The truth about... Healthcare

Everyone seems to have their own viewpoint, and of course, "everyone is right in their own mind." After hearing so many negative remarks about socialized healthcare, here's my personal experience. For what it's worth.

One of the heated debates of the past years has been universal healthcare for Americans. A former coworker posted a note from a chair in a government waiting room. His surroundings were sticky, dirty, and crowded. He used the germ-y setting to note that he wouldn't want the US govt to run healthcare. Hmmm, is that a bit like saying we wouldn't want our surgeon's office to administrate our bus drivers? Or that we wouldn't want our plumber's union to be in charge of driver's ed because they're not competent in licensing drivers?

In response to the first post, another former coworker sent a video link of some actor exploring healthcare in Canada. Not pleasant, this footage. He flew to Montreal, found a clinic closed on the weekend ("Go to the emergency room" where he had to wait for service, etc.) and otherwise was not impressed. I watched the Canada healthcare video - from Montreal (not the most efficient, those Quebecois, either at grocery stores, serving customers in shops, etc.) That's comparing the worst of one place with the best at home... the debate might be different if we'd ask those who can't afford good healthcare (and who also have no power to effect change).

May I note the following after watching the clip on YouTube? Waiting can be a nightmare in the doctor's offices of the US as well as Canada, not to mention the chaos of urban emergency rooms... (as we've experienced with ongoing appointments with our children over the years.) Many clinics close on weekends in the USA, and US city hospital emergency rooms are often so overcrowded that patients go from hospital to hospital to find someone to treat them unless it's critical care. Even then, patients report long waits and incompetent treatment.

Okay, now about me. HA HA

We had our first three kids in Canada @ free (1st 2) and $5 (Timo). That included excellent prenatal care, 3-4 day hospital stays ("Do you think you'd like to go home today, my dear? You can stay another day if you like,") several pediatric nurse home visits (they came to our house after the babies were born to teach us to bathe the baby, answer questions, give practical help), free vaccinations, pediatrician visits, etc. which was all included in our $300/yr premium. I'm sure it's much more now, but let's compare apples to apples - Jono was born within 3 years of our move to the US from Canada.

After insanely steep premiums, thankfully matched by our employer, Jono cost us $2000. That didn't include our deductible. I went for five awful doc visits that took forever, both in scheduling and once we got to the office. No family doctor would see us; we had to go to a "specialist" OB/Gyn. (Lawsuits made it too risky for her, said our family doc.) We had an Ultrasound done for a reasonable amount in Vancouver with our former family doctor, who sent the files to the specialist in Seattle; we couldn't afford the test in our adopted land.

When Jono was born at our local well-respected (Overlake) hospital, a doc who was on call and who I didn't know, got there just in time to catch the baby. He left a few minutes after checking that the baby and afterbirth were healthy. My own doc had been at the symphony that night so "wasn't available" at midnight when we got to the hospital.

I called for the nurses when I was ready to push. They'd left me and W on our own after check-in, including my trip to the restroom a few minutes before I rang the nurses that I was about to deliver. Within a few minutes, Jono arrived. They scrambled to get things ready and call a doctor (as above). The nurses put the baby on my stomach after checking our vitals and swaddling him in a towel. They gave him eye-drops, and since it was slow on the floor with no other moms-to-be that night, they walked away and forgot all about us. I could hear them laughing and visiting with each other at the nursing station for 3 hours.

I finally pressed the call button at 3.30am and said, "Anyone want this baby? I have to sleep." Jono hadn't been washed, cared for, or otherwise cleaned up other than vitals taken, and a swish with a towel... I was exhausted, dirty, and numb from trying not to have my baby slip off me.

"Oops," said the nurses. "You were so quiet we forgot about you." (Dear W had gone home as well, in the day before cellphones were common.) The nurses cleaned me up (oh yes, I was still filthy from giving birth.) They settled me into room about 4am, and started clanging about at 5.30am, talking loudly to each other in the hall, slamming the swinging doors open and shut nearby, and otherwise making it impossible to sleep.

"Help yourself, dear," said the nurses to my inquiry about the ziplock bag of pain-pills, enemas, and hernia cream left on my night table. "We'll count the meds you used after you leave and add the tab to your bill."

What?! I told them they could just carry the lot back to the pharmacy. I'd never heard of such careless medical treatment. They tabulated every bed pad, swab, piece of laundry, and utensil used for and around us... and added that to our bill as well. We were stunned at the exact bean-counting when we received several different invoices in the mail, from every department that could have billed us.

I went home at noon the next day, absolutely wiped out and glad to be out of their "excellent" medical care. Our $2000 covered 5 pre-birth visits to the doc (I couldn't endure more of the indifferent, impersonal appointments), the one-day hospital stay, one 6-week post-op doc visit, no home care, no doc's calls to see if we were doing ok... and none of the other extras which "terrible" socialized Canadian medicine had conditioned us to expect after having a baby. Subsequently, we paid for every  trip the kids and I made to the doc (not many, as you can imagine). We visited our folks in Canada every time a vaccination was due... Jono got his shots done free at our hometown Canadian health clinic.

Years later while living in England, we took Jono to a clinic (more "awful" socialized medicine) where he got exceptional treatment, a reasonable waiting time in a clinic, and a reasonable invoice. Socialized medicine? We'd take it over the robbery and over-charging that passes for private care here anytime!

Maybe the issue is perspective, though. Maybe our experience included the best Canada had to offer vs. the worst of American healthcare, exorbitant payment for relatively good and bad care. Our boys had good treatment here when their lungs collapsed lungs. They might have done as well in Canada for less money. Our daughter continues to seek treatment for arthritis, but says after exploring many options, her docs throw up their hands and say, "We don't know what else to do." She could probably get that in Canada, England, Germany, or other "socialized" countries as well. (However, more medication options are available in Europe and Asia because drug companies don't have to go through the expensive certification processes here.)

Maybe it's a moral dilemma. Greed drives business, including healthcare, in the West. This country's residents are independent-minded, not wanting people to know our business, wanting to customize our experiences. No one wants to be lumped in with others in government-run healthcare because we aren't impressed with other gov't agencies. Trust and confidence is very low.

Docs enter the field for various reasons, not all of them noble, both in Canada and the USA. Many healthcare providers find their insurance premiums so high in the US ($230,000 annual premium for my ear, nose, and throat specialist in 1990), or have long line-ups for patients in Canada, so they treat people like numbers instead of caring for them as individuals. Such attitudes rarely underly good medical care.

My folks and W's have good doctors in Canada. We've been mostly happy with our docs here, too. Our family isn't very picky who treats us for routine care. Since my doc went on maternity leave 14 years ago, I haven't bothered to get another family physician. W's doc seems competent for him and did fine on our occasional visits with the kids. He'd probably work well for me when I need a doc some day.

The media makes a big deal out of the healthcare issue, so political debates become cumbersome, ineffective, and unwieldy. Our Ami friends are terrified of hostile health takeovers by their government. Meanwhile, our family has experienced both sides of the healthcare border and the ongoing debates. We'd rather pay a reasonable amount for similar care. We're living here, happy to be here, and paying through the teeth like everyone else. We're puzzled and bemused by the fear of our friends and the media hype about the dangers of  "socialized medicine."

I bet human and government inertia and an increasing demand for health services keeps us just where we are. The Americans who stay home because they can't afford to fly to Asia or Europe for cheap, up-to-date treatment will continue to lose their shirts, houses, and savings to emergency or old age care. Canadian docs will keep moving to the USA to get rich. Wealthy Canadians will gladly follow these doctors to the USA or go abroad for the services and experience the docs take with them. The rest of Canadians will take what they can get from their government-run healthcare, happy to stay at home as long as possible, without ruinous medical costs.

What's your experience? Are you happy with the care, costs, and future of healthcare where you live in the Americas, Europe, or Asia?

Be in good health!

"Thank you, thank you!" I said to God, driving back from an errand this morning. The women I met with have smoker's voices, rough, raw, coarse. Their skin has wrinkled and their lips have puckered from smoking. Sin is its own punishment, says my husband, and it looks true on these dear women's faces.

I'm transcribing the diaries of Alice Wood, missionary to South and Central America in the early 1900s. Alice suffered mental and physical anguish, yet she was determined to share Good News. She writes of fevers, nervous attacks, and migraines, among her other ailments. Typing out her journals brings her suffering into my office, where I sit with a cup of tea, good health, and warm shelter.

In contrast, our daughter-in-love Rebekah ran, cycled, and swam this weekend in a women's event. Her sister, who does similar competitions each year, persuaded R to join her in the fun. They successfully completed the race and beat their time goals to boot! We are really proud of both sisters. Their training efforts and health choices paid off! (However, we miss her smile in our family photo below, taken Sunday.)

My folks remain healthy in their late 70s, walking daily, eating well, and boosting food with supplements. Dad's become knowledgeable in vitamins, minerals, and alternative health therapies. Compared to their siblings and peers, my parents are energetic, able to work and play with vigor, and continue to thrive.

Seattle weather, which recently cooperated with dry ground or sunny skies, turned ugly and rainy yesterday. Our daughter Kirsten is visiting for a few weeks from sunny Austin. She came out of her room this morning barely able to move, handing her dog Zoe over so I could take the dogs to the groomer. Yesterday, Zoe got her vaccines and a vet exam so she can travel on the plane to Austin with K Thursday. Zoe must have been uncomfortable from the shots: she was restless in the night. That didn't help Kirsten rest after RA joint pains hit her during yesterday's rainstorm. (We're reminded every time a storm blows in why K can't live in Seattle. Even visits are debilitating and painful. Sincere thanks to each friend who remembers to pray for her!)

Thinking about all these circumstances, the struggling and the successful, I felt most grateful for health and strength to complete my daily tasks. I wiggled my toes, moved my spine around the driver's seat, and tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, singing along with hymns of gratitude on my playlist.

God reminded me of missionary and scientist Paul Brand's work with lepers. Instead of focusing on the horrors of the illness, Brand remained joy-filled because so much "was going right," even in leprous body systems. Humans are complex creatures, Brand maintained. His research showed that the most gravely ill body compensated internally to maintain its health and strength. When systems were overwhelmed, the body kept trying alternatives. "Miraculous!" Brand said. "Our bodies are the amazing work of God!"

Thank you, God, for every bit of well-being!" My heart soared, so glad to be healthy and living in a country where medical treatment is available. None of our privileges are deserved or earned. We could be destitute, mortally ill, or isolated. Some of us may have these things in our past, present, or future. Somehow, God's presence is always enough for the hours. "As your days, so shall your strength be," says scripture.

I am grateful for the mercy of this day, beginning with the rising of the sun. God is good. He is Enough and Abundance, in pleasure or pain.

I walked a mile with Pleasure;
She chatted all the way;
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne’er a word said she;
But, oh! The things I learned from her,
When sorrow walked with me.

by poet Robert Browning Hamilton

Read more:
*O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. Isaiah 25:1 NKJV

*I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2 NKJV

Brown's Syndrome: perpetual music

"Would you rather give up your sight or your hearing?" a friend asked me ten years ago, on our way to a piano concert in Seattle.

Without hesitating, I exclaimed, "That's a no-brainer! Hearing, of course. Music would still be going on in my head." Until yesterday, I didn't know how or why. Thanks to Dr. Steven Brown for describing what I'll call "Brown's Syndrome." (Download a PDF of the complete article at The Perpetual Music Track.)

...I'm playing air-piano on my arm and my teeth are clicking a rhythm. "What's the song?" I ask myself, turning in. Oh yeah. It's a loop of a hymn I recently learned while listening to British Christian radio. I sing along in my head for a while, then zone out to watch traffic.

We're on our way home from Vancouver, BC, where we celebrated my brother's wedding yesterday and my daughter's 30th birthday today. The music persists, looping around until I zoom in again, then fades into the background while I remember details of the bride's stunning dress, a visit with Kirsten's friend at a fabulous raw food restaurant (Organic Lives), and the lush green summer outside the car windows.

I change the song a few times, but the same melody and words are back when I check in after a few minutes.

"It's time to find out if there's a name for this!" Maybe someone has written a paper on waking up at night or in the morning and checking the internal soundtrack, before drifting back into sleep or wakefulness.

I Google "persistent music in my head" and come up with an article by Stephen Brown at SFU. Brown calls the symptom "The Perpetual Music Track," and says none of his friends can relate. Their heads are full of words, pictures, or quiet.

Brown describes PMT in detail, using his experience as a case study. Like me, Dr. Brown took music lessons from early childhood on, and considers himself an amateur musician. In those with PMT:

• known and improvised tunes loop through the conscious and unconscious.
• the tunes don't stop, though they can be temporarily replaced by conscious effort.
• even when unaware of the music, the body responds by "playing piano," tapping, conducting, moving. I find myself clicking my back teeth to rhythms when I can't hum, whistle, or fidget toes, feet, or fingers.  I suspect my brother has PMT: he taps or hums into almost any silence. I don't know that he's thought about the persistence of music in his head. It just is. Most of the time we don't realize the music track is going. If there's external quiet, I might check in to see what I'm singing or playing inside. Mostly, I move through the day and night, music coming and going throughout my body.
• music in dreams can be experienced and composed far beyond what happens in wakefulness. Oh the songs I've written, played, and conducted! (Mind you, the paintings and drawings of my dreams are amazing, too.) It's disappointing to forget completely upon waking, because the melody and harmony -- or line and color -- can be defined and reworked in dreams in such detail that I'm positive I could never forget them. Oops. Eye blink. Morning light. Gone!
• we just live with it. Though it's distracting at times to stream the plethora of notes and lines, we might as well enjoy it. There's no turning it off. A few years ago, the silence in my head turned off for a few months. It felt weird and lonely; my whole body felt empty and quiet without music.

I postulate Beethoven wrote his best music while deaf because he had no external interruptions of his music loops. I've thought many times about what it would be like to be able to refine phrases over and over without overlays of noise. What subtleties of orchestration, rhythm, harmonies, and melodies could emerge without other sounds breaking in? The greatest frustration would be like Beethoven's: not being able to hear the result of the score composed in the void of silence. Then I wonder, how are Beethoven's rhythms and melodies related to feeling his pulse, swallowing, the slow drip of lymphatic fluid, the quiet hiss of muscle movement, and the grating of his bones and joints? Was he deaf inside his body? Did he feel the sounds of body movement rather than hear them?

Anyone else relate to this? Oops, sorry. Gotta go, got Josh Groban's "The Prayer" stuck in my head. Time to change the DVD!

Read more:

*Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him. Psalm 126:5-6 NIV

*Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. Psalm 113:1-3 NIV

*Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:26-28 NKJV

Appreciating the day

The ad described Zoe as the perfect little companion. "She was the size of a Beanie baby" when she found her first home with a young single woman. In the intervening six years, Zoe grew to a tiny five-pound bundle of apricot hair. Her home expanded as well. A marriage and three toddlers later, she was overwhelmed.

Zoe came to our house last week and met Kirsten, our daughter. In a week, Kirsten returns to Austin with her new friend, the lovely Zoe! On days that seem long and lonely, Kirsten will have company, a little poodle who adores her. Zoe is house-trained, likes slow walks, and loves snuggling in bed with her person. At first, she curled up at Kirsten's feet, but she's gradually moved up to flop next to Kirsten. No fuss, no squirming. Perfect poodle girl!

When she arrived, her only bad habit was yelling at the top of her little lungs when someone came in the door or her person left the house. She's almost cured of that; after learning "Wait!" she sits down at the door and waits for her people to come home. She's learned to chomp raw chicken wings which sweeten her breath and fill her tummy. And she's good at walking behind us on a leash.

Kirsten is gentle but firm. Zoe wants to please more than anything else and is attention- as well as treat-motivated. Kirsten bought a rolling carrier to take Zoe home and shopped the dog store to see what else they need. Not much, it turns out.

Kirsten's roommate is a dog-lover who can't wait to meet Zoe. "You had me at the word, 'Dog,'" Jen exclaimed when Kirsten called to ask if it would be ok to bring Zoe along.

For me, it's interesting to watch the bond form between human and doggie. If Zoe was human, she might hang onto the past when arbitrarily moved from her unsafe but well-known life to Kirsten's welcome. We'd be inclined to cry out, "Oh, I remember when... How I miss..." or "Why did this happen to me?" Instead, a dog lives in the moment. Zoe has good food, lots of petting, and an adult who will care for her.

She is happy. Her whole back end wiggles with delight when Kirsten pays attention to her. She loves eating the food we give her, and is grateful for a warm place to sleep.

Oh, that we would be as appreciative and trusting when God cares for us!

Read more:
*The godly are showered with blessings. Proverbs 10:6 NLT

*Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act…

Then the LORD told [Moses], "I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land." Exodus 2:23–25; 3:7–8 NLT

*Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the LORD had burned among them.

The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”  Num. 11:1-6 NIV

*From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.

But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. "Heaven forbid, Lord," he said. "This will never happen to you!"

Jesus turned to Peter and said, "Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's." Matthew 16:21–23 NLT

Renewal as summer ends...

Enjoy the end of summer with us! Here's a prayer for the renewal of Christ's church around the world, as universities begin their academic calendar, as work vacations end, and as children go back to school. (The tune is chosen from Hymnal.Net. You may listen to it using the player.)

Lord of the Church, We Pray for Our Renewing

Lord of the church, we pray for our renewing:
Christ over all, our undivided aim.
Fire of the Spirit, burn for our enduing,
wind of the Spirit, fan the living flame!
We turn to Christ amid our fear and failing,
the will that lacks the courage to be free,
the weary labours, all but unavailing,
to bring us nearer what a church should be.

Lord of the church, we seek a Father’s blessing,
a true repentance and a faith restored,
a swift obedience and a new possessing,
filled with the Holy Spirit of the Lord!
We turn to Christ from all our restless striving,
unnumbered voices with a single prayer:
the living water for our souls’ reviving,
in Christ to live, and love and serve and care.

Lord of the church, we long for our uniting,
true to one calling, by one vision stirred;
one cross proclaiming and one creed reciting,
one in the truth of Jesus and his word.
So lead us on; till toil and trouble ended,
one church triumphant one new song shall sing,
to praise his glory, risen and ascended,
Christ over all, the everlasting King!

Timothy Dudley-Smith
Words © 1984 Hope Publishing Company

Endlessly inventive

God is endlessly inventive. Each morning when we wake, the world seems born new and fresh.  I'm a light-sensitive sleeper, so when the sun comes up, I'm awake if I can't pull the covers over my head fast enough.

The Morning Glory cloud on the Gulf coast of northern Queensland

Some awakenings feel like, "What! Morning already!?" while others are, "Oh, can't wait to see what the day will bring!" Sometimes the clouds hang low, and I wonder what the day can possibly bring. I love the days when sunlight, reflecting off the forest to caress me awake.

It can be unsettling when God's creativity moves us outside our ideas of who we are and what we should be doing.

• Sometimes he nudges us with an opportunity that is such a great fit that we happily embrace it. 
• We may feel discontent where we are, unsettled when what once made us thrive is no longer appealing.
• Once in a while, someone else opens our eyes to the next season, "Look, that job/house/friend would suit you so well!" or "I think you've gone as far as you can where you are. Why don't you look elsewhere?" 
• Other times, God pushes or carries us up steep mountain slopes, kicking, screaming, wailing that we are no longer in the valley below. Or gasping with joy at the new vistas that come into view.

Change, inevitable and ongoing, is rarely our preference. Sure, we like a little variety and a few options.

A few of us are adventurers who love to capture, examine, and embrace new things, new work, new friendships, or new family members (including children, in-laws, or long-lost relatives). We thrive by moving wholeheartedly into the unexplored or repurposing the normative into the unusual.

But most of us want the security and safety of doing what we we're good at, with people we know, in the time and place we have chosen. We often forget that we weren't that happy to arrive where we are, and that the past seemed challenging and scary. The future may feel just as comfortable and secure to us, once we understand it better.

God seems to have little respect for our wishes, though sometimes our stubborn refusal to let go and move on creates havoc for others and us. Since God knows how life interlocks, he chooses best. We can only celebrate the inventiveness with which life's challenges and comforts come our way.

What are you celebrating today?

Read more:
*Then Jacob said to Joseph, "I never thought I would see your face again, but now God has let me see your children, too!" Genesis 48:11 NIV

*The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces. People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall. Proverbs 10:8–9 NLT

*Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, "Why couldn't we cast out that demon?"

"You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible." Matthew 17:19–20 NLT

What are you good at?

This repost from Christianity Today made me pause to think about what comes naturally to me that could be useful to God. Hope you enjoy this post by Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions:

Situation 1: ...When Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. 

After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand. …

Situation 2: Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters who came as usual to draw water and fill the water troughs for their father's flocks. But some other shepherds came and chased them away. 

So Moses jumped up and rescued the girls from the shepherds. Then he drew water for their flocks."

Exodus 2:11–12, 16–17 NLT view in context

Way before God called Moses to rescue his people from Pharaoh's cruelty, Moses was a rescuer. He tried to rescue his fellow Hebrews. He rescued the girls who drew water. God created him with this bent toward rescuing, and God later used it in a mighty way. "Rescue" was the verb that defined Moses.

What verb defines you? What you do naturally is what God will use to accomplish his purposes through you.
—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions

How women lead

One of the most insightful interviews on the way successful women think and lead. Inclusive, visionary, resourceful.

Kim Kiyosaki — Author and Founder of Richwoman.com

"In the same way, you husbands ought to..."

Yesterday I attended Kenmore's Northshore Church. I've been there a few times and really like it. Pastor Steve spoke on 1 Peter 3, a passage that goes against our culture in asking wives to respect the authority of their husband.

What caught my eye? The little phrase prefacing instructions to husbands: "In the same way, you husbands ought to..."

What did Peter say? "In the same way as..." Peter has just instructed wives to live with respect and humility, not relying on outward beauty nor flashy appearances but on her quiet, meek spirit. Those beautiful attitudes form godly behaviors.

A male loud-mouth, revving his muscle car, preening with tailor-cut suits, handmade shoes, or custom golf clubs, one who emphasizes status at work -- a guy who gets jazzed about his "best barbecue" skills and other displays of one-upmanship -- does not reflect the spirit Peter encourages in men and women.

Over the years, I've heard apologetic sermons, excuses of "culture was different back then," and other explanations about Peter's intentions and God's mission for women.

Steve did a good job of showing how the respect a woman shows her husband, especially when her position is culturally powerless, would help him to note the transforming power of following Christ. "Back then, a man coming to Christ would bring his family into the faith. A woman would have no such power. But her changed behavior would show her husband and the whole family the difference Christ makes in us."

In today's culture where gender equality is a hot button, a man with strength, meekness, humility, and respect for others stands out as much a woman with the same qualities.

Only Christ can produce such a transformation in us. Our natural tendency is to "look out for ourselves" and act with self-interest.

Jesus, through Peter's letter, encourages us to move beyond cultural norms to reflect his humble character and the fruit of the Spirit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control..." (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV). 

Read more:

*Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12 NIV

*Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. 

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:1-10 NIV 

Praise the everlasting King!

Culture inundates us with sounds, sights, textures, tastes, smells. Western noise floods every sense with diversions that keep us from meditating on God and his ways. I suggested to a young friend that hymns might help soothe him when he has trouble sleeping.

"Don't think so! I hate hymns," he replied. "They drive me crazy, like a busy Bach piece or random jazz. There's too much going on." Many people without a background in traditional Protestant churches or classical music would agree.

When W and I lived in Cambridge, UK, we enjoyed Evensong at the various colleges. On debate trips to the UK, students and I attend Evensong sung by one of the exceptional university choirs of Oxford or Cambridge as a cultural experience. Students and I sit with other tourists near the choir and reader, on hard benches facing the center aisle in cold, dark chapels. The music washes over us. Old and New Testament readings pour into the shadows between songs. Responsive readings from the Book of Common Prayer echo against stone walls. The discomfort of non-religious or world religious adherents is obvious:  the Word, prayers, and music direct attention without apology to the living God and his expectations. I am always astonished at the indifference of the singers as they pour the tones into the air. They pass along Living Water without sipping it or drinking deeply themselves.

The music and lyrics of Evensong, written to glorify God, have been sung for decades or centuries, reminding us of God's faithful provision and constancy. I love the thick growls of the pipe organ that buzz and rumble through soles to scalp. The occasional bleat of an oboe or keening cry of the trumpet accompaniment gives me goose-bumps. The pure voices of young boys soar into the rafters, their innocent clarity and white choir robes denying sneaky shoves in the foyer before the preteens marched into the chapel. 

I hope my young friend engages in worship within his own culture. My prayer is that he seeks out meaningful words, melodies, rhythms, and harmonies written by his peers, opening his heart to be drawn into God's presence. 

Anyone desperate for well-sung, beautifully written hymns can enjoy old and new favorites online. UCB Media plays hymns at 7-9am Sundays (Greenwich time), and streams British and American "inspirational" worship music without commercials the rest of the week. (Another option is saturation in scripture as it's read aloud on UCB's "Bible" station.) 

Whatever else we do today, let's take time to praise the Everlasting King! 

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*Praise the LORD!
        
         Praise God in His sanctuary;
         Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
        
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
         Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
        
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
         Praise Him with the lute and harp!
Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
         Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
         Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
        
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
        
         Praise the LORD! (Psalm 150)