While the World is Going Crazy. . . A Message From My Heart

I know a lot of the posts lately, have been geared more toward gardening.  While gardening is what I’m learning a LOT about right now, it’s also been good because I’ve had several guest posts about it.  I wanted to let you all know what is going on in my life right now and share my heart about the craziness that is going on in the world.

I’m going to start with my heart about what is going on in this world right now.  If you’re interested in what’s going on in my life and why things have been a little slow around here, you can find that later in the post.

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What’s the Matter With Everyone?!?

Covid Craziness

I know I’m not the only one who feels this way.  It feels like the world has devolved into an abyss from which we are having a hard time digging out.  Covid Craziness has overtaken much of the nation!  I know this is a VERY divisive issue and people that I genuinely love and care about are on the other side of this issue.  But the more I read, the more I am of the belief that this is about the equivalent to a bad flu season.

Our Communication Has Lost Its Kindness 

As a nation, we have also lost a lot of our humanity.  People that I might have disagreed with on occasion have gone off the deep end – NOT strictly in what they believe (though there are some of those too), but MORE how they treat those around them.

I’ve snoozed so many people on Facebook – some multiple times.  Why?  Because they aren’t just decided in what they believe, but because they vilify anyone that doesn’t agree with them.  Civil conversations are gone and have been replaced with something akin to “If you don’t agree with me IN EVERYTHING, you’re my enemy.”  In general, as a nation, we’ve stooped that low.

A great example of this right now is Ruth Bader Ginsberg.  I absolutely disagree with the political stance that she took on many things, but that doesn’t mean that I need to disparage her right now.  Did I agree with her, not at all.  But you also won’t see me posting unkind or rude things about her.  Most of the time I remain silent on divisive issues (even if I have a very decided opinion) because I want to be seen as someone who really is kind.

Pandemic for Political Gain

Our movements are being restricted and jobs are being destroyed in the name of “keeping everyone safe.”  We are either made to feel like we’re rebellious or a pariah if we don’t wear a mask.  Many of us feel very comfortable without them.   Now, this might not be WHY this craziness originated, but the end result is that we are being conditioned to obey the government unquestioningly.  Don’t believe me?  In the “free country” of Australia, people are being arrested for protesting against the government restrictions.

While in our own country, people are being told that they can’t worship in a building.  At the same time,  democratic legislators block legislation which would help quell the violence, looting, and destruction.

Grocery Store Shortages 

I’m a part of several prepper groups online and I keep an eye on them to see how things are going in different parts of the country.  There are places in our nation where groceries are hard to come by.  There are other (fewer places) where grocery stocks are normal.  Here in central Illinois, we still have fewer packages of toilet paper on the shelves.  Most of the canned goods are still limited quantities.   Stocking up is definitely more difficult than it was before Covid hit.

What Do We Do?

So how do we – rightly – answer everything going on?

(1) Be Kind

I don’t care who you are or what you believe – there are MANY, MANY people on the other side of that argument who are just as ardent about their beliefs.  Be kind!  When you talk to people and you vehemently disagree with them?  Be kind in how you express it!

I’ve been reading a book called Tools for Titans recently. One of the people that Tim Ferriss highlighted a woman named Gabby Reece.  She said this,

“I always say that I’ll go first. . . . That means if I’m checking out at the store, I’ll say hello first.  If I’m coming across somebody and make eye contact, I’ll smile first.  [I wish] people would experiment with that in their life a little bit.  Be first — not all times, but more times — it comes in your favor.”

It’s a great way to practice being kind.

(2) Shine Your Light 

If you’re a Christian – “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  –  Matthew 5:16.  Do you live in a way that your love of the Lord is evident to everyone around you?  I’m not saying are you perfect in it, but it is real and tangible?  If it isn’t – ask the Lord to work that in you.

(3) Get Prepared

Well, duh!  But how do you get prepared?  Whether you believe like me that this Covid craziness is about our par as a bad flu season or you think this is a real pandemic akin to ebola, we’re going to have to deal with more shortages and long lines at the grocery store.

Assess what you have and what you need NOW and start filling out those items before more craziness ensues.  Don’t wait until your state or county goes further into lock-down mode.  What grocery items do you need?  Personal care items?  Sanitation items?  Personal Protection Equipment?  What fall and winter items will you need?  What garden items will you need for spring?  Get all of your ducks in a row NOW.

(4) Start DOING Preparedness

Just having stuff in your house isn’t being prepared.  Preparedness is what you learn and practice – as much as – if not MORE than the ‘stuff’ you have lying around your basement.

Have you tried to garden – at all?  I don’t mean can you feed your family for a week, a month, or a year from your garden.  Have you even tried putting seeds into the ground to see what happens for YOU?  It’s just craziness to think that you’ll never have gardened before and somehow you’ll be able to garden a year’s worth of food for your family with no prior experience.

Have you read through a book like Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs?  If so, have you actually READ it so that you know what you need and how to use it?  It does you no good to have a bunch of herbs if you don’t know what to do with them.

Have you ever pressure canned or water-bath canned?  If you’ve never pressure canned, take time to start learning!

Overwhelmed and don’t know where to start?  Sign up for my newsletter.  This next week, I’m going to be offering a tool only to my subscribers that you may want to get in on!  This tool will help take the overwhelm and guesswork out of preparedness.

So What’s Been Going on in My Life?

And Why Haven’t You Heard from Me as Much?

Busy anyone?

My life has been filled with craziness and gotten incredibly busy.  I’ve always been a busy person by nature.  I like to be doing – or at least doing certain things.  That hasn’t changed.  I like to create.  And to that end, I’ve been working on a lot of “behind the scenes” types of things lately.  I’ve got an exciting new tool that I’m getting ready to beta test here shortly.  Join my newsletter to get in on the test.  I’ve been incredibly busy behind the scenes!

Church life 

My husband has recently moved from being an elder of our little church to being the pastor of our church.  We are changing the church’s name, casting a vision, trying to find a new location to meet.  There’s a lot going on, and I’m in the middle of it because my husband also works full time for another ministry in the area.  I’m his ‘hands and feet’ to help him get things done.  We are also opening our home up weekly (and sometimes twice weekly) to our congregation.  And figuring out how we’re going to do outreach in the midst of all of our craziness.

Running the house

Besides that, I really do run our house.  I make sure things get done that need done.  Do repairs need to be scheduled?  That falls to me.  Doctors and dentist appointments need to be scheduled and driven to.  I’m “the woman.”  I make sure that my kids and mom make it to their appointments on time.  I do the shopping, organizing, household projects, and most of the preparedness projects.

Investing in myself

I also try to invest in myself by reading different books that will enrich my life.

Right now, my reading list consists of Tools for Titans, Messy Beautiful Friendship (reread for church book study), The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs, I’m More than Just a Pastor’s Wife, A Year Without the Grocery Store (Reading it aloud – we’ve got an audiobook that will launch at the end of this year –  WOOHOO!)  This is another of those “behind the scenes projects that I’ve been working on.

Preparedness Learning 

I don’t care if you’ve been in preparedness for twenty years, there are always new things that you need to learn.  I’m enjoying learning about different herbs and how I can support my family’s health with them.  I’m also enjoying learning about God’s creation and how to understand my surroundings so I can find my way out if something happens and I get lost.

Doing Preparedness

I’m getting ready to put a greenhouse in our garage.  I know that sounds counter-intuitive to put a greenhouse in the garage, but we’re going to use it to start out own plants for next spring.  I have grow-lights and a heater to aid in the process.  But in order to be able to set up the greenhouse, I had to clean out the garage.  It took me an entire month – not because it was THAT bad, but because I was THAT busy.  The new tool that I’ve developed has helped keep me on track though to make sure that the project actually got done.

We’ve been here for three years, and we’ve finally decided on a water catchment system design, and we’re in the midst of planning for that so that we can continue gathering the materials.

We’ve expanded our “orchard” to include 2 more apple trees and 2 elderberry bushes, bringing our total to 6 fruit trees and 3 fruit bushes.

The Craziness of Running My Business

So I’ve been working on my business.  We have an audio version of A Year Without the Grocery Store that will be debuting around the end of the year.  It will also include printable versions of the recipes from the book.

I have a new tool that is going into beta testing in October with the hopes of launching it around January 1st.

I have also been writing another book.  This book has been ‘eating my lunch!’  I organized and wrote, and set it aside.  Then I tried to pick it up again and didn’t like it.  So I did some more thinking and brainstorming, and I’ve completely revamped it.  While I’m not starting from scratch, I’ve got a lot of rewriting to do of the parts that I’ve already written.

I’ve also been taking a course to help me better serve you all.  While it isn’t overwhelming, it is another thing on my plate.

My favorite part of running my business though is getting to hear from my readers.  I’ve had about 3-4 e-mails each week from people who are joining us, and I love getting to hear what’s going on in your lives, or hearing what your preparedness victories or challenges are, or even being able to point people in a good direction for advice.  Whatever the reason, I had so enjoyed getting to dialogue with you all.

So now you know why I’ve been a bit more silent lately.

What About You?

Do you have tips on how to deal with the craziness in our country right now?  Or on a different note, how are you all doing?  How are your lives going?  What has been keeping you busy lately?  Do you have and preparedness victories or problems that you want to share?  Let us know below in the comment section so that we can all be better prepared.

Let’s Love, Learn, Practice, and Overcome!