Category: Christianity

Letter Re: The Golden Moments of Silence

Hugh, This article, “The Golden Moments of Silence” struck me by its coinciding with my experience from just last week while traveling through a very majestic and picturesque part of the country. This paragraph in particular by Sarah Latimer: “This article, I hope, will inspire you to look up from the computer, smart phone, iPad, or pull out the ear buds ….” While camping in the Black Hills of South Dakota last week I was appalled at the behavior of those who drove up to scenic overlooks that jumped out of their vehicle and went to the perch and held …


The Golden Moments of Silence, by Sarah Latimer

I have been doing some reflecting recently on the power of silence. While our words have the power to build up or destroy and are so important, so too is our silence; silence is powerful also. Silence can generate equally powerful and varied reactions as words. When a man, who is madly in love with the woman of his dreams proposes marriage on bended knee with expectation that she will be thrilled and readily accept his proposal is instead met with a wide-eyed blank stare and silence, his world teeters on the brink of destruction in that silence. This silence …


Letter Re: Euthanizing Pets Who Can’t Bug Out

Hugh, I have searched the internet for a humane manner in which to euthanize a pet who can’t bug out. Is there anything other than a bullet to take care of this? – T.B. HJL Comments: This is a tough situation and should be a call for people to evaluate their “need” for pets before they take on that responsibility. A pet is usually entirely dependent on it’s owner for survival and that is not a responsibility that should be taken lightly. I highly suspect that if such a situation were to occur, most pet owners would simply turn their …


Lay The Groundwork for the Future- Part 1, by Sarah Latimer

I really feel like a farmer’s wife this week. We’ve been busy up to our eyebrows harvesting, processing the harvest, canning, freeze drying, dehydrating, and even butchering as well as doing some welding and other structural homesteading chores. Whew! It’s been a hard but productive week. I am exhausted and thankful that Sabbath is almost here so we can rest, and even before it arrives I give God great thanks for His goodness and provision and for the knowledge to participate in the cycle of life! It’s Hard Work, But It’s For Their Future There are mornings when I wake …


The Bride of Christ in An Apocalyptic World- Part 3, by R.B.

What Needs To Be Done? There are numerous books available to assist people who have begun to prepare themselves for the coming catastrophe. Indeed, prepping has become an “industry” in some respects, as many have come to the realization that the government will not be able to step in and solve everyone’s problems in the face of a true national disaster. Just ask the folks in New Orleans who suffered through the comparatively short-term disaster of Hurricane Katrina. At the end of this article, I will provide a brief and rather incomplete bibliography of some of the publications that I …


The Bride of Christ in An Apocalyptic World- Part 2, by R.B.

What Would This Mean For Christ’s Bride– The Church? While all of this is frightening and should give us pause respecting the fragility of our civilization, what would such potential events mean for the Bride of Christ– the Church? While Scripture tells us that even the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Church of Christ Jesus, that does not mean that His Bride will not suffer in this world. The genocide we see of Christians and their culture in the Muslim world should prove the point. It should be remembered that we still live in the Church Militant, not …


The Bride of Christ in An Apocalyptic World- Part 1, by R.B.

“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:32-35) Understand the Times If you have been paying attention to current events, especially to economic news and news related to asymmetrical military preparedness (i.e., cyber warfare …


Letter Re: Christian Healthcare Ministries

Hugh, Please be aware that if you must cancel membership that all claims must have been paid out first. They say that it takes 60 to 90 days to pay. If membership is canceled prior to payout, they do not pay. I was left with a $1200 bill when I canceled membership. There is one obscure sentence in their booklet that supports them not paying. – M.N.


Letter Re: Christian Health Care

JWR: I am not a spokesman for any health care provider, but I have had experience with one! Regarding the postings on Christian Health Care sharing programs, I have to weigh in. My wife is a member of the Christian Health Care Ministries program and has been for about three years. She selected a mid-level program and we just bite the bullet and make the monthly payments without fail, as hard as it sometimes is. Living in the Pacific Northwest/American Redoubt, we were not sure of available providers that would accept CHM, but we were in for a surprise! About …


Letter: Christian Medical Sharing Ministries

Hello Hugh, Some time ago I read about Christian medical sharing ministries on SurvivalBlog. (My Experience in Expatriating to Panama, by Chuck Holton) I am retiring early at 61 due to a medical condition, and not wanting to use Obamacare I thought I had found my solution. I joined Liberty Health Share after researching them. They tell you they will help you establish a connection between them and your doctor. You fill out a form detailing your doctor’s office and send it back to Liberty. They then send correspondence to your doctor’s office. If your doctor does not respond to …


Budget Planning- Part 5, by Sarah Latimer

Cutting Costs- Some Ideas We Have Implemented As I have said before, it is necessary to set priorities and develop a spending plan with your spouse and family in order to utilize your financial resources to achieve life goals. If you have followed along so far, you’ve documented your current income, your fixed expenses, and your flexible expenses. You have begun to consider other sources of income and maybe ways to cut expenses. Hopefully, you have also taken time to get a healthy perspective on money and its roles in your life as well as your spending habits. Have you …


Is Being Prepared Getting In The Way of Living?, by M.

What are you preparing for? Are you getting ready to survive an EMP attack? A financial meltdown? Flu pandemic? Nuclear holocaust? Regardless of what we are preparing for, sometimes it is healthy to ask ourselves how we are living in the meantime. Those of us who feel a need to prepare do it with a passion, but are we preparing in sensible ways that allow us to enjoy life each day, or are we so busy watching and waiting for the chaos of life to justify the time and money we’ve spent on our “preps” that we miss a lot …


Getting To Your Children and Keeping Them Safe: Help For An Absentee Parent- Part 2, by J.C.

For older children, there are a variety of ways you can help them. The first is exposing them to the outdoors and teaching them the skills and knowledge you have learned. Do not rely on teachers, schools, or other adults to make sure they are prepared. Even if you have limited time with your children, small things can help. Every child should have some type of bug out bag at their main residence. This bag should cover these main categories: water, food, shelter, signaling, communication, and protection. Make sure that all items are age appropriate and they know how to …


Letter Re: Digital Currency Weapons and Intel Tools

Hello, I have recently been doing a bit of research for my Payroll and Accounting class, and part of that led me to a 2007 Kansas law that allowed employers to select the form of payment to employees. These include things you might expect, like cash, direct deposit, checks, and more interestingly for me payroll debit cards. The payroll debit cards led to further research I thought worth sharing and somewhat related. To be clear, I fully support a laissez-faire approach to private business, but the digital trend may be worth looking at. First, governments around the world are keenly …