Take good care

The human body is a wonderful thing.  It knows how to take care of itself (you might notice this if you watch how the skin seems to heal itself with time).  What is visible on the outside is also going on on the inside.

One example of this is the liver.  Did you know that there are at least nine things that the liver does for the body to keep it healthy?  Here's a sample:

• Our liver stores the iron reserves we need, in addition to a lot of vitamins and other minerals.  Without this reserve, we wouldn't have the strength to carry on.
• The human liver creates bile, used to digest our food.  Without it, we'd waste away to nothing.
• Without the liver, we would not be able to detoxify poisonous chemicals such as alcohol, wine, beer and drugs (both the prescription and non-prescription kinds), to say nothing of illegal substances.  I suppose some bad habits can kill.
• Like a battery, the liver stores energy by stockpiling sugars (carbohydrates, glucose and fats) until we need them.  Otherwise, sugar levels in our bodies could fall dramatically, causing coma.
• The liver is responsible for making the blood that got us going even before we were born.
• This is where new proteins are manufactured so that we can stay healthy and grow.
• This is the organ that removes poisons from the air we breathe, including smoke and other chemicals that we may ingest.  Without it, we'd be poisoned by pollutants.
• The liver manufactures clotting  factors that stop us from bleeding (too much) when we're injured.  Without them, we would bleed out.
• Our liver helps defend us against germs that enter our bodies at all times.  Thanks to the liver, cold germs, flu bugs and their relatives are either killed or at least weakened.  Without this defense, we'd be sitting ducks.

Now that you know all this, how well do you take care of your liver?

• Do we ever drown the liver in beer, alcohol or wine?  For some people, even one drink is too many.
• Medicine is sometimes necessary, but overdoing it, or mixing drugs without doctors' advice can lead to scars in the liver called cirrhoses which are permanent.
• Even aerosol sprays, including bug repellents, mildew sprays, paints and other sprays can be inhaled, and lead to permanent damage done to the liver.
• Sometimes insecticides and other chemicals can pass through the skin and be absorbed into the body, and potentially cause irreparable damage to the liver (and other organs).
• The liver is a non-complainer.  It won't tell us it's in trouble until it's almost at the end of its rope.

Take good care of the things you have been given, especially the things that can't be replaced.  Respect them, protect them and they'll be around for a long time to come.

Dancing

Have you ever taken a good look at the word guidance?

Look with the eyes of faith and you might be surprised what you find.  Perhaps you've played the childhood game involving complex words, involving the practice of finding smaller words contained within, or perhaps manipulating the letters to form smaller words.  If you do this with the word guidance, you'll quickly find the word dance.

Doing God's will is alot like dancing.  Have you ever noticed that when two people dancing both try to lead, nothing feels right?  The movement doesn't flow with the music and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. If one person realizes this, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another.  It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.  Dance takes surrender, willingness and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

Also within the word guidance, you may notice the letters g, u and i.  Ok, take a bit of liberty here, and think for a moment that guidance is about God, you and me (I) dancing.

Allowing God to lead the dance that you and I do with Him calls for trust on our part.  Where trust and love are present, there is no room for fear and doubt, so look for guidance, and be willing to trust, to let God lead the dance.

A new look at charity

Charity: being good to others out of love for them.  This is a basic tenet of our faith, and one that we try every day to embody.  It's at the heart of what it means to be a disciple, and to some extent or another, it's been at the core of the values upon which our society is founded.

Whenever something is as familiar as charity is, human beings have a tendency to take it for granted, and that indeed is a shame.  It takes a fresh look at times to help us appreciate what it's all about.  Enter a newly-discovered video entitled First as Tragedy then as Farce.  It made me think.  Maybe it might make you more aware too of things for which we should all be thankful.

Be positive

Have you ever met a person who always seems to be in a good mood?  Some people seem to be able to find the silver lining in every cloud, even though from the outside, they may appear to be suffering greatly.  These are the people who cause others to wonder (even from a distance) and to be filled with admiration.  They almost emit a positive energy that attracts others and fills them with happiness, even though they may still wonder about the source of contentedness.

Some such people (the positive-minded ones) will tell you that their approach to life is all about choices.  We choose how to react to the events that greet us each day.  Some such events are easy to celebrate, but some need some serious effort on our part if we're going to find the joy that is hidden behind the challenge.

Choose each day to find the positive, to celebrate it, and believe as well that life is an adventure.  You might be surprised at how many reasons for gratitude you will uncover.