Where is Your Place of Safety?

"I've sometimes wondered where the safest place in the U.S. would be.

Considering hurricanes, tornadoes, earth quakes, blizzards, volcanoes,

unstable economies, unstable governments, tensions rising worldwide, etc.

Now we have the border situations ..."

Above is a comment I found on an online discussion thread, and these kinds of thoughts are a concern for many. 

Natural disasters can, and will, happen anywhere and everywhere ... with increased frequencies ... as we are well aware (if we read or watch the news.)

It IS instinctive for us human beings to want to avoid harm.

Flood waters rise, and we get to higher ground.  Hurricane approaches, we scramble to evacuate.  We see a storm brewing, and we seek cover.  Tornado sirens blare, we hit the cellar or closet. 

A band of ruffians trespasses upon our property, so we rush to grab for our ammunition and guns ... if we've wisely thought in advance to acquire them ... and call for help.

No one wants to suffer pain, injury or death!

And so it is also instinctive ... for those of us watching the tumultuous national AND world events ... for us to want to prepare for AND pre-seek  "a place of safety" in the event the whole world erupts in militant chaos.

But WHERE are God's children to look?

Are we to get our minds and hearts on some means, or method, or place, of ESCAPE?  And if so, are we to focus upon a particular geographical location?

Today, unpredictable weather calamities aside, we live in the age of infrared and satellite technology ... and modern weapons. 

Helicopter gunships ... even if using the more "conventional" weapons such as cannon, machine guns and napalm ... could completely obliterate ANY place in a matter of moments.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles, intermediate-range ballistic missiles, nuclear bombs dropped by aircraft, parachute bombs, nuclear warheads in artillery shells, rocket-launched nuclear warheads from mobile, truck-mounted launchers ... these, and a host of other neat methods of delivering multi-megaton thermonuclear explosions, are in the arsenals of all modern armies.

Oh, yeah, and biological/chemical warfare ... intentional, malicioius spread of disease/pestilence ... would slowly, yet completely, exterminate ALL LIFE as well.

Do you see?

No matter WHERE a human being may be hidden upon the surface of this earth ... IF a satanically determined, and inspired, enemy SEEKS to destroy that individual (or a group of individuals) ... it will obviously REQUIRE the supernatural protection of God to save him!

The point is THIS ... there is no physical location, place, or section on this entire earth that is guaranteed SAFE.

EVERYwhere is 100% obsolete as a "place of safety" in the face of enemies ... influenced by Satan himself ... if they actively SEEK to destroy. 

But God's protection will never be obsolete!

And so this was my simple response to the above thread ...

I used to wonder where my "place of safety" should/would be ...

until I realized that I need to have the kind of faith

that believes I'll be protected wherever I am.

Literally.

Psalms 91

(right click link to open in new window)

 
 
With Love,
Your Faithful Prepper
(where autonomy and faith collide)

The Faithful Prepper Has Moved

I recently imported all of 

The Faithful Prepper's posts 

over to my personal blog:

http://the-mama-crow.blogspot.com/

Please join me over there, and thank you.

How Is Your Faith

Are you fearful?  Do you worry?  Do you have faith, but also sometimes doubt?  Do you want to trust that you will be provided for ... but then hesitate and wonder, at the same time, that you might not be? 

A lot of us are like that. We believe, or perhaps we want to believe, but unbelief is never really far away ... it lurks in the form of anxiety. 

And although "anxious faith" is a long way from outright unbelief, it isn't outright faith either.

So this begs the question:  Is faith a choice that we can make?

On one occasion, two blind men came to Jesus begging to be healed. 

Jesus asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" ... They said, "Yes, Lord." 

Jesus reached out and touched their eyes saying, "According to your faith, be it unto you."

The entire issue hung on one question, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" 

Jesus knew that he could do it ... so it was not a question of what He believed, but a question of what THEY believed. 

What would have happened if they had not believed? 

On another occasion, a man fell at Jesus' feet and cried ...  "Lord, have mercy on my son.  I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him."

Jesus response was acrid, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?" 

The disciples knew the rebuke was for them, and came to ask, "Why could not we cast  the demon out?" 

Jesus replied, "Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

Most of us are far less interested in moving mountains than we are in avoiding death, being shielded from disasters, dodging diseases, getting rid of pain, having food on the table during hard times, and so forth ... but  what Jesus is saying here is that faith, even in the smallest degree, can accomplish great things.

(By the way, in Mark's account of the above illustration, Jesus told the man, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes."  And the poor man replied: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!")

I can't help wondering if one of the reasons we have so little faith is because maybe we are afraid to believe ...?

It is a little scary to think about how wonderful life could be if only our prayers were answered ... scary because, after all, our prayers might not be answered.

But ... so what!? 

Why let the possibility that God might not answer keep us from believing that He will!?

God demands of us this:  TRUST.

He wants us to believe what He says, and to trust Him to keep His word, and to do what He tells us to do. 

Faith ... TRUST ... is a choice well within our grasp, and we cannot come to God without it.

"Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He will reward them that diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)

But how does faith come?

"So, then, faith comes by hearing; and hearing comes by the Word of God." (Romans 10:17)

Faith is built brick by brick ... by asking God to open our minds while studying His word ... our problem is that we spend more time being anxious (tearing it down) than in building it up.

In the belief system of many Christians there is an assumption that "whatever will be; will be" and that it doesn't make any difference what we do about it ... it is out of our hands ... for we are not in control. 

But I wonder about this.

If faith, or lack of faith, were not in our control why would Jesus say what he did in His sermon on the mount?

"I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on."

Wouldn't it be irrelevant ... pointless, even ... for Jesus to tell us not to be anxious (i.e. to have faith instead) if it were something we had no control over to begin with?

Yet this entire part of the sermon is about anxiety, and Jesus' conclusion of the thought is, "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.  Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day." 

Do you suppose that there might be something to this "power of positive thinking stuff" after all? 

"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice...Be anxious for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Do we have a choice? Can we really control our thoughts? 

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

It seems we really do have the capacity, the right, and even the responsibility to CHOOSE what we are going to believe ... along with what we are going to DECIDE to think about ... and those choices and those decisions have more to do with faith than we have ever imagined. 

So study His Word ... and trust Him to keep His Word ... and do what He tells you to do.  

THAT is faith ... so, how is yours?

With Love,

Your Faithful Prepper 

(where autonomy and faith collide)

Time to Load Up the Pantry ... Past Time, Actually

Do any of you remember talk of stockpiling food and ammunition as a means of surviving “troublous times” back in the early 1970s amid predictions of famines, globe-girdling wars, and an imminent breakdown of society? 

How about the responding argument that went something like this ... “As for me, I’ll trust in the Lord.”

(?)

I found an article from two years ago in the Wall Street Journal that does not suggest that we Load the Pantry as a response to coming tribulation.

The logic the article laid out was an "economic suggestion" instead.  

The author, Brett Arends, was saying that food prices were rising at a much faster pace than the potential returns on short-term investments.

And though we optimistic Americans were hoping that the recent spikes in food and fuel inflation would soon pass, Arends laid out logic to support a likely acceleration in the trend ... which has turned out to be an accurate assumption.

No, the Wall Street Journal was not suggesting that we hunker in our bunkers with an AK and a six month supply of canned goods because TEOTWAWKI was fast approaching ... they were simply suggesting that non-perishables were cheaper then, at that time, than they will be later.

Later like now ... like, right now.

Do you carry a flashlight in your car?  You do!?  Is it smart to throw in a blanket, sleeping bag, some food, matches and a lighter when you drive over snowy mountains or the desert?  It is!?

Why?  Don't you trust God?   

Ridiculous!  

We have a God-given responsibility to look after the needs of our families and friends, and to help others in need.  

The Bible says a righteous man lays up in store for his children and his children’s children ... that means we should prepare for all kinds of eventualities, and make sure that those who depend on us do not suffer as a result of our carelessness or neglect.  

Whether it’s a road trip, life’s journey in general, or these particularly unsettling times we face ... the principle is intact.

Brace yourselves.  

There are numerous fear-mongers out there who will seize on nearly anything to get people to cough up money, and the unsettling times we are living in give them plenty of opportunity to create panic.  

We’re beginning to hear more and more discussions of the “end of days” and the fulfillment of Bible prophecy now on national radio and national television ... but does this mean it is time to get wild eyed; act in panic or hook up with some pretense of a prophet?  

No!

It means it’s time to fulfill our responsibilities to our families and friends, use our available resources wisely, and above all ... keep our wits about us.  

Is that inconsistent with trust in God?   

Hardly! 

I am reminded of an analogy we've probably all heard, and so here is a shortened version:  There’s a man clinging in the top of tree with floodwaters rising around his ankles.  When a helicopter shows up and lowers the rescue harness, he waves them off and shouts that he’s waiting on God to save him.  

Trusting in God, yes, will be the only way we will be able to endure this deteriorating environment while remaining confident and in good spirits.  

A large stash of food and an AK won’t do it.  

But it’s no time to suspend use of our greatest possession ...  and THAT is the power of sober discernment that resides in the mind God designed and gave each of us.

With Love,

Your Faithful Prepper 

(where autonomy and faith collide)

Happy Independence Day

Today is Saturday, July 3rd.

Tomorrow is one of our most cherished national holidays, Independence Day ... and there will be ceremonies, cook-outs, family reunions, parades, and, of course, an untold number of fireworks displays all across our beloved country this weekend.

Most people will start their freedom festivities TODAY.

Are you feeling the same anticipation, and jubilation, as you’ve felt in previous years? Or ... is there a certain foreboding beginning to cloud what was once an unbridled national patriotism that we used to celebrate with abandon.

There are quite a few major annoyances we’ll have to overlook this year if we’re to enjoy the kind of joyous 4th of July that is our nation's tradition.

All of us in the, ahem, so-called "working class" are seeing our standard of living come under duress ... as many staples that contribute directly to our quality of life have become less affordable.

Focus is on a "double-dipping" recession everywhere we turn, and most predictions reflect an outlook without improvement.

To irritate the matter further, we've found the White House administration apparently siding with dictatorial regimes that have long been recognized as enemies of the United States and our American way of life.

At a time when much of the world’s former "socialist nations" have been trying to dig themselves out of the blight of their ruinous ideology ... many in the U.S. are panting to adopt it!

Let’s nationalize EVERYTHING ... the oil industry, transportation, education, health care, energy ... you name it.

There is now encroachment of authoritative agencies into aspects of life, and business, once thought to operate solely on principles of the free market and the private sector.

The way things are headed, given the makeup of current legislative bodies, hardly any enterprise (or any activity imaginable) will escape the purview of federal regulation.

It’s obvious the worst fears of our nation's founders are beginning to play out.

And if you’ve been able to stand the news analysis and debate programs, you’re aware that many aspects of our present situation are self-inflicted!

Our children and grandchildren will inherit our debt ... and they will also look back at the irresponsible lives we've lead and, with puzzled wonder, fail to understand how we could allow the debacle that altered the country’s identity.

On our watch.

We don't even understand how we've let it happen.

The identity shift being perpetrated upon our unsuspecting and complacent/distracted populace was visited upon Christianity long ago, and remains to this day.

The laws of God which were the bedrock of life ancient Israel, and in the early (pre-Constantine) Christian church have long since been discarded in favor of a religious identity that empowers clergymen with authority that supercedes even the Ten Commandments.

The Bible ... God’s own word ... has been subjugated to the whims of deeply flawed Church leaders decked out in religious garb.

It is not hard to realize that all roads lead to Rome.

What we’ve seen happen to the application of clear biblical language in mainstream Christianity is now happening to the clear language of another document believed to be the result of divine inspiration.

At least our founders thought so, and said so.

But we live in the age of social, and financial, planners who have better ideas.

Just as those in control of Rome so long ago believed their need for unquestioned authority trumped scripture ... our political leaders seem to believe their presumably noble intentions trump the healthy constraints of the U.S. Constitution, and the ancient wisdom of the Declaration of Independence.

While contemplating the peace and freedoms we still get to enjoy this weekend ... along with the celebrations, cook-outs and family gatherings ... we should contemplate the personal sacrifices, and the divine intervention, that gave us the greatest, and most basic, blessing/right EVER offered any nation or people.

And THAT is the right ... granted not by men, but by God ... of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The beauty of that concept, and all that it entails, has been defended by all the grit and strength our fathers, grandfathers and forefathers could muster ... and, in countless cases, to their deaths.

May we honor them and the peace, prosperity and freedom we have enjoyed due to their resolve.

We must also soberly contemplate what’s happening in our domestic society and around this troubled world, and realize that God’s favor will surely be our best hope amid the troubles to come.

And they surely are coming.

Our country needs to turn to God ... not only for help with so many of these nightmarish developments ... but to help get rid of these arrogant anti-God, anti-American politicians who are busily strutting their vain righteousness and wrecking what He has provided!

This quote from Abraham Lincoln sums up our current national economic and political situation ...

“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown; but we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own…”

As we celebrate Independence Day this year, 2010, we ought to bear in mind the words and warnings of our founders, and hope (PRAY) it’s not too late to turn this pile of mess around.

We still have a tremendous amount to be thankful for, and to celebrate.

Please don’t let this little tirade of mine spoil it ... I’m hoping you won’t read it until the Monday, the fifth!

God Bless America!

Laying Up Treasures

I read about a lot of homesteaders and preppers who say they are ready for anything, and that they have everything they need (laid up and in stock) for "when the shit hits the fan."

When I see that supreme level of self-reliant confidence, my eyeballs always widen in an "uh-oh" kind of way.

As mentioned earlier, and touched upon with katlupe, in another post ... prepping IS necessary.  I am not advocating doing nothing, and expecting God to provide my every need without so much as lifting a finger. 

No, doing our part is necessary, and prepping is necessary.  And most preppers have a tendency to feel like there is always more they should be doing.  

It is difficult for most of us homesteaders/preppers to feel like we have laid up enough preps/riches/stores.  

We are even warned against becoming complacent and lukewarm and trusting in our perceived riches. (Revelation 3:17) 

So, yes, when I hear some boast about how they have everything covered, and everything they need to survive a SHTF or TEOTWAWKI situation ... I am immediately concerned that they have become too complacent and trusting in themselves, and their independence.

This blog is for those who understand we will never achieve any form of independence unless we surrender ourselves to dependency.

 So, what sets faithful preppers apart from the others?  

The simple answer is "our priorities set us apart" ... if we have the right priorities, we should not fear. 

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles (unbelievers) seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31–33) 

God assures us that if we stay close to Him, we will have everything we need ... but, as He gives us more, He will also expect more of us. (Matthew 25:14–30) 

With blessings/wealth comes responsibility ... and there are blessings/wealth that money cannot buy.

So, how are you ... my fellow prepper ... using your blessings/preps/riches/stores?  Your hidden treasures?

True treasure cannot be found by building up, and laying up, our personal riches/stocks and stores.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19–21)

All of our preps are conditional, physical, and temporary.   

All of the thought and time spent on "acquiring" is still conditional, physical, and temporary ... and it also borders upon idolatry, but that is another topic entirely. 

Everything we lay up (or store) for ourselves can spoil, or be stolen.  And if you are already a homesteader, or prepper, you KNOW this.   

I cannot tell you how many things I've read about how critical it is to rotate stock  to prevent loss/spoilage ... and how critical it is to protect your stockpiled goodies from all the anticipated SHTF zombies. 

^A protective mindset that is caused by fear ... yet another topic.^

But I digress.

When you gain some extra blessings/preps/riches/stores/wealth, and when you add it to your growing stash, do you mainly think about how well fed and protected YOU will be when it gets bad-bad?  

Or do you think first about your responsibility as a steward of what God has given you? And do you think about how you can use your wealth to help your family, your loved ones, and your community?  

Do you think about how you can thank your Creator, and support His Work, for all the blessings you've been GIVEN? 

Or do you have the attitude of Pa Anderson ... you've filled that space.  You've saved, and shopped, and stocked.  It wouldn’t be there, and you wouldn’t have it, if you hadn’t done it all by yourself.  You worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel in that there pantry, but you'll go ahead and thank the Lord just the same. 

God is looking at your heart.  

Are you stocking physical treasures?  Or spiritual treasures?

With Love,

Your Faithful Prepper 

(where autonomy and faith collide)

Good Life and Prosperity

To be sure, our Father in heaven wants us to have a good life, and to have prosperity.

He has promised many, many times that He will watch over and take care of us who serve and obey Him, and His laws.

Problem is ... His definition of "good life and prosperity" may be a little different than ours.

But I digress.   

After describing the natural concern most people have for the basic necessities of food and clothing, Jesus exhorted us to "Seek, first, the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33)

Paul wrote, "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’." (Hebrews 13:5)

God is our Creator, our Sustainer and our Provider. 

He makes it possible for us to breathe the air that we breathe, drink the water that we drink and eat the food that we eat. 

Most human beings simply do not think about THAT.

I can guarantee you that homesteaders and preppers sure do ... air, food and water is of utmost importance to the off-grid, self-sufficient types, and they think about it a lot. 

They may not associate God with those things right now, but we're working on changing that ... aren't we.

The Bible shows us, repeatedly, that if we honor God with our endeavors and possessions, "So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine." (Proverbs 3:9–10)

"But this I say: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:6–8)

Hey ... did you catch that "sufficiency" part up there?

Again, as in so many other biblical passages, our Father in heaven is revealing to us that IF we are generous in giving to Him and His Work, He will indeed shower blessings upon us in many different ways. 

For He is able to make sure we always have enough to eat ... to make sure we always have enough to take care of our families ... IF we truly serve and obey the One who provides it.

Even though terrible tests and trials are ahead for our country .. physically, financially and otherwise ... those who truly obey God, and walk with Him, will prevail.

I faithfully prep KNOWING my family will have the divine protection of God in the perilous times to come ... I do not prep out of doubt or fear.

How do you prep?  Do you prep in doubt, or faith?  

Why do you prep?  Do you prep out of fear, or responsibility?

It is all a question of how "real" God is to you, really ... and if you are able to see Him intervening on your behalf when times are REALLY bad ... and if you are ready to serve and obey Him. 

With love, 
Your Faithful Prepper 

(where autonomy and faith collide)

Crumbs and Morsels; Rain and Seeds

God told the children of Israel, when He first rained manna from heaven, and thereafter, that they had to eat it all in one day.  

When I began my mission to learn everything I could about homesteading and prepping ... and becoming autonomous and self-sufficient ... I found that command a bit difficult to accept, and understand.  

To me it was an unexpected, and unusual, thing for a loving Father to tell his children.   The fact that they were in an extreme environment is a whole 'nother matter entirely.  The command was a whole lot like telling them not to plan ahead; not to prep; not to save. 

When I was forced to ponder this scenario ... (yes, forced, because I really didn't have a choice since it hit me, under a glaring new light, square in the face) ... everything in my physical being was telling me to take charge of my own future.   Not just because the world was in a sad state, and was getting sadder every day that went by, but because it really seemed to be the smart thing to do.  There are even proverbs and scriptures that confirm "it's the prudent thing to do." 

Common sense is still telling us NOW we must save, and invest, for our own well-being ... before it's too late.  Right?  Right.

So ... this "eat your manna today, and let tomorrow take care of itself?" 

I don’t think so ... that's what I thought (with a tiny sass) at the time ... and, it ruffled my feathers, it did ... as I'm sure it's probably ruffling yours just a tad. 

But what do we do with Jesus’ statement to “take no thought for tomorrow?”  Or the prayer to “give us this day our daily bread” ... ?  

How about Paul’s instruction ... that “having food and clothing, with these we shall be content?”

First of all, we need to remember something about the Israelites as they were leaving Egypt, ... they were slaves.  They were conditioned to the burdens of hard labor, and in exchange for their servitude they knew they would get at least a pauper’s ration to sustain life.  It wasn’t much, that pauper's ration, but as slaves they came to depend upon those crumbs every day ... and like most on the slave side of a slave/master relationship, they were apprehensive about losing what little certainty they had in life.

God was showing the Israelites, by giving them a very generous daily ration of manna from heaven, that He was their Master, and He would provide for their every need.  Eating their fill every day, and not saving back a few morsels of manna, required them to TRUST completely in Him.

And, secondly, the teachings of Jesus, and the apostles, point still again to God as the Great Provider ...  He really will supply all of  our needs, so let's be content with our daily bread.  He knows what He is doing.  We are of more value than the sparrows, and more precious in God’s sight than the lilies of the field ... so don't fret.

Yet, as touched upon above, it is also evident from other proverbs and scriptures that if we have the opportunity to plan/prepare for our futures ... and prudently stock up some "wealth" in order to help others and ourselves in lean times ... then it is not only our right, but our responsibility to do so.  

We should ALWAYS remember the source of that "wealth." 

“Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them ... for him to accept his lot, and to be happy in his work ... THIS is a gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 5:19)

That paraphrased scripture calls to mind the prayer of Pa Anderson in the movie Shenandoah: 

“Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it, sowed it, and harvested it.  It wouldn’t be here, and we wouldn’t be eating it, if we hadn’t done it ourselves.  We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank the Lord just the same for the food we’re about to eat.  Amen.”

Even though I want to plan/prep for tomorrow, and you want to plan/prep for tomorrow, we have to take the facts for what they are.  

None of us have any guarantees.  

If we, like old man Anderson, think we are doing it all by ourselves ...and all for ourselves ... then we are leaning on a weak tree indeed.  

Today's lesson is to do what you can, and do what you must.  Plant the seeds, but trust God for the right amount of rain.  

And if there is no rain at all, trust God even more.

With love,

Your Faithful Prepper

(where autonomy and faith collide)

What in the World!?

What is going on?  Are we in the beginning stages of the prophesied Great Tribulation?

The news reports we receive daily are about a never-ending series of floods, drought, famines, mudslides, wars, tornadoes, terrorism, earthquakes, arson, racism, tsunamis, crime, drug abuse, murder-suicides, gay rights, socialism, global warming, tea parties, hostile takeovers, tension, disease, wild fires, hurricanes ... world governments in upheaval, and their economies crashing ... need I go on and on and on about all of these horrifying tales of human tragedies ... horrifying accounts of man's inhumanity to man, and nature in chaos ... everywhere we look? 

One thing is sure ... We Are Living in Frightening Times!  

Yes, yes ... since the beginning of mankind we've always had natural disasters and human nature (with all its greed and lust and self-serving vanities.)

But this feels different.

"Tribulation" means "trouble" ... and "the Great Tribulation" is going to be a time of great world trouble.  

Such as was never before.

So think about what you see, and hear, on your own nightly news.

Not a day goes by without hearing some kind of appalling tragedy ... it is on a regular basis ... compounding  occurrences one on top of the other ... increasing in intensities.

Those who are awake, are not blind to such happenings ... even those who are awake and do not believe in a God, are not blind to such happenings ... and more and more we learn of people determined to go back to basics, and prepare.

You and I are one of them.

But ... prepare for what?

Now don't get me wrong ... I am all for "going back to basics and preparing."

In fact, my personal dream is to eventually be in a position to homestead, and scale down possessions, and live a simper life.

My motivation is no longer fear, though.

No longer do I fret and worry that I do not have enough food in stock.  For I am reminded of a prayer ... a simple prayer ... that speaks volumes.

It does not say, "Give us this year our daily bread."

I have faith I will be provided for, and I am making the necessary preparations ... physically, and spiritually.

No longer will I fear I do not have enough, or I haven't done enough.

In spite of these terrifying conditions all around us, we are told, "See that ye be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." (Matthew 24:6)

Somehow, God's people must resist this feeling of  hopelessness, panic, and woe.  We must be joyfully obedient to the command, not request, to "see that we not be troubled!"

We are also told, "And when these things (the events of the "Great Tribulation") begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draws nigh!" (Luke 21:28)

When we are "down" ... we tend to look down ... we walk with stooped shoulders; downcast.

But we are told that no matter how horrible the events around us, we should look up ... hold our heads up, and square our shoulders ... and have courage and faith to KNOW that all will be well in the long run.

Yes, I seek faithful autonomy ... I am a faithful prepper.

We need to find other faithful preppers.

TEOTWAWKI

For the past five years or so, I have been an avid reader of everything I could get my eyes on pertaining to prepping and self-sufficiency.   Everything from articles to books to blogs to forums to magazines.  Everything.

It would be difficult to provide a list of all the places I frequent because it grows daily.  I'm always finding something new (or somewhere new) to read and learn.

The more I learned, the more I realized how little I knew.  And the more I prepared, the more I realized how little I was prepared.  The more I stocked, the more I realized how little I had in stock.

As fascinating as it all was to me, I simply could not keep up with some people's provisions and suggestions.  I only thought I was avid.  I would never reach their level of autonomy and self-sufficiency.

I would never find the perfect hiding place.  I would never find the perfect, safe land.  I would never have three years of food in stock.  I would never have ten pistols, and thirteen rifles.  I would never have 1000 rounds of ammunition for each weapon.  I would never accrue the equipment and supplies and tools some of these people had.  Or the knowledge.  Or the skills.   

TEOTWAWKI (the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it) was fast approaching, and I didn't feel fine.

I was doomed.  I was scared. 

Then it hit me:  I had become terribly concerned ... consumed, even ... about how to extend, preserve, protect, and sustain this human, physical life of mine.   

My life.  And my children's lives; my family's lives.

Consumed in fear, I had become a slave.

Me ... of little faith.

At one time I knew better.  Way better.  What changed? When did it change? And why?