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...

Tuesday, 27 February 2018

My goodness, the day started out with my list of goals getting figured out, but I didn't go in order... I did a lot, but not all of what I wanted to get done.  This is really a challenge.   :-(    I think I need a better way to decide on my top three goals for each day, and to actually do them in order.  I know that is what all the goal people SAY to do, but who really gets to do that????  I made some new forms to help me with my goals, revised others, and now I think I want a one page calendar page with three lines for each day.  That will be my list!

I am happy with my other (original) effort to make a goal list, but that is turning into a more general look at what I need to get done.  It may become a monthly effort... I'm not sure yet.

Goals are so challenging.
Prioritizing has always been a problem with me... it was easier to get the little stuff out of the way, but then I would be too tired, forget, be distracted by something else...

I loved the Brian Tracy exercise I started out with so many years ago...  He has you make a fast list of ten goals you want to achieve, and you do that every morning for a month.  It gives you an idea of where you really want to go in your life, what matters to you, where to put your time and money and energy.

I need to find my top three to get DONE each day... that will help me move forward.  I get so wrapped up in all the things on my list/s that I can't seem to focus.  I hope this TOP THREE calendar will help me get through that... even if the three items are just simple things I need to get done, it will help me move in the right direction.  It will be good for my effort to break big goals into smaller parts. 

I did at least three things on my imaginary list today.  I suppose it is a successful day.  I just didn't have them as my top three.

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I wanted to rest a bit upstairs today so I watched some TV.  I turned Netflix on finally... looking for some COMMERCIAL FREE viewing!!! -- and I decided to watch some more episodes from the Natural Disaster season I am going through.  I decided to watch the one on Tsunamis, then the one on Extreme Weather.

Oregon has been preparing for tsunamis on the coast.  The earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the same one that started the nuclear waste leak, made the issue more urgent... but I think it was the huge one in the area of the Indian Ocean that really moved people to improve their warning systems.  It seems the faultline from California, the one I thought I was getting away from when I moved up here, goes about fifty miles offshore up here.  In one of the examples of tsunamis, it only took three minutes for a huge wave to reach the coast somewhere from an earthquake about 60 miles off of its shores.  That is not a lot of time.

Being from California, I am always wondering when it will fall into the ocean because of the faultlines there.  The last time I looked, I think Los Angeles and San Francisco will go into the ocean.  If the BIG ONE does happen up and down the coast, I am wondering what kind of effect it will have here...because of the fault line being so close.

The episode brought out some amazing details I never heard before.  Who really keeps track of these things.  We are busy surviving our own lives... disasters come and life goes on.  I was reminded of the years they happened when I was watching these two episodes.  I also discovered that they are expecting a VERY BIG event all the way across the ocean from the east coast of America, but the tsunami will reach us at heights 15 floors up in New York City, Washington DC, Miami, and other places.  That is scary.  I remember watching for details about the Japan tsunami, and it flooded places 15 miles into the island.

I wonder how far inland one would reach here in Oregon, if the fault line collapses.
Now I wonder how far inland one would reach on the east coast... that is where a lot of our nation does business... it would be a huge catastrophe.  Have they thought about that?  I doubt it.  And how would we budget for a recovery when we are nearly bankrupt already!

I always wonder why GOD hasn't helped me to build Working Together to help in these things... somehow.

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I made it through today in my food issues... tried rice sticks (rice noodles) for the first time today...  I added them to soup... who knows what they will look like tomorrow.  Maybe I can make fried noodle mush... noodle burgers... something like that.  :-)  My eating is getting better every month... less foods, smaller portions, better choices... my new food record is helping a lot.  I revised it again, so it's even better now.  It will help me get my eating down to where I want it to be... even if I try the senior citizen strategy of eating small meals more frequently during the day.  I am getting back to not eating solid food at night.  That really helps... love that one.  So glad I made that my goal for 2017.

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It is already past 9pm... I may turn into a pumpkin... if I don't get some sleep soon.  I fell asleep watching TV earlier... I feel so "senior" at those moments!  :-)

Until next time...
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us

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May the nation, and the world, start preparing for the realities of prophecy, the changes of global government, the need for better choices, and the financial burdens of an ungodly society.  Debt-free... I hope we can make it in time.
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May our lives become less distracted and isolated by the technology we have discovered.
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May we find better ways to solve our problems, as people and as nations.
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May tomorrow be better than today.
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May GOD bless those who love Him with all the bounty they need to achieve His good in our world... the needs keep getting bigger every day... who will help those who have no where else to go to...  How much does one person really need?
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May we all find GOD in a good Bible that teaches His Truth and wisdom... give us discernment... help us to know the difference between real Truth and "fake news."
Amen.

Monday, 29 January 2018

What a busy weekend!
I probably won't remember everything, and it would be too long to share it all, but I will try to remember the things that I remember now.

Today, I listened to several podcasts from generousgiving.org (/media/podcast) -- you can guess what the topics were... kind of.  I haven't really figured out the themes of the podcasts based on the ones I have listened to so far, over several different points in time.  They are about giving, and seem to be about the presenter's journey to generous giving, but they have varied a lot in the ones I heard.  It seems they have some kind of conference every year.  As far as I know, you have to be invited to get included.  I think it is people who have become very wealthy and are Christian, looking to use their blessings wisely, for the Kingdom and God's People.  That's all I can guess from my podcast listening.  I still have several years to go through!  :-)

It is inspirational to hear other Christians discover the blessings of being personally involved in the giving process, rather than just writing a check.  It is so essential.  I like crowdfunding for its potential in this sharing process... I think there needs to be some kind of oversight for crowdfunding, some way to verify needs.  This was my vision for Action Prayer.  To bring the giver and the person in need together, to help them connect globally.  I still hope to do that.

I have checked on FaithLauncher for my financial needs for Working Together... I am still working on that.  I am just learning video, and thinking about how to explain Working Together to everyone.  I had hoped to find start-up funds a long time ago, and in a different way, but this is where GOD has me so we have to just keep going and find His Plan for the future of WT.

I shared my giving goals on a Crowder Twitter post... a post that was something about what was I (everyone reading that post) listening to... so I went on about the podcasts,  :-)  and about the site, and giving, and then my goal... which is 90% for GOD, 10% for me... (after I reach survival level, which can be different for everyone... I'm still debating that amount with myself, but it's more than the less than 600/month I have now).  Working Together is expected to be a billion-dollar operation once it gets going... so money was an issue I prayed about for many years.  Everyone will make the same wage in Working Together, because that will remind us that we are a Body of Christ, with many parts, but all of those parts are equally important, like the Bible reference.  Since economies vary across the globe, I finally decided on a formula to create that goal wage.  Hopefully, I will be able to try it out one day.

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I spent a lot of money over the weekend, trying to get most of my documentary collection goals going.  I purchased my own copy of FORKS OVER KNIVES, with a companion DVD of the interviews recorded for the film (I hope).  It was free to watch online this weekend, so I watched it (twice), and shared about the option twice.  My copy arrived in today's mail!  Naturally, I will have to check them both out to make sure they work.  :-)

I decided to order the DVD for GENETIC ROULETTE (geneticroulettemovie.com) also.  I have wanted it for years, too. I hope it arrives quickly.  I want to see it again! 

Then I tried so many times to order IN DEFENSE OF FOOD and FOOD INC from PBS (they had a sale going on), but nothing worked, even emails to their Customer Service reference.  This is sad.  I have waited years to support PBS (OPB) because it is hard for me to get past my tithe and personal needs, and buying from them was a form of support for me.  I really was pushing myself to get these DVDs as part of my 2018 goals.  I still don't have them, or have them ordered, or know if I will.  So depressing.  I actually went up to six DVDs because of the sale... ordering other long-wanted DVDs they offered.  I hope to find a way through this without so much extra cost.  I sent a reply email about how upset I was... but it has gone into the CS cycle of form responses.  :-( 

If I have to, I will just let it go... and save for the added costs.

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I am still working on getting my small refrigerator.  Can't wait on that, either. 

I went shopping and bought too much produce again, but not all of it goes in the frig.  I am planning on ways to live with less fridge space... Deciding on my maximum options will work good.  I totally went over my planned budget this shopping trip.  I figured out the receipt today.  I can see why... I didn't have anything left... I had to restock so many things.  If I can start my weekly effort from here, it may work.

Now, I just have to get my special small refrigerator...

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Did I tell you I finally used my new food processor for the first time?  I made some chickpea nuggets, a vegan effort at a chicken nugget substitute.  They were interesting, but I am already planning to adapt them... maybe make them into veggie burgers for me.  I need a better sauce for them.  Ketchup and mustard didn't go over well.  The salsa for the second batch was OK... but I still have to figure out what kind of sauces vegans use.

I bought some extra cashews when I went shopping so I can try a recipe called (vegan) cashew cheese...  I don't know if I can live without cheese.  I still am eating small amounts of the "forbidden" foods (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, other dairy...).  I have cut back a lot.  I decided to buy only two cream cheese and try to see how long I can make them last.  I decided to buy butter still, mostly for my popcorn.  (I am trying to get to trying to microwave them dry in a paper bag... soon.)  I got a small amount of deli turkey to use, and tried out the option of buying only a few slices of bacon from the deli section.  I also refilled my back-up supplies of food oils (Olive oil and Safflower oil).  The rest was produce and bulk foods and regular foods like canned tomatoes and pears and oatmeal and coffee and whatever else I got.

I was amazed when I finally checked my receipt.  I counted over 25 types of produce, bulk honey, and ten kinds of bulk items like the cashews and rice and other things in that section of the store.  Now I need to make sure I go every week and only buy the things I need for the next week... while using up these fresh items to make sure I don't waste them or my money.  I should have enough impulse foods that are good to eat now.  :-)  I actually at an apple in the wee hours last night.  It will be great when I have everything ready to grab and eat.

You can see food is very important to me.  I suffered in past years, so now it is a big issue.  If I live long, I hope to get up to organic and non-GMO and growing my own food.  GOD willing, I will have the health for it, and the money.  Watch FORKS OVER KNIVES to understand how very important diet is to staying alive longer and reversing some of the diseases that kill us.

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I happened to watch some Netflix on Saturday evening... I decided to watch The Little Prince finally.  I read the book when I was a lot younger, but it is memorable.  I wanted to see what they did with it.  The story was nice on its own... not what I expected, but now I want to read the original again.  This one was on helping children understand death and loss.  It doesn't have any connections with GOD, so you won't get a normal story about heaven and God.  It was a cute storyline for the most part.

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I guess that's enough for now.  I have letters to read, letters to write, and goals to work on.  I hope to meet you here again... whenever that may be.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May we all search out the truth about GOD and the Bible so we make a real decision about our eternity and about the Bible's validity.
May we all be generous in our giving so we can discover the blessings hiding in that effort.
May we all be filled and content and protected.
Amen.

18 September 2017

So, what a weekend...  I kind of vegetated, watching TV and Netflix (documentaries) and free movies (Hidden Figures from HBO I think).  Is learning the same as vegetating?  I'm not sure.  I am still working on my Sabbath rest boundaries... everything I do seems to somehow apply to my various​ work involvements.  It's a challenge.

I have already posted some comments on my Facebook page for Fixing America about the documentaries I watched yesterday (Sugar Coated) and today (GMO OMG), but here is some of the list from my Sabbath effort to rest by watching the tv... I actually can't remember all of them.

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Feel Rich (food/health documentary on hip-hop/rap culture.  I am not involved in either genre, so all the people were new to me, except I recognized a photo of Eminem  :-)  but the end of the movie showed a lot of their people who died young.  I guess I recognized Quincy Jones, too.  :-)   It was hard for me to watch some of it... I'm not into the profanity that is normal for some people.  I did like the healthy focus, and how we change.  I think this was the one talking about Meatless Mondays not being enough.  To me the challenge of Meatless Mondays is a starting point, a first step on the way to better health.  You have to glean what matters.)

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Facing Darkness (so good, Christian film by Samaritan's Purse about ebola outbreak in Africa... I couldn't afford to see it in the theatres or buy the DVD, so when I saw it was on Netflix, I watched it right away.  EVERY Christian needs to see this... it shows how wonderful we are as people, missionaries, and organizations...  I was so glad I watched it.)

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Banking on Bitcoin (documentary about the start of Bitcoin and some of it's problems... one of two I noticed.  I will have to watch the other one at a different time.  I am wondering about Bitcoin, especially if there is a global financial crisis.)

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Cowspiracy  (documentary about animal agriculture's effect on global warming, but the host lost me - and the people he interviewed - when he took it into a vegan/meat eaters issue.  There was a lot of good detail, and the presentation was OK, but the bias changed the focus of the issue.  How our food supplies are raised and processed is a real issue, and needs some solutions.  I wish I could recall the parts that meant a lot to me, but watching too many documentaries at one time mixes all the details up.  I already plan to take notes the next time I binge watch!  :-)

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Rancher Farmer Fisherman (a movie I found while looking through the free movie section.  Nice.  It looks into the livelihoods of three areas, with an emphasis on major players.  It helps you to see the desperate need we have to protect our existence from the greed of government... and shows how dependent we are on these food supplies.)

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Hidden Figures (was another movie I couldn't see when it came out.  Loved it.  It was funny and sad to see our country behaving like it did, but it was also nice to see some "normal" black families... as opposed to criminals and drug involved or violent....  I hope more of the details were from real history than created for the dramatic effect movies need to have... it was based on real events.)

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These all gave me a lot to think about, especially food issues.

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Rain has begun in the Northwest.  I call it a warning from God that winter is coming, so get ready!  :-)   I had to get out my thermals and wore my warm coat for the first time in months.  I think I am fighting off a cold from the change in drafty spaces and cold air.  I have to decide how I can do my shopping in the rain again.

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I saw some of the news today... about two more hurricanes coming to the US, and video of a terrible accident.  With all the cameras being put up for surveillance issues, we are able to see things we may not want to see... it brings the horrors of the world too close.  The need to be first, have the most alarming details, shock the world, be seen, get noticed, and more... it has changed our lives.  It will change the future even more.  I always think of Matrix when I think of this issue... how facial recognition and computer surveillance guarded every human being...and it's the same theme in lots of movies.  Computers, cameras, and time... they don't cost as much as human surveillance use to... and aren't always noticed.  I liked the film loop in the movie SPEED, too... showing that they can be manipulated, too.  It's a legal problem that hasn't been solved yet... how much to rely on computer-generated evidence.

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In the battle between good and evil, GOD and Satan, love and hate, it is hard to endure the hardships the Bible tells us are part of being human, and are going to come into our lives, and we must find a way to overcome.  No one likes to hurt.  When we hurt, we try to make sure someone else hurts, too.  I have had to work through this myself.  I don't know if I will ever reach the status of being Christ-like, as we are suppose to become. 

The Bible says this world has been released into the hands of Satan, for a time.  That means we will suffer, even when we are good people, do good things, and don't deserve it.  There is no easy answer to what is wrong with our world and how to make it better.  Salvation creates better people, over time, but it doesn't solve every problem in humanity.

I have been praying about situations in my own life for a long time.  It is hard to see evil win small battles and think it has won the war.  It is hard not to be able to change the status quo.  It is hard to see your loved ones make wrong choices.  It is hard to endure the consequences of our mistakes, but it is even harder to endure when we haven't done anything to deserve our suffering. 

In this conflict between the forces of evil and our lives, we have to find a way through, regain our balance, and continue on. When I pray, I may not get the answer I want, but I know God is still busy with the details of our existence.  He is making prophecy come true, He is trying to save as many souls as possible, He is doing what is best for the bigger picture of existence.  I may suffer, the people I care about may suffer, and the cause is not always GOD.

I guess documentaries remind me that problems we face as humanity are consequences of the ongoing battles between good and evil, and our choices about which side we are on. 

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May GOD help us to see the impact of our choices.
May we find the courage to do what is right.
May our lives focus on God rather than money.
May our hopes be in having enough, not in having more than we need.
May our government not become our enemy.
May GOD provide for those who love Him and trust Him and sacrifice for Him.
May time help us to change.
May we find ways to rectify our wrong choices and the effects they have on others.
May freedom continue to exist in America, and the world.
May we face our global challenges with honesty and courage.
May life last long enough to reach our best goals.
Amen.