Things My Dogs Teach Me: Run to the Master

Above picture: Our little Beagle/King Charles Cavaliers in their daddys’ lap when they were just a few months old.

One day my husband had taken our dogs for their walk. He called me to tell me to come right away. Two big dogs were after our little girlies, and terrified, had gotten out from under their collars. I jumped in the car, my heart pounding and managed to find them not far from home. My husband had Dolly in his arms, but Dixie was loose. Two huge mongrel dogs that looked something out of a horror movie were running loose. One dog, barking and snapping, was jumping up on my husband trying to get to Dolly. The other dog was threatening our Dixie. I called for her and she came to me right away with bad dog following her. I picked her up and the dog started jumping on me, trying to bite us. A few people were standing around watching all the commotion. I yelled out to them, “Don’t just stand there, Help us!” A woman came over and grabbed that dog while I put Dixie in the car. As I was trying to get her in the car, the huge dog got lose and then tried getting into the car before I could even get the door shut! It was terrifying. Then the dog was trying to get in through a window and I had to manage to get back in and roll the window up with this hound from hell snapping at me the whole time. My husband still holding Dolly, with the other hound from hell, jumping up trying to attack him and little Dolly. I don’t know what emotion was greater — my fear or my anger. I got out of the car after rolling up the windows and went around to the other side to open the door for him so he could get in with Dolly. Both demon dogs after us both. I got the door opened and he got in as I was going around the other side to get in to drive away. I get in and see he had not been able to close the door because both dogs were still trying to get in the car! My husband was trying to shove them out with his leg. Oh, I got so mad. I picked up a magazine laying next to me, leaned over and smacked one of the dogs a good one telling him to “GET!” It was just enough to stun him long enough for my husband to pull his leg in and shut the door.

People stood by and did nothing. EMS happened to drive by during part of this and they too did absolutely NOTHING to help. Might not have been very Christian of me, but I told them all a thing or two before I drove off.

As I begin to start the car up, to move on, the dogs outside still would not move! I was blowing the horn and inching along and they still would not move! It was like an attack from hell. I have never seen anything like it in all my life. I was so angry, I actually wanted to run over them. But I didn’t. For the record: both our dogs were spayed when they were much younger, so this was not a case of male dogs going after female dogs.

I finally get us home, we take the dogs in and my husband says the leashes are still back where he lost them, so he goes back to get them. Meanwhile, I collapse in the chair with what was probably an angina attack. I did nothing but sit and cry, trying to breath, thanking God that none of us got mauled or bitten. Also praying that those dogs would not attack my husband when he went back to get their collars and leash.

That day, our dogs ran away out of fear. Before I had gotten there, they both ran in different directions. Dixie had planted herself under the front wheel of someone’s van. The woman not seeing her, almost began to drive forward, until my husband started shouting, “NO! NO!” The driver, not speaking English, did not know what he was saying, yet could hear an alarm in his voice that caused her to be still long enough for my husband to go and drag Dixie out from under her front wheel. Dolly on the other hand had ran down towards the main street where if she had gotten close enough, no doubt would have been hit by a car.

By the time I had gotten there, my husband had managed to get Dolly, yet Dixie had gotten loose. I had set myself up to be the Alpha dog with our dogs when they were just little babies. That makes me their master. I do not know how they would have behaved if I had been there. I’m guessing their behavior would have been no different as it is in their basic instint to either fight or flee from danger. Our little girlies, being timid little dogs, chose to flee. I can’t blame them.

I’ve thought of that incident many times. I see myself in those dogs at times. Maybe some of you can too. Our behavior being no different than theirs. When there is danger, we sometimes get so spooked that the last thing we think of, is running to the Master. Tornado warnings have been something that has terrified me since childhood. I immediatedly panic. I am not quite as bad as I used to be. I think it has more to do with I just do not have the extra adreneline it takes to get all that upset. However, I do take it serious and can feel fear that almost borders along terror. I try to stay calm for the sake of those around me and even for my dogs. In that first stage of panic, the very first thing I think of is running for cover. I’m much too frightened to even ask God for help.

There have been times when someone has playfully come up behind me and smacked/poked/pinched me for whatever reason. My first instinct is to turn around and knock their head off. I do not like playful activities like that. Some people can play like that. I am not one of them. It seems I don’t have time to ask God to help me, it all happens so fast. Thankfully, I have yet to knock anyone’s head off, but have told them never to do that to me again or else.

Satan loves to use fear to keep us from running to the Master. He is very good at it. That old devil knows exactly how, when and where to strike.

But, if we consider ourselves a bond servant/slave to the Lord, should we not run to Him in any event, at all times? Many times, we automatically trust in our own resources we may have at the time. Once there was a time where I could head down the stairs in the event of a tornado warning and not think much of it. I was younger, able to go quickly, not concerned whether my feet would get me there or not. But now, it takes a little longer. I figure if I can get down without falling and breaking my neck, it is a good thing. I have to be more careful, more cautious as my legs do not have the strength or the speed as they once had. That is when I find myself calling out to God now. On my way down the steps. Whereas before, it was after I had gotten down the stairs and prepared myself. I believe the weaker we become or the more frail we see ourselves before an all mighty God, only then it is when we begin to fully trust in Him. We begin to see HE is the One keeping us and not ourselves.

It is easy to trust Him when all is well. Not so easy when things are not all that well.

What is the thing that may stop you from running to the Master? Has the enemy of your soul so blinded you with such horrible things to come (I speak as one who personally knows what that feels/thinks like) that somehow you find yourself running for cover, yet not calling out to His Name? Are you trusting in your own resources? What if those resources were taken away? Then what? Are you so angry (again I speak as one who knows what that feels/thinks like) with things you see or have had happened to you, that you have failed to run to the Master? What if those things get worse?

I believe that God is calling His people to a place of knowing Him in ways some of us have yet to know. If we don’t learn to run to the Master now, then how in the world will we be able to run to Him when things get worse? No doubt, there will be those who will never seek God, never run to him. At the same time, there will be those who will wait until things get worse — then, they will seek God, then they will run to Him. Do not wait. Run to him now.

Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
 Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon. — Isaiah 55:6,7 –

Gold Plummets, but God says…

Men and the powers that be in the world think that silver and gold belong to them. But God says, ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. — Haggai 2:8 –

If we are trusting in anything other than God and God alone, we will not be able to stand in the days to come. If you hear nothing else I say, hear this: Everything, and I mean everything we have put our trust in is going to be tested. Only those things which are of God will stand. Man’s kingdoms are crumbling, but God’s Kingdom abides forever.

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. — Psalm 118:8 –

… Jesus said…“How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” Mark 10:23 –

What riches is it that you cling to?  What are the idols that you are putting your trust in?  

Gartman on Gold: We’ve Never Ever Seen Anything Like It: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100640665

What are you Feasting on?

Yesterday was my husband’s and my anniversary. Married for 25 years – I wanted to do something somewhat special for my husband. So I chose a particular restaurant. After we began eating, I remembered the last time we ate there and I had said, “Never again will I come back here,” as the food was just not all that good the first time and neither was it last night. Huge disappointment. I told him I was sorry for choosing this place while biting my tongue as not to ruin our anniversary by complaining about the food. As usual, dear husband was very gracious towards me.

I left feeling grateful that at least I had food to eat. Plus, I didn’t have to cook, but still would have rathered stayed home and eaten a simple sandwich or frozen pizza. It would have given me the same results — one of having eaten something.

As a diabetic, I have learned I have to eat whether I want to or not. If not, I become weak, shakey, confused, disoriented and even crabby. There have been times when I have just grabbed whatever was around me, shoved it in my mouth and swallow just so I could begin feeling somewhat normal/better. But that isn’t enough. I had to learn what it is I am to eat. Grabbing a cookie here or there just to make the hunger  go away so I could continue on with what I was doing, is not the same thing as a healthy diet. I have had to literally learn to stop what I was doing and go fix something somewhat nutritional.

Sometimes, we all feast on things that fill us up, so to speak. But they aren’t always nutritional. The food last night was bland, the salad fixins, being especially bland, probably due to being hybrid veggies. Yech. The meat had a taste of not being freshly cooked. The shrimp? I don’t even know what that was suppose to be or where it came from. The Brownie surely would taste good, I thought. Uh, but no. If I had known it was not going to taste like one of my own, I would not have wasted my time. The only thing that tasted good was the one strawberry dipped in chocolate, but I very well could not make a meal out of that, now, could I?

This has not been an easy lesson for me to learn — to eat correctly. It takes self-control and an ability to focus. Two things that have never been what I would call any virtues on my part. Still not anything great on my part, but God will continue that good work of not only teaching me, but helping me in learning to take care of this temple in which He dwells.

The things we feast on, are the things we become.  If I feast on things that have hurt me, I will become unforgiving and bitter. If I feast on those things that I find confusing, I will become paranoid and suspicious. If I feast on those things which bring fear, then I become paralyzed. If I feast on the things which I hate, then I will become hate.  If I feast on that which makes me angry, I will become rage.

Ah, but, if we feast on… “… whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. – Philippians 4:8 –

…if we feast on these things, then the Kingdom of God is being built within us. The world around us is going to hell in a hand basket, but we as sons and daughters of the living God, are not of this world. His Spirit lives in us to do His work — however He sees fit, whenever He sees fit. It is His doing, not ours.

The feast we are to feast on, is not the things of this world. But His Word. We are to be so full of His Word that His anointing to do good, to speak truth would be so like getting up from a table feeling completely full that we could not but help shout the things of God! Doesn’t that excite you, Church!? It does me!

We do not have to partake of the garbage of this world. We don’t have to go scrounging around in garbage dumps to find that which God wants to feed us. He has given us His Word. The Bible — a living entity. The only thing on this earth that can change a heart from darkness to true light. The only thing that can impart grace to the hearers. The only thing that can renew our minds in the way God desires. The only thing on this earth that is … living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. — Hebrews 4:12 –

Why? Because Jesus is the Word! …and His name is called The Word of God. — Revelation 19:13 –

That WORD is alive, He lives!

Christian, you do not have to settle for less. You have the living God in you and He desires to feed you from His table. One of a complete feast. Do not eat just anything. Do not let yourself go hungry! Feast on that which is alive!

“God will Provide” Foolishness

Article gotten here:

http://www.wnd.com/2012/07/god-will-provide-foolishness/

Written by Patrice Lewis

I’ve been closely following the struggles of folks in the aftermath of the super-derecho storm that slammed the eastern United States last week. Compounding the disaster are massive power outages and a blistering heat wave. Grocery store shelves have been stripped bare, and gas stations have been unable to get gas or unable to pump it. In short, it’s been a miserable week for millions of people.

If there’s a silver lining to the massive disruption this storm has wreaked, it’s that the need for personal preparedness was underscored. There are various articles that highlight this. I believe everyone should be ready in what I call the Seven Core Areas of Preparedness: food, water, heat, lighting, sanitation, medical and protection.

And yet …

And yet there are some people who claim they don’t need to be prepared because “God will provide.” Despite my total belief in God’s mercy and providence, I confess I have no patience with those who refuse to lift a finger toward their own physical safety or survival on the grounds that the Almighty will supply them with whatever they need.

Usually this reference about God providing happens when the End Times are under discussion. Frankly I don’t know much about End Times and don’t care to, since we’re specifically told we won’t know the day or the hour. But I’ve actually heard some people say with a straight face that they have no need to prepare because “God will provide” or they’ll be raptured up before things get really hairy.

No offense, folks, but that’s about the stupidest contingency plan I’ve ever heard. The End Times aren’t here (yet), but super-derechos and wildfires and earthquakes and power outages and heat waves are. Disruptive natural phenomenon happen all the time. And it’s for these types of events that everyone must prepare according to their means and abilities.

J.G. Holland said, “God gives every bird its food but does not throw it into the nest.” Right now, God has blessed us with an abundance of goods and services in this country, but He isn’t throwing free groceries into our cart. Nor do any of us expect to open our kitchen cupboards in the morning and find them magically filled overnight by Divine providence. It’s up to us obtain those groceries, not God.

Or, as one reader of my blog put it, “I have told the ‘God will supply’ people not to show up on my doorstep when things get tough because ‘I’ am not their God.”

Nor is the government anyone’s god (despite its apparent claims to the contrary). If we look to the government to save us every time Mother Nature throws a nasty storm our way, then of course we’re not going to lift a finger to help ourselves. Why should we? “God” (I mean, the government) will provide, right?

It’s essential to place one’s trust in God, but to assume He will behave in accordance with our interpretation of what we want Him to do is foolish beyond belief. If you fold your hands and refuse to help yourself because of your sincere belief that God will give you full pantries when times get tough, then you’re slothful. It smacks of arrogance. You’re expecting Him to do the work he commands you to do.

I truly believe God expects us to prepare to meet the challenges inherent in life: natural disasters, terrorist attacks, economic downturns and other natural or manmade calamities. In addition to our physical preparedness, we all need spiritual preparedness for comfort, focus and protection.

But to do one without the other – to prepare our souls but not our earthly lives to meet physical challenges – is shortsighted and incomplete.

The Bible is absolutely chock-full of advice for a preparedness mindset, and it exhorts us not to be foolish, slothful, or ignorant. Everything from the stories of Noah or Joseph in Genesis, throughout Proverbs, up to and including Jesus’ Parable of the Ten Virgins, urges people to be vigilant and to keep their lamps lit.

And yet there is a certain subclass of people who won’t do this because, after all, God will provide.

You can argue and bicker all you want. You can disagree with me and tell me my biblical understanding is poor (which it probably is). You can believe all the End Times prophecy until the cows come home – I really don’t care. But don’t use that as an excuse to refuse to prepare.

At this point I’ll make the critical distinction between those who can’t prepare and those who won’t.

There are those who unable to be prepared due to age, illness, disability, finances, or other factors. For those who can’t prepare due to any of these reasons, we must be ready to offer assistance as best we can. A significant part of a prepping lifestyle is mercy and charity, just as it should be a significant part of our walk with God. We must never forget the importance of treating our most vulnerable citizens with compassion.

But this compassion wanes when we encounter those who won’t prepare. These are people who have the means to put aside food and water, but refuse to believe such actions are advisable. Simply put, they are in denial that anything bad can ever happen to them. After all, God will provide.

Grocery and gas prices will continue to rise. Storms will hit, electricity will fail, wildfires will ravage, and the economy will continue to tank. But hey, feel free to fold your hands like the sluggard and do nothing to help you or your family through hard times. That’s your choice. Just don’t expect anyone else to come riding to the rescue.

God told you to help yourself and you didn’t listen. You expected Him to provide without your effort. Remember 1 Timothy 5:8: “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” And 2 Thessalonians 3:10: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

There’s an old saying that goes, “Don’t be so heavenly minded that you are of no earthly good.”

In light of last week’s reminder, perhaps those are wise words indeed.

Surviving the days to come

I originally began to write this for a survival video that I have yet to put up. But I sensed the Lord telling me to make it seperate from the video. So here it is:

I’ve talked to a number of people this past year on what I believe is coming to the earth. Telling them we need to prepare for hard times. Meaning: get out of debt, store food and supplies, find out what your specialty or trade is and plan on using it for bartering, build a network of trusted individuals, try to prepare your mind “what if” — meaning just think what would you do if there were no water, no food, no electricity, etc. Most importantly; seek God and get in His Word. I know that is the most important any of us can do. For without Him we can do NOTHING.

Oddly enough, some of the worst rejections and responses I have gotten, are from Christians. Their attitude?

“I work, I don’t have time to know what’s going on in the world.” Sorry, not an excuse. 

“I can barely make ends meet now, let alone save for tomorrow.” Well, then stop spending money on stuff you don’t need and will end up not having any use for. 

“I don’t want to think about it.” Well you better think about it. Because the day is coming if you have not thought about it, you just may be a hindrance on someone who DID think about it. 

“I’m not going to live in fear.” Uh, who told you that lie: that it is fear to plan for bad times? 

My all time favorite one is this: “I’m just going to trust God.” Really? Like those of us who are seeing what is coming and doing our best to prepare are not trusting God?

The I’m just gonna trust God thing sounds so sanctimonious. Really it does. For what it is saying is, I will depend upon YOUR resources. For if they were trusting God, they would know that He, as our Source would have us to be a blessing to others. Can’t bless someone if you yourself do not have the resources available.  

Some of you pastors and preachers out there will be a hindrance upon your flock if you do not prepare. Do you actually think any parent is going to take food out of the mouths of their own babies to give to you? Why should they? Would you take it out of the mouths of your babies and give to another? I doubt it very much.

Some of you will continue to give to false ministries who could give a royal rip about you — instead they make merchandise of you. Are they warning you of the things to come? Or are they pointing you back to their ministry; give to me and God will bless you? Buy my books and my CD’s and get God’s special annointing on your life! These are hirelings! Because if they have one ounce of discernment or any sense, they would be able to see what is coming upon the world — yet they find ways to manipulate you to get your resources.

Then again, perhaps they DO see what is coming and they just want to make sure they milk you of everything you have so they can live high on the hog while you and your family suffer the consequences of an economic collapse.

It is not fear to think about the future and how to prepare. I know, I know, Jesus tells us, “whoever desires to save his life will lose it.” But I do not believe Jesus meant for His children to sit on their butts and wait for someone to come rescue them. If we are to be the light of the world, then should we at least have the mindset that if something bad happens, then we should have enough to give to those whoever God sends to our door? And yeah, that even means liberals and obama supporters. (SIGH) Even if I’m not real crazy about them, I don’t want them to have to resort to taking some kind of chip and loose their very soul. God forbid that I stand before Him one day and He say, “I sent that obama supporter to you and you held back your can of soup, they went around the corner, got that chip and lost their soul.”

(Yet, I’ll still be real honest about that. I’m not there yet. It will take an act of God to change some things in me. I suspect He will have His way with me because His word says, He who began a good work in me, is faithful to complete it. But for now…well, I can’t make myself FEEL something that just does not exist.)

I am NOT in the prosperity gospel as many of you well know, however, for the life of me, I can not see myself being a beggar at the mercy of man. I would much rather have something to give away in time of need to a neighbor or stranger than have to take something from another. Which brings me to this promise of God: 

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand. I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed. — PSALM 37:24-27 –

This is His promise to us.

I do not take lightly that there are those who may find it hard to prepare physically. But there must be something special in you — something God put in you for His children and for the world. You are not without, if God is your Father. What is it you would have to offer? A song, an ability to lead worship, the ability to lead in prayer, are you able to extend mercy? That is needed! Are you one who is not squeamish at the sight of blood and could lend first-aid to the wounded? You will be needed. Are you able to lift up the feeble hands among you? You will be needed, my sister and my brother!  Maybe you have the knack of calming others. Or perhaps your thing is staying up all night standing guard. Just think of the smorgasborg of abilities, talents, gifts and resources He has put in us and will do through us! I get excited thinking about it! I hope and pray God will set me among my brothers and sisters. I want to see the Father’s glory at work in each and every one of us!     

If we acknowledge the Lord in all our ways, He will make our path straight. He will show us all what is to come and prepare us inside and outside. I have no doubt about it. That’s the kind of God we serve! One who will never forsake us and equips us for battle!

Patrice Lewis: Don’t come knocking on my door

On Thursday I made a severe error in judgment. I logged onto the Drudge Report, where these headlines jumped out at me:

• Stocks drop most in a year on economic reports, European debt crisis
• Roubini: Stocks to tumble another 20%, cash the safest place
• Strains accumulate
• Fed official: Europe’s crisis poses risks to USA
• Confusion over regulation moves trigger sell-offs

These headlines got me worried because they coincide with a couple of entries I recently posted on my blog: “Predictions for the rest of 2010,” and “More cheery news.” I’ll pause while you go read those items.

Now that you’re back, can you understand why I find myself nervous about the future?

When I’m nervous, I tend to can food. In the last two days I’ve canned 33 pints of mixed vegetables and 14 quarts of chicken breasts.

Because, you see, I expect the bleep to hit the fan within a year, possibly less. Mother hen that I am, I want to gather my chicks close and protect them. The frustrating thing is, those of us with concerns about the economy can’t help but wonder how much of it is orchestrated. Whatever the cause, things appear to be spiraling out of control. So I’m doing the only thing I can do, and that’s to prepare for hard times.

Of course, most people aren’t preparing. History is full of people who ignored warning signs and put their heads in the sand (and their rumps in the air). These are the folks who derive great amusement at us who prepare, smugly calling us conspiracy nuts or lunatics. Then they’ll calmly inform us of their contingency plans: “Well, we’ll just come live with you if things get tough.”

These are the Grasshoppers of society, and I’ve written about them before. These are the people who still have their jobs and homes, but seem incapable or unwilling to look beyond the shallow concerns of everyday life to read the headlines or see the storm clouds gathering on the horizon.

This attitude makes Ants very, very nervous.

One woman posted on my blog: “I live on 1 acre in town, and we have 48 relatives within walking distance of our house. If only four people show up to be fed and cared for, my six-month supply is cut in half to three months. The more people who show up for help … well, just do the division! I’m trying to build my stock and some nights I don’t sleep well just thinking about how quickly it could be depleted. This is not fear talking; this is wrapping my brain around reality.”

This woman has tried warning her friends and family, but when she saw them “taking cruises and trips to Florida,” she knew the message wasn’t getting through.

Grasshoppers, every one of them. Grasshoppers are not people who are unemployed or facing eviction or dealing with medical bills. Grasshoppers are people who have jobs and are perfectly capable of preparing, but who deny that hard times could ever happen.

Whenever I address this subject in a column, there’s always someone who “jokingly” announces that he’ll just come live with us if the bleep hits the fan. My standard reply is, “Stand in line. There are dozens ahead of you.” The honest truth of the matter is, “Why is it MY responsibility to feed YOU when you’ve had plenty of warning that times are going to be tough, and you’ve just been too stupid or stubborn to listen?”

And the trouble is, the woman with 48 relatives shares a major concern with other Ants: We love our Grasshoppers to pieces. They are our friends and family. So the question arises – how do we decide who comes to live with us and share our supplies? How many Grasshoppers can one Ant support?

In Aesop’s original version of “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” the grasshopper died. That’s nature, folks. The grasshopper died because he didn’t have the brains or the forethought to realize summer must end and winter would come. The grasshopper died because nature dictates it’s every insect for itself.

Only man shows compassion for his fellow humans. But the Ants among us are few and far between, and compassionate or not, it is physically impossible to feed every Grasshopper on the planet.

That’s one of the things that drives me nuts. Right now everything is abundant and relatively cheap. Putting aside those who are already facing hardships, there are still plenty of people who can help themselves prepare for a harsh future, but won’t. And even Ants have to remember to prepare. As a friend notes on her blog, “I am always aware of the necessity of being prepared, but sometimes I talk about it more than I do it.”

After some discussion, my husband and I decided to dedicate 10 percent of our income to preparedness projects. That’s 10 percent of an income that’s already dropped 40 percent from a couple years ago. In other words, we’re eeking out what preparations we can despite our lower-income status.

And yet we have thoughtless and unprepared friends, relatives and strangers – most of whom are better off financially than we are – who are doing nothing. But they will blithely come knocking at our door when times get tough and expect us to cheerfully and freely share everything. The reality is, we cannot feed them all. We simply cannot do it. It is impossible. And so … we’ll have to choose whom to turn away.

Some people argue they don’t have the money or room to stockpile things. In which case, I urge them to stockpile knowledge. Pick a specialty that is useful in a new economy and perfect it. Sewing, welding, mechanics, gardening, medicine, carpentry, animal husbandry … there is a whole world of knowledge and skills out there crying for people to learn them.

In other words, if you’re going to mooch off someone, at least have the courtesy to offer something useful in exchange.

Please, folks, become Ants. If you insist on remaining a Grasshopper, don’t come a-knocking at our door. We may not answer, because so many have already been let in ahead of you.

Preparing for the Days Ahead

Originally this was written months ago. And then brought to the forefront once again in June of this year. I bring it to you again in light of America being threatened with mass pandemic and vaccinations. Hopefully, this will blow over but if not…I do not want to alarm you. You are to listen for the voice of our Shepherd.

I have had a survivalist mentality (if not a little neurotic) since I was a very small child. From the age of three, my dad would teach me about the end of the world. Telling me, “Baby, one day the stars will fall from the sky and moon will turn to blood. The world will end. I may not live to see it, but you might.” I don’t know why he told me those things. Maybe when he was a small boy, his mother held him on her lap and told him the same things. All I know is it terrified me. The only way I felt safe was when daddy was holding me in his lap. Dads’ presence was more than enough.

He taught me to be prepared for tornado warnings and to always look ahead at what may be a disastor or calamity. Truly, I do not know if my “survivalist mentality” is going to be enough to keep me standing in the days ahead. It will take the power of God. As it will with any of us.

Dad is gone now. He died right before Christmas in 1997. So I don’t have his assurance that “everything is going to be just fine. We all will pull through this,” like he would have been able to express to me. So I am left with depending upon my heavenly Father to be more than enough.

I can not speak smooth things to you; things pleasant to the ears with a false sense of peace and safety. I wish I could, but I can not and will not. For the days of calamity and destruction are approaching. Right now world leaders are coming together trying to “fix” things. Oil has gone down. Perhaps giving some a sense of all is well. Do not be deceived. Do not get apathetic. Do not be lulled into complacency. For dread surely comes to the earth.

At some point, life as we know it will end. No longer will be concerned about the latest movie coming out, or what hollywood celebrity is doing what, or how to purchase the latest electronic device, or a hosts of other things that consume our time or thoughts. We will not care what kind of car we drive, what kind of house we live in, or how many fancy nick-nacks we can accumulate. We will be doing good to just survive.

Someone from another site asked, “So what do we do when these things happen? Where do we go? How do we eat, or even find, food and drink clean water? How come nobody seems to talk about survival in disaster…until it happens. Really, what do we do?”

My first thought is, do not panick. Let nothing you do be motivated by fear. Fear is an awful agent that cripples in the long run. It steals our energies and time. I am trying to live in the moment. Not even day to day as so much can happen from day to day. We must choose to live in the moment. If we live too far ahead in the future it will rob us of any possible joy for the moment. We can get ourselves in a mess by not being still and listening for the voice of the Lord.

Our first priority over food, shelter or anything this world has, is our relationship with the Lord. Just as my earthly father would comfort me and make me feel safe, how much greater does my heavenly Father want to comfort us?

Practical ways of preparing would be to think of “camping out.” Things to get are getting plenty of can goods, peannut butter, tuna and/or any other staple for protein, all non-perishibles. If you have a food dehydrator you can make your own beef jerky. It lasts almost forever, I am told. Dried beans, rice, drinking water, toilet paper, perhaps paper plates in case of no water to wash dishes, plastic garbage bags, plastic tarps and lots of duct tape, first aid supplies, toiletry items, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, cans of juice, flashlights, batteries. Other practical things to have are a heavy duty stapler, rope, heavy twine, matches, bottles of aspirin, vitamins, candles, something simple to pass the time if need be like a deck of cards or some old fashioned board games. Hand cranked radios and flashlights that need no batteries. (Those are really neat things and they do not cost all that much now) Hammer, saw, hand tools. Be ingenious. Think of being stuck in your home with no power and no running water. What is it that you need? Think of your home with a wall or two out of it. What will you do? How will you keep the elements from getting in?

I have been saving my bleach bottles to put water in them. NOT for drinking, (though I am not sure if it would hurt us or not if we washed them out really good, as the residue from the bleach may sanitize the water) but to be used for cleansing or sanitizing our bodies if need be. Also, possibly needed to to wash out clothes. Begin saving and filling up every available container with water. Not all for drinking but for other purposes. We may need every drop in case of a disastor. Also, if you have a bicycle make sure everything is in working order. Buy a few extra tires for it. Keep it in the house, not outside.

Firearms? Hmmm, that must be between you and the Lord. I certainly would not be one looking for trouble, but if a band of thugs came to my home and wanted to harm my loved ones, I would have to defend them in any way I could. However, this is something between you and the Lord.

Think about building a network of people who see the danger approaching. Within this network of people, all will work together for the common good. Meaning if someone loses their house, another is to be prepared to let them move in. If someone has no toothpaste, maybe someone else may. Also, we may have to resort to going places in groups. God knows what kind of civil unrest there may be. So do try and have a network of people. I keep getting in my spirit this is very important. Everyone has to be on the same page about this. If you have someone who is only going to be interested in holding onto what they have and not willing to share at some point, let them go and find those who are serious. If someone who appears they have nothing to offer, comes to you and wants to be part, pray about it and see if the Lord would have you take them in. I believe He would if the person is serious about finding ways particiapte. Maybe they have a bicycle they will be able to use or maybe they have vehicle. Who knows? If they are willing to work with the group, then take them in. Maybe there is someone you know with carpentry skills in your network of people. Perhaps this would be the one thing this person has to offer. What a blessing you both would be to one another! Pray as God knows the hearts of all. This is not just about survival, but about using wisdom and being witnesses for such a time as this. Our actions are to be pleasing to the Lord.

IF we are to survive it can not be a dog-eat-dog world among Gods’ children. We must be willing to share with those who have nothing. We have to use wisdom. We must pray and seek the Lord during this time. He will show us.

You may want to think of a commodity you are able to provide during possible years of depression. Something that does not cost a lot right now but something everybody may want. What could it be? I don’t know. One example would be toothpaste, the cheapest you can find right now. Who is going to care about name brand stuff? Or toothbrushes? Use your imagination, ask the Lord. As awful as all this is, I am trying to look at it as an adventure.

There have been some people I have talked to and they have taken on an apathetic tone. Almost like they WANT to be blind and stupid to everything. They say things like, “I don’t want to think about it. God will supply my needs.” (Christians are the worst with this attitude) Well, I sure don’t get enjoyment out of thinking about it! But someone has to. I see it this way; yes God does supply our needs. But He calls us to use the brain He gave us. If I do not try and prepare in some way, then I become a burden on someone who has prepared, or either I starve to death. We should be willing and able to use our provisions in such a way that it will bless someone else.

Now for those who just can not for financial reasons are not able to prepare by stocking up: The Lord bless you and keep you first and most. Draw near to Him now while He can be found. (This goes for all of us) You never know how God will use YOU to bless someone. It may be a word spoken from your lips, it may be that you are able to comfort, it may be through a smile, it may be you can make someone laugh, it may be you have a can of soup, a roll of toilet paper or a toothbrush you can give away. Something so simple could become someone elses’ blessing. God WILL supply your needs, my endtime friends. God will.

We are to seek FIRST the kingdom of God AND His righteousness and all these things, (the things we truly have a need for, shelter, food and cloting) shall be added unto us.

Know that our provision may just run out and dry up at some point. BUT GOD. He is more than able to be everything we need. He is more than able to provide for us. Remember to live in the moment while trying to plan for the future.

Have a duffle bag of clothes and things (BIBLES also) you may need in case the government comes and makes you leave your home. Get it ready now. For you may not have an hour or even 15 minutes to prepare.

If you take medications, make a list of those things. Have your meds ready to go with you.

This is very important: In case of a nuclear bomb or anything of horriffic nature… do this now… pick someone you and your family can call out of state in the event of communication breaking down. Hopefully, all of you will be able to call that one person on the other end and find out about each other.

If you have extra Bibles laying around, make sure you begin to ask the Lord who He wants you to give them to at some point.

Do not automatically trust governement or anybody to take care of you. I do not mean to sound harsh and God knows I am not being so. Such horrible things could come that will cause us to depend upon ourselves and make us trust in the God we claim to know.

Right now oil is dropping. I believe this is going to put a lot of people in a state of “Oh, everything is ok.” No it is not ok. Do not be deceived on any front.

Those of us who know the Lord, have what it takes to not only survive but to offer hope during this time. THAT is our calling. God made each one of us in His image for such a time as this. We were born for such a time of this. I tell you, as I tell myself right now, we are not to fear. If there has ever been a time for us to trust Him, it is now. Judgments must come upon the lands and to the nations for we serve a holy God. But Jesus has told us, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Be willing to let go of anything and everything this world has to offer.

Let us all draw near to Him now while it is yet day.

Most importantly, be watchful for our redemption draws near.