FAITH FRIDAY :: 24 SEP 2021 - Housing ideas and Faith in GOD's will for our lives

Well, I almost forgot it was Friday again!  :-)  I was browsing videos at You Tube.  Housing is a big topic for me.  I watch a lot of Tiny House videos, and found one by a channel called Invisible People.  I think they are in the Los Angeles area of California, but that was only a guess.  I made a very long comment about the isse, which I kept for my records, but I think I will share it here.  I mentioned several of my own ideas on housing and government... maybe one of my readers will be able to use them to help the homeless in their area.

Let me know if you think any of these quickly shared ideas has any hope of being implemented !!

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Well, just going to add my comments to the conversation... not sure they will be seen at this date.  I hear comments only register right after posting.  :-)

I heard Santa Monica so I am guessing it's a CA location.

I heard safe zone is only for COVID reasons.  Where will she go as restrictions are lifted.

I wonder if there are any worthwhile updates about her situation... housing, job, future?

I read some of your materials but relying on the government to be all answers to all people is  not going to help the nation.  Taxes can only go so far.  The government has promised too much, abused the funds it has already received, and doesn't seem to think it will ever go bankrupt because, after all, the people can pay more, right?!

The options that are available need government approval, not always funding.  That is a long hard and sometimes futile process.  People like you can make changes on your own.  You are a charity.  Raise funds for housing projects.  Buy land and build a community for the people you are advocating for.

Tiny Houses are legal in California... see what you can do with them... will you make decent housing or just something to cover a human from the elements?  Rehab old trailers, RVs, make cheap containers into housing, create something like a KOA for a small homeless community - they would house tents, cars, campers, and even include cabins for some. 

I think a quarter acre is right for a family, but urban housing often exists on a tenth of an acre.  Buy them all over the city, by transit for poverty transportation needs, and create single living spaces.

I think homeless options exist on the top floors of parking garages.  They have water pipes (for fire requirements) so they can be divided by parking spaces and be modified for cooking and showers and laundries.  Parking garages are generally by transit I think.  Security options can be created to protect all.  The idea is to STABILIZE, so no time requirements... duplicate the options to include more homeless people.

Churches have been a resource for centuries.  The problem is zoning... again, the government needs to approve changes that don't cost money.  Porta-potties seem to work for this option.  Electricity can be worked out.  Help can be found in the congregations. Some churches are by transit.  Some church members have skills that might help a homeless person or family... like mechanics to fix cars or trucks.  Once a church finds out if the person is worth helping more, there might be more opportunities for the individual or family.  Time is always a good thing when people are good people.

Find out what exact properties the city (govt) owns that might be available for use.  Make sure you get an agreement in writing that says the project is forever or there will just be another problem in the future.  Make a purchase of any land by transit or some life need.  Create housing there.

I have the idea that housing needs to stop being a subsidy for the developers and become a small income source for the government.  See if you can get them to establish a new home ownership program where the payment is the traditional government charge of 30% of income... it will change the future for everyone in the whole USA once it gets going.  It becomes non-tax income, but there needs to be a fund in place to pay for the property when a new buyer is created, which would be a pre-approved homeless person.  The seller would see an income from their efforts to improve their property over the years of ownership...maybe use that to buy a new home for themselves.

Look for ways to house people that will take them off the streets and provide for their human needs...spread the efforts all over the city so all the homeless are not in one general space like Skid Row... FIND places, look for things you can do, what other non-profits can do, what the homeless can do for themselves.

viewed  24 SEPT 2021  [probably about 10pm]

COMMENT on this video  ::  https://youtu.be/nT3VGI0V5Rs

Homeless Woman Has a Masters in Mathematics and Engineering

2,174,807 views Apr 21, 2021  -  50K hands up  -  1.1K hands down

Invisible People  -  986K subscribers

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Other than that, I have been fighting the battle to survive myself.

I finally did some experimenting with my resin supplies yesterday.  I am happy about the experience.  I now have to decide what to do with the pieces I made.  With resin there is a layering process.  I am trying to create things I can sell at my ETSY or EBAY shops, or provide as a benefit to my PATREON supporters.

I haven't been doing good with my ART efforts the past couple of weeks.  Been busy with other things.  I cut about three watercolor paper pads into sections to use.  Now to use them.  

Eventually, I will find the crafting directions I want to focus on.

FAITH... it's been a slow path recently.  I think it seems to follow the amount of struggling I do in my life, the harder it is the more I seek GOD.  That seems to be the way it goes for all of us... we just see the suffering, GOD sees the lesson to be learned... or the part of His plan that needs to be accomplished... or the consequences of our sins or someone else's sins.  

I have always figured GOD is up to something if I can't find a way out of what is happening.

Maybe it is my life He's working in, or maybe it is someone else's.  I have to trust Him either way... look for the answers, and wait if I can't find them.

I shared an old photo I found recently on one of my Patreon posts.  I think I will end with it here.  I pray GOD is close to us and helping us to find our answers.  GOD is the only person I have ever had to trust in.  I think I will keep my focus on Him.

FAITH FRIDAY :: 17 sept 2021 - Finding GOD in the struggle.

Hello to all -  Friday is here.  

I often wonder what to share here.  My weeks are full of thoughts about GOD and us and where prophecy is leading us.  I tend to be serious about these topics, and they are the meaning of my life. 

Life is filled with so much good and so much bad... the bad seems to scream louder because it is painful to deal with.  It is why we call out to GOD for help.  When GOD doesn't take away the hurt, we think He doesn't care.  It's been a search of mine to figure out what GOD does in our lives... how he acts, moves, deals with sin, and accomplishes prophecy without compromising His Words.

We trust GOD because He doesn't lie.

What does that mean in real life... throughout history... in our times and the days that lie ahead.  I spent many many years searching for answers.  I haven't been able to do that in recent history, but I still remember the things I discovered.  

I fairly recently purchased this little journal at a Dollar Tree... so I could put it in a place where I would be reminded that nothing can change the past... to try to find a better future.  It does help.  I have it next to my computer space.

Those of us with less than acceptable pasts have a hard time getting over the shadow they cast on every future step we take.

Faith is the only thing that helps me keep going.

This is a mug I designed a long while ago.  I like this half of the design, but decided to make a new mug without the other side on this one... I'm working on what to replace the statement with... the statement on the other side... or maybe just duplicate this design on both sides so it can be seen by people with both left- and right-handed grasps.

The mug that really matters is my mug about the Body of Christ... with two designs and both of them essential to the message... and bot part of my effort called  Working Together  (work2gather.us) - which is all about getting us together and protected for the hard days of prophecy before the Antichrist comes to kill us.

You can see this at my ETSY shop or my EBAY shop.  The other side has my 5-line expression of what salvation is all about, and how it makes us ONE Body of Christ...

One God

One Bible

One Christ

One Salvation

One Body

This mug is what I want every Christian to have in their lives... and share with others.  It is brief and it shares the main elements of our place in this life.  I hope you will consider purchasing some for everyone you know that claims the salvation of Christ.

Since creating it, I am the only one who has purchased it.

I hope that changes soon.

Selling products is the way I hoped to support myself and build Working Together, because my life, my past, doesn't allow traditional methods.  That is still my goal.

I keep this news page with me because of the title and the space it shows... it is suppose to be a photo of a property that was 40 acres large.  I need more than that for WT, but as a local option, it was inspiring.  I had wanted another property in Oregon that was also 40 acres of farmland.  It would allow a lot of growth, either as farmland or as development in an urban location.  Forty acres seems large until you start building.

As time passed and I couldn't find a way to raise funds, I had to search for GOD's meaning in the lack of provision.  I find the Enemy has violated my life and efforts in ways I never thought possible.  We have entered a new world.  Technology has changed a lot.  We can't avoid the actions of non-believers, so I keep looking for GOD's path forward.

Whatever happens, we need to remain faithful to what GOD has taught us and our salvation.  I heard a sermon sometime recently, maybe this week, and it talked about the ten days we will be thrown in prison and only those who remain faithful will keep the crown of righteousness and heaven.  It makes me think of the Jews in the prison camps... and great suffering that I cannot even imagine.

Our times may get hard, but if we gather together to help each other, it will be a strength for everyone.

My focus is food, shelter, and protection... with everything else becoming part of the work as GOD provides for it.  So... I keep looking for land that will provide what we need when the time comes.

Join me in my efforts.

Deborah Martin,

Founder and Owner

Working Together Inc

1987 to present

http://work2gather.us

FAITH FRIDAY :: 10 SEPT 2021 - Thinking about America and 9/11

 It is always a hard time for me when 9/11 gets here.  This year it is 20 years since it happened.  I feel it was a turning point for our nation because we have strayed from our spiritual foundations.  To me, it was a sign that GOD's Hand of Protection has left us.

In the flow of prophecies about the End Times, morality and spiritual commitments are going to go away.  Living in these times is hard.  I don't want my country to lose the blessings that are part of being dedicated to GOD, saved by Jesus, trusting ourselves to the Will of GOD.  There is nothing in the Bible that says GOD has to keep protecting us when we fail to keep Him first in our lives.  Even Israel fell away and was forced to endure judgments for their sins and faithlessness.

Last year I discovered a YouTube video about how people with boats rushed to help after the Twin Towers were hit and later collapsed. It was a short video, but was very inspiring.  I hoped it would become a good memory for this major Anniversary of the event.  I wanted a hard copy to keep forever.

I just searched for it... here is the link ::  https://youtu.be/18lsxFcDrjo

BOATLIFT - An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience (HD Version)

That's the best I can do with the copy and paste option for info from the video page.  :-)  Tom Hanks is the narrator.  It was the ten year anniversary production.

We are not a godly nation anymore.

It is good to see something like this.

So, I am still praying for a lot of the same things in my life.  Thinking about how GOD provides, and what causes the things you pray for to not get to you.  

We can find different views of prayer and provision in the Bible.  I think I must not have the faith that makes it possible -- you know, the faith that will move a mountain, the faith where Jesus says that whatever we ask will be done -- and then there's the part that says we don't get because we ask amiss, to fulfill our lusts for things.  Then there's the knocking on the door passage... knock, seek, find.  :-)   

Which one applies?  (to my prayers.)

Faith is not a simple thing, unless you are that child the Bible talks about.  haha

I am still kind of stuck on the concept of "Free Will" and how it affects us as a person, a nation, a world... even the fulfillment of prophecy.  I don't know if you read about what happened (this year, I think) when I was writing a statement about Herod killing all the innocent babies because he wanted to kill the baby Jesus.  Herod was fulfilling a prophecy.  Could anything change that?  I don't know... I don't think so.  What GOD did was to warn Joseph and send him to a safer place until Herod was dead... and that became the fulfillment of another prophecy.

It's a huge example of how GOD works in our world.

We want GOD to end our suffering, to bring us the things we need (or want) so we don't have to deal with the pain of not having them.  He can't do that.  What would it look like if every single prayer by every single person was answered?  It's an impossible event.

So what does that mean to our lives?

I have shared these things before, somewhere in my writings, but I finally came up with a statement to clarify the whole matter of sin and suffering and free will, at least in my mind. I want to make it into something that can be shared, something that will be read more than once, maybe something that will fit into a Bible.

We suffer because others choose to sin, 

others suffer because we choose to sin.

Think about it. We are responsible for the condition of our world because of our choices... all of us... everyone.  It isn't GOD that has made all the suffering in our lives... but it is easy to blame Him, to expect Him to fix the consequences of every sin.

9/11 is an example of this ripple effect I talk about.  Innocent people died because someone hated America.  That's what we think caused it.  Why did they hate us?  What did they hope to accomplish by doing these actions?

I want to see GOD's people protected... somehow... as the End Times get worse and become what prophecy tells us they will become.

How can we do that? 

Well, let me know your ideas.  

I say to become One Body of Christ, in each community... so we can make sure everyone that is Christian or Jew or in need of care/protection is safe.  We can be the answer to each other's prayers.

FAITH FRIDAY :: Food and other things. ARTWORKS!

It has been another long week... I have been doing a lot of serious thinking, making some serious comments at social media and other places, and working on my PATREON posting efforts. I thought I had a new schedule that would work for the rest of the year, but I am trying to find a way to post all the same info one time and then the separate info to each tier.  I see two posts or an attachment for the solution so far.  :-)

We just have to keep looking until we find the way we need to go.

Today I harvested my two containers of potatoes.  :-)  That was a fun experience.  haha  I have finished cleaning up after the fun, and may be ready for winter weather already!

If you don't remember, I started a container of organic white potatoes first.  The green tops on that container died first, but it still had a little green growing so I wasn't sure if I should dump the thing and look for potatoes.  My son says they rot if you leave them in the soil after the tops have browned.  He had already harvested his, I waited a week more I think.  This was the first container I harvested this morning.

I don't have the photos on my computer yet, so I can't share them here.  I may try to do that later.  There were more very small potatoes in the white harvest.  I washed off about five or six of the largest in that bunch and lots of little black holes were all over them.  One had the black part going all the way into the potato.  (There was only one - largest - potato casualty when I dumped the container  :-)  I haven't checked the rest of the potatoes yet.

I have nothing to compare a harvest with, so I am just telling you what I found.

Later I went back and dumped the store-bought red potato container.  Lots more of the larger ones, less of the smaller ones.  I haven't cleaned these yet so I have no idea if they are edible - without lots of disease.

That's my first "successful" growing of potatoes.  I figure I will learn more and try another way to grow them next year.  :-)

I made my first fermented cabbage into a meal today.  It was pretty good!  I love kielbasa and sauerkraut with potatoes... so, you can guess, I used my new potato harvest to make some.  I recently fermented the cabbage (for about a week) with a brine recipe that uses 1 teaspoon kosher salt to each cup of water.  --  The brine formula seems to be important, so that is why I am sharing the one I finally used.  It is the easiest one I found.  --  With new potatoes and new fermented cabbage, I was ready to find out what it would taste like!  :-)

I was surprised at how good it tasted. Fermented cabbage doesn't have as much sour to it.  It cooked up great, didn't take long.  I will be trying more fermented foods over time.

Now I am trying to ferment some of the tomatoes I got at the Farmer's Market... they are like large cherry tomatoes.  I don't know what variety they are, but they are little round things about the size of a golf ball.  I watched a video by Pro Home Cook and he made them.  I didn't have enough to fill the jar I had, but I added some onions, too.  I am wondering how this will end up as tomatoes usually split with water.

How to use fermented foods is a challenge for me.  My son suggested the sauerkraut option.  I hadn't thought about it.  I was thinking sandwiches.  I don't know what the tomatoes will end up like so I am not sure what to do with them yet.  I have to find some other veggies to ferment.

Food.  We don't think about it until we don't have any.

I bought some lottery tickets because when I was at the store the reader said they were over 300 million dollars.  I haven't checked them yet, but if someone won from this area, I am sure I would have heard about it.  It's a divisive issue in the church.  Is it gambling if you just buy one ticket?  Is BINGO gambling?  For me, it's a search for funding for Working Together.  A big maybe, but still a possibility.  I haven't been able to raise even enough money for my own life with online efforts, and I would never qualify for a loan.  It seems like my only option.  So, I buy a ticket when the prize gets huge.  I figure it would have to be a miracle of GOD for me to win!  As far as I know, I'm still looking for funds.  :-)

I won't share the serious things I have been thinking about this week... maybe in the future.

I did spend HOURS trying to get my photo all downloaded to my computer so I can sort through them and see what I have, what I want to keep, what matters.  Here are a few before I go.

Have a great weekend.  May GOD be near the suffering, where ever they are, and may he bring the Body of Christ together to help and protect each other as our struggles increase.

These are some art I made a long time ago... maybe 2002, I'm not sure right now as I write this.     The photos are bad, but they have to do for now.