Famine

[RamboPreacher]

MRE's are great food!

[Full Quiver]

Paul, are you going to tell me that Joseph's brethren, his dad, and the entire family did not leave their homeland and come to Egypt in order to survive? Joesph and his brethren were the actual children of Israel. Israel himself died in Egypt after having come there to survive.

[Pastor Bill]

I didn't mean to imply that stock piling was a Biblical theme but was going against the argument of God is my provider. He provided for the children of Israel because Joseph stockpiled. Joseph was WISE!

Anyhow, it's just a discussion and not an immediate situation.

I agree, but I don't see that as going against the concept of God being our provider, God provided to him in that stock piling. He was LEAD to do this, and I think that is the important thing, to be led of God. Other times biblically stockpiling was going against His wishes (think of the manna collected in the wilderness).

[teach]

I've stockpiled internally. I'll be around for a while.

I think that DeWayne was making fun of himself, and not really talking about actually stockpiling food...

wendy k

[Alan]

I've stockpiled internally. I'll be around for a while.

I think that DeWayne was making fun of himself, and not really talking about actually stockpiling food...

wendy k

Well hasn't anyone ever noticed how many preachers are overweight? There are a lot of us who have been "stockpiling".

[Tracy]

I've been thinking about these issues lately. We are, in our culture, a kind of experiment so to speak. Most of us rely totally on corporations to truck our food about 1,500 miles to get to us. We are not self-sufficient in the least. When in history has this ever happened? It seems as though all through history, people have been producers, not just consumers, of food. ( Add to that the fact that most of the food we eat is industrial, unhealthy, and when it is meat, produced at the expense of intense misery and suffering of confinement animals.)

Much knowledge concerning self-sufficiency has been lost in one generation. I've heard stats to the effect that if a crisis happened, the store shelves would be empty in about 12 hours. How many of us could provide for ourselves, let alone our neighbor?

It isn't a sin to do as God's people have pretty much always done--possess knowledge and skills of agrarianism. If a crisis happened, how many of us would be relying on government handouts for survival? Stockpiling and hording food, ammunition, etc., in selfish ways is not of God. But being stewards, wise, prepared, and good caretakers of those in our charge *is*.

It isn't a matter of not trusting God (how many of us have insurance?). It isn't a matter of living in fear (how many of us lock our doors at night?). It is common sense, it seems to me. Being wise. Being prepared. Working with our hands so as not to be burden on anybody.

Well, those are my thoughts. We are working in the direction of being more self-sufficient. It is hard in some ways, because knowledge and skills that used to be naturally passed down from generation to generation (for thousands of years, in every culture), are less common. We would like to rely less on the industrial machine, learn basic agricultural skills and teach them to our children, eat healthier food than what you find at Wal-Mart (most of which is not real food), be prepared if there is an emergency (and be a blessing to others if that happens), and not be just simply consumers--but also producers.

We won't ever be completely self-suffificient. But being just a little bit more is better than nothing.


My 2 cents

Tracy

[forestwalker]

Sounds like you've been reading some interesting stuff Tracy. Dreher or Berry, by chance?

[Tracy]

Sounds like you've been reading some interesting stuff Tracy. Dreher or Berry, by chance?

I don't know who Dreher is, but I will look him up. I've read a teeny bit of Berry--maybe a few pages. However, some friends of ours had him over recently, and served him breakfast!!

We are enjoying what we are learning and doing. And at the same time, there is only so much we can do. My husband works full-time off the farm, so that really limits our time.

[forestwalker]

Sounds like you've been reading some interesting stuff Tracy. Dreher or Berry, by chance?

I don't know who Dreher is, but I will look him up. I've read a teeny bit of Berry--maybe a few pages. However, some friends of ours had him over recently, and served him breakfast!!

I am very, very jealous of your friends. Berry, along with G.K. Chesterton, have been the biggest influences on my thought. They taught me what conservatism actually is.

Here are a couple of good examples of Berry's thought on agriculture (short essays):
Another Turn of the Crank
The Agrarian Standard

And I very highly recommend two of his novels (to start): Hannah Coulter and Jayber Crow. (Caution: some of the characters cuss a bit, but nothing vulgar; you may want to preview before letting the kids read)

You're a homeschooler, right? You might appreciate these, too:
commencement address at granddaughter's high school
Bellmarine University commencement address

[Tracy]

Sounds like you've been reading some interesting stuff Tracy. Dreher or Berry, by chance?

Oh--the crunchy con guy. I'm aware of him, but I haven't read his book.

Ha. I dunno. Maybe I am one. I'll have to read that book!! Have you read it?

[forestwalker]

We are enjoying what we are learning and doing. And at the same time, there is only so much we can do. My husband works full-time off the farm, so that really limits our time.

Are there any CSA farms in your area?

[Tracy]

Thanks for the book recommendations and links!! I have checked some of his books out from the library, but haven't read one all the way through yet.

You can catch some talks of his on YouTube though. Just do a search for his name. I watched him on a panel taped at Berkley.

I've enjoyed reading Michael Pollan. He's not a Christian, but wow is he a great journalist. He was on the same panel with Berry.

[Tracy]

We are enjoying what we are learning and doing. And at the same time, there is only so much we can do. My husband works full-time off the farm, so that really limits our time.

Are there any CSA farms in your area?

I really am not sure. Our Farmer's Market doesn't start til May. It is tricky finding local, clean food.

We are preparing to get a milk cow in May. We went last week, and I milked her and actually got milk to come out!! It was so much fun. We may do cow shares with her milk if we can't handle it all. We raise chickens for meat and eggs, and we have duck eggs. Other than gardening, that is about all we are doing right now. I hope, after we get our cow settled in we can get either a hog or a calf to raise for meat, but we'll have to wait and see. I'll have enough to keep me busy just learning how to care for our milk cow. She is due to calve in September, so that may be our meat calf right there if she has a bull calf.

I'll post a picture. I love her already!!
Sorry the picture is so big. I don't know how to resize.

[MacUser]

Pastorables is set for a while.
Just avoid isle 3. Trust me.

[forestwalker]

Sounds like you've been reading some interesting stuff Tracy. Dreher or Berry, by chance?

Oh--the crunchy con guy. I'm aware of him, but I haven't read his book.

Ha. I dunno. Maybe I am one. I'll have to read that book!! Have you read it?

Yeah, that's him. I skim read his book in the bookstore and read some of his blog most weeks. He's ultimately a bit unimaginative in his politics but has a lot of good stuff to say.