Putting It All Together

Its been a little bit since my last post. Sorry about that but I have had some struggles to breathe. My asthma and allergies have been quite a struggle this year.  The worst they have been in 18 years.  Its been so long since I have had this kind of struggle that I have forgotten what it is like.  I guess I needed the reminder of what it is like to have a chronic lung disease and the struggles we go through.  There is a reason for me going through this struggle and I will just trust God in it.

Mean while, since my activity has been mostly limited to sitting by the computer and staying in doors, I have been trying to make the best of it.   I have had the opportunity to speak to several people over 70 years old.  They were looking for insurance.  Some to replace an ending term policy, another looking for a final expense policy.   All the cases have turned out sad so far as it is very expensive to replace term policies and some people are not happy having to settle for a graded death benefit.   This just makes it all the more important to stress planning early and well when chosing your life insurance.  But it has almost made me look deeper.

I spent the day looking for additional final expense policies that I could offer those I serve.  I also found a company that offers Funeral Trust Funds.  These are protected from Medicaid.  The people seemed genuinely nice and caring. So I have decided to work with them and they have decided to work with me to offer this trust fund to the people I will be working with.  I am waiting for the brochures and info now.  Its not the best answer but at least an answer to what some people are facing.  Well it is late so I will wrap up.  Talk to you soon.  JG

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Hello all,

Its been a little bit since I last blogged.  It has been trying, health wise, but exciting ministry wise.  My inhaler has been giving me trouble. I am not sure if it is going to work out but I am still trying.  Meanwhile, I have been trying to be active.

I have taken some steps to get noticed. You can find a Health Ministry Connection page and a Health, Life and Wellness page on facebook. It was very exciting to watch the Health Ministry page go from 11 fans up to 77 so far. What a great thing to see.  I am excited to be able to share with them how the ministry is growing and how people are coming along side to be a part of the ministry.

I talked to Hospice of Dayton today who is willing to go out to the churches that I am working with and do presentations and other events. This is just the start. I also talked to a home health agency who is checking to get approval to provide blood pressure checks and blood sugar checks.

I have post cards coming that I will be mailing out to churches. Then comes the true work of making phone calls and hoping to speak to someone who will meet with me.  Even though the services are free, its hard for people to break through  to help people.  Thats all for now. God Bless!

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As I said, then it happened.  I have been an asthmatic all my life.  Spent much of my time growing up in hospitals or in a mist tent at my house.  So I know how important health insurance is.  

I found out in the middle of December that they were discontinuing my steroid inhaler due to the new CFC ban.  I had been on this inhaler for 18 years. It has served me well. I had a stock pile of inhalers. My insurance is a HSA with a 1500 deductible.  Being the good steward, I saved up my meds to get me through this time.  I had no idea that I was going to be losing my inhaler.

I was able to continue on until March then I had to make the change.  For me it was not a simple thing to do.  I have numerous allergies and there was one inhaler propellant that I am allergic too.  The new CFC ban resulted in making a new inhaler propellant, out of the one that I am allergic too. That is the only one available.  This left me with limited choices and using a dry powder medicine. 

This has been life altering for me.  I have struggled over the past 3 weeks in many ways trying to adapt to this medicine.  It reminded me how prescious every breath is and the fear of not being able to breath raised it head back in my life with a roar. And with my $1500 deductible I have been trying not to see the doctor much less end of up in the ER.  Plus, the inhaler is very expensive.

Basically everything has been on hold, business and personal.  I placed my name on the prayer request list at church, which for me was a hard thing to do.  I have prayed for healing and asked for strength to get through this.  Yes, it has been life altering.

After 3 weeks, I am finally starting to feel better. My breathing is not great and far from perfect but I feel a little energy coming back to me.  I want so much to be back to "normal" and get on with my new life.  It is a process and it is certainly taking time.  As Joyce Meyer would say in one of the titles of her CD, I am in a hurry and God is not. There is a reason for this.  I am sure I have learned or will learn from all this.  I am ready God. Please be with me and let's go.. together.

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That describes it.  Tired and for no reason. Oh except the fact that my health is not the best right now and that I am worried about my finances.  And don't forget the day to day responsibilities and duties that come alone with everyday life.  Yes, tired, that is what I am.

But that is certainly not the beginning.  I have always had a desire to be self employed.  Running some sort of company or another.  Being the head of the company.  Having a large office space with a big window that had a georgous view.

Up until several months ago I worked for a very large insurance company.  Had a nice job title. Had the run of southwest Ohio doing development.  But all that is gone now.  Downsizing they call it. Medicare cuts they said. But that is old news.  I started looking for work immediatly but there was none to be found.  Of course it was the first of December.  Why would their be a job available before Christmas and right during this major economic down swing?  Silly me.

I finally settled down for the winter season and started asking God, what am I supposed to do now.  For months I had been saying that I had no dreams or desires.  That I felt nothing inside.  And now I am unemployed.  You would think that I had plenty of time to stew but one thing came up after another.  An errand here, a family emergency or illness there.  You name it, I was kept busy all the way into January. I thought and chased down some carreer ideas but inside I was jut not satisfied.

Then one day it happened.  What if I were to sell insurance on my own.  No big company pulling my strings.  Yes, thats right.  Me, sell insurance.  But not just sell it.  Do it the right way.  No pressures, no strings, just the heart to help people select what they needed and not try to push something on them not wanted or needed.  Not only that but now that I am free, I could start the ministry I always said that I would once I retired.  These were the first thoughts and dreams that I had had in years.

I started on my quest and began contacting health and life insurance companies. Ran into many snags and frustrations but eventually started to make progress.  I even started a web page (with much frustration) and began looking at how to advertise.  I have been trying to learn about the products so I could finally start to reach out to people. I am loving every minute of it, despite the aggrevation. I actually enjoy learning about what is available. But I have also found out how hard it can be to get insurance coverage.  And that is the sad part.  If I had known now back when I was younger, I would have better prepared for the future.  But no one knows when they are younger. And I certainly did nothing to plan for the future. 

Who would have thought that a person could not get life or health insurance or that it would be costly if you did.  I have discovered many things. But I still enjoy insurance and I still want to help people. So I have continued working toward being self sufficient and starting this business.   And then it happened.

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