Late again. past midnight. just wanted to make sure I posted. Bad day. :-(

Sorry to make such a short post. 

I will update in the mourning.

Health issues.

 

Please pray for me.

Our reason for being alive.

This is the reason we don't always understand it when He doesn't answer our prayers the way we think He should, when we think He should, and the way we want Him to.  I imagine this is the hardest part of being a Christian.  Something happens and we think GOD should have stopped it.  We think our lives are different than others.  We have some kind of protection against the tragedies of life.

We do, in a way.  But it isn't from all hard things, bad times, and consequences.  I don't think the Bible says that anywhere.  The lives of those with faith are filled with suffering, and lessons of their faith help us see how GOD works in our lives.

We learn the promises of GOD are serious, true, and can be depended on.  We are told about what lies ahead and can rely on it because we discover GOD doesn't lie, keeps His Word ALL the time, and is more powerful than anything else that exists (including Satan and his fallen angels (demons).  

We are protected from the assaults of Satan until it is our time to die, after our purpose has been fulfilled.

I have been thinking a lot lately about GOD's power in our lives.  The details above are some of the things I decided.  

I noticed a magazine at the grocery magazine racks called WITCHES.  To me it is a sign of the End Time prophecies and how a world becomes evil.  Evil becomes something we don't notice, can't fight against, and begin to suffer from more and more.  I am seeing how everything changes over time.  The TV show BEWITCHED made it funny, we embraced it.  We responded to TWILIGHT, THE GOOD WITCH, video games, movies, DVDs, websites created by WIX, and (especially) HARRY POTTER.  Disney movies can be added to that list.  This all makes the spiritual realms seem less threatening.

I don't think we understand how this all changed our world.  The saying about a long journey begins with the first step is true for prophecy as well as our goals. 

We may not think about it, but Satan has been orchestrating his plan to fulfill the prophecies GOD has shared in the Bible.

I have been watching short videos about all the terrible things that happen in our world, crimes, murders, child abductions, rapes, and what families do to each other.  It has really affected my perspective about what the world will become as it fulfills Bible prophecies.  As a Christian, I don't know what we can do to help and protect ourselves.

For myself, I don't know how much time I have left.  I am just trying to prepare for that path.  There isn't anything I can do to help us.  I don't have any money.  I am not a high-energy "power person.  I am wondering what GOD has planned.

I hope you think about these issues and figure out how to best protect your loved ones from the prophecies we know about.  We can't stop them, we might be able to fight against their implementation in our world and find a way to gather together to be more powerful.

GOD tells us what is coming because He loves us and wants to make sure the world sees how powerful He is.

Getting closer to the end of this part of my goals.

 

I hope.

All my sorting is going in this direction.  

Art.  

I will get there - or at least keep trying.  Pray for GOD's blessings on my efforts.  Thanks.

Money. How much do we need?

 I don't remember where I found this graphic, but it is a generic one.  I have looked at some of the free options, maybe it was one of them.

The theme is money.  The main topic of surviving.

How much is enough?  I am always debating that issue.  I haven't decided what the amount would be for me.  I would need to pay for all that mandated insurance if I had money.  Even the State keeps a billing of what insurance they cover and plan to get from your estate when you die.

I used to think $5K a month would be enough, after taxes are paid.  As an old person, I am not sure that would be enough.  I am heading into the need for care options.  

I would like money to travel.  I will need a companion now.  Before, I could travel on my own.

I may end up having a heart attack and dying on the spot.  I haven't decided yet if that is a good way to go.  Maybe I need to die in my sleep.  The costs will all depend on what happens.

I haven't been able to save for my burial plans yet.  That has to be figured out.

I suppose everyone thinks being supported by the government is a free ride.  It isn't.  My medical coverage doesn't seem to cover eyeglasses or dental.  I'm trying to find out about care options for senior issues.  There must be some way to get these basic care needs.

What are your priorities?

• Shelter
• Food
• Utilities
• Phone
• Internet
• Clothing
• Transportation
• or what?

What would be your immediate needs amount?  

What if you don't have that much?  What would you do?

I'm trying to figure that out for this time of life.  Every video I see doesn't talk about the poor, those surviving by government benefits.  The talk about huge amounts, the "average" retirement payment.  For me, that would be a fortune.

I would like to know your story.  What you get as monthly income, how you prioritize your spending, what is the smallest amount you would need to survive?  

It's hard to know what the future will bring.  As a prepping person, you begin to think of all the disasters that can happen in your area, with the government, with your health.  We are a "rich" nation, and have been blessed with much.  We never think it might become different.

I am not sure what will happen to me if my income suddenly goes away.  I am supported by the government.  What the government has done to our nation is scary.

And I don't see them changing soon.

What do you want for your life?

 

I found this design again.  I made it when I was trying to reach college kids.  I hoped to publish it in a local paper, maybe the college paper where I was at the time. 

College kids just want to fit into their new "home."  They seem to think alcohol and drugs and parties is the way to go.  It isn't.  It only leads to problems.  Sometimes these problems last the rest of your life.  What you think is "fun" becomes a tragedy that affects many lives.

There are tons of people who don't choose that route.  They live their entire life without alcohol or drugs ("recreational" drugs).  You can choose that path.  It isn't mandatory that you choose the party life, bars, and the unwritten activities of that lifestyle.  It can be hard to stand against them, but it is possible.  You have to value yourself to say no to the pressures you encounter.

I would think media influences, movies, and peer groups create the idea it's how to be "cool."  Really, they just want to profit off your weaknesses or find approval for their own choices.  Life is better without losing your future, or your life.  Your good judgment goes when your brain is compromised by alcohol, drugs, and bad company.

I hope you are strong enough to save yourself and change your future.

On to other things... 

It was very hot here today.  I stayed in for most of the day.  I did my outside chores in the cooler morning.  That works for me!  I don't do hot very well.

It wasn't an amazing day.  Just a regular day.

Those are very nice.

I hope you had a good day too. 

The balance of life prepping for winter.

I found this little painting again this weekend.  I made it so many years ago, but I love it!  I have posted it at my selling spaces and other places.  I can't frame it easily because I hand drew the frame and didn't think to keep it straight.  It is lopsided.  

I just love it.  I don't care that it is lopsided.  :-)  

I will figure out how to protect it and display it somehow... even if just for me. 

💛

It is amazing how things work out.  And plans have to change.

The weekend didn't work out the way I hoped it would, so I am continuing my downsizing activities this week. 

And my winter preps.  

I hope to get the first load of donations delivered tomorrow.  The end of one project.  Plus miscellaneous household and personal stuff.  Four boxes so far.  

I replanted four baby trees to bring them in for the winter.  Two willow tree start efforts.  One that may be a lemon tree.  And one that is from somewhere nearby.  It is a mystery tree right now.  I don't know trees and their names, I just try to grow them.

My container garden is almost finished.  I still need to see if I can replant my rhubarb and blueberry plants into bigger containers.  It is going to be a challenge.  

The birds and squirrels keep destroying my container dirt.  I may cover the dirt for winter.  It worked nice on one of my experiments a few years back.  

I am also trying to prepare for winter cold and snow.  I have lost my plants to the freezing weather so many times.  I had an avocado tree that grew over six feet, then was killed by the snow.  A new tree grew back in the spring, probably from the roots, but it died in the next year's snow.  I hoped it would grow again this spring, but it didn't.  I wasn't able to save them by bringing them in until the freezing weather went away.

In my whole life I couldn't get avocado seeds to grow, but in my old age they seem to grow all the time.  Only that one tall one survived to become a good tree, then snow and freezing rain killed it.  It has been a lesson.  I remember movies where farmers had to go out in the fields with heat things to try to save their fragile fruit trees.  Some kind of wood or coal fire pots that would be set between four trees to try to keep the trees warm and safe.  

I still have one tree growing, but it is inside.  I'm not sure the small avocado tree I have outside right now will make it through this winter.  I'm going to try to make a small greenhouse around it with plastic if it gets too cold this year.

I found a baby tree frog last summer or the one before.  I couldn't catch it then.  I figured it died in the winter.  I don't know if I found the same frog this year, but it is alive.  I hope to figure out a way to help it through this winter.  I was searching online for info on what they eat and what they need to survive.  I'm not sure bringing it inside is the right answer.  I don't like to make wild animals into pets because they are wild.  They need to be in their own place.  So I will see if there's a way to improve its chances by making a habitat that might help it survive.  

Squirrels, Raccoons, Blue Jays, Owls, and other local wildlife are its enemies.  I'm debating if anything I do will help.  

Making my new food last is my new challenge.  I found some recipes to try and keep finding better ideas survival foods.  Pancake mix is next on my list to try.  I can package my mix into canning jars for using.  None of the recipes I have tell me how long it will last.  I will try one and then see how fast it goes... and how long it stays good enough to use.  Store pancake mixes last awhile, but I haven't really checked on the ingredients - how much, or what, is added to preserve it.

I make my bread recipe into separate batches by putting the dry ingredients into quart canning jars.  Right now I make six jars at one time, date them, and then see how long it takes until I have to do it again.  It can be one to two months until I have to make more.  I figure I can do that with pancakes too.  

I also make individual oatmeal ingredients into small canning jars.  It was the first food I tried this with.  It works so good, I kept making them.

I think I tried a dry soup mix recipe, but I didn't like the recipe.  I still want to figure one out, but not sure when.

Through September I am trying to make the new food I bought last week make it until October, when I can have more money in my food budget to spend.  I don't know how much I will be able to buy.  My cupboards are bare.  I have to make the food I buy last as long as possible.  

Instead of just buying my regular back-up foods, I am beginning to think about meals and what I need to make them.  This is a different way of shopping.

I hope to have staples that will last a long time, canned foods to add to the dry basics, and sauces/spices/etc. to make a variety of recipes.

Who knew prepping was such a hard thing to do.

Please make sure you have supplies for your family.

So glad it's Friday AND I finally went food shopping!

 

So glad to have food again - fresh produce and cheese and butter!  I also bought the ketchup and baking powder I needed for salad dressing and pancakes.  :-)  I also found EGGNOG for this holiday season.  I try to have at least one package each year.  I love it.  I hope going back to eating these foods does not make me ill again.  I am waiting to see if it does.

I spent one of my four budgets for a week.  I want to see how long this will last.  

I will now be able to try pancake recipes and use up the homemade syrup I have.  I am still trying to use up my older supplies.  This will be a different version of my food challenge.

Buying my treats again may be a wrong move.  I am not sure yet.  I am not fully plant-based.  I don't know that I want to be.  BUT, I do feel the difference when I eat too much meat and dairy.  I don't have a solution for that yet.

I watched some videos from a channel about foods to eat on the way to being plant-based.  The recipes are really interesting.  I am going to try some of them.  She likes sweet potatoes.  Cashews are a favorite of vegan people.  I can't afford a lot of cashews in my budget.  I did like her roasted tomatoes recipe.  She cuts them in half for roasting.  Naturally there is a cashew dressing.  :-)  

This is a big weekend for sorting more stuff.  I hope to get through a lot of my storage containers and decide on what to donate.  It is hard to get rid of things, especially when there are important memories attached to them.

I need to go.  I'm heading to sleep early.  

Weekend plans.

Another day is over.

I can see why it is taking so long to get my downsizing done... It gets so repetitive.  Hopefully, I will get this all done by next week.

I look for the current news on YouTube and it is a challenge to find anything worthwhile.  I end up seeing all the violence, crime, political smears, and "fun" stuff like that.  I do like the way some stations make separate links to each report.  I can choose what I want to watch.

I am getting more critical of the topics that get more attention from the media.  It all seems like a waste of time now.  It really becomes a question of motives and evaluating for real truth.  Everyone is biased, claiming not to be.

The internet makes it harder to trust, but necessary to find out if there are different sides to an issue.

I didn't go shopping yet, for reasons that aren't about the challenge.  I don't have the energy, mostly.  But I am still trying to create more foods from what I have and thinking about what is most important to stock my next pantry.  I am seeing how much longer I can last with the right foods.  This would be like how many meals I can make with a jar of dry goods like beans, quinoa, flour, etc., will make.  I am seeing the need for instant options like potatoes, and condiments that don't need refrigeration.  I am changing the goals of my weekly shopping lists.  

This is a great prepping experience.

When I get to the end of this effort, I will share more details with you.  I may also share some of my own favorite recipes, and other notes.

This will be a short post.  I am out of energy for this day.

I hope to get a lot done this weekend.

Storytelling.

I listened to my "new" audiobook on storytelling throughout the day.  Seven disks!  In the background while I was doing other things.  The main point was we respond to stories.  Three stories are needed for whatever you are trying to share with people... to sell them something, to convince them of something.  

THE STORYTELLER'S SECRET : Why some ideas catch on and others don't

The author was the reader - Carmine Gallo.

The copyright year is 2016.

I found it at HamiltonBook.com - where I have been buying used books (and more) for a long time.  The don't have good descriptions so you are taking a chance, especially if you are sending books to someone else, but I haven't had problems.  I check out the titles and whatever description they do provide.  I tend to buy items at the lower price point.  I rarely go above $5 - $10 per item, usually choosing things that are less than $5.  Inflation has hit every business, so their base prices seem to be rising as well.  Right now they have a standard shipping price of $4.00 (I think that was it).  This means whatever you order ships for that same price.  I bought up to four books and the shipping price was still $4.

Two of my sons have been in jails and prisons.  Books become their gifts for birthdays and Christmas.  You can filter for softcover books, the only thing allowed in correction facilities.  Hamilton Books is set up for that.

The other book I bought for myself this time was US founding documents like the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights.  I wanted to have these to read and think about as our nation struggles through the problems we are seeing.  Maybe I can find a way to share my own views.

I didn't make it to a grocery store yet.  My sorting project really makes me tired and weak.  I will have to get that done soon.  I ran out of the onion bits I have been using instead of fresh onions, and popcorn (a serious deprivation :-) , and my real butter is nearly gone.  I think I have three tablespoons left.  Margarine is just not the same, but it does work for some things.

We don't realize how much we depend on our favorite foods, any foods, until it is gone.

I will survive, but it is about all I get to do with my budget... buy food and household items I need.  

I am hoping to get out more.  The local art museum has a free day each month.  The public library has things going on I will try to attend.  I can find new books and DVD's and audio books there.  Once I am able to sell online, and increase my income, I will have more options for things to do.

Finding things while I am sorting is becoming an adventure.  Lots of memories.

The reality of my age and health changes so many things.  I have been trying to be brutal in shredding as much as I can.  It's hard to let go of our dreams and hopes for our lives.  

I turn my focus to GOD and try to think of heaven.  I will be glad to live there for eternity.  Whatever my life has been, I have trusted GOD and done what I thought He wanted me to do.  GOD's Will is the bigger issue.  He knows what it has been about, why things have happened, and what they mean to His Plan.  

You will be glad to know I am finding my writing notes from so many places.  As the winter gets here, I will be working to improve my blog contents.  :-)  There is hope!

Pray for our nation, and the world.  

I just watched a video short where someone decided to pass around a fake voter campaign at Yale asking to get rid of the Constitution.  There were too many people who signed it.  It tells me they don't understand where their rights come from, why they are free.  They don't understand how the lack of freedom affects life in countries who don't allow it, countries who are run by dictators and violence.  It's hard to believe they are at Yale and don't understand these details.

When I was attending the University of Oregon I was in a history class where the teacher-in-training was from Germany and taught the students that Germany was right somehow, saying America was not right somehow.  It has been so many years now I can't remember the details.  Maybe I will find a note somewhere - :-)   I just remember he was teaching them wrong information... which was against America.  That was around the 1980's.  Who knows what has been taught in the "privacy" of classrooms all over the nation.  We are being destroyed from within.

I heard a sermon or other video that shared all the major civilizations didn't die from outward attacks like war, they died from the moral decay of their leaders.  One by one we are dying in the same way.  In God's eyes, America has fallen away.  It no longer represents GOD and goodness.  GOD is not responsible for caring for us, for protecting us, as a nation.  I have always felt that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were GOD telling us His Hand of protection has been taken away.

This is also the path to fulfilling the prophecies of the End Times and the Antichrist.  We just don't want to believe that we could suffer GOD's judgment for our national sins.

Pray for us.  Pray for all Christians.  Pray for our families.  Pray for our nations.

May GOD have mercy on us.

Getting to the end of my food challenge and my downsizing.

 

Finally!  I am about done with my food challenge and ready to buy food again.  

I am so low on everything.  

I still wonder what to buy first, and what eating my missed foods will do to my body.  I may try to return to my "normal" diet slowly.

The battle is over plant-based and meat/dairy choices.  I will have to decide before I buy my groceries.  This is really a hard decision.  I like some parts of a non-meat or dairy diet.  I also like my treats, chicken, and cream cheese.  I need to decide if I'm willing to die "happy" or reasonably happy.  :-)  

I sorted through so many papers today.  Watched some videos about food, shelter, survival, and things like that.  I will be sharing more about the topics and information I have rediscovered in this process.

I found a small note about a 2021 AARP article on Social Security and Medicare anniversaries.  Social Security was turning 86 that year, Medicare was turning 56.  It seems Social Security was the main income for 34 million people at that time.  Sixty-two million people were covered by Medicare, and half had incomes less than $27,000.  I have only broken the $10,000 mark once in my life.  

When I see reports about the median payments of Retirement Benefits, I wonder why people think they are suffering.  It's about lifestyle.  They have nice houses, cars, and better food.  Probably more medical insurance/payments.  I don't really know the details of the lives and choices and problems of anyone wealthier than myself.  I guess.

I wonder how they use all that money they have.

I sometimes wonder what I would do with that much money.

I wonder what downsizing would mean to them.

We assume others are living happily, but they could be struggling more than we know.

It is really great to be getting through my stuff.  I think I have emptied over 12 of my plastic storage containers and still have more to sort through.  When I finish donating to various places, I might have lots of space for my crafting supplies and activities.  Finally.

By next year I expect my life to change.

I am also watching more crafting and selling videos.  Making business plans.  Trying to find a new path to greater income.  That is the real goal of all these efforts.  :-)  

I wonder how much I will be able to make.  

Lots, I hope.  Blessings from GOD for many of the activities still left to do.

That is what I keep praying for.

The Food Challenge Continues.

I barely see the outside of my room.  :-[  What a life!

It's a season, soon it will be over. 

It is getting harder to stay away from shopping for groceries.  I don't think I will last much longer.  The shelves are very bare, and I am working on a list of exactly what I want to buy first.  I am still amazed I have lasted this long and learned what I have about what I really need to keep in my emergency pantry.

I have been watching a lot of short YouTube videos on food and economic issues this weekend.  I'm always looking for ideas.  Just in case I am still alive when anything happens.  There is no easy way to prepare.  

Everything we hear in the news, in YouTube videos, and any other place we turn to for information, is stated in general terms:  

• The bank has closed.  
• The business has closed.  
• The economy is in trouble.  
• The stock market has fallen.  

The general view doesn't really share what that event means to you, personally.  

One person loses their job - what does that mean to everyone listening to the news?  Nothing.  It's someone else, someone I don't know.  Hearing about other people's job loss may cause some fear, but deep down we never expect it to happen to us.

But when you lose your job it threatens your home, your savings, your retirement income.  It is a huge struggle for you and your family to keep going.  It is a huge change of lifestyle.  Many hard-working people think they deserve a special answer from GOD because they have "done it right." 

A global event happens to everyone.  There are no special exemptions. 

We only have history to compare the events of our time with.  The Stock Market Crash in our past took days to happen (after years of choices leading up to it) and, from what I have discovered, ten to fifteen years to recover from.  That is a lot of time to suffer and struggle through.  

In every version of the future we see, scared and starving people get angry and violent.  We don't know what will happen in our immediate area.  Urban and rural responses to money problems will be different, but the same human natures will exist.  The need for food and water is urgent for basic survival.  The threat of suffering changes people, even people you have known all your life. 

I don't have much time left on this earth.  I am old.  Death is a fact of my life.  But I still want to prepare for unexpected events while I am still alive.  

My food challenge as a senior is different than what it would have been as a single parent of three children.  It is different as a poor person compared to a wealthier person.

I am realizing I don't need to prep as heavily as I thought I would.  That changed my path forward.

I don't have all the answers I want yet, but I am still looking for them.  I hope you are preparing survival options for yourselves.  It is better to have some supplies than none.  It makes a crisis less frightening.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

https://work2gather.us

FRIDAY!

Trying to see the good in my life.

Sometimes it can be hard to do.

In the hardest of times, I have been thankful to be alive, to have food, to have a car, to have shelter, to have faith, to have hope, to have all the things I have.

We have more than we realize.

Thank You, Lord, for how you make the bad things into good.  Amen.

Continuing my food challenge.

Rainy weather this week.  Winter prepping rises in priority, but there is still time.  I have my green pepper still on its plant, and some small tomatoes I am watching.  I hope to replant my blueberry bush and rhubarb plant, but not sure I can.  That is what's left of my container garden.  Will have to plan for next year now.

Food challenges are hard for me.  I live in constant fear of hunger, loss of food, possible starvation.  It is worse with my age issues.  I am still trying to last without shopping as long as I can.  We don't think about hidden details of anything until we are forced to.  This is my way of trying to survive before I need to for real, finding out if what I have prepped will actually work, looking for better options.  I am learning a lot.  I hope to make a list of foods I will need.  Things I can actually use.  Recipes and what ingredients I really need to have on hand to make them.  I am getting an idea of how long my prepped food will last.

I am also still sorting my belongings... downsizing... discovering things I forgot I had.  Memories. 

And praying for what is left of my life.

GOD is bigger in my life these days.  The thought of heaven more real.  The fears for those I care about more urgent.  Wondering what my life has meant to the world is a part of those thoughts.  It is really hard to know the answer.

I just wanted to check in for today.  If I get started on the media and the election, it might not be a good day.  :-)  

Pray that GOD will help Christians everywhere, America, and our world.

Amen.

Saving America.

 http://www.votervoice.net/Shares/BAAAAAZfACQwcA7ZAde7FAA 

This is a link to a voter opinion option about the WHO (World Health Organization) taking control of our health system.  It's a scary thought.  Add your own words to the prepared text.

We are being led into total global government.  Every mandate creates the impression of government protection but it really takes away or freedoms.  

We are so close to the Antichrist.  People who don't know the Bible are not aware of what they are doing.  It all seems good to them.  It is built around themes we trust, like safety.  There is no way to stop prophecy, but maybe we can slow it down.  We can try.

I saw most of the debate last night.  I missed the first fifteen minutes, I think.  

It was better than a total mic sound control, but I would assume that was because Harris had mentioned it was her plan in the press somewhere.  Her attitudes at the debate also seemed to reflect this advantage.

Since I have been listening to these debates, and some speeches, I understand the comments about how politicians speak.  They deflect the questions they don't want to answer and turn the conversation into topics they want to talk about.  It was interesting to see the process happening last night.

I saw a brief talk on a Fox News video before the debate.  They were discussing how the debate was being moderated by intensely pro-Harris people.  I found the voice tones interesting, especially in the afterwords, the thank you statements.  I also felt for Trump in the process.  He is able to deal with those kinds of attacks.  I would not be. 

One part of the debate was interesting to me.  The expectation of Harris and others for Trump to state a definite plan for saving America in some way.  He can't make that statement because none of know what is going to happen in our nation by the time this election is over, plus the time between winning and taking office.  He would need to see what he has to work with before a solution can even be figured out.  I think this is one of the differences between ordinary citizens and politicians.

I remember Harris saying she has planned options that will take ten to twenty years to work out.  I don't recall the details of her statements.  I didn't take notes.  She stated we have more things in common than we have differences.  I remember thinking that her solutions are not the ones we would want to take... they would lead to Democratic goals.  I think there are serious issues with where the Democrats want to lead us.  Our differences are great.  Too great to compromise.

I don't recall Harris making any specific statements about her plans for the next four years as President.  Maybe she has already talked about them in campaign speeches.  I wouldn't know about those.  

Or about Trumps.

I will still be voting for Trump.  I think he is the better choice for this election.  He might be able to keep us from becoming a global socialist nation as our world is heading in that direction.

I remember one of the questions talked about the DC violence.  I have never known what exactly happened, or why they could claim President Trump caused all the violence.  He just called for a normal protest, not a riot.  Someone else caused that violence.  It happens all the time.  We have anarchists in Portland that always cause this problem.  

If Trump is convicted for what happens when others instigate violence (for their own reasons), then we need to arrest and convict every other protest leader where this happens... including Democratic events.

I am amazed to hear that RFK Jr is being taken off of a ballot for legislative reasons, through judicial action.  This is an effort to set a precedence for the future.  It's the American way to stop competition.  NO ONE should be removed from an election for any reason.  Freedom means we all have a right to run for office.  If this is left to stand, we will see a huge problem in the future... or, maybe that is what is desired.  We will only have the right to choose the "approved" people. 

Are you beginning to see what is happening in America, to our freedoms, to our future?

We are heading into the last days of freedom, to the fulfillment of prophecy, to the global presence of the Antichrist.

I don't know what that will look like for us, as Americans, but I know it isn't going to be a good thing. 

I remember hearing years ago that a large number of events were converging and going to destroy us, maybe the world.  It was a long time ago.  I would say, now, those events are the economy, governments, persecution, violence, hunger, water, food, liberties, freedoms, rights, and other things we have known as life.  

GOD doesn't move fast.  He waits as long as He can so you can decide where you want to spend your eternity ::  death or hell, Heaven or the Lake of Fire.  

It's hard to watch our nation become what it is becoming.  I hope we find a way to protect ourselves, as Christians, as Americans, before it is too late.

I hope you think about these details before you vote.

This election may be the last opportunity to save our country for just four more years.

The one generation GOD tells us about in prophecy is nearly over.

Debate Night! Better get this done now!

 

I found this in my archives, too.  It was the first cookbook I found for low-income households, on food benefits.  I don't remember the year.  I do remember there was a Banana Pancakes recipe.  :-)  

I still haven't found my go-to recipe for pancakes.  :-)

Today has been a day of more sorting, shredding, making donation piles, and all those things that go with downsizing. 

Another food day.

And I have to prep for the rain that starts tonight.

What is your day like?

I am still having conversations with GOD about my finances and what I need more money for.  My Bucket List.  What I would like to do before I leave this earth - or go to a care facility.  

I love the Kenya organization called Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.  It is mostly for elephants, but also other wildlife in their area.  I discovered they have an event in NYC right now.  A "herd" of 100 elephants on display.  It's in the meatpacking district - I don't know why, and don't like the association of the two.  I will look for photos, but it would be nice to see.

There is a long list of places I would like to see in NYC, and DC, and around the East Coast, if I ever got there.  I would love to stay on that part of the country for a long time, maybe two months (I'm not sure yet) so I could really see what exists out there.  Ministries, government, historical, and fun places like Broadway and the Bible Museum.  

This is why I need to win the next billion-dollar lottery!  :-)

I am very aware that people all over this world never get to do anything in their whole lives.  I know I am not a special case for GOD to be concerned with, but I still ask (again and again).  I try to do what I can online to reach that income level myself, with GOD's blessings, but have not found that path yet.

I listened to some Joel Osteen videos last night and this morning.  When he says that we have to ask in a certain way, I can't see it.  GOD will do whatever He wants to do, whether I ask at all.  

I don't ask the way Osteen suggests.  Maybe I am upset by the thought I haven't sought GOD in a different way, in the "positive" way, and have caused my own poverty.  I have expected GOD to provide according to His Will and Time.  I have waited all these years because I know about Abraham and Sarah's lack of faith to wait for GOD.

This is such an issue.

I think the underlying problem is the difference between a prayer of "faith" and a prayer of desperation.  

This battle has been going on all of my life. 

I shouldn't have this faith that I do. 

But I know GOD is going to do whatever it takes to provide for His Will. 

Technology has changed everything in our lives, more than we know.  It is a sign of the future.  We see it one way, Satan sees it another way, and GOD says we don't want to be here when it really gets bad.  That is why we will be killed by the Antichrist, not "raptured" away to avoid standing for GOD, Jesus, and Faith.  

The Bible tells us Man will die once, then face the Judgment.  Billions of people are not going to escape death because of the Antichrist and Tribulation.  It is just not how GOD works.  

There are only two humans who have not died and left this earth.  I believe they will be the two witnesses at the end, and they have to die when their "job" is done.  God does not lie.

The Bible says some die to keep them from what the future will become.  I think that is why the Antichrist is going to become the ruler he is prophesied to be.  Whatever is ahead, it is going to be really bad.  Death is going to be a blessing, not a punishment.

I wish I knew all the answers.  I just share what I have decided after studying the Bible for myself.  I need to study it again, but I am dealing with issues beyond my control.  I have decided to trust GOD for this battle.  I will keep searching for a way forward.

I wanted to do so many things.  Now, at my age and health, I don't know what I can do.  If GOD provides, I will do as much as my life allows.

I hope you have that plan, too.

Slow, but moving forward.

 

I found this in my archives.

It is really appropriate for me and my life.  :-)  

I hope to "win" before I die, but going to heaven is the best prize.

This weekend has been a long battle.  I haven't gone to the store yet.  I have found new things to make out of the supplies I have.  It is hard to not have all the goodies I am use to having.  I think it is better for my body, but I still like the "treats" I have been enjoying.  Not sure how long I can last, but I will "keep going."  haha

Today I got up and cooked two bags of dry beans -- red for chilis, black for mashed burrito beans and bean dip and veggie burgers.  Later I made some rice with dehydrated soup veggies to go with my burrito beans and as a side for mashed beans and other uses.  yesterday I made some TVP sloppy joe mixture when I started the beans to soak.  It is amazing what you can make once you start looking for new food options.

I have food for now and frozen food for later.  My son decided to give me some of his garden harvest... peppers of various kinds.  I am thinking about making some tortillas.  Not sure I want to, but I am thinking about it.  I found a pancake recipe and a cornbread recipe.  I have garbanzos waiting to be made into hummus.

I am really wondering how long I could last with this food if I have to.  I am seeing what I need to buy when I get to the store to replace it.

We start our lives with the foods and habits of our parents.  Now that my life is nearly over, I wish I had known more of this when I was young and when I had to buy for my children.  I wonder if I could have provided a better life.

My family moved a lot.  I always wanted to live in one place.  It didn't turn out that way.  I think I moved more than my original family did.  We just don't get over these things.

Sorted through more of my papers today.  There are still some memories I want to keep.  I don't have much left to remind me of my past efforts, but I have some things. 

I think this process is helping me make peace with my life and getting me ready to die.

Life is quite repetitive for me these days.  I will try to find something more important to write about.  Of course, that may mean the Presidential Debate.  I hope I can find a place to watch it on YouTube.  I don't watch TV anymore, except the video options on YouTube.  LIVE will be great - hope I can find an option. 

I watched a YouTube movie called FULL COUNT before starting this post.  It included an angel that looked like a regular human being.  The verse about being content in whatever circumstances your life becomes came up.  It has me thinking.  I tend to accept what GOD does, but I don't think I can be content in poverty, homelessness, hunger, need.  I am wondering what I should do about it.  What would contentment look like in my life right now?  I don't know.

Let me know if you have any ideas.

Keep Going. Trusting GOD. Looking for Miracles.

 

I woke up this morning and realized I didn't write my Friday post, so here it is.

I guess everything is the same.  

Sorting and shredding papers.  

My food quest to use up the supplies I have so I can replace them with new items.  

Working on my budgets. 

Dreaming.

Listening to sermons and music on YouTube. 

Downsizing even more.  

Looking for answers to my lifelong prayers before it's my time to leave this earth.

I always have more than I can do, and not enough money to do most of the items on my list.

Trusting GOD for the end of the story, for the details, for the path.

Tired.

Not hungry, thankful for that.

Looking toward this Christmas.  Hope to make it a good one.

Going through the records of my past brings up a lot of memories.  We all wish we could change some of the parts of our lives.  I am glad the ones GOD has forgiven will not be held against me when I get to judgment.  Those will be covered by the blood of Christ.  GOD will not see them anymore.

I will just say that trying to use up the food supplies I already have is a huge challenge.  I am wondering how long things last, what I can make out of what I have, and if I should go to the store JUST for the missing items I need to make more foods out of what I have... like ketchup for my homemade dressing, baking powder for pancakes, and things like that.  

The problem is, if I go to the store I will break down and get a lot of things and that will change the challenge.   :-)   This is what I do.  Debate things like this with myself.  Not going to the store forces me to find other answers, uses up my old foods, and helps me to see what emergency foods can do in real life.  

I have more pasta than I want to eat.

Lots of dry foods like oatmeal, rice, quinoa, beans, lentils, peas, barley, and more.  I barely eat these foods when I have other things instead.  I can make my own bread, even tortillas if I have to, and have bouillon to substitute as part of my proteins.  

I am slowly eating less and hope to lose just a bit more weight through this.  I would like to get down to two meals and a snack -- maybe -- and need to eat more soft foods for my aging body.

These are a lot of issues wrapped up in this small challenge.

I hope nothing catastrophic happens while I am doing this.  That would really be a huge problem.  Not a good thing.  I would never recover.  

I guess I will work on my solution/s and let you know where I am in the process next week.

PRAY FOR ME !!!   :-)  

My place in God's Kingdom

My theme song.

Today I found a list I started years ago.  It doesn't have a date on it, so I don't know exactly how long ago.  It is a list of what we won't have when the Antichrist and the Mark of the Beast get here.

I don't think it will happen in one moment. I think there will be a slow oppression on the way to that point.  We will suffer more and more on the way.  It's like the frog in the kettle story -- the frog is oblivious to fact it is getting cooked alive because the water gets hot slowly.

I don't know all the history of Hitler, but it seems he took power slowly... until the violence became his biggest tool.  We can see the changes happening in our own world.  More and more government controls, mandates, hidden actions, aggression against the church (all kinds of churches and denominations), and the falling away of those who cannot suffer the abuse of those who fight against us.  I remember there was alarm after the United Nations was formed because it was a sign of a one-world government. 

Here are some of the things on the list I found... 

No internet

No phones

No money

No electricity

No fuel for cars, heating, cooking

No water for showers/baths, clean clothes, clean dishes

No water for drinking and cooking

No food

No jobs

No income

No savings

No retirement

No stocks

No bonds 

No houses

No cars

No stores

No clothes

No laundry machines

No beds

No blankets

No sheets

No sleep

No medical options

No medicines

No dental

No travel

I could add a lot to this list.  I just wanted to share what I found with you.  

Life without money, without the ability to buy and sell, is something we cannot conceive of in the US.  I used to go to churches and wonder how the people there would survive.  We tend to believe we are blessed to be Christians and cannot think of suffering. 

I know we do suffer, but it is not something we talk about. 

I have been homeless and without money.  Sometimes with only mission meals.  Sometimes with only food benefits from the government.  Without preparations of some kind, the people of GOD will suffer needlessly.  Many will be alone.  I understand bartering is considered income for tax purposes.  We become criminals if we trade anything.  In the future we will be the enemy of the government and that will be a tool used against us. 

I don't know how we will survive in our communities without becoming ONE BODY in CHRIST.  We need each other.  I hope we can create something for as many as possible, starting with gathering our families together.  There won't be a lot of transportation options when those days get here.  Or communications to find out how our loved ones are.

Think about what happens when there is no money or food.  God has warned there will be droughts and famines (caused by water issues) and pestilences (caused by droughts and famines).  I think He also warns of earthquakes and wars.  

I realize I need to study this all over again.  I am trying to get that done so I can quote some verses that relate to the statements I bring up.  You are welcome to comment on these things and I will try to reply to them.  I studied for years before I even thought about Working Together.  Some things I remember easily, others are more general in my mind.

Technology has changed more than we know.

What do we need?  Everything.  And some way to deal with government forces when we must survive without any money.

Think about what you will need, what you might have, what you will definitely lose.  Make your own list.  Think about where you might be when the crisis happens, and if you are not with the people you love.  

GOD will help us, as individuals and churches and communities, but I don't think He will create manna for us every day, or increase our food like He did with the fish and bread.  We will be all over the world.  He could, but I don't know many Christians with that kind of faith.

I am sure Working Together has a purpose in our lives still.  I just don't know what it is, what GOD wants to happen right now.  I assume He will let me know when it is time.  Until then, I will keep trying to reach the people who love GOD and are saved by Christ.

Waiting for GOD to be GOD.

This is the best quote.  I really like it.

Trusting God is the thing.  It is not easy.  I have done battle with all my fears many days.  We can say we trust God, but when it gets to the hard parts of our lives, we expect God to make our lives easy... to protect us from every possible harm.  If He doesn't, we lose our faith in Him and wonder if He even exists.  

I have gone through this battle pretty much all my life.  I have changed over the years, but it took a long time.  Being homeless was not a good time.  I wondered where God was many times in those days.

I have a love for the "One day at a time" mantra as well.  It's all we can do.

I watched several videos tonight about the landslide in Palos Verde (California) and felt so sad for the people who are losing their homes.  There is nothing we can do when the Earth devastates our lives.  

It made me want to go through all my things even faster. 

Another winter is near.  What would I take if I only had a small amount of time to grab things?  I don't know.  I think I will sort out what matters most.  

We are having extreme heat days this week.  I will be inside.  I hope to get a lot more done.  

I have had Joel Osteen videos in the background for a while... overnight, then today.  His sermons make me think of Working Together.  I think about my personality, not being quite so forceful as preachers (or people in business) that make it big.  I wonder about a lot of things, again.  

Do you have a calling?  I agree with Osteen that nothing can keep us from God's Plan for our lives.  Not even Satan.  GOD overrides everything and everyone.  Because God did not do what I thought He would, I wonder if God has used my life for something I didn't realize.  

There's no way to know.  So, we have to thrust God for all those details.  

The other thing I know about God is that He doesn't start things He isn't going to finish.  There is always a purpose in what God does.

Joel Osteen makes me think that God is not done with Working Together.  

Writing every day is different.  I am beginning to think about topics to write about every day.  I am trying to write out notes... and references.  I am heading into Bible topics and what they mean to me.

This should get to be a very interesting project for me.  I wonder if anyone will actually listen.  I need to get better with my writing -- maybe then there will be something worth listening to.  I'm not sure that is the only problem.  We have to see what God does about things I can't control.

Finding a lot of memories today...

 

Today I have been sorting through my many saved records.  It has been another walk down memory lane.  

So many things to think about.  Dreams that didn't work out.  Failures.  Pain.  And God through it all.  People I knew through all those years are remembered in notes and photos.  Ministries I care/d about.  Information I kept for different reasons.

A lot of things don't matter anymore.  I am shredding everything that is too old to keep, or something I won't ever use in the future.  I have already filled 6 or 7 paper shopping bags, I think.  I didn't count so I can't be sure.  It will be a full container for pick-up this week!

Normally I would share my old ministry materials with local missions.  I'm not sure what to do anymore.  There seems to be hostility towards sharing things that are good if they are about GOD, even at Christian missions.  Oregon is a very active LGBT state.  The whole west coast maybe.  

Years ago, I discovered all the Bibles disappearing from the Salvation Army Thrift Stores.  I knew there was a problem back then.  I didn't know what it was, but I think it was the volunteer staff.  The Salvation Army is struggling to stay alive now.  I suspect there is activism we know nothing about and cannot fight.  The Sweet Cakes bakery was around here somewhere.  

Their community is very aggressive and deceptive and hidden.  I suppose it would be a hate crime if they were found out.

It is a very huge battlefield for Christians.  GOD is the only opposition they have.  It makes the war very focused on us.  I don't know what their logic is, or their rationalization for their actions, but it is like any sin -- we justify whatever we want to do.  

I have been finding reminders of many things I always hoped to do.  I am saving some of these reminders for the GOAL book I am putting together.

I am also going to be going through most (maybe all) of my Working Together records.

The goal is preparing for my death.  I am hoping to sort out the most important records for when I die.  

Who knows what GOD might provide for the end of my days.  :-)  I am always hoping for more.

This seems to be a month of change.  I am still working on my budget and food plan.  I need to get my decisions done.  It is quite a challenge.  

There is a channel on YouTube called The Biblical Nutritionist.  I have been watching a few of her videos that come across my feed.  This one I discovered today.  It is kind of scary to see a lot of the foods you eat in her lists.  I have been trying to go organic/non-GMO for years.  I just cannot afford it.  I am trying to check more labels, but I tend to forget when I am at the store.  I don't want to go completely meat and dairy free.  

Finding that acceptable place in the middle of all the food issues we face is very difficult, especially when you have to deal with poverty budgets.  At my age it doesn't matter as much, but there are many people who still have their lives ahead of them... depending on how fast the End Times reach the Antichrist.  

This is a link to the video I watched:  https://youtu.be/x31_u9cpnZQ?si=XLyLWAz8KfW7gJpi

Watch it an decide for yourself what you think.  Try to explore your food choices and financial options.  If you find any good answers, share them as comments so we can all find a better path.

May GOD help us to find our way through the world as it changes.

What I think : About the popular Rapture theory.

I started to watch a video by John Hagee about the End Times.  I couldn't watch the whole thing.  I was having computer problems again, but I could hear the audio.  I worry so much about what I see as a false teaching about a Rapture that is suppose to save us from any suffering of the Antichrist.  

LINK to the one I started watching: https://youtu.be/j8-Cj5bMGYk?si=Ijy1at1R1y42AVwS

I understand all the believers will be gone, but my understanding of this time in history and prophecy is that we will be killed by the Antichrist when we refuse to take the Mark of the Beast.

The reason I chose this graphic for today's post is the theme ::  TEST GOD. Trust God.    

I have never understood why this belief became so popular.  Since I have been aware of information sources being altered, I have wondered if that has been part of the problem.  It would have to be very manipulated, but people with money (who hate GOD and all He stands for) might be able to accomplish it.  It's hard to think about.

One time I noticed that a major Christian Bible source was sold to a non-Christian company.  Later I discovered it belonged to a different company.  The issue is that all the details we depend on for our faith could have been changed without us knowing it.  With so many different versions now, who would know the difference?  Not many people know every word of the Bible, and they would only know their one chosen version.

It took years for me to study what I did.  I chose the King James Version, which is not the easiest to understand.  I used other Bible versions to compare the way they had been translated.  

I have noticed that most Bible references are missing now.  I don't know if that is because of so many translations, or to avoid having a specific verse to check.  We live in an age of Bible hate.  The powers we have to deal with would rather confuse everyone then share a theology that differs with their own... or that conflicts with their own.

When the opposition becomes the only power that exists, these issues may be fully controlled by them.  No one will even know there is a Bible, GOD, or anything that says there is sin and judgment for it.  

I have said the only "Rapture" in the Bible is way at the end of our existence, when fire destroys us.  It is only the people who are alive when that happens that get taken to heaven in the form of what we call a rapture.  Other than that time, and the two who were taken to heaven alive, the requirement is to die.  "It is given unto man once to die and then the judgment." - my paraphrase, unless I remembered the KJV well.  The two who went to heaven without dying are expected to be the two witnesses in the End Times. 

I have wondered why GOD would have to take men early like that.  I imagine it is because they lived their FAITH different in their time.  We would never be witnesses like that.

I try to tell everyone that they MUST read the Bible for themselves and make a decision for themselves.  Every denomination has their own interpretations about the controversial things in the Bible.  Once they have a specific definition, you can't really go against it.  This is why we are not ONE Body of Christ.  We need to fix this problem.  I had hoped to try.  

Study this topic.  Pray for GOD to show you His Truth.  You have to find your own answers.  NO ONE WILL BE WITH YOU AT JUDGMENT DAY!!

I hope we will be ready when the Antichrist shows up.\\