You Are Valuable

Luke 12:22-26- And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?"

Ephesians 3:20-21 - Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Dear God, I am glad I am valuable to You, but sometimes I feel like I am not valuable to anyone, especially when the news keeps saying the republicans are back at their old game of hate for the sick who need insurance the most. They are still threatening to repeal the ACA because they hate the color of the president's skin. I finally have a chance at truly getting better so I can work at some point and the republicans want to destroy it before I even get it. It is not fair and it is not what YOU would desire at all. It goes against what You said in Matthew 25:31-46 when Jesus spoke about how to treat the least of these and how the way that they are treated is the way He is treated. I guess that means the republicans would even deny Jesus affordable acces to healthcare too. Scary. But they also don't understand that it is illegal under another law. Many people who have pre-existing are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the ACA, with the pre-existing conditions clause, further extends the rights under the ADA that have always been there but that insurers refused to allow until the ACA extended the extra protection to them. People like me who have private insurance and finally have more comprehensive plans finally have a chance of getting better and some of us may even finally have a chance to work at some point, even if just part time. But the republicans do not want to hear the truth, they cannot stand the truth. They do not care how many people they hurt. They just hate the president and have hated him ever since he took their plan and ran with it to still get it passed. Now, we see the plan the republicans have and it is nothing but repeal and screw the people who are disabled because of their pre-existing conditions. They apparently want us to die so we are no longer a burden to them. Well, I didn't fight all these years for nothing. I will fight against every single one of them. And if they cause me to lose my insurance, I will show up on their doorsteps and insist they must allow my family to move in with them because they caused a veteran and a disabled person to end up going bankrupt to medical costs caused by their disruption and if they refuse that they are committing treason against this country because they caused a veteran to become homeless. As long as the current president is in office, the ACA is protected territory, and like he said, we don't negotiate with terrorists. The republicans are already to shut down the government again if they can't repeal the ACA. Well, that is a breach of contract with the veterans and the disabled. And I think it is time that Americans enter into class action lawsuit against them for the damages they keep inflicting. Yes, I will know them by their fruit, and although they say they are Christians, their actions don't show it. Matthew 25:31-46. Which candidates in my area are for the least of these? Mark Lester and Parker Griffith and seems to be anyone but a republican this year. God, I am glad you value me though. That does make me feel better in light of all the negativity out there. Help me value myself more. Thank You. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

You Are My Child

Psalm 46:10 - "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

I John 3:2 - Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

Dear God, in today's lesson, You said do not be like the Pharisees who made up their own rules and to just relax in Your peace. So basically Pharisees were legalists? And republicans and especially that extremist tea party are like Pharisees? They sure do make up a lot of rules that You did NOT make. They demand on having the right to carry guns while also being stupid and self-entitled by trying to take healthcare from those who are less fortunate. Well, frankly, if they get to keep their guns, then I get to keep my healthcare and my insurance so that when one them stupidly shoots off their gun, I have medical treatment that I will not lose my home over. Of course, then they would be sitting in jail for life for shooting me and almost killing me and they would be responsible for making sure those hospital bills are paid because it was their fault to start with and it would not be my fault if out of their hate for the president I lost my insurance after eight years of fighting to be able to have better insurance because I already knew my old plan was junk even before the media started calling those plans junk. I was just never allowed to get new and more comprehensive insurance or even dental insurance until the ACA came along because before the ACA came along, insurance companies were allowed to violate the ADA and discriminate against people with disabilities. Well, God, I know what I have to do tomorrow regarding the primaries, and my mom might do the same thing. I have prayed through Matthew 25 and Romans 13 and some of the other passages I have journeyed through, and I feel at peace with my decision. Just move through the hearts and minds of other evangelical Christians in the district and give them the wisdom and the insight to make the right decision in the best interest of the least of these as well. Thank You for Your peace. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Duck Dynasty and Other Religious Leaders Calling on Republicans to Stop the Immorality

I saw two articles just yesterday. Both struck me as quite interesting. One was headlined about the main guy fro Duck Dynasty calling on the republicans to get godly and the other was about some of the more evangelical pastors from a variety of places on a conference call during which they all said the same thing regarding the need to expand Medicaid and stop trying to repeal the ACA. I told my mother that things were getting interesting when those things happen because it means the moral compass of the republicans has gone off the wrong end. Look, just because they do not like abortiions or homosexuality, that should not be the reasons they need to hyperfocus and destroy America overall. As Kirk acameron said recently, churches are too hyperfocused on homosexuality and not focusing enough on the other types of sexual immorality, like adultery or premarital sex or divorce. And for that matter, some Christians are too hyperfocused on abortion. Do ACA compliant insurance policies allow abortion? In many cases, no, except when the life of the mother is endangered. Just the other day, I read an article about a Christian doctor who does perform abortions. Why? As he put it, some of the women coming to him are quite desperate. They are poor and young. And they feel they have no other choice. I shared the article and explained that people need to read it before they judge him. Here is why I have a problem with the hyperfocus on abortion:

1. Christians who hyperfocus on abortion are also judging women who seek abortions rather than taking in consideration the reasons why they seek abortions and addressing those problems. Until we address those problems, be it tightening up and increasing SNAP benefits or raising the minimum wage (1938 law established this to be a LIVING WAGE) or making sure the women have insurance which involves tightening up and strengthening the ACA rather than fighting against it, these women will continue to seek out abortions no matter how many laws the republicans pass trying to outlaw them again.

2. Christians who hyperfocus on abortion are thing to add words to God's words. Where on Matthew 25:31-46 does it say that the least of these includes the unborn? Nowhere. Though I am unclear of ALL the reasons as to why that might be, I will say this as a warning. DO NOT ADD WORDS TO ANY PART OF THE BIBLE. If the words are not explicitly there, then they are not there. Adding to the Bible by twisting it to suit your own way of thinking is a sin. And it is often called legalism. Abortion might be classified as murder and that is already addressed in the Bible. But it still does not make it right for you to judge the woman who seeks out abortion or assume that the unborn are the least of these when the unborn are not included in that passage. But they hyperfocus on that so much they lose their compassion to those who are mentioned as evidenced by the fact that the republicans just cut benefits to veterans (while claiming they are patriotic) many of whom are sick and poor, they cut benefits to SNAP and have now even started requiring the poor to pee in cups before they can get help (many SNAP recipients are poor, hungry, disabled, elderly, and veterans and yes, even active duty military), they keep trying to take away insurance and access to healthcare (impacts the sick and the poor), and well, basically, their moral compass is off.

3. Christians who hyperfocus on either abortion or homosexuality tend to be small-minded and judgmental. Note: I said TEND TO BE. They also tend to always argue and start conflicts. 

So my stance going into the primaries this year is still on the premise of Matthew 25:31-46. In my district 6 which is hotly contested, Mathis, Brooks, DeMarco, and the rest of the republicans have failed the litmus test. Do they have the best interest of the sick in mind? No. They have each said they plan to fight Obama and repeal the ACA. They do not and will not represent me and they are being disobedient to God on this because they are hateful men. Romans 13 says we are to respect our elected leaders whom God appointed. And they have no respect whatsoever if all they are going to do is fight against the president when their job is supposed to be to work with the president in the first place. If they are not going to do the job they are supposed to do, then they should not even be running! That is like a teacher saying, okay, just give me a classroom but I will not teach the students anything or a brain surgeon saying, okay, give me an operating room, but I will not do surgery on the brain as I am supposed to, instead, I will do surgery on the foot. Same logic. When someone come a into wanting a job saying they are not going to do the job they are supposed to do, they do not get hired. When someone who has that mindset somehow gets the job anyway, but then does not do their job, they get fired. 

This is a call on all Alabama District 6, Shelby county residents. If you are seriously considering voting for any of the republican candidates but you are a Christian, you need to STOP! And think through everything I have said. If you fail, you not only let God down, but you assault Jesus, and you are equally guilty when someone who still needs insurance dies or when someone who has new insurance because of the ACA dies because they lose their insurance after all the fights to make sure they can get it and keep it. Do not make their fight futile because of your small-mindedness. 

1. I do not condone the homosexual lifestyle. I do consider it a sin along with adultery and premarital sex.

2. I do not like abortions. But it is not my place to judge the woman who seeks one. In our particular country, we have a party of old, rich, narcissistic, sexist pigs who keep trying to block access to birth control and access to food for the hungry and poor and access to healthcare. Some of these women cannot get healthcare because they have no resources to do so. Their pregnancies could have been prevented, but because they could not afford to see the doctor, they could not get birth control. Because they have no resources, they cannot feed the baby once it is born. And all those pigs care about is forcing the woman to carry a baby she cannot care for and did not plan on but then the baby and the mother will not have food or healthcare after it comes out anyway. Yet they say they are pro life when they are only pro birth. 

3. I hate guns. And yes, I know I did not mention this in this post before, but I have already written about the latest killing. I am not saying that they need to ban them, but they sure need tighter controls and restrictions on them. In the latest killing, that would not have prevented the knives, but limiting legal access to guns could have helped some. However, here is my trade off republicans: You can keep your guns, but only if I can keep my insurance and my healthcare (thank you ACA). Because here's the thing, all insurances under the ACA cover mental health treatment! Want to prevent another incident? Stop wasting tax dollars trying to repeal the ACA! Or maybe we need to have everyone who is trying to repeal it evaluated for mental illnesses? 

4. And if I ever go into politics myself, I will be cleaning up the entire system! No mudslinging, no lies, no pork in the budgets, no nonsense, and no whiny brats throwing temper tantrums that end up hurting veterans, elderly, disabled, sick or poor. Watch out America. I may end up being the first ever autistic president or vice president. And I will not take the nonsense.

--Signed a convert from republican who is still republican at heart, but cannot morally or biblically elect the new republicans because they violate too much of scripture 

How Can We Make Things Better?

Whether a person carries a diagnosis or not should not be a factor when justifying why someone did something. The killings lack justification. There is no reason why others should have been killed. The fact that he had Asperger's is irrelevant except to help explain that due to having it, he had social awkwardness and was more than likely very aware of this fact which likely led to him being more vulnerable to depression and anxiety. He was exposed to a lot of sexual content early in his teenage years. He became fixated on sex. He thought if he did not have sex he was incomplete as a person. And maybe as the leader of Key Ministry stated in his article, that is where we need to also look for answers. Do not blame Asperger's though. 

How can we possibly keep these tragic events from happening again?

Remove the stigmas of being diagnosed with conditions, be they mental health issues or be they learning issues or other brain processing issues. And technically speaking, even though autism spectrum disorder is in the DSM, it is not a mental illness. It is a condition that has to do with the brain and that is the reason psychologists test and diagnose it. Psyche means brain. 

Work to preserve the Affordable Care Act which is working to address the accessibility of mental health care. Matter if fact, one of the ten essential health benefits as set in place by the ACA is mental health related and covers behavioral health. People without insurance to cover this area are less likely to seek help before something happens. And of the ACA were repealed, then access is no longer there if people lose their insurance again. 

Remove guns from the hands of the general public. Yes, you read that correctly. The second amendment right to bear arms was referring to the right to bear arms as a militia to protect the country. At the time it was written, America was a country at war on its own soil. Now since part of this recent killing involved stabbing, there is nothing we can do to change access to knives. Anyone could grab a kitchen knife and do that.

Some of the worst comments I have seen on articles today: 

We need to put everyone with that diagnosis on a watch list.

We need to lock all people with that condition up because they are all potential killers.

Okay, here is the flaw to this logic and reasoning:

What if I were to say that we should put all blonde people under 5 foot 7 inches on a watch list?

Or, what if I said we should lock up all white men who wear black suits because they could be potential killers?

Faulty logic, right? And unfair judgment?

Well, it is no different than what these people have reasoned out! Matter of fact, it the exact same logic!

Essentially, ANY person could have done what he did. It is just pure coincidence that he also happens to have had Asperger's AND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. 

How can we as a society address this?

I already laid out some ways, but I would further add that regardless of the age of the individual, we need to strengthen the ability of concerned individuals who bring up their fears about an individual to authorities to communicate this and these concerns need to be taken seriously. Case in point, an Alabama man was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment after posting videos he took while driving of him basically threatening bicyclists as he passed them after he became enraged at having to slow down until he could safely pass them. He was not arrested so much for the threats as he was for the act of videoing while driving. But threats are not protected speech. They have to be taken seriously. This guy made videos stating what his intended actions were going to be regaridng this case. Did authorities not do enough? Did YouTube not do enough? Why were flags not raised when he posted the video of his intent to hurt people?

The professionals he was seeing decided that there was nothing they could do even though family expressed concerns. This evidences that the mental health care system is very broken. They could have done more. Why didn't they?

All I could say before was NOT AGAIN. Why? Because it seems that lately when one of these killings takes place, people immediately judge people who have autism or Asperger's (which is no longer a diagnosis). Just because some killers have had autism, that does not mean that all killers have autism. And just because some people with autism went in mass killings that does not mean that all people with autism will. Matter of fact, quite the opposite. Studies and research have shown time and again that individuals on the spectrum are more likely to be the victims than the perpetrator. 

The Autism Society of America is a great resource for more information related to this post. And right now, I trust them the most. So I encourage all those reading to refer to them. I posted the link to their statement earlier today in my previous post. 

Saying anything otherwise is just hurting the autism community as we fight not only to remove stigmas and barriers but fight for acceptance in our communities. We are people who want jobs, education, health care, recreation, and churches too. Spreading this misinformation is hurting our chances. So please do research before you spread the misinformation further. 

Also, please note that any media organization or journalist spreading such misinformation is acting irresponsibly and unethically as the first rules of journalism is to report the truth and do no harm. 

One of My Days

I Thessalonians 5:18 - ...give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I Peter 5:6-7 - Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Dear God, oh boy, I certainly have had plenty of those "one of THOSE days!" And apparently I am about to go into one of those days today. My fidget spiral wrist key ring just gave the final snap. Now I have to get a new one that I might not the color of as well, but here is where I can give You the worry and let You flip the script and turn it all around: they do not cost too much to replace and are abundantly available if you know where to find them. But God, I am still struggling with one of the worst of those days. The one that shattered my heart and crushed my spirit. Lead me through the letter. Lead me through the chart that evidences that I did learn something from all that peace-making stuff they themselves failed to practice and adhere to. Oh, and God, seriously, help us find the stinking mouse, rat, squirrel, or kangaroo that is scratching through my walls again even just this morning! He/she/it has been driving me crazy for the past three or four months now! Somehow it got into the walls after finding itself an entry either through the attic or somewhere behind the kitchen dishwasher that we never use and under the cabinetry. Things are getting very frustrating with that too. Either the poison that was suggested for us to use isn't doing any good (they said it would kill them without making them stink) or they are not attracted to it in the first place because it is the wrong kind of creature. Oh, and God, showing my sense of humor again, but all appointments before 10 in the morning should be banned by law. My brain is not functioning until then anyway. Also, God, I have a thank You from yesterday. The shoulder was not dislocated, though now I am suspicious of the elbow, but the doctor said it was somehow just pulled muscles and has prescribed physical therapy (cough cough torture). I was sad that I had to reschedule the occupational therapy though because of not knowing exactly how the shot was going to impact me. But it was a good thing since the shot made my heartbeat irregularly which led to a nasty high blood pressure as opposed to my normally low blood pressure. I have been quite asthmatic this week as well. And some people do not understand how much impact asthma can have on someone unless they have ever experienced it themselves. God, one last thing, our "representatives" are not working for us anymore. Based on Matthew 25:31-46, I do feel that I cannot vote for any republican this year that runs against the Affordable Care Act, as even the nuns have said, that with the exception of the fact that they apparently do not believe on birth control, would be unbiblical to repeal and the nuns have also said the Paul Ryan budget is unChristianlike (it was full of hate for the least of these and even went as far as to strip away veteran's healthcare). Please open the minds and the eyes of the people going into elections this year so that Christians, in particular, will make the wisest decisions based on Matthew 25:31-46. Look, I do not wish to live in a society full of goats! And I am actually starting to feel flattered by the derogatory use of the word "sheeple!. I would rather be a sheep than be a goat! It means I am doing what is right for the least of these, which is good since I am one of the least of these! Even the new pope is exemplifying what Jesus did and has even praised Obama for his efforts as well. But see, God, here is where the politicians have also failed other than wasting tax dollars trying to repeal the ACA more than fifty times (someone take the dead horse away from them already), they want to cut social safety nets while at the same time deny an increase in minimum wage (which was established to be a living wage). Some people have accused those making minimum wage of being uneducated (many of them have college degrees and lots of them work in government sector jobs and yes, shocker, fast food (McDonald's has toyed with requiring college degrees to work here)) or worse, called them lazy and unskilled. Excuse me God, but I will say based on firsthand experience I out up with more and developed more skills as a result of fast food than any of the positions I held longer. But fast food is not an appropriate job for me anymore because of my disabilities. That doesn't make me lazy. It just means I have learned what kind of jobs are not appropriate and I haven't found an appropriate one yet. But doors are opening.... Anyway, that is lot. Thank You God for turning one if those days into whatever You have in mind and even using them for good, even if I have not seen it yet. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Hold Me by Jamie-Grace with TobyMac (YouTube)

I love, I love, I love, I love the way You hold me

I love, I love, I love, I love the way You hold me

I love, I love, I love, I love the way You hold me

I love, I love, I love, I love the way You, the way. You

I've had a long day, I just wanna relax

Don't have time for my friends, no time for chit chat

Problems at my job, wonderin' what to do

I know I should be working but I'm thinking of You

Just when I feel this crazy world is gonna bring me down

That's when Your smile comes around

Oh, I love the way You hold me, by my side You'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love the way You hold me, in Your arms I'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love You more than he words in my brain can express

I can't imagine even loving You less

Lord, I love the way. You hold me

Whoa, oh I love the way You hold me

Whoa, oh

Well ya, took my day and You flipped it around

Calmed the tidal wave and put my feet on the ground

Forever in my heart, always on my mind

It's crazy how I think about You all of the time

And just when I think I'm 'bout to figure You out

You make me wanna scream and shout

I love the way You hold me, by my side You'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love the way You hold me, in Your arms I'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love You more than the words in my brain can express

I can't imagine even loving You less

Lord, I love the way You hold me

Whoa, oh, I love the way You hold me

Whoa, oh

I'm so grateful and thankful for all You've done

Wish I could tell You in a short story or poem

But all I have is my voice and this guitar

And You have my heart

Oh, I love the way You hold me, by my side You'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love the way You hold me, in Your arms I'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love the way You hold me, by my side You'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love the way You hold me, in Your arms I'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love You more than the words in my brain can express

I can't imagine even loving you less

Lord, I love the way You hold me

Whoa, oh, I love the way You hold me

Whoa, oh

Oh, I love

I love, I love, I love, I love the way You hold me

I love, I love, I love, I love the way You hold me

I love, I love, I love, I love the way You hold me, hold me, hold me

Let It Go by Idina Menzel (YouTube)

The snow glows white on the mountain tonight

Not a footprint to be seen

A kingdom of isolation,

And it looks I'm the queen.

The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside

Couldn't keep it, heaven knows I tried

Don't let them in, don't let them set

Be the good girl you always have to be

Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know

Well, now they know

Let it go, let it go

Can't hold it back anymore

Let it go, let it go

Turn away and slam the door

I don't care 

What they're going to say

Let the storm rage on,

The cold never bothered me anyway

It's funny how some distanev

Makes everything seem small

And the fears that once controlled me

Can't get to me at all

It's time to see what I can do

To test the limits and break through

No right, no wrong, no rules for me

I'm free

Let it go, let it go

I am one with the wind and sky

Let it go, let it go

You'll never see me cry

Here I stand

And here I'll stay

Let the storm rage on

My power flurries through the air into the ground

My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around

And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast

I'm never going back,

The past is in the past

Let it go, let it go

And I'll rise like the break of dawn

Let it go, let it go

That perfect girl is gone

Here I stand

In the light of day

Let the storm rage on,

The cold never bothered me anyway

Chad Mathis Is a Hypocritical Bigot

He used to my orthopedist, but get this, one day, I called because of a sprained ankle that needed to be looked at, and his office just up and never returned the call. He committed abandonment of a patient. Just like that. No letter. Nothing. I was left scrambling for a new orthopedist. And I found one that was far better. But get this, Chad Mathis now wants to run for Congress. And you would think that being a doctor, he would want patients to have healthcare. But he doesn't. He wants to repeal the ACA. No alternative and viable solutions. And get this. It turns out that he is a bigot too by the true definition of what a bigot is. He has intolerance for opposing viewpoints. Yes, you read that correctly. I called him out for his beliefs on the ACA and I got blocked from being able to comment further. He just suppressed my First Amendment rights to express my opinion, even one that is different from his own. Wow. So here is photographic evidence of what I just experienced.

Observation

Most Republicans on Facebook hate facts. Hardcore facts. How do I know? Because when presented with facts, they call others names. Very hurtful and often unrepeatable names. And they often claim to be Christians. 

Here is a little known fact about new ACA plans: Many do not require consumers to meet any of the deductible before covering services. How do I know? Because I have one. And shh.... But it means that insurance is actually working now! YES! 

Also, I now understand exactly what the phrase JUNK PLAN means. I had a classic example of it this past week as I was at the doctor's office dehydrated and in need of an IV treatment. A junk plan is one that when an emergency strikes isn't really there at all. How do I figure? Let me break it down.

Under the pre-ACA plan, one of two things would have been required for me to receive that life-saving IV fluid. Option one: Pre-approval. In the meantime, I was so dehydrated, my brain was literally becoming unresponsive. Option two: ER and wait until they decide when to finally get me in. Either way, we are talking a bare minimum of $500 in charges if not more.

BUT, get this: Under the new ACA-compliant plan, the oncologist's office ran it through the insurance and found that the treatment was covered at 100% of the allowed amount. I paid my copay. And the deductible did not have to be met first. And here's the kicker: The ACA put the power of care back in the hands of the doctor and the patient and the patient's family! Yes, you read at right! 

By the way, it is almost April, and I have a $500 deductible with my new plan and still have not met it even though I have had a lot of medical care this year. So continues the life of a patient wih chronic health conditions. For the first time in my life as an insured person, I have insurance that actually works for me. 

Now if only my representatives would actually follow suit, everything might have a chance of looking up. Haha.

By the way, I do not consider myself democrat, but I do have more liberal leanings of late. However, I am also conservative in other areas. Stop boxing people in unless they come right out and say what they are. I am a progressive thinking Christian who sees life from a different perspective because of how my life experiences have shaped me. And I follow Matthew 25:31-46 in all my ways. I am a Christian revolutionary if you would. I am a young adult sick of organized religion that has become abusive to the least of these and corrupted by leaders who are selfish and arrogant and refuse to acknowledge their faults when they are pointed out and called to more. That is what I am. 

Anyway, those are my observations today.

A Journey to Trust

Trust is definitely a journey! But I will start with small things and eventually get to bigger things.

I prayed for healing and asked many others to pray for healing as I began to suffer from the dehydration that long term stomach viruses can sometimes cause. By the time I got to the doctor yesterday, even my blood pressure gave the telltale sign that I was too dehydrated to even have routine blood work done. They had to do an IV for hydration.

So now I am going to write something here. I know many of you know that I am a Christian and I do support the Affordable Care Act. Because it is personal for me. 

Before the ACA, I had a BCBS plan from 2003 that was a special open enrollment plan and heavily underwritten. In the end, it became nothing more than a catastrophic plan, essentially only covering major medical expenses. Under that plan, if I had needed the IV therapy I received yesterday, I would have either had to wait for pre-approval (which could have killed me) or been seen through the ER. Now, at that point, it would have cost $300 for facility plus $50 minimum for doctor plus the IV bag, IV tubing, needle, bandages, alcohol wipes. Grand total would have been a minimum of $500. 

But I have an ACA-compliant plan. And it is a gold level plan. And when they ran things through at the doctor's office (oncologist), it came back covered at 100% of the allowed amount. 

The ACA has essentially put the power back in the hands of the doctors and the patients and the patients' families! 

Now I want to express something here. You see a lot of people are intentionally spreading misinformation to dissuade people from signing up and getting insured. 

What the ACA is: 

1. A set of regulations by which all insurance companies must comply.

2. Protection for patients who have pre-existing conditions and for patients who get sick after getting insured. No more denials, no more drops, no more lifetime caps.

3. A list of ten essential benefits, though if I could change this I would make pediatric benefits optional and allow them to be exchanged with adult vision and dental. 

What the ACA is NOT: 

1. Insurance.

What the marketplace is:

1. A key to all available insurance plans in the area in which a person lives.

Who the marketplace is for:

1. People who make a minimum of $11,000 per year.

2. People who do not qualify for Medicaid either because their state did not expand the program or because they are not disabled.

What the marketplace does:

1. It uses the information the applicant provides to determine based on income and family dynamics whether a person is eligible to receive assistance with paying for his or her monthly premiums. 

2. It helps the applicant find the plan that best fits his or her needs and makes suggestions based on the provided information. 

Essentially, the ACA is still driven by the insurance industry. 

I used to think that the only place where Jesus really nails down exactly how the least of these is to be treated was in Matthew 25:31-46 until the other day when I ran into a passage in the book of Psalms where God said almost the exact same thing there too! It was Psalm 72:12-14.

Listen Christian, if you really are a Christian, then you need to throw yourself behind the ACA as much as you can. You need to throw yourself behind SNAP, SSI, SSDI, VA benefits, and any other social program that is helping the least of these. Are there parts of these programs that need to be fixed? Absolutely! But they need to be simply fixed. No more cries of repeals. No more cries of cuts. No more of that. Because when you do that, you are a bully and an abuser of the very people whom God says you need to show the most grace and compassion to.

Look, I experienced abuse and bullying as soon as a church learned that I have autism. It was wrong. And the friend I had knew it was wrong and did nothing about it and ended up committing an act of bullying and abuse himself. Instead of doing what God would have him to do and show me grace in a time when I needed it the most, he threw me under the bus and crushed me when I was already down.

And get this, I could go on being angry about it or I could do the one thing that I am now being advised and instructed to do. I could take the higher road and reach out to him with grace and love and compassion and forgiveness and then turn around and do the same for those people at his church that hurt me. And then I will have to trust that God will work things out. 

And all of this comes from the one simple act of trusting God to help heal me of the stomach virus that sent me into dehydration and caused me to need an IV that was covered by a new ACA compliant plan. 

One more thing: If you are a Christian, take note on this. Either you believe that God is sovereign and therefore everything under heaven that happens is part of His plan and His purpose including the fact that Obama is president and the ACA exists or you do not believe God is sovereign and you have to say it out loud in admission. For if God is sovereign, then you need to remember that Romans 13 says you are to pay your taxes and that you are to respect all authority under heaven that God places over you, and that includes the president, no matter how much you might not like him. Do you believe that God is sovereign? If so, stop the disrespect of the president. Stop calling him anything that is not his name. Stop complaining about a law that is helping millions of Americans every day. Stop complaining that some of your tax dollars are going to help people who may have fallen down on their luck. Just stop. Do you know what will happen if you truly embrace the sovereignty of God? You begin to feel at peace. About everything. And you begin to see God at work. In everything. And that is the most valuable thing that can possibly happen to someone. Trust me. I know. Because I am beginning to experience God in all His sovereignty now. 

No Grumbling, Please

I Corinthians 10:9-10 - We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 

I Thessalonians 5:18 - give hanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

Hebrews 12:28-29 - Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

Dear God, Thank You God. But may I have permission to grumble today? Not about anything I know You would have me to do, but about the fact that I am down with a stomach virus that has not allowed me to absorb anything from what I have eaten or drank. Talk about rapid transit! And more about the fact that there are people on Facebook who claim to be Christians who attacked me yesterday. All I did was express my opinion about something that was posted by the al.com page and why I had that opinion. Then someone launched an attack by asking if I worked or was on government assistance. I didn't have to answer but I explained that I am disabled and was deemed unemployable right now. The next thing I know is that he and someone else had the nastiness enough to call me a lazy moocher! How does being disabled make me lazy?!? The guy who launched the attack claimed I showed ignorance. So I threw it back that his rude and wrongful assumption was what showed ignorance only to get attacked by someone else. How about this fact? In Alabama, the governor out politics over people in his refusal to expand Medicaid. Because of that if a person make less than $11,000, the ACA is not helping him/her. To make $11,000, one must be working. To make that and only have nontaxable income, one would have to make at least $1000 a month. So in Albama, if one has over $2000 in assets, one is screwed. And it doesn't matter if the person is disabled and unable to make income from a job either. Our Medicaid system in Alabama is messed up. It also doesn't favor disabled adults either as it is nothing more than a non-guaranteed supplement for private insurance. But in Alabama, if you end up qualified for Medicaid, suddenly the ACA is not your best friend anymore even if you do still need private insurance because you no longer qualify for assistance like all the other people do. Disabled does NOT equal lazy though and I think anyone who says stupid stuff like that needs to be hung by the toes and made to suffer like those of us who they insult like that. I challenge anyone to actually try to tell me that nonsense to my face. I mean that. But get this, being disabled is not a result of sin either. I was abused for having autism, the autism was treated as though it was a sin. Now part of what You are calling me to do is to rise above and offer Tom and his church another opportunity to REALLY work through the conflict in a way that does NOT involve exclusionary documents but inclusionary techniques and goals and to educate them on YOUR heart toward people like me and why it is important for them to embrace it and not resist it. You are calling me to more and asking me to call them to more. And just like the student in God's Not Dead, it is a mighty calling. And I accept it. And if You are calling me to do it, I know that You bring about results. Thank You. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Using Matthew 25 in Election Years

So, I have a confession. And to make this confession, I have to rewind to when I first came of age to vote. When I came of age, I was eager to register to vote. Why not? It is a rite of passage. Only one problem! I was young and naive and had no clue about the issues or why it should matter. At that time, I was in a Southern Baptist church and I thought I had to vote republican because that is what the church believed. So I voted for Bush. And it turned out to be some of the worst years I have ever seen for this country and my family. Constant struggles. People losing jobs left and right. People losing homes. People going broke for lack of health insurance. Hospitals becoming profit-driven instead of charity-based. Healthcare becoming more of a business than a service. I wrote countless e-mails to the president. Response: We'll fix it. We'll fix it. By the time the elections in 2008 came around, things were at their worst yet and still nothing had been done to fix anything. 

In 2008, two main candidates came up: Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama. Well, here is my confession. 1. I voted for McCain. He proposed the Affordable Care Act which was the answer I was looking for regarding the mess of insurance. He was republican. And I was supposed to vote republican if I am a Christian, right? 2. I figured Obama couldn't win because Amerrica wasn't ready for a black president. 

Well, guess what? Obama won. And guess what else? He passed the very same Affordable Care Act that McCain promised he was going to pass! And guess what else? The republicans let me down big time. The uprising of the tea party whose main mission was to obstruct anything and everything the black man in the president's office tried to accomplish no matter how good or right for the country it is or was ruined the Republican Party for me once and for all.

Here is what I have observed about the tea party:

They tend to be hateful extremists and they do it in the name of Jesus. They have distorted what the Bible says and they have criminalizes the poor, the sick, the hungry, children, the elderly, the disabled, and even the veterans. Just today alone, I saw them asserting that if a person doesn't pay taxes, then they should have no rights. Well, here is my response: IF they truly believe that, then they need to leave America right now and take their ungrateful butts elsewhere because many veterans do not pay taxes because as soon as they are done serving our country, many of them end up with no jobs, no homes, and very little income at all which is why they do not pay taxes. And disabled people are the same way. Matter of fact, until the ABLE Act passes, disabled people are kept in a state of low income because the ones who are lucky enough to get a job can only work part time if they need their benefits. And on top of that, between benefits and work, they cannot exceed $4000 in assets a year. But by the logic of the tea party comments I saw today, the disabled people and the veterans should have NO rights because they don't pay taxes. Right? 

Do you know what is happening? I used to be republican until the tea party extremists came along. And when Romney came along spreading his venomous vitriol around, I heard a great sermon issued called SWOOP. In that sermon, it was stated that if Christians really believe that mess about the 48%, they need to repent. Because that attitude wasn't helping to further the kingdom of God. The passage was Matthew 25. And it was because of that sermon that I prayed through Matthew 25 going into elections in 2012. And as a result, Obama was the choice I made. 

So, here's something. Romans 13 outlines our responsibility to government. Matthew 25 outlines our responsibility to those who are the least of these. And either God is sovereign and therefore everything happening right now is part of His will including Obama and the Affordable Care Act, or God is not sovereign. But if you believe in the sovereignty of God, then you need to trust that EVERYTHING is in His will. 

So this year, how am I voting? I don't know for sure, but I do know I will not be voting for Chad Mathis. Why? 1. He opposes the ACA. 2. He comes from a medical specialist background - orthopedist. 3. I know him from when I was seeing an orthopedist. He treated my broken foot in 2007. In 2008, he suddenly quit seeing me. No letter, no call, nothing. He committed abandonment which is unethical. And the way I reason that is like this: If he cannot ethically dismiss a patient, how can he practice ethical politics?

Oh, and at this point, if the only thing a candidate can say about the ACA is repeal, then they need to go home. Because by November, everyone who wants insurance and can get insurance will have insurance and will have already saved thousands of dollars on healthcare costs. No way will any of us want to ever regress! 

Do you know what happens to the money saved on healthcare costs? It goes into the economy. My own family has needed home repairs coming up. Long overdue. We have to buy goods that are needed to make the repairs and pay for services that are needed to make them. This means money is going back in the economy that didn't exist before because everything was being paid into healthcare. So the $300 saved in January because of more comprehensive insurance will pay down medical debt first. Then after that, it pays down other debts. Then it gets used to stimulate the economy. 

Who wouldn't want that?

What would Jesus do? Jesus would make sure that everyone is taken care of.

Is healthcare a right? If all men and women are created equal under God, and all men and women have the right to the pursuit of life, liberty, and justice, then yes, healthcare is a right. And if it takes insurance to make healthcare possible, then insurance is a right too. 

How do I figure? Because autism means I have a way of thinking literally and I am thinking literally right now. 

But Matthew 25 is how people should respond to the least of these! Government is comprised of people just like churches are comprised of people. So if Matthew 25 is about how people should respond to the least of these and government and churches are comprised of people, then government and churches are to follow Matthew 25. And when any sector of government or any church fails to respond according to Matthew 25, it brings the rest of them down. 

Want to win people over to the kingdom of God? Start following Matthew 25. And repent of your bad attitude toward the poor, the sick, the disabled, the hungry, the disenfranchised. Because not everyone on SNAP, SSI, SSDI, or even TANF (often called welfare) is a lazy, moocher. Many are veterans, retired, and disabled. Not all of them are drug users. Not all of them are gaming the system. Not all of them are takers. 

And if you have a problem with taxes helping people, then get off the roads, withdraw your children from public schools, and do not ever call 911 for anything because those are tax dollars helping people. 

Like I said, I use Matthew 25 when approaching elections, and I will continue to do so. And as long as any of the least of these are being attacked in any way whatsoever by any candidate, I will not vote for that person. At this point, that means that I cannot morally or biblically vote for any person who opposes the ACA because that is an attack on the sick and disabled (many disabilities are from sickness that went unchecked, untreated, or under treated). 

I am open to comments by the way. A healthy debate is always good. But bullying and harassment is never good.

1. Republicans don't own God and don't corner the market on Christianity.

2. Democrats can be Christians and Christians can be democrats.

3. Political leanings don't determine who a person is.

4. While I lean toward the democrat party right now, I am just as opposed to gay "marriage" and abortion as the next person who leans toward the republican party. The only difference is that my life experiences shaped my political beliefs in such a way that I have no choice but to consider those when I am choosing who gets my vote as opposed to just voting so generally. Because while republicans claim to be pro-life and spend all this time voting to make abortion illegal, they also keep voting to cut SNAP and SSI and SSDI and veterans benefits and they keep voting to repeal the ACA (50 times failed now), which makes them pro-birth and not pro-life because if you are going to force a woman to carry a baby, you must ensure that her healthcare and food is provided for as well as the baby's healthcare and food. Not everyone in any party believes 100% of the things that the party believes in. 

5. Right now the God the republicans, and mostly the tea party, is painting a picture of, is a God that contradicts the scriptures. While some democrats may not adhere to God as part of the party, the God I see through their actions is lining up more with scriptures each day. But perhaps, the reason that the democrats refuse to justify things by God is because you really cannot mix God and politics. Logically. So while the republicans are justifying hurting the least of these by misquoting scriptures and taking scriptures out of context, the democrats are not taking it there because things become too murky if they do. God is God. And all authority under heaven is appointed by God. But God is not to be mocked or contradicted. And if the republicans keep criminalizing the least of these, then they are no better than the democrats who don't mix politics and God at all. 

That is my honest opinion. 

UPDATED: Why the Affordable Care Act Is Important to This Christian

I aged out of ChampVA. My mom is a disabled American veteran. Vietnam era. She was exposed to Agent Orange. She worked with the artillery.

I was still in college when I aged out. I was without insurance because the student health insurance wasn't much coverage for what it cost. At that time I was diagnosed only with allergies, exercise-induced asthma, ADHD, and mitral valve prolapse. 

In 2003 BCBS of Alabama did a special open enrollment plan for people who didn't qualify for insurance through work. We thought I was insured.

In 2004, my first set ear tubes went in. Okay. 

In 2005, I graduated from college with honors. Surprised us all!

In 2006, I started grad school. Ended up with an ear infection and hearing loss. The tubes had popped out and decided to just sit there. I had to have expedited surgery to get new tubes in. Oh yeah, that was the year I developed a new drug allergy. Giant welts all over. So now I have had two surgeries, not counting oral surgery or wisdom tooth surgery.

I began 2007 with appendicitis. January 25 to be precise. Three days after my last ever peanut butter and banana sandwich. My body repayed me with a peanut allergy. Haha. Stupid salmonella tainted peanut butter. We thought that I was done, but then I kept having pain. Three months in and out at the ER. A few of those saw an emanciated, dehydrated, nauseated young lady who couldn't really function. Then I finally learned my gall bladder hit failure stage and needed to be taken out. Later that year, I tried to start another semester of grad school but had to take a medical withdrawal because I had developed tonsillitis which got so bad it went to my vocal cords. And after two rounds of antibiotics, the swelling still hadn't gone down. They had to take them out sooner than later because I couldn't breathe. Developed a bladder infection (ouch) on too of that. The doctor took out the tonsils AND adenoids. He was shocked that I had huge adenoids. Said 27-year-olds don't usually have that much adenoids tissue left. So let's just say that 2007 was a big insurance year for me. At that time, I might have had a $7500 out-of-pocket, which of course I hit that year and then didn't have OOP obligation after that.

That was also the year a letter came saying prostate exams are now covered. Great. Now what about the women?

2008 didn't see a much better year though. I broke my foot Christmas Eve of 2007. Spent the greater part of the holidays mad at Santa for that one. Got the flu even though I had the flu shot. Tarmiflu made it worse for me. Contracted chicken pox that April heading into final exams. Most of them had to be delayed. Two weeks of that only to be told it was just a mild case. Oh yeah, the dermatologist said it was just acne. Right.... Acne causes a person to have a 100.6 degree fever that the doctors ignored and pops up on the top of my foot or in my mouth. The eye gel they give you for it. Painful. Later that year, developed what looked like heat rash at first. Then when it didn't go away, the dermatologist found I had a 100.6 fever again and called it folliculitis. Turned out that is was what I suspected. Measles. What young adult contracts both chicken pox and measles in the same year! Seriously.

Sometime around 2009 is when insurance rates went up really beyond belief. Less eventful until the H1N1 came around. I got my flu shot. The next week began getting ill. Found out two girls in one of my classes had H1N1. Couldn't go to class the next week because I had to spend time in the ER being spinal tapped and checked for possible meningitis. Doctor never thought to ask about exposure to H1N1 or we could have saved the trouble of the hospital nearly killing me. OOPS! But during that illness I was also exposed to probable mold in the main building where I had classes. I developed sick building syndrome as it was only that one building on campus where I would become violently ill. Ultimately, we ended up with me back in the ER after the Sunday morning I went to church only to have to leave early and arrive at home vomiting. That did get rid of the metallic taste in my mouth though. In December I was admitted to the hospital through the ER. Developed a very dangerous kidney stone that require surgery. It was huge and jagged and could have torn up a whole lot more if it had been allowed to pass on its own. 

In 2010, the ACA had finally passed. And guess what began? For me, personally, no longer did I have to worry about being dropped if I got sick and needed surgery again. No more lifetime caps either. I was in my early 30s. Too young to run out of insurance. I found out I had an immune deficiency which played a role in a lot of the problems I was having though. The only downside was that I still couldn't get new insurance. 

I did learn in 2011 that my iron levels were fatally low. I needed an iron infusion. Fortunately, I haven't hit that low again yet. That December I was confirmed to have autism. Insurance doesn't cover therapies and most therapists don't work with adults with autism in Birmingham. 

In 2012, the abuse at church began after the autism diagnosis came back. And Romney insulted half of America calling us lazy moochers if we didn't pay taxes. Who doesn't pay taxes: children, college students on financial aid, disabled people who cannot work full-time if at all, veterans who earned their benefits, elderly who are retired for the most part. And of those, there are four groups plus military on SNAP. Romney kept threatening repeal of the ACA. And I said no way. Went to bed on the night after elections after praying, "God let YOUR will be done. And may the person who best reflects a Matthew 25 heart win." I had a nightmare that Romney won and my mom and I got booted out of the house because of a high dollar medical bill after insurance dropped me. I woke up anxious. Obama won! I didn't vote for Obama in 2008 because McCain was the one who promised to pass the ACA. 

I will say this though. Whether I pay full or reduced rates doesn't matter (I only got a $114/month break and still pay over $200/month, so don't fuss at me). What matters now is that I have secured an insurance plan that is now worth every penny going into it. I chose gold because after spending a month comparing my old plan with the plan BCBS was going to switch me to and the gold plan, gold yielded over $7000/year in savings with $5000 of that in the OOP value alone. 

To be more precise, here are my figures:

Old non-compliant plan:

$298/month

$2500 deductible

$300 medicine deductible

$10,000 OOP

2 doctors (minimum) each month x $50 = $100

2 medicines (minimum) each month x $80 = $160

If I had hit the OOP, this would be equal to:

$3,576 in premiums + $2500 + $300 + $10,000 + $1200 + $1,920 = $19,496 minimum per year

Even the silver plan that was offered looked a little better:

$264/month (-$34/month)

$2500 deductible 

$6350 OOP (maximum allowed by law) (-$3,650)

2 doctors/month = $120 (+$20)

2 medicines/month at $100 each = $200 (+$40)

For grand total of $4,058 in savings but $720 in deficits resulting in $3,338 in savings.

The gold plan I chose:

$321.75/month (+23.75/month)

$500 deductible (-$2000)

$5000 OOP (-$5000)

2 doctors/month = $100

2 medicines/month at $60 each = $120 (-$40)

For grand total of $285 in deficits and $7,480 in savings resulting in $7,195 in savings.

Assistance makes it $912 less from April to December and yields an $8,107 savings. 

This is minimum. Most of the services I have gotten this year have been $0 OOP after $50 copay. And I now have speech therapy covered AND get to start occupational therapy! And dental coverage!

What will happen with the savings, the ACA has given me because of the protections it now offers me?

1. Pay off old medical debt.

2. Needed home repairs.

3. Autism therapy not covered by insurance.

4. Vacation celebration. 

5. Conferences.

6. Donate to a church and charity.

7. Technology upgrades.

8. Loom bands for my Cra-Z-Looms so I can keep making autism bands to raise money for charity. 

9. Art supplies so I can paint. I want to sell art for charity.

10. Swimming pool, therapy/service dog, etc. 

Now if congress will just stop trying to impede the progress of the ACA already. They failed 40 times. And if they will just pass the ABLE Act. 

What does this have to do with a journey through theology?

Everything and nothing. 

Matthew 25:31-46

Okay, this took some thought, but I want to add some things to this.

First of all, for those who may not understand all the intricacies of the ACA or how or why it came about, let me share some thoughts.

Insurance companies were in need of an overhaul. The healthcare system in America because healthcare became more about the business of medicine rather than the practice of medicine. 

When this happened, many doctors could no longer afford to take on uninsured patients. As such, only the rich could afford doctors. Or the ones who had full time jobs with benefits (personally, I feel ALL full time employees should have health insurance as part of the package as it one of the benefits that I had come to know as being the bonus of working full time versus only working part time).

But even still, many patients were finding that when they needed insurance the most, it didn't cover what they needed and was nothing more than a catastrophic plan. Great in an emergency, not so great everyday.

But what is insurance? Insurance is protection of the future of your family finances. Don't believe me?

Look at what I experienced in 2007. Appendicitis, gall bladder removal, tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy, and a broken foot. Not counting any sinus infections, throat infections or allergy spells and asthma attacks. If I didn't have any kind of insurance at all that year, my mom and I would be homeless. The charges from the appendectomy just from the hospital alone was around $45,000. 

Let me explain something else. If you do not have $50,000 cash on hand for an emergency, then you need insurance. If you see a doctor more than 4 times a year for anything, then you need a minimum silver level plan.

Argument: But I now have less coverage. Defense: No you don't. You have TEN essential benefits. And depending on your plan, you may have even more than that. Argument: But I don't need maternity care or mammograms. Defense: Women don't need prostate exams. Argument: But my premiums went up. Defense: Yes, and no. Yes, they seem to have gone up, but with the end of the discrimination against customers who have pre-existing conditions comes a leveling of costs. Your costs now are what my costs were and still are. Argument: But I have all these expenses. Defense: Is there ANYTHING nonessential going on in your budget that you can eliminate? Say a Starbucks each week, a movie each month, eating out each day, less expensive clothing, etc. Don't steal from God, and definitely pay your BILLS, but just re-examine your priorities. 

Now I will say something else. Here are my thoughts for how it can be improved. 

Instead of a marketplace, I would redirect the purpose of the Healthcare.gov site to more of what the FAFSA for students seeking financial aid does. The applicant files the form, provides codes for schools the applicant is interested in, then the results are not only sent to the student but also to the schools. The schools then draw up a financial aid package based on that information. The student then accepts or rejects the offer. I would redesign the purpose of Healthcare.gov to follow the FAFSA and put more power back in the hands of the consumers and the insurance companies. 

Instead of stipulating that ALL policies have pediatric coverage or maternity coverage, I would make those opt in features and allow consumers to substitute in dental and vision coverage. Or better yet, I would add adult dental and adult vision care to be covered by all plans. 

I would make sure that all insurance plans carry an autism services rider. For all ages. My mom is now going to be tested to see if she has autism. And I have autism. And autism doesn't go away just because a child turns 21 even though that is what the churches and the schools seem to think. 

I would make the highest cost anyone can pay for a particular level of policy the lowest cost for that level in the nation. In other words, if a gold plan in California or New York costs $250, and that is the cheapest, then a person in Alabama would only pay $250 for a gold plan rather than $300. After all, why is one person paying more for the exact same level of coverage than someone else.

I would expand Medicaid in all states, no exceptions. 

I would cap the price a family pays in monthly premiums at $800 for four people and $1000 for five or more. Then I would lower the OOP for a family to $10,000 and the OOP for a single person to $5000. 

I would not allow any exceptions for the birth control coverage as part of a woman's preventive care. And just as BCBS does, limit abortion coverage to situations where the woman's life is endangered.

And instead of tax penalties, I would stipulate that doctors may not give discounts to people who do not have insurance (discounts are a benefit of insurance) and that an additional fee be assessed for every time a person shows up at the ER or the doctor's office without insurance. The fee might start at $25 and go up each time after to a maximum of $500 assessed at one time. 

The reason for there being a penalty for not having insurance? 

Because from the time you are born to the time you die, you will need healthcare at some point in your life. Because when you are uninsured and use the ER and them don't pay your whole bill because you cannot afford it, they pass the cost onto the insurance companies who pass it on to consumers in the form of higher premiums. 

And really, it is no different than being required to have car insurance save for the fact that you can get out of the requirement for car insurance by simply not buying or driving a car. But if cancer is going to happen, it will choose whom it wants when it wants.

No person living in America should ever be without healthcare and if it takes insurance to get affordable healthcare, then no person in America should ever be without health insurance either. 

Now that is that.

UPDATE:

So today, we decided as a family to cancel the plan through the marketplace because I will not need it as it looks as though since we won my fight, I will have other means in addition to the original BCBS plan. Still though, $7,195 in savings is AWESOME! And I am a big supporter of the Affordable Care Act.

What I am not a fan of is that there are people on Facebook that claim to be Republicans and "conservatives" that are harassing and bullying people on the Healthcare.gov Facebook page. Many of these people have been blocked and then they turn around and create these FAKE Facebook pages that cannot be blocked just so they can continue to harass and bully people. The page has taken a tragic turn for being helpful and supportive in the marketplace process to being unsafe for anyone who is in favor of the ACA. 

Look at this example:

And I am not the only one who has been targeted but this was an outright attempt to target me because the post was never made on a page but in a group. And when I went through my mom's account I saw the majority of the people doing the harassing were ones I had blocked for that very reason. 

So Tabatha thinks it is appropriate for her to create a fake page because people blocked her for harassment? And she uses it to harass them again? And yes, I was one of the targets of her harassment. Yep.... This definitely is an admission to illegal activity.

The reason I am sharing these screen shots on this post is to provide solid evidence of one of the reasons why not only the Republican Party is losing ground, but these people are also professing to be "Christians" yet are in blatant violation of the Facebook TOS:

Dear Christians and dear republicans, you will not win anyone over with this kind of malicious sermonizing behavior. 

The Christian Duty to Government

Romans 13

ESV - Submission to Authorities

1-7

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

This is to remind you that if you are a Christian but are sitting there talking all kinds of bad about President Obama and the Affordable Care Act that you need to check your heart and your attitude. 

Reasons why the ACA is good:

1. Our bodies are temples. We are to take care of them. If we get sick, we should go to a doctor. 

2. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 25:31-46 that how we treat the poor, the hungry, the sick, the homeless, etc. - the least of these - is how we treat Him. Do you want to be sorted into the goats because you denied someone the help they needed?

3. It allows some women to get certain birth control pills for free. Not all women and not all birth control. This is good because the increased access to birth control can lead to far less unwanted, unexpected pregnancies which can then lead to far fewer unnecessary abortions. Let me clarify. Unnecessary abortion is any abortion that is not sought out because of endangerment of the mother or the baby. If a pregnancy got to a point where both the mom and baby were in danger, then by all means terminate the pregnancy because that way only one life has to be lost as opposed to two unless the woman is far enough along that the baby can thrive in which case just do early birthing. Also, I make this point because of the silly or stupid laws being enacted to make abortion illegal while at the same time cuts keep being made to SNAP and idiots keep trying to repeal the ACA. These so-called pro-lifers are not pro-life because they want to force women to carry babies yet they also want to starve them and kill them by preventing them from having food or healthcare. 

4. It increases the need for greater personal responsibility. People with pre-existing conditions can now get insurance which now means they can get healthcare. These are the people who the ACA was designed for. People who if they were lucky to get insurance at all could be dropped when they most needed it and end up homeless as a result of bankruptcy from killer debt. People who might have just flat out denied. These people are the largest percentage of what used ERs and might not have been able to pay the whole bill which would then cause the costs to go up for all the insured. Again, if you ask what Jesus would do in this case, refer back to Matthew 25. 

5. By standardizing at a minimum what insurance can and cannot do, it makes every subject to something called equality. In America, we supposedly believe that all men and women are created equal with certain unalienable rights. Yet in America, there are several subsets of the population who are treated as inferior. The disabled is one of those groups. And many sicknesses can turn into disabilities if they are not treated adequately enough. But many people who fall under this category of disabilities only need one thing: insurance which gives them a key to healthcare. After all, why should only the rich have affordable healthcare.

I am not saying that the ACA is perfect by any means, but it is a right step in ending the gender and disability and income disparities. Not everyone will come out winners. No human law enacted ever produces 100% winners. However, I am perplexed and even incensed by all the people claiming to be Christians acting the way they are. And to boot, then they ask "why are our freedoms being taken away from us?" Did any of them ever stop to think that their "freedoms" overstepped another person's freedoms and that's why they are now being penalized?

Look, I am a Christian. I am not perfect, but the conservatives and the republicans, and especially the tea party terrorists, do not corner the market on Chrisitianity. I don't like abortion any more or less than any other Christian, but I do believe that the government does play a role in being charitable toward the welfare of its citizenship because I know from experience that not all churches are able to handle all the needs of all the people all the time. So I support the SNAP, the SSDI, the SSI, the veterans, the ACA, and any other program that helps people. I do not support drug testing anyone who is on any assistance program simply because to drug test them means children could end up hurt and suffering and because Florida already found it to be a waste of money and an invasion of privacy. The excuse I read this week on that issue - but I have to do a drug test to keep my job. No, you don't. No one that is not potentially endangering lives or impaired if they use drugs has to take a test. I learned that pre-employment drug tests are illegal because they lead to what I have experienced: discrimination. Doesn't matter if you can provide the prescription. Also, the tax dollars could be better spent expanding Medicaid in my state so that the TANF recipients can have insurance and be put through drug rehab programs and the tax dollars could be better spent on welfare-to-work programs. Our state already says SNAP recipients who are of age and physically able are supposed to be seeking employment. No new legislation needed and Congress already passed that anyway. 

At any rate, I felt I needed to share this today because instead of lashing out at people like I could do, I decided to point them to specific scripture and remind them of God's words on the matter.