28 December, 2017

Thursday, 28 December 2017

Well... I am officially "old" now.
I just turned 65.

I am still trying to decide what that means.

We have to change because our health dictates our limits.
Our finances dictate our limits.
Lots of things change our lives when we head into oldness.

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I worry about the world.
The young people I know have been filled with anger and bitterness.
They seem to value different things.
They don't have strong foundations of good examples to build on.
It's been a slow long process of change,
but it is change.  It is what we have become.
It is leading us into our future.

I was reading something on Facebook, probably today,
asking readers about what matters most to them...
maybe it was about the education system, I'm not sure,
but the values of the world create our world.

Without the influence of godly values, what is left?
Not the goodness we want for ourselves.
We won't be able to make enough prisons to hold all of society
when the Christian (and Jewish) influence of biblical values is gone.
It scares me sometimes.  I don't think I will be here.
My children might still be here.

The Bible tells us much more than we think it does.
We think the people who lived in the past were some kind of strange creatures,
but they were people just like us.
Humanity.
Sinners.
Lost.
Afraid.
Searching for someone to love them.
Looking for love (probably in all the wrong places, like we all do).
Trusting people they shouldn't.

We fight our battles every day.
The big difference between the lost and those dedicated to GOD
is how we solve our problems, what we are willing to do... or not do.
The news shows more and more surveillance videos now...
If there were other options, would the lost choose better solutions for their desperate needs?
People kill others and themselves because they don't know how to cope.
If they knew GOD, trusted Him, and understood the good things GOD teaches in the Bible,
their lives would be very different.  Not easy, but better. 
Not without problems, but without the need for a lot of the choices that hurt their futures.

I don't know what the rest of my life will be like, but I hope it is better than the past.
I live each day trusting in GOD's Plan for me... so I do the best I can and keep going forward.
What else is there?  GOD holds the power of life and death in His Hands...
I hope I see the answers to my prayers before He calls me home.
I may not be a "success" in the eyes of others,
but I see GOD as my guide, not them.

I will just keep doing the best I can each day... and trust that GOD will be with me as I do.

Birthdays really make us think about our lives...  :-)

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May GOD have mercy on those who don't know Him,
and help them to find the peace and goodness He wants to share with them.
May we all find a way to help each other.
May our goals be God's goals.
Amen.

Wednesday, 27 December 2017

It was a busy day...

I just wanted to check in before I try to sleep again... I am trying to keep up my December Membership Drive, too.  I went shopping today and stayed out too long.  We will have to catch up tomorrow.

I will see you then, GOD willing!   :-)

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May we all have a better 2018 !!!

26 December, 2017

Tuesday, 26 December 2017

Christmas is over... 

Some have already cleaned their house of decorations.  (One year I did that... but usually I just let it stay until it is a fire danger.  :-)  )  I like mine.  I also want to see if I can afford some of those Christmas storage containers this year... so I'm waiting to get to the store.

The weather here is ICE and COLD !!!!!   Now that I am getting older, I am not so excited to slip and fall.  I hear it can lead to a hospital stay!  Yuk!  I was given a pair of spikes to put on my shoes... some rubber things that are easy to put on and take off.  I tried them.  They are good.  But, also like tires with spikes... they ruin the floor.  Carpet would be OK, but not soft flooring.  So... the rules are, on and off by the door outside.  They should be great if I feel courageous enough to go anywhere.  I walk home up a long hill... right by the busy road most of the way.  I don't want to fall in front of a car, and I don't want a car sliding into me!  I may have to wait to go to those after-Christmas sales.

Maybe I can check online... but it just isn't the same.  Wednesday is my thrift store day.

I hope you got a lot of good stuff.  I got some great things... cash is always good to have... especially for all those sales!  haha...  and I got a Roku thing... I'm still trying it out, but it sure is better than the antennae reception!  I also got the tool I wanted... and I am working on getting that tried out.

Christmas was a lot of movies on TV.  It was my theme this year.  :-)  Next year, I don't know what I will plan...  it all depends on what GOD provides.  I have tons of things on my list, just have to save for them... and pray.

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My Working Together December Membership Drive is still going.  Not turning out as I would have liked, but I can see that a December event is going to be a big challenge.  I will be working on building my outreach for next December.

Only $100 per year per individual... which will become increasing benefits as you renew year to year...  In time, I will have all the options up online, including the installment plan of $10/month.  Right now, all I have available is the PayPal.Me/WorkingTogetherInc link, which will also take any donations you might like to offer.

Maybe this year, as I get the hang of video, I will be able to set up a crowdfunding site.  

PRAY for me and for WT... this is an important work for GOD's people... more important than they know.

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I have been eating way too much the past two months!  So, by default, by need, by desire, my 2018 goal is to work on my EXERCISE activities.  So sad...

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I have been trying the 4-3-2-1 plan from BIGGEST LOSER (the cookbook I found) and it is becoming workable.  I am slowly getting into the process of four fruit and veggies a day, three proteins, and 2 whole grains.  I have dubbed the one extra as anything I want outside of the healthy list.  Well... kind of.  I have been eating cookies and holiday goodies, and I always like to have popcorn.  I figured I would work on that part of the plan.  It's easier to keep track of.  And I am getting better at my portion controls.  I am also getting my fridge supplies down so I can shop once a week for the fresh food items I need for that week.  It may become the best thing that happened to me.  Maybe. 

January is the official start of this plan. And my exercise goal.  I am still working out the exercise plan details.  It is so easy to think of things to do, and so hard to actually DO them!  haha.

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I have been organizing my workspace for getting my stuff into listings and selling online... 2018 is a goal year.  Hope I can find a way to make it all work... finally.

Time to go.
Hope your holiday was great,
and that you are planning a better year for 2018...
We do our best, but GOD is always in charge of what it becomes.
Trust and Obey... it really is true... there is no other way.

I like the statement that Charles Stanley created ::

Obey God, and leave all the consequences to Him.

(I'm pretty sure that is it... check at intouch.org )
Anyway... until next time.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May GOD bless all those who love Him.
May we all be able to share GOD's love with others.
May our loved ones all meet us in heaven.
May we find our purpose in the Body of Christ.
May our hearts be filled with love and joy and kindness... and every good thing.
May next year be our best year.
Amen.

21 December, 2017

Thursday, 21 December 2017

Today has been a difficult day.  The cat that lives here has been visibly ill this week, and today she died.  It is hard to watch a living thing die, whether an animal or a person.  I was told she was at least 15 years old.  Her sister died a short while back... we assume... she just disappeared.  She was ill like this... not able to walk, visibly in pain, not eating, etc.  I thought it might be caused by something in this neighborhood, but I wouldn't know for sure.  There's little you can do after something happens, for the victim, but you try to keep it from happening again.  Her name was Dottie.  Her sister was called Lucky.

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As for me, I am still recovering from my shopping "exercise" yesterday.  I wasn't able to stay up a bit longer.  Sorry about that.  No one else can do my writing for me.

I became one of those community charity recipients yesterday.  :-)   I was on my way to the Salvation Army Sale Day and a police car stopped by me on the street... I think it said it was a Sheriff's car.  Some man got out and started talking to me... I tried to think of what I could have done to warrant the police stopping me!  A local news station vehicle stopped, too... across the driveway from where I was.  I was so busy trying to figure out what was going on I can't even remember what was said.  The purpose turned out to be some anonymous Christmas cheer... they gave me a crisp, new, green, wonderful, amazing $100 bill !!!  I was shocked!  I remember I kept looking at it... later I said something about wondering what I was going to do with it... It was quite an experience.  :-)  Nice Christmas gift!  Totally unexpected!  The TV people asked me some questions for a follow-up, but I don't know if they did anything with it.  I probably wasn't as visibly excited as I might have been.  :-) 

FYI ::  I still haven't decided what to do with it, so I'm saving it until I do.  :-)

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It was a long day... and I didn't get to eat anything until I got home... about 6am to 3pm...

I did stop to buy some grocery food... that worked out good.  :-)  I bought my second container of eggnog for this season.  Today I tried it in my coffee... so good!

The new gifted money let me buy some things I might not have bought otherwise... especially craft supplies.  I decided to spend some money on gold (leaf?) sheets and some gold and silver paint pens for some experimenting.  This should be fun!  I still have a long list of things I want to get over time, but this will really help.

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Not too many days left to get anything done...

I will feel better by tomorrow, I think.  I will be able to start using the supplies I have collected to try some projects. 

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The sale at the Salvation Army Thrift Store was great for me.  I finally found one of those asparagus pans... the tall ones with the basket inside.  I told the cashier it was my Christmas gift for the year... I had been wanting one for such a long time.

I found a BIGGEST LOSER cookbook that shared something interesting to me.  Their menu planning goes 4-3-2-1, which means 4 fruit and veggies a day, 3 proteins a day, 2 whole grains a day, and 1 extras (200 calorie limit).  I am now trying to think of daily options for my healthy food quest.  With portion control, my food bill should really improve!  :-)  Shopping will be even more important... weekly, limits on what I buy, etc... maybe I can buy more organic now.

I also found an old book on being frugal, but I haven't browsed through it yet.

I actually was surprised to find Bibles... they seem to be extinct in the thrift stores these days.  I discovered a MESSAGE Bible so I grabbed it.  I have never really seen one before.  I hope to explore it soon.  I also noticed a Devotional Bible for Women.  I decided to get it as a companion to the one I found for Dads.  :-)  I have always tried to collect Bibles so I can compare the versions... but I lost them because of poverty issues.  I will keep looking for more.  I can never replace some of the things I had.

I looked for more Christmas music and wound up finding great CDs by Kenny G and Michael Bolton.  I have a Celine Dion already.  There are some songs I want to find and keep around.  :-)  I did also get a Christian music CD (and a VHS tape of worship music), and then a CD on How to Make Your Point in 30 Seconds.  I have it in the player already, but not listened to it yet.  I hope it has some great ideas for my marketing efforts... maybe for when I start doing commercials.  :-)  I also found a Joyce Meyer DVD on Confrontation.  That should be helpful.  haha

I love thrift store shopping!  :-)   I look for treasures that only matter to me.  Old things that are still good to use.  Things you will never find anywhere else.  It is my fun!  :-)

I saw a video on Facebook a long time back about someone putting one of those xylephones up for their chickens, and they all had a time pecking at it.  I thought it would be fun to get one for my son's chickens... and mine, later on, if I get that far.  So, I remembered to look for one yesterday and there was something like it there so I bought it. ($2)  I still have to get it put up.  I decided to put some cup hooks in the back that will fit on the fence wire to hold it up and move it easily.  I hope that will work out good.  I still need to clean it and do the hooks.  Maybe by the New Year... or next week.

Shopping is fun.

I got a lot of the things on my continuous list, and that always makes me feel like it was worth the time and money and energy it takes to shop now.  I am trying to save some money for the after Christmas sales.

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Have you figured out any goals for 2018?

I am still trying to decide on my one main goal for the year.  I have lots of goals on my lists, with lots of different categories to think about (self, home, work, income, debts, health, education, crafting, etc.)...  Last year was the food hours... which evolved over the months, and died somewhere in November, maybe October!  :-)  I try to figure out how to do things better the next time.

I did answer two goal questions on Facebook... one for Christy Wright (Business Boutique), one for Daymond John (Shark Tank).  I am thinking about those submissions... but not sure I want to make them my main goal.  Separating my personal and my work lives is a stage that is increasingly important, but I haven't found an answer I can do.

It really is true about goals... you need to be clear about them, and write them down, and keep them in view every day.  Life seems to do battle with our goals.  It's so easy to get distracted by the "urgent" and forget what really matters.  (The "tyranny of the urgent" I think it's called.)   My constant work at my goals is an effort to keep them in view.  It is another reason I always look for those books, DVDs, CDs, VHS tapes, etc., that have to do with learning new things.  I tend to get lost in Facebook and Pinterest posts for the same reason.  I suppose that is a big weakness for me.  :-)

I still have some time to decide...

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Hope this update is enough for two days of posting...  I'm done for now.  God willing, I will return on Monday.  Happy getting ready for Christmas!  This is the last shopping weekend... I hear it is one of the biggest shopping days of the year... probably all those men who wait until the last minute... what do you think?  Am I right?  :-)

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May GOD help us to make it through this year and plan for next year.
May GOD help our nation's leaders to put America first, really put her first, so we can make the decisions that need to be made to survive our current problems and become stronger for the future.
May GOD be good to those who love Him... bless them in special ways... and provide for their deepest needs.
May our loved ones all meet us in heaven.
May life become worthy of our devotion to it.
May all the poor be blessed, may the homeless find shelter, may the aged be cared for and loved, may we all find someone to love that we haven't met and will never see again... love with and open heart and hand and wallet, as much as we can.
May Christmas become the season when searching hearts find Jesus as their Saviour... bringing those unexpected blessings to every day... helping us to see the meaning of our lives.
May we all trust GOD to guide us.
Amen.

19 December, 2017

Tuesday, 19 December 2017

I guess I can start this post a little early.  I tend to wait until I am done for the day... and fight to stay awake!

It's cold and wet in the Northwest today... yuk!  I read in a weather report that today is going to be the wettest day of the week... so I hope they are right. I still need to get out shopping one more time before the holiday.

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I have to share about my fruit leather experiment.  I didn't like the way my previous attempt to make some blackberry fruit leather turned out, so I decided to try a thicker version, without the paper backing.  I am amazed at how the fruit shrinks... a big lesson.  I like the way it didn't stick to the pan... a great outcome.  I don't like how long it takes to dry... and I want to make smaller sized pans of fruit leather in the future.  I have eaten too much of it already, testing it you know.  I forgot to mix sugar in the berries when I pureed them so I sprinkled a covering of sugar on it when I started the drying process.  It's not too sour.  My plan to cut it up into large cubes, like the aplets and cotlets, did not work out.  I will need a very deep pan and lots of berries to get that much size after drying.  I may change the way I make the puree too.  So many things to think about when you are trying to create a decent product to sell.

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I'm not sure why, but I am so tired... I even took a nap today, but I am ready for bed already.  It must be the fruit leather.  :-)  They say turkey makes you want to sleep.

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Well... that will have to do for today.

Maybe I can rest and get back up later to do some of the things on my list!  :-)

Merry Christmas!
It's almost here!  I hope you are ready for it!

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May GOD help us all to keep the right perspective in our hearts this year... we are celebrating the birth of Christ, our Saviour.  I know the world has changed the meaning of our celebration season, but that is the battle between good and evil, God and Satan.  It is meant to be a holy season of love and giving, of remembering the gift that God gave us when Christ was born, how many prophecies He has fulfilled, and the difference He makes in our salvation and forgiveness.  Amen.

18 December, 2017

Monday, 18 December 2017

My... one more week!
Christmas is almost here... and then a brand new year to plan and make goals for and continue toward our dreams.

The end of the year is always a time of evaluation and planning.

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I went to turn on the TV to some Christmas music this morning and discovered a terrible train wreck had happened, on my favorite train system, the Cascade run.  I started crying every time I sat to watch it.  Christmas is such a hard time for tragedies to happen.

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I think I have watched almost all of the Christmas movies at Hallmark's stations.  I tried to watch a few of the offerings at other stations, but they get so raunchy I have to turn them off.  Some of the Hallmark movies are objectionable these days, so I am nearing the point of not watching them anymore.  Not sure what I will do.  I like to buy the ones I can deal with, but they are getting to be a pretty short list.  Morality shows up in so many ways... we often get it packaged in more "digestible" ways when you compare SNL and Hallmark, but the issues are still being presented to us.

The loss of a godly influence is more impacting than most believe.  I think some of the "good" people who don't want GOD in this world think that having everyone just like them is not going to make the world bad.  Christians are people who are learning how to be better than they use to be, good people have only their own moral ideas to guide them.  If everyone has their own idea of what is moral, it could be a very wide boundary.

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I continue to post at my Working Together Inc page at Facebook.  I am learning about daily posting, PayPal.Me/WorkingTogetherInc , and what I need to do better for next December.  It has been decided that the way to achieve a yearly income budget (foundation) is to have the Membership Drive for the next year in December.  (I finally decided that was the way to stay dependent on GOD for His provision and His boundaries.)  This year I am trying to post every day about it.  I decided to share some of my goals and plans for WT as part of this process.  Membership is the main goal of Working Together.  It will give us the connections to Christians and other interested people, and it will limit our activities to our members needs, with eventual outreach to those outside our membership in the local communities we are established into.

I suppose it would be too much to go into here.  I discovered again that I had created a PayPal.Me account for WT so I started using it as a payment method.  It isn't perfect, but it is an option.  I can take donations from people who want to help me get this effort better established, and I can apply a membership to those who pay $100 for an individual one-year membership.  It will automatically be registered as a PUBLIC Membership, with email delivery of the monthly newsletter and other digital deliveries.

I am not able to offer the installment plan via PayPal yet.  By next year I will be offering that.  The installment plan is for those who want to pay monthly instead of in one payment.  It is $10/month.  As it is now, I can only offer a "subscription" option through PayPal, and I need to figure out the benefit structure better with that option.  My plans are all dependent on the full payment of a membership fee, so I need to break the benefits down into monthly parts... that will accrue as payments are completed.  The installment plan works better after more than one year has passed as some benefits increase as each year of renewed membership passes.

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My PayPal.Me account registers me in Portland, Oregon, but I want to set up the offices for Working Together in Eugene, Oregon.  It is a complicated process for me because I don't have the money to do all these things myself.  I was able to update the presentation for those who go to the link for payments.  I added a photo of my logo-type thing.  I reworked the statement about what we are doing.  It took a lot of tries, but I hope it finally stays the way I wanted it to present.

My logo-type photo is a design I also want to make into stickers for various uses.  I like to put the Operation Christmas Child shoebox sticker on my letters (envelopes) as seals, so one day I will create a sticker for Working Together.

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I think I know how Abraham and Sarah felt after waiting on GOD for all those years.  We expect GOD to do something right away.  When He doesn't, it is a challenge to keep believing.  I decided to use this blog for my posts because faith and prayer are my life. 

GOD doesn't tell us all the details of what He is busy doing, He just works out His Will.  I thought about at one point in my search for answers and decided it is because Satan would know what He is doing and try to mess it up.  Prophecies are a challenge for us to understand, but they are also a challenge for Satan.  That is why Satan thought he won the battle when he killed Jesus... but, actually, he was achieving GOD's Will, making it possible for us to be saved, making it unnecessary for us to have to sacrifice animals at the temple to forgive our sins.

GOD doesn't work the way we think He should.  We have to trust Him, to believe that the end will show us why things happen the way they do.

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Well, I need to go write my Facebook post.
I will be back tomorrow, GOD willing.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May GOD help us all to trust Him through the hard times,
through the things we don't understand,
through the questions and the doubts and the dreams.
May GOD be kind to those who are suffering tonight.
May the angels be sent to comfort those who are hurting because of tragedies that have come into their lives unwanted, and unexpected, and undeserved.
May our lives be filled with hope and love and peace and joy and goodness.
May we all give more than we get, and share our bounties with those who have nothing.
Amen.

15 December, 2017

Thursday, 14 December 2017

I'm a bit late with this post, but we will all survive!  :-)

I heard that RC Sproul died on Thursday.  Later I heard he had cancer for many years. 

Then I happened on a TBN program on TV with James and Betty Robison as guests of the program... what I remember was the story of the death of their daughter several years prior to the program (I don't know if it was a repeat). 

When people die, we have strange perspectives about it.  RC Sproul was elderly, had lived a long life and accomplished a lot in terms of Christian service.  The Robison's daughter was a mother and wife and dedicated Christian, but she was relatively young.  This made it seem more devastating.

Really, we are all going to die.
GOD decides our time.

I think the sorrow is because we love someone, we wanted them to be with us longer.  Our loss is painful.  It is always hard to bear the sufferings of our children.

I have not known the loss of someone close to me yet... but it may come before my own death. I don't know.

I have been preparing for my own death.

It is a natural part of this life... from the moment of conception we are destined to die.

It's a morbid thought... but it is something we have to deal with eventually.

I also saw a news report on fathers that lost their children to gun violence... and were trying to make it into a meaningful event... to make their memories live on.

I also viewed a news report from another country's program... maybe the BBC's news, or Germany's (DW).  Little starving babies, large starving children, no money for medical help, or medicine.  Parents were doing the best they could for their children in the midst of violence and suffering.

We don't live in a very nice world.
We all do the best we can.
And then we die.

It doesn't matter what the world says will happen when I die.
I know that my final resting place will be in heaven.

I weep for the people I love who are not yet saved.
I won't be able to see them in heaven.

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May GOD reach the hearts of those we love and bring them into His Kingdom.
May we find the words to share salvation with others.
May we rest. May we speak. May we find the way to reach the lost.
Amen.

Until next time...
Deborah Martin

13 December, 2017

Wednesday, 13 December 2017

My goodness... where do the days go!

I have been reorganizing my room for better crafting options and it is beginning to look good!  When I finally get it "done" I will think about sharing some photos.

It is so cold here, I didn't go out today.  I was hoping to pick up a few things I am wanting/needing (like the Christmas wrapping paper I need to finish my gifts), but just couldn't think of being out so long in this cold.  Maybe one of the next few days will be better.

We are having septic tank problems here, so that has bothered all the water uses... showers, dishes, laundry, and all those kinds of things.  :-)  Hopefully, they will be gone soon.

As I said before, I am in the process of purging my belongings.  I don't have much, but I decided to only keep the stuff that I really need or want.  I'm going to put my "extra" stuff on eBay or Amazon or somewhere...  You can put "vintage" items for sale at Etsy.  This will be fun.  It will take a whole week to finally get it all photographed and entered as a listing.  Lots of little things... and I have been trying to figure out how to package them for shipping.  I will need to figure out the pricing, too.

The spot for the smaller fridge has been cleared out now.  I took down all my wall items by that space, and already moved my food storage jars and other items that were on the counter.  The big fridge has been cleaned of all my taped items, too.  Soon the interior spaces will be pretty bare, too.  I'm slowly working down my food supplies.  It will be strange, but I can do this.  It will be better for me, but I have to get use to the changes it makes in daily life.

I have been working on my diet challenges, too... the changes I want to make since seeing FORKS OVER KNIVES.  I actually used 1/3 cup of water to steam my veggies today, instead of using oil while I cook them.  They were OK... I put them over rice and used soy sauce.  So far that is my usual cooked veggie option.  Soon I will find other ways to cook them and eat them.  I'm working on spices instead of other things for flavor.

I do love my popcorn... usually once a day.  It is one of my "downfall dishes" (Rocco DiSpirito).  I am working on how to reduce my popcorn calories.  Cream cheese is another one of my can't do without foods.  I guess coffee (and sugar) is the other... with sometimes having Cafe Vienna, for a treat now... which was one of my goals.  I don't know how healthy I can get, but I am trying to make a lot of small changes.  One of these days I will make more small changes.  Eventually I will get closer to where I have always wanted to be.

Have to get going...this has to be a short post.  Hope you don't mind.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May God be with us as we work to become better people and a better world.

12 December, 2017

Tuesday, 12 December 2017

A little bit ago, I happened on a Twitter link about the Alabama election results, from PBS Newshour.  It seems the Associated Press has declared a winner in the election.  By declaring the winner, the headlines become a repeated event... no one will know anything else about the election except that their person won.  Judy Woodruff was interviewing some people in the recorded post, but what irritated me most was the tones in her voice when the "reporting" involved the opposition.

Then I found some links to Roy Moore's side.  It was a video sharing that they were planning to have a recount because the numbers (election results) are so close, close enough for a recount.  The post with the video also said they hadn't conceded the race yet... so it wasn't a clear win.

In the flurry of posts about the Democratic person who won, and his very pro-abortion views,  I was then disgusted to discover a post about Planned Parenthood where the person posting (I know it was a public person I have seen before) was urging women to have as many abortions as they wanted because the person who won that state election agreed with that stance.

It made me ill to even read this post.  Do they even know how terrible their statements are?!  Wanting to kill innocent children because of a political battle for supremacy.  The core issues behind abortion have disappeared... it is now a battle of wills, a need to win, and no one matters except the battle.  (That means women who turn to Planned Parenthood are not being counselled, they are being manipulated into do what the political battle requires... abortions just to make sure they are done, baby parts sold to fund the battle, and young trusting women who are left ravaged for the rest of their lives. 

I hate discovering the "news" anymore.

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I didn't really get involved with social media until several years ago.  I am nearly 65 years old now.  It has been a learning experience.  I don't know what it will mean for our future as human beings, as countries, as individuals and families.  I am discovering that social media is becoming more and more like the Enquirer on steroids (I think that is the right comparison... I'm reaching for the right words!), but we don't realize it is another version of the Enquirer.  Will there be anything we can rely on?  All of the digital "evidence" we use to create claims against people can be altered by anyone who knows how to do it and has the programs/equipment to do it... which is a lot of people... even young kids!   That's videos, photos, and ????  who knows what else.

It seems to be a useful tactic to "discover" things about the people you want to destroy... and keep it coming.  I'm really sick of these repeated efforts... it's like a broken record.  I hate anyone being abused or mistreated, that is not what I am disgusted with.  I don't appreciate all the terrible things that people do to others.  I object to the timed use of these accusations... and watching the back and forth of them as "pay-back" between Hollywood, Washington (DC), media outlets, etc. 

I heard one comment associated with this election that really explains this process.  One of the people on Roy Moore's side mentioned that he has run for eight(?) elections and this is the first time any of these accusations have come up.  There seems to some kind of untruth happening here... for a reason.

I just get so tired of the timing being so convenient for certain issues, like elections, like the other party winning when you didn't want them to, like using false accusations to destroy someone at the opportune time and then having it all proven wrong later (after you have achieved your goals). 

In some circles this is the only way they know how to operate... win at any cost.  It may be how our world works... for those with money, power, and agendas, but it is not going to create the world we need.  It is why morality is really the most important issue we face.

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I grew up in the areas around Hollywood, even lived by the tourist sites (stars in the sidewalks, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, etc.) for awhile (as a very poor single-parent family).  It is a dirty town... built on the destruction of so many lives.  The world sees money, fame, gossip, drama, fundraising...  but the hidden (maybe not so hidden, or maybe opportunely revealed) ravaged lives don't always make the media.

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I am losing all the heat of my anger now... this is an argument that has been repeated many times.  It doesn't lead anywhere (because I'm not in charge of the world  :-) -- but it is always hard for me to deal with.  I want the world to be a good place... a place that wants to do what is right... and I have discovered, as an adult, that it never will be. 

Now I am trying to understand how to survive these moral losses and find a place for myself and my dreams and my daily survival... to do what I can to change anything I can.

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I guess that is what we all do... survive the best we can. 

Some people are more willing to sacrifice their bodies, their integrity, their better goals in life, to build up their bank accounts.  Sleeping your way to the top has been around for a long time.  I have considered it another form of prostitution, but we won't talk about that today.

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I hope this post hasn't been too depressing for you.  We think our lives are protected from the harms that all these seemingly vague and impossible to change actions in our world, but we are not.  They will lead to our demise. 

I wonder who is behind all these hidden efforts.  I know that they are spiritually driven, that the Antichrist will be the eventual source, and Satan is behind the long-term war... but who is really pulling the strings right now.  I can't do anything to stop these huge events, but it would be nice to know.

If you find out, let me know.  :-)

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May GOD help us to find our way through all the changes that we cannot do anything about.

( I guess the Serenity Prayer would be good here...)

11 December, 2017

Monday, 11 December 2017

Here we are again... a new week, and almost the end of 2017!

I re-discovered my PayPal.Me/WorkingTogetherInc account, so I posted it to my Membership Drive page.  I guess it could be uses for donations, so I put that as a suggestion, too.  Until I understand the PayPal.Me process, any submissions for membership ($100/per person/per year) will be considered PUBLIC and ONLINE (email) newsletter delivery.  My understanding of the PayPal.Me process is that you link to it and make your payment to that account (Working Together Inc) so I hope it is one method we will be able to use for many activities.

My desire for PayPal is to have the funds remain in the form of money it is paid in... to always have funds in each type of currency, for future transactions.  I'm not sure that is possible with PayPal, yet... but I am striving in those directions.  As we grow in other regions, the needs of WT will change, so will the way we process funds.

I'm working on what I want, but I don't really know what is possible, now or in the future.

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I had to think of how GOD deals with criminals today... again.

I realized that criminals don't really understand the consequences of their choices, so they don't really think about what GOD does when we sin.  I suppose people who choose to do wrong never plan on getting caught.

I was thinking about what it is going to be like as a Christian in America someday... maybe sooner than we expect.

I often wondered what it was like to be one of the Jews when they were oppressed... or one of the apostles as they increasingly felt the wrath of those in power (even in their church)... or women when men had all of the legal power.  History tells a lot of hard stories to think about.

Today I saw a news item online about a drive-by shooting that was gang-related, and the only one that died was a little girl who was watching TV... probably cartoons that early in the morning.  Nothing can change what has already happened, we can only try to change what might happen in the future.  I wonder if gang violence is beyond stopping now... it has gone on so long, grown, become more powerful, changed the way crime is done, destroyed everything that is connected to it. 

Maybe the persecution of Christians will be the same way...

I guess I am trying to decide how we can forgive those who hurt our lives for no real reason, maybe greed or power, but not because we have done anything to them.  Senseless pain.  Like the little girl who didn't do anything to be shot by a gang member.

I often think of Christ when He was on the cross and said to forgive those who killed him, because they really didn't know what they were doing.  Christ had to die, to fulfill prophecy, to make it so we can be saved, and that meant the people involved in killing an innocent person somehow had to do that.  Judas betrayed Him, the disciples fled, Pilate authorized His death even though he didn't have to...  some things are beyond changing, they have to happen to fulfill GOD's Word.

When bad things happen to us we wonder why GOD didn't stop them.  We think there is a magic shield around us (we sometimes call it a "hedge") and nothing is suppose to get through.  But it does.  People choose to sin and we suffer because of it.  Later on, after time has passed, and GOD has taken us to a new place in our lives, we can see the difference that the bad thing/s have made in our lives.  We can see the "good" that GOD has made out of them.

So, how do we forgive something that is still a fresh pain in our life?  I had overcome this one at a point in my life, but (today) I don't know if that is still true.  It requires a lot of trust in GOD to let the hurt and pain and destruction that someone else's sins can cause in our lives.  That 70 times 7 rule on forgiveness gets old when you are the one doing the forgiving... when you are waiting for GOD to do something about it... when it doesn't seem to go away.

I use to be able to read my Bible and talk to GOD about all these hard questions, but these days my Bible time struggles.  I can feel the damage it does to not be able to read and pray and think on the good things that are GOD.  Focusing on GOD is what keeps our attitudes going in the right directions.  It is what keeps pain in perspective.  It is what allows me to see past the pain I feel.  So, these days, I try to focus on GOD with my thoughts, my memories, my long relationship with Him.  It helps, but it isn't a solution.

When we are persecuted, it will hurt.  We don't know how much, yet, but it will hurt... our hearts, our lives, our humanity, our faith, our families, our jobs, our church, our everything.  People who persecute are not Christian.  Unsaved people do things that we would not. 

I don't know if it is forgiveness, but understanding that they are struggling to survive in their own world might help to get past that moment.  One day they may be saved, and changed, and look back on the sins they have done with deep regret.  They will suffer because of what they have done, just as we suffer for our sins.

I try to pray that they will.  If I think about GOD long enough, I can pray for them with meaning... I can find something to say to GOD about their future... I can begin to see beyond the hurt they have caused me.

I hope you are able to get past your painful times, too.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May GOD help us all to see people in the spiritual realm... that we are different because we know GOD, and they are different because they don't know Him, or Christ, or the Holy Spirit.

May our world become as good as it can be.
May we love people with a goal of understanding them.
May we find a better future for ourselves.
May life become peaceful, filled with joy and contemplation.
May we always strive to honor GOD by trusting the things He teaches us in the Bible.
May we discover a path to the future that honors GOD.

Amen.

07 December, 2017

Thursday, 7 December 2017

Pearl Harbor happened today... many years ago.
I'm not good with history, but Georgene Rice, on Christian radio station KPDQ, always shares the history of days like today.  It seems we were surprised by a country that we didn't think would be able to attack us.  I remember she talked about one ship where only a few hundred of the over a thousand sailors were saved when they were attacked.  I remember she said that oil still seeps from one ship, and that the bodies of our soldiers are still down there.  I remember thinking we must have the ability to raise those ship or retrieve those bodies now.

Looking back we probably wouldn't see that kind of attack happen, but the world has changed since then.  Now we are attacked by computer... and we never see it coming.  I guess we need to remember that people who want to "win" will find a way to do it... or keep trying.

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It was a long day of recovering from my shopping excursion...  I will probably need tomorrow to get more "normal" as well as today.  This is my life right now.  When the situations change, so do the abilities we have to deal with them.  If I was driving a car I wouldn't have so much "exercise" when I shop... but, I probably couldn't afford to go anywhere if I owned a car, or might get killed while driving.  Life is filled with different choices and consequences for each of us.

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Today I had to do my accounting chores, too... try to find out where my budget is at, figure out who is left to buy Christmas for, etc.  I finished my online shopping, I think... Now I need to finish my crafted gifts.  :-) 

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Not much to share today... I didn't watch any TV... barely heard any radio... didn't read anything, except my browse through the paper I picked up when I went shopping.  I collect the articles I want to read then recycle the rest of the paper.  All of that needs to be done tomorrow.

I did watch the VHS tape I bought at the thrift store... Lady and the Tramp.  It was so great to watch again.  :-)  I love the way the old Disney cartoons capture the characters... they have real personalities that all get mixed together to make the movie.  My son and his wife have a terrier like Tramp, so now I can really see the breed defined in the cartoon.  It's just a dog until you discover there are real differences between the breeds of animals.

The rest of the day was daily living chores and resting.  Fun, huh!

Until next time, God willing,
Deborah Martin

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May the world be safe and secure and happy and loving and worthwhile for as many people and animals and good/honest businesses as possible.

May we all live within our means.

May we all find ways to survive together.

May those who are in a season of suffering and struggle find a blessing from GOD in their day.

Amen.

06 December, 2017

Wednesday, 6 December 2017

I finally took care of some shopping and errands today.
I am so tired, even after a nap earlier.
This MAY be short... but you know what happens when I get started!  :-)

I couldn't believe the news tonight... the photos of the California fires by Los Angeles, the general area I grew up in.  They said the winds would be fierce tonight... and continue through to the weekend.  I guess the only blessing is that the wind is blowing toward the ocean... well, I'm not sure, really... I just remember one of the reports said the fire went all the way to the ocean.

It was my favorite spot, the ocean.  They haven't shown a single map of the exact areas.  When I was a young driver, I use to drive all over the area trying to get lost... discovering places I never would have known existed... and never really getting lost.

The news stated that a very wealthy area was being destroyed.  That the Getty Museum is in danger.  It gets confusing when they say there are four separate fires in the same area.  I find it hard to figure out exactly where they are talking about.

I hurt for all the people who are suffering these losses.  Insurance may replace the buildings, but it can never replace memorabilia and things we never realized were so important to our life until they are gone.  I was telling my son this morning that you never get over the losses... you remember something you had, and then you remember it is gone.

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Now that my shopping is done, I can focus on my other activity plans... like getting Christmas done!  :-)

I finished my Christmas giving today... the stuff on my lists.  It feels great to have that done.  I always say that if I had a lot of money, I could shop all the way through Christmas Eve... this is my FAVORITE time of the year.

I have already watched IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, WHITE CHRISTMAS, and MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET. Today I found a CD of Christmas music at the Salvation Army Sale.  I also found a VHS copy of LADY AND THE TRAMP !!!  It think it is the last one of the Disney animations I wanted to find.  I will watch it when I think I can stay awake that long!  haha  I hope the tape is good.  You never really know until you get it home and put it in the machine.

I actually bought a newer DVD at Walmart on Black Friday that won't work in my older machine.  Now I have to decide what to do about that.  I haven't had problems with any other DVD, so I have to assume it is a new way they are making them.  It was made in Mexico... do you think that is a problem?

I was looking for just the right size of appliances for myself today, and trying to figure out how much money I will need to eventually buy them.  I am checking on full size food processors, very small electric skillets, the small frig with a separate freezer section that I mentioned before, and some kind of SMALL slow cooker.  Later I need to buy a vacuum for myself. I am also searching for the perfect rug for my kitchen space.  I want to find new kitchen towels, but haven't decided on the two colors I want.  I like to get two colors so I can alternate them while using them.  It helps me to keep the old and new ones figured out.  :-)

I am still sorting through my belonging to purge the things I don't need to keep anymore... maybe because I found something better.  I am also sorting to create my crafting section of similar items from my kitchen/food use items.  It is getting really interesting.  All of this leads to storage issues.  I decided I am going to paint my crafting items to make sure they are separate and don't somehow get mixed into my food bowls and pans, etc.

As each space gets figured out, I begin to know what kind of furniture or storage shelving might work best for the long term... like my decision to get the 6-cube shelf.  Now I want to find a 2-cube shelf or some kind of crate system that can be rearranged when I want to make it different.  With only two windows, plant space is premium... also, being able to open the window for air circulation while I am doing some crafts is essential.  Once I get rid of the big fridge, I can move my work tables around to make more space for my bigger projects.

I am really so happy to be able to work on these issues.  I hope that GOD will bring me even more space and money in the future.

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Well, time to go for today.
I still have to do my December Membership Drive post.
It is easier to get this post written first.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May GOD comfort those who are suffering in Los Angeles because of the fires.  The numbers seem to be in the thousands.  Only GOD can control the wind... I hope He has mercy on us all.

May Israel be safe.  May the media not incite violence with the way they report on the issues.  May the innocent not be caught in the middle of this conflict.  May we begin to realize that violence is not the way to solve our problems.

May GOD provide for me and WT and the future needs of His people... everywhere.
Amen.

05 December, 2017

Tuesday, 5 December 2017

Today was a kind of catch-up day... getting letters written and into the mailbox... to my sons in prison/jail, my mother, paying a bill and adding a letter to it, sending out two prayer requests... that was enough for one day. 

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I watched FORKS OVER KNIVES again... trying to really cement the info into my brain. (The animal protein that was tested and produced a link with cancer was in dairy form.)  I really want to buy copies of these documentaries, but I just can't afford to.

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Then a trailer for a documentary called SAVING CAPITALISM came on and I ended up watching it, too... I recognized the main character, but it must have been a long time ago that I watched it. The really sad part about documentaries like this is the constant political theme about the rich needing to support the poor by giving their wealth to the government...that people don't have a right to be extraordinarily wealthy because they use it to do harm to everyone else.  There are so many small concepts that get repeatedly stated until they seem to be a truth.  Money has a lot of problems in our societies, but the greater issue is the morality of our people... if someone is moral, they won't misuse their wealth or abuse people.  I tried to think of the reasons I didn't like this one, but the real problem is that its theme is more rhetoric to support the agenda of one political party.

We are a country in trouble, and there is no magic answer.  Human nature wants to "blame" someone - someone else! - so each side of a problem creates lists of things the other one should be doing differently.  The ordinary people have to deal with the results of this never-ending conflict of wills in government and business.

One example was a fast-food worker who said she brought home about $1200/month and then had to pay 900 dollars of that for her rent.  The real percentage of income for shelter (rent/mortgage and utilities) is 30%... so her rent should be no more than $360 a month... but the blame gets put on the corporation she works for because it is part of a big corporation... no mention is made that it is a franchise business, owned by a small person, and that even franchise operations from huge international corporations often struggle to get by. 

The worker was a cashier and assumed that the business made a lot of money because the cash drawer was full when she worked.  Her wages were stated to be 12.50 an hour, and at FT 40 hours a week with apx 4 weeks to a month her gross wages would be $2000.  So she pays taxes on her wages and her employer pays taxes on her wages.  Owners pay a lot of other expenses too...  all the cash in the sales drawer is not profit.  If you want to build a business, that also takes money.

At $12.50 an hour her wages were a lot higher than minimum wage.  In the film there was a segment showing a battle to get a higher minimum wage, up to $15/hour.  They won that battle in the film, but I don't remember if it was the same worker.

We have a lot of different problems in this economic issue... everyone is trying to survive, but sometimes it doesn't seem that way.  Another issue that was brought up was the overpayment of executive salaries.  This is a serious issue, but the responsible activists to change it are the shareholders of the companies... that is their job, their problem... that is why there are shareholder meetings, boards with members voted into the position of watching over the finances of the company, etc.  It isn't the government's job to regulate the wages of the businesses in America.

"Too big to fail" is a different issue... bailouts are another issue... and tax incentives are also another separate issue.  I was impressed by one comment shown about tax incentives for corporations, made by Bill Clinton... saying that companies have to make their decisions about salaries, but the government doesn't need to provide tax breaks to corporations just because they make bad decisions and overpay their executives.  I think the film was talking about the billions of dollars in tax incentives that corporations are given and also comparing some of the lower-waged worker salaries with the executive incentives that were allowed because of biased government legislation in their favor.

My solution to these issues, many of them, is to change the tax structure away from income.  I have shared about this before.  My idea is to get rid of all the taxes that exist, except ONE TAX that everyone pays :: a permanently limited sales tax that is shared by all three levels of the US government at 30% each, with the final 10% being allocated to international expenses.  What a change that would make in all of these controversies!  I think it would take a national action, like they did with the ERA, to make the government comply.  We all know that legislators won't reduce their money, their benefits, or their power unless they have to.  :-(

Pray I win the lottery!  :-)
I will get it started !!!

I have other ideas for government change, too...  but not here, not now...  check some of my other writings for them, or wait for the topics to come up again.  We know I will repeat them then.  :-)

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I was able to see a news program today... and was shocked to hear there is another huge fire in California, with lots of housing areas in jeopardy or already destroyed.  It is going to be a long week as the winds are still going to be fierce, spreading the flames for many more acres.  Nature doesn't play favorites... good people suffer in disasters.

The bigger issue is the added costs these disasters put on any budget... local, state, national.  There is no way to stop the costs, but if the money runs out, what will happen?

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I watch a business show as often as I can... it's called NBR (Nightly Business Report) on PBS.  They often share the value of money all over the world and it is based on the US Dollar ( I am pretty sure).  Our dollar doesn't have the value of a dollar anymore... it is steadily going down... it was about 92-94 cents the last times I watched.  I'm not sure how anyone figures these things out, but I know printing your own money whenever you think you need more, and operating on a debt basis, isn't fiscally sound.  When I discovered my Social Security payments are actually made like credit card charges, it changed my entire view of the soundness of the economy. 

I can see why the various governments are slowly changing their actions on many fronts because their finances are very strained.  I suspect that is why marijuana is becoming legal, and who knows what other detrimental decisions will be made because of the financial stresses within governments.  The long-term effects will one day become a greater burden than the immediate desire for increased tax incomes.

It is my hope and prayer that GOD will provide for Working Together and myself so I can create other options for the poor, and those who will soon become poor.  Social services depend on donations.  If there is no one to donate, what will we find when we are in desperate need.

Even big corporations depend on customers, people with enough money to purchase their products.  Stock wealth is just a current paper amount... it can change in one day... become worthless if there is an economic collapse.

I'm not sure how anyone can prepare for these things, but the housing bubble is just one recent example of how traditional responses are going to happen.  I kept saying that none of that had to happen -- the banks could have worked with the home owners, they didn't have to foreclose.  We need to find better ways to respond to things like that.  My issue is that I don't know how many of these decisions were forced by government regulations.

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See what happens when you watch documentaries!
Your world changes.
You become aware of things you don't normally think about.
They can force change in your life.

I stopped putting milk in my coffee today.
That is the first change I am making because of FORKS OVER KNIVES.

Watching SAVING CAPITALISM has renewed my financial quest to protect myself as best I can within my economic limite ations... building my 3-month food supply, saving an emergency fund, trying to be debt free, finding other ways to create income, and anything else I can accomplish.  It also makes me want to write more letters about changing the status quo.  I may go buy a lottery ticket, too -- hoping to win enough millions to start creating my own safety nets for the poor.

I better go for now.
I still have to make my post about WT's December Membership Drive.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May the GOD we know as Christians and Jews help us to be wise, to prepare for the future even as we trust Him for the details of the day, the possibilities of the future, and the souls of those we love.

May we all see the importance of morality on our world, how deeply it affects every area of our lives, and how different life is when evil reigns.  We can't force morality within others, we can only decide to honor it in ourselves.

May our lives be blessed by GOD so that we can provide for others.  Amen.

04 December, 2017

Monday, 4 December 2017

My... another week.
Where does the time go!?

I watched a documentary called FORKS OVER KNIVES this weekend.  It has impacted my thinking even more about food choices and diseases we all think are plagues of our time.  It was so interesting on many levels.  I hope you will watch it, too.  I found it on Netflix.

The main information for our time is how a plant-based diet ( veggies, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds...) will reverse some of the diseases we have that cost a fortune in meds and kill a lot of us too early.  Heart disease, cholesterol, osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, and I can't remember the rest... are all reversed with this eating choice.  It turns out that animal proteins (also in dairy and eggs) also have a dangerous element in them that causes cancer cells.  It turns out that your veins repair themselves with a healthy plant-based diet that eliminates these dangerous foods.  I always knew vegan/vegetarian was healthy, but never realized how it affects our health at this level.

This won't solve all our survival problems, but this film was really impressive with its data on the history of this cause-and-effect discovery. 

We do need protein, which we always think of meat as providing, and eggs, and cheese, and other similar foods, but it turns out that the level of protein found in a good rice (probably brown rice, etc.) is all you need.  This is why Asian people use to be so thin and healthy... they mostly ate rice and vegetable with a very small amount of meat for flavoring.  As healthy people all over the world adopt the commercial diet we now live on (fast food, lots more meat than we need, few fresh fruits and veggies, etc.) they become as sick as we get.

I really was impressed by the fact that erectile disfunction (think Viagra) is often the first sign your body gives that you have circulation problems (cholesterol, blocked veins, etc.)...  once you get healthy with the plant diet, that issue seems to go away naturally. 

So, guess who would be against this knowledge...  pharmaceutical companies, food industries that market meat/dairy/eggs/oil...  it is noteworthy that one of the main doctors cited grew up on a dairy farm.  It seems the powers that be in his educational connections have worked against this knowledge being shared properly... college funders rule the world, agribusiness rules the government... what are us small people to do!?

I love watching documentaries about food, pollution, and survival topics...  this is one you really must see.  If you get to the documentary section at Netflix, try to watch some of the others... like Food Inc, and Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (something like that), and Super-size Me, and some of the others.  I don't have a list, but I wish I owned a copy of all the documentaries I like.  :-)

My search for recipes is just beginning... how do you have a salad without the usual dressings????  I'm trying to figure that out.

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I am struggling to make a post each day about the December Membership Drive for Working Together.  I don't have any PayPal links figured out yet, so I am posting my contact information at the end of each post now.  I'm hoping to figure out the issues I have associated with that problem soon.

I am sending prayer requests with each post, and sending requests to ministries I am in contact with.  I hope GOD will bless my efforts this time, so I can get things done, finally.  It's been a long wait... I feel like Abraham and Sarah waiting for the promised son.  I entered the Welfare system in 1975 (the starting catalyst for my ministry goals) and started Working Together in 1987.  There have been lots of problems along the way, and there still are.  GOD has to help me with them, so I keep praying.

Once I get these issues figured out I want to boost my posts and try to reach other Christians beyond my small current reach.  I only have December to get a response, or it will be a whole year to the next outreach.  These memberships are for 2018.  Every membership drive will be for the next year.  It is part of my faith strategy for the future of WT.

I am posting to my Working Together Facebook page, then re-posting to the other pages I know of that are Christian-related. I have problems posting right now, so I have to copy and paste, which is not the same as sharing a link.  It is another learning experience!  I hope to have this all figured out by the end of the month.

Right now I am living in Portland, but I need to relocate back to Eugene for WT... to find and establish ministry offices, etc.  This is another part of what I am trying to achieve... what I am praying for.

I hope you will share my posts with other Christians, even though I haven't yet updated my webpage.  There are still links to my other online efforts there.  The purpose of WT is still the same, and the goals of each program are still the same... The updates will be the payment links, and maybe a few small things.

http://work2gather.us

Pray for me and for WT... we all need what WT is trying to create for us.

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I guess I better go for today... I still have to do my WT post.  :-)

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

Working Together Inc
PO Box 828
Eugene  OR  97440
United States

office@work2gather.us
541.344.5248

Let me know what you think...