Our reason for being alive.

This is the reason we don't always understand it when He doesn't answer our prayers the way we think He should, when we think He should, and the way we want Him to.  I imagine this is the hardest part of being a Christian.  Something happens and we think GOD should have stopped it.  We think our lives are different than others.  We have some kind of protection against the tragedies of life.

We do, in a way.  But it isn't from all hard things, bad times, and consequences.  I don't think the Bible says that anywhere.  The lives of those with faith are filled with suffering, and lessons of their faith help us see how GOD works in our lives.

We learn the promises of GOD are serious, true, and can be depended on.  We are told about what lies ahead and can rely on it because we discover GOD doesn't lie, keeps His Word ALL the time, and is more powerful than anything else that exists (including Satan and his fallen angels (demons).  

We are protected from the assaults of Satan until it is our time to die, after our purpose has been fulfilled.

I have been thinking a lot lately about GOD's power in our lives.  The details above are some of the things I decided.  

I noticed a magazine at the grocery magazine racks called WITCHES.  To me it is a sign of the End Time prophecies and how a world becomes evil.  Evil becomes something we don't notice, can't fight against, and begin to suffer from more and more.  I am seeing how everything changes over time.  The TV show BEWITCHED made it funny, we embraced it.  We responded to TWILIGHT, THE GOOD WITCH, video games, movies, DVDs, websites created by WIX, and (especially) HARRY POTTER.  Disney movies can be added to that list.  This all makes the spiritual realms seem less threatening.

I don't think we understand how this all changed our world.  The saying about a long journey begins with the first step is true for prophecy as well as our goals. 

We may not think about it, but Satan has been orchestrating his plan to fulfill the prophecies GOD has shared in the Bible.

I have been watching short videos about all the terrible things that happen in our world, crimes, murders, child abductions, rapes, and what families do to each other.  It has really affected my perspective about what the world will become as it fulfills Bible prophecies.  As a Christian, I don't know what we can do to help and protect ourselves.

For myself, I don't know how much time I have left.  I am just trying to prepare for that path.  There isn't anything I can do to help us.  I don't have any money.  I am not a high-energy "power person.  I am wondering what GOD has planned.

I hope you think about these issues and figure out how to best protect your loved ones from the prophecies we know about.  We can't stop them, we might be able to fight against their implementation in our world and find a way to gather together to be more powerful.

GOD tells us what is coming because He loves us and wants to make sure the world sees how powerful He is.

Getting to the end of my food challenge and my downsizing.

 

Finally!  I am about done with my food challenge and ready to buy food again.  

I am so low on everything.  

I still wonder what to buy first, and what eating my missed foods will do to my body.  I may try to return to my "normal" diet slowly.

The battle is over plant-based and meat/dairy choices.  I will have to decide before I buy my groceries.  This is really a hard decision.  I like some parts of a non-meat or dairy diet.  I also like my treats, chicken, and cream cheese.  I need to decide if I'm willing to die "happy" or reasonably happy.  :-)  

I sorted through so many papers today.  Watched some videos about food, shelter, survival, and things like that.  I will be sharing more about the topics and information I have rediscovered in this process.

I found a small note about a 2021 AARP article on Social Security and Medicare anniversaries.  Social Security was turning 86 that year, Medicare was turning 56.  It seems Social Security was the main income for 34 million people at that time.  Sixty-two million people were covered by Medicare, and half had incomes less than $27,000.  I have only broken the $10,000 mark once in my life.  

When I see reports about the median payments of Retirement Benefits, I wonder why people think they are suffering.  It's about lifestyle.  They have nice houses, cars, and better food.  Probably more medical insurance/payments.  I don't really know the details of the lives and choices and problems of anyone wealthier than myself.  I guess.

I wonder how they use all that money they have.

I sometimes wonder what I would do with that much money.

I wonder what downsizing would mean to them.

We assume others are living happily, but they could be struggling more than we know.

It is really great to be getting through my stuff.  I think I have emptied over 12 of my plastic storage containers and still have more to sort through.  When I finish donating to various places, I might have lots of space for my crafting supplies and activities.  Finally.

By next year I expect my life to change.

I am also watching more crafting and selling videos.  Making business plans.  Trying to find a new path to greater income.  That is the real goal of all these efforts.  :-)  

I wonder how much I will be able to make.  

Lots, I hope.  Blessings from GOD for many of the activities still left to do.

That is what I keep praying for.

FRIDAY!

Trying to see the good in my life.

Sometimes it can be hard to do.

In the hardest of times, I have been thankful to be alive, to have food, to have a car, to have shelter, to have faith, to have hope, to have all the things I have.

We have more than we realize.

Thank You, Lord, for how you make the bad things into good.  Amen.

Debate Night! Better get this done now!

 

I found this in my archives, too.  It was the first cookbook I found for low-income households, on food benefits.  I don't remember the year.  I do remember there was a Banana Pancakes recipe.  :-)  

I still haven't found my go-to recipe for pancakes.  :-)

Today has been a day of more sorting, shredding, making donation piles, and all those things that go with downsizing. 

Another food day.

And I have to prep for the rain that starts tonight.

What is your day like?

I am still having conversations with GOD about my finances and what I need more money for.  My Bucket List.  What I would like to do before I leave this earth - or go to a care facility.  

I love the Kenya organization called Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.  It is mostly for elephants, but also other wildlife in their area.  I discovered they have an event in NYC right now.  A "herd" of 100 elephants on display.  It's in the meatpacking district - I don't know why, and don't like the association of the two.  I will look for photos, but it would be nice to see.

There is a long list of places I would like to see in NYC, and DC, and around the East Coast, if I ever got there.  I would love to stay on that part of the country for a long time, maybe two months (I'm not sure yet) so I could really see what exists out there.  Ministries, government, historical, and fun places like Broadway and the Bible Museum.  

This is why I need to win the next billion-dollar lottery!  :-)

I am very aware that people all over this world never get to do anything in their whole lives.  I know I am not a special case for GOD to be concerned with, but I still ask (again and again).  I try to do what I can online to reach that income level myself, with GOD's blessings, but have not found that path yet.

I listened to some Joel Osteen videos last night and this morning.  When he says that we have to ask in a certain way, I can't see it.  GOD will do whatever He wants to do, whether I ask at all.  

I don't ask the way Osteen suggests.  Maybe I am upset by the thought I haven't sought GOD in a different way, in the "positive" way, and have caused my own poverty.  I have expected GOD to provide according to His Will and Time.  I have waited all these years because I know about Abraham and Sarah's lack of faith to wait for GOD.

This is such an issue.

I think the underlying problem is the difference between a prayer of "faith" and a prayer of desperation.  

This battle has been going on all of my life. 

I shouldn't have this faith that I do. 

But I know GOD is going to do whatever it takes to provide for His Will. 

Technology has changed everything in our lives, more than we know.  It is a sign of the future.  We see it one way, Satan sees it another way, and GOD says we don't want to be here when it really gets bad.  That is why we will be killed by the Antichrist, not "raptured" away to avoid standing for GOD, Jesus, and Faith.  

The Bible tells us Man will die once, then face the Judgment.  Billions of people are not going to escape death because of the Antichrist and Tribulation.  It is just not how GOD works.  

There are only two humans who have not died and left this earth.  I believe they will be the two witnesses at the end, and they have to die when their "job" is done.  God does not lie.

The Bible says some die to keep them from what the future will become.  I think that is why the Antichrist is going to become the ruler he is prophesied to be.  Whatever is ahead, it is going to be really bad.  Death is going to be a blessing, not a punishment.

I wish I knew all the answers.  I just share what I have decided after studying the Bible for myself.  I need to study it again, but I am dealing with issues beyond my control.  I have decided to trust GOD for this battle.  I will keep searching for a way forward.

I wanted to do so many things.  Now, at my age and health, I don't know what I can do.  If GOD provides, I will do as much as my life allows.

I hope you have that plan, too.

What I think : About the popular Rapture theory.

I started to watch a video by John Hagee about the End Times.  I couldn't watch the whole thing.  I was having computer problems again, but I could hear the audio.  I worry so much about what I see as a false teaching about a Rapture that is suppose to save us from any suffering of the Antichrist.  

LINK to the one I started watching: https://youtu.be/j8-Cj5bMGYk?si=Ijy1at1R1y42AVwS

I understand all the believers will be gone, but my understanding of this time in history and prophecy is that we will be killed by the Antichrist when we refuse to take the Mark of the Beast.

The reason I chose this graphic for today's post is the theme ::  TEST GOD. Trust God.    

I have never understood why this belief became so popular.  Since I have been aware of information sources being altered, I have wondered if that has been part of the problem.  It would have to be very manipulated, but people with money (who hate GOD and all He stands for) might be able to accomplish it.  It's hard to think about.

One time I noticed that a major Christian Bible source was sold to a non-Christian company.  Later I discovered it belonged to a different company.  The issue is that all the details we depend on for our faith could have been changed without us knowing it.  With so many different versions now, who would know the difference?  Not many people know every word of the Bible, and they would only know their one chosen version.

It took years for me to study what I did.  I chose the King James Version, which is not the easiest to understand.  I used other Bible versions to compare the way they had been translated.  

I have noticed that most Bible references are missing now.  I don't know if that is because of so many translations, or to avoid having a specific verse to check.  We live in an age of Bible hate.  The powers we have to deal with would rather confuse everyone then share a theology that differs with their own... or that conflicts with their own.

When the opposition becomes the only power that exists, these issues may be fully controlled by them.  No one will even know there is a Bible, GOD, or anything that says there is sin and judgment for it.  

I have said the only "Rapture" in the Bible is way at the end of our existence, when fire destroys us.  It is only the people who are alive when that happens that get taken to heaven in the form of what we call a rapture.  Other than that time, and the two who were taken to heaven alive, the requirement is to die.  "It is given unto man once to die and then the judgment." - my paraphrase, unless I remembered the KJV well.  The two who went to heaven without dying are expected to be the two witnesses in the End Times. 

I have wondered why GOD would have to take men early like that.  I imagine it is because they lived their FAITH different in their time.  We would never be witnesses like that.

I try to tell everyone that they MUST read the Bible for themselves and make a decision for themselves.  Every denomination has their own interpretations about the controversial things in the Bible.  Once they have a specific definition, you can't really go against it.  This is why we are not ONE Body of Christ.  We need to fix this problem.  I had hoped to try.  

Study this topic.  Pray for GOD to show you His Truth.  You have to find your own answers.  NO ONE WILL BE WITH YOU AT JUDGMENT DAY!!

I hope we will be ready when the Antichrist shows up.\\

Made it through the week!

 

I am amazed I made it through this week.  It's been a long week.  Getting better has helped.  Now I am looking toward September.  I need to see where posting every weekday will lead.  Just trying changes your future.

I have been watching some survival videos.  I end up seeing a lot from foreign countries.  It is strange to think of people in places so far away from us doing these things in their own lives.

Christians are everywhere.  We may all need to know how to do these things in the future.  Knowing how is half the battle.  It allows you to think about what you can do in any situation you find yourself in.  In the forest, in the snow, in cities, and things like that.

I watched a lot of snow survival videos awhile back, from a channel called The Outdoor Boys.  I would never have known how to dig a shelter in the snow to survive.  The Bible warns us to pray our escape will not be in winter.  There's a reason for that.

In survival videos you need to have a certain number of tools with you.  The bug-out bag may be the best thing you have prepped if it has basic tools.  Think about having to dig out the snow with your bare hands, or the ground for any reason.  A hatchet is essential for collecting firewood and building materials.  I am not that prepared... yet.  :-)  I am wondering how I would survive if I'm on my own.  I am old.  I can't do the things these young healthy men (and some women) can do.  

I was hoping to have Working Together communities built already, to deal with the needs of the elderly and the fragile and the alone.  

I don't think there is a simple answer to what is coming.  Each of us has to find a path where we are, and back-ups for if we aren't together when the time comes.  We don't know what will happen first, what we might need.  Prepping for the Antichrist is a serious challenge.

August is over tomorrow.

I have to finish up all my records for August and get my September pages ready.

I will make it through to September without going to the store, but my cupboards are kind of bare.  I guess fresh produce and my favorite foods are what I miss most.  :-)  I end up getting ill when I have them again.  I'm not sure how to change that yet.  

It's going to be an expensive food month.

I saw a video of an Asian man making large amounts of mung sprouts.  He made it different than the jars I use.  I assume they sell it for their income.  We could never produce it the way he did, and sell it.  But it is edible.  I like mung bean sprouts but am not able to grow them as good as this man did.  

Sprouts are like fresh produce in winter.  I am trying to make them and eat them more.  French green lentils are really good as sprouts.  I also like alfalfa sprouts.  I would like to grow more of them all.  I would be able to eat them as my salad food, especially in winter.

Maybe this winter I can find a way to do that.

This is one example of changing my food choices and changing my food budget.  It makes me healthier and will hopefully help me to age better.

I don't know what GOD has planned for my future, how long I still have to live, but I am praying for health enough to keep going every day, every month, every year.

Because my choices are getting more limited, I have been going through my papers/records to downsize even more.  It is the strangest part of aging.  So many dreams have to be let go.  You have to figure out what you might be able to keep doing.  Lots of projects will be let go.  I won't need those supplies anymore.

It's good and it's bad.  I will be able to do more art and clays and resins, but not the bigger projects I hoped to get to.  I may be able to do baby quilts still, maybe some of my recycling projects that I have been waiting to get to.  

I just don't know where this will end up.  I am trying to get to that answer by the end of this year.  It is one of the goals I made in January.  Downsizing what I can't do will make more room for what I can.  It may be the best thing for me.

In the end, we can't take anything with us to heaven.  That helps me to keep it all in perspective.  

Mondays are always mixed up! :-)

 

This is another ad I tried at the same NW Christian newspaper.  I don't recall how long I ran it, but it was probably a December effort.

December is the annual Membership month.  I chose that on purpose.  Memberships run yearly, January through December.  This makes it easier to work out the finances for Member benefits.  

This is still the plan.

This ad was for the 2022 year.  That means it probably ran through December 2021.

I am still thinking about a way to allow Memberships again... throughout the year.  The TRIAL MEMBERSHIP was my previous option. 

You can see it was Digital Only, with limited updates (quarterly).  I think I started it off at $10 but had to raise it as costs kept rising.  

I decided this year was too dangerous for any memberships because of the economy and my poverty.  :-)  I struggle to get through every month, I can't afford a global event.  This is why I am trying to raise funds first.

Working Together is not like a regular ministry.  It has different needs.  GOD has to provide the ability to establish it, the finances, the start to this major effort.

I put new links up at the website to see if GOD would provide.

I have problems with all my electronics, but I figure GOD is big enough to deal with the problems I face.  I just keep waiting for GOD to do whatever needs to be done, and I try to keep getting prepared for the time He finally starts moving WT into the places it needs to be.

I am still looking for the Christian GOD wants to take over the operations of Working Together.  I know He will bring them into view when the time gets here to hand over the responsibility to care for as many Christians as we can until the Antichrist decides to kill us.

It is hard to watch America and the rest of the world change so much, even if it is linked to God's prophecies.  

I guess that will be enough for this post.  Please pray for me and for WT and for all of the Christians in our world.  Pray we become ONE BODY IN CHRIST, and that we find a way through what is left of our freedoms and faith.  Pray we gather in every community and begin to protect each other.  Pray we will be blessed by GOD and use our resources wisely.  Amen.

In Christ, Deborah Martin, https://work2gather.us 

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.  

When I spend more than I planned to...

I went shopping yesterday.

I had a list.  I had a budget.  Then I "siezed the opportunity" to get things I needed or wanted or that had been on my "list" a long time.  And I had my "treat" meal for lunch.  Now I have to recover my budget.

It was fun!  I hardly ever spend money like that, but it seems to happen every now and then.  I don't really regret doing this, but it does require some recovery efforts.

I am hoping to make some online sales from the money I spent, which makes it an investment in my future.

Right now, though, I am working on my income goals and strategies.  I have my goal statements for the year now.  I am trying to build up my Etsy sales, increase my Patreon supporters, my check some items off my Bucket List.  I need MONEY!!!  I think all of this kind of builds up and then I go shopping with money available to spend.  :-) 

I could have spent more than I did, and that would have been a very serious problem.

Christmas is coming and I need to get some items made to sell in the season.  Every year I try to do this, and every year I seem to fail.  I hope to change that this year.

With my new venture into creating and selling artworks, This year may be different.  I can create lots of items to sell online, especially with some of the new tools and supplies I bought yesterday.

So, did I really commit a financial crime?  I don't know.  It depends on what happens now.  Once I get my items done, listed online somewhere, and sold, it may prove to be the best year yet.

I have always lamented that GOD has not provided what I seriously expected Him to provide.  Keeping my efforts within a boundary I can deal with has been the core issue.  There have been so many times GOD could have blessed my finances and efforts to build my income and Working Together's.  At this point, I am not sure what to expect.  

I still have LARGE goals, dreams, hopes... and still wait for GOD to bless my efforts.  

I really wanted to win those BILLION dollar lotteries.  I could have spent it really good.  :-)  I have been waiting all my adult life (mostly) to spend money on Working Together, Christians, and people in great need.  I have a lot of plans that just need money.  (Like everyone else, including every church or ministry.)  I still look to GOD to provide for them somehow.

I guess all we can do is keep going, keep trying, keep praying, keep hoping...  We are GOD's servants and His Plan is all that matters, even if we don't understand it.  

I am sure GOD has reasons for what He does and doesn't do.

Keep your faith in GOD, He will provide what we need to accomplish HIS Will.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

https://work2gather.us

Faith in Persecution

My life has always been focused on the Antichrist because he is the main turning point for all Christians (and Jews) in our lifetime.  I haven't always understood the impact this has on our everyday lives.  I looked for things in life that would/could somehow be attached to when he would show up.  I didn't realize what this search would do to my own life.

We don't seem to see the spiritual battles that are going on all around us.  We think they are caused by other things, so we don't even register their spiritual nature.  Our lives become filled with struggles we can't understand and don't seem to be able to overcome.  We wonder where GOD is, and why He has allowed these problems, and why He doesn't "fix them."  

Our faith seems to falter when some of these trials enter our lives.

We blame GOD, not the Enemy.  

In my own life, I was so confused by all the struggles I didn't understand.  It made me seek GOD for the reasons why.  It made me find answers I never saw before.  I began to understand all those people in the Bible I never really thought about.  I learned more about our true relationship with GOD.

We study the stories of the Bible to learn more about GOD and our relationship to Him.  Because the stories in the Bible are about people from way back in history, we think our lives don't really compare to them.  But that isn't true.  They were people like us.  Every human being throughout life on Earth has the same nature.

We like to lift up the blessings GOD gave them.  We tend to make them holier than they were.  We believe there must have been something supernatural about them to have done the things they did.  But the struggles are the same for ALL humans.

We don't seem to have the same kind of faith GOD's best people had.

I have wished I had that kind of Faith.  I wondered why GOD even put the desire to make places to help Christians on the way to the Antichrist and then didn't provide.  Was it my Faith that wasn't big enough to deserve His provision?  I didn't know.  Something was wrong, but what was it?

I still don't know, and GOD still hasn't provided what Working Together needs to build any resources for Christians as persecutions rise.  I can't make anything happen.  I believe there is a very thin line between prayer and presumption.  We can ask GOD for the things we need, or we can push our own plans into being.  If GOD is going to use Working Together to provide for His People, then He has to provide for its needs.  I know GOD has created this direction in my life, so I continue to wait for His path to making it a reality.

With all the struggles I have had to this point in time, I understand more about the unseen battles that go on in GOD's Work on Earth.  In the beginning, I expected GOD to quickly provide whatever was needed in ways that were normal for our time in history.  It was a godly work, so naturally GOD would provide.  Then a lot of problems seemed to happen.

GOD provided for our individual needs as each day happened, but not in the ways I thought He would.

Persecutions entered our lives.  Hidden attacks we couldn't really fight against.  Miracles happened that we would be hard-pressed to verify.  

Eventually, I gave it all to GOD and tried to walk through each day as it happened, trusting that GOD was bigger than Satan, believing GOD would do with Working Together what He wanted.  I guess I began to see I might die because of my place in GOD's Work, but only when it was GOD's time for me to go.  I couldn't do anything without GOD's provision so I tried to find things I could do in my circumstances.

We are heading into greater persecutions than anyone thought possible.  Technology has changed the battlefield.  I don't know how I will deal with what is coming, or how the greater Church will change, but I know we can survive each day and trust that GOD knows all the hidden details.  He will be with us as we walk each step.  We may not get all the "goodies" we think we need, but we will have enough for the moment.

Trusting GOD in the middle of really hard times is not easy.  We lose things that matter to us.  We might only have the clothes on our back and a piece of bread.  It is what we need for the moment.  

The Bible doesn't say GOD promises everything we want.  He only promises food and clothes.  It was a hard lesson to learn. 

We see the blessings of Job, not the suffering of Job.  The prophet had only a brook for water and ravens for food.  The apostles left everything behind to follow Jesus.  

Faith isn't easy.  It has a price.

I hope I can stay faithful to the end.  I want to spend my eternity in Heaven, with those I love.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

https://work2gather.us

At 70, I wonder what my future will be like.

It is really a challenge to make plans as a Senior Citizen, especially a low-income one.

I just finished my post for this week at my Working Together blog, on the pending economic issues we face as a nation and as a world  (Working Together Inc: Can America really survive a big disaster? (working-together-inc.blogspot.com) so my thoughts are not very hopeful for my own life.  I depend on the government for my survival.  I have been homeless too many times already.  I am wondering if I will have to face homelessness again, and what kind of health I will be in if that happens.

I have been working on my goal statements this month.  It is a strange process for me.  I am not to the point of repeating them over and over again throughout the day.  I am currently working on writing them once a day, trying for the first thing in the morning, and noticing what the process does to my actions.

It is interesting.

It is a battle every day.

I am wondering why that is so.

Because of Working Together's mission in this life, I have discovered spiritual warfare.  I don't know how to do battle like great saints, but I have felt and seen the effects of spiritual warfare in my life.  The battles I went through moved me into a space of leaving it all to GOD.  I can't fight, and we are told that GOD does battle for us.

And there is the idea of His Will.

If we push our way through, is it GOD's Will or ours?  

That is quite a technical issue.  Once we know we are in GOD's Will, pushing through may be the only way.  It took me awhile to get to that realization... was it my idea or GOD's... and then do my best to make it through all the struggles.

I'm not young anymore.  I don't have the energy and stamina I had when I was young.  But, I am still willing to do whatever I can.  If GOD provides, I will keep doing whatever I can.

So, in the aging process, my goals have had to change.

I am beginning to wonder what other seniors do.  How do they see their future when death could happen at any moment?  How do they prepare to travel?  How much money do we really need when we are older?

I never planned to be so poor in my life.  My efforts just didn't work out the way I planned.  

I think the pandemic seriously damaged a lot of lives.  I don't know if we will really recover from it.  I hope we do.

In the Christian perspective, the details are very different.  We are watching for the Antichrist, and what the Bible tells us will happen when he gets here.

All these global problems, economic problems, government actions, and more, show us the Antichrist is very near.  

I was listening again to the video speech I love, by Paul Harvey, called FREEDOM TO CHAINS, at the Natalie Sims channel,  https://youtu.be/VPlQ-ANUCuc , and one statement stood out to me again as a description of the Antichrist we expect ::

"Some believe that the need is for a vigorous strong man to arise on the scene to regulate and regiment the affairs of men."

Paul Harvey made this speech in 1965, according to the video.  It's almost 60 years ago and we are on the brink of seeing that kind of person being asked to save the world.

GOD moves slowly because He wants to save as many souls as He can, but the day of His Prophecy will arrive.

I have heard some sources claim that digital currency and other technological "resources" will be in our lives by 2025.  I am wondering if that means the Antichrist.

I guess the only thing I can do is just meet every day with the best I have.  To keep trying.  To reach for the goals I have.  To be content with what the day brings.  (That reminds me of a verse in the Bible... haha)

I still hope to have some fun before I die, but I am not sure that will happen.  I remain one foot from life on the streets again... or death.  

I suppose GOD knows why my life has gone the way it has, and what my future will allow me to do.

As long as I remain faithful to the end, and make it to heaven, I will be happy.

How do you plan your future life?

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

https://work2gather.us

Keeping on...

What can I say?

Faith is hard.

It's a daily commitment.

It costs.

I just finished my post for Working Together (working-together-inc.blogspot.com) about persecution and an old movie I watched yesterday about the Nazis invading Denmark.  Lots of hard thoughts, and wondering about us in 2023.

GOD doesn't just make all our problems go away.

We suffer... for doing nothing wrong.

We suffer because people sin, because we sin, because others sin against us.  I have thought about these issues with suffering a very long time.  This is what I decided was true.  It all has to do with GOD's promise of Free Will -- we have the right to choose, good or evil.  It is the basis of all GOD stands for.  

Suffering is the big argument against GOD.  People tend to blame GOD for everything they suffer, and they expect GOD to just fix everything that is wrong with the world.  When you seriously think about these issues, you see that the idea is ridiculous - there is no way GOD can make every life without pain and still give us the will to choose our path.

He can't stop the bad choices of others from hurting us either.

When I studied the Bible more deeply, I saw a GOD that only intervened in essential moments, when there is no other choice, when He needed to.  When His greater Will was involved, He acted.  That would be most evident in saving Jesus from the attacks of evil that wanted to kill Him.  

When I suffer, I try to see the cause, God's Purpose, and my part.  It isn't always easy to find the spiritual details and keep my faith in GOD.  Suffering is hard.  It hurts.

The world has been struggling for some time now, especially with the effects of COVID.  No one expected anything like COVID to happen.  The damage it did will never go away.  We will all keep looking for ways to recover.  

I keep coming back to the fact that GOD is able to do whatever needs to be done.  We may not get what we want, but GOD is still in charge.  We may be facing a test, may be the focus of some evil battle, may be heading into GOD's Plan for our future -  there's no way for us to fully understand all the details of our current struggles.  But we know GOD could do something if it was needed, so we trust Him to provide what we need to accomplish HIS WILL.  Even is we die, we trust GOD through the hard times and the good times.  It is all leading us to heaven, if we keep our faith in Him.

I'm 70 now, so I am ready to leave this earth.  It is expected I will die soon.  I wonder how younger people will meet their suffering.  Will they give up and run to the temptations Satan uses on them?  Will they lose their place in heaven because they aren't prepared to suffer for what they believe in?  It is hard for me to think of friends and family turning away from heaven because they don't want to suffer, have no one to help them, or don't even know what the Bible teaches about our time in history.

I wonder what other Christians believe.

What do you believe about suffering and persecution for your faith?  Are you ready for it?  Do you have a plan?

Let me know what about your struggles and faith.  How do you deal with it?

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

https://work2gather.us

Starting my Goal Statement journey

July is becoming my first month of trying out Goal Statements and getting my subconscious to work for me.  By the first two days, I would say it is really a great way to keep my goals in focus.  It's like a repeated reminder of what you want to get done, and that helps you keep your focus on whatever you make your goal/s.

I decided to do two statements because I couldn't figure out one goal with a reasonable money amount.  At my budget level, everything seems ridiculous.  So, I made a goal for JULY only and will make separate goals for each month on the way to DECEMBER.  Plus I made a goal for the end of the year... with a money amount and other goals that need to get done first.

It's going to be an adventure I have tried before, but I hope to see how this works out.

I received my free book (WHEN FAITH IS FORBIDDEN) from Voice of the Martyrs this weekend and am trying to read it.  It is a compilation of stories about people who were martyred for their faith... I suppose everywhere but the USA, but I don't know yet.  Well, I think the author traveled to other countries and is sharing their struggles.  I don't know if all the stories take place in 1998 or not.  I will have to let you know.

What is interesting to me is this oppression over GOD and Jesus.  Salvation makes people better.  Why wouldn't a country want to have good people as its citizens?  America is now becoming an oppressed country.  This is why I am reading this book, no matter how dated the details might be.  

An example ::  One paster held services every Tuesday, I think it was, so the government would arrest him every Tuesday morning and keep him all day (or overnight) to make sure he couldn't preach to his people.

I think that was the first day of his forty day sharing... the first chapter... the first person he is telling us about.  That's where I am right now.

America is already arresting people of faith who go against someone or some thing that is being regulated for social standards.  It mostly seems to be the LGBTetc right now.  To me, this is the defining issue of prophecy, but it is not the only one.  Crime, corruption, violence, and other non-good activities go along with sexual sins.  The world will become like Sodom and like Noah's day.

I can hardly believe what is happening in America and other countries already.  Technology is a big part of the changes, but how it will evolve is not clear.  It seems the governments are all trying to survive and digital is the easiest path.  It all will lead to the Antichrist, and then the MARK of the Beast will be required.  I see the establishment of digital currency, then the microchip in our bodies.

I watched a video the other day, maybe yesterday, maybe Friday, about all the US FOODS that are banned in other countries.  It was a serious awakening for me.  GMO issues and other ingredients in foods we make here were the primary causes.  The video was by the Dr Bobby Price channel.  It included so many of our foods...  Beef, Dairy, Pork, Chicken, Processed Meats like Bacon and Sausage and Ham and even Smoked Meats.  Bread was on the list, and I think that is part GMO and part other ingredients.  I was surprised to see Farm Raised Fish and Salmon.  

One item that I also was surprised by was PREpacked Ground Beef, which was because of something they use in the process of making it.  I haven't decided what to do about my shopping lists.  I can't afford to buy expensive foods that appear to be healthier and grown without all these issues.  According to the video, there is no way to know if the healthier products are actually what their labels claim.  One example was that farmers will raise cattle on GMO feeds and then put it into a pasture at the end of their lives to label the products grass-fed.  

It's another sign of the corruption that will rise as the End gets closer.

Income is still my main struggle.  I keep asking GOD why this has been an ongoing struggle and why He hasn't changed the issue in my life.  No answers yet.  This is why I am making goal statements, why I sometimes buy lottery tickets, and why I keep looking for ways to change this problem... even at seventy (70) years old.  I even wonder if it's too late to change any of the things I sought God's blessings for.  I decided to keep trying until He calls me home.

I watched a movie in the wee hours of today and was helped by the theme of faith it shared.  The main statement I am talking about is we just have to do our best and believe God is in control, that He will help us to find the place He is leading us to.  Something like that.  I didn't write it down, I was just encouraged to hear it.  I looked at my YouTube History and I believe it was the movie called Paper Angels on the Johnson Production Group channel.

I may have to change my posting date for this blog to Sundays, or Fridays... I'm not sure yet.  It's a work-in-progress.  I think my Goal Statements will help me keep on track for posting... I hope.  :-)

Until next time,

Deborah Martin

https://work2gather.us 

https://patreon.com/Art2you

https://etsy.com/shop/work2gather 

Still thinking...

 It takes me a long time to find a workable path, but when I finally decide on something I just keep going -- unless an unknow problem comes up.  :-)   I guess that seems to happen a lot when we are heading toward something.

This week I have been trying to remember what I said in all my statements online.  :-)  What days to post, what to post about, how to get it all organized, how to find the details for important sharing.  

I bought some lottery tickets this month, when I was shopping and the jackpots were very high.  I keep thinking it could be a good way for GOD to fund Working Together since it is a lot of money and doesn't have "strings attached" to it.  I would never be able to get a traditional loan... and I don't want debt anymore.  I tried several ways to accept donations over the years, but those efforts didn't work out.  And I have created products to sell that didn't turn into a purchase.  WT Memberships haven't worked either.  So, the lottery seems like my only hope... a possible way for GOD to provide... so I just buy one ticket and wait for what would definitely be a miracle for me.

I don't know if I would call one ticket gambling.  Some people say playing Bingo is gambling.  I don't see how that works for my level of playing.  Gambling is a tough topic.  It's like drinking.  Some people can only have one or two drinks, others can't stop if they have the first one.  

In my quest for trying to decide about GOD providing through the lottery I once used my tithe to purchase tickets to see what would happen.  That was a waste of money.  :-)  A lesson on the path of faith and financial need.

Eventually I decided buying a single ticket when it happened to cross my path and the prize was very high was not too much.  So that is where I am at today.  I buy a ticket so GOD can choose to provide that way, but I don't get obsessed with the option.  With the lottery you have to have a ticket just to have the option.  So I buy one ticket.

I still continue trying to sell things online as a way to create income... Etsy, Ebay, PayPal links.

I have a Patreon page for finding income through crowdfunding.

I have the membership link for WT.

And I am trying to decide how to ask for donations, other than my PayPal.me options.

At my age I wonder what I would do with GOD's blessings, if they happened, especially a large amount like the big jackpots with the lottery. and I figure GOD would help me spend it as fast as I could so Christians would be helped.  

These issues are more important than I ever thought about before.  It's the age issue.  I could die before I even get the check to spend!  Crazy.  After all these years.  And still I hope.

When we seek GOD for important things, the details seem to matter a lot.

We want to make sure we are in right standing with Him, and don't block His blessings.  We make all kinds of promises about the answer we want.  We look for all the ways He might bless us.  We pray with intensity.  We expect Him to do what we seek Him to do, or try to get a reasonable substitute for our desired solution.  Faith is not easy.

With all the problems in our nation, and the rest of the world, surviving is high on the list of my conversations with GOD these days.  There are problems we face now that have never been in our lives before.  The increase in evil, the separations within families, the needs of aging, and more, all create desperate prayers to a GOD that hasn't answered me in the ways I thought He would.  I don't know what to expect, what to plan for, what to do on my own.  Prayer is essential but doesn't always seem to "work."  :-)

I am wondering how all the other Christians in the world are doing in their prayers and blessings.  How is GOD going to care for us as times get worse... 

I guess there isn't much we can do to survive whatever is coming.  We have to trust that GOD will provide as each day passes.

My ongoing efforts to survive are continuing.

I'll end this post here, but may return for other details of my quest for GOD to provide.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

https://work2gather.us

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 - a little late again. 16 April 2022 - Thoughts on Resurrection Sunday.

 

I took a photo of my year-round Christmas tree this past week... for a post.

Friday was GOOD FRIDAY, which I didn't even think about this year.

Tomorrow is RESURRECTION SUNDAY, when we celebrate the rising of Christ from His death on the cross.

Time seems to do its damage in faith.  I suppose that is why Satan works so hard to keep us from the Bible, from fellowship, from study, from worship, from our local congregations, and anything that has to do with GOD, Christ, the Holy Spirit.  For myself, that seems to include writing, designing, blogging, creating, even art.  I can add listening to audio Bibles, Christian music, Christian movies.  If I think about it longer, the list may never end.

This battle gets harder when we age or have any kind of isolating medical issue.  I have been thinking about it for a long time because I think about the Body of Christ becoming ONE BODY in Christ.

The Resurrection of Christ is the most important event in the Christian year.  Christ's death matters more than His birth.  It is our only way into heaven.  In becoming the substitute offering for our sins, He ends the need to sacrifice animals for sins.  He changes the focus of our relationship with Him from the Temple to our hearts.

This is part of what led me to create my Body of Christ statement.

The Body of Christ 

is not found in a building. 

It exists in the hearts and 

lives of those who accept 

the tenets of the Holy Bible 

and believe Jesus Christ 

sacrificed His Life 

for their personal sins.

The other side of this mug is part of my logo for Working Together and is focused on the separations we have made to the Body of Christ.  I have a link on my website to a page (ONE GOD) I created with some verses that go with each line.  The parts, and my designs for them, took a long time to create.  It was important to make the order right.

This mug is a very important message for all Christians.  I hope you will buy one from my ETSY shop (etsy.com/shop/work2gather.)

What has Resurrection Sunday become in our time?

I don't really know.  I haven't been to a service in years.  Being home all the time, I hardly remember a special day from any other day.  Getting groceries is a huge challenge for me.  I wonder about the Body of Christ, and struggle with the divided churches in every community.

Is this what GOD wanted when He provided Christ as our Saviour?  I don't think so.

So, my life is nearly over.  The End Times are getting worse and worse.  The Enemy seems to win more battles than we do, and that may be to fulfill the prophecies He gave us.  My hopes for the gathering of the Christian and Jewish people are not possible for me to do anymore.  

I still keep watching for God's provisions.  If they get to me I will do all I can to start the process of building Working Together for future needs.

Pray that GOD will reach His people before there is nothing we can do but march into the "death camps" of our prophecies.  Those who do not submit to the Antichrist, who fail to worship his ego, will be killed.  I thought it would be easier to be together when that time gets here.  That is why I created Working Together.

Now it is up to you and your communities to gather as One Body in Christ and prepare to support your people... plus those who will search for any kind of help in their pain.  

Think about life without money, jobs, housing, food, safety... think about ways to help each other.

FAITH FRIDAY for 8 April 2022 - Looking for a home for some Christian magazines

 

This photo is showing some of my collected Christian magazines over the years. I want to find them a new home, somewhere they can be shared with other people (like a Mission or Prison).

I thought about sending them Media Mail to a prison Chaplain but discovered even Media Mail can be costly when the materials are heavy.  I also discovered periodicals info only pertains to new magazines... and there was no rate for old magazines in Media Mail.  I am trying to find another way to reach people and places where this information might help change a life.

If you know a good way to share them (Decision Magazine, Imprimis, War Cry, Voice of the Martyrs, and others), please let me know.

Not much Faith going on here... lots of Prayer.

Still downsizing my room. 

Working on increasing my sales listings at ETSY and EBAY.  

Trying to decide if I will make it to a Resurrection Sunday service this year.

Looking for a better end-of-life.  :-)  I wonder if anyone is ever happy with the end of their lives. 

Just trying to find God's Will for my days.

What more can we do?

FAITH FRIDAY :: 18MAR2022 - Short message

Well, it was 11:59 when I realized I didn't post yet!

That's about it - my life.

What can I say about faith this week....  I don't really know.  It gets to be a fuzzy topic sometimes.  I think about GOD, about life, about Christianity, salvation, truth, love, and what GOD is doing in this world.  I just don't always find answers I am happy with.  I am still looking.

Hope you find GOD's love for your life.

FAITH FRIDAY :: 11 MAR 2022 - Tomorrow is near...

My list of things to get done seems to be forgotten when I start watching a movie.  I realized it's getting late and may watch a 3-hour western... maybe.  

Not much to say because I don't want to go into the videos I discovered about Lauren Chapin and her family... yesterday.

We don't really know what others are suffering.

And we don't always understand the effects abuse has on our lifetime.

It's a place I haven't visited for many years.

I am continuing my downsizing activities... sorting, shredding, filing, organizing.  I found my old kitchen gadgets again. I love OLD utensils.  It's like seeing how people changed the way we do things in the kitchen.  Some are perfect for my prepping supplies (non-electric), others I just love to have.  Some I have to figure out how to use them, still. 

By the time we get to the Antichrist there will not be much that isn't connected to the internet.  I found a JOHN DEERE video that shows how the tech equipment they use in harvesting crops creates a crop amount as it goes.  These tractors can't be fixed by the farmers. It's scary.  Everything in our lives is moving to surveillance mode. 

I started to see our need to capture all the non-computerized parts of our lives a long time ago.  It began with laundromat equipment.  Keeping all the quarter-run machines we can.  Computerized anything can't be fixed by normal people.  It's trash or it has to be fixed by someone who knows what to do.  

With software issues getting big, new versions of programming make continued use a problem.  That's all about new phones, new routers, new endless updates we never know what's in them or are they even needed or is it just another way to collect all our private details...  and we can't refuse them anymore.  The computers just wait for a moment to update, usually when we sleep.

I really want to collect as much non-internet options as I can.  I wish I could afford to.

In news stories you see the growing ability of law enforcement to track our phones, our calls, our texts, our pings, out life.  DNA is becoming a new force in crime solving.  I like to see crimes solved and the bad guys get caught, I just hate all the invasive tracking.

Off-grid, controlled internet, separate technology and software (no "cloud"), creative abilities with the possibility of hacking.  Those are what I would like.  Maybe a cell phone that calls 911 when you need help.  :-)  Or, I would have the option to only have internet attached to my phone.  Well, something.

Years and years ago I discovered people used microphones the size of a sewing needle to spy on people.  Now I read there are Apple tracking things people can attach anywhere they want to and you won't know they even exist... like the old movies we use to watch.

Criminals use these things to for their goals, Government uses these things for their goals.  Technology is going to become a difficult opponent of freedom.

I wn't get started about medical technology!

I don't know what Christians, or anyone, can do about all this as we try to protect and help each other, but I keep hoping to try.

Think about the two sides of technology in your life... The same things that appear to help you "stay connected" can also be used to violate your lives, your freedoms, your work, your faith, your ability to protect yourself and survive.  

What can we do?  I don't know.  We are slowly becoming ruled by technology.  

When the satellite service to help you if you ever needed it was in the news every day, I realized that the same device that locks your doors to keep others out and protect you from harm could also be locked to keep you in if someone wanted to keep you from escaping.  It's a scary thing.  It all depends on who is in charge -- a good person or a bad person.  We are heading into a world where the bad people will out number the good.  How do we prepare for that?

FAITH FRIDAY for 4MAR2022 - My Update Post

 Some days are just more difficult than others.  Sorry about that.  This is my "official" post for this week.

I don't think I have done very good with my Sabbath rest today.  Been catching up with all the undone things for yesterday.  I have such a hard time resting when I want to.  I really wonder what it was like for the Jews in the Bible times.

I'm trying to move into a larger text size because it is easier to read.  I have also discovered that when I increase the percentage of my web pages, I can't get them to work right.  It's a problem.  So now I am going to try to use larger fonts.  Next :: a template!!  Then I can have it the same formats every time!

I have been thinking about some faith issues over the days and months.  I don't write about them, but I am in the process of trying to figure out GOD's perspectives.

I will let you know I shred at least four bags of papers so far, with more to come.  I have been reorganizing my files and it might actually be a really great thing. It's a long project that I have been trying to get done, but is taking forever.  I need more crafting spaces in my room  This is helping to do that.

My prayers are always for increased income so I can accomplish the ZILLIONS of things I have always wanted to do.  All of my projects are toward that end.

This year might be a good year for GOD's blessings.

I hope so.