Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
A Matter of Perspective
Yes, I know, it's true, our economy has been through (and is still going through) some rough times. Investments have been hit hard, people are losing jobs, and we still have gas prices at well over $2.00 per gallon. But let me ask you to consider this. About 40% of the world's population live on less than $2 a day. A child dies every 5 seconds from hunger-related causes. And as many as 5 million die every year from water-related illnesses. It's all relative. If you make 18,000 dollars a year or more, you are in the top 12% richest people in the world! So, when we start to think our economy is so bad, it's probably time for us to step back and be thankful for what we've got...and consider how we can help some of the neediest people around the world who are dealing with questions like, "Will I die of thirst, or will I die of the sickness I will get from drinking the only water I have access to?"
Monday, September 7, 2009
How Vemma Helped Me
About 3 and a half years ago, I began having weird nerve pains in the lower part of the right side of my face. At first, I thought these pains were related to a recent root canal. Eventually, I was diagnosed with a condition called, "trigeminal neuralgia." These are sharp pains that feel like electrical shock, believed to be the result of something (probably a blood vessel) causing pressure on a nerve at the base of the brain.
As my face pain progressively got more intense, sometimes I would have to walk away from conversations or stop eating meals. When an episode would start, it would immediately send me in to an intense time of prayer..."Lord, please make it stop!"
During my research on it, I read about how it has been called the worst pain known to humans, and how it has been called the suicide disease. (Not really very encouraging.) It kept getting worse and worse until finally I called the neurologist and they prescribed some anti-convulsant medication for me.
Great! It was almost immediately helpful and brought relief. Well, after nearly a year, I began to develop a tolerance to the medication. I was taking the maximum amount recommended, and I was going through the days drowzy and my speech was sluggish...and it wasn't effectively keeping the pain in check! I met with the neurologist and learned of three surgical treatment options...none of which I wanted to do. One involved getting my skull cut open, and the other two would likely need to be repeated in the not-too-distant future.
About this time, some friends of mine, who knew about my trigeminal neuralgia, said I should try this Vemma drink. I was hesitant at first because I didn't understand how a liquid nutritional drink would help make the pain go away. Then my friend explained to me that what Vemma might do is help my body be more healthy and able to receive the medication better...allowing me to take less of it.
So...I gave it a try, and within a week I was able to cut back to 1/3 of the amount of the medication, and the pain was gone. Over the last year and a half, the amounts of medication I've needed to take have fluctuated, but it's almost always lower than it was before I started drinking Vemma...and most of the time it's significantly lower. The combination of Vemma and the prescribed anti-convulsant medication has been the answer thus far!
Really...considering the level and frequency of pain I was experiencing, and the drawbacks of the surgical treatments (not to mention the costs), I look at Vemma as a miracle drink for me. Of course, there's all the other health benefits of receiving the great vitamins, minerals, and more, that Vemma puts into my body each day. After drinking Vemma for about a year, I finally decided to become a partner with the company and distribute it, too.
There are usually three types of people that might be interested in Vemma: those who are health conscious, those who are looking for a great business opportunity, and those who have some type of health problem. Unfortunately, I was in the latter group. But I'm so glad Vemma was available, and I'm really thankful I had a friend who introduced me to it.
For more info on Vemma, go to: www.theworldofvemma.com
Or you can e-mail me at: rochester.eric@gmail.com
As my face pain progressively got more intense, sometimes I would have to walk away from conversations or stop eating meals. When an episode would start, it would immediately send me in to an intense time of prayer..."Lord, please make it stop!"
During my research on it, I read about how it has been called the worst pain known to humans, and how it has been called the suicide disease. (Not really very encouraging.) It kept getting worse and worse until finally I called the neurologist and they prescribed some anti-convulsant medication for me.
Great! It was almost immediately helpful and brought relief. Well, after nearly a year, I began to develop a tolerance to the medication. I was taking the maximum amount recommended, and I was going through the days drowzy and my speech was sluggish...and it wasn't effectively keeping the pain in check! I met with the neurologist and learned of three surgical treatment options...none of which I wanted to do. One involved getting my skull cut open, and the other two would likely need to be repeated in the not-too-distant future.
About this time, some friends of mine, who knew about my trigeminal neuralgia, said I should try this Vemma drink. I was hesitant at first because I didn't understand how a liquid nutritional drink would help make the pain go away. Then my friend explained to me that what Vemma might do is help my body be more healthy and able to receive the medication better...allowing me to take less of it.
So...I gave it a try, and within a week I was able to cut back to 1/3 of the amount of the medication, and the pain was gone. Over the last year and a half, the amounts of medication I've needed to take have fluctuated, but it's almost always lower than it was before I started drinking Vemma...and most of the time it's significantly lower. The combination of Vemma and the prescribed anti-convulsant medication has been the answer thus far!
Really...considering the level and frequency of pain I was experiencing, and the drawbacks of the surgical treatments (not to mention the costs), I look at Vemma as a miracle drink for me. Of course, there's all the other health benefits of receiving the great vitamins, minerals, and more, that Vemma puts into my body each day. After drinking Vemma for about a year, I finally decided to become a partner with the company and distribute it, too.
There are usually three types of people that might be interested in Vemma: those who are health conscious, those who are looking for a great business opportunity, and those who have some type of health problem. Unfortunately, I was in the latter group. But I'm so glad Vemma was available, and I'm really thankful I had a friend who introduced me to it.
For more info on Vemma, go to: www.theworldofvemma.com
Or you can e-mail me at: rochester.eric@gmail.com
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Hollow Ground
My son, Cody, playing drums for his band, Hollow Ground. He's really pretty good. And he seems like he's having so much fun. It's cool when a young kid seems to find a niche and really excel at it. Go Cody!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Cruiseship or Battleship?
I don't know who said it, but it goes like this...where is there more community, on a cruiseship or on a battleship? On a battleship, because there is an enemy that everyone needs to unite against. Makes sense to me. On a cruiseship everyone is more focused on their own comfort. On a battleship, there is a great sense of sacrifice in order to defeat the enemy. The analogy is this: first of all, the Western church, most of the time, does not act like it is in a war. But I believe now is the time for us to wake up to this reality. Our enemy is out to destroy us! Not just to destroy us, but to keep us from being a part of the effort to advance God's kingdom here on earth.
I say it's time for churches within our great cities in the United States to unite and get connected with what God is doing and wants to do to spread his love and message to areas of the world that do not have a discipleship movement among them. Would it make a difference if churches within our cities worked together on this? I say...absolutely. Imagine 100 churches from a city in the U.S. joining together to mobilize tens of thousands of people to go to the ends of the earth and serve the King of Kings. Various resources could be pooled together and shared in ways that would great accelerate the progress. The synergy and community that would result from this effort would also be exponential. Imagine the church of Kansas City joining together to reach an entire nation with the life-changing and society-transforming gospel of Jesus!
Pray about this with me, will you? I believe it can and will happen!
Pain
I hesitate to write about pain, because I don't want it to come across with a pity party sort of tone. With that said, I do believe that I have experienced more pain in the past 4 years than the rest of my life combined. (and I'm no Spring chicken!) I think it was about 4 or 5 years ago that I began to have what is called "trigeminal neuralgia." It is a severe pain in the face. The specific location of my face pain was/is in the lower right side of my face. This is not "take a tylenol" for it type of pain. It is nerve pain. It is the most terrible physical pain I have ever felt. Some people describe it as feeling like fire...I think it feels more like electrical shock. Usually lasting for 60-90 seconds (seems like 10 times as long). Debilitating, walk-away-from-conversation, stop-eating-your-meal, type of pain. Medication and a liquid nutrition product have combined to keep it in check over the last couple of years! I'm incredibly thankful for that...it's truly miraculous. That is the short story (and the story continues).
I have been separated from my wife for about two years. No 3rd person involved, but it's still a difficult and painful season. The most emotionally painful season of my entire life. We've decided to not go into the details with people (other than with the close circle of counselor/mentor friends that both my wife and I have...and for whom we are extremely thankful). My wife and I still have a mutual respect for each other. But...we are separated. That is painful.
So...I have experienced both physical and emotional pain to a deep degree in recent times. I do believe that these times of crisis have helped me learned much about myself, and that is helpful. I know that God is still God, and that He still loves me. I think I'm experiencing His love in a more profound way, in the midst of this pain.
Several years ago...I would become aware of some difficult times that another person was going through, and I would think, "Wow, I've never really had a really bad trial or season of crisis in my life. What would that be like if I had to deal with pain and suffering? Well...now I know. It has not been fun at all. Gut-wrenching, soul-searching, and heart-exhausting. But I have peace and comfort in knowing God, and that He is in the business of bringing wholeness to broken people like me.
Pain. It's terrible...and yet it is a great learning opportunity.
I have been separated from my wife for about two years. No 3rd person involved, but it's still a difficult and painful season. The most emotionally painful season of my entire life. We've decided to not go into the details with people (other than with the close circle of counselor/mentor friends that both my wife and I have...and for whom we are extremely thankful). My wife and I still have a mutual respect for each other. But...we are separated. That is painful.
So...I have experienced both physical and emotional pain to a deep degree in recent times. I do believe that these times of crisis have helped me learned much about myself, and that is helpful. I know that God is still God, and that He still loves me. I think I'm experiencing His love in a more profound way, in the midst of this pain.
Several years ago...I would become aware of some difficult times that another person was going through, and I would think, "Wow, I've never really had a really bad trial or season of crisis in my life. What would that be like if I had to deal with pain and suffering? Well...now I know. It has not been fun at all. Gut-wrenching, soul-searching, and heart-exhausting. But I have peace and comfort in knowing God, and that He is in the business of bringing wholeness to broken people like me.
Pain. It's terrible...and yet it is a great learning opportunity.
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