Monday, 6 November 2017

My goodness... what a weekend.

Just a bit ago I started reading about Patreon as a funding source.  I get email newsletters from someone that has a Patreon account and is building up to $1000/month income for her goals.  I followed the link she has at the bottom of her email to see what her page was like.  Then I linked to some of the Patreon information to find out how it is done.  The examples ranged from over 35K a month and I think one was over 85K a month (for someone with over 5 million YouTube followers.  I am amazed.

I have occasionally seen some Tiny Home traveling videos with Patreon supporters... but never really checked on it until now.  This is a long-term and serious form of support... without a lot of the hassles of crowdfunding... the ones I have discovered so far.  These seem to be online delivery efforts, too... podcasts, videos, animations, etc.  I am assuming there are artists in there somewhere.  I am wondering if it would be an option for me.

If you know anything about Patreon firsthand, share it with me in the comments.  I haven't decided what funding route to go in yet, so this will take a bit of time.  Again, there is a video requirement... so that is a problem with me so far.  I am working on it, and plan to learn the other forms of sharing listed above, but it is a bit in the future still.

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I heard more on tax reforms (proposed tax reforms) in the news today.  I got angry again about the topic.  It really irritates me that the government thinks our money is really their money. 

I remember now, it was a report on leaked off-shore account holders, which included the Queen of England and Madonna, but the liberal democrat-focused media only wanted to fry someone in the Republican trenches that had the vaguest association with a Russian business through a fund of some kind... I think it was a mutual fund that has stocks in multiple companies, but it wasn't really clear.

Our nation is nearly on life-support and the media only cares about the Democratic agenda.

It was the commentary about lost taxes that created my comment on the government above.  They think any money made by any American is rightfully theirs, income they deserve to have just because a corporation or wealthy individual possesses it.  When there is talk about tax reform, the Democrats talk in terms of lost taxes, loopholes they would also take advantage of but only highlighted because there are Republicans involved.  Taxes are too HIGH, they are unreasonable, they need to be reduced to a level that would be fair for everyone... including the wealthy, who have EARNED their money the same way others can (if it has been done honestly). 

Every day I grow more and more adamant that the maximum tax the government should have of anyone's money is ten percent, which needs to be divided to cover all our tax categories... federal at 3%, state at 3%, county at 3%, and international at 1%.  Sales taxes are the only tax we need, and it will cover everyone at the same level... the poor will pay less, the rich will pay more.  If we get rid of income and property taxes, estate taxes, and all the other taxes that have been created to build up the government budgets, we will also have less labor costs for government employees, less overhead for government offices, etc.  The government will have to budget, change their high salaries into minimum wage earnings, have everyone on the same government medical plan, open social security to the general public, create revolving loan funds instead of loan guarantees, become part of the process so they don't make ridiculous regulations that can't be enforced, implemented, or productive.... and the changes go on and on and on.

We have to change this system if we want to survive and thrive, be great again...be America.

I guess that had to be said.  It does so little good.

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Every death is a tragedy, someone loses the rest of their lives, people lose the ones they love... and big media tragedies are manipulated into political causes.  I have, so far, cried every time I see the news about the church shooting from Sunday.  It has been turned into gun-control and domestic violence, religious persecution, and/or mental health funding...another "worst" for America... added to the international carnage that we keep seeing.

People are suffering all over the world.

Why are they killing themselves, killing others, filled with anger and hate, demanding that the world believe their form of truth "or else"... and innocent people are the victims.  We thing money will solve every problem... raise taxes so we can offer more funding... but it never seems to work out that way.  The problems get worse, and no amount of money would be enough.

Our lives have no foundation to stand on...no moral compass, as they say.  Getting rid of God leaves a vacuum just like getting rid of a brutal dictator leaves a political vacuum that can be filled with someone much worse.  The absence of God means the increase of Satan.  I can't find one good thing about Satan in the Bible, or his followers.  Why do people want him in charge?  I sure don't know.

One family lost so many of its people...children, mothers, fathers, unborn babies... the father was left and two daughters were left.  Losing so much of their close-knit group will change their lives forever.  Will the media be there to discover the results in 10 years, or maybe we will have to relive this moment every year. 

I still want to cry.  I can't even imagine the pain that is being processed as we continue with our lives.

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Life is like a river...no matter what happens, it just keeps going.

I wonder what tomorrow will hold for the rest of us.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May God touch the hearts and lives of those who are hurting tonight, not just in a small town after a mass shooting, but in every place they live... big cities, small cities, homeless, in mansions, with jobs, without jobs, lonely or with tons of people around them.  May God comfort them with blessings that can only be from Him... and the awareness of His Love for them.  May we all remember that hard times are part of every life and they go away, we just have to hang on, trust God, and keep going.

May time heal the scars we carry from the tragedies we have faced.
May joy find its way into our hardened hearts and busy lives.
May we find a way to cope with all the misery we discover every day.
May our hearts be able to stand the strain, and stay warm, be able to keep loving, not see fear at every turn.
May we share what we can with those who have less than we do.
May we seek to find better answers for the things we can change... and try them.
May our priorities be humanity, life, sharing, giving, loving, lifting others up, being real, truth, compassion, time....
Help us to all find a new purpose in our life that helps the world become a better place.
Amen.

Thursday, 2 November 2017

I would like to ramble on about the tax issues in America, and the problems with both the, all the parties, but I won't... not today, anyway.

There was a lot of concern over the change in the leadership of the Federal Reserve today.  I keep wondering who profits with this low interest.  I keep trying to understand how inflation has a bearing on the level of interest the FR decides on.  I keep wondering how we are going to find a way out of this money pit we have dug for ourselves.

Yes, I am part of the problem, but not because I want to be.  Welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, now Medicare affordability issues.  It wasn't the life I planned.  I kept trying to find a way out of it.  If it wasn't available, our situation would have been worse.  I keep looking for better solutions from my perspective, and people in charge of the process, in Washington (DC) and elsewhere, are looking for ways to end poverty programs.  Everyone has a part of the picture, but no one sees the whole puzzle.

That may be why puzzles are so big on my list of favorite things... relating them to the parts of an issue.  I recently bought a silicone version of a puzzle to see what I could do with it!!!

One of the speakers in one of the news reports I was listening to today said that very same thing... that each affected group will be attacking Washington legislators to defend and keep their particular special interest item.  It's always like that.  No one seems to care about the whole of America, what is right and wrong, what principles need to be encouraged, who needs help and how to get it to them, etc.

Naturally, I have my own view in that mix.

I keep wondering if I am really a special interest group of one.

Do I just want poverty programs, do I want a balance that will help as many as possible, or do I only see my needs... I don't know.

I have written about my views, given my suggestions, tried to reach that "someone" who would be able to do what I can't afford to do... in my income level you are just a victim of everyone else's decisions.

My ONE TAX proposal is an example of what I think is fair, right, necessary, important in our tax issues. 

When I saw the new proposal for tax levels, heard again the "soak the rich" argument, listened to the party arguments for and against the changes, I got angry.  This is not what our country was created to be.  The government needs money to operate, but how much is enough?!   We are all citizens of this country, we need a tax that is paid by everyone, at the level of their wealth, but fairly.  When did we decide the rich are more responsible for the survival of the country than everyone else?

I guess I did run into my tax anger anyway.

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Christmas Bazaars start in November... the first one I can get to is this weekend.  I may go.  I hate the rainy weather these days, so I avoid it when I can.  I lost my wonderful raincoat one day and haven't replaced it.  I want to check them out this year as part of my plan to sell in the future.  I am looking for one Christian venue and one community venue.

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I keep seeing these Facebook posts about people making thousands of dollars selling things... drop-shipping, I think.  I have no idea how I can find a product or products to drop-ship, but it is definitely on my list.  I am trying to pick up the process a little at a time as I go along with all the other selling options.  One of these days it will all come together and produce income for me and for WT.  Right now I just keep trying to find the way I can reach that goal.

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I didn't get as busy as I wanted to today.  :-)   I decided to re-polish my fingernails and that turned into a nightmare!  I will be getting to all those things this weekend.

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Time to get going.
Until next time,

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

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May God be kind to me... and help me to reach the goals I have been working toward.  :-)
May this weekend be filled with good things for all of us.
May our lives be better than they were.
May the mercy of God, the love of Christ, and the salvation of souls be plentiful.
May our lives be our own.
May time show us the wisdom of biblical principles.
May life be filled with goodness and joy and peace and all happiness.
May we find our purpose in this life.
May heaven be the place we meet.
May God provide what we need.
May we need only those things that are important.
May our values be true.
May we make the right choices.
Amen.

Wednesday, 1 November 2017

Wednesday...
I stayed home today, from my favorite sale at the Salvation Army, because I really didn't have money to spend. 

I have been working on my "still left to buy" list since last weekend.  It keeps getting larger and larger.  I don't think I can get all of it, so I am making a list in priority order now.  I have to get to the store for some things that I am out of, so I want to get as much of my shopping done as possible.  Less trips, less spending.  That is the plan, anyway.

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I happened to listen to Georgene Rice on KPDQ (.com, I think) radio today as she updated the status of microchips being put into human bodies.  We know that it is coming to the human population because they already put it in our pets.  I did hear her say that the technology isn't capable of processing every part of our lives yet, but it won't take long to develop it.  Technology is doubling, tripling, and more as we speak... something like that.  The innovation is coming faster than ever before.  The Mark of the Beast is near.

You should be able to find her programs online...

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The rains have started here again.  I was busy today with raking clean paths for me to walk, sweeping the porch by my room (and upper deck) to get rid dangerous wet leaves, before they happened.  I tried to make a safe and warm and water resistant pet bed for the cat.  We'll see how it went in the morning.  It's her comfort zone outside.  The upper deck leaks water like a shower, so nothing is dry down on the porch here... where her bed has to be.  I have it outside my window to keep an eye on her, when I can.  I think she likes the cardboard box up high on a table, she sometimes sits and watches from her perch.  I am thinking a small dog house might be the solution for this cat home in the rain problem... I have to go see what they look like... somewhere.

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I missed my shower today... aren't you glad to know that?!  :-)   Sometimes I just get busy with my household stuff and don't get around to it.  I don't think I sweat enough to make it a serious issue.  I think my small world will survive when I let it gooooooooo a day or two or three.  (I always refer to the fact I heard about soldiers in WWII... some of them didn't shower for 6 months or more!  --  They survived.)

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I also burned my popcorn today... what a mess.  It still stinks.
The smoke alarm should have gone off... It didn't.
It checks fine.  I guess it takes more smoke than I thought it would.
I always expect them to be sensitive like other ones I have had to deal with, ones that go off for steam clouds.

I made more popcorn later on... twice.
I wanted to make sure it didn't harm my popcorn courage.  :-)

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Tomorrow is expected to be a busy day.  I will let you know how it turns out.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May God be with you as you seek Him, and bless your efforts to find His Will for your life.
May the world be better than it is.
May we find a way to stay kind in the midst of growing problems.
May our hearts be filled with love, and joy, and happiness.
May time be our friend, help us to heal from our hurts and overcome our pains.
May the Bible be protected from any who want to violate it.
May our lives be focused on God, on goodness, on becoming better.
May God provide what we need.
Amen.