Heading into ART for my senior income efforts

 

Every day seems long.  And they all blur into the same thing.

I have so many things on my lists of things to do, sort through, find, downsize, etc.  I worry I will die before I can get to them.

I have been thinking a LOT about what to do for the time I have left.  That also involves letting go of the things I can't really do anymore.  It's a hard place to be.  We want to finish all those dreams we had during our lives, but we don't have the strength, the health, or the funds to finish them.  

I have said this before, as I have been going through this retirement planning, but revisiting my ART goals seems to be the best option for me.  I have seen this for a long time, but I didn't want to commit to just art.  Art is a very subjective activity.  Everyone who buys art has a different idea of what they like.  I am not sure there will be buyers for my kind of creativity.  :-)

This year's plan to use up the supplies I have collected to do my various art and crafting projects is really pushing me.  I am finding space I didn't have before and starting to get things done.  I still need to list some real (original crafted) items for people to buy and see what happens.  There are still issues to overcome, but I am working on the problems.

I found my ETSY About statement again.  It has made me think about what has happened over the past several years and how I got to where I am now.  I started with POD (Print on Demand) because I didn't need to have inventory space.  I somehow ended up without any real crafted products to sell.  I want to change that.   

I will still do some POD products, especially my logo mug, because they are very important.  When I can, or when I die, those products will be owned by Working Together to help it with income options.  This was the original plan.  

I probably need a lawyer to help me get it all legally figured out.  For my part, I may have to list everything for Working Together at the EBAY shop I created for it.  It's the only site I have where I could list things to sell... maybe.  I do have a Facebook page for WT, and a fiverr.com site, but those are for different parts of the WT space online.  Maybe one of the blogs I have for WT would work with the PayPal account I have for Working Together.  What I am learning for my own income needs may work for the sites I have already started for Working Together.  --  Any suggestions are welcome.  Please use the comments for them.

Whatever GOD planned for Working Together will happen, it just isn't what I thought He would do.

I hope you will follow my ETSY shop so you will get a notification of when I list new items.  It will help me and Working Together if you can purchase my items.  Please think about it.  Right now, the best item to purchase would be the digital version of my writing called SERVANTS.  Share the five allotted copies with people you love who are Christian.  It is a very good way to remember our place in God's Kingdom.

Well, I'm planning to post here more often, as I have something to say, or share, or promote.  I will also be updating the Working Together website soon.  I want to put links back up for this blog and maybe some other spaces.

This is a very important election year and the future of every Christian in at stake.  I hope GOD will protect us and help us to win the battles we face for America, ourselves, and the world.  The global approach to all our life needs is quickly becoming the status quo.

PRAY!  We desperately need GOD's help.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

https://work2gather.us 

FAITH FRIDAY :: 29 OCT 2021 - What matters most?

 I am trying to post a little bit earlier this week.  I think about what to share as i go about my activities all day.  Faith is a BIG topic, and I like to add personal details of my life along the way... like a Journal.  I am working to improve my content (posts) so all things may change over time... 2022 is on my planning list these days... for here, for Patreon, for my selling sites and hopes for more income.

My Patron post has become DEBS JOURNAL.  This is working out great.  You have to be one of my supporters to read this post at my Patreon page, but you can always access the Public posts, now called WHATS HAPPENING.  

It has been a great week with the new posting schedule.  I really had a great week.  I think this might work out great.  When I have topic specific details to share with my Patron tiers, I can post just to them.  After I get this schedule going I want to start adding posts to my other blog sites (WT & Crafts).

I went through all my planned Shoebox gifts today -- to see what I had and what I want to try to add to them.  This year has mostly been a Dollar Tree sourcing project because of their pricing and because I always buy some things for gifting there.  I am going to see what else I can get there first, then I will look for the other items at other stores.  COLLECTION WEEK starts the 15th I think... it's always right before Thanksgiving... Monday to Monday.  (samaritanspurse.org)

Working Together is my Christian Ministry effort.  (1987 to present)  Been praying about it again, for this year's Membership Drive in December.  Because I am just one person with no money, I have to be careful about what I do on the Internet.  Any efforts have to pay for themselves.

I wanted to share a quote I want to make into a post graphic soon... I am not a political fan of the Democrats, or Jimmy Carter, but I received a fundraising mailing from him (don't know shy!!!).  One part of the letter stayed with me so I cut it out and saved it to share.  

By the coding I have on the paper, it may have been from an August 2021 mailing.  I don't really remember.  I just saved the quote. 

• Our dreams are big -- 
• our hopes high -- 
• our goals long-term -- 
• and the path is difficult.  
• But the only failure is not to try.    
• Jimmy Carter

Sorry, had to format it that way... on this site.

I love the whole statement, which is a generic call in many spaces, but I kept it for the failure link.  I do love the statement.  :-)  It is something to share on social media, like I do a lot of my graphics.

So, the only real failure is to stop trying.

I saw a short video clip about Elon Musk this week where he was being interviewed by a news person about one of the failures of his spaceships.  I was impressed with his statement that he never quits.  :-)  Then the video went on to show the succession of his efforts to create a spaceship that would carry people into space.  Very impressive.

I think, in reality, if we quit there will always be someone who comes behind us to take up the task and keep trying... until success is found.  I think Science has this process when the goal is very big, like fighting diseases.

Every year I review my efforts for Working Together and try to find a better way forward.  I have tried a lot of different things along the way.  I would try even more if I had a decent budget to work with.  I finally gave it to GOD to provide for what is needed.  I just keep trying, waiting for GOD to act on my behalf.

This year I am trying to decide how to structure the fees for Membership.  Whatever happens, they have to cover the whole year's expenses.  What benefits to offer for the fee that is charges is the other part of the offer.  I am hoping to re-do my webpage before December first this year.

I wanted to share another statement in this post, one about faith and choosing eternity.  I don't know the official source, and I don't know if my version is the exact statement, but it is about the results of our choices and our experiences in this world and eternity.

• This life is the only sorrow a saved person will ever know.
• This life is the only joy a lost person will every know.

When I first heard this, I thought about all the pain that comes with a life that is struggling through this world without GOD, Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation, peace, love, and more.  This is their "joy."  It isn't real joy, but it is all that they know.

My personal experience with what the lost find as fun and meaning is their addictions, money values, crimes and prisons, families that are filled with suffering, friends that betray them, etc.  

A lot of these things exist in saved lives as well.  They are sufferings.  GOD changes the way they exist in a life that is saved.

There is a part of the lost world where people are decent and good and caring and loving, but they are not saved.  I guess this group exists in both the lost and the appear-to-be-saved worlds.  For myself, I was thinking about people who don't want to know about GOD or Jesus, and think they are good enough.

We hear about this in pastors who discover they really don't know the Lord personally.  It's a scary thought.  Good people who do lots of good things, but they aren't truly saved.  This life would be the only joy they know.

I was really impacted by studying Revelations and seeing the people under the altar were martyrs, souls who suffered so much more than I have (and hope not to have to suffer!).  They become the priests of GOD.  They are separated from all the other believers because they became martyrs.  It means something.  I don't think we have given this passage the deeper meaning it has.

This life, what we suffer because we are believers, is painful, sorrowful, hurtful, and more.  We hear about the JOY of the Lord in our spiritual places, we see smiles on the popular leaders and teachers faces and want to have that in our lives, and we wonder why our lives are not what we hear they are suppose to be as Christians.  I don't know what exists in the hearts and lives of others, I only know the struggles I have to work through.  I keep seeking GOD to understand what happens in my life so I can understand how GOD works in our world.

We have reached a place in time where there are people who don't have any idea there is a Bible or Jesus or salvation... we think everyone knows about our spiritual foundations, but they don't.  The world is getting darker and darker and darker, now the battles are getting more open.  What is my place in the evolving world of spiritual choices?  I don't know.  I am trying to figure that out.

I hope to have more answers by the time WT's 2021 Membership Drive gets here.  (http://work2gather.us)

CHRISTMAS is near.  I am still working on how to sell online and make more income for me and my goals.

I discovered the EBAY app and how to research prices on EBAY for your listings.  I hope to sell a lot of my downsizing items there.  (ebay.com/usr/work2gather)

Working on my crafting for ETSY listings.  (etsy.com/shop/work2gather)

Let me know your thoughts about Bible issues I bring up... 

In Christ,  Deborah Martin

FAITH :: Checking In and Sharing What's New

Hello, again...  My blogging efforts are really in sad shape.  I'm not sure what will happen with them, but we can find out together.  :-)

I have been working on how to get everything done, what to focus on first, and the path to the future.  It is an ongoing battle in my life.  I decided to try PROJECT  WEEKS and see if that gets my listings up and sales going.

The plan is to focus on one crafting project a week... like one week of art, one week of resins, one week of polymer clays, etc.  Then I can list what looks like it is worth buying!  :-)  

In the listing process, I am still trying to make PATREON my first priority.  My Patrons the special people in my life.  They will have access to Patreon-only options and products.  So I will have to work out how to achieve that.

My ETSY shop will be for other items.

My EBAY shop will be focused on AUCTION items and some BUY IT NOW options... I think finding my ART pricing there will be a starter action.  How does anyone know what their work is worth?!?  I have no idea!  I think it's a hit-or-miss target.

PAYPAL has an option to list things on social media and other spaces, so that will be a new option to try out.  I think that will be great.  I assume the fees will be PayPal only, but who knows...  I will try to remember to let you know.

BLOGGING is finding its place.  This will be my JOURNAL spot, maybe... maybe for spiritual issues, maybe just my walk with GOD and life.  I am debating what to do with the PUBLIC posting option at Patreon until I get my Patron spots filled... it may become my first place journal.

All this matters because my income seems to be having problems getting bigger.  :-)  I have PRAYED about it!  A long time.  A long, long, long, long time.  I don't see any reason it should have these problems for such a long time, so maybe GOD needs to step in.  I hope He does -- and soon!

July starts my Christmas season... prepping and giving.  

Spreading my Christmas giving over six months has made it a lot easier on my budget.  I tend to give to the same groups each year, so some just get their (small) donation from me a bit early.  Their computers don't know I only give once a year, so I get barraged with more requests the rest of the year.  I'm working on that problem, too.  :-)

Filling up my Christmas inventory started the Project Weeks effort.  I keep getting sidetracked with all the day-to-day battles and never get to making the things I want to sell for income.  I hope my Project Weeks will change that issue.

Keep watching my online spaces.  I am working on a LOT of new designs and ideas.  It will be great to share them with you later.

In Christ,  Deborah Martin

https://patreon.com/DebsRetirementPlan

https://etsy.com/shop/work2gather

https://ebay.com/usr/work2gather

Thursday 2 July - Thoughts on Prayer and Christmas

I started my daily  PRAYER  JOURNALING  on the first of the month.  Before I started I was thinking about what I might pray about in words on a page.  I finally watched WAR ROOM in mid June, and was impressed with the issues that were explored with the film... and wondered if I would ever do that kind of praying.  Instead, I decided more journaling would be good for me.

The amount of writing space for the Presidential Prayer Team (.org)  Quarterly Journal is not much, which is good.  If you take a piece of copy paper and fold it in half on the long side, you have the size of a small book... that is the size of their Journal.  Each page has half of the space lined for a short prayer.  The rest of it is words about other things, historical facts, the names of people in government being highlighted, etc.  

As I get into the process of repeated prayer, I am guessing my focus will change from America to some of the details they provide.  Maybe.  I am doing this because I am very concerned about my country, and about the rest of the world.  America impacts the globe, in one way or another.  So do it's Christians, through their charitable projects.

Since I will be writing a short prayer about my nation, I decided to add some prayers to the small personal journal I have (and didn't enter but ONE prayer when I started it.  I am praying for my children every day.  I sometimes add a prayer for myself.  And will be praying for other things as they come up.  In my personal journal I can go on as long as I want to... Sometimes I do that.  It will depend on the needs of the day.

Over my life I have heard sermons about Prayer Journals, and tried to do them several times.  It just didn't work well with my life.  I hope this time will be different.  I will keep you posted about my progress.   :-)   

Since this is an IMPORTANT election year, maybe you should start a daily journal for America, too.  We need some big change in how things are done.

=====

I am already starting on my CHRISTMAS activities.

I was working on my budget and trying to figure out how to save enough money for holiday giving. I eventually moved some of the Christmas donations to JULY and AUGUST instead of starting in September.  This is proving to be a really great decision.  I already made my donations for the month and now am trying not to spend  A L L  my money on giving.  I so would love to give to a LONG list of groups and ministries, but I can't.  

I'm working on ways to give to as many as I can, and as much as I can, each month.

Holiday commitments to give are not the only money issues at Christmas.  I am also working on my GIFTING list... kids, family, sending Christmas cards, and what I absolutely have to have CASH for.  :-)  Last month I already decided to MAKE as many gifts this year as I can.  This is going to be a challenge, too!

=====

I made some new designs for MUGS because I am doing a yearly project at my ETSY shop... trying to figure out monthly discounts.  I am now to the place where putting ONE ITEM on sale every month is working.  So far, I am designing a NEW MUG for the discount. 

Last month it was my Political Correctness theme.  This month it is ELECTION 2020.

The photo is the 15oz size, which is great for designs, for tea, for desk planters, and pen holders.  It's too big for me to drink coffee in, but I see a lot of people with larger cups of coffee!  (There's an 11oz size I think is better for coffee... but not as good for all the other things.  :-)  

I also put my CHOICES design on a mug!  With a new statement about the effects of our choices on the other side of the mug.

I can't get them to go on the same line right now... I will try to learn that.

I'm working on ways to use the tools I have access to.  The images on the computer screen don't always work on the products.

I also am trying to learn fonts and sizes and alterations to the fonts and colors and shadows...

This isn't the first photo I have tried to put on a mug, but it is the best one I have tried to use so far.

As my design options improve, so will my creations.

I keep saying, If I live long enough...   and that is probably true.  I will just keep going, get a good lawyer as soon as I can, make a great will so all my efforts go to good places, and trust that GOD is able to be in charge of things.

These are the choices I have right now.  If they change, maybe the results will be even better!  





The other design I created that day is this one...

I bet you can click on the photo to see it larger...

I am focusing on the need for every citizen to vote.  We are not a free nation led by the choices of its citizens if we do not vote.

There are no voting options without problems.  Our conversations become about things that take away from the really important issues we face as a nation because it keeps the real needs covered. 


We have to find a way to make our government become what it should have been all the time.

It needs to become a reflection of the people... not a resource for greed and harm, manipulation, power, evil.

There are posts all over social media about the morals of our leaders... how they make us a great country or a country that is near extinction.

Below is one I made with a Bible verse reference.

VOTING  is how we choose godly men and women leaders who will honor what is right.  It is our responsibility to our nation, to our families, to our GOD.

We can't choose the morality of our bosses, our family, our neighbors, but we can VOTE for our leaders and say who we think needs to be above us in authority.  We may not win, but we must let our choices be known.

This is why AMERICA has been great... what so many other countries in the world do not have.

I hope you won't waste the blessing GOD has given to us.  We lead the world, and we need good people in charge of our country.


It looks like the election is getting heated now... we are trying to get back to "normal" after such a long  VIRUS CRISIS.  Not much time left to campaign so it is probably going to be a very long summer and fall.  

=====

I see I am finding ways to make my posts more creative.  This is good.  :-)   I am trying to do this... just learning how!

I hope you have a safe and happy INDEPENDENCE DAY... think about America, what we need, who can keep their promises (as far as it is in their control),  and how you might VOTE in November.

A M E R I C A   N E E D S   Y O U !!!

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us
and more...

THURSDAY Update - 2APR2020 - New quarter and changes

It's been a long day and I haven't really sat down to plan this post, so bear that in mind as you read it.

April is a month of changes for me.  I will be posting at my tiers this month, with just one PUBLIC post for the month.  I have to get use to this as well.

I made my first EARTH DAY design for this year... took forever!  The design options at PRINTFUL are limited, and I keep dreaming of an ADOBE account.  :-)   I haven't used Adobe, but it looks like it will allow me to do a lot more with any design I might come up with.  I may complain about Adobe as well.  Each software has its good and bad points.

(NOTE ::  I made the PRINTFUL link an affiliate link... that means I might earn some kind of commission from Printful if you click through and become a part of the Printful process somehow... joining, designing, buying... somehow.  It's my first affiliate link... I'm still learning how it works.)

It's a large black organic cotton eco-tote... with 25-inch handles/straps.
You can buy it at my ETSY shop ::  https://www.etsy.com/shop/work2gather
or my EBAY shop ::  https://www.ebay.com/usr/work2gather

It is just a basic design of letters and the clip art they have available.  I like words but there has to be some kind of design to go with them.

          What I see in my head is still there, 
               waiting for the right "tools" to make things with.  

I guess that is why my PATREON quest is so important... and soon would be better than later as I have no idea how much longer I have to live.

After I made the design and listed it at EBAY and ETSY, I started looking for some Etsy groups at FACEBOOK to participate in... I am currently looking into at least five.  I want to find one to post at and see what others are making... another way to explore what is "trending."   :-)  maybe.

They seem to have a lot of boundaries with posting, so one group will probably be all I can handle.  Some have many thousands of "members" that may or may not be active.  Facebook groups are a sly way to sell your items, but they also sometimes bring good feedback.  They are also a way to see the competition, and to find out what is currently being made and sold, etc.

When Etsy changed their team format my personal group went away... or it's somewhere I haven't found yet.  I wanted to gather the Christian leaders for a team to help support each other.  I called it ELECT, E ( ? Etsy)  Leaders...(Etsy)  Christian Teams... I'll have to find that missing word... I worked around that word because Christians are the ELECT of God..  Well, it's been awhile... my efforts didn't seem to get a return message when I contacted the leaders.  Finding Christian teams at Etsy is a huge challenge... and worse now.  They made it so hard to be a team I think everyone is abandoning the concept.


If you think the world is going to be fair about spiritual matters, you are wrong.  I started to see how things were getting changed a long time ago, when I looked for community meetings to attend... and they were all on the nights and times that Christians were having church.  Since then, I have discovered more of those "covert" methods.  I do what I can and leave the details to GOD.  We can't stop prophecy, and those who hate GOD think it's their responsibility to "save the world" from Christians.  I don't think they realize what the consequences will become.

Online is just another war zone.  We can't see what is happening, and many times can't do anything about it, but it is where we have to be right now.  The saying "...things are falling into place" is true.  GOD's Word is coming true right before our eyes and ears.

I keep saying, "If anyone did this to them, it would be called a hate crime."  And it would.  But things are never fair in times of persecution.  I keep praying that GOD will help His People to find a way through this with each other... that is what WORKING TOGETHER was created to do... I think it may be too late now.

So... PATREON  is my last hope.  :-)  (plus a possible lottery win someday... BIG lottery win... only  :-)

I would like to start the process, and be able to do some of my BUCKET LIST items.  That would work for me.  I am ready to die, and WT is GOD's business/ministry.  I just wanted to get a few last things done.


I guess I got going there... it is always on my heart... always a current need.

Please remember that MONDAY updates will not be public anymore.  Sign up for the $5 CHALLENGE to be able to access them... and help me reach my ONE MILLION SUPPORTERS goal.  :-)

https://www.patreon.com/DebsRetirementPlan


Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us

27FEB - Doing what you can to move forward

The weekly routines are BEGINNING to find a path in my life... updates, improvements, reorganizing, time... It is still not the way I want it to be, but this is where I am.

I decided to post a graphic I found at CANVA.com, I think... I liked the statement.  I have probably shared it before, but this is a good reflection of how I feel today.

I still don't recall who Brian Green is (right now) but this message is a great reminder when you don't have all the things you want to have.

Yardwork is beginning to take more time, especially in sunshine weather.  :-)  I'm working on my berry bushes in the back yard, trying to contain them, looking for ways to improve the berry harvest from that particular group of plants.  Each year I discover new things about blackberries.

No garden plan yet.  I have plenty of seeds and am now thinking of getting a small shelf with a "greenhouse" cover for it.  :-)  It's about $25 at BiMart here.  I am not sure it is something I need to buy... so I am still in the thinking stage about it.  I have always admired the really big greenhouses and thought that would be great for planting my seeds and experimenting with growing food.  Some food items I want to try are not for this climate, but I understand you can still grow them if you can control the temperature somehow.

I found a seed on one of my son's plants in the yard, maybe an olive tree, and decided to plant it to see if it grows.  I read somewhere, a long time ago, that seeds need to go through winter to be able to grow in the spring... the freezing is said to do something to the inner workings of a seed.  I don't recall all the details, but this seed survived the winter.  Hopefully it will grow.

The yellow plum tree is growing leaves and flowers... probably flowers right now.  I see it when I go outside for something, like walking the dogs.  There is another reddish plum tree growing near it, but I have yet to understand this version of plum.  I have seen them in the Northwest, in Oregon, but not sure if they are worth the effort, maybe a wild plant.  I think last summer I called them plum cherries, because of the size they are.  My yellow plums seem to get bigger and better every year.

Food is very important to survival.  It is high on my list.  If I finally get some land to grow on for the future, deciding what to plant is going to be a big issue.  When we go to the store, we buy certain things because they can be used for so many things... like potatoes, onions, carrots.  Other foods can be expensive because they have to be shipped in... like avocados.  One of my questions still not answered is about wheat... how much wheat do you need to make a cup of flour?  Once you know how much flour you need, you can plant that much wheat seeds.

I had to go to the bank to try to (again) fix problems with my accounts and the person that helped me asked me how I would describe Working Together...  work2gather.us  ... my lifetime effort that doesn't seem to get anywhere.  I realized it was about search terms.  I hadn't thought about what kind of search terms I would use for WT before... just my mission statement and the Body of Christ statement I have created because of it.  (https://www.etsy.com/shop/work2gather - I put it on a mug with the logo design I have for WT)  My plan this weekend and next week or until I find the right search terms for it is to answer that question.

I ended up with "Christian Membership Organization" but I think I will try to find a better one or two to describe it.  Everything is built on membership fees, that becomes our budget for each year.  These words don't really describe the SURVIVAL aspects behind Working Together... but how to get them into a search term... I don't know.

Well, I have to go get something done right now, so this will be it for today... I think.  I may add a second post later.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin
#My2020PatreonChallenge
work2gather.us
and more

6 FEB Update - #My2020PatreonChallenge

Here we are, in February already.
The time is going too fast for me!

What have I been doing?
I have to think too long on that!
It all gets muddled with my to-do lists every day, long days and long nights, and life.

I was checking on "zines" the other day... the information has changed since the last time I looked them up.  I discovered a trick to folding one sheet of paper to make a one-sided option... meaning the under side of the pages can't be used.

I prefer the greeting card size, that can be created more easily on a computer and printed out to put together.  I found one young person that sews them together!  I loved that idea!  I expect to try it out.  I also followed her link to an Etsy shop.  I think it was the Enchanted Quill... let me check real quick.
(It is actually ShopEnchantedQuill... I bought the one for $1.50 about being nice.)

My current goals are more about envelop size... #10 envelope size.  So, I tend to like the brochure format.  I've made them over the years, and you can get a lot of text on those.  I need to work on my graphics, but I think CANVA(.com) may help with that.

Creating physical products seems to be important in our age because of so much online theft and grief caused by it.  It is a sign of our moral character as a world.  To my knowledge, only the Christian faith requires good... even Obama stated that Muslims are "allowed" to lie.  This matters more as time goes by and things get worse.

I was looking at land parcels from an email link tonight, too.  Lots of money for those...  I don't know enough about that level of value, I look to see the size, the things that are included, the locations, and the ability to support people and food.

I finally ordered some seeds for this year's garden effort... with some microgreens to try out.  I have been following a group in Arizona called  seedbankbox.com  after finding a video by them about growing loofa sponge gourds.  I wanted some seeds.  I never got them.  I was amazed that you grew those things!!!  I am always looking for self-sufficient options.  So when I sent a note after making my order, I asked about getting those seeds, too.  I have no idea if they have any, but I hope I can get some to try out.

YouTube(.com) is a great resource for me... When I have time, or a reason to go there, I end up looking for hours.  Music, crafts, food, and more... things I never heard of.  When I finally learn how to do video, that will be where I post my own videos. One place I post them.  Maybe that will be my "file" for all my video efforts.

My budget is on life-support this month.  :-)   I am getting things I need to go forward... but not on the budget.  I tend to "flex" my budget categories to meet needs that suddenly appear.

I made an order at HobbyLobby(.com) for a six-hole punch I couldn't find at a price I could afford.  So I also made an order for the stretched canvas I need to make silk-screens for printing (learning how to print with them), and the yarn needle I have to have to finish binding a book effort I am working on.

This may seem like nothing, but it is all about the money.  These aren't the best supplies for me, but they are good enough at this point in time.  Without the right tools, supplies, equipment, space, I can't make anything.

• I can't make my art prints until I figure out how to do silkscreening.
• I can't do my experimenting with bookbinding until I get my yarn needle.
• I can't use my 6-hole recycled notebooks until I find an easier way to fill them with paper!
• I can't grow good food without good seeds.
• I can't fulfill my commitments and goals without making the things I have promised.

This year is a big deal for me.  I am trying to find the answers I have looked for over many years.  I hope you will be part of that process.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

#My2020PatreonChallenge
https://www.patreon.com/DebsRetirementPlan


Note :: I am working to build my Etsy shop with important
words and statements on various products.  Keep checking back.
-----  ETSY is having problems with their billing system right now,
so I am dealing with the results of that.  This is a good link,
but it may not work until ETSY fixes their system problems.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/work2gather


Note ::  I am not promoting any affiliate links at this time.  I will let you know when I do.  :-)

Monday, 26 February 2018

No movies or documentaries to review today...

I spent some time on my old desktop computer (no internet) and updated my goal strategies... put my stuff in a notebook, with dividers, and I'm working on a plan to keep up with it all... inspired by those videos about using a Planner.  :-)  I created a daily goal sheet to keep me in a focused loop... just a place to list my goals and figure out what I need to do each day, etc.

I did more of my crafting tasks, too... I am in the middle of several design efforts.  It has to be done in stages... like most art and crafting, so I am really trying to figure out how to store my "projects" so they don't get ruined before they even get finished.  :-(  Such a pain. 

It will have to be part of my March budget... which I am working on this week.

I made a better food record page, too... this is important because it is helping me to work out my meals.  I have extra spaces for the extra foods I eat, and the mixed food items I create that fit more than one food category, but the goal is TEN food servings each day.  I finally decided on 3 veggies, 3 fruits, 2 proteins, and 2 whole grains.  Now I have to work on the portions again... and how often to eat... and how much I am willing to stray from the healthy core of my plan.  :-)

My healthcare details are beginning to get fixed... the company I was with didn't want to work with the State of Oregon any more... so I had to get transferred to someone else... and I am in the middle of figuring out my first year of Medicare.  I think I can go to a dentist soon... so I will have to find out who I am allowed to go to.  After I find out all the stuff that needs to be brought up to a decent level, I can make some decisions.

I still don't know about the main healthcare part... like, who do I go to for a doctor, and what hospitals can I go to, and whatever else Medicare does differently.

My food is OK... getting bare in that refrigerator, but I have some dried foods, canned foods, and can make some bread to eat.  I am trying to decide if I will make the LONG trip to the Farmer's Market I know (and usually go to), if I want to go to the local market and buy just a few things, or try to make it to March... which is three days away.

I think I can do it! 
I like to make myself overcome these food issues...

My only digital item at my etsy shop has expired... at least, it should be gone... but I am near to listing my new crafting projects.  I have to re-do the digital item into a real item to sell, so I need more of the critical parts to sell and mail it.  :-)  I did check another sellers prices for shipping art, so I have an idea what it might cost... but still have to get some more details figured out.  I may have to have one shipping day each week because of my transportation and health issues... I'm working on that detail, trying to decide how to handle it.  Other sellers do that... it's not a bad thing.  We live in a world that wants everything tomorrow... so that makes it an issue at some levels.

My daily goal sheet will help me.

So, that's about it for today...  Once I finish my crafting efforts I may be able to share some photos... I think I have only figured out how to upload one from here, but it will have to do.   Who knows...  I never know if I can print anything, I can't promise to share photos!  :-)

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

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May the GOD of heaven and of earth and of the universe and of all we don't even know about, help us to become better than we ever thought we could be.  Amen.

13 September 2017

Hello on Wednesday!

I almost went to bed without doing my post... I had a busy day and got carried away with my yardwork challenge.  I will probably be too sore to move much tomorrow.

I am busy with the same things every day... all my ongoing goals and daily duties...  A boring life to some.  I do hope to make it a little bit better by next year, and expand my lists of things to do in 2018.

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I was inspired recently to try again to sell my digital product at Etsy.  I currently have just one item, my writing called "Servants." but it is a good item for the Christian household, as daily inspiration and reminder or as a gift item. 

The big problem with digital sales is that they are hard to monitor once they leave you.  I remember my teen years had people sharing audio tapes of the things they loved, then disks were copied and shared, and now we have file sharing.  The issue still exists, but the methods have changed.

In trying to solve this problem for myself, I decided that someone who wanted to give the file as a gift could purchase a separate file for each person on their list.  That would make it an honest transaction... no guilt, no fear, no problems.  The file contents can be printed, framed for giving, and then shared with the intended recipient.  Later you can send them their file copy.

I have been thinking of this for some time, but not sure what is already in place.  Once I get the funds to work this out on my own website, it would be a great sales option.  Until then, I am trusting my customers to do what is right -- especially the intended audience of Christians.

Sound good?
I think so.
I just need to make my first million to implement all my plans !!  :-)

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I may use this sales effort as a practice run for my first social media membership drive for Working Together this December... well, my first real effort, with outreach advertising.  I hope this works out this time.  I will be updating my website with PayPal sales links... and working out the final details by then.

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I have to go now.
Talk to you tomorrow, GOD willing.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May we all see tomorrow.
May we find the answers we need.
May GOD provide for our efforts.
Thank you, Lord, for all your blessings.
Watch over all the people who are suffering right now.
Bring them speedy recoveries... help them to make it through each day...
Touch their lives in a special way so they know you love them.
Amen.

Friday, 19 FEB 2016 :: Sharing my thoughts on global persecutions

The internet is a spiritual battleground and I don't know how to protect my online efforts for myself or Working Together, so I keep trying to work with what I discover there.  I don't know if Etsy is against GOD as a business, or if it's employees take those actions on their own, but it has an active population of sellers and administrators who thwart those who love GOD as often as "legally" possible.  I am not saying this to detract from the business site that is Etsy, because I think it is a very great possibility space for anyone who does crafts and wants to sell online.  I am sharing this today because I have decided to share my Bible Verse post for today...  because I never know if my entries will be deleted. 

The internet has made our world a global neighborhood... which is very different from what we know as people who live in a house in a neighborhood in a town or city in a county in a state or province in a nation.  We use to only have to deal with the people in our small group of friends and acquaintances, the schools we went to, the stores we purchased at, the church we attended...  now we are monitored without our knowledge by people who live on the other side of the world, affected by strangers who can destroy our lives and never be held accountable for their actions, told our opinions have become political attacks toward someone who exists somewhere and disagrees with us -- and wants everyone want to submit to their ideology.  It is a different world.

In the beginning... I tried to share my small booklet, "What if there is NO Rapture?" as an Etsy listing and someone decided it was "anti-gay" and refused to let it remain available.  There was nothing I could do or say to make it not so... someone disagreed with my opinion.

These are the methods we face.  "Politically correct" invades the spaces we live, the businesses we operate, the freedoms we once had.  We will never know the extent of how our lives are affected on the internet by those who disagree with our beliefs and feel they have a right to do to us what they would not want done to them.  These attacks, this rising power, feeds itself and grows.  The ones who choose this method of battle do so without considering the message it brings, the effects it has on all of us, our freedoms, our process, our individual and corporate rights.

We, all of us, all of us living in the world, have to find a way to blend (to exist in one place at one time) our individual rights in a global environment.

I hope to find a better way to create my own income needs on the internet, at a personal level and as a business.  Etsy and other websites have been an important lesson for me about the internet, about selling websites, about the power employees have, about what we face in the future, and about how little we know when we contact a business. 

If GOD will allow, I also hope to find better solutions for the Body of Christ through my efforts on behalf of Working Together. 


Right now, I have decided to share this post here.  There may be more to follow, I don't know yet.
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https://www.etsy.com/teams/21913/chitchat/discuss/15608919/page/49

Friday, 19 FEB 2016
Been making my THANKFUL posts here at the Etsy forum threads, but avoiding my BIBLE VERSES here... sorry for that.  Today I will just share a Psalm to get back to you with some thoughts...
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God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.     Psalm 89:7 KJV
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I have been thinking a bit about the fear of the Lord in the past many years, not sure how we can reflect that in our lives.  The fear that the Bible tells us about is a healthy fear, a realization that His power cannot be matched or thwarted...His judgments are firm once they are made, and we can believe in His prophecies because He does not lie.  It is a tremendous awareness for us when we understand that GOD is merciful toward us in so many ways.  When I hear about mainstream denominations going against the Word of GOD, I feel that they have lost their fear of Him, thinking they can get past the line that GOD has established for us.  I don't know what the future holds, but I pray that I will be able to stay true to the truths that I know.  I pray that you will do the same.