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.

Affirmations and Faith

I have been listening to some very old audio books on YouTube.  About success, in different points of view.  One of these uses faith as its foundations and links the consequences we face to the subconscious, right thinking, affirmations, faith, karma, and I'm not sure what else.  I have been realizing that all of these things are related but we don't see them in our own definition of Christian Faith.

Affirmations are like meditating on the Word.  They are a way to change our subconscious thoughts.  Modern science has discovered the power of our subconscious mind.  We do things without thinking, we choose mates that are like someone we did not want in our lives (the mother or father that was harmful to us), we sabotage our happiness and success without knowing we are doing it or why, and more.

Consequences and Karma are pretty much the same effect, whether good or evil.  I have a saying I made up a long time ago about consequences that says, "You can call it God, or you can call it Karma, but [it all means the same thing: consequences].  

Joel Osteen talks about stating the positive as we look for God's blessings.  This is really about training your mind to see good results... to EXPECT good results, not to believe you are not worthy of them.  It's about "attracting" what you are praying for.

Faith is really a big thing in GOD's teachings.  We receive blessings according to our faith.  I think it is also about His Will for our individual lives, but the principle is still about our level of faith.  

Prosperity Preaching is similar but different.  Prosperity Preaching is telling God what He's going to give us.  In this conversation, about blessings, it is what I call "presumption."  Faith is more about prayer.  Another of my sayings is, "There's a thin line between Faith and presumption."  It would probably take many pages in a book to work out the details of these two parts of our modern spiritual perspectives.  I will let you work it out.

My search has been about GOD's provisions for me, or lack of them.  

I don't have the demanding kind of Faith.  I have the "God will provide all I need when I need it." kind of faith.  These books, the one mentioned above is from 1925, are giving me new looks at how this has been a problem throughout time.  Some parts make sense.  I question others.  

I am in the process of clarifying my goals so the have a way to be "checked off" when they happen.  I have never been able to clarify my goals for Working Together because it is such a HUGE goal for a person like me.  I am going to try to put as many of the pieces of these goals down on paper and see how it goes.  I GOD has built this business-ministry in me for some reason, so I just keep waiting for Him to provide for it.  I am now thinking about this Faith process I am coming across in books I read years ago and books I am just discovering.

Times are going to get worse.  We can see it in the economy, in global problems, in rising crimes and violence, in government oppression.  How will our FAITH continue in what is ahead of us?  I don't know.  My problems with God's provision will be the same for millions of other Christians.  I am trying to understand what GOD will expect from us, and how we can depend on Him with increased crimes and persecutions.

Pray that GOD will open His doors of provision for Working Together and that we will know how to use those provisions for all of us.  Amen.  

Sabbath Saturday - A good day to share?

 Since I realized that Gentiles were actually "adopted" into the Jewish Family, I have been trying to figure out the Saturday Sabbath.  I don't think GOD changed after Jesus saved us.  I think the issue started when Jews went to their Temples on Saturdays and then met as Christians on Sundays.  

We change over time.  Like Santa Clause taking over Christmas, and the Easter Bunny taking over Resurrection Sunday.  Somewhere along the path the true Resurrection memorial celebration became a calendar convenience... I know I have seen it on some of the calendars I have had over the years.

We have taken to this convenience with other days... like the birthdays of Lincoln and Washington, celebrating Columbus, MLK Day, and more.

I am still trying to decide what to do with the Saturday Sabbath as a Christian, but I suppose GOD understands.

Now that I am trying to post more frequently, and catch up with all my posting spaces, I am thinking of attaching them to days I have something else happening.  Faith and Prayer seems to be a good topic for a Sabbath.  I don't think GOD would mind if I wrote a post on Sabbath days, but that may change.  This is a work-in-progress.

I have a lot of projects that are in-progress.  The ones that have to do with spiritual topics may go here.

I have a list of scripture verses that apply to the End Times.  I am thinking of going through them and posting what they mean to me.

I also have my small first writing (1999) about the Antichrist versus the Rapture.  I tried to update it a long while back, but it didn't seem to work as a sharing option then.  It needs to be updated again with better details and thoughts about what is happening now.

I also just want to journal about my own paths and what GOD is doing in my life.

It doesn't seem to be possible for me to focus on just ONE blog or posting option.  They all have different topics to work on.  I'm not sure how long GOD will help me continue these activities.

It would be great to be able to establish offices for Working Together so I can focus on just my personal activities and thoughts.  It is still a prayer, still a hope, still a need.  Pray for Working Together.  The times are becoming very hard for Christians and Jews... the people of GOD.  Pray that GOD will help us gather and protect each other.

Thanks for any prayers you can share with Him for me and what I have tried to do over these past years.

Deborah Martin

https://work2gather.us

https://patreon.com/Art2you

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 :: Preparing for Christian survival.

 I was just sending a reply to AFA about government legislation & LGBT issues...asking what the Christian Community really needs to focus on as Prophecy becomes reality.  It is always on my mind.  

How hard do we fight?  

Where do we put our tithing dollars?  

We have many ministries, including churches and global organizations, and the income we use to donate is getting harder to find.  People all over the world depend on US charity to exist.  Persecution will bring more need and less resources.  How do we prepare for that reality?

I have my thoughts.

This problem is why I started Working Together (WT) many many years ago.  The poverty GOD put into my life showed me the problems that were going to become important in the future.

• One big issue is the fact that non-profit status has become a tool of Satan to silence the church.  -  I like to point out that GOD took care of His church before non-profit status.
• Another big issue is that the government is struggling.  It wants more tax income.  One of the main tax-free groups are non-profits.  I suppose that government rule will reach the day when only church-related groups will be forced into tax-paying status, but until then they will have to eliminate all tax-free options just to include the church.

Many understand that the tithe is the first thing to go away in a financial crisis.  We just don't seem to do what GOD requires of us unless forced somehow.  The tithe is one act of faith that shows us what GOD is capable of doing and shows Him we trust Him to keep His Word.  This action is what provides for the church, for its ministers, for its congregations, for its poor.  I vaguely recall hearing sermons that said the church already doesn't tithe.  What will happen when global crises start happening?

As jobs go away just because we are Christians, what will the church of these unemployed people do to help them?  This won't be a small benevolence check, provided once.  I see the need for permanent systems to be created to meet the growing needs of persecuted people, people who never ask until they are desperate, people who look for GOD's provision in other places, people who struggle with their faith when there isn't anyone to be found who will help them.

We all think the "Body of Christ" is our back-up plan.  We believe GOD will use them to help us.  We look to our church as a final resource.  Unfortunately, none of these prove true when the hard time comes.  

I call it a "bottleneck" problem... and the church office is the bottleneck.  The people in the pews can't access the entire church with their needs because (I think) the staff desire all the resource access for their own programs and plans.  There is no established way for the people in the pews to reach the whole church, they have to go through the staff, and there is generally no mention of those things at regular services.

I have to admit I haven't been able to go to regular services for a number of years... things may have changed, but I doubt it, especially with the lockdowns.

I also know that some Christian crowdfunding platforms have tried to meet the needs of the people of faith.  Faith Launcher, which I tried, died and was sold to another platform, which is trying to act as a church fundraiser.  I don't have any information on how successful they have been.

I know that, in my poverty, benevolence funds had limits from $5 to $25, and programs like the Salvation Army or St. Vincent de Paul had limits for different needs.  In times where persecution involves everyone in the church, the needs will be ongoing.  We are not ready to help each other in those kinds of times.

If everyone is poor, will we be ready to share?

My solutions were multiple but (alas!) I couldn't find the funds to get started.  Over so many years and hard times, different efforts, being too weak to ask or do at different times, being homeless and without the necessary resources to operate, looking for GOD's source, trying to find His Plan for WT.  It's a much bigger problem than anyone realizes.

I think the problem is we think GOD's approval is attached to our abundance.  I suppose that is a natural attitude.  We see the abundance of JOB, but not the faith and provision of the poor and ordinary faithful.  When someone like me asks, especially if I am a stranger, my poverty says to the church that GOD is not blessing me... I must be living in sin.  :-)

My point is that the people who have supported a church for entire lifetimes are expecting that church to help them when they have a need, someday.  I don't think the church will be able to meet those needs.

And that is why we have to change.

We have to prepare... somehow.

In creating a farm for food, we are expecting GOD to do miracles when the time comes and we depend on Him for our survival.

In creating businesses we are preparing jobs for our people.

In building up our Missions, we are creating an emergency process.

In organizing our properties for group needs, we are making places for others to live and work and remain a part of our community.  

No one knows what the future holds, but prophecy tells us the path to the Antichrist will not be good.  We can see our own nation becoming something we don't recognize as good, free, brave, or Christian anymore.

One of the things I use to compare the time it takes to prepare is the growth of a fruit tree ::  It can take ten years before it has the fruit you want to harvest to eat.

How long do we have to prepare?

FAITH :: Just watched some End Time videos and had to comment on one...

Decided to share my comment to a YouTube video I watched...

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

"What If There Is NO Rapture?"  (work2gather.us)  --  Reliance on the THEORY of escaping the Antichrist is going to create a loss of faith in all those who exist at the time of the MARK of the Beast....  The souls below the throne, given white robes, are martyrs, including those who die in the midst of the Tribulation and the Mark.   PLEASE, share all the different versions of what could happen.  Each person must find their own answers because their soul is judged by their choices.  The ONLY RAPTURE in the Bible is at the end of the earth and heaven's existence, when fire destroys everything, which may be the sun exploding because it is already expanding, which may be the cause of our ozone destruction... there are many possibilities for everything...   I once read a part in the Bible which said 5000 people died as one-third of the lives destroyed... which would mean only 15K people were alive at that time.  This would mean global catastrophe/s occurred.  We don't KNOW the details, our positions are all theories of interpretation.   -- I think the Bible says that GOD will hold your soul accountable for the souls you mislead.  PLEASE, share more than what you think is the interpretation of Bible Prophecy! 

MY COMMENT on a youtube video...

Saturday, 10 JULY 2021

apx  5:05 pm

The End Times: Antichrist, Rapture, Final Battle & Christ's Return - Mark Hitchcock

470,393 views Sep 12, 2020

9.3K  hands up 

496    hands down

The channel is :: 

100huntley

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

I am not sure what to do about all these seemingly popular speakers who share the same mistaken view of prophecy.  I hope to find GOD's answer to this problem soon.

The need to stand in FAIIH unto death at the time of the Antichrist is what our challenge will be... not taking the MARK of the Beast... becoming martyrs for our Faith...

We will not escape this requirement.

Tell me what you believe, and why.

Deborah Martin

http://work2gather.us

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And the election.

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

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

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

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

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...

Being the Body of Christ - TOGETHER !

I totally forgot it was Thursday.  I've been buy with other things and then got lost in the YouTube space.  Just an FYI... sorry about this growing habit that seems to be overtaking my life. I will try to do better with my schedule.

I picked a bunch of blackberries this morning, then had to wash and decide what to do with them.  I packed up 2 freezer containers (2-cup size) and put them in what I call the "big freezer" and then decided to add two of my small containers in my fridge freezer.  There was eight cups left so I decided to make a jam... or try to.  :-)   I ended up cooking it until it reached the "jelly" stage on my thermometer.  I put it in jars to freeze because I didn't have the energy to water bath them all (5).  I had about 3/4 cup of jam left, so I put that in the fridge.  I should have enough jam to last a long time!  (And blackberry harvesting has just begun!!  :-)



I am continuing my Prayer Journals.  My list of "Others" keeps growing.  Not sure where this will end up by the end of the year.  I mostly like this version of keeping a Prayer Journal for me... simple, limited, personal, focused... it helps me to think of what a day may hold for the person I pray for, and what my prayers for them might be.  I have started praying for some people to overcome my problems with them.  Prayer changes us as much as it changes others.  I am hoping to keep my Spirit from becoming hard and ungodly.  That will be something I find out by the end of the year also.

I don't recall if I shared that I wached the movie about Rich Mullins... Ragamuffin.  I think my most favorite song of his is MY DELIVERER.  I just found out tonight that it is on the record album of songs they found fully recorded (?) after his death... he had just made them.  It seems that My Deliverer is on that list!  I don't follow these things... and you can see how late I am in getting to movies and songs others have already known for years.  So, I checked the links attached to this discovery tonight and decided to buy the CD I found listed at eBay.  It is listed as in GOOD condition.  I hope it is.


Lots of things going on, lots of things being prayed for.  Sometimes I don't know how to pray in GOD's Will, but I sure wish He would listen to my will.  It is hard to wait, to wonder if and when GOD will act on our behalf.  I think of all kinds of things that are in the Bible, and try to decide what applies and what doesn't.  The bottom line always goes back to the fact that it is GOD's decision, according to His bigger Plan, and I am like an employee that needs to do what the BOSS says.  We all know that can be a challenge.  Pray that my life will become all the things I have prayed for it to become, and that I will see GOD's provisions for those things I know He has created me to do... somehow.


The AUGUST BUDGET is in draft form, but I know that will get changed.  I am going to try my first ad "campaign" online.  :-)  Just to see how it works.  I need to make the post that I want to share.

My PATREON Challenge continues to be my main financial quest.  It would solve so many problems I face... just that small $5 from so many people.  It would be the start-up financing I could never find.

I am busying myself with getting my CHRISTMAS lists done... what to make, what I need in supplies and space, how to ship things, what to paint, what to charge, how to list what I have, and all those issues for raising money through online sales.

My goal and planning notebooks keep evolving, getting better, getting sorted into a flow that will work for me.

Pray that GOD will provide.
Many thanks for any prayers that you share on my behalf.
If you can spare $5, that would be even greater.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin
work2gather.us
and more...

Remember... we are the Body of Christ TOGETHER... we all need each other... for many things, now and in the End Times and before the Antichrist gets here.

What does it mean to be a Christian?

I am not prepared for a formal post... I have been busy with other things and trying to figure out how to get everything done! 

I made those cake pop things and discovered the mix was GMO and I could tell.. so I have been avoiding eating the pop shapes I saved for later. Most I froze.  I did eat the regular cupcakes, but I don't think I can eat these.

I found a small cake maker that does the shape of a cake pop.  I may find a made-from-scratch recipe and just go that route.  It looks better for eating, and making.  That's something way in the maybe future... not an urgent need.


I was on Facebook a bit ago and watched part of a Benham Brothers live on Thursdays replay... I think it's their Business by the Book.  I was looking at the verses they posted and found a note about a Christian author who decided he was gay.  Eventually I found the place where that segment was and listened to most of it.  When I went to check the name, it seemed like a story I had seen a long time ago, but was suppose to have been something recent.  Not sure what is up with that.  (Fake News?)

I left a comment on a TBN post about NOAH's time...  it was on the 22nd.  I will paste it below for you.  In the process of writing it, I thought about the End Times.  There are only two parts of the BIBLE that tell us what it will be like in those days. The story of Noah talks about the evil everywhere in that time. The story with Sodom as the reference point tells us one of the main evils that will exist. 

It seems to be the same road down every time GOD tries to "start over" with His creation... our world.  What I remember most is that all the men from the city tried to reach the new visitors to have their way with them first, and the fact that Lot was willing to sacrifice his virgin daughters for the angel visitors.  Sexuality is the biggest goal of Satan... because anything outside of a monogamous marriage between a DNA-male and an DNA-female, for life, is like an attack against GOD.  It is the goal of Satan to hurt GOD by hurting us.

========================
FYI--

Deborah Martin
I think of Noah as trusting GOD... over years and years and years and years of time... and how GOD kept his sons from having children... but gave them all wives... -- I often wonder what the people around him were like in all that time... we only know they were evil, fully consumed by evil, and destined to die. Were there any conversations about faith and GOD and what was coming... we don't really know. -- if anyone was saved, they didn't get a ticket on the Ark. I suppose they had to leave the populations and live where they could cut wood to build the Ark. They must have lived off the land. GOD says He brought the animals to the Ark when it was time to fulfill His Words. It was over a hundred years of building time, I think... I don't recall right now, it's been awhile since I studied that passage. It is always a difficult thing to think about Noah's time because he is just one of two passages we have about the End Times, what it will be like in those days. Evil rules the day. What will it be like when the Antichrist gets here and kills all the Christians? I hate to think about that. GOD warns people hundreds of years ahead of things... and the erosion of faith and godliness continues. We try to solve problems on our own... but there is no way to "solve" prophecy. We can only prepare for it. work2gather.us
========================

We live in difficult times.

I made another comment (today, I think) about our need to be strong enough to die.  It's hard to imagine that kind of America.  I don't think many Christians are ready for that kind of testimony.


Getting off the pain of our futures, I also have been search out Kindle books this week. On a few topics... creating recipe books (small / short in length), some short opinion booklets, and a short "inspirational" booklet.  It looks achievable for me.  :-)  I also found one called  GROW  OR  DIE !!  It is on growing  your own food to survive any kind of disaster situation. 

I'm still looking through them.


Christmas is still high on the attention list.  Still working on the details.  Going to try making small art, in case you don't remember or I haven't shared that yet.

All of my newly ordered supplies haven't arrived yet... the remaining things are due mid-August to maybe October... can't recall right now, but it was way for out there.  I guess it's on the slow boat from China.  :-)  I have plenty to do, so that will be OK for this year.


Well, I'm going to close for today.
I am still thinking about some things, and tired, and seeking GOD.
That author that suddenly declared himself Gay -- well, he plans to continue writing children's books and doesn't see the problem with being "Gay and Christian."
I still think it's slanderous fake news, so I will wait and see. 
I hope they catch those who are doing this kind of thing.


In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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27 OCT 2019 - How GOD moves in our world

I finally decided to do this Bible Verse post at my personal blog... and will share the link later.  It has been four days since I found these verses, and I have been thinking about them and what they represent during that time.  I may post one of the verses with the link, but I am not sure yet.

I opened my Bible on Thursday to a page in Haggai...Chapter 1:10-11 was going tobe my daily posting challenge.

"Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.

"And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands."

I was impacted by this because of my interest in the End Times and how GOD judges the world in His efforts to reach it, to turn their hearts to Him and change their eternal destiny.  It is a very big topic, and there are so many verses to quote, I couldn't even share them in one post anywhere.

I also noticed Chapter 2:6-7

"For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;

"And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come : and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts."

And Chapter 2:9

"The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts : and in this place will I give peace."

I don't remember my impressions when I first read this section, but it seems to be about the next world... about the end of time as we know it... about the judgements of GOD.

Then I noticed across the page, in the book of Zephaniah (1:14-18) about the final judgments of GOD on earth and man.

"The great day of the LORD is near... the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

"That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thich darkness,

"A day of the trumpet and alarm...

"And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD : and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.

"Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy : for he shall make a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land."

It's a scary thought, especially when the same message is repeated in so many places, and I understand they were shared many years apart.

GOD can bless or GOD can judge. It is something we have to understand and realize that we are not the ones in charge.  Ultimately, even though He has given us FREE WILL, He has the power to change things.

Drought is one of His tools, earthquakes can be one of his tools, floods can be a tool but not a global wrath, pestilence is listed as a means of judgment.  We like to say one of GOD's "lightning bolts" hit when we think GOD has judged someone we consider evil and deserving it.  I often wonder how GOD views my sins, my need for judgment, and how much His forgiveness takes away (an how much it doesn't - in consequences).

It took so many years of prayer and seeking and thought to find a place of peace about my own sins and forgiveness, to understand how GOD works in this world and our lives.  I am still learning, but I understand a lot more than when I first started looking for answers as a teen.  (I am now in retirement, past 65.) Now I search for answers about the End Times and the days of GOD's wrath in prophecy.

In my plans for Working Together, I knew that GOD had the ability to bless  one field over another, and food is such an important part of our survival.  Creating a separate community from our current world of urban conflicts seemed wise.  When I happened on the Haggai chapter as I randomly opened my Bible, I was struck by the difficult prophecies I know about, with famine and worse.  In times like that, we have no other resource by GOD... no human has the power to change our circumstances like this. We have one story of GOD providing overnight for one of His prophets, so there is a possibility of individual provisions whenever that happens, but I am not sure we can depend on that.

Who will be left on the earth when these things happen?  I don't know.  Right now, I am trying to recover my studies of the Bible and review all the foundations of my own decisions about End Time issues... because the battles have been hard in my own life. 

Whatever time I have left, I will continue to search for more answers, and to find some way to share them for the future.  I am not a scholar, just a regular Christian looking for answers.  We all have to find our answers.  We will all stand before GOD alone.

I a still trying to work through these passages.  I haven't spent a lot of time in my Bible for some time, so visiting these parts again is hard on my emotions.  I hate to see, think about, or know of suffering I cannot change, help, or eliminate.  Some things belong to GOD alone.  I pray when I can't act, and hope for His mercy on the innocent, and His provision for the suffering.

Christians will need to separate and gather to protect each other at some point.  I hope that time will be soon, all over the world.

Amen.

24 August 2017

I was about to get into bed and go to sleep when I remembered I didn't post a blog entry yet!  Heaven forbid!  Here I am... keeping my commitment for one more day, ready to sacrifice for the cause!  I am dedicated!  :-)  Hahahahaha...

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The day has been full of physical activity... so I am well spent.  I think one day of yardwork a week is enough for me... maybe even too much when I do too much of it.  Senior limitations are a thing we have to discover through failures. Cutting the excessive blackberry vines and related messes are the only thing I have permission to do here.  It is quite a job... no fear of unemployment for me! 

I am amazed at the task... discovering that those huge blackberry bushes we see are really new vines over years of dead ones... they keep getting bigger because no one cuts them back!  I think it may be called pruning, but the idea is the same... cut out the stuff you don't want and help the stuff you want to keep to grow better.

I was inspired to use some of the packing boxes from our move here to help me move the many piles of debris to where the growing waiting-to-burn pile is.  October is when the next approved burning yard waste season begins.  I keep saying it will be a huge bonfire by then.  That would be fun, if it's even allowed.  It has been a big deal for me to move my saved piles of what I weeded out little by little.  The boxes may help the process not be so difficult.  I think I will be able to use them again, but cardboard is good fire material so it could be an investment in controlling the fire later.

As I was cutting the vine pile in one area of the yard, I discovered some ripe blackberries and started to eat them. By the fourth one I thought I smelled a yard chemical and remembered that the neighbor, on the other side of the fence from where I was, had sprayed the berry vines in his yard with poison.  I wondered if I ate any of it, and if it would make me ill... I stopped eating those berries!

It reminded me of the battle between the poison camp and the organic camp.  It seems easier and faster to throw some poison control on plants we don't eat, but the effects we don't see begin to add up.  Chemical companies want to sell their products, they aren't going to tell us the real truth.

I remember watching a documentary about food issues where RoundUp cotton plants were harvested by local field workers who let their prized cows eat the vegetation the cotton had grown on.  The livestock died.  If these chemicals go into the plant, what about the cotton that grew on them... will the poison affect the end product, the person wearing the end product, the people who work in the factories as the end product is being manufactured?  Cotton is considered a natural product... when we buy a cotton t-shirt, it doesn't tell us where the cotton came from, if the plants were grown with poisonous chemicals, etc. 

Another issue is the GMO (genetically modified organism) problem... I realized that the old definition of "organic" was "grown without pesticides" and that the seed source might not be so organic.  I haven't resolved this problem in my own thoughts yet, and it has been some years since I thought about it, but the core problem is still the same...  words don't mean the same thing.  We have to find a way to make sure we are talking about the same thing when we use words people rely on to make their decisions, like "organic."

This mixed meaning is a problem in religion, too.  Christians might be saying the words "Jesus," "God," and "Holy Spirit," when they talk to some denominations, but the meanings are very different so the truth doesn't get shared for either participant.  Finding Truth is hard no matter what the topic is... just think about government and media.

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If you follow my Facebook posts, you saw a lot of photos about my living space... and the kitchenette, the backsplash progress, and how I am organizing my room.  I decided to post the photos more individually today, instead of one group.  I haven't figured out how to combine several photos with individual text explanations, so I am working on how to share groups of photos in a way that readers can know what is important about each photo.  If it is possible to post photos with this post, I may add them at the end... maybe.  You will be able to see a few things about my life...

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I can't think of too much else to say for today...  I am hoping to get my crafting workspace (table area) cleard by the end of the weekend so I can start making things.  All my changes means it is the only place to put things in transition.  Tomorrow is the Jewish Sabbath so I will try to plan a way to rest... another learning experience for me.   I may start blogging to my Working Together blog on Fridays... It seems like the best option right now.  I am still deciding.  I'll let you know next week if I did.

Enjoy your weekend. 

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May God watch over you and help you to find His Peace in each day.  May you discover the greatness of your life, and what He has destined for you.  May you use your time, money, and life well, so that your memory will be good in the hearts of many people.  Amen.

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Note::  I had to take a photo because all my Facebook photos were on a different device.  Where it will end up, I don't know.  This photo is to share the kitchenette and the backsplash... FYI...  I will try to figure out the process for photos ASAP.

17 August 2017

The first week is over... we made it!

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Today I listened to most of the Georgene Rice show on KPDQ (.com), but one part especially caught my attention.  She was referring to the national debt.  The statement I remember is that the debt will rise to over 90 trillion in 30 years.  Also part of the presentation was the same old "blame the entitlement programs."  I don't remember if she was summarizing a book or person, or just relaying some of her combined research tidbits, but blaming entitlements is a raw place for my nerves.  There are so many areas of government that need whittling, changing, reorganizing, and eliminating, that blaming entitlements is a cop-out... an easy sound bite.

What can we do to reduce or eliminate the debt?  It is crushing everything the government supports.  The majority of taxes that are collected go to pay the interest on the debt... not good.  It's like the credit card situation in many families... the interest creates a bigger problem, and not making payments make it financially life-threatening.  Paying it off gets harder and harder.  What happens when the government can't operate?  Can we actually carry a 90 trillion dollar debt?  I don't think so.

You can see this is a hot-button for me... easy to push!  I have survived many times because of Welfare, WIC, Food Stamps, and Medicaid.  Now I am relying on the Social Security Retirement Benefits I paid into during my lifetime.  It is very frightening to be a senior citizen and think my small amount of benefits won't be available if the government doesn't fix its problems.

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Today I also tried to make some small yellow plums from a tree at my son's house into something I could save by canning them.  I am not sure what I created... It may be good as an ice cream topping, or syrup, or for my smoothie efforts... I ended up with two jars saved and some to try out right away.  Nice taste.  Should be fun trying to make new food options with this.

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The backsplash for my kitchenette is in place... I have to wait until next week for the grout to be done.  I have never been involved with backsplash creation before... interesting design item, I think.  Watching HGTV introduced me to the concept.  I think it will be nice.  I have to limit my waterplay until the grout gets done... maybe I should buy some paper plates and only eat sandwiches...   :-)

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Friday is becoming my day of the week because I let myself eat food after 6pm on Fridays...  I am discovering this battle to eat every other night, and find myself overdoing it on Fridays just because I can!  Not sure that is achieving my real goal.  haha.  I don't know if I should just keep the same pattern every night.  I'll let you know.

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One of my old friends has a new grandbaby tonight... today there was another terror attack with a car, killing so many innocent people.  Every day life begins and ends.  Some of us get to be happy, others must endure grief. 

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Life is a challenge.  We may be at peace, we may be struggling, we may be filled with joy or we may be deep in a valley of pain... but life goes on.  We make it through... do our best... hide our hard parts and share our happiness.  Today is another day.  We made it through.  Tomorrow we will start over and make it through again.  I don't know what keeps other people going forward, but for me it is my faith in GOD and knowing He has a way to make today work for tomorrow... to turn it into something good, something better, something meaningful.  This faith has helped me survive in the past, and will help me survive tomorrow.

I hope you have someone like GOD to help you through your rough times.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May the GOD of this universe, the creator of all things, help us to rely on Him through all the days of our lives... good, bad, and ordinary.  May He watch over the new lives that have come, and surround the grieving with His angels, His love, His provisions for their difficult time.  May we find a way to make America solvent, to change our bad habits into good choices.  May we love the poor and suffering as we would like to be loved ourselves, and change our priorities to be less focused on the idea that we are losing something, more focused on the good we can do.  Amen.

16 August 2017

Christian radio is in the background today... I want to listen to one of my favorite preaching shows.  It's a local minister, but too far for me to reach. One good thing about having our communication options (tv, radio, internet, etc.) is the ability to hear from people we would never be able to visit.  It also gives us a chance to think about the wide differences and the common theologies we have in the Christian arena.

Today I ventured out into the shopping world.  Spent all my money on household necessities, well... most of it.  :-)   Mop, broom, dustpan, kitchen goodies, and a small (2ft) HDMI cord to figure out how it works and what I can use it on!  My treat was breakfast at a Taco Bell... a bean burrito at 7:30ish in the morning.  I somehow made it home by about noon, but didn't get to do all the shopping I wanted to do.  The heat was too much for me.  I came back early!

My budget is still intact... I have ten dollars left for the rest of the month... well, ten dollars in my wallet, my emergency cash.  I'm working on two birthday gifts for September.  Two of my three sons were born in September.  Back to school used to be a nightmare.  :-)  I am getting better with my budget process. It has changed my life in many ways, and I couldn't get it done when I was a single parent at a Welfare level.  I hope to accomplish some of my lifetime goals before God calls me home.  I have read that some single parents in the Ramsey program have achieved the initial baby steps, the emergency fund mostly.  I even read about a prison program that has changed the life of an inmate who worked the baby step process.  That is amazing!!

Without money, we can't do anything.  Getting above survival is critical.  I am actually still working on my initial emergency fund... the 500-1000 dollars just to get through the things that always happen when you are trying to change your life.  I have so many needs that it keeps going up and down...  I am currently debating the purchase of a small laptop or other kind of computer.  I was looking at some more of the choices today.  I really need a bit more money to get one that will be a basic model for me... so, I am still praying about it, searching for more options, and trying to make a list of what is essential.

Tomorrow the people who are creating a kitchenette in my room (at my son's house) will be coming to do the backsplash.  I hope it turns out good.  Having a kitchen of my own to use has been great... coffee when you want it, food when you want it, cooking and baking when you need to, washing dishes, building a pantry, trying out new recipes, etc..... little things that mean a lot. 

Since I discovered the 20K house project I have been designing basic houses in case God lets me build them.  Human beings need shelter... and food... and a place to build a life.  Homelessness has shown me a lot about what really matters.  I can't change other people, so I pray for the opportunity to do what I can on my own... finding like-minded people on the way.

My past led to Working Together, which is all about basic survival needs :: food, shelter, etc.  Christians don't realize they will need it for themselves...  I had hoped to start the process by making some examples.

It's time to go do other things. 

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

May God watch over us all, lead us to His Love, guide our hearts in good directions, help us to see our place in the Body of Christ, make our hearts pure, our motives right, and our actions worthy.  Amen.

15 August 2017

This day was long...
I was able to listen to some news today... and made a comment about it at ABC's Facebook page for their world news program.  I don't think I have ever made a comment there before.  I have done some @ABC posts at Twitter...  :-)  I'm sure my comments get lost in the floods of responses they get, but I still feel the need to make my statements.  It is why I do things like this blog and others.  Why I want to write books.  I don't know if I'm the silent majority, but I am pretty sure I'm not heard clearly. 

Today I have been thinking about faith, and about prayer, and about what applies to this journaling process.  My life consists of faith and prayer... they are the only reason I still exist.  I apply my faith in GOD to every problem I face.  I suppose that means everything in my life would fit into this blog somehow. 

My concerns for America are among the issues I talk to God about.

When Trump ran for President, I didn't think he would get very far.  I haven't seen many "ordinary" people even get into these races.  His media manipulations were very amazing, and the response of the people even more astounding.  In my own thoughts, I wondered if he could make the changes we need in our country to become healthy again, to change the focus of Washington from taxes to business strategies that would support the programs created and eventually create income. His business background was the main reason I hoped his Presidency would work.

I don't like all that Trump seems to stand for, but every president has issues with some part of America and the world... no one is perfect.  If the citizens elected him, we needed to figure out why... and look for God's reasons for lifting him up into that position.  Every candidate says lots of things when they are campaigning, but no one is a one-man government.  Everything changes when you get up into the job.  You find out things you didn't know before the election, you discover more divisions, actually doing what you said you would do becomes impossible.  This is life in our times... this is our election process.

What does America need?  We all seem to have different ideas about what will solve our many problems.

Can we survive anything the way we think we can?  We think the past will be the future...forgetting that we are subject to the same laws of the universe as everyone else.

Are we really invincible?  Is military might our only claim to fame?  Bigger images than ours have been brought down by things they never expected... we are very vulnerable to harm in our age, through the computer, through the lack of morals, through the economic burden we have created for ourselves, and more.

If God's protections are no longer part of our story, what will His judgment look like?  The Bible cites natural judgments that create great suffering are God's tools to turn people back to Himself... our economies are so fragile, and we base our plans on things that won't exist much longer... bankruptcy is a long process, but it eventually happens when our financial choices are bad, the economy is faulty, or disaster hits.

I don't expect to live that much longer, so the problems I see will most likely affect other people. My children and other family and friends may be among them. 

When my life became so immersed in poverty issues, I searched for solutions.  In creating Working Together  (http://work2gather.us) I had hoped to build new ways of doing things to change what poverty does to lives.  It was an effort to move away from government provision and control.  Then it became a ministry focused on the Christians who would suffer what the Bible says is coming. 

I'm not sure I can accomplish any of my goals for Working Together, but I am doing what I can in those directions.  I spend my time planning what I might do if God provides before I am gone.  It has become my life to find answers to the needs I know will exist, and to watch for the signs of trouble that may apply to prophecies in the Bible. 

Today, I looked for more answers, tried to find a path to the future, prayed for God to protect and provide, did what I could.
I will do the same tomorrow.

Holy God, hear my prayers.  Show me the way to Your Will.  Guide my life into the place you want me to be.  Provide for my needs.  Protect me from harm.  Amen.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

14 August 2017

Today... my first real journal-like entry.

I was trying to decide this morning if this should be first of the day thoughts or whether I should wait until later.  I get much more emotional when I'm tired, so that isn't always good.  I didn't really have anything to say this morning, so here I am... after a nap, after the day, before the very exhausted evening.

The news that I do hear is filled with Nazi's and terror groups and Charlottesville.  On Facebook there are lots of posts on who to blame, with the liberal-owned media always trying to blame Trump and other Republicans so they can keep government from solving problems.  The conservatives... I haven't decided about them yet.  We are in a war of money sources I can't begin to understand. 

I just want the earth to be made better so all of us can survive. I want poor people to get things they need to find their own dreams.  I want prisons to help people to change instead of making them worse.  I want Christians and Jews to be protected from the growing anti-God perspectives.  It isn't easy to watch good people suffer, for any reason.  Hidden hatred is hard to fight.

America's freedoms have been unique in the history of the world, but there is always the minority that doesn't get their way... no matter what the topic is.  Free speech is difficult to endure when the words aren't what we want to hear.  Do people have a right to do what we don't agree with?

Iran is a sovereign country... they have a right to pursue their goals.
North Korea is a sovereign country... they have a right to pursue their goals.
We don't like their goals.  We want to stop them from reaching them.
How do people, how do countries, live with different goals?
This is just as essential a question when Nazi supporters utilize their free speech in America as it is when the countries who inhabit the same earth have opposing goals that include killing others, innocent others.
So how do we live together without taking away the rights of someone else?

I don't know... it may not be possible. 

We can only find some kind of order with majority rule, which we call a democracy, and the rule of law, and public safety.  Those who lose any fight have to submit to the authority of the ones who won, willingly.  We have also seen that doesn't work either... the fight just changes.  Problems never get solved.  We all suffer because of the constant power struggles.

These are the things I think about and seek God for answers.
What do you seek God about?

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

13August :: Finding a new schedule

After months of trying to figure out how to build a future, I have decided to make this blog my journal spot for personal and spiritual issues... most likely a four-day entry that matches my chosen work week... Monday through Thursday.

My blog/s for Working Together will become a weekly or a monthly process.  I haven't decided yet whether it will be the public place for the email newsletters and other publications for WT programs, but it may also work that duty.  Right now, the plan is just to post regular updates on developments with Working Together and build an email list for newsletters.

My personal craft-related blog, Crafts Explored, will become active again as I post my creative efforts.  No schedule, just posting as I record my crafting efforts. My workspaces are getting organized, my project ideas are getting figured out, my supplies are growing, I have a decent camera to take photos, and mobile access for posting more easily.  Things are better than they were before, and continue to improve as I get better equipment.  I hope to include video efforts soon.

These schedules seem to be the most reasonable option for me right now.  Journaling is more appealing to me than social media entries, but Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc., will still be part of my outreach efforts.  As God provides, there will be people hired to deal with the sites I can't get to.

Every day I am moved to share ideas I discover, opinions about things that I consider questionable, thoughts about things I am working out in my own life and walk with God.  Journaling seems like a better way to separate the people who are part of the different activities I get involved in...so those who want to read my words can read them, and others are not involved in that process.

Issues of faith are getting more critical as the days pass. I feel it is important to talk about the differences we have, and find a way to help each other.  Somehow...someway...someday.  (I think those words are in a song somewhere...I can almost hear it...)

Until tomorrow,
May God provide what we need to accomplish His Will and to protect His People. 
May we be wise with what we already have, and prepare for what might be ahead. 

Remember that God loves us all, but He seems to love the poor, the widows, the fatherless, and the helpless most of all.  He is willing to avenge the wrongs done to them, and to bless those who personally care for them. 

When you give, make sure you know what your money is used for.

Love, in Christ,

Deborah Martin
Portland  OR, USA

The Battle to Believe Is Getting Worse

I was just browsing my Facebook posts and came across one about Amy Grant releasing a new album that was evaluated as not being "Christian enough."  As I read the Washington Post (liberal, against GOD) article, there was a link about another media Christian who stated that LGBTetc morals were biblically acceptable.  Lots of words for the politically correct view, none about the right to disagree or the fact that the Bible is adamantly against the sexual choices of the LGBTetc community. 

The greater damage with all these articles is the presentation of falsehoods as truth, which is the ultimate goal of these writers and publishers.  Many people do not know what the Bible says so they can't discern what is true and what is false.  The media they depend on doesn't present the whole truth anymore, but their followers believe they do.

What will it mean to live in a world that once was free and faithful but is now violently opposed to anything having to do with GOD?  I hate to think about living in a fully controlled information environment.  Part of our greatness as a country was the ability to differ, to discuss with a level of respect, to debate concepts and ideas, without propaganda or violence or imprisonment.

When I think of the consequences caused by thought police, I remember movies like Hotel Rwanda and The Hiding Place, of Pharaoh in the days of Jewish slavery, the Jewish leaders in the time of Christ, and any dictator that may exist.  I'm not good at accepting this kind of change.  I doubt any Christian would be.

We never expect life to become so terrible, especially in America, but history has shown us that it happens, all the time, and often in cycles.  Christians understand that Bible prophecy has already described these days, but it isn't easy to watch happening, or live through.

At a personal level, I have tried to understand this global change process.  The best I can say about it is a nation has the right to their spiritual beliefs.  If I go to another country, I am not going to change my faith because they have a national faith that is not the same as mine.  I also don't expect them to change their national faith to what I believe.  Somewhere in our relationships there has to be a mutual respect, and the freedom to discover each other. 

America was created as a place to worship the GOD of the Bible freely, without fear of retribution, imprisonment, or death.  We have a right, as a nation, to be true to that Christian foundation.  It seems we have been forced to change our laws to accomodate every non-biblical faith and personal choice that exists because of media claiming there is some basis for the separation of church and state.  Our national laws can reflect our spiritual foundation, in marriage, in abortion, and in restrooms.  It is our heritage.

The issue of national faith is kind of like the national language issue.  We speak English as a nation.  If we offer help to strangers who speak other languages, it needs to be seen as an act of kindness, not a requirement.  We can be a Christian nation without sacrificing compassion toward other faiths in our global citizens.

The only problem I have with this "respect" theory is the issue of harming others.  Some religions involve their followers in activities that cause harm to other creatures, whether human or animal.  Some use the idea of religious protections as a way to engage in illegal acts.  That is not what I would consider real spiritual faith.

Some religions force children or adults into sexual activities they dont want to participate in.  That is not what I would consider a valid right of faith.  I would call that self-indulgence, letchery, abusive, rape, a crime. 

Some religions require maiming or killing animals or human beings as a sacrifice to their "god."  I would not consider these actions evidence of a valid faith claim.   They are evidence of abuse, violence, murder... and are a crime against others. 

Hazy areas do exist in faiths that depend on the GOD of the Bible for the contents of their lives, including not choosing medical interventions.  If a person with this kind faith dies of what would be natural causes in other circumstances, and this act of their faith is not coerced by anyone in a position of leadership, the result is not suicide or murder... it is the natural causes they believe in.

A person with this kind of faith trusts that GOD has the ability to intervene, the ability to heal, the ability to change the current circumstance.  If GOD does not intervene, someone with this kind of faith accepts the results as part of a larger divine plan.  Medical intervention does not guarantee life will continue.  People who have no spiritual faith and do everything they can to stay alive still die.  Basing one's inaction on how you see GOD is not the same as actively harming someone in a claimed act of "worship."

We now live in a social and governmental climate that eliminates elderly or disabled people by forced starvation and encourages others to commit suicide to avoid the costs of their medical care.  We are moving into a selective elimination morality.  Letting GOD decide your time of death is not the same as forced euthanasia or premeditated murder.  The legal rights of government to kill people who cannot stop them is not the same as trusting GOD and ending up dying.

These are the issues we are facing now.  They are related to faith in GOD, the GOD of the Bible...no other faith is attacked at this level.  The government that once protected us is now becoming our enemy.  The Bible warns that laws will be changed to suit the needs of prophecy and fulfill the Word.

The sexual choices of the LGBTetc community are not matters of faith.  They may exist, but they do not have  the approval of the GOD of the Bible.  Making them appear as if they do is evidence of premeditated deception.  There is nothing that can make these opinions acceptable to Christians, or to GOD.  These sexual choices are not genetic in nature so they don't deserve the protection of our national laws. 

In a Christian nation, we can show kindness and compassion toward those who do not believe the way our Bible teaches, but elevating this behavior to a protected status is like legalizing pedophilia, rape, abuse, or murder.  It isn't deserved, and shouldn't be necessary for any reason.

The LGBTetc community will become what they have fought against for themselves.  It seems to be the results of power without morality. 

We, as Christians, will lose this moral war eventually... we just don't know when, how long it will take, or what we can do to protect ourselves on the way down.

I hope you will consider joining Working
Together as part of this process of change in our nation and in the world.  My goal is to join us all into one place so we can begin to be the ONE Body of Christ we should already be and find answers for the growing issues we will have to face.  For as long as possible, we can help each other to survive.

Right now I have a PayPal link on my main web page for a TRIAL membership.  It is only $5 for one year of quarterly emailed newsletters (March, June, September, and December).  It will be a way to start growing this resource for all of us.  Please join today.

I am currently working on the details and PayPal links for my planned annual December Membership Drive for the next year. Rates for 2017 are being worked out now.  I will post them as soon as I can, and post the purchase link in December.

The goal is to offer the Trial Membership all year and offer the one-year CHRISTIAN  or  PUBLIC memberships every December.  There are currently twelve planned global regions, but those will expand as membership levels increase. 

I will be updating my website with all the details as soon as I can.

You can contact me by email at ::
office@work2gather.us

or write to me at ::
PO Box 828
Eugene  OR  97440

I will get back to you as soon as I can.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

Money and Ministry

I happened on a link to a website that listed an article on the incomes of mega-pastors... it turned out to be one of those link from photo to photo presentations with no indication of how many times you would have to go to the next page.  After more than two hours of trying to reach the end of the story pages, a pop-up informed me I was looking at a series of 70 links.  I was at 29... and deeply frustrated.  It was a horrid website, with photos and ads surrounding the main topic that would be considered pornography, slander, and more.   This is what we have to deal with now...

I didn't recognize many of the names, some of which were big in other countries.  I don't know how many are on TBN, the only Christian TV station I know of, but the text of some indicated they had global outreaches and relatively small numbers of supporters for the size of their incomes.  Others had very large followings and millions in net worth.  Many of the incomes were guessed... only a few were verified, and some were from many years back.  The intent was to say that people in ministry need to live as paupers... the motive for this is so they won't have a spiritual outreach to the lives of others.  Ministries need money, too.

Some made money through their book efforts, which is a legitimate income source for anyone, but seems to be an easy target for the secular (unfriendly) media.  This form of income is used by secular personalities as well... it spreads their message and their "brand" -- and it allows either income for them, their ministries, or both.  Each situation seems to be different according to the people involved.

The issue of money and ministry has been around for a long time.  Finding the balance is hard.  How much of our efforts are for our own personal future, how much for GOD?  I had to pray for many years about this issue myself... trying to find what would be a fair and reasonable balance for my life needs and the purpose of Working Together.  I knew that a global ministry like I was planning would create enormous sums of money. 

For myself, I created a for-profit corporation that was wholly owned by me (until it could be handed off to the next caretaker or developed into a better governing format).  This meant that I could allow GOD to do what He wanted in the income area as the SEC only requires a corporation to disperse 10% of the profits to shareholders, and that was my income goal :: me 10%, GOD 90%... it worked out fine for me.  It was also ideal because the income GOD provided through this source could be used to fund other projects that are equally important, but may not be Christian in nature.  It was suppose to be my retirement plan.

The issue of wages came up repeatedly in this series of ministry attacks... it is a big concern, especially in the current war on executive salaries in business arenas.  It is also a money and ministry problem.  How much is enough?  What is fair?  If the ministry is doing well, shouldn't the main focus of the ministry (the pastor out front) be compensated for his work?  The issue with ministry wages is the needs of the work... the more you pay the employees, the less there is for the reason it exists.

This has been another prayer issue for me...  Working Together is an unusual ministry focus, so the guidelines I chose may not be the same ones other ministries would use.  The End Times will be a time of great needs, people will be trying to survive, and we don't know what they will need to survive from.  I chose to make the wages fairly equal for all employees.  I guess I haven't fully decided about the responsibility levels of trainee, staff, management, but the differences I am considering are nominal financially. 

For now, the plan is to pay everyone by the hour, the same wage no matter your position or responsibility, making us equal, like we are in the Body of Christ.  If you have private income, that is your income, Working Together is only concerned about the wages it pays to its employees for work done on behalf of the organization.  In time, as we build, staff benefits will include housing, food, medical, and other basic survival needs as part of the wage package.  It is a permanent commitment to Christian members, who will make up the bulk of our employee base.  I hope that we will be able to create these resources in each region of the world, becoming self-sufficient in each place we exist, to care for the members in that region.

Ministries that deal in global locations have more money issues than those existing only in the United States.  How do you translate the difference in living standard into a wage?  It has been one of my concerns for years.  Gospel for Asia and Voice of the Martyrs employees in their local regions are going to have different economic needs than its US employee base, but the level of lifestyle is still a big question.  Do we value our wages at minimum wage, a decent wage, or in comparison to middle or upper class workers in each location?  The difference can be huge.  For Working Together I have developed a percentage option for housing and for food costs... but I am trying to figure out the base amount to use. 

When I was reading the different salary amounts other ministries provide their "executives," I had mixed feelings.  The costs of their lifestyles, their ministry-related activities, are not always noted in these wage figures... and they are always gross wages/salaries, before tax deductions, and with no indication if medical or other benefits are included in the figures. 

In my life, I have broken the $10K level of income only once.  Current minimum wages for full-time (40 hours a week) can range from $15,080  a year at $7.25 to Oregon's current minimum wage of $9.75, which equals $20,280  a year in gross wages.  The push to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour would make the yearly gross income of that worker $31,200 -- approximately $2600/month.  All of these minimum wages are a lot less than the $100 to $550,000 a year some mega-pastors were reported as receiving for a base salary.

What is fair?

Do ministry employees work any less hard than secular counterparts in business?
Is their salary an indication of GOD's blessings on their life and work?
How do we value the experience of ministry workers to the organization's mission?

It isn't an easy question to answer.  Ministry workers are often like employees in social services, community organizations, and other non-profit works that serve people with needs  --  all of whom seem to be notoriously underpaid, but choosing to dedicate their lives to a purpose greater than their wages.  The difference between small and large organizations is another part of this wage conversation.

So far, Working Together has not been able to hire anyone, even me.  It has been a challenge just to keep existing.  Praying through these money issues has been important for me.  I am more worried about GOD's opinions than the media's... I want to be at peace with Him, His blessings are the important part of this business-ministry hybrid. 

With that said, I'm not sure why GOD hasn't blessed Working Together already.  :-)   It would have been easier to have had a nominal income as one of its employees, to have had the finances to grow, to have built the resources Christians will need for the future, but that is GOD's domain.  My purpose is to keep trying to reach the Body of Christ with the message that the may not be "saved" by the Rapture they are expecting... that we will need to prepare alternatives for support and fellowship in a combative and violent environment... that what we have always known is not what is coming.

I don't expect to live too much longer, but I hope to see GOD provide for the real needs of His people before I go.  In the meantime, I keep praying for the solutions to our problems so I will be ready for that day.  I don't need hundreds of thousands of dollars for myself, I just need enough for my survival needs, for now and for when I can't do anything to earn my support, shelter, food, transportation, and personal income for a few luxuries.  I suppose being poor all my life helps me to be satisfied at the minimum wage level...  it is harder to go down the ladder of "success" than it is to go up.