8 JAN 2015 :: Wealth in the Kingdom of GOD

I have the computer on, and feel a bit decent, so I will enter today's post. Not much has changed since about 11:30 pm last night, but we continue on doing the best we can (myself, mostly).

I entered a Bible verse at the Etsy ChitChat thread I started in the forums awhile back. This morning I was in Matthew 5:11-12 KJV.  In my commentary I referred to the blessings and rewards we hear so much about as Christians.  --  Those of us who don't get a lot of material blessings in our lives sometimes think that it is something we have done.  I mentioned that I think our provisions in this world are directly linked to the place we have in GOD's Kingdom... in the plans He has for our individual lives.  If we don't have a task to do in the larger world that requires great wealth, then we don't need it...and won't get it.  We may get blessings in other areas of our lives...and not realize that we have them.

One time when I was reading in Job, I discovered that Job was taking care of ALL the widows and fatherless in his community... that was quite a moment for me.  I thought it was probably one of the reasons he was so blessed. I have never really seen or heard any references to this in all the sermons I have heard about Job. 

As a long-time poor person, single parent to three, and government dependent, I have had encounters with the organized church because of my poverty and need. The ongoing hardships of being a child without a father, a mother without a mate, are repetitive.  The organized church likes to help, but only in temporary chunks... no matter what the problems is. Statistics and fundraising are a problem in the church as much as they are in the world.  It sounds better to help 12 different people or families than it does to help one person or family 12 times.   :-(

It has been one of my arguments with the Pro-Life movement that a child isn't saved just once, in the womb. A child needs to become a permanent part of our future efforts... throughout its entire life. The same burdens that make a woman fear the birth of a child also continue throughout its life, and the lack of a permanent connection can cause more problems down the line...after the local pro-life office has forgotten someone. 

Now we need to create permanent resource links for our own...for the saved...the Christian in our community who may or may not be a part of our particular church.  As the End Times continue, and get worse, the needs will increase.  There are no resources being set up to meet the needs of Body of Christ before the Antichrist is revealed.  Jobs, Houses, Food, Transportation, and a zillion small things we don't realize we need until they aren't there.  Who will stand in the gap for us as we become the persecuted, the ones without food, shelter, clothes, cars, computers, money... Christians have given to their churches and their communities since they have existed. Who will give to them in their need?

I formed Working Together to try to meet some of these challenges, but every community will have to be the first step to the people that belong to them.  Working Together was meant to be a last step, using membership and CORD listings to keep track of the process.  I'm not sure how much I can get done before I leave this world, but the needs will continue long past me... I hope.

Right now I am trying to update my website for 2015. I want to make a printable form that you can send in, and need to add the new PAYPAL link for online payments.  I hope you will join WT... it will help me to create the resource links we all will need as times change.

Maybe I better get that done this weekend.  Pray I feel well enough to do that.  Thanks.


7 JAN 2015 :: Moving Forward

Getting back into the process of goals is a challenge when you don't feel well, but my lists are getting checked off, a little at a time.

Today was a day to get some supplies... not as many as I would have liked, but as many as I could. One of the challenges of poverty is budgeting the little you have to achieve the dreams you have.

I have already used my limited gift funds to purchase tickets for public transportation. I can't walk like I use to, and often don't have the health to travel. Without tickets or money, I'm not able to go anywhere.

I also decided to continue my goal notebook with notebook paper to save on printer ink. I purchased another packet of paper and will be deciding whether I want to continue in that directions.  I want to create a process for inmates to keep track of their goals, so notebook paper would be a better option for them.

I found a planning calendar at a dollar store. It will work with my goals notebook and be a new effort to keep track of the year.

Today, I added to my supplies. 
  • My shop goal for etsy.com/shop/work2gather is a $5/month budget. This will allow me to create 25 new sales listings at my shop for the month of January. I'm not sure how I will accomplish this goal, but I am heading in that direction.
  • Computers are essential in our day. I have limited equipment and struggle to create within the boundaries they cause.  Keeping supplied with printer ink is a challenge.  My Christmas funds allowed me to get some ink for my printer, both black and colors.
  • I am slowly working out the shipping process for online sales. Today I was able to purchase some envelopes for mailing purchased items... not too many, but a start.
  • Creating jewelry and other items with beads is part of my creative goals. I didn't find all that I want to get, but I was able to get some supplies for a special recycled jewelry project I am working on.  I also found a couple beading needles I want for special projects, but have to find a better place to get my supplies in the future.
  • For my art efforts, I was able to buy a large matboard to photograph my art and designs with for my listings.  I have been collecting a variety of sizes for different projects.
The activity of doing errands and shopping for supplies was too much for me so I rested for quite awhile after I returned home. Now I am trying to finish my daily list of things to get done. I'm not sure I will make it by midnight, but maybe.  :-)  I guess it is better to have a deadline, but I need a better way to do this.  I'm working on that process, too!

Goals are very hard to accomplish when there are boundaries and limitations to what you can achieve... whether they are financial, physical, moral, educational, or other areas of life. I don't know that "success" is achievement at any cost, and each person has a different idea of what "success" is. I hope my efforts this time will be blessed by GOD and provide the things I need to live and work and continue until it is my time to leave this earth.

Tomorrow I will begin working on that special recycling project. If it turns out well, I will list it at my shop.  Then continue with other creative efforts I want to list for sale.  I have 25 items to get done by the end of the month...

6 JAN 2015 :: A Few More Words

I am up to take some medicine and want to add a few words more...

It is hard to function when you are ill... so I do what I can and leave the rest to GOD.


Social Media is still a challenge.  I can't get my goals to fit into the ones I know so far.  So I am looking for other ways to connect and share.   If you have any ideas, let me know.

Congress is in the news again... we are all wondering how the Republicans will use their power, and some are trying to make sure their power is lessened.

The Republicans seem to think that all Republicans agree with the Keystone Pipeline... but be don't. They want to pay off some political debts, I think it will hurt the country.  If we need more oil refined, we need to keep it where it is....not drag it all the way across our farmlands, and water resources. 

The controversy over the Keystone Pipeline makes me wonder if we have a national energy emergency plan...  If our resources are attacked in California, or in Texas, or in the East, will the other parts of the country be able to take up the cause and provide for us as a nation?  I don't ever remember hearing about a national plan... for oil, coal, gas, nuclear, food, shelter, disasters, government, etc.  I have read that terrorists can render our nation helpless with an electronic bomb, how will we recover from something that covers multiple states, with no money, communications, police protections, etc.

We don't have an emergency payment plan that I know of either.  If the economy falls, if millions are in need, if the tax base doesn't meet the needs we have, who will get paid first, second, third...  Are the vulnerable going to be abandoned because the soldiers need to be paid first?  That would be seniors, disabled persons, veterans, homeless, food stamps, prisons, etc.   We came close to some real financial doom recently... many of our small banks were killed and only some of the larger ones were helped. If we change to a wireless money transfer system, how will anyone access their funds in such a disaster?  It causes a lot of problems that I haven't heard plans for recovering from.

The next two years are the reign of the Republicans, because the big election is coming... a new president and more congressional contests.    Will the Republicans put America ahead of campaign debts?  Will we protect the poor and seniors, or will we ravage them because they cannot fight back? Will we stop increasing taxes and fees and regulations, or keep losing our freedoms?  Will we see the change that can't be stopped, prepare for it, and help old industries to be retrained for new jobs?  Will we stop the destruction of our little people because some have more money to spend?

All this comes from the comments I saw about John Boehner being re-elected to guide the House, and the power the Republicans now have to affect our nation's laws and budgets.

I hope they use the power that GOD has allowed them to have with great wisdom.



6 JAN 2015 :: Getting through the haze...

This has been a day of trying to feel better.  Long...and increasing in pain.   I don't know if that is normal, or if I overdid my activities.

I will try to write more later.

5 JAN 2015 :: A New Year - Catching up with the effects of a sudden illness...

It has been such a long time since I entered a blog post!

I became very ill on the day I was going to resume, and couldn't get to the process again for that week. I am going to have to change my commitment to only those days I am able to write... but, I have also decided to make this blog more active as it needs to be, including more than one entry at times. 

We'll see how it goes. I want to enter prayers and concerns, talk about political issues, explore solutions to our many problems as a nation and a world and the Body of Christ.  I am hoping to enter posts as they come up in my day, and events of my life, and affect the walk we have to make through the End Times.

I am not well yet, and am fighting to do what I can at this time. Normally, I barely take aspirins for headaches... and usually take vitamins every day (when I can afford them)...  NOW I am taking heart medicine and baby aspirin and potassium, as well as an antibiotic for the condition that pushed me into the local ER.   I am beginning to explore how much I want to get into this pharmacy merry-go-round. 

It is something to consider that our Healthcare Mandate doesn't include basic services like eyeglasses. I am wondering if it includes hearing aids for those who need them.  And, dental care is only basic services like extractions from what I have read.  --- My teeth have disintegrated without regular care, and poverty doesn't allow basic dental care.  Neither does it allow new glasses without great struggle.

I can't even remember the last time I got glasses (the ones I am now wearing), but I did try to get an exam to replace them. The examination wasn't as complete as it was suppose to be, as I remembered my past eye exams, so I didn't want to spend more money on bad glasses.  Now I am trying to find a way to new glasses with the small Social Security Retirement Benefits (approximately $375/month) I will begin receiving at the end of February.

I guess this sharing is to show you that mandated healthcare does not provide everything we need, so does it provide what the proponents really wanted it to?  I am heading into senior issues... I think they are very expensive if I don't just live without a lot of medical intervention and then drop dead without a need for emergency care.  I have already heard one TV comment about Alzheimer's patients and whether or not they have a quality of life worth supporting.  We know where this discussion is going.

I keep wondering who is going to decide who lives and who doesn't.  Some people think it is tragic to have conditions like Down's Syndrome or Autism. What will it mean if you have addictions, or are ADHD, or wind up in prison too many times?  Trying to decide who is valuable to society is something rich people often decide... poor people, good people, people of faith, usually let GOD decide who is worthy of life and who dies (and when).  We never know how the end of one's life will change all the "cost burdens" of the first part of a life.  If I won the big lottery, I would be a different asset to the world than I am in my poverty.

January is Sanctity of Life Month, because of the abortion decision in Roe v Wade.

We think that no one would ever do that - decide that people have to die to save the government, the country, money for others, but the slide down this slope has already begun... and it won't end because that is where the Antichrist leads. We need to find ways to slow it down if we can, or find ways to protect ourselves from the ravages it will bring.  Christians are a target, THE target.     I will try to get better with getting links to support the things I discover.


Find the pro-life events in your area and attend them. Donate to their regular funds for administration and programs, their PACs, and their benevolence efforts.

You can start at http://www.nrlc.org - The National Right to Life website.