Jim Rickards- Currency War Simulation

on December 7, 2012 at 4:05 am
Posted In: Economy, Potential Threats

Jim Rickards- Currency War Simulation

jim rickards

The Pentagon and the CIA often run simulations for different types of war and disaster scenarios. In terms of money spent and overall preparedness, the number one prepper in the world is the United States government. They have spent trillions on self preservation and planning for every contingency. While no one knows for sure , it is estimated that Mount Weather cost over $1 billion to construct. Mount Weather is one of many US government underground doomsday bunkers designed for continuity of government. Other underground doomsday bunkers operated by the government include Cheyenne Mountain Air force Station. There are several others that we simply can not know about. In addition to the bunkers, the president has his own fleet of bug out planes. I am not talking about Air Force 1 or Marine 1, I am talking about the fleet of 3 EMP proof, radiation proof doomsday planes.

The culmination of all of the government’s planning and research which was paid for by the American tax payer is to recommend that you keep 3 days worth of food and water on hand. Here at Prepper Recon, we believe that is a bit disingenuous. With all that has been spent to ensure the survival of the government, it seems they would recommend a little more. We will take advantage of any chance we get to relay the information they are working with to you. After all, you paid for the information. Then you can make your own informed decision about how many days worth of food and water you should have on hand.

Rickards is a well respected expert in the field of finance.

The CIA and Pentagon use people who are experts in their field to to run financial disaster simulations. One of the people they use is Jim Rickards. Jim Rickards is the author of Currency Wars and has an excellent understanding of global currency markets. In this simulation that was presented to the government, Jim explains different catastrophes that could cause a global currency crisis. This presentation  shows how China uses sovereign wealth funds to purchase futures contracts on gold. Those contracts could be executed at any given time and cause a shortage of physical gold.

Currency War Simulation

Perhaps it is time to consider adding gold and silver to your preparedness plan.
If any of these situation were to ever materialize, silver and gold would be the best possible form of insurance that you could have bought. Besides these scenarios, there are a myriad of other catastrophic events that could take place which would cripple the dollar. Gold and silver would also be a good hedge against those risks. But lets say Jim Rickards is completely wrong and none of these threats ever come to be. Let’s say we are able to continue on printing money with impunity.  Let’s say we can continue on the same path of total fiat currency we have been on for the past 40 years. Perhaps the powers that be can manipulate and maneuver this same strategy for the next 40 years. Then what is to become of the money I have “wasted” on Gold?

Well, let’s mirror the performance of the last 40 years to the next. If you bought an ounce of gold in 1972, you paid $38. It is now valued roughly at $1,750. If it were to grow at the same rate over the next 40 years, it will be worth $80,500. Wow, do you think Apple stock will preform that well? If you do decide that gold and silver are right for your situation, don’t go overboard. 10 to 20% of your total asset allocation is what is generally recommended. Don’t buy everything at once. Spreading your purchases out over time will keep you from buying everything at the top of the market.

I currently hold a degree in Accounting and am perusing a degree in Finance. I mention my investment strategies from time to time, however, I am not a financial adviser and I don’t make specific recommendations on these posts. Everyone’s situation is different and therefore everyone’s investment style is going to be different. Before investing in any instrument, you should fully understand the instrument and the risks associated with it. All investing is inherently risky and can lose money.

Happy Prepping!

 

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Ohio Food Stamps Cut/ Will We See Riots Like Greece?

on December 5, 2012 at 3:43 am
Posted In: Economy

Ohio’s Hope in  The False “Profit” ends in  $50 food stamp cut.

profit

 

“The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office. Their principal device to that end is to search out groups who pant and pine for something they can’t get and to promise to give it to them. Nine times out of ten that promise is worth nothing. The tenth time is made good by looting A to satisfy B. In other words, government is a broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods.” H. L. Mencken

It seems the modern messiah of the masses has fallen short on his promise. The Toledo Blade has just reported that Ohio’s food stamp recipients will be getting a $50 a month cut to benifits. After falling for a campaign that promised a robbinhoodesque economic policy of wealth redistribution, Ohio will be asked to get by on a little less. Those who had hope to profit from the false prophet are receiving their due. I do not mean to sound heartless for those that truly can not provide for themselves. However, I do not believe that charity is the role of the government. There are very few things that The Constitution  has tasked the government with doing. Charity is certainly not one of them. This is the role of the Church, who, without the bureaucracy of the government, can discern between the truly needy and the lazy.

There are about 869,000 households in Ohio who receive food stamps. This will reduce the drag on the Ohio government spending by about $520 million a year. In Florida, I have never seen anyone with an EBT card (food stamp card) using coupons. Evidently there has not been a need to. And if there is no need to, why do it? After all, they didn’t have to work for that money. Why should they put any effort into saving it. When charity comes from the government, it is easier to forget that “the government” is made up of the people. Someone else had to do without the money they worked for in order for you to get something you did not work for.When charity is dispensed from the Church, the recipient sees a human face that they can connect with. They more readily understand that it required a sacrifice on someone else’s part.

On a positive note, couponing is a quick way for Ohio food stamp recipients to increase their buying power. Our household receives no government assistance but our budget requires Mrs. Recon to vigilantly clip coupons to make ends meet. She keeps the two of us very well feed on $200 a month. That also includes the cost of storing emergency food. She does that by matching buy one get one deals with manufacturer and store coupons. She has listed several resources in our Coupon Corner page.

Could these austerity measures blow up like they have in Greece?

At some point, all government entitlements will have to be cut. The money to sustain them simply is not there. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in Ohio. Similar austerity measures certainly have  not went well in Greece. I fear we have fostered a culture that feels very entitled to what they have not earned. To deny them of it may prove to be quite disastrous. This could easily spark civil unrest among the entitled as it has in Greece and Spain. The major difference between us and Europe is that we are a much more inherently violent culture. Being prepared is getting to be a better idea by the day. At a minimum, have a one month supply of food and a means of defending your life and property.

Have a blessed day and happy prepping!

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Peter Schiff on Capital Account/ The Dollar Crash

on December 3, 2012 at 4:27 am
Posted In: Economy, Potential Threats

Peter Schiff on Capital Account

Peter Schiff

 

Peter Schiff is the guest on this edition of Capital Account. Peter Schiff is the author of several books including “Crash Proof” and his latest book “The Real Crash”. I have read both and both were excellent reads. Peter Schiff accurately dissects the fiscal dilemma that we are in In both books. He points outs ways you can get financially prepared for economic collapse. Peter is also well known for having predicted the collapse of 2008 housing bubble several years before it popped. Peter Schiff is the CEO of Euro Pacific Capital which is a wealth management and precious metals company. He  has a daily talk radio show which is available to listen or download free at Schiff Radio.com.

Capitol Account is a finance show produced by RT. They bring the guest rarely seen on Bloomberg, CNBC, and FOX Business. Lauren Lister, the host of Capitol Account, brings  full length interviews with her guests rather than sound bite snippets. Capitol Account is on Monday through Friday on RT or can be seen via their YouTube channel.

In this interview, Peter Schiff discusses why we have not yet seen hyperinflation yet. He also explains that whether we see hyperinflation or simply high inflation, the economy is in grave danger. Peter explains that the current inflation metrics are skewed to reflect much less inflation than is actually occurring.

Lauren asks Peter Schiff why we have not seen US Treasury bond yields go up over the past years. Peter explains that the bond market is irrational and in a bubble which is hard to predict when it will pop. As we mentioned before, Peter did accurately predict the collapse of the housing bubble, so he is worth paying attention to.

Lauren Lister Interviews Peter Schiff on Capitol Account

I hope you enjoyed this interview and found it informative. If you are new to prepping or would like to learn more, read our 7 Step Preparedness Plan which focuses on prepping on a budget.

 

Happy Prepping!

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Complacency- Sunday Prepper Bible Study- Proverbs 1:32

on December 2, 2012 at 4:26 am
Posted In: Bible

Complacency- Sunday Prepper Bible Study

complacency

Proverbs 1:32  “For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them”

Complacency is defined as a  feeling of contentment or self-satisfaction, especially when coupled with an unawareness of danger, trouble, or controversy. After reading this definition, we can see how deadly complacency can be. We live in a culture that is steeped in complacency and God’s Word has already predicted how that will turn out.

As preppers, we must guard against complacency. We must ever be vigilant and on the watch. After several years of prepping, it is tempting to begin to doubt the necessity of continuing to build your preps. Sometimes we can think that the masses might be right. Maybe nothing will happen and everything will go on as it has. This thought actually has a more technical name. It is called Normalcy Bias. Normalcy Bias is what causes people to believe that something won’t happen to them, because it hasn’t happened to them before.  It is a fancy word for complacency. Even though our government is running trillion dollar deficits every year, people believe that the dollar is solid because they have never witnessed a currency collapse before. There are swarms of professionals sounding the alarm about the impending crisis but the general public chooses to stick their heads in the sand.

Many people, myself included, have been astonished by the ability of the Treasury and the Fed to keep up the current level of borrowing and spending with out serious economic consequences. The BLS has co-conspired to keep us believing, against all common sense, that inflation rates are low. Despite their manipulation of the numbers, we can see how much more we are paying at the grocery store. Even products that have not risen in price have lost volume, there by raising the cost per unit.

Several people like Porter Stansbury have made predictions of the timing of the collapse. In his End Of America videos, he predicted the crash in 2011, then 2012. His latest video now simply states it will be in the next 12 months.  Most of the things he says in the video is true. It is a very good synopsis of what is wrong. However, when listening to people who try to time the coming crisis, it is easy to make mistakes. If you became a sold out true believer of Porter in 2011, you are now on your 3rd year of living in your bunker and are probably running out of supplies. Some of those dedicated followers may also be leery of prepping at all. Despite the fact that economic instability is at an all time high some of these people have returned to complacency.Because they feel like they were made a fool of, they have now become complacent about the true state of our economy.

Continue to be watchful and prayerful. Keep prepping. Do what you can when you can to keep building a better foundation of readiness. Pray that God will help you make the right decisions to best position yourself for what ever the future may bring.  If you are new to prepping, check out our 7 Step Preparedness Plan. It focuses on preparing on a budget and being ready for every possibility.

The most important prep of all is knowing GOD. In the Bible, Jesus said “what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his own soul?” Prepper translation: “What good will it do you to survive the coming economic collapse, nuclear war or even a zombie apocalypse if you don’t know you will go to heaven when you die?” A recent study found that 10 out of 10 people die! On that day we will meet our Maker. It only makes sense to be prepared for that day. Click here to learn more about knowing GOD.

Happy Prepping!

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“Last Light”- Book Review

on November 30, 2012 at 3:20 am
Posted In: Book Review

“Last Light” by Terri Blackstock – Book Review

“Last Light” is the first book of four in Terri Blackstock’s “Restoration” series. It begins with Doug Branning picking up his daughter Denny at the airport. Just minutes after she gets off her plane, other planes begin to fall out of the sky.  The fireball from the explosion narrowly misses Doug and Denny. They are in shock from the incident, but wonder where the fire and rescue vehicles are. The entire airport is in total chaos. As they get to their car to get away from the madness, it becomes apparent that no cars are functioning. The first thought is “terrorism”. They are force to walk home to their upper middle class home in the suburbs of Huntington Alabama.

After some close calls and minor scuffles, Doug and Denny finally get home to find that the rest of the Branning family has also managed to make it home safely. They scramble to ensure their immediate safety.The event seems to have been some type of EMP. Its precise nature is not fully disclosed until the beginning of the second book.

By the second night, chaos is already running rampant. People in the neighborhood are being robbed and killed. Everyone begins to suspect each other as desperation takes hold. The Branning family begins to stand guard with the limited  firepower they have.

If you have read “Patriots” by James Wesley Rawles, you have seen how a prepared group of individuals react to a complete breakdown. “Last Light” is the polar opposite of “Patriots” as most of the characters in this book have scarcely thought about having groceries for Morrow, much less provisions for a catastrophe of this magnitude.

“Last Light” is a great book and is also available as an audio book. You can listen while you work out or while you are working in the garden.  You will find that you begin to think about the level of your preps as you consider how well you are prepared for the situations of the characters in the book. Terri Blackstone is a Christian author and you won’t have to worry about illicit sex scenes, F words or The name of GOD being used as a curse word. Books that contain those elements are not reviewed by Prepper Recon.com

Have a blessed day and happy prepping!

 

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Prepper Communications

on November 28, 2012 at 4:44 am
Posted In: Prepping

Prepper Communications

Communication  is key in a disaster situation. However, cell phone and internet service are unreliable after serious catastrophes. My area is prone to hurricanes. The high winds topple trees which take down power lines. The winds also take down communication towers used for cell phones and radio transmission. Other areas that have frequent tornadoes experience similar service outages. Those who live on the west coast have to deal with earthquakes which also cripple communication infrastructure. Adequate preparation for these events require some type of back up communication.

Besides these disasters, there is the chance that we experience a serious economic meltdown in the near future. No one can say just how bad it will be as these things are difficult to predict. We can look at past experiences and make some projections, but a level of uncertainty remains. The economic collapse in Argentina in 2001 is a relatively good model to work with because it was a recent event and we also share similar issues with excessive money printing. After the Argentinian collapse, crime rates skyrocketed. Robberies and kidnapping became a common occurrence. Police were overwhelmed and unable to contend with the rise in criminal activity.

We are already beginning to see signs of this type of social breakdown in cities like Detroit and Chicago. If you saw the  video of people fighting over cheap phones at Wal-Mart on Black Friday, you know the veneer of a civilized society is very thin. It won’t take much to shatter that veneer and plunge our nation into chaos. I believe most preppers have considered this and have began to make preparations to defend their lives and property.  Getting your guns and ammo squared away is a great first step to prepare for this situation. The second step should be to get adequate communications.

Whether you are bugging out to the country or are forced to shelter in place, you will need to run security patrols to cover all the possible angles of attack. If you get caught in the city or the suburbs, you may have neighbors who are armed and willing to commit some time to securing your neighborhood. Besides the guns,  you will need communications in order for your security plan  to be effective. For example, you could have two patrols at each end of the street that are blocked off as a check point for anyone entering or leaving the street. As long as you have radio communications, if either team has trouble they can call for back up from the other patrol or from a main security post.

If you are in a more rural area, you will need communications for at least one person to be on patrol or at an observation post and one other to be at the main house. The person at the observation post can put in a call over a hand held radio to the main house to give early warning of impending danger. This allows everyone in the house to man their battle stations.

communications

For our communications, we purchased Midland GXT 1000s FRS/GMRS 50 channel two way radios. They have a maximum range of 36 miles which is the top end of the radios in this price range. They also came with head sets and rechargeable battery cells and a standard 2 radio charger as well as a car charger. They will also operate on 4 AA batteries in the case of a power outage where you are unable to recharge the cells that were included. They have several different  privacy settings for group communication or private person to person calls within  a group. They also pick up NOAA weather radio service. I have not tested the 36 mile range. I suspect that it would only be possible if you were talking on top of a mountain with someone else on top of a mountain, with no mountains in between. The head sets are nice. They pick up your voice very clearly. Using the push to talk feature on the headsets and pressing the mike to your lips allows the person on the other end  to hear the faintest whisper. The voice activation feature did not function in a manor that would be practical to use. It doesn’t begin to transmit until you have already started talking and it cuts out before you finish. The push to talk feature worked just fine and it is available on the headset or on the handset. All the other features met or exceeded our expectations.

These radios are very affordable at $50 including shipping and available from Amazon through the link on the right side bar.  To get a better communication solution than these, expect to spend a lot more money. If you go with something cheaper, you will likely sacrifice the range, privacy settings and headsets. Just like guns, ammo, and long term food storage, these types of items are easy to get now, but may become very scarce after an economic collapse. Here is a link to Chapter 5 of FM 24-19, The army radio operating procedures. I hope you find it useful.

Happy Prepping!

 

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Lessons From The Crash of 1929

on November 26, 2012 at 4:57 am
Posted In: Economy, Potential Threats

Lessons From The Crash of 1929

crash

It has been said that history may not repeat itself, but it certainly rhymes. In 1929, the American stock market faced the worst crash it had ever seen and has seen since. In the years leading up to the 1929 crash, the stock market grew without restraint. It grew due to easy credit which traders were able to use to buy stocks on margin. Everyone who was anyone was borrowing money from the banks to make leveraged investments in the market. This easy credit allowed a bubble to form. Stock prices went up and up without the fundamental principles or strong earnings and fair multiples to support the high prices. Several traders began to sound the alarm that prices were unrealistically high and a major correction was long over due. They were dismissed as party poopers and generally ignored.

This video is a 45 minute documentary of the 1929 Crash. It features lots of great facts and commentary. I hope you enjoy it.

Finally, confidence eroded and the inevitable run on stocks began. On Wednesday October 23, 1929, the crash was initiated. Big bankers like  Whitney, Morgan, and Rockefeller purchased large blocks of blue chip stocks to re-instill confidence in the markets. Despite their best efforts, the market lost nearly 25% of its total value over the following Monday and Tuesday. By the middle of 1932, the market dropped to 41.22. That represented a 89% loss from its 1929 high of 381.77. To put it into today’s numbers, it would be a drop of the Dow from 13,000 to 1,430.

The wealth that had been eroded by the crash left America paralyzed. Banks closed their doors as there was no money to give to depositors who demanded their cash from their accounts. More than 2,000 banks closed to never reopen. This hit Main St. Those who had avoided the losses in the market by depositing money in the banks lost everything as well. Companies began to close and cut labor costs through layoffs and the Great Depression began. Poverty reigned in America until the end of World War II.

Lesson #1

This time is not different. Carmen Rienhart and Ken Rogoff recently wrote “This Time is Different, 8 Centuries of Financial Folly”. It chronicles the bubbles and currency collapses from around the globe from the past 800 years. The common thread is that the people in power and the traders involved all seem to think this time will be different. But it is always the same. Leveraged speculation leads to overvalued asset prices which form bubbles that eventually pop. Governments continue to spend beyond their means in hope of creating a recovery, but debt weakens the confidence in the currency and it collapses. Only the names have changed from the 1929 crash, the 2008 crash, and the coming bond and derivative crash.

Lesson #2

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. In the 1929 crash, many speculators had every dime to their name tied up in the market. When the market crashed, they lost it all. Others had total trust in the banks. When the run on the banks began, they were unable to retrieve their deposits. You may be thinking “we don’t have to worry about that because we now have the FDIC.”  FDR instituted the FDIC to insure depositors against bank runs. So if they say it will be there, we can believe them. Let’s check that out. It turns out the the total held by the FDIC in that insurance fund is around 11 Billion.  This is insuring deposits in US banks that total nearly 5 trillion dollars being held in just the top 10 banks. So .002% of the deposits would be covered in a run. Of course the government will back the fund, but by the time it could be printed and delivered, it would be nearly worthless. I recommend keeping some cash in a secure location besides an FDIC insured account. I recommend not putting all of your retirement nest egg into the market, if it fails like it did in 1929, you will never recover what you lose. Never invest more than you are willing to lose. Putting some portion into precious metals is a good idea, but not everything. Remember, FDR also outlawed gold in Executive Order 6102. Don’t think this clown in the White House now would hesitate to do it again.

We have solved none of the problems that started the 2008 crisis. We have only managed to avoid some of the inevitable pain. Banks that were considered too big to fail have been packaged into bigger banks that are now too big to bail. US debt has risen 60% in the past 4 years and we are devaluing the dollar by printing 500 billion a year into existence through QE3. No one can say how long we have, we only know our day of reckoning is coming.

If you are new to prepping or would like to learn more, read our 7 Step Preparedness Plan to mitigate the effects of the coming collapse.

Happy prepping!

 

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Sunday Prepper Bible Study- Contentment

on November 25, 2012 at 3:20 am
Posted In: Bible

Sunday Prepper Bible Study- Contentment

I Timothy 6:6-8

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 

contentment

Learning to follow this Bible verse can be a great asset. Being content with having our needs met is a skill that is often overlooked by preppers. We have just passed a holiday that was intended to be an opportunity to express our gratitude to God for what he has blessed us with. We saw our society take one more step closer to greed and one step farther from contentment this year as stores opened earlier than last year. It is a sad commentary on our general demise as a nation. Once again, the black Friday headlines were of pandemonium at Wal-Marts around the country. There were stories of  gunfire, gang fights and  people being ran over. The following  video is of people climbing on top of each other for a cheap phone. I am sure they all have a phone already, but greed has them in a frenzy. I am sure things will be much more civilized when the collapse comes and these are the last few loaves of bread rather than phones that aren’t a true need!

The desire to keep up with the Jones is a trap. Frantic obsessions with getting the latest gadget at a bargain has led the people in the video above to put their lives at risk. In the past years, people have been trampled to death on Black Friday. The drive to have more and more puts many people in credit card debt as they make purchases that they can not afford. Learning to live within your means is the base of a good prepper plan. I believe the biggest threat our nation faces is a catastrophic financial crisis. Those who have the least debt and have managed to save every penny will be the best positioned to weather the storm. Those who have already learned to follow the words of the Bible  and have learned to be content with having food and clothes will be the least affected. Those already not content with their standard of living will face the additional shock of a collapsing economy. The effect will be exacerbated by their lack of savings and credit card debt.

One of the best ways to learn to be content with what you have is give to those less fortunate. Samaritans Purse has a Christmas catalog which allows you to purchase and  donate clothing, animals, Bibles, water filters, food and other  essentials to people in other parts of the globe that have absolutely nothing. In allowing God to use you to help them out of their poverty, you will be blessed as He opens your eyes to how much you have. I pray that you will meditate on this Bible verse this week and reflect on how much God has blessed you.

If you are new to prepping or would like to learn more about how to prepare for tomorrow, please read our 7 Step Preparedness Plan. Come back every Sunday for a new Prepper Bible Study!

The most important prep of all is knowing GOD. In the Bible, Jesus said “what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his own soul?” Prepper translation: “What good will it do you to survive the coming economic collapse, nuclear war or even a zombie apocalypse if you don’t know you will go to heaven when you die?” A recent study found that 10 out of 10 people die! On that day we will meet our Maker. It only makes sense to be prepared for that day. Click here to learn more about knowing GOD.

Happy Prepping!

 

 

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“The Christian Preppers Handbook” Book Review

on November 23, 2012 at 4:19 am
Posted In: Book Review

“The Christian Prepper’s Hand Book”  Book Review

book

 

“The Christian Prepper’s Handbook” by Zion Prepper is a great guide book for those who are just starting out in prepping. The author has covered all of the basics in an easy to remember manner. Beginners often find prepping to be overwhelming. This book simplifies prepping to three basic categories of Food/Water, Heat/Shelter, and Protection. Zion Prepper has broken down preparedness into easy to swallow bites.

Each chapter of the book  begins with a quote from the original survival manual, The Bible. The book also covers some great uses of herbs as home remedies. To list a few:

Basil: Can be used as an antibacterial and anti- inflammatory.

Chamomile: Can be used to relax muscles, relieve stress, and aid in healing from burns and wounds.

Cilantro: An immune system booster and will relieve gas. ( I guess that is why they use so much of it in Mexican Food)

Dill: Helps prevent cancer.

Oregano: Alleviates diarrhea and constipation as well as relieves headaches.

Zion Prepper talks a lot about his own journey in becoming a prepper. He states that he began to see the need to prepping on 9/11. He relates a story from Upstate NY after 9/11. During the panic, one gas station attendant abandoned his station. He locked up the station but left the pumps on. The only people who were able to get gas were those with credit cards who could pay at the pump. We often advise people to always have cash in case of power outages, but this is a good example of needing a variety of solutions to cover different scenarios.

Like Prepper Recon, The Prepper’s Handbook advocates the use of coupons to build your stockpile and reserve monetary resources to be saved or used on other preps. This is the one thing everyone can do. No matter how limited your budget is, you can take advantage of coupons to buy a little extra each time you go to the grocery. Check out our Coupon Corner for sites that will do all of the work for you. They will tell you what is on sale and where to get the coupons to match up with the sales.

“The Christian Prepper’s Handbook ” would make a great Christmas gift for your family or friends that you are trying to get on board with prepping. It is also a great resource for beginning preppers. The book is available from Amazon through the link on the right. You can also check out Zion Preppers YouTube channel for some great prepping tips.

Happy Prepping!

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Happy Thanksgiving/ Charlie Brown Mayflower Voyagers

on November 21, 2012 at 4:21 am
Posted In: Constitution

Happy Thanksgiving !

thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is exactly what it sounds like. It is a time for giving thanks for what we have. It is a tradition handed down to Americans by their forefathers who left England in 1620 in search of religious freedom. 102 Pilgrims left their homes to risk life and limb. They risked all to come to a foreign land of which little was known. They had to learn to work together and to be truly self sufficient.

The pilgrims were great examples to preppers. Jack Spirko of The Survival Podcast defines Prepping as preparing to survive with out systems of support. The word “Prepper” had no meaning among the pilgrims, because all were required to be self sufficient with absolutely no systems of support outside of the blessings of God.  They learned to produce everything themselves. They learned to build and to grow food. They learned to raise livestock and to hunt in an environment they had never seen before. They also learned the value of community and to cooperate with  the native people. Less than half of the original pilgrims survived the first winter, but those that did held to their faith. With the help of the natives, they began to thrive and the next fall, they gave thanks to God for a bountiful harvest. It was the first Thanksgiving.

The video below is a Thanksgiving special  by Charles Schultz. it chronicles the adventure taken by those pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. It is a great program for kids of any age. It is a great reminder of what Thanksgiving and America are all about. Unfortunately, we have forgotten much of the message of Thanksgiving. Instead of a day to reflect and be grateful for what we have, Black Friday has turned into a day where we focus on greed and what we don’t have. For the past few years, people have lost their lives trying to save $20 on a toaster or $50 on a TV. This year, many stores like Wal Mart are opening on Thanksgiving Day. They are denying their employees the opportunity to enjoy an American holiday with their friends and family. They also entice weak minded individuals with no sense of gratitude to give up their day of thanks for a day of greed.

thanksgiving

The religious freedom that the pilgrims sacrificed so much for has been stifled as well. The Bible has been banned from our schools and the 10 commandments from our courts. With out the moral absolutes found in God’s laws, our society has made it’s own law and done as it pleases. The result has been violence, drug addiction, broken homes and rebellious children. Psalms 127 says “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” I fear much of the sacrifice that has been made for this once great nation will be in vain unless we return to our God.

Charlie Brown Thanksgiving/ The Mayflower Voyagers Special

Remember to be thankful for all we have this Thanksgiving and everyday. Remember the God who made us great and would love to restore us to our former glory if we would return to Him.

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy prepping!

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