"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind...Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest." 2 Timothy 1:7, Proverbs 6:6,7
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So on Tuesday I heard this prophetic-type woman say we shouldn't hoard food. She knew folks who had and their food spoiled! So they should've relied upon God (she said).
Really? You're using uneducated preppers as an example to not provide for our families? To place everything on God's shoulders? To put listeners at risk of standing for hours in food pantry lines, cringing because their children are hungry? To encourage others to ignore this verse?
"Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." --1 Timothy 5:8
Gah.
What irks me is she wasn't the first nationally-known Christian to say this. Oh, what a sad price they'll pay for encouraging hyper grace or 'super faith' instead of good old-fashioned work and wisdom.
Always I will tell you the opposite.
When Covid-19 shut down everything, I had 2 months' worth of most supplies. Now I have 8, so please don't tell me it's impossible to stock-up these days.
Educated folks can do just about anything.
Those people, above, whose food spoiled? They did it all wrong. They prepped without knowledge and--in any area--a lack of knowledge leads to bad times. Even God stated:
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." ---Hosea 4:6
His people.
A vital hint? A 'best buy' date on a can of food is not a 'lady-this-can-of-food-dies-on-this-day' date. It's only the date to which the company will vow for its freshness. Most preppers use canned food at least 5 years after that date. I myself, have chosen a 3-years-past-the-date cut-off.
And have lived to tell this tale.
Prepping during these past months of insanity has, for me, proven a joyful challenge. I'm happily busy and way too occupied to get caught up in any choose-your-own fear these turbulent days. Hobbit Cottage life is fear-free.
Yep, just a calm persistence in providing for my family, even as I hear of food shortages intensifying during this upcoming Autumn. (People get all caught-up in reasons for shortages, but I just quietly plug away at prepping.)
No fear here, only faith. And only peaceful mental health while following beside the Holy Spirit who can see the future, unlike me.
This keeping my hands and mind busy with good things? This not fearing the future because God leads my present? It's all good because He is good. All the time.
Also? The older I get, the more I realize my obeying God was the main thing, not how many folks agreed with what I said or did.
No Prince SaveUsAll is gonna come bursting out of the wall to keep our mental health strong. That's up to each of us, individually working along with the Holy Spirit.
Fear paralyzes. Fight back by doing something productive!
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Below?
What I did over my (record-hot-in-Buffalo) summer vacation to keep me balanced amongst all my prepping and warnings at Facebook and 'railings against The Man'. シ
Balance. Oh, how balance is more precious these days than ever!
Grew bell peppers (and cantaloupe, squash and cucumbers) for the first time since I-can't-remember-when.
Appreciated God's nudge to have me create this sweet closet getaway before all the world's chaos. This room still feels like it hugs me everytime I step inside.
I read books outside on our sunny front porch whenever I could stand the heat.
I also appreciated my old 'politically incorrect' books more than ever (as well as this corner which whisks me away to the old days everytime I run upstairs).
And I've been thrilled to discover Applewood original edition copies of Nancy Drew and that I found 2 for under $10 each and 2 originals with covers, also (not an easy feat).
The Secret At Shadow Ranch? My new favorite Nancy Drew of all time. All. Time.
On some Fridays and Saturdays I sat blissfully at the cafe.
As I told you, last Saturday Tom and I went to yard sales, but I forgot to mention I found the exact type of T-shirt (like new) that I'd been wanting for around the house. Perfect color and size. $1.
Also, Naomi came over a few times and we chatted and watched a basketball documentary's episodes and also the first Goosebumps movie (which Tom and I enjoyed for the 3rd time--really!). ツ
Chatting with neighbors walking by and who are no longer hidden behind our hedges is wonderful.
I made two batches of Aunt April's Refrigerator Pickles. Yum!
Lots of The Rockford Files helped, as did the one season of Forever. Oh, and some Magnum P.I., also, not to mention Youtube videos, especially Tessie's and also the music reaction videos I previously spoke of. Music is such a great unifier!
I think you are wise to stock up on food, it makes sense. I have a bit of a stash but not as deep as you do. I like your closet sanctuary and your reading place on your porch. My favorite places in my home are my front and back patios.
ReplyDeleteI often use food past its "best by" date. I drew the line this year however when I found a can of mushrooms that was 11 years old. When you shook it, it rattled! I decided it needed to go in to the trash.
ReplyDeleteOn a postive note, I found space in the trailer for every bit of the food that I stocked up on minus two jars of spagetti sauce I gave to a neighbor who needed it.
We even bought a small freezer and put it next to the table. We put two chairs that we never used into the storage unit. Now I can even have a few more frozen items.
Great advice Debra.
Blessings,
Betsy
Debra, your advice plus the Holy Spirit's nudging has resulted in us creating a little "grocery store" in our basement. There were already sturdy wooden shelves, but they needed to be cleared off. Our freezer is next to the shelves which is convenient, too. Since the basement stays around 65 degrees year round, I figure that might be a plus for keeping things fresh. After we created this space and filled it up, I told my son and daughter, and now they have started their own systems for stocking up. This has been a real blessing!!
ReplyDeleteI always love reading about your stockpiling. I usually do this for the winter because I hate running out of something and having to "have to" go out if I don't want to!
ReplyDeleteThis past week, I thought that most of what I had stocked up on (food-wise, that is), was going to have to be given away as it was all the stuff that I do eat BUT I also found out that I'm now a Type 2 diabetic and thought most of what I had stocked up on, would have to go.
THANKFULLY though, apparently that is not the case - after talking to the dietician, she basically told me to just stay away from sweets and baked goods so I guess I can use the things I have here after all. Cereals, canned peas and other things that are either high in carbs or sugars.
Whew, what I relief to find out that I will be able to use it after all!
I know people who are diabetic but don't know a lot about the disease and even after talking to the dietician, I still don't know much more than I did before she called me.
I was expecting (and hoping!) that she would at least tell me how many carbs I should have per day and the same with sugars, so that I could keep close watch on them and chart them daily to help keep myself on track but she never answered me when I asked her.
So happy that you were able to have a small garden there. Mmm, love the squash (any type and anyways that it's made!) and love cucumbers as well.
Thanks for sharing with us once again. You are an awesome lady, Debra! (Hugs)