Our reason for being alive.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Future.

 

I guess prayer is on my mind.

This is a statement I made designs for many years ago. This design is from my Canva account.  I want to make more designs for this statement because it is an important thought.

It is about how GOD knows what we will be in the future, our value in His eyes, our place in His Plan, our meaning in this life.

Poverty and homelessness seem to make people into "less than" human beings.  Addictions, too.  I suppose a lot of things lead us to be judged as less than society would like us to be.  They don't tell what we might become one day. 

Money is a big reason some are not considered as good as others.  The Bible tells us we must choose between GOD and Money.  And I can see how all of our choices end up at this fork in the road.  As our survival needs get more serious, the value of money will rise in our minds.  

I listened to a State of the County speech tonight.  Where I live is one of the over 50 cities in the US that is living beyond its means.  I shared that in my last post, I think.  So, I made a point to listen to it. 

I didn't hear anything about the dangerous money issues we face, only about all the programs that are desired and in progress. Lots of general thoughts and praises for those involved.  None of these things tell me if the government is going to survive, or how.  And what will happen to all the people who live here? 

I digress. 

I guess the idea is that GOD knows our value before we do.  

My life has been involved in so many of the issues we hear are less than, but I am glad that I have lived.  Even though it has been a hard life, that others think I have no value, that my life was a mistake.

In GOD's eyes, I have a purpose.  

I pray for the souls of others.  This is another place where what we see now is not what we could become in the future.

Unborn children are also painted in words that give them no meaning, no purpose, no right to live.  We don't know what their future could become, but GOD does.

I filled my garden containers with soil today, and then planted the veggies I want to grow.  I hope I will have a good harvest, but I don't know if I will.

Life is filled with a lot of plans, goals, struggles, happiness, misery and joy.  I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but God does.  

FAITH :: The power of Money in our lives.

I hate to say it, but I went to bed so tired and fighting off a headache, forgetting it was SATURDAY, and my new posting date for this blog.  So sorry.  I will get the hang of this!  :-)

I have been watching old movies this weekend.

I finally watched a Shirley Temple movie again... Poor Little Rich Girl.  I had no idea it was suppose to be about Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth heiress.  I searched for some info on her as I was linking around and she had the saddest (and richest) life for her day.  The Shirley Temple movie wasn't about that... so I don't know if it was really linked to her. 

Barbara Hutton's mother died when she was 4, and her father abandoned her.  She was passed around and never loved by anyone... throughout her entire life it seems.  She was married at least seven times and died alone in a major hotel where she lived at the end of her life, virtually broke.  One comment made about her was the waste of her money on things that had no meaning, how her life could have been so different if she would have found a passion in some form of community service.

It was such a study in wealth for me.  I really had no idea she existed before the other night.

I am having a hard time thinking of what else to share since I brought up that topic.  Money is the biggest distraction we have from faith in GOD and salvation and values that bring us happiness.

The Bible tells us the biggest choices we have is between GOD and money.

As I have struggled with poverty, I have seen different parts of the battle and why money has such power.  It becomes a tool of Satan in the Christian community as well... in churches, in ministries, in fame, in power, in the hidden pride of what it means as we think it's GOD's approval for our lives.

I created a statement to keep me focused on the right side of this war ::

Money is a weapon or a tool. 

A weapon to hurt, or a tool to help.

It's hard to be without it.

It's a burden when you have too much.

Finding the right place for money in our lives can be the biggest challenge we face.

Well, it's time to finish this.  I will try to do better next Saturday.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...

12MAR - Marketing to find ONE MILLION supporters!

I actually spent $10 to buy a marketing ebook I saw on Etsy … yesterday, I think.  Time is so crowded I have a hard time remembering what I did on what day without my notes!  After downloading it and browsing the Table of Contents, I decided to see the Appendix topics, starting with building email lists.

That is one of my current challenges... how to do it, where to share the links to have people sign up, etc.  In reading some of the instructions, I realized I might just need my MailChimp (.com) account to do the "landing pages" I have read about elsewhere... big help!  I was trying to figure out how to make one! Soon I will head over to MailChimp and see what I can find.

The big problem was there was no publication date, and the shop was pretty deserted since 2018 or 2019, and the blog link had a top year of 2012!!!   So I left a message at the Etsy shop and will wait to hear back.  Knowing when something is written helps you to interpret the writing... if it is still useable.

ONE section shared the definition of "vulnerable" -- and that was very moving to me.  I would never have looked up the word myself, so finding this section was worth the book to me.  Her definition came by way of  dictionary.com (I search words now but I think it is still available).  Here are the three parts of the definition she shared ::

-- capable of or susceptible to being wounded or hurt, as by a weapon
-- open to moral attack, criticism, temptation, etc.
-- (of a place) open to assault; difficult to defend

It meant so much to me because of Working Together, the business-ministry I have tried to build for Christians in the End Times.  It meant so much to me because of all I have endured for some years.  It meant so much to me because our world is becoming more angry, more violent, more criminal, more unfeeling, more focused on "me" and money and whatever it takes to get "mine."  Some of the news stories I have been reading make me cringe...I can't imagine some of the things people are doing to each other, innocent kids, elderly people, people with disabilities, and more.

Right now I can't recall what she compared it to, but it may have been how vulnerable we are when we try to market our dreams to the world.   This section was on page 100, according to my notes.  The book is called "Marketing Playbook" and it is written by Lisa Jacobs.  --  It looks like it was published in 2017, found on a page when I was looking for her Etsy shop name.  :-)  I think you should be able to find her shop by searching her name at Etsy.

I still need to read the main chapters, but my mind is find ideas on how to reach that many people over this year.  It is such a huge idea, but I know others seem to do it.  I may not be worth all that attention, but I will still see what I can do.  I will try to read more over the weekend and find some ideas that will work for me.

I almost bought another older book about reaching people for support, but I need to read this one first... time is so full I hardly find time to read at all... well, important things, I guess.

I am finding the need for DESIGN software is becoming more critical.  It takes time to learn any program.  I worked in MAC when I first started using computers, at a college I went to. Then Microsoft took over my activities with creating things.  I have spent a long time now learning Open Office, mostly the spreadsheet option.  I think learning ADOBE may be the next step.  It seems to be necessary for all, or almost all, of my designing goals.  The "vector" image I have learned about recently is the one I have been needing for so many years... I think, I hope, I need to find out!  I will need to make a decision about that soon.

I made a design at Printful on a 6-12 month onesie to see what I could do for the baby clothes goals I am working on.  It is due to arrive tomorrow.  Here is the mockup of the design I made.  I hope it turns out the way I created it.

That's the best image I have so far. try to click on it to see if it gets larger for you.  I can't do that here.

I am trying to use the PRINTFUL design option and find a way to make it work for me better.  So far, text is the easiest tool to use, but it has great limitations. I tried one of their clip-art hearts here.

I want to find a way to create ONE design that can be placed on lots of different products.... it seems that vector images is that path.

In other moments I have continued my efforts to organize my notebooks and recordkeeping.  I am getting that done.  It's my effort to have my goals for review each day, my records of what I have to do and what I get done, my costs, my budget and how well I keep to it (or not)  --  I guess these are part of the whole year's learning curve.

My new Patreon tiers have helped me to find the place to put my goals... big goals and small goals.  I hope to achieve these and move into more of the things I have tried to accomplish all my life.  If  GOD  allows, I hope to reach a point where my "Bucket List" items are also checked off, maybe shared with my Patrons, and others.

Well, my head is full of things I am want to do and don't want to share with you yet. Pray for me. Help me to become who GOD made me to be.  Be a part of my efforts to save as many vulnerable people as possible.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

work2gather.us
patreon.com/DebsRetirementPlan
etsy.com/shop/work2gather

and more
getting updated every week
hoping to catch up with this BIG Challenge  :-)