Trauma

This guy was the half-time entertainment at the game. While it was incredible to watch him I'm pretty sure I'll be taking care of him sometime when he falls off this death-trap.

Pacers vs Suns

Kelley is a huge Pacers fan. Her dad has some serious connections in Indy so we had the Pacer President's tickets for the game the other night. Larry Bird's seats weren't as good as ours. Kelley is a social butterfly. She had everyone wrapped around her finger from the players and coaches to security. She gave nearly everyone on the team a high-five, mingled with the head coach who knew her somehow, and got Larry Bird's autograph. It was a fun night!

We're Engaged!

It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks of Kerwyn and I deciding to get married and then actually becoming engaged. It's been killing us both to keep it somewhat bottled up until it was "official" but today he proposed. While not the most extravagant proposal ever it was very "us".

Here's the somewhat brief version...

Several weeks ago we were talking about marriage and engagement and I alluded to the reality that I wasn't quite ready. Afterwards we had a couple of conversations that convinced me that I want to spend the rest of my life with this man. So a couple of weeks ago I said, "so when are we getting married?" which surprised him (subtlety has never been a strength of mine). We talked about it and actually set a date while he went about the search for the ring and proposal setting that he wanted. I knew he was planning a trip to NYC for us (only because he couldn't keep it a secret) and figured that he would propose there (he's planning a carriage ride through central park- it sure seemed obvious to me).

Today the ring came in the mail (another secret he couldn't keep) and was clearly burning a hole in his pocket. His first scenario didn't work out due to some timing issues so when we got back to his house from looking at a reception venue he got down on his knees and asked me to marry him. He said some nice things, none of which could I recall, but it was beautiful. We spent the day together finding a wedding venue, talking, and then went out to celebrate at Ruth's Chris. I was quite underdressed for such a location but I was dressed for comfort since I wasn't expecting a proposal. We made the mistake of telling them that we had just gotten engaged and so they put rose petals on our table. That wasn't the problem, but the rose petals are apparently their cue that a couple is celebrating an anniversary. Throughout our meal we had an unending stream of workers asking how many years we'd been married and congratulating us which got a little comical. They did give us complimentary champagne though.
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We're getting married this summer in Indianapolis. We are so excited! I never would have imagined it possible to love someone this much. These next few months of preparing to be husband and wife will be a great period of growth for us. Thanks for all of your support and prayers as we ramp up for a huge life transition.

Thankful

I just finished a relentless week of being on call every other day and am now rewarded with a week off. The week was full of penetrating trauma (stabbings and shootings). Not many happy outcomes and very hard emotionally, but I felt privileged to minister to the family and friends. Not a typical Christmas, but an opportunity I am thankful for.

In other news, I have a whole new appreciation for my health. I had the biggest health scare of my short life a couple of weeks ago. Everything is ok, but for a few days I faced my mortality in a way I hadn't before. Through the process I have learned the value of not making patients wait over a weekend for test results if at all humanly possible.

Enough of the heavy topics. South Bend here I come!

Primal

I just finished reading Primal by Mark Batterson. The essence of this book is an exhortation to return to our first love for God: "Go back to that place where God opened your eyes and broke your heart with compassion for others. Go back to that place where the glory of God flooded your soul and left you speechless with wonder. Go back to that place where thoughts about God filled your mind with holy curiosity. Go back to that place where a God-given dream caused a rush of adrenaline that filled you with supernatural energy."

He then breaks down our love for God into the four components Jesus spoke about in Luke 10:27, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind."

Here are a few of the thoughts from each section:

Heart:

• If you are in Christ and Christ is in you, you cannot be okay with suffering or injustice or starvation.


• It’s much easier to act like a Christian than it is to react like one. Anyone can put on an act. But your reactions reveal what is really in your heart.


• Establish an income ceiling. Most people spend more money as they make more money. Their standard of living goes up in direct proportion to their income. What if every Christ-follower gave away everything above and beyond their predetermined income ceiling?

Soul:

• Awed silence in the presence of divine beauty is a form of worship that is often deeper and truer than sung words.


• The Bible is not an end in itself. In other words, the goal of knowing the Bible isn’t Bible knowledge. The goal of knowing the Bible is knowing God. Anything less is bibliolatry. The truth is that most of us are already educated way beyond the level of our obedience.

Mind:

• Learning isn’t a luxury; it’s a stewardship issue.


• God wants to sanctify every part of your mind for His purposes: sanctified logic, sanctified intuition, sanctified imagination, even a sanctified sense of humor.


• God doesn’t just want you to worship Him; He wants you to know why you worship Him.

Strength:

• God loves it when we break a sweat serving His purposes.


• Anything less than leveraging all our strength for God’s purposes is boring at best and hypocritical at worst.


• God ideas don’t become reality without some blood,sweat, and tears. Oh yeah, and loss of sleep. But that’s the true test of love, isn’t it? If you love someone or something enough, the expenditure of energy isn’t seen as a chore. It’s a privilege. It’s not something you have to do, it’s something you get to do. Love turns work into worship.

Here are a few other quotes:

• Which do you love more: your dream or God? Do you love God for what He can do for you? Or do you love Him for who He is? In its purest, most primal form, loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is loving God for God. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else.


• The impact God has planned for us doesn’t occur when we’re pursuing impact. It occurs when we’re pursuing God. -Phil Vischer, creator of VeggieTales.


• How much happier you would be, how much more of you there would be, if the hammer of a higher God could smash your small cosmos. -G.K. Chesterton


• Let God be as original with other people as He is with you. -Oswald Chambers

Check this book out!

Professionalism

When I decided to become a surgeon I knew I would have to work with some doctors that were more difficult to work with. I have been fairly fortunate to this point to be sheltered from some of the uglier sides of these individuals. I guess I've graduated to the uncensored side of surgery.

In the past week I have witnessed the 3 most horrific displays of a lack of professionalism among doctors that I've ever seen. All 3 were in the operating room and 2 of the 3 happened during the same 30 minute surgery by both the anesthesiologist and surgeon...with a 3rd year medical student observing it all (and nearly getting hit by a flying instrument). I'm still not quite sure what to do in these situations. My MO so far has been to just ignore it and keep working (and laugh about it endlessly afterwards with other residents). All three were basically huge temper tantrums by doctors. They all ended up looking like adult children with serious issues. Any suggestions on what to do when my staff doctor is screaming, throwing instruments, kicking people out of the OR...? The good news is that I have never been the cause or focus of the anger. Either way it is an incredibly awkward situation.

Giants

Everyone needs to check out the blog post, "The Wet Wipe Warmer Incident" by Rob Wegner, the Pastor of Life Mission, at Granger Community Church. Rob and his wife Michelle have had a profound impact on my life. They were the leaders of the youth ministry when I was in 7th grade and wondering what Christianity was all about. They were there when I gave my life to Christ, felt God's call to the mission field, went on my first mission trip, and countless other milestones in my life. Needless to say I love them, have tremendous respect for them, and can't wait for the day when I can be more involved in the incredible work God is doing through GCC in India alongside them.

Please read the post by Rob. It has been banging around in my head for days as I remember the battle I'm meant to be in and how easy it is to get distracted. Thanks Rob!