It is hard to watch the news the last couple days, isnt it?
Sitting here at my computer, scrolling through feed after feed of horror stories, people trapped while water rises around them, huge ships driven onto shores that have seen unprecendented levels of high tides, fires wiping out homes and lives……..
my heart breaks at the thought of the many MANY people who are suffering right now.
Queens, N.Y.
source credit
Outside here on the MN prairies the sun is shining, the squirrels are busy getting the last few nuts of the season, and a roaring fire is in the wood stove to hold off the cold from this big old house.
My children are quietly (miracle of all miracles) watching a movie, and my oldest is doing her schoolwork at the table behind me.
The emergency candles and oil lamps are safely stored away.
The water jugs for emergencies are safely stored away.
We are dressed in lighter clothing, and the heat is blasting, so the heavy clothing and parkas are away for now.
The only thing on my floor is crumbs that need to be swept up from breakfast and snack, not feet of sand.
I received quite a few emails from readers thanking me for being brave enough to talk about our lifestyle and being prepared, even in the midst of a Christian culture that half-heartedly accepts it,
or mocks it as “not relying on the Lord to provide”.
In our lives, the way we live is quickly changing from an alternative lifestyle to a necessity. As I see the prices of things climb, and I head to our pantry to get something, it makes me thankful each day that what we are eating cost me less when I purchased it.
I thank the Lord for providing the sale, the gift, the income, to purchase that food, or dish soap, that some people are having to go without because they have had adverse circumstances.
I want to speak to those of you who have been on the fence about this issue.
Please hear me out.
Think in your minds and hearts about the many MANY times throughout Scripture that God shows his people what is ahead of them. He tells them what to do and how to go about doing it.
God has laid on my heart for YEARS to do what I am doing.
It was He who led me to seek out the knowledge to start a pantry, learn to water bath and pressure can, buy in bulk and learn to store it, garden, etc etc etc etc etc.
He told me to get on here and do my best to teach people how to do these things, but to always remind them, that HE IS THE SOURCE, the BEGINNING and the END of all that we do.
If we do those things without acknowledging that everything comes from Him, and that without Him all things are meaningless, then we have failed.
Utterly failed.
Folks, there is not enough toilet paper on earth (or in your basement) to keep your soul out of Hell if you choose to reject the greatest gift of all. To reject the single thing that matters most, writing your name in the book of Life, and living out a relationship radically changed by your walk with the Lord, is like standing on the shores of New Jersey two days ago in the face of a forty foot storm surge with an umbrella.
Salvation comes through Christ alone.
It is the only thing that lasts when all else passes away.
I want you to understand my core passion beneath all that I say and do. Whether you choose to accept it or not is completely up to you, we ALL stand for our choices and accept the consequences of those actions.
On that note, I want to speak to those of you who have made that decision, who have chosen to follow Christ, have read my posts, and have stood in indecision on many of the things I have tried to teach you and communicate to you over these last few months.
The time is now.
I really believe this.
We are on the brink of times never seen before in the History of the greatest country on earth.
The red Flags are waving, the Lord is slowly beginning to allow us to reap the consequences of the choices we have made as a country in the last 50 + years. Whether things turn around or not, the Bible is crystal clear about where we are headed and what will happen.
It makes SENSE to listen, seek, go to the Word and ask the Lord to give you leading. Be like the people of Berea, who when the Apostle Paul came to them and began to teach them about the salvation through Jesus Christ Alone…that He was the messiah that fulfilled scripture and was long LONG awaited….they ran to the Word and began to search.
And God answered.
That is where we are today.
As we see the incredible, tragic destruction a single storm caused to one of the most populated centers of our country……..
and as we see the signs all around us of a country struggling to stay afloat in a sea of financial woes, crippling legislation, and the inclinations of a wayward and hardhearted people,
we should be RUNNING to hear that still and quiet voice speaking to us in the midst of the commotion.
We should be doing what we can to prepare ourselves spiritually, physically, and emotionally for the even greater storms that are headed our way.
Are you?
Many Blessings to you and yours,
Heather
tigerlily after Issac2