smartest, cutest, and funniest 1 yr. old around....hands down! I love that little guy, and he loves.....well, he loves carrying around water bottles, as you can see in the pic below.

After church on Sunday, we picked up groceries at Sam's club. Owen is a total Daddy's Boy-- that kid's face lights up and he squeals every time Ben is gone and returns home. I'd like to say Ben is just as excited, but I must clarify that, unlike Owen, he doesn't squeal. He's a great daddy, and I'm proud of what a great job he is doing with my O-bug. Here they are trying out the leather furniture at Sam's Club.

Bath time!! I got to Louisville shortly before it was Owen's bath time, so we got to try out the new bath bubbles that Grandma sent down with me. We had fun playing with the toys and making lots of noise.

Supper at Qdoba's. Owen and I decided to sport the winter wear via our hats. Owen's, of course, is way cooler because he is sporting his U of M colors. Notice, though, that his hands are full. He has full ownership of the sippy cup and snack cup, and nobody...and I mean Nobody...can get away with confiscating it for very long.

Such a sweet little boy. He still loves that thumb.

I spent some time with Kelly at her workplace ( which is a private home where she has a babysitting job) on Monday morning. Ben stopped by at lunchtime,shortly before I headed back for Michigan. As I left the house to travel North, my little guy waved good-bye from the doorway. How could I not smile at that cute guy?? He does say my name, but it comes out more like "Sza-Sza".

Aunt Sarah loves you Owen!!!! You're such a good boy! Thanks for a fun weekend.

Kentucky or Bust--#1

2009-02-24T19:38:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was an all-around "family trip". It was a planned trip to Louisville, KY, but it was taken with a slight detour through Western Michigan. I got to see lots of family, though, in a very condensed period of time, and it was in my estimation a great trip.

Thurs Night: Here is Drew in action, doing what he loves best: coaching basketball. He's a great coach to the 9th-grade team of boys at Birch Run High School. He came away with a "W." Holland, MI: MJ (Michael) had a basketball game in Grand Rapids, so I caught his game against Kuyper College on Friday night, stayed overnight at my Grandma and Aunt's home in Holland, MI and headed off to Louisville on Sat. morning. Here's an early morning photo with my 2 favorite younger brothers-- in all their morning glory-- both radiating a happiness to be alive and ready to go at 8am on a Saturday morn.

My favorite guy on the court: #40 Michael Glupker. Amazingly enough, though he plays for a school in Wisconsin, he sported the Wolverine colors of maize and blue. Clearly, someone in WI has good taste.

The fans in the stands!!! Back row: Mom, Aunt Marty, Uncle Jim, and cousin Jeff.

Front row: Drew and Amanda, Aunt Judy, my Dad.

Work in Progress

2009-02-24T19:23:00.000-08:00

Several friends and family members have asked how my dining room project is going. The answer is: it's going, slowly-but-surely. Below is a picture of some work in progress. My brother, Drew, and my friend, Chris Luter, came over one Saturday afternoon and spent a few hours nailing down the cement board in preparation for the ceramic tile I plan on having placed on the floor. It was nice to see some something get done that I could not do on my own!!

This is me, happy to see the job was finished. Thanks so much to you both for being willing to give up your time to help me out. It was VERY much appreciated. Tile and trim are the only things left on my agenda for the dining room. Excited to see the end results!

Glupker Christmas 2008

2009-02-24T19:00:00.001-08:00

Grandma Glupker and her 4 kids: Jim,John, Jack, & Judy. Can you guess which one is my father, the Engineer? Yep, you guessed it: the guy with the paper and pens sticking out of his pocket. That's classic John Glupker in photo.
Doing what we always do when we get together: play card games!

Dec. 2008. Glupker Family Christmas at Immanuel Bible Church.

Yes, some more pics that have been retrieved from down deep in the digital storehouse of my camera. I suppose I could've bypassed posting at this point in time, but I thought it would be fun to share some pictures with my family at least.

A photo of me with my siblings and their spouses, as well as 3 of my cousins (my Uncle Jack's kids: Katie, Kelly, and Jeff).

The boys loved having the readily-accessible gym for a free-throw contest.

My cousin Kelly and her boyfriend, Andy, bought my Dad a perfect gift for Christmas: A new Bingo dispenser. Was my Dad ever geeked about that! It was perfect for him, since he is the Bingo announcer when we play our annual game at Christmas. Pictured with my Dad are his older brother, Jim, and my Grandma Glupker.

The Bingo gift table. A pile of under-$5 gifts, labeled as male/female/neutral, ready to be picked out randomly by the Bingo winners.

Lovin to be UP North, October 2008

2009-02-24T18:19:00.000-08:00

November 2008. After suffering a slight disappointment with the results of the presidential election, I decided I needed a trip to the UP!! Disappointment aside, it was time for me to visit my grandparents in Houghton, MI, as well as my Uncle Mike, Aunt Karen, and cousin Blake. I always have a great time and wish they all lived within closer proximity to me, rather than the slightly lengthy jaunt of about 500 miles. These pics have been hiding out in my camera for a few months and I decided that it was high time they came out of seclusion.

Grandma Patterson, me, Uncle Mike, Aunt Karen, and Blake. My grandparents are both nature lovers, and their house bears evidence to this in various ways; I just happened to catch a picture of one of these evidences-- to the right, you'll see my Grandma's collection of bird figurines. If you're lucky enough, you'll be in their house at the top-o'-the hour to hear their bird clock "chirp" with one of the 12 different bird songs it chimes out.

Here we are playing Blake's most recent favorite board game: Clue. I hadn't played it for years, but it was a lot of fun! Grandma was hilarious because she wasn't real interested in figuring out all of the details surrounding the unsolved mystery, so her gamepiece resided in the Hallway the entire length of the game....and she still had fun. Who won?? Hmmm....I told you I had a lot of fun playing the game....

Gramps, Gran, and I took a day to tour the Eastern side of the Keweenaw peninsula, going through Bete Grise and up to the very Northern tip through the town of Copper Harbor. On our way back to Houghton, we stopped and had dinner at my Uncle's old restaurant, the Hut Inn. It's a unique looking building, but very cool inside and still serves some good food. It was fun to go back.

My Favorite Veteran: Robert D. Patterson. I didn't realize it until this visit, but Grandpa puts out the American flag every Veterans Day. This year, though, I got to take a picture of him doing so. He's working on making a verbal record of his WWII experiences to send in to the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

The Old House: my Grandparents' home-away-from Home. It resides close to the town of Eagle Harbor, and its interior is still in circa-1930's motif. No running water, an attached outhouse, wood-burning stove, etc. But it is surrounded by acres of land to hike and explore, as well as a garden they've scratched out by hand (the terrain is very rocky), and it is away from the city life. I have many fond memories of this place and always will.

Me and Gramps. He's the best!! I never have a visit with him without laughing like crazy.....and the same goes for him. We both get a little crazy and drive my Grandma nuts!

A stimulating game of Darts played with my cousin Blake. Yep, it took place in my Grandparent's living room. Where else?

A beautiful Fall day overlooking the waters of Lake Superior as seen here in Eagle Harbor. My siblings and I spent many happy Summer days playing on this beach and swimming in this harbor, and eating at the Shore Line restaurant. It's always great to come back and visit.
For anyone interested in traveling to this area, make sure you hit the Brockway Mountain Drive: it is absolutely gorgeous in the Fall.

Aesop's Foolish Dog & Where My Gain Lies

2009-02-09T19:07:00.001-08:00

"A dog was crossing a plank bridge over a stream with a piece of meat in his mouth, when he happened to see his own reflection in the water. He thought it was another dog with a piece of meat twice as big; so he let go his own, and flew at the other dog to get the other piece. But, of course, all that happened was that he got neither; for one was only a reflection, and the other was carried away by the current."

-- 'The Dog and His Reflection'
from Aesop's Fables

"But godliness with contentment is great gain..." (I Timothy 6:6)

World Diabetes Day

2008-11-13T21:16:00.001-08:00

NOVEMBER 14TH, 2008--- WORLD DIABETES DAY (WDD)

World Diabetes Day is the primary global awareness campaign for the diabetes

world. It started in 1991 as a result of the work of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to the alarming rise globally of the prevalence of diabetes. The theme of 2007-2008 for WDD is "Diabetes in Children and Adolescents." Each year, there are roughly 70,000 kids who are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (200 children per day). The presence of Type 2 diabetes, once thought to be found only in adults, is now pervading a large percentage of children and adolescents as well.

Two areas of focus that have risen out of this year's WDD theme are as follows:
(1) Knowing and recognizing the signs and symptoms of diabetes in children.

(2) Teaching and encouraging healthy lifestyle habits that will decrease the likelihood of the development of Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents.

How informed are you regarding diabetes? It is a serious, chronic disease that is currently labeled as a 'pandemic' in the developed and developing world.

Take a few minutes to browse through the links listed below and become increasingly aware of this very important health issue.

www.worlddiabetesday.org

http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/the-campaign/diabetes-and-children/key-messages

Vote NO on Proposal 2

2008-11-03T19:27:00.000-08:00

The heated race for the White House is on the last leg of the journey, and it has been an interesting partisan marathon for the past several months. While some may argue that the same old 'politics as usual' will end up being what shapes the political landscapes in both Washington, D.C. and Lansing, MI, there are other issues that will be on your ballot that are devoid of partisanship, yet have the ability to affect many within the state of Michigan.
Are you familiar with the two ballot proposals that you have the opportunity to cast a vote upon on Tuesday, Nov. 4th? Proposal 1 deals with the issue of the legalization of marijuana within the state of Michigan. I have an opinion on that matter, but that is not why I'm writing this post. I'd like to direct your attention to Proposal 2. What is Proposal 2 about? It will be displayed on your ballot as follows: "A proposal to amend the state constitution to address Human embryo and Human embryonic stem cell research in Michigan." Perhaps you've already seen the commercials from both the proponent and opponent sides of this proposal. Why should you even care? Why is there any debate at all? What is at stake with this proposal? Well... can I borrow a few minutes of your time and try as succintly (insomuch as one such as I can be) to highlight a few key components regarding this amendment? Good. Glad you'll stick around for a few minutes and be willing to think some things through. To preface my thoughts and observations and opinions, and to unabashedly lay out for you, the reader, what side of the proverbial 'fence' I am standing on, I will clearly state that I am a strong opponent of the passage of Proposal 2. In a few moments, I hope I will at least clearly define why I've taken that position and furthermore hope to urge you (would 'persuade' be a more appropriate term?) to join me on this side of the 'fence'....why else would I be compelled to write?
First of all, understand that this is not just the simple passage of a state law. This is an amendment to the State Constitution. I've heard the importance of this type of legislation at the state level compared to, at the federal level, a change in the Bill of Rights. Simply stated: a Constitutional amendment is a BIG deal. So I ask: Do you know what exactly you're voting to change?
Second, this proposal is not simply about stem cell research. It's about stem cell research on live human embryos. You don't hear much in the way of the word 'human' from the proponent's side when they advertise for the passage of this proposal. It has also been touted that the state of Michigan has very strict limitations on stem cell research, including that of human embryos. Research using embryonic stem cells is completely legal in Michigan right now. Amazingly enough, the University of Michigan has one of the 3 largest studies involving stem cell research within the entire United States and received one of the highest amounts of federal funding (as a result of G.W.Bush's 2001 ruling) for this endeavor. At this time, the stem cells extracted from embryos have to be brought into the state; they are not able to be harvested here, thereby limiting the extent of the research work scientists would like to accomplish with these cells. To clear the record: those of us who are against Proposal 2 are NOT against stem cell research. We are opposed to the destruction of live human embryos for the purpose of extracting their stem cells for the sake of scientific research. So why all of the fuss about stem cells? Without going into great length, I will simply state that these cells are quite incredible components of our make up. Stem cells are the building blocks for every organ and tissue in the body. They have the ability to renew themselves through cell division and to become many different types of cells; thus, they serve as the growth, maintenance or healing cells of the body, and they represent enormous potential for cures and treatments by applying medical knowledge and technology to the body's own healing mechanism. So how does that affect myself or people I may know? It shows promise to help those who live with such conditions as: Parkinson's disease, congestive heart failure, juvenile-onset diabetes, and spinal cord injuries. It is not hard for either you or I to imagine how radically altered a person's life would be if they were cured of one of these diseases, as well as all of the social/medical/physical ramifications that would also come about in the wake of a cure. Truly, the potential benefits are huge with a capital "H". Where exactly do scientists get these stem cells from? Currently there are four sources: (1) Adult cells; (2) Umbilical cord blood/placentas; (3) Induced pluripotent cells (adult cells 'reprogrammed' to think they are embryonic); and (4) Embryonic cells (extracted from live human embryos 5-7 days after fertilization, an act which kills the embryo). I could apologize for the details, but I think some groundwork needed to be laid. Moving on...
So how does this deal with the proposal I will be voting on?? Glad you asked.
(1) Proposal 2 allows unrestricted science on human embryos and any research involving stem cells. The proposed constitution reads in part (you'll see some of this on Nov. 4th):
"All stem cell research...must be conducted.. in accordance with state and local laws.. to the extent that any such laws do not prevent, restrict, obstruct, or discourage any stem cell research or create disincentives for any person to engage in or otherwise associate with such research." That means that if this proposal passes, there will be no state or local law, no ruling of the State Supreme Court or legislation from the state Congress, or will of the citizens of Michigan that will be able to create boundaries around what is being performed within these science labs. Advocates for Proposal 2 want people to believe that federal law will provide regulations and restrictions on human embryo research. The fact is that there are NO federal laws limiting or restricting research using human embryos. The proponents of Proposal 2 are asking for an enormous loophole through which they can walk through and conduct their research work without much oversight; out of the other states that have adopted a proposal similar to this, none have asked for such leeway within their proposals. Since this proposal prohibits the Michigan legislature from passing any law regarding this research, this proposal aspires to bring to fruition just this: the complete reliance upon Washington politicians (in conjuction with special interest groups) to govern this new arena of science. Perhaps they'll be as fastidious in their governance and oversight of this research work as they were with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac..."Hope so" almost seems too kind of an expression to extend to them.
(2) This proposal does nothing to strengthen or weaken the current ban on human cloning. As a matter of fact, one leading proponent of this proposal expressed in a radio interview that one of their hopes is that in the future they will be able to utilize cloning for their research work. The loopholes in this proposal also mean that cloned human embyros can be trafficked into Michigan and killed through research. As long as an embryo was ostensibly created for "fertility treatment purposes," scientists can do anything they want.
(3) This proposal invites taxpayer funding. No, I did not say that if you vote "yes" for this proposal, the taxpayer will automatically foot the bill. A precedence has been set by the other states in which this research work is currently legal. In New York, Missouri, and Massachusetts, taxpayers are paying hundreds of millions of dollars to fund ESC research; in California, a 3-year, 4 billion dollar (yes, that's BILLION) taxpayer funded study is underway regarding stem cell research (including ESC research). Scientists from the Univ of Mich recently stated at a symposium regarding ESC research that they believe that this research should be 'publicly funded'. Amazing how the local and state legislature, as well as the citizens of this state, have absolutely no say over the regulation of this research as put forth under Proposal 2, but they sure would like to utilize the money in your paycheck to fund their work.
(4) Embryonic stem cell research has shown little substantive evidence of being beneficial in any regard. For all of the hype surrounding this research work, there is not a single research study or medical treatment that is currently helping any human being. There are NO clinical trials yet to be approved utilizing ESC's. The two major problems in animal trials are: tissue rejection and tumor formation. Makes you want to sign up for a study then, doesn't it? Adult stem cell research has already generated over 70 clinical studies, many of which are showing tremendous potential for therapies to be developed. And the beauty of this research is that there is absolutely no ethical dilemma surrounding the materials scientists are using for their experiments.
(5) This proposal sets up a system of research that has, from the observation of other research work around the country and the world, the potential for much interplay with situations of major ethical dilemma.
In England, it is currently legal to place human DNA within a cow egg; this creation is called a 'human hybrid'. Although there is very little cow DNA within this embryo, it does still possess both human and bovine components. This type of research is distinctly possible in the future regarding ESC's.
In California, there has been much money spent on ESC research, yet scientists are running into a slight dilemma: they're running out of enough embryos to experiment on. Thus, they began offering to pay women money for the purpose of donating their eggs for research. This created an ethical dilemma as well as a dilemma surrounding the physical/emotional/ reproductive effects this type of science involving 'egg extraction' creates for American women. At what cost will women be subjugated to this type of proposition that donating their eggs for research will both be of monetary gain to them, as well as a contribution to research work that has the promise of curing many people who suffer from chronic diseases? What of the long-term effects on their reproductive health? Where is the science to back up the argument that their health is even worth the risk of an unproven science?
It has been speculated that this proposal does create the opportunity for a 'black market' on the buying/selling/ transfer of human embryos, particularly within an industry that is, at the local/state level, very under-regulated.
(6) Proponents of this proposal insinuate that denial of the passage of this proposal is an uncompassionate and inhumane response.
If you have caught any of the TV or radio commercials from the proponents, it always surrounds emotion: the emotion of empathy for the suffering of another human being. This is very interesting to me. (And for all of you who were wondering when I'd get past the technicalities of this issue and on to the whole issue of the validity of the human life being researched upon .....I'm getting to it!) First of all, it never once grants the status of 'human being' upon the embryo they destroy as a result of their research. This is a true "the End justifies the Means" scenario of justification. An embryo less than 14 days of age is still human, is it not? It is just the state of development of a human being at 14 days as opposed to that at 2 months, or 7 yrs, or 99yrs of age. It's all a part of the spectrum of development. I love a snippet of a paragraph within the book Slouching Towards Gomorrah by Robert H. Bork that I recently came across as I read his book:
"It is impossible to draw a line anywhere after the moment of fertilization and say that before this point the creature is not human but after this point it is. It has all the attributes of a human from the beginning, and those attributes were in the forty-six chromosomes with which it began. Francis Crick, the Nobel Laureate....is quoted as having estimated that 'the amount of information contained in the chromosomes of a single fertilized human egg is equivalent to about a thousand printed volumes of books, each as large as a volume of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.' Such a creature is not a blob of tissue or, as the Roe opinion so infelicitously put it, a 'potential life.' As someone has said, it is a life with potential." (p.175)
So, is the alleviation of suffering a just reason for ending the life of an individual who is 7 days old? Ah, yes. Here we are back again at the question of whether or not that embryo has personhood, and thereby has an innate right to live. Certainly, the decisions of 1973 have ramifications upon the decisions of 2008. If you extend personhood to the embryos that may possibly be utilized for research, should not the embryos within the womb also be granted that same status?? This is not an issue the pro-choice movement wants to see defeated. Guaranteed. As to the alleviation of suffering, let me clearly say that NONE of us who oppose Proposal 2 are in favor of suffering. We just believe that the unregulated science and inhumane treatment of human embryos proposed within this amendment are not "just means" by which we should address the plight of human suffering. Furthermore, adult stem cell research shows such promise for the actual implementation of therapies to alleviate suffering, none of which create any ethical dilemma surrounding it.
On a personal note, let me say clearly that I am not anti-science or anti-scientific research. I have a great appreciation for the scientific community. First of all, someone in that field developed insulin, a medicine that I literally would not live more than 2 weeks without. Secondly, I have a friend within the science community and the more I learned of his work, I have come to recognize how dedicated they are to their work; how hard they work for long periods of time to develop theories and models and instruments, etc. that support and implement their research; how competitive that arena is; how much work is done that is completely unrecognized by the American public, yet their work is important because it helps build upon the information gleaned by scientists that follow in their wake; how much they truly want their work to succeed and be beneficial ( in many aspects) to countless others. Yet for all my appreciation and respect, I still believe that science is not limitless. There are certain moral laws which guide and create boundaries and limits around scientific research. We all know that it can be used in a harmful way (i.e.,Tuskegee Syphilis research, Nazi Germany, etc.). How far are we going to let the boundaries go? At what cost will we alleviate suffering?
I have to admit that I've thought about what would happen if, hypothetically speaking, embryonic stem cell research provided a cure for Type I Diabetes. I have dealt with this chronic disease for 22 yrs now, and I can say from a first-hand basis how incredibly life-altering it would be to have a pancreas that performed the way it was designed to perform. But, if I knew it was at the expense of the destruction of a human life, could I accept that cure? Hmmm. If I truly believed in the sanctity of that life, there should be no dilemma. Yet, what to say to the mother on the TV commercial who asks you not to deny her daughter the right to a cure for diabetes? She certainly cares to see a cure! Well, so do I! But again, I ask... at what cost?
I've been long-winded, and yet much more could be said. Let me direct you to a couple of websites for more information on this issue, should you have time to look at it before you cast your vote tomorrow. They are:
www.stemcellresearchcures.com www.2goes2far.org
www.micause.com
These web sites contain much bibliographic info/articles that back up my message. Some very interesting articles on the 2goes2far site.
And, in order to be a Fox News-worthy woman, I'll be a wee bit "fair and balanced" and include a site from the proponents of Proposal 2.
www.curemichigan.com

Remember.... 2 GOES 2 FAR... vote NO on Proposal 2.

Thanks for taking the time to listen. Now go and VOTE for LIFE!

Barakel---always glad to 'turn again'

2008-11-02T19:44:00.000-08:00

What's not to love about spending a weekend in the beautiful North country of Michigan? I daresay it's hard to find an answer to that question. I had the opportunity to spend 2 weekends at Camp Barakel (a non-denominational Christian camp located in Fairview, MI). My time spent there is just another accumulation of many years' worth of time spent on the Camp's grounds. I enjoyed the 5 summers I spent at Barakel, and since graduating from college, I've enjoyed the opportunity to spend a few weekends there, both as a 'retreater' and in the capacity of ministry.
In September, I had the opportunity to be in both positions within the same month. My first weekend was spent ministering in music during a Fall Ladies Retreat, and my second weekend was spent with three women from my church as participants in the Ladies Retreat. I thoroughly enjoyed both weekends for various reasons: I enjoyed my time away from Saginaw, the opportunity to spend a weekend with other Christian women and be challenged by the Word in chapel services, to just have fun in the great outdoors, to see longtime friends on the Camp staff, and to come home feeling refreshed physically and spiritually. Below are a few pics and a bit of commentary.

I took this picture on my way out of Camp. The leaves weren't in their full glory, but I always enjoy pictures of rural roads that are surrounded by and sheltered by trees in their Fall colors.

The Immanuel gang: Me, Tracey Delong, Chris Klein, and Nora Krueger. This was taken in the East Side chapel. I must add that I was accosted by my older brother, Ben, after he saw a photo of me wearing this NY Yankees hat; apparently, I missed the family edict which stated that "Glupker's do NOT wear NYY hats." Ben was oblivious to the fact that apparently we do, because I borrowed this hat from my brother Drew. Either way, I just didn't want to do my hair, and so I was all about wearing a hat....any hat.

The chapel messages left me with a few thoughts to ponder, but also an overall important thing... the reaffirmation of the beauty of Truth from Scripture, and the true Life that it gives to believers. As people we forget many things and often need reminders to spur our memory.....

how I needed to be reminded that the beauty of a life lived for Christ is a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God, and an aroma that leaves its mark on the World around me.

Thunder Express: A long plastic tunnel/chute through which a person is propelled downhill while sitting on a plastic sled. Of course, I tried it out... and thought it was quite fun.

I spent a couple of mornings walking down to Shear Lake (located on Barakel property). This was taken on the West Side of camp; I hiked around the lake that morning from the East Side in order to play piano for a West Side chapel service. It was a grey, misty day, but the scenery didn't lose its luster.

The 4 of us tried our hand at archery, and we all did fairly well. Yes, we did hit the targets and we did score some points.

Nora was our resident sharpshooter. She did a phenomenal job at riflery, and I wish I could show you a video of how patient Nora was as she laid on her mat, taking careful aim at the targets. We were hoping Nora would win a prize and get her name announced in chapel, but someone beat her by a couple of points. Next time Nora!!

Tracey and Chris take aim with their 22 rifles.

This is a beautiful chrysallis I found outside of the side door of the East Side chapel. It was an intense jade color with little gold dots.... such an intricate work of Creation. It was gone by the time I came to my second weekend at Camp.

The beautiful Yamaha piano I played on in the East Side Chapel. I have no qualms in saying that I LOVE this piano. Such a beautiful depth and richness to its sound! I could play it for hours straight without a problem. Thanks to the Camp staff for inviting me to come and play my music on this gorgeous instrument! And further thanks to all of the staff who serve the Lord so faithfully year after year....you are a wonderful example to me.

Inside-Out

2008-11-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

Just a quick blog to say "thank you" to the many who have, over the past couple of months, asked how things were working out between me and my insulin pump. Well, I'm here to tell you.... we're getting along fabulously! We seem to be a very good match, one of which I'm truly grateful for.
My new insulin pump is called an "OmniPod",and it is just that.... a little pod that sticks right to me. I fill the pod with insulin, stick it on my skin (usually on my abdomen or lower back), program it to insert the catheter under my tissue, wear it for 3 days, and then remove it and begin the process all over again. I received my inservice on my 31st birthday (Aug. 8th) and did a lot of adjusting and monitoring of trends particularly that first month. I went to see my endocrinologist 2 weeks ago and my Hemoglobin A1C level (which tells the trend of how controlled my blood sugars are over a 3 month period of time) has gone down and is just about where both my doctor and I would like it to be.
Now, I think things are going much more smoothly and I feel pretty confident about the whole thing. As a matter of fact, I count it as one of my unique characteristics. Most everyone has a pancreas in the inside of their body, and mine resides in a little half-egg sized pod on the outside of my body. Yep, I'm a little inside-out. Comes with the package now, I guess!! Praying for another 22+ yrs of a good, full life with my constant companion, Type 1 diabetes.
To see what my pump looks like (if anyone is halfway curious or just plain bored), visit http://www.myomnipod.com/

Boo Goes to School

2008-09-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

The weekend before Labor Day, MJ and I headed up to Bay City, MI to check out the Tall Ships. There were 3 ships docked there on the River: one tall ship from Baltimore and one from Port Huron, and a catamarran that was ( I believe) locally owned. We made it our last "hurrah" before Michael headed to college in Watertown, WI. It was a windy and very warm day as we checked out the 3 ships and were impressed by the extensive rope systems involved with the manipulation of the sails. We had a fun time together exploring the ships and cruising through Bay City.
I know you're going to do great at school, Boo, and I'm going to miss you. Look forward to seeing you in November.

Names of various Great Lakes voyageurs were painted on the sail of the catamarran.

A Wolverine in Buckeye Country

2008-09-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

Heidi and Elisa Boothe:

fingernail painting time At the beginning of August, I took a quick trip South and headed down to the home of Heidi and Eric Boothe--into the realm of Buckeye territory (Columbus, OH). Fortunately, I came out as an unscathed Wolverine. Heidi is my closest friend in this world, and is the sister I never had. Besides being a great friend, she's a wonderful mother to two little girls: Elisa and Sarah Joy. So, while I have only one nephew by blood relation, I also have two nieces in Columbus, OH. While I visited the Boothe's, I got to take a trip to the local library for "storytime". Elisa walked around with me and would just randomly pick any person in close proximity and say "Hi! This is my friend Aunt Sarah." I guess you could say that we both met several new strangers! We went for a walk in the neighborhood and jumped on the trampoline. We read library books and sang songs with Billy the singing Bass (picture above), painted fingernails, and played toys on the family room floor. Heidi took me out to dinner for my Birthday and we did as we usually do: ate good food and talked/laughed a lot. Nobody in the world like my Heidelia, and I wouldn't trade her for all the money in the world. Nope. Money can NEVER buy a good friend, and I'll treasure those kinds of friends for as long as I can.

Life Has the Final Word

2008-09-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

"The edges of God are tragedy. The depths
of God are joy, beauty,
resurrection, life.
Resurrection answers crucifixion.
Life answers death."

- Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki

You were, in my mind, an example of a woman who faced Death and the end
of life here on Earth with incredible dignity, grace, and beauty as God defines it.
I'm grateful for the invitation to play for you and to hear the beautiful voice
God gave you one last chance before you took the journey Home; I won't forget that opportunity. I'll be looking for you in the 'second soprano' section of the heavenly choir; save me a spot.
I'm so glad Life has the Final Word.

In loving memory of Sue Seaman

View from the Other Side

2008-07-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

Hope-- (def) to believe, desire, or trust; a person or thing in which expectations are centered; to look forward to with confident expectation

'I have a new hope that blows away the small hopes I knew before
And at the end of the day, I am Yours. And I am compelled..."
S. Groves

I love to sing a song that speaks so much to my heart and resonates a chord deep within me because I have waded through its truth and have come out on the other side knowing it within both my head and my heart. In other words, I GET it. Or perhaps, it GOT me. Sometimes when I get through the end of a long day and put my head on my pillow for the night, all I have to cling to is the fact that I am Christ's. All of the things I don't understand or even yet fully recognize, all of the intermittent feelings of walking alone in this world, all of the questions and uncertainties of what exactly I need to be doing and being....I need help sorting them all out. But there is an act of wading through the promises of who I am in the eyes of Christ and recognizing more fully what hope is contained within those promises. They have been declared in Scripture. And, you can't somehow wipe away that position of 'belonging' with the stroke of a pen or the declaration of a judge. So, this hope that is found in who I am in Christ and what future is mine because of His grace to me is one that 'blows away' all of the small hopes that I get sidetracked with: hopes in people, circumstances, things, health, etc., etc. They don't last and they don't keep me confident. I have walked through a few months of feeling as though God were far from me, my prayers were empty, and I was joyless. I couldn't wish away the weight that ensues upon you when this all comes landing on your soul without much warning. And in those weeks, it was my head that kept telling me that Yes, God is here even though you don't feel His presence, and Yes, He does see your plight and understand fully what you are walking through. Even though I didn't have words to say to Him, I asked in the most simplistic way for His help because nothing else provided me comfort...not even my Dad (can you believe it?). This was my prayer many nights: "I don't understand God...and I don't know where You've gone, but I need Your help. Please get me through."

" You've written on my very soul where no man can legislate.
The law of your love has taken hold with your holiness and grace
There's no mistake.
I'm on the other side of something. I'm coming out the other side, the other side....."

Yep. There is a 'coming out' that takes place at just the time God has deemed it to happen. And that process of getting through that 'something' is not always an easy road, but the truth of Who God is and what He has promised to be to me and for me is imprinted much more deeply in my head and heart. Now, I find when I hear someone speak of God's faithfulness and His promise to continue a good work in His children, I can solidly say "Yeah. That's true. I've waded through that Truth and found that that is Who He is because He has been that to me in a big way.' I don't want to just know God in my head because I find He is so much more to me when He plants His truth deep down in my soul. I know that I haven't even touched upon knowing within my heart all Who God is... that will take place when the glass is gone and I'll behold Him face to face. In between now and then, I'm grateful He's not given up working on me and that He remains a faithful Father to me. When the circumstances of life throw you a curve ball, I can look back and remember His work in my life and bring that lesson into the ballfield of today and know that it still is true, despite the change in scenery. And how He is cultivating a spirit of gratitude in the heart of this ingrate!
Strange as it may sound, I think that birds are one of my favorite creatures. Quite simply, they are, to me, an object lesson from nature...and a reminder of Truth. Whether it is sunny or rainy outside, birds still have a song to sing. Circumstances around them don't squelch their songs. And, birds are mentioned specifically within Scripture as being known by God. Within the Gospel accounts, it is conveyed that not even one tiny bird, such as a sparrow, can fall to the ground without God knowing that it has happened on His Earth. He sees. He knows. He cares enough to pay attention to them whether flying or falling. A few weeks ago as I was mulling through various things as I rode my bike along the rail trail, I stopped to take a drink of water and turned to look at some trailside trees to try and spot a bird that was singing like crazy during the drizzly weather. No other bird answered him. He/she was the only one little bird-dude around. And in watching it sing for a few seconds, I was reminded that yes, even God sees this lone bird, and He knows when he flies and when He falls... and He sees you, Sarah. Every little minute detail of your life that you think does not matter to Him: He knows about it and He cares. Trust His plan, not your own, and don't worry! In a word : Hope--a confident expectation of things to come.

"I have a new hope that blows away the small hopes I knew before
And at the end of the day, I am Yours....."

Grateful to belong... grateful for a Hope that is sure.... grateful for a song I can sing despite the 'weather' around me.... grateful for the view on the other side.....

-- this post is compiled from a few thoughts rattling around
in Sarah's head as of late

The Eagle Has Landed (and other non-avarian related things)

2008-07-21T20:08:00.001-07:00

Lake Charlevoix, Michigan: this was my destination place on Tuesday, July 15th. I packed my bags, threw my bike (and Viv's) on the back of my car and headed North with Viv Gamez to Young State Park. Chris Klein had already landed the Eagle in its very well-situated campsite right on Lake Charlevoix. Kaleb and Trevor had headed to camp at Spring Hill, Kraig was still working back in Saginaw, and so I headed to Boyne City to enjoy some vacation time with Chris. We met up with a few friends along the way. Rod and Jodie (Gamez) Anderson and their two girls, Alysia and Alaina, live nearby in Petoskey, and so we spent some time with them on Walloon Lake (just outside of Petoskey). I have a few random shots of my 4 day trip, which was altogether very relaxing, very fun, and very short (unfortunately!).
Grandma Viv and Alysia are hunkered down in the front of the Anderson's boat as we headed across Walloon Lake to get some ice cream in town.
Chris K. and Jodie during our side-trip to Traverse City. I had never been to TC before and so Chris was up for the trip and we roped Jodie into going with us. What a cool downtown in that city! We had a fun day.

Here is the Eagle that landed (in Young State Park, that is). Chris had a big beast of a camper and it was the most luxurious camping I had ever done! We had a few nights around the campfire and I got to teach her how to play GOLF. I beat her in that game, but I'm afraid she skunked me in Badminton... beginner's luck, you know what I mean..?
Some of the beachfront on Lake Charlevoix.
Two little punkins' hanging out on the back of the boat (Alysia and Alaina).
Our perfect boat driver (aka Rod Anderson). I say "perfect" because: (1) He drove 'smoothly' enough that Chris did not get sick on our trip across Walloon Lake, and (2) He drove fast enough that those of us (such as myself) who wanted speed still had a fun ride.
Ernest Hemingway's cottage on Walloon Lake. It still belongs to the Hemingway family.

Thanks, Chris, for letting me stay in da' Eagle and for making my 4 days up North a lot of fun. I'm also grateful one of us has a keen sense of direction.... and Thanks to Rod and Jodie for a fun day at Walloon and for letting me hang out with the family. I think I'll have to invite myself up again sometime soon.

Some 4th Fun

2008-07-21T19:17:00.001-07:00

Fourth of July was spent in Holland,MI at my Grandma Glupker and Aunt Judy's home on 152nd St. The weather was perfect with a beautifully blue sky and big white clouds and a cool breeze to tone down the high 80-ish degree weather. It's generally a day consisting of a cookout, catching up with family (ie., gabbing), munching, playing softball, lazing at the beach, and anything else we decide to make up as an activity. My father has 2 brothers and 1 sister (Jim, John, Jack, & Judy) and now several of the cousins are married with children, so the brood continues to grow. Most of the family from my Dad's side were able to be there; we missed Chadd, Sarah, and Hayden (St.Paul, MN) and Ben, Kelly, and Owen (Louisville, KY), and Drew and Amanda (who had to work that day). Particularly for those Glupker's who were not with us in bodily form, these pics are for you.
Hudson Mack (One of my cousin Heather's kids) decides to take over the responsibility of driving the family van back to their home in Hudsonville. Perhaps the steering wheel reduces the visibility a tinge...? Such a patriotic little guy. He spent a good chunk of the day on the beach at Tunnel Park.
Taylor Mack-- playing a new game Aunt Judy taught us (after we all took a round at hitting the baseball). It was called "Lay it Down and Pick it Up". After a ball was hit, the person in the field who retrieved the ball had to roll it back to home base and try to hit the bat laid down by the hitter. If the bat was missed, the hitter got to hit again; if the bat was hit by the rolled ball, the one who hit it came in to bat. It was fun. This little guy was such a lucky duck! He always seemed to be able to roll the ball and hit that dumb bat as if it was an effortless exercise. You will notice he came dressed to the 9's. Taylor is a good little athlete and enjoys playing baseball on a Summer league.
My Dad watches a ball come in from the outfield towards his bat.
My cousin, Jeff, playing the Wii game my Aunt Judy just purchased a few weeks ago. Yes, he's as tall as you probably think that he is. My cousins Katie, Jeff, and I stayed overnight on the 4th and we played the Wii the next morning. It was my first experience with the game, and I must admit that it was pretty fun.

My Dad and Grandma Glupker (cousin Katie on the left, Jeff on the right)
The Mack Kids are ready to go home (Emily, Hayley, and Taylor... Hudson is, if you remember, up front driving the van).
My cousin, Lance, and Aunt Judy. She and my Grandma are pretty avid Tigers fans. Lance is looking for an El Ed teaching job in the Grand Rapids area, and anyone with half of a brain will know that they're getting one great guy, as well as one great teacher, if they hire him.

Jason Mack (Heather's husband) did a Jim-dandy of a job pitching for us here on the ball field of Wauckazoo Elementary School. Aunt Judy was in Rt field for a while, which was not what she really liked (as any of you who know her could probably already guess) because the action was not exactly in that section of the ballfield.

I've left out a few names, as well as their faces via picture: Uncle Jim and Aunt Marty; Bart, Debbie and Ethan (who is now walking like a champ); Uncle Jack and Aunt Jane; Kelly and her boyfriend, Andy... I think I got them all. It was good to have a full house.
My cousin Katie and I spent the 5th doing some biking around Holland, particularly down by the Holland State Park and along the bay. I had never been out to see the famous lighthouse, and so we swung by there to see the lighthouse (Ol' Red) and to watch the boats leave the harbor and head out onto the waters of Lake Michigan. Such a beautiful area...such a wonderful day...such a family to claim as "mine".... I'm grateful. Hope you all enjoyed your 4th!

Sarah Loves Owen

2008-07-11T20:50:00.001-07:00

Into every woman's life (or just about 'every'), there comes along a man who steals her heart. I apparently am no exception since my heart was stolen by a little guy with big blue eyes, brown curls, and the name of 'Owen'. My little nephew was so fun to have around, even if for a few short days. He looks for any opportunity to stand by holding onto your fingers and loves to stuff his mouth with Cheerios. My favorite moment with Owen came on the last night I saw him. Kelly allowed me to put him to bed for the night, and so I carried him upstairs at my parent's home to his playpen that was set up in my old bedroom. He fussed en route to the room, but once we got inside and the lights were out, he calmed right down. I sang a song to him real quietly, and he laid his head on my shoulder for a few minutes before I put him to sleep in his bed. He's such a good little guy and I'm glad I was able to get to snuggle with him, even if it was only a few minutes! It's certainly not an everyday experience for me, and I'll enjoy it when I'm able to do so. I like being "Aunt Sarah".

Da' Yoopers Come Visit the Trolls

2008-07-11T20:04:00.000-07:00

For those of us living under the Mackinac bridge (the Trolls), we enjoyed a visit from our Yooper relatives the end of June. The Yoopers are all relatives on my Mom's side of the family, and they consist of my Grandma and Grandpa Patterson, and my Uncle Mike, Aunt Karen, and cousin Blake. Ben, Kelly, and Owen were up from Kentucky for a week as well, and so the week was a full one for the Glupker's of Saginaw, MI. I threw in a little commentary along with the pictures....just to jazz things up a little. I love my family and am grateful that we can come together and get along really well; it's a gift that I've been given, that I'm allowed to belong to, and for that Intangible in my life, I am truly thankful.

Drew giving my Grandma and Mom a hug... yep, he's still quite the ladies' man, and he's pretty darn good at it.

Lt:Drew and Amanda Rt: Ben and Kelly
Gpa Patterson treated us all to dinner at Fire Mountain one night and besides the boys stuffing themselves to no end, we had a good time around the table.

The profile of a fierce Scotsman (aka Robert Patterson: WWII vet, Michigan Tech Librarian for 2 1/2 decades). My grandfather is almost 83 yrs. old, but he is still very active and very fit for his age. His mind is also very sharp; he's an avid reader, is engaged in current political events, still leads the Sparkies games for AWANA at his church, and is an all around joy to be around. Nobody laughs like my Grandpa does, and generally it is an infectious laugh... gets me every time, doggone it!

My brother, Ben, and Gma and Gpa Patterson during our walk through Frankenmuth. Doesn't Gramps' fishing hat take the cake?? He's always entering into the realm of "outlandish" with his fashion statements.

My cousin Blake is 9 yrs old and is the only cousin that I have on my Mom's side of our family.
He is a precocious but funny little guy, very smart for his age. When I visited him a year and a half ago, his big enjoyment at the time was reading the different states on car license plates whenever he was riding in the van with his parents. He's since moved on to bigger and better things, but he's a good kid and he has a tender heart for animals (much to my Grandmother's satisfaction). Here he is playing toys with Owen (baby O).

Yes, here is Ben telling people what, when, why, and how to do things, which is always the case when it comes to a game (doesn't the Oldest always make and enforce the rules to every game?). We enjoyed playing a few rounds of the card game GOLF; here we have Ben teaching my Uncle Mike, Aunt Karen, and Blake how to play the game. The following picture is the incriminating evidence as to who the true Champion of that game was ( and who it was not...BEN!). ... I couldn't resist.

Badminton Anyone?

2008-06-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

After much deliberating on what to purchase for myself online through a rewards site that my employer gives to employees for varying reasons (mine being perfect attendance last quarter),

I chose as my gift a badminton set. Now, before I am ridiculed for picking a typified 'cheesy' gift such as that, I have to say that it is NOT as easy as it may seem. One of my coworkers at the hospital got me interested in the game; she and her husband pop up a badminton net in the Summer and regularly have all-out, fiercely competitive games in their backyard. She made it sound like fun. Michael and I decided to bring it out and pop it up in my back yard a couple of weeks ago, and we then proceeded to find out just exactly how coordinated and athletic one must be to play the game. Unlike other racquet games, a shuttlecock (not a ball) is struck and the shuttlecock is never allowed to touch the ground during volleying. On the official US Badminton website, they say that a shuttlecock can leave a racquet at the speed of 200mph. There wasn't anything close to the 3-digit range of speed in my back yard on the day that Michael and I played, but I can say that SEG-A came out the winner, not MJ. Anyone out there an avid badminton fan? Just thought I'd ask....

Summertime....and other chapters in life

2008-06-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

In the famous song of George and Ira Gershwin entitled 'Summertime', the lyrics tout that summertime is 'when the livin' is easy'. What comes to my mind in regards to 'easy livin' in the Summer is my childhood. It amazes me how the brain can go into deja vu mode by a mere scene, smell, sound, activity...so many different ways we travel back in time by remembering. And how my mind wandered back to easy livin' in the Summer while I was out riding my bike on the rail trail this past week. It was nearing sundown, there was a warm breeze, and I was flying by open farm fields as I went down the trail. Flash back! It hit me that quick, and I was about 9 or 10 again, playing in the field next to my home, running around catching fireflies and putting them in a mason jar. There they came to their demise (they never lived through the night it seemed, no matter how many holes we put in the top of the jar lid), but they provided a little blurb of light and something to watch while we laid in bed. This memory led to other ones..... sleeping every night in a sleeping bag on my brother's floor with fans blasting and Ben, Drew, and I laughing for hours about the stupidest things (or about each other).....T-ball and baseball games all Summer....weeks of swimming lessons..... hours upon hours mowing grass.....weeding the garden and having dirt clod wars with my brothers....planting, watering, and weeding 500 pumpkin plants for Mr. Boese so he could give the bus kids at his church a halloween pumpkin.....swimming in our pond with the neighbors....riding on big logs and calling them 'alligators'.....bike rides.....week as a camper at Barakel.....VBS....Tigers baseball and trading baseball cards.... Yep, it's amazing how just one memory can trickle down and welcome in many more. Somehow, those chapters in life seem to close without you really stopping to take notice, and then in retrospect, you see how they were such good chapters in the story of your life.... and how even in remembering, they bring richness to life right now. Those old chapters close, and new ones...different,but good ones...open up. Childhood summers led to summers working at Camp Barakel, and missions trips, and making new friends, and going to new places, and learning more about myself, God, and my place in His world. As I think about how there seem to be certain chapters of my life right now that are closing, and not quite being sure of all of the "where's/when's/how's/who's" details that will open up in the next chapter, I'm beginning to realize even more how much faith is to be lived out in all ways for those 'in between' spaces, when you're not quite sure what to do next in between the old chapter and the unfolding of the new one. And, I appreciate more fully the exhortations "Be still and know that I am God", and "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."
I didn't really plan on using this post in a 'serious vein', but I guess I've rabbit-trailed once again. Actually, I was hoping to hear back from people regarding their Summertime memories as kids; thought it'd be interesting to hear what your highlights were, as well as encourage parents to make the best of the time they have with their kids during those 3 LOOONG months of Summer when, for the kiddos at least, the livin' is easy-schmeezy.

Memorial Day Weekend w/ the Glupker's (Baby O comes to town)

2008-05-31T09:16:00.000-07:00

Our little Wolverine had a fun day at Grandma and Grandpa Glupker's house. Uncle MJ bought Owen a swing, and before it got hung outside on a tree, Uncle Drew and Dad decided to swing him in the living room.
I don't think the setting mattered all that much to baby O....

Wish this little guy lived closer!! I'm glad he came to visit us here in Saginaw; it was so fun to see, in person, how much he has grown since Christmas. Yep, he's still the cutest, smartest, and best-behaved baby around. He was getting a little sleepy while I was holding him in the above picture; wish you could see the close-up picture because his eyes are such a beautiful blue color, and he has the cutest little rosy lips. Love that little guy!

Up above: Daddy is trying to get Owen to laugh by singing to him while Uncle Drew is holding him, Uncle MJ (Michael Joseph!) and Aunt Amanda are looking on.
Glad you came to Saginaw Ben, Kelly, and Owen....miss you and love you..... see you in June!

M&M's: MOPS & Munchkins 2008 (#2)

2008-05-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

A few more pics for all of you Moms.....

This is a close up of the Cat-o-The-Day. Last year, I bought a coloring/sticker book full of all different animals belonging in the cat family. There was also information about each various cat throughout the book. Usually, when one of the kids decided to look through the book and match the sticker with its 'shadow' on the page, the kids would ask questions about the animals. On the last day of MOPS, Fletcher and Amber were quite enthralled with the various cats, and I can't tell you how many different cats they wanted me to read about to them. Above is a picture of the Sand Cat ..... and Fletcher's version of the Sand Cat (which, inadvertently, he named "Fletcher"). I encouraged them to draw a picture of their favorite cat, which went over .....well, let's just say that 'it went over....'

Here is Amber acting out her favorite cat, the Cheetah.
Adam S. and his cookie creation at Christmas.

Having fun together!!

M&M's : MOPS & Munchkins 2007-08 (#1)

2008-05-30T20:06:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, May 13th, we had our last day of MOPS at Immanuel for the 2007-08 year. Our group was a little smaller than the norm (usually have 7-8 kiddos), but it was still an enjoyable "last day" with my 4 & 5 yr. olds. Since some of you MOPS moms check out myblog from time to time, I thought I'd give you a little peek at some things that happen in our class while you're off having fun with your Mom-groupies. And, a big 'thank you' for allowing Grandma Viv and I the chance to both teach and enjoy some time with your children.... we count it a privilege. The first 1/2 hour is 'playtime'. There is always a designated clock-watcher who keeps an eye on the Big Hand of the clock to tell Miss Sarah when it is between the 9 and the 10: when it reaches that point, then everybody helps put the toys away. Kelly Sams had all kinds of new additions to the toy selection this year and the kids loved playing with their cool toys. Grandma Viv is great at getting the kids in on imaginary play, and so she held a tea party just about every Tuesday that we met, and even the boys got in on the pretending. Above is Adam Veihl, who is making tea for myself and a couple of other kids sitting at the table. There was always crayons and coloring books or construction paper sitting out for the kids to create their own pictures or to color one from a book. Some of the kids are definitely artistically inclined and it was fun to see what their brains came up with when they decided to create their own pictures.
SNACK TIME!!!! The kids loved the finger Jell-O this day. Between slapping it on the table, looking through it so that everything turned orange, crushing it between the palms of their hands, and actually deciding to eat it..... I'd say it was a raving success.
While sharing is not always the choice thing to do, I loved to see the kids decide to scoot over and invite a friend to sit on "their" carpet square. The kids had a stack of carpet squares, in various colors, to choose from when we all sat down for song and story time. Above are Fletcher and Elizabeth. I believe that this photo was taken just after Fletcher peeled the Bandaid off of his knee to show Elizabeth his war wound, and then follow that up with an action-packed story of how it all occurred. As you can probably tell, she's more than impressed...
Magnet magic!! Just a few of the creations that your kids put together during Play time. I was pretty proud of these guys; they wanted to build a bridge that they saw pictured in a brochure, and by George... they did it! Pretty neat.
We Three Kings: Story time usually involved some sort of way for the kids to get up and be part of the story, or to act it out. They also loved placing the felt pictures on the board. During craft time that day, the kids decorated their own crowns; the basis for that craft was founded upon the life of King David and his kindness towards Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth. I had the kids repeat the name "Mephibosheth" after me, and they had fun trying to sound it all out. I thought it was neat how a little 'kindness' was displayed between Fletcher and Elizabeth....very sweet.

Christmas 2007

We missed you on our last day , Grandma Viv!!! Thanks for being a great helper (and thanks to Jill Peck for being a wonderful sub that day).

Blast from the Past

2008-05-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been going about your day and been blasted with an object from the past? Set you back to another time and another place? Well, I have seen a few things in the past couple of months that catapulted me backwards in time and thought I'd share a few of these "things", and hopefully spark some comment.
First: A lady with big, poofy brown hair extending from the back of her head in a nice vertical line. How's this happen?? It's a BANANA CLIP, a nice bright white one. Someone had been saving that in a drawer for the past 2 decades.
Second: A woman walking down the hall with glowing legs. How's this happen?? It's bright neon green LEG WARMERS.... so bright that I think even Helen Keller may have been able to see the glow.
Third: An elderly person with long, grey hair and a hippy-ish bandana tied around the forehead, singing bluegrass/country tunes. It's WILLIE NELSON. I think the only way I know any of his songs is that every infomercial that sold records had him as one of the highlighted artists (You know, those old commercials that scrolled down through a list of song titles, while background music played). There was a patient on my floor recently who had long, scraggly grey hair and wore a multi-striped bandana around the forehead. We called her "Mrs. Willie Nelson", and if she had a beard and sang the tunes, I swear you would've thought she was Willie incarnate.
Anybody else had some recent blasts from the past?

No Small Thing

2008-05-28T14:58:00.001-07:00

Sometimes music just "gets" you.... gets you right in the head or the heart, or it stirs you to think through certain aspects of your life in a new way, so as to evaluate and reflect upon how your life is lived and how it should be lived. Sometimes, it is just a reminder of Truth and how it is applied to Life. The following song just "got" me recently, and thought it applied to many places, spaces, and relationships in life.

Loving a person just the way they are, it's no small thing
It takes some time to see things through.
Sometimes things change, sometimes we're waiting
We need grace either way.
Hold on to me and I'll hold on to you.
Let's find out the beauty of seeing things through.

There's a lot of pain in reaching out and trying
It's a vulnerable place to be.
Love and pride can't occupy the same places, baby
Only one makes you free.
Oh, hold on to me
And I'll hold on to you.
Let's find out the beauty of seeing things through.

If we go looking for offense, we're gonna find it.
If we go looking for real love, we're gonna find it.
Oh, hold on to me and I'll hold on to you.
Let's find out the beauty of seeing things through.

Loving a person just the way they are that's no small thing.
That's the whole thing.
Loving me just the way I am it's no small thing.
It takes some time, it takes some time, it takes some time....

Another favorite from artist Sara Groves. You can catch a snippet of the song at her website, www.saragroves.com

Honduras 2008---Post #7 The Many Faces of La Esperanza

2008-04-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

Meet Nolvia. She is, out of the many faces that I saw, one that I will never forget. Larry Whiting asked us at the end of the trip if there were a few people who stood out above the rest. Nolvia was my 'One'. It's hard to describe really why exactly she stood out, but I think it was her tenacity, her bubbly personality, her desire to be close by me, her sweet smile, and her big eyes that seemed to just take everything in and seemingly recognize in a mature way (as much as a child can) all that was going on around her. More than any of the other kids, I wanted a picture with her and she willingly crawled up into my lap and let herself be photographed with this silly American woman. Though she lived in a cardboard walled, tin roofed dilapidated house with her mom and siblings (which is exactly where she belongs), I still wanted to take her home with me!! And when I think of her, I pray that out of the poverty-stricken rural area she lives in, she'll be a woman with a strong, educated mind and a tender heart, and a love for her family, and a woman who knows God loves her much more than anyone else can. I guess God alone knows her plight, and His plans are for Nolvia and He alone to know.... which is exactly how it should be.

I honestly don't make much of the work that both me and my teammates did while we were in Honduras for 10 days. If anything, I greatly admire the Mother Theresa's of the world who meet poverty head on, not by simply giving some money and some food, but by delving into povety themselves, living among the poor and ministering to even "the least of these." I recently read a small book about Mother Theresa which also included some of her quotes; while on some doctrinal issues I may disagree with her, this woman lived an inspirational life and she had some amazing things to say about loving one another, and ministering to the poor and needy. Both her name and her wisdom will live for many years to come, I think.

"The poor give us much more than we give them. They're such strong people, living day to day with no food. And they never curse, never complain. We don't have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them."

" To know the problem of poverty intellectually is not to understand it. It is not by reading, taking a walk in the slums, admiring and regretting, that we come to understand it and to discover what it has of bad and good. We have to dive into it, live it, share it. "

" Whoever the poorest of the poor are, they are Christ for us--Christ under the guise of human suffering."

" All my years of service to the poor have helped me to understand that they are precisely the ones who better understand human dignity. If they have a problem, it is not lack of money, but the fact that their right to be treated humanly and with tenderness is not recognized."

" But in the West you have another kind of poverty, spiritual poverty. This is far worse. People do not believe in God, do not pray. People do not care for each other. You have the poverty of people who are dissatisfied with what they have, who do not know how to suffer, who give in to despair. This poverty of heart is often more difficult to relieve and to defeat."

Honduras 2008-- Post #6 La Esperanza

2008-04-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

The trip to La Esperanza was not only beautiful but also refreshing. After several days of 95+ degree weather, the trip to the mountains felt great as we felt the cool 70-ish degree wind come through the truck windows. Since January to May is the dry season in Honduras, the green of the mountainous region, along with the natural beauty of the topography, was so nice to see. We set up clinic in a currently unused church building in the tiny village of La Esperanza. This village is about a 20 minute drive down a dirt road off of the paved highway that winds through the mountains. The people living there are the Lenca Indians, a "cousin" to the more famous group of Indians called the 'Incas'. The bright colors of their wardrobe and the features on their faces certainly displayed their Indian heritage. Though the land they lived in looks lush, the people were hard-pressed to find access to a sufficient amount of water because of the geographical location they were in. They were dirtier than even the Hondurans who lived in the drier and more remote areas we visited. We held clinic in the church for a few hours and saw predominantly upper respiratory infections---headaches, coughs, runny noses, sore throats, etc. Hopefully, the medicine we gave them helped soothe these annoyances. We also gave out some more chancleetas (flip-flops), which the kids were so excited to receive. They came running from school (after it got out) when word spread that we were giving them away. It was a very enjoyable day for all of us as we were able to spend it in good company.
Some little feet waiting in line for some flip-flops. Almost all of the kids had plain black shoes on, so to get new flip flops that were bright colored was a pretty cool thing for these kiddos. They were more than willing to wait in line for a pair, and we were happy to give many pairs away.

The scenery en route to and surrounding La Esperanza was absolutely beautiful. It was my favorite stretch of road to travel on. Apparently it was a little bright that day, and my sunglasses weren't handy because I'm squinting.

The church building at La Esperanza.

Jeff sees a mom and her kids who came to the clinic.

Women and children walk to the church for clinic. You can see the little girl on the left who is holding her new blue flip flops. The other kids were coming to join the line to receive their pair.

Honduras 2008, Take #5--- Village of Palagua

2008-04-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

Viewing the picture of this tiny house as I post right now evokes a lot of feeling within me. The tiny man shown above is Norberto, and he asked Dr. Corrigan if someone from our team would come to this home and visit his brother who was ill. So, Jeff asked if I'd like to come along, to which I agreed, and we walked about 10min down the dirt road, over a fence, and down a valley to this very meager home. Norberto's brother was very sick. Jeff had treated him in Nov. 2007 for pneumonia, after which he felt much better. But, he never fully recovered. When we sat inside this home on a hammock, we saw a very emaciated, weak, and dying man. There wasn't much that we could do for him, and Jeff conveyed the severity of his illness to the man and his wife, and encouraged them to get to a hospital in Tegucigulpa ASAP. I wondered what would happen to this man's wife and his kids (some of whom are pictured below) when the Bread Winner of the family was no longer living. I believe God sees their plight, and that he called us to that home that day for some purpose, if not for the fact that Jeff was able to share the Gospel story to the man lying in the hammock, who had a body that was wasting away yet held within it a valuable soul. Just as we were leaving from our visit, some of the children came home from school, and they wanted their photo taken. I was more than happy to oblige.

The tiny village of Palagua is located along a rough, dirt-packed and rock-filled road roughly 40 miles off of the Pan-Am highway. It took us a little over 2 hrs to reach this remote place. We stayed in a tiny church that sits just off of the road, down a small hill. When I came to Honduras in Nov. 2006, the church had only its foundation built. It was exciting to see that the project was completed and that a body of believers meets there regularly. Our team stayed just one night in Palagua, and that was actually a blessing. There is no electricity, no running water, no air conditioning available; I've "roughed" it before, but the difficulty for me comes at night when it's still 80 degrees out, no wind present, and a stifling mosquito net is wrapped around my entire cot. All I have to say is "thank goodness for Dramamine." In all actuality, I got quite a bit of sleep on my 10 day trip. It got dark around 7pm each night, and when no electricity is available, there's not much else to do other than go to sleep. I slept from 8-9 hrs just about every night I was in Honduras.

I was able to see some children whom I recognized from my last visit; as was to be expected, they had grown taller and looked older, but they were still fun to have around during our short stay. Jeff Corrigan brought along a portable printer that corresponded to his camera, so after he took some photos of the children, he printed them off and gave copies to the children. They were SOOO excited to have a photo of themselves, and I'm quite certain they had never owned one before either. We had clinic one day and saw about 65 people. The school building was close to the church, so once a few kids got a pair of flip flops, the kids ran over quickly to see about getting some cool flops. Several needs were able to be met; one woman had an inguinal hernia she had been dealing with for about 2 yrs and it was causing her a lot of pain. She needed to have it surgically fixed, but lacked the $200-300 dollars it would cost for her to do so. Some extra team money was utilized to help her get to Tegucigulpa (the capitol) to have this done. There were also two young boys, ages 7 &9, who had obvious abnormalities with their ocular function. Neither one of these two little guys could see very well, they could not control their eye movements, and they had, upon closer examination, some sort of parasite infestation of their eyes. They could not look straight at you, and their eyes went whatever direction they so pleased to go. It was VERY sad to simply see this. The opportunity to have any sort of treatment for these boys would more than likely only be able to be performed in Tegucigulpa. Our Honduran co-worker, Paz, frequents Palagua regularly, and will be following these boys in order to try and arrange some plan as to how they can be healed. I cannot imagine how many things, even at their young age, they have missed because they simply could not see well enough. I also want to mention one other cool thing. There is a microenterprise that is taking place within the church at Palagua once or twice a month. A Honduran woman named Rebekah is teaching these women how to weave purses or bags using raffia, yarn, and some plastic sheets (the pictures may help describe!). The finished products will be taken into the city in order to be sold at a market. This is a way for these women to earn a little bit of money, which is an incredible opportunity for them since they would otherwise not have that privilege. It also gives them a way to use their hands to create things that they enjoy creating, and to give them an outlet through which they can express their creativity. I loved seeing these women being empowered with this endeavor. Enough of my lengthy commentary... enjoy the pictures!

Honduras 2008--Take #4 San Antonio del Norte (Round 2)

2008-04-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

Meet Ramona and Ectos. They lived in a small home next to the schoolhouse in the village north of San Antonio. Ectos was gathering some cattle in a pen when I first walked by to say "Hola", and he invited me to his home. There I met his mom, Ramona, and I attempted (but failed dismally) to converse with them in Spanish. I did learn, though, that cows are 'bacas' in the Spanish language. Their family also owned some chickens and pigs; the pigs seemed to like to lounge right outside of the family kitchen window, which is where their pen was. Some scenery I'd rather not have outside of my windows, but thankfully there's hills to look at as well.
Back in the town of San Antonio del Norte: Paz is preaching the Gospel before we open up for clinic. We stayed in a small church in this town and the pastor and his 3 kids were very kind to us. They didn't have a church service this Sunday morning when we had clinic so the church members, as well as other townspeople, could come and see us. That day had the largest turnout of people who came through our clinic: 124. That was a lot for three Docs to see in one day. We had a small shelter in the back yard of the church where we set up our chairs and they kept coming, one after the other, from 9am-5pm. It was a long day, especially in 95 degree weather. But, the people were so thankful, and so many received medical treatment that they certainly needed.
Larry used me as a "Doc" for our clinics. Since I know a miniscule amount of Spanish, Paz served as my interpreter. We would set a couple of chairs up in front of us, which helped us interact with the people more easily, and showed them that we were listening to them and cared about their complaint(s). Apparently in the Honduran culture, the physicians do not generally sit down close to or maintain good eye contact with the people when they go for doctor's visits. Oh, yes... nice farmer's tan, eh? In 100+ degree weather, I 'fry', not 'tan'.
I did assist with some procedures, such as the one pictured below. Here I am helping Dr. Corrigan clean out the ear canal of a girl who had bad wax build up. We're using a tool called a water pick, which basically uses vinegar and water to flush out the ear canal.
This was my cot for the 2 nights we spent in San Antonio. The mosquito netting was an appreciated piece of equipment, but it's very stuffy. We did have electricity and running water intermittently in this town..... 'intermittently' being the optimal word here.
I don't have enough time or the talent to clearly express what I want to say about the many interesting people whom I met here in San Antonio. I wish you could see how they live, and how they go about their day-to-day business. They make do with so little, and are so grateful for what services we could give to them. One lady came back later in the night to give us some of her bananas and mangos, both of which were very tasty the next morning for breakfast.
One of my favorite memories from the trip occurred in this town. It was a Sunday night, our last one in San Antonio, and I walked out into the church yard (which was fenced in) to take a look at the stars, which are so clear where we were at because there aren't street lights and store lights. You could hear the songs of a church coming across town to where we were: people singing slightly off-key but quite loud, and an acoustic guitar being amplified over a small speaker. There was no usual city hub-bub noise or usual city brightness, so all I could see was a sky full of stars and Southern hemisphere constellations, and all I could hear was joyful people singing loudly to their God...... songs that I'm sure I'll hear in heaven, but will only then finally understand.

Honduras 2008---Take #3 San Antonio del Norte

2008-04-13T16:47:00.001-07:00

The 3rd and 4th days of our trip were spent within and outside of the village of San Antonio del Norte. The village is located approx 30miles off of the Pan-Am highway which runs from Mexico down to S. America. Though only 30 miles off of a paved roadway, it takes almost 2 hrs to get to San Antonio because of the condition of the road. Just outside of San Antonio (which actually had electricity and running water....when it worked) was a small village where we set up a clinic. We housed the clinic in a small school (pictured below) and had our smallest amount of visitors that day: about 40 people.
The inside of the one-room schoolhouse. The tables with plastic bags on them shows our make-shift pharmacy.
The outside of the schoolhouse.
Larry sees a local cowboy who came to visit.
This house was located across the road from the schoolhouse. This lady was out several times throughout the day washing both dirty dishes and clothes by hand. It's not exactly a Maytag washer/dryer or dishwasher, but they make do with what they have.

Honduras 2008---Take #2 (Outside of Tele)

2008-04-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

This little guy came to see me regarding an infected sore on his elbow. I cleaned up the wound, put some antibacterial ointment on it, covered it with a Band Aid.....and added a little smile just for kicks. He thought that was funny, so I snapped a picture of it, gave him some extra Band Aids and sent him on his way.

The first clinic we held was in a tiny village located outside of the town of Tele. It is located in Northern Honduras, right along the Caribbean Sea. Our first day there, we traveled right from the airport in San Pedro Sula to Tele and sat on the beach that night in 80 degree weather; it was a far cry from the 8 inches of snow and 10 degree weather we had left 14 hrs. earlier. I was in heaven because it was the warmest I'd been in months and my body enjoyed the thaw. We worked one day here with the Garifuna people. They are indigenous to Africa, but set up a colony there in Honduras back in the 1600 or 1700's after having been transported across the Atlantic on slave ships. They speak both their native African language and Spanish as well. Their skin color, for the most part, sets them apart in that it shows their heritage. Some have intermarried and their skin is lighter. As the pictures show, they live right on the beaches of the Caribbean in bamboo huts with banana leaf roofs. They were excited to have us come and allowed us to hold clinic in a currently unused building. Some of the people carried their own plastic tables from their homes in order to give us something on which we could set up the pharmacy. We saw 75 people that day, and it was a blessing we were able to be indoors during the heat of the day.....the thermometer topped at 102 degrees.

Honduras 2008---Take #1 (Our Team)

2008-04-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

March 5-14, 2008: Medical Missions Trip to Honduras, Central America
There was five people who left Detroit, MI on a blustery winter day as the city was being pounded with 8 inches of snow. We had a brief stop in Houston, TX, and then flew into the airport at San Pedro Sula, Honduras where we stepped out into 95 degree weather and glorious sunshine. The trip was organized by Jean and Joan Quirin and set up through a fund that they help oversee (The Frankenmuth International Aid Fund); much of the monies in this fund go to help Dr. Larry & Lori Whiting in their full-time mission work in Honduras, as well as allocating funds to various people and church groups as needs are made known. We worked closely with two native Hondurans, Paz (an abbreviated name) and Rebekah. The above picture shows all the women in our group; it was taken in the mountains by La Esperanza (NWestern Honduras).
We are (From Lt to Right): Joan Q, Rebekah, Lori W., Paz, and Me.

Meet Bill Fale. He is an attorney practicing Family Law in the town of Cheboygan, Wisconsin. One of the other team members, Dr. Jeff Corrigan, invited Bill to come along on this trip. It was the first time he had ever done anything like this, and he was a little intrepidatious, but excited to be able to help. He worked in our "portable pharmacy" with Lori and Joan, as well as help out in whatever way he was able to. Bill loved to talk, and he had many incredible stories; I thoroughly enjoyed his company and his big heart for service. Here we are in Seguatepeque, standing behind Paz's car and waiting to roll out to rural Honduras for a few days. I have to add that those khaki pants were the best! They've weathered a few backpacking trips and lots of bike rides, and doggone it, they did great in Honduras. When they wear out, the wardrobe won't ever be quite the same.....

Corrigan also hails from Cheboygan, Wisconsin. This was his second trip to Honduras, having gone in Oct. of 2007. He speaks fluent Spanish, and so he did a great job interacting with the patients who came to see us. I worked through an interpreter (that being Paz), but often needed Jeff's help to get my point across or to try to understand what was being communicated to me (Paz's English is sometimes a little bit shaky). The Hondurans always got a big kick out of seeing him because Jeff is quite tall: 6ft4inches. As you probably guessed, the Hondurans,on average,tend to be a of a slightly shorter stature than that. Yep, he stood out in a crowd.....literally.
Dr. Larry and Lori Whiting. They have been serving the Lord in Honduras for about 4 yrs now. They previously ministered in Costa Rica. Larry had a family practice in Frankenmuth, which he sold when they went into full time missions work about 10 yrs ago. I enjoyed my work with them both, and appreciated the opportunity to see first-hand a little snippet of what life as a missionary entails.

Paz Cordona (not pictured here) is a little Mother Theresa in the town of Seguatepeque. It's hard to capture with words just what all she does in that corner of the world. Her home is a revolving door, as many people with various needs see her at all times of the day. Before the government built roads to some of the more rural villages we went to (Palagua, San Antonio del Norte), she would travel to them on donkey and render her dental skills to the people as well as try to teach them such basic things as how to make a table or chair to furnish their homes (as opposed to sitting on a dirt floor). She has been very instrumental in helping churches be erected in remote areas, and in finding/training/overseeing pastors to minister at these churches. She's helping pay for a nephew to get through dental school. She is an effective communicator of the Gospel message, and always opened our clinics up with the proclamation of Good News.... and everyone listened intently. She is one who lives her life in a way that the World would not understand, and who is looking for her treasure to be found on the other side of this life; it's a treasure that does not "fade, spoil, or perish...."

This one's for you, Chris K.

2008-04-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

This tatt's for you, Chris Klein!! Thanks again for giving it to me; there's nothing in the world like a tattoo off of the clearance rack at Meijer's.... I just can't even think of anything that quite compares to the thrill of such an item. Well, here it is. It finally made it onto my arm. Next time, we'll have to actually apply them while we're on our road trip, not 2 months after. Regardless, that was a fun trip to Petoskey.

Sentiments and Questions

2008-02-12T19:58:00.000-08:00

Sentimental--(Adjective, org.1749); a) marked or governed by feeling, sensibility or emotional idealism; b) resulting from feeling rather than reason or thought

Perhaps you've dubbed yourself a 'realist' or a 'rationalist', but you must admit that at some point in your life (some having more of these 'points' than others) you've had a bit of a 'sentimentalist' creep out of you. Could be buried down deep and not show its face but every 20 years or so, but nevertheless, it does exist within you. I will admit that there are certain people and things and situations which bring out the sentimentalism in me a little more readily. One of these 'things' is good, classic literature. The past few years, I have made it a goal to, on a yearly basis, read a couple of Classics, largely because I don't have a background that was exposed to many of these works, and also because once I started reading a few of these books, my desire to read more of them increased. I also found that while the sentimental side of me may have been touched, I did not go into a 'disconnect' in regards to the Feeling and Reasoning portion of my being; the Classic works I read engaged both 'feeling, reason and thought'.
A few weeks ago, I 'stumbled' across another genre of literature that I never really thought to make part of my repertoire of books: Poetry. I say 'stumbled across' because I honestly never was that interested in reading poetry. Somehow, my 'path' crossed 'paths' with a particular poem twice within one week. This poem was referenced in a book I was reading at the time, and then it appeared in a little snippet on the back of my Smithsonian magazine across an advertisement for life insurance! I decided to check it out and read a few more works by this poet. So a couple of days later, I found myself at the library checking out a book of poetical works by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. After reading through a few of these works, I couldn't help but think that out of all of the things I may envy another person for, the ability to aptly use the English language in such a clear and intelligent way that it grabs a person both cognitively and emotionally is one that I may have difficulty ridding myself of. While one may think that poetry is pure emotionalism, I'll wager you've never tried to utilize your brain in such a way as to pen words that flow with rhyme and meter, and creativity and sentimentality. So, I'm letting my sentiments flow by sharing a little bit of E. Barrett Browning with you; hope you enjoy it (sentimentalists, non-sentimentalists, and secretive sentimentalists alike)!

Sonnet XLIII

How do I love thee? Let me count the
ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and
height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of
sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from
Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's
faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,--I love thee with
the breath,
Smiles,tears, of all my life!--and, if God
choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Loved Once (portions of sonnet)

I classed, appraising once,
Earth's lamentable sounds,--the wella-
day,
The jarring yea and nay,
The fall of kisses on unanswering clay,
The sobbed farewell, the welcome mourn-
fuller,---
But all did leaven the air
With a less bitter leaven of sure despair
Than these words--'I loved ONCE'.

And who saith 'I loved ONCE'?
Not angels,--whose clear eyes, love, love
foresee,
Love, through eternity,
And by To Love do apprehend To Be.
Not God, called LOVE, His noble crown-
name casting,
A light too broad for blasting;
The great God, changing not from ever-
lasting,
Saith never 'I loved ONCE'.

Say never ye loved ONCE:
God is too near above, the grave beneath,
And all our moments breathe
Too quick in mysteries of life and death,
For such a word. The eternities avenge
Affections light of range.
There comes no change to justify that
change,
Whatever comes---Loved ONCE!

And yet that same word ONCE
Is humanly acceptive. Kings have said,
Shaking a discrowned head,
'We ruled once,'--dotards, 'We once
taught and led,'
Cripples once danced i' the vines, and bards
approved,
Were once by scornings moved;
But love strikes one hour--LOVE! Those
never loved
Who dream that they loved ONCE.

So to all of you who have never 'loved once'.... any thoughts? Words of wisdom? Funny stories or anecdotes? I leave it open-ended on purpose, hoping that any who wish to 'opine' on the matter (as Bill O' Reilly would say) will do so.
Happy Valentines Day to all of you love birds out there from this currently sentimental sap who hopes that the word 'ONCE' never enters into your story of and definition of 'Love'.
I Corinthians 13 -- " Love never fails...."

LOST is Found

2008-01-31T14:06:00.000-08:00

LOST can be found on ABC tonight at 8p.m. and loyal fans of the show are ready and waiting to get this final season under way. The suspense of how the writer's choose to end the show is almost too much, but I think it'll end up being much more interesting than all of the previous shows. Can't believe that a show I swore I wouldn't start watching when it came on about 4 yrs ago is now the one show I watch regularly. Guess I have Ben to thank for that one. And so I have to ask Ben: Are you and Kelly going to pop some popcorn and watch the last season (for old times' sake)? Hope you do, and thanks for all of the fun times at your house on David St., and thanks to Kelly for the awesome popcorn. I guess we'll be LOST just one more season.

What I Thought I Wanted

2008-01-09T19:31:00.001-08:00

Do you ever hear songs that contain small phrases that for whatever reason seem to stick with you? My favorite contemporary Christian singer/songwriter is Sara Groves, and she has written several songs that contain lyrics which get 'stuck' in my brain, and I mull them around for days on end, dwelling upon the concept or truth that is presented, thinking about how it applies to my life in the here-and-now.
'What I Thought I Wanted' is a song that Groves penned after she had a close friend call off his wedding just days before he was to be married. In a follow-up conversation with that friend, she got the 'behind-the-scenes' scoop on what was occurring within the life of that friend that led him to decide to call off his nuptials, as well as his response to the difficult event.

"What he thought he wanted, what he got instead / Leaves him broken yet grateful. "

Groves also brings across her message by touching on the life circumstances of a familiar Old Testament Bible character: Job. When I think of Job, I think "what DIDN'T that man endure?" And I think I understand where she's coming from as she writes:

"When I get to heaven, I wanna go find Job/ I wanna ask a few hard questions , I wanna know what he knows/ About what it is he wanted and what he got instead/How to be broken yet faithful"

We know Job 'asked a few hard questions'; they're recorded in Scripture for us. And, we also know that God answered them with resounding clarity by giving Job an elementary lesson on Who He is, in all His grandness and glory. Job ended up seeing that the answers he wanted were not given, but what he got instead? Well, it was enough to make Job, a man who endured much brokenness and yet remained faithful, grateful for the rest of his lifetime. He asked the tough questions, but that didn't mean His faith had disintegrated.
Can you hear yourself in these next lines? I know that I could, and they've caused me to dwell on several things lately, as they have intermittently since I first heard this song.

" I keep wanting You to be fair/But that's not what You said/ I want certain answers to these prayers/ But that's not what You said"

I'm grateful that in my wanting to define what God should do under the auspices of being "fair", He shoots down with His intrinsic characteristics of omniscience, omnipotence, etc. He is not a God Who is defined by His creation, and I'm grateful He is so much more (and His ways are so much more) than what my limited mind can comprehend.
So why all of this Sarah-babble? First, I wanted to write out a little bit about some things that I have been pondering the past few months. My life at present is not how I would have pictured it 10 yrs ago. What I thought I wanted and what I got instead.....it leaves me broken and grateful. God has taken many of my life's "pieces" and gradually, lovingly, graciously put them together again, and He has filled this broken pot with joy that cannot come from circumstances or people, but from Himself alone. They were lessons He brought me through little-by-little, small and big changes that were given to me in little bits that I could handle and gradually embrace as my own----changes in thinking and acting and believing. And these changes didn't happen overnight! It's a process....as it is for all of us. In between the "what I thought I wanted" stage and the "what I got instead" stage is the grace of God carrying me along. Second, I wondered about the stories of other people's lives. In your journey, have you had any "what I thought I wanted...what I got instead" circumstances that have left you broken and yet grateful/faithful/peaceful? I know that I have, so what about you? Perhaps you're in-between the 'what I thought I wanted' part .... waiting for the 'what I got instead' part to show up. Waiting to see how God's plan unfolds. Trusting that God's plan is bigger than the answers to your questions.
I'm grateful that even in the waiting, there is a 'growing' that takes place. And in the meantime, I hope we can sing along with Groves:

"I want to be grateful, peaceful, thankful, faithful...."

I'd love to hear your story. If you don't want to post them on the blog, email me at nurseglup@msn.com

Honduras, The Human Front----Nov. 2006

2008-01-09T19:07:00.001-08:00

Below are a few snapshots of some of the Honduran people I met during my travels. I have many, many more that I could share. The people loved getting their pictures taken, and then being able to see themselves on the digital screen was an added treat.

A little girl staring out of curiosity at the Americans outside her home
in Seguatepeque.

Kathy is hanging out in Santa Rosita with a group of girls who enjoyed a daily visit to our clinic. As a 70 yr. old woman, Kathy went outside of her "box" and took a missions trip for the first time in her life. She had a blast, and I got a kick out of her humor. She's a funny lady with a big heart for people.
I clearly recall when this Mom brought her 2 yr old daughter to us. She wanted us to fix a rash she had on her scalp (she had a fungal infection), but I happened to catch some dried blood on the side of her Lt ear. Dr. Whiting had an otoscope with him and he checked it out; sure enough, she had had a ruptured eardrum. That poor mother must've endured some nights of crying, and that child endured some nights of pain; there are no pharmacies in the little village of Santa Rosita. As you can see, the little girl is all dressed up upon her visit to see us. Many of the mothers would dress their children up to make the visit to the school. The little girls' dresses were always very frilly and lacy.
This is the resident midwife of the village. She has birthed hundreds of babies in her 80+yr lifetime. She came to 'chat' with Dr. Whiting, and to get some Tylenol for arthritic aches.
I took this shot the morning we rolled out of Santa Rosita. I had snapped a shot of these women 'sweeping' their yard, which, as the picture shows, consists of dirt. And, I decided I would come say Hola to them and see if they'd like their photo taken. They agreed to it, and so I held the camera out in front of us and this is what I snapped. It was between 7:30-8:00am and these women had already started a fire, swept their yard, washed their clothes and hung them out to dry, and were hard at work doing other domestic duties. There are 2 hard workers housed within those 2 small bodies!!

Honduras, Round 1 --Nov. 2006

2008-01-09T18:39:00.000-08:00

While 'Overdue' may print out on a slip of paper from the library, it the word is now
finding itself on my blog, and rightly so. Yes, my trip to Honduras, Central America did happen in November of 2006. To briefly review: I went with 10 people from Frankenmuth Bible Church for a 10-day medical missions trip. The trip was led by Dr. Larry Whiting, a full time missionary based in Seguatepeque, Honduras. We ministered in the tiny village of Santa Rosita for 5 of those days, delivering medical care and dispensing medications, and a tiny (yet spunky) Honduran woman nicknamed 'Paz' delivered dental care, which we assisted her with. She has a heart of gold---she constantly gives and ministers to the physical and spiritual needs of her countrymen/women, both in the villages she travels to, as well as in the city of Seguatepeque. We often give out of our surplus; this lady gives out of what little she has, and God meets her needs. As defined in Scripture, she is one 'beautiful' woman. Enjoy the pics! I'll have to use two posts to show the ones I want to share.

Beautiful Honduras. View of the mountains as we traveled via bus to the remote village of Santa Rosita. The road to the village was just 'formed' by the government in 2002. Prior to that, Paz had to travel by donkey along a trail to get to the people.
Typical city street in Seguatepeque.
The kids came out to greet us with big smiles as we arrived via bus
into Santa Rosita.

The medical clinic was set up in one of the cement block school buildings.

The people were assigned a number, and then they waited in line to see us.
These people were tough...their teeth were terrible (I'll give credit where it's due), but they endured much with only a little bit of Lidocaine to help them through. Here I am helping Paz remove some decayed teeth. People would come from neighboring villages to have Paz take care of their bad teeth. It was a needed service that we could provide for them.

Christmas 2007---ALL about Christ...A lot about Owen

2008-01-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

All within the John Glupker clan were home for Christmas except for Drew and Amanda, who spent time with her family in N. Carolina. We enjoyed time together playing games, relaxing, chatting, and eating. Baby Owen's 1st Christmas was not very memorable for him, but we all had fun having him there as part of our family Christmas. Besides his nose (which he inherited from his mommy), he seems to be turning into a 'little Ben'. And, he is absolutely adorable.....quite possibly the cutest baby around (according to this proud Aunt). Below are a few pics from our time together.

Owen is checking out his Daddy's hand for this
round of the game 'Five Crowns'.

Owen hanging out with Aunt Sarah.
Owen sporting the only colors allowed in

the Glupker house: maize and blue. Along with the

license plate, he is also showing his support by sporting some happenin' PJ's.

My Owen

2007-09-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

Ten Reasons Why I Love this Little Guy

1. He's so cute! How could you NOT love him?!

2. He's a good snuggler.

3. He's a very good little baby.

4. He makes his Mom and Dad very happy.

5. He is truly a blessing from God.

6. He has some funny facial expressions--even at 3 weeks!

7. He makes his Aunt Sarah smile, even when he's not near her.

8. He's got the best cheeks to kiss!

9. He has made my parents now become first- time grandparents (and they're so proud!)>

10. He's MY nephew.

China Pics#1 ---The Great Wall

2007-08-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

Somehow, I managed to get the layout that is quite squished. I can't figure out how to change it, and I'm not uploading the pictures again! For those not aware of my recent escapades to the far East, I spent two weeks in China the end of June. My cousin Katie lives in Shanghai where she teaches English at a private boarding school. I spent about 9 days in Shanghai, and then we flew NW to Beijing, where we spent 3 days touring that beautiful city. We accessed the Great Wall at a point called the Guyu Pass, which was a strategic point militarily for the Chinese. The Wall actually formed into a little circle at this point because it was considered a likely area of access by invading enemies from the North (the Mongols). I climbed to the sixth little parapet/outpost on a very hot and humid day, but had a lot of fun doing so. As I got higher and higher, the view got more spectacular. Unbelievable to imagine how difficult it must have been for the Chinese to build not only this massive of a structure, but how difficult it would be to do so on such rugged and mountainous terrain. The padlocks seen in the top left picture are left by young couples to sort of be a sign of the steadfastness of their relationship.

While the steps within the wall made it much easier to climb up the mountain versus a foot path, they were very uneven; no two steps were alike. So that required one to look down frequently while climbing up the wall (at least this clumsy woman had to). The air got progressively cooler, so by the time I got up quite high, the cool breeze was refreshing and I wish I could've gone farther and enjoyed more sights: maybe next time! The Wall was certainly all that its name describes it to be: "Great."

MOPS and Me

2007-08-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

This is a new endeavor for me---the whole process of posting pictures. If any of you read this in the next day or two, you're probably figuring that the art of posting anything on my blog is new for me!! Now that I'm a novice at uploading pictures, I think this will be more fun for me. Some of you are waiting for pictures from both Honduras and China, and don't worry....I'll work on that hopefully this weekend. Twelve hour work days don't afford me a lot of free time in the next couple of days.
But, I thought I'd start with my MOPS picture because it is personally one of my more recent favorites. These were 'my girls' this past year at MOPS; lots of estrogen in one room for 2 hrs! Each one brought a different sort of 'spice' to our mix, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Grandma Viv (Viv Gamez) and I were the leaders of this pack and we both had a fun year with them all. Thanks to all of you Moms who let us care for your kids; it was a privilege, and at times (I'll admit)..... a challenge. I love Emma's big cheesy grin (front right); Olivia's mischievous smile; Amber's wide open mouth ---I think she was singing. Actually she had a great song during our 'song time.' I always let each one of the girls pick a song to sing; when it was her turn, Amber said she had a song for us all. It was called the "Duck Song."
I told her that we didn't know that one, but she could teach it to us. And before I could even get ready to listen, she popped up and started flapping her arms as she ran around the table 4-5 times all the while she was singing about flying ducks. Then she calmly sat down and said "that's my Duck Song." Rock on Amber! The girl's got creativity. And of course, Rachel has been playing with markers, as she unabashedly displays with her left hand; the incriminating piece of evidence as to where the marker spots came from is obviously held (cap off of course) in her right hand. Gotta love it! Erica and Katelyn round out the crew there in the back row. They were my quieter two, but get them one-on-one and they are quite chatty. We met the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month, September through May this past year, and Lord willing, I'll have the opportunity to spend my Tuesdays with 4 and 5 yr. olds again this Fall. If you love an unpredictable life, then spend a few hours with these little ones and you'll find that life truly has not an ounce of boredom.

A Post of Praise

2007-04-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

King David wrote many new songs written as a result of his life experiences and what he learned of himself and of God through those experiences; the book of Psalms is full of many of his works. I appreciate his frankness and honesty that oozes out of his artistry. I think of him today because when I heard some good news about Grace, I felt (not that I actually did) like I could write my own new song of praise.
Grace had her surgery on Monday in Cleveland. The surgeon, after getting into the area where one of the tumors was located, determined that it was NOT cancer, but a loculated area of infection. Grace had to stay in the hospital for a few days because she came out of surgery with some chest tubes, and needed to be on some epidural pain management because of the tubes and her incision. She was to be discharged from the hospital today; she and her husband will be in the Cleveland area for a few days in order to ensure she is well enough to go home, and they should return to N. Carolina next week sometime. She had an infectious disease specialist follow up with her so that once the specific source of infection is targeted, she will be placed on the proper antibiotic therapy for a period of time. Obviously, this outcome is so much better than what the alternative was thought to be. God is a giver of good gifts----regardless of the outcome. I thank Him for being so gracious to Grace, as well as to her family.
Thank you so very much to all who prayed for Grace and who asked about her condition. I think it's incredible that since the family of God is universal, we have the opportunity to tap into what God is doing in places we've never been to and with people we've never met. Thanks for caring about Grace.....and I hope this post causes you to praise.

Prayers for Grace

2007-04-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

While this has nothing to do with the topic of my post, I just have to ask on a blustery, wintery day in April: Spring, where are you?? I wish You'd come out and stay for a while! I trust that some of you who read this blog are enjoying sunshine and warm weather, and that in due time, you'll send it towards Michigan.
Can I introduce you to Grace Mason? She is the mother of Jen, one of my really good friends from college. Grace found out recently that she has lung cancer. As a non-smoker, this was quite a shock (for numerous reasons). If you met Grace, you'd think she was the sweetest and dearest Mom around. She was always so kind and generous with her hugs and in opening up her home when my friends and I would visit her and her husband in Columbus, OH. While her scans have shown that there are two spots on her lungs (one on the left and one on the right side), there is still a teeny-tiny possibility that it is not cancer, which is what we are hoping for. She is going to have one of these lesions surgically removed on Monday, April 9th at the Cleveland Clinic. It's a major surgery, and she will be in the hospital for 7-10 days, and in the city of Cleveland itself for 2-3 weeks (the doctors don't want her traveling back home to N. Carolina until they know she is recovering very well). Why do I write about this? It's a simple, yet important reason: I'm asking you to pray for her. Will you circle your calendar on April 9th, or place a little post-it note on your brain as a reminder to Self to pray for her?
I have been traveling back in time lately as I've been listening to a series of messages that were preached by Alistair Begg at the beginning of my Senior year of college. I remember them well because of their content, but also because at that time, my close friend Noelle was undergoing chemo and radiation for her bout with cancer; the circumstances of life at that time were such that caused the Truth of the message to really resonate not just in my brain, but also in my heart. His series was entitled 'My Times are in Your Hands.' It centered out of verses 14&15 in Psalms 31. He had three main points that came out of that series that I thought were just good, encouraging Truth.
1) I am not cast about on an ocean of chance.
2) I am not held in the grip of some 'blind force.'
3) I am being trained in the school of God's providence. Prosperity should not be the occasion of pride, nor should adversity be the occasion for self pity. Why? My times are in His hands.
Not only through various circumstances I have encountered in the health care setting, but also in the lives of my friends (as well as my own life), I have seen this Truth resonate comfort and purpose into so many unanswered questions and deep wounds. Two of my three very close college friends have lost a parent due to cancer. My third friend now is wrestling through that battle. Why? My shoulders are shrugged, and I have to answer truthfully, ' I don't know.' But the Truth of God's providence remains, long past the questions and fears and hurts which slowly give way to peace and comfort...and purpose. For that, I am grateful.
Thanks so much for your prayers for Grace.

Job 10:12-- "You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my Spirit."

A New Favorite Color...

2007-02-27T20:18:00.001-08:00

"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18) This verse popped into my mind last night as I was leaving Freeland High School after having spent a few hours practicing a spring musical with high school students....always an adventure. It's quite amazing how just a mere scene of creation can bring to account within your mind a verse of Scripture, or an encouraging quote; perhaps you've found that happen to you. When it does come to mind, the experience in observing Creation seems to just magnify the message or truth of the Scripture. So it was with me last night. It was dark outside as I left the building, and the yellow of the streetlights displayed the very large and lazily falling snowflakes coming from the sky. The ground that had been brown and drab was now covered in a blanket of pure white. Everything looked clean, and it had only taken a brief period of time to cover the "old" mess. So, this was the world I walked into, and had a moment to reflect on Isaiah's message of Truth. All of the 'scarlet' and 'crimson' in my life has been miraculously turned into 'white.' Thank you, God, for not just covering my scarlet stain, but removing it altogether, and in turn, replacing it with the 'whiteness of snow' (the righteousness of Christ). Sometimes, I think we all need a new perspective on colors.....

Explanations

2007-01-22T20:06:00.000-08:00

Many have asked me why I don't blog more often. Many have asked why pictures of my recent trip to Honduras haven't been published on my blog. Many have asked....and asked many times. Can I answer these questions in just a few words? It's called "dial-up internet service." Yep. The world's most frustratingly slow Internet access is what I currently have available to me. So, while all of you advanced techno people log in to your blogspot in about two-point-five seconds, it took me 6 minutes to even get to the point where I could write on my blog. And, I tried downloading just one picture...one picture mind you.... to my blog, and after 15 minutes of waiting for it to even show up, I abandoned that effort altogether. Now for some good news: a company called Charter (heard of it?) is coming to my house this Friday to get me on-board the fast train of Internet service, and then, maybe, you'll hear from me a little more frequently. And, perhaps, I'll visit your sites more frequently as well. Kapeesh?

Land of the Grey?

2007-01-22T19:20:00.000-08:00

Today marks a significant day in the history of our nation in regards to a very controversial decision by the Supreme Court; that decision was, of course, that of Roe vs Wade. Since that ruling became law, there have been millions of unborn babies murdered 'legally' within the U.S.A. Yesterday was 'Sanctity of Life' Sunday, and thousands also marched within the Mall in Washington D.C. in support of Life. I was reminded of the event this past week when I was speaking to a co-worker of mine, Dave, who is on the local Right to Life board of directors. He usually goes to the annual march in Washington, but this year he sent his wife and 2 young daughters in his stead, which I thought was a pretty neat-o thing to do. Intermittently he asks me about getting involved in the local RTL events and of things that are going on in the Michigan legislature regarding 'sanctity of life' issues, which I appreciate because they certainly wouldn't be found in the newspaper or television media.
Now....on to what I titled this post about. I enjoy talking to my co-workers about their ideas on many different topics, but when it comes to abortion, I get extremely frustrated. Perhaps you've found yourself in the same boat as myself. Nine times out of ten, when I ask other nurses about their views/opinions/beliefs regarding abortion, they say something like: "I don't think that it's right, but that's just my opinion; some women don't have a problem with it, and that's their choice." How completely ambivolent is that answer?? Frustrates me every time I hear it, and, I believe, is a complete attempt to be in the murky, indecisive, unoffensive, relativistic 'land of the grey' regarding this topic. In my view, there is only Black and White sides to this issue: Murder or Not Murder. If you believe abortion is wrong, then it's wrong in every circumstance and for any woman who chooses to do so; there's no room for relativistic answers like: 'a woman has the right to choose, and while I wouldn't choose to have an abortion, I think women should be able to have the chance to choose.' Exactly what side of the issue is that answer? To me, that answer is one of support of the issue because you have absolutely no problem with other women performing abortions, and therefore, you participate in doing or saying nothing to counteract abortion. Relativism can really bug me! Why does it seem that we like to dwell in that 'greyness'? While people waffle over stifling a woman's right to choose about the fate of her unborn child, there are millions of them being murdered across our country. In 2002, 1.2 million abortions were performed in the U.S. alone. "Tragic" seems too tame of a word to describe this; it literally is a holocaust of the most vulnerable beings on the Earth, and not enough people are willing to stand up and call a spade a 'spade'. Hate to break it to all of you 'land of the grey' dwellers who love your comfy world, but I know a tiny secret you haven't seemed to figure out yet: you're actually not surrounded by 'Grey', but by the colors of Black and White. So, figure out what side you're on (preferably the right side), and stick to it regarding this issue, because the 'land of the grey' is all in your imagination.
For more info regarding abortion issues in Michigan, go to www.rtl.org
Embryonic stem cell research is to be a hot topic in Lansing in the next few months.

Two-For-One

2006-11-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is true!! Today brings you a 2-for-1 special on 'Sarah's Spot.' This, my second post for the day, is delivered your way to tell you that info regarding my recent trip to Honduras should come about in the next couple of days. I'm still working out the logistics about downloading pictures and all of that fun stuff, so when I have that figured out, I'll get it posted. Since this post is short, I'll throw in a little joke I spotted in the newspaper a few weeks ago that answered a long-existing question I've had rolling around in the back of my brain:

Q. Where do ants go for their holidays?

A. Frants

Happy Tuesday!

Sarah

Adding to the Beauty

2006-11-28T17:36:00.000-08:00

"I've been catching glimpses of it, now more than ever. The only thing that could rival my despair at the pain in the world is my hope in a very real kingdom of God, and very real people who by the grace of God are adding to the beauty with their beautiful art, creative lives, and redemptive work." This quote from Christian artist Sara Groves has become part of my daily thinking, it seems, for many reasons. Throughout her CD release, Add to the Beauty, Groves weaves together several songs which deal with how the kingdom of God is NOT a 'non-entity,' but that it is a living and breathing kingdom that, at present, resides within the hearts of those who, by faith, have been 'adopted' into its realm. In other words, the kingdom of God is within. And so, the way we see the reality of the kingdom is by the outer expressions of the people who contain this possession within. This kingdom stands in stark contrast to the kingdom of the world (Satan's kingdom), that stands in all of its ugliness around every corner, amidst many homes, and within many people on Earth. But...the kingdom of God is beautiful. We can shine forth its beauty in our relationships, in our homes, in our workplaces, in our art, in our good works.....it can transform so many areas of life. That, to me, is the incredible part about this word picture. Whether you're at home caring for children, living life with your spouse, interacting with co-workers, visiting a widow, whatever it may be, you can live the beautiful life of the kingdom of God. It's a redemptive life, one that has been purchased by Christ, and now shines forth with His beauty. This is so encouraging to me, and has often been on my mind the past few months, as I see His work in me and within the lives of others. Here's a small snippet of one of Groves' songs:

When anger fills your heart; When in your pain and hurt
You find the strength to stop; You bless instead of curse
When doubting floods your soul; When all things feel unjust
You open up your heart; You find a way to trust
That's a little stone, that's a little mortar
That's a little seed, that's a little water
In the hearts of the sons and daughters
This kingdom's coming......
In the mundane tasks of living; in the pouring out and giving
In the waking up and trying; in the laying down and dying...... this kingdom's coming.

Hope you're 'adding to the beauty' of His Kingdom in your corner of the world.

Sarah

Come Back Again

2006-11-27T15:51:00.000-08:00

Coming soon . . . a new post from Sarah!

Blogging Beginnings---the "Bare Bones" Edition

2006-10-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

As is true for my life itself, this page is a work in process. Daylight Savings Time seems to be my friend today. It allowed me an extra hour (after a 12-hr. work day) to finally take my sister-in-law's advice and get my blogspot up and running. So...the 'bare bones' edition is now published, and my mark is made in the blogging world. The landscape here on "my Spot" may not change quickly, so bear with the bleakness, and hopefully I'll somehow become techno-savvy in the near future!!