A Parable to enjoy, and free book offers
A few years back I needed to see an OBGYN for a procedure that my regular doctor was not able to perform. I made an appointment with a random doctor in my medical group, and went to see him for the minor procedure.
Before he performed the procedure he collected the typical doctor visit data of height, weight, blood pressure, etc, but then he also measured my waist. Seemed weird, but okay, whatever, just get the procedure done.
But before the procedure, he looked at my data and decided I needed some advice that had nothing to do with the reason for my visit. The doctor proceeded to advise me that my abdominal measurement and weight patterns pointed to some health risks, including heart disease, hypertension and cancer. He advised me against “yo-yo” dieting, and told me to lose weight around the middle. Never mind that all of my other health indicators were excellent, if I had belly fat and my weight had some fluctuation, surely I was at risk.
I looked at that doctor and was completely baffled. I wanted to say, first, I don’t yo-yo diet. And second, if you have a magical way to get rid of this belly fat let me know, because it does not seem to be going anywhere. I had cut my portions, I had adjusted my diet, I had done everything that was supposed to lead to optimal health, but the tummy would not go away. I was completely unaware of how anything this doctor told me could be at all beneficial for me. I was glad to just get the procedure over with so I could be done with that presumptuous doctor.
Many of my friends and close associates know of the 8-year battle I have had with stomach issues. Many of you know that I had to severely restrict my diet and could eat very little of what would be considered to be normal. Many of you know that the good side effect of that trial was that I was able to lose a bit of weight, and the extra tummy inches. The doctor’s visit I am referring to took place just before my tummy trials. As a matter of fact, I believe that part of my larger than normal abdomen at that time was probably an early symptom of the problem.
I have since mostly recovered from my stomach problems, but here is the irony of this story: if the doctor had used his measurements during the height of my illness, he would have found I had excellent numbers. By his metric, he would have pronounced me at a very low risk for those health risks, but I was actually much less healthy than I was when I visited him.
This incident got me thinking, how often do we look at one measure or another, and then use that to make a judgement of a person or a situation? How often are we sizing up the whole of something or someone based on small portion of the picture? For me, this incident taught me to be more vigilant in gathering more information before making snap decisions and judgements. I often think of this presumptuous doctor, and try not to make the similar presumptions in my evaluation of others.
One decision we all need to make is how we spend our time. One decision I made a couple of years ago was to spend more time reading. I have always loved to read, but it seemed that I had spent the majority of my time reading articles and smaller pieces, and I had neglected my book reading. Since that time I have begun to read books again, and I have to say, I have not been sorry. I like all types of genres so I don’t discriminate too much.
To keep my cost down on books I joined Kindle Unlimited. This is not an advertisement, but a small monthly fee allows me to read quite a few books for no extra cost. Another way I get free books is to look for promos. A lot of authors will promo their eBooks for free for short periods of time. Here is a book that is available free for the next few days. You can also pick up my novel for free for the same time period. Read on if you want to know about those books.
The first book is by Patricia Pike, and it is called, “From Hallowed Land to Halloween.” If you are just getting back into book reading this is not a lengthy book. It would be of most interest to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but anyone who wants to know a bit more about the history of Halloween or how it fits together with mythology may find it interesting. Patricia weaves together these facts, with a bit of fantasy and fiction, and ties it all together with her faith and beliefs. Pick up a free copy if that sounds interesting to you.
You can get my novel as well, “The Goats and the Sheep,” free for the same time period. If you haven’t had a chance to read my book about a young mother and her quest to understand ministering, grab it free for the next few days.
I have also included some links of other books with promos right now. Haven’t read them, but they are on my list, so happy reading!
And don’t forget, don’t judge us just by the little pieces you see. Try to get the whole picture, so you can better judge righteously, and not presumptuously.
Here are the books that I hope to read soon, that you may still be able to nab for free.
Goats and Sheep 