November Notes, Day 9

"And Jesus Wept"

This wasn't going to be my blog post today, but when I got onto Facebook 

this morning, I saw this in the trending section...

I followed the links to an article in the Economist that discusses

the study.  According to the article, 1170 families from around the world

(US, Canada, Jordan, China, South Africa and Turkey) were studied.  Well, actually,

ONE selected child from each of these families was studied.  About 842 of the families

identified themselves as religious *(see below for breakdown) and 328 of the families stated non-religious or agnostic.

The selected child from each family was then given a choice of 90 stickers from

which they could chose 10.  After they'd made their choices, they were told that

other children wouldn't have time to participate and would they be willing

to give up some of their stickers.  According to the results, non-religious household children

gave up an average of 4.1 stickers and religious household children only gave up an

average of 3.3 stickers.  Other notes:  rich children gave up more than poor children, 

and older children gave up more than younger children.  The families were also given a score of their "religiousness" and that was used in the analysis as well.

The article ended with the quote:

"what it suggests is not only that what is preached by religion is not always what is practised, 

which would not be a surprise, but that in some unknown way the preaching makes things worse."

Taking umbrage with that last statement, and being a woman of science 

(as a physician we have to read journal articles all throughout our training, 

and all throughout our careers), 

I wanted to read the original article in Current Biology where it was published.  

In med school and residency, we were taught to look at all research with a skeptical eye.  I

wanted to see how they crunched the numbers.

I wanted to read how you can justify numbers without a balanced sample (842 versus 328)

and without knowing the age groups or economic status.  Maybe they asked poor 5 year olds

in the religious group and rich 11 year olds in the non-religious group to participate.

Maybe it was simpler:  poor Muslim kids in Turkey value stickers more than

rich non-religious kids in the US who get stickers for just showing up to school

every day and not using their cell phones during class.

So I searched the "interweb."

I couldn't find it.  I found this:

With some fascinating articles such as these listed:

I'd kinda like to read that "Do Bees Dream?" article some time...

But, I digress.  I want to know how the numbers were worked because

what really upset me were the headlines of the trending articles:

The Guardian: "Religious Children are Meaner than Their Secular Counterparts"

EpicTimes: "Study: Atheist Children More Generous than Muslim or Christian Kids"

Disinformation: "Religious Children are Meaner"

Seriously?

I wouldn't usually consider Disinformation as a reliable news source, but given that the majority

of people use the web as their primary source of information, and Facebook is used by millions of people daily, and based on the number of "likes" I saw on these pages, 

I know that probably 80% just read the headline and moved on thinking

"Yeah, that's right, just another justification for not going to church, believing in God, 

having to deal with raising my kids with any religious moral foundation 

given that I don't have one myself or

having to think of anyone other than me... 

does that make me selfish?"

Oh, yeah, wait, being non-religious makes you more generous, that's right...

I read it on the internet, so it must be true...

Matthew 22:39

"Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself"

*510 Muslim, 280 Christian, 29 Jewish, 18 Buddhist, 5 Hindu

Birthday Shuffle Year V - Day 18 - Be Not Afraid

I've been riding my bike for several months now.  I generally try to ride every other day, and I always listen to music while I am riding.  On Sundays when I ride, I have a playlist of religious music that I listen to.  I'm Catholic, and I have to admit to lapses when it comes to going to Mass every Sunday, but when I ride on Sundays, I do take the time to meditate on God and my faith.

This is one of the songs in my playlist.  I've said before that I used to play in the church choir.  During that time, I played a lot of music and had a lot of favorites.  This is one of them.

It's a song that gave me a lot of comfort during my high school and into college years.  And, when I started to collect music on my iPod, I actually sought out and found some of those songs that used to make me feel good about and encouraged my faith in God.  This is one of them... enjoy!

MyPod Birthday Shuffle IV - Day 10 - El Pescador

I'm cheating a little bit today, because today we 

said goodbye to my Aunt Dolores.

She married my uncle Ruben whom I've written about before.

He was the father figure in my life, and I was

devastated when he died at the end of my intern year

May of 2004.

"Tia Lola" had been his savior both literally and figuratively.

She was a perfect match for a kidney living donor, and 

gave it to him without pause or reservation.

Her gentle grace and calm could easily tame this 

sometimes gruff and surly bear of a man,

and I saw him change for the better because of her.

She died somewhat suddenly a week ago, and

it was a shock to us all.

But I spoke to her son, and he told me

she died with all of the bravery and reserve

that her undying faith in God gave to her.

She was beautiful inside and out,

and an example to us all.

The song "El Pescador" is a Spanish religious standard.

It tells the story of the calling of the disciples by Christ.

The singer tells how he has nothing but his talents to share,

but if God wants he will join him to be a "fisher of men."

This is a bit of a cheat because I don't actually have this song

on my iPod, but it's because I have yet to hear

the perfect recorded performance of this song...

Still, it's a beautiful song, and I dedicate

to my Tia Lola today.

"Señor, me has mirado a los ojos,
sonriendo has dicho mi nombre.
En la arena he dejado mi barca:
junto a Ti buscaré otro mar."

"Lord, You have looked in my eyes,

smiling, You have said my name.

In the sand I have left my boat:

next to You I will look for another ocean."

Requiem for a Goat

I know I haven't written in a while, and I honestly thought I would be writing about the new puppy in our life.  Instead I find myself writing about another death on the farm. 

Boots was born on May 15th of this year.

She died on Sunday the 16th, just a day past turning 4 months old.

And, today we buried her.

I've been feeling like a bit of failure.

When we had the massacre weekend, I promised Boots that I would take care of her.

We took her to the breeder and then brought her back after 3 weeks.

And, as I wrote back then, she was never quite the same.

I called it goat PTSD.

Then we left for an extended trip to get our new puppy and when we came back

Boots had developed "bottle jaw."  She became severely anemic and within 10 days she was gone.

At one point, I thought she was going to recover, and she fought so hard, 

but then she became much worse despite all my efforts to help her: 

 bottle feedings, antibiotics, IV fluids, etc.

In the end, all I could do was sit by her side and make her comfortable.

She called out once, and then was still.  She'd lost the fight.

She died on a beautiful sunny day.  

We'd actually sat out in the sunshine for about an hour earlier,

I had wrapped a blanket around her to keep her warm.

All the other animals seemed to surround us.

It was a lovely scene.

This morning my husband picked out a spot on our property amoungst the pine trees;

just a little bit down the path from the back of the barn where she was born.

I wrapped her in the blanket that had helped to keep her warm during her illness;

a pink ribbon secured everything in place just as it had helped keep the blanket on her while she was alive.  She seemed so tiny as I laid her down.

We said a few words about what a good goat she was,

and how a lot of people who had never met her loved her through my photos and blog.

I apologized that I hadn't been able to protect her the way I promised.

And we told her that at least now, she was with her mother, her auntie Betty,

and her playmate Jazz in some goat heaven somewhere.

My husband who considers all animals as utilitarian rather than pets actually got misty.

I openly cried.

I hesitated as I tossed down that first shovelful of dirt.  I didn't know that I could do it.

But, there really was something kind of cathartic about doing the work.

In the distance, the other two goats, Laverne and Shirley started to bleat.

We called it the "two goat salute."

I made a small cross, we laid down a stone as a marker, and I planted flowers.

You can call it sacrilegious, but I believe in a God who loves all of His creation,

and in a Heaven where all creatures are welcome.

As the first creature born on the property, you became my hope

As I watched you grow, you became my joy.

You were loved, and you will be missed.

You will never be forgotten.

Birthday Shuffle a Deux #31 Fin!

On Eagles Wings - Kitty Cleveland

I think this is song is appropriate for the final song of this month.

Not only did I spend the day with my husband while he flew with eagles,

today is the one year anniversary of us getting possession of our new home.

Plus this was one of my uncle's favorite songs.

I think the lyrics will carry us through to the next year... enjoy!

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord

Who abide in His shadow for life

Say to the Lord, "My refuge.

My rock in whom I trust."

And, He will life you up

on eagle's wings.

Bear you on the breath of dawn.

Make you to shine like the sun.

And hold you in the palm of His hand.

The snare of the fowler will never capture you.

And famine will bring you no fear.

Under His wing your refuge.

His faithfulness your shield.

And, He will life you up
on eagle's wings.
Bear you on the breath of dawn.
Make you to shine like the sun.
And hold you in the palm of His hand.


You need not fear the terror of the night,
Nor the arrow that flies by day,
Though thousands fall about you,
Near you it shall not come. 

And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His Hand.

For to His angels He's given a command,
To guard you in all of your ways,
Upon their hands they will bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone. 

And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His Hand.
And hold you in the palm of His Hand.

Birthday Shuffle a Deux #9

Here I am, Lord - John Michael Talbot
Catalina Island, summer camp, talent show. I used to play guitar. I think I started playing guitar because my mom encouraged me to join the church choir and got me a guitar. I have to admit I wasn't very good. I could play chords, sure. I could sing, sure. I just wasn't very good at it. I'm sure if I had applied myself and actually practiced, I might have been better. But, I digress.

While in high school, I was a member of the church youth group, and my junior and senior years I went to a week long church camp at Campus by the Sea on Catalina Island. At the end of the week, there would be a talent show. I played this song with one of the other campers singing. Her talent was showcased, I just basically strummed along in the background. But, I loved this song. It's one of several religious pieces of music on my iPod. I find them to be inspirational, and I find them at times to help me reflect on what I am doing in my life.

This song especially spoke to me as a teen working my way through conflicts with my mom, trying to find my independence, looking ahead to college and the unknown. I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing, and there was a certain peace in just being able to say, "Here I am; I am ready to do Your will." Given the twists and turns my life has taken to get here, I guess I still am.

1 Samuel 3:2 - 10
2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am. ” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel! ” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”