Thursday, 29 November 2018

I am getting ready to do some more computer work, so I decided I better some a post done now.  :-)  I know you are so happy about that!

It's been hard to get going today.  I was up until almost 4 am this morning working on the PAYPAL link page to purchase the memberships for 2019.  Making decisions that are going to be in force for a whole year is scary... I don't have a lot to work with.  So,

I am going to limit the total number of possible memberships to 1000 for 2019.  

That will allow me to build up the process and hire help for the next year's Membership Drive.  Trial Memberships will continue to be available all year.

Right now, it is only me... and no money.

I am hoping my PATREON account will help my financial situation, and equipment needs, and other real needs every month.  They have a place to list your goals, so I am going to list each piece of equipment I need and an estimated dollar amount to get that item.  We will have to see how that goes.

Of course, you need to have people see your account to get any kind of support... so that is another challenge for me.  I often think my efforts are not even connected to the internet because of technical abnormalities in my situation.  Only GOD knows.  It is beyond my ability to understand or deal with.  My focus is to keep trying and see what GOD does with it.

There are only two days left until the Membership Drive starts.

I think I can do this.  I am almost there... (done).

Well, I better get busy.
Pray for me.
Pray for WT.
Pray for Christians everywhere.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May GOD find a way to help us all help each other.  Amen.

Wednesday, 28 November 2018

I was up until 3am this morning working on my website ideas.  It takes me a long time because I am not an official website creator and I want to use html right now.  So I have to try a code and see what it does, change the way I put the codes and then see what it does.  I wanted a website in the early 2000's so I had to learn the basics on my own.  I have to re-learn it all now!  It has been so long !!  :-)

I am not sure what the first of January will bring for my site, but I am working on some way to give each program its own space (webpages) and figuring out how to create the income sources for each program.

In making my links to my new 2019 pages, I realized how neglected all my blogs and other pages are.  I will have to find a way to get then updated and ongoing, too.

Just me... this is a challenge!  If only I would have won that big lottery prize !!  :-)

Today has been rain, rain, and more rain... but I went out and swept some leaves and raked some leaves to keep from sitting at a computer all day and night.  The marathon last night/this morning was a bit much.  Tonight I will try to get my stuff done and then get to sleep for at least a little while.

I am thinking about GOD still... about how He contains His power, His anger, His judgments.  I think it is amazing.  Human beings seem to thrive on their anger and payback... controlling everything that opposes them.  I don't know what I would be like if I had that much power, but I hope I would be able to understand the nature of people and be merciful.

I am thinking about GOD's ability to change our lives in a moment.

I haven't decided if Satan changes it to hurt us, via the world around us, and people he controls.

I guess I was thinking more about lottery kind of wins that change our lives.

When I went through the trials of my life, I also discovered the way life can change in a moment... basically, in the twinkle of an eye.  Accidents, mistakes, tragedies, life and death, things that you don't plan and have to find a way through.

These things change our lives.

I suppose they could have destroyed me as a person if I didn't have my faith, didn't know about GOD, didn't see that the future will bring answers I might not know now.  I think some call it bitterness.  It makes life just one big anger episode.  GOD helps us to find a way through all that.

GOD raised me for Working Together, for the different path it will take the Church.  I feel that He will provide for it, but maybe not in my lifetime.  I don't know.  If GOD raised me to be this way, He is raising others to be this way, too.

I am fighting impatience.  I am fighting the feelings that the end of each year brings to goals and dreams and plans.  I am fighting the deadline for my DECEMBER MEMBERSHIP DRIVE !!!   :-)  I suppose someone somewhere has a name for this normal process in life... probably a terrible sounding psychological trauma... and addicting meds the only cure.  YUK!

I guess I will go for now.  I just turned on the computer a bit ago, checked my emails, and now will share this post.  I have to work on my priority list for tonight.

Pray for me!  :-)

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May GOD be kind to me and the rest of the Christian world.
May we find a way to gather our power and solve our differences.
May life become better than it is.
May GOD find us "working together" to provide for the future.
Amen.

Giving Tuesday, 27 November 2018

Giving Tuesday.

I tried to do my giving early this year... so I'm kind of done already.

I hope all your best charities have all they need.

I checked my emails just a bit ago, when I finally turned my computer on, and there were a LOT of giving pleas.

I have read and heard that this end of the year push is "Black Friday" for everyone... business, ministry, etc.  I wonder about my own efforts to provide resources to people in need, myself included, and see the need for changes in how things happen.  What can I do?  I don't know.  I'm still looking for those answers.

I hear that the tithe is hard to find in most churches.  It says something about the priorities of people who claim to be devoted to, and trusting in, the GOD of the Bible.  I tithe.  But I don't always tithe to the church... one church.

I use to attend more than one church at the same time... trying to be involved in different places and denominations.  Sometimes I was checking them out to find out what they were like.  Other times I just liked the church.  I would share my tithe among them the best I could.

Now, Working Together has taken over my tithe.  I don't have much to share, but I pray through every month and decision.  If the commitment to tithe is real, GOD is going to bring it back to me in other ways.

It is hard to explain how GOD provides... we don't really know what will happen, it just does.

GOD appears in ways we don't expect, in places we never expect them, and changes how we believe.

I am always so glad I have faith in my GOD... I don't know what life would have been if I didn't.  It was hard, is hard, and may be harder before I die... but being alive without GOD is even worse... I don't know how anyone survives without faith in something that is beyond human comprehension.

It isn't easy to trust GOD.  I think a lot of people think it is simple.  I suppose it is easier when things go well.  I guess faith doesn't really happen until we are out of control of the circumstances.  When we can't "make" things happen the way we want them to happen.

I don't know why this trend of thought is happening now, but it might be because I shared some thoughts about need and the church with someone a bit ago.

I guess all those email make me wonder where faith is in the process.

I remember hearing the story of a college that was in dire need of a certain amount of money and the people at the top of the structure were praying about the need.  The statement is shared that they wanted GOD to sell some of the cattle He owned and provide for their financial need.  So, as Christian stories go, a cattleman appeared and brought a check with him.  :-)

Personally, I have to wonder about these stories.  As a writer I can see how they work too conveniently.  As a Christian, I love them.  They bring hope and some level of possibility that GOD will provide for your need.

What I do know is that the Bible says GOD has the power to change things.  I often think of the Bible saying that GOD can increase the yield in one field while another will be barren.  This goes with the stories of feeding thousands of people with a few fish and loaves of bread.  And with miraculous healings.  Somehow, the GOD that created everything has the ability to intervene in the natural order of the things He created.  Like stopping the night while Moses prayed and the Israelites fought a fierce battle for their future.

GOD makes things whole... healing lepers, issues of blood, crippled bodies.  He can stop the womb of whole kingdoms when it matters.  Somehow GOD controls the things we think can't be controlled.  Even the minds of men (kings, leaders, judges...).  And I don't think any of this is done by violating the free will He gave Men.  Well, I may have to think more about the womb issues.

I find myself amazed by what GOD does in the midst of our lives, through our sufferings, as we grow in knowledge and awareness of His involvement in our world at so many different levels... faith, prophecy, judgment....

Money is a pivot point in every life... in our hearts... in what we truly believe in.  We cannot serve GOD and serve the god of money at the same time.  We have to choose.  What we choose leads us to different paths to our destinies... in life and in death and in eternity.


I hope to meet the most important people in my life in heaven one day.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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I pray that you will find your worth in GOD's plan for your life. Amen.

Monday, 26 November 2018

So far, I have avoided spending money, but I don't know how long that will last !!!

It is hard to resist when the few moments you see, or listen to on the radio, are about Cyber Monday spending... set to hit a new billion dollar record today.

The bigger problem is that I have things on my list to buy online, and I could do that today if I wanted to.  :-)   I'm trying to wait for my DECEMBER budget, though... just in case I need my $10 before that time.  :-)  I will try to remember to let you know tomorrow if I make it through the night without buying something. haha

Of course, one of the signs that our economy is struggling is that Cyber Monday has turned into Cyber Week... and probably will become Cyber Month in a year not too far ahead.  :-(

It's hard to even think about economic woes at Christmas, but I have lived through some hard ones.

I have started to reformat my web pages for 2019... I made new pages, created drafts to work on, and am ready to make my PayPal links.  I am still working on some of the design and content details.  I have a general idea of how to change the first page and make it smaller, with links to the bigger details of each of WT's program goals, but what to keep on the homepage... that is the question!

I hope this year will be better for my membership efforts.  One of my goals is to keep WT within a clear budget... where the member funds pay for the services that membership will provide.  It's a challenge.  I have no buffer.  I don't know how I will survive the process.  But, I hope to see it grow before I die.

I decided to sign up for Patreon (.com) for my personal survival needs.  I have been checking on it the past several days, and now am trying to work out my rewards and benefits and tiers of support.  Maybe that will be a way GOD provides for my great personal needs.

One of the things you have to do with Patreon is figure out a monthly income goal.  It has had me thinking... what should I try for... now and long-term.  Then I remembered my long-ago goal of $60K a year, or $5K a month... with a potential huge tax burden, that would be approximately $3K a month in spendable income.  It sounds like a fortune for someone who is barely existing on $400 a month now (plus food stamps)… but it is a reasonable average.

The wages I have in mind for WT are the same $15/hour that is rallied for these days.  With 30 hours scheduled, and a maximum of 40 hours per person.   That means approximately $1500/month after taxes (25%) for 30 hours a week for 52 weeks.

Part of the goals for WT is to create housing benefits equal to the 30% rate the government uses... and food options as part of the wage benefits... etc.  If I lived on $1500/month now, in America, in an urban setting, I could still be homeless.   Rents are high, ridiculously high, for anything decent.  And this is why poor people live in projects that are roach and mice and rat infected.  It is all they can afford.

Somehow, I had hoped to find solutions for my members at least... for Christians, especially.

So, I am trying to decide what financial goal I want to create for my desired financial support... and how to share my story, and how to offer thank you benefits for those who become part of the process.  As long as I can keep going, it could work for me.

I hope you will become one of my supporters.

Other than that, I continue with all my quests.  :-)

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 that exists be kind to those who love Him.  Amen.

Black Friday, 23 November 2018

Thanksgiving is gone... now the real shopping begins!   :-)
Wish I could participate, but I have other directions to conquer this year.

I started organizing my gifting this morning by getting some of my planned gifts into their mailing envelopes.  I figure this will keep me from going too crazy.

I have been sorting through TONS of stuff this week because I finally got the wood to lift up my tables so I can work on them.  The first table lift was reasonable; the second was a two day process with added days for sorting all the things I moved in the process... still happening!  haha  There is still my desk table to lift, but that will have to wait... I am still recovering from the 2nd effort.

No new eyeglasses yet, but I am working on it.  Medicare doesn't seem to cover regular eyeglasses, so far.  I am still working on figuring out my coverage before I spend the money I don't have to buy them.  

I am loving getting my supplies organized so I can use them.  I have high hopes for 2019... as long as I get new eyeglasses.   :-)

I wish I had my photo posting issues figured out.  I would love to share some of these things with you.  I hope that will be figured out soon.

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In December I will begin to mail my monthly letters as Christmas Cards... and I am reorganizing my room into a better workspace.  It is all beginning to look like a better future.

I want to make Christmas goodies, so I am trying to find ways to share my efforts.

I keep looking at my Jicama that needs to be eaten and wondering if they get hard and dry and impossible to cut.  I still haven't figured out what I can do with them.  :-)


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In my sorting I found an old scratch-it ticket and tried to register it for the Second Chance prize/s.  It wouldn't go through.  I sent a message to the lottery offices about that problem.  I thought ALL losing tickets

NOTE::  I just realized I had one BINGO column to win... it looks like I won $3.  Wow.  I bet it expired... I'll have to check.  This was from last Christmas.   :-)

I have been trying to decide if I should include the Christmas scratch-its with my Christmas cards this year... where I can.  They are $1, I think.  I am going through another version of how much involvement with the lottery games becomes gambling, or enabling/encouraging it.  Nothing is simple.  To the alcoholic and druggie, one taste is all they need to slide into the gutter that addictions take you to.  It is hard to know where the serious line is that you cannot go past.

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I am seriously working to find a non-internet way to survive.  Advertising is everywhere.  Some of it is very unwelcome, but the data they collect to target me with ads brings a lot of different issues into play.  I would rather just access the places I need to access, and have my life less attacked by everyone who can afford to accost my online activities.

I don't know if it will be possible.

We can't share our marketing goals without doing the same process, even though it may be less invasive because of our income limitations.  It is a question of what is reasonable, not what is possible.

When I find the answers that work for me, I will try to share them in case they might work for you, too.  The internet isn't going away... and it will one day become the tool of the Antichrist to overcome everything godly.  We have to find a way through this part of our lives.

Well, I hope you find the best deals on the things that really matter to you... and don't spend more than your budget allows.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May GOD bring us the things we truly need to be happy.  Amen.

Tuesday, 20 November 2018

I got sidetracked when I came online by the "headlines" and browsed too long... trying to figure out why some things seem to be so important.

I am still recovering from yesterday... trekking out on the bus to do some shopping and searching.  I still need to replace my eyeglasses... what a task.

Catching up with my November budget this morning... I am glad there isn't much left of November, and I won't be doing any Black Friday sales!   :-)   I have a bunch of other things to get done, so it is a good thing.

Should I tell you how much I have left?  Not sure, but it is about $20.  I have food to get by with, toilet paper, and lots of things to get done... it's OK.  I will be working on my December budget next week.

I'm getting my Christmas figured out... gifting, I mean.  Not big gifts, but I have to figure out the "shipping costs" for what goes by mail.

I am still so wiped out from yesterday... I think I might let this go until a better day.  :-)   I suppose the whole world want to know about my life, right?  :-)   No biggy.  When I browse the online headlines I am forced to wonder why tabloid news is more important than the world we need to live in and survive on together.

One of the local papers here generally has one page of business news at the end of the multi-page Sports headlines... I think it's the business community that will make the city survive more... and I wonder if the economic burdens here would improve if more "exposure" was given to it, that it was perceived as important enough for more space, and more of the reasons business matters were shared with the reading public.  Small business creates a lot of jobs, but big business seems to be lifted up as the solution for every financial/economic ill we face.  Not good.

I have realized (relatively recently) that small and local is really important to a community in the long term...  I hope to discover more about how to lift small up and replace big business at the community level.

I just keep trying... it is all I can do with my life and time.  I hope GOD blesses my efforts soon, so I can expand them globally.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May GOD find a way to provide for WT without wasting any of its resources or bringing in the influence and consequences of those who hate Him, Christians, and its goals.  Help us to find our way through the battles against GOD in all parts of the world, and to make places of safety and provision for those who are saved and need them.  Amen.

Thursday, 15 November 2018

One week to Thanksgiving.

It is hard to believe the year is almost over, again.  I keep hoping the next year will be better than the one that is ending... sometimes it is, sometimes I have to grasp for good things to focus on.

I am thinking I need to make my own notebook planner... bullet journal... something.

I remember trying to get this year started in one notebook.  It didn't last long.  haha  I tend to want to keep things as reminders, as memories, as new categories to focus on.  The small notebook/binder I started with became too small really fast.  Maybe a 1-inch binder would work.  :-)   I may try that.

Today was getting-the-defrosted-fruit-processed day...  I now have 6 blackberry half-pints to share with others, and more of the "extras" for myself.  Toast and jam is becoming a regular thing now... when I run out of jam, it goes away, or turns into toast with butter.  Rarely both, but sometimes I forget I have some jam to eat until after the butter is melted.  I am doing LITTLE things to reduce some of my calories... well, to change the way I eat certain foods.

Veggie sandwiches are part of that process.

I found my way to that Adobe Illustrator course again... and finished the second section of five.  I will do the third section as soon as I can, probably tomorrow.

I have begun the process of updating and changing my sad old tired and wonderful website (page) for Working Together  ( http://work2gather.us ).  I revamped the Contact Us page, but it may get more edits.  :-)  I am trying to get ready for the ANNUAL Working Together Membership Drive.  (Pray for me!)   I am discovering more options for PayPal payments.

I rediscovered my DROPBOX account tonight... from about two years ago!  I wanted to make a comment at a Bullet Journal link and I had to sign in to Dropbox to make a comment.  I have no idea how to use that site, but I will learn as time goes by.  Seeing the link to my two free chapters of the Bullet Journal book showed me one option.

I got out some of the frozen shredded zucchini tonight... I decided I better try that new recipe I found... for ONE loaf.  I will be able to squeeze something small on the side for me to taste, so I can give the big loaf away.  If the recipe works, I may finish up the other two frozen shreds containers before Christmas.

There is always lots to do.  My holiday list is getting longer even though I keep checking things off.  :-)   That is the way it goes!   I am excited to see things progressing.  I hope GOD is kind to me soon.

Christmas gifts are moving forward.  I will have to decide if I even have money for Black Friday... I had been thinking of getting ONE deal.

I still need to figure out getting new eyeglasses.

The news about the fires in California has me sad... I don't want to think about them... I hope I don't know anyone that was living there in the midst of this tragedy... or is still missing.  I keep checking HGTV.com to find out if the people who did flips on one of their shows are OK, but I haven't seen anything yet.

I am also sad because I tried to check on the radiation spills from the Fukushima nuclear disaster... and it is still a problem.  It happened in 2011.  Their plan is to dump millions MORE gallons of radioactive water into the ocean from where they are.  Who knows what damage has already been done with what the currents have dispersed.  The article I browsed said they test the surrounding area and it is deemed within "safe" amounts.

Who trusts the government to tell us there is a critical problem that is going to affect us all???  No one.

I guess it is like those commercials with dye going into a big container of water... in time the dye blends with the water.  If  you kept adding the dye, without stopping, it would consume the water in the container.  The ocean may be big, and disperse the contamination away from one shore, but it doesn't go away.  Nuclear radiation lasts longer than our lives... and affects anything that comes in contact with it.

We eat the creatures that live in the oceans... it's all part of the food chain... we won't be exempt.

I guess that is all about that... it is depressing when you think about all the problems we face in our world.

I hope I can get a lot done before my Sabbath rest effort.  :-)   Every week is a challenge.  I have to keep trying to decide what is "resting" and what is "working."  Maybe this should be the Saturday I stay in bed and watch movies all day.  That might be a good idea!  I will have to think about that.  I need to watch  It's a Wonderful Life,  and I can sign up with  Pureflix.com   to see the movie about the Mortgage Cakes... and other Christian films I haven't seen yet.

Sounds good to me!   :-)


Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May we all find the best that is inside us to share with the world.
May our lives be safe, and prosperous, and giving, and saved.
May GOD be kind to those who love Him.
Amen.

Wednesday, 14 November 2018

My... another day.

I was able to get my banana bread made... and it turned out decent.  I grew up on this bread recipe, but lost my copy along the way.  I tried to remember it and did pretty good for today.  I may make this again.  :-)

Also did some raking and sweeping outside... the rain that was forecast was just a small drizzle.  :-)  Who knows what will happen when the drips are in the forecast!  haha

My glasses broke today... I couldn't find the super glue so I used one of my craft glues... for metal was on the front of the tube.  It had some serious fumes!  I tried the glasses on after thinking it was dry enough and my eyes started to burn!!   So far, tonight, there are no problems.  It is a rude awakening when  you realize what life would be like without your glasses.

I haven't been able to get new glasses for some time.  When I would get state medical coverage, it would say that eyeglasses are not covered.  So far, that seems to be the case still.  It is sad that I have been attached to the government for so many years, but eyeglasses are a basic need and were always provided.  At one point, I thought someone might be "sharing" my medical coverage and using the eyeglass part... it doesn't make sense to me.  I will keep looking for the details of my "insurance" and hope that I can get new glasses (and a spare) soon.

Other than messing up my plans (broken glasses), today was a regular day.  Wednesday is the day I like to watch OPB from noon to 1:30...  Articulate, Start-Up, and a jewelry crafting show are on.  I usually miss it, but today I was able to see an amazing poet singer on Articulate, a great young business story on Start-Up, and watch someone who designs in leather on the bead show.  It inspires me.   My glasses broke at the end of Start-Up, so I had to physically hold them to watch the bead show, and then figure out how to "fix" them so I could see again.   :-)  Fun!

The mail person didn't get my mail today, so that has to go out again tomorrow.  I still have three of my monthly letters left to do... maybe tonight or in the morning.

These are the things that make my day... small things, goal things, ongoing things... They may not be all I want to do, but they are all I can do, for now.

When compared to the suffering that exists, or the blessings of many who have more than I, my life may seem useless in the world.  I think we never know what GOD is doing in the details of all our lives... making them into good, as He promises, refining our faith, helping others through us and us through others, protecting what matters in His Will and from the forces of evil while also protecting the "free will" of everyone.  It took me years to see how all of us interlock in life, affecting each other and creating consequences for our choices... how GOD is so patient with our bad directions and always trying to help us back to what is right and good and in His Will.  It is never easy to understand the details as they happen... it is more like the Steve Jobs comment about only being able to "connect the dots" way in the future, looking back.

I hope I live long enough to see the meaning of a lifetime of poverty, and WT, and my failed efforts over so many years... and to enjoy some kind of better life through better income.  :-)  I still have lots of goals to try for.

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 see the purpose in our daily lives and bring peace and joy to our hearts.  Amen.

Tuesday, 13 November 2018

Busy day!

I finally processed some of the blackberries I collected over the summer.  :-)   I used three containers that were full, and one that wasn't... so four batches officially.  The first two were seeded and cooked for jam.  They seemed a bit soft, so they may work out better for pancakes and ice cream.  The third batch I drained the juice to make it seedless.  I had a cooking mishap (boiled over while I was washing dishes... so sad, and such a mess!) so lost about half of the second jar I planned for it.  I kept the extra seedless "jelly," or maybe it is still called jam, to use right away, along with the fourth batch that became some real jam... thick and relatively firm to spread.  I have lots of jam to use up now, but these are my "developmental" efforts... trying recipes and cooking times to find my perfect "formula" for the future.

I tried out my small water-bath canner today... most people call it an asparagus cooker.  It has a built-in rack so the small jars don't touch the bottom of the pan... and it holds one pint jar or two half-pints.  My goal.  Small amounts, eventually with leftovers and fruit I can't use.  It has a great glass cover, with a vent hole, so it can boil like mad.  It does seem to seep out if the water level is too high, but it is still better than a huge water-bath canner!  Just the right size for what I want to do.

I was able to work on a process for getting all the elements of canning into my two-burner stove...  I boiled the sanitizing water on the big ring and boiled the blackberry recipe on the small ring.  Then I filled the jars and boiled the canned jars in the water-bath.  I think it is going to work out great.

I understand pickles can be water-bathed to preserve, and tomatoes.  I am trying to collect information on how much can be canned by water-bath.  As I get this all worked out, I should be able to take advantage of sales, the extra foods when I buy too much without meaning to, and make sure I have the right supplies to do this.

I see a lot of toast in my future!  haha

Tomorrow I hope to make some banana bread, later on I want to use up my frozen shredded zucchini with a bread recipe, and I also want to deal with the containers I have in the freezer.

I wish pressure canning could be this easy.  I haven't been able to find a SMALL pressure canner, one about the size of the asparagus pan.  I have to figure out how to heat it and keep it heated before I can do much.  Too much homemade soup is one of the reasons I want to pressure can future meals into small jars... like chili, soup, pasta sauce, etc.  I hope I can get to that point in my goal efforts.  It has taken so many years to even purchase a pressure canner!

It was a good day.   It is always a good day when I finally get to check a goal off my long list.  haha


I better get going.  I need to plan tomorrow and get ready for it...

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May we all reach our goals before GOD takes us home... at least, the most important ones.  :-)

Drop Shipping and Making Money

I posted at another of my blogs about drop-shipping this morning...
thought I would share a quick (round-about) link to it here...

https://twitter.com/work2gather/status/1062376386055168000

Hope you check it out and think about your own possibilities.  :-)
Deb

Monday, 12 November 2018

Today is Monday...
Today is the "official" government holiday for VETERAN's DAY, which was really yesterday, on the eleventh.
Today is catch-up day.
Today is busy.
Today is Monday.

Now we know what today is... let me share some of the things I have been experiencing since my last blog post.

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I watched a YouTube video about a tiny house that is really tiny... approximately 7 feet by 8 feet... I think the man who made it said it was about 100 square feet.  Only 2000 pounds in weight, total, because it was built on a trailer frame that could only hold 2000 pounds legally.

The creator, Jay Shafer, said it could be towed by a car and only cost $5000 to make.  That would be affordable for a lot of people, especially homeless programs, and better than being in a tent or car, but it is very small for living in a long time.

Mobility is nice, but my goal is small and stationery... attached to the location... and off-grid capabilities for now and in future emergencies.  So, my goals are :: to be affordable to the very poor... safe... and a reasonable size for real life and long-term use.

The host of the video channel about tiny homes said that Jay Shafer started the tiny house movement 20 years ago.  I have no way to know if that is true, but it was interesting to discover.

This latest creation of his was a basic rectangle with a small covered porch at the door location.
The main living space was stated to be approximately 6 feet by 6 feet... I can't even imagine it. I think a regular bathroom would be bigger.  Of course, I always say a regular bathroom is bigger than a prison cell, which sometimes holds TWO inmates.  I guess need or force creates our acceptance of things we can't control.

The living space has a twin mattress that serves as a couch for the daytime and bed at night, lots of storage options that are hidden away, and a small table.  At least there are windows.  Jay Shafer was relatively short, so he fit into the sleeping area.  There is a small loft above the main area with space for storage or his visiting small children.

Wireless access keeps him connected to the world.  :-)

He lives in a space where he is able to access a kitchen, restroom, and other utilities/comforts.  I think having a toilet in the night is critical, so I don't know how this tiny home would work for most people.  He mentioned the possibility of expanding to the sides for those basic human needs.  Having a permanent location would be necessary to expand.

There was one solar light to see at night.  No electrical options.

And he created an innovated candle size heater with outside ventilation and propane sourcing to be safe and warm.  I am not sure I understand what he did in the construction, but he did mention a small space like that could be warmed with a candle.  I was surprised to hear that candles are a danger in small spaces... I will have to check on that information.  :-)

He used insulation called core-board to keep the weight down and, what I noticed and remembered, used something called binder board as the outer siding because it is very thin wood.  I am wondering where else this binder board could be used....

I collect all these ideas and hope to design and create some of the small houses I know that homeless and low-income people need.  It was part of my dreams for life, for WT, and for those who are suffering all over the world.  Small housing is essential for millions.

It is one reason I like Habitat for Humanity.  I think the great needs everywhere can be adapted to the finances we struggle with.

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Another thing that really stuck with me was a news headline about an older rocker, big name, who is trying to say Trump is to blame for the wildfires.  How ridiculous is that!!  It makes news sources seem worthless, their information less valued, and the world tainted.

We need much better than these kinds of story claims.

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My son decided to take me for my major food shopping yesterday... so I am pretty much broke for the rest of the month, but have my food supplies replenished.

I saw a TV commercial over the weekend and discovered that McDonald's has the McRib back.  My son was kind enough to stop on the way home and let me get one.  I really like those... must be the combination of the sauce and the pickles.... I remember the pickles were always the flavor highlight of the small hamburgers and cheeseburgers I grew up on.   I rarely get to indulge, maybe once every so many years, if I know they are available.  :-)  The price was higher than what I normally would spend, but I decided to "seize the opportunity" and try to get one while I was out of the house.

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My art and crafting and Christmas activities are continuing.  It's getting exciting for me.  I am figuring out what I want to get or make for each person on my list/s.  It is wonderful.  I am almost ready to put up the clear twinkle lights I have for this year.  "It's a Wonderful Life" is near viewing time.  I love it!  Christmas is near.


Well, that is enough for today...  I hope your days are going well, and you are beginning to think about all the things you are thankful for.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May GOD watch over all those who love Him.
May our hearts remember all the wonderful blessings we enjoy.
May we find our way through the hard places that enter our lives,
and become better people for surviving (and thriving because of) them.
Amen.

Thursday, 8 November 2018

I guess I am still thinking about the election, and some of the aftermath.

It has been a long day.  I went to the nearby store last night and got enough food for now.  It is much better today than it was yesterday.

Christmas is still on its way, and I am trying to work on my part of the festivities... gifts, goals, and praying for a better 2019.  My biggest thought is :: How much can I really do to make this world a better place?

I had to nap today, and I am just getting my body going again after getting up.  I will have the evening to get to my list of things to work on.  We have 24 hours, right?  When we work is different for all of us.  Some work gets done in the day, some in the evening hours, some at night.

When I was binge watching Christmas movies last weekend, I stayed up all night... something I rarely do anymore.  I was surprised to see that HGTV has infomercials on in the wee hours of the night.  :-)   I just assumed the reruns kept going all night long.  haha  Who thinks of what happens in the dark hours of the night... not too many.  But, they are the people who need GOD most.

That is one reason I hope to build 24-hour Respite Centers for WT someday.  I have seen the need... a LONG time ago.

It gets frustrating for me when I start wondering why GOD hasn't provided for WT... and why other things have happened... and what is happening in our world... and to me.  I think of sin, and free will, and judgment.  I wonder about my sons.  I wonder who will get into heaven and who won't.  I think about all the suffering there is.  I think about all the different solutions we deal with, coming from someone somewhere, and wonder where my ideas would fit in and how to make them part of our future.  I think a lot.  All the time.  But I can't do anything.  This is how the world will be as the Antichrist rises... less good, more evil.  I don't like what I think about, what I see, what I can't change.

We think about people who have made the world better and we admire them, lift them up, and only know about that one part of their lives.  Is that what it means to be a hero?  Chosen for history?  When we look deeper into their lives it is a more difficult story... lots of personal suffering.  I guess it isn't easy to make a difference.   :-)

My thoughts are wandering today.  The election result and the next two years... what will become of America?  I have come to understand that news reporters are often reading off a prompter... I don't know how they go so easily from tragedy to tragedy...  And then I read the news, mostly the headlines, and I go from tragedy to tragedy without much thought.  These are events I can't do much about, or change, or make any better for those who suffer.  I see rising abuse with crowdfunding and worry about its future... to me, it is the only blessing people in real need have access to, and I want it to be used to help them... probably, even more, the ones who don't have regular access to the world.

I read one comment about Oregon's results as I checked online to see what happened... and discovered the Democrats have a "supermajority" here... the comment was they could pass as many taxes as they wanted to and the Republicans couldn't stop them.  I don't know if that is a good view of our governing power.

It will be something we, as citizens, will not be able to do much about.

How can we save America from its government?  I don't know.

I guess that is all I can share right now.

Pray for all of us... we need help.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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Pray that GOD will help us to understand the impact of our choices and to make better decisions for our country.  Amen.

Election Day, Tuesday, 6 November 2018

I haven't checked the news yet... I am wondering how fast the starting totals will be posted... I don't know how many ballots, especially mail-in ballots, are counted before the great unveiling of the voters.  I keep thinking it was such a great process when I was young... now, it seems too automated, global, and even tainted by early media.  When I was young, there was a time-forced process of keeping all the votes secret until the time for each zone reflected the closing of the polls.  This was because so many people didn't know who to vote for and would decide to vote for the one who was high in the tallies on election day... they wanted to be able to say they voted for the winner.

The internet will eventually change a lot of things we do in voting.  I suppose everyone will be able to vote online, from home, from a mobile phone, from any source connected to the internet.  That brings good and frightening possibilities to our world.  It makes me wonder what the future will become... because good people don't think of or do things that are corrupt, but those without any moral boundaries spend all their time and energy thinking of ways to "beat" the system to get what they want, usually money and power.

I happened to see that a single mom with grandkids won half of the Powerball prize... with an all-cash bounty of almost 200 million.  :-)   The government took about 150 million for taxes.  I always wonder if the winners get any of that back when they eventually file a return.

I have been checking on more articles and tips for selling online these days... I found one link to a place called Tax Jar  (taxjar.com) and in the process of exploring their site and offerings, I saw a list of taxes for one place... I think it was California.  They collected Federal, State, County, and City taxes in the example.  Here in Oregon, there are also TRANSIT taxes in some places.  I wonder if they collect those.

I think there is going to be another "tea party revolt" in time... and I don't know if it will be the group we have been seeing in the past several elections.  I know the Democrats feel that 100% taxes will cure all the ills we are dealing with, but they are wrong.  Look at the countries that already are state run... lots of problems in all of them.  No one has figured out how to make the ideal work.  I think we need to regroup and change the entire financial foundations of the government... force them into a limited budget.  I call it "ONE TAX" --- because one tax is all we should be paying.  I decided a flat 10% was fair, and could be distributed among all our local and global commitments.  If you have read my other comments on this issue, you already know my formula :: 3% each for Federal, State, and County taxes, and 1% for International issues like the UN and international aid needs, etc.

I keep thinking about my plan.  It would change our country in so many good ways.  It is one of the causes I would fund if I ever won a big lottery prize.  :-)   I just don't know why GOD hasn't funded me yet... do you?  haha

I have been up since about five this morning, and need to get some other things done right away.  I may come back later, or wait until tomorrow, to comment on whatever the election brings into our lives.  :-)   This is a big day... and every election will become more and more important.  Our nation is fracturing because of the issues we face and our disagreements on how to solve our problems.  Our economy is very fragile because of the national debt and issues related to it.  Our moral foundations are nearly extinct, which will put a whole different kind of leadership into our lives.  I wonder how far we are from the Antichrist, which means death to all the Christians... and little to no morality for the world.

I hope GOD is going to help us... the good people... Christians and Jews... children and other vulnerable people... etc...

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

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

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Pray for our country.
Pray for our world.
Pray for our lives.

Monday, 5 November 2018

It has been a busy day already...

I sent off five of my monthly letters today, without an "insert" for the month... maybe I will just leave it that way for November, or maybe I will think of something that is about Thanksgiving and get it shared.  :-)   December will be my Christmas cards.  Easy.

I checked my emails already, and found a precious video link... from Hobby Lobby!  I was surprised that it wasn't another ad.  It was very special, and only one minute in length.  I hope you decide to watch it.

https://youtu.be/qa9hP2KCjyo


I have started figuring out my Christmas gifting... which is focused on personally created gifts for as many as possible.  I realized I have to mail a lot of them at the beginning of December so I have to get them done this month... and figure out how to ship them economically.  :-)   I always forget that mailing costs are part of the budget for Christmas... so I have to figure out ways to do everything for less money when mailing is a part of the gift.

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In checking my Facebook earlier, to post the video link there, I discovered a reply to a comment I made on the non-GMO group page...   I replied again the best I could.  Our food supplies are in grave danger, and we need our local small farms for our survival, wherever we live.  I hope the person I shared with will watch some of the food documentaries you can find at Netflix, and others that are not there, especially GENETIC ROULETTE.  If you search for Genetic Roulette, some of the other films come up as similar.  Food Inc is a standard, but others exist, like In Defense of Food and Forks Over Knives.  I searched "food documentaries" and a reference page to 30 documentaries came up.

There is a short video into on the Genetic Roulette page link... I watched it and was reminded of the dangers we are facing, and it makes me cry.  One of can do nothing except grow as much of our own food as possible.  All of us might be able to change parts of the problem.  I'm not sure it will ever go away now because of the money involved in the products that are sold as healthy.

One really miserable fact is shared in the films that show how our health leadership is manipulated in Washington DC to serve the needs of industrial agriculture.

I hope you will explore these things... your lives depend on it.


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I didn't go shopping over the weekend, but plan to go some time this week... so I am using up my frozen foods now.  I have to process all those blackberries I harvested over the summer!  I am now looking for good recipes.  Maybe they will become some of my Christmas gifts !!!    :-)



I guess that is enough for now.  Serious issues take a lot of energy out of me because they are tied to my emotions...

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

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

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May GOD help us to survive those who govern us.  Amen.

Decided to add some thoughts - Saturday, 3 November 2018

The past couple weeks and my blogging have been unusual, but not against the idea of blogging when I want to.  Finding a schedule or just adding a post whenever the time and inspiration hit is the big question I still haven't answered.  So many things get involved in our daily lives, some we can't control.

I have been messing around with my November budget today.  I as suppose to go food shopping tomorrow, so I decided to figure out what I can afford to get this month and what food I have to buy first... like the things I am nearly out of or have to replace.  Holiday needs are going to have to fit somewhere... and what to make is also an issue.

Things change as you get older, too.

I spent a long time in front of the TV over Thursday and Friday this week... there isn't much on that I care to watch, but I forced myself to deal with the new way commercials are presented on Hallmark channels so I could veg out with Christmas movies.  I was trying to remember commercials when I was younger... I think you had about 2-4 3--second commercials way back when.  I have counted the commercial sets a few time already and, now, they have changed into 10-12 "short" versions, with a few that seem like infomercials about medical plans and politics.  I have noticed at YouTube kind of places that you don't have the choice to "SKIP" the ads anymore... or, most of them... maybe it's a difference in the ad placement costs... probably.

Today is a Sabbath day... and I am trying to catch up with my life after "binge-watching" all those holiday movies... the old ones, not the new ones, which start soon.  I am eating, reading, planning, updating, checking emails and will probably end up watching some YouTube videos later, or playing some online games like Solitaire and Sudoku.  I am still not at the peaceful place about the Sabbath.

Some people turn off all their internet activities, and TV, etc., for their Sabbath.  I am not that strong yet, and haven't decided if that is important.  Food is another Sabbath issue... today, however, I am just trying to make it through with the food I have.  There isn't much in my fridge or my fresh produce, but there is enough to use up before it gets spoiled.

We all like to grab something already done, ready to eat, something we like... I am finding food prep is hard to get past.  Making coffee in the coffee maker is against some people's idea of Sabbath rest.  I don't think GOD is that involved in the process, but I am aware that in biblical times there was a lot of firewood needed to "make a fire" for food prep... so there is an admonition against it.  Pushing buttons on a microwave don't seem to be in that category.

Religion has so many different issues associated with it... even for those who hate GOD, or Christianity, or Islam, or other controversial faiths.  We have to live in a global environment now, because of the internet, so our religious issues will have to change... I think it will have to become an individual issue... which is hard for countries where the man is the dictator.  In the Bible, GOD says each person must decide their faith, find their own way to heaven, make a decision about Jesus as their Savior... and that is important because we are individual souls.

No one will be with us at the Judgment... no wives, no children, no spiritual leaders, no one.  We have to find our own way, and let others find theirs.

This is where the battle gets sticky... sharing our faith, talking to others about spiritual issues, is different than forcing people into submission to our faith.  This is the true meaning of separation of church and state... that the government cannot say that everyone has to be one denomination.  GOD will judge each of us by our own choices.

This is what "free will" means... we are responsible to choose, and we are held accountable for our choices... good and bad.

I can see I am heading into rambling.  I will end here.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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We are commanded to remember the Sabbath, so it is important to GOD.  I pray we can all find our own peace with that requirement.  Amen.

My Voting Day, 1 November 2018

I finally filled out my ballot and put it in the mail...

I don't know that any voting method is "safe and secure" anymore... and I have no way to verify that my ballot arrives with my votes on it... fraud is easy for those who do it.  In Oregon, they now send an email saying your ballot has been received.  Actually, it is only saying that a ballot has been received with my name on it.

I keep wondering how we can make a secure voting process, especially in the age (and future) of internet living.  I recall from history lessons that the gangs in the past controlled the votes by the best methods of their time... which are used in those other countries today... violence, force, intimidation, and any other means possible... but we have "evolved" as a "developed" country into other, more covert, methods.  Mailing ballots has its issues, online voting has its issues, state and national voting have their issues... no matter what we try, the enemy of freedom and democracy finds a way to subvert it.

With technology, people can duplicate (and alter) everything.
Internet hacking can be accomplished anywhere, for a lot of different reasons, including the mailing systems, publishing systems, manufacturing processes, production systems and processes, record systems, and all the other places we depend on for the details of our lives.

A long time ago, in my own search for WT solutions, I realized our world will become focused on two areas online... security and search.  I have my own plans for a search option, but I cannot even begin to understand how we can make our lives secure when they are attached to the internet.

While voting, I came across people who didn't get their voting information into the government process in time for publication in the voting guide we get.  I have advocated for a long time that the government get the process online... with income options for them and VOICE options for voters.  We not have the ability to enter information immediately... so, why doesn't the elections system take advantage of this for income?  The only answer is the ongoing problem of the government to make money like a business.  If they can fix this problem, taxes will not always need to rise.

I discovered the problem a LONG time ago when I kept wanting to submit an opinion for the guide book... the deadline was so far ahead of the election, most voters were not even aware of the topics or people involved in the next election... including me.   Then I discovered the outrageous charge for submitting an entry... way beyond my budget, or anyone else that I know.  the only people who are able to submit an entry for the guide are heavy-duty, deeply-involved, and well-funded individuals or groups with a stake in the outcome, who know the government process.  Everyone else is left out.

I tried to share this online approach with bigger national issues, too.

We can use the internet for positive input from ordinary people if we allow them a space to share their thoughts/opinions at a reasonable price.  We could set a limit on the words or characters (maybe 5000 characters) and charge a small fee ($5?) for the ability to have their opinions displayed publicly at a page/space set up for that issue.  

Every government issue can be separately displayed and become a place for public comment... at every level of government.  This would be a good place for media and political groups to find their issue details, while the governments that are involved would be generating "extra" income for their work -- by issue or by agency or by legislative body.  Imagine the Supreme Court having public comment to refer to on the cases they are deciding....

It would change a lot of things.

Sending a copy to the email that is attached to the comment, and possibly allowing a reference to election records by way of a voter number or a verification of voter status (or voter email), would help people to be aware if someone is sharing an opinion without their knowledge.  It is important to create a process of verification of the speaker, and copies of the comments created in their name.  I find the email option good for me.  I would use the same email attached to my voter registration.

My issue is the inability to have my opinion registered on topics that are important to me.  I can't join public protests, and don't want to.  I don't write a lot of Letters to the Editor, and there is never a guarantee they will be published.  The only opinions that get heard are the ones attached to very active and emotionally/financially political people, probably a lot of them are attached to the word "lobbyist."

WE  NEED  SOME  CHANGE  IN  HOW  WE  DO  OUR  GOVERNMENT !!!!!

That is the big issue.  The bigger issue.  The most important issue.

This is one of my solutions to the government issues we face... income, taxes (over taxation), greed, corruption, voter apathy, ignorance, lack of access, inability to be a voice in what is done, citizen finances, PACs and lobbyists, and online issues...

What would you do to help make America a better place, solvent, and still free?

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May we keep America from becoming a bankrupt country... in finances and morals and education and government and....    Amen.