iona's blog

It's a journal. It's a devotional. It's a record of a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) survivor. It's documentation of God's activities in real time. There are good days and bad, happy times and sad... I tell it like it is. This is an unscripted walk along the meandering paths of my mind. My life has never been dull... and I've never known boredom. Read on, you'll see...

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Name: Iona Hoeppner
Location: Davenport, Florida, United States

I am a happily married mother and grandmother of a large family. I've also had several careers including writer, teacher, trucker, investment and finance advisor, web master and artist. I am an ordained minister (I feel called to people, not to the pulpit) and consider my calling to Christ's service my most important role in life.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

God and Country?

A lazy Monday. It is Richard's day off after his work week, so we treat it like a Saturday. He mowed and I worked on some computer things, then we played a borrowed board game, Ticket to Ride. Good game, I beat the Tall Man both times we played.

Not much exciting to write about. We had a cheap but very good Boston butt pork roast meal. I only paid $2.39/lb. for it. I baked an angel food cake yesterday and we had it with strawberries and whipped cream. Now,. since the most stimulating thing I can think to write about is dinner, perhaps we should look at this:

Some say it came from Andy Rooney, I don't know, but here it is. I may put it up on my web site.

GOD & COUNTRY
There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C.

As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view. It is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments!

As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see on the wall right above where the Supreme Court judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments!

James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of Our Constitution" made the following statement:" We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said:
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.

Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies.

Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making law . An oligarchy, the rule of few over many.

The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said:
"Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."

How, then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional? How can we justify imprisoning a paster for denouncing the new policy of silencing the Christians while giving preferential voice to all other religious and/or ethnic views and doctrines?

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Monday, March 16, 2009

Religion as a Hobby?

Recently USA Today ran a front page story on the changing religious face of America as they perceive it. Sadly, the polls were unscientific and skewed and the interviews focused on people who would reinforce the author's spin on the story, which made the whole piece so far off base that it was uninteresting as well as uninformative. The article did do one thing, though, it led to a particularly shocking comment from daughter Athena.

Athena, an agnostic, seems to think that religion is one of my hobbies. As my daughter, I thought she would know me better than that, but then she explained her assumption. A hobby is what interests you, she says, it is what you spend your time, energy and money on. A hobby is something you are enthusiastic about and pour yourself into. Okay, I can see how a nonbeliever might make such a statement. Without an understanding of the terms, the uninitiated assume Christianity and religion are somehow closely related when, in fact, they are almost always at opposite poles.

Religion is man trying to work his way to, reach, please, impress or in any way influence God. True Christianity is God doing all the "work," reaching out to man who has to do nothing except receive the gift offered Him... pure Grace.

Then, in relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (Trinity), man is drawn through love to do things pleasing to God. Such works are not self-serving but a natural outpouring of God's love for man acting through the believer.

A misunderstanding of this concept is what leads people to believe they have to "get good" to "get God." Nothing could be more false. The same misconception also leads to a misguided understanding of salvation, Christianity and the personhood of God. People fail to realize they HAVE to do something with Jesus. They can reject Him in any number of ways, including ignoring Him, or they accept Him as Savior and Lord. In the end, it falls one way or the other. All will have a chance to choose, and all will be responsible for their choice.

My faith is not a hobby; it is not something I DO, rather it is WHO I AM. I am a child of God and will live eternally. When God looks at me, He no longer sees my sin; He sees only the righteousness of Jesus who, in a single transaction paid the full debt for all my pas, present and future sins. Nothing about that could remotely be as mundane as a hobby.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

I've Got Mail

Richard called in sick for about the 5th time in 35 years. He was hot and feverish all day but plans to work tomorrow. I wish he would take the time to get well, even though he usually recovers almost immediately on the rare occasion he gets ill. I also pray I don't get what he has because I seem to catch every bug that comes down the pike.

For a change, I was off the computer nearly all day. I hopped online to do the Weekly Prayer Focus for church tomorrow but didn't even pick through my personal email. I get many emails daily because of http://ionanet.com and other web sites I do, so just "checking my mail" can turn into a three hour chore and I get nothing done. Either that or I am on it all day as each new message comes in.

The best way for me to deal with email is to direct all except the church mail to one place then read/answer each segment with a modified form letter. A lot of my mail is from folks with similar issues/questions/problems, so I can add a personal touch to the same list of links or scripture quotes or encouraging statements, etc.

But sometimes, like today, I am just too involved with other things to get into any but the most urgent mail. The exception, of course, is church prayer request mail. So, my mail will wait until after church tomorrow.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Trippin'

I've been at the Sandestin Hilton with three of my beautiful daughters and my precocious and darling grandbaby, Peyton. The time was glorious and all these young ladies gorgeous, and I am so very thankful to have been part of it all. Here are some select photos of the trip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionaruth/sets/72157615201662780/

All my girls are witty and bright, so when any of them are together, the give and take is brisk, full of satire and humor... often too much for me to follow. I must admit I have trouble keeping track of all their conversations even though I love being included.

Athena and I left after a second visit (this time with Kim, Tami and Peyton) to Senor Mojitos Waterfront Grill. I chose a wild and funky chicken sandwich with pineapple and outrageous sauce. On our first visit when we stopped here on our way to the Hilton, Athena and I shared a bucket of blue crabs and I had it all over myself.

Well, I am out of time, out of energy and out of words, so will sign off. Don't forget to check out the pictures.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Girls Week Out

I am in Sandestin, FL with three of my daughters and my youngest granddaughter. We are at the Hilton with the Colorado National Guard paying for the room. Kim is a Lt. Colonel in the Guard and is here for s conference. She came to a similar conference here last year and I joined her then also. This year Tami and Athena are also sharing in this mini-vacation.

The beach is wonderful, and we hope to spend some more time out there tomorrow. Today, Athena and I went to the spa and were pampered royally. She had a facial and I indulged in a "Serenity Massage" that lasted 50 minutes. Ahhhh. Thanks, Kim!!

This evening, they had a "Social" on the expansive deck with lots of great food. The was a rather cool breeze, but the event was quite enjoyable anyway. We were chilly enough to get excited about the hot tub where we spent an hour before retiring to our room.

Athena and I will head back home tomorrow after dinner since she needs to be back at work Thursday morning. The best part of the whole thing has been spending time with my wonderful daughters and Peyton, who could melt any heart.

What a blessing this time has been!

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Nothing in Secret

It has long been my goal to live in such a way that the only secrets I need to keep are the fun ones like a birthday surprise or coordinating a special outing with a twist. I long to make my loved ones proud of me and to bring joy to the Lord. Of course, I fall far short of these goals, but as I become ever more committed to a life of transparency, I see that it has indeed been changing me all along.

Except as it pertains to spreading the Gospel, I find I care less and less about what others think. I am not here to please or impress anyone except God. If possible, I want to avoid offending anyone, yet all the while knowing my stand for Christ is, by definition, a stand against abortion, homosexuality and other practices God has clearly denounced as sin.

Someone I love dearly once said of me, "She's always trying to shove Jesus down our throats." I was confused since I had said little to her about her faith, and I had not pushed her about hers. In fact I had thought her to be a believer as she had once claimed to be. What came about was this: Yes, she's a Christian, but thinks I get too carried away with it. Hmmm.

I am still praying about the letter I wrote to Scott's parole board. I have not yet sent it but it needs to go out this week.

Tomorrow, Crystal has no military duties and we will spend the day together, Richard, Crystal and I. I have a 10:00 am appointment with someone at the Holy Land Experience and then the day is ours! I need to get some sleep but am wide awake, excited as a four-year old about tomorrow.

Monday, March 02, 2009

Dinner with Friends, Drugs, too!

Crystal is in town! She's here for a National Guard conference they send her to every year at this time. We met her this afternoon and drove over to Athena's, but Athena and Brian were still at work so we browsed around Goodwill for a while.

Athena and Brian can turn anything into a feast fit for royalty with almost no notice. Tonight, Athena was the chef and we indulged in great appetizers to rev up our taste buds for buffalo/hamburger patties specially seasoned and cooked on cast iron over an open wood fire and served on fresh baked French buns. Crystal, Athena and I stood around the fire before and after our meal. There's something primitively satisfying about an open fire and a chilly night. People open up and talk. We had a good visit.

Had a great day but am tired and have never finished my paper piles yet. Time with by honey and my girls is much more important. I'm doubly blessed because they're more than family, they're my friends, too!
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Drug Cost Shocker!
Excerpted from a magazine article:
Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA. As we have revealed in past issues of Life Extension, a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United States contain active ingredients made in other countries. In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in America.

The data below speaks for itself:

Celebrex: 100 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $ 0.60

Claritin: 10 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71

Keflex: 250 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88

Lipitor: 20 mg
Consumer Price (100 tab lets): $272.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80

Paxil: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60

Prevacid: 30 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01

Prilosec: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97
Cost of general active ingredients $0.52

Prozac: 20 mg (After reading this, you'll need some Prozac)
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11

Tenormin: 50 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13

Vasotec: 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $102.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20

Xanax: 1 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024

Zestril: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89
Cost of general active ingredients $3.20

Zithromax: 600 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19
Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78

Zocor: /B 40 mg
Co nsumer price (100 tablets): $350.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63

Zoloft: 50 mg
Consumer price: $206.87
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75

Price Gouging by Pharmacies
Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, people opt for generics when possible. This helps to solve the mystery as to why they can afford to put a Walgreen's on every corner. Several years ago, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. Yes, that's not a typo - three thousand percent! So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves. For example, if you had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills. The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are 'saving' $20. What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that Costco consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs.

I went to the Costco site, where you can look up any drug and get its online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices. I was appalled.
http://www.costco.com/Pharmacy/frameset.asp?
I checked on the drug Compazine which helps prevent nausea. I checked the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS. I checked the price at Costco, and I could have bought 100 pills for $19.89. For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57. I could have got 150 at Costco for $28.08.

I would like to mention, that although Costco is a 'membership' type store, you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there. You just tell them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in. (this is true)

This can be verified by clicking on the following link:
http://www.snopes.com/medical/drugs/generic.asp