Tuesday, 31 October 2017

It's Halloween, in America at least.

I think the official title is All Hallows Eve...

It stopped being important for me as I grew in my faith.

As a child, as a parent, there was the thrill of candy... FREE candy.

It seems that free can be challenging to our values... drug pushers use free to get you hooked, advertisers use free to get you to try something, new businesses use free to grab your attention... lots of free things in this world... well, in America anyway.

My budget says free is a bonus, something I won't have to pay for... food, mostly.

Credit offers are never really free.  They just sound like a great deal, but I heard that most people end up paying the interest because they don't pay their purchase off in time.  I am talking about the furniture that has no interest for 500 months (exaggeration).  I think cars come like that, too.

Credit cards are only free in the beginning, then the high costs show up.  I hear some people transfer balances at this point to stave off the big payments.  I suspect it all catches up to them eventually. 

Free is a big word.  I love free shipping.  It is like going to the store and getting it... no added costs.  It takes longer, but if that is not an issue then the purchase is good for me... It gets delivered to my door.  That solves a lot of problems for me.

*
Today was a nice day.  Lots of raking leaves today.  I got a lot of household things done.  Got my crafting supplies better organized but wasn't able to get anything new done.  Now I am too tired.  I will probably be up in the night and find something to start.

*
I heard about another truck attack in New York.  People using the bike lanes, walking path, something like that.  The young man had fake guns when he was caught... I assume he was trying to be martyred.   I have always thought it was an irrational definition of martyrdom... a true martyr dies because of their faith... because they won't deny it... because others don't like their faith, they don't kill others and call it an act of worship.  It really makes me wonder what they believe... what they have faith in.

*
It's time to go.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May GOD find a way to be truth to those who believe the lies of Satan.
May our world not become fear-ruled.
May life be good.
May our dreams be filled with only kind and loving acts.
May this year end with great happiness, and next year start with great expectations.
May GOD make Himself real to those who are looking for Him.
May all those we love meet us in heaven one day.
Amen.

Monday, 30 October 2017

So many times, over the weekend, I think of things I would like to share "with the world," but when I get here, I can't remember them.

Things I read about, things I see.  The world is so big, so filled with differing opinions... I feel the need to share my view of them.

The internet is changing the way we connect with each other.  If there were no "bad guys" we wouldn't have to worry about it... our innocent efforts at friendship would be met with equal innocence... interest and discovery, wonder, contemplation... these are such good things.  This blog is like a letter to the world, for me.  I wonder who is reading about my life, how different we are, what would we think about the other's life...  we can't always trust what we find on the internet, but it would be nice to live in a kind and honest and friendly world.

*
The leaves from a big tree in the yard have been blowing all over the place this weekend... longer, I think.  I rake them up when I go outside with the dogs on their potty break.  The next time I look out there, the piles are back.  :-)  That's what happens.  I love the colors of the leaves, their crispness.  I hope to find a way to preserve them better.  One of these days, I will... God willing I live that long!

*
I think a lot about what Faith is... how it looks in "real" life.  We all have a strange picture of what faith should look like... I'm not sure they are biblical ideas.  I am still trying to find a definition that I can live with.

I think the big problems come when we don't get what we want, when GOD is slow to answer, when we suffer, when we lose, when we really want GOD to do something N.O.W!  but He doesn't.  Some like to say that we don't have faith when we don't get what we want because the Bible says to ask and we will receive.  We also don't "get" because we ask amiss... we don't ask for the right things, or for the right reasons.  Is faith about getting, only?

Faith is about believing Jesus died so we could have a way into heaven without having to sacrifice cattle.  I guess it sounds strange, but the sacrifice was required.  There is no other way to get into heaven.  By believing in Christ, He becomes our cattle offering for our sin, the blood sacrifice.  I guess we believe Jesus died for our sins... OUR sins... and then we are saved. 

I find that GOD is very exacting... so this definite transaction is very real to me.  It seems a bit clinical, but that is what happens.  Jesus becomes our sacrifice, at a personal level.

I am so glad I don't have to go by the Old Testament requirements.
I am so glad I am saved.

*
I hope you are saved by Christ, too.

Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May God reach into the hearts of those who have not been saved and lead them to Him.
May our lives become better than we ever thought they could be.
May God bless the ones He loves, and help us to meet the needs of a lost and hurting world.

May God protect and provide for His followers.
Amen.

Thursday, 26 October 2017

The day is almost done, another race to beat the clock!

What happened today?  I hate to make a list, so I will just share a few things.

My son burned the big pile of debris today... it's a scary endeavor in my mind... fire is very unpredictable.  It was interesting to watch.  If I ever get some property, burning debris will be part of the process, so I wanted to see what happened.  The flames went up so high, and a small garden hose was not equal to the task of stopping it.  I was very glad nothing bad happened.  I kept thinking of the fires in California, whole neighborhoods gone... completely gone.  I hadn't seen anything like it before.  Even the photos I have seen of the San Francisco earthquake and fires wasn't as "level" as the houses in northern California.  I think it was a wake-up call for a lot of people, myself included.

I washed my new purchases today.  The blanket washed in cold water still looks quite a bit smaller, like the threads tightened up.  It is a nice size, but I decided to "dry it flat" like the tag instructed.  No way I would have washed that thing by hand!  I will have to see what happens later on when it needs another wash.  I may end up with a doll blanket.  (It is still a great blanket... I love the colors and pattern.)

Medicare has risen on my list.  I really have to remember to make my phone calls and find out what happens to people like me at this stage of life.  Government dependence has always been a pain.  When you get older, it is even worse.

More leaves are changing color, the wind has been blowing them all over the back yard where I live... it is fun to watch.

In making more revisions to my goal forms, I decided to change my hours to eat solid foods.  It was 4am to 6pm, but now I have figured out meals and snacks between 5am and 7pm.  This will work out better for me, I think.  Since I want to try to fit into size 14 pants next month when I go searching at the thrift store, I am getting back into my routine and trying to improve my food choices even more.  I am working on my shopping list to make sure I have all the food supplies I need to keep more veggies available to eat.

Well... time to get to bed for the night... so tired.  I have some tentative plans for tomorrow, and need to read a lot tomorrow... maybe do some online searching.  I may let you know what happens.  :-)

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May God watch over us this weekend and help us to do something good for the world.
May our hearts find joy, peace, contentment, love, happiness, and time to discover  (enjoy)  them.
May we think of our importance in this world and help it to be a better place.
May those who have no one, find someone... and love that will change them forever.
May we have the things we need, and like what we have.
May we all find truth is better than lying, and build our lives on the solid foundations that truth provides.
May time be kind to all of us.
and
May GOD finally provide my financial blessings!!!!!!!!   Amen!  :-)

Wednesday, 25 October 2017

Another computer gremlin day... I will try to remember what I had already written...  but, remember, nothing is exactly the same as the first time.  We have to deal with these things, whether we like it or not.

*
*
*
Today was my day out for shopping... long day!  tiring day!  glad it is over day!  :-)  I went because it was the sale day at the Salvation Army, but I got a lot of other things in there, too.  My November budget started today, too.  I did pretty good! 

I found Bill Bennett's "The Book of Virtues" at the thrift store today.  I grabbed it up and will read it as my next book.  It was published in the early 1990's and I heard only good things about it.  I am happy to be reading it now.  I hope to be a better person by the time I finish it.

It is a huge book, with ten chapters on ten virtues.  The first chapter starts at page 19, the end of the main part of the book is at 819.  Here are the ten virtues, in the order the author presents them...  Self-Discipline, Compassion, Responsibility, Friendship, Work, Courage, Perseverance, Honesty, Loyalty, and Faith.  I am wondering if the order is important, and why.  I will probably browse through it  in the days ahead... just to check out his writing style... maybe read the Introduction.

This is a great find for me... I am very happy.  :-)

You may be happy to know I actually looked for some clothes.  I need jeans the worst so I went to that rack first.  I grabbed a pair in the size I think I am, in a S-T-R-E-T-C-H jean  (haha), and bought it after trying it on.  Only $2.50 on the sale day... my kind of price!

I found a wonderful vase, ceramic, lovely colors.  I would share a photo but I haven't found the photo process yet.  I may post it at Facebook... maybe.  I don't know how important it might be to anyone but me.  :-)  I am happy.

I also found two new eating plates to replace the ones I got last time because they developed cracks in them somewhere along the way.  I moved them to my crafting activities.  $1.25 for both.  Nice pattern, Corelle, medium size.

I grabbed up a great throw I found there, nice holiday shades in a plaidish pattern.  It is very warm.  I tried it out watching TV tonight.  I am not sure what will happen to it when I wash it, but it looks sturdy enough... and it is an extra blanket for me right now.  If I ever get a couch again, it will look great.  $3.50 with the 50% discount.

I didn't get much today, but it was over $10... book, pants, vase, plates, blanket... and then my reluctant purchase of an unpriced metal pan lid... with a regular price of $1.88!!!!!  I paid 94 cents.  It didn't fit the pan I hoped it would fit, but it will get used.  I suppose the discount price is OK, but I wouldn't buy it for the full price... it wasn't that great a lid.  There was another one for less and some for more.  No continuity in pricing.  It's my main complaint with every thrift store... they think they have gold, and everyone wants to pay more.  The competition is that a lot of stuff can be found NEW for cheaper.  My fun is in the search for treasures that matter to me, things I need, things I want, a little at a time.

That is my thrift store saga...

*
I also took care of November bills, some food that wouldn't spoil while I was shopping, and crafting supplies to try out.  I am always happy to get things I really like. 

*
Christmas is in the mail.  I got my letters from INC and Fast Company magazines, owned by the same company.  :-)  Their very cheap holiday option gets me almost every year.  Only $5 to send someone a gift subscription.  I like both magazines in different ways.  I think they help to see what is coming into the business world.  I also have Entrepreneur.  I don't think I will keep my subscriptions because of my time issues and budget, but I am trying to decide if anyone would be good for getting them as gifts for 2018.

Lots of holiday giving appeals have been in the mail already.  I made my list, so that's what I can do for this year.  If God blesses 2018, I can do more next year.

*
I happened to see the last hour of the Humane Society's Hero Dog Awards.  I saw the commercials, but forgot to mark it down.  I didn't realize they had programs like that.

Facebook is filled with animal posts.  One of the two stories I was able to see was about an emaciated abused dog that survived and became a Therapy Dog... how they do it, I have no idea!  I cried at what the dog suffered, how badly it looked.  I don't understand why people do these things.

Life is important.  Animals are important.  Babies are important.  Old people are important.  Disabled people are important. We are all important.  We have to find a way to be better than what we have become.

*
Today was a necessary day for me.  Not easy, but it had to be done.  Now I am more than ready to go to sleep.

See you tomorrow, GOD willing.
In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May we all become better tomorrow than we are today.
May our world not overcome our hearts with the great needs there are.
May we find a place of peace in what we can do.
May we trust more in GOD to provide through us.
May we begin to see that GOD moves things around to accomplish His Will, and sometimes it is our stuff that He needs to use.
May life be good, and our hearts be filled with love, and our dreams be good for everyone.
May we count our blessings every day so we don't think our lives are worse than they are.
May we all have a wonderful holiday season, and be ready for 2018.
Amen.

Tuesday, 24 October 2017

My goodness... the days fly by.  Another month is almost gone.

I started my budget for November, trying to make everything fit in... starting with most needed.  I only have $150 for my personal needs, so that goes fast.  I got a notice from Social Security saying they automatically enroll me in Medicare, with a mandatory payment of $134/month, deducted before I see anything.  That means I will have $16 to live on if I can't find a way through this economic misery.  I have hated the government all my adult life, and now I will die hating the government.  I have to wonder at times like these... how will I ever get out of the government pit...

*
Today was a strange day.  I mostly did household tasks, then watched a news program and a movie before my son and his wife came back.  Time just seems to fly away... I never get what I want done.  Well, I shouldn't say never, but some days are really hard.  I hope to figure out a better way.

*
I saw something on Peter Thiel, a new name in my horizon, over the weekend... I think it was that free press documentary.  He brings up so many issues that we face.  I became aware of an ocean community that he wants to create, outside of the domain of any nation, in international waters.  Quite an interesting drawing.  I wondered how it would fare in storms on the ocean.  I didn't think it looked that sturdy... just from the quick glance they gave of the concept.  Later, after thinking about it, I realized it would be a learning experience for him... you can't get away from government.  It would become a new "state" and have to create its own government... rules to live by.  Funding issues will need to be addressed, so some form of taxation.  We all want to get away from the government because it is too intrusive. It wasn't meant to be that way.  Freedom is slowly being lost to government controls.  That is what we want to escape.

I think about all these issues all the time.  It is also part of my End Time search for answers.  How will Christians survive the hostility of government, and militaries, and terrorists, and disgruntled sinners... and family, friends, workplaces.  The future is going to be hard for Christians, and probably Jews.  I am not really sure how Jews will be affected yet.  They are still waiting for their Messiah, it may be the Antichrist will be the one that fools them.  I thought of that one day when I remembered that the Temple, which will be rebuilt, becomes the place of desecration.  Miracles.  The "miracles" of technology are looking more like the fake miracles that are prophesied to occur.  Especially with wireless taking over.

In hearing about Peter Thiel and PayPal, which is fast becoming an international money system, and the issue of homosexual activism in his heart, and the ability to financially destroy his enemies, and support what he desires... the New World Order looks really well funded and Christians very underfunded.  It always makes me wonder about GOD, and why things go like this... and my own ministry desires all these years. 

Then I saw his face in a news item about Trump.  He is just a human being trying to find his way in this world... like the rest of us.  He is in a different "group" of the world than I, but he is still part of the world and trying to find his way through this life, looking for love, needing GOD and not knowing it.  It really reminded me about all the billionaires we know about.  We see their money, they look for humanity.

It is a timeless reality... we just don't think about it when we read the Bible.  We want the wealth of Job, of Abraham, of the rich young ruler, of David, of anyone who has wealth in the Bible... we don't see the details behind the money they have.  I remember when I was reading about Job and realized he took care of EVERY fatherless child and widow in his community, as well as sacrificed continuously for his children's sins.  I have been so amazed by that ever since.  We don't see the responsibilities that GOD attaches to our wealth.  Christians with money often consider it "theirs" as a sign of God's approval.  Sometimes it isn't God that is doing the blessing.  Remember how Satan tempted Christ after he was fasting for 40 days.

In the early days of my searching, I would hear testimonies of people giving all of their paychecks to the Lord as an act of faith.  I have never had that kind of faith.  I want to give more after I have enough to survive on.  Right now, the tithe is all I can handle.

I also want to note that we only hear about the blessings of these people who testify like that, we don't hear about the hardships they go through to find their way through those acts of faith.  GOD is good, He does bless, but I think He blesses for a purpose... like caring for the fatherless and widows (Job).  I have often thought that the gifts of the wise men were God's way of providing for the needs of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus as they tried to survive Herod and others... going to new places at a moment's notice, needing basic survival options like housing, food, etc.

I'm not sure how God decides on blessings, and if some who are blessed are kind of responsible through their actions for some of the process (manipulating people),  but I keep trying to understand.  I have been seeking GOD for a long time for Working Together, and for other ministry efforts before that.  I wonder what GOD is trying to say by the things I have encountered along the way.  I know what I want to do is right, and good, and godly, and necessary, but not why it has been so hard to find a way to fund it.

Today I saw a short part of a program with Franklin Graham in it, dealing with opposition in a foreign country.  He considers the opposition a sign of ministry importance.  It has been a thought of mine, too.  It took some time to pray through the reality of opposition to godly dreams.  I had to decide if it was a NO from God, normal in Christian activities, or just a sign to WAIT for God to open the doors... and what I was suppose to do in the meantime.

That is what the End Times are... growing hatred for God, Christians, ministries, goodness, etc.  How that hatred manifests itself is also changing.  No other time in history has had the unknown reality of the internet and technology.  Because of the internet, we won't always see our enemies in their human forms, or even know how to fight hidden attacks.  It is something I don't know how to deal with, especially the growing internet attacks against innocent people.  I continue to pray about these things.  Everything in our survival is becoming attached to technology, digital realities that can disappear in a micro-second.  I often wonder what it will mean to the world when the Antichrist gets here.

There is a part in the Bible I read one day, and I haven't been able to find it again.  I normally read the King James, but I don't remember if I was reading in that Bible at the time.  Maybe you can help me find it again.  It was in the Old Testament, talking about the end of time, and about how a third of the earth's inhabitants were destroyed, naming 5000 as being destroyed, which would mean there were only 15,000 human beings alive at the time.  It was a frightening realization... and has made me wonder what would happen to reduce the population of planet Earth to 15,000 people.

We think nuclear blasts... but the Bible also talks about every mountain disappearing, every island disappearing.  The rivers dry up over in the lands of the Bible... which one, I can't remember... but I think it is the one that the Jews crossed over and left a pillar of stones in the middle... I think it will be found then and be more proof that GOD helped the Jews cross the river out of Egypt.   It's been awhile since I read all this, but I remember thinking that GOD always leaves a witness.  That would be something GOD would do.

I have thought that taking all the oil and gas and water out of the earth is leaving empty spaces down there... which is becoming our earthquakes up here.  Not knowing what is down under the ground means the mountains and islands could one day fall into the earth's empty spaces.

I have thought that we are polluting the world so badly that our actions will destroy the water table, which we depend on for our survival as a planet.  We can't make clean water... we can try to find a way to take out the impurities, but in an environmental catastrophe we wouldn't have that kind of equipment readily available...

The Bible talks about a kind of "rebuilding" of the earth for 1000 years.  Maybe those very few people I discovered (above) will be the ones who make another world of people before the final judgment.  None of us really knows how the prophecies are going to unfold in real life... we know they are true, but not how or when they come true.

I'm planning to restudy all these End Time details so I will let you know if I find different theories as I do that.

We need to remember that no one has the final truth about every bit of the Bible.  Some things are easy to see, others are things we have to discover, study, pray about, and trust GOD for.

I hope GOD will provide for Working Together soon.  I see the needs growing every day... and when the harder persecutions come it will be too late.  I hate to see suffering... needless suffering... and wanting to find a way to lessen it or end it.  If no one else wants to do these things, I do.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May God hear my plea and provide for Working Together's financial foundations.  Amen.

Monday, 23 October 2017

What a weekend!
My son and his wife were gone so I ended up parking myself in front of the TV, watching documentaries, and a few free movies... I guess you would call it binge watching.  I watched them on Saturday, then again on Sunday, and today (when I was trying to make a list of the ones I watched) I discovered some more and watched them!

I like documentaries.
I have a hard time with movies.

I watched one movie (CRASH) that was on race issues in Los Angeles, where I come from, and it was rated R...  I really regret seeing any of the parts that made it an R movie.  Some of the race issues were new to me. I hate to think of anything like that really happening.  It's hard to judge a movie when the situations seem so hard to believe.  I may be in denial, but I hope not.  Our police authorities are powerful over us as a people, we can hardly wage battles against them if they go bad.  It's a huge historical reality.  The Bible talks about what happens when evil is present in the leadership of our lives... it's not good.

Some other movies I decided to watch, for the first time ever, were ::  Earth to Echo, La La Land (another one about Los Angeles), and Remember the Titans (another film about race issues, but from the difficult days when the government first tried to change the southern school systems).

I guess the bussing issues of that time are a bit familiar to me.  One of my sons had to be bussed from a downtown Hollywood neighborhood to a better neighborhood in the Valley.  It was a difficult burden, not just a matter of getting on a bus and getting off a bus.  California (Los Angeles, again) isn't quite the same as the deep south, but Los Angeles is where the Watts riots happened... a big race conflict.

In the years of my struggles, I have come to see that surviving takes up all your time and energy... it's hard to keep up with all the events that happen... the history that is happening in our lifetimes.  In poverty there aren't too many options to change the status quo.  Every month was a struggle to survive.  Not much else mattered.

One of the documentaries I watched (all of them were on Netflix) was about happiness... it was even called HAPPY.  Other documentaries were on food issues (something on Kid's Menus and another on finding Israeli Cuisine), drugs (Heroin(e), Resistance), the environment (A Plastic Ocean), free speech according to the media (Nobody Speak), and one about photographers (Refugee).  That's all I can remember.  I may have watched more.

You really need to watch "A Plastic Ocean" and start thinking about the ecosystem we call Earth, your food supplies (I think they said the oceans provide 70% of our food supplies, more for some cultures), and how we can save what all of us depend on for life.  I think it was too long, but I was binging so that may not be a good review.  I remember thinking that 30-minutes would be enough to show to kids in their classrooms, maybe on TV, and would get a better audience for the topic.  Maybe a series of the many important topics they touched on... like chapters on a single disk.  I cried, more than once.

The film on kids was great for me to see.  It had a project for the kids to plan their food for the day based on the Food Plate they were learning... 10 foods they would eat in a day, with 6 being from the fruit and veggie group I think.  I thought that would be a great idea for me.  I have been seeing that the number of foods we need to eat are not that many, and the true portions are not as much as we are used to eating.  I thought this would be a great challenge for my own eating efforts.  I plan to try it ASAP... this week at some point.  This documentary had some other ideas I liked, but I can't think of them right now.  It's late, and I binged on so many documentaries.  (sorry....)

Another very important documentary to watch is the one called RESISTANCE.  It is about how our favorite medicines are rapidly evolving into new strains that are resistant to the diseases we depend on them killing.  It takes death to make us aware of this problem, and it isn't going away.  GMO foods are another perspective of this same issue... how are they affecting our bodies.  The chemicals in plastic (from the ocean film) are also another part of this same issue.  We are killing ourselves without realizing it.

The humanity of refugees are seen in the film on that topic.  It is hard to see why we fault people who are doing what we would... just wanting to be safe, wanting to protect their children, wanting to be with their families and loved ones.  The horrible poverty they are forced to live in, the death that is forced on them by neglect, the ability of people to rise above the horrors and keep going...these are the facts of their survival.

So... that is what I did this past weekend.
What about you?  What did you learn that you didn't know before?

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

Thursday, 19 October 2017

Yes, I did find some great words to share with you from the book I was reading until this morning... 21 Unbreakable Laws of Life, from Max Anders.  Here are the two passages I felt most important to share...

On page 193, the chapter on Truth...
"Our society is sick because we are drinking from a polluted water supply of truth.  Into that water supply has been dumped lies, inaccuracies, misconceptions, runaway individualism, the demand of rights without responsibilities, selfishness, sensuality, and a conviction that my happiness is more important than yours.  And, as we drink from this polluted water supply, we are becoming morally ill, just as we would become physically ill if we were drinking real water from a reservoir containing filth, waste, and disease.

"I am persuuaded that the reason many people do not believe in absolute truth is because they are free from moral obligations imposed by society and don't want God putting any back on them.  They like their freedom.  But they are like a dog who has broken his chain and thinks he is free, only to run out into the street and get hit by a car."

Both of these paragraphs are really important to think about... our source of information, and are we really free without God.  I am especially impacted by the sentence about the dog who thinks he is free.

On another page, in another chapter, I found another important passage I wanted to share.  This is from the chapter on faith, page 202.
"This is a crucial thing to understand.  We do what we do because we BELIEVE it will make us happy.  We may be dead wrong, and often are, but we do it nevertheless because of what we believe.  When a Christian deliberately and knowingly sins, it is a breakdown of faith.   He believes that the sin will make him happier than God will.  The opposite of obedience, then, is not disobedience.  THE OPPOSITE OF OBEDIENCE IS UNBELIEF!"

Interesting thought, isn't it!

We tell ourselves that the things of the world are going to bring us happiness, and then we give ourselves permission to walk away from what we know is right.

Now I can begin the next book, Battlefield of the Mind.

*
Well, I wanted to get this done, so I will be going for now.  I may add to this later, or may not share again until next week... I'm trying to decide how much time and effort to devote to this blog journal.  :-)

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May God help us all to find the path we need to take... and to keep ourselves focused on what we need to be doing, not what everyone else is doing.
May God provide what we need to accomplish His Will in this life, and to save as many as we can to eternity in heaven.
Amen.

Wednesday, 18 October 2017

My second effort... more computer gremlins to deal with.  May GOD help me to find a way through all this.

*
I can't remember what I started with last time, I wish it auto-saved like it use to do... sometimes it saves, sometimes it doesn't.  I am not techy enough to know why, or what to do about it.  So I pray... and hope GOD deals with any human intruders... if they are involved.

*
Today was not much of a day for memorializing... normal stuff, whatever that is!  :-)

I have been trying to revise my goal pages, to make them more useful, easier to keep records with.  I don't think there is a single answer to my quest... I keep running into the same problems.  I may need to go back to the daily page instead of doing the weekly record.  I was trying to fit it all in one notebook, for organizing and for storage.  52 pages is better than 365.  I will have to debate that again (with myself).

*
I remember trying to share my food efforts, and my exercising challenge.  I love printing in color now.  It allows me to color code the sections I am trying to keep track of, especially with the food containers.  (21-Day-Fix)  My salads are getting to be a better portion size using 1 cup of lettuce and 1 cup of raw veggies.  My soup, chili, and foods like them, are being portioned out by the cup, or as close to that as possible, depending on the recipe.  I am growing fond of dicing my watermelon up. It makes a LOT of servings.  I have to figure out the calories for watermelons, they really help when you are also thirsty.  Lowering my caffeine intake is still on my list.  It is getting close to a special treat status.

My exercise challenge for the winter is still not figured out.  I am thinking of going back to my 5-minute effort on the elliptical machine my son has.  If I can force myself up and on to the machine in the morning, it may help me to get more done later in the day.  I would rather have an exercycle, the kind that is like riding a bike.  One of these days...  it will rise to the top of the priority list!

*
My November budget is being started.  I don't know how much I can squeeze into it.  I am hoping to save enough money for Christmas.  I did make the formal decision on what I can give to Christmas programs like Toys for Tots, the Samaritan's Purse Shoeboxes, and food for mission meals.  I will try to give one gift within the local community this year, too.  Toys for Tots can be given early, even in September.  I have decided to make October my giving month for them.  November is collection week for Shoeboxes.  My food for mission meals is for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so November and December.  A community gift would be in December for Christmas.  Next year I hope to be more organized with my Christmas savings...so it won't be a challenge to budget it into my months.

My money is small, but it is my effort to share what I have with those who have less than I do... remembering all the years we needed to be receiving.  I had hoped GOD would bless WT long ago, so I would have more to give.  I don't know how GOD decides these things.  It seems to be an ongoing problem... the one who have don't give too much, the ones that don't have want to give more... something like that.

I need to figure out a tree for this year.  I use to have a small fake one that set on top of something.  It was the perfect size.  I need to find a new one like that... after I figure out where to put it.  I still have my twinkle lights, so I won't need those... or may get more for my windows.  I better start checking on those details.

*
I still need to transfer my photos so I can have room for more.  I read how to do it, somehow moved one photo, but still haven't gone back to find the secret to moving them all to my other tablet with more storage.  I need a photo solution for uploading to Etsy and eBay, and anywhere else.

I'm working on it....

*
The heavy rains start tonight.  If it isn't a permanent weather status yet, it soon will be.  I still have clean-up to do in the yard, but I am just keeping an eye on it... to see what happens.  It's a lot of ivy I wanted to move to the burn pile.

Someone in the neighborhood burned something today.  It was so smoky I didn't want to go anywhere, or let the dogs go out.  Yuck.  Every time I see the news photos of the CA fire damage, entire neighborhoods destroyed, leveled to the ground, it make me cringe for the people who lived there. 

*
I need to read in my book, 21 Unbreakable Laws of Life, so i better get going.  I will try to find a great quote to share with you tomorrow.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May God watch over those who love Him and trust Him to care for them.
May our world become better, not worse.
May those who choose to sin, to hurt others, find a better way to deal with their problems.
May America not lose the one thing that made it great :: it's faith in God.
Amen.

Tuesday, 17 October 2017

Well, my thoughts are heavy right now... about homelessness issues after watching a local town hall about the topic.  It is how government works... public meetings.  I don't see that much gets done.  It is why I always hoped to do something on my own... which is what WT is all about.

I also am thinking about my sons and prison reforms...

I made two comments to the program.  One when it was live, one when I was viewing parts of it to check some information.  It is hard to know if any effort has any meaning when you are dealing with the government, and maybe the media.  The social media question they presented was about a program someone wanted to get done here... a place for homeless people to stay all day that was far from the downtown core, transportation, services they need to access, and other common problems in the war between city tourism and real community problems that don't look nice.

Now that I have my old computer going again, maybe I can find the letter/s I sent to city hall about these issues... and suggestions for ways to help more people.  The question of whether homelessness was a solvable problem came up... rhetoric won the day.  It isn't a solvable problem, there will always be poor people to deal with... they just change.  We need to create permanent options that really help people, stabilize them, show them ways to solve their own problems, or simply take care of people who cannot care for themselves in a protective environment.

The tax issues came up again... payers versus people in need... federal money needed for state and county programs (it is all the same taxes, paid by citizens)... and how will that money be spent.  Government, non-homeless people don't see the problems in the same way as the homeless do.  Their solutions are generally about hiding the problem as best they can, regulating the activities of those who mar the image they want to portray to the world, and often believing that homeless people really don't have solutions or they wouldn't be homeless... right?

I don't really have the opportunity to get involved in town halls... so this was interesting for me to watch live online.  Only one hour, at the local downtown college.  I saw people I hadn't heard of before, one a dean at one of the schools at the university.  The media panel was new to me, but nice to see a few faces. The official panel had four, the media panel three, the audience limited to 400, I think.  It was moderated by a local media group, by one of their top news anchors.  I don't know that I would travel that far for one hour of public conversation.  It was good to be able to access it online, and I am glad my tablets allowed me to connect to it without problems.

The other thing I noticed was that the audience speakers were mostly from local activist groups.  I see that it would be important to attend and speak, for them.  Tomorrow I will look up some of the organizations mentioned, especially the panel people.  I have discovered that bias is hard to see when you don't know who is talking. 

Well, we will have to see what happens...

Since coming back to Portland, I noted that one news report sounded like it was an unnecessary death due to homelessness... it was of a Jamaican man who was a recent resident, trying to settle here, probably looking for work, and housing... he parked his car by the river somewhere, for the night, to sleep.  Where he parked killed him.  It flooded somehow and he didn't survive.  I thought, he just didn't know where to park safely.  It is so hard to be homeless in a big city, any big city, and new places are even worse... it is scary to try to sleep when you have to be on the streets, never knowing who might try to hurt you.

These are the things that bother me... 

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May GOD help us to find better ways to care for each other.  Amen.

Monday, 16 October 2017

Another Monday...  I seem to catch up with household duties on Mondays...
I went food shopping yesterday, so there is a lot of food prep to do.  Things like washing veggies like carrots and celery, making them into things to eat like salads and veggies for eating with cream cheese, freezing what I can for later.

I worked on my menu plan before I left for shopping, and now the situation is even worse!  :-)  I still need to eat the old food I made (chili and veggie soup), which don't freeze well.  Plus I have new perishables that have to be watched, made into things, and eaten before they spoil.  Buying food means I have food items I haven't had in awhile, which I want to eat up right away and mess up my plans.  The chickens are going to be feasting for a few days!  (haha)  Today I have to make a list and figure out how fast I can use it all.

We went to an asian market yesterday.  I found a melon I haven't ever seen before, so I have to discover that.  I saw a Jackfruit, whole and in pieces!  So amazing.  I have no idea how they eat it, cook with it, etc.  I am still remembering the size of the whole fruit, and the size of the seeds in the open pieces!  I may never be able to grow one of those, but I want some of those seeds for my collection!!!!!

I could have spent a lot more time and money there, exploring all the shelves and foods that would be strange to me, but we weren't able to do that.  I did find the bags of sesame seeds I wanted, and some spices in small bagged portions, and some new things to try out.  I found a bag of small bok choy in the produce section, so I decided to try it out.  I am now trying to figure out what I can make with that much bok choy, or I will have to freeze it for later.

Going shopping once a week is really a better plan.  In my menu planning I am trying to figure out how many servings of the food groups I already have so I can make sure I just buy enough to get to the next shopping day.  When you don't have control over the details of your shopping efforts, it changes everything.  I bought everything I could yesterday, breaking into my savings for more bus tickets, more postage stamps, and household items I need.  I feel broke now, and I still haven't finished my list.  I forgot the canning jars I wanted for my food storage plans.  Such a pain!

In my record-keeping, I made a new list of the things I still need to get.  By the end of October I will have a better idea of how much I can recover of my savings.  I have a few dollars left of my food stamps, and some farmer's market money for fresh veggies and fruit, so that will help cover any needs I have until I have my funds for next month.  It's an ongoing process.  I keep getting better at it, but you still have to find a way through today.

*
I found some great quotes in my reading this morning, but don't have the time to share it here.  I may make a Facebook post later.  Finding the best way to share these things is what I am working on right now.  I know how I would like FB to work, but I don't know if it is possible. 

I may get this book finished by the end of the week, or sooner.  I am looking forward to starting a new book, and to reading the Joyce Meyer book on how our battles start in our mind... in our thoughts... in what we put into our thoughts.  As I get better at this process, I will be able to share more details about my spiritual discoveries, how I see the topics I come across, and what I think matters in godly issues.  I live to share my thoughts... I wish I would have started writing books so many years ago.  It just never seemed possible, now it does.

*
My Christian programs are still on.  I have a hard time doing anything that requires mental processing when I have my programs in the background.  Some days I turn it off, some days I wait until they are done.  I am learning that I need my favored silence to do what I like to do... but that seems to be impossible to find anymore.  So I pray... sometimes for GOD's judgment of the guilty parties, sometimes for the ability to understand what it means to our world.  Technology is heading further into the realms of pain and suffering for innocent lives.  I don't know how we will survive, if GOD has a plan to help us, or if this is something we have to endure because of the free will choices of those who choose to hurt others.

I hope to re-start my daily Bible time soon... soon... very soon.  One day at a time, right?  Right!

*
My survival duties are calling me... I'll be adding posts as needed, but working to make one post a day on Monday thru Thursday.  That is my plan right now.  It is an ongoing process... changing as my life changes.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May GOD bless the day of those who love Him, who seek after His Will for their lives, who want the world to be a better place and glorify His Name more.
May our hearts be pure and wholesome and godly and ready to see GOD.
May we all reach out to those who are suffering.
May our lives have balance, finding the place where we have neither too little or too much, being content with GOD's desires for our lives.
May today be the first day of our happiness.
May all those we love be saved by grace and find us in heaven.
Amen.

Thursday, 12 October 2017

Another day...

We had a tornado warning interrupt our TV viewing this afternoon... an unusual event here in the northwest... or, it use to be.  I never remember a single west coast tornado in my growing and adult years, but lately they seem to be happening here, too. 

I don't know if I would attribute every weather change to the political topic of "global warming," but the atmosphere is changing.  What is causing it?  That is still a mix.  Naturally, pollution is doing lots of damage, but the sun is expanding too... our solar system is a very intricately designed ecosystem to allow us to live.  If solar flares can devastate the planet, other changes in the sun will affect us as well.

The Bible tells us that Man will destroy itself this time.  We can see that is happening.  I don't know if there is any way to stop the process, but it would be great to try to slow it down.

If I had money...  I have a long, VERY LONG, list of things I would get started to help save the planet.  New industries are possible in cleaning it up.  Getting solar, water, limited wind, power to those places that don't have the destructive forms we have would be great.  I am a fan of household independence, but big cities have their own energy problems.

My biggest unknown is still the question of how much environmental damage does the making of the renewable energy source have attached to it.  If we look pre-industrial age, we can find some better options... water wheels, which can now generate electricity. We can also now have SMALL wind energy structures that don't make a blight on the landscape and kill important flying animal life...  and I have been exploring farm-sized methane energy options to help with animal waste.  I am hoping to see solar integrated into the architecture of the building so it can be used to upgrade large city buildings.  Combining all these sources will help with year-round collection and use as electricity.

If you check into nuclear waste, you will be hoping you die before it kills us all.  I think the Star Trek model of nuclear energy as a power source for forever space travel needs to be considered... it lasts for thousands of years I think.  If we get to the same point as Krypton (Superman's dying planet), we will need to have space vehicles that will be able to survive on their own for thousands of years.

Personally, I want to be off-grid, with an option to connect to the big power source when, and if, I need to.  If I live in the middle of nowhere, however, I need to be able to survive without any other source of power.

In the recent disasters, it was obvious we need to allow other options... waiting for the electric company is not always the best choice.  Having off-grid options in the middle of the city allows neighborhoods to function until the rest of the repairs are done.

The problem is politics... and companies that feel threatened... and people needing money to get re-elected.

You see how I get going on these things!

*
For me it was a day of making my date cookies and cleaning up the messes from yesterday.  :-)   Naturally, I ate too much date cookie, aka sugar!  It sure tasted good!  I put the bulk of them into the freezer, a LONG walk away from me.  Sometimes it helps.

*
Well, that's about all I want to share for today.
See you tomorrow, GOD willing.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May the GOD of all creation help us to understand our limits,
limit our greeds, and find peace in living together as one people on one planet.  Amen.

Wednesday, 11 October 2017

Hi, again.  This is my second try at posting tonight.  They just disappear and I haven't figured out why yet.  Must be the gremlins that don't have their own lives to live... anyway, I have to start over again.

*
I started by apologizing for missing my Tuesday post.  I got busy with my jewelry design efforts and sorting supplies and trying to figure out what I wanted to create.  I woke in the middle of the night and "remembered" what I forgot to do.  Sorry about that... it was bound to happen sooner or later.  As I get busier this blog posting will probably have to change... I am trying to decide what to focus on, what I have time for, and what matters more.

*
Today I went through some of my recipes looking for a specific one, and that led to finding a bunch of things I want to try making again... or for the first time. 

I made the gummy bear DIY recipe today... modified according to what I had on hand.  I am not really a gummy bear fan, but I thought it was a great thing to try.  I never really thought about making your own gummy bears until I saw a Facebook video of it.  That was back in March, according to my notes.  I wasn't too happy with the results, but I made bigger shapes as part of my explorations.  I think I will buy a bag of gummy bears to compare mine with.  I want to change a few things in the recipe and see what happens... or forget the whole process.

I decided to try a candied nuts recipe tonight, which turns out KIND OF like peanut brittle.  I should have buttered the waxed paper I let it cool on... it's a mess!  It tastes pretty good, but I am going to be eating waxed paper with the candied nuts in this batch.  Next batch will be a different process!

I also started some dates... needing a pound and forgetting what that would look like.  I once counted out dates for another effort and decided 27 makes a cup... I was thinking that was a pound, but when the butter and sugar melted, I realized my mistake.  Good thing I had more dates on hand... I added more to make what I also remembered as two boxes of dates I purchased once making a pound for this same recipe.  Hopefully it will still turn out OK.  Tomorrow I will try to finish that one.

Christmas has always been a great time for baking goodies for me.  I love it. I love to give it all away to people, too.  My life is not quite the same as the younger days, so I have to find new places to share with.  Now that I am focusing on sales at Etsy, I am looking for recipes that will be good for selling as food items.

I'm not sure gummies are my answer, but I still want to see if I can modify the recipe (or the type of food it is) into something I would want to sell.

*
Holiday Bazaars are coming into view.  The local paper had a list of them and I found several that I can reach by bus.  I want to go see what they are like and decide if I want to sell at them in the future.  As my health permits, I want to do one Christian and one community sale during the holidays.  It will be great to see what other people make, and try to decide if they sell a lot.

This year seems to be quite a busy one.  Maybe it's because I am looking for places to go to.

*
In the process of finding one of the larger holiday events for gifts and food, I found a TINY HOUSE event at the same location.  I may try to go to both of them... but I don't know if I can.  They both have fees...   They are in November, so maybe I can get them into the budget.

I love the idea of tiny living as a no-mortgage option... being able to move around and not "start over" again is also appealing.  I think it was this morning that I saw a great trailer size for a tiny house... long like a semi, but low like a regular tiny house trailer.  NICE!  I think it was like those heavy equipment moving trailers, but I'm not sure.  If I had the money, I would be looking for it to see what the costs are.

*
I forgot to mention (again) about the terrible fires in California that I heard about on the news today... The number of missing people is the largest I have ever heard of in my entire life.  From what the news is reporting, it seems to have moved into the populated areas in the middle of the night.  More than one interview said they woke to the smell of smoke and had to leave fast.  The aerial views are so devastating... entire neighborhoods burned to the ground... nothing left, or hardly anything.  It happens so fast... people's whole life is gone, all their memories, all their hard work, all their dreams for the future.  The shock is very hard to get through... there will be so many tears, for a long time.  Every time you remember something, you remember how much you lost.  May GOD help them all to get through their days and nights, to find happiness again.

*
I guess that's enough for now...
It is so sad to think about the suffering that is happening all over, not just in California.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May the God of heaven help the hearts and lives of people who are suffering tonight.
May He bless them in a special way to let them know He loves them.
May the hard times find meaning in the future, a purpose to redeem them.
May we all find a way to keep our thoughts and prayers on the suffering that continues after the media goes away.
May the Church be focused on long-term caring, and provisions, and mercy.

Lord, help us to be better than we are, to grow in Your Love toward ourselves and toward others.
Help us to see the bounty of our lives, and the little that we really need in comparison.
Help us to find the place where we need to be, the place of peace, plenty, and gratefulness.
Provide for those who are in need; Move the hearts of those who have the answers to another's prayer.

Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings you give us that we forget to be thankful for.
Help us to be content when that is what we need to be...
and help us to be bold and active when there is work to be done for You.

Amen.

Monday, 9 October 2017

Today is Columbus Day, a federal holiday... no mail today.  I think the banks close, too.  I'm not sure what else gets closed, my main concern is the mail service.  :-)

*
I have been reading more chapters in my book called "21 Unbreakable Laws of Life" by Max Anders.  I came across so many great quotes, but I didn't get them down anywhere.  I did find the following one, the best so far...

pg. 77, Chapter 8, Take the Garbage Out
"Unlike compputers, however, the mind can create its own worthless, inaccurate, or faulty information.  It doesn't have to be put in from the outside.  Someone can tell us as a child that we are stupid, and we will water, fertilize, and nurture that seedling into a forest of negative thoughts and emotions.
"That is why it is so critical that we exercise great care in what we allow into our mind and what we allow our mind to dwell on."

The chapter was comparing the term I heard years ago, "Garbage in, garbage out."  It has always been used in terms of computers and our minds.  One of the reasons we are encouraged to memorize the Bible is because it will rise to the surface when we are facing the trials that come.  We plant it into our minds, our memories, our meditations, and it is harvested when life brings a need for it.  Instead of putting garbage into our minds, which will also rise up and remind us of itself, we focus on good things to help us overcome the problems we face.

I read chapters 5-10 this past weekend and this morning.  There is a lot of good stuff to remember.  I am sure you will like this book if you find it for yourself.

*
I didn't reach my goal of making and listing 2 pairs of earrings and 1 artwork, but I am still working on it today.

*
My supply of caramels are undoing my best efforts to keep my calories down.  I think I have two left... at least one might be gone by the end of the day.   :-(   They should sell well, after I provide a sample!   haha

*
I was able to watch TV over the weekend... I decided to watch ROGUE ONE.  It was pretty good.  I also watched a documentary called, A NEW ECONOMY.  I loved the urban farm they shared.  I don't recall what city it was in, but my sadness comes at the temporary status of efforts like this.  Urban areas are beginning to take advantage of roof gardens, but I am fond of U-PICK options.  One of the city farms was on a property slated for high rises... a parking lot that was about an acre and a half, according to the person affiliated with it.  With so many food deserts in poor areas, and especially downtown, finding room for growing large food gardens is critical.  Schools often have the space available, but the yield would be smaller, and not a community option.  Each city has its own design, and everyone wants tax money... a larger need in critical times is food.  How do you value survival?  No food, no water, no air equals no survival.

*
Well, I better get going... and get busy with art or jewelry.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May GOD help us to set the right priorities, to balance profit with our human necessities, and to care for those who cannot do what they need to for their own survival.
May we see the suffering as our responsibility... not the governments.
May the church rise up to solve these problems, meet people where they are, see needs as God's vehicle to reach them, and become the hands of heaven.
May our needs be less than we think they are so we will be able to share and help those with nothing.
May the weak be strong enough to reach out, and the strong be strong enough to let go of the things that God may have provided for others.

May the suffering be comforted as recovery takes so long to happen... let their hearts find blessings they never expected, a touch of GOD they can remember forever.  Amen.

Thursday, 5 October 2017

Another week is nearing an end...

I hear more about Christmas when I watch TV.  So many people and businesses are depending on the giving season to survive.  I think it was someone on NBR that said businesses are expecting a better year than last year.  I don't know if they ever say it is going to be a bad year.  

The rumor of tax reform is said to have made the stock market go up, but the value of the dollar is barely over 90 cents...
How do these things work like that?

Businesses are struggling to find qualified employees, but one woman quit her job to go into a home health aide position.

Billions of dollars have been authorized for hurricane relief, and more is expected to be needed. This is just the second installment payment, in billions.  The fires here in the western part of the country have already cost nearly 600 million... which seems so paltry in comparison...  but you don't rebuild a forest the way you rebuild a house.  It takes a LOT of years to grow a new tree, and ecosystem, and tourism, and beautiful scenery, and recreation income....  In the poor country we are responsible for helping, I think it was Puerto Rico, they have less than 10% of their electicity restored, with the number expected to reach 25% in a month... millions of people suffering there.  We just don't realize how expensive disasters are.  Without flexibility in our budget, they can kill our economy... our money system, I suppose I should say.  That is why the debt has to be reduced.  We don't have a financial cushion to take us through the unexpected.  Think about poor people who have no one to help them, who rely on charity, who have no options... that is what happens when you don't have a financial cushion.  I have been there... but I couldn't print my own money.

*
A fun thing happened today when I discovered my son ordered the containers from 21-day-fix!  The little handout that comes with them is really wonderful.  It has food suggestions for each color.  I really had problems with the Healthy Fats container foods.

At only $8 through Amazon Prime, I asked them to order me a set for myself!  I have wanted to buy them for ages and ages and ages... I can do $8.  I had guessed the container amounts per size from exploring them online at many sites.  It's the colors that really make it work.  I found substitute containers to do my portions, but I can see they are just not the same as having the original colors.  :-)  I loved them!  I can't wait to get my own.

The issue of ordering gifts online came up when I asked to have them shipped to me, with my own email for the ebook that comes with it.  I've been trying to deal with this myself, for a long time.  You end up making separate orders for each person... so you can do a ship-to change.  The problem is even worse for digital sales.  I have this problem at Etsy, too.  If you plan to give a digital item to someone, there needs to be a way they can contact the source for replacement issues... especially if something goes wrong in the process.  I want to have my gift registered.  If I buy two copies, do I get one copy with permission to share, or do I need two copies registered to the people they are intended for?  My son ordered two sets, each with a digital ebook, but only received one file copy of the ebook... so does he have a right to copy and share?  How does all that get transferred?  There has to be an email for each file...two copies... but how to register ownership... that is the question.

Again, if I would have had the funds, I would have figured this out long ago...

*
I hate to report that I ate FIVE  (5) caramels today!!!   I just couldn't stop.  Messed up my healthy food quest for sure, but it tasted so wonderful.  :-)   I LOVE CARAMELS... soft caramels.  Once I figure out the best way to make them, I will be selling them at Etsy... watch for it!

*
I read through some materials online about neighborhood preparedness for disasters and really liked it.  I sent for copies of the materials, and read some of them online.  I learned some good things.  I hope to include them in my efforts to prepare for the unexpected.  You really don't understand how poverty restricts your ability to do things like that.  I saved water in old milk jugs, which was really important.  But food is not really an option... I guess it would depend on what time of the month the disaster happened... you might have food or might not.  These recent efforts have been the first time I could get ahead like this.  So I hope the disaster I might face doesn't take them away.

Are you ready for the things you see on TV news to happen to you? 

I'm from California, the Los Angeles area, so I know about earthquakes.  I never suffered complete destruction from one, but the fact that you never know when something like that will happen has never left me.  I suppose that is why saving water has always been a priority for me, especially when I was with children.  Here in Oregon they are expecting the BIG ONE to happen, too.  The fault line goes all the way up the west coast, to Alaska I believe.  If we make it through the main event, maybe we will be able to survive until things get better.

*
I was reading about how to put photos into the blogs.  I will have to try it after I figure out how the instructions work at my blog site.  Maybe by next week I can share photos of some of the things I want to talk about.

*
Guess that is about all for now.  I may start adding posts whenever something needs to be shared, but I haven't decided on that one yet.  I would be too attached to the process... that changes the dynamics of this effort, and I have other things to get done.  It may evolve as I get older.

Until next time...
In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May GOD watch over us and lead us in His Truth to the best that we can be.
May our hearts be worthy of His Love, and our lives express the goodness of our hearts.
May we all find peace and joy, love and forgiveness, time and meaning in our lives.
Amen.

Wednesday, 4 October 2017

Hello, again...
It's 9pm and all is well... here, anyway... for now.  :-)

*
I heard on the Christian radio station a reminder or two that tomorrow is Bring Your Bible to School Day... promoted by Focus on the Family (.com)... who would have thought that a Christian nation would have to do battle to carry a Bible... and more.

I use to keep track of See You at the Pole, too.

Without God as the foundation of our nation, there is no promise to protect us.  Remember that.  Our problems are getting larger every day.  I often wonder where they will lead, what I will see before I die.  It makes me cry when I really think about it a lot.

*
Today turned into a day to recover from yesterday.  It takes a lot out of me to shop.  I didn't get too much done, not all that I wanted to, anyway.  Of course, I NEVER get all I want to get done done!  :-)

With new food in the place, I did a bunch of food prepping for later, ate too much, and don't even feel guilty about it.  haha!  Maybe I can catch up tomorrow, just a little anyway.

*
It's a short post day.
Lots on my mind, and not wanting to share it all.
I did see the news, still a lot about Las Vegas, more hurricanes on the way...
I think the media teaches the bad guys how to hurt people when they do some of the reporting they do.  I haven't decided how to share my views on that... better.  I never knew you could make a gun turn into a better lethal weapon until this week.  Now everyone watching the news will know what to do to change a single shooting rifle into an automatic death weapon.  There is something wrong with this picture.  And it is always the GOP's fault, with the only view being shared that of the Democrats.  This is not the journalism I use to love.

Pray for our nation... we are a sinking ship and I don't think anything can stop it.  :-(

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
May God help us to find a better way into the future.  Amen.

Tuesday, 3 October 2017

It's only 8pm, but it feels like bedtime.  I went downtown today, and it took a long time...
bus to the Mall transit center to catch the MAX into town,
MAX into town, stopping at the Farmer's Market by Lloyd Center,
MAX again, into the downtown area to go to the SCRAP store,
MAX from the SCRAP store area into the downtown transit office for directions to the USPS,
MAX from the downtown area to the USPS area,
MAX from the USPS area back to the Mall transit center to get home,
bus from the transit center to my home area,
stopped along the way for a sale item at Safeway,
bus again to the end of that line,
wait for a ride home, so I shopped for food until it came.

I left my house at about 10am, made it to the end of the line near my home about 4:30pm, but waited until after 5:30 for my ride to get there.  Home by 6pm, unloaded the things I bought, put them away, ate something, and here I am.  This is why I can't go that far all the time.  It is a major event!  I will be happy to make this trip once a month... if I can.

Public transit is great, but you can't travel out of your home zone much.  I'm working on a solution for me, but haven't found one yet.

*
I got some great farm produce today.
I found some wonderful deals and things to experiment with at SCRAP (a reuse thrift store kind of place... recycling anything they can for use in any way you can, but mostly focused on art, crafts, and things like that.  I love it!
I ended up eating my meal out for the day at Carl's Jr again... the two meal deal... for me, anyway.  I eat the burger and fries and drink right away, and save the chicken sandwich for later.  I had it for dinner, with some extras from home.  I saved the cookie for tomorrow.  My $5 meal goes a long way!  :-)
My frig is stocked for the week or more.  This is good.  Lots of fruits and veggies, with a few treats, and time to make a list for the big shopping trip later in the month.
I guess this is a success to me.

*
Tomorrow I will catch up with the budget.  I have $2 cash left.  $5 left in my emergency money.  And toilet paper still on the mandatory list for this month.  I need to make some money!!  Selling online is my goal because it fits for me.  PRAY!  I am very close to getting my shop filled with things to buy.  :-)

Have to go...

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings of the day.
Thank you for life, for safety, for food, for rest, for the ability to shop.
Thank you for legal folders, a strange electrical thing I get to discover, silly putty, a wonderful egg-shaped pencil sharpener, a great small brown glass jar, highlighters in the colors I need, crafting ideas and supplies, and finally getting to SCRAP.
Thank you for farm sourced organic produce to eat, and finally getting to the Farmer's Market.
Thank you for public transit... walking would be even more restrictive.
Thank you for matching dollars.
Thank you for finding the post office and getting my packages sent today.
Thank you for everything.
Amen.

Monday, 2 October 2017

Well, today is my sister's birthday... Happy Birthday to her!

*
I guess the big national news is Las Vegas... such a terrible event.  We are so vulnerable to all kinds of tragedies these days.  Communication systems have changed, so all kinds of people hear all about the things that go on in other parts of the world.  The desire to become noteable is still a human trait... as it has been since we were created.

I hate to hear about the suffering of innocent people.  When it happens to so many people at one time, it makes the news.  We get to hear about the history of violent attacks.  Gun control conversations are started, but they will never be the answer.  People who do harm to others don't care about the law.

As a Christian, as someone who sees through the lens of the End Times, there are other perspectives about these events.

I don't get to see much news, but I hope there are more details by the next time I am able to watch it.  I hope they find the motive, why the girlfriend was gone (out of the country), why a man who only had a couple hand guns (probably for protection) suddenly has so many assault weapons, and if he really shot himself.  Why would ISIS claim credit for this?

When the Sandy Hook shooting took place, I wondered why the young man went back to the first classroom he had attended at the school.

When people are dead, we can't find out details that may matter, that may change the entire event... including the shooters.

The Amish tragedy also made me wonder... what hidden details were not revealed... why would he decide to do such a thing? 

I never heard much about the investigations for all these shootings.  Life drags us back to our own problems... our own need to survive.  There are some things that happen in our lives that never reach the details behind our choices.  I wonder what is behind all these sorrows, these needs to kill innocent people.  People have reasons for what they do, we just don't always understand the pain behind our decisions.

I hope the people who have been affected will find a way back to some kind of peace.  It will be hard to recover.  All the killing on TV, and in our movies, and everywhere else, will make it hard to get away from the memories they now have.  I was in an automobile accident once, and when I watched a car rolling over on TV later, I felt sick to my stomach.  When I rode in a bus later, I got sick... the first time I was ever sick from riding in a vehicle.  I still remember the details surrounding that event. 

*
My weekend is hard to remember. I get involved in so many small projects, ongoing efforts, and it all seems normal to me.  I have been getting my first FIMO projects ready, trying to see what I can make of them.  I remembered where my other jewelry-making supplies were put, so I am now working on making some finished products.  Once I get the process figured out, I will be able to make my listings at  http://www.etsy.com/shop/work2gather to see what can sell.  I am beginning to get excited... really excited... I am finally at the point of creating more listings!  :-)

*
I have to get some food tomorrow, but I decided to go through my planned donations from a long time ago (packed into my shopping cart thing) and put all the food and other things back.  I made my tithe plan into a better format (excel) over the weekend.  NOV and DEC are my big donation months, so I will just do those as my substitute USPS food drive donation (which the mail person didn't pick up).  My budget efforts are getting better every month.  I am so glad.  Next year should be even better.

*
I am still thinking about the book I shared with you all, by Marie Frost, about the caring of women and how it changes the world.  I hope to finish my other book by this weekend, but it's no big deal if I don't.  My next book will be another one I found at the thrift store...  COACH WOODEN'S PYRAMID OF SUCCESS PLAYBOOK : Applying the Pyramid of Success to your life, by John Wooden and Jay Carty.  I'm not a sports person, but it looks interesting from the illustration of the Pyramid.  :-)

*
It is time for bed... I am so tired.  Lots to do tomorrow, too.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May GOD watch over all of us tonight, and through the days of our lives, providing the resources we need to fulfill His plan for our lives.
May we find answers to all the pain that lives inside of people, and help them to find answers that won't harm others.
May America make a plan to financially survive all these events that "ruin our budget" even more than it already is.
May we all find a way to respect our differences and not kill or sue because someone doesn't see the world the way we do.
May GOD watch over my sons and other loved ones as we are apart, physically or spiritually, and bring us all to heaven one day.
Amen.