Blue skies, nothing but blue skies, or at least, that's what they are promising!

It's Wednesday, January 26, 2011 and it's crisp, cool, (cold to some), and predicted to be a postcard picture day filled with sunshine. We look forward to this based on what the weather forecasters tell us. They could be wrong because around these parts they often are, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, and go ahead and look forward to a beautiful day. I used to know a fellow who never looked forward to anything, saying that way he would never be disappointed. The sad thing about doing life that way is that you end up being pretty pathetic. He used to carry a black cloud around with him everywhere he went. I was associated with him for over twenty years and I can tell you without any hesitation, that's no way to live, period, end of story. As he went about his daily life I think his pessimism helped bring about the bad results he was always anticipating. It was him against the world and while I could visit with him and we often ate lunch together, folks used to joke about how dangerous it might be just sitting next to him, or walking beside him on the sidewalk. He called himself a realist but most people thought of him as being pathetically sad. We all have times whenever we dwell on the negative. And, for many there's a lot of negatives to dwell on. However, as believers, we are told that we are more than conquerors in Christ and because of this we can face each day with a spirit of anticipation and hope. But just to be sure I might want to keep an umbrella close by, that is, if I had one, but I don't, but I know where one is, if I need it, therefore, I really don't even need to worry about it. Right? I'm okay now. See what I mean?

The other evening I picked up my diabetic testing supplies from the pharmacy. The prescription was written for a 100 day supply. The insurance rejected the coverage because they only dole out funds on a 30 day prescription basis. I paid for it but called the insurance company to ask about this situation. Here's the interesting part. They only cover prescribed medications written 30 days at a time but with my copay I actually would end up paying more with the insurance coverage than without it. I then went to the web and found the exact same supplies available through a trusted source for $30 less than I paid for the same amount, and it featured free shipping. The changes that took place in our insurance coverage the first of this month were done supposedly because of the anticipated impact from the health care law being phased in. In our situation, our rates went up significantly, and our coverages went down. That, by the way, is not a great combination. Here's what I want to say about all of this. Everyone needs to be a good shopper even when it comes to our medical care. It's not intuitive for us to think that a prescription covered by insurance actually works out to be higher than if you purchased it elsewhere. But, that my friend, is the brave new world we are facing. And, just think about it, I will soon be adding Medicare to the mix, therefore, those people waiting behind me in line at the pharmacy, well, they might as well bring a stool because I might just be up there for a while.

I guess you've heard about the law firm going after Taco Bell because they believe their ads saying they serve beef are false and misleading. That's brought back that wonderful slogan from the Wendy's commercials where the little old lady complains: "Where's the beef?" I've even seen some stories featuring the late famous Chihuahua as if he could shed some light on the question. Of course the dog wasn't really a he, her name was Gidget. Maybe Taco Bell does have some splaining to do! I sent my mom a card with some Christmas photos on it and it took two weeks for her to receive it. It usually takes no more than a couple of days. Maybe it somehow got routed up to that mail truck in St. Louis that had its back door come open and scattered letters and packages for more than 70 miles. I suppose they call it snail mail for a reason. I looked at the list of top blogs and didn't see mine there. The number one position was occupied by a blog that had 28,000,000 visitors on average who visit their site each month. That pretty well helps further explain that old metaphor: Big fish in little pond; Little fish in big pond. The good news is that I do receive feedback from a number of my readers and often they say they are blessed as a result. Okay. That big blog with the 28 million visitors, it mostly peddles gossip and dirty politics. I just betcha they don't get any comments about how God ministered to one of their readers through a verse or story shared on their blog. I'll take that any day! May God bless and thanks for hanging in there each day. Amen.           ......More later.