Milk in the Mashed Potatoes

I read this book earlier this year and just found this clip of N.T. Wright on Colbert. Good food for though …

I had three moles biopsied today with more scheduled to be removed in the coming weeks. I’m going to a dermatologist and given the family history (my paternal grandmother and my father dying from melanoma), we’re being aggressive.

It was my first visit to this doctor and I didn’t realize they would be slicing and dicing today, so it took me off guard. Just being there made me think of Dad and how many times he went through this, and what it eventually led to. One mole was removed from the top of my foot and the other two from my back. Those have stitches! Thankfully they numbed the area but that hurt like the dickens itself. I’ve got more of that in store so I better buck up!

I was shaking and emotional when I left, so I cried in the car for a while then went shopping for a hat and sunglasses (and then got ice cream from Chick-fil-a). Although I wear sunscreen every day, the doctor said I should also be wearing a wide-brimmed hat and UV protective sunglasses in the sun.

He said 50% of melanoma cases are genetic, the other 50 are just bad luck. But I’m going to take the necessary precautions and be as smart about this as I can be. I can’t erase the last 30 years of sun exposure, but I do think I’ve had less exposure than the normal person. And thankfully we can be careful as we should be with Madilyn and the sun from the get-go, although her skin breaks out with every sunscreen we’ve tried so far. The doctor gave us some Aveeno Baby samples to try. I hope it works.

So my PSA for the day is have an annual mole check by a dermatologist. I’m upset that I’ve just had my family physician check and he didn’t recognize several moles that are suspicious. Go straight to the specialist.

UPDATE: Two weeks after this post I went back to the doctor and had three additional moles removed. The results of the first three biopsies showed that two of the spots on my back were pre-cancerous. I have to go back in two weeks to have a larger area of skin removed to make sure they got the roots so I won’t have future problems. Hopefully after that I’ll be done with my dermatological woes.

I’m up at 4 a.m. Stumble!ing around and found this cool illustration showing which faiths make up the majority of believers in different countries. Also includes a forecast, which seems more positive than the recent article about the death of Christianity in North America. Click the link below to see the full version.

http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,775969,00.gif

I’ve never kept track of what I read, so this year I decided to try. I’m always curious what other people are reading, so I thought I’d share my list so far and include some opinions. These aren’t reviews by any means, just off-the-cuff impressions after having read them.

JANUARY
Angry Conversations with God: A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir
– Susan E. Isaacs – FaithWords

I write book reviews often for Christian Retailing magazine, and this was for them. Susan Isaacs, an actress, has written a bold and creative spiritual memoir in which she takes God to couples counseling. She bares all in this colorful, saucy, dysfunctional Christian version of Eat, Pray, Love. While this book may not be every Christian’s cup of tea, those who have been chewed up and spit out by this world and still long for a real relationship with Jesus will identify with Isaac’s story.

FEBRUARY
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
– Stephen R. Covey

I read this book in preparation for a 7 Habits retreat given by a client I work for. If you’ve never done any sort of personal examination, especially as it deals with your vocation, this is a great place to start.

The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness: Miniature Edition
– Stephen R. Covey

I personally found this volume to be more relevant to where I am vocationally than the 7 Habits. If you’re unaware of how the world of work has transformed in the “knowledge worker” age, you’re behind the times. This will catch you up.

Because I Said So
– Dawn Meehan – Guideposts

Another book I reviewed for CR. Dawn Meehan is a mom to six kids, so as you can imagine, her life is crazy at best, and chaotic at its worst. Meehan has a gift for humor writing, but her extreme sarcasm is at times too biting (she repeatedly refers to her husband as her seventh child). Meehan doesn’t claim to be perfect, at writing or at parenting, but her efforts are exceptional.

MARCH
Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess
– Will Samson

I saw an ad for this at Relevantmagazine.com and bought it instantly. I want to become increasingly aware of how materialistic I’ve become growing up in this culture, in an effort to curb those tendencies. Will Samson is a former political and religious conservative, whose traded in his membership to join a camp of so-called liberals for all the right reasons – Kingdom ones.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
– Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

I’ve heard this was a good read, so I checked it out at the library. It’s a historical novel about the islands off the coast of the UK which were occupied by the Germans during WWI. I devoured it within two and a half days thanks to the Jane Austen feel to the writing.

Finding an Unseen God: Reflections of a Former Atheist
– Alicia Britt Chole

Another book I read for CR. This spiritual memoir deals with the author’s reasoned and intellectual approach to conversion. It’s a great insight for people who think atheists are “fools.” Her approach to belief, as an atheist and later as a believer, is more reasoned and intentional than many Christians who only wear the label culturally.

The Myth of a Christian Religion: Losing Your Religion for the Beauty of a Revolution
– Gregory A. Boyd – Zondervan

I reviewed this book for CR. Pastor Gregory Boyd unpacks the call to join the “beautiful revolution” that is the kingdom of God. He deals with so many topics I can’t name them all there, and they each kicked my tail. From politics, sex, to racial reconciliation and religion, Boyd minces no words, but heaps on hefty portions of grace to help the medicine go down.

Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church
– N. T. Wright

This book is fascinating. N.T. Wright is considered one of our generation’s leading New Testament scholars, and what he has to say about heaven and the resurrection will surprise you. This is a more cerebral read, but it’s worth the extra brain power. I’ve already bought this as a gift for a couple of my “thinking” friends.

APRIL
The Practice of the Presence of God
– Brother Lawrence

I was disappointed at the brevity of this title, after hearing so much about it from so many sources. But it’s still a gem. This is a book I’d like to read regularly. The discipline required to “practice the presence of God” is going to be a life-time challenge. So I’d better get started.

No, David!
– David Shannon

I wanted to mention this children’s book here, because I’ve read it so many times to Madilyn since Mom sent it to us. This book is adorable, and what’s even better is that Madilyn laughs her head off at every page. The illustrations are so great, so comical … and they must really speak to my little 1-and-a-half year old’s mind. She loves this book. David Shannon writes in the introduction that his mom sent him a book he made as a child. The only words in it were “no” and “David” and were filled with pictures of him doing all sort of things that get him in trouble. So the adult David revisits that theme in this book, and it is pure fun.