Hypocrites -this is exactly the type of person that I didn’t want to be around and yet the churches are full of them. My views of church were so distorted that I could never find a church I was happy at. At one point I found a church I liked and attended for a few months but then it became known that the pastor was having an affair with another member of the church. I’m sorry if I didn’t want to associate with people who said they were “Christians” and were leading other Christians but were only Christians in public but behind closed doors they weren't.
My first hurdle to get over was a Christian who claimed they were so wonderful; they attend church regularly throughout the week, carry their Bibles everywhere and screamed “Look at me.” I found it hard to believe that someone who was SOOOO Christian turned away several family members because they don’t like their choices or because they couldn’t let go of something in the past. Isn’t that one of the basic Christian attitudes? To forgive and forget and not hold grudges. Aren’t we not suppose to judge others but help them instead?
I know that nobody is perfect and I know that everyone will do something against the Christian faith but what I don’t agree with are the ones who jump up and down saying “Here I am – a Christian – be like me” and yet they are far from what a Christian should really be like. I can overlook the ones who commit minor sins – because after all we are all sinners – but I have no respect for those committing adultery while preaching to others how a Christian is suppose to live their lives.
While I am a Christian – an immature Christian – I do not know everything it takes to be a God-honoring Christian however, I don’t go around cheating on my husband (and never would). I do on the other hand tend to have a sailor-like mouth and I do have a temper at times and I don’t always treat my husband with the respect that I should. Although I am not yet where I should be in my relationship with God, I don’t think of myself as a bad person either. I would be shocked if someone came up to me and honestly told me that I was a horrible person because I’ve always tried to treat others right; I’ve always tried to do the right things in life. I’ve just begun my journey and I know there are a lot of things I need to work on before I start jumping up and down saying “look at me – do as I do” because if someone looked at me and really examined my life as a Christian they would wonder – how are they any different than me? I don’t want someone to look at my life and say they don’t need God in their life based on my actions. So until I get my life in order don’t look at me as a model quite yet – I’m just learning.
Showing posts with label Venting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Venting. Show all posts
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
My issues with the health care system...
I’ve had an “AH HA!” moment this weekend while at Sister’s house. It was decided that I had to watch a documentary about how horrible the health care in America really is (which I knew it was bad already) and how other countries are able to provide healthcare to all of its citizens equally across the board and it got me on my soap box in regards to my health care.
Currently Colleen and I are the only ones in the house with health insurance and the only reason I am covered along with her is because 5 months before she was born the rules changed and I could no longer get a child only policy, they now have to be on a policy with an adult. So I had to work the figures to see who we could afford to cover with her – because of Mark’s age it was going to cost over $150 more to insure him and Colleen than it would cost to cover me and her, we couldn’t afford to cover everyone. We don’t live an extravagant lifestyle in the least bit, we don’t go out and spend money on things we don’t need either. The only reason I could afford to get the insurance is ONLY because my car was paid off around the same time Colleen was born and I still had to get a policy with $3500 deductible to get the premiums to an amount we could afford. In the first 2 months of Colleen’s birth we already racked up over $6000 in hospital bills because of 2 hospital stays, once for jaundice and the second for what turned out to be a stomach bug – but at 2 months old you can’t not take a child to the doctor when she is having bloody stools and a high fever.
With my policy I only get 3 sick visits a year before I have to pay my deductible in order for them to pay another dime for my care. Last year I ended up developing a staph infection and within one week I used up all of my visits due to follow up appointments so when a few months later when I developed clogged earwax duct, which later turned into a really bad ear infection, I racked up almost another $1000 of health care costs on top of the premiums I already pay. The insurance company paid out less than $900 for my doctor visits last year and I paid over $1500 in doctor bills and co pays (for just me) and that is NOT including the $1900 I paid in premiums for the year. The only good my insurance is for is so that IF something major happens to me I will only have to pay $3500 of the X(thousand) of doctor/hospital bills.
If I end up pregnant the insurance will cover NOTHING for it because I can’t afford to add maternity benefits. We had no insurance when I had Colleen and luckily I had money in an IRA to take out to pay for the birth center where I delivered her. Had I delivered her in a hospital I would have had to pay AT LEAST $10000 but at the Birth Center I only had to pay around $4000. If I had maternity benefits it would cost an extra $250 a month in premiums AND I would have to pay those premiums for a year before they would pay anything for the pregnancy. So in essence I would have to pay $250 for at the bottom end 20 months (the year before and during the pregnancy) which comes to an extra $5000 for a birth that would cost only $4000 if I delivered at the Birth Center again…the insurance company just made $1000 for me to have a baby – how is that right??? Why not build more birth centers and all insurance policies include pregnancy? Who says that you HAVE TO deliver in a hospital? Women have delivered babies at home and with midwifes since the beginning of time – delivering at a hospital is a new development and all it does is drive up health care costs.
How much of the health care costs are going to Doctor’s malpractice insurance because everyone has gone sue happy? How much is going into the insurance companies pockets? Why is it fair that people like me have to choose who in the family gets to have health insurance and who doesn’t? People who make a lot of money can afford to have the top of the line insurance and there are programs for the senior citizens and children of low income families to be covered but what about everyone else? Why is government run health care viewed as horrible? I would rather everyone have medical coverage than only the people who can afford it. People say that the health care would be awful if the government ran it, that people would have to wait to be treated, but what about those who don’t get treated now – how is this better for them? The government even pays for prisons have top notch medical treatment for its inmates but my husband has nothing because we make too much money for any aid and not enough money to cover it ourselves.
Why it is ok for insurance companies to make astronomical profits and the people they insure are denied benefits for any number of reasons is beyond me. Why is it ok for insurance companies to choose who they cover and who they don’t? It’s only ok because politicians are bought out by these companies and nobody can seem to put a stop to it. This is exactly why I hate politicians; they look out only for themselves and who can give them money and don’t give a damn for the people who just try to make a living but end up going bankrupt and lose everything because they got sick.
I’m not one to believe something just because someone told me it was true, which includes this documentary but I know the health care in this country is crap because I live it every day. Not only are my premiums high for the coverage I receive but I’ve had the insurance company deny me coverage the first time I applied because I was expecting a child (not to be confused with being pregnant) and had them deny claims due to my glaucoma being a pre-existing condition. It is apparently impossible to get child covered from day one of birth if a policy is not already in place on the parent which I believe is so insurance companies can deny a baby coverage if they are born with a medical condition that will continue throughout their life –I can be wrong, but I doubt it. Something has got to change and it needs to be more than allowing kids to stay on their parent’s insurance plans until they are 26 – there are still MILLIONS of people who are uninsured and in the same boat I’m in.
Currently Colleen and I are the only ones in the house with health insurance and the only reason I am covered along with her is because 5 months before she was born the rules changed and I could no longer get a child only policy, they now have to be on a policy with an adult. So I had to work the figures to see who we could afford to cover with her – because of Mark’s age it was going to cost over $150 more to insure him and Colleen than it would cost to cover me and her, we couldn’t afford to cover everyone. We don’t live an extravagant lifestyle in the least bit, we don’t go out and spend money on things we don’t need either. The only reason I could afford to get the insurance is ONLY because my car was paid off around the same time Colleen was born and I still had to get a policy with $3500 deductible to get the premiums to an amount we could afford. In the first 2 months of Colleen’s birth we already racked up over $6000 in hospital bills because of 2 hospital stays, once for jaundice and the second for what turned out to be a stomach bug – but at 2 months old you can’t not take a child to the doctor when she is having bloody stools and a high fever.
With my policy I only get 3 sick visits a year before I have to pay my deductible in order for them to pay another dime for my care. Last year I ended up developing a staph infection and within one week I used up all of my visits due to follow up appointments so when a few months later when I developed clogged earwax duct, which later turned into a really bad ear infection, I racked up almost another $1000 of health care costs on top of the premiums I already pay. The insurance company paid out less than $900 for my doctor visits last year and I paid over $1500 in doctor bills and co pays (for just me) and that is NOT including the $1900 I paid in premiums for the year. The only good my insurance is for is so that IF something major happens to me I will only have to pay $3500 of the X(thousand) of doctor/hospital bills.
If I end up pregnant the insurance will cover NOTHING for it because I can’t afford to add maternity benefits. We had no insurance when I had Colleen and luckily I had money in an IRA to take out to pay for the birth center where I delivered her. Had I delivered her in a hospital I would have had to pay AT LEAST $10000 but at the Birth Center I only had to pay around $4000. If I had maternity benefits it would cost an extra $250 a month in premiums AND I would have to pay those premiums for a year before they would pay anything for the pregnancy. So in essence I would have to pay $250 for at the bottom end 20 months (the year before and during the pregnancy) which comes to an extra $5000 for a birth that would cost only $4000 if I delivered at the Birth Center again…the insurance company just made $1000 for me to have a baby – how is that right??? Why not build more birth centers and all insurance policies include pregnancy? Who says that you HAVE TO deliver in a hospital? Women have delivered babies at home and with midwifes since the beginning of time – delivering at a hospital is a new development and all it does is drive up health care costs.
How much of the health care costs are going to Doctor’s malpractice insurance because everyone has gone sue happy? How much is going into the insurance companies pockets? Why is it fair that people like me have to choose who in the family gets to have health insurance and who doesn’t? People who make a lot of money can afford to have the top of the line insurance and there are programs for the senior citizens and children of low income families to be covered but what about everyone else? Why is government run health care viewed as horrible? I would rather everyone have medical coverage than only the people who can afford it. People say that the health care would be awful if the government ran it, that people would have to wait to be treated, but what about those who don’t get treated now – how is this better for them? The government even pays for prisons have top notch medical treatment for its inmates but my husband has nothing because we make too much money for any aid and not enough money to cover it ourselves.
Why it is ok for insurance companies to make astronomical profits and the people they insure are denied benefits for any number of reasons is beyond me. Why is it ok for insurance companies to choose who they cover and who they don’t? It’s only ok because politicians are bought out by these companies and nobody can seem to put a stop to it. This is exactly why I hate politicians; they look out only for themselves and who can give them money and don’t give a damn for the people who just try to make a living but end up going bankrupt and lose everything because they got sick.
I’m not one to believe something just because someone told me it was true, which includes this documentary but I know the health care in this country is crap because I live it every day. Not only are my premiums high for the coverage I receive but I’ve had the insurance company deny me coverage the first time I applied because I was expecting a child (not to be confused with being pregnant) and had them deny claims due to my glaucoma being a pre-existing condition. It is apparently impossible to get child covered from day one of birth if a policy is not already in place on the parent which I believe is so insurance companies can deny a baby coverage if they are born with a medical condition that will continue throughout their life –I can be wrong, but I doubt it. Something has got to change and it needs to be more than allowing kids to stay on their parent’s insurance plans until they are 26 – there are still MILLIONS of people who are uninsured and in the same boat I’m in.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Holidays - what they are REALLY about...
What is Thanksgiving and Christmas?
Thanksgiving - I get so aggravated with people who think Thanksgiving is all about a big meal – REALLY? It’s about spending quality time with your family and friends, about giving thanks for what you have (as in your family and friends – not material things). So many people love Thanksgiving because the next day is BLACK FRIDAY and they can get up at o’dark thirty and go shopping for Christmas.
Christmas – a time meant to celebrate the birth of Christ but has now become more about Santa Clause and presents. You can’t even say Merry Christmas now without offending someone – I’m sorry but if you are going to be offended by that then don’t leave your house for the month of December. Why does Christmas have to be about how much money you can spend rather than the important things?
Growing up mama always made sure we had a good Christmas, and yes, as a kid I enjoyed it, but I too was very appreciative of what I had. I never counted all my presents to make sure I had equal or more than I did the year before and it irritates me more than anything else to see kids do that. To me, when kids are counting their gifts then they have not been taught what Christmas is really about. I am so aggravated with how spoiled kids are becoming – getting toy after toy all the time then at Christmas you have to go above and beyond so they have a “good Christmas.”
I remember learning about a friend of mine who got one present on Christmas and was floored that was all she got – but she was very appreciative of it and didn’t complain. Why can’t we all be that way? Make it about being with family rather than material things.
How many times has Christmas ended and kids not even know what they got because they got so much? How many toys are broken on the same day? How many gifts are never taken out of boxes because your kids didn’t like the toy? How much money is thrown away because you are trying to keep up with everyone else?
Now that I have a daughter I want her to grow up knowing the true meaning of these holidays and not about how much STUFF she will get. I don’t want her to expect a toy every time we go shopping or complain if she didn’t get what she wanted. I would much rather give her memories rather than STUFF. I’d rather her think of others first. I want her to be happy and things don’t do that – things are only temporary where family and friends are forever.
Thanksgiving - I get so aggravated with people who think Thanksgiving is all about a big meal – REALLY? It’s about spending quality time with your family and friends, about giving thanks for what you have (as in your family and friends – not material things). So many people love Thanksgiving because the next day is BLACK FRIDAY and they can get up at o’dark thirty and go shopping for Christmas.
Christmas – a time meant to celebrate the birth of Christ but has now become more about Santa Clause and presents. You can’t even say Merry Christmas now without offending someone – I’m sorry but if you are going to be offended by that then don’t leave your house for the month of December. Why does Christmas have to be about how much money you can spend rather than the important things?
Growing up mama always made sure we had a good Christmas, and yes, as a kid I enjoyed it, but I too was very appreciative of what I had. I never counted all my presents to make sure I had equal or more than I did the year before and it irritates me more than anything else to see kids do that. To me, when kids are counting their gifts then they have not been taught what Christmas is really about. I am so aggravated with how spoiled kids are becoming – getting toy after toy all the time then at Christmas you have to go above and beyond so they have a “good Christmas.”
I remember learning about a friend of mine who got one present on Christmas and was floored that was all she got – but she was very appreciative of it and didn’t complain. Why can’t we all be that way? Make it about being with family rather than material things.
How many times has Christmas ended and kids not even know what they got because they got so much? How many toys are broken on the same day? How many gifts are never taken out of boxes because your kids didn’t like the toy? How much money is thrown away because you are trying to keep up with everyone else?
Now that I have a daughter I want her to grow up knowing the true meaning of these holidays and not about how much STUFF she will get. I don’t want her to expect a toy every time we go shopping or complain if she didn’t get what she wanted. I would much rather give her memories rather than STUFF. I’d rather her think of others first. I want her to be happy and things don’t do that – things are only temporary where family and friends are forever.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Arrogance
Arrogance – something that everyone is guilty of being at one point or another, myself included, but some more so then others. I read something this morning on facebook that made me so angry and immediately wanted to respond with “who the hell do you think you are!” As the time passed I bit my tongue (or fingers in this instance) and really thought about it. Yes this person was out of line and it’s not the first time, but how much better would I be if I said something back? I found myself thinking this person thought they did nothing wrong and were better than everyone else and because of that I was better than them – but am I?
I saw where my mind was going and realized that in my line of thinking I was being just as arrogant as they were. I started to worry if I had ever been so downright arrogant to post something for everyone to see what an ass I really was – I hope not. I know I have my faults and I know sometimes I do think I am better than others, but it’s not because of what they do or don’t do – but how they act. I’ve always prided myself for being nice to others; no matter how nasty they were to me and how quickly I forgave them. I often put myself in other people’s shoes so I am not so quick to judge them – after all, who am I to judge?
In light of my new hate for arrogance I have placed myself on a higher standard – I don’t want to be that way, I don’t want people to look at me and ask “who the hell do you think you are?” I want to be kind and uplifting to others, not bring them down. I know I am not perfect and I know I still will have weak moments but the effort is there.
I’m just going to add a small note about assumptions – usually if you assume something is about you then you end up making an ass out of yourself but in this case – if you assume I am talking about you – then maybe this will be an ah-ha moment and you will see that maybe you too need to reevaluate what you do or say.
I saw where my mind was going and realized that in my line of thinking I was being just as arrogant as they were. I started to worry if I had ever been so downright arrogant to post something for everyone to see what an ass I really was – I hope not. I know I have my faults and I know sometimes I do think I am better than others, but it’s not because of what they do or don’t do – but how they act. I’ve always prided myself for being nice to others; no matter how nasty they were to me and how quickly I forgave them. I often put myself in other people’s shoes so I am not so quick to judge them – after all, who am I to judge?
In light of my new hate for arrogance I have placed myself on a higher standard – I don’t want to be that way, I don’t want people to look at me and ask “who the hell do you think you are?” I want to be kind and uplifting to others, not bring them down. I know I am not perfect and I know I still will have weak moments but the effort is there.
I’m just going to add a small note about assumptions – usually if you assume something is about you then you end up making an ass out of yourself but in this case – if you assume I am talking about you – then maybe this will be an ah-ha moment and you will see that maybe you too need to reevaluate what you do or say.
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