Applying the Wisdom of Sun Tzu to Prepping, by B.P.

Many regard Sun Tzu as the ultimate military strategist, at least in the way he described the more philosophical applications of combat strategy. Being more abstract in his direction than simply issuing commands like a common general, his focus was on developing a perspective rather than defining procedures. In this way, his wisdom and direction have remained contemporary and relevant, whereas battlefield applications come and go with advances in technology and expansion of the combat arena. In studying the lessons of Sun Tzu, we find that much of his advice on strategy not only lends itself to the field of …




Letter: Tracking a Stolen Vehicle

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers: We live at the end of the road in Alaska then a mile by boat to the cabin. The community parks their vehicles there. Is their a technology device that I can attach to my vehicle to where I can track down the vehicle if it is stolen? This happens from time to time with the locals. I would like some app on a device so I can pay someone a visit if necessary. Since we live on an island for some reason it is not theft, but joy riding. That is retarded but I can try …




A Collection of Thoughts on Survival, by Sven

There is a number of thoughts and observations I’ve had that seemed worth passing on to SurvivalBlog readers, but most of them weren’t long enough to merit full articles. Hopefully, everyone can find at least one thing here that they hadn’t considered yet. Wool Blankets Wool blankets are heavier than down or synthetic sleeping bags but are lifetimes more durable and fire resistant. You should have both wool blankets for when weight is not a concern and regular sleeping bags for fast, light trips. Knives– Serrated or Not Knives with serrations require special tools to sharpen. Consider using only knives …




Letter Re: Armed Teachers from a Christian Perspective

Dear Mr. Latimer, I became a prepper last year and a Christian the year before. I am currently working through various issues of my faith, and your website has worked very well for helping both preparedness planning and my faith. I’m in my junior year of college, pursuing a teaching license. I’d prefer to teach private school, but if God calls me to teach in a public school I’ll do it and hopefully do some good there. To be brief, my question is whether or not a Christian should, in good conscience, violate laws banning weapons for self defense in …




Never Waste An Opportunity To Buy Good Stuff Inexpensively!, by Old Bobbert

When there is an opportunity, we don’t waste it. We preppers are very good at nearly everything we do, once we finally start down the road to project completion and timely success. The few things we do poorly are generally the foundation for our poor public image. Some of these are our poor selections, among the millions of printed pages concerning “being prepared” to live through a disaster. Our most glaring and dramatic procedural mistake is also the main reason non-preppers also fail at an alarmingly high percent of starts. Yes, we still have much in common with our non-prepper …




Time, Effort, and Attitude (TEA) and Keeping Focus, by E in the North Woods

I think a lot of us who are doing our best to prepare for a SHTF scenario usually had some moment when we popped our heads out of the sand and were pushed to that point. I look back on it, like I have heard others explain, as the red pill versus blue pill moment from The Matrix movie. Once you have your eyes opened and decide to take action in living a prepared lifestyle, it feels like you just got ripped from your comfy cocoon and are now standing at the base of a mountain looking up at all …







A Christian Prepper’s Perspective on Giving- Part 4, by R2

Four Types of Giving Yesterday, we started describing the four types of giving outlined in the Scriptures, starting with an offering to the Lord. Today, we’ll finish up this series with the last three types of giving, on which we have instruction. The most controversial one, and the one that is probably on most people’s mind, is next up. 2) Tithe This is the method of giving that most think of when we talk about giving to the Lord. It is the most controversial one, because the basic church structure today depends upon it to survive, yet there is no …




Letter: Concerns on Chemicals During Tornados

Dear editors, Our family includes small, climbing, curious children, and so all our hazardous chemicals are on high shelves in our first-floor utility/laundry room (the one space we have in our home that is currently inaccessible to them). I recently have been wondering what would happen if a tornado were to hit our house – we have numerous chemicals that are not to be mixed with the others on pain of toxic clouds of death. On the other hand, tornadoes are hardly precision instruments (the bleach might as well end up 30 miles away as on top of the ammonia, …




A Christian Prepper’s Perspective on Giving- Part 3, by R2

How Does the Lord Value Your Gift? The Lord does not value the gifts He receives in the same way that man values gifts. The exception perhaps is a mother valuing gifts she has received from her children. I can’t tell you how many times I have sat in church during the obligatory sermon on tithing to your church just to see some un-Biblical practice being followed. Give in Secret On one occasion, the pastor of the church we attended thought that he would encourage the congregation to give by being an example. He held up the check that he …




A Christian Prepper’s Perspective on Giving- Part 2, by R2

Yesterday, we talked about how people have a desire to give to the Lord but that all gifts are not valued by Him. We looked at some early examples of our Biblical fathers giving offerings and paying tithes to the Lord as well. Today, I want to continue with one more example that we can use as we begin to build our foundation of understanding on the subject of giving. It is important to note that these are not the only examples, just the first three obvious examples of people planning and arranging to give something of themselves to God. …




Letter: Is the Country Degenerating More Rapidly?

Hugh, Is it just me, or is our country changing more rapidly now? I’ve noticed a large increase in cases of people’s lack of consideration for others lately, especially when driving. Cutting others off, passing when it’s unsafe, cutting behind someone backing out of a parking space, driving well under the limit with a dozen cars stacked up behind you, et cetera. It seems like the speed of the descent into social chaos has really quickened lately. We live in a rural area, and it’s bad everywhere now but even worse in urban areas. – L.H. HJL’s Comment: It’s not …




A Christian Prepper’s Perspective on Giving- Part 1, by R2

Christian charity is a huge topic in the Christian prepping circles and particularly now as holiday and end-of-year giving is on people’s mind. I have seen solutions run the gamut, from churches and groups attempting to feed anyone who knocks to those individuals who refuse to prep to give anything for fear of violence against their own. There are three aspects of giving, and many confuse these, though they are distinctive. They are as follows: Giving to the Lord Giving to your family Giving to others The most complex type of giving is actually the first— “Giving to the Lord”. …




Letter Re: Food for Thought

Hello HJL and JWR, In your recent post titled “The Survival Community’s Dirty Little Secrets”, you refer to the hucksters that seem to pop up and snare unsuspecting customers. This happened to a friend not too long ago with regards to long term food storage. He fell for the ridiculously cheap “complete one year supply” mirage. Fortunately, I had the time to educate him on calories per meal and the type of calories he needed in each before he made the purchase. This brings me to the reason I am writing you. I wanted to show him the facts, so …




Into Bear Country- Part 2, by George Fox

In part 1 of this article series, I wrote about the likelihood of people encountering bear, the different types of bear, and began with an overview of how to detail with one in the event of an encounter. Today, we’ll go into more detail about preventing encounters and what to do if you have one. Setting Up “Triangle” Camp to Avoid Bears When you set up camp, there are procedures that should be followed to keep your food secure, to keep you safe, and to prevent bears from coming to the tent to look for snacks. I was taught to …