Re: Barber's Chair, Preparedness
Continued from "From the Barber's Chair: Preparedness Evaluation, 2"
This is the third installment of four, recounting my barber's recent flood and power loss experiences.
Water. The minute the electricity goes off,we become a third-world country. All our doodads are worthless. No water,because no pump. No water means no flush toilet. Ya' gotta' have water to flush the toilet,here in the country. Thankfully,we had overflowing rain barrels to draw from. One bucket per flush. Drinking water was provided by 3 cases of bottled water. In the 30 years we have lived here,the electricity has never been off more than a day and a half. Winter or summer. We have many half-gallon mason home canning jars. We have decided to home can all these with our tap water for any future emergencies.
Food. We have 2 cases of MREs. We ate the fresh food first. On the third day,we got out the gas grill. This also heated the water for washing. Small amounts of potato chips were a blessing! Fresh food is no good unless you can cook it. We also had MRE ration heaters,which are water-activated. Half did not function. They appear to lose their effectiveness with age. Hunger was never an issue,because we weren't exerting ourselves. Cold food for days on end does not increase your morale. The ritual of coffee and tea being interrupted did not help either.
Energy. We have a solar heating system,with a battery back-up system with an inverter. On day two,the inverter quit. Turns out it was a cheaper inverter,with two years of service,and it simply gave up the ghost. Without the inverter,the pump on the system could not run. No pump,the system becomes a ticking time bomb. After the rain,the sun came out. All day. No pump. My wife had to go up on the roof,and cover the collectors to prevent heat build-up. When you buy anything,buy as good as you can afford,maybe spend until it hurts. This was one hassle we did not need. The inverter was replaced with a much,much better model.
God. I ask twice daily for God to Bless me,and those I love. He did,and he does. It was very evident that God's hand was at work in my life from the moment it began to rain. At every step,he provided for our every need. Untreated sleep apnea,the sudden and prolonged break with technology,the lack of any outside news or communication,the extended hours of darkness,and the uncertainty,all contributed to dpression descending on us all. Especially in the evening and at night. One evening,sitting on the back porch at dusk,there was heavy,grey cloud cover. far off to the west,the clouds parted,the blue sky shone,and a bright,white cloud formed. The cloud kept moving,until it formed a cross shape! I actually thought it might be the second coming! At it's distance,it must have been huge. Within a minute or so it dissipated. Then darkness fell. I took this to be a sign from God to us that,even in our depression,he is with us. A few nights later,same place,under heavy cloud layers,at dusk,as the sun was setting behind the hill. Just as the sun was setting,it broke through the cloud layer,like a laser beam of light,bathed our neighbor's house in brilliant light,and then suddenly fading into night. The house were our neighbors,followers of Christ live. I took this again as a sign that Christ is with us,even in darkness. There was more..... Bottom line is you need God. Period.
I plan to publish the last installment -- his summary -- tomorrow. If you want to read more about preparedness from a Christian perspective right now, try these links:
Continued from "From the Barber's Chair: Preparedness Evaluation, 2"
This is the third installment of four, recounting my barber's recent flood and power loss experiences.
Water. The minute the electricity goes off,we become a third-world country. All our doodads are worthless. No water,because no pump. No water means no flush toilet. Ya' gotta' have water to flush the toilet,here in the country. Thankfully,we had overflowing rain barrels to draw from. One bucket per flush. Drinking water was provided by 3 cases of bottled water. In the 30 years we have lived here,the electricity has never been off more than a day and a half. Winter or summer. We have many half-gallon mason home canning jars. We have decided to home can all these with our tap water for any future emergencies.
Food. We have 2 cases of MREs. We ate the fresh food first. On the third day,we got out the gas grill. This also heated the water for washing. Small amounts of potato chips were a blessing! Fresh food is no good unless you can cook it. We also had MRE ration heaters,which are water-activated. Half did not function. They appear to lose their effectiveness with age. Hunger was never an issue,because we weren't exerting ourselves. Cold food for days on end does not increase your morale. The ritual of coffee and tea being interrupted did not help either.
Energy. We have a solar heating system,with a battery back-up system with an inverter. On day two,the inverter quit. Turns out it was a cheaper inverter,with two years of service,and it simply gave up the ghost. Without the inverter,the pump on the system could not run. No pump,the system becomes a ticking time bomb. After the rain,the sun came out. All day. No pump. My wife had to go up on the roof,and cover the collectors to prevent heat build-up. When you buy anything,buy as good as you can afford,maybe spend until it hurts. This was one hassle we did not need. The inverter was replaced with a much,much better model.
God. I ask twice daily for God to Bless me,and those I love. He did,and he does. It was very evident that God's hand was at work in my life from the moment it began to rain. At every step,he provided for our every need. Untreated sleep apnea,the sudden and prolonged break with technology,the lack of any outside news or communication,the extended hours of darkness,and the uncertainty,all contributed to dpression descending on us all. Especially in the evening and at night. One evening,sitting on the back porch at dusk,there was heavy,grey cloud cover. far off to the west,the clouds parted,the blue sky shone,and a bright,white cloud formed. The cloud kept moving,until it formed a cross shape! I actually thought it might be the second coming! At it's distance,it must have been huge. Within a minute or so it dissipated. Then darkness fell. I took this to be a sign from God to us that,even in our depression,he is with us. A few nights later,same place,under heavy cloud layers,at dusk,as the sun was setting behind the hill. Just as the sun was setting,it broke through the cloud layer,like a laser beam of light,bathed our neighbor's house in brilliant light,and then suddenly fading into night. The house were our neighbors,followers of Christ live. I took this again as a sign that Christ is with us,even in darkness. There was more..... Bottom line is you need God. Period.
I plan to publish the last installment -- his summary -- tomorrow. If you want to read more about preparedness from a Christian perspective right now, try these links:
- the christian survivalist: a biblical view of preparedness - 7. eschatology and christian preparedness- will we be raptured outta here prior to things getting “really bad”? or will we be like israel, judah and 2000 yrs. of church history and go through a time of great suffering? ...
- Viking Preparedness: Christian Preparedness - Don't Worry - Christian Preparedness - Don't Worry. A reader recently posed the question, “How do you justify preparedness in light of what Jesus said as recorded in Matthew 6:25 – 34?” Here is what Jesus said: Therefore I say unto you, ...
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