31 October, 2020

FAITH :: The power of Money in our lives.

I hate to say it, but I went to bed so tired and fighting off a headache, forgetting it was SATURDAY, and my new posting date for this blog.  So sorry.  I will get the hang of this!  :-)

I have been watching old movies this weekend.

I finally watched a Shirley Temple movie again... Poor Little Rich Girl.  I had no idea it was suppose to be about Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth heiress.  I searched for some info on her as I was linking around and she had the saddest (and richest) life for her day.  The Shirley Temple movie wasn't about that... so I don't know if it was really linked to her. 

Barbara Hutton's mother died when she was 4, and her father abandoned her.  She was passed around and never loved by anyone... throughout her entire life it seems.  She was married at least seven times and died alone in a major hotel where she lived at the end of her life, virtually broke.  One comment made about her was the waste of her money on things that had no meaning, how her life could have been so different if she would have found a passion in some form of community service.

It was such a study in wealth for me.  I really had no idea she existed before the other night.


I am having a hard time thinking of what else to share since I brought up that topic.  Money is the biggest distraction we have from faith in GOD and salvation and values that bring us happiness.

The Bible tells us the biggest choices we have is between GOD and money.

As I have struggled with poverty, I have seen different parts of the battle and why money has such power.  It becomes a tool of Satan in the Christian community as well... in churches, in ministries, in fame, in power, in the hidden pride of what it means as we think it's GOD's approval for our lives.

I created a statement to keep me focused on the right side of this war ::


Money is a weapon or a tool. 

A weapon to hurt, or a tool to help.


It's hard to be without it.

It's a burden when you have too much.

Finding the right place for money in our lives can be the biggest challenge we face.


Well, it's time to finish this.  I will try to do better next Saturday.


In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...










24 October, 2020

FAITH :: Changing....

Here I am again... on Saturday.

I was so focused on the Presidential debate and other things on Thursday, I forgot my Faith post.  Then I was inspired to change the day to something more meaningful... my Saturday Sabbath.  Now, officially, the real Sabbath is over at sundown, so next time I might do this in the morning.  

It seems like a good idea to make it a Sabbath activity because I am always searching for things to do that are spiritual instead of "work"... and we all know I like to ramble on about things.  After thinking about it, I decided making a post for Faith topics on my Saturdays might be a great idea... and leave the weekdays for other things.

I got out of my routine.  I was really surprised at the difference that makes.  So, I'm working on getting back into a reminder process... maybe a better wall calendar so I can always see my schedule.  I will have to see how this works out.


The election is our constant prayer project right now.  It's hard to watch the disintegration of all that is holy in my lifetime.  No one is a perfect candidate for any party, but this election is like the choice between freedom and faith and government control of our lives... which is my definition of socialism, communism, or whatever you call the government taking over every part of our lives using taxes and healthcare and regulations and police force and other parts of our civilization that we normally respect and honor.  I'm not talking about upheaval and revolt, just the idea that we become criminals just for not wearing masks, not staying home, wanting to go to church, and other recent actions taken by our governments.  

I really hate to think about our nation under the leadership of Biden and Harris. I am praying GOD will protect us for a longer time, as long as He can, until the requirements of Prophecy mean we these changes have to take place.

Not much time left until the 3rd of November.


It's late where I live.  I just wanted to make sure I posted today.  This is a fluid effort, so who knows what will happen to my postings online... at this and other blogs.  I am realizing I need a public option for free access to the things I write about.  My Patreon page is not really about public posts.  I am thinking about that this month and through the end of the year.  I like to make changes at the changing of each year, so I think about those issues for several months heading into a NEW year.

Patreon is meant to be my main fundraising effort and activity space, it is also meant to have lots of Patrons.  This year didn't happen the way I hoped it would.  Now I am working on ways to connect with the world in PUBLIC and PRIVATE ways... exclusive access seems important to my goals for the rest of my life.  I am still looking for the best path forward.

Until next time,

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...




16 October, 2020

FAITH :: Remembering the past and changing the future.

Hello, everyone... it's about 12:30 am now... I just finished watching the very old version (1936) of SHOW BOAT... in two parts.  Today was a YouTube and search result movie day. I'm not sure how I ended up with the old version.  I really LOVE the 1951 movie version of the song OLD MAN RIVER and tried to find a way to listen to it.  Now I have it saved at my YouTube space so I can listen any time I want. 

Old movies really are different from what is made today.  I suppose they were considered too revealing in their time... but it's a big change to watch singing and dancing and stories and then today's idea of "progress" is to watch people having sex, swearing, hurting each other, and more.

This week I watched a replay of a talk about MORALITY. It is a forgotten concept in our time.  We don't fully understand what this means to our society, our laws, our relationships.  I see it online, but if you don't have moral boundaries, what do you base your decisions on?  Right.  Nothing... "Just Do It"... If it feels good, it must be good... and other phrases like these.

I remember when I was a teen in the 1960's - during the "sexual revolution" and Woodstock and bra burning... and women's lib. We don't see the consequence of these changes until it's too late.

I have had the thought that "reality shows" are just the newest version of breaking down the values that protect us.  I don't watch them... don't want to.  I remember checking on some shows a long while back and thinking it's just a way to "watch" people, push them into bad places, and see how far they will go.  

In watching the old version of Show Boat there was a scene with "black face" and I wondered if there would be an uprising to rid the world of this old movie... like taking down historical statues because you disagree with the times that they represented.  

Our world is really in trouble... we can't respect our history.  It is important to remember what the past was like so you can make a better future.  

I didn't like my past, but I can't change what it was. I can change the parts I didn't like, make new decisions, learn how to do things I didn't know about back then, and work toward better results. 

This is the essence of Christ's forgiveness. It doesn't erase the past, it helps you to overcome the habits and choices you had so you can build a new future.  I think I have shared before my idea that Christ erases our criminal record, but the results of our sin and bad choices don't go away, we still have to deal with them.

How to keep from making bad choices... in a world with little ability to engage with it and not have it forced on you somehow.  I might watch a G-rated movie but the ads that go with it are more like porn.  It's something I am trying to find answers for these days.

Right now, I am torn between wanting to buy copies of all these old movies I love, that aren't explicit, rated R, filled with things I don't want to see or hear, and realizing I won't be here much longer so I guess just watching replays is enough.  

I think I will be happy just to be able to listen to OLD MAN RIVER when I want to.


How do we survive with our morals intact in this time in history?  What do you do to be at peace with GOD in the midst of things you cannot control?

Let me know.


In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...


PS... I updated the website a bit, on the homepage.  I am getting it ready for the DECEMBER Membership Drive... the Membership info and links will be done by December, GOD willing.  :-)   Who knows WHAT the rest of the year will hold!




08 October, 2020

FAITH :: America's Future and GOD's Word

This election seems to be our national decision about where we are heading... Freedom and Democracy, or Socialism and Government Rule.  It is hard for me to see my country becoming what it is.  I hoped to be gone when Prophecies became this real.

We see the increasing violence, we see the difference between a godly nation and one that is honoring abortion, euthanasia, mercy killing, addictions, greed, self, and alternative sexuality in children and adults. 

Those who hate the boundaries GOD places on our lives, for our own good, will do anything they can to malign the faith of believers.  The theme seems to be force... and the anger keeps rising every year.  In the Bible, there are only two real references to the way the world will be in the End Times... one of them is about Sodom before it was destroyed.

This prophecy is about the sexual appetites of its citizens and the inability of the populations to stop them.  I wouldn't say we are as violent as Sodom yet, but we are heading in that direction.  The attitude of force against anything related to GOD is becoming open and vicious.

When the two angels came to take Lot and his family out of Sodom because GOD was going to destroy it, the Bible tells us men rushed from all over the city to be the first to conquer the new visitors.  The Bible tells us that Lot was willing to sacrifice his daughters to appease the violent men.  The Bible tells us they had a huge "lock" on their door to protect themselves from what was outside.

I can't imagine living in a place like that... and I have seen inner cities I was afraid of.  

Violent control is not always physical.  We have seen how the courts have been used to hurt and destroy Christians.  We see the media used to make everyone afraid to believe what they want to.  We have seen small children used to further the cause of the LGBT community.  We have seen "coalitions" created to prevent the success of any other theology.  

I have wondered how many of the gay people I see on TV and in the news became that way by force, by fear, by abuse... thinking there was no other choice.  

Only GOD knows the hearts of each of us... whatever our sin may be.  He is the only one who can know how to judge these issues.  I have just tried to understand how to protect myself and my children and my family and my friends and my Christian Community.  


How can we approve the purposeful murder of unborn children, simply for the "cause" of making it legal.  I can see how abortion is really a modern form of child sacrifice, how it protects the man who created the child with the mother, and how greed is the reason it is so important for some to protect.

Greed is also behind "mercy killing" - another form of legalized murder.  Euthanasia, volunteer suicide, the high cost of medical services, government health insurance, the war between Democrats and Republicans, the national budget and debt, the breakdown of the family structure - including large distances between family members because of work, education, and other factors, all contribute to the changes in our nation and its values.  Once the government controls health care, it will begin to limit what is approved for payment.  If the government reaches the 100% level in taxation, we will all be employees of the government.  There will be no getting away from the governments ability to decide our entire lives.

America is not ready for this kind of submission.  We don't believe it will ever happen.  We are the frog that is put in the water when it is cool and then boiled without a fight because the heat rises slowly.

I believe this election is the second major turning point in our future history... I believe 9/11 was the first real evidence of GOD removing His protection from our nation.  This is all tied to prophecy.  If Trump wins, it is only four years (we hope) until the next point of decision.  Prophecy will come true, we just don't know how or when.  We see the signs of what GOD warned us about, but only GOD knows all the details of how it will become reality.


I hope and pray that GOD will help us to elect Trump again... just to find more time to fight against the tide of evil that is taking over the world on its way to the Antichrist and the final end of our lives.  

What matters most now?

I'm not sure I can answer that for everyone.  I am still trying to find ways to protect myself and other Christians.  We need to think about what is coming.  We need to find ways to protect each other on the path forward.  

If we can gather together, we can find answers together.


In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...






01 October, 2020

FAITH :: Today, Tomorrow, and Always

I guess it has been a long week... the Presidential debate, working on my food options, sorting through so many piles of papers to clear out the old stuff, praying still, and getting way behind on my prayer journal.  :-(   --  I don't know if I can catch up with this one...  OCTOBER starts new books for both of my prayer journals... USA and personal.  Maybe I can just try to keep up with it this time.   I will have to think about this...

I think the biggest thing for me right now is going food shopping on Sunday... GOD willing.  It's been a long haul trying to live on what I had stored up.  I guess we learn lessons along the way, like figuring out new "meals" from random ingredients.   :-)     Some worked out really good... others went into the compost container or the trash!  I would never search for these things if I didn't have to.  I go for the easiest, fastest, simplest food solutions for each meal... with a small thought to my nutritional goals.  

My minimum goal is 2 fruit servings and 3 veggie servings, plus the carbs and whole grains.  Sometimes I get that worked out, other times it's OVERLOAD!  (Eating too much.)  I think being a senior citizen allows us to splurge, within reason.  We don't have all that much time left, so we can indulge.


In case you missed it, here is a new design I created at PRINTFUL (affiliate link  :-)  for my  ETSY  October discount item...


I was going to make a poster item, but it just didn't work out... so I tried the postcard option.  I had to re-make it maybe four times because it kept disappearing from my screen and wasn't saved automatically... "warning" for you if you try it.  Buying the first one is relatively expensive in shipping ($3.25 I think), but if you order more (at $2 each) you only pay 5-cents each for the added cards to ship... at least, that is what the site says.

The process of creating a design again showed me I need a better computer, better internet access, and better software... ADOBE, I think.  That is growing on my priority list.  Big Bucks for me --- about $60 a month if I remember right.  It's going to be necessary, so I have to deal with it.  :-( 


In sorting through so many of my older papers, I have rediscovered so many great things.  Memories.  I have tried to be ruthless and shred as much as I can.  I tend to go through these things in stages... first stage - as much as possible, second-stage - as much as possible, third stage - as much as possible...   :-)   It is just so hard to let go of memories, and things I don't have time to really read/review.


This election has made me realize that AMERICA is at one of those seriously historical pivot points.  This election seems like the line in the sand... and who gets elected will decide how much of the heritage of our nation will remain.  

No one is a perfect person, so they both (all candidates in an election) have their issues and their strengths in different areas of experience.  But, given their agendas for the country, only one option is available for godly foundations to continue at least four more years, GOD willing.  

I hate to think of the country if Biden and Harris win.

The Democratic Party is fighting hard because they think their goals are right for everyone.  The Republican Party is doing the same.  This year is a very different year than any before, and the many historical events that have happened THIS YEAR ONLY make this election unusual and suspect and dangerous and frightening.

My view is linked to PROPHECIES in the Bible and what GOD has told us the world will become.  Is this the turning point for Christians?  No one knows what the future will bring us, but we can all see the problems are increasing, becoming global, and not easily solved.  It seems like the Antichrist is just down the road... maybe another 20 years or less...maybe.  GOD seems to allow so much time before He judges anything, because He wants us to find our way to heaven.  So, our ideas of how long it will take aren't the same as His.  Only He knows when the Antichrist will get here.  In my personal life, I think he will get here tomorrow!  :-)   

We need to figure out some strategies to protect the ones we love, those in our communities, and how to build safety into our global ministries.  Maybe this election will push this on us.


Until next time,

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...