Now just so that you don’t think . . .

that med school is all bad. Here are some names I had to memorize for exams next week.

Hedgehog, sonic hedgehog, indian hedgehog, and bone morphogenetic protein families are inducer molecules that cause cell differentiation through spatial signaling.

I wrote that statement and might have gotten it all wrong but it was sure fun memorizing those names. Especially thinking of the little cartoon character that in the video game (Sonic Hedgehog). I wonder how that inducer molecule got it’s name. :-)

Apples of Gold – Prov. 25:11

What is an Apple of Gold? Well last week I found out. Last week I was really getting discouraged wondering what in the world I was thinking going to medical school; I really needed some encouragement. Well, the same day I received these two “Apples of Gold” in the e-mail.

Psalm 121
1: I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2: My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
3: He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4: Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5: The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6: The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7: The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8: The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

“Everyone who wants to excel must embrace the disciplines that are required to reach the goal.” — Bill Gothard.

Embrace your calling with all your heart. Do everything you can do. Then trust in God for success knowing that without his blessing all our efforts will fail.

What about school? (updated)

I just realized I’ve not mentioned much interesting stuff about what I’m doing at school. Well, this semester I’m taking 5 classes that alternate 5 weeks to 1 week. The 5 weeks is the tough classes (25 semester hours) and the 1 week is the lighter (not easier) classes (9 semester hours). There is a nice overview provided on the UT site. Right now I’m in Oct. of the first year.

Now for some cool stuff . . .
Last Wednesday during Gross Lab I was able to help remove the heart from our cadaver (Merrill). Wow, that was really cool. Next one of my dissection mates took the lungs out and that was really neat holding them. I never realized how much work it is to dissect someone. It is a lot of hard work. There is much more cools stuff from Gross Anatomy from this week, but it would probably gross most of you out so I’ll leave it out.

We are studying transcription in MBOD right now and we are studying the heart in Physiology. What an incredible design. There are so many intricate dependancies in the heart that make it a marvelous creation. Just from the way the heart contracts. FIrst the atria contract and the part of the same muscle wait ~120ms before it contract from the bottom (apex) up and the inside out . What great care is shown in it’s design. Then last week we studied the heart’s development in a embryo (an unborn baby in the first 8 weeks of development). Just seeing the changes that are required in the circulatory system when a baby takes it’s first breath is dumbfounding but even more stunning the simplicity of the design.

Well, I don’t know if this has made any sense, but I gotta get back to studying. If you have any question just leave a comment and I’ll answer. Don’t be shy about asking, it will help me study to talk about what I’m studying and if I don’t know the answer then it will really help.

EM

Pilgrims

This world is not my home I’m just passing through
my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
the angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door
and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore

JR Baxter, Jr.

It’s not often you get the privilege to attend the going away service for a faithful servant of the Lord, but today was one of those days. Evangelist Bill Hall is moving from Memphis, TN to Greenville, TN and today was their last Sunday at Heritage. The service was an incredible blessing. Listening to the testimonies of the members and their relationships with Mr. and Mrs. Hall really allowed me to see both sides of the Hall’s ministry.

It also reminded me that will always have firsts and lasts, beginnings and endings. What we get to determine is how the time is spent in-between. So do not pray for easy lives and do not pray for easier tasks. Choose God’s path for your life and pray for greater strength.

Uh, Hi . . .

Ok, so I didn’t mean to take a month to post this, but time sorta got away from me. 🙂

This is gonna have to be short, but one block down and two to go till the end of the semester. Last Friday I followed around my preceptor (Doctor in the community that I apprentice under) and It was really cool seeing an EKG, looking at X-Rays and a urine analysis, listening to hearts and taking vital signs. This week is the beginning of my second block which ends with block exams the first week of Nov.

Right now my schedule is crazy. If you want to see it, just take a look at my calendar 🙂 (and that is just my school calendar). I might be able to update a little more regularly now that I have internet access at home. If you see me online, you can message me anytime, just might not receive a response right away.

Oh, almost forgot . . . tomorrow we get to dissect the heart out of our cadaver (we named him Merrill)