The Corner Booth

A friend and I were recently chatting about our mutual belief systems and how our faith guides us in our daily lives. Diabetes was a part of the discussion, since we're both longtime Type 1s. At one point, I made a mention of "my own diabetes" in how we describe our own Lazy Pancreas Syndrome and the particular styles we each may have in managing diabetes on a daily basis. And that's where our religious beliefs came full-force into this diabetes discussion. Here's what my friend told me: "Personally, I believe that disease or any affliction is from the enemy (Satan) to kill, still or destroy (John 10:10). I believe once we 'claim' the affliction then we’ve made it easy for the enemy. " This is what she was quoting: Huh... interesting. Wasn't quite what I was expecting when that all came up. Anyhow, I let my mind chew on that for awhile. Now, I'm a Christian. Grew up on the. Protestant Lutheran persuasion in....

Not too long ago, I was driving somewhere. Don't ask me to remember where, because I don't recall the route or what Point A or B might have been. All I know is that at the time, it was a bright sunshiny day and I had an urge to hear some Tom Petty. Fortunately, I'm a Petty fan and have several CDs with me in my vehicle. So I put one in the player to crank up. Clip Art Source . Sadly, the CD player at that moment decided to eat my music and wouldn't play. And I couldn't switch to other Petty CDs, or even eject them to try again. Pretty much, I was SOL. That door to listening to Tom Petty at that moment in my drive appeared to be closed. I wasn't happy. Then, something profound happened. Well, maybe it wasn't that profound... but it certainly felt that way at the time, and given all the other stuff happening in my life. Switching to FM and a classic rock station, I came across the introductory notes of the very song I had been hoping to hear ...

For a few sessions now, Mind Ninja and I have been circling around the idea of self-worth. She's told me in our discussions that I frequently put myself down and then try to downplay that with a little slice of humor or sarcasm. This is something I’d realized myself before, but she drew a big red circle around it and made me focus on the habit. She asked why I thought this happened, what caused the habit to form and why so often I’m able to justify my behavior with the excuse that I’m either lazy, a slacker or “a passionate practitioner of the Procrastinator’s Creed.” Honestly, I recall feeling this way for most of my life. Maybe it comes from the sense that I began viewing my diabetes as a “never-ending” and “unwinnable” battle during my early teens. That I developed a “why bother” attitude about my health for a long time, and a casualty of that attitude was that it spilled into all the other aspects of my life. Or maybe there are other reasons for this entirely....

Blackness surrounded me. The clock on the nightstand next to my bed probably read something like 1 a.m., but I wouldn’t know – because my eyes were closed. At that hour, all I wanted to do was sleep. And I was almost there. But a faint noise was keeping me awake, just enough to stop me from stepping over that line into sleep-land. Not a beeping, as I’ve sometimes heard overnight and during the day as a diabetes device alerted me to a High or Low blood sugar. No, this was a vibrating. Reluctantly pulled back from the doorway where sleep would fully cover me like a blanket, I opened an eye groggily and looked around. A sleeping wife next to me. The covers pulled over my body. A faint night-time glow from the window off to the side. I’m sure the Riley Dog was nestled on her blanket next to the bed, but I didn’t turn over to look. Reaching down to my waistline where my insulin pump was secured, I pulled the small pager-sized device up to my open eye to have a look....

Please pray for my friends, the Schuhmacher Family, this weekend. One of our own in the Diabetes Community needs a miracle. Ryan and Meri Schuhmacher have been married for 19 years. They have four sons, ranging in age from 8 - 16 and three of their boys have Type 1 Diabetes. Meri is a superhero D-Mom and shares her family's story on a blog, called Our Diabetic Life . On February 26, 2012, 40-year old Ryan was taken to the emergency room for an evaluation of numbness and heaviness in his right leg. At that time, a CT scan showed 6 brain tumors and further testing revealed additional tumors in his lungs and abdomen. Meri has written about this  here .   And so, Schuhmacher Family needs our help. Clicking on the picture below will take you to the Facebook group to keep updated on ways to love and support the family. On Sunday, March 4 , we are storming the gates of heaven with prayer and fasting for Ryan, Meri, and their boys. Please join us, and take that to churc...

We haven't been to church in a long time. To the point that we probably have an inactive membership now, or they've forgotten who we are. But I've continued my biblical readings and have tried to keep up on reading our church sermons online. Most recently, one stood out to me and hit my heart. It illustrates how I feel generally, and in terms of my D-Care at this point in time. Maybe this is God speaking to me. The sermon is about one of our senior pastors getting ready to retire and move on to the next phase of his life, and it talks about the Four Stages of Work. Stage One is Unconscious Incompetence. Put simply, it means that you don’t know what you don’t know. As a worker it means coming into a new environment and trying desperately hard not to embarrass yourself or show your lack of skill. It means looking back and cringing at some of the things you said and did on your first day of work. Unconscious incompetence…I'd say this equates to someone just being...

Musical talent isn't something that graces my life. Singing is taboo, or at least it should be... Even in the shower, where the water goes ice cold whenever I tempt fate by starting to sing. Haven't played any musical instruments since my high school drumming days, which lasted about a year. Some say I can dance on beat, but that alleged rhythm and coordination remains a debatable point still baffling the wisest of the wise. However, I'm fortunate enough to be blessed with musical talent from others when it's needed most. There's church song, which lifts the spirit and makes you appreciate having a voice. Then, there's just great artists on the airwaves who have some outstanding tunage, songwriting, and craft in performing. Lately, I've been having a tough time and haven't been all too fond of my D-Life. Paramedic visits, Ill-Timed Lows, and overall uncertainty more than usual have been mounting - on top of the regular life hurdles and stres...

In a small group at church this past weekend, we delved into a current events course and how these issues of our time can be viewed based on Scripture. The key topic of discussion was one the Florida pastor who doesn't deserve to be named, simply because of his most recent plan to burn another faith's Holy Book. Thankfully, this act of hate didn't happen. But what we discussed was how this particular "Man of God" seemingly wasted what could have been such a wonderful opportunity to express why he and his congregation opposed this religion, and used that as a teaching tool to educate others about those issues. One group member whom I've grown to greatly respect in the past two years of our church-going experience made an interesting point: this highlights the line between Prescriptive and Proscriptive. As the terms suggest, Prescriptive systems tend to list out all the possible things that can be done legally. Clear lists of what can be done, so that everyth...

Stepping up onto My Soapbox. Offering a warning that you may not agree with what I say here, and so this is your chance to simply go away. If not, don't whine later about being offended by what you chose to read. Thank you, kindly. I promise to return to your regularly-scheduled D-Blogging soon enough - with a fun D-Feast Friday post on the way tomorrow! The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Passed in 1868, this constitutional amendment came on the heels of the Civil War. But it echoes sentiments that were debated and discussed back by the Founding Fathers, particularly Thomas Jefferson. He saw slavery and equal rights an issue that he wasn't ever persona...

A darkened sky, dramatically choreographed with restless storms. Our lives flash before our eyes, as quickly as the lightening strikes the horizon. Thunder rumbles, just as troubles tremble within these daily lives. Rain comes pouring, just as deadlines, finances, relationships, stress... A line of storms rains down on our lives, clouding our minds and drenching our days. Highs and Lows, Lost Time and Restless Hearts all tempt our souls away from the path. Away from the knowledge that, the storms do move on. The sun will shine through in their place. Golden Twilight tickles our hearts, surging into our souls Making us remember why we wait for beauty in this life. Why we hold on to our faith, our love, our hope. That no matter what storms we face, Twilight returns. We welcome it. Cherish it. Gain the strength to weather the storms once more.

In honor of Good Friday & Easter, I offer a Bible-themed post as it relates to my own D-Life. Even if religion isn't necessarily your cup of tea, I invite you to read on for a little insight from my own perspective at the D-Corner Booth. Those who've been churched likely know the story of Moses & the Burning Bush, which precedes the Red Sea Parting and can be found in the Book of Exodus (3:1-15) . The Bible story goes that Moses is called on by God from within the flames, instructed to confront the Egyptians and save the Hebrews by leading them out of Egypt. Basically, I see this as a story of confronting what's tough and doing what's needed, obeying a higher power that may be sending out warning signs to guide you along the way. That's my interpretation, mind you - as someone who grew up mostly "unchurched" but in recent years has embraced the Methodist School of Thought through Grace Church . As it relates to my own Diabetes...

The wheels of my mind have been spinning recently. A question has been popping up - why. Why diabetes? Why High? Why Low? Why isn't this easier? Why so overwhelming? Why so exhausted? Why this? Why that? Why everything ????? I've wracked up my brain, searched my soul trying to connect the dots between 2010 and the long-ago time these questions began. When the vicious daily D-cycle started. Suddenly, after so much analysis, it clicked recently. Those past and present dots came together and bridged a gap between 2010 and 1984, when it all began and started what is now a continuing, frustrating, and often overwhelming journey that many in the Diabetes World seem to know all too well. Simply put, it goes to this simple fact: Growing up, I wanted to be MacGyver . You know, the globe-trotting Secret Agent Man who could do anything in any situation with the simpliest of household items. Lock-picking with inside of a lightbulb. Bubble gum to patch gas tanks. Ho...

The shortest Bible story so far is by far one I've found the most inspiration from: Book of Ruth. A stranger who somehow seemed to have stumbled into faith accidentally, doing what's asked of her and then telling someone what exactly she wants. That leads to her marriage and son, and her ultimately role turning out to be the great-grandmother of David and an ancestor of Jesus. Nice. No coincidences, we're all part of a grand scheme and there's a reason for everything. All of us matter, no matter how or when in life we embrace our destiny. That's an inspirational lesson in faith.

A week ago, I'd encountered a long pondered faith-related question in my readings of Lee Strobel's "The Case for Faith: A journalist investigates the toughest objections to Christianity." Check that MySpace blog posting here . Essentially, the point was whether the Bible, a main source of info for Christians, is really a trustworthy book. Unfortunately, my appetite for an answer wasn't completely satisfied. In the 15-pages on this question, it comes down to one scholar saying that "Like Christ, the Bible is totally human, yet without error." It talks about how the Bible wasn't dictated, it's a story told by people who witnessed and went through those times. Fine. But, you know, as we recount stories in our own lives and retell them, and again and again, sometimes we misconstrue or misinterpret something, or take it out of context. The explanations that all the Gospels and other Bible tales are so similar and therefore error-free, just don't j...

Here's a story glistening with plot devices of sex, religion, ancient history, mystery and contemporary controversy. And note: I proved myself wrong on a religious note, however that leads to a larger inquiry that warrants intellectual exploration... Recently, a conversation (without coffee) arose over homosexuality and the Bible. Those of you know I've never much embraced church or religion, let alone the practice of Scripture in my life. While that is gradually changing with age and marriage and the eventual start of a family, I remain a skeptic at heart - the journalist inside. Anyhow, a friend made the comment about not wanting any homosexual males near her son. Rational: the Bible forbids this type of activity; it's wrong. I disagreed, and we debated the issue for a good hour or so, but in doing so my curiosity intensified. So, research ensued. A Google search of words "homosexuality," "Bible," and "forbid" revealed 353,000 results. After ...