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Why Store Food And The Rules For It

December 24, 2010 by

Why Store Food And The Rules For It

Water might be the most important part of a preparedness plan but food storage is the most complex. With water, once you know where to find it, how to purify and store it you pretty much have it nailed. Because food storage is so involved I am going to break it up into manageable segments.

First I’ll cover why you should store food and food storage rules and principals.
 
 
Why store food?

As I wrote in “Should You Prepare? Part One and Part Two. Most of us carry multiple types of insurance incase we get an in accident, or become ill. Do you plan on getting in a car accident? Or how about getting sick enough to need to see a doctor? Nope, me either, yet we pay for this insurance every month just in case.

Now how many times is your family going to eat this week? A family of four eating three times a day will eat 84 meals, that’s not counting snacks. Yet the average family has less than a weeks worth of food stored. To me its just prudent to have an insurance policy that will guarantee my family will be able to continue doing something we do multiple times a day?

We have become a society dependant on a grocery store that uses “just in time” delivery system. The process of getting food from harvest (from places all around the world) to your table is very complex. The more complex something is, the more susceptible it is to failure. Failures caused by things such as not enough rain, wildfires, blight, price of oil and many more.

Another reason to store food now is that the price of it is going up now as shown in this Secret Wal-Mart Survey Shows Inflation Already Here, and many are expecting hyperinflation. Even if we only experience normal inflation, the prices today are probably still going to be lower than they will in a few months. Since much of the food you store will be eaten anyway, this is a way to save money. It has not happened in America to any large extent, but there have been many countries suffering from food shortages. Just search for “Global food shortage” in your favorite search engine, the amount of sites is staggering. Some of the information may be a year or two old, but things are getting worse, not better. Here are just two stories from mainstream sites; one from the Financial Post that says Forget oil, the new global crisis is food And another from the Washington Post that states Global Food Crisis: The new world of soaring food prices.
 
 
Food Storage Rules:

What makes a food “shelf stable”?
A shelf stable food is one that will not spoil for at least six months without refrigeration, when packaged and stored correctly. Some examples are canned vegetables, canned meats, white rice, dried beans, pasta and sugar.

FIFO: First in, first out.
This just means when you buy new food put it behind the old food to ensure the older food gets consumed first.

Store what you eat and eat what you store.

This is one of the core tenants of preparedness, or the golden rule of prepping. How do you put this into practice? Grab your prepping notebook and every time anyone uses a shelf stable food write it down, do this for two weeks. These are the foods that you should store and rotate.

This can work with frozen food as well, but if the power goes out, you have a limited amount of time before the food spoils. That is unless you have a generator to keep the fridge and freezer running.

There is caveat with “store what you eat, eat what you store”, I may catch some flak for saying this, but it doesn’t work for everyone. By that I mean, that it is not feasible to store the kinds of food they consume on a daily basis.

Many years ago, people cooked much of their food from scratch. Today, many meals are eaten out, or something that is precooked is thrown in the oven to reheat. I know many different kinds of people fall into this category, everyone from single parents, to folks with busy schedules. I’m not saying its right or wrong, heck my family falls into this category for a few different reasons.

How should people in this category prep? I can only tell you what we have done, which one of the things we have done is store some staples such as beans, rice, wheat berries, salt, sugar and other staples, stored in Mylar bags, with oxygen absorbers. Stored this way and kept in a cool dark room the shelf life is very long. I’ll cover this process soon.

Critics of storing foods that are not a part of our normal diet will say that eating foods that we don’t normally eat, like red beans and rice, will be a shock to our systems. While this may be true, it’s less of a shock then starving. I can also mitigate the shock with some over the counter medicines.

Is this the ideal way to stock up? Nope. Will we have wasted some money and have to give away or throw some of the food we have stored? Possibly, but I look at it like this. I spent roughly $100 on car insurance for my family last month. None of us got in an accident; do I think the money was wasted? Heck no, my peace of mind is worth that and more.

My wife and I have also purchased some books like “The Amazing Wheat Book“and “ Making the most of basics”. Make a point of learning to cook with basics, even if it’s just an occasional meal. Cooking with basics is like any other skill in prepping, it’s better to own the skill, before you need to rely on the skill.
 
 

Here are the links to the other food storage articles.
Food Storage Part One: Why Store Food And The Rules For It.
Food Storage Part Two: The Kind Of Foods That You Can Store
Food Storage Part Three: Shelf Life of Staples.
Food Storage Part Four: The Process and Enemies of Food Storage.
Food Storage Part Five: How much food should you store and where should you put it all?
Food Storage Part Six: Tips On Stocking Up and Affording it all.
Food Storage Part Seven: Food Boredom to Survival Cooking .

 
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The Storage, Filtration And Purification Of Water.

December 10, 2010 by

The Storage, Filtration And Purification Of Water

Aside from oxygen, water is the one thing we cannot live without for very long. In fact the rule of three’s states the average human can only go three days without water, but don’t kid yourself, those last two wouldn’t be pleasant. I think that water filtration/purification and storage should be near the top of most preparedness plans.

How much water a person uses per day varies based on the climate, level of activity and other factors. According to The Mayo Clinic The average person should drink 8 – 8 ounce glasses of water a day (64 ounces of water is ½ gallon). If temperatures are warm, or activity is high water intake will be higher.

In an emergency situation clean water may not be available. Look at the problems with Cholera in Haiti going on right now, or what happened in India after the Tsunami. There are two ways to mitigate this, one is by having water stored ahead of time and the second is by having a means to treat the water after.

In a survival situation the research I have done shows that an average person will use around two gallons of water per day, this includes drinking, for food preparation, and hygiene. I have seen recommendations that say from one liter to one gallon are enough. Here is a great place for “I would rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it”.
 
 
Storage:

As mentioned above, store two gallons of water per person per day. I recommend having a minimum of at least one week worth of water stored for each person and pet in your family. This can be done with cases of water bottles, individual gallons or with multiple gallon containers like a 5, 15 or 55-gallon drum. For animals the amount of water needed is going to depend on the size, I would think a liter or so a day would be more then enough for most.

Water in bottles or single gallon containers will most likely have an expiration date. It’s not that the water goes bad, but the plastic can leech into it. For this reason, all water stored in plastic containers of any size, should be rotated every six months. If you want to just empty the container and refill that, I would think that should be just fine as any leeched chemicals will go out with the old water.

As I mentioned, water stored for any length if time won’t go bad (aside from leeching), but it could taste “flat”. To remedy this you can aerate the water by pouring it from one container into another and back a few times.

If you want to use recycled containers such as milk jugs, 2-liter or 5 gallon to55 gallon barrels, here are a few things to keep in mind. If the container is recycled then I would suggest first making sure the recycled container was food grade, look for recycle triangle (usually found on the bottom). Here is a website that explains what the different numbers inside of the triangle mean, anything with a 1 or 2 is good.

Be aware that the water can retain the smell and taste of what was originally stored in it. If you cannot tell what was stored in it, it might be best to buy new. It might cost a bit more, but at least your water won’t smell like pickles or something worse.

This is a barrel very similar to mine, but a bit cheaper. At the time I am posting this Amazon has a shipping option that is free, I do not know if this expires after Christmas or not. If it does not expire, then this is a very good price.

For the barrel to be usable, you will also need a bung wrench and a pump. The first pump listed is the one I have, I’m most likely going to upgrade to the second one, because the quality is just much higher.

If you choose a 55-gallon barrel keep in mind the weight when full. Answers.com says that “A gallon of water weighs approximately 8.34 pounds, 55 gallons weigh 55 x 8.34 = 458.7 pounds”

If you want to be able to move the barrel, then you’ll need to use a dolly. There are some made to fit a 55 gallon drum, like the first dolly listed. Or you can do what I did and save $30 and buy a furniture dolly with a high weight limit, either will support the weight of a full 55 gallon barrel.


 
 
Water Collection

Unless there is access to a well, no one can store enough water to last them indefinitely. As a result, water collection is something you should give some thought now. What natural or man-made bodies of water are near you? Lakes, rivers streams, ponds, swamps, swimming pools, hot tub, hot water heaters have depending on size, 40 gallons, the tank on the back of a toilet is another source. Not all of this water is fit to drink, but it could be used for other things such as hygiene, watering plants or a garden.

Another source of water, if you have the system in place ahead of time is rain catchment. Believe it or not, for every inch of rain that falls on a catchment area of 1,000 square feet, you can expect to collect approximately 600 gallons of rainwater. Ten inches of rain falling on a 1,000 square foot catchment area will generate about 6,000 gallons of rainwater! The supplies consist of a barrel, gutters a downspout and possibly an attachment for the downspout.

How much rain water can you collect in a storm?

Here are rain barrels similar to the ones that I use. The reason that I like these is that near the top there is an overflow opening that you can attach a hose to and connect it to another barrel. I paid less then half the price for mine, which I purchased at a farmers market. If you want to be able to have more then one barrel connected to the same down spout, then I recommend looking for one with a similar design. Here also is the rain diverter that I have.


 
 
Water Treatment

Purify and filter; are two terms that are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference. Both will remove bacteria (Campylobacter Jejuni) and protozoan cysts (Giardia Lamblia, Cryptosporidium) from contaminated water. Only a purifier will remove viruses (hepatitis A, meningitis) from contaminated water.
 
 
Filtration:
There are many types of water filters from personal bottle filtration units to large family size, multiple filter units. As mentioned above a filter will not kill viruses, after filtering water, it can be boiled to kill viruses.

You can also find instructions on how to make your own. I would only recommend this if you do not have any filtration system in a survival situation, you should also boil the water to kill any virus that it may contain. Here are instructions to make a home made filter.
 
 
Purification:

Boiling:
According to the Wilderness Medical Society, water temperatures above 160° F (70° C) kill all pathogens within 30 minutes and above 185° F (85° C) within a few minutes. So in the time it takes for the water to reach the boiling point (212° F or 100° C) from 160° F (70° C), all pathogens will be killed, even at high altitude.

Bleach:
Use bleach that has no added scent. Here are guidelines from the CDC on using bleach to make water safe.

If tap water is clear:
1. Use bleach that does not have an added scent (like lemon).
2. Add 1/8 teaspoon (8 drops or about 0.75 milliliters) of household liquid bleach to 1 gallon (16 cups) of water.
3. Mix well and wait 30 minutes or more before drinking.

If tap water is cloudy:
1. Use bleach that does not have an added scent (like lemon).
2. Add 1/4 teaspoon (16 drops or 1.5 milliliters) of household liquid bleach to 1 gallon (16 cups) of water.
3. Mix well and wait 30 minutes or more before drinking.

If you store water that you are adding water to the container from the tap. If you add the recommended amount of bleach for clear water, it will kill any pathogens that might sneak in, this is more of a concern if you have a well.

Iodine:
Iodine tablets are effective at killing many things except Cryptosporidium. Some people are allergic to iodine and cannot use it for water purification. Iodine tablets will also leave a chemical after taste and should be a short-term solution. With the drawbacks of iodine tablets, they’re not my first pick; if it’s a good fit for you then they might be a good addition to your BOB.

Chlorine:
Chlorine is one of the most common ways that water is purified, this is done by many municipalities. Chloramine or chlorine dioxides are some of the compounds that are used in water purification tablets.

Water purification tablets:
The active ingredient is often chlorine dioxide these are effective against bacteria, viruses and cysts, such as Cryptosporidium. Depending on brand, one or two tablets treat one quart of water, these also leave no after taste. These should be a short-term solution; this would be a good addition to a BOB.

Here are the Military Water Purification Tablets that I have.


 
 
Water Filters/Purifiers
There are a large number of products to treat your water, they range from sport water bottles with built in filters to large home systems.

Here is a water filter comparison chart . This shows a comparison of cost, cost of replacement filter, things that are filtered, price per gallon.

I don’t know what will work the best for you; all I can tell you is what I found in my research and what I chose to do.

We have a Berkey system at home, the gallons filtered per hour, the price per gallon and the fact that Berkey products are a purifier and not just a filter, make this an easy decision for me.

For our BOB’s I chose water purification tablets and the Berkey sport, but Katadyn has some nice filters to fit this need. The reason I went with Berkey is that it acts as a container and a purifier, not just a purifier.

SteriPEN is a technology that is new to me, here is what the manufacturer claims about it “SteriPEN products use ultraviolet (UV) light technology to purify water, destroying more than 99.9 percent of bacteria, viruses and protozoan cysts such as giardia and cryptosporidia.” I might look into getting one of these as well, it would be nice when needing to purify a lot of water quickly.
 
 
Random water information:

Well water:
Many people have a well as their primary source of drinking water. Well water is not necessarily safe, and should be filtered. Here is a good page from the CDC that explores wells and the concerns associated with them.

City water:
Here is an explanation on how many cities treat their water.
However, just because your water comes from the city, it does not mean it is always safe. There are many people that believe that fluoride is a poison in large amounts and that it should not be added to the water. I’ll let you do your own research, but I will say that Berkey makes a filter that will remove it if you want it out of your water.

Here is a recent report that shows that test’s in New York City recently showed elevated lead levels

City Officials: Tap Water Shows Elevated Lead Levels

Recycling water:
Water can often be recycled and used again.

Greywater is water that can be recycled from activities like bathing, laundry or food preparation and can be used for things like watering the garden.

Blackwater is water containing human waste. Even if there are ways out there to treat it, I’ll pass.

Here are some links that have a lot of miscellaneous information relating to water.

Preventing Travelers’ Diarrhea: How to Make Drinking Water Safe.

Water-Related Emergencies and Outbreaks

This page has a lot of links with random subjects relating to water .  It has everything from how to build a rain catchment system to building a fountain to a well drilling tutorial.

 
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Filed Under: Water

Developing A Preparedness Plan

December 2, 2010 by

Developing a preparedness plan

Now I want to cover where you should start, or what you should do next, for those who are not new to preparedness.

If you’re new, first things first, do not panic, you have time. If you concentrate on everything you are not prepared for, you may begin to feel overwhelmed. Take a deep breath and remember that God is in control. That might sound cliché but I mean it. He was in control before you decided to prepare, He is in control now, and will continue to be in control if you are prepared or not. Pray, ask Him for peace and to guide you.

I wish there was a ten-step plan that I could tell you to follow to becoming prepared. But the truth is your plan needs to be yours. I do not know your situation, your location, your budget, but what I can do is give you some guide lines and things to consider. Here are some philosophies that can help you come up with a preparedness plan.
 
 
Disaster Probability

Jack Spirko over at The Survival Podcast does a great job explaining disaster probability and impact in Episode 474.

Jack drops an S-bomb now and then, so if you’re easily offended be forewarned. For those that don’t have the time to listen I’ll try to do a quick recap. The events that have the highest probability of happening have the smallest area of damage. Events that affect the greatest number of people have the smallest chance of happening. As an example, you losing your job has a much higher chance of happening then an EMP that takes out the electric grid. Your job loss has an affect on your family, while the EMP would affect much of the nation.
 
 
Threat Assessment

If disaster probability says that the things most likely to happen will be acute in nature, threat assessment pinpoints what those are.

Let’s say I live in an area that has overhead power lines and is prone to ice storms every year or two that causes power outages of varying lengths. Disaster probability would say that an ice storm is a higher risk then a pandemic. Threat assessment says if there is an ice storm, the possible threats are:

-Loss of power; if there is no power then I have no means to keep food cold.
If my primary heat source uses electricity, I could be without heat.

-Loss of transportation, if the ice storm is bad enough, there may be no way for me to get to the grocery store.
 
 
Basic Human Needs

There are five basic requirements that every human needs; shelter, water, food, fire (energy) and security. At different times one need might be more critical then another, for now, apply them to the threats listed from the ice storm.

With a generator I can mitigate the loss of power and get the fridge and freezer running. If my primary source of heat needs electricity then I can mitigate that as well. However, the more load I put on the generator, the higher wattage it is going to need to put out, the more expensive the generator becomes, plus the more I run it, the more fuel needed to keep it running.

The fuller a fridge or freezer is, the less energy it takes to keep everything frozen. There are things I could do such as keep 2-liter containers filled with ice, in the bottom of the freezer to take up empty space. This will mean less energy to run the motor to keep things frozen and the ice will keep things frozen longer.

I could also only have the fridge and freezer connected to the generator and only run it an hour or so in the morning and evening, this should keep things frozen. I could get an indoor propane heater and a couple 20 Lbs propane tanks for my heat source.

The last threat I need to take care of is the possibility of not being able to get to the grocery store. For this I can make sure I have at least one week worth of food and water stored ahead of time. If you’re new to prepping, one week is an acceptable place to start, if you have been prepping for any length of time you should have considerably more.
 
 
Making a Plan

Now that I have covered the basics of finding your most likely threats, I’ll give some tips.

Get a notebook and dedicate it to prepping. Write down every need, want and idea. This doesn’t mean you need to get them now, but at least it is on your mind. I recently looked at the list I made when I started; I have most but not all of the items on it.

Start small, don’t try to fill every hole at once; that is a good way to burn out and spend a lot of money in a very short amount of time. However, action is better then inaction, pick a threat and work toward mitigating it.

Your plan needs to be flexible and so do you. The biggest threat to you may change suddenly; another key ability for preppers/survivalists is adaptability. Don’t get so focused on one thing that you lose sight of your overall preparedness.
 
 
Indecision

Some people freeze when faced with a blank slate, they have a hard time finding individual steps, let alone putting them in order. Others can figure out the steps, but have a hard time with the order. For those people I will give a very basic plan, once you get started I’m sure you’ll find your stride.

Start with three days of food and water for every member of your family. Don’t forget pets. Plan on two gallons of water per day per person, this will take care of drinking, food preparation and hygiene. Once you have three days, move to a week and then two weeks, set thirty days as a goal for now.

Get a secondary means to cook food and fuel for it; camp stove, outdoor grill, propane or charcoal. Also put up a thirty-day supply of toilet paper and other paper products you may need.

By becoming prepared for the things that are most likely to happen, you also become more prepared for the less possible, high impact things like a pandemic, another great depression and a zombie invasion.

If you want to bounce ideas off of someone or have a question, please feel free to e-mail me, I’ll do what I can to help.

http://www.ready.gov/ has some good basic info.

FEMA’s Are You Ready? has a lot of info.

 
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Filed Under: General Preparedness, Getting Started

Acronyms, Mottos and Phrases

November 27, 2010 by

Acronyms, Mottos and Phrases

I thought I would write this to help explain some of the Acronyms, Mottos and Phrases used on this and other preparedness/survival related sites.
 
 

Acronyms

ELE: Extinction Level Event.
This is an event so large that it affects most life on the planet, such as Noah and the flood.

TEOTWAWKI:
The End Of The World As We Know It. (Please don’t sing it).
This is a large-scale event that changes life, as we know it, smaller then an ELE but larger then a SHTF event. An example could be an EMP that takes the grid down.

SHTF: Stink/Stuff/S**t Hitting The Fan.
The scale of this can vary from a single-family event to a nation wide like a stock market crash.

EMP: Electromagnetic Pulse
I’ll be covering this in more detail soon. A quick explanation is that an EMP is a high-altitude nuclear explosion that “fries” electronics with printed circuitry.

BO: Bug Out
Leaving your local area, generally heading for a BOL.

Bug In or Batten Down.
Staying put at your primary residence. For most people this will be the best option unless you have a BOL.

BOL: Bug Out Location
A place away from your primary residence, this could be a relatives house or a family cabin. If you live in hurricane country, this could also be a hotel inland.

BOB: Bug Out Bag, also called a 72-hour kit.
Generally, this a bag packed with three days food, water clothes and supplies. While I think everyone should have one, I also think in most circumstances it is a better idea to batten down.

BOV: Bug Out Vehicle
This is the vehicle used to bug out. Some people say that for a vehicle to be a true BOV, it must be 4×4 and hardened against EMP. Vehicles that are older then the early 80’s often do not have a computer and are often thought of as EMP proof.

INCH Bag: I’m Never Coming Home bag.
If there is a TEOTWAWKI event this is a bag that would have every thing in it you would need if you were never returning home from your BOL.

GHB: Get Home Bag.
This is a bag stored in a vehicle or office that you would use in the event you had to walk home; contents are similar to a BOB.

MSM: Mainstream media
The people that report on what they think is important for us to hear.

MAG: Mutual Aid Group.
This is like-minded people that form a group to share resources and responsibilities. When I think of a MAG I often think of the first church that is talked about in the book of Acts.

LBE, MOLLE, ALICE:
Load Bearing Equipment; MOdular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment; All-Purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment.
These are all systems to aid in carrying gear that is often connected via harness or pack.

MRE: Meal Ready to Eat.
A self-contained field ration for the United States Military. There are many civilian versions available.

JBT: Jack Booted Thug
A derogatory term used to describe an oppressive group that rules with violence or with the threat of it.

MZB: Mutant Zombie Biker
This is often a term used to describe the “bad guys”.

SAK: Swiss Army Knife

EDC: Every Day Carry
This is gear that you carry every day.
 
 

Mottos

“Store what you eat and eat what you store”.
This is the golden rule for prepping. Store the foods that you eat on a regular basis; this will keep your pantry stocked and rotated.

“Two is one, one is none.”
Redundancy – I like to have multiple ways to do things, such as starting a fire and purifying water. This phrase can also be used for gear. If you only have one of something and it breaks, you have nothing, always have a spare.

“I would rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it.”
I use this on things that I am on the fence about purchasing. If it could come in handy and won’t strain our finances, then this motto comes in to play. My wife likes to use it for buying purses.

“Plan your work, work your plan.”
Plan for different scenarios, this way when an event does happen, everyone knows what is expected of them. An example is a fire at your home. Know who is responsible for grabbing any pets and where everyone should meet; you could also plan different ways to escape your house depending on where the fire is.
 
 

Phrases:

Paracord/550 cord:
Parachute Cord has 7 separate strands, held together with a nylon outer layer. Each length can support 550 lbs. There are many knockoffs; if you buy some make sure it has the 7 separate strands

Rule of Three’s:
The rule of three’s is a survival rule that states the average human can go:
Three minutes without oxygen.
Three hours without shelter.
Three days without water.
Three weeks without food.

Prep, prepper, Prepping Preparedness.
The people who are preparing and the act of preparing. I have seen preppers referred to as, survivalists that don’t want to overthrow the government.

Shelf stable food:
A shelf stable food is one that will not spoil for at least six months without refrigeration, when packaged and stored correctly.  Some examples are canned vegetables, canned meats, white rice, dried beans, pasta and sugar.

False Flag: Definition from Wikipedia

Before I give it, let me say that I am not saying whether or not I believe in false flags. I am just explaining a phrase you might run into.

False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is, flying the flag of a country other than one’s own. False flag operations are not limited to war and counter-insurgency operations, and can be used in peace-time.

Balloon going up:
When the balloon goes up is a phrase used to imply impending trouble. This relates to the use of observation balloons in the First World War.

Being gray:
I wrote an article dedicated to the subject, found at the link above.

Cotton Kills:
This is reference to outdoor survival and how cotton is a poor choice when compared to wool when it is cold. Wool can be wet and still let you retain heat, the same isn’t true for cotton.

 
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Scripture Related To Preparedness

November 20, 2010 by

Scripture Related To Preparedness

In “Is Preparedness a Sin?” I have shared my opinion on questions that my wife and I, as well as some readers have come up with. I have also shared the answers that I have discerned after much thought, prayer and discussion.

Now though, we move into the scriptures that are related to preparedness. I’ll list the scripture and my interpretation of it, but it is what you think that matters. If you’re unsure about whether or not God wants you to prepare, read this section over and pray about it. Don’t just blindly take my word for it.

 

Genesis 6:21 (NIV)

“You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”

God has just tasked Noah with building an arc big enough to fit two of every animal. Not only does Noah need to get the supplies to build the arc and then build it. He also has to get enough food for all of the animals and for his family.

This was a huge task in and of itself. Noah couldn’t run to Costco and buy a few bags of rice and some canned beans. He couldn’t order some freeze dried food from the net. He and his family had to grow, hunt, harvest and store all of this food.

Surly an all-powerful God could have just filled the arc with manna once it was built, but he specifically told Noah to plan ahead.

 

Genesis 41:1-32 (NIV)

…” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”…

The above is from Genesis 41:15. This is the story of Pharaoh having a dream that only Joseph is able to explain. Joseph is able to explain that there will be seven years of great abundance. From that abundance, they must store enough for the seven years of drought that will follow.

There are a couple points of interest to me here. First was; how God chose to reveal the need to store the excess. He gave a dream to Pharaoh, who had to seek counsel to find its meaning. I think that for some of us the decision to prepare isn’t a difficult one, yet for others it causes much stress. It caused stress for me, and I went looking for others who might have had some guidance and insight. This is also why I created PreparedChristian.net.

The second thing that stands out is the scope of what they were being asked to do. They had to store enough to feed an entire country including the livestock and they had seven years to do it.

I am willing to bet that there wasn’t celebrating during those seven years of surplus. I imagine they tightened some strings and cut back some, to make sure they met their goal. Sometimes living a preparedness lifestyle means we do have to cut back, even when things look like they might be okay. This is because you never know when the next drought or famine will be.

 

Exodus 12:35, 36 (NIV)

“The Israelite s did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing.”

“The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.”

Here is another example of where an all-powerful God could have just told the Jews to flee and He could have provided for every need. This time, however, He told them to only ask the Egyptians for gold, silver and clothing. He provided food and water each day.

On a related note, I have thought about why He would have them ask for precious metals. One possibility is so that the Jews would have something to build the calf into a false idol later on. It could also be the metals used to cover the Ark of the Covenant. Another possible option is trading.

 

Proverbs 6:6 –11 (NLT)

“6:6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! 6:7 Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, 6:8 they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. 6:9 But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? 6:10 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—6:11 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.”

This is one of those verses that is so cryptic, its meaning is lost on most of us. Yeah, not so much. This verse is the “kick in the pants” of the group. It says to watch the ants (that do nothing but prepare for the future) and learn from their ways and become wise; that we should prepare like the ants do, without being told, because it is in our best interest.

 
Proverbs 21:20

“The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.”

Another verse that sums things up nicely.

 
1 Timothy 5:8 (NIV)

“If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

I have mentioned that there are five basic human needs. It doesn’t matter what the situation is, they have to be met and according to Timothy 5:8 it is my responsibility to meet them.

Notice that there are no exclusions. It doesn’t say that you can be excused in times of famine, if the economy takes a downturn or if there is a blizzard.

I take this verse seriously; it is my job to provide come what may. In order to provide for the above mentioned scenarios, one must use some forethought.

I guess one could run to the grocery store right before the blizzard hits but that sounds more like a grasshopper than an ant.

 

Proverbs 27:12

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

This verse is my favorite and where I got the tagline of “Being Prudent in Today’s World”. I also think that it is the most important verse related to preparedness. My wife and I have used this verse to make some very big decisions.

It says that a smart person sees danger and takes precautions now and a fool ignores the danger and suffers for it. So, to be smart, we have to know what danger is and be on the lookout for it so that we can take precautions against it.

If you’re still reading this eBook, then this verse is talking about you. A person who doesn’t see trouble on the horizon won’t spend this much time reading an eBook about whether or not you should prepare. So, congratulations, my prudent compadre!

Here is one way to use this verse; I spend a fair amount of time thinking about “what if” scenarios. Some of this is to look for potential dangers to me and my family, but some is also to think up things to write on for the site.

One potential danger that I have covered on the site, which is a possible danger every winter, is an ice storm. While I have underground power lines and gas heat, they limit the dangers, but don’t eliminate them. As precautions for an ice storm, we have more than enough food to last us, we also have a camp stove to cook it on, should the need arise.

We also have a propane heater and a couple 20lbs propane tanks. If we lost heat and power, I have even thought of how we could insulate one room in the house and have everyone camp out in it.

I looked for the danger and took precautions and in doing this, I believe I have lived out Proverbs 27:12 and 1 Timothy 5:8. We’re more prepared for a potential ice storm and if there is one, I can provide for my family.

 
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Is Preparedness A Sin?

November 20, 2010 by

Is Preparedness a Sin Take one

As is the case with many things in life, preparedness could be a sin. It depends on why you do it and where your heart is. God is calling some believers to preparedness, while others may seek it out on their own. Both might be able to prepare with perfect submission, others might not be able to prepare without it soon taking over. At that point they are no longer being prudent, but are consumed with the “what if’s” and the “just in cases”, giving in to fear and letting the enemy take ground.

This is not solely about prepping. It’s about anything that we put between Jesus and ourselves. Any time there is something in our lives we refuse to lay down, to turn from if the Lord asks, or simply put as more important than Him, we now choose to walk in pride and in sin.

There have been times when I wasn’t sure if I was acting out of my own flesh. Psalm 139:23 comes to mind:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”

If you’re not sure if you’re being led by your flesh, ask for the Lord to search you. Be willing to hear the answer and be listening for it.

 

Self-Reliance

There have been times in my life when I’ve found myself in a bad place, spiritually. I was living in the flesh and didn’t want to listen to the still small voice, so I didn’t give it a chance to speak.

If you close yourself off and do not give God a chance to convict you, or you know you’ve been convicted and you choose to ignore it, this is when self-reliance becomes pride. To prevent this, make Him the center of it, ask and rely on Him for guidance. I pray often to make sure His will is done, not mine; that He blesses me with wisdom to know how to prepare and keep me from reacting out of fear.

In Mark 8:1 the disciples watch as Jesus breaks the seven loaves and few small fish and feeds four thousand people. Just fourteen short verses later the disciples realize they had only brought one loaf of bread with them in the boat. They take Christ’s warning to “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod” as a complaint that they had forgotten food. Jesus then reminds them that he had already fed five thousand and later fed four thousand; that He is fully capable of feeding them.

The reason I bring this up is that it is okay to be self-reliant and provide for your family (true self-reliance is all but a myth, but that’s another story). However, pushing God aside because you don’t need Him and will do it yourself is prideful and we all know how God feels about pride.

While I’m talking about this verse, there are also those who take the verse the other way. They say that God worked miracles and provided food for so many. Yes, yes He did and He could again at any time. But let me ask you this, how many meals did those people listening to Jesus preach that day miraculously get from God in their life? My point is, we should prepare, being wary of self-reliance and leaving room for miracles, but not counting on them.

 

The Gift and Curse of Fear

There are many modern believers who think it is a sin to have any fear, but I think they’re only half right. I believe that fear is a gift given from God to keep us safe. When we let fear rule our lives it becomes a curse and we enter into sin.

We should use fear to motivate us to take action when faced with danger. When I started preparing I did so because I was afraid that in my situation, if there was even a medium sized survival situation, I could not provide for my family for very long. I could have responded other ways. I could have let the fear shut me down or turn me into an Ostrich. I could have also let it take over, going into debt to purchase things I will never use or need but only gave me a false sense of control.

In short, don’t be afraid of fear. Use it and don’t let it use you.

 

“Does storing food, water or other supplies show a lack of faith?”

For the vast majority of human history, humans have had to store food in one fashion or another, to make it through a season. The grocery store and the refrigerator are more recent options for storing food.

If it is a sin for us, was it a sin for humans that lived before the modern age?

Another question; what amount of food being stored would be considered a sin? Many people have enough food to last one to two weeks. Is that a sin? The point that I am trying to make is; is there a line that needs to be drawn and, if so, where do you draw it?

I personally don’t think there needs to be one drawn. I thank God for the food I eat, every time I eat. What does it matter if I bought the food five minutes ago or five years ago? The point is my gratitude for it.

 

How do we know that this compulsion to prepare is from God and not from us, or from satan?

Here is an acid test that you can use on any topic that you have this question on.

 

Pray and ask for wisdom and guidance

Pray for His will to be done and that He give you the wisdom to see what that is. James 1:5, 6 (NIV)

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

 

Ask for confirmation

Ask, if it is God, that He keep pushing and not relent. If it is not Him, to please cast the concern far from you. Ask for confirmation from sources outside of yourself. This eBook could be one such source. On a related note, I have seen thousands of people come to PreparedChristian.net looking for answers to preparedness and faith. I know God is stirring people.

 

Who does it bring glory to? Mathew 12:25 – 28

25. Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27. And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Does it bring anyone glory? If so, whom? When applying this question to preparedness, most Prepper’s prefer to keep things quiet. If no one knows you’re preparing it doesn’t bring you glory. By being prepared there is a chance you could use your preparations to bring God gory at a later date, by helping someone in need.

Satan won’t ask you to do things that bring God glory. If there is no glory involved or, it gives God glory or, there is potential to bring God glory, it is probably safe to move forward. If it only brings you glory or could bring God shame, I, personally, would not move forward.

I have Asperger Syndrome. This makes it hard for me to “hear” from God. I bring this up because, most of the time, I get no direct answer from God. With the above test, I think you can determine if moving forward on anything is a sin or not.

My rule of thumb is that if it brings God glory or has the potential to, I move forward. If it brings me glory, but God is still glorified, I still move forward. If it only brings me glory or brings God shame, I don’t move forward.

 

Aren’t we to look to God to provide?

This is one of my favorite questions because when I asked myself the following question, I could have hit myself on the forehead and said “duh!” That question was simply, “am I looking for God to provide now?”

I answered yes, but all of my food is purchased at a grocery store. My clothes wear out and new ones are purchased at a department store.

If God is keeping your clothes from wearing out or providing you manna everyday then praise Him and keep doing what you’re doing. However if you believe all of the money you earn is His and you use it to purchase your daily needs, then He is providing for you now. If you purchase supplies to prepare for the future, He is still providing for you. Just like He provided for Egypt with the seven years of stored grain during the famine that Pharaoh dreamed of and Joseph interpreted.

Here is a quote on the subject that I really like:

“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

You can find Part Two here.

 
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Should You Prepare? Part Two

November 4, 2010 by

Should you prepare part two

I propose that everyone reading this is a survivalist/prepper. We will only face so much danger without mitigating any possible negative outcome. It’s in our nature, it’s how God made us. Where we differ is in what we see as potential dangers.

Most of us wear a seat belt; have auto insurance, homeowners insurance, health insurance and dental insurance. Many among us have a life insurance policy or even a will. We have these in case something bad happens. Yet we don”t think of these people as paranoid. In fact we see someone who hasn’t taken these precautions as foolhardy.

As I stated, the difference is in what we see as potential dangers and at what point we would say “the stuff has hit the fan” or, if the “stuff” is even in danger of hitting the fan.

The average citizen is aware that the economy is in bad shape. They might know someone directly impacted by unemployment or under-employment. They might not, however, understand how close our economy is to falling, like Argentina’s did in 1999 or Iceland’s did in early 2010. They might not see our economy on the road that many European countries are now on. They may be unaware of the rioting that is happening in Europe because they have had to extend the retirement age.

Modern technology has made our lives so much easier; as a consequence many people, especially here in America, have been lulled into thinking that bad things can’t happen here, or at least not to them. I have heard this line of thinking called “arrogant”. I’m not sure I would go that far, but I would say at the very least it is naive.

One of the biggest traits of a prepper is in the analyzing of the things that could negatively impact their life, realizing that we live in a world that has some very real potential dangers in it. As believers we are aware that the world we live in is fallen, imperfect. Seeing it as potentially hazardous shouldn’t be a large stretch; natural disasters, the economy, rapidly expanding government, terrorist attacks, pandemic, lions and tigers and bears oh my.

This doesn’t mean we’re Chicken Little, worried about the sky falling and it doesn’t mean that we’re ostriches, oblivious to what is happening. (Have you ever noticed all of the animal metaphors that are used?) As with all things we must find a happy medium, an objective view and prepare for the dangers we see, with a level head. There are some real concerns, but as I state on the About Page Jesus reigns and there is no room for fear.

The more prepared you are, the less you are dependent on man or on government. Also, the more you are prepared before an event, the less of a drain you will be on community resources after. If you are not prepared, you will be forced to rely on others, including the local government for aide, instead of being the part of the solution and being able to provide for your family, friends and neighbors.

On that note let me share a story that I heard on The Survival Podcast.

There were recently a couple of young preppers, the wife begrudgingly, who had a friend that had lost her job and was on unemployment. She was distraught when faced with either buying groceries for her family or paying her rent. Because of their prepping, they were able to give the woman enough food to feed her family. My guess is that the wife may not be so begrudging the next time they spend money on their pantry.

When it comes to food most families have a week or two of groceries in their homes. If you add up all of the food that has a long storage life and is infrequently eaten, like rice or macaroni and cheese, they may have three weeks worth. So at what point does food storage become paranoia?

At what point in our history did it become paranoia? Preppers live a life style that our great grandparents lived. It wasn’t called prepping or survivalism then. It was called normal. They frequently stored enough food to get through winter. In fact the further you go back the more common it becomes. Not only did they store food, but also they knew how to preserve it without refrigeration, a skill that is all but lost.

 
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Should You Prepare? Part One

October 30, 2010 by

Should you prepare part one

There are things that we Christians do that the secular world does not, such as communion, baptism and others. In other areas of life we should judge if something makes sense at all and then see what God thinks of it. Examples of this are eating a healthy diet, getting an education or leading a preparedness lifestyle. The last three examples are not religious, but are they a good idea to do?

Since preparedness isn’t a religious issue, let’s explore and see if leading this type of lifestyle makes sense at all. I’ll cover what the Bible has to say soon.

The first thing that needs to be done is to define what it means to be a Prepper. The term Prepper is used to describe someone into preparedness. Many often use the survivalist interchangeably with prepper, I am fine with that, but prepper more fits my mindset. I do not want to survive just for survivals sake; I want to be prepared for what the Lord sets before me.

Dismiss how the mainstream media portrays survivalists. In some cases they are right, but in the vast majority they are way off the mark. That being said, what qualities make a prepper a prepper?

Here are three qualifying factors that to me define a prepper. Sure there are more, but I think most traits fit under these three nicely:

1. A prepper is someone who looks for ways to enhance their life, both now and in the future.

2. A prepper is someone who looks at what around them could most negatively impact their life, and finds ways to mitigate or remove it.

3. A prepper is someone that strives to be self-sufficient and not dependent on the government for aid.

Crazy huh, these loons need to be locked up!
 
 
Now let’s take a practical look at this.

For most of human history man has hunted and gathered food and preserved it by some means, often times storing enough for winter and sometimes storing much more.

Today, many families have less then one or two weeks of food in their homes, we have become a society dependent on the grocery store.

The grocery stores use what is called a “just in time delivery”, only carrying enough perishable supplies in them to last a few days without getting re-supplied by the delivery truck.

There are so many possible breakages in the supply chain that most people are not aware off. Everything from the local weather in the country the food was grown in, to oil prices. Oil is used in almost every part of food production. From transportation to get the farmer/worker to the crop, fuel for the tractor to till the soil, for the plane or other machinery to spray the crop, for delivery to the supply depot, depot to destination and finally for the packaging.

Just this year Russia has said they will not be exporting any wheat, due to severe drought and wildfires that have plagued them this year. This may not have affected you, but it absolutely affected many through out the world.

Russia, Crippled by Drought, Bans Grain Exports

Grain, Soybeans May Surge as Russia Halts Exports

In 2008 the price of diesel was over $4.75 a gallon, if it would have gone much higher truckers could have very well decided to stay home and not lose more money.

To mitigate any effect this could have, preppers store the foods they eat on a regular basis. Because it is food they would be buying anyway, their life is enhanced by less trips to the grocery store. If one of the links in the supply chain breaks a prepper might be affected, but to a limited extent.

Read more Should You Prepare? Part Two

 
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