One more time...

Sorry to keep bugging you about this, but I think it's important! If you haven't already, you should get your seasonal flu vaccine (available at most local pharmacies.) And when the H1N1 vaccine becomes available you should get that too (hopefully in the next month or so). If you're one of those people who claims that they "don't usually get the flu," please realize that H1N1 is in pandemic status, which means that it's spreading far and wide all over the world. So far, more than 1 million Americans have caught it (according to the article below) and we've only just begun the actual flu season which will increase spread. Therefore, odds are you will be in contact with it at some point... and most likely get it.

Not only will these vaccines keep you from getting the flu (which will keep you from feeling like crap for a few weeks), but as a result it will also keep you from spreading the flu to other people who may be at higher risk for more serious disease. Do it to protect yourself, do it to protect others!

Here is an article (by Paul Offit) concerning myths about the H1N1 vaccine that are floating around the media and the "science news cycle." In short, the H1N1 vaccine:

• was made in the same way as the seasonal vaccine. This process has been used for 60+ years.
• was tested for efficacy and safety in thousands of trial participants before being licensed by the FDA.
• does not contain adjuvants.
• preservatives are included in low levels and have not been linked to other health issues.

And if you don't believe Dr. Offit (chief of infectious diseases division at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia), here's another article by Dr. Racaniello, a leading virologist at Columbia.

Ok, I'll stop now. :)

Not finished

Once a month in the 4s & 5s room at church, a woman named Patty comes to read a story to the kids. Patty sits in an electric wheelchair. She doesn't have any use of her legs as far as I can tell and I'm guessing that her arm motion and speech used to be smoother too. Patty's always enthusiastic when she comes in to see the kids; she asks them questions throughout the story and lets them honk the horn on her wheelchair before she leaves.

This week Patty read them a story about a caterpillar named Hermie who just wasn't satisfied with life. Throughout the story Hermie's friends tell him to be patient, that God just isn't finished with him yet. Of course as you might guess, at the end of the book Hermie changes into a beautiful butterfly.

After Patty was done reading the story, I walked with her back to the sanctuary to help her with the doors. As we went down the hallway she told me a bit of her story. It went something like this: "I just love that story. You know it's true: God's not finished with any of us yet. I used to be a professor. Did you know that? Yes, a political theory professor. I never did like the 'publish or perish' atmosphere much. Then I had my accident. I was on my bike and a car hit me. Now, I read to the kids here at church and at the school. And you know what? I'm in my element! God wasn't finished with me yet and he's still not finished. And he's not finished with you either."

Man, what a blessing! I talked all of 3 minutes with this woman and she totally just rocked it. Her outlook on life is so encouraging and it's obvious that she completely trusts God with the entirety of it. So many times I see where I am as a daughter, sister, friend, disciple and I'm not satisfied with it. Part of it is me not putting in the effort necessary to move forward sometimes, and part of it is not believing that God will make it happen. But I know that he's not finished with me and just because I screw it up doesn't mean that he can't take it and make it into something beautiful. So if I keep seeking him (keep walking even though sometimes I stop) and trust that he knows best, I can be confident that change will happen. He's not finished with me yet and I think last Sunday he totally knew that I needed to hear that and I needed to hear it from Patty.