Why are Mondays so hard sometimes? I don't know if it is tiredness from a busy weekend or just the thought of all I have to accomplish in the week ahead of me. Whatever the case, I know I need refreshing and the Lord's perspective.
Just yesterday I was reading in Matthew where Jesus admonished us not to worry. Yesterday I thought, "Okay, I can do that. I don't worry too much about what is going to happen tomorrow. I know God will provide." Then today hits and after a partial meltdown over nothing, I realize that I am worrying about tomorrow. I do have anxiety about what my day holds. I should know by now from past experience that if I will just take things one at a time as they come, I won't be overwhelmed. But instead, I find myself stressed about the entire day and the entire week and even the week after this. Not good.
How little I truly trust the Lord. I see that I am stressed because as the writing is progressing, I am feeling the weight of expectations of others regarding the book. If I am asking for input and the input is coming, don't I "owe" those contributors some output? The answer is both yes and no. Yes, I do need to allow them to see the fruit of sharing their stories with me. At the same time, I must constantly remind myself that I am accountable to God alone. It is before my Master I will stand or fall. So, I am taking a deep breath, letting go of perceived expectations, and abandoning this again to Him.
On a couple of other notes: what a blessing to see Tony Dungy giving all the glory to the Lord last night. And what a gracious man Lovie Smith is. Both men are truly examples of those who shine the Lord through their quiet and gracious lives. We should all strive for such.
And keep praying over the new vaccination for HPV. The drug company producing this is waging an extremely expensive campaign to launch this. While the premise is that a vaccine can prevent this virus, and thereby some cervical cancer, their push to want all women immunized is motivated purely by money. Though, of course, this is masked by concern for our health.
But why do are they pushing to have all 11-12 year old girls immunized? It is because the drug is only effective if it is taken before sexual contact. In effect, they are saying that all girls will be sexually active and promiscuous. If a young woman waits for marriage and is a monogamous relationship, she has no chance of catching this virus.
What is scary is that here in Colorado, the legislature is pushing a law to make this a mandatory immunization. And in Texas, the governor didn't want to deal with debate in his legislature so he made it an executive order for all girls 9-18. And he has ties to the drug company, Merck, and to Women in Government. For a good discussion on this, go to Angela Hunt's blog (a much more well-know writer!) http://alifeinpages.blogspot.com/
There is much we need to be in prayer about and the focus is definitely not on me. Thanks for the perspective, Lord, even as I wrote this!
Blessings!
2 comments:
A couple points.
(1) Don't forget what you wrote here in light of the rest of the day. :)
(2) You can hyperlink to other sites, including blogs, which is easier for people to use, by using the link button on the top of your input area. :)
(3) While greed shouldn't motivate people, it's dangerous and fallacious to assume that the money that the manufacturers seek is based on "greed." Rather, the manufacture of new vaccines is exceedingly expensive. People often miss hidden costs for the companies - the research time, all the failed routes that were tried, etc. It may not be so expensive to manufacture the vaccine itself once it's properly formulated, but coming to that formulation and then getting it through the FDA often takes up to (and sometimes upwards of) a decade worth of research, often including multiple failed lines of research. That's expensive, and they need to make back that money. Don't muzzle the ox as it draws the plow, so to speak.
Now, from a governmental mandate standpoint, I understand the concern - I am, after all, borderline libertarian (not Libertarian) at times. But, too, it's understandable. And just because a woman waits and is monogamous does not guarantee she won't catch this. She can't guarantee her husband's past. What about women whose husbands were saved after having been sexually promiscuous? Certainly not ideal, per se, but hardly unusual, either. In any case, while I'm not necessarily for another government mandate, I understand the reasoning behind it and would probably advocate people getting the vaccination anyway. (Unfortunately, in this dark world, worse things than what I mentioned above can happen, too.)
Just some thoughts. I love you!
Government mandate of vaccines for the sake of health is understandable for a high risk, highly contagious disease like measles, mumps, etcetera, which left unchecked can literally decimate the population. Last time I checked, this country was supposed to be a free country. Therefore since this is not an epidemic problem and the vaccine is available, it should be allowed to be received by choice, just like Hepatitis shots can be; not mandated for every 12 year-old girl in the country just because some group of bureaucrats think it is a good idea.
Off my soapbox now... ;)
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