I was just at Twitter making a post about a Thanksgiving Challenge. I decided to urge people to enter daily posts at an etsy thread on thankfulness during the month of November...at least on the days leading up to Thanksgiving. You are welcome to join the Challenge !!
( https://www.etsy.com/teams/14481/create-in-christ/discuss/15652507/ )
Most of the time I make a post about what I am thankful for, it starts at this thread on Etsy. Then I copy it and re-post it on Facebook. It would be great to know that others are thankful for the good things in their lives, too. I have made it a commitment. Right now I try to post my entry on Monday through Thursday, but I also add posts on other days when I feel the need.
While I was at Twitter, I decided to make a post about this blog. I added one with the title of a post I made this week :: Goals, Christmas, and Poverty. I thought that title would fit the best. I tend to get long in my titles, because my posts usually include several topics.
My best post was the first one I have made about Working Together and Membership. I am planning a year-end Membership Drive in December, so I thought I may as well start the flow of links in that direction. I am working on the new prices, PayPal links, and mail-in form this month. It is one of the tasks on my developing GOAL lists.
It is hard to work out the subscription details for online sales. I hoped to have an official office by now, and a better budget, and employees. :-) This is why I have to be careful how I structure the current options for Membership. I know what I want to have, but have to make sure I can provide the benefits I want to have for members.
In the beginning, I offered a limited introductory membership for $5 a year... The benefits for this membership were WT NEWS delivered quarterly and a small discount on other Working Together purchases.
Over the years, I have created a variety of membership options, including free samples of other Working Together products, monthly newsletters, member credit options, and various discounts, plus priority status between Christian and Public membership groups.
Right now I am working on a new version of these benefit choices. A lot depends on what I can do with a PayPal purchase link. I am studying up on their subscription options before I create my new purchase links.
If I had a lot of capital to lean on, I would simply create the program that I want to have for Christians. Other interested people would be able to receive these benefits as Public Members. Until I can accumulate enough savings to develop that kind of a program, I will work out the details with that in mind.
Have you wondered what Christians will need
in the persecuted future?
I have based my programs on the experiences I have had in poverty, in churches, in life. I think it will be similar in the future, as time goes by, and things in our world (and our country) get worse. Once we get this process going, there will be places for Christians to turn to if their lives are facing persecution... if their church turns away from the Word of GOD, and if their family deserts them.
I hope GOD blesses this effort.
Think about joining Working Together yourself.
Think about giving memberships as Christmas gifts.
Think about preparing a way for those you love.
I will share more about this as I finish developing the details. Every program in Working Together has to pay for itself because I don't have the money to cover added expenses... yet. This is why it is such a great challenge for me. Once we get some savings and investments set aside, these issues will be less threatening.
And please pray... for me, and for Working Together.
I want to make it a global outreach and bring together all the existing ministries and Christians that already exist... that is why I named this effort "Working Together."
Thanks.
Wednesday, 21 OCT 2015 :: The cost of business
I am really late at getting here tonight !!
I was online this evening, looking for a heat sealer at a website I went to years ago... http://www.associatedbag.com ... they have all the supplies you might need! :-)
Well, they do have a lot of things to choose from, but maybe not everything.
I was looking for a small hand-held heat sealer to get going on some packing ideas for my products. When I got to the site, the cost of the sealer was a lot more than I remembered. It was beyond my current budget, and the larger heat sealer seemed to be a better option when I do get the funds. Since I was there, I decided to look up some other packaging and shipping products to see what their prices were. As I looked, I decided to ask for some samples to see what they would be like if I actually used them.
The shipping on the samples was free, but when I thought about buying one of the items I looked at, the shipping charge would have been almost as much as the product I wanted to buy. I decided to wait until I made a larger order.
While I am saving up my money for a heat sealer and the packaging it would be used on, I will have to check on the prices at other sites. Maybe I will try to find the other item I wanted at a local store, too.
It really costs a lot of money to operate a business... it has been one of the handicaps in my own effort to build a life starting at home.
To package a food product I need bags, the heat sealer or something else to close the product packaging and keep the food item safe, I need package labels, then I need shipping containers to get it to the customer, and shipping labels, and money for postage, and accounting options, and maybe a computer and printer that will print labels (including shipping labels)... I could go on to office supplies, office furniture, office equipment, transportation to the mailing facility, etc.
Poverty budgets are already a challenge... fitting in the costs of doing business makes it a long-term one-step-at-a-time challenge. My goals and budgets are all an effort to overcome these financial issues.
Income through sales is the only path for poverty households. Finding the right product is key. It has to be something that doesn't require a lot of other expenses to make and sell.
Food products can be a headache if they have to be made in a commercial kitchen. Community kitchens can be rented, but then you are dealing with the money issue again.
Crafts don't require health department approval, but they have their own financial issues with tools, supplies, etc.
Art may work for me, but then there is the issue of who will buy my work?
Nothing is guaranteed. You just keep going, keep trying, keep looking for the right answer...the key to your success.
I am almost there.
My goal lists, my budgets, my ongoing revisions, my struggles to overcome the problems I face, my faith in the purposes of GOD, my products... I hope they are all going to become the path to what I am searching for... to the place I belong... and the destiny that is mine.
I hope that a lot of people will one day be helped by the efforts I have made.
I was online this evening, looking for a heat sealer at a website I went to years ago... http://www.associatedbag.com ... they have all the supplies you might need! :-)
Well, they do have a lot of things to choose from, but maybe not everything.
I was looking for a small hand-held heat sealer to get going on some packing ideas for my products. When I got to the site, the cost of the sealer was a lot more than I remembered. It was beyond my current budget, and the larger heat sealer seemed to be a better option when I do get the funds. Since I was there, I decided to look up some other packaging and shipping products to see what their prices were. As I looked, I decided to ask for some samples to see what they would be like if I actually used them.
The shipping on the samples was free, but when I thought about buying one of the items I looked at, the shipping charge would have been almost as much as the product I wanted to buy. I decided to wait until I made a larger order.
While I am saving up my money for a heat sealer and the packaging it would be used on, I will have to check on the prices at other sites. Maybe I will try to find the other item I wanted at a local store, too.
It really costs a lot of money to operate a business... it has been one of the handicaps in my own effort to build a life starting at home.
To package a food product I need bags, the heat sealer or something else to close the product packaging and keep the food item safe, I need package labels, then I need shipping containers to get it to the customer, and shipping labels, and money for postage, and accounting options, and maybe a computer and printer that will print labels (including shipping labels)... I could go on to office supplies, office furniture, office equipment, transportation to the mailing facility, etc.
Poverty budgets are already a challenge... fitting in the costs of doing business makes it a long-term one-step-at-a-time challenge. My goals and budgets are all an effort to overcome these financial issues.
Income through sales is the only path for poverty households. Finding the right product is key. It has to be something that doesn't require a lot of other expenses to make and sell.
Food products can be a headache if they have to be made in a commercial kitchen. Community kitchens can be rented, but then you are dealing with the money issue again.
Crafts don't require health department approval, but they have their own financial issues with tools, supplies, etc.
Art may work for me, but then there is the issue of who will buy my work?
Nothing is guaranteed. You just keep going, keep trying, keep looking for the right answer...the key to your success.
I am almost there.
My goal lists, my budgets, my ongoing revisions, my struggles to overcome the problems I face, my faith in the purposes of GOD, my products... I hope they are all going to become the path to what I am searching for... to the place I belong... and the destiny that is mine.
I hope that a lot of people will one day be helped by the efforts I have made.
Tuesday, 20 OCT 2015 :: Goals, Christmas, and Poverty
I guess you might say today was a busy, serious day...
I read through the Brian Tracy PDF I downloaded yesterday, "12 Steps Goal Setting Guide." It was a great reminder of some achievement details we tend to forget in the congestion of everyday life. The concept of deciding which one thing is most important to get done and then focusing on that one thing until it gets done is the place I have been trying to reach, but I get distracted by the difficulties of my life. I haven't been able to consistently accomplish this habit yet.
The 12 Step Goal Setting Guide is a 9-page summary of the things I have previously heard on the CDs I have of his. There are two pages (7-8) I am sending to some of the inmates I write to, including my son, because they are a brief look into the process of setting goals... kind of like instruction pages. I have to decide whether to send the remaining five pages of text to them. It all costs money...and adds up. It is always a struggle to share good things with inmates.
Christmas has officially begun for me... I am trying to get ahead of the holiday crunch and stretch my money as much as I can. :-) I have a list of the main people to get cards and gifts for, and am trying to find the best solutions for my budget.
I mailed in the payment for gift subscriptions of INC magazine. I decided to order the $5 special for some of those inmates I know, and others. I renewed my own subscription. And I mailed a letter to each gift recipient to let them know what to watch for. Earlier I had ordered FAST COMPANY at the same price for my son in prison. These are great holiday gifts because the inspiration is motivating, and the cost is not great if they don't receive the entire subscription. Inmates get moved around a lot and lose their belongings in the process, including magazine subscriptions.
With these unplanned purchases, I decided I wouldn't be able send all the shoebox fees I wanted to sent to Operation Christmas Child this year. OCC is a program of Samaritan's Purse where anyone can share a shoebox filled with gifts for kids all over the world. I can't afford whole boxes of toys these days, so I try to send in the suggested donation per box for shipping expenses. I had already saved three of the $7 fees, but wanted to send six.
My goal for next year is to save one fee a month until November, their regular collection month. It is the first holiday collection of every season... usually just before Thanksgiving. If GOD blesses my finances, I hope to upgrade to sharing full shoeboxes again.
Today I was able to read some of the articles I have been saving for spare moments. Three of those articles were from the Heritage Foundation blog platform, Daily Signal -- on how to "cure" poverty by "curing" the people who are poor. I haven't been too fond of Heritage's perspectives so far... they do the same thing for the "conservative" view that the liberals do... writing the details to support their own view. It is part of the writing process, but that doesn't mean I like it.
I am trying to decide the best way to confront this blanket view of everything poor. I was actually going to write my post on this topic, but it makes me angry. I need to wait for this rebuttal... when I get it all sorted out, I will share it here.
When I started this blog post, there was a FRONTLINE documentary on the political process surrounding immigration reform on PBS (locally :: http://www.opb.org 9-11pm) It ended with President Obama's announcement about his actions on behalf of immigrants. I was listening to the program in the background as I sorted other things at my desk space.
I remembered some of the historical events (and news stories) that were being cited in the timeline for the immigration battle. What caught my attention was the way activists orchestrated political change. I have never been involved in politics at that level... but it has always been easy to see how chants and slogans create good media attention for whatever side you are on.
Immigration and poverty are only two of many financial problems America is facing. The Heritage articles mentioned the effects of healthcare and education on statistics used to reflect "social welfare programs" here and in other developed countries. They didn't seem to explore the differences in the sources of income between socialistic countries and ourselves, or the tax issues I thought would be related to the different income sources. I felt it made their views hard to believe.
We can't afford to do everything we would like to do as a country. I try to decide how our leaders would prioritize our needs if there were a real crisis, something they couldn't manipulate, or make go away. When I see the news, I see a lot of issues that are related to our budget...and debt isn't going to solve the problems because debt has interest charges and those expenses create equally devastating problems.
My biggest goal is to find a way to survive without the threat of a government collapse.
I read through the Brian Tracy PDF I downloaded yesterday, "12 Steps Goal Setting Guide." It was a great reminder of some achievement details we tend to forget in the congestion of everyday life. The concept of deciding which one thing is most important to get done and then focusing on that one thing until it gets done is the place I have been trying to reach, but I get distracted by the difficulties of my life. I haven't been able to consistently accomplish this habit yet.
The 12 Step Goal Setting Guide is a 9-page summary of the things I have previously heard on the CDs I have of his. There are two pages (7-8) I am sending to some of the inmates I write to, including my son, because they are a brief look into the process of setting goals... kind of like instruction pages. I have to decide whether to send the remaining five pages of text to them. It all costs money...and adds up. It is always a struggle to share good things with inmates.
Christmas has officially begun for me... I am trying to get ahead of the holiday crunch and stretch my money as much as I can. :-) I have a list of the main people to get cards and gifts for, and am trying to find the best solutions for my budget.
I mailed in the payment for gift subscriptions of INC magazine. I decided to order the $5 special for some of those inmates I know, and others. I renewed my own subscription. And I mailed a letter to each gift recipient to let them know what to watch for. Earlier I had ordered FAST COMPANY at the same price for my son in prison. These are great holiday gifts because the inspiration is motivating, and the cost is not great if they don't receive the entire subscription. Inmates get moved around a lot and lose their belongings in the process, including magazine subscriptions.
With these unplanned purchases, I decided I wouldn't be able send all the shoebox fees I wanted to sent to Operation Christmas Child this year. OCC is a program of Samaritan's Purse where anyone can share a shoebox filled with gifts for kids all over the world. I can't afford whole boxes of toys these days, so I try to send in the suggested donation per box for shipping expenses. I had already saved three of the $7 fees, but wanted to send six.
My goal for next year is to save one fee a month until November, their regular collection month. It is the first holiday collection of every season... usually just before Thanksgiving. If GOD blesses my finances, I hope to upgrade to sharing full shoeboxes again.
Today I was able to read some of the articles I have been saving for spare moments. Three of those articles were from the Heritage Foundation blog platform, Daily Signal -- on how to "cure" poverty by "curing" the people who are poor. I haven't been too fond of Heritage's perspectives so far... they do the same thing for the "conservative" view that the liberals do... writing the details to support their own view. It is part of the writing process, but that doesn't mean I like it.
I am trying to decide the best way to confront this blanket view of everything poor. I was actually going to write my post on this topic, but it makes me angry. I need to wait for this rebuttal... when I get it all sorted out, I will share it here.
When I started this blog post, there was a FRONTLINE documentary on the political process surrounding immigration reform on PBS (locally :: http://www.opb.org 9-11pm) It ended with President Obama's announcement about his actions on behalf of immigrants. I was listening to the program in the background as I sorted other things at my desk space.
I remembered some of the historical events (and news stories) that were being cited in the timeline for the immigration battle. What caught my attention was the way activists orchestrated political change. I have never been involved in politics at that level... but it has always been easy to see how chants and slogans create good media attention for whatever side you are on.
Immigration and poverty are only two of many financial problems America is facing. The Heritage articles mentioned the effects of healthcare and education on statistics used to reflect "social welfare programs" here and in other developed countries. They didn't seem to explore the differences in the sources of income between socialistic countries and ourselves, or the tax issues I thought would be related to the different income sources. I felt it made their views hard to believe.
We can't afford to do everything we would like to do as a country. I try to decide how our leaders would prioritize our needs if there were a real crisis, something they couldn't manipulate, or make go away. When I see the news, I see a lot of issues that are related to our budget...and debt isn't going to solve the problems because debt has interest charges and those expenses create equally devastating problems.
My biggest goal is to find a way to survive without the threat of a government collapse.
Monday, 19 OCT 2015 :: Goals need constant review...
Sunday is becoming my planning day. Yesterday, I spent several hours revising and updating my new set of goal forms. It is really helping me to get organized -- to find the pieces of my giant "puzzle" that I have to get done.
I start out with an overview of all the areas of my life that need attention, so I can decide what needs to be done and what I might be able to achieve and what to focus on first.
The first page is the most important... it is seen the most. I am trying to find a place to hang my goal set so I can see it often, as a reminder for all those times I am busy with other things, to keep me motivated.
The first page includes my TOP TEN GOALS FOR THE WEEK, my version of the previous top ten goals for the day I began my goal search with. (Inspired by some free CDs I had by Brian Tracy.)
The first page has my MISSION STATEMENT for Working Together at the top ::
I start out with an overview of all the areas of my life that need attention, so I can decide what needs to be done and what I might be able to achieve and what to focus on first.
The first page is the most important... it is seen the most. I am trying to find a place to hang my goal set so I can see it often, as a reminder for all those times I am busy with other things, to keep me motivated.
The first page includes my TOP TEN GOALS FOR THE WEEK, my version of the previous top ten goals for the day I began my goal search with. (Inspired by some free CDs I had by Brian Tracy.)
The first page has my MISSION STATEMENT for Working Together at the top ::
Working Together is a business dedicated to Christian principles and theology. Its purpose is to build and preserve resources that will help the Body of Christ survive as the Antichrist comes into power and the Mark of the Beast becomes a reality. Our focus is food, water, shelter, prisons, employment, education, financial assistance, transportation, worship, fellowship, the value of life, and other basic needs. Most of these activities will be connected to membership status.
and the STATEMENT OF AFFILIATION for Working Together programs, which often have both a Christian grouping and a Public grouping.
I hereby certify that
I am a Christian.
I have investigated the claims of the Holy Bible and accept the sacrificial death of a sinless Jesus Christ, GOD’s one and only Son, as an offering for my sins, thereby making my soul clean again and reinstating my personal relationship with GOD, my heavenly Father and Creator of all that exists.
To help with the week's planning, I have the days of the week in one column, with established tasks like blogging already listed and space for notes before or after the day's events. For the blogs I am trying to develop, I have separate sections. I also list a lot of the writing projects I am working on.
Also on the first page is my INCOME GOAL... which is still unclear. Right now I have AMAP (as much as possible), but the actual amount depends on how my living situation develops. Under my income goal I have this reminder ::
GOD has a purpose
for everything that happens to us.
Keep your focus on Him,
on the future,
and on His goals for you.
My other pages have sections for Etsy, Fiverr, eBay, and Amazon -- my income efforts. There are social media sections for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Networked Blogs, and LinkedIn. Working Together programs are listed so I can plan the details for each one :: Membership, CORD- the Christian Online Resource Directory I am trying to create, Action Prayer, Bible Growth Groups, Firstfruits Ministries, Inmate Project, Essay 321, and Recipe Exchange. I have a yearly calendar with major events to remember, and I am working on some way to have my budget for the week included.
The other sections of my goal pages are more detailed budgets, and spending records, and planning calendars. I also have a pantry food list to help me keep track of my food supplies, which I only worry about once a month, or when I need to do a big shopping trip.
It is quite an effort...
with short and long versions to keep it all going forward.
I have begun to number each section and I am trying to create an order for my daily reviews and Sunday updates.
It is probably good I don't know too much about how other people do this, but I have read an occasional detail about planning systems of the old days, and how they have changed in this day. I don't have the electronic versions, but I assume there must be something out there. I am most worried about all the data that goes into smartphones, and laptops, and tablets, and other wireless internet-connected machines. I want to retain the old options for information that is very sensitive... not 24-hour online access. I am trying to figure out how to achieve that impossible goal. :-)
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