The "Standard Operating Guideline For Life"  is the Holy Bible.

"Long Shift"

March 28, 2004

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

- Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

I had the opportunity to get some overtime yesterday. Overtime, in emergency services, is a bittersweet thing... especially if you work in an urban environment where you are busy no matter what shift you are on. It is sweet, because that time-and-a-half comes in handy when the bills come rolling in. Bitter, because it means you are guaranteed to lose sleep.

Well, lose sleep I did. I normally work a twenty-four hour shift on Fridays... working from 0600 hours Friday until 0600 hours on Saturday. Guess what time period that includes... yeppers - Friday night madness.

We ran all day and all night. Friday night, we ran three calls between 0030 hours and 0530 hours... a stabbing, an obstetrical and a drunk doing about 100 miles per hour when he hit a parked car and a house. Oh, and he killed the German Shepherd in the yard. He was very apologetic to everyone in the trauma center.

"I killed a dog? I'm sorry. I hit a house? I totaled two cars? I'm so sorry."

We carry fourteen bags of IV fluid on the truck. We used twelve of them Friday.

Then, Saturday came. I started my overtime shift at 0600. I was to work twelve hours. It didn't happen. I finally got off duty at 1930 hours. I did get about two and half hours sleep that morning. But, by 0900, we were off and running again. The call that completed my weariness came in as a "diabetic emergency."

We arrive and find an older person sitting on the couch. They are cool, clammy and extremely diaphoretic (sweaty). So much so, our electrodes kept sliding right off. I whispered to my partner as we loaded the patient, "This one is circling the drain." My partner nodded in agreement.

To make a long story short, patient went into full cardio-pulmonary arrest about three minutes from the emergency room. We worked and worked. The emergency room staff worked on the patient for forty-five minutes. We even got a pulse and blood pressure back for about four minutes. But, it was all for naught. GOD had called this person home.

I walked out of that ER tired... weary.

I went home, had a great dinner and a shower. And then, I slept. I got up this morning and went to church (stunned, aren't you?). I am renewed... as our verse this week says. I am renewed because, as I sat in church, the words spoken by our Pastor seemed directed at me... they were words of renewal out of the book of Isaiah (40:28)... "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."

The only ONE who can strengthen the weak is none other than our REAL CHIEF.

The next time you have "one of those shifts," turn it over to our REAL CHIEF. Ask HIM to renew you. Ask HIM to increase your power. Allow HIM to give you rest so that you will be refreshed and ready to serve again...

...On HIS Shift,

"Survivor"

March 21, 2004

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

- Romans 8:37-39 (NIV)

It will probably go down in history as the television show that started the craze of "reality shows" - "Survivor."

But, out there in the world we are in... and, by that, I mean the emergency services... we are faced with much different challenges than thirty days on a tropical island with a bunch of people trying to win money by backstabbing one another.

We see it all - up close and very personal. We see people at their worse. We see what happens when alcohol and drugs are mixed together with automobiles and automatic weapons. We stare death in the face.

How do we do it day after day? Shift after shift? A couple of shifts ago, we had one of those calls that will be recounted time and time again. You know what I mean? The times when you are sitting around with three of four of you and everyone starts telling their "war stories." Each one's memories stirred by the mention of another story.

Nicholas Cage played a burned out New York City Paramedic in the movie "Bringing Out The Dead." In that movie, Cage's character calls those memories "his ghosts."

Anyway, the call that I was referring to got toned out "Medic 94, an OB, imminent delivery, at ...." Of course, it is about three in the morning. We walk into the dark apartment on the second floor of a low-income project apartment building. The TV is on, but there are no lights in the room. As we turn and look to the left, there, just inside the door, is a completely naked young woman with her rear end up in the air and two, tiny, little legs hanging out of her. There are two other people in the apartment. Smoke fills the air. The young mother is screaming and cursing. We roll her over. My partner delivers the less-than-a-pound fetus that is an obvious stillborn. We learn that the mother is only nineteen weeks pregnant. Then, an enraged man comes cursing down the hallway. He swings at one of the firefighters. Radio calls are made requesting law enforcement backup. We finally end up getting the mother and the fetus to the county hospital.  All I could think of was "another dead baby." How many more of these do I need to see?

But, our REAL CHIEF steps right into the darkness and lights up our life. HE reminds us in this week's verse that NOTHING, absolutely nothing, will separate us from HIM. HE is in control. I have to remember that. I have to be reminded of that. I have to know that no matter what dispatch throws at me, HE will see me through. My REAL CHIEF reminds me I am MORE THAN A CONQUEROR. I am more than a survivor. I am a child of GOD.

So, the next time you are faced with the ugly reality of death, know that our REAL CHIEF understands. Know that, through HIM, you, too, will survive as you serve, even in the darkest times...

...On HIS Shift,

"High Angle Rescue"

March 14, 2004

"The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

- 2 Timothy 4:18 (NIV)

Yep... that's me going off the top of a sixty foot training tower!

Yesterday, the paramedic class I am attending met at Ponderosa Fire Department's Curtis Cook Training Facility. We spent the morning portion in a "Ropes Class" and spent the afternoon learning how to rappel off the top of the sixty foot fire training tower.

This morning, as I was sitting praying about what our REAL CHIEF wanted to remind us of this week, HE reminded me of HIS version of "High Angle Rescue."

In the NIV (New International Version) of the Holy Bible, the word "rescue" is used eighty-one times. And the bulk of those times are reminders of our REAL CHIEF's abilities to rescue us in our times of need.

You might remember that GOD rescued Daniel from the mouths of a den full of lions. Our REAL CHIEF also rescued the millions of Hebrews who were being held captive as slaves in Egypt. And perhaps the most pertinent rescue to what we do - HE rescued Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fire:

Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. (Daniel 3:19-28 NIV)

In our verse for this week, we are comforted by the reminder that our REAL CHIEF will rescue us. A rescue from HEAVEN - that is the ULTIMATE high angle rescue. Dwell on that this week as you seek to serve...

...On HIS Shift,

"Breakfast Gathering"

March 7, 2004

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

- Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)

Just about every shift that I work, a couple of Emergency Medical Services crews and a couple of Engine crews meet for breakfast at a local Mom-n-Pop cafe. It is usually a fun time as everyone talks about the weird calls or unusual patients we have come across. We usually end up sitting around for an hour... unless, of course, the tones go off.. then, it's off to work we go.

I really love those breakfasts. Yesterday, I had a great breakfast, too. Though, it wasn't at the local eatery. Chaplain Howard Meek of the Pasadena (Texas) Fire Department had invited me to come talk at a monthly breakfast that he helps put together for his department. The breakfast is held at Fire Administration headquarters and some of the Christian men of the department arrive early and prepare the breakfast. Howard had told me that fifteen or so people usually attend these.

Well, I walked in and set up the computer for my talk and by the time we got started, over fifty men and women had showed. Included in that crowd were three City Councilmen and women. I met an Assistant Chief and a couple of Fire Marshals. Howard then explained that some of the men were there because the fire department was to do a "stand by" for a dig going on... coincidence? I don't think so. Because, I preached CHRIST to those folks. Our REAL CHIEF wanted all those people there.

I spoke about our time at the World Trade Center and how those of us who serve our REAL CHIEF will get dirty doing so. In other words, you can't walk through "the valley of the shadow of death" without getting dirty.  I reminded the crowd that JESUS washed the feet of HIS disciples... feet that had gotten dirty out spreading the Gospel.

Here is the point: we, as believers are commanded to keep gathering together. And, as we gather, I believe we are to bring others so that they may be exposed to the TRUTH... that JESUS wants to be their REAL CHIEF, too!

So, the next gathering you attend, whether it be a departmental breakfast put on by your Chaplain or your local Sunday morning church services, take a friend with you. Maybe, just maybe, our REAL CHIEF has designed it so that one person will ask HIM into their lives at that place and time. Think about that. If you are obedient and take an unsaved friend with you and they ask our REAL CHIEF into their life, you have affected eternity for that person! Then, together, you will be serving...

...On HIS Shift,