Charity Gone Wrong

The Real World Consequences of the Misapplication of "Compassion"

San Francisco.  Seattle.  Denver.  Cities littered with drug needles, human waste, used condoms and the detritus associated with the hopelessness of third-world countries.   And yet this is the United States of America.  Or was.......

Over the years, as our country has been increasingly influenced by progressive elite idealists, we have been forced into a kind of Situational Justice.  Right and wrong, good and bad, has been replaced by a  politically driven narrative that preaches "charity" and "compassion", but in fact leaves a post-apocalyptic waste land in its wake.

When I was a child, my family lived on Vashon Island, an island in Puget Sound - about a 15 minute Ferry boat ride from Seattle.  My father had been born and raised on Vashon and my mom hailed from West Seattle, moving to Vashon when she was in high school.  Our family had (and still has) deep roots in the area.  When I was 8, we moved to the outback of Idaho, but spent every family vacation in Seattle or on Vashon.  I remember being so excited when we descended Snoqualamie Pass knowing we were almost there!  Back then North Bend seemed way out in the country and Issaquah far removed from Seattle.  By the time we were on Mercer Island, I was mesmerized, and crossing Lake Washington over the Floating Bridge (through the tunnels) was fantastic.  As we'd get closer to downtown, I could smell the salt water and I never failed to breath deep of its heady fragrance.  As we drove, I marveled at one of the things I loved most about the city....it's amazing beauty.  I loved the ivy-covered walls and the manicured parks.  The thick underbrush and myriad shades of green were truly worthy of the name "The Emerald City".  It's beauty was unparalleled.

That was then.  Now, my beautiful city has succumbed to the misapplication of compassion and the consistent use of situational justice.

Progressive Socialists love to tell you that they are all about the "little man".  They tout "compassion" and "charity" and "equality" as their core values, however, the implementation of their vision produces nothing resembling their "Utopia".  Unless of course, their utopia includes rampant disease, pervasive drug use and violent, mentally deranged human masses.  Which apparently it does, because that is what we have achieved.

We keep hearing the buzzword "homelessness".  We also keep hearing about the homeless crisis and about how these poor people have no where to turn - they have been driven to the streets by an oppressive society ruled by White Male Nationalists.  They commit crimes, but they have no choice - society made them do it.  Money must be spent.  Charity must be given.  Compassion must prevail.  And justice must be dispensed based upon individual situations.

It turns out, we don't have a "homeless" problem.  We have a drug problem.  And we have a drug problem, because we have encouraged it through our misapplied "charity".  And once we have them hooked on drugs, we must have "compassion" and the only way to show them "compassion" is through "situational" justice.

We have encouraged our country's drug problem by not holding people responsible for their own actions.  We have chosen to support generation after generation of people unwilling to take care of themselves or their own, destroying their self-worth and killing their souls.  We have given to them without expecting them to contribute to their own lives.  And in the process, we have destroyed a nation.  We have given "charity" to the detriment of generations.

Work is good for the soul.  By not requiring people to work, we have contributed to a population that feels hopeless and useless.  And as a result, our people have increasingly turned to drugs to dull their pain.  And to make ourselves feel better, we give them more....more money, more drugs, more chances.  We call it "compassion" but in reality we are kin to the great destroyer.  We are killing people with "kindness".  We are not "compassionate" when we give people "safe" places to shoot-up. We are not "compassionate" when we give money to someone sleeping on the street so they can get another hit.  We are not being "charitable" when we allow situational justice to be the law of the land.  We are killing ourselves.....we are killing our families....we are killing our nation.

I read once that "charity is a finely-tuned instrument, and many there are who wound both themselves and others for want of skill in using it".  I couldn't agree more!  We have wounded both ourselves and our children with the wrongful use of charity.  We have done by far more harm than good.

Charity, compassion and justice, when used correctly, are the beautiful hallmarks of a Christian nation.  When they have been twisted, however, they become ugly, hateful tools of destruction.  We have a responsibility to use these tools wisely or they will be the very instruments of our demise.  And it would appear that our path is clear......

Accountability in Charity

Recently our country witnessed a tiny glimpse into our possible, perhaps inevitable, future.  Our nation's premier welfare program, SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (EBT Cards) experienced a glitch, causing the cards to be inaccessible for a few hours in certain parts of the country.  The pandemonium that ensued was epic.  People rioted (or threatened to riot), sobbed hysterically and proclaimed that their very lives were in danger, simply from not being able to access their assistance cards for mere hours - not days or months, mind you - but hours.  Responding to the outcry, Walmart corporately decided to allow SNAP recipients access to their "benefits", even though the glitch had not yet been resolved.  Within minutes of this proclamation, Walmart was overrun and shelves were stripped bare.  People were seen with two, four and five carts laden with food, paying for them with their now inactive EBT cards.

Finally, the glitch was fixed.  One woman, at the end of her $700 transaction, was discovered to have a .49 cent balance on her now restored EBT card.  .49 CENTS!  And yet, she had filled her cart with over $700 of government assistance approved groceries.  This woman knew she had only a .49 cent balance on her EBT card, but she chose to take advantage of a glitch in the system to steal $700.

And really, why would we expect anything different.  Every day, millions of people in our country take money they didn't earn and consume services they didn't pay for.  Our government, in their misguided attempt to provide a social safety net, has encouraged generations of Americans to become thieves.  We have taught people to freely take - no, demand - what they didn't earn.  We have taught them that they are incapable of providing for themselves short of voting for the politician that will provide them with the biggest "paycheck".  Our government has encouraged promiscuity, slothfulness and lying.  They have invested billions to ensure a compliant, dependent citizenry, all under the guise of helping the "underprivileged".

And how do the "underprivileged" return the favor?  They steal from the government (that's us, by the way) any and every chance they get.  And why not?  The government set the example by stealing money (they like to call it taxes) and spending it with absolutely no accountability.

When I heard of the Walmart raids, I thought of an Aesop Fable I had read to my children when they were little. It is called....

The Scorpion and the Frog

A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the scorpion asks the frog to carry it across on its back.  The frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?"   The scorpion says, "Because if I do, I will die too".

The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream, the scorpion stings the frog.  The frog feels the onset of paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they will both drown, but has just enough time to gasp, "why?"

Replies the scorpion "It is my nature...."

The folks that rushed to buy groceries that they knew they weren't "entitled" to were that scorpion.  They did it because that is their nature.  They are used to spending money that they didn't earn, so if they have the opportunity to do it on a larger scale, they most certainly will.

Years ago, Sir Knight and I had the opportunity to spend time with a troubled young couple.  They had two small children and a history of bad decisions.  Although living as husband and wife, they were not married and every disagreement or argument ended in one of them leaving, at least for a short while.  She had a history of drug abuse but was actively staying clean.  He was young and hotheaded and had no idea how to be a father or a husband.   For some reason, they found Sir Knight and I and our family fascinating. Every time we bumped into each other, they asked us questions.  Questions about parenting, relationships and what a family was supposed to look like.  Sir Knight and I became convinced that were supposed to minister to this couple in whatever small capacity we could.  It was messy.  Frequently we had crying children and hysterical parents on our doorstep.  I spent hours teaching the mother how to cook and how to love her children.  Sir Knight spent hours teaching the husband how to lead and how to serve. This couple disrupted our lives.  They required time and energy.  But they were put in our path and we believed that it was our duty to walk along side them.

One evening, the mother called in tears because she didn't have the money to buy her children diapers.  She couldn't afford to feed her baby.  If we could just help her make it to the end of the month, she would never ask us for anything, ever again.  After quickly discussing the situation with Sir Knight, I told her I would come to her house and help her shop.  Because we weren't made of money, I gathered up a stash of diapers I had tucked away, a bit of baby rice, a few other necessities, piled them into the truck and set off to pick her up.  Thankful as she was, she was certain I didn't need to accompany her to the grocery store.  I could just leave the $100 with her and she would take care of the shopping.

I told her that I couldn't do that.  It was my job to be a good steward over what God had provided for us and I would be remiss in my duty just to hand it over, with no questions asked.  I would go to the store with her and help her do her shopping.  Our shopping excursion was a real eye-opener.  This young mother had very expensive tastes.  She wanted the most expensive baby wipes, the most expensive boxed cereal and the most expensive pre-packaged meals available.   She wanted to buy a movie for herself (it would help her get her mind off her troubles) and a 12 pack of beer for her boyfriend (it really mellowed him out).  She wanted to spend my money on things my own family went without.

We did finally make it through our shopping trip.  The boxed cereal had been replaced with oatmeal, the pre-packaged meals with raw ingredients and the expensive baby wipes with their inexpensive counterparts.  We decided to forgo the movie and the beer and instead settled for another package of diapers and some tea that she could share with her husband.  It was not the charity she wanted but it was the charity she needed.

I believe in charity.  I believe that charity should be administered in person, one-on-one. I believe that charity is messy and complicated and that one size doesn't fit all.  I think that when you are on the receiving end of charity you don't get everything you want, but you will get everything you need.  I think that without accountability there is no such thing as charity, it is only legalized theft.  And I think legalized theft is soul destroying.

We have become a nation of scorpions and frogs.  I, for one, choose to be neither.

Hope and Change

I would like change.  I wish I were thin.  Really, what I would love, is to wake up one morning in a new body.  Convinced that I could maintain a healthy weight, if only I could start over again.  Isn't that what we all would like?  A clean slate.  A new start.  There is only one problem - me.  I am who I am.  It was me who got me into this fix, and it will have to be me who gets me out.  A new body wouldn't make a bit of difference.  Oh, for a few months, everything would be great.  From the outside, I would look like a whole new person - but the reality of who I am, the real me, wouldn't have changed.  As time went on, that would become evident in my new body.  A few pounds here and a cookie there and I would be back where I started.

I have seen this replayed over and over and over.  Friends have moved great distances for the lure of more money.  When they have more money, they reason, they will no longer be in debt.  No more living paycheck to paycheck.  With more money, they will control the beast they have created.  Much to their dismay, however, maybe even to their demise, the beast is not conquered, it only grows.  With more money feeding it's every desire, the beast of their creation not only grows, but quietly consumes them.  Thinking they could change their circumstances from the outside in, they were lulled into a false sense of security.  "If only we could start over, we could beat this thing....".

I have known people who live in squalor, garbage piling high, a veritable epidemic waiting to happen.  They think "If only we had a new home, then we would keep it clean", only to find that wherever they go, there they are.  Their new home soon takes the shape of their old one.  Why?  Because they didn't change themselves from the inside - they only sought a change of address, not a change of heart.

Our leaders are selling hope and change. They are encouraing us to attempt to change ourselves, our neighbors, our cities and our nation from the outside in.  We give more money to the schools in the hopes of improving education.  We enroll more and more and more people on food stamps and medicaid, claiming to battle ignorance and chronic health problems.  We pour money into impoverished neighborhoods and move the underprivileged into "better" homes.  We make ourselves feel better because we are "doing" something for our fellow man.  But, the truth of the matter is that we are doing worse than nothing.  We are crippling people.  We are lying to them.  We are telling people that mere money will change their lives, but we are leading them down the path to certain failure.  The truth is that only diligence, hard work, and perseverance will change people's circumstances.  Only when people see that they are living wrongly can they begin to live rightly.  Giving mortgage assistance to someone who doesn't pay their mortgage doesn't make their lives better, it only extends the period of time in which they can avoid the inevitable.

Interestingly, when we get into the business of "helping" our neighbor at the expense of their own growth, we are the ones who end up paying the price.  Not only do they blame us for their predicament, they expect us to fix it for them.  After all, weren't we the ones who said this would work?  Think about it - we have, as a nation, attempted to fix the unemployment situation with government assistance.  That, of course, didn't address the real problem.  Now, we have unprecedented numbers of people applying for Social Security Disability (because their 99 weeks of unemployment ran out) and we are expected to cough up more money.  Why?  Because we told them we could fix their problems with other peoples money.  It didn't work.  In fact, it took away their incentive to work and robbed them of their self-reliance and pride.

The reality of life is that it is hard.  It takes work, disappointment and the guts to walk forward.  Life means making sacrifices and doing things you really don't want to do. But in the process, you change.  And then, an amazing thing happens.  As you change, so do your circumstances.  After years of diligently working hard and spending your money wisely, you find that you have a comfortable cushion - no more living from paycheck to paycheck.  After denying yourself the foolish cravings of your stomach, eating only what you know to be good for you, you wake up one morning with energy beyond your wildest expectations and clothes that are 4 sizes smaller.  Picking up the clothes on the floor and the garbage in the yard, even when it would be far easier not to, rewards you with a tidy, well kept home that you are proud to call your own.

We need to change our nation by changing ourselves.  We have to learn the value of diligence and suffering and sacrifice.  We have to the do the hard things in order to realize true change.  We have to quit putting money where our mouth is and instead encourage and value the work and character required to make us better people.

Offering hope to our nation requires work, not money.  We are going to have to get our hands dirty to change our lives.  Only when we quit trying to effect change from the outside will we have hope on the inside.  And then, only then, will we flourish as a people, a culture and a nation.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Where you spend your money, there your skills are also....

Sir Knight and I were discussing the peculiar way that we spend money, when compared with “normal” people.  Buying a big screen TV or shopping for the latest fashions at the mall would never occur to us.  The last cell phone we bought (our only phone) we had to pay extra for, due to the fact that it wasn’t a “smart phone” (we had to inquire as to what a smart phone was and why we needed one).  Basically, we don’t buy many items that don’t have intrinsic value. 

As I was thinking about how we choose to spend our money, it occurred to me that what we spend our money on paints a vivid picture of who we are.  The more I thought on this, the more I realized that not only does it speak volumes of whom we are but what and who we value.   Sir Knight and I began to develop (rather tongue in cheek) a list of purchases and accompanying skill that enhance that purchase.  It grew from there to include character qualities (does the purchase serve only you or does it serve others) and investment qualities (does the purchase increase in value and become an asset or does it decrease and become a debt). 

Here is a sampling of purchases that we explored…

“Normal” Purchases	Our Purchases
Mega Flat Screen TV ·      Skills required Using a remote control Opening bags of snack foods Maneuvering guide channels ·      Who Benefits You and your family ·      Investment Qualities Worth half of what you paid for it when you leave the store It is outdated within 6 months	Hand Grain Grinder ·      Skills required Knowledge of various grains Knowledge of how to use the grain after it has been ground Ability to maintain mechanical equipment ·      Who Benefits Your family and anyone you bless with homemade bread ·      Investment Qualities We bought our mill in 1998 for $400.00.  The same mill now sells for $1299.00.
Smart Phones ·      Skills required Good thumb and finger dexterity Ability to move fingers in rapid succession Ability to talk, text and surf the web while driving ·      Who Benefits You ·      Investment Qualities The technology will be outdated in less time than it takes the battery to discharge	Wood Cook Stove ·      Skills Required Baking and cooking without a thermometer Cutting firewood Splitting kindling Building a fire Stoking a fire to hold overnight Proper stove and chimney maintenance ·      Who Benefits You, your family and anyone who enters your home ·      Investment Qualities Our stove has heated our home, cooked our food and heated our water for 12 years.  We could sell it today for what we paid for it
Fashion Clothing ·      Skills required Shopping Ability to maneuver mall parking lots Repetitive stress from credit card swiping Bargain hunting Early rising (to get the "early bird" specials) ·      Who Benefits You, the economy ·      Investment Qualities Possible tax write off when donated to Goodwill	Bulk Foods ·      Skills Required Knowledge of cooking from scratch Baking Menu planning Food rotation/organization Hospitality Nutrition ·      Who Benefits You, your family, anyone welcomed into your home Hungry strangers ·      Investment Qualities When properly stored and rotated - priceless
Video Games ·      Skills Required Eye/hand coordination Ability to move fingers in rapid succession Focus.  The ability to ignore everyone and everything around you ·      Who Benefits You Parents who haven't raised their children to enjoy them ·      Investment Qualities There are none	Medical Supplies and Equipment ·      Skills Required Basic to advanced first aid Suturing Bandaging Infection control Staying calm in an emergency Etc. ·      Who Benefits Anyone sick or bleeding in your sphere of influence ·      Investment Qualities What is one life worth?
Body Enhancements ·      Skills Required The ability to endure elective and needless pain Large sums of disposable income (ah, what the heck, just charge it) The ability to dance around the question "did you have some work done?" ·      Who Benefits You, your surgeons' bank account Investment Qualities There are none	Milk Cow   Skills Required Animal husbandry Properly caring for dairy products Cattle nutrition Veterinary skills   Who Benefits You, your family and many others   Investment Qualities We have been able to sell any cow we chose to for more than we bought her for.

Interesting contrast, isn't it?  It is amazing how much what you buy illustrates who you are and what you think is important.  It also is a picture of who you value - yourself or others.  In my humble opinion, preppers are very concerned not just with themselves, but with their fellow man.  

Where you spend your money, there your skills will be also.

Maid Elizabeth's Mission

Maid Elizabeth found a video showing scenes from the mission school she will be serving with next summer.  It really touched my heart.  Enjoy the view.

We are being plundered

I have given this a lot of thought.  I have held my peace.  I have made excuses.   There is a part of me that wants to believe that it is our job to help people out long enough for them to get back on their feet, but then, I am slapped in the face with the realities of life.  My family is being plundered.

My husband goes to work every morning, rain or shine, tired or invigorated, injured or ill.  It is what he does.  His job is how he provides for his family.  Providing for his family is his moral obligation before God.  Not only does he provide for us, he also helps provide for the infrastructure to support the system that, as Americans, we are all a part of.   Through his job, he supports the elderly on Medicare, disabled folks on Social Security and indigent people on Medicaid.  His taxes pay for WIC, Food Stamps and the huge debt created by unemployment benefits.  And still he works.

I have heard more people that I can count tell me that they "deserve" to be on unemployment because they paid that money into unemployment insurance.  Of course, if they were to stop and add up the benefits they have received and contrast that with the money "they" (usually their employer) paid into the system, they would realize that they have won the lottery.  The "investment" they made into unemployment has paid off ten fold and then some.  Somebody has to be paying that bill.  It is my husband.  It is our family.

When people receive food stamps, were do they think that money comes from?  How do they justify eating frozen pizza and tater tots while our family eats beans and rice?  And don't even get me started on Medicaid.  How is it that my family is punished for being responsible and buying health insurance?  We have to pay twice!  Not only do we pay for insurance (no, my husband's employer does not foot the entire bill), but we are also responsible for the bills that our insurance company does not pay.  When we have a $12,000 hospital bill ($4,000 of which our insurance company covers) we are still on the hook for the other $8,000.  When you have Medicaid, the state pays $1,800 and the patient $0.  Who pays the rest?  My husband.  My family.  Your husband.  Your family.

Do I begrudge people help when they need it?  Absolutely not!  Do I begrudge entitlements with no accountability.  Absolutely!

We have failed.  We punish responsibility and reward slothfulness.  We are like lazy parents refusing to deal with disobedient, wayward children.  Rather than holding them accountable, disciplining them and making respectable citizens out of them, we throw money at them hoping they keep quite so we can get on with other things.  We are throwing our countrymen to the wolves.  

What got me frothing at the mouth?  Just this article on SurvivalBlog.  I have posted a chart here, but to really understand the chart, you have to read the whole article.  This is a chart showing how someone on minimum wage has more disposable income than someone making $60,000 a year.  It is very enlightening.

Maid Elizabeth

Oh, how the family of God humbles me so!  So many people have emailed or left comments on my post about Maid Elizabeth getting ready to head to the Philippines to serve in a Missionary compound as a midwife that we have been overwhelmed.  The generosity of God's children is amazing and we feel so undeserving - but His plan is perfect, and Maid Elizabeth will humbly accept the blessings you have offered.

If any of you feel called to help Maid Elizabeth reach her goals (and please, don't feel compelled unless God lays it upon your heart!) please email me privately so that we can touch bases.  Maid Elizabeth would like to have a chance to thank each of you personally, and write you to tell you how God is using you and her to serve His children in the Philippines.

My email is located by clicking on my "About Me" section on the left-hand side of my blog.    Please know that your kindness has so encouraged Maid Elizabeth and has ministered greatly to this young lady.

Thank you, dear friends.

Enola Gay

Your Station in life

A number of years back (actually, it was when I was expecting Miss Calamity), some friends came to us and asked Sir Knight to consider hiring a woman who lived with them that originally hailed from Honduras.  She (along with her three year old daughter) was displaced due to Hurricane Mitch and, through various circumstances, ended up at our friend's front door.  They had taken her and her child in, provided them with food and shelter and where helping them through the mire of emigrating to a new country, but they really needed a break.  They were requesting that we hire her a day or two a week to perform general housekeeping duties.

I rebelled!  I didn't want a housekeeper.  I was in charge of my household, thank you very much, and I didn't want anyone else invading my space.  Besides, only useless, wealthy people had housekeepers, not homesteaders with a limited budget!

Sir Knight and I discussed the situation at length.  The reasons for hiring this young woman were many.  It would provide our dear friends with two evenings a week that they could have dinner as a family without guests.  It would provide them with two days a week that they were free to take care of family business without interruption.  But most importantly, if would give them a break.

Sir Knight thought it would be a wonderful opportunity, not only to give our friends respite, but also to lessen the workload for his very pregnant wife.  Still, I had a hard time with the concept.  I had a hard time, that is, until I thought of my Great-Grandmother.

My Great-Grandmother was a lady of station (my Great-Grandfather was an accountant) in Seattle during the Great Depression.  They employed help (for kitchen duties, along with sometimes being a Nurse for my Grandpa and my Great-Aunt).  The Great Depression brought reduced circumstances, even to my financially comfortable Great-Grandparents.  The logical solution to their economic distress would have been to let their help go, but that is not what my grandparent did.  You see, they believed that their station in life dictate that they help those in greater need than themselves.  Rather than let their household help go, my Great-Grandmother, along with her little boy (my grandpa) scoured the hills and vales in the Capital Hill section of  Seattle picking the plentiful blackberries that grow there with wild abandon.  Pails in hand, they dirtied their hands with berry juice and blood, with the intent purpose of providing for their hired help.  My Grandmother would take the berries home, wash and pick through them, package them attractively in pails, put her best gloves on and take the berries to the local bakeries. These bakeries would buy the berries for their pies, and my Great-Grandmother would use the money she earned, to pay her hired help.  It was her duty.  It was her station.

As I thought about hiring this young lady from Honduras, I realized that it was my duty.  It was my station that dictated that I help provide for someone less fortunate.  It was the right decision.  Mary, as our housemaid was called, was a wonder.  She was sweet lady, with a great desire to please.  She was eager to learn all she could about life in America and was a willing student of our culture.  Amazingly, she saved every cent that we paid her (which wasn't much, believe me!) and sent it home to her mother and father.  She sent the money with specific instructions.  Her father was to build a house with a CEMENT floor (only the very wealthy had a cement floor) and buy chickens.  Not for eating, mind you, but for egg production.  She wanted her parents to have a viable business, that would see them through the hard times, and she wanted them to have hygienic living conditions. And all of that, she provided with a few dollars from us!  Isn't that amazing?

As Christians or preppers or Shoestring Survivalists or whatever you want to call us, we have a station in life. We have a duty.  Charity is non-optional.  We must plan and prepare for those less fortunate than ourselves.  We don't get to say "I told you so" or "you got what you had coming".  Because our eyes have been opened, we get to rise to the occasion.  We may have to get our hands dirty.  We may have to go without or work extra hard to provide for those of reduced circumstances, but, as human beings, it is our station in life.  When the financial collapse comes, it will be us, not the government that must stand in the gap.  It will be our chance.  It will be our duty.  It will be our station.

Why Prepare (and what we are preparing for)

Just one look at the headlines and we know that the potential for a natural disaster, economic catastrophe, personal tragedy or social unrest is great.  You hear the axiom "be prepared", but what exactly does that mean?  How do you start? What are your preparing for?  Is preparedness really necessary?

Every year, in all parts of the globe, natural disaster strike unsuspecting people, leaving behind remnants of lives mangled by acts of God.  Vast amounts of people become refugees, relying on governmental agencies for their daily survival.  Floods wash away dreams and homes, gardens and animals.  Fires devour lives and livelihoods.  In some countries, civil unrest and war tear at the very fabric of family and village life and leave inhabitants clinging to what little they have.  Here in America, we are fortunate to still live in a land of plenty.  We have the opportunity to provide for our families and build a hedge of protection against natural disasters and other potential life changing threats.

My husband and I used to live in the Greater Seattle Metropolitan area, and learned firsthand how essential preparedness is, and how few people know it or live it.  Many years ago, my husband was a volunteer firefighter with a little fire station on the east side of Lake Washington.  The Seattle area was buffeted by a HUGE windstorm, leaving the city crippled.  It was the middle of winter and temperatures were quite cold.  My husband and I bundled up our then 3-year-old daughter, packed into our 4-wheel drive Chevy truck and headed to the fire station using the back roads.  We made it about 4 miles and were confronted with a long line of stopped cars and people desperately trying to contact the local fire station on their cell phones.  There was a tree across the road.  When I say tree, I am being generous.  It was more like a large stick, but I'll call it a tree for the sake of argument.  Not one person had a chainsaw, hatchet, axe or even a pull strap or chain to pull the tree out of the road.  There was abject helplessness.  Without the help of the local civil servants, these folks were unable to reach their destination.

This was truly an "ah ha" moment for my husband and I.  My husband, although raised in the city, had a can-do mountain man mentality, and I had been raised in the outback of Idaho.  I grew up in the mountains were everyone had a chainsaw, shovel and six-pack of beer in their truck.  Anytime there was a downed tree, you would see fresh sawdust, remnants of branches, a couple of beer cans and a cleared road.  There was no waiting for someone to rescue you.  You just took care of business.  The windstorm in my Seattle back yard really opened my eyes.  Not everyone here had the wherewithal to take care of themselves.  Mostly it was from the lack of planning and a lifestyle of relying on governmental agencies for the most basic of daily necessities.

My husband, explaining that he was a fire fighter, sawed the tree into movable chunks and got on with the business of getting to the fire station.  This was our lesson in Preparedness 101.  We realized that we needed to be prepared.  We did not want to have to rely on some nameless agency or charity to care for our needs.  We did not want to be a drain on an already overloaded system.  We wanted to be beacons of hope in the chaos of uncertain times.  We chose to become a "Paratus Familia", a prepared family.

In our desire to become prepared, we found that preparedness is a way of life, rather than a list of supplies to buy or skills to acquire.  Preparedness requires logical thought, troubleshooting skills, planning, a perserverant attitude and most of all a reliance on God.

Preparedness requires that you identify what you are preparing for.  Despite common thought among some experts in preparedness, it is impossible to prepare for every eventuality.  This is where the phrase "know your enemy" comes in to play.  You need to carefully examine your situation and determine who your enemy is.  For example, do you live in hurricane country?  Do you live in an area that is frequented by firestorms?  What about extreme cold or heat?  Are you in a large urban area that has a high possibility of civil unrest?  Is it possible that you could lose your job tomorrow?  Could circumstances render you unable to afford food and water for your family?  And then there are the big scary threats.  Nuclear war, bio/chemical threats, martial law - basically the scariest parts of the bible.

Once you have identified the most likely potential threats to you and your family, then you can begin your preparedness planning and preparation.  Things to consider are food storage, water storage/purification, defense, power systems, medical necessities, hygiene, charity and spiritual encouragement.  You need to begin to acquire skills that will facilitate your long term survival - animal husbandry, gardening, cooking with stored foods, hunting and fishing, mechanic-ing, alternative energy, communications, canning and food preservation, and weapons skills, to name a few.  Every new tool or skill you acquire, you must put into practice.  It is not enough to have the tools, you must know how to use them.  Buying a back-up generator is great, but if the generator is faulty and doesn't work under a load, it is useless.  If you buy a Ham radio and get your license, but don't use it regularly, you can be guaranteed that you will push the wrong button, adjust the frequency incorrectly, forget what all of the controls do and you will be completely incommunicado.  Use it. Use it.  Use it!

Why should you be prepared?  You should be prepared because there may be a hurricane, fire, flood or snowstorm in a neighborhood near you.  You should be prepared because the economy may tank leaving you jobless and homeless.  You should be prepared because our government may spiral out of control and render our population little better off than slaves.

Preparedness is not just for people that are holing up waiting for the end of the world.  Preparedness is for people who want to be self-reliant, self-sufficient and not dependant on the government.  Preparedness is for people who want to protect their families.  Preparedness is for people who see the signs of the times.  Preparedness is for you.

Charity in Preparedness

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Charity in Preparedness

We are so blessed to live in a land of plenty that we have a unique opportunity to gather items for charity as a hedge against unthinkably difficult times.  All of us, regardless of income, have the ability to pick up an extra tube of toothpaste at the dollar store or pick up an extra box of soup mix when they are on sale at the local grocery store.

Sir Knight and I have made it a habit to gather items for charity anywhere we can.  He occasionally works at a customer site that loads him down with products they sell as a thank you for quick, quality service.  He brings this bounty home and we immediately put it into long term storage under the label "Charity".  When God provides, he does so not just to provide for our needs, but to provide for his other children as well.  What an honor to be included in His providence!

We have made it a habit to squirrel away things that would be very easy to hand out in an emergency.  These includes items packaged in small amounts and food stuffs that only require water to prepare.  We can't really give out our home canned food - we need the jars for more canning, and the probability that we will have a ready supply of plastic bags or containers to send folks on their way with dried beans or wheat is not very likely. Besides, how many of them will have a grain grinder to grind the wheat or the cooking skills and knowledge to deal with dried beans.  My guess is not many.

As Christians, we have an obligation to our fellow man, and in ministering to the needy we are fulfilling a basic christian principle.  When we offer "a glass of water to the least of these" we are offering water to Christ himself.

God has opened our eyes to the need of preparedness.  We need to look beyond ourselves and realize that we have been put in the unique position of ministering to the masses.   We can choose to run people off at the end of a shotgun, guarding what little we have for ourselves, or, because we have seen a need and prepared, we can minister to peoples bodies through food while we minister to their souls with the meat of the Word.

As you endeavor to prepare your families for worst case scenario living, give a minute of thought to the people, who, for whatever reason, haven't taken the time and effort to prepare.  Think about how you can impact the kingdom of God tomorrow through your savvy preparations today.  Think about how you will offer "a glass of water to the least of these".