FAITH :: Working on the changes...

Some days it is hard to decide if I have progressed toward my ultimate goals.  Other days I feel like I have done a LOT.  I'm not sure about today... it was a mixed deal.  I had to sleep a lot, and it is the SABBATH "rest" -- which I hardly ever do completely.  So, now I am up (AFTER DARK) and doing some of the things I would have done earlier, if I was up and moving around... like dishes, making food, going through MORE paper piles, planning, thinking, wondering what is happening in the world.  (I will check the "news" later.)

I went through some of my food topic notes tonight... moved the most important to one page I had with a generic grocery list.  Now I have all my food and shopping notes in my shopping envelope.  Eventually, I will re-do the information again... and decide what matters most at that point in my life.

It was a good reminder of what to focus my shopping and eating on.

Food changes after you age. 

One note I had said calorie needs decrease for every decade after 50 years of age... so I'm in the 80% range.  I have to figure out what that means for my calories and portion sizes...and weight loss efforts

I found some calorie counted foods in my notes.  I will try to buy the ones with the least calories and work on finding ways to eat them.  I don't have my notes right here, but I do recall some veggies were pretty low.  I hear fruits have more calories because of the natural sugars, but that is still OK.  I like a lot of the foods listed as good for the human body... I always have.  Cost has always been the challenge for me.

I was going to try for 1500 calories a day, which is low already, so I will ignore the 20% decrease stated above.  How to "spend" that amount is always the problem for me... and everyone else, I assume.  :-)  Portion control is my issue.  I'm working on storage ideas for my life... to keep me from eating more than I should.

I have been spreading my individual foods over more eating periods... like the one big red potato I made into a simple potato salad.  I ate that in three portion over the day.  If I can do smaller amounts, I will be full all day and not overeat.  It's a hope and a prayer and a real effort for me.

One note I found said one pint of ice cream was equal in calories to a LIST of other foods, like a gallon of greens, three ears of corn, several potatoes, and something else.  That was a big reminder about sweets I love... limiting them is better than eliminating them I think.  I'm at the tail end of life, so I will enjoy some of my favorite foods!!!  I have to find that special balance between ultimate health and human joy.  :-)   

Reducing the dairy and meat in my life is part of that search for a balance that will work for me.  Eating smaller portions and more frequently seems to be advice for seniors... to avoid binging on the foods you really like to eat.

Today I started trying to build my exercise level with the elliptical here at the house.  Very short times to start... but I hope to build them up over a reasonable amount of time.  Maybe I will be able to walk to the stores by summer.

Reducing my "piles" is a long job, but it is making more spaces for other things.  I am getting my belongings into places I can find them, getting ready to use up things that have waited too long to be used (like chocolate), and trying to decide what to do about Working Together's Membership Drive in December.  Only about a week to work on that.

I haven't checked in on the Presidential contest for awhile.  I suspect the final answer will be all over the news/internet when the decisions are finally made.  Legal actions take time.  I hope they lean toward TRUMP, so I don't see a lot of "truth" in the liberal media anyway.

There's not much I can do about the larger situations we face.  I am busy trying to survive my own life challenges.  GOD didn't provide for me... so it hasn't been my job to make things happen.  I hope "someone" is standing for GOD in our world.

Until next time,

May our GOD protect us from the attacks of our enemy, the evil one, who uses others to accomplish his goals... which are never good, and always against GOD.

May He help us to join together and begin to protect each other in our communities.  There is enough work to be done everywhere we live and work and pray for GOD's help.

May we live long enough to make sure the future is a prepped as it can be for those we love and who come after us and them... should it take that long for the Antichrist to get here.

In Christ...

Deborah Martin

http://work2gather.us

and more...

Election thoughts after the RNC Convention

 I was trying to watch the RNC Convention this week... some of it I was able to see, most of it was messed up by the reception I have on my computer (replays) or forgetting the time.  Tonight (Thursday) was really moving... but it also made me see why most of us stay at home and leave all the details to others.

Public speaking is quite an art.  I looked at most of the people I watched this week and they seemed to have whole lifetimes of learning how to share their opinions.  I was especially impressed with Ivanka's speech.

I noticed that most of the political points are about achievements... and I wondered what I could ever add to the battle.  So, here I am, just a person trying to find opportunities that will fit into my budget and resources.

Yes, I suppose I would have done more with money, if I had it, but GOD chose this life for me.  In my thoughts about everything, I know that all the details of my life, my world, my kids, my country, my faith, and more, would not have been what they are if things had been different along the way.  Each step we take leads to a certain pathway... and our experiences are all wrapped up in those choices.

I don't understand GOD's reasons for not providing, so I will have to accept his limitations.

I just wanted to get this posted.

I found an old Debbie Reynolds movie while I was at YouTube so I watched it... funny how things change over our lifetimes... I wish we could be a better nation, a better people.  I find I can't get away from the smut online just checking my emails.  What kind of world will we become... and how long will it take to become like Noah's day...  I don't know. 

I am thinking of posting once each day, somewhere.

I have lots of thoughts, but I need to get them out into the world.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...

We all want GOD to bless our nation.

I pray that He will... by blessing HIS people

so they can become a force for good in our world.

We need good and godly people to be the ones in charge,

the ones that make decisions, the ones that see why faith is so important in our daily lives and choices.

USA :: State of the Union

That was a great speech for our country... I hope our leaders can set aside their political maneuvering to deal with America's many issues, all very expensive.

On NBR tonight, the value of the US dollar was only 89 cents...  not good in my mind.  It keeps going lower and lower.

In one of the documentaries I watched recently, they shared a graphic that said the entire military budget was about a fourth of the healthcare expenses... and I have no idea what year they were refering to.

Our "infrastructure" -- roads, bridges, railways, etc... --  is in such bad shape, it will take years and more money than we have for it.  I still remember making a trip across the nation and having to travel on freeways with horrendous pits for miles and miles... deep "potholes" in cement freeways.  You can find lots of reports on how bad our bridges are.  These tasks will create jobs, but the problem is finances.  All our governments, which collect tax dollars to pay for all these projects, are suffering in the money department.  I know the federal government is living on its "credit card" balances, so I assume state and local governments are struggling as well.

I was glad he was stopping "aid" to countries that hate us.  I'm not sure about the prison plan for terrorists... it all depends on what they do there... if we become like the enemy, what good is that?

The biggest issue is the debt, I think.  The debt is our safety net... and we don't have that anymore.  I keep trying to figure out some way to get it down fast, but there doesn't seem to be anything I can see yet.

I was really sad to see the way the Democrats acted...  if it was a Democratic President, would the Republicans be doing the same thing?  It is really divisive... not good for our national needs.  I think the people we elect become a group that is detached from the real people of our country... a world to themselves... manipulative, power-centered, ineffective, greedy, media controlled, and in office too long... like a corporation that never changes it's controling executives.

It was hard to hear the tragedies of the President's visitors... the people that are highlighted in a speech.  There are always more details than we know about to those stories.  I cried more than once.

Prison reform was mentioned, but no details given.  Anything to help inmates re-enter the new world they are released to is good.  Maybe I better send them my suggestions...   :-)

It was a good speech in my view... focused on the need to deal with the issues America is facing.  We may not agree on the solutions, but we have to get some movement in better directions.  The internet makes all of us vulnerable.  Fully funding the military is critical to our safety and survival.

It appears they like coal and gas and oil... I would rather see more development in solar and wind and water, but in smaller and different directions than what exists today.

I hope we have a good year... as a nation... as America... as the greatest nation on earth... and the most critical.