Tag Archives: ambition

Following Judah’s Lion: The Problem Solving Church

Lori Alexandersaid…

I have been mentoring women for over 8 years. Every time I start with them all they do is tell me how terrible their husband is and what he has done wrong. my greatest task is to get them to admit to their part in the destruction of their marriage, repent, start loving their husbands as God commands them to and every single time they have done this, their marriages have been healed. may I use several of the paragraphs of this post on my blog? just email me at laalex2@aol.com if it is alright. Thank you, Lori

10:49 AM Anonymoussaid…

As my journey teaches me more and more every day, I'm almost concluded that the Church of Jesus Christ can't survive well in a prosperous nation. Of course, only He know, because it is His Church. but christians do eventually weaken, water down, because the temptations of a wealthy, hedonistic society tampers us down. It's true that it's hard for a rich man to enter heaven. All the garbage that goes with exceptionalism, wealthy, security, materialism, success, ambition, idolatry of those who succeed, blinds us every day, every hour. we are bombarded on all sides by stories of excess, entertainment, travel to exotic places, retirees who should place their nest eggs in investments, etc. Everything we hear and see on tv is about clawing and clawing for more, more. And when it's payday next week, and we've no more grocery money til then, our hearts get heavy and we feel victimized. we want God to fix it for us, like He fixes it for the "others" that we hear about. we ask, how come we never get 'blessed' like all the others. This attitude turns us into unthankful, entitled, depressed, anxious, desperate christians who want their fair share. I've fought this attitude and can say that if I could live a very modest life, being content to pick oranges for $4/hour on a tropical island and live in a small apartment with my extended family, that it would be much BETTER for my soul. the truth is, we are trapped by the trappings of the West and it's very hard to break free from those things. I just pray that we all find contentment, and moderation, and not be influenced by the world around us, so we can be worthy to share the good fruit and gifts of the Spirit.

11:57 AMAlsaid…

Amen Anonymous, I have felt the same things. I began by turning off the voices of the world so I can hear the voice of the Lord. Actually, I felt in the Spirit He was telling me to stop listening to those voices and fast from them for a while. I cancelled cable, stopped listening to talk radio. while I do watch some programming these days, it's much less and I am more focused on non-entertainment things with Christ first. great Post Rick, thanks for sharing what's on your heart. God Bless all!

1:50 PM Anonymoussaid…

Your observations are accurate and alarming. I myself have fallen far from the consecrated, intercessory, witnessing, separated lifestyle I lived by the Holy Spirit for years after conversion. A little compromise on a conviction leads to more and more, and a dulling of the conscience, and to a cold heart. after feeding the flesh for years, it is hard to crucify it with its many screaming wants and indulgences. It is hard when you cannot find others to help keep you in that lifestyle, and accountable, though i know that is not an excuse. please pray for us, I sincerely ask, as I need to, "remember from whence you have fallen, and go back and do the things you did at the first." by grace, through faith, to overcome sin and the carnal nature in the Holy Spirit–yes! Thank you Brother and Pastor.Victoria

8:51 AM Anonymoussaid…

The strong delusion has been sent. And it may be spread to the rest of the world. This delusion is, I believe, not even a secret delusion anymore. It's exposed for all to see, and many christians don't want to see it. This delusion stems from 'trusting' men too much. we, as christians, have always given the benefit of the doubt to leaders who claim they are christian. but, today, corruption, greed, and wolves in sheep's clothing are everywhere. we can't be asleep and believe their 'talk' without looking for the 'walk' and fruit of the Spirit. the fruit of the Spirit is not on display at all by our role models. And idols; America loves it's idols. God can't work where idols are in the way. There are many 'church' idols, political idols, and pundit idols. There are news channel 'idols', entertainment idols, reality tv idols, sports, patriotic, gun-loving, evangelist, christian family advocacy idols, statesmen idols and with so much flesh in the way, how can the Lord be lifted up? Women's conventions idealize other women. they pay thousands of dollars to have any idol, musician idols and guest idols walk their halls for pay. in fact, all these above idols all get paid extravagantly for their public deeds shown to all men. the secret deeds of the humble always go unnoticed. the U.S. glorifies strength, health, survival of the fittest, beauty, splendor, monetary success. And the church goes along with it. another thing that quenches the Spirit of God is vanity. Kids today are tormented by their appearance. they are set up by parents to get their teeth straightened, more and more are being given plastic surgery gift certificates for their 18th birthdays. they are given the green light and told it's acceptable to be obsessed with looks. I notice how many self-proclaimed christian men and women who are in the spotlight all look absolutely beautiful on the outside. they won't reveal their secrets about cosmetic surgeries, but they pride themselves that they are disciplined with their outside temple, giving advice on how to stay trim, youthful, energetic. these are the idols, the golden calfs that get in the way in the US and the west. Beauty and sexuality are a priority to many christians nowadays. these same love to criticize the unbelieving politicians on their objectives in helping the poor and middle class. Yet, they, as self-proclaimed christians, sit high, lifted up, rich, and have need of nothing pointing the finger and slandering. Can't others see this? is this what Jesus would do? He died for all men, unbelievers and those who trust in mammon, so it should be a christian's heart to love and pray for these that they come to know Christ. How can they WANT to know Christ if they are being knocked down and called names? And we lift these banners up, high, proudly, with patriotic symbols. these same proudly wear chains with crosses, but rarely do we see any mention of the cross and repentence. And, I need to seek repentence as well. Pride and arrogance, vanity that is in the world has taken over many in the church. There was a subtle reversal that's happened the last few decades and we never even noticed it, like the frogs in boiling water. This is an hour where man cannot be trusted anymore. No man, especially those who claim they are of Christ. I think this is a day to beware of christians publicly speaking things, rather it's a day and hour that the 'acting the good fruit' in private is what will draw men to Jesus. Thank you for letting me write down what's been on my mind these days. I have to keep myself from idols too. may the Lord keep us and preserve us in these deceptive times.

12:18 PMRick Fruehsaid…This comment has been removed by the author.1:56 PMRick Fruehsaid…

Since adolatry and didivded allegiances are prevelant, the conscious "moral" church continuse to submit that moral deviations are wholesale within our community.Do we continue to shoot at our enemies?Oh well,, stay on this page.

3:46 PM korriesaid…

I have enjoyed this post and all the comments.Anonymous number one said it for me. we have grown into a land of entitlements…from the richest to the poorest there are things folk just feel they have a 'right' to.we don't have time to be alone with our Lord so He can talk to us, we just hurriedly tell him what we want and need then we are off to whatever is next. That island picking oranges would no doubt be good for us all.

6:36 PM

Following Judah’s Lion: The Problem Solving Church

I avoided the risk of metal hip implants

For eight years, I have shared a right hip with my neighbour. over the fence, we have swapped symptoms, hospital experiences and our steps to recovery after hip operations. in 2004, aged 57, Jo had her hip resurfaced, and within weeks was digging and playing tennis again. She seemed like the perfect advertisement for this almost routinely successful operation.

So when my turn came to have a total hip replacement three years ago, I was quite blithe. After months of not being able to sleep due to acute pain, and having to steady myself against the filing cabinet before trying to walk to the water cooler, it was time to act. Her example fortified me.

Within six weeks, I was pain-free and less than three months after the operation I’d achieved my ambition of climbing Scar Top, a 1,000ft boulder-strewn ridge in North Yorkshire. Soon, Jo and I were marvelling over the fence at our new lease of life. And then, happily, hips just weren’t worth mentioning any more.

But all that changed about 18 months ago when Jo said she’d noticed a lump in her groin. “It was tender to touch,” she says, “and I was getting unusually tired. I’d been noticing a lot of ‘clunking’ around my hip and the clunking sound was getting worse.” Long before the recent controversy about the safety of metal-on-metal (MoM) implants, she suspected that the symptoms could be related to her “new” MoM hip.

Her GP sent her for an ultrasound scan and fluid was taken from the swelling in the groin. It proved not to be cancerous, but an ion test revealed high levels of chromium and cobalt in her body. “Debris” from the implant was apparently leaching into her blood and had begun to infect the bone. “Every time I heard a clunk, I thought: there is another little bit of debris being released.”

As I write, Jo is in the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore, having her metal joint replaced with a ceramic one – a total hip replacement this time. She is one of more than 60,000 patients in England and Wales who have been implanted with metal-on-metal hip devices since 2003 – devices that are now causing concern.

Research published by The Lancet medical journal last week found “unequivocal evidence” that metal implants are failing much more quickly than other types, with a five-year revision rate of 6.2 per cent – compared with 2.3 per cent for ceramic-on-ceramic and 1.7 for metal-on-plastic. The failure rates are higher in women than in men.

“all the time I’ve been waiting for the operation,” Jo said the night before she went into hospital, “the story about implants has been an unfolding horror. It’s like being in a theatre and seeing it happen in front of you and not knowing how it’s going to play out. I feel very let down that they put this metal into our bodies and they can’t have done adequate tests. I am a victim of circumstance.”

Suddenly, our cases have diverged. I was fortunate enough, five years on, to have been given a ceramic hip. This morning, while my friend was under the knife, I was running for the bus and lifting dustbins out of the basement well. I feel a twinge of something akin to survivor guilt.

Jo, a sculptor, is 65 now. She had to retire from teaching a year early because of increasing difficulties with her hip and the prospect of another operation. She feels disappointment and anxiety – but little anger. a lawyer is investigating her case against the manufacturer, though her type of MoM has not been established.

“It is such bad luck,” she says. “The hip functions very well and I was told it would last 15 to 20 years. The surgeon did a brilliant job. But it seems there has been a lack of diligence somewhere. I am older now. There is a greater likelihood of dislocation. Recovery will be slower. I know I am in for the long haul.

“I am very proactive in looking after my two grandchildren [aged three and one] but it could be months before I can pick them up and play with them.”

From their introduction in 1997, MoMs were marketed as the latest advance in hip replacement, and were targeted at young, active patients who needed a hip that would last “a lifetime”. they were tougher than either conventional metal-on-plastic or ceramic.

The problem with certain types is that the surfaces of the cup and ball joint wear, producing particles of chromium and cobalt that leach into surrounding tissue and the rest of the body. This can cause muscle and bone damage and neurological problems. little is known about longer-term effects.

The new research, based on the National Joint Registry of England and Wales, reveals significant differences between implants depending on the type and size of the “head” – the bigger the head, the higher the failure rate.

In response to the crisis, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has issued new guidance on metal implants, saying that almost 50,000 patients in the UK should have annual blood or MRI checks.

Prof Ashley Blom, a member of the research team at Bristol University that produced The Lancet report, says: “these results are very disappointing. However, we must not panic people. The vast majority are doing fine. we are not calling for a ban on metal-on-metal, as has been reported, but we say it is not best practice. There are other options and they do better.”

Part of the problem, he suspects, is that implants are not regulated as stringently as drugs. “It is much easier to bring an implant to market than a drug. Yet once it is there, you cannot stop taking your implant. The medical regulators have a very hard job. Their balancing act is to have regulations that both allow for innovation and protect patients. No one wants draconian rules that deny innovation.”

A recent investigation by the British Medical Journal and Newsnight is far more critical. Deborah Cohen, author of the BMJ report, says the risks of some metal-on-metal hip devices have been known for decades but “patients have been kept in the dark about their participation in what has effectively been a largely uncontrolled experiment”.

Trends come and go in orthopaedics and some suspect there is an element of “little boys and their shiny new toys” about the early enthusiasm for MoM. Jo says: “I remember my surgeon holding up this shiny, really big heavy object and saying: “This will last for years.”

Hip operations: what to do if you’re worried about your implant

Most people who have had a hip operation will have traditional replacements, made from metal-on-plastic or ceramic. The new guidance from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency relate to metal-on-metal (MoM) replacements only, particularly “large head” implants or hip resurfacing in which metal was used to repair the joint.

New research into MoM implants found a “small risk” that wear and tear in the cup and ball joint of the hip could lead to metal ions (such as cobalt and chromium) being released into the surrounding tissue and the rest of the body. This can cause soft tissue damage or swelling at the site of the implant as well as infection.

If you have had hip surgery but do not know what type of replacement was used, contact the hospital where the operation was performed. your GP is unlikely to hold this information. The hospital will be able let you know what follow-up treatment or further health screening is required (if any).

Patients with an MoM hip replacement are advised to attend follow-up appointments and be aware of the warning signs. these include: pain in the groin, swelling near the hip joint or difficulty walking. Problems tend to develop two to three years after the operation, although none of the symptoms necessarily mean the implant is failing. If you are concerned about your hip replacement, contact your hospital for blood tests and a scan of the joint.

Sarah Rainey

I avoided the risk of metal hip implants

Meet the young star of the N&N’s talented team

Andrea Figus, consultant plastic surgeon at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

Monday, April 18, 2011 1:00 PM

He’s a man of many talents, but as Rachel Buller discovered, Italian plastic surgeon Andrea Figus is single-minded in his ambition to attain the highest standards at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital

Andrea Figus is passionate about Italy.

Whether it is the food, the climate, the football or the lifestyle, a little bit of his heart is clearly in his beloved Sardinia. But with his first baby due any day and a burgeoning career in medicine in Norfolk, he says he is extremely happy having Norwich as his home.

The decision to appoint the Italian doctor to the renowned plastic surgery team at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital three years ago is indicative of the unit’s ambitions and success.

He became one of the youngest NHS consultant plastic surgeons in the UK and Andrea believes it was a gamble to give him the job.

“I was 34-years-old, English was not my first language, I was not fully trained in England and I didn’t know anyone personally at the N&N. I think they took a very big gamble. we are one of the youngest teams in the UK, but all of us have a good reputation and strong CVs and we all have a good view to innovate and think forward. It really is a great team.”

Since arriving, his Italian good looks, charm and enthusiasm have not gone unnoticed among his patients.

“My ladies,” he laughs with a sigh. “All my ladies are marvellous.

“Seriously, though, it was hard coming here initially, I felt a lot of pressure. I was young and didn’t speak great English; it was hard to be taken seriously. The beard helps,” he laughs, stroking it. “I think so anyway – that’s why I keep it.”

But medicine has not always been Andrea’s first love.

For a long time, he juggled studying medicine with playing professional football – playing for his home team in Cagliari, currently in Serie A, and among his contemporaries were Christian Vieri and Alessandro Del Piero.

He is reluctant, and perhaps a little embarrassed, to talk at length about those times, but the glint in his eye suggests that football will always have a special place in his heart.

“I have to tell you, I really wanted to be a footballer,” he says almost apologetically. “I was a professional footballer for Cagliari, but I wasn’t some millionaire by any means, far far from it. But getting paid to play the game I love was enough.”

His parents were happy for him to be a footballer, but he says: “They reminded me I could choose what I wanted to do, but that I had to go to university.

“I always thought I wanted to get a degree, to be somebody other than just a footballer. I didn’t want to be considered ignorant, which is what a lot of people think about footballers.

“I was trying to do both – the medicine and the football. I was focused on both, but it was hard. my professor understood that there was something else I did which I was also passionate about. he was very good; he would change the on-call rota and try to be more flexible.”

His father was a doctor, and also specialised in plastic surgery, but Andrea says he advised him against following a career in medicine.

“He always told me not to. But in my head I thought I could do medicine and sport by maybe being in orthopaedics. I could see my career in football was not going down the millionaire route, so I felt I could try to do something else full time. When I was in my third year, I knew I wanted to do surgery. It is a more practical thing. we find the problem and we try to sort it straight away, immediately. I like that. When you are a surgeon you rely on your skills. When you are in football you have to rely on your skills – but a lot of other people and things around you, like managers, can also interfere with that. When you are a surgeon you really are out on your own, it is very pure. if you are not able to do it, you can’t lie and fake it. In two seconds your colleagues will find out.”

Two months before arriving in Norwich to start his new job, Andrea met his wife, Eva, back in Sardinia. he admits she initially didn’t want to get involved with him because he was leaving for England. “She refused to come. now she is living here and we are having our first baby. In the first six months, I don’t think she was so happy – she said she hated it. I wanted to try and speak English but she refused to speak English to me at home ever,” he says with a shake of his head and a smile.” now, we are very happy.”

Since arriving at the N&N, he has become an integral part of the team.

“The treatment we are offering at the moment is among the best. we are a very unified team, when something new comes we want to try it.

“We want to make the hospital as good as or better than other big hospitals in the world.”

He said that dealing with reconstruction after breast cancer was a complex matter as it was dependant on so many factors regarding the disease.

“The good thing here is that we can offer every single type of operation. I like to have a minimum of two consultations first, to make sure we find the right operation and reconstruction.”

He and Eva go back to Sardinia regularly, especially during the summer, but he says he is feeling really settled in Norfolk. “I think the local countryside is beautiful. I love all the fields, and we have lots of walks together – I really think I should go to the coast more. But if you imagine me, in Sardinia if it is 15 degrees I think that is cold. When it is 15 degrees here, people say, ‘look, it’s an amazing day’,” he laughs.

Just as we stand up to leave, Andrea reminds me modestly that football was only a tiny bit of his life from the past, and he adds with a grin: “I am more proud that I was a singer in a band than a footballer.”

When pushed on this sudden revelation, he reveals that in Italy, his band were on the brink of big things before they decided to call it quits to focus on their careers.

The band was called Minimo Storico – meaning historical minimum.

“It was because we were very bad. You know, we thought there was nothing worse than us, we were the minimum. But we got from that to being pretty good. What I was most proud of was creating something from nothing. When we find each other in Sardinia again maybe we will have a small concert.”

Meet the young star of the N&N’s talented team