6 Medical Myths

This made me laugh. An article on Yahoo News reveals research into some commonly held myths (even commonly believed by doctors). We can all sleep easier now, knowing these truths:

Myth 1: We only use 10% of our brains. Nope - brain imaging reveals no part of the brain that is actually "inactive" or unused at any point.

Myth 2: You should drink 8 glasses of water a day. Nah. You need the equivalent of 8 cups of fluids, but you can get that from fruit and vegetables, tea, even coffee.

Myth 3: Shaved hair grows back thicker, darker, courser. Wrong! Studies show the hair growing back after shaving is not any darker or thicker than unshaved hair. It may appear darker due to not having been bleached by the sun, though.

Myth 4: Reading in dim light damages your eyesight. No way Jose. It doesn't cause any damage at all. Can cause eye fatigue, but it gets all better with a good night's sleep.

Myth 5: Cell Phones are dangerous in hospitals. Negatory. Tests showed that cell phones can actually interfere with a few hospital medical devices, but only if they were held within a few feet of the device. In general, walking down hospital halls or even into rooms, poses no threat. In fact, the improved communication by doctors carrying cell phones actually results in fewer mistakes and better health.

Myth 6: Turkey causes drowsiness. What? Not true? well, sort of. Turkey does have triptophane which makes you drowsy. But it doesn't have any more triptophane than chicken or beef. So why are we so tired after Thanksgiving meals? Mass quantities of food and alcohol. That's all.


So, as you prepare to celebrate Christmas, feel totally free to walk around hospitals with cell phones, eat all the turkey you want, read in the dark, drink more coffee, and shave your whole body if you want too.

Merry Christmas!

SNOW UPDATE 2

We're on!!!

Halbeck Dr (the road that turns off of Curtis into the school) is plowed. So is the parking lot and the walkways into the school.

SO...but given the condition of lots of side roads, we are going to cancel Sunday School and just have worship at 10:30am.

See you at 10:30 if you can safely make it out there.

Drive safe,

Scott

SNOW UPDATE!!!

Hey Folks. It is 6:30am and we are trying to decide if we should have worship.

Several Churches in town have already cancelled services for today - including First Christian.

We have our expert team of snow assessors on the way to Barkstall School as we speak to determine if roads, parking lot, and walkways are passable.

We'll be making an announcement shortly as to whether or not we are meeting.

CHeck back here for a final word on whether or not we are meeting!

Thanks,
Scott

um, what's this cold white stuff all over the ground?

So, I woke up on Thursday and my first thought was, we gotta cancel church. I mean I know it was only Thursday...but it was SEVEN degrees. Like as in single digits, seven.

But then we're sitting at the table on Thursday night eating dinner and we notice this white stuff blowing around in the wind. It was kind of a nostalgic moment: it reminded me of ash from forest fires. Felt like being in Southern California again.

An hour later, we couldn't hardly see any grass.

Well, woke up this morning to a beautiful 2 inches of snow covering everything. And yeah, that was us outside making snow angels at 6:30am. Hope we didn't wake ya!

Oh, and church is still on.

A story that didn't make the cut...

I wanted to use this illustration in my sermon on Sunday but since the sermon was already over 20 minutes, I had to axe it.

Rob Bell tells an great little story in one of his Nooma videos:

Rob is walking with his son through a mall and they pass by one of those little mini-stores that sets up right in the middle of the walk way. The guy working the booth invites them to play with this little toy, some sort of a sticky rubber thing on a string. And his 5 year old son just loves it. "I want one" he says. So Rob starts laying out his case for why it's not a good idea: It won't work, it will wrap around your wrist, or your neck, it will hit you in the face...

And his son gives him that look: "But I thought i said you love me."

He ends up having to carry his screaming son out of the mall to the car.

Rob makes the point that at that moment, all his son can see is the thing he wants. The son thinks he knows what he wants (what he NEEDS!) and his world falls apart when he can't have it.

But what his son can't see in that moment is the bigger picture. Rob knows that there is something better. Something later. Something else. The next stop on their family trip is another store. They walk in and march right up to this wall filled from top to bottom with kick balls. And Rob sets his son down in front of these wall and with great joy says "Take your pick."

This is a great lesson on our expectations of God. God sees the bigger picture. God knows what's we really need. God knows that there is something better, something next, something else. So when we don't get what we want, or what we expect, or what we think we deserve from God, do we react like the kid in the mall? Or do we react with the wisdom of the parent, knowing that God has something else?

This Christmas, we have a great chance to help our kids see the things that really matter. We have a chance to help them see that there are things bigger, better, and more significant than just having the thing that's right in front of them that they think they need so badly. And by helping them see that, we start to give our kids the tools they need their whole life long to trust God to give them what they really need.