31 August 2017

The last day of August is here... soon it will be September, Labor Day, school for everyone, fall weather will get here, and Christmas will be even nearer than it is!!!  :-) 

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I discovered that the Carleton Sheets VHS tape I was hoping had chapters 1-10 on it actually has chapters in the format!!  Yes!  I rewound the six hour tape at chapter 4, when I put it in the player.  After the intro, he started with chapter 1.  I am hopeful all the missing parts may be on this tape.

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I started my viewing with the Career Track tape I got on interviewing.  I discovered it is volume 1 of 3, I think.  This one has some interesting viewpoints on it, for me especially, since I have never done any interviews for hiring... yet!  :-)  At the end the presenter shares some of the problems with resume claims.  I am warned.

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This morning I made the first batch of salt dough to try out in some of my molds.  It will take some days to air dry.  I don't know if it will come out of the molds yet...  I tried a small bit of some clay colored air dry medium from the stores, to see what it does.  Tomorrow I may be able to mix up a batch of the cornstarch recipe I have and see how it works.  And I need to bake some of the FIMO shapes I am working on.

I have worked with salt dough in the distant past, but now it is more important.  I want to eventually get one of the smaller kilns and do real clay!   It's been on my list ever since I discovered they exist... for only about $400 or so.  The issue for me is not just purchasing the small kiln, I need a space to use it and money for the electricity.  Plus I will need all the supplies for real clay work.

I will discover these other forms of clay while I wait to get there.

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I haven't seen any news today so I don't know what is happening with the hurricane aftermath.  I can't take too much suffering, so I wouldn't want to watch it continually.  It helps me to see small parts of the disaster process to know the possible problems it causes, and what people need after a disaster.  I once wanted to train in disaster relief, after Hurricane Katrina I think.  I couldn't afford to get there, but would have gone if I could have.  It has always been a desire of mine to fund people like me when God provides the finances for Working Together.  The ones who can go, who have the time and heart for it, don't always have the money.  It is a good thing to figure out... and came from my plans for other Christian approaches to things.

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My thoughts on the things of GOD today were moved by my current life... not something I am ready to share yet.

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Today I received my official Medicare packet from the government, telling me the forced participation is currently at $134 in 2017.  I hope I qualify for the "subsidy" for people with incomes too low to make that kind of payment...  I have to find out.  I was shocked when I read the booklet that comes with the notification that I am automatically signed up and the costs will automatically be deducted from my retirement payment and that I will forever pay a fine if I don't sign up.  Is that a monopoly?  Is that from Obamacare, or has it always been that way?  I really don't know... I am just discovering the world of Medicare.

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In the senior newspaper I read an article about end of life desires.  No info on how to do it, or where to register it so my desires are actually recorded, but now I know the name of the thing, the form required, so I can search for it on the internet and see what to do.  The article said someone wanted to have a tatoo put on his 92-year-old chest saying "Do not resusitate" and the doctor who was writing said it wouldn't do any good... emergency responders have to make the effort to save you, the hospital can let you die.

In my own thoughts about the matter, long before today's article, I considered a medical alert bracelet that had the message on it.  I guess they would not be legal either.

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I think I will go and watch one of the shorter videos about buying my own house...  then I could rent out a room and be able to pay my Medicare bill.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May God and all His angels watch over those in need, the weak, the fragile, the struggling, the abused, the homeless, the lost, the elderly... anyone who needs His help to make it to another day.  May our hearts be kind and filled with love for those who are around us, for our neighbors and strangers, for people in church and people in our house, for those with no one and those who are in big families that are too busy to notice them...   There are needs all around us.  May GOD help us to see them, and be a part of changing the way we live as a society.  Amen.

30 August 2017

I made it to my favorite sale today... the local Salvation Army 50% off sale at their thrift store/s.  I can only go to one, so I don't know what happens everywhere else. 

Some of the shelves were bare in my favorite kitchen aisles, but I found lots of great things to buy.  I discovered several more of the Carleton Sheets seminar tapes (VHS) from the later 1990's and early 2000's.  These are all based on his No Money Down purchases of real estate.  I should be able to find some great ideas and possibilities in these.

I have been trying to compare him to someone current, but I don't think there is anyone.  He wasn't the same as the Fixer Upper programs now, but the premise is the same... to fix properties up... buy low, sell high, make money to buy more properties.

The last time I went to the thrift store sale, I found three of his tapes.  Two of them have chapters 11 to 24 of the book they are based on.  I hope I found the first ten chapters today.  I also found three supplemental tapes.  I will be busy for awhile.

I was very happy to find a book by Pastor Cho of South Korea... about his affiliation with the Full Gospel Businessman's Fellowship.  I am fond of both ministries.  I am looking forward to reading this book over the next several weeks.  Pastor Cho's church there is the creator of Prayer Mountain.  They are a huge church, but they meet in homes a lot.  I think they made a big building to meet in, but I don't remember all the details right now.  I remember being very impressed by what I read they were doing.

I found a bunch of great treasures today, but I don't want to go through each of them.  It's been a long day and I am tired from it.  I worked on my recordkeeping after I got home.  My budget is still OK even though I spent more than I wanted to.  I left some nice pans before I went to the book department... my weakness.  I think I bought 7 books and 6 VHS tapes!  More than I normally do.

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Later tonight I discovered the movie Armageddon on TV so I decided to watch it while I ate some popcorn and rested.  I didn't think the film was named well... the word was defined as "the end of all things" and that is true.  My understanding is that the biblical Armageddon is a real battle on the ground, not an asteroid threatening to destroy the planet.  I didn't watch the whole thing... it got to be too much for me.

Hollywood has interesting ways of maligning God and the Bible...  if you don't know what Christianity is really about, you wouldn't know the details are wrong.  So, people hate God because they don't really know what the Bible says.

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Well, this will have to do for today.
I hope to find a better schedule for my blogging... late nights are not good... who can think at this time of night!
I like the idea of Journaling, just not sure how I want to do that.
Bear with me... by the end of the year I will have this figured out.  :-)

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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Thank you, Lord, for the treasures I found today, for the ability to buy them, for the ability to read, to see, to understand them.  Help me to put them all to good use, helping others, helping myself.  Amen.

29 August 2017

Seen some of the news on Hurricane Harvey aftermath... cried a lot.  I don't do well seeing people suffering like that... so many of my own memories come back.  I know how hard it can be to lose everything you own, no matter how much or little that might be.

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I started some of my crafting projects and have a list of supplies I need to get when I reach a store.  It feels so great to finally have a space to work in... and supplies to get some of it done.  I need to work out project storage for things that take longer than one sitting to complete... with painting stages, drying stages, selling stages.  It's getting there.

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It's hard to write about nothing important when I just finished watching the news.  The twelfth anniversary of Katrina is today, and the area where people suffered then is in danger again.  I don't think anyone can understand the depth of pain it causes just to be in danger of a repeat performance, the thought of recovering again, the need to replace so many things you own... except those who have been through it. 

One day at a time... it is the only way to get through it, hanging on until you can see a new future.

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I guess that is what Faith is... hanging on until you can see a new future, knowing that GOD is on the other side of your pain, making the reasons clear or the sorrow meaningful for someone else you haven't met yet.

In our loss, in repeated loss, we discover what matters. 

It isn't easy to lose your special treasures, your memorabilia, your photos, but we survive.  We remember what is most important, and maybe we can replace some of the reminders we kept the first time around.

I keep trying to think of some connection with the Bible right now, but I can't.  Christians take verses about pain and hope they will comfort the suffering, remind them of God's bigger truths... but they always seem so meaningless in the middle of a disaster.  If you need food, only food matters.  If you need to be warm, finding a safe shelter is all that matters.  Later, when the adrenelin isn't what keeps you going, you can think better.

I tend to see all these things when I see others suffer... and hurt for them... wishing I could do more, maybe take away their pain, make it better.  We grow through our suffering, so it isn't always the answer to take it away.  Finding that special balance is the hardest part of wisdom, of faith, of mercy, of charity... trusting GOD when we can't do anything is how we have to live.  Doing better in the future is how we go forward... like my food pantry efforts... trying to get away from crisis mode every month, having just a little ahead, enough to get through a hard place, and enough to share if it is needed.

I had a real big moment when I discovered, when I realized, that the suffering in our world keeps all of us human.  I say that it keeps mercy and compassion alive in our world.  We would be a tough place to live without our hearts being tender toward those who are around us... close to us more than far away from us.  The homeless on the street corners need to survive as much as the victim of a hurricane or tornado.  But we see them every day, they are always there, and they never get over their need... so giving to a big crisis is easier, more fulfilling, more gratifying... we just assume our help will make everything better even if we never see it.

No one can do everything for everybody, so measuring our hearts by how many suffering people are nearby won't solve anything either.  The Bible does say that the poor will always be with us... poverty, and all its related issues, will never be "eradicated."  If we all do as much as we can, the world will be better off, and we will be better people.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May the GOD that I love shower mercy on those who discover a life-changing need in this disaster.  May He find a way to protect the vulnerable and struggling, to replace the things we all need to make us feel whole and secure... shelter, food, our loved ones... transportation, work, safety, medication, money, time, comfort, hope.  May our country find a way to prepare for the events we call "acts of God" so that they will always have a way to help those in need... every year, every season, every day.  May the love that sometimes seems to be gone from our national heart find a way to grow again, to accept our humanity, our sameness, our uniqueness, our dreams, our special benefits to the greater nation.  May we see the ability to change, in all of us.  Amen.