Thursday, 30 August 2018

Some days are better than others...

I see that things will be better.  I continue with my quests.  And my faith is the main issue in everything that happens... good and bad.

We seem to think that loving GOD makes us protected from all the ills of the world...but it doesn't.  It is choosing sides in the constant battle between good and evil, between GOD and Satan, between what is right and what make our lives suffer in ways we don't comprehend at the time.

I watched most of the videos on the Franklin Graham link I shared last night... one wouldn't work on my computer.  It always makes me see how great a difference salvation makes in life.  I wish I could convince everyone to accept the gift of Jesus so they will grow into the goodness that is discovered.

I explored the Chip Gaines site with the funding competition... it is called CHIPSTARTER 2.0, as it is the second year.  I still have to look at the details, but you can see some of the winners from the first year at the site.  It looks like you have ONE WEEK to enter your video... something close to that.  Small dreams, big dreams... what is your dream?

In my effort to get better at public speaking and all the business events that life seems to include, I watched a video at a linked site from either FB or Twitter tonight... good one. I shared it from the page to three different FB sites of my own... I still have to find out if one of them went through, but two to my pages did.  It is getting interesting how you can share with social media accounts.  I would like to do a ONE-click operation, but that is somewhere in the future, probably after I am gone!  :-)

The video was by INC Magazine, with 8 Tips on presenting to groups.  I hope you can find it easily... it is a nice short video.

I am getting pretty close to finishing my yardwork for this summer... but it will still go into September... the ivy patch project is really going to be my last effort.  I have to finish my berry vine clean-ups and a few small dirt space clean-ups... then it will be the ivy patch to the end.

October starts the normal burn season for this area... I am wondering what my son will be doing about the mountain of debris that is waiting to be dealt with.  I worry that a neighborhood cat might be living under the pile... a safe place for the nights around here, and the wild predators.

My list efforts are getting better.

Still have four more letters to do for August.

I'm almost done with my September budgeting.  It's going to be a hard month.  I forgot about some major expenses in September, so I am trying to squeeze out the pennies as much as I can.

My reorganized room is beginning to flow better.  It takes awhile to remember the changes as you go looking for things.  I am really amazed at how much better things are getting.  I seem to be a month behind my goal schedule, but that is still workable.  PHOTOS are still a major issue, as is SHIPPING.

I love my revamped shipping space in my closet. It may work out great.  We never really know until we start using things... I have discovered this with my form designs.  They are great in the computer, but I discover the problems when I try to use them in my real life needs.

I wish life was not the way it is, but I am praying through all the issues I have to deal with.  I trust that GOD is able to make them into something better, as He has promised in His Word, the Bible.  Faith is hard, whether you are believing in GOD, or in people.  I keep reminding myself of the things I have learned in the past, and search for what I can learn from today.

GOD is in our limitations as much as He is in our abundance.  It is really about what HIS will is for our lives... where HE is leading us... WHO He is trying to reach... what HE is trying to achieve.

That was a hard lesson to learn.  It has helped me to cope with the things life has brought me since I understood this way that GOD works.

I am just one person, without the funds I would like to have, a senior, a woman, with health issues, and more.  In the end, GOD is the one in charge.  I am His servant, His child, His follower... when I was saved, I kind of traded my future for heaven. The Bible says we are bought, that Jesus is the payment for our eternity, and other things I can't quote right now... but the idea is that there is a trade.  We offer out lives because He has given His life for us...Jesus, I mean.  So, it is like the hierarchy of the family... GOD, Jesus, Holy Spirit -- then Man, Wife, children  -- and Christ becomes the husband of single mothers.  There is order in everything that GOD does... including creation.

I am trying to say why I make my days available to GOD and watch what happens.  I do what I can, and then I believe that GOD will do whatever else needs to be done.

I still pray and ask for a lot of things.  :-)   It is like any child asking their parents for things.  Then I look for the gift, hoping it will be mine.

So, I better get going now or I will keep on about these faith issues.  It looks like I may get to bed early tonight... haha.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc.
Building for the End Times

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May the GOD of all things, life and eternity, be kind to those who love Him, protect us from the attacks of those who hate Him, and provide for our needs.  Amen.

Wednesday, 29 August 2018

It is getting late!  I didn't make it to my computer tasks until 10pm, so here I am.  What to say....

I still don't have collected notes for the weekend... I spent the day with re-organizing and food, doing my to-do list items (by memory), and just trying to get my body going every time I had to rest.  This is the way it is... right now, at least.

I was checking my emails and Chip Gaines is having a business/dream competition.. I will be checking it out more tomorrow.  I guess he tried it out previously and must have decided it was a good idea.  It requires a video, though.  I haven't quite figured out videos yet, or I might get serious about sending something in.  How would I describe Working Together in two minutes... I don't know!

I have a CD I want to listen to again, from the thrift store I think, on getting your point across in 30 seconds.  That would help me work through the presentation... times four.  :-)   I am a writing person... even if it is a LONG challenge to "write short."  haha.  I am moving toward something like podcasting...but not sure how I want to use that media.  I was thinking I might try audio options first.  Who knows what the future will hold!  :-)

The Gaines email link goes here ::  https://mailchi.mp/magnoliamarket/we-want-to-help-launch-your-dream?e=4fb96982f8  -- so all the people who are braver than me can check it out.   :-)   The finale is in mid OCTOBER, so there isn't much time to get going.  I didn't see any age limits... but I haven't checked it out fully... make sure you do BEFORE you send in your life's heartbeat.


I am still thinking about some of the motivational videos I watched last weekend and the effect they had on me... some good, some bad.  Who you decide to follow means everything.   It is impossible to protect yourself from people who promote ungodly things in ungodly ways... you will have to search through the mixed offerings of most sites yourself... use wisdom, use discretion, make a "judgment" about their truth and quality.  There are a lot of new names that have become famous, but that doesn't mean they are the best people to lift up in your life.  The difference between Christian leaders is immense, the difference between sincere Christians and those who trust in the world's methods and values is even wider than immense.  Think about what you discover... test it like you would test the Bible's details... only embrace the good.


Well... I will go for now... and try to write a better post tomorrow... maybe a bit earlier if I can, so I won't be so tired, worn out, not able to share the best details.  :-)   By tomorrow I should have my desk and papers sorted out better.  haha.

May GOD be kind to the trusting, the faithful, the good, the saved, and those dedicated to Him.  May He also watch over those we love and pray for, who mean so much to us, and who/m we want to be in heaven with.  Amen.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

http://work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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I got an email from Franklin Graham (BGEA) too... with a link to a site that explains faith and Christ.  If anyone is looking for the peace Christ brings to life, it might be a place to start.  I haven't checked it out yet either... I needed to get this post done first.  :-)

Find Peace With God
https://peacewithgod.net/

Tuesday, 28 August 2018

How is everyone tonight?  Good, I hope.

I have been busy with my budgeting and figuring out how to make my room better for using so I can get stuff done... all day today, I worked on getting it better... I think I am going to suffer a week of recovery for this one.  :-(  I am in pain!

But, the room is so much better now.  Once I get the rest of the little things done, it will be great.

I have one cleared table (eventually) for working on, and I changed the rest to see if I could get my supplies better organized.  It is amazing that I found all sorts of things I have been looking for, and have been deciding what to do first.

I have a lot I want to share from the weekend, but not now.  I am beat.  I need to make some notes.  :-)

I will share that I started working on my biographical statement... to get things going I started a list.  I will try to paste it here for this blog post.  It's funny how many different things we are in a lifetime.  :-)

Until next time...
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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My attemt to make a biographical statement for my publishing efforts....
DEBORAH  MARTIN  IS...

a Christian
tither / giver
committed to GOD
independent believer
searcher
part of the Body of Christ
End Time crusader
saved sinner
moral conscience
Bible searcher
persecuted believer
prayer warrior

a mother
daughter
sister
aunt
friend

a writer
author
blogger
publisher
old movie lover
music admirer

a crafter
knitter
crochet lover
jewelry maker
photograpner
artist
designer
creator
sewer of simple things
quilter
beader

a financial tragedy
saver
recycler
budget maker

website developer
online shop owner
social media novice
learning video
planning to podcast
marketing intern


college hopeful
self-study student
life-long learner
media critic


corporate founder
president
board
owner
sole supporter
dreamer of better things

faith traveler
homeless survivor
poverty activist

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That's all so far.
Now I think I will expand each category with a statement or description so I can figure out what matters for different statements.  This is such a strange project... It is almost as bad as creating a resume or filling out a job application.  :-(




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May GOD help me to recover swiftly, and provide the things I need desperately for my future. Amen.

Thursday, 23 August 2018

What a day of listening to more YouTube motivational videos!  After all my morning stuff.

I lasted for two hours in the ivy patch!  I was amazed because I cut up vines, trimmed trees, raked before I made a mess again, and started to tear down the stump I found... you would not believe what was inside it!  It was a hard wood (as opposed to decayed wood granules) tree shape with limb shapes that looked like they were sawed off - I have never seen anything like it... I took photos, but they are on another device and I haven't figured out how to upload them yet.

It makes me wonder about other trees... and why this stump was that way.

I too a bunch of photos of the ivy space, for me and for possible sharing online.  I have to find a way to take my sales photos and both edit and upload them for using at my sites for social media and for my shops.

I want a great smartphone... I NEED a great smartphone... even more, I need a great digital camera set-up for selling and blogging and more.  :-)

If I pray, will it come?
I don't know.
I hope so.

I pray for everything I need to do all the things I want to do.  Amen.

:-)

I suppose I better check the lottery prize amounts, just in case... haha.

I try to remember when I started saying, if only I would win the lottery...  it's been a long road... and I really don't know if GOD would provide that way, for me, even if He does bless others with prizes.

I really just always wanted to sell memberships for the income I needed.
That didn't seem to work out well either.

We are always hopeful that tomorrow will be THE DAY that GOD decides to move in my life!

I listened to the Nightingale Strangest Secret audio program this morning... mostly.  It's hard not to go do things while you listen, so you don't really catch every word, but I remembered parts of it.  and I plan to listen again.  (I tried to find a link to it, but can't get one I think is open access... and I don't remember where I found mine... sorry about that.)

I linked to the "Thank You" videos from Evan Carmichael, and decided to listen to some of the famous people "Top Ten" tips for success... Steve Jobs, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and who knows who else.

I discovered a link at Evan Carmichael's videos or pages to someone called Mateusz M - a young man that makes motivational videos.  I didn't see anything recent, so I am not sure if he is busy with other things or gone to another media format or what...  some of the videos were great, others were too intense for me.  He has some great wallpapers though.  They appear in his Facebook posts... I think that is where I saw them... not sure right now.  I think this was my favorite video so far.... DESTINY.   You will have to check his work out for yourself.

I sometimes worry that wee need to pump ourselves up so much... maybe we get addicted to the process, the words, the cycles...  I have been alone in my struggles so much, it was always nice to hear about other people who were finding ways to overcome theirs.  It helps.  I wish we could get this inspiration into the places that need it more, like prisons, and poverty dungeons, and ?

Evan Carmichael's work is also very encouraging... lots of TOP TEN videos and other compilations... which I love.  Real people sharing things that helped them to overcome the hard places.  I started with his video on Steve Jobs and I discovered a lot of things I didn't know about him... I especially enjoyed his commencement speech with three things he wanted to share with them about being young and changing the world.  You need to hear it if you haven't already.

I am aware of famous people, but I don't follow them like a groupie... so I don't know a lot of things about them.  Sometimes I read a bit about them in the newspaper, see something in the news, read a headline in a magazine...things like that.

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Well... tomorrow is another day, kind of busy, and a Friday.  I always find things to do, resting when I can or when I have to.

I listened to a video of three people in the UK that were over 100 years old today... they were pretty alive looking... there is hope for us yet!  It was kind of cute to see them... and strange to think of living that long.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May GOD help us all to find the answers we seek to the meaning of our lives... and find a good life, a life that is filled with memories to treasure, and a life that has enough to share.  Amen.

Wednesday, 22 August 2018

I better get this done... I have been browsing at YouTube because I had a link in my emails, I think.  It's been so long, I can't remember what got me there, but it was a link from somewhere.

I ended up at some of the selling and success videos, then I checked for Nightingale-Conant and discovered they are still alive.  I use to listen to lots of their audio programs, from somewhere.  Them and Zig Ziglar.  I signed up for the motivational emails and got a few freebies in the process.  I am hoping this FB (embed code) post will work here... I'm still learning how to connect all these online spaces.


<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FNightingaleConantCorp%2Fposts%2F10154179347959596%3A0&width=500" width="500" height="422" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe>


It seems that the link doesn't work here in creating the post, so here is a back-up link...

https://www.facebook.com/NightingaleConantCorp

That seems to work.

Maybe the internet code will work after it's posted... but I don't think so.

I listened to some old Ziglar first, than a video compilation by Evan Carmichael (.com - a great graphic with links there, and I hope to find time to explore it!).  I signed up for his emails because there was a free PDF about Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs was part of my history... my motivation.  I always remembered how his company was taken from him... it is part of the reason I decided to keep WT structured as a single-owner privately held company while I am alive... and to try to make sure it is protected somehow after I die.  A company takeover of WT would not be a good thing for the future... I think it would defeat the purpose of trying to save and protect Christians as we move into harder circumstances.

So... it has been a walk down memory lane for me.  :-)

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The rest of life is still a work in progress.  I sorted through some of my supplies today, made a decision about my workspace needs, and completed most of my TO-DO list for today.

I think I have about five letters left for this month... four to one family.  :-)

I am praying in the midst of everything...

I guess I better get back to my inspirational activities for today...   :-)    I may listen to Nightingale's free audio book/presentation again... it's been awhile since I listened to it.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May GOD be listening to my prayers... I really need to know He is... in this season of my life, today, this month, this year.  Amen.

Tuesday, 21 August 2018

My days are full of different things... and by the time I get to blogging, a lot of it gets forgotten.  Regular activities, like yardwork and prepping food, seem to fade away.  Articles I read, videos I watch, things I discover... they pass into a state of non-existence when I get here.  I wonder what to write about.

Life is really strange some days.  I just finished browsing through a long page or two of "headlines" after checking my emails and some social media posts/search links.  The world is not quite a good place when you only see the things that other people think are important... like crimes, politics, murder, celebrity gossip, and the "stories" I have been discovering since doing this browsing with 500 pages to flip through (of advertising) to even get near the headline details.  I still fall for some of them, but don't even want to look anymore.

This morning I thought my mini-fridge died so I had to save my food right away. After emptying it, I discovered a THICK patch of ice and wondered if that was the cause.  After cleaning (defrosting) everything and having it unplugged for hours, it came back to life.  Now I am watching the thermometer to see if it works right. I will have to prevent an iceberg from forming in the fridge, too.  I think it messed up the temperature process, but I don't really know.  It seemed to be turned off and defrosting, etc., this morning.

I am working on a PLAN for any future problems with it, too.  I have been freezing my summer harvests and leftover foods, so that would be a great loss.  I already threw out anything that might have been compromised before I realized what was going on... milk, etc.

The other big event for today was making more fresh tomato sauce... with spices and mushrooms, like a spaghetti sauce.  I ended up with 3 pint jars and the rest I ate with pasta.  It wasn't quite as good as the first one, but I'm working on it.  I have to figure out what my canning options are, so I have them in the fridge (2) and freezer (1).

Doing computer stuff has occupied my evening time.

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Earlier in the day I read through some of the articles I have saved from newspapers.  One was about the increase in seniors filing for bankruptcy   We are heading into the Boomer generation in retirement, which has been seen as causing financial problems with Social Security and other economy topics.

This was after I had seen a news report on one of the bail out countries ending their debt, and how they endured eight years of great austerity measures to reach that point, and how this meant they will be able to borrow money again.  (There's something wrong with that logic.)

It was also an article from the Detroit Free Press, so I wondered how much applied to their area alone.

No mention was made of the changing structure of families in our culture and how that would affect the situations of elderly people.  I wondered how many had opted to have no or just one child, if they were still alive to help, if they lived near each other, had good relationships... and more.

We are not the Walton's anymore... 

I lived in an apartment building once, and one day I saw an elderly person alone in an empty apartment unit -- lying on a hospital bed, not conscious.  I guess I don't know if they ever woke up because I only saw them that one time when I left the building to go somewhere.  Everything was gone and the apartment was empty again soon after that.  I wondered what happened.  I wondered why.  I wondered if that person was put there to die.  I wondered if they didn't have funding for a normal care facility.  It happened so fast, and there was no one to really ask about it.  I just remember how strange it seemed to see just a hospital bed in an empty apartment.

When I was younger, living in Hollywood, I saw an older woman in a dirty nightgown sitting on a bus stop.  I didn't know anything about senior issues then.  I thought she was just another Hollywood weird person.  I eventually realized that wasn't the case, many years later.  I remember her with great sadness because I didn't help her.  I have no way of knowing what happened to her.

I found a news item many years ago, a very small article in a newspaper somewhere, about a woman that was dead for six years before anyone found her... her apartment and utilities were paid automatically, so she had a large savings account when she died.  They found her after the payments defaulted and she was evicted.  No one from her work checked on her.  No one at the apartment she lived in checked on her.  She must not have had any family that was able to check on her.  No friends came for her.  It makes you wonder.  How did it get that way?  Why?  What happened to her...

People have been reported as being unable to remember where they live.  Gone wandering for months.  Somehow surviving... looking homeless.

We are a society that is separated from people who would otherwise be the ones to care for us, watch over our senior years, and more.  Jobs seem to be the main cause.  Climbing the success ladder.  Moving here, moving there... never belonging anywhere.

I have seen that technology is used to keep people from their loved ones.  How will we overcome these new acts of the criminal mind?  I don't really know.

For me, the focus has been to protect the Christian community somehow.  

Not just me, I could never do that alone, but to create a place for Christians to help each other.

We like to think that is already happening, but seniors get forgotten, even in church.  I remember being part of a very small church with most of their members being seniors, and many of them couldn't get to church.  I thought a daily check-in call might help keep in touch with them, find out how they were doing, if they needed anything, etc.  I wasn't there long enough to start that, but the idea is still with me.  If Working Together needs to use it, it will.

I wonder if any of my hopes and dreams and desires to help the Body of Christ gather for the future hard times will ever happen.  GOD is the one in charge, so I hope someone will see the need we have to change our patterns of being apart, not wanting to talk about our doctrinal differences, dying as churches and communities.  I guess it has to happen in every community.  I hope I can do something to encourage that one day.  Working Together was my answer to all these needs.

Being a Senior Citizen myself now, and seeing the increased persecutions we face as Christians, the future is growing more and more frightening... even in America.  I will die one of these days, so I won't have to worry about it anymore, but Prophecy will continue to come true.  The world we know will become like the days of Noah and like the city of Sodom... that means Christians will not be the majority.

Will we be able to live apart in peace, providing for ourselves, trying to have a community we feel safe in?  I don't know.  Maybe for awhile.  It depends on what the world becomes, and how fast, and where we are, and who is in charge, and if we are strong enough.  Will the economy fall, or war change everything?  Maybe GOD is in the process of judging us with drought, and famine, and disease.

I find it a horror of our world to see little babies dying of starvation, their parents desperate to help them and not able to... and then see how people in our country purposely starve and abuse and kill their children and others.  It is our morality that causes these things... our lack of morality.  But GOD is not allowed in schools, courts, personal choices, and laws... these are moral choices, too.

When I started talking about the bankruptcy of seniors being a sign of other deeper problems, I didn't mean to get into as much as I did... but I also did not share as much as I wanted to.  I can go on and on about serious things like this.

One important piece of information I heard in the past has stayed with me... someone claimed that the Boomers were the last generation to claim a faith in GOD and what the Bible stands for.

That will affect the world in ways no one even thinks about today.

I better go.
Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May GOD help us to gather together and create a community that will care for one another, young and old, weak and strong, poor and rich.  Amen.

Monday, 20 August 2018

Another weekend is over.

This weekend, I decided to try to make my comments on news stories from the local papers I read.  I am not sure what I will do with them.  I am attaching a computer written page with my opinions to different articles I have saved.  Once the anger and dissatisfaction fall away, it is hard to keep up the effort.  We get so irritated with our society, and feel so helpless.  Giving my opinions is about the only thing I can do.  I personally care about some of the issues, people, programs, charities, etc., and am just frustrated with others, like the media.

I have said I am a topic kind of person ::  taxes, social services, government waste (and debt), homelessness, poverty, education, immigration, GOD in the world, salvation, church doctrine, internet sales, marketing, social media, and more... I suppose topics that are about people surviving... oh, yes, and prison reforms.  This means I have a lot of opinions.

I get mad when people complain and don't try to find a better solution, so I am always looking for ways to make problems work better, like prisons.  We need prisons, but do we need all this disarray and confusion and privacy that is a breeding ground for abuse?  No.

My main solution to the problems I encountered in the prison systems is to require each county to operate a single joint facility that would house local, state, and federal prisoners that would be released to that county, and a medical facility within the prison for inmate needs.  I suppose a mental health ward would be required, too.

Why county facilities?  Because the money invested and programs that can be created would benefit the citizens of that county.  Mentoring, work programs, family relationships, and more.  Visiting is one of the best interventions for inmates, their families, and system oversight, but most of the poor people who are in prisons and their equally poor families cannot visit unless they can reach the prison.  Making the system put people close to their homes and families will increase visiting options and help a lot of people, including the government.  It would be a national transfer system, combined and separate (funding).  Better for everyone, including the government, and communities.

The other problem is inmate income.  With the internet available for sales, we need to create income options that inmates can take with them when they leave, plus the ability to pay their debts, support their families, and provide for themselves.  But the issues of payment and shipping require the government to maintain the access to an internet sales site for inmates.  The government would also be creating income to pay for the program through the same fees charged by regular sales sites.  It would force the prisons to change the way they see rehabilitation, and extend a positive relationship to the parole department.  After release, and until inmates can establish their own financial foundations, the same account can be kept open for them... forever.  Internet sales increase honest income options for inmates who now leave prisons alone and virtually penniless.  Inmate sales would provide money for everyone, inmates and prisons.  Income for inmates means less state funding for child support and restitution and education and....

I have stated these two points of view before.

One of the articles I commented on this weekend was about a dangerous neighborhood pathway for kids walking to and from school.  The want the government to fix the problem.  My complaint is that the government doesn't need to be involved in every little detail of our lives... why can't the neighborhood build the sidewalk (somehow)?  I also went into another example about potholes.  They are dangerous.  They can cause injuries and death to people but no one sees this in any data.  I used the example of a bicycle rider that crashed on a busy street for no apparent reason... and a curb area that could cause elderly people to fall and be hurt, among others.  All that needed to be done was a temporary fill, with something like Quikrete -- or even gravel, but cement would be better in my view.  Many cities have Neighborhood Associations now.  They could oversee the community process.

My point is that it is not an earth-shaking event to do something like fill a pothole or create a safer pathway.  It doesn't have to be done by the government... at least, not immediately.

I ended up with TWO pages of comments about the fake news defense by media organizations in recent days.  It was in two editorials that I saw, locally.  My main point is that BIAS in the way news is reported makes it fake news.  I may share it in a blog post.  I'm not sure.  I didn't edit it for value, just wrote it and printed it.

I still want to write comment pages on taxes and homelessness... those two will take a long time I think, if I really write about them.

On a lighter note

I harvested my son's garden tomatoes because they were rotting all over the place.  One of the plants is all bad, some kind of disease from within, like the apple and pear trees they have here from the previous owners.  I hoped some of the tomatoes wouldn't have the problem, but all of the ones I picked to check were bad.  It may be the whole plant is bad, infested with something.  It isn't a familiar tomato to me, looks like a Roma tomato, but isn't.

I'm not sure what they are going to do about it.

I did look at the corn.  It seems to be growing, but small ears.  I'm not sure how corn grows as I have never grown any.  My grandmother had a farm with acres of corn.  We use to run through the rows.  Now I know we are lucky to have gotten out alive!  Small people and tall corn can be dangerous.  I do remember we use to go pick the corn for a meal from the field.  :-)  Those were good times.

Another FIRST happened this weekend.  I made a tomato sauce from four of the heirloom tomatoes I salvaged from the garden.  I was AMAZED at how fantastic it was !!!  I can see some tomato canning in my future... today, I think.  Small batches, but so amazingly good.  I hope they can well, and retain that wonderful flavor.  I made some noodles right away and ate it all up, half freshly made, half as leftovers (for breakfast today).  Next time, I will pour it over something instead of adding everything to the sauce.  It was so great tasting just as a tomato sauce... without anything but spices and a little sugar.  I am looking forward to growing tomatoes next year!

And...

This morning I heard a comment from one of the preachers on the radio and it stunned me.  I had no idea this was true, and I am assuming it is true because of the source.  He said that the Jews were not allowed to own land for about 1800 years !!!   I knew they were in exile for the Sabbath issue, for over 400 years, but I never thought about the land issue like that before.  The preacher was talking about Israel's history, so that is why it came up.  I guess it was the years before they had their own country again.

Having been homeless most of my adult life, with children and without children, the idea of so many years as GOD's people without their own homes makes me terribly sad.  I never really thought about it before.  I knew about the Jubilee process, but not the details of their history... like that.

Another program I listened to this weekend stated that Jerusalem was returned to Israel as its capitol on the day of it's birthday celebration.  The idea in American Christianity is that salvation solves a lot of our life problems... which it doesn't.  Mostly it changes our view of our problems, and how we handle the solutions.  As I focus on the End Times and all the persecutions coming into our lives, it is hard for me to know how bad it will get before the Antichrist kills us all.  How do you prepare for a life where the government can take everything when they want to?  I figure we have to provide for ourselves and protect us all as long as we can... then we can die together.

Sounds so morbid, doesn't it... but that is the future of people who believe in GOD, in Jesus, and in the Holy Spirit (which technology will mimic and use to deceive many).  I keep telling myself to "think of how the world will be when all the good people are gone."  That is like prisons and inmates and crimes everywhere, like the movies that clean it up so we can bear to watch it, and like nothing we can even comprehend.


I guess I am repeating a lot of my theme songs in this post.  I better end here and work on my tomatoes or my commentaries... or take some aspirin and rest this headache I am dealing with.  No one in any church or government or business or organization likes to talk about the hard things we deal with.  It is hard.  If we don't prepare for it, it will be like an earthquake that suddenly destroys everything and there is nothing to help us recover from it.  It's coming, we know that, we just don't know when.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times


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My GOD help me to find the words and income and help I need to make a place for the future by starting the process today.  Amen.

Farm Aid Friday, 17 August 2018

What happened to yesterday!?!

The internet happened... again.

The other day I sent a social media message to Willie Nelson, on Twitter I think, about who would be the best person to establish a revolving loan fund for farmers who need financial options for the bad years.  I knew he was associated with FARM AID, but really didn't know what the group was about... except music concerts to raise funds.  I made my way to their website yesterday... to find out what it offered farmers... and it took a long time just to "browse" through the pages they had.

I was planning to make an "official" suggestion about the loan option, with more details so, actually, I was kind of looking for a contact option...for the staff...for individuals with the authority to even think about the plan I wanted to share.  It is hard, very hard, to reach the people who matter when you want to offer a suggestion that matters.  I'm not sure how I will set this up for Working Together either.  For me, it all depends on the money available... to be able to pay someone to take care of that part of the process.  I don't know what the issue is for other groups, or businesses.

In looking at the website, it seemed like another referral group.  Having been involved with the poverty sector for SOOOOOOO many years, you discover that everyone wants to offer you the same information... go here for this, go here for that...so you spend your days and money going here and there, but no one actually has the resources you need, or any kind of access to it.  It is the "merry-go-round" principle.  People feel like they are helping you, but it is really like a dog or cat that is chasing its tail... it doesn't really help solve the problem you have in that moment.

I did find a new DISASTER RECOVERY FUND for things like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc..  And that was good.

I looked at their Form 990 a little bit and found a lot of grants for things.  I haven't been able to explore the details yet.

I looked at their Charity Navigator link and was concerned that their audit independence wasn't checked... so I saved their link to that report to check out later.

I watched a bunch of their videos, checked on their Board & Staff page, and realized the original purpose of Farm Aid was to bring awareness to the needs of struggling FAMILY farms... starting in 1985... so the concert focus made sense.  I guess the concerts also bring in farmers and the foods they create with their farms... so that is good.

I am still trying to decide how the funding applies to what they do as an organization.  The money that is raised is what matters to me... it seems to me that aid for farmers needs to save their farms from being lost.  I am trying to understand how it works at Farm Aid... including the legal restrictions that non-profits must operate under... and what will happen after the main musicians are gone.  :-(


I still think that Willie Nelson is the best one for the job of helping farmers in distress... and I think that he might be able to establish something for them before he leaves this world.  I will continue in my quest to submit the details of my idea so they can at least think about it.

Many years ago I watched videos of multiple-generation farm families see their lives be auctioned off because there was no one around to help. There was some of that in the videos I saw at Farm Aid's site.  It reminds me that

I have lost everything in my life before.

So I know how hard that is on a human being, on a family, on the history and memories that matter.  I don't know yet what they consider a Family Farm in questions of support, but I will keep looking for that information.

Changing the Status Quo has been one of the things that motivated me in creating Working Together. I think our only hope is to go outside of the way things are done now.  As a Christian, GOD is an important part of the entire process.  It makes my views different, my decisions different, my goals different.  I hope that we can find that path soon.

This year's Farm Aid Festival is 22 September in Hartford, Connecticut.  You'll have to find out more at their website.  :-)

I better go for now.  I may be back later today since this post got occupied by one topic.  I am busy getting ready for the weekend, for the Sabbath, and for the sunshine that is coming.  There is always something that needs to be done, so I try to check as many things off my list as I can.  :-)  That's all I can do... right?  haha

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May GOD provide for those who are suffering and don't know how to find the help they need.
May Christians become more aware of those around them.
May our differences become less important than our humanity.
May we find better solutions to our community problems than greed and law.
May we love one another with a pure heart, trusting GOD for the details, and doing what we can in our lives to support other in godly ways.
May we think of good things more than we think of bad things to do to each other.
May we stand strong in our faith, in the good, and in what matters.
I pray that we will join together and build things that will last beyond our lives.
Amen.

Thursday, 16 August 2018

See you tomorrow...  :-)

Tuesday, 15 August 2018

I was busy searching out property links until about midnight last night... :-)   I actually did the Google Maps trail through the places I use to live in the Eugene area (some of them).  It was a challenge to figure out how to make the "drive" work, especially because the recording car was going the opposite direction from me, but it did become quite a trip via technology.  :-)   I won't do that again soon, but for one night's "research" it was OK.  Eventually I discovered the "shortcut window" and used it a lot.  I was very tired of driving online after so long a time... had to go right to bed.

This morning I was encouraged to get up by chicken squawking and then reminders of my goals.  I did get quite a bit of yardwork done, eventually, but the body doesn't like it too much right now.  My daily effort is small, but it will add up in time.

I was near my son's garden so I looked for some bounty to add to my fridge.  I found some lettuce (salad for lunch) and a couple yellow squash, which became a (failed) effort at making baked "chips" for my bean hummus.  I see a dehydrator in my future for the second try.  That should help... instead of baking, I will dry them and see how it works.

Later on I went back to check the tomatoes.  I took some of the cherry tomatoes but not too many, I didn't want to deplete the supply.  Their Roma tomatoes don't seem to be doing well.  They are getting dark and rotten on the bottoms.  I found one that wasn't looking ruined, but when I cut it open to see, it was sick from the inside.  Not good.  This afternoon I discovered they have a TON of tomatoes to eat already, and more getting ripe on the vines, so I may go back to grab some more.  I'll ask first.

This is the first year they have offered to share... it's been interesting.  The sunflowers are giant this time... and beginning to grow their seed pods (flowers).  I wonder how they will end up.  In Eugene, some people grow them for the squirrels... put them up high on the street trees as a treat.  :-)  I thought that was fantastic.

I have noticed that lots of people make squirrel feeders for the winter that hold dry corn cobs.  I want to try one of those someday.  (Today, while I was watering out front, one of the neighborhood squirrels tried to sneak past me on the utility wires above... I decided to get the little thing with my hose water... it was fun... like trying to get the chickens wet.  That little guy turned around, jumped into the nearest tree, and escaped far away.  I did get him wet, I'm sure I did.  haha)

I watched a TedXHumboldtBay video that was sent in a link from Sponsors Inc -- it's a prisoner re-entry organization in the Eugene area, and the presenter was from there.  I don't know why he was presenting on a TEDx, but his focus was the Three E's of ReEntry (https://youtu.be/aEWUg1zeUsg - that should be right... if not, his name is Nicolas Crapser).  At the end of the presentation he added a fourth...  Here they are ::

• Environment
• Employment
• Education
• Empowerment

You will have to follow the link to hear all the details... I think it was less than fifteen minutes.  The Environment is different... I can easily see the meaning of the other three... but it is a great "E" word.

(NOTE:  In getting the links to connect you, it seems the presentations were in December 2017, and the theme was "Solve for Why" -- good goal...)


It has been a long day already, and I am just now getting to my internet stuff.  I will be doing that faster tonight, I hope!  I think I will end this post here.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

http://work2gather.us

Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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Lord help us to meet the future with steadfast faith and courage.
Help us to know the Truth and to protect it.
Help us not to see denominations as the guide, but YOUR WORD as the final test.
Lead us into togetherness, unity in You, ONE BODY in Christ.
Show us how to live together with different opinions.
Help us to care for each other, and provide for those in need.
Protect us, Lord, as we try to follow You.
Provide for our needs.
Bring us into communion with You, and with each other.
Help us to be strong in our faith.
Show us how to bring glory to Your Name.
Amen.

Monday, 13 August 2018

My planning efforts are helping me to work through my lists of things to get done... and helping me to spread them through the week.

In trying my one week, one column per day, sheet I discovered I needed more space for everything. So, I reworked it today and have a two sided version now... with two columns for the weekdays and one larger column for Sundays and Saturday.  I think this will work better.

My every day activities take up a lot of space, I found... and the repeating activities took up spaces on every column.  There wasn't enough room.  It is amazing to me how quickly it filled up and how much more I needed to put on there somewhere!  I may not get it all done, but it will become a good record for me to work off of, and may become my ongoing record for the years... at least PART of my ongoing records.  :-)

Finishing my yardwork projects is my August goal.  Today I finished what was a berry vine pile that may have been from last year... it's hard to keep track of those things... I don't really think of them as things to remember, just things to get done!  haha.  I am moving to my ivy project for this summer... a little every morning and it will be done... GOD willing!  :-)

The blackberries are winding down.  I am trying to see how big they can get now... I have discovered that some really grow large, but not all of them.  It's a learning experience.  How often to check is also a learning process.  It's like watching a pot boil... it takes forever when you are always checking on it.  Have I ever mentioned that one of my goals in creating food resources was to figure out how to grow blackberries in a controlled way... to keep their roots and droppings from taking over.  I consider this part of that goal.  :-)

I have been seeing a little TV over time, and the political ads are about to make me crazy!  I am so thankful my time watching TV is limited, and can be almost eliminated.  Now, how do I get away from the internet onslaught of unwanted "news" when I try to access an internet screen.  I wonder if there is any way to do that...

Today was interesting in some ways... as days go... as goals go... as life goes.  I am sorting through my piles of collected things, trying to reduce or file things, get ready to sell what I don't need, etc.  I find things that I haven't seen in awhile.  It makes me relive the details, the topics, the goals I want for my life and our world.

I finally printed off some of my son's poems/writings to send back to him for review.  Finishing this task is on my list for this week.  Tonight I will write the letter to send with 8 of them tomorrow.  I will try to add more of the remaining writings he sent to me and send the rest to him in another letter.  I think inmates everywhere need to have a focus for their time and the opportunity to create income that will continue after they leave prison.  The internet offers them that opportunity.  I hope my son will find new opportunities for his future.  I can't make him choose the right things, but maybe HE will choose honest income options if they are available to him.  You can read about these opinions and ideas on my blogs, and I think my Making Prisons Better blog will have some of them.  I am working on a redesign of my website for Working Together, so I will eventually get something linked to it.

PLUS, I get to where I just want to sit and be mindless... so I watch TV.  :-)

Is this a Monday, or what!?

I did get most of my two goal working spaces cleared for a bit.  It's getting there.  When I go to bed, the makeshift "table" they get moved to (the bed) may mean they get filled up again.  PERMANENT solutions are needed... that is what I am looking for.

It will all get done, eventually.  In the absence of money, it takes time.  In the absence of time, it doesn't get done.  I think we all face these issues.  IT'S the BUDGET!!!  I wonder if this is what is wrong with the government...  hmmmmmm...

This is the life of low budgets... be thankful you have more.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May we see more in the news than death and destruction, murder, mayhem, violence,
(This reminds me... there was a story in the news tonight about a woman taking guns and turning them into jewelry... bracelets and cufflinks were all they showed.  Interesting....)
Well, Lord, help us to lift up what we want our world to become, to be.

I pray for the souls of my loved ones.
I pray for the life of our country.
I pray for the innocent who are ravaged by others, the disabled and elderly, the children, the weak.
I pray for our hearts to become bigger instead of smaller... maybe like the Grinch, maybe like other characters we know.
I pray for the message of salvation and peace and love and blessing to reach the hearts of those who are suffering and searching for "anything," for "anyone," for any help they can get.  Help those who are suffering, who are struggling with the hardness of this life, to discover they can change their future, even if it does take time to discover that new life.

Changing our lives is the hardest thing we can ever do... it means going into places that are unknown, meeting people that are unknown, doing things that we don't know how to do...  I hope and pray that people who want a better future will find the courage to reach for it... but only the GOOD future, the godly future, the kind future, the loving future... choosing evil or anger or violence only leads to pain and misery and wasted life.

May GOD bring courage to our lives.
Amen.

Friday, 10 August 2018

It is Friday... and I wonder what the next few days will hold.  In my life, everything is somehow related to the finances I am trying to improve... somehow.  I have been trying to find a solution to that ongoing problem for some time.  I can't explain the details that affect it, but it is always a prayer issue, and always a faith issue, and always a challenge.

I shall overcome!  :-)

I wasn't born with a type A personality... maybe that is the problem.  haha.  Finding something that will work for me is my quest.  Something that I can be in control of.  Something that will make up for all the years before this... the years the locust have eaten.

You can see what my mind is working on.

Other than that, I am continuing with my goals and quest... daily activities that have to be done... long-term goals that need to be achieved a little at a time.

What will I do with the weekend?
I'll have to let you know next week.  :-)
Something good, something on my list, something to put online.
Sounds good to me!

Until then,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

What will we need?

Money.
Online connections.
Fellowship.
Support.
Basic Needs.
Food.
Shelter.
Work.
Training.
Education.
Protection.
Each other.

through
Membership
Communities
Programs
Resource access
Regional support
and
Each other.

Join as a TRIAL Member today.
See the links at http://work2gather.us
and SHARE THE MESSAGE with other Christians.
Thanks.

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May we all gather and begin to build the support systems we will need, for us and those we love.

May we see that only GOD know what the future holds, and when... and every view of the End Times is really just an opinion.  We need to know all the possibilities.  To ignore the changes persecution will bring will only make things worse when they get here, suddenly.

May GOD help Working Together to grow and be able to save as much of our resources from loss as possible.

Amen.

Thursday, 9 August 2018

This week seems to have gone by fast...

Faith keeps me going.

I think about that all the time.

What keeps people who don't know GOD going?  Money seems to be the only thing.  I guess Faith is also the thing that gives us boundaries, sets our limits, helps us know good and bad, right and wrong.  These boundaries make our lives.

I get videos and email about properties from some online sources.  I got one today with a big cross on a hill.  I was so thrilled to see it I had to email the company.  In Oregon, I told him, it is almost a capitol crime to have Faith in GOD.  The activist gay community here has already destroyed historical symbols of Faith in their battle against anything standing in opposition to them... community crosses, community memorials... businesses.  I want to have a cross on my own property someday, should GOD provide me with the right property in the right place.

In Eugene (Oregon), they made a private landowner take down a community landmark cross.  One of the Christian colleges took the cross, but they don't seem to light it up... not that I know of, but it has been awhile since I have been there.  I don't think a cross is threatening.  I suppose a swastika is threatening... but the cross is not threatening... in GOD's meaning of it.  Men can twist that meaning, but GOD's meaning is not threatening.

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I finally processed my yellow plums and then went out and picked some more.  :-)  I missed one limb that is pretty far out of reach, but I will try to get those tomorrow.  I am going to freeze the rest for smoothies.

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Not much to say right now... I encountered a strange day, and I am ready for bed.

I guess I will recommend a program that was very good today... another Focus on the Family program with someone called Trip Lee... a pastor and hip-hop person.  Really, REALLY, a good program to listen to.  :-)

They had Cynthia Tobias on recently.  She is worthy of every parent's attention... get her books.  They will change your life.  I liked her early programs on Focus... I don't know if you can access them anymore, but they were so funny.  I don't remember all her book titles, but I heard her when she first started writing them... so look for those.  :-)

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I better get going.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

Join WT today with the TRIAL Membership,
so you can decide if you want to purchase a full membership in December.
Only US$10 though my PayPal link for it.

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• May GOD help our nation to see what a loss it would be to eradicate GOD from our morality, our laws, our lives...
• May we choose to live better, to limit the growing evils that are in the world and America, while we become more focused on personal freedoms and responsibilities.
• May our foundations be strong.
• May our faith be strong.
• May our wisdom be great.
• May our love be bigger than it is, built on faith instead of fear.
• May we see that "the ox brings added work but also added strength and increased income..." (my paraphrase) … strangers are not always terrorists... and we need people who are willing to do the work we think is below us.  We can all find a way to grow together in good ways.
• May the pain that is making people kill, themselves and others, be revealed and conquered.
• May mercy and compassion rise in our nation... they are the sign of a healthy world, and they live through the needs of the weak... the disabled... the elderly... the sick... the poor... the fatherless... and more.
• May GOD be honored and respected by those who think any god is better than Him.
• May our hearts find a way to happiness.
• Amen.

Wednesday, 8 August 2018

Today was busy... and strange... things happen, you wonder why, and you just keep going.

I put my newly purchased cube shelf together and started rearranging my supplies.  I am seeing Home Depot as my next "most important purchase" location... for the boards I need to lift up my worktables/workspaces... one or more of them, depending on the budget.

I did better putting this one together than the first one... I think there were pieces missing from the last one, or maybe reading the instruction several times helped.  :-)   Who knows.

In checking my emails I ended up linking to StoryBrand.com again.  I watched more than one podcast, linked to one of their guest speakers for some more... watching different videos is a lesson in how to make them.  You see the differences.  I am especially looking into website information... so I can have that in mind when I get to re-doing mine... which has been on the long to-do list forever.

I am (have been) planning to separate the programs within Working Together into different landing links.  It is just a problem with getting to it.  I don't have a modern style template site, but I am thinking about how to improvise into what I need.

I like the presentation/s by Don Miller about websites, the ones I have seen.  I learned about the way the eyes track anything when I was a waitress and there was information about new menu organization.  It is similar.  People don't change too much.  Mostly, I like the simple page material.  I have been trying to decide how to simplify and organize my site for ages... which is why I want to use links to get to each program.  His 3 components are making me think about what to include, what my call-to-action should be, and how to increase my images.  I may have to switch to a new site template, I'm not sure.

I have gotten much done on my new lists... and been side-tracked by things I didn't expect.  I still have to finish processing my yellow plums, then I will be happy.  Tomorrow will be soon enough for the rest of the reorganization.

I am praying a lot these days... about my faith, my sons, the world that I exist in right now, and what GOD's Plan might be.  When we have the ability to change our circumstances, things are different.  When we can't do anything but live through a situation, we have to endure.  I think this is some of the difference between the rich and the poor... the ability to affect the circumstances of our lives.

People having a right to be wealthy came up today.

The idea of having your own business is to increase your income as much as possible... so making a lot of money is the measure of success.  It is a hard place for me as a Christian and as a person.  I prayed for so many years trying to divide the issues into something I could live with. It is why I am the sole owner, why dividends would be issued if there was a profit (at 10%), and why all staff is to be paid at the same amount.

In letting GOD decide the level of profits that would be considered for dividends, I was separating the work of Working Together from things that are not Christian but still worthy of funding at a personal level.  The 10% of profits that would be paid as dividends is the tithe for the company... the reverse tithe I always wanted... and established by the SEC.

In wages being the same for everyone there is a statement of equality... as we are in the Body of Christ.  Naturally, WT has been planned with benevolent funds, too... but they are separated by programs and by the various needs WT is being created to fill.

Everything is based on what GOD provides, and any profits that may be left after everything else is done, taken care of.

Building something that doesn't fit any molds is a real challenge... I guess I should say "TRYING to build..." since it has been so long at a start-up level and been dealing with so much division and opposition.

In any event, it is GOD's work, and what I have been made to do.  Where it goes, how it grows, what happens to it... that is all in GOD's Hands.

What I need is for Christians to purchase memberships... and right now, the only membership available is the TRIAL Membership, which is only US$10 and for email delivery only... so it does have global access, if you speak and read English.  :-)  Details, details...

You can check out my current main website for more information and links, or the individual page link above.  I hope you will buy one for yourself, and one for someone else.  I hope to get my web page changes done soon, so if you want to read what is there now, better get to it.  :-)


I sometimes think about how glad I am to be saved... that GOD was in my life, that salvation has always been a part of my life even when I strayed.  Every time I read about the terrible things that are happening in our world, it makes me more glad to be a Christian, a dedicated Christian, and always growing into a better person instead of getting more lost as each day goes by.

I had hoped to help so many, but that isn't what happened. I know GOD understands what has happened all these years, but I hope I am able to find out and understand some day.  We all have those questions we want to ask GOD.  I have mine, too.

I better get going... I think I will eat something that I don't need to eat, but want to.  :-)

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May GOD rise up and bring glory and abundance to Working Together, and the dedicated Christians that it will need to grow and thrive and protect us.
Amen.

Tuesday, 7 August 2018

Today... it's been a busy one.  Up early, and working through my lists.  I just can't seem to get to the ivy patch, mostly because of the heat.  I get busy with other things, and don't "feel" like getting out there the first thing in the morning, so my HUGE pile of ivy vines is still waiting for me.  :-(  haha.

I have posted about the TRIAL Membership option already.  I need to do that at different times of the day and see what happens.  I end up posting at night all the time, so that isn't good.

I also mentioned my effort to gather Christian business online through CORD (Christian Online Resource Directory) at the Business Boutique Facebook Group page, but don't know if that will get posted... :-)  It was a last moment thing... It flowed out as I got serious about the need to build a membership base.

Membership is for INDIVIDUALS;

CORD is for businesses, ministries, and groups.

We need to connect and start supporting each other.  That's the main goal for all of this.  Becoming ONE BODY in CHRIST at a local and global level.  I hope I get to see it happen before GOD calls me away from this life.

The TRIAL Membership is my effort to get that going.

Other than that, I discovered a link about Robert Kiyosaki, where he also suggest that everyone should invest in gold for greater financial security.  I replied that he was wrong.  People need to make sure they have their home paid off so they don't lose it when the economy crashes.  Then I said FOOD is the next most important thing... to be able to grow what you need to eat.  Our food sources are getting so dangerous to eat because of the pollution of our oceans, air, waterways, land, etc.  Our seeds are disappearing because of Round-Up pesticides and Monsanto seed issues. I better not get started... we will be here for too long if I do.

The idea that any form of retirement planning is going to work is foolish.  Stocks are paper, and based on the value of the company.  If the company dies, the stock has no value.  Pensions are all based on stock investments.  Banks invest in companies. The government banks on tax revenues which only happen when the economy is good.  We can see the debt load is killing our tax income and all the programs and projects we hope to do with them.  Cash is not a sure thing either.  If the dollar crashes, it has no value.

My personal goal is to be debt free, to own whatever assets GOD allows me or Working Together to acquire without financial liabilities.  I don't know how that can happen, but that is what I believe has to be done.  And I hope to find a way to get rid of property taxes and other taxes so that owning something doesn't have a continual tax burden... it just belongs to you once you pay it off.

Lots of issues to deal with in planning a Christian future, the survival of our lives as Christians for as long as GOD allows...local and global.

I have started asking questions about contact information for prisons and jails for INMATE PROJECT.  It is too much for me to do all this alone, so I look for what I can do when GOD provides the funds to hire help.  In my website updating process I had to cancel the links to the information I had about my programs, but I am trying to figure out a better way to get people access to it.

I would like to hire some released inmates to work on the program and help build it... but there are issues to be dealt with and someone who knows how to deal with inmates will have to be found.

Hopefully, GOD will provide soon.

I better get going.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us

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May GOD be kind and provide the finances WT needs to grow.  Amen.

Monday, 6 August 2018

It is Monday, again!  :-)

I am working on my use of lists this week... making a 10-point goal for each day and seeing how it goes.  Today's list has been partially completed, and I have gone on to be distracted by some online activities, spent money I didn't plan to spend - but it will bring me the supplies I have wanted for a long time, and had to take a nap.  My main goal has to be done after the heat of the day goes away... yes, my ivy patch is calling to me this week.  (YUK!)  But there is progress.  I am getting better at what I think I can achieve in one day, and learning how to prioritize.  That is HUGE!  :-)

My August budgeting has to be revised because of my purchase today... I need to discover a better way to watch over my resource options.  I am working on that.  Today I already reworked my template for future months on my new files for getting on track.  I don't have much to work with right now, but I always want to keep the process flexible for adding more parts to the list.  I keep wondering if it is harder to have so little or would it be worse to have a lot more... I won't know until GOD blesses my efforts.

I am trying to figure out what I would say in a biographical statement about me.  Those are the descriptive statements you see at the end of online and magazine articles.  I have a great start, so far...

Deborah Martin is...

So far, I am not clear about what I can say about me, at this stage of my life.  I am thinking I may have to make more than one, or list a bunch of things and make new ones (statements) as I submit my writing or art or other things to places that need a statement.

Way back when, as I tried to fill out a job application, I listed some things on a draft resume from my life and focused on the work I hoped to get... the person who read it was startled and asked if I had really done all those things.  I had.  The problem was that I had done it all for WT.  It just didn't seem worthy of noting, and who would verify it?  It is amazing how life works.

I was thinking about some of this recently.  WT motivated a lot of my energy and goals... and increased my skills as I was able to accomplish things.  I had hoped the results would be better, but this is where we are in GOD's Plan... we have to keep going and hope HIS Wisdom had a reason for it all.

Now, I am again trying to catch up with all my efforts for WT and for myself.

I must say, I am tired of leftovers.  I just finished the last of them.  I was able to go shopping over the weekend, so I had a break from ALL leftovers.  :-)  Little pleasures mean a lot.  haha.  I have to make my food last for four weeks now... with small shopping options available for some things on the way.

Making goals by the month always seems like such a long time to wait for each step.

It gets discouraging at times, but I have a LOT to get done now, so that isn't as big a deal as it was in the beginning of trying to recover my life.  My purchase this morning was crafting supplies I have needed to use the supplies I already have.  I am hoping it will all come together soon, maybe this month.  Shipping is the big problem right now.  I am working on that solution, just haven't found the answer yet.

BRANDING is one of the topics I am coming across these days... what would my brand look like... I am not sure.  I have one for WT, and one for my crafting, and probably one for my writing... maybe.  I suppose my art efforts will need their own brand, too.

The marketing/selling effort for TRIAL Memberships continue.

It is the reason I am looking for all this business and branding information right now.  How to reach Christians seems to be the ongoing problem/challenge.  I can't seem to get any responses to my queries online... to the few Christians/groups I have access to.  It is an ongoing prayer effort, too.  Faith is hard when things don't go the way you want them to.

I guess I better get going for now.  Mondays are always busy, right?  :-)

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us

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May the GOD we see as all-powerful find a way to prove Himself to those who don't believe.
May our hearts and minds and lives be strong in our faith.
May we find goodness in our days, and peace in our nights.
May life lead us to our spiritual destiny... without a huge fight.  :-)
May those we love be with us in heaven.
Amen.

Friday, 3 August 2018

Summers mean a late Sabbath start, so I decided to add a post today.  I just finished another fruit smoothie and I am really going to make these my new "ice cream" or shake.  I suppose they have a lot of calories, too, but they are so wonderful when you are hot and tired and tempted to have something you wouldn't otherwise choose.  :-)  I guess the timing worked out great.

I will definitely want to rest this Sabbath... I over-worked myself the past few days with my ivy patch and cleaning the gutter by the house where I live.  No more of that stuff until next week.

My freezer is getting emptied... slowly.  I used a bunch of my veggies for stir-fry today, and I am making too much soup right now.  I won't be able to eat all of it right away, so I will need to decide how long it will last in the fridge, or how much to freeze again.  I am hoping to learn how to use a pressure cooker to avoid this problem in the future... canning my soup for eating later.

I am sooooooo tired.  I won't last much longer, even if it isn't dark out yet.  :-)

I hope you have a great weekend... that you find GOD's best for you, and discover His greater meaning for your lives.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us

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PS... Check out my post for today at Twitter.
I am working on a PLAN for my fundraising effort.
Pray for me to find all the Christian members I have needed.  Thanks.

https://twitter.com/work2gather/status/1025563981568561152

Thursday, 2 August 2018

The  TRIAL Membership  is back !!!

Well... it never really left, but I am renewing my efforts to sell them before the DECEMBER regular membership drive.

The Trial Membership is an introductory option at only $10 for one year... with the benefit being a quarterly email newsletter with ongoing updates about our efforts to grow and reach more Christians throughout the world.

The Trial Membership is for anyone, not just Christians, but I tend to focus on Christians because they are the reason Working Together exists.  

Pretty much the same benefits will be offered to everyone under different program options, but Christian Memberships hold a priority position for many of the resource options it is my goal to provide.

Writing that book is still looking important to me.  I did try to create a presentation file, but that doesn't print well... I want to make something that can be printed and shared in some arenas.  I'm really not sure how I will publish, but I think it will be in print format... maybe the Kindle and Audible, I'm not fully sure.  I have to get the book finished first.  I can sell a PDF through PayPal, I think...that is an option.  In my efforts to sell digital items at Etsy I realized that creating a real object that has to be shipped is really important.

Since I started this focus, my brain has been trying to find the best path to "success" with it.  :-)  I am wondering what success would look like...  How many can I sell?  How many do I WANT to sell?  What can I create and deliver on my own, if I am not able to hire help?  Lots of questions are in my plans.

I suppose I make it sound like a flaky deal.  It isn't.  I have been working toward this for a long time... I just need to learn the process and have the right equipment... which sales would help me to get.  The quarterly newsletters would be going out in March, June, September, and December (which is our annual Membership Drive month.

Finances have been my challenge.  I am hoping (and always praying) that Christians will help me build this resource for them and the future... through their purchases and, eventually, as the staff for the building the outreach programs.  It is a big, BIG, goal... and necessary.  I am hoping to protect those of us who are vulnerable to the attacks of our enemies, myself included, and integrate Christians into the process.  We need to find a way to act as if we are the Body of Christ.

I guess there is only so much I can do... especially with the things that technology is growing into, but GOD is able to provide when the right time gets here.  I keep thinking of Jesus when He told Pilate that he couldn't do anything to Him unless GOD allowed it.  The purpose of GOD was not what we would have thought it would be, but it was the only way to provide salvation for us.  So, I have been trying to focus on GOD instead of the difficulties. . . waiting for locust to be stopped, I guess.

I hope you will join Working Together today... every Christian in the whole world needs you to join Working Together so we can all benefit in time.

Buy a  TRIAL Membership  for you, and one for someone you love...

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Today, in my real life, I spent a lot of time in the ivy patch.  What a job!  It is a bigger mess, but it will all get cleaned up eventually.  I discovered a big tree stump under the wall of ivy by my little maple tree.  It is so decomposed... I think I will be able to knock it down into little pieces and make it into mulch for that space... or put it in the wheelbarrow and take it to the infamous debris pile.  :-)  It is making a really nice space out there.

My yellow plums are still on the tree, but they keep falling off.  They don't seem ripe yet, so I am wondering if that is why there were so few last summer when I discovered them and decided to risk my life eating one.  :-)  I will probably make some kind of decision about them next week.

I picked more blackberries today.  That is a time-consuming task.  I washed them and put them in the containers I had right now and then moved all the blackberries to the bigger freezer.  Today, I think I picked about ten cups, at least.  I saved some in two containers to eat myself.

I really enjoyed TWO smoothie drinks today... I decided to use my frozen peaches with the last of the milk I had, but it wasn't enough liquid for the blender to work right, so I added some of my cherry juice.  WOW, so good!  Then I made a second one with only peaches and cherry juice... even better!  I see a lot of smoothies in my future!!  :-)

I am looking for shelving and other things to help organize my supplies.  The IKEA catalog arrived yesterday, so I looked through it.  I also checked some of the prices and shipping online.  I discovered a sale for the same unit I already have and want more of, so I will try to get one of those... and maybe one or two crates... maybe.  I am working on my budget these days.

I guess I better get going for now.  I hope you will join Working Together today...and let other Christians know about it, too.  Pray for me, pray for WT, pray for America, pray for GOD's people... we are going to need more help than any of us realizes.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us

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May GOD be kind and provide for the great needs of those who love Him.
May GOD bless this effort to build Working Together.
May GOD find a way to bring us together, and help us to overcome those who hate us.
May GOD show His presence, His strength, His power, His love, in the way He provides for Working Together.
Amen.

Wednesday, 1 August 2018

Interesting day... filled with new discoveries.  I watched some videos at YouTube... don't even ask me how I ended up there!

When you watch too many of these things, you forget where you started.  I discovered an ad-type video that took over an hour so I waited to watch that until I could sit for a bit.  Then I got lost in the topics I was discovering.... gut health, lectins, prebiotics and probiotics, the effects of antibiotics on your intestinal microbes, then I went on a calorie-verifying search to see if something I heard was true.

Some of the people I listened to were ::

Dr. Steven Gundy, https://silenceyourcravings.com/180619A.php  I am not sure how I feel about the Gundy presentation.  He seemed to be opposing everything in the plant-based concept, but I don't know enough about him or his message yet.  I discovered something called "lectins" in his video.  Scary stuff.  It can take YEARS to recover from one treatment of antibiotics.  I did love his explanations, his word pictures.  His was the ad video, and there was a product to buy at the end.  I went on to search for real food options, which is where I discovered Dr. Lisle...

Dr. Doug Lisle, author of  The Pleasure Trap, a book about what motivates us that was presented in some of the documentaries of that time... I think Forks Over Knives was one of them.  I watched him in a YouTube video given to a group of healthy Adventists,  :-)  talking about how healthy foods will naturally help you to lose weight.    How to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAdqLB6bTuQ).  I discovered the concept of "calories per pound" in this video... very interesting... instead of seeing food as just calories.

The main issue is there is too little fiber in our diets now, and too many foods that are called "concentrated calories" -- like oils, which add a "silent" abundance of calories to each meal they are in.  It was really interesting that he brought up why some people gain weight because they eat that extra "little bit" of calories every day and they become all the extra pounds we don't want.

The fiber issue, and the antibiotic issue (including in the foods we eat from factory farms), were very impacting for me.  It started to make sense, all the different videos on healthy foods I have watched.

I think it was the Lisle video that said something about the order you should eat your foods, but that could have been the video I watched by Chef AJ ...also on weight loss and eating issues.  The idea is that you eat the salad first, the veggies next, and end with any more concentrated calorie foods like rice, pasta, beans, etc.

Dr. Lisle promoted the concept of switching out your foods to change your eating choices.  One example he gave was having a woman eat oatmeal for breakfast every day... and it helped her weight go down, but she wasn't a compliant patient so I think that's as far as she got.  :-)  It was a funny example of how hard it is for some people to change.

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So how has this affected my life?  Well, I also discovered my "beloved" cauliflower is a great food choice (Chef AJ), and I am inspired to get more of it so I can try the food processor version, the roasted versions, and continue with my raw appetizer version.

I don't know if I want to peel and seed my tomatoes to avoid the lectins (Dr. Gundy), but it is a thought.  I like tomatoes... on sandwiches, in salads, etc.  I have to find out what they mean when they say "too many" are harmful to your gut microbes.

I discovered some of the PREbiotic foods are ones I like and already eat... garlic, leeks, onions, asparagus, bananas, and wheat bran (which will increase now that I have discovered some of its benefits).

My best discoveries were some of the calories of foods I like... and some I am willing to eat more of.

• When you are eating blueberries, you can count them one by one... they average about one calorie each.  
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• Small strawberries average about two calories each!  
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• Iceberg lettuce is only about five calories per serving, which I think is 2 cups, but I'm not sure what the example considered a serving size.  
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• Kale was only 25 calories a serving, which may be a cup raw, or half a cup cooked... kind of like spinach servings.  
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• For my own computing needs, I have a celery stalk at about five calories... they tend to be different sizes so the average will work for me. 
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• I have been eating more cucumber because it is suppose to be good for your body, and that came in at about ten calories a serving.  

I think raw veggies are computed at one cup raw and half a cup cooked (like in canned foods). I have been trying to figure out calories and serving sizes for awhile now.  It is a very complicated issue, especially when you make something with different foods in it, like a stir-fry or soup or casserole.

These calorie counts are why you can eat a lot of veggies, feel very full, and lose weight without suffering.  I was extremely in awe of Chef AJ when she explained that she eats two POUNDS of green veggies EVERY DAY!!  She had an example of two pounds of fresh green beans and snap peas in the video linked above.  She offers food ideas for those of us who cannot imagine how to change our food choices... and shares how adding oils and nuts (for her) mean you add too many calories.  I will be eating more topped baked potatoes in my future meals... something I am not use to doing... and benefiting by the reduced calorie loads.

I am getting ready to do my food shopping soon, so these videos and my diet book by Dr. Neal Barnard will help me make some new choices.  I don't think I can afford all the veggies I like, but I will be trying to stretch my budget as far as I can.  Each month I try to get further in my quests... all of them.  Food is a very difficult issue... financially and physically.

So, I almost lost my entire blog post a few seconds ago... I am recovering from the experience now.  I think I will get going before something terrible happens.  :-)

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us

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May we all find the best health possible... and new foods to like... and good information.
Amen.