Saving America.

 http://www.votervoice.net/Shares/BAAAAAZfACQwcA7ZAde7FAA 

This is a link to a voter opinion option about the WHO (World Health Organization) taking control of our health system.  It's a scary thought.  Add your own words to the prepared text.

We are being led into total global government.  Every mandate creates the impression of government protection but it really takes away or freedoms.  

We are so close to the Antichrist.  People who don't know the Bible are not aware of what they are doing.  It all seems good to them.  It is built around themes we trust, like safety.  There is no way to stop prophecy, but maybe we can slow it down.  We can try.

I saw most of the debate last night.  I missed the first fifteen minutes, I think.  

It was better than a total mic sound control, but I would assume that was because Harris had mentioned it was her plan in the press somewhere.  Her attitudes at the debate also seemed to reflect this advantage.

Since I have been listening to these debates, and some speeches, I understand the comments about how politicians speak.  They deflect the questions they don't want to answer and turn the conversation into topics they want to talk about.  It was interesting to see the process happening last night.

I saw a brief talk on a Fox News video before the debate.  They were discussing how the debate was being moderated by intensely pro-Harris people.  I found the voice tones interesting, especially in the afterwords, the thank you statements.  I also felt for Trump in the process.  He is able to deal with those kinds of attacks.  I would not be. 

One part of the debate was interesting to me.  The expectation of Harris and others for Trump to state a definite plan for saving America in some way.  He can't make that statement because none of know what is going to happen in our nation by the time this election is over, plus the time between winning and taking office.  He would need to see what he has to work with before a solution can even be figured out.  I think this is one of the differences between ordinary citizens and politicians.

I remember Harris saying she has planned options that will take ten to twenty years to work out.  I don't recall the details of her statements.  I didn't take notes.  She stated we have more things in common than we have differences.  I remember thinking that her solutions are not the ones we would want to take... they would lead to Democratic goals.  I think there are serious issues with where the Democrats want to lead us.  Our differences are great.  Too great to compromise.

I don't recall Harris making any specific statements about her plans for the next four years as President.  Maybe she has already talked about them in campaign speeches.  I wouldn't know about those.  

Or about Trumps.

I will still be voting for Trump.  I think he is the better choice for this election.  He might be able to keep us from becoming a global socialist nation as our world is heading in that direction.

I remember one of the questions talked about the DC violence.  I have never known what exactly happened, or why they could claim President Trump caused all the violence.  He just called for a normal protest, not a riot.  Someone else caused that violence.  It happens all the time.  We have anarchists in Portland that always cause this problem.  

If Trump is convicted for what happens when others instigate violence (for their own reasons), then we need to arrest and convict every other protest leader where this happens... including Democratic events.

I am amazed to hear that RFK Jr is being taken off of a ballot for legislative reasons, through judicial action.  This is an effort to set a precedence for the future.  It's the American way to stop competition.  NO ONE should be removed from an election for any reason.  Freedom means we all have a right to run for office.  If this is left to stand, we will see a huge problem in the future... or, maybe that is what is desired.  We will only have the right to choose the "approved" people. 

Are you beginning to see what is happening in America, to our freedoms, to our future?

We are heading into the last days of freedom, to the fulfillment of prophecy, to the global presence of the Antichrist.

I don't know what that will look like for us, as Americans, but I know it isn't going to be a good thing. 

I remember hearing years ago that a large number of events were converging and going to destroy us, maybe the world.  It was a long time ago.  I would say, now, those events are the economy, governments, persecution, violence, hunger, water, food, liberties, freedoms, rights, and other things we have known as life.  

GOD doesn't move fast.  He waits as long as He can so you can decide where you want to spend your eternity ::  death or hell, Heaven or the Lake of Fire.  

It's hard to watch our nation become what it is becoming.  I hope we find a way to protect ourselves, as Christians, as Americans, before it is too late.

I hope you think about these details before you vote.

This election may be the last opportunity to save our country for just four more years.

The one generation GOD tells us about in prophecy is nearly over.

Where do they go?

 

I heard on the news tonight that the Governor of California has ordered all the homeless people living in tents in public spaces to be "cleaned up."  Where will they go?

I know how hard it is to start with nothing.  All those tents are not what public officials want to see, especially when their tourist income is suffering.  Homeless people are a problem, but destroying their very hard efforts to survive on the streets isn't going to help the problems.  The homeless need a safe place to start rebuilding their lives.  Street sweeps, which just put all their belongings into the trash, means they have to start all over... which means they find a new place for their tents.

What do you expect them to do???  Human beings have to sleep, have to eat, have to have a place to use a restroom, and then they need a place to shower so they can be clean, a place to do laundry so they can wear clean clothes, and everything else any human being needs to live from one day to the next.  

I don't know the property options in every city fighting the open issues with the homeless, but there has to be a place they can stay.  Starting over doesn't help anyone.  It makes the problem last longer.

I hear news reports all the time about the costs of dealing with homelessness.  Maybe we need a new way of handling the problems.

I remember seeing historic photos of the Great Depression.  They may have been of New York City, but I don't remember that detail.  What I remember was cardboard or some kind of material like cardboard being used by entire families who were forced out of housing onto the street.  They built whatever they could along the streets of a large urban space and that was their home.

I remember, when I grew up in Los Angeles, seeing news stories about Tijuana (a "city" along the border of Mexico).  It was a huge space where Mexican families lived the best they could, with "homes" made of whatever materials they could find... like plywood, cardboard, metal sheets, etc.

If you watch Gone with the Wind you will see the shanty towns that existed in that time of history.

Today, in other parts of the world, there are people struggling to survive in housing that is not the best, but it is all they can afford.

My point is that poverty is not ever going to be "solved."  There will always be poor people, homeless people, struggling people.  Even the Bible tells us this is the reality of living.  But I always hear political messages about solving the problems associated with poverty.  In my own thinking about these issues, I believe it is because there will always be a next generation of people with their own groups of poverty families.

It is a better idea, in my mind, to create permanent options to meet the needs of poor people.

We have housing, but being government run has its problems.

We have food options, both with government and charity sources, but they also have problems in the delivery.

I have always talked about the need for stability in the paths we create.  Housing is the primary form of stability for homeless and poor individuals and families.  Government programs work on the basis of obedience to the "rules" or you are gone.  That is not stability.  It takes years to overcome the problems of poverty and homelessness.  Each person's path needs to be stable for years.  When they are ready, they will move on.

Today, I was riding on the public transit in my city.  I saw the tents of people trying to survive here.  This city is also on the verge of cleaning the streets of homeless people.  Where will they go?  They will end up going through the same cycle of loss, wandering around while the government does what it does, and look for a new place to sleep, eat, spend their days, try to settle again in a new space.  The problem is not solved, it is "kicked down the road" again.

I have tried to suggest alternative strategies for many years.  

I have prayed for the funds to create these options as demonstration projects, to figure out the details, but GOD has not provided for my efforts.  Working Together is all about finding solutions for all these problems, but for Christians.  It is why I look for possible solutions.  And what my life experience has been about.

I hate to think of all the pain that is going to happen because of the government's view of these issues, and what they see as the solutions for their cities.  It's really a complicated issue, especially with media coverage pushing the problems to a different space.  What is being done is not solving the larger problem.

What are your solutions for the individual people who are the homeless?  Who are poor?  Who are not able to become self-sufficient tax-paying citizens in a day?  Who have handicaps, disabilities, substance abuse issues, other abuse issues, no money, no skills, prison records, can't get a job, are too old to work, have children with them, and more.

They need stability.  Will street sweeps help them?

What can we change about how we see this problem?

Maybe this is an example of that saying about insanity... something about doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result.

America and those who cannot protect themselves

 

I was busy watching videos about retirement issues and economic issues, housing problems and opportunities that are new, and thinking about watching a movie before it got so late.  

I sent an email to the Mayor's office in New York City today.  I watched a video about NYC by Cash Jordan and the immigration issues they are struggling with.  I decided to share a memory from my life with the Mayor because that was the only contact point I could find that was related to the issue.  I don't know if I will get a reply that is worth anything, but I felt it was important enough to share.

When I was younger, I can't remember when it was, there was a movement in the US to sponsor Vietnamese people in our churches and other groups across the nation.  I imagine it was somewhere around the time of the Vietnam war, but I can't be sure.  It may have been another people group.  It's been so long ago.  But I vaguely remember it being about Vietnamese people, maybe Vietnamese families.

What I wanted to share with the Mayor is the sponsorship program.  Churches committed to caring for these immigrants.  They helped with housing, jobs, getting settled into American culture, and language issues.  I imagine there are groups in NYC that can do the same thing, especially with the language barriers.  I think families are the most critical need for housing and jobs and building a better future, but I also know singles and couples will be in need.

In Oregon, there are new laws being implemented about homelessness and camping in public spaces.  One interview on the news was a couple with a dog.  The news person asked if they would follow the mandate.  No one talked about the restrictions in shelters against couples and dogs.  I wondered what the government expected them to do, and how to handle the dog issue.  Dogs are a safety issue for homeless people.  Being a couple is a safety issue as well as a human need.  These things don't go away just because you are homeless.  It's been a problem for as long as I can remember.

I think it is foolish of the government to expect people to leave all the things they have struggled to create so they can build a better future just to spend a night in a shelter.  What are they supposed to do with all their belongings, and their dog?  What is needed is a safe space to "live" in their tents as they keep building a better future.

I hate to see this happen.

When I was homeless, I didn't have all the extras.  It was just me.  Just a backpack of some kind.  No pets.  No tents.  No man.  Sometimes a vehicle, sometimes not.  Sometimes kids, sometimes not.  And I tried to find Christian shelters if I could, because I am a Christian.  Things are different in non-Christian shelters and services.  The unsaved don't like the differences in Christian shelters.  This spiritual battle exists in many parts of our lives/world, including within social services.

The Mayor here talked about shelter being a "carrot" to offer the homeless... about offering it over and over again.  Then he said the law has to become a stick (fines and jailtime) to make the homeless change.  This is where the couple with the dog don't fit.  They aren't trying to be difficult, they just want to be together, protect each other, protect their dog, protect their small amount of belongings, protect their lives, and find a better future.  What good will government "interventions" do for their lives? 

So, I will continue looking for better options as I wait for GOD to provide for me and Working Together.  It's all I can do right now.

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

Happy 4th of July to America

We are seeing our freedoms become mandates.  I'm not sure what America will look like in the near future.  I am trying to keep my eyes on GOD and my faith in His ability to accomplish His Will in our time.  

How do we disagree without violence?

I got a new library card last week and came home with 12 DVDs to watch.  They were mostly documentaries.  

One was from Prager U - called SAFE SPACES.  It came out in 2020 but I was never able to see it.  I grabbed it up when I found it at the library.

I plan to watch it again to see more of the details, but I have to say I was shocked by the examples they shared about reactions to simply speaking on college campuses.  

I wanted to go to college since I was a teen.  It took me many years to start the process, and I never made it to an official graduation.  I kept trying, but never found my way to the end.  I have about three of the four years done.  I'm not sure I could remember what I learned in all those classes after all this time.  I think it was around 1980 that I left the University of Oregon, but I did try again in about 2004 at Portland State University - one term.

I wanted to share that to let you know I have seen college and university campuses as an older person...and liberal climates.

It seems our "conversations" are getting more and more violent.  I think violence is a way to silence people, keep anyone from speaking, controlling the topic, etc.  I suppose it is Domestic Violence in community form.

Some of the examples in that DVD (I hope it isn't something I remember from one of the other videos I watched, but I don't think so because of the topic in my memory.) was the violent LGBT group forcing a college girl to make a statement from a paper on video.  The girl was frightened.  I hate to think what was done to make her do this.  It doesn't seem much different than a prisoner of war being forced to make a statement for publication to news agencies.

I would not call this winning anything.

We are becoming a police state, a dictatorship, a country ruled by violence.  All the damage that is done hurts all of us.  It costs money to repair.  Some of the damage can never be fixed.  People are hurt or killed.  None of this says we are a free country.

I wish I understood the motives behind all this force.  I don't think it is about LGBT rights.  I think it is something bigger, more hidden.  Young people are so easy to manipulate.  They don't have the ability to understand the deeper issues behind those "leading" them into actions they think are helping others.

I see the prophecies of the Bible becoming our reality.  

I cringe at all these issues because they say a lot about us, about where our nation is heading, about what the future will become.  Violence controls people.  Fear controls people. Freedom is about everyone's rights, not just those who use violence to force themselves on the rights of others.

I also think about all the strains our nation is under.  Economic pressures are making it hard to keep living as if we are the richest nation.  It is costing jobs, houses, cars, education, fun.  We are becoming afraid.  Fear doesn't create good solutions.

Saving America is on my mind too.  

I don't see many real solutions being created.  Actions that will keep us from bankruptcy.  We can't seem to find solutions that are for America - they are all about the political parties and what they want.

The government is looking for income.  Taxes, fees, tolls, fines, and whatever else it can get.  The government needs money to survive as much as we do, the people who pay the charges they create for us to help them survive.  I doubt Obamacare was about us.  It was a way to help reduce the medical costs the government might have to pay, and a way to move toward government control of medical services.

The Great Depression is all we have as a historical perspective of economic collapse.  I can't imagine living through that kind of event, especially now, in my senior years.  How can we find a way to avoid it?  Some say it's too late to fix this economic collapse.  What will we do then?  

Violence doesn't help.  People who are afraid try to find someone to blame and someone to fix the problem.  People who are afraid get violent - or are easier to move in that direction.  I don't want to live in the kind of country that I saw in SAFE SPACES.  How can we stop this way of "solving problems?"

PLEASE, let me know what you think is a better way.

America - Election 2024

This week I have been thinking about all the money issues we face as individuals, as a nation, and as a global economy now.  

Today I decided to go shopping to get out of the house and then watched my budget get destroyed for this month.  It was a reminder for me about government budgets.  I have to do without for the rest of the month when I make a mistake with my money, the government seems to print more money when they overspend - which is like using a credit card and causes inflation.  

This is the crisis we face.  It seems to be the same cycle major civilizations in history have faced and lost over and over again.  We don't seem to learn not to do this path.

I have been watching a lot of videos at YouTube on government budgets, spending, and survival.  

• One highlighted how the government manipulates the statistics they use to make us think everything is just fine.  I have known this was happening but had no way to prove it.  Unemployment and jobs is just one example.  (Noted below.)
• One video was on how the government manipulated new job creation and unemployment.  It seems that when an unemployed person gets a part-time job of any kind they are removed from the public statistic on unemployment and may be moved to the list of underemployed people who never get counted for the public statistic.  People who have been unemployed for five years are also dropped from the counting process.  These people are considered not looking for work.  --  This means many people are not counted so we don't really know how bad the situation is.  
• One video was on how over fifty major US cities spend more than they take in through taxes.  This puts them in danger of bankruptcy, but on the way to bankruptcy are all the social problems not having money creates.  (Like trash pick-up and police/courts/jails and transportation and libraries and public healthcare and any other services provided by the government.)  The list of cities included the city where I live, Los Angeles and San Franciso areas, Chicago, New York, and Houston.
• One video was about the gold standard.  I did discover one interesting perspective from this one.  I always thought people were promoting gold and silver purchases as a simple way of prepping.  This video said governments all over the world are buying up gold to prepare for a new financial system after the collapse of what exists now... to have funds when they start over, when gold returns as the foundation of money. 

There were more videos than this, but it would take too long to share every important detail.  The main idea was our nation, and other nations, are in trouble.

===========

Who we elect as President this year will be the man behind saving our country from financial collapse, or leading us through it.  We have to choose, either Trump or Biden, unless something changes our options between now and then. 

Every election will matter.

I keep wondering what GOD is trying to tell us.

If you know, please share it with me in the comments.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

https://work2gather.us

What the government does.

We seem to believe the government is really interested in our lives, but are they?  Everything changes when the government is the one trying to survive.

I watched a video titled TOXIC FARMING tonight.  It was from last year, I think YouTube said it was a year old, but the person I am thinking of from the video (Jason Grostic) said his farm/ranch destruction by the government started the previous November.  I assume that meant 2022.  

By the end of the Vice News report, Mr. Grostic's five-year effort to create a successful healthy meat business was gone and his cattle were going to be destroyed by the government.

The Grostic property was the only one the government decided to test - both land and animals - for PFAS contamination even though the government knew many other agricultural properties had the same problem.  They all used EPA approved, free, wastewater treatment discards as fertilizer.  Some properties are still using the treatment plant waste as fertilizer.  All the other farms/ranches are still able to sell their food products because they were not tested for the same contamination.  

I am assuming the government is protecting itself.  This is what the government does.

We will not know why this was done to one family.  

If the government tested all of the affected properties, it would have deeply affected the entire State's income at many levels.  There are a lot of associated costs to any government action of this kind.  

It could have been a personal attack by a government employee, or someone associated with any government representative.  Mr. Grostic was a rising business and had worked very hard to reach that level.

There is just no way to know.

I tried to find out what happened after the video first aired but the website for Gostic Cattle Company was gone, it had a Hotmail address (which I will try to see if it is still valid), and the last post at the Facebook link was when the video aired.  I imagine their lives were devastated by the loss of their property and everything they had built.  I was hoping to find they moved to a better property and started again.  That would require a lot of money.  I don't think the government pays for the things it destroys.

I wanted to share this because our lives are not the same as they were in the past.  We cannot depend on the government.  And we have to realize that everything in our lives depends on the morality of the people in it. 

This is just one story.  I have seen and read about many others.  I have experienced devastation in my own life.  We have to find a way through things like this.  Together.  As Christians. 

I don't know if the Grostics are Christians, but they seemed like a good family.  I hope they found a way to a new future.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

Pondering what has to be done first to save America...

 

New design for this election season.

I have been thinking about our nation and all the problems we face.  This happens at the end of every month when I wrap up the current month and start planning for the next one.  All of my income is controlled by the government.  I never really know if I will have my retirement funds or my food benefits.  I live at such a low level I can't get ahead of living needs to protect myself.

For me, the most urgent problem is the DEBT of our country.  It pays for those who have no other options.  It isn't only me. 

I imagine this creates ongoing stress in my body.  I don't know how to evaluate it.  

This repeated danger is why I prep as much as I can.  I don't have enough food to last one month, but I try to figure out how I would survive if there was a real crisis.  I don't have extra funds to cover my cash expenses.  I fear being on the streets again.

This is another reason I am trying to use up my collected supplies from earlier efforts.  Sorting through my belongings to reach the least amount.

There is no warning if banks close, if benefits stop, if the power goes off for a long time, or any other unexpected disaster happens.

As long as the government keeps printing more money, our nation is in greater and greater trouble.  Printing more money makes what we have less valuable and creates the inflation that hurts us all.

Lowering the DEBT is the best thing we can do to help all of us.  What does that mean?

When everyday families have to fix their budgets, it means spending less, doing without, saving more, finding alternatives for the things they need, and more.  Reducing, not increasing the things they spend money on.  No credit.  Prioritizing.  

I think reducing some of the wages in government, not increasing them, would be a good start.  Reducing benefits to what is most essential.  If poor people can survive on the little amounts they do, then others can too. 

Minimum wage for our government legislators and employees might get it raised to a decent level.  

The same medical benefits as the poor might be fair for government legislators and employees.  

It all depends on what you call fair.

This all leads into the idea of socialism, but the cause is different.  We are trying to save our nation for a better future. 

I tried to suggest selling a collectible coin to raise funds ONLY for eliminating the DEBT, shoring up Social Security Retirement Benefits, and saving money for the next disaster, but no one seems to think it will work.  One trillion coins, packaged and numbered, for a minimum price of $50.00 USD, with the better numbers selling at a higher price for the wealthy to purchase.  Selling them before the economy falls is essential.  It doesn't matter after we see bankruptcies.   

It would be an historic event.  

If it works, it will be even more historic.

What do you think is a fair amount for people on government benefits to receive?  It is a small amount for me, but when it is multiplied by millions in need, it becomes a large amount.

The government has decided what is necessary.  We have no say in the process.

Food.

Shelter.  With Kitchen and Bathroom.

Utilities.  Water.  Heat.  Cooling.

Clothes.  Shoes.  Warm coats.

Transportation.  By public transit or personal vehicle.

Furniture.

Household items.

Cooking and Refrigeration.

Education.

Basic medical benefits.  Like eyeglasses.  Hearing aids.  Dental care.  

I think that is about what poor people are allowed to have, or receive from the government if they qualify for it (medical, food).  The government doesn't just give people what they want, or think they need.  You get what the government has decided it will provide.  This is important to remember.  

What happens in countries where socialism is the rule?  I have no idea.  What is it that some in our nation want us to become?  How do they measure BASIC human needs in the countries that already operate by government control?

If our government succeeds in making our nation a socialistic way of life, what will it look like?  The government will control everything and provide what it says we need.  

It's a scary thought.  Freedom is very different than Socialism.  Or Communism.  Or any other form of government.

We are getting less and less free as every year goes by.  It's a very slow change I see... like the frog in the kettle that doesn't know it is being cooked.  The water just gets hotter and hotter and hotter, until the frog dies and becomes a meal.  

It has always been a battle.  I think the idea of socialism is what makes it so desirable for some... it sounds good.  The problems come in the real application of it.  It becomes something different -- people in government get a lot and the regular people are kept poor, under control by what they don't have.  

How can we save our nation?

Who will lead us in the direction of freedom?

How do we get rid of our current DEBT and become financially healthy, strong enough to overcome whatever lies ahead?

We better find an answer soon.  

In Christ, 

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

FAITH FRIDAY :: 24 SEP 2021 - Housing ideas and Faith in GOD's will for our lives

Well, I almost forgot it was Friday again!  :-)  I was browsing videos at You Tube.  Housing is a big topic for me.  I watch a lot of Tiny House videos, and found one by a channel called Invisible People.  I think they are in the Los Angeles area of California, but that was only a guess.  I made a very long comment about the isse, which I kept for my records, but I think I will share it here.  I mentioned several of my own ideas on housing and government... maybe one of my readers will be able to use them to help the homeless in their area.

Let me know if you think any of these quickly shared ideas has any hope of being implemented !!

=====================

Well, just going to add my comments to the conversation... not sure they will be seen at this date.  I hear comments only register right after posting.  :-)

I heard Santa Monica so I am guessing it's a CA location.

I heard safe zone is only for COVID reasons.  Where will she go as restrictions are lifted.

I wonder if there are any worthwhile updates about her situation... housing, job, future?

I read some of your materials but relying on the government to be all answers to all people is  not going to help the nation.  Taxes can only go so far.  The government has promised too much, abused the funds it has already received, and doesn't seem to think it will ever go bankrupt because, after all, the people can pay more, right?!

The options that are available need government approval, not always funding.  That is a long hard and sometimes futile process.  People like you can make changes on your own.  You are a charity.  Raise funds for housing projects.  Buy land and build a community for the people you are advocating for.

Tiny Houses are legal in California... see what you can do with them... will you make decent housing or just something to cover a human from the elements?  Rehab old trailers, RVs, make cheap containers into housing, create something like a KOA for a small homeless community - they would house tents, cars, campers, and even include cabins for some. 

I think a quarter acre is right for a family, but urban housing often exists on a tenth of an acre.  Buy them all over the city, by transit for poverty transportation needs, and create single living spaces.

I think homeless options exist on the top floors of parking garages.  They have water pipes (for fire requirements) so they can be divided by parking spaces and be modified for cooking and showers and laundries.  Parking garages are generally by transit I think.  Security options can be created to protect all.  The idea is to STABILIZE, so no time requirements... duplicate the options to include more homeless people.

Churches have been a resource for centuries.  The problem is zoning... again, the government needs to approve changes that don't cost money.  Porta-potties seem to work for this option.  Electricity can be worked out.  Help can be found in the congregations. Some churches are by transit.  Some church members have skills that might help a homeless person or family... like mechanics to fix cars or trucks.  Once a church finds out if the person is worth helping more, there might be more opportunities for the individual or family.  Time is always a good thing when people are good people.

Find out what exact properties the city (govt) owns that might be available for use.  Make sure you get an agreement in writing that says the project is forever or there will just be another problem in the future.  Make a purchase of any land by transit or some life need.  Create housing there.

I have the idea that housing needs to stop being a subsidy for the developers and become a small income source for the government.  See if you can get them to establish a new home ownership program where the payment is the traditional government charge of 30% of income... it will change the future for everyone in the whole USA once it gets going.  It becomes non-tax income, but there needs to be a fund in place to pay for the property when a new buyer is created, which would be a pre-approved homeless person.  The seller would see an income from their efforts to improve their property over the years of ownership...maybe use that to buy a new home for themselves.

Look for ways to house people that will take them off the streets and provide for their human needs...spread the efforts all over the city so all the homeless are not in one general space like Skid Row... FIND places, look for things you can do, what other non-profits can do, what the homeless can do for themselves.

viewed  24 SEPT 2021  [probably about 10pm]

COMMENT on this video  ::  https://youtu.be/nT3VGI0V5Rs

Homeless Woman Has a Masters in Mathematics and Engineering

2,174,807 views Apr 21, 2021  -  50K hands up  -  1.1K hands down

Invisible People  -  986K subscribers

===========================

Other than that, I have been fighting the battle to survive myself.

I finally did some experimenting with my resin supplies yesterday.  I am happy about the experience.  I now have to decide what to do with the pieces I made.  With resin there is a layering process.  I am trying to create things I can sell at my ETSY or EBAY shops, or provide as a benefit to my PATREON supporters.

I haven't been doing good with my ART efforts the past couple of weeks.  Been busy with other things.  I cut about three watercolor paper pads into sections to use.  Now to use them.  

Eventually, I will find the crafting directions I want to focus on.

FAITH... it's been a slow path recently.  I think it seems to follow the amount of struggling I do in my life, the harder it is the more I seek GOD.  That seems to be the way it goes for all of us... we just see the suffering, GOD sees the lesson to be learned... or the part of His plan that needs to be accomplished... or the consequences of our sins or someone else's sins.  

I have always figured GOD is up to something if I can't find a way out of what is happening.

Maybe it is my life He's working in, or maybe it is someone else's.  I have to trust Him either way... look for the answers, and wait if I can't find them.

I shared an old photo I found recently on one of my Patreon posts.  I think I will end with it here.  I pray GOD is close to us and helping us to find our answers.  GOD is the only person I have ever had to trust in.  I think I will keep my focus on Him.

FAITH :: America's Future and GOD's Word

This election seems to be our national decision about where we are heading... Freedom and Democracy, or Socialism and Government Rule.  It is hard for me to see my country becoming what it is.  I hoped to be gone when Prophecies became this real.

We see the increasing violence, we see the difference between a godly nation and one that is honoring abortion, euthanasia, mercy killing, addictions, greed, self, and alternative sexuality in children and adults. 

Those who hate the boundaries GOD places on our lives, for our own good, will do anything they can to malign the faith of believers.  The theme seems to be force... and the anger keeps rising every year.  In the Bible, there are only two real references to the way the world will be in the End Times... one of them is about Sodom before it was destroyed.

This prophecy is about the sexual appetites of its citizens and the inability of the populations to stop them.  I wouldn't say we are as violent as Sodom yet, but we are heading in that direction.  The attitude of force against anything related to GOD is becoming open and vicious.

When the two angels came to take Lot and his family out of Sodom because GOD was going to destroy it, the Bible tells us men rushed from all over the city to be the first to conquer the new visitors.  The Bible tells us that Lot was willing to sacrifice his daughters to appease the violent men.  The Bible tells us they had a huge "lock" on their door to protect themselves from what was outside.

I can't imagine living in a place like that... and I have seen inner cities I was afraid of.  

Violent control is not always physical.  We have seen how the courts have been used to hurt and destroy Christians.  We see the media used to make everyone afraid to believe what they want to.  We have seen small children used to further the cause of the LGBT community.  We have seen "coalitions" created to prevent the success of any other theology.  

I have wondered how many of the gay people I see on TV and in the news became that way by force, by fear, by abuse... thinking there was no other choice.  

Only GOD knows the hearts of each of us... whatever our sin may be.  He is the only one who can know how to judge these issues.  I have just tried to understand how to protect myself and my children and my family and my friends and my Christian Community.  

How can we approve the purposeful murder of unborn children, simply for the "cause" of making it legal.  I can see how abortion is really a modern form of child sacrifice, how it protects the man who created the child with the mother, and how greed is the reason it is so important for some to protect.

Greed is also behind "mercy killing" - another form of legalized murder.  Euthanasia, volunteer suicide, the high cost of medical services, government health insurance, the war between Democrats and Republicans, the national budget and debt, the breakdown of the family structure - including large distances between family members because of work, education, and other factors, all contribute to the changes in our nation and its values.  Once the government controls health care, it will begin to limit what is approved for payment.  If the government reaches the 100% level in taxation, we will all be employees of the government.  There will be no getting away from the governments ability to decide our entire lives.

America is not ready for this kind of submission.  We don't believe it will ever happen.  We are the frog that is put in the water when it is cool and then boiled without a fight because the heat rises slowly.

I believe this election is the second major turning point in our future history... I believe 9/11 was the first real evidence of GOD removing His protection from our nation.  This is all tied to prophecy.  If Trump wins, it is only four years (we hope) until the next point of decision.  Prophecy will come true, we just don't know how or when.  We see the signs of what GOD warned us about, but only GOD knows all the details of how it will become reality.

I hope and pray that GOD will help us to elect Trump again... just to find more time to fight against the tide of evil that is taking over the world on its way to the Antichrist and the final end of our lives.  

What matters most now?

I'm not sure I can answer that for everyone.  I am still trying to find ways to protect myself and other Christians.  We need to think about what is coming.  We need to find ways to protect each other on the path forward.  

If we can gather together, we can find answers together.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...

Thursday, 8 November 2018

I guess I am still thinking about the election, and some of the aftermath.

It has been a long day.  I went to the nearby store last night and got enough food for now.  It is much better today than it was yesterday.

Christmas is still on its way, and I am trying to work on my part of the festivities... gifts, goals, and praying for a better 2019.  My biggest thought is :: How much can I really do to make this world a better place?

I had to nap today, and I am just getting my body going again after getting up.  I will have the evening to get to my list of things to work on.  We have 24 hours, right?  When we work is different for all of us.  Some work gets done in the day, some in the evening hours, some at night.

When I was binge watching Christmas movies last weekend, I stayed up all night... something I rarely do anymore.  I was surprised to see that HGTV has infomercials on in the wee hours of the night.  :-)   I just assumed the reruns kept going all night long.  haha  Who thinks of what happens in the dark hours of the night... not too many.  But, they are the people who need GOD most.

That is one reason I hope to build 24-hour Respite Centers for WT someday.  I have seen the need... a LONG time ago.

It gets frustrating for me when I start wondering why GOD hasn't provided for WT... and why other things have happened... and what is happening in our world... and to me.  I think of sin, and free will, and judgment.  I wonder about my sons.  I wonder who will get into heaven and who won't.  I think about all the suffering there is.  I think about all the different solutions we deal with, coming from someone somewhere, and wonder where my ideas would fit in and how to make them part of our future.  I think a lot.  All the time.  But I can't do anything.  This is how the world will be as the Antichrist rises... less good, more evil.  I don't like what I think about, what I see, what I can't change.

We think about people who have made the world better and we admire them, lift them up, and only know about that one part of their lives.  Is that what it means to be a hero?  Chosen for history?  When we look deeper into their lives it is a more difficult story... lots of personal suffering.  I guess it isn't easy to make a difference.   :-)

My thoughts are wandering today.  The election result and the next two years... what will become of America?  I have come to understand that news reporters are often reading off a prompter... I don't know how they go so easily from tragedy to tragedy...  And then I read the news, mostly the headlines, and I go from tragedy to tragedy without much thought.  These are events I can't do much about, or change, or make any better for those who suffer.  I see rising abuse with crowdfunding and worry about its future... to me, it is the only blessing people in real need have access to, and I want it to be used to help them... probably, even more, the ones who don't have regular access to the world.

I read one comment about Oregon's results as I checked online to see what happened... and discovered the Democrats have a "supermajority" here... the comment was they could pass as many taxes as they wanted to and the Republicans couldn't stop them.  I don't know if that is a good view of our governing power.

It will be something we, as citizens, will not be able to do much about.

How can we save America from its government?  I don't know.

I guess that is all I can share right now.

Pray for all of us... we need help.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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Pray that GOD will help us to understand the impact of our choices and to make better decisions for our country.  Amen.

Election Day, Tuesday, 6 November 2018

I haven't checked the news yet... I am wondering how fast the starting totals will be posted... I don't know how many ballots, especially mail-in ballots, are counted before the great unveiling of the voters.  I keep thinking it was such a great process when I was young... now, it seems too automated, global, and even tainted by early media.  When I was young, there was a time-forced process of keeping all the votes secret until the time for each zone reflected the closing of the polls.  This was because so many people didn't know who to vote for and would decide to vote for the one who was high in the tallies on election day... they wanted to be able to say they voted for the winner.

The internet will eventually change a lot of things we do in voting.  I suppose everyone will be able to vote online, from home, from a mobile phone, from any source connected to the internet.  That brings good and frightening possibilities to our world.  It makes me wonder what the future will become... because good people don't think of or do things that are corrupt, but those without any moral boundaries spend all their time and energy thinking of ways to "beat" the system to get what they want, usually money and power.

I happened to see that a single mom with grandkids won half of the Powerball prize... with an all-cash bounty of almost 200 million.  :-)   The government took about 150 million for taxes.  I always wonder if the winners get any of that back when they eventually file a return.

I have been checking on more articles and tips for selling online these days... I found one link to a place called Tax Jar  (taxjar.com) and in the process of exploring their site and offerings, I saw a list of taxes for one place... I think it was California.  They collected Federal, State, County, and City taxes in the example.  Here in Oregon, there are also TRANSIT taxes in some places.  I wonder if they collect those.

I think there is going to be another "tea party revolt" in time... and I don't know if it will be the group we have been seeing in the past several elections.  I know the Democrats feel that 100% taxes will cure all the ills we are dealing with, but they are wrong.  Look at the countries that already are state run... lots of problems in all of them.  No one has figured out how to make the ideal work.  I think we need to regroup and change the entire financial foundations of the government... force them into a limited budget.  I call it "ONE TAX" --- because one tax is all we should be paying.  I decided a flat 10% was fair, and could be distributed among all our local and global commitments.  If you have read my other comments on this issue, you already know my formula :: 3% each for Federal, State, and County taxes, and 1% for International issues like the UN and international aid needs, etc.

I keep thinking about my plan.  It would change our country in so many good ways.  It is one of the causes I would fund if I ever won a big lottery prize.  :-)   I just don't know why GOD hasn't funded me yet... do you?  haha

I have been up since about five this morning, and need to get some other things done right away.  I may come back later, or wait until tomorrow, to comment on whatever the election brings into our lives.  :-)   This is a big day... and every election will become more and more important.  Our nation is fracturing because of the issues we face and our disagreements on how to solve our problems.  Our economy is very fragile because of the national debt and issues related to it.  Our moral foundations are nearly extinct, which will put a whole different kind of leadership into our lives.  I wonder how far we are from the Antichrist, which means death to all the Christians... and little to no morality for the world.

I hope GOD is going to help us... the good people... Christians and Jews... children and other vulnerable people... etc...

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

http://work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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Pray for our country.
Pray for our world.
Pray for our lives.

My Voting Day, 1 November 2018

I finally filled out my ballot and put it in the mail...

I don't know that any voting method is "safe and secure" anymore... and I have no way to verify that my ballot arrives with my votes on it... fraud is easy for those who do it.  In Oregon, they now send an email saying your ballot has been received.  Actually, it is only saying that a ballot has been received with my name on it.

I keep wondering how we can make a secure voting process, especially in the age (and future) of internet living.  I recall from history lessons that the gangs in the past controlled the votes by the best methods of their time... which are used in those other countries today... violence, force, intimidation, and any other means possible... but we have "evolved" as a "developed" country into other, more covert, methods.  Mailing ballots has its issues, online voting has its issues, state and national voting have their issues... no matter what we try, the enemy of freedom and democracy finds a way to subvert it.

With technology, people can duplicate (and alter) everything.
Internet hacking can be accomplished anywhere, for a lot of different reasons, including the mailing systems, publishing systems, manufacturing processes, production systems and processes, record systems, and all the other places we depend on for the details of our lives.

A long time ago, in my own search for WT solutions, I realized our world will become focused on two areas online... security and search.  I have my own plans for a search option, but I cannot even begin to understand how we can make our lives secure when they are attached to the internet.

While voting, I came across people who didn't get their voting information into the government process in time for publication in the voting guide we get.  I have advocated for a long time that the government get the process online... with income options for them and VOICE options for voters.  We not have the ability to enter information immediately... so, why doesn't the elections system take advantage of this for income?  The only answer is the ongoing problem of the government to make money like a business.  If they can fix this problem, taxes will not always need to rise.

I discovered the problem a LONG time ago when I kept wanting to submit an opinion for the guide book... the deadline was so far ahead of the election, most voters were not even aware of the topics or people involved in the next election... including me.   Then I discovered the outrageous charge for submitting an entry... way beyond my budget, or anyone else that I know.  the only people who are able to submit an entry for the guide are heavy-duty, deeply-involved, and well-funded individuals or groups with a stake in the outcome, who know the government process.  Everyone else is left out.

I tried to share this online approach with bigger national issues, too.

We can use the internet for positive input from ordinary people if we allow them a space to share their thoughts/opinions at a reasonable price.  We could set a limit on the words or characters (maybe 5000 characters) and charge a small fee ($5?) for the ability to have their opinions displayed publicly at a page/space set up for that issue.  

Every government issue can be separately displayed and become a place for public comment... at every level of government.  This would be a good place for media and political groups to find their issue details, while the governments that are involved would be generating "extra" income for their work -- by issue or by agency or by legislative body.  Imagine the Supreme Court having public comment to refer to on the cases they are deciding....

It would change a lot of things.

Sending a copy to the email that is attached to the comment, and possibly allowing a reference to election records by way of a voter number or a verification of voter status (or voter email), would help people to be aware if someone is sharing an opinion without their knowledge.  It is important to create a process of verification of the speaker, and copies of the comments created in their name.  I find the email option good for me.  I would use the same email attached to my voter registration.

My issue is the inability to have my opinion registered on topics that are important to me.  I can't join public protests, and don't want to.  I don't write a lot of Letters to the Editor, and there is never a guarantee they will be published.  The only opinions that get heard are the ones attached to very active and emotionally/financially political people, probably a lot of them are attached to the word "lobbyist."

WE  NEED  SOME  CHANGE  IN  HOW  WE  DO  OUR  GOVERNMENT !!!!!

That is the big issue.  The bigger issue.  The most important issue.

This is one of my solutions to the government issues we face... income, taxes (over taxation), greed, corruption, voter apathy, ignorance, lack of access, inability to be a voice in what is done, citizen finances, PACs and lobbyists, and online issues...

What would you do to help make America a better place, solvent, and still free?

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
Working Together Inc
Building for the End Times

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May we keep America from becoming a bankrupt country... in finances and morals and education and government and....    Amen.

Monday, 25 June 2018

I just finished watching one of my new DVDs... it arrived today.  "Dirty Energy" - about the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.  It is always hard to discover how little your government really cares about you... and how the big corporations, like BP, seem to control the country.

I don't know how much of that is true, the part about corporations controlling all of America, but it is a big wake-up moment when you discover that ordinary people have little meaning in our country or the world.  It was so hard to see the effects of the oil spill and hear the promises they made (again) and then discover it is just another repeat of previous examples.  There were segments with at least one person who was impacted by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska so many years ago.  I think she said it was 24 years later and Alaska hadn't yet recovered from their disaster.  The documentary was trying to show the things they had in common for the environment, the people, and the finances... and the government.

My interests are in the effects on our food supplies and water sources.  Seeing the photos, hearing the effects, discovering the details about the aftermath... it is frightening to me.  The oceans bring all that pollution to every other part of the globe, eventually.

In the documentary, they reported on deformities and tumors in the shrimp over two years after the disaster, and I remember hearing that the seafood had "recovered" by then, but the biologist pointed out that when you go to the market to buy shrimp, you would not see the deformed parts or the tumors or the things you would never eat if you did know.

This is our government's concern for us...  the priority is the economy, the taxes that business brings to the government, the money to get elected, the desire to keep your job, the apathy for what is right or wrong, and the fact that the people who are being destroyed can't afford to go to Washington (DC) or their own state governments to fight for twenty years just to lose.

It is a difficult moment to realize that your life depends on a system that is overwhelmed with more problems than it can handle, so yours is meaningless.

How will we make America the great country it use to be?  We are not the same country.  The definition of "great" is probably something we need to talk about first.

The news was filled with tariff issues today... I was able to see a lot of channels of news today.  The media reports more about topics that are against tariffs, and that included the announcement that Harley Davidson was going to blame tariffs for their decisions to move some of their business to the European areas where they sell many of their products.  The media doesn't focus on the economic decline of America caused by what I believe is called "trade imbalances."

In my quest for Working Together's future, I realized that transportation and shipping might not be available in the future for Christians.  To me, the only reasonable solution was to make each member region self-sufficient.  That led me to see the wisdom of having business operations in other regions that serve just that region.  I think it would be wise for Harley Davidson to build a new factory in Europe, and sell it's products to those places that are within that continent.  The US factory can sell to US customers. Other people can decide if they want to ship from the US or from the European factory.

My reason for wanting to go in this direction is also because of the differences in currency values.  I figure pricing in other regions will be based on the costs to produce the products that are created and sold there.  It can make things better for everyone.

I think locals in other places need to benefit from the businesses that exist in their location... just like we want to benefit from their existence.

I often wonder how we can find what is right instead of what is only good for the business... like the BP and Exxon recoveries.

This has been a big day for serious thinking... I will be continuing this conversation in future blogs, I am sure.

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us

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May GOD find us doing more of what is right than what is best for us.
May we see that the damage we do to the world is the same as killing out kids and grandkids.
May we all look for better solutions, help each other in times of trouble, and be thankful for our life.
May GOD be the focus of our decisions.
Amen.

Tuesday, 5 December 2017

Today was a kind of catch-up day... getting letters written and into the mailbox... to my sons in prison/jail, my mother, paying a bill and adding a letter to it, sending out two prayer requests... that was enough for one day. 

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I watched FORKS OVER KNIVES again... trying to really cement the info into my brain. (The animal protein that was tested and produced a link with cancer was in dairy form.)  I really want to buy copies of these documentaries, but I just can't afford to.

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Then a trailer for a documentary called SAVING CAPITALISM came on and I ended up watching it, too... I recognized the main character, but it must have been a long time ago that I watched it. The really sad part about documentaries like this is the constant political theme about the rich needing to support the poor by giving their wealth to the government...that people don't have a right to be extraordinarily wealthy because they use it to do harm to everyone else.  There are so many small concepts that get repeatedly stated until they seem to be a truth.  Money has a lot of problems in our societies, but the greater issue is the morality of our people... if someone is moral, they won't misuse their wealth or abuse people.  I tried to think of the reasons I didn't like this one, but the real problem is that its theme is more rhetoric to support the agenda of one political party.

We are a country in trouble, and there is no magic answer.  Human nature wants to "blame" someone - someone else! - so each side of a problem creates lists of things the other one should be doing differently.  The ordinary people have to deal with the results of this never-ending conflict of wills in government and business.

One example was a fast-food worker who said she brought home about $1200/month and then had to pay 900 dollars of that for her rent.  The real percentage of income for shelter (rent/mortgage and utilities) is 30%... so her rent should be no more than $360 a month... but the blame gets put on the corporation she works for because it is part of a big corporation... no mention is made that it is a franchise business, owned by a small person, and that even franchise operations from huge international corporations often struggle to get by. 

The worker was a cashier and assumed that the business made a lot of money because the cash drawer was full when she worked.  Her wages were stated to be 12.50 an hour, and at FT 40 hours a week with apx 4 weeks to a month her gross wages would be $2000.  So she pays taxes on her wages and her employer pays taxes on her wages.  Owners pay a lot of other expenses too...  all the cash in the sales drawer is not profit.  If you want to build a business, that also takes money.

At $12.50 an hour her wages were a lot higher than minimum wage.  In the film there was a segment showing a battle to get a higher minimum wage, up to $15/hour.  They won that battle in the film, but I don't remember if it was the same worker.

We have a lot of different problems in this economic issue... everyone is trying to survive, but sometimes it doesn't seem that way.  Another issue that was brought up was the overpayment of executive salaries.  This is a serious issue, but the responsible activists to change it are the shareholders of the companies... that is their job, their problem... that is why there are shareholder meetings, boards with members voted into the position of watching over the finances of the company, etc.  It isn't the government's job to regulate the wages of the businesses in America.

"Too big to fail" is a different issue... bailouts are another issue... and tax incentives are also another separate issue.  I was impressed by one comment shown about tax incentives for corporations, made by Bill Clinton... saying that companies have to make their decisions about salaries, but the government doesn't need to provide tax breaks to corporations just because they make bad decisions and overpay their executives.  I think the film was talking about the billions of dollars in tax incentives that corporations are given and also comparing some of the lower-waged worker salaries with the executive incentives that were allowed because of biased government legislation in their favor.

My solution to these issues, many of them, is to change the tax structure away from income.  I have shared about this before.  My idea is to get rid of all the taxes that exist, except ONE TAX that everyone pays :: a permanently limited sales tax that is shared by all three levels of the US government at 30% each, with the final 10% being allocated to international expenses.  What a change that would make in all of these controversies!  I think it would take a national action, like they did with the ERA, to make the government comply.  We all know that legislators won't reduce their money, their benefits, or their power unless they have to.  :-(

Pray I win the lottery!  :-)
I will get it started !!!

I have other ideas for government change, too...  but not here, not now...  check some of my other writings for them, or wait for the topics to come up again.  We know I will repeat them then.  :-)

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I was able to see a news program today... and was shocked to hear there is another huge fire in California, with lots of housing areas in jeopardy or already destroyed.  It is going to be a long week as the winds are still going to be fierce, spreading the flames for many more acres.  Nature doesn't play favorites... good people suffer in disasters.

The bigger issue is the added costs these disasters put on any budget... local, state, national.  There is no way to stop the costs, but if the money runs out, what will happen?

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I watch a business show as often as I can... it's called NBR (Nightly Business Report) on PBS.  They often share the value of money all over the world and it is based on the US Dollar ( I am pretty sure).  Our dollar doesn't have the value of a dollar anymore... it is steadily going down... it was about 92-94 cents the last times I watched.  I'm not sure how anyone figures these things out, but I know printing your own money whenever you think you need more, and operating on a debt basis, isn't fiscally sound.  When I discovered my Social Security payments are actually made like credit card charges, it changed my entire view of the soundness of the economy. 

I can see why the various governments are slowly changing their actions on many fronts because their finances are very strained.  I suspect that is why marijuana is becoming legal, and who knows what other detrimental decisions will be made because of the financial stresses within governments.  The long-term effects will one day become a greater burden than the immediate desire for increased tax incomes.

It is my hope and prayer that GOD will provide for Working Together and myself so I can create other options for the poor, and those who will soon become poor.  Social services depend on donations.  If there is no one to donate, what will we find when we are in desperate need.

Even big corporations depend on customers, people with enough money to purchase their products.  Stock wealth is just a current paper amount... it can change in one day... become worthless if there is an economic collapse.

I'm not sure how anyone can prepare for these things, but the housing bubble is just one recent example of how traditional responses are going to happen.  I kept saying that none of that had to happen -- the banks could have worked with the home owners, they didn't have to foreclose.  We need to find better ways to respond to things like that.  My issue is that I don't know how many of these decisions were forced by government regulations.

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See what happens when you watch documentaries!
Your world changes.
You become aware of things you don't normally think about.
They can force change in your life.

I stopped putting milk in my coffee today.
That is the first change I am making because of FORKS OVER KNIVES.

Watching SAVING CAPITALISM has renewed my financial quest to protect myself as best I can within my economic limite ations... building my 3-month food supply, saving an emergency fund, trying to be debt free, finding other ways to create income, and anything else I can accomplish.  It also makes me want to write more letters about changing the status quo.  I may go buy a lottery ticket, too -- hoping to win enough millions to start creating my own safety nets for the poor.

I better go for now.
I still have to make my post about WT's December Membership Drive.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May the GOD we know as Christians and Jews help us to be wise, to prepare for the future even as we trust Him for the details of the day, the possibilities of the future, and the souls of those we love.

May we all see the importance of morality on our world, how deeply it affects every area of our lives, and how different life is when evil reigns.  We can't force morality within others, we can only decide to honor it in ourselves.

May our lives be blessed by GOD so that we can provide for others.  Amen.

Tuesday, 28 November 2017

The weather is very wet outside today... not much in the way of dry spots.  The kitty (cat) that lives here has been feeling bad since yesterday.  Not eating. Not moving around well.  Was throwing up yesterday, but today it just moans loudly, lays still (sitting in the rain for hours in the same spot!), and now is resting under my bed... I hope she is feeling better there.  I couldn't stand her just sitting in the rainy spot looking like she was in pain, so I brought her back in two or three times.  I'm keeping her in for now.  I tried feeding her the cat treats, which she loves, but she wouldn't have anything to do with them.

I got suddenly ill yesterday myself... thought I ate some bad food.  So far today, the food item I suspected hasn't made me ill again... so, I don't know what it was.  When I had my second son I discovered what bad dairy can do to you... in an instant!  It is not fun.  I have read that changing to a high-fiber diet suddenly can cause problems with your bowels, too.   I'm trying to get my diet under control now... planning my meals to get the food an old body like mine can take.  Becoming a senior citizen also changes your body's ability to process food.

We think we can do what we want to our bodies and they will still treat us well.  It's not true.  Our lifestyles, our food choices, the food that we are being provided (GMO's, etc.), they all contribute to our health or illnesses.  I suppose exercise and clean air should be in there somewhere... and clean water.

I happened to catch the end of an update report about Flint, Michigan, and their water systems.  The part I remember, and have saved in my memories, is the woman at the end who stated that the poor were not considered worthy of the government's concern, so they were left uninformed about the lead dangers for over a year (I think that was the time mentioned).  The poor, the elderly, the kids who have no one... these are the victims of so many government tragedies.  The Bible tells us that the rich will mistreat the poor... it seems to be in the nature of humanity without GOD.  Sometimes Christians hurt others when money is concerned, but not as often as those without GOD.

The local water system is beginning to have problems with pollution... germs, poisons, something that doesn't belong in it.  The call it Bull Run here, but it is a river that once ran clear.  Maybe it was the poisons that come from animal feces (poop)... I'm not sure.  You really can't control everything.  Once a water source is compromised, it is a "poisoned well" and will not be able to be "pristine" again.  Out water treatment plants (everywhere) are having lots of problems with the things that we get rid of... from makeup sources, medicines, trash...  I think fracking is going to be a huge problem one of these days...  we have no idea where all the water table go... if they all come from one deep source, etc. 

I have developed my own mantra about survival on planet earth... air, water, food... these are the three things we REQUIRE just to stay alive.  I read something about how long you can survive without them... you can see their importance by the order I put them in.  Pollution is more than a government issue, it is a survival issue... and it includes our oceans (water and food sources), and rivers.  Oregon has laws that say the water sources all belong to the government.  I have been trying to figure out how that will work out in a survival catastrophe. 

Hiking people have some great water purifiers for backpackers... I have wanted to try them but I can't afford them.  Someday, if I get them and try them out, I will probably blog on them, or maybe do a video by then!  :-)

I can see my senior years online...  even when I am fully homebound... even bedridden.  God willing, I will be active until He calls me home.

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Yesterday I finally was able to buy a 6-cube shelf unit for my crafting supplies/organization.  I put it together and am in the process of deciding what to store in the cubes... each approximately one foot by one foot.  The dollar store has some cloth baskets, so I will be checking to see if they will fit.  It will add some storage options to the top shelf, too.  The middle cubes are hard to get to, so they have to hold things I won't need all the time... not sure what that could be.  I am glad to have the shelf, it changes the entire work table.

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My poor little wreath still doesn't smell like a forest, so it will be going to the yard debris pile and I will be looking for an evergreen tree that has a Christmas tree smell!  It is quite an awakening to find that every tree that looks like a Christmas tree doesn't smell like a Christmas tree!  :-)  Now I know how I want to construct the next one, so it will look much better.  I am trying to decide on the decorations I want after I get the wreath put together.

I'm turning 65 and this is my first wreath... there's always room to grow, right!  :-)  hahahahaha

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No word from Jeff Bezos...  yet.  :-)

I haven't checked anything today either... no email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  I tried to earlier, but the reception seems to be fickled here.  It's going to take me hours to go through my emails... yuk!

I also never got to the local county offices about the low-income housing issue.

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Well... have to get going... lots to get done still.
I do hope your days are going well, and that your Christmas is beginning to make you smile.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May the GOD of all that exists bless some of us with its bounty, help us to share it with the needy, and make us all better people.
May our hearts be filled with goodness, kindness, joy, love, happiness, fun, patience, and time for those we love.
May our wallets survive the holidays.  :-)
May we find one good, achievable, goal for 2018.
May our life never stop becoming more than we are today.
May we meet in heaven one day.
Amen.