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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Working Mom's In The Home

A couple of weeks ago I was put to ease about guilt I was feeling for working over the past 5 years. I have been doing a bible study with a few women from my church on the women in the bible. Proverbs 31:24 stuck out. It was like my father in heaven was comforting me through his word and that is what is supposed to happen when we study it right. The scripture read she maketh fine linen and selleth it; and deliver girdles unto the merchant. So this spoke to me saying it's OK and biblical to help financially as long as the family is taken care of first. It was like an additional hobby and with her skills she helped with the money in the home.

Now I haven't worked outside the home for over 5 years now. I have been an at home mom and wife. We couldn't afford for me to go to work outside the home plus Kasey and I felt so disconnected from each other. We also felt so disconnected from our children. The whole time I was at work I just kept thinking how much longer it was until I got to pick them up. A friend of mine at work said I know how you can work from home. She did a different type of phone work that I wasn't comfortable with. She said you won't make as much as me but you can stay home with your babies. (She knew how much I missed them). My journey began there. All of the companies that I have listed I have either personally worked for or know someone personally that has worked for them. (***Due to privacy and security of some companies that are contracted with these companies I have to * or X out part of their name, but I hope you can figure it out.)

I do need to inform you of 2 things.
  1. Most of these companies you are considered an employee, therefore you don't have to worry about anything. You get a W-2 at the end of the year. File taxes like if you had went into an actual job. You don't get as many tax breaks but it still helps. Many of these companies you also don't have limits on the number of hours you work. For some of them they don't pay overtime though because it is your choice the number of hours you work. So since they don't pay overtime, they also aren't required by law to give you or offer a number of hours you work. Most companies have schedules that you can pick from but they are set hours. So just like a regular job you get on your computer log on and work. Others allow you to pick your hours but can be hard to even get hours. 
  2. The other option is to be an independent contractor. This is easier than it sounds. You just go to the IRS website and apply for one. (Click here to be directed to it). You will need to also check your state laws. Some will say or require that you do a corporation, or LLC. The easiest and cheapest way in most states to do it is apply for an EIN, and do a sole proprietor. This basically means that you have a business under your EIN. You can also have a sole proprietor under your social as well. When you get your taxes done you just put the EIN number in or file them separately which is still pretty easy to do. Plus you get a ton of tax breaks. Everything you use for the business is a tax write off from pens and paper, to your electric bill, mortgage, and internet. So this could really help you bring down your AIG come tax time.
**Please keep in mind that not all of these companies hire in all states due to their contracting laws, and employment laws.**

**Most of the companies pay direct deposit so a bank account is needed**

**Some of these companies have a no compete regulation meaning that if you work fro them you can't work for another company. However I would like to add that with those companies you make enough usually to be able to live off of just their income.**


The first group is going to be phone work. This means that you can't have no background noise. It is best to set up a little office in a separate room. Some of these you will need to use your social and some of these you will need to file for a EIN based off of the company's requirement and your choice.

  • LiveOps-- This by far was and still is my favorite company that I had ever worked for. I made some really good money. You make .25 cents per minute on the phone. You would have to file your own taxes with this company. You are considered an Independent Contractor. You pick your own schedule, but can work 24 hours a day.Most people start off in Direct Response. Direct Response or aka DR is where you take calls for infomercials and commercials. Some of the companies offer incentives for just selling or sending out their information to customers. It can be from something as small as $1 to $10 dollars. I will give you an example of some what an average call looks like with this company. (Example: You are on a call for 10 minutes at .25 cents per minute that equals to 2.50 for that call. If you do 4 calls in one hour averaging that time then you just made 10 dollars for the hour without any incentives) Now with this company you should also know they have a router that goes by how well you do. The better you do on sales, and completed calls meaning you made the sale (which is not hard at all they are calling you to order) the more calls you get. When you start off you may only end up with 10 minutes per 30 minute block. The more you work the better you get the higher your stats are. When I left the company (due to personal reasons not the company's) I was getting 45-55 minutes of call time per hour. That is $11.25 to $13.75 an hour. I didn't have to pay for daycare and got to work when I wanted. One last thing on this company is that they have other contracts you can get with them. One of them you take orders for a well known Pizza Company, another was for an Insurance Agency. So you have options. Get your foot in the door. With LiveOps you do read from a script but it has all the answers you need.
  • West--I also worked for this company as well. This company pays minimum wage and you are considered an employee. Now different contracts you can get with this company varies on the pay as well. You pick your own hours and can work 24 hours a day with most of their contracts. Most people start in DR with this company as well, but are offered different contracts pretty quick. They have several different ones. Some of them are H*N (a shopping channel), various cell phone customer service for prepaid cell phones, other television shopping channels (can you think of any), a flower company that needs you usually around Valentines day they are Pros. Some other ones are for appliance companies. These are just some of them, but there are more.
  • ACD Direct--With this company many times you take calls for pledges for instance on PBS. There are few other opportunities and depending on the position you get varies on the pay. Several people that I know say if you get on with them it's something you can do but not something for complete income. You are considered an Independent contractor. They don't hire in all states though. 
  • Working Solutions--www.workingsolutions.com (it wouldn't let me link it sorry). This company is hard to get into but is worth it. The wait list is very long. They have some great contractors and the companies are very strict about who they contract with. I can tell you though you can that you are considered and Independent Contractor though. 
  • Arise AKA Willow -- This company I highly HIGHLY recommend you do no apply with until you have worked for either LiveOps, or West. They are a lot to start off with. You pay for your own training, and have to do a lot with them. You also have to incorporate according to your state for a business. You can expect to spend any where from 150 to 700 dollars to start up with them. You are not guaranteed a contract with anyone. You don't get paid for training and are paid for time on the phone only. The pay is excellent with this company but very competitive. If you don't pass the training you can reapply to take but have to pay for it again. So I would be very cautious about going through them to start off with. 
  • Alpine Access -- This is a very hard company to get in with. You are considered an employee. You have to go through a phone interview, and some other paper work, but a great company to work for. You have opportunities to advance greatly with this company to management positions. This company does have a no compete policy so if you work for them you can only work for them. They have several amazing companies that you can work for such as a prepaid credit card company, Am*a*on, an office supply store, a gaming system company, and an insurance company for older people. 
  • Cloud 10 -- This company you are considered an employee. Therefore you have a set schedule, and are paid an hourly rate. So you don't have to worry about guessing how much you will make. You work between 32-38 hours a week full time and half of that part time. They have contracts with a cell phone company, a satellite dish company, and a cable company. You offer customer service for them, tech support and sometimes billing. They train you so you know what to do. Pay varies on the contract that you get. You do have to go through a hiring process meaning a phone interview and providing some documentation. 

This next group of jobs or opportunities does not require you to be on the phone. You don't have to worry about background noise. Most of them you are considered an IC so you have to file your own taxes and work when you can. The amount of work you do varies on your pay. Some require you to get paid through PayPal and others require you to open a bank account with them or a debit card program it just varies. 

  • ChaCha -- This was one of my most favorite jobs that didn't have to do with phone work. I loved it because I could make money during the day while Kasey was at work and then the evenings I could spend with family. They have different pay structures so it is your choice of how you want to do it. Personally I would go with just getting paid for the questions you answer. How it works is basically people text ChaCha their question it gets routed to a guide which would be you and you look up the answer and send it back to them. They send in questions from what is today's weather to what restaurants are in Chicago, IL that are gluten free. So you can have fun and you actually learn a lot. This is something you can do for extra income but probably not live off of. You have the option to do pay me now and they deduct 2 dollars from your total amount of pay. The faster you are the more you get. You have to set up a bank account with them but it's easy and you get a debit card with them. You can work anytime of the day. You just log in and click available. It is a fun one. You are considered and IC so you file your own taxes and take deductions. 
  • Text Broker -- This is a fun company to work for also. You are an independent contractor. You work when you can. You submit a writing sample and based off of your writing you get a rating. Based off your rating you can get paid more and have more opportunities. You get paid through paypal twice a month. I have worked for them and still have my contract open with them but only work every now and then.
  • Demand Studios -- This is an excellent company. I didn't work as a writer but know several people that have. It is a great opportunity and can lead to several other contracts with private companies. They work with companies such as Live Strong, YouTube, and Ehow. As a writer you can get paid from 10-25 dollars per job. The more you work the more you make. The other opportunity is with the Titling department. To apply for an opportunity with the titling department you can email them to let them know you are interested to the Titling Team To view what the different roles are you can view them HERE. The pay is from 0.01 per title to 0.04 cents per title. You can easily make any where from 100 a month to 2000 a month in the Titling department. It is easy and you can do any where. 



This is pretty much it, but there are a lot of others. As I come across more or remember more I will put them up. I will also update as often as possible. Feel free to post a comment if you have a question and I will fidn the answer for your or who you can contact for the answer. I am a firm believer in the scripture from Titus 2:5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. (KJV). The NASB says: to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. So it is biblical to work from home but you must understand that your family comes first. In Proverbs 31 it shows that she took care of her family FIRST then used her skills to make extra money. 

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Wholesome Doctrine

A couple of years ago I was laying in bed and reading my bible. I prayed before I read my bible and the kids were in bed so I got some peace and quiet to focus on God's word. I was reading the book of Timothy and a section of chapter 6 just stuck out to me.

It said: If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, (6:3)

 The word wholesome stuck out to me in a way that I never expected. The holy spirit stopped me and had me just meditate and focus on the word wholesome. So I got to thinking what does wholesome mean. OK being an advocate for natural health and healing we use the word wholesome often. Several companies, educators, and speakers talk about products being wholesome. I started to really think what it meant to be wholesome and have wholesome foods which then led me to think of the word organic. So when you think of these two words together and then it came to me.

Wholesome and Organic mean untainted. It means clean, pure and in it's natural state. When we talk about natural health the reason organic food is important is because it is in it's original state just as how we should raise our kids. God didn't give us children to compromise their bodies, and make them how man wanted them. He made them perfect in every possible way. He made them perfect in his eyes because he is perfect. We shouldn't taint with this perfection. This is as close as we get to God here on the Earth. Any Godly person wouldn't want to distance their self from God. Well it didn't end there.

As a natural health educator and advocate it went even further to my Christian faith. So spiritually what happens when we don't have wholesome words and sound doctrine. We strive. Our faith goes to new levels, we have pure joy, and fullness in our savior. So here is the tough question what happens when we don't have sound doctrine and wholesome words we fall spiritually. We have weaknesses and have a fake joy and happiness. Fake it until you make it is what we start to do. When God never said fake it until you make it he said have full trust in me and know that I am God (Psalms 3:5-:6, John 14:1, & Mathew 6:31).

A few things that happen when you feed your body with unhealthy, and unwholesome food your health gets worse and worse. God made us organic beings therefore we experience side effects when our bodies take in things that are not organic. For instance Ibuprofen or Tylenol. It is a chemical and is not organically made and this is why people have nausea, dry mouth, thirsty, and even drowsiness. These are side effects our physical body is having.For each person it's something different. Some of these health effects are headaches, migraines, pain, arthritis, colds (because you earn a cold by poor health and nutrition you don't catch a cold), sinus issues, diabetes, and even Cancer. All of these sickness and diseases are caused by poor health and nutrition. So in a spiritual sense when you have unwholesome doctrine you will have spiritual side effects. Some of these spiritual side effects can be praying but ceasing, disease, lack of faith, lack or prayer, anger, bitterness, pride, envy and strife. (1st Timothy 6:4-:6). The bible tells us to withdraw ourselves from these types of people. So just as we would withdraw ourselves from food that is not good for us like processed, and genetically modified foods we should also withdraw from those preaching unwholesome doctrine and draw ourselves to those preaching sound, clean, pure, and untainted doctrine so we don't have a spiritual disease or sickness.




Juanita Espinosa


Monday, April 4, 2011

God Put Everything Here For a Reason

As I was reading my bible and studying for my natural doctor degree I really was focused on the Genesis scripture 1:11, 1:12  and 1:29. These 3 scriptures talk about how God has given us everything we need and it is here for a reason. The bible speaks to us several times about not trusting our faith, and salvation to man (Psalm 146:3) but why is it that so many of us trust our doctors with our health to the point where it could kill us. In Hosea it says that my people are DESTROYED by the lack of knowledge. It doesn't say they recovered, they became ill, but destroyed. Taking pills, drugs, and eating poor diets destroy our lives. It puts us in a cycle that is hard to break and could ultimately kill us. Here are some stats that show how we are being DESTROYED due to trust in man and not in our heavenly father.


  • 215,000 people under the age of 20 have diabetes. 
  • Celiac Disease effects roughly 3 million people. 
  • Crohns Disease effects 500,000 Americans. 
  • The American Cancer Society states that an estimated 274,000 people are diagnosed with a digestive Cancer each year to include the gallbladder, stomach, esophagus, and colon. 
  • GERD effects roughly 20% of the American population. 
  • The antacid industry is a 50 billion dollars a year industry. 
  • Processed food in the US alone is a 3.2 trillion dollar industry. 

These are just a few quick stats showing how broken our bodies are. We are allowing doctors kill us slowly. There is not one person that you meet that says that don't know someone that has Cancer, Heartburn, Acid Reflux, Arthritis, Sinus problems, digestive issues or an autoimmune disease. 

This was not God's intentions at all. In Genesis 1:29 he says And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat KJV. All throughout scripture we read of healing and prayer. The healing that Jesus performed on people were casting demons out of the bodies, and raising people from the dead. You don't hear of Jesus or his disciples healing people from sinuses, colds and flus. Instead they had wisdom to heal themselves with herbs, and good nutrition. So I have to ask where is your trust? Do you trust God with your life or man? If you trust man over God for you health you have just made for yourself an idol. God can easily take something away from you just as fast as he gave it to you. The first thing you do when you wake up with a cold, runny, nose, or pain in your back or head what is the first thing you do? If it isn't praying to God for guidance, and wisdom to ease your symptoms and get better than you have just put an idol over God yourself and your flesh. King David asked for wisdom and God gave it to him. This has been my prayer for the last 5 years God just give me wisdom to know what to do. Give me wisdom to speak your words and your ways. God give me wisdom and he has. He has given me wisdom in abundance so I can help others with their health. He has given me wisdom to the point that I have seen women overcome Cancer with diet change and exercise. I have been blessed to see the fruit of my seeds that I have sown. Not all of us get to see the fruit but God was gracious enough to bless me to see it. 

So in closing I am going to ask one last time do you trust God or Man. Remember man can't save you but God can. Jesus can save you from hell. Jesus can heal you. God can give you wisdom but only if you ask. James 4:3 states that you ask but do not receive because you ask with doubt. Pray with out ceasing and God will give you what you ask according to his will in heaven.