Shelby Shopper Shelby NC
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1477195
Thursday, August 25-August 31, 2022 www.shelbyinfo.com 704/484-1047 - shelby shopper & info - Page 19 (4th Part of "Delayed Not Denied" Series) Anything good takes time! Tasty home-cooked meals, lasting marriages, raising productive and responsible children, building a busi- ness, etc. These all take consistent diligence and sacrifice over a long period of time. The challenge is that we live in a "quick-fix" mentality society that craves convenience and immediate gratification. Sometimes, we feel that God has denied us for certain blessings when they don't arrive on our prearranged schedule. However, Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ESV) states, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Perfect Timing God has a plan to get us where we need to be, give us what we need and transform us into who we need to become - in his perfect timing! If we receive something, prematurely, we won't know how to handle it properly. Something that was supposed to be beautiful can become a nightmare if we are not ready for it. For example, many marriages have fallen apart simply because people rushed into it, but hadn't learned how to value people, be responsible, or communicate effectively. These principles take time to learn. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT) states, "Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time…" Mistakes When we don't wait on God and try to make things happen on our own, we'll usually find ourselves with a big mess that we've made. Sarah in the bible was very old and hadn't had any children. She decided that God wasn't going to give her any, so she took matters into her own hands. Genesis 16:1-2 (NIV) says, "Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, "The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her." Sarai didn't think about the consequences of her actions. She had a woman working for her that became pregnant with her husband's baby!! Hagar despised Sarai, and Sarai begin to mistreat her and finally threw her out of her home. The good news is God told Hagar to go back and that he would bless her, and he also caused Sarai to become pregnant and have a son named Isaac. Delayed doesn't mean denied! Galatians 6:9 (ESV) says, "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." PRAY THIS PRAYER: "Father God, I praise you as the Ancient of Days. Before time was, you were. You are the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end. You created time for hu- manity, but you live in eternity. Father, forgive me for becoming impatient and trying to make things happen on my timetable. My impatience causes me to make mistakes. Lord, strengthen me to be steadfast, immovable, and always excelling in your work. Please help me to remember that you have a plan and purpose for my life, and that your plan is best. In Jesus' name I pray - Amen." Danyale Patterson would love to hear from you! Contact her at www.danyale.com to share a testimony, send a prayer request, or book her to speak. Timing Is Everything DANYALE PATTERSON On August 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Ad- ministration issued a final rule to improve access to hearing aids which may in turn lower costs for mil- lions of Americans. This action establishes a new category of over the coun- ter (OTC) hearing aids, enabling consumers with perceived mild to moder- ate hearing impairment to purchase hearing aids directly from stores or on- line retailers without the need for a medical exam, prescription, or a fitting adjustment by an audiolo- gist. The rule is expected to lower the cost of hearings aids. It is designed to as- sure the safety and effec- tiveness of OTC hearing aids, while fostering in- novation and competition in the hearing aid technol- ogy marketplace. T u e s d a y ' s a c - tion follows President B i d e n ' s E x e c u t i v e Order on Promoting Com- petition in the American Economy, which called for the FDA to take steps to allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter and set a swift 120-day deadline for action, which the FDA met. In 2017, Congress passed bipar- tisan legislation requir- ing the FDA to create a category of OTC hearing aids, but it was not fully implemented until now. Consumers could see OTC hearing aids avail- able in traditional retail and drug stores as soon as mid-October when the rule takes effect. "Reducing health care costs in America has been a priority of mine since Day One and this rule is expected to help us achieve quality, afford- able health care access for millions of Americans in need," said Health and Human Services Secre- tary Xavier Becerra. "To- day's action by the FDA represents a significant milestone in making hear- ing aids more cost-effec- tive and accessible." Close to 30 million adults in the U.S. could benefit from hearing aid use. Individuals with per- manent hearing impair- ment can use hearing aids to help make speech and sounds louder, im- proving the ability to com- municate effectively with others. Many hearing aids can be expensive. The final rule aims to stimulate competition and facilitate the sale of safe and ef- fective OTC hearing aids in traditional retail stores or online nationwide, pro- viding consumers with perceived mild to moder- ate hearing loss with im- proved access to devices that meet their needs and are less expensive than current options. "Hearing loss is a criti- cal public health issue that affects the ability of millions of Americans to effectively communi- cate in their daily social interactions," said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. "Establishing this new regulatory cate- gory will allow people with perceived mild to moder- ate hearing loss to have convenient access to an array of safe, effective and affordable hearing aids from their neighbor- hood store or online." The OTC category established in this final rule applies to certain air- conduction hearing aids intended for people 18 years of age and older who have perceived mild to moderate hearing im- pairment. Hearing aids that do not meet the re- quirements for the OTC category (for example, because they are in- tended for severe hear- ing impairment or users younger than age 18) are prescription devices. The FDA finalized the rule after receiving and reviewing more than 1,000 public comments on the proposed rule is- sued on Oct. 20, 2021. Comments submitted by consumers, professional associations, hearing aid manufacturers, pub- lic health organizations and advocacy groups, members of Congress, state agencies, and other stakeholders are sum- marized in the final rule, along with the FDA's re- spective responses. In response to public com- ments and to assure the safety and effectiveness of OTC hearing aids, the final rule incorporates several changes from the proposed rule, including lowering the maximum sound output to reduce the risk to hearing from over-amplification of sound, revising the inser- tion depth limit in the ear canal, requiring that all OTC hearing aids have a user-adjustable volume control, and simplifying the phrasing throughout the required device label- ing to ensure it is eas- ily understood. The final rule also includes perfor- mance specifications and device design require- ments specific to OTC hearing aids. The action correspond- ingly amends existing rules that apply to pre- scription hearing aids for consistency with the new OTC category, it repeals the conditions for sale for hearing aids, and it in- cludes provisions that ad- dress some of the effects of the FDA OTC hearing aid regulations on state regulation of hearing aids. Concurrently with is- suing the final rule, the FDA also issued the final guidance, Regulatory Requirements for Hear- ing Aid Devices and Per- sonal Sound Amplification Products (PSAPs), to clarify the differences be- tween hearing aids, which are medical devices, and PSAPs, consumer prod- ucts that help people with normal hearing amplify sounds. The effective date for the final rule is 60 days following publication in the Federal Register. Manufacturers of hear- ing aids sold prior to the effective date of the final rule will have 240 days after its publication to comply with the new or revised requirements. For hearing aids that have not been offered for sale prior to the effective date, compliance with the new or revised requirements must be achieved before marketing the device, in- cluding obtaining 510(k) clearance if applicable. FDA enables access to over-the-counter hearing aids On Tuesday, August 9, NC Senator Ted Alexander announced that Cleveland and Lincoln Counties would receive funds for rural broadband. Senator Alex- ander shared, "I am proud to announce that Cleveland and Lincoln County are set to receive $5,526,107 to expand access to high- speed internet." The funding comes from the Growing Rural Economics with Access to Technology (GREAT) grant program. The General As- sembly allocated an ad- ditional $350 million in the 2021 state budget to the grant program to support a new round of grants. I am excited to see our efforts in the legislature come to frui- tion enabling almost 1,435 households to soon enjoy the modern benefits of in- ternet connectivity. The funding from the GREAT grant program will bring broadband services to approximately 1,435 households and busi- nesses in Cleveland and Lincoln County. The grant funding will ensure Spectrum South- east, LLC, Charter Commu- nications dba Spectrum can begin work to deploy high- speed internet in Cleveland and Lincoln County. This round of GREAT grants leverages federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to provide matching grants to internet service providers and elec- tric membership coopera- tives that may partner with counties to expand access to broadband internet in underserved areas of the state. Rural Broadband funding coming to Cleveland County SENATOR TED ALEXANDER