Today, many families are preparing for what they fear is a pending doomsday scenario. It seems that everywhere you turn, there is a new warning about a cataclysmic event that will thrust us back into a primitive society and change our lives forever. News media and conspiracy mongers are churning-up their fear stories, and record numbers of people are tuning-in to hear the latest discouraging report.
It sure seems like we can’t get enough of the news of pending disasters. You would think we were passing a car-wreck on the highway and frantically turning our heads to see what we might view in the carnage. Are we so fixated on disaster and chaos that we get drawn-in by the very possibility that we just might be involved in some tragedy of massive proportions?
When you really think about it, our culture has been well-conditioned to expect and react to fear and tragedy. In fact, our society feeds on disaster and pays handsomely to be entertained with gore, horror, and violence. Hollywood knows our nature, and continues to crank-out disturbing films because they profit from our appetite for being frightened and disgusted with images of pain and suffering.
I certainly don’t believe that everyone has a desire to dwell on the sufferings of others, but we can’t ignore that marketing research shows that tragedy increases viewership. With that being the case, it certainly stands to reason that media outlets have a major opportunity to ramp-up the fear tones and cash-in on the gloom reports and conspiracies.
A while back I wrote an article called “Doomsday Survival, or Preparation Call”. The gist of that article is generally about the reaction (and over-reaction) of fear that has driven the preparedness movement. I know I get on a soapbox, but I just get so disappointed in seeing and hearing about so many families rushing-about preparing for the pending doomsday scenario. People are hoarding food and supplies, booby-trapping their land, buying every weapon they can find, and even purchasing underground bunkers to survive-in when this cataclysmic disaster occurs.
Now, certainly I believe we need to be in preparation. I don’t need to watch the news to know that there are difficulties ahead that we need to prepare for. I can’t even get a weather forecast that is accurate, why should I expect for a minute that CNN will give me any reasonable information to help me prepare my family?
The concern I have is, there are a lot of people yelling “fire” in a crowded area. People are being trampled and hurt because some over-dramatic people are screaming fear and pain. It’s fueling the panic, and people are being hurt.
I’ve been preaching the need for preparedness for a long time. In fact, I felt a “call” to prepare over 25 years ago. The preparedness call I felt, was not about fear and suffering. It was not about huddling in my lookout tower and waiting with my gun to shoot my neighbor who was coming to me for help. The preparation call I received was about getting my family ready, so we would not be in panic when things get a bit difficult – and will be able to help others. My preparation call was about getting ready, spiritually, emotionally, financially, and physically. Getting prepared was never a reaction to fear, but being ready so we could react with calm.
Here is the thing for me… a few years back we stored a lot of supplies and thought we were ready for the big catastrophic doomsday show. I mean, I thought… bring it on, because we have extra pop-tarts if the grid goes down. How naive, and silly to assume we were “prepared” for disaster because we had a few hundred pounds of dry goods. Granted we were better prepared than most, but emotionally… I imagine if the power was off for two days there would have been intense wailing and gnashing of teeth!
The fact is, many people today are storing some food and water, and have candles at-the-ready. They assume they are well-prepared because they have a month’s supply of food in the basement.
Even the most avid “prepper” assumes they are ready. They may have six-months of supplies, and can shoot a deer at 150 yards, but… I really wonder if they are truly prepared. Are they ready to really endure the disruption of life as we know it?
I’ve thought often about this and wonder how we might all react to overwhelming tragedy. Will we bond together and help each other overcome the difficulty, or will we do like many preppers are planning – hide in the hills and expect to shoot the first person who crosses our aim.
How will our families survive, if a spouse is overwhelmed with the intense shock of the situation and just can not cope with the situation? Are we so tough that we assume our family will all just hold hands and laugh while eating our ready meals? A lot of the families I know can’t even sit together for thirty minutes, so I doubt they will be ready to huddle around a candle and tell stories.
So, are we preparing for the emotional shock that might come from a massive catastrophe? Are we preparing to turn family and friends away because we don’t have enough food for our long-term survival, if we feed them?
If my heart becomes so hardened during perilous times that I am capable of turning-away families who need food or help, then I really don’t want to prepare. What kind of life is left for us, if we ignore the hurting people inside our community simply because they were too naive or lazy to get ready?
I realize many will disagree, and that’s fine. I certainly do not have a moral badge that gives me any authority to pass judgement. The point I’m trying to make is… today (before a tragedy hits) I can not see me turning away someone who comes to me for help.
So, unfortunately, I think we have a long way to go before we are truly prepared. In my humble view, there is far too much emphasis on loading guns and stashing grub. For s0me, that’s their ultimate strategy – survival at all cost. That’s fine, and certainly important. But… if we lose our moral values and conscience in being open to helping our neighbors – what will our society look like post-doomsday?
Bottom line in my rant ….
Get Prepared – but do not prepare because you are afraid. Prepare emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Prepare now to answer the question… what will I do when my neighbor comes to me for help?
Seek God, and His peace. One of my favorite passages of Scripture says:
The Preparation Call is about getting prepared for potential difficulties ahead. It’s not a response or reaction to fear, but a call to get ready so that you can protect your family and others. Making preparation plans and learning skills should help you to remain more calm during adversities that may impact your area.
Remember, disasters can strike quickly and without warning. A natural disaster can force you to evacuate your neighborhood, work environment or school or can confine you to your house for an extended period of time. You will need adequate provisions, and a plan to deal with the difficulties that may impact your life. Look now at disaster and preparedness supplies that could benefit you during times of chaos.
What would you do if standard services-water, gas, electricity or telephones-were cut off? Regional authorities and first responders will be on the scene after a disaster, but they can not reach everybody right away. As a result, the best means to make you and your family more secure is to be prepared before disaster strikes.
Below are some suggestions for preparing for natural catastrophes:.
* Get to understand the kinds of catastrophes that can take place in your community.
* Make a household communications prepare that consists of an evacuation plan and coordinates with your school, work and community interaction strategies. Practice this strategy with your whole household.
* Create a disaster supplies kit that consists of enough supplies for each relative for at least 3 days. Keep in mind to examine your kit every 6 months.
* See to it your child understands what smoke detector, fire alarms and local neighborhood cautioning systems (horns, sirens) sound like and ways to react.
* Instruct your kid how and, equally vital, when to call for help. Even relatively children can be instructed how and when to call for emergency assistance.
* Children ought to memorize their family name, address and contact number. They should likewise understand where to satisfy in case of an emergency. Some children may not be old sufficient to memorize the details. They could hold a little index card that details emergency info to give to a grownup or baby sitter.
* If you commute to work, see to it you understand alternative routes and hold suitable supplies, such as a disaster supplies kit in your vehicle and a compact kit with bare necessary products such as a flashlight and whistle on mass transit.
Being ready helps you and your family reduce the impact of a disaster such as a cyclone or earthquake or an emergency such as a fire or a busted leg.
The Red Cross has ideas and techniques to help you prepare. The time to obtain ready for unforeseen situations is now-while you have time to strategy.
Today, many families are preparing for what they fear is a pending doomsday scenario. It seems that everywhere you turn, there is a new warning about a cataclysmic event that will thrust us back into a primitive society and change our lives forever. News media and conspiracy mongers are churning-up their fear stories, and record numbers of people are tuning-in to hear the latest discouraging report.
It sure seems like we can’t get enough of the news of pending disasters. You would think we were passing a car-wreck on the highway and frantically turning our heads to see what we might view in the carnage. Are we so fixated on disaster and chaos that we get drawn-in by the very possibility that we just might be involved in some tragedy of massive proportions?
When you really think about it, our culture has been well-conditioned to expect and react to fear and tragedy. In fact, our society feeds on disaster and pays handsomely to be entertained with gore, horror, and violence. Hollywood knows our nature, and continues to crank-out disturbing films because they profit from our appetite for being frightened and disgusted with images of pain and suffering.
I certainly don’t believe that everyone has a desire to dwell on the sufferings of others, but we can’t ignore that marketing research shows that tragedy increases viewership. With that being the case, it certainly stands to reason that media outlets have a major opportunity to ramp-up the fear tones and cash-in on the gloom reports and conspiracies.
A while back I wrote an article called “Doomsday Survival, or Preparation Call“. The gist of that article is generally about the reaction (and over-reaction) of fear that has driven the preparedness movement. I know I get on a soapbox, but I just get so disappointed in seeing and hearing about so many families rushing-about preparing for the pending doomsday scenario. People are hoarding food and supplies, booby-trapping their land, buying every weapon they can find, and even purchasing underground bunkers to survive-in when this cataclysmic disaster occurs.
Now, certainly I believe we need to be in preparation. I don’t need to watch the news to know that there are difficulties ahead that we need to prepare for. I can’t even get a weather forecast that is accurate, why should I expect for a minute that CNN will give me any reasonable information to help me prepare my family?
The concern I have is, there are a lot of people yelling “fire” in a crowded area. People are being trampled and hurt because some over-dramatic people are screaming fear and pain. It’s fueling the panic, and people are being hurt.
I’ve been preaching the need for preparedness for a long time. In fact, I felt a “call” to prepare over 25 years ago. The preparedness call I felt, was not about fear and suffering. It was not about huddling in my lookout tower and waiting with my gun to shoot my neighbor who was coming to me for help. The preparation call I received was about getting my family ready, so we would not be in panic when things get a bit difficult – and will be able to help others. My preparation call was about getting ready, spiritually, emotionally, financially, and physically. Getting prepared was never a reaction to fear, but being ready so we could react with calm.
Here is the thing for me… a few years back we stored a lot of supplies and thought we were ready for the big catastrophic doomsday show. I mean, I thought… bring it on, because we have extra pop-tarts if the grid goes down. How naive, and silly to assume we were “prepared” for disaster because we had a few hundred pounds of dry goods. Granted we were better prepared than most, but emotionally… I imagine if the power was off for two days there would have been intense wailing and gnashing of teeth!
The fact is, many people today are storing some food and water, and have candles at-the-ready. They assume they are well-prepared because they have a month’s supply of food in the basement.
Even the most avid “prepper” assumes they are ready. They may have six-months of supplies, and can shoot a deer at 150 yards, but… I really wonder if they are truly prepared. Are they ready to really endure the disruption of life as we know it?
I’ve thought often about this and wonder how we might all react to overwhelming tragedy. Will we bond together and help each other overcome the difficulty, or will we do like many preppers are planning – hide in the hills and expect to shoot the first person who crosses our aim.
How will our families survive, if a spouse is overwhelmed with the intense shock of the situation and just can not cope with the situation? Are we so tough that we assume our family will all just hold hands and laugh while eating our ready meals? A lot of the families I know can’t even sit together for thirty minutes, so I doubt they will be ready to huddle around a candle and tell stories.
So, are we preparing for the emotional shock that might come from a massive catastrophe? Are we preparing to turn family and friends away because we don’t have enough food for our long-term survival, if we feed them?
If my heart becomes so hardened during perilous times that I am capable of turning-away families who need food or help, then I really don’t want to prepare. What kind of life is left for us, if we ignore the hurting people inside our community simply because they were too naive or lazy to get ready?
I realize many will disagree, and that’s fine. I certainly do not have a moral badge that gives me any authority to pass judgement. The point I’m trying to make is… today (before a tragedy hits) I can not see me turning away someone who comes to me for help.
So, unfortunately, I think we have a long way to go before we are truly prepared. In my humble view, there is far too much emphasis on loading guns and stashing grub. For s0me, that’s their ultimate strategy – survival at all cost. That’s fine, and certainly important. But… if we lose our moral values and conscience in being open to helping our neighbors – what will our society look like post-doomsday?
Bottom line in my rant ….
Get Prepared – but do not prepare because you are afraid. Prepare emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Prepare now to answer the question… what will I do when my neighbor comes to me for help?
Seek God, and His peace. One of my favorite passages of Scripture says:
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
The story of Joseph gives us an important example a Preparation Call. His obedience, and extraordinary journey of finding his true identity is an amazing inspiration to those who have sometimes struggled with accepting the preparation call. Overcoming the difficulties will often be necessary to get us ready for what God has planned for us.
Joseph’s journey took him from a pit of slavery to the palace of Pharaoh. Joseph traveled this journey one step at a time after his brothers left him for to perish in a deep pit. When we are rejected (especially by those closest to us) it makes us feel useless, and even tempted to be bitter. But, we must rise-above that pit as quickly as possible.
When we cry out to the Lord, He will certainly lift us out of the pit and establish our path. He orders our steps, and gives us provision for the journey.
In the tale of Joseph, God not only raised him up out of the pit of bondage, He also raised him to the Second highest position in the land of Egypt.
When we review Genesis 37-50 we can see it wasn’t an easy journey. Joseph was rejected by his brothers, sold into slavery, and later on betrayed and shackled away in jail. Nonetheless, Joseph did not fear what man can do to him; he forgave those who hurt him and released them from the damage they had actually done.
In each situation Joseph had a choice to be bitter or forgive the wrongdoing and see things get better. Each time he made the right option, as he decided to forgive, he took a step towards his fate in the palace.
Forgiveness is a selection that numerous times God will utilize to promote us to a higher position. After Joseph forgave his brothers, he sealed it by blessing them out of the abundance that God had offered him as Governor of Egypt.
This journey from the pit to the palace is one we all can take as we travel through forgiveness, and move into our assignment in the Preparation Call.
My family has been preparing for many years now. More than 15 years ago, my husband received what he called a “Preparation Call” from the Lord. At the time it made very little sense, but today the need to prepare is a common discussion.
Recently, we had 2800 pounds of food delivered for an orphanage in Haiti. We received another 500 pounds of wheat and oats for our area Grain Co-op and then received another 550 pounds of Organic Grains and Beans for our Millers Grain House inventory. It’s all in a holding pattern at the moment and we are overflowing with grains here at Millers Grain House!
Yes – my husband’s name IS Joseph….we aren’t storing up for seven years of famine (yet) but it sure looks like it!! Funny how he is so supportive of my passion for milling and teaching others to mill (as we are actually named Miller) and he’s always been about preparation for when the Return of Messiah comes and the need to store for those in need (as he is Joseph) it only dawned on me how all that fit the other day – and it’s been over 24 years we’ve been like this! We serve an amazing Lord! Glad we don’t have to have a CLUE and He can still work out His Plan!
I am often humbled by how well pieces fit together in our lives without even our acknowledgement or involvement to make them fit. Often, for me, they fit best when I actually am out of the way and resting in the arms of my Father. I can just know and rest and really that’s all I have to do.
Just look at Joseph’s Dream…Adonai gave it to him….and the Plan was fine without Joseph having to tweak it! He has prepared the Plan and He’s done fine without me worrying, figuring or manipulating – being still, resting is all I have to do. Who am I to think my plan is better.
Listen to what the Lord is telling you, and follow His plan for your life. It may not make sense today, but He alone knows the outcome – and will work out the details if you simply surrender to His call.
About the Author:
Donna Miller is a teacher, author, and dollar stretching expert and is the founder of Millers Grain House in North Carolina. She shares a daily blog and teaches people how to prepared for difficulties called Grain Store House.
Today, many families are preparing for what they fear is a pending doomsday scenario. It seems that everywhere you turn, there is a new warning about a cataclysmic event that will thrust us back into a primitive society and change our lives forever. News media and conspiracy mongers are churning-up their fear stories, and record numbers of people are tuning-in to hear the latest discouraging report.
