Our Walk By Faith

I thought that I would share a few of my thoughts on a tender subject for me. What I'll share applies to our life and is simply my personal opinion. It is difficult for me to put this all into words when people ask me about it. I have a difficult time gathering my thoughts and presenting them firmly yet kindly and in a Christ-like manner. I am a much better writer than I am a speaker. So often, I walk away frustrated and sometimes angry because I did not share my heart. So, this is my poor attempt at putting my thoughts together in hopes that I can share them more clearly in the future.

If you have been reading our blog long enough, you might have figured out that our youngest son has multiple food allergies. Most of them are life-threatening. He also has asthma and eczema. We did not discover his allergies until he was 1yo. He is now 5 and a thriving, happy little boy! Along the way, we have met people who think it is "no big deal." This was not too surprising to me because I used to think the same way. I thought that parents of allergic children were overreacting. For some people, they will never quite understand unless they see their own child go through anaphylaxsis. Hey, that's what happened to me!! Another thing I have run into is alternative treatments to food allergies. You name it, I have heard it all. I first ran into alternative treatments for food allergies within one month of our son's diagnosis. I was sent a link by someone I had met on an e-mail loop. I read about this, researched and Ski and I made a decision on it. It is a wonderful thing in the Christian life that we are given choices. I am thankful for it.

First and foremost, Ski and I have chosen mainstream medicine. We are seeing a wonderful doctor who really knows his stuff. Our Skibums have had a multitude of medical issues. We have also had the good fortune to have excellent doctors with one exception, which we remedied by finding Iz's current allergist. We have seen God use gifted physicians and feel they are valid and useful. We have truly been blessed!!

Secondly, we have seen our son near death more times than I would like to admit. From my research, I have never found any independent medical studies done to support the alternative treatments. Everything that I have ever heard has been anecdotal. While I have no reason to doubt personal experiences -- especially those of people that I know --- I am not willing to jeopardize the life of my son for an unproven treatment.

I have heard that people have gone from anaphylactic to not allergic. I want to see the test results. I want to see real studies. Rightly or not, I have experienced guilt when I have given my son a food that he has reacted to. There is currently no guarantee that these methods are safe. My son is my responsibility and I will do what I can to protect him. I will not let him endure a treatment that is unproven because I believe that the risk is too great.

Alternatives are always presented to me as a "cure." Dr. Wood has an excellent chapter on alternative treatments in the book that he co-authored, Food Allergies for Dummies. Dr. Wood is severely allergic to peanuts and is a Professor of Pediatrics and International Health and Chief of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. He states that he would readily submit to these practices if they were a true cure. As my friends of severely allergic children would say, "if there was a cure, it wouldn't be a secret." There may be benefits for things like relaxation techniques and acupuncture for conditions like asthma when used with both rescue and maintenance meds. But claims of cure have not been documented in medical journals using blood tests. Until they are, I am not ready to commit. I am happy for my friends and acquaintances who have found things that they feel have helped them. I am glad that they feel healthy and happy and they have 100% of my support if God has led them that way. Who am I to argue with God's leading in their life? If you're reading this and have chosen alternative treatments, please know I am speaking from my heart and life and the application is not for you. ;)

Then there is the aspect of suffering, a subject near and dear to my heart. This is probably the greatest reason for why I choose what I choose. First of all, many people assume that my ds is suffering greatly with the allergic foods removed from his diet. I can assure you that the only thing that suffers is my grocery budget. Within 6 mos of removing the offending foods, our ds jumped three growth curves. If you placed him in a crowd of 5yos, I doubt that you could pick him out. He is healthy and thriving.

So often, we, as humans, fear suffering. Even many Christians see suffering as a bad thing. But scripture tells us to rejoice in our sufferings because God is present and at work.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:6-9

Ski and I have learned much about suffering although our trials have been indeed light and momentary. I don't claim to know it all, but I don't want to run and hide in anxiety every time that things get a bit tough. That has been a looooong time coming!! :) I have seen God do so much good in the midst of trials and suffering. If I can see good, I cannot imagine what He is doing behind the scenes. I am not saying that people who choose these treatments are afraid of suffering. But so often, the way it is presented to me is that people want to help our ds to stop suffering. I find it interesting that people who have seen us walk through trials and our day-to-day life rarely bring things like this up. I wonder if it is because they see our outlook on it. We don't see all of this as some terrible burden on our life. We do not think that we deserve great pity or recognition. We see it as part of the life that God has chosen for us. We see that when God allows trials, He builds our faith and provides us an opportunity to glorify Him in a trusting response.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

My personal faith does not allow me to choose an alternative treatment because that would be, for me, the equivalent of running and hiding and not living in faith. So, instead we choose what we choose because it is what God has led us to. But it becomes discouraging to hear someone's interest in our son disintegrate into "but I have a better way". I know that there is caring and love behind those words, but I become tempted to clam up and not share our lives. But thankfully and somewhat frighteningly to me, God urges me to press on and share. And God grants me grace daily to do what I do that people around me find so difficult to imagine. But to me, most of the time, it is not difficult because God DOES give grace -- every day!!

We believe God can miraculously heal Iz. We believe in praying for that. But if God should not choose miraculous means, we choose what God has drawn us to walk in by faith -- strict avoidance of all allergens and a wait and see approach with testing, etc along the way with board certified physicians. There is a real possibility that there will be a proven cure for life threatening food allergies in as little as 5 years. This does give us medical hope. But if that should not happen and should our son remain allergic to some or all of the foods that he is allergic to today, he will be no less of an amazing person. He is indeed a boy who is fearfully and wonderfully made and we marvel at that and the intricacies of the human body. But we marvel most in the Lord and our hope is in Him.

Thank you to all of you who want to see Iz cured. Please keep praying for his soul and body, that everything we do would be an example of walking a life journey of faith and trusting God's will and ways, and wisely avoiding any other path.

A Taste of June

As Ski mentioned, Curly Girl, Lyd, Iz and I went berry picking.
Silly me, I forgot to bring a camera.
We were there for 3 hours I think. Iz picked about 20 berries and grew tired. We had to hunt for them. Curly and I were constantly being asked...."Is this one good?" when we were halfway down a row from them. I had never gone berry picking before so this was completely new for me. Oh wait, there was one time when my mom made us pick elderberries off of an highway exit ramp. And of course, my grandmother always had blackberries to pick at her house. But I had never been STRAWBERRY picking. We had no clue. But, once we got hunting, we figured out which ones were good to pick. The worst part of it was that none of us tasted any of these berries until after we were done. We went along drooling like mad over these luscious looking things. It was a HOT day. I did bring water along, but I left it in the car. I basically picked two gallons and Curly picked 1 3/4 gallon. Iz and Lyd ended up playing on swings. When we finally had our 4 gallons, we went to pay and then went out back to wash a few off to try. Oh my!!!! They were the sweetest berries that I have ever had!!!

I immediately made 2 pies for Ski's birthday.
I also thought perhaps I would make some jam. I called a friend for pointers and she invited me over. Since the next day was Ski's birthday, we decided the following day would work. Turned out her dd was sick so I couldn't come over. So.....since I am adventurous, I decided that this jam really needed to be made so I did it myself!! I really can't believe that I did it. I had no clue what I was doing. My mother made elderberry jelly out of the TONS of berries that we picked. It took so long to take them off of the clusters that I did not stick around for the jelly making. So I was flying blind, but my friend answered my questions and I am grateful for that. I did not take pics of the process because I felt like I was doing 100 things at once so you just get an after shot :) I am so proud of my jam!!! Well, actually, it is Ski's jam for his birthday. It jelled and it is soooooo good! I only had two jars that didn't seal so Ski is happily eating it. YUM!!!



My other berries are frozen except for some that are saved for company. Now I just have to decide what to make. More pies or shortcake. Mmmmmmm!!!

We grow too soon old, and too late smart

Y'all know my blogger name is Ski. It's important to know I can't slalom downhill at all--and have no desire to. I enjoy watching the Olympics but that's where the interest ends. Ski was my grandfather's nickname. He died when I was very young. I don't know much about him (mainly 'cause I haven't asked) but I do enjoy carrying on the nickname. I chose it basically because I have a very common first name and there's usually 2-4 of us floating around most of my social/work circles.

I have many more memories of my other grandfather. I tended to be a pretty obnoxious teenager and I'm pretty sure he didn't know what to do with me then, but as a boy, I remember things like learning how to steer a canoe from him, (I'm still going to acquire one some day) listening to him recite rhymes, quips and stories, picking blackberries in the garden in his back yard (now prime real estate in NJ), the comforting scent of pipe tobacco, and accompanying my grandparents to visits with relatives and friends like "Uncle Charlie" with his massive train collection. Oh, and if we slept over at his house, he'd say, "The first one who falls asleep, whistle." I never did figure that one out. (=

But for as long as I can remember, one thing that stood out about my grandpa was we ALWAYS had pie (not cake) to celebrate his birthday. Personally, I like cake---A LOT. Probably too much. I'm not really big into store-bought, but pretty much anything is good. A friend in college even used to call me "Mr. Cake".

However, for the past two years, my beautiful and talented wife has, once again, enriched and expanded my life with some DELICIOUS strawberry pies for my birthday. Being a June baby has made me predisposed to loving strawberry jam, ice cream, shortcake etc. anyway. But this year's pies (made fresh from 4 gallons picked locally by B, C, L, and IZ in the blazing sun last week) were the BEST, sweetest, most delectable strawberry pies you could ever dream of. YUM!! Many, many thanks to B and the ski-bums who put forth much effort to bless me. I love you all very much, especially you, B!

I'm also proud and grateful to carry on small pieces of both of my families like nicknames and pie for my birthday.

What Do you do with an ad?

This is what happens in our house when we get an ad in the mail.
Enjoy!!

A Family Tradition

For the third year, we have made the trek down to SC to visit a rare species of water lily. They are only in bloom during a certain time of year and they are well worth the trip. There are only 50 known colonies of Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies and the one that we saw is considered the largest. It is on the endangered species list. Our photos do not do the scene justice. It is a view to behold. I think that this was one of the best years that we have seen. It is such a fun trip for us. You walk through the woods and emerge to this beautiful site!! There are always lots of people there at this time of year. This year, we found that they had improved the pathways. It wasn't that difficult of a walk, but it is much easier now. Last year, we saw a mother bald eagle feeding her babies in her aerie. That was way cool. We didn't see her this year, but the nest is still there. If anyone nearby was thinking of finding the water lilies, I think that you are too late for this year. We went on the weekend of my birthday and I think that they have probably died off by now.

Here are the beautiful flowers:



Here are the Skibums at water's edge with the lilies behind them:



And this year, the three older ones and I tried something new. We waded to some nearby rocks and got an upclose look at some lilies. I was afraid that I would fall and smash the camera, so we don't have a close-up pic of the flowers. They really smell amazing!!! Kind of like honeysuckle, but better!! They smell nothing like the noxious lilies found in churches at Easter. Curly girl proved to be very adept at climbing over slippery rocks. She didn't slip once and was like a monkey. I, however, was highly dependent on my large stick and had to get down on my hands in a few places. Here we are on the rocks enjoying the view:


Can't wait for next year!!!

Cartoons and chocolate

Well, I turn 42 today. Those of you who know a little about me know two things I like are sweets and cartoons. So, in honor of my birthday, and thanks to the folks at Become an M&M.com and Nike + Running, I can now live out the American Dream and become a piece of chocolate and a cartoon!!

So here's what I would look like:

For those who haven't seen me in awhile, yes I have a beard now. Orange and bright green are my two favorite colors and my Nike running shoes are black and blue. B often has to turn a blind and forgiving eye to my "interesting" wardrobe combinations. I do wish I had a pair of orange sneakers (Size 14 is not an easy sneaker to find)

This raises several questions though. Am I running to work off eating all that chocolate? Or am I running from the scary M&M guy? Or am I running so catch him for dessert? Hmm, maybe I'll just be content with who I am.

Critical Response to DA post

Terry Taylor is amazing.
I love his stuff.
But lets see.....Daniel Amos is not my favorite.
I love the song "Shotgun Angel" which is not typical of DA. It is very country.
Because I do not still live in the 80's like Ski does, some songs like "Home Permanent" aren't as appealing to me as they once were. It is those darn synthesizers. They drive me a little bonkers. As a person who loved (and probably still loves) REAL punk, I beg to differ with the assessment that "Mall" is punk. Alternative, perhaps. NOT punk!! Oh, and no matter how much I love Terry, he will never be the B-52's. It just ain't happening.....

I really do like If You Want To from the album Kalhoun. It is much less DA sounding. I much prefer Swirling Eddies to DA because they are so much lighter in musical feel. I would listen to Terry's solo stuff any day of the year. He is reflective, tongue in cheek, melancholy, and sweet all wrapped into one. I love what he does with a lyric. For me, my music needs to move me. No matter what genre, if it makes me laugh, cry, or think, I love it.And don't get me started on the Dogs....take some of my favorite singers and wrap them into one, and WOW!!!

iPod wOrthy: Terry Scott Taylor (part one)

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in iPod wOrthy segments are not necessarily reflective of the opinions of the probably smarter, but definitely prettier half of the BnSki...123 contributing staff (i.e. B, who typically stares off into space muttering "why...why...why...?" when Ski plays 2/3rds of the music on his iPod) Reader beware, your mileage (and musical taste) may vary.

Terry Taylor has been making brilliant, introspective Christian rock/country/punk/new wave/acoustic alternative/satirical comedy/yodeling music for longer than I've been a Christian (I got saved in '82). Much of his music has been a large part of the soundtrack of my "life" in Christ. His music is not trite but instead makes you think, laugh and sometimes go "huh"?

He's been the lead singer of basically three bands, the first of which I'll talk about now. Daniel Amos (aka D.A., da), the Swirling Eddies, and the Lost Dogs. His solo projects are beautiful and poignant and have a much more personal and vulnerable feel.

Daniel Amos started as a country band. On the Shotgun Angel album (1977), the title song is a Eagles-ish 70's classic complete with CB radio chatter towards the end. Great stuff. A couple years later (1981) Daniel Amos had musically shifted to more of a rock sound and put out the Horrendous Disc album. My favorite cut on that one is I love you #19. If the guitar riff doesn't make you nod your head, you've never played air guitar.

Starting in 1981, Daniel Amos put out four "concept albums" called the Alarma Chronicles. I'm sure all DA fans have their favorites from these four albums. I'm not crazy about the first one, though it was one of the first five or so Christian music records I've ever purchased. Album 2, Doppleganger, has some hilarious, frantic, punk-type tunes like Mall (all over the world) and, my personal favorite, New car! (including audio from the Price is Right game show).

Vox Humana came out in '84 when I graduated high school and ranks as one of my top two DA projects of all time. If you hated the music of the '80s then you probably won't like it but I was EXTREMELY happy to find a legitamite copy on CD via ebay this year. (There are apparently pirated "import" copies out there. Terry's site asks you to please not buy them.) My favorite songs on this one are both social commentaires and REEEAALY fun, '80s music. (It's the eighties, so where's our) Rocket Packs? is a loungey, synthy, fun song with a great title. It's also kind of profound to read the "futuristic lyrics" and realize how close they resemble "real life". Home Permanent is a play on words and came at a time when lots of folks had one. Dance Stop is an all-time classic and probably the closest thing that Christan music has come to Rock Lobster.

MY second favorite DA album is the last of the Alarma Chronicles, Fearful Symmetry. This Disc is one of my "most sought after" CDs at the moment. It's more reflective and serious new wave music than the previous two but I love it! My favorite cuts are The Pool, Neverland Ballroom, and Instruction Through Film

In 1988, my friend Gary and I decided we would go to the Cornerstone 88 music festival in Chicago to see DA and other bands. At C-stone, Terry and the boys played a late-nite set from their current CD at the time, Darn Floor, Big Bite.

The album name comes from how Koko, a gorilla who was famous back then for learning simple sign language, described the experience of being in an earthquake. Terry's point is we're the same way before our awesome, holy God. Sort of a take off of John's experience of God's throne in Revelation.

Some lyrics from the title chorus are:
Darn floor - big bite
You are beautiful, terrible terrible sight!
Darn floor - big bite
You are love, fire and light

Daniel Amos continues to put out CDs, but the above are my favorites. Next time I'll look at Terry's solo projects and his band's alter ego, the Swirling Eddies.