Jesus' Response to Healthcare

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, 
he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Matthew 14:14

Design that Saves Lives!

Is Your Worldview Frozen in 1952?

Faith of a Mustard Seed

Last week my family was invited to the south-side of Chicago to the neighborhood of Lawndale to have lunch with some friends from our church, Dae and Esther, who live there. Lawndale has had a checkered and difficult history. Our friends both work in medicine and while both of them could have sought out far more lucrative careers in other hospitals, but instead they moved to Lawndale where they felt that God wanted them to be. We had lunch together and then they took us to the Lawndale Christian Health Center where Pat, one of the staff members, gave us a tour of the facility and share the story of LCHC with us.

I believe the most touching thing about the history of the center was the way it began. Pat told us that everything began with a group of students who felt like God had given them a burden for this community. Everyone around them thought that they were crazy when they began to share some of their dreams and visions of a church and medical center. However, they began to pray, save, and work towards doing what they felt God had called them to. They had a vision to see the Gospel lived out in word and deed and their faith led to amazing transformation within this community. As I stood in the middle of the medical center, which was a direct and tangible result of their faith, it gave me chills to think of what can be done when people listen to the heart of God. Today the LCHC provides affordable health care to residents who might otherwise go without proper care. Since it is a Christian Center they are able to meet many more needs (spiritual and emotional) than a typical medical facility might be able to.

Our friend Dae explained to us that one of the doctors who helped start the health center was working as a medical missionary in Africa when he felt like God was drawing him back to Chicago. He said at the time when he moved back to the states the quality of health care in Africa was better then the quality of care available for the residents in the community of Lawndale. How is it possible that in a country with such a high standard of living that we can neglect the needs of our own neighbors?

Today, not only is there a medical center with a workout facility and a gym, but the church in Lawndale is also renovating houses and providing affordable housing for residents of the community. The Gospel is being lived out daily in very real and tangible ways and you can see the direct results in the lives of people. I was truly and deeply inspired by the work and faith of the Lawndale Community Church, the Lawndale Christian Health Center, and of our friends who have taken seriously what it means to follow in Christ. I can only imagine what this world would look like if more Christians would follow in their footsteps.

"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." -Jesus of Nazareth

Corn, the other White Meat!

Believe it or not the food item we eat the most of in the USA is corn. You can try not to, but you would be severely limited in your choices. Read more in this Wired article.

EEEWWWwwwwwwww!

In this photo one hamburger is 12 years old and the other is not. Can you tell which one is which? Here is the full story of the hamburger that will not rot.

Did You Eat Corn Today???? Yep!

Ingredients made from Corn: baking powder, caramel, confectioner's sugar, corn flour, cornstarch, corn gluten, corn syrup, corn meal, corn oil, (processed meats often contain dextrose, food starch, or corn syrup), dextrin, maltodextrin, dextrose (glucose), fructose, excipients, golden syrup, glucona delta lactone("GDL"), invert sugar or invert syrup, malt, malt syrup, malt extract, mono- and di-glycerides, monosodium glutamate or MSG, sorbitol, starch, food starch, modified food starch, "sucrose (from corn)", treacle, vanilla extract, xanthan gum, zein

Eat More! Move Less!

Too Funny!

New Wearable Feedbags Let Americans Eat More, Move Less

Domesticating Germs?

This was a very intriguing talk exploring how germs and pathogens spread. He had some amazing stats on Malaria and some basis ways to head things off that make a lot of sense.

Daylight Savings (waste of) Time

According to National Geographic daylight savings does not make any negligible difference in energy savings. Seems only to make a different in the amount of accidents we have. Be watchful next week for the sleep deprived.

Universal Healthcare???

So I just watched Sicko last weekend. Yeah, I know, I know. It's been out for a long time. Anyway, I watched it my first thought is that it is unfortunate that such am important topic was taken on by such a controversial person (Michael Moore). I watched his Bowling for Columbine and he was definitely suspect in the way that he manipulates the viewer and spliced the clips together in a questionable way. I chose not to watch Fahrenheit 911, but when Sicko came out I knew that I wanted to see it in spite of the fact that Moore was behind it. Why?

Well, during our 6 and 1/2 years living in Spain many of my preconceptions of socialized health care were challenged. Lori and I were highly skeptical of the socialized system in Spain and purchased our own private insurance through a Spanish insurance company. Since the private system was competing with a free system, not only were our insurance premiums affordable, but when we went to the doctor or the hospital, they would swipe our insurance card and that was it. No forms, no bills, no co-pays if we stayed in our network (it covered 90% outside of the network). Medicines were significantly cheaper than in the states and cheaper still if you were in the Spanish social-security system. During our time there we saw many positive ways in which the socialized health care system was a benefit to the whole of Spanish society. While not perfect, it made the American system seem both bizarre and expensive.

That said I don't think that everything in the socialized medical system was great. While they were reputed to have better technology they were also known for being less personal. We had some very dear friends who experienced the impersonal part of that health care system.

In Sicko, Moore brings up some great questions.

• How come we believe that universal education (public school), universal fire protection (firefighters),or universal police protection, but we freak out at the thought of universal health care?
  
• How can the richest country on earth rank 37th in world-wide health care?
  
• Why are our medical costs spiraling out of control and what, if anything can be done to make sure that the working poor are receiving the care that they need?

So, first I would like to hear from those of you who live outside the USA. My first question is:
1) What are the benefits and the pitfalls of a socialized or universal health care system?

My second question is for all of us:
2) What is the role of the church in the USA in regards to health care? What are some practical ways that the church is already helping people who lack the care they need and what are somethings that we can do that are not being done?

Food Crime!

Is diet contributing to violence in society? The follow excerpt is from a study that looked at perpetrators of violent crimes and found that dietary changes helped to reduce violence. I also remember in the movie "super size me" there was a school that restricted junk food and then the students became less aggressive.

"Over the last century most western countries have undergone a dramatic shift in the composition of their diets in which the omega-3 fatty acids that are essential to the brain have been flooded out by competing omega-6 fatty acids, mainly from industrial oils such as soya, corn, and sunflower. In the US, for example, soya oil accounted for only 0.02% of all calories available in 1909, but by 2000 it accounted for 20%. Americans have gone from eating a fraction of an ounce of soya oil a year to downing 25lbs (11.3kg) per person per year in that period. In the UK, omega-6 fats from oils such as soya, corn, and sunflower accounted for 1% of energy supply in the early 1960s, but by 2000 they were nearly 5%. These omega-6 fatty acids come mainly from industrial frying for takeaways, ready meals and snack foods such as crisps, chips, biscuits, ice-creams and from margarine. Alcohol, meanwhile, depletes omega-3s from the brain."

Link to entire article

Oops!

So today was fairly warm by Chicago standards (I didn't have to wear a face mask on my morning run). Things were going well on my jog although the warm weather is what caused my predicament. When it's snowy I stick to the roads because they are cleared almost immediately as it snows. However, since it was warm the side-walks were clear and so I started running on them. They were clear but they were all wet as the ice and snow was melting. I made it about three blocks from our house and as I entered the driveway I realized that it was not wet, but entirely covered in wet, melting, and very slippery ice. Too late!

My momentum had put me on a perilous course. I realized the situation I was in and tried to maintain my footing to no avail as my legs collapsed under me. As I went down I felt a burning sensation in my ankle and heard a sickening pop. I got up and tried to walk it off to no avail. The Doctor says nothing appears to be broken (I am very happy about that). So, no running for a couple of weeks.

Walking Around Town

One of the things that we have grown to love during our time in Spain is walking. Returning to the states we realize that it is not a walking culture, but that sometimes things are more walkable than we realize and we are so accustomed to driving that we don't think about our option to walk. I just found a cool site that not only rates how walkable your neighborhod is but also gives you a list of stores and services within walking distance. Here is the Walk Score for the neighborhood of Harvest Community Church.

Is it Healthier to Live in the City than Suburbia?

This is an interesting article from Science News that compares the health and weight of those who live in more dense Urban communities versus sprawling neighborhoods.

Healthful Eating Blog

Lori just started a new blog called Healthful Eating where she is posting recipes that she has been using for our family since I was diagnosed with high cholestorol. I really like good tasting food and am often surprized that she can make healthy foods taste good. Who knew?

Anyways, check it out if you like food. Cheers.