Tuesday, 30 October 2018

I am working on my goal review for 2018 and my planning for 2019 now...trying to find new ways to stretch my budget is always a big deal.  :-)  We need money for everything we want to achieve, pretty much... for something...  -- I guess deciding to have family meals together would mean a change in time budgets, so that might not be attached to money, but it could be if work is involved in the decision.   For me, it is always about space to do things and the equipment I need to get things done.  This is why I am always trying new ways to organize my small space.  :-)

It has been raining here, and will be raining steadily for some days, but I may have a small breather today to get some raking done.  I am moving the leaves across the big yard here to the spaces under the trees.  That will help.  I also checked on one of the berry vine spaces and it is already getting too large and wild!  I need to trim it back a little.  This is my first effort to create a "regrowth" plan for next year.  I will be watching how the patch grows and figuring out how to CONTAIN it!!!

My envelopes for my NOVEMBER letters are ready and I only have three more to do for this month.  I hope to do at least two of them when I am done with this... or by the time I need to get them into the mailbox.

I am working on my shipping issues and finding a solution that might work for my situation.  I think I have one... but not sure.

I discovered a movie about someone in New York (I think it was) who baked cakes to pay her mortgage and taxes and not lose her house.  From the YouTube dates, it may have happened back in 2008 or 2009, but I also saw some videos from 2014 (I think), and news reports captured in YouTube format.  The movie is called "Apple Mortgage Cake" because she made cakes to get the money to pay her debts and save her home of 20 years.  I tried to find a free access version of the film, but Pure Flix (.com) was the closest I got... so, now, I have to decide about signing up for it.

The trailer for the movie shows her being forced by government regulations to cease making her cakes in her home.  From what I could tell, so far, she was able to access an approved kitchen somewhere in her community.  Media attention spread the word of her situation and she received lots of orders and made more money than she needed immediately, so she used that to start a full-time business around the cakes.  I am wanting to see the details of the movie... which I never viewed when it was happening... so many years ago.

Selling has always been my financial goal for Working Together's needs because I could never qualify for traditional funding.  I haven't been able to create that yet, but I am always glad to see others succeed at it.  It is really one of the only options the poor have.  Crowdfunding is also a new opportunity for people like me, but it has problems associated with it as well.  I have always hoped to create more options for people through WT because of these hardships for the poor... and membership is the best format for that kind of a program.

I am still thinking about a lot of issues that are related to Christian needs as the world get worse... and the statement I shared in the last blog post  (about people becoming a reflection of their five closest friends) about the importance of schools, neighborhoods, and friends.  News stories that I do hear always become a part of that process.  Election years are always a problem for the process because it is hard to define "good" and "evil" in one person or party or goal.  Bias is called marketing or advertisement or opinion... and truth is so hard to find.  We never really get the truth anymore, and there is so little time to search for it.

Along my path I discovered that the enemies of Christianity used our commitments to eliminate our participation... by scheduling meetings and events at the time we are usually occupied with things of faith.  This was a real "awakening" for me about the unseen battles we face... "covert" attacks is another way of thinking about it.  Nothing you can say is done purposely, but those who are more strategic and committed to their cause against all things attached to GOD, and Bible, and Christianity, created these ways of eliminating participation in important decisions.

If you really understand what the Bible says, you also understand that the world will deteriorate over time, we just don't think of how that will happen.

The Black versus White issues are also focused on the oppressions of the Whites, but we don't really see the anger and hostility and actions of the oppressed...  I have been reminded of some of these things by watching  Remember the Titans  again, but they are also seen in the actions of the gay community toward anything godly.  We just don't hear about them in the media like we hear about the "approved view."  

One example I have notices in music is the "token" white member in an otherwise black band... which is the opposite of the historical view of one black person included in an otherwise white group.  Government can force participation, but it can't create the right heart about anything.  GOD, the real GOD of the Bible, teaches the right heart about those issues we suffer through... and men have changed what He teaches to suit their own needs.

We never really see our own bias/prejudice because we have to approve of our own actions.

Human nature is a big problem... and we are always growing and changing and looking for the approval of our "peers" -- those five closest friends that create us.


I need to get my day started... I may be back... I am trying to find my best path to achieve my goals and I don't know what that will look like yet.  :-)   I love these end-of-the-year reviews... they really make me think about past and present and future.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May we all be able to discover what is really true, and to become better people because of it.  Amen.