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Willingness to Use Force and the Permission to do so

July 31, 2014 by

Willingness to Use Force and the Permission to do so

It is my belief that there is a small percentage of people who are freely willing to use force at a moment’s notice. There is a larger percentage who, because it is not something in their normal routine, have to grant themselves permission so to speak and still another group of people who resist the use of violence, even at their own peril.

If I asked you if you were willing to use force to protect yourself or a loved one, I believe the majority of you would say “yes”, but the speed at which we give ourselves permission could vary greatly and can have a drastic impact on the outcome of the altercation.
 

Willingness

I am not a violent man; I personally see it as something that should be used as a last possible option, but it must be an option. To those people who say that violence doesn’t solve anything, I would say “it absolutely does.” Violence, in the form of war, ended the Holocaust and slavery, to name just two horrible things. Violence or the threat of violence in the form of self-defense has stopped violent crimes of every type. The police use violence and the threat of violence to stop crimes of all kinds.

“All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.”

It is my belief that we have an obligation to confront evil. If we see evil being visited on someone and do not attempt to stop it, we incur some of the guilt that is being inflicted. We could personally intervene or call the police to do so.

I also believe we have a moral obligation to use violence to stop violence being visited upon us. If we do not, I believe we incur guilt for any future evil this person inflicts. We also bare guilt for preventing any future good the victim may have done.

I have heard the argument from Christians in the past that they don’t want to use lethal force because they don’t know the condition of the person’s soul. Their soul is not your personal responsibility in that moment. Being there for your family, providing for them, and living the life God has called you to is your responsibility.
 

Permission

The word “permission,” used in this context, feels a little clunky to me but is actually a good fit. As I stated earlier, violence is not something most of us use often. Because of this, when we must use it, we often have to grant ourselves permission. Depending on our background, our self-talk could be a very short “do it” or we might have to convince ourselves that while we may not like it, this person/situation is forcing us to do this and that if we do not, we may be severely hurt or even killed.

To me, the use of force of any kind is a two part equation; one part moral and the other part legal. If standing before God or a judge, I could explain why I felt justified in using force; for fear of bodily harm or worse. I then have all the permission I need.

In the heat of the moment, you might not have time to consider an explanation to God or a judge. For this reason, it is important to give yourself permission to use force under certain conditions. The amount of force used should also scale with the threat. Here are a few of my personal thresholds.

I don’t think anyone should participate in the posturing that often takes place in street fights; the pushing and chest bumping, insulting and cursing at each other and so on. To me, this is the same as a warning shot. De-escalation here is the prudent thing to do; walk away but remain alert. If your safety is truly in danger, don’t flex, just act. If your safety is not in danger and you take part in the posturing, using force as things escalate, your actions will not be viewed as “self-defense” in court.

That being said, if someone is yelling and threatening me, I will get ready to use force, both mentally and possibly physically, by getting in a fighting stance, for instance, if, for example, walking away isn’t an option because of being backed physically into a corner. Now, if the person threatening has a weapon and is making threats, the use of force is more than likely called for.

Once someone places their hands on someone else in a violent manner, from a slap, push, punch or choke, the attacker has given the victim permission to use enough force to stop the aggression.
 

Preemptive Strike

I think preemptive use of force can often prevent a more violent outbreak. For example; you’re out to dinner with your children or grandchildren and someone who has had too much to drink is being verbally abusive to everyone around them. You get up to leave, which draws attention to you, and the man starts cursing you and threatening you as he blocks your exit to the door. Knocking him on his backside could very well stop him from escalating even more and physically attacking you or your loved ones.

Here is another example; a woman is walking by herself in a parking garage. She is approached by a man she doesn’t know. He grabs her by the arm and tells her not to scream. If she either used a combative, aka a punch or kick to cause enough damage to stop the aggression, or pulled a firearm and demanded he leave, she could very well prevent herself being kidnapped, raped and killed.

In neither of these examples did the attacker have a visible weapon, but because of their actions, I believe the victim has a very viable case of using force in self-defense.

 
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The Shemagh

July 29, 2014 by

The Shemagh

The Shemagh, pronounced shmog, is a garment worn in arid climates as a scarf or headdress. They were incorporated by many in the American armed forces in the last decade and by many in the British armed forced decades ago. The Shemagh can be worn is several ways and has several other uses. It is an item I believe belongs in every BOB. The Shemagh is a 46”x46” piece of fabric, coming in several colors and designs.

When worn as a scarf, it can keep the neck shaded in the sun, can provide warmth in the cold and can stop debris from falling down ones shirt in the field.

When worn as a headdress, it can shade the head and neck from the sun, and if worn dessert ninja style, can conceal ones face.

Medically, the Shemagh could be used for an arm sling, fashioned with branches in the field for a leg splint or two of them could make a decent, impromptu, stretcher.

With a bit of cordage, it would make a decent “hobo” style bag.

It could also serve as a towel, small blanket or pillow or, dunk it in cold water and use it as a headdress or scarf for added cooling.

For these reasons and more, I think each BOB should have one of these beauties. One word of warning though; if you buy one, you will want to rinse it thoroughly to remove excess ink. Mine came from Pakistan and I had to soak them for days, changing the water and rinsing them several times before the ink quit bleeding; not something you want in your washing machine!

CampingSurvivalShemaghs

Prepared Christian supporter, Camping Survival, carries a wide selection of Shemaghs,! If you’re interested in them, head over and check them out! The colors shown in the image are just a partial view of their selection.

 
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Run, Hide, Fight

July 22, 2014 by

Run, Hide, Fight

Imagine if the rules in games like dodge ball changed so that when someone was going to throw at you, you had to stand still, or in tag, when you were being chased you had to stop and wait to be tagged; in football, when you caught the ball you had to wait to be tackled by the opposing team.

Any hunter will tell you it is easier to shoot at game that is standing still versus game that is flying or running. Any decent self-defense firearms instructor will tell you to “Get off the X” before you engage in combat.

These are all pretty easy to understand concepts, are they not? Then why is it that we have schools whose only plan for an active shooter is to lock down? This is the case at the schools my kids have attended. We always told them that if anyone started shooting to run, even if the teachers said no. We also gave them a place to run to. This way they didn’t have to try and figure out what to do at the most terrifying moment in their lives; they just needed to react.

I don’t think any single self-defense plan will fit every situation. If someone comes into my company and starts shooting, what I will do is going to depend on what is happening. If the shots are coming from the lobby, I am in no immediate danger, so the option of running makes the most sense. If the best escape route is cut off, then hiding and hoping an opportunity to run opens up might make more sense. No matter what happens, I’ll be gauging the necessity of fighting.

Here is a video that teaches a concept I really wish every school would implement. Not only should your kids know it, you should too!

Pretty simple concept and one I think every adult should incorporate into their personal protection plan. I also think parents should sit down and explain it to their kids. Some parents might be concerned that the conversation might scare their kids and this might keep them from talking to them about this. Yes, it could cause some momentary fear in them. As a parent, I would rather cause some momentary fear, and know that if, God forbid, shots are ever fired at their school, they won’t be hiding in their classroom unless they think that is the safest option. If you’re concerned that you might scare your kids, use the examples listed at the beginning of this article. Kids know that if they want to win at dodge ball, they need to, well, DODGE, and that if they want to win at tag they need to run and not be tagged. Explaining that if someone starts shooting they need to run as fast as they can, just like they would in any of those games. Also, give them a place to run to; we told our kids to run to a church parking lot that is out of harm’s way.

As a last resort, I also showed my kids how to fight…no, I taught them how to fight dirty. I also told them that they only use the things I showed them if someone is trying to kill them, not just if they’re mad and not if someone is trying to steal from them. I taught them that they should only use dirty fighting if their life is in danger. Most kids are not prone to violence. In fact, many are afraid of using it. So we need to explain to them that it is ok and even a good thing in certain situations.

Summary

I think every one of us should implement this in our personal protection plans and teach it to our kids. If a shooting happens near us, there is no one surefire plan. Most of the time running is preferable; hide only when running is not an option and be ready to fight viciously at any moment.

 
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It’s Not the End of The World; at Least Not Yet

July 17, 2014 by

It's not the end of the world

We prepare because we see how the world around us is, and we see that there are some very real dangers in it. However, there are some in our community who need to throttle back on “the collapse is coming” a bit. I may upset some of you but I hope you will read the entire article before you decide.

I believe that the likelihood of a “Mad Max” TEOTWAWKI type collapse is highly unlikely. I do believe that events like an EMP attack, pandemic and other wide scale events are possible, so it is worthwhile to consider those possibilities and watch for signs of them.

I explained in Disaster Probability that the events we are most likely to see are not widespread and will really only affect us as individuals, our families and maybe our neighborhood. The events that are far more widespread and are much more destructive are far less probable.

I’ve also come to believe that it is unlikely because world history has shown this to be the case. For example, there was hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic after WWII, and in Zimbabwe starting in 2008. These two events are probably the most closely related events to a “collapse” as most prepper’s view it.

Argentina had a financial collapse, as did Iceland and many European countries since 2008. While these all had financial upheaval, civil unrest and rioting for a short time, I don’t know that any resemble the collapse as many prepper’s expect it.

We’ve seen several regional outbreaks of SARS and other illnesses, but the last true pandemic we saw was the Spanish Flu of 1918.

If we look at the last 100 years of American history, we see the great depression as the biggest “collapse” style event. But there have been hundreds of smaller events, mostly weather-related. Even if we look at the worst of these; Hurricane Katrina, this was a horrible event for those in the area, but had little direct impact on the rest of the country. In the grand scheme of things, it was fairly short lived, and aid, while slow to arrive, still came. My point is that even the worst weather related event we have had wasn’t a “collapse” or “TEOTWAWKI” event, but if you live in an area where hurricanes are a threat, they are the exact kind of event you should be preparing for.

Yes, there is a small chance of these collapse types of events happening, but there are several much smaller SHTF events that actually happen every day, including death in the family, job loss, tornados, hurricanes, blizzards, medical emergencies, home invasions, car accidents, severe drought and wildfires, just to name a few. If we take a more general approach to preparedness and don’t measure things by how useful they would be in one event, our overall preparedness is greater.

I see people comment on things on facebook and blog comments to Prepared Christian and other sites that I just don’t understand. Things like “I won’t start a garden because when the collapse comes people will come take my food,” or “I won’t own a storage locker because when the collapse comes the government will take it.” I fully believe that a violent attack could be perpetrated against me. But this doesn’t cause me to stay in the house. I practice Situational Awareness every time I leave the house and frequently carry a firearm or other type of self-defense implement.

If you live your life avoiding certain things because one day an event with a low chance of happening could happen, you’ve already been affected by it. Gardening offers huge benefits; eating fresh fruits and veggies, reduction of stress, sharing excess fruit and veggies with neighbors and loved ones, which can lead to prepper conversations and possibly to their prepping. If your reason not to garden is because it’ll make you a target when TEOTWAWKI comes, first; breathing in TEOTWAWKI will make you a target, and second; you give up all of the benefits on the remote chance that the worst case might happen.

I received a few different negative emails on the article I did on storage lockers, most saying that my idea was foolish because in a collapse people would break in or the government would seize them. Yes, if TEOTWAWKI happens, people might break in and steal things and the government might lay claim to it, but if you read the executive orders, the government can lay claim to many, MANY things in a collapse situation. In a total collapse, you can probably kiss your storage unit goodbye, but that doesn’t make it a stupid or invalid plan for the family that has a little extra money and that lives below the flood plain, or the family who lives in tornado alley, or the family that lives in an area where wildfires are a yearly threat, who wants to make sure they have some items set aside in case they are forced to bug out with nothing.

If I need a used car, I judge it by its gas mileage, safety rating and whether it’s been in an accident, not by how it may preform if we get hit by an EMP.

Again, there is a chance that we could see the worst case scenario collapse, but you do yourself a disservice if you measure the quality of an item or a plan based on the small chance that it occurs and what people will do if the worst does happen.

 
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Tips from a Storage Unit Auctioneer

July 15, 2014 by

Tips from a Storage Unit Auctioneer

I think there is a lot of knowledge shared by all of you in the comments. I think some people will go back and read comments weeks after they’ve read an article, but most will only read them at the time they read the article.

There was a comment in the storage unit article I wrote by a man who is an auctioneer at storage locker auctions. It had so much great info in it that I asked his permission to publish it as its own article and he agreed. I think buying storage lockers could be a good way to get any camping or other prepper gear that might be inside. But it could also be a great side business for anyone with a little extra cash and the time to resell the items.

The following is written by Old Alaskan:

Let me share my 20+ years as a Defaulted Storage Auctioneer and Buyer.
Security, yes the circle lock is one of the hardest locks for the average person to cut. We use an 18V DeWalt Angle grinder, but in a bug out situation an “us or them” then a sledgehammer would do. I have seen a locksmith open one of these in 15 seconds. Most facilities have electronic gates and an extended power outage would make these gates un-useable. They do have a manual over-ride but you cannot count on it being activated so small bolt cutters to cut the chain link fence, If it has one, will be necessary.

Location, some of the storage companies are located close to high density housing, apartment complexes, and low income housing so plane on your location. It is widely known that you can find all manner of good stuff in storage units, thank you Storage Wars, so you might find your unit already looted, if not then you might need an armed guard while loading out and don’t forget the possibility of an ambush on your way out. The gate or hole you made in the fence will be a great ambush site.
Large rollup doors are nice for ease in loading and unloading the unit but think of this a door that swings open with a dirty mattress right behind it. I have seen several units like this and behind the mattress was a treasure trove. I bought some like this cheap because all the other bidders saw was a dirty mattress. So build a wall of junk to discourage theft if your unit is broken into. Most break-ins are grab and dash.

Now let’s look at the flip-side of BUYING defaulted storage units.

It’s strange how when you have your day planed out an incident or phone call changes your whole day and sometimes the next two days. This is why people should be preppers, not to prepare for disasters but to be prepared for what life and God throws at us. So it was Wednesday April 30 when I answered my phone, the person at the other end said Chuck we’re having a storage auction at 11 AM and I’m calling you to make sure you will be there. I replied sure I’ll be there if I can. I debated in my mind do I REALLY need to go I have a full day of work and enough junk in my life but curiosity won out over logic besides it’s a beautiful sunny day who wants to work indoors.

This is unusual for me since my auction company does most of the storage auctions in our area. Some of the questions I receive at my storage auctions are: how do I find out about these auctions? Well, all but 2 states have “Storage Lien Laws” Vermont and Alaska are the exceptions. These auctions must be posted in a public area. Most of the time this means the Legal Notices in your local newspaper BUT don’t just rely on this, any paper of general circulation will meet the requirements. In Indianapolis, IN. the Court Reporter publication meets this criteria. When all else fails get out the yellow pages and call storage companies and ask where they post defaulted storage auction notices and do they notify potential bidders? Or call the local auctioneers and ask if they do storage and notify bidders.
Once you find a notice then what? Well, the notice must have Date, Time, Location, Name and sometimes unit number. This is supposed to be for the tenant to be notified that they are about to lose their belongings if they don’t pay their storage bill but you can use this to your advantage. You have a name do a computer search of that person what can you learn about that person and attach it to the unit number when you show up. DON’T share this information its part of your arsenal. Remember the tenant has up to the day of the auction to pay what is owed so units may be missing from the auction notice.

On the day of the auction it’s pretty much like on TV but a lot of time without the drama. If possible don’t buy a unit the first day unless it absolutely jumps out at you. Watch, listen, and observe who the major bidders are, what do they bid on, what trash and smack is being said by the big hitters about the unit and what do they do after they say it. If there are any more auctions that day tag along and when the last unit is sold quietly ask around if anyone needs help loading their units and you are willing to help with maybe some barter for your labor. This is a good way to see what was in the unit and get a feel for some of the things in the units. Personal Items, Birth Certificates, Family photos (Picture frames are NOT personal Items) the cremated remains of Granny or Grand pop, all should be given back to the storage company to be returned to the tenant. What to watch out for, there are unscrupulous Auctioneers and Storage Companies so here are some things to watch for.

As an auctioneer I have it in my contract with the storage companies that the “working auction company personal” cannot bid at these auctions.

Shill bidding, Puffing, Ghost Bidders, bouncing bids are all unethical and in many cases illegal. Research the uniform commercial code 2-328 “Sale by Auction” All but one state has adopted this code as a state statute, Louisiana is the exception. If you suspect the auctioneer of doing this don’t bid and leave and let your feelings be known to the storage owner but sometimes they are in on it also so just don’t attend their auctions.

Staged Units, here is where the owner, manager or auctioneer will go through the unit and pull good items out to entice you to bid more or to hide garbage behind the boxes. An auctioneer here where I live puts his personal junk into units and then puts empty gun cases or empty Makita tool boxes in the units to entice people to bid more. After a while you will be able to spot a staged unit remember DUST is your friend. If the boxes are taped and the tape peeling with a layer of dust on top of them then you have a good indication of an OLD non-staged unit.

Cherry Picking, If you see disturbed dust on boxes, boxes with the tape cut open, empty gun or tool cases, items tossed about these are all clues to a cherry picked unit where the owner, manager or auctioneer took items from the unit and if the auctioneer has similar items at his weekly or monthly auction house auctions then it’s a good bet he cherry picks the units.

Firearms, every state has a different law on firearms so I will just mention what the BATF has to say about firearms in storage ………………………………………………….. and that is what BATF has to say about firearms in storage auctions. Check on your area what are your states firearms laws. There is an auctioneer here that says it’s a federal law and if you find a firearm in a unit you must give it back to the auctioneer. BULL PUCKYS there is NO federal law that says this. He resells it and keeps the money. The lying thieving scumbag.

This is what I do, when we open the unit I look for firearms or signs of firearms I do not enter the unit unless I see a sign of a firearm and if any are found I clear them, then let the people who are inclined, fondle them, then sell them. You pay for the firearms after the auction and then we go to The Auction House and fill out the paperwork and for the NICS background check, if you pass you get the firearm if not you DO NOT get a refund and we resell it at our next auction house auction and you hope for a profit. But what if the gun was used in a crime? I almost always get this question now let’s reason this through, Abby from NCIS doesn’t work at every crime lab in the country and police departments wont test if the firearm was used to murder someone it’s just too expensive, NEXT what if it was used in a robbery, what robber will stand there and say “this is a hold up give me all your money and by the way this is a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver it’s serial number is XXXCCCC it’s a model XY.” But what if it’s been stolen, well most home owners haven’t wrote down on a paper the make, model, Serial Number, caliber of their firearms so there is no way to know if the firearm is stolen. Then if the home owner’s insurance policy paid off on the theft the home owner must reimburse the insurance company the money paid. Most could not do this since they spent the money. What happens then is the police keep the firearm and either destroy it, or sell it at auction and use the money to buy more equipment and bullets. There is a saying “if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there does it make a noise?” Keep your mouth shut.

Bidding strategies, well there really aren’t too many, jump bids sometimes they work and most times they don’t, I hate to say this but watch some of the strategies on “Storage Wars & Storage Wars Texas. The other shows are heavily staged.

After a while in about a year or two you will get a feel for these units and you will feel more comfortable in buying them. I know several people who make a good full time living buying storage and operating a thrift store. But the more money you lose the quicker you will learn. I know a person who only buys $50.00 or less units and has a very good side income.

Bidder fees, some auctioneers are greedy and charge a registration fee to sign in skip them this in my opinion is the first warning sign of an unethical auctioneer.

Buyer’s Premium, a 10% premium on top of your bid is not unreasonable any more than this is greed. So if you bid $100.00 you final bill will be $160.00. What that doesn’t compute I forgot a cash only $50.00 cleaning deposit which you get back when you clean the unit out.

Now that you bought a unit what do you do now? You usually have 24 or 48 hours to clean it out but what do I do with all the stuff? Let’s see there is Craig’s list and people who don’t show up for appointments to see something, Yard Sale and tie up a weekend you could be out at storage auctions, open a thrift store or http://www.maxanet.com. You can set up your own E-bay style auction site, do timed auctions and move a lot of merchandise from your garage or shed this way. You will need a digital camera and a lap top a website from Go Daddy and the fees to set up the site. Everything can be done for $500.00 or less.

What will you find in a storage unit? Well look around your house, anything and everything, Kitchen, Bath, Bedroom, Garage, Shed Anything & Everything.
In some parts of the country you will find things that you won’t find in another part of the country. In Indianapolis there are a lot of antiques, glassware & Pottery, here where I live we have two military bases and a huge outdoor sport population so besides the normal household items we also find camping, fishing, hunting and yes guns & ammo, also military items but not much in antiques.
So depending on your local area you could find lots or limited items for prepping but you will always find some things.

What should I bring Well dress for the weather we do auctions year round here even in winter when the temperature is 20 below zero, a flashlight, padlocks, cash in 5’s, 10’s, 20’s 50’s and 100’s change is sometimes at a premium with the auctioneer, and be ready to wait while everyone looks into the unit.
As for the phone call that ruined my Wednesday. I showed up about 20 minutes early and signed in which is normal and talked with the owner and manager, I’m well known in certain circles because of my auctions. It’s a good tactic to get to know the managers, Donuts or cookies or candies at Christmas time goes a long way. Many storage companies need weekend managers but don’t go that route as you will be working during the auctions.

Only four people showed up for this auction. The storage company didn’t advertise to hard so this is normal for this location. It was me, my oldest son and two regulars at my auctions. They showed us one unit an 8 X 30 and they said that they would be coming back and auction it later and we went to another unit an 8 X 20 with two doors. I looked into the first door and a large stainless steel propane smoker literally jumped out at me and I wanted one of these to smoke salmon this summer. This is dangerous don’t fall in love with a unit. I saw two tube TV’s definite dumpster junk, 3 dirty mattresses 3 mountain bikes of low level value, a propane tank for the BBQ, 2 LARGE white coolers (hmmm camper, fisherman goes through my mind, harps are playing) in the next door a red sofa & love seat, cheap pack frames (Kids) tents, darn I’m falling in love, Miter saw and as I went back to the first door my son said Dad did you see the crossbow on top of the mattresses????? I look up and there are harps and angels singing and flowers and hearts I’m in love.

This is a very dangerous frame of mind you can lose a LOT of money in this state of mind. The owner asks for a bid and no one says anything so I open at 100 thinking a strong opening might scare them away it doesn’t another says 50 I say 200 he says 50 I say 300 well it didn’t go this fast there is posturing and dancing with heads down really all the signs that you want it but you are trying to portray that you are indifferent to the unit. It stops at $300.00 I guess he’s thinking if I ever want to get a unit at my auction he should back out WELL I DON’T operate like that but I get the unit. We go to the other unit we saw earlier and my son says $25.00 there are no other bids and he gets it for $25.00. I go to the office and there is a $100.00 cash only cleaning deposit and I have less than 6 hours to clean it out and I promised the wife to take out for lunch oh crap.

After lunch my wife drops me off at The Auction House and I get our truck and meet her at the storage yard. My son comes from his unit and crawls into mine and hands me a VIPER COPPERHEAD crossbow and 8 arrows (bolts). He then spreads the mattresses and says here dad, a gun boot for a 4 wheeler with a Mossberg 500 in it that no one saw comes from between the mattresses. This is always a good hiding spot for rifles, mirrors, glass table tops so always check these carefully before moving them, 3 propane tanks, 4 tents, 2 cheap aluminum pack frames, about 20 fishing rods and several boxes of lures. We still have to unpack the boxes but if I sold what I got now I would more than quadruple my price but I could use a 150 pound crossbow, smoker, propane tanks and another Mossberg 500. I can still sell the rest and still triple my bid. As for my son his unit was a Hawaiian unit and will clear at least $1,000.00 or more. There is Tappa Cloth and other interesting things in it.
Not every unit is a home run I have had my share of stinkers and if anyone asks me what I got on Wednesday well it was all busted trash in the unit and went to the dump. NEVER let on to anyone what you find then the prices will go up unless you are the auctioneer who works on a commission then everything in the unit is great stuff.

I have 3 regular bidders at our storage auctions who have full-time thrift stores. The wife of one confided in me that she doesn’t have to buy laundry detergent, Bath soap, TP, and many other items and their food bill is almost nill. The find all kinds of useable personal items in the units they buy. One store owner has 3 full-time employees; another is him and his wife as is another. They all do this full time and seem to be making a go of it since they have been coming to my auctions for several years.
Storage auctions are like gold mining you must move tons of dirt to find a nugget.
Happy Hunting

The feedback from an auction that I conducted on May 3, 2014 was one unit had some silver coins, another gold jewelry, another Alaskan Native items, 2 others firearms (Ruger 10/22, S&W .45 pistol) Shelving material, Stainless Steel racks on wheels and lots of stuff. You just never know.

 
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Coping With Sleep Deprivation; Confessions of an Insomniac

July 10, 2014 by

Coping With Sleep Deprivation; Confessions of an Insomniac
 
For most of my life, I was the kind of person that slept very well. I fell asleep easily and awoke rested. However, some years ago that changed. I was diagnosed with two types of insomnia. I struggle to fall asleep and, once I do, I get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep and then awaken several times the rest of the night. I underwent a sleep study and do not have sleep apnea. I take medication for insomnia now and, while I still have a bad night here and there, for the most part I sleep better.

I’m not sharing this to garner sympathy. I just figure that if faced with a survival situation, there are a host of things that could cause one to sleep poorly. I just happen to have some insight into what one can expect when you encounter a poor night’s sleep or a string of several poor nights’ sleep.

This article should not be viewed as any type of medical advice. This is purely from my own experiences or those others have shared with me. Some of the advice I give for either helping you stay awake or helping you get to sleep may not be medically safe for you. If there is any question, talk to your doctor!

While it is true that there are some standard side effects that most people encounter from a lack of sleep, the severity of those side effects and the rate at which they appear can vary. For instance, Bobby might normally get 9 hours of sleep. If he only gets five, he might be slightly irritable. Johnny, on the other hand, might normally get eight hours of sleep but gets cranky if he gets less than seven.
 

Impacts of Lacking Sleep

The severity of side effects due to one poor nights’ sleep can vary greatly. For instance, I don’t function well at all on less than five hours of sleep. If I can get six, I’ll be tired but I can get by. I have noticed that most of the effects from lacking sleep get worse if I sleep poorly for a few nights in a row. For example, at the time of this writing, I am on my fifth night of getting 5-6 hours. The first couple of days were bearable, but today I am thankful I don’t have to drive (and that I have a proof-reader!). The following are some of the effects I have seen.

Loss in cognitive ability; my job is “level two tech-support” for a very complex software product. One really poor night’s sleep or a few mediocre really take a toll. It takes me longer to troubleshoot issues, and I have to get assistance from co-workers more frequently. As I mentioned, I’m at five nights of poor sleep and I have forgotten words several times today. There have been decisions that I have had to put on hold as well as some serious conversations.

Irritability; this one for me is hit or miss. Sometimes I might be easier to irritate, or the level of irritability might be worse. Some days I’m not irritable at all and things that usually don’t make me laugh are suddenly funny.

Dry eyes; I’m not sure if my eyes get drier or if it just bothers me more. Either way, I have eye drops with me at all times.

Memory loss; this usually isn’t bad unless I have a couple bad nights in a row. I have learned to write notes and set Outlook reminders.

Loss of concentration; it takes less to derail my train of thought. This article, for example, is taking me twice as long to write as it normally would.

Lack of healing and increased pain; our bodies use sleep to heal us from the day’s wear and tear. When we don’t enter into a deep REM sleep, this doesn’t take place. I have a couple different causes of chronic pain. My pain is worse than normal on the days with less sleep.

Headaches; I get frequent headaches as it is, but they are either worse or harder to handle when I’ve slept poorly.

Loosing time; I don’t mean blacking out. It’s more like zoning out on steroids. I have found myself staring at a computer monitor until the power feature turns it off. I’ve “watched” television and realized half way through that, well, it’s halfway through and I don’t remember much of the first half.
 

Staying Asleep

Picture this; the grid has been down for five days and rioting and other civil unrest started in your area not long after. You and your spouse have taken shifts keeping watch at night. Even when you try sleep, it’s broken up by gunshots and the sounds of crying. How can you make sure that you’re sleeping and making the most of your sleep?

Pharmaceuticals can help, but if you have to be sharing a watch or making sure you have your wits about you as soon as you wake up, this might not be an option, as several drugs cause morning grogginess. I have tried several sleeping pills over the years. The hangover effect is much worse with some than it is with others. Melatonin has a far milder effect but is not an option for everyone, as it can cause some very vivid and no-so-pleasant dreams.

You would think that the lack of sleep would help you sleep better but that’s not always the case, especially in times of stress. Though you can be completely worn out and dragging, your mind won’t let you fall asleep. In times of stress, doing calming things before bed are a great idea. Doing something that can take your mind off the situation for a while is helpful as well.

If I can’t sleep, I could lay there all night trying. I have noticed that if I get up and play a game or surf the web for a while, I tend to fall asleep faster when I try laying down again.

There are several tea’s that boast aiding in relaxation and sleep.
 

Staying Awake

Imagine the same scenario as above; you’re getting half the amount of sleep that you normally would. How can you make sure you stay awake when it’s your turn to be on watch? While I haven’t had to live through this scenario, I have had to hold down a job, drive in traffic and complete other tasks that I had to make sure I was awake for.

Stimulants immediately come to mind, but in the scenario I have given, they might not be a good idea during the night. You want to make sure you’re able to sleep when it’s your turn. The 4 hour energy drink may be alright, I suppose.

I wrote an article called Caffeine as a Prep Item where I explored the pluses and minuses of caffeine in a survival situation.

Pain can work very well in the short term. A slap to the face, plucking a nose hair or other minor things can help you fight off sleep for a time.

Cold water, as cold as you can stand it, can do wonders. In the given scenario, this idea might not work, but filling the sink with ice cubes and cold water, dunking the hands and face every few minutes, might do the trick.

Be cautious of pushing it too far. Your body will shut down eventually. When I was in the Navy, I went to aviation electrician school. There was a guy in my class who hit the clubs a couple night in a row. One day in class, he fell asleep at his desk. He was made to stand in the back of the class and hold a 2×4 over his head. He fell asleep standing up and dropped it on his head twice before class was out.

 
Catching up on Sleep

It is possible to catch up on sleep, but depending on the deficit, it could take a few days. One of the best ways to do this is by taking one of God’s greatest blessings…a nap!

The following is from WebMD

The length of your nap and the type of sleep you get help determine the brain-boosting benefits. The 20-minute power nap — sometimes called the stage 2 nap — is good for alertness and motor learning skills like typing and playing the piano.

What happens if you nap for more than 20 minutes? Research shows longer naps help boost memory and enhance creativity. Slow-wave sleep — napping for approximately 30 to 60 minutes — is good for decision-making skills, such as memorizing vocabulary or recalling directions. Getting rapid eye movement or REM sleep, usually 60 to 90 minutes of napping, plays a key role in making new connections in the brain and solving creative problems.

 
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Filed Under: General Preparedness

quick updates

July 9, 2014 by

Over the last few years I have had people complain to Internet filtering companies and search engines. I believe it is the “Christian” in Prepared Christian they take offense with. The claim is that I engage in hate speech or some other ridiculous thing.

Normally, all it takes to clear things up is jumping through a few hoops and an email and PreparedChristian.net is removed from the banned or blocked list. Most recently, Yahoo has blocked email both coming and/or going to PreparedChristian.net. I have jumped though their hoops but I can’t get a response from them explaining why this has happened or what else needs to be done to correct it.

If you have a have a Yahoo email account and need to contact me, as of now, it will not be delivered. Because of this, I have created the following account and will check it daily going forward. chris.ray72 (at) outlook (dot) com

Camping Survival Giveaway

I wanted to remind you all that Camping Survival is giving away one Bible and ten pocket Constitution (Declaration of Independence and Constitution). With last week being the Fourth of July, traffic to the site was pretty low, so the odds of winning are really good for those who enter. To enter just send an email to contest (at) PreparedChristian.net. The final day is 7-11-2014. I will email the winners to get their shipping addresses.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Two Most Important Documents in World History

July 4, 2014 by

The Two Most Important Documents in World History

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain to cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.”

~Thomas Paine

Today we celebrate the day we declared our independence from England. Because today is a celebration of freedom, I want to share with you my thoughts on the two most important documents in the world’s history; the Holy Bible and the United States Constitution.

I led off with the quote from Thomas Paine because I think it is important to read and understand these documents and the rights they define. If we do not know the freedom we have in Christ, then satan can continue to lie to us and we’ll believe we’re still slaves. If we don’t know what our God given rights are, how can we possibly know or care when they’re being taken away?

These documents can be hard to understand at times. After all, a constitutional lawyer, who has studied them for years, fails to grasp their meaning frequently (sarcasm)! Seriously though, while it can be hard to understand, if you set a high value on your freedom, then the time spent is a small price to pay.

 
The Bible

I have heard the Bible referred to as a guidebook for one’s life. I’ve been reading the Bible frequently for almost ten years and every day for around eight years. Truth be told, I didn’t understand a lot of what I read back when I first started. I stuck with it and researched passages that I had trouble with. It wasn’t always enjoyable reading. Sometimes God uses words written thousands of years ago to point out a modern day sin in your life. Remember: God disciplines the ones He loves.

There are passages I still struggle with but I don’t have to use a concordance as much. While I am far from a saint, I know that because of my time with God’s word every day, I am a better man, a better father, a better husband and a better servant to Jesus.
 
The Constitution

If the Bible is the guidebook for one’s life, the Constitution is the guidebook for a just and balanced nation. I do know the difference between the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, but for the purpose of this article I am lumping them together.

For millennia, nations were ruled by family line, by those who had the biggest armies, and the rights of their people were controlled by the whim of their leader. What the Constitution does is draw lines defining how government is created; three separate branches with checks and balances on each one. It defines how our leaders are elected and how big the representation for each state should be.

I think that the Constitutions most important accomplishment is that the Founders defined the rights of the people, which they declared were given by our Creator, God.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

There are those, among which I am one, who believe that our Constitution is being trampled on and that we’ve lost many of the liberties we once had. However, I have traveled to several other countries and it is my opinion that we are still the freest nation on earth.

I have written two articles related to this topic; Knowing Your Rights and How to Protect Them, and Trading Liberty for Safety.
 
Camping-Survival

Camping Survival sees great value in the Bible and the Constitution as well, so much so that they sell a variety of Bibles and a pocket Constitution (Declaration of Independence and Constitution). They have agreed to give away one Bible and ten pocket Constitutions to the Prepared Christian readers. To enter this contest, you just need to send an email to: contest (at) PreparedChristian.net. I will pick random winners on Friday, July 11th and will email them, requesting their mailing address. As a thank you, please consider swinging by Camping Survival and perusing their collection of Bibles and preparedness supplies!

 
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Filed Under: General Preparedness, Mind Set Tagged With:

More Supporter Specials

July 3, 2014 by

I wanted to let you all know about specials being offered from two Prepared Christian supporters. You might have seen the offers on the banners on the right side of the site, but I wanted to mention it just in case.

Seed of the Month


Seed of the Month Club is offering a 25% discount! To sign up, just click on the banner! For a little more information you can click on the banner or read a Q and A session I had with Mike, the owner of Seed of the Month Club.
 

The End Times Warehouse


The End Times Warehouse is one of the newest supporters! I was a little skeptical when I saw the name, thinking they might be beating the end times’ drum, but their slogan is “Preparedness for the End Times or Any Time”.

They are currently offering a waterproof Bible with the purchase of Wise Food 240 meal or above. Find out more by clicking on the banner and then on the link for food!

Filed Under: General Preparedness

Food and Money Preservation for the College Student

July 2, 2014 by

This article was written by Lee Flynn
 
Food and Money Preservation for the College Student

 
We typically associate the term “college student” with words like “poor” and “broke.” Students usually have to work part-time and go to school full-time, simultaneously juggling two different realities and still having to manage finding the amount of time needed to study for tests and having a social life. The life of a student shouldn’t be harder than necessary; finding a way to eat healthy and preserve food can drastically benefit a student’s overall health, performance and stamina during the school week!
 


Most college students deem properly storing food as a thing their parents do; however, learning how to master this art is crucially important to learning how to live independently. There are many things we can learn to live without, such as saying “no” to that new pair of shoes, limiting the amount of eating out we do each week and limiting the amount of junk food we inhale on a daily basis. When you’re a college student, however, learning to incorporate the things we should be living with is so important! Eating healthy while maintaining a budget is simpler than you might think – and a supply of food storage is essential to this practice!
 

Planning

 Forget all the images that might be running through your mind right now: food preservation doesn’t require storing giant bins of food for an end of the world scenario! Think of it more as ensuring that your limited financial resources receive the maximum amount of return for the trips you take to the grocery store. And if you’re the typical college kid and pizza is you main course on a daily basis, even that can be preserved. Each small amount of money that is wasted can easily add up – imaging how much more socializing you could do on the weekend if your money wasn’t being wasted weekly!
 

Think about the type of foods you love to eat and begin to plan on ways you can easily preserve leftovers. If you’re the type that needs assistance in planning food preservation there are a number of online sites that can help you determine factors such as budget and food preferences to create a custom storage plan for you! It will require very little time and effort!
 

Building
 

Building a supply of food can be a little intimidating at first, especially if you’re on a tight budget. Starting small is the best approach to building up your personal inventory. Begin purchasing food that you’re familiar with and would want to eat if necessary. Keep track of the typical types of foods you eat weekly and start by picking up just one or two of those items every time you go to the store. If you’re a macaroni and cheese junkie and notice a sale at the store take advantage of it and purchase a few extra boxes for your pantry!
 

Storing
 
In a temporary housing situation there is a limited amount of storage available and having roommates can complicate things even more! There’s always a solution, however! Purchase some bed raisers and begin to store your items underneath; use an extra dresser drawer for a couple items; utilize that hard-to-reach high shelf in your closet that you can never reach for extra storage. Remember that when there’s a will there’s always a way!
 
Here’s an easy way to begin the process:

  1. Week One – Begin to cut out eating out for just one day a week; set that money aside.
  2. Week Two – Use the extra money you saved last week to purchase two inexpensive items from the store to set aside in your pantry.
  3. Week Three – Begin to search for sale ads at the grocery store. If you don’t have the extra time to incorporate this habit simply glance at the store’s weekly flyer next time you shop! Purchase a few items for your pantry.
  4. Week Four – For items that can’t be preserved such as pizza, purchase a few storage containers and begin to save your leftovers. You’ll be amazed at how much money you save by simply doing this!
Filed Under: Food Tagged With: