by Kelli Garms | Apr 15, 2022 | Book Review
A Plague upon Our House: My Fight at the Trump White House to Stop Covid from Destroying America by Scott W. Atlas, MD is a look back at what went on with the coronavirus task force during President Trump’s time in office and through the election.
Hearing (or reading) what went on during the task force meetings will make your blood boil as there were concerted attempts to conceal important information, pushes to mandate ineffective measures, and even discussions about making the American people MORE afraid. According to Dr. Atlas, the prominent members of the the group never presented scientific evidence to back up their claims and were even offended when their statements were brought into question in light of research and scientific studies. He was amazed that everyone walked on egg shells to keep Dr. Birx happy.
It is also interesting to see Dr. Atlas’s shift as new information and research became available. His position on masks, treatments, and vaccines seemed to evolve throughout the book. He is not afraid to criticize the people in authority and to question the motives of those involved though he does so with tact and respect (at least initially for some).
He clearly did not approve of Vice-President Mike Pence’s lack of assertiveness as leader of the task force. His opinion of the pandemic handling by Drs. Fauci and Birx is very clear. And while he obviously admires President Trump, he even points out his flaws when it comes to covid.
The book contains a lot of repetition as information is retold with different emphasis in different chapters. If you want an overall view of the content of the book, simply read the last chapter.
Because the book is a firsthand account, it is related in the first person (I, me, my, etc.) and might come off as a bit self-promoting in some sections. It is disheartening to hear about the persecution Dr. Atlas encountered once he joined the task force.
In a time when we are repeatedly told to trust “the experts,” those who have extensive credentials in the field, like Dr. Atlas, are being censored. It is appropriate that the Coda of the book is a comparison to George Orwell’s 1984.
For Further Reading
by Kelli Garms | Apr 14, 2022 | Family
This is a continuation of my covid story, written about 17 months after I initially contracted the virus.
On Thursday, September 17, 2020, I came down with a fever. I only remember the date because I was supposed to serve the next day at our church’s women’s conference, and I had a lot of women counting on me. Of course, I was not able to participate in the conference, and you can read the whole story about my covid experience here.
Long story short, I was hospitalized because my oxygen levels were too low. I was back home on Wednesday, September 30, and I began my recovery. Overall, I have recovered well. It took me a while to get my energy back, but I slowly began feeling somewhat normal. There were a few things that have stuck with me that have been a bit annoying. For example, the taste of mint and peanut butter have never gone back to normal, and the smell of coffee, which has never been a favorite of mine, now makes me want to throw up.
About three months after I was in the hospital, my hair started to fall out. I lost about half of my hair and spent the next year babying it and waiting for it to grow back out, which it has, and I think it’s fuller than it was before thanks to my talented hair stylist and the great products I use.
But the most annoying residual side effect I’ve had is the constant coughing. While it has been better at times, any little thing can set it off. What I’ve been using as my gauge is whether or not I can make it through an entire worship song without coughing. I’ve spent my whole life singing, so losing my ability to get through a song has been difficult. And seventeen months later, I’m still unable to sing a whole song during the music portion of our church’s worship service.
In January of 2022, I came down with a cold. It settled in my chest and made me lose my voice for the second time since I had covid. And this time, it hung on even longer. I follow nurse Michele on Instagram, and she uses her platform to educate about covid treatments. I reached out to her, and she put me in touch with myfreedoctor.com.
When I connected with a doctor and shared my experience, I was officially diagnosed with Long-Haul Covid Syndrome (LHCS). You can click this link to find a formal definition, but basically it just means I have residual symptoms of covid. It is not contagious; it is not an active strain. My guess is I had damage to my lungs (as demonstrated by my x-rays and CT scan) that has kept my lungs in a weakened state.
The doctor prescribed Ivermectin (I had to get the prescription filled out of state and shipped), prednisone, and high-dose omega-3. She also told me to take zinc, vitamin C, vitamin D3, and Quercetin in specific amounts. I am also nebulized a mixture of saline, hydrogen peroxide, and iodine. The prescriptions lasted about a month, and I checked in with the doctor regularly.
Since undergoing treatment for LHCS, I can now make it through the entire song service without coughing! I no longer have to carry a drink with me wherever I go in case I have a coughing fit. And I don’t wake up in the middle of the night coughing, so I’m getting better sleep. My next litmus test will be when I catch another cold. We will have to see if it triggers the same effects and if it holds on for a longer period of time. At least, I will be prepared with the over-the-counter options I took during treatment and Ivermectin I keep on hand.
There are some things I would have done differently had I known then what I know now:
- I had covid before vaccines were available, so that is a moot point since I have natural immunity.
- I would have gone to my doctor instead of the ER had I realized how I would be treated in the hospital. I found out after the fact that my doctor has been treating patients using protocols that make sense.
- I would never have voluntarily put a mask over my face as I believe it exacerbated my original symptoms and created an environment that allowed my on-going symptoms to thrive.
- I would have had high quality supplements and a nebulizer in my house and ready for use.
The truth is I was a sheep. I trusted the medical community and the government to do what they say and put the needs of people first. Even when I arrived in the hospital and they asked me if I wanted Remdesivir, my response was, “you are the expert” as I signed the form. I am no longer a sheep! I know the “pandemic” has been terrible—loved ones have died, businesses have shut down, abuse has increased—but one positive thing has come out of it. Many people, including my family, have come out of their stupor. We are no longer blindly following the “experts” and are taking steps to educate ourselves and make logical decisions.
For Further Reading
by Kelli Garms | Mar 25, 2022 | Prayer
When we pray Scripture, it helps us understand the passage in more depth and allows us to talk to God in His own words. I encourage you to use this prayer as an example and then make it your own as you pray through the book of Colossians.
Lord,
I pray that faith in Christ Jesus will be known across the city, nation, and world. Give me love for the saints because of our shared hope of Heaven. May the Gospel bear fruit and increase. May I be a faithful minister of Christ and be filled with the knowledge of God’s will so I can walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and be pleasing to Him.
May I bear fruit by my good works, increase in knowledge, be strengthened for endurance and patience, and give thanks for being qualified by God to share in the inheritance of His kingdom, for being delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to Christ’s kingdom, and for redemption and forgiveness of my sins.
Christ is the image of God and the highest in rank. He created all things, and He sustains His creation. He is the head of the church, He is preeminent in everything, and the fullness of God dwells in Him. He makes peace between me and God through His blood. He reconciled me to Himself in spite of my hostility and evil deeds, and He presents me holy and blameless and above reproach before God!
May I remain faithful, stable and steadfast, in hope. I pray that I rejoice in my sufferings for the sake of other believers that they may be strengthened through my testimony. What a marvelous gift that, by grace, God included Gentiles in His work of redemption! May I strive in His strength and not my own.
May I reach full assurance of understanding and knowledge of Christ and not be deluded with the plausible arguments of this world.
May I walk in Christ in the same way I received Him: rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith, and abounding in thanksgiving.
May I not be taken captive by worldly ideas.
May I be grateful for being made alive with Him, being forgiven all my trespasses, and having my record of debt canceled.
He has disarmed and put to shame the rulers and authorities.
May I not get hung up on traditions that are a mere shadow of things to come.
May I never take away or add to the Gospel.
May I always hold fast to Christ!
Help me to seek things that are above with Christ, and to set my mind on things above and not on things on the earth. I want to put to death earthly things and put on the new self, which is renewed in knowledge, demonstrating compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, love, peace, and gratitude, bearing with others and forgiving others.
I pray the Word of God will dwell in me continually through teaching, admonishing, worshipping, and thanking.
May I do everything in the name of Jesus.
I pray that I will submit to my husband as my God-given authority. I pray that my husband will love me as Christ loves the church. I pray that my children will obey. I pray that my husband and I will not provoke them. I pray that we will all submit to authority with sincerity of heart, for the Lord and not men. I pray that we will conduct ourselves in justice and fairness to those who submit to us.
Help me to be steadfast in prayer, always watching. May the Gospel go out. May I make the best use of the time, season my speech with grace, and know how to answer each person in every situation with truth in love.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
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by Kelli Garms | Mar 24, 2022 | Book Review
Cold-Christianity by J. Warner Wallace goes through the evidence, biblical and extra-biblical, to prove the Bible reliable.
Maybe it is because I love crime novels, but I thoroughly enjoyed J. Warner Wallaces’ book, Cold-Case Christianity, in which he uses his skills as a cold-case detective to demonstrate that the Bible is true and reliable. He set out to prove that it wasn’t, but the deeper he got, the more he realized that it was a credible source.
He compares the four Gospels to eye witness accounts, sharing details of actual cases he’s worked. He demonstrates how we require much less evidence for any other work of ancient writing than we claim to need to prove Scripture. He defines terms and explains courtroom proceedings in a clear manner so anyone can understand them. He shows the reader how to tell the difference between actual evidence and distractions (artifacts). And he even explains what it takes to create a successful conspiracy theory, and why Scripture isn’t one.
Once we’ve collected the evidence, Wallace takes us step-by-step through examining that evidence to determine how it affects our case, exploring the pros and cons of each type of evidence.
Beyond teaching apologetics, Cold-Case Christianity teaches criminology in a fun and interesting way!
**This book makes a great addition to an apologetics or Christian Worldview curriculum.
Other Book Reviews
by Kelli Garms | Mar 16, 2022 | Book Review
Even though there was no secret how his story would end, I still cried at the end of Eric Metaxas’s book, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.
While this book is a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in that it follows his life, it is also a history of Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. It is important to remember that the Holocaust was not the beginning, but the end result. There were many steps taken that ultimately ended in the Holocaust, and learning about those steps was sobering as I compared them to things happening in our modern society.
Bonhoeffer was not Jewish. He was from a well-known and respected family. He was an upstanding member of society. And he had the opportunity to stay in America for the duration of the war. He could easily have ridden out the war with little danger. He could have sat on the sidelines. Instead, Bonhoeffer knew that his service to God meant he had to get involved, protect the innocent, and defeat the enemy.
Within the account, Metaxas includes original writings from, to, and about Bonhoeffer. He includes journal entries that give us a glimpse into Bonhoeffer’s thoughts. And he shares the words of those who knew Bonhoeffer best, including those who shared his cell and his fate.
Throughout the book, we see Bonhoeffer recognize evil in many forms. He doesn’t just see the evil of innocent people harmed, but he recognizes the false gospel that was prevalent in the church, and he saw the oppression and division caused by racism in America at the time. He recognized the failing of social justice, and he showed how once good leaders became weak.
Not only is this book a biography and a history lesson, but it is a commentary on our world today. It is a road map for our destination if we do not correct course and do it quickly. This book reinforces the theme I repeat to myself: Live not by lies! Uphold truth at all costs! Without truth as our plumb line, we will be tossed to and fro in the storms of this fallen world.
Other Book Reviews
