"For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful..." --- 2 Timothy 3:2
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The book, Pulse, left me swimming in Intense Gratitude.
Months later I've still not come up for air. I marvel that water gushes from our faucets and that, by turning a tiny switch, I can make a lamp glow. When I press a button on the wall, my home goes from cold to warm, as does my food when placed upon a stove. With our phones I can call for services which keep our lives and house running well and gorgeous music wafts through our rooms.
In light, warmth and comfort I sit at this computer and discover how my friends are feeling, or order groceries, do research, email Tom at work, watch tv shows. Or write to you.
Tom and I have a sweet daughter who's returning home. Our health. Food, clothing, shelter. A home that is paid for, gas for our car, money to pay our bills. A yard, huge trees, four garden beds.
And lately we've had the most perfect, gloriously-golden Autumn that I ever recall.
You won't find me these days looking for a political savior nor listing all that's gone wrong in the USA or with my relatives, my town, the Internet. No, this pool of Intense Gratitude keeps me immersed-- rejoicing, brushing away glad, stinging tears. And much too busy being proactive in future preparations rather than wasting energy being all reactive about how the world's doing everything wrong.
Do I believe God will soon visibly judge our bent-on-sinning Country? I do. And even those of us not actively participating in those blatant sins will--I believe--be held responsible for this: that we did not spend the majority of our decades swimming in Intense Gratitude for all God so lavishly splashed upon us.
For not recognizing that yes, it was a wonderful life when God led us. And that we too often wished for more when, already, our cups, our pools, wildly overflowed.
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"...with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." ...Philippians 4:6
"Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ... Luke 17:18
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More Prepping Ideas:
Ways to light your home when the power goes out. Are you prepared?
And here's that milk jug and headlamp idea I gave you earlier.
Since last year, I've bought ten-hour votive candles here. They're reliable, reasonably-priced and have cotton wicks (which I prefer).
The best price I've found on tea lights is still for those I found at our actual WalMart store: Mainstays 100 tea lights for 2.99. If you can find that same price online, please let me know. I'll do nearly anything to avoid shopping at a real-live WalMart. :)
Oh, and my good buddy, Dolores, told me this week about Zote soap which I'd never heard of before. It comes in a 14.1 oz. bar and you can use it to clean everything (and everyone. heh.).
Dolores said she's found it cheaply (.89 cents to 1.49) at WalMart, Big Lots and Latino stores. Sounds like a terrific and simple thing for our prepper shelves!
"Better to be a year too soon than ten minutes too late."
... Jewish proverb
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Naomi and her cats will begin their trip to move back home tomorrow (Tuesday) and will arrive here Wednesday. Any prayers for their safety would be appreciated.... thanks so much!
What's cooking in my crockpot today? Italian wedding soup. (My version, anyway.)
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"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." ... 1 Thessalonians 5:18
So I've been considering ways to cook off-grid and I already shared a few of those ways with you here.
But something I've not told you is that Tom and I bought a cute little camp stove here. It uses white gas (Coleman fuel) or unleaded gas. I believe we found the correct Coleman fuel at Home Depot, but camping stores would also have it.
What really intrigues me lately are rocket stoves of which there are many different homemade designs. Here's a simple one (with video here). Here's one a bit more complex, but not anything most of us couldn't do (or its simpler version here). I'd like to try one of these soon just for fun.
Yes, some things in this life just cannot be explained. :)
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And now I will go all This and That on you.
Still not convinced that your family should be prepping? This excellent article might clear up any confusion. One of the best blog posts I've ever read on this subject.
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Do your family members each have their own 'bug-out bag' in case you must leave your home in an emergency?
I soo hate thinking about having to leave Hobbit Cottage under dire circumstances (and pray we'll never need to), but I have begun gathering items for bug-out bags. In fact, this week I sent one to work with Tom, though for now, we're keeping it inside the car where I'll later add to it as well as place other essentials in a storage bin in the back.
I believe we're all living in different times now, times where it's wise to be prepared for anything unforeseen in our ever-changing world.
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Do you have good quality vegetable seeds put away and ready to plant for next season? Usually I buy the cheapest, thriftiest seeds on the planet (and always forget to save ones from my own garden), but a couple months ago I splurged and bought these. (Augason Farms is owned by a Christian family, by the way). Now I'm ready and to me, that's worth the extra cost.
I also planted a few extra sets of green onions and my strawberry plants and perennial herb garden are firmly established after our 4 years here. Another comfort.
And you know? That's what I'm finding--the more I prep, the more comfort I feel and the less antsy I become. There are fewer too-early mornings lying in bed thinking about what's not yet ready.
According to the statistics, Tom and I are now more prepared for emergencies than 90% of America. And though that sounds pretty awesome, it's not. For sadly? 90% of America isn't prepared at all for any type of change in their circumstances.
Spend only two or 3 weeks preparing and you'll be right up there with us in the better-prepared 10%.
Oh dear.
But still we're determined and we continue to move on....
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By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith." ...Hebrews 11:7
"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong." ... 1 Corinthians 16:13
Some days I wish we had a wood-stove. Finding wood to burn is so easy! Just peek at some of the twigs our sycamore trees dropped in only days:
(These will be stored in our basement to use for future outdoor cooking.)
Decades ago Tom and I used a wood-stove as our sole source of heat and it made me feel like a true pioneer woman back when I wanted to feel that way. You could even cook on top or use it for baking in a Dutch oven.
But frankly? Since then I've felt a little gleeful just stepping over to a thermostat a few thousand times.
Well, with the threat of attacks upon The Grid looming, our being wood-stove-less is a concern. We could have one installed, but the heat would drive us out of our tiny, tiny living room.
So we've been seeking-out other heat sources.
At a yard sale years ago, Tom bought a kerosene heater which looks kinda like this. Recently at Home Depot, we bought a few gallons of kerosene and this week we even moved the heater from our garage to our front porch, wrapping it in a white tarp. While lying in bed one morning it occurred to me that if we had an EMP (yikes!), Tom and I would have to push and shove our car out of the garage (assuming we even could) in order to bring the heater into the house.
Simply rolling it to the front of the house on a cart on a pretty afternoon was ever so much easier, not to mention wiser.
Other ideas?
We are very stocked-up on fuel for our gel fuel fireplace. I bought fuel online for around $2.85 per can, then discovered from good ol' youtube (don't you appreciate all the knowledge there?) that you can use hand sanitizer, instead, bringing it down to $2 per can when you use the 10 ounce bottles from Dollar Tree. (The young man on the video is adorable.)
The good news? You don't even need a gel fuel fireplace in order to use the gel for heat. Watch here.
Now, some of you may recall when I tried the ol' flower pots and tiles and tea lights idea for warming a room, but the fumes were terrible. Well, I found a different variation of this idea, and also, bought two brand new clay flower pots instead of ones which had previously housed plants. I'm waiting for a cool day to try this new method and I'll let you know if it's better.
Oh, and I found tealights (for the flower pots) cheaply at WalMart, though I've not yet been able to find the same packages online. Sigh. Oh, how I'd rather not return to that crazy place for more (more I should have bought in the first place).
Anyway, I'd planned to add ideas for cooking off The Grid, but this post is long enough and the links will keep you busy and considering alternate ways to heat your own home. So I'll save the cooking segment for another day.
Above all? Please don't let any of my (or anyone's) information overwhelm you, because that can become paralyzing and then you'll do nothing. The times ahead are too important for that and besides! When God wants us to do something, He gives us the grace to do it.
All that remains is that we learn how to receive that grace. And keep moving forward. In faith. In hope. In love.
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Oh! Nearly forgot. You may have wondered why I didn't mention a fuel-powered generator. Lots of places where I've read say that you'd have to have lots of gas on hand to keep a generator running in an emergency where you couldn't leave home or one which shut down gas stations. And because generators make noise, they attract desperate folks and are often stolen (this happened a lot in the aftermath of a recent hurricane).
But in the case of an EMP? Gas stations would shut down so where would you buy more gas? Plus, only your protected (by way of a Faraday cage) appliances/electronics would still work.
Solar generators which you leave inside your home seem a better way to go, but are expensive and are approaching being short in supply. Yet do-it-yourself-ers may find this intriguing.
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"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." ... from Ephesians 5
"For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it." ... Ecclesiastes 7:12
