28 August 2017

What a weekend... massive natural disaster in Texas, so much sorrow.  May God watch over those who trust in Him, may He bless as much as possible those in need, may He help us all to recover from this natural event and prepare for the next. Amen.

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The immediate area around the house where I live had a power loss due to a pole down... and it took about 24 hours to get the power back on.  It reminded me of how hard it is to live without our luxuries... and helped me to resolve to keep less perishables and find a way to make food when this happens again... I think I may get some of those little propane tanks with the stove attachments... that would help.  More candles, too... and get all this stuff into one place!!!  I wondered how I was going to find my candles and batteries in this overnight blackness.  I still don't know where I put them... I am still moving things around and finding a permanent place for tools and supplies and projects.

My small distress made me remember hard times in the past, and the hardships of those in Texas right now.  Nothing much you can do when disaster strikes... we recover the best we can.  I hope the homeless and poor are able to find relief.  People with credit cards and bank accounts and cars and places to go don't know how hard it is to be homeless, even without a disaster.

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This is a good place to share one of the pages I discovered as I sort through my things...  I probably shared it somewhere, but don't recall where right now.  It is called the Seven Steps to Poverty.  It is dated 29 September 2014, with a note about the source being World Vision on a Focus on the Family program.

1.  Imagine only 1 outfit to wear, no other clothing.
2.  No electricity, no power.
3.  No clean water to clean, cook, bathe.
4.  No house.
5.  No food.
6.  No doctor or medicine.
7.  No hope for the future, for tomorrow.

Some other notes on the page...  If you make $40,000 a year, you are in the top 1% in the world.  Three-fourths of the people in the world live on less than $10 a day... which would be about $300 or less.  My current income is Social Security Retirement Benefits of $382 a month, with about $200 in Food Stamps in addition to that...  I am rich by those standards, but would be barely surviving on the streets if I wasn't living at my son's house.  Another note says that most of those included in this global reflection live in a 10 x 10 mud hut with a dirt floor... for the whole family, whatever their size.  Those without food are forced to eat from garbage piles, which makes them ill or kills them.

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Another thing I thought of when I was in the darkness was the solar lanterns I have seen on Facebook and would love to purchase... LuminAid, I think that's the name.  This event makes me want to get one for sure... just to have it in case I need it.

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On a fun level, I also found this handy tip again... I can't wait to try this one, too.  From an old 2010 Woman's Day magazine, and Whitney Cobb ::  Marshmallows---stuff one in the bottom of an ice cream cone to heep it from leaking, or drop one in with your brown sugar to keep it soft.  I was impressed with the ice cream cone part.  :-)

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I don't have a TV of my own... well, I did buy a monitor hoping I could use it for an antennae TV and VHS screen and possible computer monitor... it didn't work very good as a TV because the reception was limited to intermittent activity.  I go upstairs to watch on my son's TV (with cable) when I can, but nothing regular.  So, all of that to say I haven't seen news today.  I hope to find some reports later.  I can only deal with so much pain and suffering... so I like to check on what is happening and then I have to let it go.  It's emotional overload for me.

I was thinking of that today, as everyone want to solicit funds for their program... ministry, etc.  How can we make this better for everyone... make our money stretch as far as it can... make sure it gets used for what we give it for.  I don't know yet, but I am thinking about it.  These are the lean months for ministries... summer.  In bad economies, donations disappear even more.  Our nation is suffering the same lack... money.  We have to find answers that will help us all survive together, without wasting what we have.

That is one reason I worried about my perishable foods in the frig... I can't afford to throw anything away... it would have to be replaced, somehow.  Preparing for things we don't know will happen takes time and money and planning, something I have tried to do all my life with little to no resources. 

Our nation is like a large family.  Its budget is created with our tax dollars.  If we don't spend these dollars wisely, we suffer for it later... well, someone suffers.  It is a pattern of the government to increase taxes, create new taxes, barter taxes for votes, and blame others for their bad choices.  Our current debt load has made us more like a poor family than the wealthy one we are use to being.  We don't want to give up special habits we have, in programs that can be modified or reduced or eliminated for other community partnerships.  As a poor person, as a senior now, I see the repeated pattern of blaming the poor and elderly.  Like our veterans, the poor and elderly cannot survive without some source of financial assistance.  How to meet these needs, fairly, is the challenge in my view.  Blaming people who can't fight back is cowardice, not politically expedient.

In our fight against the national debt, natural disasters are also a threat.  We can't afford them.  We never know when they will happen, and huge disasters like Hurricane Harvey are beyond planning for.  How can we manage our financial problems and include a margin for unexpected expenses like this when our debt is out of control?

I don't know if I like the budget choices of President Trump, but I know we have to reduce our spending and change the political priorities we have lived with too long.  We talk about Federal taxes, State taxes, County taxes, gas taxes, harbor taxes, road taxes, building fees, fines, regulatory punishments, property taxes, income taxes, retirement taxes, unemployment taxes, earning too much, not paying enough, rich versus poor, business versus environment, international trade deficits, import taxes, subsidies, guaranteed loans, tax bargaining, and... you see the trend... it's too much. 

We are a nation of citizens ruled by our politicians... we have lost sight of what is right and good and fair.  Before we lose our lives to the tax battles, we need to find a better way to fund our government, to limit the government to only what a government needs to be involved in, and to change the balance of paying its costs.  I have already shared some of what I think is fair.  Before it is too late to recover from all these political decisions that are not good for us as a nation, I hope we find a better way through this debt problem.

In poverty there are no choices... you struggle just to find the basic needs of food and shelter, everything else is like a gift. 

If the government is economically poor, what would our basics look like?
What is the government really responsible for providing for us? 
How can we replace what the government provides with community supports? 
What rules and regulations are truly necessary for our group survival? 
If we had just ONE TAX, which one would be the best, and how would you limit it permanently, and what would be a fair amount for everyone to pay? 

Will the government decrease itself? 
I don't think it will... so how do we create a new financial foundation for an old country?

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May the GOD of our universe help us to make the right decisions.  May He show us what is truly important, necessary, and critical to our survival.  May His Hand of Protection be on those who are striving to honor Him with their lives, and choices, and actions... with the wisdom of Truth and Faith.  May we all begin to help each other and not rely on the government to do it.  May churches begin to grow by the needs of those who search for GOD at their doors.  May our nation find a way to pay down its debt and create the financial cushion we need to survive unexpected emergencies, natural disasters, military conflicts, and anything else we need money for.  May our hearts find rest in our efforts to be better than we think we can be.  Amen.

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.

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