I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and that the Lord has a plan for good to come from this. So I find myself trying to see where the Lord’s hand is within this crazy up and down situation we’re facing.

Not knowing what counseling to turn to and seeking help from Christian resources, our Youth Pastor, Brian Berry referred us to Family Focus Christian Counseling as a place to start. Counseling hasn’t been a success story for Russ and I in the past, but I’m hoping this will become a positive thing at this time in our lives.

Family Focus Christian Counseling has been a huge resource for us. They not only work with families and individuals for a regular fee, but they do offer a sliding scale option if your income is the only issue in the way of getting help you need. I have to thank the Lord for helping us discover this place and I recommend anyone needing these services to call them up and see what they can do to help your unique situation.

The only thing I personally can’t stand about counseling is that it forces you to face the harsh reality of who you may be, who your spouse my be, and your dysfunctions that need to be worked on. I just hope hashing out the problems don’t make things worse at home.

This election will be changing AMERICA as we’ve all ever known it.

Be careful Who & What beliefs you elect into Office, because you may wish you never opened Pandora’s Box. Really evaluate who will be doing the changing….It’s not the government. If you vote for Obama, the people will be changing to the Government’s socialistic and dictatorship type standards. Not only will Our country face financial crisis at all income levels, but we may even face the worst racial crisis ever seen before.

I actually have spare change since Bush’s tax reforms and now Obama threatens to take even that away. No use trying to have a retirement fund, participate in the stock market, or even sell your home to make a profit–if Obama is elected. Obama wants a huge percent of that money you may earn. I’m already experiencing negative equity on my home, are you? If I sell and he wants what 28% or more on my sale, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. What is that all about?

Is Obama using his Drug Dealer profit manipulation skills in presenting these new taxes? Ooooh wait a minute, Obama won’t answer that question if he was ever a Drug Dealer or not. If you weren’t one, wouldn’t you clear that issue up right away? I would.

2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COMPARISON TALKING POINTS

Candidates are:

JOHN McCAIN
BARACK OBAMA

Favors new drilling offshore US
McCain - Yes
Obama - No

Will appoint judges who interpret the law not make it
McCain - Yes
Obama - No

Served in the US Armed Forces
McCain - Yes
Obama - No

Amount of time served in the US Senate
McCain - 22 YEARS
Obama - 173 DAYS

Will institute a socialized national health care plan
McCain - No
Obama - Yes

Supports abortion throughout the pregnancy, even partial birth abortion
McCain - No
Obama - Yes

Would pull troops out of Iraq immediately
McCain - No
Obama - Yes

Supports gun ownership rights
McCain - Yes
Obama - No

Supports homosexual marriage
McCain - No
Obama - Yes

Proposed programs will mean a huge tax increase
McCain - No
Obama - Yes

Voted against making English the official language
McCain - No
Obama - Yes

Voted to give Social Security benefits to illegals
McCain - No
Obama - Yes

CAPITAL GAINS TAX

MCCAIN
0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.

OBAMA
28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.)

DIVIDEND TAX

MCCAIN
15% (no change)

OBAMA
39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that ‘Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.’)

INCOME TAX

MCCAIN
(no changes)
Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $31,250

OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
Single making 30K - tax $8,400
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Married making 60K - tax $16,800
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 125K - tax $38,750
Under Obama, your taxes could almost double!
OUUUCHHH that’ll hurt me and probably YOU a lot!!!!

INHERITANCE TAX

MCCAIN
- 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)

OBAMA
Restore the inheritance tax
Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.

NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA

New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren’t high enough already) New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least….New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!

You can verify the above at the following web sites:

http://elections.foxnews.com/?s=proposed+taxes
http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/politics/articles/mccain_obama_offer_different_visions_on_taxes.html
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/barack_obama/
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/john_mccain/

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/06/was_obama_a_muslim.html

Last night was the first class. Get this…No Teaching, just a venting session. The class is called Effective Parenting Techniques. You would think they would discuss parenting techniques at least. Nope…not in this class. It was torturous for 1 hour & 45 minutes straight. The teacher was nice and excused us early. I felt depressed, drained–like the life was sucked out of me. I felt stupider for just enduring such a gripe session.

Worst part for me- I talked to the teacher afterwards to see if all classes are run by the parents talking about whatever they want or is there a point of actually being taught something? She got defensive and blurted this is my style–there isn’t teaching just group talking. I asked her how do you learn anything? All she could say is this is my style.

She had a great Topic Outline, but no one stayed on topic at all. It was torture listening to a black woman complaint about being forced to take the class, her son lied about her hitting him, she can’t understand why even though in her past her kids were taken from her home because she hit them, but don’t you know she’s a new person. Just the way she talked you could tell she was a verbally abusive woman to everyone she comes in contact with. Her son is 11-years old, she’s a single mom raising 3 children, works hard, gives them every material thing they want, etc & so on.

Another woman told us how to Pretend you are a Foster Parent and you can get free certificates for all kinds of classes. Do it!! The courts will love all the phony certificates. WhaT is she thinking??? Don’t you dare speak up about it being wrong to lie for a certificate though.

Yet another woman took a half hour sharing her life’s soap opera of husband’s affairs, children’s birth defects (due to drugs not sure), losing her children to cps before and again, etc etc etc.

Yes, I have empathy, but I have my own issues to work through. I hoped to be educated on new techniques of parenting that is effective. This is a crock to think that will happen in these classes. Ok, I realize a little time to talk can be good, not for 2-hours straight.

Does the court realize that Parents aren’t being taught anything, just tortured mentally with other people’s drama? The teacher had a great outline, but no depth into the big words. Explain what democratic, permissive, or authoritarian is. What balance is appropriate? How a healthy relationship should look. Don’t let parents that clearly aren’t successful continue their habits thinking it works for me so it’s good. Discuss alternatives to spanking and how to implement it. Teach what is appropriate words to say to your child.

Heck…one person felt they can degrade their child with witty put downs and it’s good, they are consistent with them, and active in their childs life to not miss an opportunity to do that. What??? It’s a put down. Just because you think it’s funny, doesn’t make it good. What message are you sending your child? Negative ideas about themselves–like he’s stupid, worthless,etc. The teachers comment is you have to figure out what works for you. What about some guidelines fir people that think they’re doing right and don’t realize they’re not. Too controversial to discuss what is right from wrong?

I’m just blown away how this can qualify to the courts as a class to learn something useful.
Well, I’ll be searching for a different class.

If you find that it’s just READING in general that you don’t like doing, at the least download the FREE podcast to listen to the Word each day. Subscribe to the daily audio bible on itunes or even subscribe to in through your favorite pod-cast catcher.

The 1-Year Daily Audio Bible has been a wonderful blessing to me. I’ve downloaded the whole selection on my itunes podcast section to access anytime. I also like keeping the current week’s daily verses available on my iPhones iPod section to take along with me anywhere. Keeping the Lord’s Word in your mind is critical to daily living. Believe it or not, the Lord brings opportunities your way daily that seem to relate to what you read or listened to.

This shouldn’t be drudgery to do. The Lord talks to you through His Word. It reaches your deepest parts in ways you won’t understand until you read the Word. Your faith will increase greatly hearing about what Jesus did for us and how much he Loves us. Your heart will be touched…Let Jesus speak to your heart through hearing the Word and/or Reading the Word. It becomes life changing.

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It’s not as easy as you think to find a job now-a-days. With the way the economy is going, businesses down-sizing or not re-hiring vacant positions, that leaves fewer jobs out there for the average teenager. There is actual competition for the fast food jobs and minimum wage jobs from College Grads, people Over 40 with families, etc. Never thought those industries would become careers for people as a second job just to survive. Don’t get me wrong, a job is a job. Everyone needs to do what they need to do to provide for their families.

Worse part about looking for a job, isn’t putting the applications in, but waiting to be responded to from the Employer. Even if its a simple response to let waiting & hoping applicants know that the job was filled already.

Luke put in an application for Vons before school was out and was just called, literally 3 months later, for an interview. The Manager led Luke to believe he had a great chance to be hired and she’ll call the person she chose that night with the news. Well, Luke didn’t get called and he was disappointed. Russ and I suggested calling the Manager and seeing if she really decided who to hire and let her know he’s still very interested in the position at Von’s if she didn’t decide yet. Again, she lead him on that she forgot to call, she was really busy, and the job is between Luke and one other person. She said she’d make a decision that night. No call. So 2-days later, Luke decided to go into the store to say “HI” to the manager and see if she made a decision yet as well as remind her of his interest in the job. This time she finally told him she hired a full-time employee. So even when you think you’ve possibly got the job…hands down…that may not be the case.

Better yet, the Medical Provider doesn’t have to tell you if anything is wrong with your child either, if your child requests so. Whether you take your child to the doctor or not, if your child doesn’t give permission to the doctor to tell you about their health…the doctors don’t have to tell you one thing about your child’s health. Most doctors will because they’re rational about the situation, but quite a few are getting on the kick of tormenting parents and pushing the issue…just because they can.

Who put this law in place? How ridiculous is that?

Biggest question I really have is who is this privacy law really protecting?

It isn’t the minor child. A child that young isn’t fully aware of the consequences of tests, surgeries (abortion), medications, or even their own family health history to be informed enough to make a logical decision about serious health issues. So why is this law even in place? Why are minors given Parental Rights, especially when they don’t have these rights for anything else in society.

I honestly feel that this law is protecting Child Molesters and abusive people that the minor doesn’t know how to deal with so they keep things secretive and allow the abuses to be hidden and continue.

Why this infuriates me is because of what I just recently experienced with my own son’s medical care.

View some other interesting articles on Medical Billing Training and the topic of HIPAA.
My son, Luke, has been suffering with high blood pressure for quite a few months now. We saw a little bit of the power play in the doctor’s office when we took him to nephrology. Then she realized we were there to help Luke and Luke wanted our help so she gave me test results and talked to me about what she wanted to do for Luke. No problems yet.

So we go to the lab for Luke to get Lab work, check him in, and then requested a printout of what lab tests we were billed for and applying our co-pay to. The Lab representative refused to give us that information because of the minor privacy law. So my son requested the information and also gave permission for her to give it to us, but that still wasn’t good enough for the Lab representative. I was extremely frustrated how Kaiser expects us Parents to blindly pay for medical treatment of our child without some kind of proof of what is being done. The situation elevated, especially since our son wanted us to have the information too there should be no problem. Russ went to the counter and his wallet accidentally dropped on the counter as he was taking out his card. The woman hysterically jumps from the counter and calls security. How crazy is that? Come on now. He was getting his credit card out to ask for a refund of what we paid for until we can get documentation of what was been tested for.

There is something wrong with this system. How do you fight back when government officials are blindsiding the public with laws that are hindering being a parent?