Being the Body of Christ - TOGETHER !

I totally forgot it was Thursday.  I've been buy with other things and then got lost in the YouTube space.  Just an FYI... sorry about this growing habit that seems to be overtaking my life. I will try to do better with my schedule.

I picked a bunch of blackberries this morning, then had to wash and decide what to do with them.  I packed up 2 freezer containers (2-cup size) and put them in what I call the "big freezer" and then decided to add two of my small containers in my fridge freezer.  There was eight cups left so I decided to make a jam... or try to.  :-)   I ended up cooking it until it reached the "jelly" stage on my thermometer.  I put it in jars to freeze because I didn't have the energy to water bath them all (5).  I had about 3/4 cup of jam left, so I put that in the fridge.  I should have enough jam to last a long time!  (And blackberry harvesting has just begun!!  :-)



I am continuing my Prayer Journals.  My list of "Others" keeps growing.  Not sure where this will end up by the end of the year.  I mostly like this version of keeping a Prayer Journal for me... simple, limited, personal, focused... it helps me to think of what a day may hold for the person I pray for, and what my prayers for them might be.  I have started praying for some people to overcome my problems with them.  Prayer changes us as much as it changes others.  I am hoping to keep my Spirit from becoming hard and ungodly.  That will be something I find out by the end of the year also.

I don't recall if I shared that I wached the movie about Rich Mullins... Ragamuffin.  I think my most favorite song of his is MY DELIVERER.  I just found out tonight that it is on the record album of songs they found fully recorded (?) after his death... he had just made them.  It seems that My Deliverer is on that list!  I don't follow these things... and you can see how late I am in getting to movies and songs others have already known for years.  So, I checked the links attached to this discovery tonight and decided to buy the CD I found listed at eBay.  It is listed as in GOOD condition.  I hope it is.


Lots of things going on, lots of things being prayed for.  Sometimes I don't know how to pray in GOD's Will, but I sure wish He would listen to my will.  It is hard to wait, to wonder if and when GOD will act on our behalf.  I think of all kinds of things that are in the Bible, and try to decide what applies and what doesn't.  The bottom line always goes back to the fact that it is GOD's decision, according to His bigger Plan, and I am like an employee that needs to do what the BOSS says.  We all know that can be a challenge.  Pray that my life will become all the things I have prayed for it to become, and that I will see GOD's provisions for those things I know He has created me to do... somehow.


The AUGUST BUDGET is in draft form, but I know that will get changed.  I am going to try my first ad "campaign" online.  :-)  Just to see how it works.  I need to make the post that I want to share.

My PATREON Challenge continues to be my main financial quest.  It would solve so many problems I face... just that small $5 from so many people.  It would be the start-up financing I could never find.

I am busying myself with getting my CHRISTMAS lists done... what to make, what I need in supplies and space, how to ship things, what to paint, what to charge, how to list what I have, and all those issues for raising money through online sales.

My goal and planning notebooks keep evolving, getting better, getting sorted into a flow that will work for me.

Pray that GOD will provide.
Many thanks for any prayers that you share on my behalf.
If you can spare $5, that would be even greater.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin
work2gather.us
and more...

Remember... we are the Body of Christ TOGETHER... we all need each other... for many things, now and in the End Times and before the Antichrist gets here.

What does it mean to be a Christian?

I am not prepared for a formal post... I have been busy with other things and trying to figure out how to get everything done! 

I made those cake pop things and discovered the mix was GMO and I could tell.. so I have been avoiding eating the pop shapes I saved for later. Most I froze.  I did eat the regular cupcakes, but I don't think I can eat these.

I found a small cake maker that does the shape of a cake pop.  I may find a made-from-scratch recipe and just go that route.  It looks better for eating, and making.  That's something way in the maybe future... not an urgent need.


I was on Facebook a bit ago and watched part of a Benham Brothers live on Thursdays replay... I think it's their Business by the Book.  I was looking at the verses they posted and found a note about a Christian author who decided he was gay.  Eventually I found the place where that segment was and listened to most of it.  When I went to check the name, it seemed like a story I had seen a long time ago, but was suppose to have been something recent.  Not sure what is up with that.  (Fake News?)

I left a comment on a TBN post about NOAH's time...  it was on the 22nd.  I will paste it below for you.  In the process of writing it, I thought about the End Times.  There are only two parts of the BIBLE that tell us what it will be like in those days. The story of Noah talks about the evil everywhere in that time. The story with Sodom as the reference point tells us one of the main evils that will exist. 

It seems to be the same road down every time GOD tries to "start over" with His creation... our world.  What I remember most is that all the men from the city tried to reach the new visitors to have their way with them first, and the fact that Lot was willing to sacrifice his virgin daughters for the angel visitors.  Sexuality is the biggest goal of Satan... because anything outside of a monogamous marriage between a DNA-male and an DNA-female, for life, is like an attack against GOD.  It is the goal of Satan to hurt GOD by hurting us.

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FYI--

Deborah Martin
I think of Noah as trusting GOD... over years and years and years and years of time... and how GOD kept his sons from having children... but gave them all wives... -- I often wonder what the people around him were like in all that time... we only know they were evil, fully consumed by evil, and destined to die. Were there any conversations about faith and GOD and what was coming... we don't really know. -- if anyone was saved, they didn't get a ticket on the Ark. I suppose they had to leave the populations and live where they could cut wood to build the Ark. They must have lived off the land. GOD says He brought the animals to the Ark when it was time to fulfill His Words. It was over a hundred years of building time, I think... I don't recall right now, it's been awhile since I studied that passage. It is always a difficult thing to think about Noah's time because he is just one of two passages we have about the End Times, what it will be like in those days. Evil rules the day. What will it be like when the Antichrist gets here and kills all the Christians? I hate to think about that. GOD warns people hundreds of years ahead of things... and the erosion of faith and godliness continues. We try to solve problems on our own... but there is no way to "solve" prophecy. We can only prepare for it. work2gather.us
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We live in difficult times.

I made another comment (today, I think) about our need to be strong enough to die.  It's hard to imagine that kind of America.  I don't think many Christians are ready for that kind of testimony.


Getting off the pain of our futures, I also have been search out Kindle books this week. On a few topics... creating recipe books (small / short in length), some short opinion booklets, and a short "inspirational" booklet.  It looks achievable for me.  :-)  I also found one called  GROW  OR  DIE !!  It is on growing  your own food to survive any kind of disaster situation. 

I'm still looking through them.


Christmas is still high on the attention list.  Still working on the details.  Going to try making small art, in case you don't remember or I haven't shared that yet.

All of my newly ordered supplies haven't arrived yet... the remaining things are due mid-August to maybe October... can't recall right now, but it was way for out there.  I guess it's on the slow boat from China.  :-)  I have plenty to do, so that will be OK for this year.


Well, I'm going to close for today.
I am still thinking about some things, and tired, and seeking GOD.
That author that suddenly declared himself Gay -- well, he plans to continue writing children's books and doesn't see the problem with being "Gay and Christian."
I still think it's slanderous fake news, so I will wait and see. 
I hope they catch those who are doing this kind of thing.


In Christ,
Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
and more...

ONE Body of Christ...

Make sure you understand that your vote can save our nation from spiritual demise.

Choose which leaders you want to be over your life... their decisions affect your daily and Christian life.

Here I am!

I got busy with a Daymond John free webinar offer... it started at 11pm, just when I planned to be here.  I hope you don't mind.  It was on preparing the so important "elevator speech."  I have tried to figure that one out for years.  He has a nice free downloadable sheet to help.

So, what has been happening this week... a lot I think... but it is hard to quantify.

I started receiving my supplies, started working on some crafts, and have been working on my CHRISTMAS options.  It's getting there. 

If I can't find my paint for silk-screening I may have to try something like acrylics until I can get some.  I am excited to see how this works on real screens.  I have two premade screens - one of an elephant head, one of a dandelion.  One has thick spaces, the other fine lines.  Before I make my own screens, I need to figure out how these design options work in the finished product.

I got an email about bartering art for services. It reminded me of the option.  I browsed the article and did see that you have to make a receipt for taxes.  It is considered "income" for taxation purposes, and needs to be accounted for.  Barter is a great concept.  With the government's need to tax every penny it can, I would need cash to pay the taxes... I don't have that... BUT, it is an option to think about.

I am still in the process of receiving some of my supplies.  Many seem to come from CHINA, no matter where I order them.  Some must be warehoused here, but others take many weeks to get here (for free shipping -- the only other charge I noticed was $42 -- that would be a lot more than the order!)...  Someday, I would like to try a big order and see how that works.

I am looking for the details more these days... MADE IN THE USA. 

I had a horrific experience with a packaged cake mix this month... when I went to make it it was nothing like the cake mixes I use to make years ago... it was like slime... gel-like.  I made it, and will eat it, but I will never buy it again... and I will try to remember to read more labels.  This mix was made with GMO ingredients.  It was my first time actually seeing what that means.  I am thankful it was labeled... but I hope the company goes back to real ingredients. 

I made the cake because I have been wanting to try the CAKE POP thing.  I decided to not make them on a stick... and froze most of the scoops I made.  I have four to try covering with chocolate.  It is definitely a  S W E E T  treat!


I guess this has been a slow, thinking and praying kind of week.  I had to sleep much more than normal.  I have been planning the next several months... trying to get a path through it. 

I finally decided to commit my crafting roller machine (pasta maker) to polymer clays.  I will be getting that started this weekend I suppose.  You have to warm up the clay to get it to be pliable... I will try to keep it in my pocket and see if body warmth will help that process.  I don't know what shapes I want to make yet, but I need some flat pieces.  Eventually, I want to try to use various colors to make "art" on squares of polymer.  And I am going to try "glow in the dark" options.  :-)  I think that will be fun.

I have some shapes already baked and will be trying to get them finished... drilling, sanding, etc.

Next I need to figure out the packaging for the projects I am working on.


I guess there are so many things that are "in process" it is hard to share all the details. 

I have made a commitment with my Patreon CHALLENGE tier to review my activities on all ten of my tiers when I do my weekly updates.  This has proven to be a very difficult thing, but it is helping me focus on each of the tiers for my reporting duties... finding things to get me moving forward on all of them.


In the Faith department, I am continuing my PRAYER JOURNALING projects, and as they develop, I am expanding my person list.  Sometimes the needs weigh heavily on my soul.  We pray all the time, but seeing how GOD answers those prayers is not easy.


I guess that is enough for now.
May GOD be with all His People as we try to make it through this life into heaven.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
and more...

Another Update... Christmas is getting closer every day! :-)

Now that I am focused on CHRISTMAS, I keep thinking of what I need to get done, what I need to get it done, and how to get it done... 

I have spent way over my budget already, but everything is covered - so far.  I am buying supplies, starting to paint, getting out my crafting tools and other supplies.  Tonight I went to Etsy to check on the price and availability of something and stayed there forever.  A shop in China has a lot of low-cost items I want to try, but I am going to sleep on it and see if that is what I want to do.  They want to charge high shipping costs so the "free" option doesn't get here until September/October.  I am thinking about it... about whether it is worth the wait.

I will look for my own supplies and start with them.  I have to find them.  :-)   They are somewhere in my room... I hope.

If I can do the silk-screening, the jewelry supplies can wait.  I received my silkscreen transparencies for making designs to burn into the screens. I'm expecting my major order of supplies soon... it is suppose to go PRIORITY MAIL... so that means tomorrow, maybe.  I hope so.  I made the economic plunge because I have been trying to get the right equipment for a long time.  What I ordered is for small art.  I am going to work on my postcard designs, maybe some ATC's/ACEO's, small designs for baby clothes maybe, whatever I can figure out.  I only have about 10 screens to work with, of two types of screen material.

Next will be the emulsion learning curve... making my own screens to burn designs in.  I'm going to work my way up to poster sizes because that has always been something I wanted to do.

I watched some YouTube videos again... about the premade transfers that are available.  Some will do actual photos.  Some will work on sports clothes.  Some are for regular needs.  I am learning these things on my way to buying a heat press.

I was at a store tonight that had about 30K listings... that is a lot of listings.  I'm not sure I want to get that big... but if it's automated, it won't hurt.  That's a future decision.  Right now I just want to make a decent amount of money for CHRISTMAS.  I just remembered, as I was writing that last sentence, that my original goal was to make things all year and sell the most at CHRISTMAS, trying to make enough to pay for the next year... ahead.  :-)  I will have to write that down again.

I am debating (still) about PRINTFUL.  My eBay shop got disconnected from its integration with Printful.  I am thinking I might try manual sales for a bit.  I am getting ready to list some items with my phone.  I've been working in that direction for some time now.  I started taking photos and making social media posts this past week.  I started to make a listing, but didn't have my items planned for eBay out and ready to list.  I will be working on that this weekend, too.

I didn't do my prayer journals this morning.  The day just got away from me.  I will be entering them when I finish here.  I see how much better it is to get this done first thing in the morning, like Bible time.  I haven't had Bible time for a long time... it's been a long valley.  Today was a good thing... it has reminded me that mornings are important for some of the commitments we make.

I watched a video on making my own stickers, too... another goal.  I need one of those cutting machines to get that done right, good enough to sell.

Everything I want to do is based on the designs I have always wanted to make.

Awhile back I remembered the POLITICAL ACTION CARDS I created way back in the beginning of my quests for creating income.  They would be great for election issues like we are facing now, and will face in the future.  God willing, I might be able to get those done for the next Presidential election... it should be a major event for the US and the world because there will be two new candidates fighting to win the position.

We forget that our country is only as good, as healthy, as kind and merciful as the hearts of its people.  When there is no GOD to create moral foundations, sin and evil grow -- without the lost even understanding what they are missing.

I think the false media, powers that are bigger than us, try to make us think that Christians and Jews are dying.  It helps their cause... it makes us weak.

I wrote a letter to someone this week about deciding to sign up for AARP to get their "freebie" item... but not liking the politics of the group.  I remembered that one of reasons I wanted to build up Working Together was to be the AARP for Christians... to have the power that membership gives when it is large.  To stand against the rising evils.  To be able to organize protections and provisions for us.

I seem to be "remembering" my original goals these days. Mostly I just try to survive.  The things that mattered to me at the beginning seem pointless now, as I am heading into senior issues and death.  The foundation is good, the need is great, but the provision just hasn't been there.  I don't know why.

Sometimes I think it is the interference of Satan, but I don't think it would have been allowed this long unless there was a bigger purpose in GOD's Plan.

Sometimes I think the person, or people, who GOD wanted to provide for WT didn't do it.

There is always this connection with action in our faith.  I have shared it before, but one time I was in a church Bible study and a question was asked... I knew the answer, but didn't give it.  Then the Holy Spirit found someone else in the room to share the answer.  It was a lesson to me of how GOD works sometimes. When we don't do what He prompts us to do, sometimes He finds another Christian willing to be His vessel in a certain action.

Then I think of the times when there was no one else to be a substitute. What happens when we are the only one who can do something, and we choose not to do it?  It could be a minor consequence or it could be devastating... for us, for the church, for the Body of Christ... we don't know the effects of not doing GOD's Will.

I think of how different my life would be.  E V E R Y T H I N G  would have been different.  So, is this where we are all suppose to be?  Is this the time GOD will finally move on our behalf?  I don't know.

I guess I will just keep thinking about all these things... and trust that GOD is able to do anything that needs to be done, and I am just ONE tiny little cell in the global BODY of CHRIST.  Something is happening, I just don't know what it is.  GOD does.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us
and more...

Thursday 2 July - Thoughts on Prayer and Christmas

I started my daily  PRAYER  JOURNALING  on the first of the month.  Before I started I was thinking about what I might pray about in words on a page.  I finally watched WAR ROOM in mid June, and was impressed with the issues that were explored with the film... and wondered if I would ever do that kind of praying.  Instead, I decided more journaling would be good for me.

The amount of writing space for the Presidential Prayer Team (.org)  Quarterly Journal is not much, which is good.  If you take a piece of copy paper and fold it in half on the long side, you have the size of a small book... that is the size of their Journal.  Each page has half of the space lined for a short prayer.  The rest of it is words about other things, historical facts, the names of people in government being highlighted, etc.  

As I get into the process of repeated prayer, I am guessing my focus will change from America to some of the details they provide.  Maybe.  I am doing this because I am very concerned about my country, and about the rest of the world.  America impacts the globe, in one way or another.  So do it's Christians, through their charitable projects.

Since I will be writing a short prayer about my nation, I decided to add some prayers to the small personal journal I have (and didn't enter but ONE prayer when I started it.  I am praying for my children every day.  I sometimes add a prayer for myself.  And will be praying for other things as they come up.  In my personal journal I can go on as long as I want to... Sometimes I do that.  It will depend on the needs of the day.

Over my life I have heard sermons about Prayer Journals, and tried to do them several times.  It just didn't work well with my life.  I hope this time will be different.  I will keep you posted about my progress.   :-)   

Since this is an IMPORTANT election year, maybe you should start a daily journal for America, too.  We need some big change in how things are done.

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I am already starting on my CHRISTMAS activities.

I was working on my budget and trying to figure out how to save enough money for holiday giving. I eventually moved some of the Christmas donations to JULY and AUGUST instead of starting in September.  This is proving to be a really great decision.  I already made my donations for the month and now am trying not to spend  A L L  my money on giving.  I so would love to give to a LONG list of groups and ministries, but I can't.  

I'm working on ways to give to as many as I can, and as much as I can, each month.

Holiday commitments to give are not the only money issues at Christmas.  I am also working on my GIFTING list... kids, family, sending Christmas cards, and what I absolutely have to have CASH for.  :-)  Last month I already decided to MAKE as many gifts this year as I can.  This is going to be a challenge, too!

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I made some new designs for MUGS because I am doing a yearly project at my ETSY shop... trying to figure out monthly discounts.  I am now to the place where putting ONE ITEM on sale every month is working.  So far, I am designing a NEW MUG for the discount. 

Last month it was my Political Correctness theme.  This month it is ELECTION 2020.

The photo is the 15oz size, which is great for designs, for tea, for desk planters, and pen holders.  It's too big for me to drink coffee in, but I see a lot of people with larger cups of coffee!  (There's an 11oz size I think is better for coffee... but not as good for all the other things.  :-)  

I also put my CHOICES design on a mug!  With a new statement about the effects of our choices on the other side of the mug.

I can't get them to go on the same line right now... I will try to learn that.

I'm working on ways to use the tools I have access to.  The images on the computer screen don't always work on the products.

I also am trying to learn fonts and sizes and alterations to the fonts and colors and shadows...

This isn't the first photo I have tried to put on a mug, but it is the best one I have tried to use so far.

As my design options improve, so will my creations.

I keep saying, If I live long enough...   and that is probably true.  I will just keep going, get a good lawyer as soon as I can, make a great will so all my efforts go to good places, and trust that GOD is able to be in charge of things.

These are the choices I have right now.  If they change, maybe the results will be even better!  





The other design I created that day is this one...

I bet you can click on the photo to see it larger...

I am focusing on the need for every citizen to vote.  We are not a free nation led by the choices of its citizens if we do not vote.

There are no voting options without problems.  Our conversations become about things that take away from the really important issues we face as a nation because it keeps the real needs covered. 


We have to find a way to make our government become what it should have been all the time.

It needs to become a reflection of the people... not a resource for greed and harm, manipulation, power, evil.

There are posts all over social media about the morals of our leaders... how they make us a great country or a country that is near extinction.

Below is one I made with a Bible verse reference.

VOTING  is how we choose godly men and women leaders who will honor what is right.  It is our responsibility to our nation, to our families, to our GOD.

We can't choose the morality of our bosses, our family, our neighbors, but we can VOTE for our leaders and say who we think needs to be above us in authority.  We may not win, but we must let our choices be known.

This is why AMERICA has been great... what so many other countries in the world do not have.

I hope you won't waste the blessing GOD has given to us.  We lead the world, and we need good people in charge of our country.


It looks like the election is getting heated now... we are trying to get back to "normal" after such a long  VIRUS CRISIS.  Not much time left to campaign so it is probably going to be a very long summer and fall.  

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I see I am finding ways to make my posts more creative.  This is good.  :-)   I am trying to do this... just learning how!

I hope you have a safe and happy INDEPENDENCE DAY... think about America, what we need, who can keep their promises (as far as it is in their control),  and how you might VOTE in November.

A M E R I C A   N E E D S   Y O U !!!

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us
and more...