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On my way home from dropping my daughter off at Preschool, I heard something on the radio that really just irks me. The radio hosts were talking about the Federal Government and how they are having difficulties agreeing on a budget for the next fiscal year and what cuts need to be made (and where). Of course they're looking to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security for the cuts... and do not get me wrong. I'm all for cutting the budget, but not on services that people actually need. The reason that Medicaid (for example) generally takes up to 23% (on average) of a state's budget, is because of what they are billed by hospitals/etc. It is a known fact by many who have recently been in the hospital, that they price gouge the cost of medications. My husband was charged $5.00 for 2 pills of Tylenol, $5 each time they administer tylenol!! Are you kidding?! You can spend that much at Walmart and get a bottle of 50! My grandmother was charged over $250 for a very tiny bottle of cream which would normally cost $125 at the pharmacy (she called and checked the price). The people making all of this money are the pharmaceutical companies who pay out millions to billions of dollars each year in lobbying efforts on capitol hill. That's where our money goes!!! Into the pockets of lobbyists and dirty politicians who only vote with their interests at heart, not the interests of the constituents they serve(yes, they all are dirty... but until the American public realizes this and votes against those who exercise greed, we're stuck). Anyway... so that really irked me today and I thought that you, dear reader, might want to have an itemized bill sent to you the next time you visit the hospital (and hopefully you never have to).

On a lighter note, my husband and I were invited by his sister to visit their church, The Revolution in Canton, GA on Sunday. The sermon was regarding marriage and it was a three part series. We watched the first two sermons online to be ready for the message on Sunday and found that they were very good and highly applicable to our modern lives. I also attended a Women's Bible Study last night. The study is based on Beth Moore's book "Stepping Up - A journey through the Psalms of Ascent". These 15 Psalms seem to each have a subject which allows the reader/scholar to delve into each human emotion and really see what God says about it. It's a very wonderful and very eye-opening study. It parallels many other parts of the Bible with each psalm and you are able to see reoccurring themes throughout the Bible itself! I don't know about you, but the Bible is quite the large book and reading it on my own did not allow me to see many of the parallels that occur. In my own personal time, I'm also reading Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge. The Bible study mirrors some of the themes that are in Captivating & aids in understanding what John & Stasi are discussing. If you have read Captivating... I highly recommend this study to you. It will truly open your eyes and lead to a better and more personal relationship with Christ. It has done wonders for me and I have only just begun the study!! As I go along on my own path to finding and keeping a deep and personal relationship with Him, I will post some of the things that really stood out for me & that I plan to keep in my mind and heart. I hope and pray that we all can see not only our own lives but the world through clearer perspectives.