God

Financial Hardships

Po’ Girl is officially arse-out Po’!

I have just received my discharge in the chapter 7 bankruptcy I was forced to file due to the unexpected loss of my job, which is a very long story, the expiration of my unemployment, the loss of three more part-time jobs and the depletion of my entire life savings.  I now find myself having to live on social security, a lower amount for early application, and the very small pension I managed to accrue with one of the companies I was employed with years ago.  The only reason I even needed to file was to prevent my mortgage companies from trying to collect monies from me that I simply don’t have.  I never had any credit card problems like most.  I only purchased what I could afford.

There was no way I could have kept my home as victim to predatory lending in 2005.  My home is only worth about half of what I paid for it originally, even after improvements so since I don’t have an extra $75,000 or so to give these game playing banks, I chose to stay as long as possible and keep paying on it.  The loan payments were also due to go up an additional $400-$500 per month this year as well.  My only regret is that I didn’t file sooner because they allow you to have more money in your savings than I thought in a bankruptcy and I should never have let my cash reserve get this low.  I have already stopped making my mortgage payments and expect to receive notice of foreclosure any day now.

Be sure to contact a bankruptcy expert if you ever find yourself in financial hardship before you waste all your savings in a vain attempt trying to hang on to your home.  They should be able to suggest some options for you.  What ever you do, don’t use any service that claims will help you to keep your home.  Most of these are scams as well as most so-called experts are anything but.  There are some legitimate programs available for those that wish to keep their homes.

Pension wise, I need to decide between a small monthly annuity to help with my living expenses and renting somewhere really cheap or just withdraw the lump sum if I happen to find a cheap fixer-upper that is of move-in condition and I will only need to pay for the tax, insurance and utilities which should still be cheaper than most rents though possibly turn into a money pit.  Unfortunately, the prices of homes are on the rise again, though I’m not sure how or why.  The economy, I’m finding out, it truly in the eyes of the beholder.  If you are financially solvent, it’s great.  For folks like me, not so good.

There are apartments for the elderly and disabled that I am now in the income bracket for, but it seems like a place to go when you are on your way out of this world.  I still feel young and vibrant and really am not looking forward to the almost nursing home atmosphere, even if it will be kinder to my purse.  I may take the easy way out and do this, but I still want to try new things.  I forgot that not having money is a real deal-breaker a plan-changer, it’s a female dog!

I am going to attempt an etsy shop very soon but fear their website is so over saturated with home-made items right now.  Years ago you could make a buck because there was less competition, but now I understand from some that sales are hard to come by.  I’ll try it for a few months and if no sales, I will be doing strictly craft shows.  I’ve never made much money hanging in art galleries and doing shows, but when I used to do craft shows with my baskets, I made a few bucks and I really loved the camaraderie with the other crafters.  Might have just been the economy at the time.  I really believe that we have never economically recovered since 9/11.

I am trusting in God to be led by the spirit for the rest of my days.  I will trust in the Lord and I will be led down the right paths from now on.

TrustintheLord

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Signs

There are many signs in the world.

Signs to satisfy hunger.
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Obvious signs for those that need them.
Obvious signs for those that need them.

Signs of celebration.
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Signs of protest!

Signssignsays Signs of the end times?

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Another Good Friday: John 15:13

Jesus the Christ

This scripture is still true to this day.  All over the world there are people who lay down their lives for the sake of others.  Some do it to save lives, some do it in an attempt to help others live in freedom or some other principle they hold dear.  Christ gave His life over 2000 years ago to save the world and to this day many mock him and his followers just as they mocked him before his brutal murder.  Blessedly God’s people will have the last laugh.  Evil thought that it had won that day but thankfully love never dies and instead His sacrifice has been life saving to billions throughout all these years.  There has never been anyone like Him and never will be again.  I’m talking about Jesus.  Being obedient even unto death He was able to live again in paradise like his people will someday.

Don’t be afraid to take up your cross and follow him.  Dare to be a hero to somebody.  Evil is weak but love is strong, selfless and endless.

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I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.  This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.       Martin Luther King Jr

Weekly Photo Challenge: Let There Be Light!

It was written that God said “Let there be light” and so started the world in a “big bang!”

The Bible states there are many references that Jesus made to light being truth because truth represented holiness.  Many people that have died and come back have mentioned going toward a light and there might be a reason for this.  Jesus wanted all of His children to walk in the light and to be a light for others.

Light is very important to all of us.  We need light to see, we need the light of the sun to grow our food and to be healthy.  As photographers, we know how crucial exact lighting is to our end results.

I believe that we all need to be raised in truth and light for what good is a life lived that does not make the world a better place for you being here?

LetYourLightShine

A Sign in The Rainbow?

You be the judge.

I have always called rainbows God’s promise for as long as I can remember.  The picture you see is from a batch of photos to be processed the morning of the nations worse blackout in the summer of 2003.  August 14th to be exact.  I dropped off about 10 rolls of film to be developed on my way to work that morning, only to have all the power go out in our area later that day.  I started wondering what condition my film might be in because of this.  Anyone who knows anything about processing film knows that timing is crucial or the film is ruined.  I prayed that my film did not get damaged but had to wait for days to find out because of the length the power outage lasted in my area.

All my pictures appeared to be ok as I began to examine them one by one.  I started going through them to find one large stain on a picture and found the negative was stained from chemical residue.  It appeared to me to be the figure of a king of olden times.  Actually like the times when Christ lived.  It appears to be a man with beard and crown in a robe holding a staff.  The image was created during a really odd manifestation of “power”, man literally lost his.  As a child of God, just sayin’.  

In the first picture I have only sharpened this image and cropped it so you can see what I’m referring to.  The second picture I negatived the image and enhanced the lines.   

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Thankful

More than anything, I am thankful for the birth of the Christ.

I am thankful and grateful for his great sacrifice and words of truth that have led millions to salvation and grace.  I am thankful to God who showed His love by the sacrifice of His Son in the great hopes that people would listen and follow the commandment to love one another, the only hope for our world.  Jesus was humble and lived a simple life.  He lived to teach and help others, and taught us that a life spent in accumulating wealth and possessions was not just foolish, but wrong.  He taught us to spend our lives in the service of others.  He taught that true love is not a warm fuzzy feeling, but an act of great sacrifice, which explains why most marriages never work.  He taught us to love and pray for our enemies, which does not mean to go give them a big hug, but to stop vengeful acts that bring you down to their level or below.  He told us to forgive those that don’t deserve it and this does not mean you allow someone to do wrong, but if they truly repent, you allow them back into your life or society without reproach.

I am thankful that when I feel alone or unloved Jesus told me to remember that when the world hated you that it hated him first.  The knowledge that I am indeed in good company, comforts me greatly.  Thank you God, in the name of Jesus, for another day.