A Disney Christmas!
I just returned from a six day trip to Walt Disney World. Every other December, I take my immediate family to Disney World in Florida. The trip is normally for me to attend an annual radiology educational meeting. This year, I chose to take to take my family for fun and joy. Going in December to Disney World is not for the faint of heart. It is one of the most crowded times of the year. This year was no exception.
There are some definite events we attend on these trips. We go to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom. This event is a special ticketed night in the park. We also attend the Candlelight Processional at EPCOT. Sometimes, we attend the Holiday version of the Hoop De Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness. We also see the light show on New York Street at Disney Hollywood Studios and sadly, this will probably be the last year for that event.
As a Christian, Christmas is a very important event for me. It is a time to pause and celebrate the birth of the Savior, MY Savior. I usually begin my Christmas celebration on November 1st when I begin listening to my Christmas music. Each year, I collect new albums and recordings of Christmas music. I was so excited to listen to Z88.3 on the FM radio in Orlando. This year, this predominantly Christian music station chose to play Christmas music, both secular and Christian around the clock.
Unlike past years, I don’t sense a great war on Christmas this year. Merry Christmas is displayed in public places, stores, and in the park. The political correctness that threatened to remove the name of Christ from Christmas celebrations in the public sphere seems to have backed off a bit. However, I was disappointed at the changes in the ending of the Candlelight Processional with the removal of the powerful poem, “One Solitary Life”. And yet, I have to continue to be excited that the scriptures of the birth of Christ are read in their entirety during the wonderful musical presentation of the Candlelight Processional. The Gospel is still proclaimed loudly each year in the Disney parks through this event. This year, we once again had the opportunity to have Edward James Olmos as our narrator in a very moving and touching reading of the Nativity account from the Bible.
And, at the lights on New York Street, there is always the quiet corner where the Nativity is portrayed for all the world to see.
There are themes that resonate from the Gospel accounts. Peace. Joy. Goodwill to all Men. Kindness. Love. Amazement at the wonders of our universe when the star is seen in the night.
This year was no exception and I enjoyed a wonderful week with my family during this holiday season. No matter what your religious affiliation or lack of any commitment to the world of the supernatural, I don’t think any of us can disagree with the need for more Peace, Joy, and Goodwill to All Men. If you do not know the Savior, at least know these virtues transcend all worldview and we need more and more of those values in our daily lives.
May you find true Joy, Peace, and Hope again in this Christmas season.
As always, if you are looking for Christmas gifts, check out my Chronicles of Jonathan Steel books at 11thdemon.com and our new depression book, “Hope Again” at conqueringdepression.com
Avoid the Black Friday Blues!
Escape from the confusion of Black Friday. Go to 11thdemon.com and order any or all three of the books in the Chronicles of Jonathan Steel. I have a special sale on for the holiday.
Or if you are suffering from depression or know someone who is, order them a copy of “Hope Again: A 30 Day Plan for Conquering Depression” along with a set of Life Filters at conqueringdepression.com.
Thanks to all of my readers for their support. I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!
TIP #4: GET OUT THE SCALPEL AND EDIT!
TIP #4: GET OUT THE SCALPEL, IT’S TIME TO EDIT!
I love to write. I love to just sit in front of a blank screen and bleed all over the page. There are snippets and gouges and puzzle piece bits of story saved all over my hard drives. Sometimes I see a file with an intriguing title and open it up to find a little nugget of gold I had forgotten I had written. More often than not, however, I open a file and find a little rat pill.
Not everything I write is worth saving. Not everything I write deserves your attention. Like excessive adverbs! I enjoyed reading the Harry Potter series but I don’t believe there is a single adverb in the English lexicon that J. K. Rowling failed to use in her book series. But, when you’ve sold billions of dollars worth of books, you can pretty much write anyway you want.
Tip #3: MAKE time to write!
Tip #3: You Don’t FIND time to write, you MAKE time to write!
My good friend Marilyn once asked me how I found the time to write. I simply replied, “you don’t find time to write, you make time to write.” This wasn’t a lesson I learned from John Maxwell. This is a lesson self taught. I mentioned in a previous post about being a dreamer versus making your dream come true. As I pondered on HOW I could make a novel come true, I stumbled across NANOWRIMO which begins TODAY.
National Novel Writing Month helps you fulfill that DREAM of finishing a novel in one month. When I first learned of this method, I tried it out. I failed. But, the next July after completing “Conquering Depression” with Mark Sutton in the summer of 1999, I set aside the month of August to write a novel. I started it on day one and finished it on day 31. That novel became “The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye”.
Since then, I have learned these powerful lessons:
Make Writing a PRIORITY not only for yourself, but your family unit. Read the rest of this entry
A Taste of “The 10th Demon”
I’m pushing my book series for Halloween. Scary books with demons and vampires and ghouls and . . . well go the order page and check them out! And, for those of you who are faithful readers here is Chapter One of the upcoming “The 10th Demon: Children of the Bloodstone”
30.495352,-87.251186
7:46 A.M. CDT
Quantum flux surveillance
Grimvox Mammalian Neural Interface
Subspecies “Canine”
Chapter 2
“Animals, especially dogs and cattle . . . have shown noticeable agitation in the presence of UFO phenomenon.”
Hugh Ross
“So, this here lady says she’s lost her ‘Poopems’?” Theo King asked Jonathan as they stood on the perfect lawn of the small house. In contrast to the tiny gnome guarding the flowers around the front porch, Theophilus Nosmo King towered over six and one half feet tall and tipped the scales at three hundred fifty pounds. Very little of his mass was fat. He wore a black and gold Saints football jersey and long athletic pants. He pulled off his sunglasses and wiped sweat from his face. “Who would call their husband Poopems?”
Jonathan Steel put a piece of gum in his mouth and looked up at his partner. “We are what we do.”
“Ah, I get it. He’s like Cephas. The old man shouldn’t eat cabbage.”
“He likes cabbage.”
Tip #2: Don’t Be a Dreamer!
TIP #2: DON’T BE A DREAMER!
We all have dreams.
I had a friend years ago who has since passed away, sadly at the age of 38 from lung cancer. He was one of the most creative people I have ever met. Every day, he would call me at work and start off our conversation with:
“Bruce, I have this great idea!” At which point he would share with me what really was an incredible idea! I would get excited about his idea and as the day progressed I would begin to unpack the idea and come up with ways to make the idea a reality. By the time evening came, this idea had become more than a gestating thing for me.
Writing Tip #1: Yes, Say “NO”!
It’s been a while since I posted on my own website. I’ve been busy over at that other site, www.conqueringdepression.com promoting our new book, “Hope Again: A 30 Day Plan for Conquering Depression”. I just received a letter from my warehouse and I need to move many more of my copies of “The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos” if I want to put out the next book by the spring. So, here is the deal. I’ve now officially published four books since 2011 and for the next few posts I want to share with my readers some tips I learned about the process of finally getting that book on the shelves. These tips came to me over the past 20 years and they apply not only to publishing but to any creative endeavor.
Seeing Cancer in 3D!
This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month. As a radiologist, I am very tuned in to breast cancer awareness. I read mammograms, breast ultrasounds, and breast MRI every day. It is part of my overall job as a radiologist.
In May 2013 I attended a breast imaging conference in Tampa Bay, Florida. During that conference, there was much discussion of a new technology known as tomosynthesis. This alternate form of mammography had just been approved by the FDA. As I watched the images stream before my eyes I was astonished!
Trying to read mammograms is a huge challenge. We have performing mammography, or Xray images of the breast since the 1960’s. In the past fifty years radiologists have tried and tried to come up with newer technology. You see, regular mammograms are the best test we have to detect early breast cancer. But, mammograms are not 100% accurate. In fact, most radiologists would gladly trade reading mammograms for anything that would give better results. The problems is, we just haven’t been able to find anything.
Until now.
Tomosynthesis is also known as 3D breast imaging. The technology is astonishingly simple but only now possible due to technological advances in computer processing. In this new form of imaging of the breast, the Xray tube moves through a 15 degree arc above the patient’s breast over 4 seconds. The series of exposures is then processed to produce “slices” through the breast. It’s like leafing through the pages of a book.
Did you get that? The amount of imaging time is the same as 2D mammography we have been performing for years. In fact, the radiation dosage is less than twice that of a normal mammogram. But, the results are astonishing!
Look back at my previous posts and you can watch my videos regarding this new technology. But, let me tell you that 3D breast imaging is allowing us to pick up to 50% more early invasive breast cancers than before. And, these early forms of breast cancer are small enough to actually allow us to decrease the death rate from breast cancer!
I am part of the Willis Knighton Health Care System here in the Shreveport – Bossier City area and I am proud to be a part of the launch of this new kind of mammography beginning last week on October 1. We are now performing 3D breast imaging at our Willis Knighton Pierremont outpatient breast clinic. Soon, Willis Knighton Bossier will have this technology and then, before the end of the year, Willis Knighton South will come on line. Already, we are seeing amazing results from this new technology just in one week!
Women, pay attention. If you have put off having your first mammogram or having that yearly followup mammogram, contact your doctor and see if it is time for you to have your first 3D mammogram. Let’s put an end to breast cancer!
3D Mammograms Save Lives!
I want to take a break from my books and share with you a video about a new medical development that is the most exciting thing I’ve been involved with in the past 30 years of radiology.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=917385748291149
Check out this video and the three other videos on 3D mammography!
Book Signing Tomorrow!
MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
Sherry and I are in the Orlando area this week celebrating our 34th wedding anniversary. We first came to Orlando in October, 1980 for our honeymoon and we’ve been coming back to Walt Disney World for the last 34 years.
People ask me why I come to Disney World so many times. Doesn’t it get old? Don’t you grow tired of it? Haven’t you seen everything you can see? Let me tell you a story.
A father took his two girls to an amusement park every Sunday afternoon after church. The amusement park sat on the coast in California. But, the father was not happy about his experience. The location was windy and dirty and wet. The attractions were seedy and broken down half the time. The grounds were unkept and weedy with trash blowing everywhere. The workers were, well let’s just say somewhat undesirable to be around children!
The father would sit on a rickety bench and watch his girls riding the carousel and he wish he could join them. And so, this father began to dream. After all dreaming was his business! What if there was an amusement park that was clean and bright with gorgeous landscaping. What if the workers were right out of a Hollywood movie — clean and costumed and playing the “role” of a kind, considerate person who would make you feel like you and you alone were the most important person in the world? What if the attractions were safe, high quality, and most importantly, allowed families to enjoy the attraction TOGETHER? And, what if the amusement park was every changing and improving over time so that families could return again and again and never get bored?
That father was Walt Disney and the rest of his story is history. He went back to his studios and quickly drew up a plan for such a park in the studio’s parking lot. By the time he was finished, as was his nature, he began to think bigger and bigger. Disney’s “folly” as it was called opened in July, 1955 as Disneyland and changed the world.
This is why Sherry and I continue to go back. It is a place that is clean, high quality, magical, and restive. Also, we have good friends in the area and we have always loved Florida in general.
We are here this week and this weekend. If you are in the Orlando area, Mark Sutton and I will be signing our book, “Hope Again: A 30 Day Plan for Conquering Depression” on Saturday, September 27 from 1 to 3 PM. Come see us! We’d love to meet you!
Bruce Hennigan 
You must be logged in to post a comment.