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Why I Prepare

January 1, 2013 by

Why I Prepare

I think a great way to start off the New Year is to go back to square one and define why it is, we do what we do.  You see Prepper’s or survivalist’s have never been treated kindly by the media, but there has been some new negativity since it was discovered that the mother of the Sandy Hook shooter was a prepper and owned guns.  I think it is important to have an easily understandable, well thought out answer if someone were to ask us why we prepare.   You might agree with some of the reasons I list.  If so, great!  Either way, please take some time to define why you prepare and to explain that you’re not a nut-job.  If you want to share with the community, please post your answers in the comments section.  If you don’t want to share, that’s fine too.  Please, at least be thinking of how you might answer if someone asks you.

I prepare because I have eyes to see and ears to hear.  I am awake and aware that there are some very real dangers in the world, things that happen every day.  Most of these things are small in nature; ice storms, blackouts, blizzards, etc.  We also are facing a failing infrastructure, a very fragile electric grid, just-in-time-delivery to grocery stores, as well as countries and terrorist groups who have vowed to attack America and our interests.

I prepare because it is a part of who I am.  No matter how the media spins it, I am not a “crazed doomsday survivalist”.  I am a pragmatic realist who, to the best of my ability, wants to mitigate the things that can have a negative impact on my life.

I prepare because Proverbs 27:12 says the prudent thing to do is take precaution when we see a danger.

I do not prepare out of fear.  I prepare so I do not have to be afraid.  I am prepared, and therefore, I am not afraid that my family won’t have clean drinking water, food to eat, a warm place to sleep or safety from the things that go bump in the night.

I prepare because I love freedom, and being evacuated to a stadium is not my idea of freedom.  If I lost everything and this was my only option, I would take it.  Anything short of that and we’ll take care of ourselves, thank you.

I prepare because I think doing so makes me a good citizen.  If there is ever a disaster in my area, I will not be a drain on precious resources.

I prepare because, in our hi-tech modern world, we have forgotten how hard a low tech life can be.  Just because we have on-demand everything now, doesn’t mean we always will.

I prepare because I have never expected others to do for me.  This isn’t my pride, if a hand is offered and I need it, I will accept, but I will never be in expectation of that hand being out.

I prepare because I have health insurance, dental insurance, car insurance, home owners insurance, life insurance and vision insurance, just in case something bad happens.  I see preparing for the five basic human needs as a type of insurance.

I prepare because I think it makes me a responsible Christian.  If I am prepared and my family is cared for, I am better able to be Christ’s hands and feet to others in a disaster.  Spreading God’s love doesn’t stop in a disaster; in fact one could argue it needs to be spread more in such a time.

 

My name is Chris Ray and I am a Prepared Christian.

 
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Filed Under: Getting Started, Mind Set

Dreams, Prophecy and Promptings

November 28, 2012 by

“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”

This verse comes from Joel 2:28 and again from Acts 2:17.  It is a promise from God that He will pour out His spirit, which will give visions, dreams and cause some to prophecy.  Since starting Prepared Christian I have been blessed to receive emails from several of you who have shared dreams you have had or prophecies that have been given at your church or from ministries you interact with on the Internet.  I want to take some time to discuss this with you.

I think this is important because I know that some of you have been led to preparedness by a dream you have had or a loved one has had, or by prophecies given by someone you trust.  Sometimes we feel prompted by God to take an action to be more prepared.

 

Dreams

The word dream is mentioned in scripture 65 times; all but seven of those are in the Old Testament.  Dreams are clearly one way that God chooses to speak to us; I think this is for various reasons.  Dreams bypass the logical part of our brain that can quash the still small voice.  Dreams can also be used to introduce things that we are not yet familiar with.  They can be used to push us to take action on something we may or may not fully understand.

Scripture lists dreams given to people that were a concrete example of what would occur, examples of this appear in Mathew 1:20, when an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him that the child Mary caries was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  Again in Mathew 2:12 the three wise men receive a dream that warns them not to go back to Herod.  An angel comes to Joseph again in Mathew 2:13 to tell him to take Mary and Jesus and escape to Egypt.  Joseph was visited in a dream again in Mathew 2:19, telling him of Herod’s death.

More often, dreams from the Lord are far more abstract and need interpretation to understand.  For instance; the dream God gave to Pharaoh that is explained to Joseph in Genesis 41:15 of the seven fat cows, then seven scrawny and lean cows that Joseph interpreted for him to mean seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine.  Another example is found in Judges 7:13.  Gideon overhears a man telling of a dream that a round loaf of barley bread tumbled into the Midianite camp with such force it collapsed a tent.  The man listening to this dream interpreted it to mean that the loaf of bread was the sword of Gideon son of Joash.  Gideon used this knowledge to invade and conquer the Midianite camp.  Again, in Daniel 2:30, King Nebuchadnezzar has Daniel interpret the dream of a giant statue, King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:11 has Daniel interpret the dream of the giant tree.

Sometimes the meaning of a dream may be abstract, even if the dream itself is not.  An example of this could be the dreams given to Joseph in the book of Genesis.  In these dreams, Joseph interpreted his brothers and parents bowing down to him.  While Joseph became second in command, only lower than Pharaoh, God, at one point, had Joseph thrown into a cistern, sold into slavery and put in prison before interpreting Pharaohs dream and being given much power.  He used this power to save his family.

The point I am trying to make is that sometimes the dreams we have are from God.  Some of those dreams will actually happen exactly like they did in the dream, as it was many times with Joseph.  Some dreams might show us symbolic events, with the end result being similar to the dream, as it was with Joseph and his dreams of his family bowing down to him.  The dream could just be used to spark you into taking action, like Gideon did when hearing of the interpreted dream.

I have received e-mails from people who say they have had dreams of the economy crashing and violence everywhere.  I have received emails foretelling of the electric grid going out and society falling apart.  I have also gotten an email where the person dreamed that a large volcano (I assume it was the caldera in Yellowstone) erupted, destroying much of America and covering much of the US is ash.  I have also read prophecies from my church and other ministries that speak to some very difficult times ahead.  If all of these are true and come to pass, not only America but much of the world will suffer greatly.  In fact, if the caldera in Yellowstone erupted, it very well could be an ELE (Extinction Level Event).  I suppose it is possible that all of these things could happen, but even one happening is a very low possibility, let alone all three.

 

Prophecy

Prophecy is something I find interesting and have studied.  I have read Biblical prophecies and some by modern day prophets.  The modern prophecies that I have read are often a little vague.  Maybe the prophet is only allowed, as John the Revelator was, to show certain things, keeping some things hidden.  Maybe the entire sequence of events was not revealed to the prophet, or maybe the prophet is afraid of being too specific, fearing the events will not unfolding as they said.

I have visited forums where current events were forced into prophecy.  I have also seen very godly men led to believe a false prophet.  I learned a lesson when I started studying prophecy; if a prophet is wrong even once, they are not a prophet sent by God.  God is never wrong.

If I met a prophet who was always right, who lived a godly life and loved the Lord, I would listen and heed his words.  Until then, I will listen and put their words to the tests of scripture and time to see if they’re right.

 

Promptings

Most of the time, I have a very difficult time knowing if a prompting is from the Lord.  There are other times when I have no doubt.  I’m going to share something personal with all of you and I hesitate to do so, partly because I am very private, and partly because I think it could invite some conflict.  I think it is a good example of how sometimes God prompts us and uses things we understand at the time, only to have events unfold differently than originally thought.

Years ago I had read all of the Left Behind books and really studied the book of Revelation and other prophecies in the Bible.  This is also around the same time I started prepping.  I remember feeling like God was asking me to stay behind after the Rapture to help new believers learn about salvation, and to help them survive the coming judgments to the earth.

Years later I began to feel the Lord stirring again.  This time it was to help believers to learn that preparedness is Biblical and how to get better prepared now.  I wasn’t sure how to do this and sat on it for another couple years.  I finally started writing some pretty awful articles and emailing them to friends.  Then, God used Jack Spirko from the Survival Podcast to spark me into starting the Prepared Christian blog.

My point here is that even though all of the promptings were from God, in the beginning I did not have enough knowledge to teach others about preparedness.  Knowing I would need that knowledge, I began my research and better preparing my family.  Through writing those awful letters to my friends, I hopefully have gotten to be a better writer.  I still didn’t know how to “get the word out” until I heard Jack Spirko that day.  That began my research into blogging and using the Internet.  I now believe God used my understanding of things in the beginning to get me to take the action needed to do what I am doing now.  It was my understanding of things that changed, not Gods plan.

 

Final Thoughts:

Though God does use dreams, prophecy and promptings, they may not always mean what we think they mean.  Don’t cling so tightly to your understanding that God can’t unfold His plan.  Yes He is more powerful than you, but He loves you enough to yield to your free will.

 

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Filed Under: Christian World View, Mind Set

Guest Post: Neighboring Matters: Preparing For Unknown Unknowns

November 21, 2012 by

Today we are blessed by an excellent article written by Todd Walker, the Survival Sherpa, he has allowed me to post it here to help fill in some gaps while I go through the process of moving. Todd is the Owner/Editor of Survival Sherpa, please bless him by heading to his site and soaking up some of the great information he has on it, you can read the original article here.

 

Neighboring Matters: Preparing For Unknown Unknowns

Can we prepare for all the unknown unknowns?

 

No matter how meticulous you might be at creating your list of lists, how much stuff you’ve squirreled away, or how sharply you’ve honed your survival skills, you can’t prepare for the unknown unknowns. That’s why neighboring matters.

If you get 10 survivalists in a room, you’ll get eleven different opinions on how to build community. In this installment of my Individual Preparedness Plan series, we’ll discuss what should be on top of every person’s preparedness priority list: Neighboring.

In the wake of Sandy’s unwelcome and devastating visit, I’ve noticed a pungent theme of superiority in tweets and posts from some (thankfully not all) “preppers”: “When will sheeple learn” and “We don’t look so crazy now, do we.” Way to go. Pat yourself on the back. This kind of attitude only reinforces the many negative stereotype of preppers being lunatics with a gun and superiority complex.

Please don’t take this as a bash session on fellow preppers. I’m just wondering what our motives are for prepping. We’re all in it for ourselves to some degree. Individualism. Self-reliance. Independence. Preparedness. Back-to-basics. Sustainability. These are all noble pursuits. What about those closest to us – geographically, not on social media sites? That nameless neighbor I wave to when checking my mail. He’s only two doors down. The older couple that I politely say hello to as they walk past while I’m running the neighborhood streets. I don’t know their names or situations.

I often wonder how these nameless folks would respond to a natural disaster or extended SHTF scenario. What makes my middle class neighborhood different from those affected by Hurricane Sandy? Not a thing. Human nature is the same in New Jersey as it is here or in Timbuktu. We all need food, water, shelter, and neighbors… unless you live in an isolate cabin or cave in the hinter-boonies with wild animals as companionship. Then disregard this. For everyone else, your friends in the neighborhood could be your most valuable prep.

Got milk? No. Borrow it from your neighbor across the street. Uh, folks just don’t do that anymore. How about when a tornado rips through your town? Or an ice storm cripples the grid power? In these events, you’re forced to meet your neighbors. Most times, previously unknown faces show up from down the street with a chainsaw to plow through your fallen tree-lined driveway. It’s what humans do. We’re social animals. Too often we assume the worst about human nature while stocking the wood heater in our bunkers or sitting in our machine gun nests. Discounting and overlooking real relationships with tangible people living close to us will hamstring even those most prepared.

Many hands make light work. I don’t know who gets credit for that wise saying, but it’s true. Friends that you can trust, and can trust you, is more valuable than all the stuff we’re told to pack in our bug out bags, pantries, and gun vaults. Trusted friends are anchors of preparedness. Neighbors can be our wildcard.

Isolation is intentional. So is neighboring. It takes effort. Which means more than pressing the “Like”, “Follow”, or “Friend” button for virtual friends thousands of miles from our computer. It’s not likely that they’ll be available to pull your broken body from the rubble that use to be you home. They know you as an avatar on their screen. Face to face friends are outside your house. They live next door and down the street.

Our best hope of surviving catastrophe on a personal, local level is friends and neighbors. Daniel Aldrich, a political scientist living in New Orleans just before Hurricane Katrina hit, tells his story and study of response to natural disasters.

He had just moved to New Orleans. Late one August night, there was a knock on the door.

“It was a neighbor who knew that we had no idea of the realities of the Gulf Coast life,” said Aldrich, who is now a political scientist at Purdue University in Indiana. He “knocked on our door very late at night, around midnight on Saturday night, and said, ‘Look, you’ve got small kids — you should really leave.’ “

The knock on the door was to prove prophetic. It changed the course of Aldrich’s research and, in turn, is changing the way many experts now think about disaster preparedness.

Officials in New Orleans that Saturday night had not yet ordered an evacuation, but Aldrich trusted the neighbor who knocked on his door. He bundled his family into a car and drove to Houston.

“Without that information we never would’ve left,” Aldrich said. I think we would’ve been trapped.”

“Really, at the end of the day, the people who will save you, and the people who will help you,” he added, “they’re usually neighbors.”

 

Force multiplier

Family, friends, and neighbors help rebuild and restore order better than large organizations, government or otherwise. The more value-adding neighbors you have, (and not all will be “preppers”) the more hands, legs, minds, and overall resources become available. I sold my pickup truck this year to cover shortages in our family income when Dirt Road Girl could no longer work due to cancer. One of my neighbors gave a standing offer for me to use his spare truck for any hauling duty that might come up. He and his wife have been so supportive to our family in our personal SHTF scenario. From meals, prayers, dog sitting, and just plain old neighborly stuff, they’re not just neighbors, they’re friends now.

 

How many friends are enough?

Jesus had an intimate social circle of twelve friends and 3 closer than the rest. This number of face-to-face, close friends is about all mere humans can really manage. Any higher and we begin to spread ourselves thin. Keep in mind that this group is your real, trusted friends. See Dunbar’s Number for more thoughts on manageable social group sizing. Dunbar theorizes that 150 is the mean group size for people. Of course, physical proximity to each other would either raise or lower that number. A lot of social grooming is required for this size group to stay intact. I can only count on one hand the number of intimate friendships I have. I think that’s healthy. From there my circle expands to close friends, friends, and acquaintances.

 

OpSec. What about it?

We live in a global age. I’m shocked, and very thankful, to see people read this blog from countries around the world. Information is at the touch of a finger. Friends, however, are local. What about OpSec (operational security)? I don’t divulge the full scope of my preparedness plans with every person on the street. That’s stupid. I do have a small group of trusted friends that would run to my aid in the event of an emergency. They know I’d do the same for them. We’ve been there, done that. This type of friend is one that knows you, likes you, loves you warts and all. Their not just fans cheering you on safely from the stadium seats. They’re on the playing field with us. They know our plans and are a part of our plans.

Building relationships with neighbors is mutually beneficial. The quality of life quotient increases. The neighborhood value rises. Not in monetary value necessarily, but in mutual survivability. Again, many hands make light work. No one person can prepare for the unknown unknowns.

Neighboring has opened doors by just waving. Last week DRG was fetching our trash can from the side of the road. One of our neighbors walked by and struck up a conversation. He brought up concerns about what might bring chaos to our quite little community. He and DRG talked about topics like personal defense, basic preparedness items, and safety in our neighborhood. Practical stuff, not political or conspiracy theory related.

 

Practical preparation through neighboring

Here are a few not-so-pushy ways to do this stuff. I guess you could canvas door to door. But you don’t want to come across as annoying.

  • Give. You’ve got carpentry, plumbing, electrical, or computer skills. Offer to help a neighbor. This opens a door for mutual and reciprocal giving.
  • Attend community meetings. Local farmers markets, festivals, concerts, school meetings are all attended by neighbors and friends.
  • Yard sales. If you’re into bargains, this old hat for you. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with people. Plus you’ll likely find useful stuff for your preparations. Two weeks ago I scored a box of candles and mason jars from an older lady two streets down in our neighborhood. I let her know that I where I live when I introduced myself. The transaction went very smoothly and I made a new friend.
  • Baking/Smoking/Brewing. DRG makes killer sausage balls. She prepares a few plates every Christmas and delivers the trays to neighbors. I share smoked Boston butts with a few as well. My back door neighbor samples my home-brewed beer.
  • Ask for help – without being needy. That’s the only ice breaker needed to move from acquaintance to friend sometimes.
  • Be a connector. Refer people needing stuff to people with stuff or skills.
  • Trade garden produce. One year I had a bumper crop of tomatoes, while my next door neighbor produced more peppers than he could eat or cared to store. We traded through out the summer.
  • Barter network. If there’s a local barter network already established in your town, get involved and add value.
  • Clubs of interest. Hunting, fishing, golf, knitting, or canning. Ask a neighbor to go learn a new skill together.

Hopefully these tips will motivate us to get out of the house, network, and meet folks. Have you met your neighbor? Maybe your he/she knows that unknown unknown.

Doing the stuff,

Todd

Filed Under: General Preparedness, Mind Set Tagged With:

Lessons from Hurricane Sandy

November 5, 2012 by

It’s been almost a week since Hurricane Sandy reached the East Coast.  There are still millions affected in her wake.  Because there are so many still affected, I hesitate to write this, but I think there are lessons to be learned that will have more of an impact now, since this is still a current event.

 

Losing it all

Sometimes there are events like hurricanes and tornadoes that are so big, no matter how prepared you are, you lose everything you own.  In these events only having a cache of supplies at a location away from your home would still be useful.  You could have an agreement with a friend or relative to each store some supplies at the others home.  You could also rent a small storage unit.  This would ensure you have clothes, copies of important documents and possibly even some food or other preparations.

 

Looting and lawlessness

Looting is a very large problem.  One resident is quoted saying ‘It’s like the Wild West’.  The article goes on to say, “With little police presence on the storm-ravaged streets, many residents of the peninsula have been forced to take their protection into their own hands, arming themselves with guns, baseball bats and even bows and arrows to ward off thugs seeking to loot their homes.”

I have mentioned a few times in the past that defending and protecting your family and possibly your neighborhood may fall on you and your neighbor’s shoulders.  This hurricane is an excellent reminder.  There were also reports of people dressing like Con Ed workers and a Red Cross worker to gain access to restricted areas to loot.

Here is an article from the New York Times called In New York’s Public Housing, Fear Creeps In With the Dark.  It explains that people who live in areas of New York that are without power fear the dark, because of the crimes committed in it.  This isn’t just when the sun goes down, but also in windowless stairways and the like.  What I took away from that article wasn’t just that the dark was to be feared, but how the blackout brought citizens together and bonded them into a community.

“In the meantime, heroes emerged among public housing residents, with those well prepared and able helping those who were not.”

And

“There’s a sense of community,” said Darryl MacCullum, 24, who lives at the Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village, where the tidal surge had, for a time, ringed the buildings like moats. “Neighbors I usually don’t talk to, I talk to now.”

The residents cooked for each other, eager to not waste food that was thawing fast. At the Red Hook Houses on Wednesday night, there was an impromptu outdoor barbecue for 25 people, with hamburgers, frankfurters and ribs sizzling on grills. “

In times of crisis police and other emergency services are pushed to their limit. I was told in CERT that there are 300 civilians for every first responder.  Because of this we need to be prepared to meet our five basic human needs.

 

Those Unprepared to Last a Week

As I stated above, there are some events that you just cannot prepare for.  When there is a direct hit, you lose everything.  This section is not directed at those people.  It is aimed at those who did not heed the call to evacuate and were ill prepared to last the aftermath of the hurricane.  In this article from ABC News, people were pleading for help just three days after the hurricane.  They were asking their elected officials for clothing, food, water and gas.  Below is a video of the reporter showing how people were dumpster diving to get food to eat.

 

 

I’m not sharing any of this to put down the ill prepared, but to show how truly ill prepared so many people are and also to show how quickly people will begin to panic because of their lack of resources.

 

Gas Shortages and Rationing

There have been multiple reports of lines of people over a mile long waiting to get gasoline. Here is a report from a CBS New York affiliate stating “Drivers Waiting For 6 Hours At Midtown Gas Station”. In New Jersey Governor Christie Orders Odd-Even Rationing System For Filling Up Gas Tanks.

“Residents with license plates ending in an odd number can make gas purchases on odd-numbered days of the month Residents with plates ending in an even number will be able to buy gas on even-numbered days, the governor said.”

Imagine only being able to purchase gas on even days and then having to wait in line for six hours to get it. I have said before that our economy runs on oil, but for many of these people the fuel also runs their refrigerator and gives them a means to charge their cell phones to communicate with the outside world.

 

Government Incompetence

There were many complaints after Hurricane Katrina about the government’s poor response.  Many people are not aware that the federal government has to be invited in by state government and that is what caused the delay.  You would think there would have been a better response to Hurricane Sandy, but in many ways there hasn’t been.

The New York City Marathon saw many police officers, large generators, food and water diverted to it instead of to the relief effort. As of this morning they canceled the marathon, but the generators sat unused.

FEMA has a policy called “Lean forward” that calls for advanced staging of supplies.  Here is a report that says “FEMA failed to have any meaningful supplies of bottled water — or any other supplies”.

This goes to show that even when the government means well they are often incompetent.  The larger an enterprise of any kind is, the more ineffective they can become.  Often the left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing, or what either should be doing.

 

My Take:

Chances are, if you’re reading this article, you’re fairly well prepared to last at least a week.  This hurricane should be a wake-up call for many, to have a minimum level of preparedness to meet their five basic human needs.  But there have been many wake-up calls in our recent past that were not heeded.  Because of this, there will be plenty of chances in the future for those of us who are better prepared to be the heroes mentioned above and to be light to the world.

 

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Filed Under: General Preparedness, Mind Set, Signs of the Times Tagged With:

Drawing a Line in the Sand

October 12, 2012 by

Job 38:11 “…This far you may come and no farther…”

While that verse is God telling the sea how far it may go, I believe we all must have lines drawn in the sand.  I won’t presume to tell you where it should be or what you should do if it is crossed, that is between you, your family and God.

Instead, I will explain why it is a good idea to draw the line and decide now what your action will be once it is crossed.  The things I have chosen to draw a proverbial line in the sand on are important to me and crossing the line will evoke unpleasant emotions.  Maybe it’s just me, but I have a hard time thinking clearly when I am angry, scared or feeling any other unpleasant emotion.   If I know how far I will let someone go and what action will be taken if they go further, there is no thinking needed, just action.

Here are just a few of the things I think having a line drawn for is a good idea.  If you want to share your thoughts, feel free.  Let me caution you on some of these.  It might not be best for the answer to be available to the entire Internet.

Bugging out; this might actually need several lines, as having the same threshold for certain events doesn’t work.  For instance; there are events that require an immediate decision, such as a chemical explosion nearby or the neighbor’s house catching fire and a very real possibility that mine will catch as well.  But there might be things that you need to watch to see what happens, such as a hurricane or wildfire, that are some distance away yet.

 

Going to a FEMA shelter; if your entire neighborhood or city is evacuated, will you go to one?  If not, what will you do?

Surrendering your firearms; will you give them up under any circumstance?  If so under which scenarios?  If not, what will you do to keep them?

How much are you willing to pay for gas?  At what point is it so expensive that you will only drive to and from work, or look for a car pool for that too?

Pandemic; if you discover a pandemic in your area, at what point will you either bug out or self-quarantine?

Civil Unrest; if rioting breaks out, how close will you let it get and what action will you take if it gets too close?

Confiscation of funds; whether it’s a tax implemented on 401k or other retirement funds, or as was done in 1933; the government demanding all gold be returned.  What will you do?

Food; what will you do if food prices demand that you spend 30-50% of your income?

Mugging or carjacking; what will you do if someone threatens violence if you don’t give them what they want?

Code enforcement; what if an overreaching local government decides you may not have a garden, chickens or other items in your yard?  This has happened and people have been threatened with fines and jail time.  What would you do?

I’m coming to your house; I asked this as a “what would you do” post and it got a lot of responses.  If you didn’t see it, it’s worth reading through.  What would you do if someone saw your preps and said, I’m coming to your house?

 

I’m sure I’ve missed some big ones, so if you can think of any others please add them to the comments or email them to me and I’ll post them for others to learn from.

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Filed Under: Mind Set, What Would You Do?

Why Should Christians, Specifically, Be Preparing?

October 10, 2012 by

I have written previously “Is preparedness a sin?” and “Scripture related to preparedness” , explaining why preparedness is allowable and even seen as prudent by the Lord.  I have never explained why Christians should be preparing.  Of course, they should be preparing for the same reasons as everyone else, but they should also be preparing for at least one specific reason that is theirs alone.

Jesus tells us in Mathew 5:14 that “You are the light of the world.”  While true that this statement isn’t about preparedness, it is about being a light to the world.  Whether it is economic hardship, war, terrorist attacks, pandemic or any other man made or natural disaster, our world is fallen and we are to be a light to it.  Jesus didn’t prerequisite that with “unless food is limited or very high priced” or with “You can pause on being light to the world when events around you become uncertain or dangerous.”

To me, it is those times when we MUST be the light to the world.  After 9-11, many churches were filled to capacity.  Sadly, it often takes a large event to break people and have them turn to the Lord.  If there is another large scale disaster (Katrina or 9-11) and someone only has a few days of food for their family, they will be focused on taking care of and providing for their immediate family.  They may not be concentrating on spreading Gods love and being His hands and feet to another needy family.

My wife and I, as well as many from our church, have taken CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training, so that if there is an event in our local area, we can give aid. In the class, they made a point to say that you make sure your family is safe first and then go help if you’re able. Their reasoning is the same as mine. If things are not prepared for at home, if you have to worry about your family’s safety or whether there is food, you will be ineffective in the field.
Jesus told us in Mathew 24:6 – 8 (NIV) that:

“6. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  7. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  8. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

I can’t know if we’re living near the end times, but I do know all of those things are happening now, and Jesus said that they were just the beginning.  That means that more and probably worse will follow.

 

Many Christians have a misunderstanding of scripture, they will quote Matthew 6:25-34

“25. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?…”

They don’t understand that this verse is not about preparedness or the lack thereof, it is about worry. Let’s face it, believing that God will take care of our every need is comforting, but our God is not a genie from a bottle.  He gave us free will and logic and the ability of forethought.

 

As I mentioned above, Jesus said some pretty bad stuff would happen and Proverbs 27:12 says:

“A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”

When you put these three verses together, we’re told that there will be some difficult and dangerous times ahead.  We’re told not to worry because Jesus is Lord our God, but to be wise and prepare for those dangers that lie ahead.

So, if you want to be prudent before the Lord, then being prepared to be the light He said we are, and ready to face what He said is coming seems like the only decision.  Some people will have a hard time with this.  As I mentioned in Survival Psychology: Cognitive Dissonance, holding two opposing views is called “cognitive dissonance” and will cause mental stress and discomfort.  But looking at all of the scripture where we’re shown that God told people to prepare, which I cover in “Scripture related to preparedness”, and as I listed above with Proverbs 27:12, anyone who wants to be prudent need just look for dangers and take action to mitigate them.  One can make the logical and prudent choice and move out of cognitive dissonance.

 

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Filed Under: Christian World View, Mind Set Tagged With:

Survival Psychology: Cognitive Dissonance

October 8, 2012 by

“Cognitive dissonance” is a term coined by psychologist Leon Festinger in 1954, which is a psychological phenomenon which refers to the discomfort felt at a discrepancy between what you already know or believe, and new information or interpretation, often these are two opposing views

People who are “asleep” when it comes to current events and to things like how fragile our electrical and water systems are or how quickly groceries would run out of food if the trucks stopped running only hold one view.  Christians who say “I don’t need to prepare, God will provide” or something similar, fall into the same group.

 

An example:

The Flood

A man was trapped in his house during a flood. He began praying to God to rescue him. He had a vision in his head of God’s hand reaching down from heaven and lifting him to safety.

The water started to rise in his house. His neighbor urged him to leave and offered him a ride to safety. The man yelled back, “I am waiting for God to save me”. The neighbor drove off in his pick-up truck.

The man continued to pray and hold on to his vision. As the water began rising in his house, he had to climb up to the roof.

A boat came by with some people heading for safe ground. They yelled at the man to grab a rope they were ready to throw and take him to safety. He told them that he was waiting for God to save him. They shook their heads and moved on.

The man continued to pray, believing with all his heart that he would be saved by God. The flood waters continued to rise. A helicopter flew by and a voice came over a loudspeaker offering to lower a ladder and take him off the roof. The man waved the helicopter away, shouting back that he was waiting for God to save him. The helicopter left.

The flooding water came over the roof and caught him up and swept him away. He drowned.

When he reached heaven and asked, “God, Why did you not save me? I believed in you with all my heart. Why did you let me drown?”

God replied, “I sent you a pick-up truck, a boat and a helicopter and you refused it all. What else could I possibly do for you?!”

In this example, the man clung to one thought and dismissed the possibility that God was rescuing him.

 

If you can use logic and facts, not emotion, to introduce a competing thought, they will be forced to make a decision.  For example, if you know someone who doesn’t see the need to prepare, you might ask them what they would do if the power went out and the power company couldn’t get it back on for a few days.  How would they keep their food cold in the warmer months, or keep themselves warm in the colder months?  Is most of their food in the refrigerator, or do they have a week or more worth of food in a pantry?  If the electricity is out where they live, it might be out at the grocery as well.  What would they do for food then?  Once faced with the conflicting thoughts that they do not need to prepare at all and that they only have a few days’ worth of food that doesn’t need to be in the refrigerator, they now must make a choice.

Likewise if you know a Christian who doesn’t see the need to prepare because God will provide, you might ask them “does God provides for them now?”  If the answer is no, I would ask why they think He will provide in an emergency.  If they say yes, then ask how the food they eat made its way to the house.  Explain that God gave us the ability to prepare now for future needs, but that He is still the one who provided.  This brings me to one of my favorite quotes:

“If God gives you a watch, are you honoring Him more by asking Him what time it is or by simply consulting the watch?” A.W. Tozer

 

Sticking with Logic and Facts

The reason it’s important to use logic and facts is that emotion from one person is not equivalent to emotion in the next.   A fact is a fact no matter how you or I feel about it.  I’ll use our Our Endangered Electrical Infrastructure as an example.   It is a fact that hackers in multiple other countries have hacked our electric grid and in some cases, left malicious software thought to be a back door, that was found later.  It is a fact that there have been blackouts caused by falling trees that left an estimated 55 million without power. Also a blackout caused by changing a failing part that left an estimated 7 million without power.  It is also a fact that I cover this in more details in EMP’s, Solar Flares and CME’s that the United States doesn’t produce many of the large transformers used and in a medium to large solar storm, we would have to look to other countries to help replace them.  It could take ten years to fully recover.

It is emotion that says that in an EMP or solar flare situation, we’re in the stone ages and we’ll be killing each other within days.  While this could be partly or even mostly true, people who have not been paying attention and are hearing this information for the first time don’t know what to do with an EMP and the idea of us killing each other within days isn’t understandable.  If you show provable facts that they can understand, such as the occasional black out and hackers breaking into our grid, they can understand and might enter into cognitive dissonance.

 

What Happens Next?

Some people might be open for further discussion or even have some questions on the subject.   Most likely you have just planted seeds and will not see the fruit right away.  There will be those who decide that their previously held belief is the correct one and will disregard your logic and facts.  These people are unreachable, much like the man in the example.  Shake the dust from your sandals and continue your walk.

 

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Filed Under: Mind Set Tagged With:

What is an Overton Window and Why is it Important?

September 26, 2012 by

Some of you Glenn Beck fans might be familiar with what an “Overton Window” is. I’m not talking about his book by the same title (which I own, but haven’t read yet). I’m speaking of the term on which he based his book.

The Overton Window is a theory created by Joseph Overton from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Here is a brief explanation from their site:

“Joseph Overton observed that in a given public policy area, such as education, only a relatively narrow range of potential policies will be considered politically acceptable. This “window” of politically acceptable options is primarily defined not by what politicians prefer, but rather by what they believe they can support and still win re-election. In general, then, the window shifts to include different policy options not when ideas change among politicians, but when ideas change in the society that elects them.”

Here is a video from the Glenn Beck’s show when he was still on Fox, with Joseph Lehman, the President of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. It might help explain it for those who need more visual explanation than written.

As the video explains, you may not know what the term “Overton Window” means, but it has been used on you countless times.

You might be asking “what has this got to do with preparedness?” It has to do with your mindset and awareness; the awareness of when you’re being manipulated. In The Future of America I list some of my concerns with the current administration. I also cover America and prophecy and explain some possibilities that could lie ahead for us. These are things like: an economic collapse resembling that of the one seen in Argentina, which could lead to large social programs being cut, which could then lead to rioting on a scale never seen before in America, which could lead to Martial Law and the suspension of Habeas Corpus. I also believe that after the next large event, there will be a power grab that makes all others thus far pale in comparison. To accomplish some of those things, the “Overton Window” will have to be moved, so that the idea of Marshal Law or many other ugly things are something that the citizenry see as acceptable, if not needed.

The reason knowing this is important is that when you see the “Overton Window” being pushed, it can be a sign that things could be about to hit the fan. Also make sure you you’re not one of those that gets distracted (or manipulated) by what the right hand is doing and does not notice what the left is. Don’t be willing to accept just a little loss of your freedoms, because it’s better than what was initially imposed or proposed.

Here is one example to help paint a picture of how a politician can use this to move the “Overton Window”. Pretend I am the Governor of your state; I decide that we need to turn three of your fairly large freeways into toll roads to bring in more tax revenue. Now, I know that this idea is outside of the “Overton Window”, so instead of putting forth legislation to turn these freeways into toll roads, I do so and say that private companies will operate them, most of which are companies from another country. The citizens are in an uproar; “how dare I let a foreign company put a toll on an American! If anyone is going to charge me a toll it dang sure better be someone from America or someone from my own state!” And the window has now moved. What would have been unacceptable before now seems the more reasonable option. Think this sounds farfetched? Governor Perry tried to do it in Texas in 2010.

Here is another example, one that the President would like to enact very much. In fact, he mentioned it several times in the 2008 campaign. He said we couldn’t just rely on our military to achieve the national security objectives that he has set, so he would like to create a Civilian National Security Force that is just as powerful, just as strong and just as well funded. Here is a video where a reporter interviews Rham Emanuel, when he was the President’s Chief of Staff, who speaks about what this force might look like. The President speaks at the 3minute 42 second mark.

Obviously it hasn’t been enacted, but don’t think that this has been discarded. I think that the “Overton Window” just isn’t in the right place yet. As Rahm Emanuel said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” What kind of crisis could provoke the “Overton Window” to be moved to where the President could achieve this goal?

In “Terrorism: Lone Wolf and Swarm Attacks”, I explain two types of terrorist attacks that I think we’ll see more and more of as time goes on. They are: a lone gunman or a small team of gunmen attacking soft targets, such as shopping malls, churches and schools, among others. If there was a huge spike in these kinds of attacks, where the police were just overwhelmed, maybe, just maybe, the “Overton Window” could move far enough for the President to get his Civilian National Security Force.

This is completely speculative but I would imagine that this Civilian National Security Force would swear an oath to the President, and not to the Constitution like the military does. Of course the attacks would be horrendous and need to be stopped, and I don’t know about you, but to have a group of people with the Presidents ideals who are just as powerful, just as strong and just as well funded as the military sounds like hitting the fan to me, creating a fundamental change to America that may never be undone.

 

Filed Under: Mind Set, Signs of the Times Tagged With:

Survival Thinking; Outside the Box

August 29, 2012 by

 

Some people are born with the ability to “think outside the box” or with non-linear thinking.  There are some people who, while not born with this type of thinking, can practice and learn it.  Yet there are still others who will always see things one way.

In The Survivors Club it is explained that the people who have the greatest chance at survival in survival situations, are those who take action.  I think those people who are able to think outside the box are more apt to take action, not because they’re smarter or braver, but because they see more possibilities and act on them.

One of the ways this type of thinking can be applied is by looking at an object, understanding its designed use, but seeing other possible uses as well.

I work from home now, but when I went to an office to work, I made note of where the fire extinguishers were.  I’m sure this is something many preparedness minded people do.  But when I look at a fire extinguisher, I see not only an implement that could put out a fire, I see a blunt, impromptu weapon.  I also see something that could be used to break glass, could be sprayed to give concealment if needed or, if used in a certain way, could be turned into a missile of sorts.

You see, in many survival situations, be they plane crash, hurricane or any number of other types of events, resources are usually low and random.  You have to think outside the box and make due on the fly.  A seatbelt that was cut loose could become a restraint or even a tourniquet if needed.  It could also be used as cordage to tether just about anything.

I have read dozens of stories about people who were stranded in their vehicle in poor weather.  Sometimes they are found dead, succumbed to the elements.  Last year I read about a man in Alaska who got lost and was found two or three days later, barely alive.  If memory serves, he said he stayed alive by huddling in his jacket.  If this were me, I would have left the house much better prepared to begin with.  In his shoes, I would have cut the fabric of the seat and used it as a blanket, the carpets could have been cut and placed over the windows to help trap some of the heat in.  The tires could have been burned during the day, giving off a thick black smoke that would have been easy to see far away.

Being able to look at something and see its other possible uses is something most people can relearn to do.  Many of us did it in our childhood.   My brother and I used to turn the picnic table and benches into our own fishing boat and pretend to go fishing.  Now that took imagination and pretending, but those can be a part of what I am talking about.  Not actually acting the scenario out, but running them through your mind.  Or looking at an object and thinking of ten or twenty different uses for it.

Here are just a couple examples of what I mean. You can add your answers to the comments if you wish, but at least think them through.  I’ll add my list in the comments for those who want to see.

–           You happen upon a multicar accident that has just happened; police and ambulance are not on scene.  How many ways can you give assistance?

 

–          Name ten different uses for a standard car tire.

 

Filed Under: Mind Set

Knowledge Skills and Gear – The Preparedness Hierarchy

August 8, 2012 by

Knowledge Skills and Gear – The Preparedness Hierarchy and how they build off of each other

 

When someone begins their preparedness journey, there is a tendency to want to acquire supplies and gear quickly.  I think it gives us that sense of security like a blanket does a child; something tangible we can put our hands on.

 

But I believe there is a hierarchy that exists.  It looks like this; knowledge, then skills and then gear.  Knowledge includes mind set as well as actual learning, in my opinion.  If you use a different hierarchy, you could still have success but I don’t think you’ll have as much success or attain it as quickly.

 

For an example; having become aware of the fact that the crime rate around me is rising and I have no real way to protect my family, the first thing that engaged was my mind.  I changed my mindset on home defense.  When I became a prepper I was a firearm novice.  I took a First Shots class and a hunter safety class with the kids.

 

Now it was time to make a purchase. I wanted something I could conceal and carry, as well as for home defense use.  While a handgun isn’t the optimal gun for home defense, for the reasons listed above it’s what I bought first.  I researched caliber and brand and then I went to a few different stores and pawn shops that sold firearms.  I wanted to put my hands on them, find something I liked the feel of.  I found a few that I wanted to shoot and went to a range that rents guns to fire each one.

 

You might have noticed that I went right from knowledge to gear, but this is one of those occasions when you have to have the gear to build the skill.  It is still the skill that is more important than the gear.  Without the skill and training to use the firearm correctly, sure I could fire it but not fire it effectively.

 

I eventually decided on a Glock 19 as did my wife.  We took a training course and learned proper stance, grip, trigger control and many other things.  We became members at a local range after our training and practiced quite a bit.  Neither of us are crack shots, but both are fully capable of hitting center mass of a man sized target at self-defense range.

 

Knowledge produces skill, which makes gear effective.

 

 

A recent project:

 

One of the traits of Asperger’s Syndrome is the ability to become fixated on something; learning as much as you possibly can about the subject, to the point where some might think you’re a little odd (or a lot odd depending on the subject).  For me, that subject is preparedness.  Over the last six or seven years I have amassed a large collection of bookmarks on various subjects related to preparedness.  I am in the process of going through and making sure the links are still good, with the eventual goal of posting a link library.  I want most of them to be in PDF form.  That way if you want to save the file on your local PC or print the document you can.  However there will be some sites that are listed because the information on the entire site is so good.

 

Once I post it, I would also like you to help fill in this library with links to PDF’s and sites that you find very helpful.  I’d like to ask you to post these links in the comments section.  Because knowledge is so important and there is so much to learn about preparedness, the end goal is that if there is an area in preparedness you want to learn about, you can come to this link library to find sites that have been vetted by fellow readers.  I hope to have this library ready next week, but there are a lot of links left to check, so don’t hold me to it.

 

There are some criteria for posting links, they cannot be copyrighted, or if they are, they must be available to the public domain.  There are some really great articles on some sites that I know are just a section from another document, I am not going to post those as I cannot prove copyright.  I’ll post more when I actually get the Link Library up.

 

Filed Under: General Preparedness, Mind Set, Preparedness Tips
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