Serve by Design

With temperatures still in the nineties during mid-September, the extremes have those of us in central Illinois asking, “How do we beat the heat?”  The conventional answers include staying inside (if you have air conditioning), taking breaks in shady areas, seeking out a shelter like a library or other public buildings, using fans to move the air, keeping hydrated, and similar strategies. Electronic WBGT Meter Creator: SrA Willard E. Grande II We are fairly “weather wise” in keeping up through our local news station. It does a great job of informing us about trending weather conditions related to the temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation. I noticed this late summer, as high school football athletes were preparing for the fall season, that the sports staff at the station added additional stories about a metric that is being used to measure heat stress. This device is known by its acronym – WBGT which stands for “wet-bulb globe temperature.” Now, that’s a mouthful!...

Our summer vacation was not so much fun for an important member of the family this year! I could call this report, “The “Kidney Stone Saga” as it would likely have some of you tremoring and wincing in pain over your own memories. Over years of pastoring, I have heard some graphic “war stories” that a few of you have reluctantly shared on this subject! It's smaller than a baby aspirin, but prickly as a cocklebur! 😠 This story started the day we arrived in Georgetown for our extended family visit. Monique felt some discomfort and thought she was dealing with another bladder infection (UTI), so we dropped into the local Urgent Care to get an assessment. Meds were prescribed and we were on the way with the usual advice to push the liquids. A week to the day later, we were back at the same place. This time it was advised that we visit a nearby emergency room that could offer more extensive testing services. After a C-Scan with contrast, the emergency room doctor offered what I felt w...