SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on a Mountain Lion close call.  (See the Idaho section.)

Region-Wide

How does El Niño affect the Northwest?

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Video Forecast: Current Winter 2023-2024 Prediction For the Inland Northwest: Overall WARMER & DRY!

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U.S. drafts plan to bring grizzly bears back to Washington’s North Cascades.

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Events & Activities: Inland Northwest Winter Guide 2022/2023.

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Verizon customers experiencing service issues across Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.

Idaho

A Must-Watch Video: Mountain Lion Stalks Elk Hunter in Idaho — Saved By Warning Shots From a Glock 27.  JWR’s Comment:  Always carry at least a handgun whenever you step off of your porch!  As most SurvivalBlog readers know, a Glock 27 is chambered in .40 S&W. Lily and I habitually carry .45 ACP Glock Model 30 pistols with 13-round Glock 21 magazines. Yes, a .44 Magnum would be more effective, but that would be heavy enough that we’d likely get out of the habit of daily carry.  A lighter gun that is always on your hip beats a heavy one that gets left at home. Your mileage may vary…

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Mother, son charged with kidnapping after police say they took a teenager to Oregon for an abortion.

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One person found dead after tree falls on car in Coeur d’Alene.

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Judge rules the FBI must turn over DNA records in Bryan Kohberger murder case.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare… The powers of Congress would subvert the very foundation, the very nature of the limited government established by the people of America.” – Alexander Hamilton

Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 6, 2023

On Novermber 6, 1888, Benjamin Harrison of the Republican Party was elected U.S. president by an electoral majority despite losing the popular vote by more than 90,000 to his Democratic opponent, Grover Cleveland.

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Today in 1977, the Toccoa Falls Dam in Georgia gave way and 39 people died in the resulting flood. The dam was an earthen dam constructed across a canyon in 1887 and had a 55-acre lake that was 180 feet deep. The dam had recently been inspected and approved, but in the early morning hours, it gave way. Water flooded down the canyon at speeds approaching 120 mph. Below, residents of the Christian and Missionary Alliance College had no time to evacuate as the small community was wiped out.

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November 6th is the anniversary of the day that B-24 Liberator co-pilot Al Millspaugh was shot down over Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, in 1944. He ended up in a Luft Stalag, until 1945. I got to know Al at some John Birch Society chapter meetings back in the late 1970s. Hearing his stories was fascinating. He retired as a Lt. Colonel in the California Air National Guard. He passed away on November 24, 2014 in Kelseyville, California. My 2014 novel Liberators was in part dedicated to Al Millspaugh. – JWR

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We are still in need of entries for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 109 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

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There are several new listings over at SurvivalRealty.com. My eldest son Jonathan is now running that site as a full-time occupation, so look for a lot more listings to be added, in the weeks to come. When browsing the site recently, this listing jumped out at me: Ultimate New Zealand SHTF Property.

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Today’s feature article was penned by Field Gear Editor Emeritus, Pat Cascio. He has been in poor health, so he would appreciate your prayers.

Springfield Armory Echelon Pistol, by Pat Cascio

If memory serves me correctly, I purchased my first Glock in 1987. This was an early-production Glock 17 – the only handgun model that Glock had yet produced, back then. It was a 17-shot 9mm pistol and the frame was made out of “plastic” – today we call it “polymer” instead. I felt sure that the gun wouldn’t last, after a lot of shooting. I was wrong!

Since owning that first Glock, I’ve probably owned almost every model they produced over the years, and I still own more Glocks than any one person should…guess I’m a Glock-a-holic.

A long, long time ago, I made a decision, that when the SHTF, if I were limited to owning just one handgun (oh no!) it would be a Glock 19, a compact 9mm handgun that held 15 rounds of ammo – and of course some 33-round extended magazines, for reloads. This was my number one handgun, and needless to say, I’ve carried a Glock 19 for many years – never had any issues with it, either. Coming in a close second would be the SIG Sauer M17 – and there too, my sample has worked without any issues.

Well, considering the above, this all has changed, with the introduction of the 9mm Springfield Armory Echelon. I didn’t believe that any handgun would take the place of my Glock 19 – or the Model 17 or similar models as my End of the World handgun, and I had to think long and hard about this.Continue reading“Springfield Armory Echelon Pistol, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week:  Huckleberry Oatmeal

The following recipe for Huckleberry Oatmeal is from SurvivalBlog reader L.K.. She says that huckleberries are best, but substituting blueberries will suffice:

Ingredients
  • Huckleberries (fresh or frozen). The second choice is Blueberries.
  • Old Fashioned rolled oats. (Don’t use instant oats or steel-cut oats)
  • Butter
  • Milk
  • Water
  • Brown sugar
  • Cinnamon
  • Allspice
  • Salt
  • Vanilla extract
  • Cream or whole milk.
Directions
  1. Briefly toast the oats in butter until fragrant. This adds to the flavor.
  2. Add water and stir! Keep stirring throughout the cooking time.
  3. Smush the blueberries with the back of a spoon, as you stir. The more berries you smush up, the oats become progressively more purplish-colored.
  4. Optionally, add brown sugar, spices, and vanilla extract, to suit your taste.
SERVING

Serve with cream or whole milk.  No need to add syrup. With the brown sugar, this will be plenty sweet, as is.

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Do you have a well-tested recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long-term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven recipes, slow cooker recipes, and any recipes that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at lumber prices. (See the Commodities section.)

Precious Metals:

Buy Gold Now Or Wait?

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At Gold-Eagle.com: Gold Stocks Lagging.

Economy & Finance:

From Bloomberg: Fed Signals Yield Rise Reduces Need to Hike, But Door Still Open.

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The fuse on America’s debt bomb just got shorter.

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Reader C.B. flagged this sign of the times: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Announces Move to Miami From Seattle.

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From the globalist IMF: Higher-for-Longer Interest Rate Environment is Squeezing More Borrowers.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I think, then, that the species of oppression by which democratic nations are menaced is unlike anything that ever before existed in the world; our contemporaries will find no prototype of it in their memories. I seek in vain for an expression that will accurately convey the whole of the idea I have formed of it; the old words despotism and tyranny are inappropriate: the thing itself is new, and since I cannot name, I must attempt to define it.

I seek to trace the novel features under which despotism may appear in the world. The first thing that strikes the observation is an innumerable multitude of men, all equal and alike, incessantly endeavoring to procure the petty and paltry pleasures with which they glut their lives. Each of them, living apart, is as a stranger to the fate of all the rest; his children and his private friends constitute to him the whole of mankind. As for the rest of his fellow citizens, he is close to them, but he does not see them; he touches them, but he does not feel them; he exists only in himself and for himself alone; and if his kindred still remain to him, he may be said at any rate to have lost his country.

Above this race of men stands an immense and tutelary power, which takes upon itself alone to secure their gratifications and to watch over their fate. That power is absolute, minute, regular, provident, and mild. It would be like the authority of a parent if, like that authority, its object was to prepare men for manhood; but it seeks, on the contrary, to keep them in perpetual childhood: it is well content that the people should rejoice, provided they think of nothing but rejoicing. For their happiness such a government willingly labors, but it chooses to be the sole agent and the only arbiter of that happiness; it provides for their security, foresees and supplies their necessities, facilitates their pleasures, manages their principal concerns, directs their industry, regulates the descent of property, and subdivides their inheritances: what remains, but to spare them all the care of thinking and all the trouble of living?

Thus it every day renders the exercise of the free agency of man less useful and less frequent; it circumscribes the will within a narrower range and gradually robs a man of all the uses of himself. The principle of equality has prepared men for these things; it has predisposed men to endure them and often to look on them as benefits.

After having thus successively taken each member of the community in its powerful grasp and fashioned him at will, the supreme power then extends its arm over the whole community. It covers the surface of society with a network of small complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd. The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.” – Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — November 5, 2023

On this day, King James learned about the Gunpowder Plot. Hence we have Guy Fawkes Day, celebrated with fireworks.

Remember, remember the Fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.”

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Also on this day, 300 Santee Sioux were sentenced to hang.

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On November 5th, 2009 Army Major Nidal Hassan killed 13 people at Fort Hood. He shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ as he opened fire. But predictably, the mainstream media cited “no known motive” for the terror attack.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 109 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Worth Reversal, by 3AD Scout

Being a serious preparedness-minded individual, I often look at venues that offer used or previously owned items for sale. These venues could be flea markets, thrift stores, antique stores, yard or garage sales, auctions, or online sites like Craigslist.

It never ceases to amaze me the items that are offered for sale at these venues. When I go to these venues, I have prepping in mind and am looking for items to help make me and my family better prepared. Often, I have to wade through piles of, in my opinion, useless junk. What is useless junk in my book? The general definition is, items that serve no purpose in helping one survive or recover from a disaster. But that is just my take on things. So old VHS tapes, collectible cards, ornate glass, and Star Wars toy figures all fall into useless junk for me.

I was at an Amish estate auction a while back and I realized that there is a big difference between an “Amish” Auction (defined as an auction where the property up for sale is from an Amish person and the vast majority of those in attendance are Amish) and an “English” auction (defined as an auction where the property for sale is from a non-Amish person and those in attendance are overwhelmingly non-Amish). About a month ago I was at a non-Amish estate sale and canning jars were going for about $2 a box, with most boxes having over a dozen jars in them. At the Amish auction I recently went to, one dozen used canning jars were being sold for $9. Granted that is still a good savings but compared to the non-Amish auction they are extremely high. To be fair Amish tend to pay higher prices at auctions since they don’t have the ability to order online or drive around shopping and transportation adds to the cost of buying things. But this diametrically opposite valuation of certain things does have a “survival” connotation.Continue reading“Worth Reversal, by 3AD Scout”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

Sam Bankman Fried Was Found Guilty of All Seven Fraud Charges

His List of Political Contributions Will Be Kept in a Very Safe Place, Right Alongside Jeffrey Epstein’s Client List

 News Links:

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,

Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:

And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?

They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.

But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” – Mark 10:32-38 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — November 4, 2023

On November 4, 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen.

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On November 4, 1924, American politician Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first woman to be elected governor of a U.S. state (Wyoming).

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November 4th is the birthday of Medal of Honor recipient John Basilone. He was born in 1916 in Buffalo, New York.

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On this day in 1979, student followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini sent shock waves across America when they stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The radical Islamic fundamentalists took 90 hostages. The students were enraged that the deposed Shah had been allowed to enter the U.S. to seek medical attention. Just a few days later, the provincial leader of Iran resigned and the Ayatollah Khomeini took full control of the country. Two weeks later, all non-U.S personnel as well as female and minority Americans began to be released. The remaining 52 hostages were held for 14 months until the election of President Reagan.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 109 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $850,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 109 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Some Last-Minute Purchases and Preps – Part 2, by M.M.

(Continued from Part 1.  This concludes the article.)

#6   12-volt deep cycle batteries and at least two battery charges. (I prefer the 2-,6-, and 10-Amp chargers. I do have a 50-amp charger, but it is hard on a battery. The slower the charge, the better the life expectancy of the battery). These are extremely important and are actually my #2 priority item only after fuel. Get several if they are available. You can build a light system for your property using 12-volt lights or buy an inverter that switches to A/C  use. For outside lighting go to an RV/off-road store and pick up several light bars that go on vehicles. I have one about 15 inches long on my boat that is both a spot and a flood light combination.  I can see several hundred feet at night. and it has a wide field of view with the flood light.  You can also use the inverter to run your computer. You can plug in your survival blog archive stick and look up thousands of articles from the past. on how to articles.  Inverters use power and can drain your battery so use accordingly.
Continue reading“Some Last-Minute Purchases and Preps – Part 2, by M.M.”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

We had mostly clear, chilly weather this week. This gave me the chance to wrap up a few outdoor projects, including some fall rototilling. I also discovered a serious glitch with our snowplow. Changing the hydraulic fluid and filter didn’t solve the problem so I chained the plow in the up-most position, and drove it to Spokane, Washington for repair at a specialty shop.  That was a 7-hour round trip. And once the repair is completed, it will be another 7-hour trip, to retrieve it. This illustrates one of the drawbacks of living way out in the hinterboonies!

Another one of our vehicles was driven into town for a snow tire switch. (The Les Schwab chain kindly does free seasonal switches, if your tires are already on rims.)  Two other vehicles were put in “storage” mode, with our insurance company, until April. There is no point in paying for insurance on vehicles that are just parked in our shop for the snow season.

And another one of our vehicles had a leaking power steering box. So that entailed another round-trip to town, for a repair.  I need to spend less time on the road, and more time on my projects here at the ranch!

For the past few weeks, I’ve been quite busy with consulting calls.  Clearly, the calamitous world events are prompting folks to get prepared. Quite a few of my clients are making long-distance moves, re-balancing their investment portfolios, and seriously stocking up. There is also a lot of well-justified angst over Team Biden’s plan to make most private gun show gun sales require FFL paperwork. So, many clients have had questions on where and how to round out their firearms batteries — whilst leaving little or no paper trail. Some of the quantities that they’ve been discussing are substantial. So I believe that 2023 and 2024 will be record years for gun sales  — particularly the quiet purchase of used guns, from private parties. And it is abundantly clear that ammunition is flying off of the shelves — especially the modern military calibers.

Now, on to Lily’s report…Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.

And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.

The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.

And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.

And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.

And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:

For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.

So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.” – 1 Kings 13:1-10 (KJV)