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There’s been a lot of chatter about September having some catastrophic event. Something about a blood moon, and the Jewish Calendar, the stock market crashing and a meteor?
I believe we are in the end times. But I believe we’ve been in the “end times” for the last 2000 years. We can do a deeper study of the end times later if you want.
The world very well could end in September. I don’t think it will, but it could. No one knows the time or the hour.
But if you’re concerned about it, the first step to preparedness is:
Get right with God.
Admit that you’ve sinned against God and that there is nothing you can do to absolve that. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins and allow Him to be Lord over your life. Find a good church body and be known there and get involved. Get in relationship with other Christians who can help you grow in your journey. If you want help with this process e-mail me and lets chat.
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Recently Jess and I lived in Hawaii, one of the most remote places in the world. Living on an island in the Pacific made me start to think differently about “preparedness.”
As a way to get more involved in my local community I joined Be Ready Manoa a disaster preparedness group. This also got me thinking.
Hawaii is days from resupply. Everything is flown or shipped in. If one of those methods of transportation goes down like a company going on strike (which was threatened while we were there) there are only 3 days worth of food on the shelves.
Hurricane warnings meant bottled water was sold out everywhere and stores were packed with people. I don’t care to be standing in long lines right before a storm.
Even on normal days in Hawaii, there was multiple times where I’d go looking for a specific item and that item would not be on the shelves. Sometimes for months at a time.
Buy and have TWO of regularly used items.
Since I saw that sometimes items could be off the shelves for months, I started always buying TWO of things. That way when I ran out of the first one I had a back up. As soon as I used the first one up and started in on the second item I’d put that item on the grocery list so I would soon have 2 again.
I hate the label “prepper” because its carries with it an extreme paranoia. You buy insurance for emergencies and hope you never have to use it right? That’s how I see these small preparations.
Here is a list of things I think you should buy and think of the investment as insurance. This won’t get you through a long term disaster, but will give you a leg up in most situations.
5 Gallon Water Container. $12.00
Buy at LEAST one per person that lives in your house hold. Rinse them with soap and water* and then fill them with tap water. Switch out your water every 6 months when you change your fire alarm batteries.
You do change your fire alarm batteries don’t you?
Water is one of the first things you should have stored up. Emergency preparedness sites say AT LEAST 1 gallon per person per day for drinking.
I once bought the 7 gallon ones but they were to heavy to comfortably move.
*Make sure you RINSE them real well with soap before filling them, I had shards of plastic come out of mine from the first few rinses.
Sawyer Water Filter – $49.99
If the disaster is lasting longer than you thought it would and you’ve poured out your last drop of water from the above containers that means you’re going to need to find a natural water source. Can you collect rain? How far are you from the nearest stream? Water found from natural sources may need to be filtered before drinking. If you’re in an area that doesn’t get much rain and are really far from a water source, I’d make sure you added more stored water. This filter comes with a 5 gallon bucket attachment. Which leads us to…
5 gallon FOOD GRADE buckets with gamma lids $29.95
Buy two of these. You’re going to store rice and beans in mylar bags in this bucket, along with the water filter. Rice and beans when sealed properly can last for 30 years. Food grade with gamma lids might be a bit overkill since we’re going to put them in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers but if this is going to last 30 years then a back up measure isn’t a bad idea.
You can actually pick up food grade buckets with gamma lids for about half the price at Lowes.
One of these will also act as your water filter if it comes to that, and the other one can be used to collect water.
1 Gallon Mylar Bags and Oxygen Absorbers – $12.99
I chose 1 gallon bags so that you can open one small bag at a time instead of having to open the whole 25 lbs of rice and beans. Fill ALL of the bags up about half to 3/4 full of rice or beans (don’t open the o2 absorbers yet). Then drop two o2 absorbers in each bag and double seal with a hair straightener. If you’ve got questions about sealing let me know.
25 lbs of White Rice – $9.99
White rice when stored in mylar bags with o2 absorbers will last for 30 years. Brown rice has more oils in it so it will not store as long.
Go buy the equivalent of 25 lbs in smaller bags at your local grocery store. The shipping on the above item is ridiculous.
25 lbs of Black Beans – $35.99
You can buy whatever type of beans you want if you prefer pinto beans buy those. Rice and beans will keep you full and provide a complete protein and is a staple food for much of the world.
Again, go to your local grocery store to pick up the beans too, I’m sure you can find it cheaper in smaller packages.
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If you don’t want to put in that effort to seal mylar bags or don’t like rice and beans you can always go the freeze dried food route.
Mountain House Just In Case: $64.95
12 pouches 29 servings and all you have to do is add boiling water. I’ve had a bit of one of these on a camping trip and honestly felt like they tasted really sugary and kind of plasticy. But if it was an emergency you’d eat it. They last 12+ years. Figure out if those 12 pouches really are 29 servings to you and your family and buy as many as you need accordingly.
by Jim Baker
We do thanks to you
We do thanks to you