"The Good Doctor...."

Well, well, well.... I had a letter in the mail from yesterday that I had been avoiding.. It was from the local hospital. I have been getting them for several months ever since the "Little Black Man versus the Stones" incident where I had kidney stones on an early Sunday morning... That little trip cost me almost $4000, of which I have paid the $50 they asked for at the emergency room that day...

I filled out some papers when I received the first bill. There was a notice that if you did not have health insurance or were not able to afford the bill to call the number and talk with them. So I called and they mailed me the aforementioned papers to provide them details about my financial status. They required proof of income for the year to date, bank statements, and income tax forms from 2007, all of which I happened to have, so I gladly copied them and sent them in.

I thought they had gotten lost or something, because I had still been receiving these bills for the past two months..
I just ignored the letter yesterday, because I didn't want to get depressed looking at that bill.. Plus I was thinking, I haven't paid them anything since June, this is probably a threatening letter where they offer to put the kidney stones back in if I don't pay up..

Not sure why I decided to grab it this morning, but I was pleasantly surprised when I opened it, versus just throwing it away like I usually do :) .

The letter said "We have received your paperwork for the indigent care program. We have reviewed your paperwork, and the application has been approved. We have forgiven the balance, and you are no longer responsible for paying any amount on this account. Thank you for your cooperation."

Is that awesome or what? God is definitely good. You know, its good that this headache has been removed, but I'm not sure I like the word "indigent." I had to look it up. because I really wasn't sure what it meant... I mean, I had an idea, but I didn't think it was such a derogatory word.
dictionary.com shows the word to mean:

in·di·gent /ˈɪndɪdʒənt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[in-di-juhnt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –adjective

1.	lacking food, clothing, and other necessities of life because of poverty; needy; poor; impoverished.

I'm so glad that God says otherwise.... We're not poor by any stretch of the imagination, I just don't have a spare $4000 right now! But, thank God that I no longer need a spare $4000.

Later,
and God bless,
-myk

Kingdom Economics 101...

A bit of deviation from my usual type of posting.. A little more on a serious note, although there'll probably be at least one funny in there somewhere..

A quick look at the headlines today shows that supposedly the world is in a panic because of financial situations on Wall Street which are effecting the rest of the world. Admittedly, I don't know much about finance. Never had a lot of money, so I historically have never paid attention when the news turns to stories of fast approaching regression and the like. This time its different. Not because I have a lot of money now and am worried about what's going to happen with my stocks.. Actually, I don't have any stocks and still don't have a lot of money.. The biggest difference this time around is my perspective...

I would be lying if I said I'm not concerned. I am human, I have a family to feed and bills to pay. However, being a servant of the Most High, we need to understand that we are not subject to the financial principles of this world, as we belong to a higher Kingdom with an Economy that is all together different. By no means is this a prosperity message, so toss that out now before we get any further... Better yet, let's touch on that for a second.. Since when did prosperity become synonymous with abundant wealth? Granted, prosperity can mean great wealth, but I have met so many people with little monetary gain, but were most definitely prosperous. Anyway, more to the point, I think what I really want to say is this...

As God's people, now is most definitely a time for us to shine. In a time where the world is on the verge of committing suicide because their stock value has bottomed out, we can boldly stand strong, knowing that our God will supply all our needs. Philippians 4:19 says in the Message translation:
You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus. Our God and Father abounds in glory that just pours out into eternity. Yes.

This is a perfect time for us to show the power of God at work. Not that we wont face difficult times ahead as well, but we can face them with a certain amount of surety, knowing full well that God is still on the throne regardless of what is in our pockets. This type of stability in shaky times will cause the world to stop for a moment to see why we are not shaken. This is an opportune time to share the basis of our faith. This is a time, I believe, when God will use an unfortunate situation to show His good fortune, His faithfulness, His love, His mercy... We can use this time to help turn people's attention away from the gold and silver gods who have deserted them and focus them on the Living God who will never leave you or forsake you.

In lieu of all this, it is time for me to try to get some work done. I haven't done much income producing work this week, but we're still doing fine. This message is for me just as well as anyone else. Be sure to keep our communities up in prayer in the weeks and months ahead. Let's focus our prayers on seeing people come to know Jesus in the midst of this "turmoil." Also, let us be sure that those who come in this time are not "jailhouse conversions," but be sure to follow up and disciple them so that they stay in the faith, even when and especially when the good times come. Too many turn to God during trouble, but once they think they can make it on their own because the have a few dollars in their pockets, they quickly forget about the God who brought them there.....

Anyway, that's my rant for today.
Later, and God bless,
-myk

"Roofing - The Saga Continues"

You know, I almost forgot to provide an update for the roof!
To the right is a picture of my roof right now....

My friend came over last week to take a look. Kinda funny, actually.. The leak is coming from an area approximately 3-4 inches away from where we stopped working! So, on the bright side, our work is solid and holding up well. The downside is, we probably inadvertently caused this new leak while walking around up there.

To give you a better understanding, our house used to be a two story house quite some time ago. It is over a hundred years old. Apparently at some time, there was a fire on the top level that was put out quick enough that no damaged occurred on the lower level. So, that did what anyone with no construction knowledge would have done.. They turned it into a single level home with a roof that has virtually no pitch.

Now, I know nothing about construction. When we bought the home, my wife and I were just happy to get out of the ghetto apartment complex we were living in so we can move into a low cost home in our price range right on the buttcrack of the ghetto. I mean, the next street over is where if you park your car and go inside for ten minutes, expect the car to be on blocks when you come back out...
Really, its not bad here. You hear stories and such, but in our ten years of living here, we have not personally been bothered by anything more than noisy neighbors.

Back to the roof... The damaged area is where there is a vertical stud of some sort that is only about a foot tall is sitting on top of the joists (i think that is what they are called) that support the plywood of the roof. Problem is, this stud is lifting up one of the sheets of wood. The stud appear to be serving no purpose whatsoever. The friend looked all over in the attic as well as from the top and cannot find any sound reason for that piece of stud to be there except for to make me pull my hair out when it rains.. Looks like it'll be a relatively easy fix. Knock out that block so the plywood can rest back on the supports and snug up with the rest of the wood. Of course 2 sheets will need to be replaced. I still have several bundles of shingles left...
I think we'll be fine... We always are... Its amazing how we look at current circumstances like things are as bad as they'll ever get.. But when we look back at all the things we've been through, then realize that we came THROUGH them and are not still sitting in them, its good to know that this really is all temporary and that something much greater awaits us in the near future. Both for the now and the "hereafter", as the older folk may say..

I guess that's enough for one morning.
Later, and God bless,
-myk

"More than meets the eye"

Mouth that drips with honey
Throat an open grave
With tongues like vipers
Spitting deadly poison apples
Looks good, tastes good
Bringing death, hell, and the grave.

This "Golden Visionary" sees only visions of gold
Looking through golden glasses prescribed by a lowercase optician
You leave nothing but broken glass
Smoke and mirrors, smoking guns....
Can't see the real Doctor?
Buy into the vision,
"Bye bye" to the Vision
Welcoming division, the incision is made
Did you receive your cut? Was the portion correct?
Was it 30 pieces? What did you spend it on?
We most definitely got our "cut"
The cut is deep, the bleeding will soon stop.
Only to have another rip away the scab
And rub salt into the rotting mess beneath.

This too shall pass.
The Truth of the Word will prevail, as it always has and always will
Temporary setback, momentary loss of focus takes us off track
God will have none of this.
Deceiver, you have deceived your last.
You know who you are, and cannot hide from God's piercing gaze
His eyes fixed heavy on you
Not to pour out his wrath, as some would like to see
Would even "pay" to see...
But instead, He sees the gift he placed in you
To see the tongue restored and used for His purposes..

Deceiver, you know who you are...
You know who He is....
You know His Word...

There's more to you than meets the eye.
I, too, must beg for God's forgiveness for the internal war I have raged against you.
We both are wrong, and while our actions may be different in the eyes of men, we are on a level playing field before the Most High. While our actions may stand up when compared to the standards of those we surround ourselves with, our righteousness is as filthy rags compared to His standard.

Let this be the last I speak of this "incident". You know who you are, and rest assured, WE have been warned....

Later, and God bless