I am a family physician who loves to write about the HEART of HEALTH. On my blog, Watercress Words, I inform and inspire us in healthy living. My ideas come from my training, experiences, medical practice, personal life, and medicine in the media. There's always something new and interesting to explore in the world of health and medicine.
Brian Hardin has been podcasting the Bible to hundreds of thousands for over a decade, leading people through the whole Bible every year. Now he’s putting his love of the daily reading of Scripture on to the page. In this collection of 365 readings, you’ll be surprised by how often what you read in the Bible will be a mirror into your own heart and motives.
It’s not too early to think about adding more faith, hope, and love to your life next year. One way I do so is reading the Bible.
The Bible is long and sometimes complicated, so reading every chapter in a year is daunting. But Brian Hardin and his crew from Daily Audio Bible have made it doable.
Brian Hardin, creator of Daily Audio Bible, reads from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs every day of the year. His daughter China reads from the Chronological Bible every day. (That’s the order the events occurred, rather than the way the books in the Bible are arranged.)
And there are versions available for kids and teens, and in multiple languages including Spanish, French, Arabic, and Japanese.
This is an affiliate link, used to earn a commission from sales made through it. The funds go to support the expense of publishing this blog.
The daily devotional entries parallel the readings that Brian does each day.
Brian Hardin has been podcasting the Bible to hundreds of thousands for over a decade, leading people through the whole Bible every year. Now he’s putting his love of the daily reading of Scripture on to the page. In this collection of 365 readings, you’ll be surprised by how often what you read in the Bible will be a mirror into your own heart and motives.
Amazon
I’ve already purchased a copy of the devotional so I’ll be ready on January 1. But I skipped ahead a little to share with you a quote from the January 5 entry, when Brian introduces the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. It’s one of my favorite passages of scripture and I’ve shared several blog posts using verses from it.
In Matthew’s gospel Jesus began to teach one of his foundational messages known as the Sermon on the Mount. This disruptive message describes a world that we long for but have no idea how to achieve-which may be the point.
Jesus spoke of the countless blessings (the Beatitudes) for those who reach the end of their own strength and ability only to find God there. We are happiest when we depend on God for everything we are and everything we will ever be
Brian Hardin
sharing faith, hope, and love next year
So whether you buy Brian’s book or not, I hope you will follow along with me at the Daily Audio Bible. It will only cost you a little time but I think you will find it a worthwhile investment.
I appreciate all of you who follow this blog; there are numerous other blogs to choose from so I am honored you chose to spend some time here. A special welcome to all my new followers from this past month.
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The Daily Audio Bible is supported by donations and sales of products on the website. This blog gains no financial benefit from them and DAB did not compensate me for this blog post.
Some posts from the Sermon on the Mount on this blog
(this blog earns a small commission if you purchase from this link)
sharing the HEART of thankfulness today and always
I appreciate all of you who follow this blog; there are numerous other blogs to choose from so I am honored you chose to spend some time here. A special welcome to all my new followers from this past month.
To start following Watercress Words , use this form to get an email notification of new posts . Please find and follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Thanks so much.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth to age five in participating communities within the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Find out why.
Joseph and his dream
“Jacob’s son Joseph was now seventeen years old, and he loved Joseph more than any of his other children, because Joseph was born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob gave him a special gift—a brightly colored coat.
His brothers of course noticed their father’s partiality, and consequently hated Joseph; they couldn’t say a kind word to him.”
(Joseph had two dreams in which he became so powerful that his brothers bowed down before him.)
“And they hated him both for the dream and for his cocky attitude.”
(One day Joseph’s father sent him to his brothers who were watching the flocks of sheep. He told Joseph to come back and tell him how they were getting along.)
“But when they saw him coming, recognizing him in the distance, they decided to kill him.
The dream killers
“Here comes that master-dreamer,” they exclaimed. “Come on, let’s kill him and toss him into a well and tell Father that a wild animal has eaten him. Then we’ll see what will become of all his dreams!”
So when Joseph got there, they pulled off his brightly colored robe, and threw him into an empty well—there was no water in it. Then they sat down for supper.”
(But then they decided it wasn’t a good idea to kill him; after all, he was their brother. So they decided to sell him to some traders instead.)
“So when the traders came by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the well and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver, and they took him along to Egypt.
Then the brothers killed a goat and spattered its blood on Joseph’s coat, and took the coat to their father and asked him to identify it.
“We found this in the field,” they told him. “Is it Joseph’s coat or not?”
Their father recognized it at once.
“Yes,” he sobbed, “it is my son’s coat. A wild animal has eaten him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.”
Then Jacob tore his garments and put on sackcloth and mourned for his son in deepest mourning for many weeks. His family all tried to comfort him, but it was no use.”
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The coat of many colors
I listened to this story on the Daily Audio Bible recently .(I hope you’re listening too.) Older versions of the Bible translate the “brightly colored coat” as “a coat of manycolors”, or as songwriter Andrew Lloyd Webber called it “the amazing technicolor dreamcoat”.
Country singer Dolly Parton had a “coat of many colors” as a child in rural Tennessee. Her mother made it out of rags; the family was poor and couldn’t afford to buy her a new coat.
When her mother gave it to her, she told Dolly the story of Joseph, and Dolly was proud to wear her coat too. But when she went to school, her friends weren’t so impressed and made fun of her. But she knew better; she knew that the love that was sewn into her coat was more important than the price.
The joke was definitely on them since she grew up to become successful, rich, and famous. Not only that, she is generous. She established
a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth to age five in participating communities within the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write, Dolly started her Imagination Library in 1995 for the children within her home county. Today, her program spans four countries and mails over 1 million free books each month to children around the world.
display at Dolly Parton’s Stampede Dinner Attraction, Branson Missouri
On the web site she writes
“When I was growing up in the hills of East Tennessee, I knew my dreams would come true. I know there are children in your community with their own dreams. They dream of becoming a doctor or an inventor or a minister. Who knows, maybe there is a little girl whose dream is to be a writer and singer.
The seeds of these dreams are often found in books and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world.”
I know this is true, because it happened that way for me. My dream of becoming a doctor began and grew from books I borrowed from my local library and I believe every child should have that opportunity.
Like Joseph’s brothers and Dolly’s schoolmates, other people may mock and try to kill your dreams. Don’t let them. Out of our dreams come life changing experiences for us, and for those that we have a chance to help later on. And if someone- a parent, teacher, neighbor, coach-has encouraged your dream, thank them. They have given you a priceless gift.
Her experience inspired Dolly to write a song about her coat, a song she says is her favorite among the many songs she has written and recorded.
a “colt” of many colors at Dolly Parton’s Stampede Dinner attraction in Branson Missouri
I invite you to listen to it here. I think you will understand why it is her favorite and why it reached number 4 on the country music charts in 1971.
If you want to know what happened to Joseph after he arrived in Egypt, you can read the rest of the story in Genesis, or watch
Tammy Doil wrote about Lessons that can be learned from the life of Joseph on her blog Creative K Kids. Her post was from a lesson she taught for the children’s program at her church. The take-away was
” having faith in God means staying positive even when bad things happen to you.”
Tammy Doil
The points in the lesson are aimed at children but we adults need them too. She includes instructions for a related craft project for children (or even adults) to do. Here is a link to the post.
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Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Canadian Cast Recording)Andrew Lloyd Webber, Donny Osmond & “Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” 1992 Canadian Cast
Coat of Many Colors-Dolly Parton
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George Frideric Handel used this scripture from Isaiah in his famous work, Messiah, first performed in 1742, and which millions of people have heard or even sang since then. The entire lyrics of Messiah are derived from scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments that describe the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The season of Advent, which comes from the Latin word adventus meaning “coming” or “visit,” begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year for Christians. (Liturgical — from liturgy, which means the forms and functions of public worship.) In 2019 Advent starts on December 1.
So, what is Christmas?
Christmas is both a secular and religious holiday. For those who observe it’s spiritual significance, Christmas is celebrated as the day the infant Jesus Christ was born (although Biblical scholars doubt that December 25 is exactly the correct day.)
Christians celebrate the season with a rich tradition of church services which feature Bible readings about Jesus’ birth and special music. And almost 300 years ago, a musician combined these traditions to create one of the most well known and often performed works of music.
quote from Isaiah 9:6; graphic from LIGHTSTOCK.COM, affiliate link
Handel’s Messiah
George Frideric Handel used this scripture from Isaiah in his famous work, Messiah, first performed in 1742, and which millions of people have heard or even sang since then. The entire lyrics of Messiah are derived from scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments that describe the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Handel’s father was a barber-surgeon. Barber-surgeons were physicians in medieval Europe, who as the name suggests performed surgery, often treating wounds from war injuries. Eventually, surgery and barbery became separate occupations.
photo by Dr. Aletha of a Nativity display at my church
Read another post on this blog to learn more about Handel and Messiah; did you know it wasn’t written for Christmas?
I appreciate all of you who follow this blog; there are numerous other blogs to choose from so I am honored you chose to spend some time here. A special welcome to all my new followers from this past month.
To start following Watercress Words , use this form to get an email notification of new posts . Please find and follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Thanks so much.
The increase in physician burnout has been directly linked to the introduction of electronic medical records.
You’re probably used to your doctor’s office using an EMR, electronic medical record (also called EHR, electronic health record) . By now most clinics, private medical offices, hospitals, labs, imaging centers, and other healthcare settings use computers exclusively for everything from scheduling, communication, to documentation and billing. If you are a young adult, you may not even remember a time when medical offices and hospitals used paper records.
Do you remember the stacks of charts in doctor’s offices and hospitals?
Dr. Danielle Ofri, author of several books about healthcare delivery, wrote an astute opinion piece about EMRs for STAT which I encourage you to read. I’m going to review her post adding my own ideas, , with the goal of helping you understand why we doctors, and maybe you, have a love/hate relationship with computers in healthcare; as Dr. Ofri says about electronic health records,
they all have their breathtaking assets and snarling annoyances
Dr. Danielle Ofri
In her piece, Dr. Ofri refers specifically to the use of electronic records in hospitals, but the issues are similar in clinics and other settings.
Breathtaking assets
more efficient storage of records than paper (taking up less physical space and time for sorting and filing)
ability to generate reports
improved hospital efficiency and financial margins (possibly by the ability to analyze data and generate reports)
able to analyze the health needs of large numbers of patients, called population health, so health systems can plan for and offer needed services more efficiently
communication- the ability to contact doctors by email, get test results through a portal, schedule appointments online, order med refills, etc.
legibility and standardization in documentation
Snarling annoyances
changes the way doctors work and make decisions; current software often does not reflect the way doctors are taught to approach patient diagnosis and treatment
less efficient retrieval of data than paper (due to larger amounts of data, which may be redundant)
little evidence yet that use decreases complication rates, or improves patient care in general
less personal interaction with healthcare professionals when communicating through a portal
increased time spent documenting on a computer , much of it simple data entry, compared to writing on paper
But the greatest disadvantages attributed to the use of computers in the medical setting, ones far more than “snarling annoyances” are
interference with doctor patient interaction and communication in the office or bedside; both doctor and patient may pay more attention to the computer than to each other
erosion of staff morale, often due to more time spent on the computer than with the patient, boredom with data entry, and stress of having to learn new systems and updates
contributing to physician burnout, which can have a negative impact on patient care
As Dr. Ofri points out, the EMR is not going away, and few if any of us want to go back to the old system, as annoying as the new system can be. The annoyances are slowly being worked through and resolved, and the assets are becoming truly helpful.
The younger generation of doctors who have never known a world without computers embrace their use readily. As we senior doctors wind down and eventually retire, we can pat ourselves on the back for being the generation that led the way into this strange new world.
You as a patient have a stake in this endeavor too. As already mentioned, being able to access your records, make appointments, manage payments, and send messages on your computer or mobile device brings efficiency and convenience to a process that formerly was time consuming and cumbersome. I now routinely use my doctor’s office portal for my own medical needs and my patients use my office’s online services . Here’s what you can do to help make EMR use better.
Use whatever online healthcare resources available to you. The more we all use them, the easier they will be to use, and feedback will help developers make them even more helpful.
Be patient with your doctors and other healthcare providers as they transition to EMRs, from one to another, or when problems occur. Like any piece of technology, they don’t always work perfectly, and occasionally they don’t work at all.
Give constructive feedback. A thoughtful critique will help more than irate criticism.
“you have a role and a vested stake in communicating your concerns, questions, and even grievances to the physicians who care for you; that without such information, your physicians cannot provide optimal diagnosis and treatment for you. ”
Danielle Ofri, M.D., is a physician at Bellevue Hospital, a clinical professor of medicine at the New York University School of Medicine, editor-in-chief of the Bellevue Literary Review, and author of the forthcoming book
Samuel Shem (pen name of Stephen Bergman, M.D.) is a novelist, playwright, and, for three decades, a member of the Harvard Medical School faculty. His other novels include The House of God, Fine, and Mount Misery .
In this novel about a hospital dominated by computer screens and corrupted by money, an idealistic doctor has one goal: to make medicine humane again. Here is an excerpt-
“Cynical? me? I feed on ideals, on ideal care. I’m so idealistic, to you I sound cynical! And I do not call ’em Electronic Health Records, ’cause they don’t help with health, and may well harm it. With a screen between you and your patient, you get distracted, right? It’s like texting while driving.
So, to remind us of the danger let’s call ’em EMRs, the ‘M’ for “Medical’. “
After a student asks why the computer systems at the VA (Veterans) and the Indian Health Service hospitals, both government agencies, are more user friendly, he goes on to explain,
“Nobody’s makin’ money offa it. So we all gotta get together and unhook care from billing. So nobody makes an obscene profit offa the sick.”
available on Kindle (affiliate link)
exploring the HEART of the health record
I hope you found this discussion enlightening; maybe it answered some questions you had about electronic health records and maybe raised some issues you’d like to know more about. Please contact me with questions and I’ll answer them in a follow up post.
I appreciate all of you who follow this blog; there are numerous other blogs to choose from so I am honored you chose to spend some time here. A special welcome to all my new followers from this past month.
To start following Watercress Words , use this form to get an email notification of new posts . Please find and follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Thanks so much.
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You’re reading this post on a computer, tablet, or mobile phone, so you visit sites that require a password. How do you remember them all? You don’t have to if you use RoboForm Password Manager. My husband introduced me to RoboForm years ago and I am glad he did. I have used it continually to remember my passwords so I don’t have to. It syncs to both my computer and my phone so my passwords are always available. It will even generate passwords for me.
Use these links to share the heart of health wherever you connect.
The public’s anger at our government for pursuing an unpopular war was often directed at the service members who believed they were doing the right thing by serving their country. They were blamed, and unfortunately felt shame for the mistakes made by those in authority.
On the 11th day of November every year, we in the United States pause to honor the men and women who have served in our armed forces. We call it Veterans Day.
Military veterans today are held in high regard, and receive public and private recognition in many ways. This was not the case 40-50 years ago, when Vietnam veterans like my husband were not respected or appreciated.
The public’s anger at our government for pursuing an unpopular war was often directed at the service members who believed they were doing the right thing by serving their country. They were blamed, and unfortunately felt shame for the mistakes made by those in authority.
When called upon, they served their country but their country did not serve them well. Perhaps saddest of all, they received little if any welcome when they came home.
Vietnam veterans statue in Washington, D.D.
A national monument honoring Vietnam veterans now stands in Washington, D.C., as well as memorials elsewhere, like the one in Angel Fire New Mexico. There is a travelling “Wall” , a replica of the one in the nation’s capital.
a travelling replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. visits towns throughout the United States
My husband has caps and shirts identifying him as a veteran; when he wears them in public, people will come to him and thank him for serving. Sometimes they will ask about his service experience, especially if they are also a veteran. Fellow veterans always offer a hand, saying “Welcome home.”
A ceremony honoring a fallen soldier at the Vietnam veterans memorial in Angel Fire, New Mexico
We meet relatives of service members who eagerly share their loved one’s story. Sometimes, it is a story of one who did not come home. These stories are often heart wrenching and we walk away choked up and silent.
To all of you who do or have served in the military, and to your loved ones-
“Welcome home and thank you for your service. We can never repay our debt to you. “
My husband, Raymond Oglesby wrote a personal account of his military experience, here is an excerpt-
” I didn’t want to ever go to Vietnam again when I came home in 1972 after a one-year tour of duty with the United States Army. I was stationed with the Americal Division, 3/18 Field Artillery Battalion near Tra Bong, a major village located about 25 miles west of Chu Lai, the headquarters of the Americal Division, on “China Beach” at the South China Sea.
When I came home, I did not talk about my involvement in the Vietnam War for over fifteen years. I only told two or three people what really happened. I thought only another Vietnam vet could understand. “
I appreciate all of you who follow this blog; there are numerous other blogs to choose from so I am honored you chose to spend some time here. A special welcome to all my new followers from this past month.
I appreciate all of you who follow this blog; there are numerous other blogs to choose from so I am honored you chose to spend some time here. A special welcome to all my new followers from this past month.
You can experience the Bible with YouVersion -A free Bible on your phone, tablet, and computer. YouVersion is a simple, ad-free Bible that brings God’s Word into your daily life.
Proverbs 28:1 NIV (photographed at the Art Institute of Chicago)
You can experience the Bible with YouVersion -A free Bible on your phone, tablet, and computer. YouVersion is a simple, ad-free Bible that brings God’s Word into your daily life. (These are affiliate links, which may pay a commission to this blog.)
“On more than 350 million devices around the world, people are reading, listening to, watching, and sharing the Bible using the #1 rated Bible App—completely free. Over 1,000 Bible versions, in hundreds of languages. Hundreds of Reading Plans, in over 40 languages. Add your own Verse Images, highlights, bookmarks, and public or private notes. “
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