2 APR 2015 :: MY weekend is here...

I made it to the internet late in the day and I have been wandering through a lot of different pages.  It is past midnight, but I don't think that will matter.  I hope to finish this, maybe add a post to the Crafts Explored blog, and then be done.

I realized a little while ago that it is Good Friday now...

When we think about how GOD orchestrates our lives, it is really amazing.  I hear that, in project management, you have to go backwards from the planned event and figure out what needs to be done by when to reach the target date.  Imagine having to plan the fulfillment of prophecy...to make everything fit...  that Christ would die before the soldiers would break His bones, that He would be pierced in the side with a spear, that he would be given vinegar as a drink, and the soldiers would cast lots for his cloak, that he would bleed to death before sundown, that His followers would scatter... and so on. 

People study the Bible for their whole lives and still don't understand everything it says... but we try to make the puzzle pieces fit.  After you hear a lot of sermons, you see a lot of "literary license" in them...stretching what the words say into ideas of what it might mean... or making it fit our ideas so we can avoid any arguments, opposition, controversy, or other uncomfortable situations.  If you only listen to sermons to learn about the Bible, your understanding will be limited.

I also can't imagine what it would be like to have to create zillions of sermons in a lifetime.  In fact, whole sections of the Bible are forgotten in pulpits because they are boring, hard to make meaningful, or not popular topics. 

If we really want to know the Truth of GOD, we have to study the whole Bible on our own time.  One preacher, that I know of, went through the Bible completely and put it into books for posterity. It took him five years. (McGee, www.ttb.org)  This still isn't going to solve the problem forever.  It has to be updated because of the changes in our society, new discoveries, and technology.

Every person in every generation

has to make a personal study of the Bible

to find out the Truth for themselves.

I have heard of some famous people who have read the entire Bible every year, sometimes more than once.  That person will know a lot more than I do, and may know more than some of our preachers.  The strength it gives us to know all the different parts of the Bible is beyond our comprehension.  I hope you will find time in your life to do better than I have.

Well, my eyes are closing against my will.  :-)   I better get going. 

Think about Jesus today...think about what He went through, about how He may have felt, about why it is so important.

1 APR 2015 :: No joking here...what I remember.

When I was a kid, and our pranks were harmless diversions like "There's a spider on your shirt!" -- April Fool's Day was just a small moment in time. I still don't know how it officially began, or why, but it marks the US calendar.  The last time I heard anything about the jokes that occur was a news story that was fake, and on the internet...and I think it was something everyone knew about, done yearly. You can see how much I pay attention to it.........

I was busy with my "to do" list of things that need to get done.  :-)  And trying to last through the day. My body is capturing a lot of my attention in these later years. . . sorry to say. . . and I am not able to "go the distance" like I once was.  When I win the lottery, I will hire people to help me.  :-)

I didn't hear the news today, so I have no idea what is happening in the world... I did see a brief overview on Yahoo as I left my emails, but that is it. I debate, all the time, whether it is healthy to listen to the news... I went for years not having a TV, but I suppose I heard news on the radio.  Christian radio doesn't have much news, but it highlights the earth-shaking events in GOD's realm.  I suppose the world is included somewhere in that shaking.  :-) 

When I am out of the news loop, and all the other media loops, I am focused on Bible time and prayer and whatever work is in my world at that time.  I think I told you already that there was a long period, maybe three years, when I didn't read anything because I was busy trying to survive doing 24-hour childcare.  I didn't even notice it until long after that occupation ended.

It makes me think about what really matters.  Is my place in the world events going to make a difference?  Is what I hear worth all the trouble that comes with it?  Maybe it's better not to know... that cabin in the woods looks really nice to me at those moments.

I like to think deeply about serious issues, and try to understand them, how they affect us, what might be a decent solution, and whether there is anything I could possibly do to make the changes I think are necessary.  That is probably why I wrote to countless government offices, including the Presidential address, about my views.  Low-income, poverty imprisoned lives don't have much of a voice...we just have to make our way through the social program gauntlet...and hope we make it to the next meal, the next shelter, the next dollar.  Writing letters is my only option for contributing to the betterment of my world.

GOD didn't choose to bless my efforts...He must have had a reason.  I always look at the current place I am and ask why He has me here, who is here/what is happening that I had to encounter?  In most of our lives, we would never go to some places unless GOD forces us there by circumstance, using the Enemy at times.  Some of those terrible memories come to me when I encounter a need to remember them.  They have given me the direction I keep moving...and I hope to find just a little rest before I die.  :-(

31 MAR 2015 :: Late night entry...

It is almost Wednesday, I just finished some recordkeeping for the day and the month... trying to keep track of where I am in things, what still needs to get done, etc.  Today was a day to spend bus tickets and get some errands done.  It included finally getting to one of the local Farmer's Markets, so I have some fresh fruits and veggies until my food stamps for April arrive. 

I was finishing a page in my new accounting effort, and trying to make some of the numbers work out right. Others are just a near guess.  So far it is working out reasonably well...I found one error (a transposed number). It is great when all the details are right, but finding an error is a real pain. My new page is still developing, but I am seeing an easier way to keep track of things...this is a good thing for me. I have been working on this part of my efforts for some time.

I will be able to focus on my crafts tomorrow...and there are lots of things to do.  I am not sure how much to share.  :-)  (There are spies everywhere!  :-)

One of these days I am going to write either a long blog post, a short booklet, or both, about hate crimes that are done by the gay community...because they seem to make sure everyone else is a hate criminal and forget about their own actions.  I think the problem is the way they define "hate" -- and never think their "activism" might be considered hateful by the recipients. This is a really difficult issue in our time...  I don't like the way it is proceeding, but I am not sure how to deal with it myself.

I guess I am looking for a way to present the serious issues I want to talk about.

It is already past my goal bedtime  :-)  and tomorrow is another busy day.  I think I will end here and spend the night thinking about all the things that matter to me...   :-)

30 MAR 2015 :: The importance of food

Before doing anything else... I want to enter my blog post.  The computer I use is having problems and I have no idea how to fix these things. I have been praying for the equipment I need... you can pray, too, if you want.   :-)   LOTS of needs... don't confine your prayers to a complete computing system and mobile equipment.  :-)

Been a busy day in the kitchen today.  I used up my ripe bananas by making banana bread, and also made sandwich bread using the tomato paste I needed to use up.  It became tomato/basil/sunflower seed bread.  My first loaf with tomato and basil.  Not bad. The new glass pan I have is changing the process a bit..it cooks at a lower temperature, but it also needs longer times.  I forgot about that.

Yesterday I make a granola recipe from a book I found at the Salvation Army Sale. This one is from the 1980's and promotes healthy eating as a path to recovery. I haven't tasted it yet, but it cooked up nice.  Made a huge batch.  I will need to get a larger container for the next batch.  It is a great recipe, with things I don't normally use. This recipe has sesame seeds in it.  The name of the book is :: Eating Right to Live Sober (Katherine Ketcham and L. Ann Mueller, MD). Now that I have the book in front of me, it was published in 1983.

I think diet is very critical to addiction recovery and maintenance. We have lots of foods with alcohol in them and we don't realize we are consuming the alcohol.  We don't know what the body of the addict craves in alcohol, but many assume it is whatever makes them drunk or high.  It may be something else in alcohol that is a trigger for the addict.

I remember when I was just beginning to learn about vegans. I heard or read somewhere that their body becomes so cleansed of meat/animal foods that it will make them physically ill to eat those products, even if unknown to them. This same unknown effect that a vegan's body experiences with meat and/or dairy products can also happen to addicts. 

This is why our food supplies are so crucial.  Anything that gets into the food supplies ends up in our bodies, and affects us. It affects the young and the old more.

I have also been organizing my craft supplies and getting things ready to put together.  Finally.  It has been a long haul, trying to work out the details. It isn't done yet, but it is a lot farther along, and will not take long to catch up with my goals once I get going.  I am looking forward to sharing my efforts with my various audiences.  :-)

This will have to do for today.  Look for changes this week... I think it will be a great effort and all begin to have a final form by the end of the year.  My BIG goal is the Christmas selling season...which I will begin in September. I am still not sure how much inventory I need for that event, but I am working on it.

In Christ,
Deb