265 too many

What would you do if you had huge (and by huge I mean massively ginormous) amounts of money laying around? My alma matter just got a ridiculously huge donation, and while I think it is great that people are willing and able to donate to the school they went to, it also seems like an enormous waste. I mean, what is that money actually going towards?  How is the research conducted going to improve the world? I was privileged to hear a speech today about the Healthy Start initiative, which implements programs in high-need areas to reduce infant mortality, so that babies can live longer, healthier lives. There are 104 sites across the nation, with over 300 cities qualifying for a site (so the demand is 3x more than the resources allow for), and for these sites there is a total federal budget of $100 million dollars -> ~1 million dollars per site. A lot, I know. But the donation that some rich dude just gave to CMU could spread the program to 265 more sites (admittedly for just 1 year, or many more years for less sites) and slash infant mortality, making a real impact on the next generation. Instead of donating to a privileged, wealthy university to do more research (I think?), one could have sustained whole programs, saved thousands, if not millions of lives, or, like fixed poverty or something. I'm just saying. 

What exactly are we treating and/or trying to prevent?

I'm not sure the correct way to say this exactly, but I'm going to do my best. It may seem a little radical, or crazy, to people in the medical professions, but this is what I'm thinking about. 


There are so many articles and studies and statistics that point to childhood trauma, addictions, sexual promiscuity, and many other problems of our time which have a huge impact on the prevalence, spread, and/or treatment of many diseases. For example:


Sexual promiscuity -> STDs, AIDS, Teen pregnancy, single mothers
Divorce, childhood trauma, addictions; & Abuse - Verbal, physical, sexual
-> chronic illness, many stress-related or stress-provoked diseases, mental illness, depression, earlier death


I could go on and on. But so many of our nation's (and the world's) health and psychological problems, and the problems that those problems lead to, can be attributed to unbiblical ways of living and ideals that go against God's design. 


What if, instead of teaching safe sex, 'equitable' divorce, and violence, we taught about Christ and his saving and redeeming power, the biblical model for marriage (sex) and parenting, how to love one another with gentleness and yet with strength, how to stand up for one another instead of put each other down, and ways to cope with stressful situations, anxieties, and fears from a biblical perspective? What if by promoting healthy families, biblical men and women loving and committed to each other and working together to raise children, we were able to prevent so many of these problems today? How about championing Christ's power over any addiction or disease? What if the problems of our society do not just lie in systems and poverty and disease, but in the fact that we are not in a right relationship with God and living according to his principles? What if these things could eliminate divorce, sexual promiscuity, STDs, teen pregnancy and single parents, addictions, and abuse somewhat eliminating poverty, chronic disease, and depression? How much pain and suffering would we preventing? How many programs and projects would we be able to eliminate, thereby saving resources and time to devote to other aspects and others who are more in need?  What if God's way is better, because that is the way it was supposed to be, and actually has a meaningful impact on how much disease and suffering there is in the world? What would happen if we focused on God's ways instead of the world's ways? 


I hope this made some sense - I'm sure I'll post more about it in the future to clarify things. It's basically just a bunch of questions I have about the way medicine, specifically preventative and reactive medicine is performed.  

Thoughts about this generation and our culture

So, my not so little brother is off to college for his freshman year at OU today - wow! Time flies. I'm excited for him, and proud of him, and nervous for him all at the same time. I know how much I learned and changed throughout college, and I hope he has just as great of an experience. I am also praying that he meets some great new friends in his dorm and classes.  

I've been thinking a lot lately about this next stage of life - not a student anymore, but hoping to be again; and an adult but not completely independent. In addition, I have read many books and articles lately about femininity and masculinity, singleness and marriage, and my generation and the one to follow. It's hard because I'm going forward to pursue a demanding career that I believe God is calling me to, and yet at the same time eventually desiring to have a family and honor God in marriage and raising children. I was privileged in Philly to meet several Christian women who are mothers and doctors, which was very encouraging, but they all said it was challenging and takes sacrifices on all sides.  

Reading I recommend: 

• Revelations of a Single Woman: Loving the Life I Didn't Expect - (Book) A lot of her thoughts and concerns resonated with me. 
• The New Eve  - (Book) Interesting ideas of biblical femininity, but found it hard as a single woman to relate to a lot of these 'stages of life'. I also thought it was quite a bit focused on marriage and children, obviously a major part of most women's lives, but in some ways made me feel like I wasn't 'fulfilling my purpose as a woman' because I don't (yet) have a husband or family. 
• A Woman's Guide to Women: A Blog for Men - great blog, very funny, touches on many of these issues
• Thoughts from Fabs - another woman's perspective; some posts are very thought-provoking 
• Make it Mad - male perspective on a lot of these topics, covering such ideas as being a biblical gentleman or lady in our society, dating, singleness, etc. 
• Ally Spots - great young adult woman talking about these issues and many others 
• Relevant Magazine: Why So Many Can't Find the One and this month's article about Christian sexuality and scary statistics about within the young adult generation. 

Audio I recommend: 

• Brook Hills Audio  - Their series on the Next Generation: children, parents, biblical femininity and masculinity, marriage, singleness, and the home. I've really enjoyed their thoughts on how unbiblical masculinity and femininity has invaded our culture, and lies people believe about their gender, marital status, or role in the church. They emphasized that being biblical men and women (and husbands and wives and singles and parents) will teach the next generation about Christ. 
• Breakaway ministries - Can't recommend this one highly enough! Especially their series on the gift of singleness and dating. 

In conclusion, I've really been pondering these topics lately and it seems like a lot of others are too. How have your ideas about gender, sexuality, marriage, and/or singleness been twisted by our culture? How can they be redeemed for God's glory?

  

For me, growing up in a divorced family, I just always said I didn't want to get divorced. But that is a far cry from having a healthy, God-centered marriage, which is how God views marriage. And I've fallen prey to believing the Hollywood tale of romance is how it should be, which isn't true or biblical either. It's also so easy in our culture to not be content with whatever state we are in, and to want something more than we have right now. I have also seen that feminism and striving for women to be exactly the same as men has affected our ideals - not that they aren't equal, but they are different.

Thankfully, God's teaching me a lot about these things and what it means to be a biblical woman who is striving for His kingdom, apart from what the culture is whispering to us everywhere we look. And I mean everywhere.  God never said it would be easy.  Will you join me in praying for our generation in these issues that stand in such contrast to our culture's ideals, and in living with God's Word and plans in mind in these areas in your own lives?