by Joseph | May 21, 2026 | Preparation, Sharing
In the difficult and turbulent times we are facing, families are changing. In many ways the change is ultimately very good. I believe it is pushing families to be more cohesive and sensitive to each other. Families are somewhat forced to draw closer together in order to work through the tough times and fears. Obviously, family congruency is an important part of the preparation process.
I have heard many stories of how my grandparents raised their children to help around the homestead. It seems to have been common practice (and necessity) that families worked together to maintain the farm – and to survive. Times were tough, and families drew on the strength of each other to get through the turmoil.
With our modern improvements and advancements in technology (such as television, internet and cell phones), family ties have been impacted. Also, there is a catastrophic falling-away from the moral principles, teachings, and values that governed our homes. The divorce epidemic in our society has destroyed the peace and stability of the family unit. Children who once had the influence of their mother and father, now were getting influenced and guided by care-givers outside the home.
As a result of our moral decline, today many adults are simply ill-prepared for the difficulties that we now face – and will become increasingly intense. The first devastating impact will occur as our economy continues to deteriorate and force us to make difficult choices for our survival. The modern family that has been flush with entertainment options and toys, will likely find new economic challenges. A growing number of families will be forced to alter their entertainment habits (out of necessity) which may actually bring families together for alternative activities.
Another factor is the growing need for families to work together on multiple-family living space. Every week, I am hearing more-and-more families are being forced to have relatives move-in with them in order to cut expenses. Adult children are returning home in order to save on expenses. Certainly, it creates some discomforts – but, it does force families to revisit their relationships and work together for survival.
The fears of the unknown, are creating stress and hardship on everyone. Parents are struggling to hold things together, and kids are wondering what will happen in the future. It’s a painful time, but… a great opportunity for families to draw closer and feel the security of their love for each other. Things are not quite as difficult when you feel like you have someone with you regardless of how tough it gets. That’s where family comes in. (more…)
by Joseph | May 21, 2026 | Preparation, Sharing
What a time we live in! With what I see every day, I truly believe the end must be near. I don’t want to come across as overly pessimistic or negative. I am very sensitive that the topic is tough for folks – especially as we continue to battle with a pandemic, record high inflation, nuclear threats, and food shortages. People are looking for hope – and here I come and dash that hope with a claim that the End must be near. The fact is, I think most folks have pondered that thought.
I must state that for many years I’ve heard so many preachers and doomsday folks proclaim … “The End is Near”. That message has gotten louder with every difficulty that our world has faced over the years. Today, it is blaring! The Bible makes it clear that the closer to the return of the Messiah, the more turbulence, famines, and wars we would see. No-one knows exactly when that will occur.
In my life-time I have never seen the intensity of difficulties like we’re now seeing on a global scale. Wars and rumors of wars are a daily reporting. Pandemics, famine, shootings … you name it, and we’re seeing it like no other time in history.
I personally believe we will soon be engulfed in another major war, NOT because the media says so – but because the stirring of anger and bitterness is rampant.
The toxic attitudes and callous abrasion has taken over our politics – and our churches. As I went to the store today, I noticed so many people who’s countenance showed that they were bothered and worried. You could hardly draw a smile out of them. There seems to be so much anger and resentment in the hearts of people.
The Bible clearly proclaims that in the last days, this is what it will look like. I can’t read the following scripture without seeing this very clearly and active in our world today. You don’t have to look much farther than Social Media to see this very vividly.
You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.
2 Timothy 3:1-3 (NLT)
I certainly do not claim to know “when” the end will come. I know this … there are a lot of folks making “prophetic” claims based on signs and dreams they’ve had. We must be extremely careful with what we are hearing and seeing. The Bible makes it clear that in the last days there will be FALSE PROPHETS who will come and deceive many.
For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Matthew 24:24 NIV
For me, I do believe the end is near. I believe we are also about to enter the most turbulent time we have seen in our Country. We should be preparing ourselves and strengthening our families. Be Careful who you follow – and get Prepared!
by Joseph | May 21, 2026 | Preparation, Sharing
Yesterday, a member of my family called me an “Alarmist”. I really was not aware that I am an alarmist, so it came as a bit of a surprise to me. In fact, I didn’t even know what an alarmist was- or what the role consisted of. So, being the good alarmist that I am… I looked it up.
Here’s what the dictionary definition of an alarmist is:
“a person who tends to raise alarms, esp. without sufficient reason, as by exaggerating dangers or prophesying calamities.”
Perhaps my family member knows something about me that I don’t know. Or, maybe it’s possible that my actions and communications have been misinterpreted by those who disagree with my insights. To my knowledge, I haven’t exaggerated the dangers that we face – nor have I prophesied destruction. In fact, by definition the alarmist will raise concerns without sufficient reason. If you have done any research into what is happening on a global scale – there is certainly sufficient reason to be prudent in preparation.
I am not screaming in the streets that we are all doomed, but I do believe we are facing some serious challenges ahead. My call is not to warn people that the end is near, rather to encourage people to prepare for the difficulties that may lie ahead. The Bible is very clear that the King is soon coming – and we need to prepare for His arrival. There will be some difficult events as we get closer to His arrival. If a call to prepare for that is an alarm, well, so be it.
The reference that I was an alarmist came because I referred to the fact my family had just received a shipment of supplies – much of it for our pantry. Here’s a picture of some of our shipments…
The “alarmist” comment speaks more about where we are as a society, and really, the very lack of family discipline that has led us as a society to some of the difficult issues we are facing. We’ve become a spoiled people, who expect immediate gratification and constant entertainment. We have learned that we can squander our resources, and borrow to replace what we’ve depleted.
It is folly to assume that we can continue to live without ultimately paying the debt for our greed and obsessive lifestyle. Make no mistake about it we will reap what we sow. That’s not an alarm, that’s a fact!
by Joseph | May 21, 2026 | Preparation, Sharing
I have been focused on preparation for a long time, so any discussion on the topic comes very natural to me. I am finding, however; even as the topic of preparation is becoming more widespread – there are still quite a few people who do not fully understand what is meant by preparation.
I’ve stated before, like with everything people have varying levels of preparation – and certainly different motivations for preparation. Let me share some general insights on preparation, specifically as it relates to an emergency “change” in lifestyle.
The first question that I’d ask someone to gauge their preparation status is: “If there were to be an emergency of any kind, are you adequately prepared?” It may be a tornado, flood or even a hurricane. It could even be a catastrophic event such as a pandemic illness that sweeps through the world. How prepared are you in case of just such an event?
Unfortunately, the answer for most people is that they are not prepared at all. Emergency preparation takes forethought and careful planning. It is not about paranoia or that the world is coming to an end soon (although, you should be prepared for that as well). If you look, you can definitely find many crackpot (some legitimate) websites that are dedicated to driving paranoia and government conspiracies. Our intent is not to fuel fear – rather, to impress upon the need to prepare in the event of an emergency or disaster. This article is designed to help you understand what you can do to be prepared.
How do people prepare for emergencies?
Emergency preparation all starts with a list. You need to really stop and think about the possible emergencies that could happen in your region of the world. If you live near a river, lake or the ocean then you have to worry about flooding. If you live in a tornado prone area, you need to prepare for that. Winter storms can do a terrible amount of damage. Step one is thinking about what you use on a daily basis. Water is the number one resource that must be conserved and kept in case of an emergency. People can survive weeks without food but only a few days without water. And in the case of an emergency you cannot trust the water coming out of your faucet.
The second step is examining your shelter. Should your home be damaged you need to have an alternate place for shelter set up. It may be at a friend, family member or coworker’s home.
The third most important step is making an emergency plan. This plan should detail where all members of the family will meet in case they are separated at the time of the emergency. There are many books that you can purchase to help you learn basic survival skills in case of a disaster. You should consider picking one up and reviewing it just to see how well you would fare. (more…)
by Joseph | May 21, 2026 | Preparation, Sharing
The Shaking
Whose voice then shook the earth
Shared by Jeff Rowland.
The power of the voice of God is unmatched by anything the earth has ever seen or come in contact with. One word from the lips of God can destroy with more devastation than any bomb ever created. One word from the lips of God can breathe life into anything or anyone.
(1Ki 19:12) And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
Even though our God’s voice is so powerful, He can speak with such still softness as to gently urge the hearts of all who will listen. Could it be that the gentleness of our God is often why we so disregard and refuse Him that speaks? Could it be that our God is speaking louder so as to get our attention to the times we are living in now?
I believe that we are now living in the middle of Hebrews 12:25-29. I also believe that God is speaking to the earth and its time that we begin to pay attention. There is always purpose and reason to the voice of God being released.
Verse 26 says, “Whose voice then shook the earth.” We need to consider the events that are taking place now at such a rapid rate of speed. The earthquakes that are ravaging the earth all over must be given heed to. Jesus foretold of things to come as a sign of the end of the age in Matthew 24.
(Mat 24:7) For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
This was the response of Jesus after being asked the question what is the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? We are now seeing these signs. Even a casual student of the Word of God can see these things are upon us.
(more…)
by Joseph | May 21, 2026 | Preparation, Sharing
Part of emergency preparedness involves having money available during the situation, and having a backup of all your financial data for when the crisis has passed. Think about how terrible it would be to survive a particularly bad situation, and then find out that all your financial information was lost. There are different steps that you can take to minimize a financial emergency when things go wrong, and to plan for your future.
Now, while there are certainly potential scenarios and risks of banking collapse and global financial meltdown, this writing will not address that level of preparedness. This post will make an assumption that current banking and legal tender remains somewhat solvent and available. We will share more on the potential of massive financial collapse in future posts.
Money is an important part of good emergency preparedness, since banks may not be open and access to funds electronically may not be available. So this means that cash may be the only form of payment accepted at stores or in other situations. If that should be the case, then you will need to have a supply of emergency cash that you can access if there is a large-scale problem. This money should include coins for pay phones and it should be hidden in a safe place in your home.
After the situation has been resolved, then the next step is fixing the problems and confusion that occurred. Your emergency preparation should have involved making backup copies of all relevant data related to your finances. On an external drive, you should regularly backup any recent transactions made online, and your credit card information. The idea here is that even if there is a massive power surge that fries your computer, followed by a power failure, once things have been restored to normal you should be able to hook your external drive to an unaffected computer and recover all your data.
Another important step to being prepared for an emergency is having financial records and important contact numbers and names of people in a safe place. In fact, this information should ideally be stored in more than one place, in the event that the first location is compromised. Safe locations could involve an external hard drive, a safety deposit box, a home safe, or some other hidden location. Once the situation has been resolved, these records can be accessed and used to make a quick transition back to normal, and they can often suffice as evidence in case the original data has been lost or damaged.
To be successful with your emergency preparedness, you need to anticipate a great deal. It is hard to predict exactly what will happen in a major crisis, but basic steps you take should involve setting aside some cash and making a backup of your financial information. So much can be lost in such a short period of time that it is well worth it to invest a bit of effort in making sure that should the worst occur, you will be more likely to walk away from it unscathed.
In the difficult and turbulent times we are facing, families are changing. In many ways the change is ultimately very good. I believe it is pushing families to be more cohesive and sensitive to each other. Families are somewhat forced to draw closer together in order to work through the tough times and fears. Obviously, family congruency is an important part of the preparation process.
