Thursday, 28 December 2017

Well... I am officially "old" now.
I just turned 65.

I am still trying to decide what that means.

We have to change because our health dictates our limits.
Our finances dictate our limits.
Lots of things change our lives when we head into oldness.

*
I worry about the world.
The young people I know have been filled with anger and bitterness.
They seem to value different things.
They don't have strong foundations of good examples to build on.
It's been a slow long process of change,
but it is change.  It is what we have become.
It is leading us into our future.

I was reading something on Facebook, probably today,
asking readers about what matters most to them...
maybe it was about the education system, I'm not sure,
but the values of the world create our world.

Without the influence of godly values, what is left?
Not the goodness we want for ourselves.
We won't be able to make enough prisons to hold all of society
when the Christian (and Jewish) influence of biblical values is gone.
It scares me sometimes.  I don't think I will be here.
My children might still be here.

The Bible tells us much more than we think it does.
We think the people who lived in the past were some kind of strange creatures,
but they were people just like us.
Humanity.
Sinners.
Lost.
Afraid.
Searching for someone to love them.
Looking for love (probably in all the wrong places, like we all do).
Trusting people they shouldn't.

We fight our battles every day.
The big difference between the lost and those dedicated to GOD
is how we solve our problems, what we are willing to do... or not do.
The news shows more and more surveillance videos now...
If there were other options, would the lost choose better solutions for their desperate needs?
People kill others and themselves because they don't know how to cope.
If they knew GOD, trusted Him, and understood the good things GOD teaches in the Bible,
their lives would be very different.  Not easy, but better. 
Not without problems, but without the need for a lot of the choices that hurt their futures.

I don't know what the rest of my life will be like, but I hope it is better than the past.
I live each day trusting in GOD's Plan for me... so I do the best I can and keep going forward.
What else is there?  GOD holds the power of life and death in His Hands...
I hope I see the answers to my prayers before He calls me home.
I may not be a "success" in the eyes of others,
but I see GOD as my guide, not them.

I will just keep doing the best I can each day... and trust that GOD will be with me as I do.

Birthdays really make us think about our lives...  :-)

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May GOD have mercy on those who don't know Him,
and help them to find the peace and goodness He wants to share with them.
May we all find a way to help each other.
May our goals be God's goals.
Amen.

Monday, 2 October 2017

Well, today is my sister's birthday... Happy Birthday to her!

*
I guess the big national news is Las Vegas... such a terrible event.  We are so vulnerable to all kinds of tragedies these days.  Communication systems have changed, so all kinds of people hear all about the things that go on in other parts of the world.  The desire to become noteable is still a human trait... as it has been since we were created.

I hate to hear about the suffering of innocent people.  When it happens to so many people at one time, it makes the news.  We get to hear about the history of violent attacks.  Gun control conversations are started, but they will never be the answer.  People who do harm to others don't care about the law.

As a Christian, as someone who sees through the lens of the End Times, there are other perspectives about these events.

I don't get to see much news, but I hope there are more details by the next time I am able to watch it.  I hope they find the motive, why the girlfriend was gone (out of the country), why a man who only had a couple hand guns (probably for protection) suddenly has so many assault weapons, and if he really shot himself.  Why would ISIS claim credit for this?

When the Sandy Hook shooting took place, I wondered why the young man went back to the first classroom he had attended at the school.

When people are dead, we can't find out details that may matter, that may change the entire event... including the shooters.

The Amish tragedy also made me wonder... what hidden details were not revealed... why would he decide to do such a thing? 

I never heard much about the investigations for all these shootings.  Life drags us back to our own problems... our own need to survive.  There are some things that happen in our lives that never reach the details behind our choices.  I wonder what is behind all these sorrows, these needs to kill innocent people.  People have reasons for what they do, we just don't always understand the pain behind our decisions.

I hope the people who have been affected will find a way back to some kind of peace.  It will be hard to recover.  All the killing on TV, and in our movies, and everywhere else, will make it hard to get away from the memories they now have.  I was in an automobile accident once, and when I watched a car rolling over on TV later, I felt sick to my stomach.  When I rode in a bus later, I got sick... the first time I was ever sick from riding in a vehicle.  I still remember the details surrounding that event. 

*
My weekend is hard to remember. I get involved in so many small projects, ongoing efforts, and it all seems normal to me.  I have been getting my first FIMO projects ready, trying to see what I can make of them.  I remembered where my other jewelry-making supplies were put, so I am now working on making some finished products.  Once I get the process figured out, I will be able to make my listings at  http://www.etsy.com/shop/work2gather to see what can sell.  I am beginning to get excited... really excited... I am finally at the point of creating more listings!  :-)

*
I have to get some food tomorrow, but I decided to go through my planned donations from a long time ago (packed into my shopping cart thing) and put all the food and other things back.  I made my tithe plan into a better format (excel) over the weekend.  NOV and DEC are my big donation months, so I will just do those as my substitute USPS food drive donation (which the mail person didn't pick up).  My budget efforts are getting better every month.  I am so glad.  Next year should be even better.

*
I am still thinking about the book I shared with you all, by Marie Frost, about the caring of women and how it changes the world.  I hope to finish my other book by this weekend, but it's no big deal if I don't.  My next book will be another one I found at the thrift store...  COACH WOODEN'S PYRAMID OF SUCCESS PLAYBOOK : Applying the Pyramid of Success to your life, by John Wooden and Jay Carty.  I'm not a sports person, but it looks interesting from the illustration of the Pyramid.  :-)

*
It is time for bed... I am so tired.  Lots to do tomorrow, too.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

*
*
*
May GOD watch over all of us tonight, and through the days of our lives, providing the resources we need to fulfill His plan for our lives.
May we find answers to all the pain that lives inside of people, and help them to find answers that won't harm others.
May America make a plan to financially survive all these events that "ruin our budget" even more than it already is.
May we all find a way to respect our differences and not kill or sue because someone doesn't see the world the way we do.
May GOD watch over my sons and other loved ones as we are apart, physically or spiritually, and bring us all to heaven one day.
Amen.