Limited Income

Ok....I am really having issues with all the hype about Social Security not getting a cost of living increase this year. On one hand, an extra couple of dollars each week is not going to give anyone a more comfortable budget. Even a 2% raise totaling an average of $20 each month is not going to move anyone into another tax bracket. On the other hand, the $250 lump sum payment that is being proposed for certain groups of individuals is $10 more per year than that 2% raise everyone is complaining about not getting.

Most individuals will blow $5 each week on things they do NOT need even when they live on the tightest of budgets. That payment of $250 in a lump sum could help someone repair an appliance or a car.

I fully understand the impact of a cost of living increase. My husband's military retirement increases happen every year. And every year we laugh at those extra pennies - not that we don't want them, they just seem so insignificant. Yet, over the years they really have added up.

I feel for those living under the thumb of Social Security but I also feel for the thousands of individuals who have lost their jobs and homes. I for one am extremely grateful for all that I have.

One must sit back and question the vast intelligence of our government when they passed the "Cash for Clunkers" program. Did they actually stop and think about who might pay for it in the long run? What about all these other "helpful" programs our government leaders are rushing to pass. If we had not had "Cash for Clunkers", we might be able to give Social Security the cash flow it needs.....HMMMMM. Just thinkin' out loud.

Dealing with the Bureaucracy

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to prove that a 7 year old was in a certain place at a certain time over 48 years ago! And to top it all off, the time window is 30 days during the summer months so school records don't really count.

That is what we have been facing since we found out my husband's diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma. He qualifies as a "Downwinder" from the nuclear testing our wonderful government did in the 50's and 60's in Nevada. The government is responsible and they admit it.....we just have to PROVE IT! Multiple Myeloma is a cancer proven to be directly related to the radiation exposure.

http://ruralhealth.hrsa.gov/radiationexposure/

We are getting closer, but its amazing in this day and age of "information" that it wasn't really that important 40 years ago to keep every bit of "information" and we survived! The IRS doesn't even keep information that long - I know because we tried. The last bit of information we need just may be in finding his parent's employment records if they exist anywhere.....wish us luck because we will need it!

Introduction to Slavery

This passage came to me via email and I am not sure of its origin but it is worthy of sharing with all.

Sermon from a church in Virginia recently --- Genesis 47: 13-27

So we see that economic hard times fell upon Egypt , and the people turned to the government of Pharaoh to deal with this for them. And Pharaoh nationalized the grain harvest, and placed the grain in great storehouses that he had built. So the people brought their money to Pharaoh, like a great tax increase, and gave it all to him willingly in return for grain. And this went on until their money ran out, and they were hungry again.

So when they went to Pharaoh after that, they brought their livestock - their cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their donkey - to barter for grain, and verse 17 says that only took them through the end of that year.

But the famine wasn't over, was it?

So the next year, the people came before Pharaoh and admitted they had nothing left, except their land and their own lives. "There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. "So they surrendered their homes, their land, and their real estate to Pharaoh's government, and then sold themselves into slavery to him, in return for grain.

What can we learn from this, brothers and sisters?

That turning to the government instead of to God to be our provider in hard times only leads to slavery? Yes. That the only reason government wants to be our provider is to also become our master? Yes.

But look how that passage ends, brothers and sisters! Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen . And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. "God provided for His people, just as He always has! They didn't end up giving all their possessions to the government, no, it says they gained possessions!

But I also tell you a great truth today, and an ominous one. We see the same thing happening today - the government today wants to "share the wealth" once again, to take it from us and redistribute it back to us. It wants to take control of healthcare, just as it has taken control of education, and ration it back to us, and when government rations it, then government decides who gets it, and how much, and what kind.

And if we go along with it, and do it willingly, then we will wind up no differently than the people of Egypt did four thousand years ago - as slaves to the government, and as slaves to our leaders.

What Mr. Obama's government is doing now is no different from what Pharaoh's government did then, and it will end the same. And a lot of people like to call Mr. Obama a "Messiah," don't they? Is he a Messiah? A savior? Didn't the Egyptians say, after Pharaoh made them his slaves, "You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh"?

Well, I tell you this - I know the Messiah; the Messiah is a friend of mine; and Mr. Obama is no Messiah! No, brothers and sisters, if Mr. Obama is a character from the Bible, then he is Pharaoh.

Bow with me in prayer, if you will.

Lord, You alone are worthy to be served, and we rely on You, and You alone. We confess that the government is not our deliverer, and never rightly will be. We read in the eighth chapter of 1 Samuel, when Samuel warned the people of what a ruler would do, where it says "And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." And Lord, we acknowledge that day has come. We cry out to you because of the ruler that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation. Lord, we pray for this nation. We pray for revival, and we pray for deliverance from those who would be our masters.

Give us hearts to seek You and hands to serve You, and protect Your people from the atrocities of Pharaoh's government.

In God we Trust!!

That pretty much says it all! Have a great Sunday!

Cash for Cars? HA!

My two cents.....Ok, this whole Cash for Cars thing sounded great but our incompetent government has run out of money for it in less than a week! Seriously, what were they thinking?!? I heard somewhere and I don't remember where, that they mighty government only expected about 12 individuals to take part in the program per participating dealer. What they got were several hundred per dealer! I think someone will be rethinking their figures.

Honestly that is what we get for expecting our government to be our heros. Government has gotten so large that it is no longer a true democracy. We moved out of that after the Great Depression. All those programs introduced did help people but it also created a dependance upon our government that will never be broken. I know that the numbers that are kicked out to the public as information on the national debt, GDP, GNP, etc are not accurate....How on earth could they be? There are parts of the government infrastructure that spend money that nobody sees and they like it that way. They feed us the information they think we want to hear and it placates the majority.

I actually cringe at the thought of our government managing an entire healthcare system! I have experienced large hospitals and very small hospitals and received the same care from both whether it be good or bad. I have worked for large companies and small ones and have seen the pros and cons of each. It is true that it is harder to get things approved when you have to go through a longer chain of command. Our government creates chains that resemble circles rather than straight paths to a goal.

I personally believe that if they take the free enterprise system out of our healthcare choices they will take the FREE out of our country. If people don't have to work for something and it is just handed to them it creates dependance. Our country was not founded on the government running the people. IT WAS FOUNDED ON THE PEOPLE RUNNING THE GOVERNMENT!

Switching gears...Everything seems pretty calm right now in our house. Which makes me conclude that life is fixing to get crazy and change all that. I have managed to organize a few things and am even contemplating shampooing the carpets...I know, don't rush things! My husband tells me to pace myself but when I'm on a roll I just want to keep on going because it feels good to get all this done. I just have so many things I want to do and when I have time to do them it seems logical to bust out and get busy!

School will be starting soon as well. I has seemed like such a short summer to all of us that I really avoid mentioning that 6-letter word. I am trying to come up with fun things to do that aren't too far from home. My husband can't join us for most things but I am trying to be creative. It does help that the two teenagers have plenty of friends in our own neighborhood and I don't have to shuttle them around. They are happy to be hanging out with their friends after being at "The Grandparent's House" for a month.

I plan on spending part of today to find a nice outdoor cafe to take my hubby to for our anniversary tomorrow. He can't be inside public places yet, but an outdoor setting would be okay! I am excited to be planning our 13th Anniversary dinner together. We have been through a LOT in those years and we will probably face much more....but together we can do anything!