[Note: you can see a better report of the minimarathon and pictures of the day here at Meredith's blog]
Here is a little incident that Oprah, Michael J. Fox, and the media are trying to forget.
A few weeks ago Fox was on Oprah's show to tell his story of having Parkinson's. He is a big supporter of embryonic stem cell research, claiming he trusts the science community to preform stem cell extractions ethically (what great faith he has). She, too, is vocal about the necessity of embryonic stem cell research.
So of course anything medical that Oprah features warrants a visit from Dr. Oz, her resident health expert and regular guest. Yet Dr. Oz didn't agree with either Oprah or Fox. Rather, he let them know he was going to rattle some cages by saying adult stem cells are the answer for regenerating damaged and diseased tissue.
Oz told us what so many advocates of adult stem cells already know: embryonic stem cells can turn into anything once in the body (even cancerous tumors), adult stem cells don't seem to have a rejection rate, and there are several cases of people's own tissue being used to treat their injuries or illnesses.
Him saying this made Oprah and Michael J. Fox look irritated to say the least and it is no surprise Oprah.com chopped up Dr. Oz's statements to make it seem like he was speaking of stem cells in general rather than adult vs. embryonic stem cells.
I encourage you to see the clip for yourself, make of it what you will. Just wanted to let people know since you will not likely hear about it in the news.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Half Sarathon (I can't help it...)
Nearly 6 months of waiting and running came to an end this morning when I ran the minimarathon in Louisville.
Friends Meredith and Amberly kindly took care of the details (like booking a hotel room, picking a place to eat, driving) so I was pampered through the experience to say the least. We ate Italian, carbo loaded with lots of pasta and gnocchi, and turned in early. I could hardly sleep because I was so nervous.
Early this morning we made our way down town to take a shuttle bus to the starting line. So many people were there! I believe 12,000 people showed. Despite trying hard to keep a steady pace, I was swept up in the crowd and ran 11- 12 minute miles the first 6 miles-- after that I was so beat I slowed considerably. There were a ton of hills in the beginning and it was high in the 80's which didn't help the situation. But I drank lots of water, tried to stay upbeat, and persevered to the end.
The last few miles were difficult-- I felt like the bones in my feet were going to bust through my shoes. But how you can you slow down when the finish line is so close? Our friends were there to cheer Meredith and me on which was very encouraging.
At the very end I rounded the corner for the last stretch and went crazy! I was hootin and hollerin as I tore it up towards that finish line, I was so glad to see the end and knew I'd finished. My end time was 3hrs 13mins; not a great time, but only a little over my goal of 3 hours.
Will I do it again, people have asked? Maybe. I'd prefer to spend the summer working on my speed, maybe do some 5 and 10Ks instead as I do enjoy the experience of a race. It is simply wonderful to be able to say that I, the person who once couldn't run a half mile without collapsing, have run 13.1 miles and run them well.
Friends Meredith and Amberly kindly took care of the details (like booking a hotel room, picking a place to eat, driving) so I was pampered through the experience to say the least. We ate Italian, carbo loaded with lots of pasta and gnocchi, and turned in early. I could hardly sleep because I was so nervous.
Early this morning we made our way down town to take a shuttle bus to the starting line. So many people were there! I believe 12,000 people showed. Despite trying hard to keep a steady pace, I was swept up in the crowd and ran 11- 12 minute miles the first 6 miles-- after that I was so beat I slowed considerably. There were a ton of hills in the beginning and it was high in the 80's which didn't help the situation. But I drank lots of water, tried to stay upbeat, and persevered to the end.
The last few miles were difficult-- I felt like the bones in my feet were going to bust through my shoes. But how you can you slow down when the finish line is so close? Our friends were there to cheer Meredith and me on which was very encouraging.
At the very end I rounded the corner for the last stretch and went crazy! I was hootin and hollerin as I tore it up towards that finish line, I was so glad to see the end and knew I'd finished. My end time was 3hrs 13mins; not a great time, but only a little over my goal of 3 hours.
Will I do it again, people have asked? Maybe. I'd prefer to spend the summer working on my speed, maybe do some 5 and 10Ks instead as I do enjoy the experience of a race. It is simply wonderful to be able to say that I, the person who once couldn't run a half mile without collapsing, have run 13.1 miles and run them well.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Go West Young Man!
I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over. -John Maesfield, "Sea-Fever"
***
"I wish I were driving out on the freeway
Beneath a graveyard, western sky." -Counting Crows
Just a little post to expound on the fleetingness of life. I can see how many people look back on their lives and regret. After all, time moves so quickly-- if there is no joy, no depth, no learning of the virtues within those moments than life will seem not just fast moving but also empty. And there is something magical about loving people, about loving God, that sometimes slows down the days enough that you can really take it in and enjoy. Trips to see loved ones, school, our time living in a particular place all wind down to a close eventually, but we thank the Lord who makes all things new that the end of one time is the beginning of another.
Pictures of Washington and an update on all we've been deciding (and its a lot) in a short while, I promise.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Until we rest in Thee
There was a time in my late teens when I felt on the edge of a deep precipice that threatened to swallow me up if I stepped too close. Doubt, hatred, despair clouded my heart and mind and I believed any last shred of faith was taken from me. I found myself unable to believe in the incarnation, in the life everlasting, the resurrection of the dead, the salvation of my own soul.
I quickly became tired of asking questions and getting answers that didn’t satisfy. So I took a little spiritual sabbatical. I prayed the last prayer I’d pray for a long season, asking God to reveal himself if he was indeed there at all.
And so began my dance back towards the arms of the Church. People kept telling me to draw nearer to God, to pray harder, to worship louder. But now I don’t think that’s what was missing in my devotion—in fact, I was devoid of any love for or relationship with the people of God. I was taught my whole life that all I needed was my Bible and the Spirit to guide me and I could be perfectly happy. We were all little John the Baptists in the wilderness, just us and God and no need for another soul.
How wrong they were! And even Jesus’ cousin John had his people, he was still a Jew in community and had disciples despite our idea of him as a loner. So after nearly 8 years of journeying, on Holy Saturday I was brought back into the assembly to participate fully in the sacramental life.
Father Bush lit the Easter fire outside and we all lit our own little candles from the light of the fire. In darkness, we entered the church. Father George chanted beautifully about the attributes of God, his love, mercy, and blessings for us. Thankfully our friends were able to keep Lucy quiet and happy during the entire mass (something even Alan and I haven’t quite figured out how to do…).
There were several readings and responsorial songs, then a brief homily from Father Bush about Christ as our Alpha and Omega, our beginning and our end.
Alan was baptized and he looked so pleased! We all renewed our baptismal promises as a congregation.
Our confirmation was simple and lovely. After affirming that we as catechumen and candidates were ready to accept the creeds and responsibilities of being Catholic, Father Bush anointed us with chrism and blessed us. We each received a scapular from the Church (along with an icon of Saint Luke from Fr. Bush, Easter tulips, and gifts from our sponsors and friends—we were lavished on to say the least). We then took our First Holy Communion, something I’d been anxiously awaiting for a whole year.
Thank you so much to all our friends who supported us: to Dru and Adam for watching Lucy every week so we could attend RCIA, to Pamm and Tom for sponsoring us, to Jason and Hannah for taking the journey with us, and to all who encouraged us along the way. And thanks to Mark, Fr. Bush, and Deacon Burns for teaching our classes, giving us a thorough and enjoyable catechism. We are blessed to be received into the Church at St. Luke’s, which I believe to be a very devoted, orthodox, and caring parish.
That’s hardly the end of things—I still have questions, will always wrestle with doubts, will struggle with the problems that the Church faces. But I know the Lord is with me and, should I ever feel fallen away again, His people and sacraments are there.
“A promise or a dare
I would jump if I knew you'd catch me
Staring over the edge
I can't tell if you'll be here for me
I close my eyes and make a wish
Turn out the lights and take a breath
Pray that when the wick is burned
You would say that it's all about love
You were there when I needed you
You were there when the skies broke wide, wide open.”
–Jars of Clay
I quickly became tired of asking questions and getting answers that didn’t satisfy. So I took a little spiritual sabbatical. I prayed the last prayer I’d pray for a long season, asking God to reveal himself if he was indeed there at all.
And so began my dance back towards the arms of the Church. People kept telling me to draw nearer to God, to pray harder, to worship louder. But now I don’t think that’s what was missing in my devotion—in fact, I was devoid of any love for or relationship with the people of God. I was taught my whole life that all I needed was my Bible and the Spirit to guide me and I could be perfectly happy. We were all little John the Baptists in the wilderness, just us and God and no need for another soul.
How wrong they were! And even Jesus’ cousin John had his people, he was still a Jew in community and had disciples despite our idea of him as a loner. So after nearly 8 years of journeying, on Holy Saturday I was brought back into the assembly to participate fully in the sacramental life.
* * *
Father Bush lit the Easter fire outside and we all lit our own little candles from the light of the fire. In darkness, we entered the church. Father George chanted beautifully about the attributes of God, his love, mercy, and blessings for us. Thankfully our friends were able to keep Lucy quiet and happy during the entire mass (something even Alan and I haven’t quite figured out how to do…).
There were several readings and responsorial songs, then a brief homily from Father Bush about Christ as our Alpha and Omega, our beginning and our end.
Alan was baptized and he looked so pleased! We all renewed our baptismal promises as a congregation.
Our confirmation was simple and lovely. After affirming that we as catechumen and candidates were ready to accept the creeds and responsibilities of being Catholic, Father Bush anointed us with chrism and blessed us. We each received a scapular from the Church (along with an icon of Saint Luke from Fr. Bush, Easter tulips, and gifts from our sponsors and friends—we were lavished on to say the least). We then took our First Holy Communion, something I’d been anxiously awaiting for a whole year.
Thank you so much to all our friends who supported us: to Dru and Adam for watching Lucy every week so we could attend RCIA, to Pamm and Tom for sponsoring us, to Jason and Hannah for taking the journey with us, and to all who encouraged us along the way. And thanks to Mark, Fr. Bush, and Deacon Burns for teaching our classes, giving us a thorough and enjoyable catechism. We are blessed to be received into the Church at St. Luke’s, which I believe to be a very devoted, orthodox, and caring parish.
* * *
That’s hardly the end of things—I still have questions, will always wrestle with doubts, will struggle with the problems that the Church faces. But I know the Lord is with me and, should I ever feel fallen away again, His people and sacraments are there.
“A promise or a dare
I would jump if I knew you'd catch me
Staring over the edge
I can't tell if you'll be here for me
I close my eyes and make a wish
Turn out the lights and take a breath
Pray that when the wick is burned
You would say that it's all about love
You were there when I needed you
You were there when the skies broke wide, wide open.”
–Jars of Clay
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Live on Science Alone
I just read through the first chapter of Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion." His supporters claim that his "clarity" is often mistaken for arrogance-- I don't find this happening in most instances, do you? No, I think very often the arrogant are labeled so because they are.
Dawkins talks on and on of scientists that believing people have supposedly tried to take for their own. Letters, books, memoirs are misread and one mention of God is spun into a lifetime of abiding faith from Einstein or Hawkings. Perhaps this is true, though I'd like to say it goes both ways-- despite his devotion to the Church, the poor father of geology Steno is in a permanent strangle hold by the science community. That one, at least, I wish they'd give back.
An idea that's been niggling at my brain for some time finally popped to the forefront as I read it, however: many scientists truly believe that science should replace religion. They believe it should be the fount of ethical and personal beliefs, it seems. Reading Sky & Telescope this year my suspicions from earlier in life were confirmed-- just as the many science-lovers I knew were always trying to "convert" me (sorry but that is how it felt), the pages of this magazine are filled with preachy opinions about how science is the lens with which to view all the world.
This really leaves a bad taste in my mouth for a discipline I am quite fond of. I am going to try my best to seek out sources that, unlike Dawkins, aren't drunk with their own arrogance. Surely there are still minds in this world brilliant enough to know they do not hold the key to everything.
"I try to live on science alone.
Analysis and freaky sensitivity,
We've gotta live on science alone." -The Dandy Warhols
Dawkins talks on and on of scientists that believing people have supposedly tried to take for their own. Letters, books, memoirs are misread and one mention of God is spun into a lifetime of abiding faith from Einstein or Hawkings. Perhaps this is true, though I'd like to say it goes both ways-- despite his devotion to the Church, the poor father of geology Steno is in a permanent strangle hold by the science community. That one, at least, I wish they'd give back.
An idea that's been niggling at my brain for some time finally popped to the forefront as I read it, however: many scientists truly believe that science should replace religion. They believe it should be the fount of ethical and personal beliefs, it seems. Reading Sky & Telescope this year my suspicions from earlier in life were confirmed-- just as the many science-lovers I knew were always trying to "convert" me (sorry but that is how it felt), the pages of this magazine are filled with preachy opinions about how science is the lens with which to view all the world.
This really leaves a bad taste in my mouth for a discipline I am quite fond of. I am going to try my best to seek out sources that, unlike Dawkins, aren't drunk with their own arrogance. Surely there are still minds in this world brilliant enough to know they do not hold the key to everything.
"I try to live on science alone.
Analysis and freaky sensitivity,
We've gotta live on science alone." -The Dandy Warhols
Friday, April 10, 2009
Holy Thursday
Yesterday was Holy Thursday. Our evening mass at St. Luke's was, as always, more than I expected. I was just saying to Alan last night how mass on holy days and feast days always exceeds my expectations.
The entrance song was joyous-- Bishop Gainer celebrated the mass with us, our deacons and priests were dressed in very fine robes, and there were bright flowers on the alter. We sang the Gloria for the first time since Lent began and the bells peeled out as we did. The Bishop's homily drew us into remembering Jesus with his disciples during that last meal together. Bishop Gainer then washed the feet of 12 of the men from St. Luke's while we sang, solemnly.
Before the Eucharist a communion chalice was blessed in memory of our deacon's wife who passed away last year. While the Eucharist was served another somber song and then the stripping of the alter. The host was placed in a tabernacle at the side of the church as we sang Pange Lingua (a beautiful song written by St. Thomas Aquinas), even the host from the adoration chapel was removed, the candles were taken out, and the linens were folded by the priests and carried away. Then we all left the church in silence.
I'm not sure what to expect this afternoon for Good Friday but I'm sure it will serve to remind us all of God's love and sacrifice, to help us contemplate the deep mysteries of Christ's death for our sake, and lead us to look forward to His resurrection.
The entrance song was joyous-- Bishop Gainer celebrated the mass with us, our deacons and priests were dressed in very fine robes, and there were bright flowers on the alter. We sang the Gloria for the first time since Lent began and the bells peeled out as we did. The Bishop's homily drew us into remembering Jesus with his disciples during that last meal together. Bishop Gainer then washed the feet of 12 of the men from St. Luke's while we sang, solemnly.
Before the Eucharist a communion chalice was blessed in memory of our deacon's wife who passed away last year. While the Eucharist was served another somber song and then the stripping of the alter. The host was placed in a tabernacle at the side of the church as we sang Pange Lingua (a beautiful song written by St. Thomas Aquinas), even the host from the adoration chapel was removed, the candles were taken out, and the linens were folded by the priests and carried away. Then we all left the church in silence.
I'm not sure what to expect this afternoon for Good Friday but I'm sure it will serve to remind us all of God's love and sacrifice, to help us contemplate the deep mysteries of Christ's death for our sake, and lead us to look forward to His resurrection.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Visit, Surveys
I'm all better now. My last painful attack came just a few hours before my sister arrived for a week long visit, thankfully. I don't know if it has passed but the stone is at least in a place where I cannot feel it. And we've had a very nice visit with Alex who heads back to Michigan tomorrow. I'm so thankful for having a sister, and one I get along with at that-- we can be silly and serious and sad and caring all in a few moments. Lucy has had fun with her Auntie Alex (who she calls "Ahh Tee").
On another note, I've been completing consumer surveys for over a year. When I quit my job at the school last winter I thought it'd be fun to fill in some of my free moments with surveys. They are mostly annoying. But I have finally collected enough points to cash in for a $20 paypal check (a big deal for me).
I had planned for months to use the money for a cheese making kit. Since this latest kidney stone bout I've resigned myself to a low dairy/low oxalate diet which isn't exactly compatible with homemade cheese. And since I will also need to up my water intake, I've decided to use the cash for a stainless water bottle. They are supposed to be better for you and are easier to wash by hand (we have no dishwasher).
Our confirmation at St. Luke's is coming up this Saturday, and then we are off to Washington for a week, so I'm sure there will be plenty to blog about in the weeks to come.
On another note, I've been completing consumer surveys for over a year. When I quit my job at the school last winter I thought it'd be fun to fill in some of my free moments with surveys. They are mostly annoying. But I have finally collected enough points to cash in for a $20 paypal check (a big deal for me).
I had planned for months to use the money for a cheese making kit. Since this latest kidney stone bout I've resigned myself to a low dairy/low oxalate diet which isn't exactly compatible with homemade cheese. And since I will also need to up my water intake, I've decided to use the cash for a stainless water bottle. They are supposed to be better for you and are easier to wash by hand (we have no dishwasher).
Our confirmation at St. Luke's is coming up this Saturday, and then we are off to Washington for a week, so I'm sure there will be plenty to blog about in the weeks to come.
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