An AppleCare A Day To Keep Deductibles At Bay

Found at: kahdesigns.wordpress.com

I know that's a ridiculous title but my brain is too foggy to think of anything clever.

Almost one week ago, I related how I began experiencing unrecognizable painful symptoms after a routine visit to the Orthodontist.

Last Wednesday morning, I had routine dental work performed at the Orthodontist. By 4 pm that evening, my lips where tingling especially the top lip which turned blood red on the left side. By the next day I was in agony! I called the Ortho and the front desk lady said, "Come back in!" I did. He was puzzled but he asked me more than once, "Have you ever had a cold sore?" "No", I said. He kept repeating it looks like a cold sore but couldn't help. So, I went home thinking, no big deal, it'll pass. Alas, untreated, it went from bad to worse. 

On Friday Hubby insisted I get professional medical attention and took me to a new doctor (I lost my usual doctor because of high deductibles). Fortunately, it was a brief wait even with the 10,000 forms I had to fill out. The New Doc diagnosed my symptoms as cold sores. He prescribed Acyclovir Tab 800mg 5 times a day and Cephalexin Cap 500mg twice a day all for 7 days. Sounds innocuous, doesn't it? Cold Sores. They're not. This past week has been sheer he--. The left side of my face was completely numb from my left eye to the upper jaw, including the teeth. My head has ached continuously. The upper lip swelled up to unbelievable proportions. It was lined with fever blisters that are unreal in the pain department. They finally commenced with the draining last night. I started feeling a little improved this afternoon. For days I couldn't eat anything hot or spicy or chewy. I've been subsisting on frozen Almond Milk shakes, buttered bread and any soft food. Today the feeling in my face is slowly returning. I still have numbness in the sinus cavity. With good fortune these all should subside soon. 

I thought cold sores where just, you know, a little sore bump on the lip that pass after a day or two. BOY, was I WRONG! These things are the spawn from he--! And, yeah, it was caused by the dental work. But I read at WebMD that it's just a fluke. Apparently no one knows why dental procedures can cause flareups thus it's not the Ortho's fault. I'm glad to hear that. I'm very fond of my Ortho and his whole staff. They're good people. And these minions of pain are highly contagious. I've had to be extra careful and disinfect everything in my path.

At WebMD I learned that if I have the symptoms again, I need to have Lysine on hand. At the first tingling feeling, use the Lysine and ice packs. You can bet your bottom dollar I'm going to have that close by!

Something positive did happen from all this. I found a new doctor. That's very comforting in case of a real life threatening emergency. Please excuse the following plug. *smile* Southeast Georgia offers a nice new feature in that arena. They call themselves AppleCare LLC. It's a collective of doctors who agree to work for a flat rate to keep costs down. It's not necessary to join, but in order for the patient/client to save money, it's more advantageous to join the collective. For the patient the cost is minimal ($39 a month with a 12 month obligation). Each and every visit after that is only $25. My now former MD was well over $200 per visit! I received excellent care from a competent physician and there are currently 12 locations available. It's so convenient not having to make an appointment. There's no insurance to file. Good deal. Everybody's happy. For those who live in other parts of the country, and now also have expensive deductibles and/or no insurance thanks to Chum Lord Barry, I recommend looking into finding a similar deal in your area.

Until I heal, riding is way down the road. That's OK though. It looks like more rain anyway. Lord willing, and the creek don't rise, at least I don't have to busy myself with writing my obituary anymore. *lol*

~ Ride Safe ~

Sparky

Two Minutes With The Bible ~ Christ's Death For Us

Christ's Death For Us 

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Berean Bible Society

Printer Friendly Version

Three times in Chapter 5 of Paul’s letter to the Romans we read that Christ died for us.

Ver. 6: “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Ver. 8: “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Ver. 10: ” …when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son….”

Thus, in our helplessness, in our sinfulness, even in our willfulness, Christ loved us and gave His life to save us. But why does the Apostle say that Christ died for us “when we were yet without strength,” “while we were yet sinners” and “when we were enemies”? Did not Christ die for us before any of us were even born? Yes, but here the Apostle writes historically of the whole human race. The rest of the chapter bears this out.

In Verse 12 he refers to Adam, the “one man” by whom sin and death entered into the world. This rendered man truly helpless. In Verse 20 he refers to Moses, by whom “the law entered, that the offence might abound.” Thus by the law men were condemned as sinners. Finally, in Verses 20, 21, he refers to Christ, “[who] died for all” (II Cor. 5:14,15), that helpless sinners might be saved, yea that even God’s enemies might be reconciled to Him by grace, through faith. By Adam we have the entrance of sin, by Moses the condemnation of sin and by Christ the forgiveness of sins.

Only gradually was the importance of Christ’s death for mankind revealed, but now we know that the saints of all ages have been saved on the basis of our Lord’s vicarious death alone. No one else could have paid a debt so great. Thus, in our helplessness, in our sinfulness, yes, thank God, in our willfulness, the Lord Jesus Christ died to save us.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

---

To the Reader:
Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

NOTE:

Comments turned off today.

I pray everyone has a restful, reflective day 

as we all meditate on what God has wrought for the world.

Please pray for our nation, especially those that are lost that they may be saved.

Lots Of Love To All

Jeremy's Egg

JEREMY'S EGG

Jeremy was born with a twisted body, a slow mind and a chronic, terminal illness that had been slowly killing him all his young life. Still his parents had tried to give him as normal a life as possible and had sent him to St. Theresa's Elementary School.

At the age of 12, Jeremy was only in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool and make grunting noises. At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time, however, Jeremy irritated his teacher.

One day, she called his parents and asked them to come to St. Theresa's for a consultation. As the Forresters sat quietly in the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems. Why, there is a five-year gap between his age and that of the other students!"

Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue while her husband spoke. "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here."

Doris sat for a long time after they left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only child had a terminal illness. But it wasn't fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach and Jeremy was a distraction. Furthermore, he would never learn to read or write. Why waste any more time trying?

As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. "Oh God," she said aloud, "here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared with that poor family! Please help me to be more patient with Jeremy."

From that day on, she tried to ignore Jeremy's noises and his blank stares. Then one day he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him. "I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed loudly enough for the whole class to hear. The other children snickered, and Doris's face turned red. She stammered, "Wh-Why, that's very nice, Jeremy. Now please take your seat."

Spring came, and the childen talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them of the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Miss Miller!" the children responded enthusiastically - all except for Jeremy. He just listened intently, his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them.

That evening, Doris's kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents.

The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. After they completed their Math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower. "Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said. "When plants peek through the ground we know that spring is here." A small girl in the first row waved her arms. "That's my egg, Miss Miller," she called out.

The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real. Doris held it up, "We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes that is new life, too." Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine."

Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that the moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom. "My Daddy helped me!" he beamed.

Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty! Surely it must be Jeremy's she thought, and of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another. Suddenly Jeremy spoke up.

"Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Flustered, Doris replied, "but Jeremy - your egg is empty!" He looked into her eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty too!"

Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know why the tomb was empty?" "Oh yes!" Jeremy exclaimed. "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then His Father raised Him up!"

The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the school yard, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.

Three months later Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket, all of them empty.

Have a blessed Easter!

"And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it."[Matthew 28:2 KJV]

Funny Friday ~ NASA

It's A Bore For The Throat To Be Sore

Actually, my throat is not sore. Not yet. It is sensitive and the whole left side of my face, including the gland, is swollen and beet red. First my upper lip on the left side  I thought I had burned the lip somehow. Then it turned blood red. Today it's swollen and sore. I have chills, aches and a headache that would make a preacher cuss. Other than that, I feel pretty good. I'm not ready to write my Last Will & Testament or add my memorial to FindAGrave. *smile*

Yesterday morning, I visited the Orthodontist and had a routine procedure performed. I had my permanently glued in bottom retainer removed. It's been driving me crazy(er). After I made the second visit to same Orotho to pick up a new removable plastic retainer, my lip turned blood red, then the swelling and chills began. I thought, something happened in the Ortho's chair? A normal thought, yes? I returned this morning to see if anything can be diagnosed or done and they are at a loss too. Now I think that somehow I either came into contact with something that I'm either highly allergic of or have an regular run-of-the-mill infection that would started three or so days ago.

So, here I sit. Still in my jammies, bored out of my skull and wishing whatever this is, would take a powder. Little Sparky wants to go out and play on the motorcycle. I would also like to toil in the garden. The vegetables are looking really good. I hope the approaching 55 degree weather won't damage them in any way.

I hope everyone else is having a good day. I'm having a good one, just down for the count.

~ Ride Safe~

Sparky

Press Any Key To Continue Putting Out Fires ...

What a day this has been! We've been trapped inside like hamsters in a cage due to a weather system dragging up copious amounts of rain from the Gulf of Mexico. It has literally poured all day. Not being in a cleaning mood, I figured it was a good day to get our new Windows 8 computers up-to-speed.

Not to brag, but I was quite proficient on the XP's. I had all that right clicking and such down pat. Now it feels like I'm having to start all over again with learning how to use the Windows 8.1. It took me a week to figure out how to have a word processing program again. These things aren't sold with MicroSoft Works anymore (cheap skates). My beloved Lotus 1-2-3 program that I've used 'forever', well, at least since I graced the business world, is no longer compatible. Lotus had the best SpreadSheets hands down. Oh well. So, I googled what to do about it. The Windows 8 had pre-installed a free WordPad program. It's not fancy but it gets the job done. That's what I'm pecking away at right now. I've even taught myself how to 'pin' programs that I use consistently to the bottom taskbar. [patting self on back] If you can recommend any other word processing programs, preferably free or cheap, I'm all ears.

My husband is enjoying his new 10" HP Laptop. He's only yelled at it a couple of times.

So far. [smile]

We're both having to resave all our favorite bookmarks. That's been fun. [not] At least I had the presence of mind to copy down all the bookmarks before shutting down the old XP's in an e-mail and send them to myself. Now I have permanent files of all my if I don't have them I'll get even weirder needed haunts.

And that's been our day. Busy work that doesn't amount to a hill of beans. My brain is now fried and I could use a good soak in the tub. Maybe with a glass of wine?

Maybe the bottle ... ?? [just kidding]

I may take out the metal steed for a nice spin tomorrow. I have an Orthodontist appointment in a neighboring town. It is suppose to be beautiful with highs in the mid-60's. That's a little chilly for April in southeast Georgia but I like it. I'll have to wear the thick Mercury jacket. Alas, I'm sure it will become more like the South again with steaming hot weather. Dreadful Summer is not too far distant. I do so dislike that time of year.

Two Minutes With The Bible ~ The Primaries and Christian Faith

The Primaries and Christian Faith 

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Berean Bible Society

Printer Friendly Version

The presidential primaries are now in full swing, with nearly all the candidates talking confidently about winning, but it has long been a question just how much these primaries mean. Some, indeed, have started by winning in the primaries and have gone on to become president. But others have done well in the primaries, yet have never even come close to being nominated by their own parties.

It’s something like this with faith. The primaries are like mental assent, or intellectual faith. Before a person can be saved he must, of course, know about sin and salvation and must give mental assent to what the Bible says about these things. He must agree that Christ died for man’s sins.

But while intellectual faith is a good start, it is not enough to save you. You must go on from there to trust yourself to Christ, who died for our sins (I Cor. 15:3), otherwise your intellectual faith has done you no good.

God wants our heart trust; it is this kind of faith that honors Him, and it is this kind of faith that saves. In Romans 10:9-13 He says:

“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith: Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If Christ is not a risen, living Savior, He is no savior at all. We must believe this in our hearts if we are to call upon Him for salvation.

Thank God that “He showed Himself alive, after His passion, by many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3) and that millions have indeed found the peace and joy of sins forgiven through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His redemptive work at Calvary.

---

To the Reader:
Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.