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?

Hello, Allow Me To Introduce This Blog

We live in an age where, more than ever, people are seeking autonomy.  

An age where people are becoming more aware that the times, unlike any before, are nigh.  

People are seeking independence, yes, and striving for self-sufficiency.  

With a sense of urgency.  

We have people loosening their grip upon Big Brother, Big Corps and Big Pharma ... with some letting go completely. 

We have holistic healthers, homesteaders, off-gridders, preppers, stockers, and super-staunch survivalists emerging.  

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

This is the place, and point, where the lines of autonomy and faith collide.

What do I mean by this?  The answer cannot be given in one post, and will have to be revealed over time.  

While I think it is admirable to want to be as self-governed, and self-sufficient as possible ... autonomous,  if you will ...  I think there needs to be a balance.  Everything in moderation.  

No man can be an island unto himself.  One can try, but it is impossible.  And it is also an insult to God.

And what do I mean by that?  Once again, the answer cannot be given in one post.  It will have to be revealed over time.  I can think of so many examples and instances toward which I can apply all of those opening statements.

Some will get it, and some won't.  He who has an ear, let him hear.