Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Tired and Weary

What happened to this???

They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

By our love, by our love

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

By our love, by our love

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

Love is patient, love is kind
Never boasts, not full of pride
Always hopes, always trusts
The evidence of Christ in us

This is my commandment that you love one another that your joy may be full


This song is in my head right now. Especially this time of the year. Especially with all the hate and intolerance being spewed by my fellow "so-called" Christians. This holiday that is coming up is one that we have decided to use to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The birth of the Christ. The birth of the Messiah. But it was not originally so. Oh no it wasn't. This holiday much like other so-called Christian holidays are/were strategically placed in order to convert those who already had firm and long standing beliefs and practices and rituals and holidays. We moved the birth of our Christ to the pagan celebration of Yule/Solstice in order to convert those pesky peoples and that is why there are still so many remnants left behind.

But now what do we do? Oh we become completely intolerant of others. We don't want to hear someone say Happy Holidays. We become offended by such words. Why? WHY is that? What's so offensive about Happy Holidays? Holiday = Holy Day. It has origins in Christianity anyway. So what the fuck is your major malfunction people? So what if people actually want to be inclusive of other's beliefs or lack of beliefs. What is offensive about wishing other's happiness? Why are we so focused on ourselves? Is that the what we're supposed to be celebrating this time of the year? Ourselves? Our feelings? Or are we supposed to be celebrating our love? Are we supposed to be spreading a message of love and peace? Is that not what the message that Christ had come and taught to us? Are we not as his disciples and children supposed to love one another? Then why? WHY are we so unloving? Why are we so intolerant and why are we so up at arms about a word like Holiday?

Or how about my favorite. People who get offended about Xmas? Do you even know how Xmas came to be? You don't? Hmmm, maybe you should do some digging. Maybe you should go read up on the Greek symbols, (why the P or Rho parth of the Chi Rho dropped away I'm not sure) but it's not replacing Christ with a variable. It has been around longer than you think. People like to build their conspiracy theories on anything.

I really wish this was the most wonderful time of the year. And it could be the most wonderful time of the year. If we could get back to the message of Peace, Love, Rebirth, and Happiness that should be embraced and celebrated during this season.

So I say this with all sincerity and with much love.

Happy Holidays.

What ever you may celebrate or not celebrate, I wish much happiness, peace, and love for you and your loved ones. May you enjoy the fact that while winter may be here, the days are beginning to get longer, the new year is beginning and it is time for rebirth and new life.

Shalom.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Insurance Companies - Yes another anger filled post

I know I know...what the fuck? Two posts in one morning? Both by the Banshee, the elusive LizardQueen...the E of B&E...yes yes...another post by me. Because I have anger. Anger at Insurance Companies...

Anger issue #1 - This one is regarding me. As I have made known, I have been suffering with cluster headaches. These are not fun. These are fucking debilitating when they hit. And when they hit I look like a freak. My eyelid and side of my face (that the headache/eye pain/jaw pain) is on swells up and I can't fully open my eye on the side. However, instead of being able to get a referral immediately to a neurologist, I have to go through 3 months of drug treatment by my primary doctor. I am a month and a half through the drug treatment. I have to keep a log of when I get the headaches (because I still do, not with the same severity and not as often) while on the drugs. The drugs I am on are an anti-seizure medication and I am very thankful for it's existence. It's a wonderful little white tablet of chemical goodness that makes me happy. I also consume around 5 liters of water a day. If I don't consume these 5 liters of water I feel sluggish and I end up having a headache. It pisses me off that I have to go through this but I will go through it and finally when I get to the neurologist I will have gathered enough information on these fucking things that I will be armed and ready. So while the insurance dictating how my doctor can care for me pisses me off the next one is worse.

#2 - This one concerns my son so therefore it is worse. My son was born with a concave or sunken chest. While this is something that can be and most of the time is just a cosmetic issue. There can be physical issues that go along with it. The one thing I was told to watch with him was his breathing. He has not ever had a problem with his breathing, he didn't ever get winded earlier than other kids when running. He's an active boy, has played hockey and baseball and generally runs around like a madman. (As 7 year old boys are wont to do.) However the past 2 weeks, after gym and after recess, he has had difficulties breathing (actually during and after the activities) He has also recently gone through a growth spurt and shot up a few inches (all of his pants are now too short...how does this seem to happen overnight??) Anyway, so I ended up at the doctor's office with him yesterday. They have to treat him for "exercise induced asthma" first. He has an inhaler to use 15-20 minutes before activity. However, he should only use this no more than 3 times (3 different occasions, 2 puffs 15-20 minutes before activity) if he still has difficulty breathing then I stop the inhaler and return to the doctor. I guess then they'll order further testing. This pisses me off. I don't see why they can't order the CT Scan to take a look at his chest cavity for heart and lung placement to see if there are restrictions on either now that he has grown again. This seems more logical, but no they have to treat it as a breathing problem with activity (which could be exercise induced asthma) before they can probe further.

The fact that insurance companies are able to dictate care is just wrong. Doctors are the ones who have the training and the knowledge, however, they aren't allowed to run the diagnostics they feel necessary until they jump through the hoops laid out by the insurance companies. It's just utter and complete bullshit.

*sigh*

So here we go...I have a little adventure with my son. Maybe it isn't the sunken/concave chest causing the breathing issues...but I'd be pretty damned surprised if it wasn't.