FAITH FRIDAY on 13 May 2022 - short update

 Another Friday.

Working on my giant print options.

I finally uploaded some of the new photos I took and discovered HEIC... meaning I had to buy an app to see them. Still more to learn about that process.  I may go back to taking all my photos with my old camera.

This is one of the photos I took to share. It is  an old greeting card I received a long time ago.  I liked the statement. I laminated it to keep it forever.

Here is another inspirational statement I had saved.  I don't recall where I found this one, but I liked the quote.

I walked around my room one day, trying to take a bunch of photos to share in different spaces.  This is the only place my first design about food issues exists, so I decided I better get a photo to remember it.  I need to redo this design.  It disappeared from my Printful account. 

When I went to see what I could do about that, I ended up making a new, related design on a laptop sleeve, which I LOVE!

Here it is...

I need to spend some time making new designs for my ETSY shop.  I seem to be avoidng it.

I am still trying to digest the possibility the microchip will be attached to digital currency, which the government is moving toward.  I didn't want to miss another post.  I will let you know my decisions about it when I know.

Until next time, God willing.

FAITH FRIDAY for 6 May 2022 - Is the Antichrist nearer than we thought?

I guess it's been a harder week than normal.  I have been thinking about something I discovered recently, maybe it was last weekend, maybe a little earlier.

I watched/listened to some programs by Jan Markell (Understanding the Times) because the were about the topic of "buying and selling" from prophecy.  Their focus was on government wanting to create or regulate digital currency.  It occurred to me that digital currency could be the connecting point for the microchip in the body... the "Mark of the Beast" we know is coming, but don't know for sure how or when.

I have been realizing that it would make our efforts to save money, be debt free, prepare for life without money (to survive a little bit longer) pointless.Years ago I read about pilot projects in prisons and then in ordinary people.  I assume the microchip we think will be the "Mark" has been tested and approved by now.  It's ready to become the new way to live.  

If it is connected to the government's currency changes, for any number of reasons (like bankruptcy, saving money because they wouldn''t have to print or distribute or protect paper and coin currency, "safety" for citizens, the distribution of services to those who might need social services - maybe everyone, and a way to provide without having the "gold" to back up the value of currency....), we won't have any options for surviving.  The money we need for everything will be tied to having that microchip.

I have been thinking about how this moment in history fits into prophecy.  I have no idea what we can do to help ourselves, protect those we love, create alternative options... we will be forced into making that choice.

I wonder if there would be a "transition" from curency to chip on a card to the final moment of having a microchip embedded in our bodies.  The Bible says it will be the right hand or the forehead.

Money is connected to jobs, paychecks, mortgages, rent, food, utilities, transportation, taxes, everything we think of as a normal existence.  We have old movies about being homeless when the time comes, of hiding out from the government when the time comes.  I am not sure what will happen if we come to that moment in our lifetimes.

I haven't studied the topic for many years but I remember the Bible saying that less than a single generation would be alive after Israel reunited.  I remember wondering how GOD defined a generation.  I remember wondering if Israel reborn meant what happened in 1948 or could it mean something else to GOD... like Isreal reclaiming ALL of the historical land.  Only GOD knows what He meant by that statement.

In recent times I read/heard someone state that the Boomers might be the last generation with a faith in GOD and all that is connected to it.  

I had a project planned for Working Together called 40 Days in the Wilderness.  It was to gather all the leaders of all the denominations every summer so they could talk about the parts of the Bible we seem to interpret differently - to find resolutions, to look for GOD's view, to help us to become the ONE BODY we are supposed to be.  In creating that event, I realized that it could become the way the Gospel is heard by eveyone in the world... fulfilling another prophecy.  The internet would allow that.

I always thought the Antichrist would be farther in the future.  Now I wonder if I will live long enough to see him rise to power.  Will I need to choose between the Mark and GOD?

It is so hard to even think of these things.  It has been a difficult week.

I posted a couple things about this.  I emailed about it once or more.  This weekend I am debating on how to share it with those who know more about what is happening than I do... who can reach more Christians than I can.

What to do?  I keep trying to think about what GOD is doing.  About my life.  About the great needs in our world and in Christian families.

Let me know if you have any suggestions.

This is just a possible path to the prophecies about the Antichrist.  It seems very possible.  It is a global possibility.  It is scary to see it happening.

May GOD help us to find our way forward, to unite, to prepare, to help each other, to keep our faith, to see GOD when the time comes, to trust in Him, to love Him, to pray for those we love who may not choose Him.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

 

FAITH FRIDAY for 29 April 2022 - end-of-the-month week

 It's almost the month of MAY!  Every time I get to the end of the month, I wonder where all my days went, what did I get done, what can we put on the list for the next month.... This is what I do in my efforts to go forward.

I am still working on my NOTEBOOKS.  I made a new form to try to keep track of everything.  So far, I have revised it at least twice.  I will try the newest version for MAY.

I squeezed in most of my life details on the one page.  I am trying to list what I plan to do, have to do, and don't get to.  I'm trying to teach myself how to focus on three things for a day and make sure they are things I need to do.  It is very hard for me to decide what three to focus on, and not get sidetracked by all the other things that are easier to do.

I'm working on weight loss so I am recording as much of my food as I can to see how I do over time.  I am working on three meals and a snack this year and finding it helpful to reduce the spaces for recording food.  My meals are getting better and smaller, sometimes just one main thing at a time with more times for eating over the day.  My records seem to be leading me into just a limited number of slots to fill.

In trying out an old yearly planner I had, I see the benefit of one page a day, and the smaller size.  I've been trying to design my own, maybe to sell on AMAZON as a low-content book.  I have made a couple draft versions.  I am still thinking of a separate booklet for each month but have to decide by Sunday if I want to try it out for MAY.  A smaller booklet is easier than a regular size notebook for the space I have to keep it.  I am hoping to find a great three- or six-ring notebook to use.

This year I am working on STEPS for exercise.  There is an eliptical where I live.  I tried doing time as a measure for each day.  It was a pain.  I decided to try the STEPS option this year, so I count my steps every day.  If you didn't read my previous posts, I discovered the 10,000 steps exercise goal is about 5 miles in walking.  So I am trying to work my way up to 10K a week.  Since I found out that a 5K race is about 3 miles, that has become my second goal... for a daily quest.  Joggers do more than that I hear.  I will be very happy just to get to the five miles a week, but then I might keep going and try a 5K race if I stay healthy enough for it.

I watched a video with a 70+ woman who was still doing marathons.  She was a lifetime (almost) jogger and racer.  I am a newbie... just trying to stay alive a little bit longer.  It's a good goal for me.

I am also trying to make my page a part of my to-do lists for each day.  I made spaces for my online activities and for my household duties.  It helps to write some of these things down so I can remember when I did them, or what I did when.

This is my monthly process, every last week of the month.  It helps me to see a path for the next month, and know where I am at.  

My budget, my goals, my life.

I'm still working on that effort to restudy the End Times and make posts about it.

Still working on my art, jewelry, and other crafting projects.

Still working on my letter project to keep in touch with other people in my family and old friends.

Still hoping to do my Bucket List items.

Still working on lots of things.

It's better to be busy than bored... must be why I have such long lists of things to get done.  :-)

Thoughts about the expected Rapture, the economy, and Christians.

I was listening to some Jan Markel programs at a RUMBLE.com link today.  I was concerned about the repeated mentions about a Rapture saving everyone from suffering any of the problems they were talking about... which were about changes in our currency, the new world order, etc.  

I thought about the world of Christians who will be caught without help if the Mark becomes part of this new financial "progress."  They will be forced to choose, maybe force will become a part of the process, and then will wonder why the "Rapture" didn't save them.

One of the clips shared in this video (Are We Ready for a New World Order? (rumble.com)) at time stamp 36:26 to 38:07 was of an economist for the global community called Dr. Pippa Malmgren.  She says some scary things.  

First, that the economy is critical to everything in our lives.  

Second, that a digital economy "...means having an almost perfect record of every single transaction that happens in the economy."  This is something I have already seen possible in government through the Food Benefit program I survive by.

Using a debit-type card to receive and spend government benefits means there is an approval process in place.  The Christian leaders associated with these issues see that money will become "programmable" - that the government will be able to stipulate what you can and cannot buy.  This is already in place with the food versus non-food purchases.

I suspect the government would have access to copies of my receipts.  This would allow them to verify what I am buying with my government benefits.  

In hearing about the planned efforts of the New World Order, I see a government source for all incomes, an ability to decide who is in need of addiction treatments, if there are black market channels being supported, and any kind of financial abuses.  When it gets here, the application will become global government support and oversight.  This is where Christians will not be able to survive without the Mark, a computer chip already developed, tested, and being refined for global distribution.

If Christians think they will be "Raptured" and never have to suffer the need to choose, to stand in faith to the death, they will not be prepared for surviving as long as possible before the Antichrist orders our death.

Think of life without any kind of money.  What will you need?  Will there be ANY church prepared to provide everything Christians will need just to survive each day?  I don't know of any.  Preppers are better off than the traditional church or ministry, which looks to take in money for itself to grow.

We interpret Bible verses according to their definitions by those we know and trust and follow.  One verse might have different meaning to each denomination, each Christian, each era.  Only GOD knows the true meaning of what He said.  We simply try to make sense of what has been recorded, usually relying on those who have taught us.

I am just trying to say that we need to see the different interpretations and expect GOD to help us find His Truth.

I realized in my last post that I need to push myself to re-study all the verses I have built my own faith on.  And post them here.  Seeing the videos I watched today reminded me of the need to do this.

I hope I can find a way to share what I see in GOD's Word so you will think about these conflicts and be prepared when the government tries to tell you there is no other way than the government's way.

Until next post, God willing.

Deborah Martin

Working Together Inc

work2gather.us

===============

It's 2022 and I am trying to increase my INCOME so I can check off the items on my BUCKET LIST :-)

If you would like to help me do that, please visit my selling spaces, think about making a purchase, and then share my links with your friends and family! 

Patreon     https://patreon.com/DebsRetirementPlan

Etsy     https://etsy.com/shop/work2gather

eBay     https://ebay.com/usr/work2gather

You can also link to my 

Twitter account:  

https://twitter.com/work2gather

Facebook accounts:

https://facebook.com/DeborahMartin.2014

https://facebook.com/work2gather.Prayers

https://facebook.com/WorkingTogetherInc

and my Pinterest page:

https://pinterest.com/work2gather

Please JOIN me in this challenge.

Many thanks to those who do.

FAITH FRIDAY on 22 April 2022 - catching up with now

 Hello!  I am trying to make sure I get this post done before midnight passes again!  :-)   

This morning I worked on revising/updating some of my record forms.  One for keeping track of my Healthy Eating Project... less meat, dairy, fats.  And one for my new weekly record sheet, with space for goals and other ongoing commitments, like my posting to Patreon and here.  Then I started working on a new idea for a monthly booklet to make daily details more organized.

My goal has always been to create one notebook I can check every morning and keep track of what I plan and what I actually get done.  It is always a challenge for me.  I make lists of goals for the day and end up doing other things.  When I get to my desk and my list at the end of a day, I sometimes see I have avoided the tasks on my list.  I try to think about that result and how it happened so I can try to do better the next time.

I took some photos of my first ANTICHRIST t-shirt design.  Then I shared it on Twitter, my feed and other posts.  With all that has been happening I would say it isn't going to be too long until he "rises" to power.

Years ago I discovered the government was testing the chip in prisoner's bodies, the later I discovered that it was out in the open with regular people trying it as a financial safety option.  It's probably ready for mass distribution, we just don't know about it yet.

Recently I found two articles on related topics - one about the President wanting to regulate digital money, and another was a program by Jan Markell about not being able to buy or sell soon.  I asked someone if they thought the digital money would be attached to the computer chip for regulating it.  (Please NOTE:: I don't agree with the Rapture point of view.  I think the Antichrist is going to kill us when the time comes for the world to be without Christians.)

The only way the world can be controlled is through the internet, which we are all moving toward as the only connection to everything in our lives.

It is scary to see all this in my lifetime.

I remember that the Bible says there will be only "one generation" from the time Israel regroups until the end of something... maybe until the Antichrist gets here.  I haven't studied this in so long.  I remember the main things that apply to the End Times.  (NOTE:: I did a brief check at BibleGateway.com and didn't find what I was looking for in the KJV.  I will have to do more investigating to share more details.  If you find it first, let me know.)

Maybe I better go over all that again.  I can use it as my posting topics.

This is my latest corporate visor.  It was a one size option so I thought it would fit like my first one - but it didn't.  It has some kind of sizing (18-20?) and is too big for me.  I wanted to try a denim hat and chose blue to go with jeans.

I may try a baseball cap or something like that next time. 

I started wearing visors after I worked at a SUBWAY back in the old days.  :-)   about pre/post 2000.  Now I am hardly without one.  They shade my eyes from the sun.  I like that.

I am starting to work on a biz card I can use for my selling activities... art, etc.  I haven't thought of a name for this yet.  I am just beginning to create some designs.

My Working Together biz card turned out so fantastic.  I hate to let it go but life isn't what I wanted it to be so I have to wait and see what GOD is up to.  You can find posts with it... maybe on my Facebook feed.  I don't remember where I posted it, but it should be on the WT page at least.  Try  facebook.com/WorkingTogetherInc to look.  Yep, that worked.

This was the first effort.

I don't like either version.

I was watching some YouTube videos about creating and selling digital products and came across some details about INKSCAPE (.org) as a design option.  It looks great.  I have to try it out this weekend.

I want to get the ADOBE Suite but this seems to be capable of doing vector graphics (my greatest need) and others I am learning about.

I also discovered a site called PublicDomainFiles.org from the same channel (Crafty Stax) but a different video.  They have fonts that can be accessed for free.  I downloaded about four of them to try.  I checked on the Clip Art section and the one with the recycling symbol, but can't seem to figure out how they work in order to use them.  They had two old videos (Sherlock Holmes programs from a LONG time ago!  :-)  listed but those became unavailable when you looked into them.

I guess that's enough for today.  I will try to restudy the Bible and find the verse mentioned above.  It is a major battle every time I try to study and I don't win these battles all the time.  :-(

Until next time, GOD willing.

FAITH FRIDAY - a little late again. 16 April 2022 - Thoughts on Resurrection Sunday.

 

I took a photo of my year-round Christmas tree this past week... for a post.

Friday was GOOD FRIDAY, which I didn't even think about this year.

Tomorrow is RESURRECTION SUNDAY, when we celebrate the rising of Christ from His death on the cross.

Time seems to do its damage in faith.  I suppose that is why Satan works so hard to keep us from the Bible, from fellowship, from study, from worship, from our local congregations, and anything that has to do with GOD, Christ, the Holy Spirit.  For myself, that seems to include writing, designing, blogging, creating, even art.  I can add listening to audio Bibles, Christian music, Christian movies.  If I think about it longer, the list may never end.

This battle gets harder when we age or have any kind of isolating medical issue.  I have been thinking about it for a long time because I think about the Body of Christ becoming ONE BODY in Christ.

The Resurrection of Christ is the most important event in the Christian year.  Christ's death matters more than His birth.  It is our only way into heaven.  In becoming the substitute offering for our sins, He ends the need to sacrifice animals for sins.  He changes the focus of our relationship with Him from the Temple to our hearts.

This is part of what led me to create my Body of Christ statement.

The Body of Christ 

is not found in a building. 

It exists in the hearts and 

lives of those who accept 

the tenets of the Holy Bible 

and believe Jesus Christ 

sacrificed His Life 

for their personal sins.

The other side of this mug is part of my logo for Working Together and is focused on the separations we have made to the Body of Christ.  I have a link on my website to a page (ONE GOD) I created with some verses that go with each line.  The parts, and my designs for them, took a long time to create.  It was important to make the order right.

This mug is a very important message for all Christians.  I hope you will buy one from my ETSY shop (etsy.com/shop/work2gather.)

What has Resurrection Sunday become in our time?

I don't really know.  I haven't been to a service in years.  Being home all the time, I hardly remember a special day from any other day.  Getting groceries is a huge challenge for me.  I wonder about the Body of Christ, and struggle with the divided churches in every community.

Is this what GOD wanted when He provided Christ as our Saviour?  I don't think so.

So, my life is nearly over.  The End Times are getting worse and worse.  The Enemy seems to win more battles than we do, and that may be to fulfill the prophecies He gave us.  My hopes for the gathering of the Christian and Jewish people are not possible for me to do anymore.  

I still keep watching for God's provisions.  If they get to me I will do all I can to start the process of building Working Together for future needs.

Pray that GOD will reach His people before there is nothing we can do but march into the "death camps" of our prophecies.  Those who do not submit to the Antichrist, who fail to worship his ego, will be killed.  I thought it would be easier to be together when that time gets here.  That is why I created Working Together.

Now it is up to you and your communities to gather as One Body in Christ and prepare to support your people... plus those who will search for any kind of help in their pain.  

Think about life without money, jobs, housing, food, safety... think about ways to help each other.

FAITH FRIDAY for 8 April 2022 - Looking for a home for some Christian magazines

 

This photo is showing some of my collected Christian magazines over the years. I want to find them a new home, somewhere they can be shared with other people (like a Mission or Prison).

I thought about sending them Media Mail to a prison Chaplain but discovered even Media Mail can be costly when the materials are heavy.  I also discovered periodicals info only pertains to new magazines... and there was no rate for old magazines in Media Mail.  I am trying to find another way to reach people and places where this information might help change a life.

If you know a good way to share them (Decision Magazine, Imprimis, War Cry, Voice of the Martyrs, and others), please let me know.

Not much Faith going on here... lots of Prayer.

Still downsizing my room. 

Working on increasing my sales listings at ETSY and EBAY.  

Trying to decide if I will make it to a Resurrection Sunday service this year.

Looking for a better end-of-life.  :-)  I wonder if anyone is ever happy with the end of their lives. 

Just trying to find God's Will for my days.

What more can we do?

FAITH FRIDAY :: 1 April 2022 - finding the goals for April

 Not sure what to write about tonight.  Faith is a problem when you are not sure what GOD is doing.

Today I was busy with my end-of-the-month and my start-of-the-month activities.  Trying to figure out where I stand in my budget... what I can do this month... how I did last month.  What goals are important for April.  How can I do what I want to do to make my life better than it is.  All with the idea that GOD is leading me to a place I have been heading toward for my lifetime.

The focus is growing on ART with minor focus on jewelry for now.  I need lots of stuff to do all the trial effort for things.  I think art would be easier, but I tend to need some variety in my days.  I switch my activities around to deal with several problems I have.

Working Together is my mission in life, but GOD has to provide the finances for it.  I am praying about how to go forward from here.

I don't know how much faith it is to just keep going.

Who do I compare my life with to decide?  I don't really know.  I haven't found anyone in this life to go by.

I guess that's all we can do until GOD shows up and we know the next step.

One of my new designs.

Going to list it at my ETSY shop as soon as I can.

I don't see how my life matters in our world... so I feel small.

Then I remember that one person can change the world if that is what GOD has called them to do.

I hope my place in the Kingdom of GOD is worth what has been paid to reach this point in time.

FAITH FRIDAY :: 25 March 2022 - heading forward

 The time it goes so fast.  :-) 

I started watching YouTube again and got lost in food.  I am trying to find a good cornbread recipe to use up my older supplies.  Also looking to make some French Bread.

We can see videos from all over the world now.  It is interesting to watch how other people do things.

I like all the homesteading channels.  They have been sharing life at a level most will not think possible... I wish my early days would have been able to go in those directions.  I just couldn't find the path there.  It is a gradual change and a learning curve that takes more than I had.

I wish I knew what GOD was doing then.

Right now, I am heading into APRIL.  I have new forms for my goal and budget process.  I am trying to decide what is possible in my situation... and how to get from here to there.  How to separate the bad from my life and move toward the goals of GOD.

I only have the stories of the Jews to think about as the Antichrist rises.  It isn't easy to see a future where persecutions become life in America.  How to do what I can until it's my time to go away from here.

It isn't a happy day when I have to see what might be ahead.

I guess I wonder why I wasn't able to build what GOD put in my heart to do.  I think it would have been a better world if I had.

I am praying about what is left of my life.  What to do with it.  How to deal with my struggles.  Where to go from here.

I hope others are praying about our future too. 

The enemies we have are not nice.  They cause pain, suffering, hurt, violence, death.  I don't like having to deal with them.  What will it be like in twenty years?  I won't be here, but you might be.  How will you remain a good person in the middle of evil?  

Nazis are the only reference I have.

The things they have done seem like they will be nothing compared to the evils that are rising today.

I am one person.  What can I do?  I am trying to decide what that is.

FAITH FRIDAY :: 18MAR2022 - Short message

Well, it was 11:59 when I realized I didn't post yet!

That's about it - my life.

What can I say about faith this week....  I don't really know.  It gets to be a fuzzy topic sometimes.  I think about GOD, about life, about Christianity, salvation, truth, love, and what GOD is doing in this world.  I just don't always find answers I am happy with.  I am still looking.

Hope you find GOD's love for your life.

FAITH FRIDAY :: 11 MAR 2022 - Tomorrow is near...

My list of things to get done seems to be forgotten when I start watching a movie.  I realized it's getting late and may watch a 3-hour western... maybe.  

Not much to say because I don't want to go into the videos I discovered about Lauren Chapin and her family... yesterday.

We don't really know what others are suffering.

And we don't always understand the effects abuse has on our lifetime.

It's a place I haven't visited for many years.

I am continuing my downsizing activities... sorting, shredding, filing, organizing.  I found my old kitchen gadgets again. I love OLD utensils.  It's like seeing how people changed the way we do things in the kitchen.  Some are perfect for my prepping supplies (non-electric), others I just love to have.  Some I have to figure out how to use them, still. 

By the time we get to the Antichrist there will not be much that isn't connected to the internet.  I found a JOHN DEERE video that shows how the tech equipment they use in harvesting crops creates a crop amount as it goes.  These tractors can't be fixed by the farmers. It's scary.  Everything in our lives is moving to surveillance mode. 

I started to see our need to capture all the non-computerized parts of our lives a long time ago.  It began with laundromat equipment.  Keeping all the quarter-run machines we can.  Computerized anything can't be fixed by normal people.  It's trash or it has to be fixed by someone who knows what to do.  

With software issues getting big, new versions of programming make continued use a problem.  That's all about new phones, new routers, new endless updates we never know what's in them or are they even needed or is it just another way to collect all our private details...  and we can't refuse them anymore.  The computers just wait for a moment to update, usually when we sleep.

I really want to collect as much non-internet options as I can.  I wish I could afford to.

In news stories you see the growing ability of law enforcement to track our phones, our calls, our texts, our pings, out life.  DNA is becoming a new force in crime solving.  I like to see crimes solved and the bad guys get caught, I just hate all the invasive tracking.

Off-grid, controlled internet, separate technology and software (no "cloud"), creative abilities with the possibility of hacking.  Those are what I would like.  Maybe a cell phone that calls 911 when you need help.  :-)  Or, I would have the option to only have internet attached to my phone.  Well, something.

Years and years ago I discovered people used microphones the size of a sewing needle to spy on people.  Now I read there are Apple tracking things people can attach anywhere they want to and you won't know they even exist... like the old movies we use to watch.

Criminals use these things to for their goals, Government uses these things for their goals.  Technology is going to become a difficult opponent of freedom.

I wn't get started about medical technology!

I don't know what Christians, or anyone, can do about all this as we try to protect and help each other, but I keep hoping to try.

Think about the two sides of technology in your life... The same things that appear to help you "stay connected" can also be used to violate your lives, your freedoms, your work, your faith, your ability to protect yourself and survive.  

What can we do?  I don't know.  We are slowly becoming ruled by technology.  

When the satellite service to help you if you ever needed it was in the news every day, I realized that the same device that locks your doors to keep others out and protect you from harm could also be locked to keep you in if someone wanted to keep you from escaping.  It's a scary thing.  It all depends on who is in charge -- a good person or a bad person.  We are heading into a world where the bad people will out number the good.  How do we prepare for that?

FAITH FRIDAY for 4MAR2022 - My Update Post

 Some days are just more difficult than others.  Sorry about that.  This is my "official" post for this week.

I don't think I have done very good with my Sabbath rest today.  Been catching up with all the undone things for yesterday.  I have such a hard time resting when I want to.  I really wonder what it was like for the Jews in the Bible times.

I'm trying to move into a larger text size because it is easier to read.  I have also discovered that when I increase the percentage of my web pages, I can't get them to work right.  It's a problem.  So now I am going to try to use larger fonts.  Next :: a template!!  Then I can have it the same formats every time!

I have been thinking about some faith issues over the days and months.  I don't write about them, but I am in the process of trying to figure out GOD's perspectives.

I will let you know I shred at least four bags of papers so far, with more to come.  I have been reorganizing my files and it might actually be a really great thing. It's a long project that I have been trying to get done, but is taking forever.  I need more crafting spaces in my room  This is helping to do that.

My prayers are always for increased income so I can accomplish the ZILLIONS of things I have always wanted to do.  All of my projects are toward that end.

This year might be a good year for GOD's blessings.

I hope so.

FAITH FRIDAY :: 4 MARCH 2022 - Going through my past...

 Been going through so many old papers today... finding things I forgot about, shredding as much as I can, just trying to get it done!

I had some saved to share, but they will have to wait until my sorting is done.  I can't find them!  :-)

I am so tired I can't think.  I will postpone this again... tomorrow looks good, and fresh, and hopeful.  See  you then.  :-)

FAITH FRIDAY :: 25 FEB 2022 - What to say about change.

Hello to a real Friday post.

It seems like the change causes all kinds of other issues.  Moving things around your house.  Getting rid of some things, getting new things... it is hard to remember what you still have.  Plus other reasons like storage, theft, donating, selling.  I guess we need to just deal with the days as they come.

I have seen a few decent movies recently.  Well, some had better meaning as a thinking topic, but others were done well.  I wouldn't know if the content was true, but when they claim to be based on a true story you hope the details presented are close to the truth.

I guess it's like the Bible.  A lot of things are not stated, but we can imagine what they might be like.  I am thinking of the movies made about the Bible and what it says.  We take them as truth, especially if we don't study the Bible for ourselves.  

One example that has always stayed with me is one of the old movies about Christ's death.  The person who made this film decided that GOD would have done something that a Man could not when the curtains in the Holy of Holies (I think that was the curtain that symbolized the separation between GOD and Man) was torn.  He made it fall apart by spitting horizontally completely.  I have always wondered how they even accomplished that feat.  It's a great scene in the movie, but I never even thought about it until I heard/read about his views somewhere.  

No one was there.  We don't have a record of how it was done.  He knew GOD and knew GOD would make sure the people saw that it was HIS work, not anyone else's.  The curtain was an enormous statement about GOD's holiness and the destruction of that symbol was His way of showing the Jews that things have changed.

It's like the parting of the waters to let the Jews cross over on DRY land.

It's like the pictures we have of Christ.  The Shroud of Turin is the closest thing we have to knowing what Christ looked like.  Our examples all make him beautiful, appealing, happy.  The Bible says the opposite.

But getting back to the movies on YouTube...

I love movies as a way to relax, to get away from other ongoing projects.  Once I start one I usually have to watch the whole thing to see what develops, how the film and characters and story are crafted.  It is a downfall of mine sometimes.  

Lately I keep finding PG movies with really objectionable scenes... I wonder if the uploader does this on purpose or if the meaning of PG has changed over the years.

I have started to make a search each time I log in to find "free Christian movies." What comes up is sometimes a surprise, sometimes the same things, sometimes movies I have already seen.  

My home page at YouTube is not always filled with good options.  I guess the choices that come up can keep me from movies and other videos that are worth watching.  

Distractions.  And they usually work.

It has become a goal now to control my time better, watch things that matter - that are worth the time I spend to see them.  This is a LONG-term project (like eating healthier to lose weight and feel better), but I am finding ways to change my bad habits into better choices.

Maybe I will add some movie reviews to my posts.  I am looking for better topics to develop and post about... like my sharing of my notes on BEYOND BLESSED.

I will try to get the details gathered and share what most impacts me as I go through my spiritual quests.

It can be a challenge to honor GOD in our lives.  The Bible tells us it will only get worse.  Maybe we need to prepare better options for that difficult future.

FAITH FRIDAY for 18 FEB 2022 - Notes on book by Robert Morris

 Hello, again.  I am barely up, but I want to go back to sleep, so I thought I better get this done!  :-)

My notes on BEYOND BLESSED say this book is about Stewardship.  My notes say I watched or listened to him talk about it at the end of May 2019.  I am trying to remember how I got these notes.  It may have been something from TBN, or maybe I watched his presentation on TBN back then.

I will go through my pages as I have them collected.

The first point I have written down is to "Know your current status."  That means :: Debts, Assets, Income, Current Spending.  Then I have the great advice to make a budget plan.

I think Dave Ramsey and the Baby Steps started the world back on the track of living within your means.  I heard the history of credit cards once, on another YouTube video.  I was surprised.  This whole industry was started in a neighborhood.  Someone wanted to make it easier for people to buy meals from local restaurants.  He got them together and then created an accounting process for those stores to provide meals to the members of that DINERS CLUB.  Now we have giant interest rates, lots of bankruptcy, and devastated lives.

My next page of notes talks about SPENDING.  There are six groups listed... 

MANDATORY - Required, like rent/mortgage, contract payments, insurance.

DISCRETIONARY - Flexible, like groceries, restaurants, entertainment.

FIXED - Same amount each time.

VARIABLE - Changes each payment, like utilities or phone charges.

MONTHLY

PERIODIC - Varying in frequency.

In my life, food is the only thing that could be manipulated -- which means you have to find enough food to eat with whatever you have left.  It's why there are always food issues in poverty families.

The next page has the headings of VALUES and GOALS.  These are two of the ways we decide what we are going to buy, what we want in our lives, how we make our decisions to spend.

There is an illustration here that I remember... rocks into a jar.  I had seen this illustration somewhere else, but it is a good one.  In this reference, the idea is what to pay first.  You have big rocks (big expenses or the most important tasks to do), gravel, sand, and water to fit into the jar.

The quick answer is you have to put the big rocks into the jar first because the gravel will fit into the empty spaces, then the sand will fit into the next empty spaces, and then the water will fit into the next empty spaces.  You will have to search YouTube to find a video about it.  It was a very interesting presentation.

For Christians there is an order of spending :: the TITHE comes first.  My next notes, probably all my notes, are a mix of personal application and what was said.  I have the next spending category listed as SAVE, but I am not sure why.  There are subtitle that would be from Robert Morris, and other notes that would be mine.  I will share it all the best I can.

I have evolved to have three main categories in my monthly budge - because my budget is SMALL!!!  If I had more money, I would have more categories.  :-)   These days my categories are TITHE, SAVE, and HOUSEHOLD.  My Household category has all the subcategories.

Here are the mini-categories I have listed on this page of notes ::

EMERGENCY FUND - This would be for General and Medical needs not in the budget, House repaiers, Car repairs, and living expenses for 3-6 months in case something happens like losing a job.

NEEDS - This has clothes, cars, etc. listed.  

Poverty families don't have cars, they walk, ride a bike, or take the bus.  You can live without cars.  It is less expensive.  BUT, you have to live close to public transit.  The places where most people live are not near transit.  They need a car, and all the expenses that go with it.

Poverty families buy at thrift stores and garage sales... hand clothes down... and trade with others to keep these costs low.  I remember that every Christmas we got socks and underwear for presents.  Now that I am older, I understand why.  They are very expensive.

WANTS - This is noted as personal desires.  When I first was on Welfare I went without because I thought it would be a short time.  When that didn't happen, I had to find some way to value myself.  I think it was buying gum or candy at first, then I went to the big deal :: I bought myself a can of Cafe Vienne coffee most or all months.  It was something that I wanted, not that I needed, and it was a treat for me.

Little things can mean so much.

My treat for my kids was taking them to McDonald's for the kid's meal and the toy.

FUTURE - This category talks about Retirement, a down payment on a house, or other very large expenses.  Poverty households don't really have any excess, they are usually struggling to make basic needs, so this category means Social Security is planning for retirement.

I think I should mention here that all retirement funds are usually based on investment incomes.  If the stock market fails, like it will in an economic crisis, it means most people won't have the retirement dreams they have been building their entire lifetimes.  Think about that.  What could you do to make sure your retirement is still there no matter what happens.

GIVING - No notes here.  I am now assuming it means other giving than the Tithe.

The next page of my notes has this title ::  Know your current debt status to make a plan and see where you are as time goes by.

This looks like a chart.

Headings are :: 

(TO)    Who you owe money to.

TYPE    Secured, Unsecured, Mortgage, Student Loan, etc.

INTEREST RATE    

MINIMUM PAYMENT    

REMAINING TERM (due by)

I remember one big option I heard along the way of my life.  It was that you can require a bank to apply your payments to the principal only by making a note on every payment.  The normal bank process is to take the interest first, leaving a few dollars for the balance deduction.  This path means your money reduces the loan balance and applies the interest to the loan balance.  This ends up meaning thousands of dollars in savings over time.  You can add more to the payment and shorten the loan period and total interest you pay on a loan.

I am assuming this is still possible, but I have never been able to buy a house so I haven't tested it out.  I remember the main issue was putting the statement on your payment.

(On the next page) Robert Morris mentions the difference between debt to fellow believers and others (foreigners).  We don't charge interest (usury) to fellow believers, and we forgive their debts in the Year of Jubilee (the 7th year).  But others pay interest (usury fees) and are not released from their debts.  This is another way to see how GOD requires us to help each other.

On the next page, along with the notes on usury, are three scripture references on debt in the Bible ::

Exodus 22:25-27

Leviticus 25:36-37

Deuteronomy 23:20-22

I also have Deuteronomy 15:6-8 listed, with three stars - it must be important!  :-)

My last page of notes has a great quote by Mark Twain that was listed in the book on page 184 ::

The secret to getting ahead is getting started.

Here is the final note ::

"... The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks and then starting on the first one."

I keep trying to do this, but haven't quite figured it out yet.  Maybe someday... probably when I get to heaven.  haha

This is one of my older artworks that I am thinking of selling at eBay soon.  It is a very hard thing to do secret good works, but it is worth the effort.  :-)   I still wonder about the best way to do these things, if I ever get the opportunity.  :-)

FAITH FRIDAY :: 18 FEB 2022 - Too hard to think today...

 I sorted a whole bunch of papers this early morning... lots of memories, lots of shredding.  It's beginning to look like the piles won't last too much longer.  I found some notes from a book by Robert Morris - BEYOND BLESSED.  I thought I would go over them as a post.  It will have to wait until tomorrow.

I walked down the hill where I live and back u it when I went shopping in the middle of the day.  It has made it hard to think.  Too much sun I think.  I just don't do well in the sun.

I wanted to make sure you knew I didn't forget this time.  :-)

I will try to write more in the morning, when I (hopefully) feel better.

In Christ,  Deb Martin

FAITH FRIDAY AGAIN :-) :: 12FEB2022 - Not much faith these days...

It is actually a Saturday.  

I just let this post go last night.

I discovered I totally didn't post last Friday, but I can't recall if that is true.  I thought I had it all done during the week.  Guess I am not the best poster for faith topics.  :-)  

I haven't much to say right now.  I am posting at my Patreon page and started a new project with some older artworks I have rediscovered.  I will be sharing the art one at a time for my Patrons only (which is currently zero - but that could change.  :-)  Most of my artworks are about faith topics. So I am sharing the story behind the ones I did in mostly 2002, but some I am finding are also 2001.

 

Here is a small sample.  Bad photo, bad camera, but that will change someday when I am able to sell my things online.

This snake one is a favorite. 

As I write this post, I can't recall which ones I might have shared with you already.

This one looks a bit funny because I put it into a small plastic bag to protect it.

I am working on the pricing before I post them.

I have several flower topics in my collection.

I am praying through some difficulties.  I hope to see GOD do something that will clarify His power in this world.  Pray with me.  Thanks.

In Christ,  Deb   <3

FAITH FRIDAY :: 11 FEB 2022 -

 Will write this tomorrow...

FAITH FRIDAY :: 28JAN2022 - Leadership

It's hard to know what this year will bring.  I listened to a really scary speech by Ronald Reagan in 1964 (I think that was the year) on YouTube tonight.  It was so scary I decided to share it on Twitter.  I think he was a Democrat back then because it was for a Goldwater event.  The main think I noticed was how many of the issues he talked about are still issues today - only worse... especially the deficit/national debt.

"A Time for Choosing" by Ronald Reagan - YouTube

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I am not sure how these work after posting so I will just let you choose.

Let me know what your impression is of the similarities.  

I haven't heard any campaign speeches like this in the ones I have heard for many years.  I didn't follow Reagan that fully to know what was going on at that time.  I would have been in elementary school I think.  :-)  I have a t-shirt with one of his quotes that I really like.  In the past several elections I have heard him referred to by the GOP.

I am late posting because I got involved with watching OF Mice and Men - the Gary Sinise version of 1992.  After starting the movie, I realized that I had watched it before but didn't remember what the story line was.  I discovered some parts I didn't recall, so maybe I didn't watch all of it.

For me, it had a lot of different thoughts... on how people were treated, how they survived, what you had to put up with to have a job, abusive and power-relationships in families and jobs, to lack of law and order, plus the lives of those with developmental disabilities when there was no one who cared.  It was filled with a lot of topics. 

I have never read the book, so I wondered how true it was to the original story.

2022 is becoming quite a year.  I will try to find some photos I have taken recently.  I am working on my posting graphics. 

I found this while I was goiong through my boxes as I downsize my room to make spaces to craft.  It is part of a larger writing I did called "Curiosity."  Not much, but the statement is very important to me, and maybe one of the best from that writing.  I hope to create more inspirational graphics that I can reproduce to sell and create the income I need.

This week I moved some of my art supplies to the desk space I have.  I am trying to make it easier to craft. 

I guess we will see how it works this time.  :-)   I had my supplies on my desk before but the spaces got taken over by notebooks and office duties.

I will find a way!

This is the new photo station I have now created.  Going to see how it works.  

I moved my tripods over there.

White is suppose to be the best background, but I also have a black piece of foam core if I need it.  I watched a video once about someone who used poster board to paint the background she wanted for different items.  I have some to try that out one of these days.

Finally made my caramels today.  GOOD!  How to price them is my next quest.

Let me know what you think of the Reagan video.  Listen for some of the examples he provides about debt to GDP.  We are so far beyond the levels he talks about.

In Christ,  Deb  <3

 

FAITH FRIDAY :: 21JAN2022 - Getting there...

 Hello to all. 

I was busy with the MARCH FOR LIFE today.  I couldn't get the online access to work at the start of the March, on THREE sites.  Later, I came back to check on it and the EWTN channel on YouTube was working.  I watched the replay later, for the parts I missed.  Not sure why it didn't come in at Facebook or the main website.

I decided to practice my photo posting with this shot of my computer screen.

One note I made in listening again to the video was about Biden authorizing the death of innocent children growing in the womb up until the moment they are born, forcing the costs to be paid with tax dollars.

For myself, I have repeatedly wondered how our nation has become this kind of nation... where the primary battle of the two main political parties is the death of its children.  

A few things we need to think about:

• We are near bankruptcy with the increasing debt load we have created.  
• Anyone not able to defend themselves becomes the media victim for our problems.  
• Our infrastructure is going to cost more time and money than we can imagine or pay.  
• Crime is increasing, prisons are decaying, court processes are too expensive to hold everyone accountable.  
• Addictions have been a huge problem for years and years and years, but we think legalizing marijuana is the answer to declining tax revenues.  
• The moral foundations our laws are based on no longer exist, 

I have to struggle to survive on my small budget.  The government thinks it can keep printing more money to solve its problems.  It just doesn't work that way.  There are financial laws that all of us have to live by.  That is why so many people are shouting alarms - and no one wants to listen.

The pandemic we are all dealing with is another example.

I have been going through more of my many, many papers and found this 2014 news item about drunk driving deaths... every year.  That's a lot of people. 

I have thought the yearly flu season has become a political pandemic.  

I remember news reports kept adding symptoms - padding the statistics - for data collecting systems.  

I think that means they were trying to justify the actions of the government.  

And the expenses.  

The word "presumptive" was used in my email alerts.

Other people have mentioned some of these data/statistic issues, but the headlines I get on my computer all have the view that anyone who disagrees with the ruling parties ends up dead.  

(This may become my last post...)

Our world has become a place we don't recognize.  Many of our families and businesses have faltered or died because the government decided to put us in lockdown.  I see a slow destruction of freedom, and a danger to our economic health - nationally and individually.  

We can't keep doing this, for every disease.

The flu has always mutated into new strains.  That is what it has always done.  It won't stop doing that.

I see the government increasing its ability to force us to submit to its will... mandating us to isolate, mandating us to vaccinate, mandating us to wear masks, mandating us to take boosters, mandating us to stay home, out of school, out of work.  

Is this a side effect of Obamacare?  Because healthcare is now mandated, I am forced to have government paid Medicare supplementary care.  Without any knowledge on my part, the state now carries a bill for those costs against my estate.  No notifications.  No updates.  Nothing except a bill that will come due after I am dead.

It makes you wonder about the real purpose of mandated healthcare... no matter what is said in public.

Pandemic mandates?  The government doesn't do things without a very specific reason.  There must be a money connection somewhere.

The frog in the kettle seems to fit here.

Government authority, mandates, shutdowns -- these have created a slow change of perspective, authority, freedom.  It is really a sign of power and abuse when people are arrested for not wearing a medical mask or killed for asking someone to put one on.

I don't think it is good.  And it doesn't look like the government wants to stop the growing level of control it has already discovered.

What can we do about this huge change of direction for our nation? or the world!  One party wants this one world government, another wants to stay free and independent.  Some of us think the government should be trusted, should take care of every citizen's needs.  Others see the danger in too much government, the ability to abuse, the desire to reap only for itself.

In my daily thoughts about the future Antichrist and the current paths of those in power, I see we are at a serious turning point.

Of course, I have problems with my internet access.  Maybe it's only on my computer.

=====

NOTE ::  Edit required republishing - I discovered there were two copies of the same photo. Not sure how that happened.  I suppose I thought I was seeing the same photo.  Lesson learned.

FAITH FRIDAY :: 14 JAN 2022 - What to do with 2022

 Been thinking about this year... and working on my lists.  Still no single resolution to work on for the whole year.  

I already have a lot of projects I am working on, but they aren't the same as one self-improvement project.  I'm always working on my weight and food choices.  Always trying to find some workspaces so I can do my crafts (including art).  Always working on my budgets and trying to save what I can.

It's halfway through January and I don't think I have been able to sit down and do creative activities yet.

My reorganizing takes a lot of my time.  I still want to finish it, so I am continuing the quest while I try to find a way to create, list, and sell online.

I keep wondering what GOD's part in my life is, and how to interpret what has happened in the past.

On to other questions that need answers.  :-)

I finally opened up the WORD program on my computer and tried to see if it worked any better.  I was able to create a couple or so files and will try to make a final file to share.  I want to start an email list and offer some freebies for signing up.  I haven't had good results with my past efforts and want to make a better try this year.  I also don't know how much I can do on my own.

I finally decided on a product to focus my marketing efforts on... posting at social media and maybe even purchasing online ads for.  It's my logo mug for WT -- on the meaning of the Body of Christ.  I expected to have more sales by now.  It is a mug I think every Christian needs to have so they can remember what we are - we are the Body of Christ together, as people, as souls that are saved, not by our individual denomination.  

You can see it at my ETSY and EBAY shops.

How t make us ONE Body in Christ has been the primary objective of Working Together.  I'm a bit tired after all these years, but I still want to see it started at least.

I am officially "retired" from regular jobs, heading into 70 years old, trying to keep active as long as I can while I try to increase my income through creative quests I was never able to do.  Also still praying to do WT. 

It's been these same goals for many years.

This year I want to find better ways to do things, things that will become income, income that will let me build my life and dreams... before GOD calls me home.

January is becoming a month to get all these plans figured out.

If you want to help me help you, buy one of my logo mugs.  You can also sign up to be a monthly supporter for me at my PATREON page (Debs Retirement Plan).

Thanks for any financial help you decide to do.

Deborah Martin

FAITH FRIDAY :: 7 JAN 2022 - It's a new year to grow in our faith.

 

Who leads our nation, who leads our businesses, who leads our schools, who leads our local and state government -- these are the people who will create our future.

I don't know how we can keep our freedoms without good people as our leaders.

The Bible tells us the End Times will grow worse as time goes on.  I hope we can keep godly people in charge of everything that matters to our safety and our protection and our lives.  It's for our children and our grandchildren and, hopefully, for our great grandchildren... as king as GOD allows.

May our communities become places that Christians of all denominations gather to care for each other and find ways to resolve our differences in the interpretation of GOD's Word.  WE are ONE BODY in Christ.  We need each other to battle the problems we face.

In Christ, Deborah Martin, https://work2gather.us