Nine Years-Seems Like Yesterday

My little brother's oldest daughter turned nine today. It does seem like only yesterday when I held her in my arms as a baby. The world has changed a lot since 2008. It was that year when the economy went "south" with the "Great Recession". It was that year when the company I was contracted out to work for was bought out.

Unfortunately I can't really recall any good thing that happened during those nine years. It's sad but true. So many people have been affected in a negative way with all the changes in technology. I really can't say that my life has improved either during these nine years...at least not financially.

I can say that I am a more open and aware person than I was nine years ago. I am definitely more actively involved in my community. I've seen things happen that give me hope for the future. I like the good changes I see in Aydia. She is growing up to be a beautiful young lady.

I do thank God for Aydia. She has brought light into my life and caused a glimmer of hope to pierce my soul. For her sake, I am praying that the Lord will protect and guide her through this veil of tears. Strengthen her for the coming days, Lord God and give her wisdom to combat those who would tear her away from you. Bless her family, Lord God and her little sister, Aubrey. Keep her in your sight, Lord God.

In Desperate Straits Once Again-The Struggle to Find Work

I didn't think I'd be here again worrying about paying for rent. I can understand that I should have gotten employment by now. I can understand that things are costing more and more. I am in desperate straits once again. I know I should trust the Lord, but it is so difficult when you are facing the very distinct possibility of being out on the street.

The only reason I'm not yet there is that I am an unpaid caregiver. People are depending on me. It is hard. I do struggle to find work that I can do. I am tired and weary. No one seemed to understand what I'm feeling right now. How can they when they are struggling themselves? I can throw a pity party about my current situation or I can do something.

The struggle to find work is real. I have no real skill sets that employers can use. I haven't been in a real work environment for five years. Whenever I think about that....I am amazed that I've lasted this long without steady income.

My prayer tonight is for a release from this dark hole that I've found myself in. I need funds now to support myself and my family. I hate posting this...but I'm desperate.

Praying for A New Beginning-The New Administration

In just a few days we will welcome a new President. Some days it seems unreal that things could change as much as promised. I hear so much about the ways that Democrats are still dragging their feet. I'm also hearing that people are panicking about the dismantling of some "pet projects."

I am praying for a new beginning. The new administration has a lot to do to reverse globalization's effects. Those effects are still re-vibrating even now.

I do feel that things do have to change. I know that God's hand is in this. I am sensing that there are forces that would love to destroy the hope we have. Yet God will protect us. He will guide us in the way we should go.

More signs of the End Times: Electronic Currency

I am becoming more and more aware of the increasing control that the electronic superhighway has on people everywhere. It is so easy to see the influence of technology on the world at large. This technology and the innovations has been stealing work for a while now. Kids today really don't realize how "closed in" we really are as a society. They are taught from an early age to accept what they read on the Internet as truth. Some of it is truth but kids have no filter to tell the truth from the falsehoods.

I know that I'm considered some what of a Luddite because I don't get into shopping and all the social media channels on the Internet. I also don't do online banking or use the new apps that allow you to pay electronically. Yes it is convenient not to have to pull money physically out of the bank. Yes, it is great just to wave a card and get what you want instantaneously.

What has me concerned and should have you concerned is the rapid movement towards electronic currency. Four of the world's biggest banks are contemplating using this digital cash for trades in 2018. What is to stop them from using this same electronic currency for other transactions? There is already at least one country (Sweden) who has decided to go cash free and stopped issuing physical currency.

The problem with this is that electronic currency gives too much control to those who run the financial institutions to wipe out your savings, control what you can have and deny services because you don't have the right electronic currency. I guess my real problem is that who is to say that you have money when you don't physically have it. It is too easy for someone to block you from getting anything. It is also one more step towards the "Mark of the Beast" in Revelation.

By having that electronic control someone could possibly control who lives and dies...definitely something to think about when you use your debt card....

A New Year, A New Hope

It does seem like the years have sped by. I can't help thinking that it has been seven years since I first started this blog. Actually sometimes it feels like it has been longer. I have grown so much as a person in the past seven years. I have learned a lot of hard lessons. Yet I am still here.

This is a new year. This will be a year of preparation for me to move forward and embrace hope. I can no longer wallow in the past or let the circumstances of my life dictate my life. Yes, there are some scary things that are happening that I have no control over. Yes, I admit that I've been beating myself up for not embracing technology like so many others have. Yet I know that there is an undercurrent of society that is pushing back from the smothering embrace of technology. They know as I do that technology, no matter how good it is, won't replace human ability.

I'm feeling a new hope that I'm praying will grow and take root. It has been a long dark tunnel with no end in sight. I'm learning to be grateful for what the Lord is giving me with this avenue of communication. I realize that things could be a whole lot worse for me. I'm blessed with food, shelter and family who still support me through this financial crisis.

I can praise God for all that he has given me. I can move forward in this new year with confidence that the Lord will be with me every step of the way.

Ready To Set Aside the Old and Embrace The New

When I think about this year and the struggles I've had to make people aware of the society I feel like crying. I feel very frustrated by the weak attendance and by the lack of support I've received. I know that I've been trying too hard to do it all myself. I should let go. I know that, yet I just can't. There are still people that want me to succeed with this project.

So I can't give it up like a bad dream. I am ready to set aside the old way of thinking about my current situation and embrace the new way of thinking about it. I do want the society to grow. I do want to make a difference in my community.

Working as part of the 125th anniversary committee has opened my eyes to the community in ways that I never thought possible. I am grateful for the experience and the opportunity to become a part of the 4th of July celebration. I know that I probably won't be doing a Tag Day again soon, but really got some insights about the community then as well.

I do have a feeling that the society will move forward this year with the History Room. The borough is supportive of our current efforts but we will need to do more. I can be grateful that I did make a difference by alerting the public about the library. They have implemented my suggestions...:-). We are still not "friends" but all I really cared about was saving those books from the dumpster. It was a high achievement for me to see that happen. I managed to save quite a few of the old Delaware County history books that the library was originally planning to throw out. I wasn't able to save all of them. Unfortunately the mindset of the whole library system is to get rid or donate any old books. It seems insane to me....a book lover to get rid of a book just because it is old.

I can't embrace the new technology that fast. I long for a simpler time even though I do use this technology on a daily basis. I am not "all-in" with it. I only use certain things such as this Blogger to express my thoughts and Facebook to connect with friends easily. I am easily frightened by the advances that threaten to take away our freedoms making us more like cattle to be tagged.

In some ways, I am ready to set aside the old and embrace the new. I know that technology does have its good side in helping connect people and bring information that wouldn't be accessible in the past to us. Yet I can't help thinking that there is a cost in all this. Will we survive? Only time will tell.

Rays of Hope-Joyful Signs of the Season

I always loved this time of year when I was small. There seemed to be such hope in the faces of the people I'd meet. I grew up during a time when people still celebrated Christmas with a Christmas concert in the auditorium. I looked forward to singing the solo in "O Holy Night" but wasn't picked.

I didn't know about the annual tree lighting and celebration when I started researching my hometown for a book. I discovered the celebration when I started getting actively involved in the community. I am a little bit sad that I wasn't able to participate as a child. The children all have such hopeful looks on their faces. I can tell that they are living in the moment eager to see Santa. I see in their faces rays of hope. It makes me feel good to see all the holiday decorations. I see these joyful signs of the season as an invitation to relax.

I do praise God for this season of light in the midst of a dark world. I do praise God for his son who came to Earth as a baby and became one of us. I do praise God for everything he has done for me and the love he is showing to me right now. God has got a hold of me and won't let go.