Looking for GOD in the New Year Ahead

I guess I have been avoiding my blogging efforts because I want to write with a regular computing system instead of this mobile device.  The autofill is about to drive me nuts! 

Of course, the real issue is Christmas.  I used my computer money to get presents.  I don't regret it.  I LOVE this time of year and have been enduring my own financial drought for some time... too long a time.  It was easy to give up my search for a small affordable laptop to meet my current needs for all my online work.  I will continue that quest next year.

This time of year usually changes my flow for other reasons, too.  It is when I evaluate my past year and try to plan some reasonable goals for the next one.  Getting ahead of my challenges is the measure.  It hasn't been going great well the past several past years.  This makes me do a lot of praying and searching for better outcomes.

The choice to spend some of my computer money let me invest in several long-awaited resources. 

I decided to invest in a DVD set about building Tiny Homes...a great idea it turns out, the set will be very helpful to me. 

I purchased items for personal needs, like a blow dryer for my hair. 

I shopped some of the big sales this year and decided to purchase items that are really for craft projects, but I will try them out for kitchen activities first. This would be a very small microwave and a toaster oven.  (I have never really used a toaster oven, so I want to know if it is a good food prep option for living in tiny homes.)

I spent some of my funds on various crafting tools and supplies, which will help my crafting income goals.

Plus, I purchased gifts for Christmas!

It has been the best holiday I've had in years!  I am wondering if you can even understand the depth of that statement....

So 2017 looks more promising, if I can overcome the other challenges I am facing.

Evaluating our lives is a hard thing to do because we only see the best in us and often blame the worst in others for any problems that didn't get fixed.  I know I have heard a simple statement about this common situation, but I can't remember what it was right now.  The principle remains the same no matter whose life you are talking about.  We forgive our own failings, and notice everyone else's faults.

In the days left of 2016 I hope to keep evaluating my goals with GOD's point of view.  When I finally decided on my main goal for next year, I will try to share it with you.  Maybe you can hold me accountable, keep me on track.

Until my next post, and who knows WHEN that will be!!, let me make sure to wish you a very Merry Christmas!  Remember the real reason for our celebrations, and share your bounty with those who don't have enough.

May GOD help each have of us to grow in His love as we face each new day.

With love, in Christ,
Deborah Martin

http://work2gather.us
6 December 2016

The Battle to Believe Is Getting Worse

I was just browsing my Facebook posts and came across one about Amy Grant releasing a new album that was evaluated as not being "Christian enough."  As I read the Washington Post (liberal, against GOD) article, there was a link about another media Christian who stated that LGBTetc morals were biblically acceptable.  Lots of words for the politically correct view, none about the right to disagree or the fact that the Bible is adamantly against the sexual choices of the LGBTetc community. 

The greater damage with all these articles is the presentation of falsehoods as truth, which is the ultimate goal of these writers and publishers.  Many people do not know what the Bible says so they can't discern what is true and what is false.  The media they depend on doesn't present the whole truth anymore, but their followers believe they do.

What will it mean to live in a world that once was free and faithful but is now violently opposed to anything having to do with GOD?  I hate to think about living in a fully controlled information environment.  Part of our greatness as a country was the ability to differ, to discuss with a level of respect, to debate concepts and ideas, without propaganda or violence or imprisonment.

When I think of the consequences caused by thought police, I remember movies like Hotel Rwanda and The Hiding Place, of Pharaoh in the days of Jewish slavery, the Jewish leaders in the time of Christ, and any dictator that may exist.  I'm not good at accepting this kind of change.  I doubt any Christian would be.

We never expect life to become so terrible, especially in America, but history has shown us that it happens, all the time, and often in cycles.  Christians understand that Bible prophecy has already described these days, but it isn't easy to watch happening, or live through.

At a personal level, I have tried to understand this global change process.  The best I can say about it is a nation has the right to their spiritual beliefs.  If I go to another country, I am not going to change my faith because they have a national faith that is not the same as mine.  I also don't expect them to change their national faith to what I believe.  Somewhere in our relationships there has to be a mutual respect, and the freedom to discover each other. 

America was created as a place to worship the GOD of the Bible freely, without fear of retribution, imprisonment, or death.  We have a right, as a nation, to be true to that Christian foundation.  It seems we have been forced to change our laws to accomodate every non-biblical faith and personal choice that exists because of media claiming there is some basis for the separation of church and state.  Our national laws can reflect our spiritual foundation, in marriage, in abortion, and in restrooms.  It is our heritage.

The issue of national faith is kind of like the national language issue.  We speak English as a nation.  If we offer help to strangers who speak other languages, it needs to be seen as an act of kindness, not a requirement.  We can be a Christian nation without sacrificing compassion toward other faiths in our global citizens.

The only problem I have with this "respect" theory is the issue of harming others.  Some religions involve their followers in activities that cause harm to other creatures, whether human or animal.  Some use the idea of religious protections as a way to engage in illegal acts.  That is not what I would consider real spiritual faith.

Some religions force children or adults into sexual activities they dont want to participate in.  That is not what I would consider a valid right of faith.  I would call that self-indulgence, letchery, abusive, rape, a crime. 

Some religions require maiming or killing animals or human beings as a sacrifice to their "god."  I would not consider these actions evidence of a valid faith claim.   They are evidence of abuse, violence, murder... and are a crime against others. 

Hazy areas do exist in faiths that depend on the GOD of the Bible for the contents of their lives, including not choosing medical interventions.  If a person with this kind faith dies of what would be natural causes in other circumstances, and this act of their faith is not coerced by anyone in a position of leadership, the result is not suicide or murder... it is the natural causes they believe in.

A person with this kind of faith trusts that GOD has the ability to intervene, the ability to heal, the ability to change the current circumstance.  If GOD does not intervene, someone with this kind of faith accepts the results as part of a larger divine plan.  Medical intervention does not guarantee life will continue.  People who have no spiritual faith and do everything they can to stay alive still die.  Basing one's inaction on how you see GOD is not the same as actively harming someone in a claimed act of "worship."

We now live in a social and governmental climate that eliminates elderly or disabled people by forced starvation and encourages others to commit suicide to avoid the costs of their medical care.  We are moving into a selective elimination morality.  Letting GOD decide your time of death is not the same as forced euthanasia or premeditated murder.  The legal rights of government to kill people who cannot stop them is not the same as trusting GOD and ending up dying.

These are the issues we are facing now.  They are related to faith in GOD, the GOD of the Bible...no other faith is attacked at this level.  The government that once protected us is now becoming our enemy.  The Bible warns that laws will be changed to suit the needs of prophecy and fulfill the Word.

The sexual choices of the LGBTetc community are not matters of faith.  They may exist, but they do not have  the approval of the GOD of the Bible.  Making them appear as if they do is evidence of premeditated deception.  There is nothing that can make these opinions acceptable to Christians, or to GOD.  These sexual choices are not genetic in nature so they don't deserve the protection of our national laws. 

In a Christian nation, we can show kindness and compassion toward those who do not believe the way our Bible teaches, but elevating this behavior to a protected status is like legalizing pedophilia, rape, abuse, or murder.  It isn't deserved, and shouldn't be necessary for any reason.

The LGBTetc community will become what they have fought against for themselves.  It seems to be the results of power without morality. 

We, as Christians, will lose this moral war eventually... we just don't know when, how long it will take, or what we can do to protect ourselves on the way down.

I hope you will consider joining Working
Together as part of this process of change in our nation and in the world.  My goal is to join us all into one place so we can begin to be the ONE Body of Christ we should already be and find answers for the growing issues we will have to face.  For as long as possible, we can help each other to survive.

Right now I have a PayPal link on my main web page for a TRIAL membership.  It is only $5 for one year of quarterly emailed newsletters (March, June, September, and December).  It will be a way to start growing this resource for all of us.  Please join today.

I am currently working on the details and PayPal links for my planned annual December Membership Drive for the next year. Rates for 2017 are being worked out now.  I will post them as soon as I can, and post the purchase link in December.

The goal is to offer the Trial Membership all year and offer the one-year CHRISTIAN  or  PUBLIC memberships every December.  There are currently twelve planned global regions, but those will expand as membership levels increase. 

I will be updating my website with all the details as soon as I can.

You can contact me by email at ::
office@work2gather.us

or write to me at ::
PO Box 828
Eugene  OR  97440

I will get back to you as soon as I can.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

Looking for the best way to share...

I have been working on my goal pages again, reviewing my effots, my challenges (problems), and my priorities.  My life is passing before my eyes and I am wondering why I am not the billionaire I should have been by now !!  😊  I won't know that answer until I get to heaven.

Right now, I am still searching for solutions to my individual challenges in life and business, seeking GOD for direction, provision, protection, and more.  It can seem impossible to make a good decision when there are so many directions to look at. 

Financial limitations are the chains many have to work through, and I am no different.  It has been a lifetime challenge for me... my calling for this life, I think.  When I hear all the political comments about poverty, about what kind of people are poor, and about how to solve the problems associated with poverty, I wish I had a better way to share my thoughts about how to change things.

As a Christian, my feelings are mixed.  We hear every day that our level of faith is measured by our material success.  GOD is often seen as a "sugar daddy" that will give you everything you want (pray for)... if He doesn't, the problem is you. 

I don't believe that way, but I have wondered where all those Bible promises about provision went to for my life.  My needs were basic, my goals were good, my faith was true.  I used to say that my husband (spiritually, that was Jesus) wasn't as great a provider as I hoped He would be.

When I was younger, I was ready and willing to take on the world.  Right now, I am wondering how much I can accomplish within my limitations.  At the bottom line of the budget, it seems to be a money issue still.  I could hire help.  I am kind of trying to decide how much money I would need to get it all started...and wondering if crowd-funding might be worth the effort.

Faith and presumption have always been a spiritual battle in my spiritual quest for GOD's blessings.  Forcing my way forward always seems like I am not really doing GOD's Will, but making my own desires the focus. 

There are biblical verses to fit every viewpoint... I remember one verse that says we shouldn't strive because GOD lifts us up to the places we need to be.  And then there is that famous verse about knocking and seeking.  Finding the right verse isn't the real issue, GOD is... what does He want ME to do and be and strive for.  I seem to vascillate between waiting and seeking.

Well, that is where I am in my spiritual walk today... I am planning to enter more posts at this blog since spiritual issues are the content of my life. That is ONE of the decisions I have made.  😃

Until next time, may GOD bless those who love Him with all they need to accomplish His Will for their life.  May He watch over those we love, keep them safe from harm, lead them to heaven, and be the GOD we believe Him to be.  Amen.

In Christ,
Deb  💛

The Way Forward

I spend a lot of my time thinking about the problems in the world... mine, America's, and global issues that affect us.  We know about every disaster and tragedy that is reported, but we cannot solve every problem, as individuals or as nations. 

How do we help as many people (and other living creatures) as we can?  The previous charity models will not work for the future.  We can only reach out when we have enough to give.  We have to be financially healthy ourselves to reach out to those in need.  This is true for our own citizens as much as it is for the requests of other nations for financial assistance to deal with their problems

Without realizing it, this endless outreach has moved us into a government intervention model.  We have come to think of the government as the solution for every problem, especially the ones we cannot afford ourselves. 

Many think it is the poor that cause this imbalance in our financial status, but I think we would see a different picture if we really looked at government spending, if we connected the dots between elections and contracts, if we explored the supports for legislation that should never have been funded, and if we followed the trails of controversial court decisions.  Ending Welfare is not going to solve the core of our problems... attacking innocent immigrants is not going to solve our financial crises... and printing more money to meet our debt needs or fund generous commitments to other countries or programs will not make the threat of bankruptcy go away.

The taxes we pay collectively cannot support the desires of every organized group in the nation, it cannot support the healthcare we want it to provide, and it cannot support all the unfunded legislation that gets passed... taxes already cannot support the services they have been committed to.

Why is this important to the people of GOD?

Because all of these issues are leading us toward the Antichrist and the Mark of the Beast, which is really just a money system, like a credit card. 

Those who don't know about prophecy, about the Antichrist, or about the Mark of the
Beast, have no idea what technology is heading into.  Computers seem to offer the way to the future.  The Mark will seem like a safety issue, a logical way to do business, a great way to function in a world of too many passwords, increasing crime, decreasing morality, and the ongoing effort to pretend GOD doesn't exist.

This election is showing us how far we have fallen from the values of the Bible.  Neither candidate is a model American or a committed Christian.  We can see the media controls our political conversations.  The issues we currently face are more than any party, or individual, can solve.  No matter who wins, the next four years are going to be dramatic, and critical to the survival of the US and its effect in the world.

Our biggest problem, in my view, is the debt.  As a new recipient of Social Security, I was alarmed to recently discover my very small allotment of less than $400 a month is paid to me as a credit expense... meaning that it is paid like a credit card withdrawal of cash, adding to the debt that threatens to destroy us.

How many more Social Security payments are made with a credit card every month?  It is my understanding that Social Security is broke, there is no more funding in the ransacked trust fund... so all of the funds paid to any Social Security recipient every month are cash withdrawals from the government's ATM machine.

The debt takes away our ability to meet the many crises that happen every year, like fires and floods and tornados, and unforeseen events like 9/11, Katrina, and the housing/bank crisis.

How can we hold the government accountable for its own bad decisions?  If we rise up and pay the debt down to a reasonable amount, what will keep our financially desperate government from replacing our efforts with another escalation of national debt?  We have to find a way... soon!!

Changing the mindset of government is the one thing I hope Donald Trump will accomplish if he wins the presidency.  We need to change from a government totally reliant on tax income to a government limited to ONE TAX that is invested for ongoing and increasing profits and savings and growth.  We need a government that is self-sufficient instead of always desperate for more money.

Our government has become a tax addict and withdrawals will be painful for everyone.

Reducing its tax income, reducing government paychecks and benefits, eliminating jobs by eliminating departments and programs, limiting its outreach to those most in need, will force the government to save money and eliminate wasteful legislation.

Changing to income-producing investments with tax dollars instead of grants and repeated program funding, organizing for rapid changes in jobs and industries because of increasing use of technologies that replace humans, moving social intervention efforts back to the community level, and bracing for the consequences of changes in laws concerning drugs like marijuana, will also take us into major social upheaval.

We must deal with these issues as Christians, as citizens of our country, and as global outreach providers.  Lives are in danger... near to us and beyond our borders.

I keep remembering something about the Great Depression that motivates me to prepare as much as I can for harder times than we have ever known.  I remember the stock market crashed in a relative moment in time... without any acknowledged warning.

I also keep remembering the Dust Bowl, caused by our ignorance and our belief that "science," or maybe it was progress, was infallible.

And I keep thinking of biblical prophecies about these days... wondering if there is anything we can do to stop this downward trend... if there is any way to prepare.

I wish the media would search for these kinds of answers, for solutions that will work for America and not just those with the power to manipulate the system.

We are in grave financial peril... who will be able to steer us through this swamp of debt and politics?

Whale post from Facebook - trying to get it to work !! :-)

I tried the "embed" code for a video on Facebook, but couldn't get it to copy, so I am trying it here...
Hope you get to see it !!




Isn't it beautiful !!  That would be so great to see in person.   :-)

Money and Ministry

I happened on a link to a website that listed an article on the incomes of mega-pastors... it turned out to be one of those link from photo to photo presentations with no indication of how many times you would have to go to the next page.  After more than two hours of trying to reach the end of the story pages, a pop-up informed me I was looking at a series of 70 links.  I was at 29... and deeply frustrated.  It was a horrid website, with photos and ads surrounding the main topic that would be considered pornography, slander, and more.   This is what we have to deal with now...

I didn't recognize many of the names, some of which were big in other countries.  I don't know how many are on TBN, the only Christian TV station I know of, but the text of some indicated they had global outreaches and relatively small numbers of supporters for the size of their incomes.  Others had very large followings and millions in net worth.  Many of the incomes were guessed... only a few were verified, and some were from many years back.  The intent was to say that people in ministry need to live as paupers... the motive for this is so they won't have a spiritual outreach to the lives of others.  Ministries need money, too.

Some made money through their book efforts, which is a legitimate income source for anyone, but seems to be an easy target for the secular (unfriendly) media.  This form of income is used by secular personalities as well... it spreads their message and their "brand" -- and it allows either income for them, their ministries, or both.  Each situation seems to be different according to the people involved.

The issue of money and ministry has been around for a long time.  Finding the balance is hard.  How much of our efforts are for our own personal future, how much for GOD?  I had to pray for many years about this issue myself... trying to find what would be a fair and reasonable balance for my life needs and the purpose of Working Together.  I knew that a global ministry like I was planning would create enormous sums of money. 

For myself, I created a for-profit corporation that was wholly owned by me (until it could be handed off to the next caretaker or developed into a better governing format).  This meant that I could allow GOD to do what He wanted in the income area as the SEC only requires a corporation to disperse 10% of the profits to shareholders, and that was my income goal :: me 10%, GOD 90%... it worked out fine for me.  It was also ideal because the income GOD provided through this source could be used to fund other projects that are equally important, but may not be Christian in nature.  It was suppose to be my retirement plan.

The issue of wages came up repeatedly in this series of ministry attacks... it is a big concern, especially in the current war on executive salaries in business arenas.  It is also a money and ministry problem.  How much is enough?  What is fair?  If the ministry is doing well, shouldn't the main focus of the ministry (the pastor out front) be compensated for his work?  The issue with ministry wages is the needs of the work... the more you pay the employees, the less there is for the reason it exists.

This has been another prayer issue for me...  Working Together is an unusual ministry focus, so the guidelines I chose may not be the same ones other ministries would use.  The End Times will be a time of great needs, people will be trying to survive, and we don't know what they will need to survive from.  I chose to make the wages fairly equal for all employees.  I guess I haven't fully decided about the responsibility levels of trainee, staff, management, but the differences I am considering are nominal financially. 

For now, the plan is to pay everyone by the hour, the same wage no matter your position or responsibility, making us equal, like we are in the Body of Christ.  If you have private income, that is your income, Working Together is only concerned about the wages it pays to its employees for work done on behalf of the organization.  In time, as we build, staff benefits will include housing, food, medical, and other basic survival needs as part of the wage package.  It is a permanent commitment to Christian members, who will make up the bulk of our employee base.  I hope that we will be able to create these resources in each region of the world, becoming self-sufficient in each place we exist, to care for the members in that region.

Ministries that deal in global locations have more money issues than those existing only in the United States.  How do you translate the difference in living standard into a wage?  It has been one of my concerns for years.  Gospel for Asia and Voice of the Martyrs employees in their local regions are going to have different economic needs than its US employee base, but the level of lifestyle is still a big question.  Do we value our wages at minimum wage, a decent wage, or in comparison to middle or upper class workers in each location?  The difference can be huge.  For Working Together I have developed a percentage option for housing and for food costs... but I am trying to figure out the base amount to use. 

When I was reading the different salary amounts other ministries provide their "executives," I had mixed feelings.  The costs of their lifestyles, their ministry-related activities, are not always noted in these wage figures... and they are always gross wages/salaries, before tax deductions, and with no indication if medical or other benefits are included in the figures. 

In my life, I have broken the $10K level of income only once.  Current minimum wages for full-time (40 hours a week) can range from $15,080  a year at $7.25 to Oregon's current minimum wage of $9.75, which equals $20,280  a year in gross wages.  The push to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour would make the yearly gross income of that worker $31,200 -- approximately $2600/month.  All of these minimum wages are a lot less than the $100 to $550,000 a year some mega-pastors were reported as receiving for a base salary.

What is fair?

Do ministry employees work any less hard than secular counterparts in business?
Is their salary an indication of GOD's blessings on their life and work?
How do we value the experience of ministry workers to the organization's mission?

It isn't an easy question to answer.  Ministry workers are often like employees in social services, community organizations, and other non-profit works that serve people with needs  --  all of whom seem to be notoriously underpaid, but choosing to dedicate their lives to a purpose greater than their wages.  The difference between small and large organizations is another part of this wage conversation.

So far, Working Together has not been able to hire anyone, even me.  It has been a challenge just to keep existing.  Praying through these money issues has been important for me.  I am more worried about GOD's opinions than the media's... I want to be at peace with Him, His blessings are the important part of this business-ministry hybrid. 

With that said, I'm not sure why GOD hasn't blessed Working Together already.  :-)   It would have been easier to have had a nominal income as one of its employees, to have had the finances to grow, to have built the resources Christians will need for the future, but that is GOD's domain.  My purpose is to keep trying to reach the Body of Christ with the message that the may not be "saved" by the Rapture they are expecting... that we will need to prepare alternatives for support and fellowship in a combative and violent environment... that what we have always known is not what is coming.

I don't expect to live too much longer, but I hope to see GOD provide for the real needs of His people before I go.  In the meantime, I keep praying for the solutions to our problems so I will be ready for that day.  I don't need hundreds of thousands of dollars for myself, I just need enough for my survival needs, for now and for when I can't do anything to earn my support, shelter, food, transportation, and personal income for a few luxuries.  I suppose being poor all my life helps me to be satisfied at the minimum wage level...  it is harder to go down the ladder of "success" than it is to go up.

Finding the way to GOD's Peace

Friday, 1 July 2016
faith-and-prayer.blogspot.com
Deborah Martin, work2gather.us



It is hard to be Christian in the face of evil.

 

 

Today starts another month !!  As each month passes, I am reminded of how quickly time passes by, and how little I have left.  I would like to use my remaining time to do as much as I can toward the goals GOD has put in my heart to work toward, especially Working Together.

This understanding of GOD's Will in my small life is a challenge I face each day.  I wonder why the past happened and what the future will be.  How much of our pain is a consequence of previous bad choices we have made, how much comes from the sin of others, and how much is a message from GOD to direct our course?  The inability to change some of the parts of our lives makes us dependent on GOD for the details we have to live with (against our chosen will).  My quest is to know what I need to do -- today, and tomorrow, and the days after that.  With a focus on the End Times, I want to prepare myself for the unknown challenges that lie ahead.

For me, it is hard to imagine living in a country that was once free, good, and powerful and have to watch as it disintegrates morally, financially, and spiritually.  The Bible tells us the End Times will be like the days of Noah.  (verses 37-38)  The story of Noah (Genesis 6) tells us that he was the only righteous man of his time.  What would our world be like with just one righteous man?  As I was reading these Bible sections to write this post, I was reminded that all those people who filled the earth in Noah's time were unsaved.  The Bible tells us they were corrupt, violent, wicked, evil continually.  It is beyond my comprehension what it would be like to live in a place like that, but we are on our way there.  I hope I am long gone before it gets to that point.

We hate the crime and violence we already have to deal with... and GOD's good people are still plentiful.  How will Christians continue to exist in the middle of this increasing violence and persecution?  We seem to think that creating a law will make the struggle go away.  It won't.  The Bible warns us the changing of laws (verse 25) will be part of the End Time process.

I don't do very well in suffering.  I have had to endure a lot of terrible things in my life, but that doesn't mean they were easy for me, or that I suffered them well.  I did what I could, what I had to do to survive them at the time.  After I committed my life to the path of GOD, I endured suffering with prayer and a daily act of trust in where GOD was taking me through them.  I don't want to suffer any more than I already have.

I need to find my sense of peace again...

 about GOD

 and LIFE

 and SUFFERING

I have been watching Facebook posts from the Corrie ten Boom page go by on my timeline.  They make me think about how terrible it was to endure the actions of the Nazis against the Jews.  It is the only effort at global genocide I know of.  With the advances we are experiencing in technology, the reach and persecutions of the Antichrist (and his followers) will be far worse.  I'm not sure how well any of us will do when this "war" begins to live in America.  The path of least resistance will lead to the possibility of comfort today, but the path of faith leads to eternal comfort.

I want to remind myself of the things I know from the Bible. 
I want to keep my focus on GOD.
I want to keep my faith in His Word.
I want to keep my life on the narrow path to heaven.
I want to make sure I am making the right choices. 
I want to be ready for the future. 

 I know there is a large group in the Body of Christ who believe the pre-Tribulation rapture will keep them from this suffering.  I haven't found any guarantees that interpretation of the Bible is the correct one.  We may all have to pass through the days of the Antichrist and his Mark of the Beast, dying because of our faith in GOD, in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit. 

I hope I am able to die with some level of spiritual dignity.  Preparing my heart and life for it helps me to think I will.

Are you the Christian I am looking for?

Monday, 27 June 2016
http://faith-and-prayer.blogspot.com




The Body of Christ and Money :: Lending to the Poor



I have been trying to get to this blog for several days because a variety of spiritual issues have been winding through my thoughts.  I am trying to decide how they will affect my current life and my life in the near future.  I am looking for GOD in my crisis... what is His path for me through these days, what is His purpose in allowing them to happen.  Sometimes writing helps me to sort through all those parts of a problem.

Right now, the most urgent issue I am facing is housing.  It has again come to the top of the priority list and there still is no visible solution to this problem.  For me the battle always seems to be money... too little of it... to little to easily get ahead of the financial problems it causes.

Because I cannot suddenly create the income I need, I am believing GOD will provide a way to access the housing I need, the workspaces and equipment I am searching for, and other necessary items required to continue building Working Together Inc. 

You may be the Christian GOD uses to help me.

I don't want to endure another homeless experience, but that seems to be possible.  I am really too old and tired and not healthy enough to fight these battles again, but I also realize there are already many others suffering the same plight, and these are the times of persecution.  The means may be different, the source may have changed, but the effects and the motives are the same.

So, again, I am looking for the Body of Christ, trying to find even ONE Christian to be the answer to my needs and my prayers.  I am looking for GOD in the middle of my distress, my prayers, my hope, and my life.

I am praying for a place I can OWN 

so I won't ever have to move

or be homeless again.

Here are some of the things I am looking for in my housing prayer ::

• As I near the end of my earthly life, I am praying for a final place to live, a home and land that I will never have to move from again.  
• It needs to be in the Eugene OR area, where Working Together has been existing almost since it was born.
• It needs to be a decent home that won't need a lot of repairs, be big enough for me and my planned work projects, have space for the help I will need, and include land to develop food and other resources. 
• I am praying for a place that is on a major bus line so I can travel to town for what I need to survive daily life with, so customers will be able to reach me, and so I can hire employees who ride the bus. 
• Because of my financial situation, I need a flexible payment structure, and the first three years of survival and development income included in the loan (approx. $18 to $30K/year).  This will allow me to survive as I develop the property for income purposes. 
• Having discovered that GOD lends us the tithe if we need it, requiring a 20% fee when it is repaid, I am looking for a similar arrangement over at least 15 years, but will repay this loan as quickly as GOD provides the income for it.
• Using the property for collateral is expected, but the goal is never to move again and to (finally) have the workspaces I have searched for almost all my life.  Considering the property a tithe unto GOD is also an option, which would make GOD responsible for paying you through other channels in your life.

The loan I am searching for would look like this...

• Principal
• plus 20% as interest 
• divided over 15 years or more (180 months or more) 
• with no payments due the first three years 
• and flexible payments for the remainder of the loan 
• possibly smaller in the beginning 
• and larger at the end
• an early repayment option (including the full 20%)
• maybe a partial balloon payment option

I know it is asking a lot, but this is the prayer I need answered,

now, as soon as possible.

How much do I need?  I'm not sure.  It will depend on the property.

I would like to share that I have been looking for housing answers for the homeless (and Christians as the End Times get worse) for many years.  I have always been a fan of Habitat for Humanity, but then I discovered the $20,000 House at Auburn University's Rural Studio.  After that, Tiny Homes appeared on the scene.  I have been trying to design my own version of homes that will fit in this loan category.  I feel it is possible to help millions of homeless, disabled, and low-income people to own a small home now, changing their lives forever. 

Below I would like to describe the financing program I hope to build to achieve this goal.  It is based on the Bible concept I shared earlier and puts that concept into real numbers, so you can understand the possibilities.



When I was working on my budgets for tiny/small homes for those on a fixed income, the maximum biblical loan I felt fair was $50K, which included $40K for the house, $8K for the biblical 20% flat fee interest and a $2K loan processing fee to cover expenses in that direction. 

Another option I figured out was to take the 30% of the income that would become the monthly housing payment a person could pay and multiply it by 180 months to get a maximum loan amount for that person.  In my current financial status, that would be $115 times 180, or $20,700... which would become $20K for math purposes.  This loan amount is divided into $15K maximum for the house, $3K for the interest, and $2K for the loan processing fee.

Fifteen thousand dollars doesn't afford much of a house, even in tiny houses.  Larger loan options are needed for people at the lower end of the economy, and that is why I went up to the $50K maximum for each loan.  This maximum loan amount creates a monthly payment in the $275 range.

Another issue poverty households face is the debt collection process.  Debt collections can cause homelessness in the lives of people trying to recover from poverty or a financial crisis.  It may be important to limit the final equity in a house to less than the legal amount at the time a loan is created for a house.  That limit was $30K the last time I checked.  This debt collection process is why so many with unpaid medical bills end up losing their home... they are forced to sell their house by creditors because their equity is more than $30K.  Where do you turn when the bank is the collector?

A $30K house would also have a $6K interest fee and a $2K loan processing fee... that would be $38,000 divided by 180 months, or monthly payments just over $200.  With a maximum of $50K possible, there might be room to add to the loan to cover insurance for the first few years, or more improvements to the property.

The key to success in this kind of lending program is flexibility... working with people through their problems, helping them to succeed, protecting them from more homelessness, building supports into their lives, and trusting GOD for the process.

I am looking for this kind of loan, but probably at a much larger financial level to cover the land and start-up costs of what I hope to do.

Are you the Christian I am looking for?

Spiritual Battles and Daily Life

My internet disappeared as I tried to write this,
so I finished it on my computer and then transferred it to my blog later,
when the internet was working again.... such a pain !!
======================================

Monday, 20 June 2016 - about 6pm my time


The days of our spiritual battles are long and busy.  I wonder how difficult these battles would be if I was able to do what I really want to do.  When I think about how my own spiritual battles increased as I tried to do things in Christian realms, I begin to look at my favorite preachers and others in ministries differently.  Now I wonder what battles they face, how they deal with them, how GOD helps them, what I need to know, how I can fight better, what it looks like when GOD helps them, and more. 

Christians, ordinary people who are Christians, like me, are not prepared for these kinds of spiritual battles.  When they happen, we just think life is really bad and don't understand why.  I know that is what happened to me in the beginning of my efforts to create some kind of ministry.  It was a long time before I realized that something was going on and all these problems weren't happening by "accident" or without purpose. 

The spiritual realms are an unknown field to me.  I understand the possibilities that the Bible teaches us, but the real life details are beyond my ability to figure out.  I wish I was one of those mighty warriors of the faith, but I am not.  I just keep doing my best and plead with GOD to protect us.

When I was searching for answers about Christianity and salvation and what the Bible teaches, I went to a lot of different churches... across the long spectrum of Charismatic and tongues-speakers to Conservative Southern Baptists.  I tried to understand cults and how to know if a particular church actually is one.  I explored groups that said they were helping the homeless and poor... and found some of them to be predators of those desperate and trusting people who are searching for GOD and heaven.  I eventually decided that genuine believers are everywhere, even in the cults as individuals grow into future evangelistic believers.

"There are Christians in every denomination,

but every denomination isn't Christian." 

The Body of Christ became more real to me as all of this was being discovered and reflected on.  I wondered if we are weak because of our separations... if those differences that divide us are meant to be our place in the ONE Body of Christ... some for power in prayer, some for mercy, some for teaching, some for evangelism, some for helps, some for each of the gifts and ministries we know about.  Big churches may be a reflection of personality... little churches may be critical to the neighborhoods they serve... but all of us suffer because we are not "working together" as a single Body of Christ.  This is a spiritual battle that has existed long before me.  I still hope that GOD will provide a way to bring us together, especially for the hardships ahead.

Knowing about spiritual battles doesn't help me fight mine.  I think this may be because my personality is part of my army.  I count on the power of GOD and His promises to help me, and the angels that do His work, and the plans GOD has for my existence.  I am just one cell in the huge Body of souls that are saved by Christ.  I don't have to become like everyone else, and they don't have to be like me.  Knowing all this helps me to focus on what matters as I search for answers to my problems... and the problems of the world.



The future of America is being fought for this year.  We have a serious election ahead of us, and four years of whoever wins.  The battles for America's soul are growing.  Franklin Graham's Decision America 2016 Tour is part of my hopes for America and my prayers for Christians who live here.  I receive their updates through the mail, I joined the Oregon group on Facebook, I have the dates marked on my desk calendar, and I ordered one of the Prayer Journals they created for the event (with a page for all 50 states)... and I try to find a way to share my concerns for America whenever I can. 

We are at a difficult time in prophecy... what we pray for may be impossible for GOD to honor because some things have been destined for centuries.  I think prayer helps us, though... and helps us to look for GOD's solutions to our problems.  If you have read any of my blogs, comments on Facebook, or other writings, you will know that Working Together's mission is to prepare for the End Time struggles we know are coming.  Someone will face them, and there may not be a refuge for them if we don't make one.  Our wayward children, grandchildren, and loved ones, might one day decide that GOD is the right path.  Will there be a place of refuge for them... I don't know.  I just think it would be good to build them.

I hope you will join me in this effort.



======================================
Finished about 7:30pm
Posted about 8pm

Today is the Sabbath - what does that mean?

Saturday, 18 June 2016 - about 10:15am my time

It is another day of "rest" and I still don't know how to define that in my life.  I believe the Sabbath is a commandment so it isn't just an "if I want to" activity.  The Ten Commandments didn't go away when Christ died and salvation through Him started.

Here is the part about the Sabbath from the link above ::

8  “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

9  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.   

11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The great controversy between Saturday and Sunday is solved in my mind by the fact that we are adopted into the Jewish family when we become saved and cease to be Gentiles.  There are only two people groups in GOD's eyes, I believe.... the Jews and everyone else, called the Gentiles.  The biblical Sabbath is evening and morning according to Creation... so for the Jews it is Friday evening at sundown through sundown on Saturday.

I find this change of "days" to be a pain in the bottom, but that is how GOD decreed it.  I once had the thought that we get to rest at the first part of the "day" (sleep at night and get refreshed), then we have all day to do real Sabbath things (whatever they may be).

As I got into the Sabbath challenge I could understand why there were so many problems surrounding it... and still are.  I finally got to the question, "How does GOD rest?" and am still there.  I also realized that babies needed to be cared for, old people needed to be cared for, some things had to be done to eat (just not making a fire, which was a LOT of work).  Servants were resting, too.  That means everyone had to do things differently... feed themselves, and things like that.  :-)

I haven't decided about the animal questions...  they could "save" animals in distress, so I call that the "emergency clause" -- we can do emergency activities... but how to separate them from regular work activities, I'm not sure.  Shelters, hospitals, police, military... these things don't go away because it is the Sabbath... how do we deal with the needs of that one day a week ??   I'm not sure. 

The whole idea of the Sabbath rest is that GOD is able to deal with those details when we honor Him with our commitment not to do "work" on that day.  That includes earning the income from our regular labor, which we rely on for our survival.  For the farmer that is the crops in the fields.  For the rancher, it is the animals that create their income.  For those in urban areas, where there is a lot of crime, that includes the safety of our lives.  All of these details are the kinds of things that make the Sabbath an act of faith, like tithing.

It isn't an easy question to answer.  GOD is involved in all the parts of our lives.  The Bible tells us that GOD is able to make one field prosper and another to whither.  It tells us that GOD controls the womb.  We discover that GOD protects those who rely on Him, and uses the evil to bring judgment on those who go against the things He has decreed, including the wayward Jew.

Christians seem to have a Sabbath of going to church and eating out afterwards.  I don't know what else happens in other people's houses, but I'm not sure rest is the theme of the day.  If our servants are also to rest, does that mean we really shouldn't go out to eat?  Is gardening work, or is it a recreational part of our lives, something we do to relax, a hobby, not really a job to us?  That question came up in my mind.  What can we do on the Sabbath that isn't considered work?  Did potlucks start as the Sabbath rest meal?  :-)

I remember a news story about orthodox Jews trying to claim that pushing the elevator button was work and they couldn't do that on the Sabbath.  It must have been on Facebook (FB) because I remember commenting that if you can't push the elevator button, you also can't open a door, the frig, the microwave, the toilet, or anything we use in day-to-day life.  I don't remember exactly what I wrote for examples, but you get the idea by the ones I shared here.  I don't think pushing an elevator button is what GOD was concerned about.

I continue to search for my own answers to my Sabbath rest.  I decided it had to be between GOD and me because that is how we are finally judged.  Everyone else won't be with me when I reach the Great White Throne Judgment... I need to find my own answers.  I think GOD understands the process and will help me find His Truth about the matter.

If you have any thoughts on the matter, please use the comments section to share them.  We all have different lives and when we share some of the better details about them, others are helped.  We can search for the answers together.  Thanks.

Moving my focus to this blog

Friday,  17 JUNE 2016 - about 11am my time

It has been awhile... I have been praying and thinking about how to best use my limited time.  I want to do more blogging and want to have the spiritual focus in my writing, so I am going to move more of my personal posting to this blog.

I have been trying to post Thankfulness entries at Etsy.com forums, and have a forum thread for Bible verses there.  I am trying to get those to a more neutral space... maybe...well, so far that is the plan... and this seems the natural location.  I think it is important to be in the public arena with our faith, and I like the crafting focus of Etsy.

I have encountered problems related to my Christian faith at Etsy, but I don't know if that is because of the employees or is the unspoken stance of the business.  I am just trying to sell there, so I am looking for solutions that will work for me.  I think the team approach may be better for me and for any Christians selling there.  There are Christian teams, and I hope we can network and support one another within the Etsy framework.  Only time will tell.

I have also been posting prayers at the OR Decision America Tour Group at Facebook (FB)... and at other posts on FB when the situation seemed to call for a prayer from my heart.  Twitter is a bit short for a real prayer, but I think I remember adding some words of prayer there.  The online environment is a good place to share these kinds of things, so people can see what we care about, how we share needs with GOD, when we feel prayer is necessary.  I still remember thinking I would never be holy enough to pray out loud.  I still feel that way, but when I can write what is in my heart I don't have to think about all those eyes on me...  it can become a conversation online.  I think that is good.

For myself, I am still praying about my housing need (FEB post) in the Eugene area.  I am trying to "land" in my final resting place for the remainder of the life GOD has planned for me.  You might find this hard to believe, but in my original family, we moved a lot.  I always wanted to be settled into one place before my kids started school.  It didn't work out that way.  I still have the same dreams I've had most of my life, just no permanent place to build them.  I try to find ways to help other low-income families find the stability I wasn't able to find.  I think this is how GOD works... the things we suffer become the focus of our life/ministry later on.

I guess I will end with my thankful focus for today...

Today I am thankful for writing again, for posting my views, for blogging again, for finding more of the direction I need to go in.  I am thankful for the food I finally got at the local farmer's market the other day... it tastes really good.  I am thankful for rest, for improving my budgeting, for coffee, for getting my order from Amazon on time, for plans to create, for hopes and dreams and GOD in my life.

May the GOD I love bless all those who love Him...  Amen.

Until next time,
Deb 

Friday, 6 MAY 2016 :: Checking in to catch up with everything

I decided to catch up with as many of my blogs as I can today... it has been an long time since I posted in any of them.  I have been trying to decide where to put my energies, what to focus on, what to let go.  I need to hire help for Working Together tasks, so GOD will need to provide that funding.  I would like to become its first employee, but that hasn't happened yet.  You can find my updates for Working Together here.

I nearly came to this blog yesterday to enter a post for the National Day of Prayer (USA)... I decided to enter a post at Facebook and then was prayed-out.  It became a long post, especially for Facebook, but here is the text of what I wrote and the details I saved with it  ::

==========

National Day of Prayer, USA, 2016
Thursday, 5 MAY

The gremlins seem to be out in force today, but I will try again to enter a prayer for this day, and for this nation.  I doubt I will be able to remember what I said in my first effort, but we will believe GOD for a better prayer this time... and maybe I will keep saving it just in case the gremlins decide to attack again...  :-(


I was trying to decide where to enter a prayer. I did enter one at a Turning Point post, and had been thinking I should enter one at my Faith and Prayer blog (faith-and-prayer.blogspot.com) -- which I may still do later, but then I thought I would like to post a prayer here at Facebook. 

America is in such deep financial and spiritual trouble that I don't know if it will ever recover. We know that prophecy tells us things will get worse, but it is hard to live through it, to watch my country fall into the abyss I expected to occur years after my death. How fast will it happen?  No one knows.  How do we find our way through this mess?  I don't know, and I don't think anyone else does either.  We have the actions of force to deal with, and need to find ways to protect ourselves as it takes over our lives.  Christians don't know how to attack, and reason doesn't seem to work anymore.  Prayers are what we have to tell GOD about our pain and our desires... but GOD is the One who is in charge of all this life we are working our way through.  We have to accept the results we can't control ourselves.

I don't know if Trump will become the man we want him to be, but he may be GOD's choice for the years ahead.  Many think we are on the verge of financial difficulties we will all suffer through... I hope he will be able to help us deal with them.  I certainly don't want to see America become more of a socialistic country, but that may also be the path to the Antichrist... the one-world government, without GOD, that some believe is the answer to every need.  We do know that GOD lifts up and tears down the leaders that will accomplish His Will, His Word, His Prophecies. 

So... on to my prayer, or I will be writing a book !!  :-)


Lord GOD, help us to find Your Will for our lives and to make our nation a better place.  Help Your People to find their faith in You as the world becomes a harder place for Christians to live in.  Touch our lives with Your Presence.  Guide our hearts and minds and lives into those places where we can keep you first in our decisions.  Protect our children, protect our faith, protect our courage and determination... keep us focused on You, keep our trust in You, keep our hope in You.  When we want to take the easy road, the safe road, the road that denies You, make us stop and think... help us to remain faithful to our salvation, help us to keep our place in heaven, help us not to deny You.  Build up this country with leaders that will be loyal to You... that will lead with character... that will keep us solvent, keep us strong, keep us honest and true. 

Help YOUR people to join together and become ONE Body in Christ, to protect each other, to support each other, to prepare for the hard times ahead of us.

May You always bless those who love You... provide for our needs... lead us, guide us, make us willing to do Your Will for our lives so that the larger Body of Christ will have all that it needs.  Help us to share, to be courageous, to be wise.  In the holy Name of Jesus, these things I pray.  Amen.

done apx 8:45 pm - my time
==========

I believe this is the blog I will focus on most as time goes by... especially after Working Together gets handed off to someone new.  It is the main focus of my life, and spiritual issues are very important to me.  It may be the best place for my main sharing efforts.

Until next time, remember that no one will be standing with you at the judgment... it will just be you and GOD.  Make your decisions accordingly.  No matter how much you love someone, you cannot save them... they must save themselves... they must choose Christ as their savior.  Pray for them, love them, do the best you can to share the gospel with them, but don't lose your own soul.

Much love, in Christ,  Deb
http://faith-and-prayer.blogspot.com

Friday, 26 FEB 2016 :: Still praying

My search for housing is again a major event in my life...

As a senior, the problems seem much worse...  I am hoping that GOD will deal with the problems I can't change, and help me to find solutions that will last for the rest of my life... however long or short that will be.

I am still looking for ways to share my basic prayer request.

I am still trying to earn the money through online sales,  through sales of WT Trial Memberships that will lead to wage income for me and others, through donation possibilities at my "crowd-funding" offer  (my fiverr gift gig)... and letter, email, and other contacts with Christian resource possibilities.

I have been out of any "loops" for several years now, dealing with work problems, health issues, location issues, etc., so finding people who know me well is impossible.  It makes me wonder what I can do, who to ask, where to search.  And there are those other issues beyond my ability that I pray to GOD for resolutions for....

I hope you are still praying for my housing request.  I think the official post is on this blog... entered on the 10th or 11th of FEB I think.

My life hasn't been what I thought it would be, but it has been the best I could do with my circumstances.

Friday, 19 FEB 2016 :: Sharing my thoughts on global persecutions

The internet is a spiritual battleground and I don't know how to protect my online efforts for myself or Working Together, so I keep trying to work with what I discover there.  I don't know if Etsy is against GOD as a business, or if it's employees take those actions on their own, but it has an active population of sellers and administrators who thwart those who love GOD as often as "legally" possible.  I am not saying this to detract from the business site that is Etsy, because I think it is a very great possibility space for anyone who does crafts and wants to sell online.  I am sharing this today because I have decided to share my Bible Verse post for today...  because I never know if my entries will be deleted. 

The internet has made our world a global neighborhood... which is very different from what we know as people who live in a house in a neighborhood in a town or city in a county in a state or province in a nation.  We use to only have to deal with the people in our small group of friends and acquaintances, the schools we went to, the stores we purchased at, the church we attended...  now we are monitored without our knowledge by people who live on the other side of the world, affected by strangers who can destroy our lives and never be held accountable for their actions, told our opinions have become political attacks toward someone who exists somewhere and disagrees with us -- and wants everyone want to submit to their ideology.  It is a different world.

In the beginning... I tried to share my small booklet, "What if there is NO Rapture?" as an Etsy listing and someone decided it was "anti-gay" and refused to let it remain available.  There was nothing I could do or say to make it not so... someone disagreed with my opinion.

These are the methods we face.  "Politically correct" invades the spaces we live, the businesses we operate, the freedoms we once had.  We will never know the extent of how our lives are affected on the internet by those who disagree with our beliefs and feel they have a right to do to us what they would not want done to them.  These attacks, this rising power, feeds itself and grows.  The ones who choose this method of battle do so without considering the message it brings, the effects it has on all of us, our freedoms, our process, our individual and corporate rights.

We, all of us, all of us living in the world, have to find a way to blend (to exist in one place at one time) our individual rights in a global environment.

I hope to find a better way to create my own income needs on the internet, at a personal level and as a business.  Etsy and other websites have been an important lesson for me about the internet, about selling websites, about the power employees have, about what we face in the future, and about how little we know when we contact a business. 

If GOD will allow, I also hope to find better solutions for the Body of Christ through my efforts on behalf of Working Together. 


Right now, I have decided to share this post here.  There may be more to follow, I don't know yet.
*******************************************

https://www.etsy.com/teams/21913/chitchat/discuss/15608919/page/49

Friday, 19 FEB 2016
Been making my THANKFUL posts here at the Etsy forum threads, but avoiding my BIBLE VERSES here... sorry for that.  Today I will just share a Psalm to get back to you with some thoughts...
=====================
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.     Psalm 89:7 KJV
=====================
I have been thinking a bit about the fear of the Lord in the past many years, not sure how we can reflect that in our lives.  The fear that the Bible tells us about is a healthy fear, a realization that His power cannot be matched or thwarted...His judgments are firm once they are made, and we can believe in His prophecies because He does not lie.  It is a tremendous awareness for us when we understand that GOD is merciful toward us in so many ways.  When I hear about mainstream denominations going against the Word of GOD, I feel that they have lost their fear of Him, thinking they can get past the line that GOD has established for us.  I don't know what the future holds, but I pray that I will be able to stay true to the truths that I know.  I pray that you will do the same.

Wednesday, 17 FEB 2016 :: Praying for America

Today I received a PRAYER JOURNAL for the 2016 Decision America Tour. 
( http://www.decisionamericatour.com/get-involved/ )  I thought it was so beautiful that I wanted to share the only information I have about it here.

The Decision America Tour is an effort to increase the Christian vote by holding prayer events at each state capitol before the November elections.  Franklin Graham, as part of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, http://www.BillyGraham.org, is organizing the tour.  Prayer gatherings have already been held in several states during January and February, many are scheduled through April, and the rest are being arranged.  You can find out more information about your state at the links I have placed at the bottom.

My desire in sharing about this Prayer Journal in this post is for every Christian in America to have one of their own. 

When I looked through my new copy, I realized it would be a wonderful way to keep track of each state.  In the journal, each state has two pages, one with details about the state, and another with lines for your entries. In the process of starting this blog, I realized that this could become an ongoing tool for prayer by using the lined page for notes about its major needs, things that won't be solved by this election.

I have never really focused on the individual problems that each state in America faces, I have always been more focused on national problems, human problems, spiritual problems.  This Prayer Journal helps me to think about each state, about how their problems affect the entire nation, about the things we can all help solve together.

America is my country. 

It is the only country I know. 

It is the country I love.

And I am worried about it's future.

 

I can't solve all of the problems my country is dealing with, but I can pray, ask GOD to show us the answers, and try to find ways to be part of the solutions.  This Prayer Journal helps me to do that with wisdom, with knowledge, with commitment, and with other Christians.   I hope you will get one of these journals for yourself -- right away !!   :-)


========================================

You can find the tour dates that have already been announced at this link...
http://www.decisionamericatour.com/tour-dates/#fndtn-announced


You can find a list of all the states at the following link.  Find out what is happening in your state.
http://www.decisionamericatour.com/tour-dates/#fndtn-states

Thursday, 11 FEB 2016 :: My very first PRESS RELEASE !!

I am so excited to share this... I don't know how well it will be evaluated as a Press Release, but I did my best to answer all the questions I read were important for a press release.  :-)     I tried to explain the details of  Working Together  and membership.  I hope I accomplished that task.

If you can, please share with any Christians, churches, ministries, etc., so they can all read about WT and join the effort.  Thanks.

*******************************************************************



FEBRUARY 2016

NOW YOU CAN JOIN WORKING TOGETHER ONLINE !!

What is the "Body of Christ?"  According to the Bible, it is everyone who believes Jesus Christ
died for their sins.  It isn't one denomination, one church, or one spiritual group, it is  E-V-
E-R-Y-O-N-E  who has been saved by Christ... and, hopefully, millions of people.  The logo of
Working Together explains this viewpoint well ::  "One God, One Bible, One Christ, One
Salvation, One Body."

How can a global Christian community gather in one space for worship, for support, for
prayer and benevolence, for protecting each other as much as possible?  That is the challenge
Working Together is trying to overcome...and why membership is the foundation of all it
hopes to achieve.

Working Together is a business-ministry hybrid designed to meet the various survival needs
of CHRISTIANS as we encounter the increased persecutions of the End Times.  The End Times
is often a topic few Christians want to think about, but it also requires MANY YEARS OF
PREPARATION to meet just the basic needs (food, shelter, safety...) of those who will exist in
that difficult future.  Gathering together now to begin the building process in Working
Together's twelve current global regions is essential to achieving their goals.

Created in 1987, Working Together has struggled to exist. Through various efforts to
establish Working Together over these long years, founder and owner Deborah Martin has
been its primary support.  With a new PayPal button established on the Working Together
homepage (http://work2gather.us) this month, she is again trying to reach the Christian
community, the Body of Christ, with a TRIAL Membership offer.

The TRIAL MEMBERSHIP is a one year introduction to Working Together through an emailed
quarterly newsletter.  It is offered at the very low price of US$5.  Every December existing
members and the general public will be offered an opportunity to join Working Together as a
regular member for the next calendar year.  The TRIAL MEMBERSHIP is available all year and is
offered once per member.

Wednesday, 10 FEB 2016 :: This is my prayer for help.

I am on a quest for help from the Christian community.

I am praying for a decent house
(as large as possible,
not in need of serious repairs)
with internet access,
on as many acres as GOD will provide,
on a major bus route,
and in the Eugene OR area. 

I need to purchase this property privately,
with very flexible terms,
from a Christian person. 

I must have help to move. 

And I must have enough money
to help me survive the first three years.

This is a lifetime prayer,
a near the end of my life prayer,
and urgently needed at this time of my life prayer.

My deadline is the end of March 2016.

I have just begun to share this prayer, adding different explanations to it depending on where it is being shared.  I decided that making it into a blog post would help me to share my prayer (and its many, many details) as a short link on Twitter and other places.  I won't have to keep writing it out. 

I give you permission to share this prayer need with other Christians, in your church prayer groups, or with anyone you think may be GOD's answer to it....
Please remember, I am looking for ONE Christian...

 the one who owns the house and land I am looking for. 

It is my hope that this will be the last time I will have to move, that I won't have to lose all my belongings again, and that I will finally be able to build Working Together.  (http://work2gather.us)

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PRAYER is just a bunch of empty words, right?

People who pray are talking to the air.

There is no "power" in prayer.

Our prayers are really our hopes and dreams.

Praying just make US feel better.

There is no GOD, so praying is pointless.

Any prayer that gets "answered" is a coincidence.

 

Praying is as much a matter of faith as salvation is.  I will admit it has been a difficult challenge for me to keep my faith alive through my long years of poverty and my struggles to overcome its grasp.  It can be hard to keep believing in GOD, a good and loving GOD, when your prayers seem to go unanswered -- while the testimonies of other Christians sound like every request they make is immediately granted!  It takes a long, long time to find a way through the spiritual maze of understanding faith and prayer.

One of the biggest hurdles in Christian circles is deciding which praying theology is right ::  do we tell everyone our need so they can participate in the providing of it, or do we keep it to ourselves and expect GOD to provide what He knows we need? 

With this request I have chosen the public sharing route, which is kind of like crowd-funding without an official website.

Crowd-funding is a wonderful tool to solve financial issues... I hope to see it become part of Working Together's efforts to meet the needs of individuals all over the world.  Crowd-funding is very similar to what I hoped to achieve with ACTION PRAYER, Working Together's program to meet the needs of others.  

The group funding idea, by prayer or by crowd-funding, is to share a need, provide a way for others to respond to that need, and then deliver the response to the person with the need.  The internet makes this sharing process much easier than it use to be, and allows the message to reach a much wider audience for the resources needed to help.  Christian oversight can make this a better, safer process.


With my own request for help, there are a number of ways to connect with me and help answer my prayer, many of which I have mentioned before.  I hope you will become part of this process.

These are the ways you can choose to share your financial blessings toward my need ::

 

http://work2gather.us
When you join Working Together with the current TRIAL Membership (only US$5 for one year), you build its ability to create resources for members and to hire employees...including me!  (11 FEB 2016 :: I had computer problems before I could post this yesterday, and have since created a "press release" about my new PayPal button for joining Working Together.  I will be creating a new post with that information... be sure to read it!)
 

 

http://etsy.com/shop/work2gather

When you make a purchase at my ETSY shop, you help provide personal funds for my living needs.  I have requested people buy my SERVANTS writing, which is also only US$5, as my fundraising item.  I want to share its words with every Christian.  

 

http://fiverr.com/work2gather

At FIVERR I currently have my "crowd-funding" item -  a GIFT gig, which is basically a donation of US$5 reduced by sales fees.  These funds would also go toward my personal living needs.

 

I have a Fiverr shop for Working Together (http://fiverr.com/workingtogether), but have to find an appropriate gig to put there again.  When I do, all the funds from its purchase will be used for Working Together income.

 

 

http://ebay.com/usr/work2gather

I currently do not have any items available at my personal eBay shop, but I am working toward listing personal belongings for sale.

 

I also started an eBay shop for Working Together products, and have been trying to find suitable listings to offer there.  (http://ebay.com/usr/workingtogetherinc) 

 

 

 

Wednesday, 3 FEB 2016 :: Deceive, Divide, Destroy - the tools of Satan

I am up early today.  I was lying in bed with the radio on for company when the David Jeremiah program came on.  He was referring to the new series on TV called "Lucifer" and how the culture has come to embrace Satan through various media, including music and video games.  The words that Jeremiah used to describe the process are what caught my attention.  I was so impressed by them I got up to write them down.

These three words are an easy way to remember the process Satan uses to lead us into hell forever.

DECEIVE  ::  Deception is the heart of Satan.  He is a "liar and a thief" in the Bible.  No matter what he might tell you, it isn't true, he is just telling you what you want to hear so you will do what he wants you to do... and that is always something that will harm you and the ones you love.

Remember the temptations of Christ when Jesus was at His weakest point  --  Satan offered food and power, he tempted Jesus to test GOD's protection.  These are common and repeated themes in the actions of Satan to deceive us.

DIVIDE  ::  I have seen how Satan lures people away from those who love them.  It is the tool he uses in families, in businesses, in churches, in as many places as he can.  Our nation is divided these days, more and more we are becoming polarized by party, by issues, by finances. 

I found a writing once that described the way Communists overcome their enemies and achieve their goals...I think it was called the "Little Red Book."  One of the points I noticed was the focus on isolating and overcoming those who are on the fringe, who don't have anyone else, who can't fight back.  It seems to be a tactic that comes from Satan.

DESTROY  ::  This is just the final step in the process, like the Communists in the preceding explanation.  After you believe the lies, and no one wants to be around you anymore, there is no reason to keep you alive... Satan's goal has been achieved.  If you die in your sin, you will spend your eternity in hell and the lake of fire.  Your soul is the prize that Satan is after.


I hope you will remember these three words and consider them each time you are facing questions about which way to go.  Deception is the hardest thing to discover... and the most painful.  It seems we all have to learn these things by experience, but I pray yours will not be too traumatic.  Learning through the experiences of other (biographies, sermons, testimonies...) may help you to avoid some pain, but we humans are difficult students... we tend to want to find things out for ourselves.