Careful! Too Good to be True!

The Fanatics

I'm an author, and I freelance as well. I love to write, and I do everything "writing" I can. I get a lot of my work from a site called Upwork, a great site by the way! I highly recommend it! 

Ten days or so ago, I applied for an hourly writing job for a company called Pharma Waldhof. Seven days ago, they contacted me, telling me they'd like an interview on Google Hangouts. I called Upwork to make sure that was kosher. It was within policy and pretty standard. I agreed to the interview. They set the interview and briefing (should the interview proceed well) for 9-3 the next day.

I was going to have a steady, real, stay-at-home writing job?! It all seemed too good to be true! No more freelancing and piecing jobs together? This was going to be great! But, what if it was too good to be true? Be careful of things that sound too good to be true, ladies and gents!! Sometimes they are!

In the meantime, I researched the company. They appeared to be an outstanding company! I called the US government to see how I would work taxes since they were based out of Germany and found the IRS had a contract with them, so all was well at that end. I studied up on the company's policies and their self-proclaimed strengths, expertise, and ambitions so I'd be able to wow them with my knowledge--the first rule of a good interview ;).

Stay at Home?! :)

The interview went very well. The briefing was quick. They told me they offered benefits (Dental, Medical, 401K, and more)! ...Then they told me I'd be self-employed. My husband and I didn't think much about it except that it was odd that they would be able to offer those benefits without my being an employee. But then we thought maybe it was a business thing we just didn't know about. I'd be getting $20 an hour during the week of training on their programs and $30 an hour when I started working. I'd be setting my own hours. 

They said they'd be buying me a business computer (sounds reasonable) and a business phone. They'd be paying the bill (also sounds reasonable since I'd be calling Germany). Then they said I'd need the receipt in order to claim the laptop and cell phone when they were shipped to me, so they'd send me a cashier's check. I'd use that money to purchase the computer and phone from their vendor and, therefore, have the receipt. --Okay...

My Bank wouldn't wire the money.

I deposited the cashier's check, waited for it to completely clear into my account and let them know I was ready for the ordering information. Instead of a website, they gave me the information to wire money to the vendor. I asked if I could pay it via credit card or electronic check. They told me, "no," that they needed me to start immediately and that wiring the money was the only way we could get the money to the vendor in time to get the computer out by the next day so I could start work. They said I could only work on that computer because it would have the programs I needed. --Sounded reasonable.

I called my bank and asked them to wire the money. Our bank, which is an online bank, only wires money to title companies, not to people--THANK GOD! Unfortunately, the "company" came up with a different way for me to get the money to them--Amazon cards. I went to the store and bought $2,400 in Amazon cards, scratched the backs off, took pictures of them and of their receipts and emailed the photos to the provided website. NEVER DO THAT!

Amazon Cards--The New Scam!

The next day, they sent me a second cashier's check. They said this was the last of the money the vendor needed and that they needed to be sure they could trust me with the first half before they gave me the rest to send to the vendor. They had told me the day before that the computer would arrive that day before 1 pm, which was when my first day of training was supposed to take place. The vendor, however, needed the payment before the computer would be delivered or it couldn't be delivered.

Since I needed it by 1 pm and didn't know what time it was scheduled to arrive, I woke the kids at 7 am, ordered an Uber (taxi) and went to Walmart for Amazon cards. Would you believe the Walmart here doesn't carry Amazon cards?! We went to the store we got the cards the day prior; they didn't open until 8 am, and I hadn't wanted to wait that late. The store wouldn't sell me any more since I'd bought so many the day before. They said they'd have to fill out money laundering paperwork.

We spent $75 on Uber!! :O

To make a long story short, we were out until lunch, visiting several stores, calling several banks, and visiting one bank to see if they would be a middleman for a wire transfer. I couldn't find anyone. The last bank I went to said that they thought I was being scammed. Little did I know they were right! God had kept me so safe that day! We went back home. I had already spent $75 in Uber just in that one day alone, and the kids were spent.

When we got home, I called my bank and asked to talk to the security department. Sure enough, the cashier's checks were fake. We were taken for $2,400, but it would have been $6,000 if I had found someone to wire the money for me or to sell me the Amazon cards! God sure is great, isn't He!

My husband and I let the real Pharma Waldhof know someone is impersonating them and stealing people's money. We alerted the police and gave them the packet of information I had obtained--I keep records of everything. The police said this will be a long, drawn-out process. Our bank security is conducting their own research. The thieves will probably never be caught, and we'll most likely never get our money back, but it's an excellent opportunity for others to learn from! That's why I shared our story with you. Please don't make the same mistake we did! If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Call upon the name of the Lord,

and Thou shalt be saved!

There's only one thing I know of that really is true even though it sounds so good! That's the story of Christ. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died a horrible, undeserving death just. for. you, and rose again three days later! 

John 3:16,  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Romans 10:9,  "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

Carry Your Own Weight!

Are you skinny as a rail, yet your legs give out before they have a chance to carry you? Are you stuck in a wheelchair day-in and day-out? Have you always been wheelchairbound, or is it a fairly new thing? My mother just found out she has Parkinson's Disease a year or so ago. She has her good days, but she has days that she has to stay in her wheelchair because her legs just won't carry her.

There are other people that are so heavy that they just can't carry their own weight. I was told that walking around downtown becomes difficult when you exceed 250 pounds. You get to start driving one of those carts around Wal*Mart at 400 pounds--It's not as fun, kiddos, when you HAVE to do it for health reasons. When 455 pounds rolls around, many women have a difficult time standing up straight due to their bust and belly weight! Even sitting, their legs and feet retain fluid, making it hard to walk. At 500 pounds, most people can't walk much anymore, and, at 700, they can't carry their own weight at all. Imagine an around-the-clock in-home care, a bedpan, and sponge baths given by the old woman next door... Ewww!

Do you carry your own weight around the house, women? Are you doing your best to keep the house clean, your family fed, the laundry done up, and the domestic chores completed? Are you following God's commands, yes, commands, to submit to your husband and train up your children in the way they should go? If it helps, remember that your husband is supposed to submit to you too. :)

What about you. men? MMHMM... Touchy spot. Sure, you work all day, but so do your wives. Some at a job outside the home, others as a stay-at-home mom or housewife. Hey! That's a full-time job too! Their job does not end with the workday, and neither does yours! Not only do you have chores to do at home, but, guys, help your wives out around the house. Remember, too, that you do have kids. Put those phones away. Stay off that computer or tv for until after their bedtime. Put the book down. Spend time with your children. They need you. Carry your own weight!

Lastly, are you carrying your weight with God? Are you talking to Him daily? There's so very much to pray about! Are you letting Him speak to you through reading His Word? Are you attending church? Are you serving? Are you witnessing? God commands us all to "Go ye into all the world". Are you going? Are you carrying your own weight?

I guess that's about all for tonight. Honestly, though, people. how many of us truly carry our own weight at home? At work? At church? All the time? It can be hard! We get tired. Forget tired, we get emotional and physically drained to the point of exhaustion. We do need to try our hardest, though. Not only do we need to try our hardest, but we should be spurring others on to try their hardest too, after all, that's what friends are for, right? See you next time! Until then, carry your own weight!

DON'T Fold MY Laundry!!

Children!! I hear them in the other room, "I don't WANT help! Leave me alone!"

Sierra and Hannah hate getting help from their sister. I guess they think they'll owe them or something? I don't know... I guess I've never really sat them down and asked them. Maybe I should? Older ladies, now's the time to chime in :).

Sierra doesn't like anyone else to fold her clothes... except Mommy, of course. In fact, she kind of expects Mommy to fold her clothes, so she leaves them until I get sick of them and either do them for her or sit on top of her until they're done (a recent development--are you proud of me?). I believe she just likes them folded a particular way and hates to have anyone else fold them.

I don't blame her, though. I don't like anyone to fold my laundry either. If anyone does, I unfold it in secret and fold it back my way before I put it away. Horrible, right? I am getting better with it, though. I will sometimes allow Matt to fold his own clothes now, although I do sometimes sneak in and refold his shirts while he's at work (shhh!!). My excuse? They just fit in the drawer so much better when they're folded right!

Do you have areas you don't want help in? Maybe you feel self-conscious... or like you'll owe the person afterward? Maybe you feel like you should be helping them instead. Maybe they feel the same way. Maybe you are breaking their heart or their spirit, or maybe you are stealing their joy by not allowing them the privilege to serve another.

Do you still live at home? Are you out of the home, but unmarried still? Have you married already? Are you old enough to have grown children? It doesn't matter what stage you're in. You are still commanded to honor your parents. What's the best way to do this--by accepting their help should it be offered. By turning down their help, you are stealing their blessing. It is such a blessing to your parents to be able to help and provide for you!

Do you allow your husband to help? That is what he is there for! It brings him pride to provide for you, and this includes providing you the help you need. If you turn down his help, you are breaking his pride, and he will soon give up on trying to help at all.

What about that help from God? Do you push Him away? Do you accept help from Him? Do you ask? God says He wants you to even ask for that help! "ASK and it shall be given unto you..."!

God wants to help you, whether you want the help or not. He knows your needs before you do. He knows what you WANT before you do. He knows the deepest desires of your heart before they are even revealed to you! Are you going to let Him help you in the good times and in the bad? So many times we ask for help only in the bad times and forget about Him completely in the good times, but He wants to help you then too. He wants to help you stay on the straight and narrow, help you keep in those good times, and help you prepare for the bad times ahead.

Then there are those of us who get mad at God and do not even want His help in the bad times. We get bitter and carry that bitterness with us as it carries us to the deepest and darkest places. If we reach this sort of bitterness, it grows in us like a cancer, and even in the good times, the bitterness continues to grow. The only way out is to ask God for help out of this hole of no hope. Ask for His help, accept His help, and don't push him away!

Bunk Beds and Bald Heads

Yesterday, while cutting my husband's hair, I noticed the hair on the back of his head is starting rub a little thin. It's always been so thick that it bogs down the clippers when I cut it.


"Matt!" I gasped in surprise, "You're getting a bald spot!" I tried to reassure him it looked sophisticated and manly after I realized it was bothering him so badly.


After Matt's hair was finished, it was my 5-year-old's turn. "Do I have a spot in the middle of my head too, Mommy?" he earnestly asked, hoping against hope.


"No," I replied. "Why? Do you want one?"


"Yes." came his simple reply.


"You want to be just like Daddy, don't you," I asked with a smile.


He nodded his head. "Give me a spot Mommy." It was more of a question that a demand.


"No, I can't do that," I said to his dismay. I sort of felt bad when he started to look so downcast.


He asked made his demands about three more times before his hair was done.

How much do your children want to be like you? How much do they look up to you? How much do they watch you? What are they learning from you with every passing day?


I remember when my 6-year-old was around 3 years old that she wanted a bunk bed just like her big sisters. She was always asking for one and tried crawling in the bottom bunk with Hannah almost every night.

No matter what you do, no matter how you act, no matter if you think you're worthy or not, there are little eyes on you! Watching. Waiting. Learning. And they want to be just. like. you.


What pattern are you setting forth? They say "more is caught than taught". What is your life teaching your children? They want to be just like you, you know.

You must be careful. You wonder why your 4-year-old has such an attitude? What's your's like? Is your daughter a soul-winner? Now, why do you think that is? YOU are the guidebook they read every day. Are you a good text?

You don't teach morals and ethics and empathy

and kindness in the schools

You teach that at home,

and children learn by example.

--Judy Sheindlin

Calling In Sick

I am so sick today! I have the stomach bug my 9-year-old had. Stupid sickness. Stupid me! Why wasn't I more understanding of her when she had this? She wasn't really complaining all that much, probably because of the way her Autism affects her. She didn't have a fever. I didn't know it was so bad!

I'm wishing now I hadn't made her do school work. I'm wishing now I didn't have to work. Most people just call into work. Most people have that privilege ability, but not me. No, I have to work regardless.

I still have to wash dishes. I still have to fold laundry. I still have to cook and clean. I still have to kiss imaginary boo-boos (which is a great privilege by the way). I still have to work. Why? Because I'm Mom. Moms don't have the privilege, um, ability to call in sick. No, we have to stick it out and be Mom. Dad gets to be sick. Why can't we?

The blessing of being Mom comes with many privileges... and many not so privileges. Do we find ourselves complaining about our blessings to be Mom instead of just thanking God for the opportunity we have to touch the lives of our lovely children? Be thankful regardless. Thank God you have the chance to be a mom. Thank God for that responsibility. Thank God you don't have that ability to call in sick. After all, if you did, it may mean you wouldn't be a mom today!

"In everything give thanks;

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus

concerning you."

I Thessalonians 5:18

Ground Beef and Humble Pie

Sometimes it's hard to fit those bulky packages of ground beef in your freezer. Then they want to roll out at every opportunity, finding it's target every time it falls out of the freezer. Of course, that would be that one little pinky toe that you stubbed 4 times today. It's so frustrating! Shouldn't there be a better way?

There is!

I've found that if I put my two pounds of ground beef in a gallon-size Ziploc bag (Yes, we use two pounds at a time around here) and smoosh it down real good, flattening it out to almost fill the bag, it works a lot better for me. Not only does it make it easy to squeeze out all the air, but it's stackable. It doesn't take as much space up in your freezer and doesn't roll out (BONUS!!!) when you're looking for those last minute frozen veggies that you forgot to microwave while the food was cooking... Ahem... Not that I would do such a thing... Bigger bonus yet, it thaws much quicker!

We are much like that ground beef! We roll around where we ought not, rebelliously falling out of God's will. We puff ourselves up so much with pride that God finds it hard to fit us where we belong.

There is a better way!

If we let God smoosh us and squeeze the air out of our pesky little heads, we'll thrive where He places us. If we stick close to Him, we won't find ourselves rolling out of God's will... or at least not as much. 😊 Best yet, if we allow God to press us down and mold us as He wants, we'll be more pliable, useful, and useable. Time to deflate that little head and find some humility. Let God do as He wishes, and just stay out of His way.

PROBLEMS FACING THE CHRISITAN HOME

No matter how hard you try to protect your family by building a Christian home, there will still be major problems that affect it. The world’s philosophy will still seep in; the psychology of friends and family will continue to be heard—and sometimes heeded; the civil government will always interfere; the “civilization” will forever try to “help”; and the satisfaction of the flesh will still be a temptation to one and all. These many problems of our society, like it or not, do—and will continue to—affect the Christian homes we try so hard to build!

Before we ever begin our families, we are taught the philosophies of this world. Spock’s teachings are prominent in this generation, and they are engrained into the very thought process of any person raised in the public—and most private—schools. They are also confirmed to us through television, magazines, the newspapers, and much more. This is a big factor in many homes today.



After our children are born, our friends and family “throw” their psychology at us constantly. When your child is still a baby, as they lie sleeping in the crib or snuggled in your arms, you are told, “Oh, she’s so cute, but just you wait…!” In addition, your parents and friends have thei

r own ideas of how your children should be raised, and they do not mind “educating” you in that area.



The civil government seems to enjoy interfering with the Biblical family’s progress too. They set forth laws to prohibit the proper discipline of your child, naming it physical abuse, thus instilling beliefs into every citizen that contradict the proper upbringing of family and the Biblical family values. The civil government is one of the problems facing our homes today.



Another is mere civilization. Those things that seem to add to society—seem to make it a better place—literally tear apart the Christian home. The television, which you allow your children to watch, contains some of the vilest things imaginable, and, even the most innocent appearing productions, teach evolution, rebellion, violence, and other anti-Biblical principles. The Internet, when placed in your home, provides an open door to many uncanny and evil things. Time spent on these objects (television, computer, etc.) is stolen from the precious little time available to the proper “rearing” of your children; thus, they are raised by the world instead of “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”!



The desire to satisfy the flesh is the last problem that shall be mentioned. There are many ways to accomplish the fulfillment of this desire, and most of them are readily available to us and our children. These traps, baited with the false promise of success and happiness, are easy to fall into and almost impossible to break free of. This is probably the most prominent and easily attained road to the destruction of the Christian home. Remember, you must lead by example; help your children to overcome in this world by standing against the odds and raising a Christian family through the defeat of these problems that plague the Christian home.