13 AUG - Faith in the hard parts, and Christmas prepping

 Hi, again...  the days seem very long when you are busy with things.  

In matters of Faith, I have been thinking deeply about the issues we are facing with people who have no moral foundations... who blame GOD for all their problems... who don't think it is "a hate crime" to attack Christians because they don't like the way we think about their issues.  This is what persecution is.

I received an email from a Christian media organization that offered a free viewing for Tortured for Christ, which is about the Voice of the Martyrs founder.  I signed up to watch it, but persecution is so hard to deal with... in real time.  I can't say whether I will force myself to watch it.  I will think about it over the weekend... my main movie watching time.

In our time, in our country, persecution takes a different route, usually.  It is growing in our lives, so we will one day think it is normal.  In the Bible, it was also "normal" (for the Jews, and also a political issue.  When Jesus came to die, it was the church of the time that wanted Him killed.  Jesus also warns us that people will think they are doing GOD a favor by killing those who don't agree with the prevailing thought.  

When I try to think about what life will be like as the End Time get worse, it seems so impossible that our salvation in Christ will be the weapon against us.  We usually think it will be the obvious enemies... those outside of the Faith.  I have been thinking a lot about what our lives will become like as evil wins more battles because it is required to fulfill prophecy.  

If I decide on any answers, I will try to share them with you.

Today I have been organizing my crafting supplies as I look for certain things I need.  It has been a good thing to do, but I am tired.

I finally found my silk-screening paint, then found my silk-screening supplies, then found my cardstock and other painting supplies.  I am going to get those started as soon as I can.  I made more space to do all that.  I still need to hang some kind of drying string.  I found more canvas-type art options for my learning curve on them.  Eventually I will settle into the ones I like the best.

I found many of my "in-progress" projects for selling things.  Those will get worked on first.  I have at least SEVENTY earring sets to make for this holiday selling season.  :-)  I will be experimenting with a LOT of different supplies.

I finally cut out some shapes with the play dough I made the other day.  I found a recipe that was a lot like my old one (from when my kids were small) so I tried it out, with the addition of lemon extract and yellow food coloring for this batch.  The recipe is so like salt dough recipes I am trying to see how it dries for making projects.  I flipped the pieces today because I noticed the edges were curling.  I will try to flip the pieces every day and see if that helps.

I am very excited about this year.  If I can work out the photo and shipping issues, this will be a good year.

I received my new battery-operated mini lights for Christmas today.  I found them at IKEA one day and ordered them right away.  I ordered a small one for my year-round mini fake tree, which will some day be used for my Holiday Sales events... one Christian, one Public - that's the goal.  Right now, since last Christmas, it has been too high on my shelves to attend to.  The batteries went out and I just didn't want to get up there to change them.  Now I totally redid the tree with last year's blue mini-lights and this year's white mini-lights.  I also put it in a place I can turn the lights off or on for the night time.  You cannot believe how bright they are with a new battery, then just a small subtle glow when the battery is nearly gone.  I like it in the middle range, but Dollar Tree and IKEA bargains are not built with that option.  If I find some one day, and they don't cost a LOT, I will try a set with a "dimmer switch."  Later on I will get some photos posted.  I am still decorating the space below the tree for this year.  :-)

So, my life is focused on CHRISTMAS... making, selling, gifting.

And the election.

This is the strangest year... so many struggling, so much hate and violence, media-bashing is rising again, and technology is changing our lives in both good and bad ways.

I am able to deal with it all much better when I do my Prayer Journals.  They help me see the limits of my ability and my resources.  They help me to call on GOD for things I could never do.  They help me to focus on Him.

I still sorrow with the news reports and the struggles of my own life, but I am able to see the world through the eyes of GOD and allow Him to be in charge.  I pray.

I hope your lives are doing much better than mine, that you are able to lift up others in your hearts to GOD daily, and that we will all keep our faith as the time grow harder.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

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