One week to go.....

Just one week before knee surgery, I have a list a mile long of things to do before I go "under the knife." Most critical, I have finished grading my final papers from the spring class, and final course grades are figured and ready to submit to the seminary. Whew. There are only two students with extensions on the course, so I will wrap up those grades later, closer to the end of June. Second most critical, I have had a hair-cut and a manicure.....

Kaiser Health has prepared me well for the surgery. We attended a "joint replacement class" at the hospital early in May that was very helpful. The hospital is the "Good Samaritan" Hospital in Lafayette, about 40 minutes north and east of our house. The timing is only important because I have to be there at 5:30 AM for a 7:30 surgery! Truly, for a "non-morning person," this could be the hardest part ....

We learned a lot about knee replacement and hip replacement as well (really glad it is not my hip...). I had no idea that I would be on a pain management (medication) program for about a month, as well as a blood-thinner for a few weeks to avoid blood clots. Kaiser will send physical therapists to my home to aid in my rehabilitation after surgery about two or three times a week; in addition, they will send someone to take blood samples to evaluate my pain meds and blood thinner. The key to recovery (I am told) is to keep the knee moving, eventually gaining full range of motion. That means managing pain and a lot of hard work.

Then, I had a pre-op appointment with a nurse practitioner and a final appointment with my surgeon. The nurse took a battery of tests and checked all my vital signs. Within a few days, the test results were e-mailed to me; I like that about Kaiser. Fortunately, I appear to be very "normal" on all accounts, which is a good sign. I liked that, too. I am a very "low-risk" patient with no severe medical or physical problems. I am pretty darn healthy (need I say, "for my age..."?) and for that I am very grateful.

My surgeon was succinct and confident. I guess you want a confident person as your surgeon or your quarterback! I am unable to straighten my bad knee. It also curves out, making me look quite bow-legged. In order to get it as straight as possible, the doctor told me to straighten it (in a sitting position) and push down on either side of it. That's Dave's job and he is good at inflicting pain as instructed. At this point, I am not allowed to take any pain medicine with aspirin, but I can (thankfully) take Tylenol to sleep at night. No vitamins, or herbal pills allowed.

So this coming week is filled with preparations and pain, dinners with friends and family (each one feeling like my "last supper..."). Life as I now know it will come to a screeching halt at midnight on May 27-28. After surgery, I will have new opportunities, new feelings, new schedules, new goals, new attitudes and a brand-new titanium knee. Praise God. I am ready.
As they used to say, "stayed tuned for more up-dates...."

Graduation

This morning was a graduation celebration for 89 new graduates of Denver Seminary, for their friends and families. For the faculty, staff, or anyone even remotely associated with the school, this is a joyous occasion! Lots of hard work, for students and for instructors, culminating in many happy faces. A "mountain-top" experience, the students have successfully met all the challenges for three or four (or more) years of academic pursuit. It all boils down to this -- so, now where do we go from here?

President Mark Young delivered an inspirational address, especially since he well noted that "no one attends graduation ceremonies to hear a speaker...." He spoke from 2 Corinthians 5:13-15, suggesting that we all must be "out of our minds" for Jesus. It is the love of God that compels us to serve others, in a world where one can make more money doing almost anything other than ministry. It is not our selfish motives or the love of self that drives us to serve -- it is only the love of God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that compels us to ministry.

Dr. Young urged new graduates not to look for a "job," a "profession," but follow a "passion." His words were well-spoken. If we have, indeed, equipped these students well, they will make the Christian church more effective and the entire world a better place. Dr. Young thinks globally, and it is time we all took 2 Cor. 14-15 more seriously, compelled to serve others by the love of Christ for me -- and you!
May God bless all the new graduates, and may we all learn to live for him and not for ourselves (v. 15)!

Technololgy

Technology. Ya gotta love it. When it doesn't work, I get frustrated and want to throw it out. But so many more things are accessible that were inaccessible to us before the age of computers and internet. My most recent example is a theological conference. I tend to be a "conference junkie," so I would have loved to go to Wheaton College to attend the 19th Annual Theological Conference last month. Some of the NT students at seminary drove to Chicago to attend, and I would have enjoyed being with them. The conference, "Jesus, Paul and the People of God," was highlighted with awesome speakers such as N.T. Wright, Richard Hays, Marianne Meye Thompson and Kevin Vanhoozer. I was privileged to see and hear Bishop Wright in the UK at a British New Testament conference, and he is awesome. Thompson is a familiar Johannine scholar, but I have never heard her in person. Hays and Vanhoozer have been a big part of my life since I am teaching biblical hermeneutics. So, it was a chance to see some of the "biggies." Regrettably, I could not go.

Then, through Twitter, I discovered that I can link into the Windows Booksellers PDX. Through this site, I can download the audios and videos of the speakers at the Wheaton conference! I am so amazed. I can hear them without leaving my office chair. Life is good!

The "web" is certainly an exciting and a complicated journey into one unknown, that leads to another, that leads to another, that leads to another -- well, I guess you get the point. I could spend countless hours searching, networking, blogging, and bunny-hopping all over the virtual universe. For some reason, it still feels like I am wasting my time, "playing on the computer," when I should be reading or writing or doing something "constructive" (like cooking, cleaning, laundry or gardening). Why is that??

Well anyway, I think there are about a million things I should be doing this lovely Sunday afternoon, so I had better get started.......