A Forensic Way of the Cross

For those of you who are into science, this will be interesting to you as it was to me. For those of you who aren't, I am sorry if this isn't your favorite blog post. For me, learning about this aspect of the resurrection really taught me about every extreme that Christ went through physically to pay the price of all our sins.

Gethsemane ( Mark 14:34 & Luke 22: 42-44): The severe mental anxiety due to a great amount of fear of Christ's present sufferings activated the sympathetic nervous system which initiated the stress fight or flight reaction; this caused dilation of the vessels which supply the sweat glands and caused Christ to sweat profusely. This is a reflection of the severity of Christ's mental suffering. The effects of this on the body are weakness, dehydration, anxiety, and blood loss.

Scourging (Deuteronomy 25:3): The beating was given by a rod with leather straps coming off of it with bits of metal and bone attached. These objects would penetrate the skin and tear it. While being beaten, according to medical research, Christ may have experienced convulsions, tremors, vomiting, and thirst; fainting and severe sweating may also occur. As a result of all the fluid and blood loss, traumatic shock may have easily occurred. Because of so much stress put on the chest, a few hours after the beating, there would be a build up of fluid around the lungs .

The Crown of Thorns (Matthew 27:30): Penetration of the thorns into the head would sever the 5th cranial nerve; as a result sensation, of the head would be lost. The severe pain that this causes is terminal and cannot be treated even medically.

The Road to Calvary: After all Jesus had gone through up to this point, his body is very weak; too week to carry the cross beam weighing atleast 50 pounds on a dreadful half a mile walk. At this stage, Christ would be very lightheaded and would have no posture stability. For this reason, Simon carried His burden the rest of the way.

Crucifixion: Nailing Christ to the cross - He laid on the splintered cross with a bare back that had been torn...down to muscle and bone; this alone put Him in excruciating pain. Because of the scourging, stretching out is arms put severe stress on his chest which made breathing very difficult.

Nailing the Hands: The nails were not driven through the palms of His hand. Why is this so? Based on past experiments nailing the palms of the hand with the body remaining vertical, the body would stay intact if the hands would bear only 55 pounds. Obviously, Christ weighed more than 55 pounds. Therefore, the nails were placed in the wrist between the radial and ulnar bones. The nails would penetrate the median nerve which would eventually cause a loss of sensation in the upper limbs.

Nailing the Feet: Christ's knees were bent in order to lay the soles of the foot one on top of the other. This is significant for a couple of reasons - One, bending the knees scrunches the body together which decreases the capacity for the lungs to work properly...in this case, there is already a significant amount of stress on the lungs and it is getting harder and harder to breathe efficiently. Next, nailing the feet right in the center hits the plantar nerve which eventually causes a loss of sensation of the legs like the nails in the wrist did to the arms.

Cause of Death: In a normal crucifixion, soldiers would break the criminal's legs to ensure that the person was dead. Why break the legs? Since the knees were bent, this is what the criminal used to breathe; in order to breathe, the criminal would push off the nails at the feet to lengthen the body which would allow him to breathe more easily. With broken legs, he could no longer push up from below. In Christ's case, according to the Bible, not one of His bones were broken but instead was pierced in the side which would allow all the contents of His body to spill out.

Thought question - Could a human in a state of traumatic shock who had gone through a tremendous state of anxiety, who had been brutally beaten, who suffered more pain from loss of sensation in almost the entire body, who had stumbled and fell for nearly half a mile carrying 50 pounds for part of the way, who was then nailed to a cross then suspended for all to see struggle, who had to repeatedly push and pull themselves up by their swollen and tender hands and feet to simply breathe...all for an extended period of several hours possibly survive? NO...Christ was perfectly human and suffered all of this and died as a result of this traumatic experience for our sins.

Thinking and studying about this, I have gained a renewed appreciation for what CHRIST endured for ME.

Items to Aid A Woman's Understanding

As part of my research for my Sociology term paper on Growing Up Male in America, I have come across several articles about "understanding men". Haha - kind of ridiculous. But, I have included some tips to sharpen your understanding :)

Women need to stop fussing about the toilet seat being up....women need it down and men need it up. Men never complain about it being down, so just deal with it.

Sunday = sports

Long hair is more attractive than short hair.

Ask for what you want; hints do not work. Just say it!

Most guys own 3 pairs of shoes at the very most. What makes women think that they would be any good at picking the one out of our thirty to match our outfit?

Yes and no are perfectly acceptable answers to every question.

If women think they're fat, they probably are. Don't ask men; they have been tricked before!

If something a man has said can be interpreted two ways, and one makes you sad or angry, they meant the other one.

Women can either ask men to do something or tell them how they want it done. If you already know the best way to do it, then do it yourself.

Christopher Columbus did not need directions, so neither do men.

Men are not mind readers and never will be. Their lack of mind reading ability is not proof of how little they care about women.

If men ask a woman what is wrong and she says "nothing", they will act like nothing's wrong. They know we are lying, but know it's not worth the hassle trying to figure it out.

...And men say women make no sense.

Modified Dream

A big brick house, picket fence, green lawn, beautiful flowers, upscale cars, yellow kitchen with white cabinets, a living room with a fireplace, a dining room with the finest china, the biggest master bedroom and bath you have ever seen, a nursery and other bedrooms for the rest of your children, and a dog.

Every girls dream right? OF COURSE!

The question needed to be asked is...is this an obtainable dream? Sure, but...

When does this girl want this dream fulfilled?

Get married right after college, move into this big house and fill it with stuff, and kids a couple years later, right?

Yeah, you wish. We want it to happen right away but that is unrealistic and I have accepted that fact.

Instead I have altered that dream...no, I have no clue what God has in store for me but we always expect and plan for the rest and sometimes plan for the worst right?

So my "bubble doesn't get burst" I have decided to downsize my dream...for my early beginnings.

Driving to and from, I look at those big houses and dream, but I also look at those cute little quaint houses which look more realistic. And yes, I am excited to one day own a cute little quaint house before possessing my big dream house...if that ever happens :)

Pink Hat Paul - The Squirrel Fanatic

There is this guy at school, a very STRANGE person. One of those people you wonder what is going through their head. Those people that just make you laugh and you silently are thankful that you are not like them. But if you were honest about yourself, life would be boring without these people.

Why is his name Pink Hat Paul? Well, let me explain. This kid, the first day of classes, bought a pink Bethel College baseball cap. Yes pink...right out of the ladies section in the bookstore. And has he gone a day without it? Of course not. And, citing my last blogpost, I rarely know anybody's last name here. Hence where I got the name Pink Hat Paul; and it has stuck...he is now known on campus as that very name.

The first conversation I had with him was on the technique of chasing squirrels. I never knew such a thing existed until he was very adamant about teaching me how this was done. Trust me, it was quite the process.

Well, recently, several of us have been noticing that there is one squirrel in particular on campus who is bald, has spots, and looks anorexic. Yes, I know, crazy, but it's true! It is probably the ugliest thing I have ever seen, but I feel so sorry for the poor guy.

Today in class, I overheard a girl asking another girl about the SAME squirrel. Well, I dove into the conversation as well and we were trying to come up with a legitimate reason why this squirrel was so skinny and bald. Well, Pink Hat Paul had an answer!

And I quote: "The squirrel you speak of is probably from the family of the thirteen lined ground squirrel. And it was probably a baby since it was so small and didn't have hair; these squirrels are born blind, hairless, and toothless. These types of squirrels have dark brown markings under their fur which is probably what you saw."

Thank you, Pink Hat Paul, for another educating lesson on such things...

Things You Learn In College But Not In Class

Flip flops are year round shoes.

Duct tape heals all.

Showers become less important and sleep becomes more important.

10 minutes is more than enough time to get ready for your first class.

Receiving mail had never been such an ego booster before.

You begin to nap again.

If one of your professors has written a book, it is always required text for his class.

Email becomes your second language.

Ten page papers used to sound impossible...now they are a relief.

You meet the extremes of smart and dumb people and glad you are not one of them.

Your bank accounts best friend is your tuition.

Plain pasta never passed as a whole meal before.

The campus nurse is here because they couldn't get a real job at the hospital.

Care packages rank up there with birthdays and Christmas.

Printers only break down when you desperately need them.

You never thought you would share so much with your roommate after only knowing them for a short period of time.

Disney movies are more than just classics.

Find one thing you like in the dining hall and go with it...all the time.

You will hear/receive more weird nicknames than you ever have before.

Cereal makes a meal anytime of day.

Keep high school research papers...everything can be recycled.

You almost forget how to drive.

Keys have never been so important, yet you seem to lose them more now than ever before.

You learn to sleep with light, noise, extreme temperatures, and roommates snoring.

You get good on rationalizing whether to do homework or not.

Procrastination becomes an art.

Jeans may be worn as many times as the wearer desires.

Going to the grocery store is a big treat.

Classes: the later the better

Care packages make it all worthwhile.

The longer you're there, the less you talk about home.

You don't learn last names.

You are NEVER alone.

It's amazing how late you can stay up doing nothing, but falling asleep in class or the library takes, on average, 2 minutes.

You begin to subdivide your room into sections (kitchen, living room, den, etc) to make sound less like a dorm.

You never realized how quiet your house was.

Your life will never be the same again.

The Things You Should Know

Currently, I have 3 school projects going and one of them is in my Sociology class...I was given the topic on what it means to grow up male in America. Weird topic? Yes, I think so...after all, why didn't he give that topic to a guy in the class?? Anyways, I was doing research the other day and some of the stuff out there is quite funny. Also, yesterday on my roommates news page, there was an article entitled "Everything You Need to Know About Women". So, I decided to include you in on the humor...a couple items from the internets' list of "100 Things Men Should Know About Women":
#100 - Girls enjoy always having something kind of wrong, like a headache or cramping or something. Remember: No matter how bad it sounds, she’s going to outlive you.

#96 - Jewelry. Now you always knkow what to get her for a last-minute gift.

#93 - Girls who say, “I love sports!” are lying. Girls who ask you what time the game is on, without specifying which game they’re talking about, are not.

#90 - Women want you to drive, even if it’s their car

#80 - If women have an excuse to take a pill, they’ll take it

#76 - She hates your Xbox more than she lets on. Blow her off for some gaming and she’ll soon stop wasting time on a dork like you

#75 - Women who are obsessed with their dogs also like to keep their men on a short leash

#72 - During emergencies, women are likely to remain calmer than men. Though it should be noted that inventing minor crises on a weekly basis gives them more practice

#66 - They can’t live without tension. Every once in a while she’s gonna pick a fight with you for no reason. Accept this as a running, inevitable theme and your relationship will make a lot more sense

#65 - The most painless way to end an argument: Let her win

#64 - An online dating service’s survey found that a woman’s ideal man has brown hair and blue eyes

#61 - When a woman tells you her problems, she does not want you to offer solutions

#57 - Most women think they’re better drivers than they are. Don’t point this out while she’s at the wheel or she’ll freak and crash

#56 - Women ingest about half the lipstick they apply, which means they eat approximately one to three sticks per year

#50 - Women often buy shoes a size or two small because they’re in denial about the size of their feet—which they can’t stand

#48 - Women know where they stand looks-wise but worry about being considered cool, about which they’re unsure

#40 - About half of all brides will lose a good friend over a ridiculous bridesmaid squabble

#38 - Let her beat you at something once in a while—poker, chess, Ping-Pong—and she’ll be more likely to give you what you want, like some peace and quiet

#35 - Like you, girls hate nothing more than a clingy partner who needs them every eight seconds.

#24 - A good man is a fixer-upper gem, and women love nothing more than home improvements.

#21 - More than half of surveyed females between 18 and 25 would prefer to be run over by a truck than be fat

#20 - All women think they’re smarter than their partners in some significant way

#18 - Once in a while, let her pick the movie and don’t complain about it

#10 - Ugly girls like to hang out with pretty girls because it makes them feel like they’re more attractive. Pretty girls hang out with ugly girls for the same reason.

#9 - The minute she decides she’s even mildly interested in you, she starts making mental pictures of what your kids would look like and imagining her first name with your last.

#8 - Sixty percent of women in the United States color their hair

#2 - Buying a present for your girl? She’ll hate it if she finds out you took along another woman to help pick it out

Dear Mr. President,

Because of your bill, the health industry will face an annual fee of 1.7 billion.

Our health care will be rationed.

Under your health plan, my patients will not get to decide what treatments and benefits they receive...the "Health's Choice Commissioner" will.

All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with health care. So, where are those wonderful nurses/doctors who are working in free clinics going to find a job?

Your government will pay health plans that you favor, like ACORN and Americorps, to sign people up for Government Health Care...that's being a little biased in my opinion. Just let people choose for themselves!

Those eligible for Medicaid will automatically be enrolled, they have no choice. Now, that will mess more things up.

Your government will set wages for my doctors and the ones I work for/with.

All employers must enroll employees (example: ME) into your government run public plan; no alternatives.

No, I do not know what all your health care bill entails. After all, it is 1,017 pages. And, Nancy Pelosi said that in order for us to find out what is in it, it needed to be passed.

Logical? I'll let you answer that question on your own.

In short, thanks for ruining it for us...making our jobs, when it comes to insurance and administering medical care, even more confusing. With too many rules and regulations that aren't needed and very little leeway if any.

In a couple years, who knows, maybe us going into the health care field will have to go to college an extra year or more just to be educated on your health bill to make sure we got everything covered. I'm not complaining about going to school longer; as long as you paid for it. Which I'm sure you can do with all this money you'll be saving by implementing your new health bill.

Sincerely,
An Anonymous College Student Going Into the Medical Field

"Way Back When"

Do you remember when:
It was actually worth getting up on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons,

You know that the phrase "How rude" comes from Stephanie on Full House,

Taking plastic cartoon lunch boxes to school was cool,

You danced to "Wannabe" from the Spice Girls,

Hot wheels was a huge hit,

Slap bracelets were the new craze,

Getting the urge to say "NOT" after just about every sentence,

Where in the World is Carmen San Diego was the best computer game ever,

Kimberly, the pink ranger, and Tommy, the green ranger, were meant to be together,

You watched Home Alone 1, 2, and 3...and tried to pull each and every prank,

The phrase, "I've fallen and I can't get up",

You knew all the characters life stories on Saved By the Bell,

You had atleast one Tamagatchi, Gigapet, or Nano and took it every where,

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were the best mystery books,

Big fat erasers were the stuff,

All your school supplies were Lisa Frank,

When going to by a Beanie Baby, all the new ones were sold out,

Stick on earrings,

"Talk to the hand" was the cool phrase,

You always said, "Well then why don't you marry it",

Slinky's were the in thing,

Razor scooters were cool,

Stirrup pants....enough said,

Bright makeup, oversize sweaters, and big hair as well,

Light up sneakers too,

You rented VHS instead of DVD,

Caller ID was a new thing,

The Chicago Bulls were the best team ever,

Red Light, Green Light,

Heads Up 7 Up,

Kickball and Dodgeball,

Hop Scotch,

Tree Houses,

Hula Hoops,

Running through the sprinkler,

The Little Mermaid,

Crying when Mufassa died on The Lion King,

Happy Meal toys...choosing a barbie or a hot wheel,

Getting the privilege of sitting in the front seat of the car,

Drinking Squeeze Its,

Tang,

Capri Suns,

The Magic School Bus,

Barney,

Wishbone,

Playhouse Disney Channel - you thought Blue on Blues Clues was a boy and Magenta was a girl,

Mr Rodgers,

The Big Comfy House,

Wheel of Fortune,

Kool-Aid was the drink of choice,

Begging to go to McDonalds for dinner every day,

Toys R Us overruled the mall,

Decisions were made by eeny meeny miney moe,

Being old referred to anyone over 20,

You thought that the Ninja Turtles would rule the world,

Cause I do, and I miss it!

I Need to Become a Better Fan...

of group projects :/

I just got assigned two today...and they're biggies!

I rather do the whole assignment by myself than work in a group. Yep, I rather make a powerpoint, administer a survey, write a paper, and give a ten minute presentation than work in a group.

And guess what? It's just because I get so paranoid! I like doing things my way because I sometimes think it's the only way. Way to be selfish, huh?

So, I'm working on it. Trying not to be in charge of everything and not do everything MY way. After all, it is a GROUP project :)

Fast Food Gets a Bad Rap

And it should!

I had to do some research on fast food for my Health class and thought I would share some random facts:

-Forty to Seventy percent of the calories in fast food are obtained from fats

-Some restaurants are going transfat free but others are reinstating highfat and high calorie meals

-Those who said they ate out at fast food restaurants at least twice a week or more gained ten pounds more than those who did not

-When eating out, most people underestimate how many calories they have eaten oten by as much as five hundred calories

-Many sit down restaurants offer children's meals that are adult sized in calories and fat content

-National nutritionists commented that in order to maintain a healthy diet, one should eat fast food no more than once every three months

-An example of a common fast food meal: Burger King - Double Whopper with cheese (1,060 calories, 69 grams of fat with 30 of these being transfat), adding a large fry and large coke totals the meal at 2,050 calories, 99 grams of fat with 46 grams of these being transfat

For me, the above example contains as many calories as I should eat in a DAY, not a MEAL. I have never really been a huge fan of fast food, but this has definitely changed my outlook on eating out!

The "Collector" Meets His Match

While living in the dorms I have discovered two types of people...the collectors and the tidy. Which category do I fall into? It depends...when it comes to my closet - probably a collector. On the other hand, my workspace, VERY tidy.

There are those rooms you walk in...you know, the kinds where everything is everywhere and you are so overwhelmed you don't know where to look first. There are professor's offices that are completely immaculate that you wonder if they ever do anything in their office as opposed to those whose offices you walk in and it looks like an explosion.

When "confronting" one about how much stuff they have (maybe too much stuff) they quickly excuse their behavior by stating that everything is being used and holds a valuable importance. They like to think of themselves as collectors.

I, on the other hand, and maybe you as well, refer to them as pack rats.

And I have come to the conclusion...if I am going to stay sane, I am NEVER living with one.

The collector likes to print everything and file it away instead of simply saving it to the computer and pulling it up when needed. They want tables, desks, and counter tops to store and organize, and pile things; I prefer these places uncluttered.

They save everything that interests them...which sometimes is nearly everything. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion: a collector must never live with another collector....bad things will happen.

Their house can be neat and clean. Once you step into the garage there is no room for just one car; you have pretty much just stepped into another storage cubicle. A collector's collection never downsizes; it only spreads.

They then confess that they are unorganized. They go out and by bins and tubs, labels and permanent markers and start to "organize". When, what have they really done? Kept their whole collection but added more...the bins and boxes.

This is not a solution. The only solution: tough love. So, help your collector friend out :)

I Never Thought I Would Say This...

Summer break is 6 weeks away...WOW! This year went by SO fast. Usually when summer is approaching, I am excited mainly for one thing...a break! Now, don't get me wrong, I am very much looking forward to a break from the normal routine. But most of all, I am looking forward to working. Yes, I am looking forward to working...more than I ever have before. I feel poor; VERY poor. Being in school with a crazy schedule, I feel like money is always going out but I never have time to bring money in. It is very sad.

So this summer, my main goal is to boost up my bank account, and I am looking forward to doing it. I never thought I would be so excited about working! It's kind of weird, but it is not a bad thing. I need money if I'm going to get through school and I rather enjoy doing it than dreading it.

Now, this being said, it will not be a relaxing summer...at all. But I like that; keeping busy makes me productive. Not being able to sleep in every day allows me to get stuff done. So, having two jobs, taking 3 classes, and job shadowing for 120 hours will definitely keep me busy. And I like that.

Vacation Voted Most Boring

On my browser homepage this morning was an article on the most boring vacation. In summary, it stated that everyone has that vacation in mind that they could really have gone without, but because of events that happened, they will never forget it.
Now, I must say, I have never experienced a boring vacation but there have been events that have happened on several journeys throughout my lifetime that have changed my expectations. Because of these experiences...
1) EVERYTHING that happens is for GOOD
Example - Vacation to Disney World:
bad - I had a seizure and had to spend the week in a wheelchair
good - I got to go to the front of the line of every ride
2) I am NOT a fan of the subway/trams/trains...any form of public transportation. Therefore, vacation should be absent of these
3) I do not like being in tight, close places...touring Boston on the day of the Boston Celtics Parade is NOT a good idea
4) Do not base your idea of big cities on pictures you see...Las Vegas and New York City are fairly dirty, not in all places of the city, but some
5) Do not eat any food that you are unaware of its origin...bad things happen
6) Even if the weather says it will be sunny, pack a sweatshirt and an umbrella just in case
7) When choosing hotels make sure it is a 3 star or higher

These are my rules for my vacations. If all of these are applied, awesome vacations are a given.

My New Best Friend

is Vicks Vaporub

For the past 3 nights I have not been able to sleep through the night. That all changed last night when my mom brought me Vicks Vaporub. It was WONDERFUL!

And, a new tip for you all, if you have achy joints, put lots of vaporub on your feet and then put socks on...it works wonders :)

A Very Sickly State

On Wednesday I started coughing...

Thursday, my nose started getting runny and my throat was getting sore

Thursday night I woke up with a temperature

Friday, I woke up at 6:30 and was sick. I was supposed to work 9 hours that day but couldn't...FAIL

Today I woke up even MORE sick, and couldn't work my 8 hours shift...fail again

The doctor told me that I have the flu, and it could last up to 5 days. This being said, I will miss atleast 1 day of school and I have midterms next week...ultimate fail

So, for the next however many days, I will lay in bed with my kleenex box, sprite in hand, a hot water bottle for my aching body, and popsicles for my poor throat...awesome

The Spring Break Blues

My teachers at the end of last week: "Have a great spring break!"

Yeah, I have 4 midterms next week...