They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly,

Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace.  Jer 6:14

LISTEN TO THIS BLOG HERE

If your doctor found you had a serious, threatening health condition would you want him to tell you? It takes courage to face square on challenging news. Many would rather not know, even refuse to know. God wants you to face issues – and overcome.

Today we are ripping off a band-aid of denial which is covering deeper, infected wounds. We are taking off the blindfold which makes us comfortable by preventing us from seeing the signs of the times. I am re-presenting grave concerns regarding famine coming to the world and to our neighborhoods.

I am asking you to endure the ripping pain, and be bold and courageous, and watch this link which shares alarming information regarding our food infrastructure, primarily from farmers’ perspectives.

It will take courage to watch it. It will take resolve to follow the counsel to prepare seeds and gardens this winter for the coming growing season. In a temporal way this is life and death stuff.

After you watch it I want to remind you that God has called you not to be a coward or survivor but to be a triumphant deliverer for your family and neighbors. This is your Esther moment. This is the reason you were born – not to live a comfortable life, but to minister supernatural, regenerative life to others.

We are preparing for something far more monumental than, famine or war, or pestilance. We are preparing for something Colossally, Infinitely Grand!. The birth pains are bringing forth the grandest baby imaginable –  the Kingdom of God revealed in our Coming Champion and Bridegroom, Jesus Christ!

NOW MY CHALLENGE – WATCH THIS VIDEO, AND RESOLVE TO DO SOMETHING. WE ARE. I HOPE EVERY WAKEFUL SAINT WILL DO THE SAME.

“IT’S WORSE THAN THEY ARE TELLING YOU. HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS WILL STARVE.”

 

Steven C Johnson

Landing Strip Enterprises

 

Read here my short “fiction” story,

THE FAMINE OF 2022 AND 2023

 

LET ME KNOW YOUR PERSPECTIVES AND YOUR RESOLVES FOR ACTION

 

Short-term power outages can be inconvenient, Long term outages deadly!

LISTEN TO THIS BLOG HERE! 

Our Mossyrock, WA Signal Group is sharing how we can be prepared for outages. Most of us can handle power outages for a few hours but how do we prepare for shut-downs for days, and Lord forbid, for weeks or longer? Our electrical grid is more fragile and vulnerable to failures than most realize. Outages can be caused by:

By weather – wind, snow, ice, and wildfires

By earthquakes

Solar flares

Brownouts where the system is overtaxed

By aged systems failing

By physical sabotage, terrorism, or war – including cyber-attacks and EMP’s (Electro-magnetic pulses)

 

LINKS TO SEE

The Black Sky Event documentary

Grid Down Power Up documentary

Items You Need Now Before it’s Too Late: How to Prepare for the Grip Collapse

Ways to Prepare for a Winter Power Outages

 

A SAMPLER OF THINGS WE MAY DISCUSS

 

         What to do when the illumination go out?

This is usually the first thing we notice.

Flashlights (regular battery and rechargeable), lanterns, candles, solar yard lights

 

         How to cook and stay warm?

Warm clothing

Fire wood, gas fire places, propane, white gas or oil.

Heat a limited area and make sure of proper ventilation

A tent indoors many help you stay a little warmer without heat

Share your heated spaces with neighbors or ask neighbor if you can stay with them

Have fire-starters like lighters, matches, striking rods, and flints

Don’t let your pipes freeze

Have back-up stored water, and the ability to gather and purify

 

         If the toilet stops

If city water sewer systems are closed down use chamber pots and outhouses.  

Septic-based toilets can be flushed with buckets. Fill toilet tanks.

 

         When the refrigerator and freezer dosen’t work

Refrigerators keep food cold for about four hours. A full freezer  for about 48.

Avoid opening the doors. Eat the most perishable first.

Move away from needing refrigeration. Find other preservation methods

Generator backup a couple hours at a time with freezer compartment on coldest.

If you have a generator practice running it safely and have fuel to run it.

 

         When your phone and internet stop

Old style land line phone if phone lines are active

Satellite phone

Walkie talkies

CB’s

Ham radio

Battery radio You may use a car radio.

 

         When the banks are closed and cash machines don’t work

Keep cash at home and items for barter

 

         When the grocery is closed

Fall back to your food stores

 

         When the gas stations can’t pump

Have stored gas

Car pool with neighbors

Have good shoes and boots and be use to walking

A good bike

A wagon to move things

 

          Other dominos may fall bringing cascading challenges!

Your place of employment

Internet

Police and fire services

Hospitals and pharmacies

Transportation systems

Delivery trucks and US mail

Oil refineries

Farmers’ irrigation water

 

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS: MOVING FROM PREPARATION TO MINISTRY 

A long-term grid-down situation could cause catastrophic social consequences. In a long-term situation refugees will be looking for water, food and heat. This is a good reason for being a praying Christian, to be prepared, and ready to help others. Remember God loves to display His miraculous, saving grace and will to use you as His grace instrument!

YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!

Steven C Johnson

Landing Strip Enterprises

 

PS If you haven’t yet seen “The Famine of 2022 – 2023” go Here!

 

 

LISTEN TO THIS BLOG HERE

GEESE/INTERCESSORS by Pamela CG Johnson

This morning  I heard the geese. There has been a regular flock flying over our area, low and slow! I think they land in the marsh nearby. 

When we first moved to our property on the river, we came on weekends to rest and pray.  It was so peaceful and we needed it. There began to be 2 geese who landed on our beach, facing the land they would honk and honk. This happened several times when we were present. As an intercessor and prophetic believer, I recognized the call to pray.  It was an all hands-on deck kind of call!

Geese fly in groups and take turns as the point goose to allow the last leader to rest by moving back in the ‘V’. Prophets say they symbolize the intercessors. I agree.

I began asking about prayer in the gatherings I was in. One rather large church had none. Literally none. They made their excuses about busy schedules and folks just didn’t seem interested.

My response, “We have to try!”  And so began a Friday afternoon prayer group. We started on ZOOM. Two years later it’s still going, both in person and on Zoom. Its become a powerful political action prayer for Washington and beyond.

The other group I am involved with is still putsing along. It doesn’t have a focus and often its more about fellowship than actually putting prayer to our words. The positive thing is learning to pray and become more comfortable with the, “humble prayer of a righteous man”. Others have come and started to pray aloud, so valuable. Many burdened hearts have come clean and been encouraged.

One night we were returning from a trip late. It is very dark here in the mountains at night, but there was no mistaking the coyote calls. Loud and near, so near I wondered if they were in our front yard. I knew they were trying to get to the nesting geese. “Alarm, alarm, protect the young, fly and fight!”  I heard myself praying.

Prayer groups were struggling. They just needed training, prophetic insight and deliverance.  And we gathered to assist them in their journey.

So much has changed in the last 4 years for us. A huge move back to the NW, living in West Seattle. Where we made a sweet home for 12 months as we got our lay of the land and figured out where God was opening a space for us. Then the plandemic and all the corruption and evil began to be exposed. Those geese honked and honked, to call the sleepy saints to get busy and pray together.

Others across our nation were already involved in praying for governmental change and actions points. It has only increased and I am pleased. Pleased to see the two geese has become a much larger flock. Since spring they come and nest, honking as they come and go. Then the happy parents gather their goslings on the river and teach them. They learn to fly in those protected places.

As fall approaches more and more geese cross over our area and rest in the protection of the marsh. We are so blessed to encourage prayer and teach the flock. The ones that are injured we show a clear path to health and joy-filled living, covering them as they stretch their wings and fly.

As I heard the geese this morning and took stock in what was and what is today. Big changes, and let us not grow weary as the day approaches. Our Savior hears each one and loves them too. PRAY!

Pamela CG Johnson

 

EMOTIONALLY FREE: LESSONS FROM MY LORD JESUS

Jesus is a full-spectrum Person. In other words, He is an extremist! He spans the limits! Jesus is fully present with the depths of crushing grief, and the heights of ecstatic joy. He is ambidextrously “bi-polar” able to weep or rejoice freely with all his heart. I learn so much from His freedom to weep and laugh!

Jesus pegs the limits of grief. He is called “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” – not just His personal grief but that of His lambs. We see him moved with compassion for the crowds. We see him weeping for His nation because of His vision of the destruction of Jerusalem. He comes to His personal physical limits at Gethsemane. He is crushed at the Olive Press. He feels utter abandonment by friends, and also feels like His Father has abandoned him. He is not hiding but is present with grief! Could we have such capacity?

Hebrews 1:9 says of Jesus, “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; this is why God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy beyond your companions.” Jesus scaled the highest-limits of joy. No person has fully ascended those elevations of pleasure and delight which our Lord has summited.

How do you picture Jesus spinning and dancing with Joy as the Apostles returned with their reports of success?  ^“At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.” Luke 10:21.

The disciples probably never thought achieving Jesus’ level of joy would be achievable. But He promised them, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” John 15:11. Wow to be so completely full of joy, even having Jesus’ joy in them! We are talking about escalated, sky-high joy! That level of joy is regarded by some as radical and out of the safe range.

Many of us endeavor to stay in the range of the safe and socially acceptable emotional parameters – not too joyful, not too sorrowful. Jesus was emotionally free to fathom the depths and soar the heights!  

Jesus is my emotional Mentor. He is teaching me to be uninhibited and secure regardless of the experiences, thoughts and the emotions. He is with me in the most crushing circumstances. I am free to go into the heavy waters of people’s losses and nightmares.

I can also travel to peaks of joy I have never before hazarded mounting, relishing the reality that my name is securely written in heaven! What I have outstrips the joy of new wine, the plunder of battle or the winnings of a lottery.

Jesus is teaching me that I am safe and free to “get emotional” both with sorrow and joy. Some may think me emotionally unstable, but perhaps I am becoming emotionally released.

We like to quote Paul as he proclaims, “Rejoice in the Lord always!” Such great counsel! We might remember that he also said, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart” Romans 9:2. Paul possessed a free, full-spectrum emotional life.

One day I was officiating at a funeral in the morning and a wedding in the afternoon. What were my emotions doing? Paul urged us, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” Romans 12:15.

Are you so emotionally free, secure and flexible that at any moment you may join a brother or sister in their unbounded joy, or devastating sorrow? I’m beginning to learn this emotional freedom from my Mentor, the Lord Jesus Christ!

A simple prayer: Dear Father, I want to experience total freedom in every department. Grant me emotional freedom in your Son Jesus Christ.

Steven C Johnson

LandingStripEnterprises.Com

 

 

 

 

Today I lead a forum at our church on preparing for coming food shortages. I was impressed with the maturity and evenness of our participants. Some have been “Preppers” for years, others are just getting started. The most important thing was that we all share concerned for every member of the local body.

We keep our eyes on Jesus, not just the wind and waves. Food shortages constitute one wave to be aware of and prepare for – but our eyes must always be set on Jesus!

For those interesting in viewing the notes from our first meeting, Here You Go! I encourage you to consider doing something for your own church fellowship!

Steven C Johnson

Landing Strip Enterprises

 

RESPONDING IN THE SPIRIT AND POWER OF JESUS CHRIST

TO CONCERNS ABOUT FOOD SHORTAGES. July 24, 2022

Thank you for joining us and caring about your church fellowship enough to be here. Our subject for discussion is, responding in the spirit and power of Jesus Christ to concerns about food shortages.

We will be covering several subjects on this matter and encourage your interactions, questions and suggestions. I hope we will all be good listeners, as well as talkers. Both are necessary to have a meaningful time.

Our end game is

First to discover how to prepare ourselves individually and as families for potential food scarcities. That’s independence.

Our second goal is to learn how we as believers in Jesus can support one another, particularly the vulnerable among us. That’s interdependence.

In the process of sharing we want to stimulate awareness and practical action rather than fear and anxiety. We are determined to maintain a Christ-centered, peace-filled attitude for greater community cohesion.

OUR TOPICS WILL BE

1          Are the danger warnings of food shortages credible?

2          What things cause food shortages?

3          What problems would we face if we had food shortages?

4          How can we prepare ourselves and our personal families?

5          How, as a Christian Church, can we watch out for and support one another in a food shortage window?

 

1       Are the danger warnings of food shortages credible?

HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE FOLLOWED THE NEWS ABOUT FOOD SHORTAGES?

From the UN to White House there are reports about food concerns. Economist and food experts are talking about it. Warnings come from economists and food analysts. The most practical and awaking warnings come from everyday farmers.

Discussion

I was talking to a man who specializes in loan to farmers. Some farmers are asking, “Can I take the risk of taking out a greater loan to cover fuel and fertilizer costs?” Many farmers are down-sizing their crops and herds. Some are quitting. This man said the farmers themselves will be ok. He also told me emphatically, “There will be food shortages.”

Simply type in “Food shortages” and you will find many fact-based articles. One estimate saw 700 million are in immediate peril. It is overwhelming. I can’t blame people for not wanting to know about it. America will do better than most nations. But that doesn’t mean it will be easy.

 

DOMESTIC HEADLINES

WARNING FROM A FARMER

RANCHERS RUSH TO SELL CATTLE AMID DROUGHT IN TEXAS

FOURTH-GENERATION FARMER: ‘FOOD SHORTAGE IS COMING’

SIX MONTHS TO COLOSSAL FOOD SHORTAGES: Attacks on Food Supply Chain

FOOD SHORTAGES 2022: LIST OF POTENTIAL FOODS IN SHORT SUPPLY

HOW BAD WILL THE FOOD SHORTAGE GET?

FOOD BANKS SEE FOOD SHORTAGES

            GLOBAL HEADLINES

Global food shortage a ‘catastrophe,’ UN chief says

The global food crisis explained 

Rising Social Unrest Over Energy, Food Shortages Threatens Global Stability

Food shortages could be ‘just as deadly’ as global pandemic

Sri Lankan immigration official says president has left the country amid crisis that led to shortages

Food Shortages in Haiti Spiraling Out of Control

Only Putin can end the global food crisis, says UK’s Minister for Africa

 

How have you seen food prices go up? My parents saw in one month the price of groceries go from $300 to $400 with an identical grocery list.

 

2       What things cause food shortages?

 

Be dismayed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers,

over the wheat and the barley;

for the crops of the field are ruined. Joel 1:11

Discussion

 

Famine is mostly man-made:

Government restriction on food production for “ecological” reasons

Government policies with Covid 19 set the economy back

Crops destroyed to keep food prices high

Poultry growers forced to kill millions of birds 

Spending to stimulate programs set off inflation

Gas prices

Fertilizer prices

War in the Ukraine       

Oligarchs  and foreign nations like China purchasing farm land

Two million mouths to feed from the Southern boarder

Food plant fires

Droughts in much of the US.  “because of this the land dries up.” Hos 4:3 

 

3       What problems would we face if we had food shortages?

Discussion

 

Have you heard of The Maduro Diet?

Families in fear

Social infrastructure collapse

Riots

Wars

Population loss

Worldwide depression

 

4          How can we prepare our individual families for shortages?

 

Discussion

Scalable approaches: Prepare for 3 days, then 3 weeks, then 3 months.

 

10 ESSENTIALS FOR YOUR PANTRY

Water

 

Rice

Beans/lentils

Wheat/pasta

Oats

 

Canned meat/fish

Peanut butter

Cheese

 

Cooking oil

Salt and seasonings

 

40+ Foods You Can Store for a Year (or Longer) in Your Pantry

Pantry Staples: A Master List of Everything You Need

5       What resources or skills do you have to help the church?

Discussion

 

SKILLS TO SHARE

Gardening

Food preservation – Freezing, drying, canning, salting, smoking.

Foraging

Medicinal Herbs

Fishing

Hunting

Knife sharpening

Soap making

Sewing

Motor repair

Machining

Building skills

Water collection, purification and storage

Coupons 

OTHER ___________________________________

 

MATERIAL RESOUCES TO SHARE

Share water

Share heating and food cooking

Food to share

Help others buy necessities

Space for someone to plant a garden or raise a goat

Seed saving and garden seed to share

Share a car ride

Phone call people

Child care

Other ____________________________________          

 

I can lead a workshop  on ____________________________________.

Name ____________________

Email_____________________________ Phone _________________

 

 

BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES AND ENCOURAGEMENTS ABOUT FOOD

CHRISTIANS CAN BE HUNGRY. 

1 Cor 4:11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

JESUS CHRIST IS THE ULTIMATE FIX FOR HUNGER

John 6:35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Rev 7:16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat.

 

SOMETIMES WE DELIBERATELY CHOSE HUNGER. 

Acts 13:2-3 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

A PROMISE FOR THE HUNGRY

Luke 6:21  Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. 

WORKING YOUR LAND AND GAIN ABUNDANCE

Prov 28:19 Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.

CORRUPT GOVERNMENTS OR INDIVIDUALS MAY STEAL

Prov 13:23  The field of the poor may produce much food, but it can be swept away through injustice.

GOD’S GRACE CAN KEEP US ALIVE IN FAMINE.

Psalm 37:18-20 “The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance. But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.”

Psalm 33:18-20 “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

GOD CAN PROVIDE MIRACULOUSLY! 

MANNA.  Deut 8:3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

ELIJAH PROVIDED FOR BY RAVENS.  1 King 7:4     JESUS MULTIPLIED FOOD.  Matt 14:13-21

 

 

WATER RESOURCES

 

            Stored in bottles, rain barrels, water heater

             

            Well water. Generator backups and hand pumps

 

            Purifying with filter, chlorine or boiling

           

            Remember water for washing and toileting.  Chamber pot and latrine.

 

GARDENING LINKS

 

Is it too late to plant a garden?

Garden crops for a short season

WHAT TO PLANT IN A VICTORY GARDEN?

LIGHTING

Lanterns

Candles

Kerosene

Flashlights. Some are solar rechargeable

Solar yard lights

           

COMMUNICATIONS

Solar charger for phones and batteries

CB’s and walkie talkies 

Short wave battery-powered radio.

Ham radio

Bulletin boards

Pen and paper

 

HEATING AND COOKING

Warm cloths/rain gear

Propane

White gas

Fire place

Grill

 

 

EMERGENCY BUGOUT KIT:

Provision for 72 Hours

 

WATER!

Bottles plus chlorine or iodine

 

ILLUMINATION

Flashlights and batteries

Matches, lighter, candles or glow sticks

 

COMMUNICATION

Radio, Cell phone and charger, 2-way radio, whistle, mirror (Phones may be down)

 

LOGISTICS TO CONSIDER

Agree on Rallying points. Out of state

phone numbers for rallying

 

DIRECTIONS

Maps, compass and watch (GPS’s may be down).

 

FOOD

Cliff bars, dried fruit, Nuts, oatmeal, Juice, tea, coffee, cocoa candies, peanut butter,

crackers, romaine noodles, canned food with pop tops or freeze dried food

 

KITCHEN

Dish soap, towels and cloths

Bunsen burner

Plates, cups  and utensils

Garbage bags and zip locks

 

TOILETRIES

TP

Handy wipes

Toothbrush, paste, floss

Feminine products

Skin lotion, Lip balm

Soap and shampoo

Razor

Bug repellant

 

CASH AND VITAL DOCUMENTS

(Again, ATM’s may be down)

 

TOOLS

Fixed blade and folding knife

Multi-tool

Duct tape and rubber bands

Rope and twine, zip ties

Pen, paper, marker

 

FIRST AID KIT with instructions

Burn ointment

Eye wash

Surgical kit

Scissors

Anti-diarrheal and laxative

Sterile gloves and hand sanitizer

Bandages

Super glue

 

CLOTHING

Prepare for all weather

Gloves, shoes, socks, hats,

Windbreakers, jackets and rain gear

Underclothing

 

SHELTER

Space blanket, tent, plastic sheeting sleeping bags, blankets

 

SPECIAL NEEDS

Consider children, the elderly, handicapped and pets.

 

GLASSES/CONTACT SOLUTION

 

PRESCRIPTIONS

 

PERSONAL DEFENSE

 

IDLE TIME

Pocket Bible, book, playing cards

 

LISTEN TO THIS BLOG HERE!

I am amazed how some people have joy in the most challenging moments. Why is it that some seem to soar the upper strata’s of rarified Joy when many have trouble getting airborne? I suspect they graduated in the Joy 800 series doctoral level classes.

Our Lord Jesus graduated from the doctoral Joy class with highest honors!  His pursuit of Joy gives him summa cum laud tributes.  “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

Our Lord Jesus is the greatest model, going for the biggest prize by paying the biggest price. Jesus valued so highly the Joyful outcome He was willing to go the distance! All our Joys are connected to Jesus’ willingness to “Go for the brass ring.”

The Apostle Paul graduated with distinctions. Some might say he was a glutton for punishment but his avarice was for Christ’s Joy! In Romans 5:3-4 he says, “Not only that, but we also reJoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Some athletes reJoice when they, “feel the burn.” Paul rejoiced when he felt the sufferings! That’s advanced level Joy! Little children don’t think of squeezing Joy out of their suffering. Only a crazy person, or farsighted believer, can do this.

James also matriculated in the 800 series Joy classes. He is an expert in squeezing heavenly lemonade out of his trials. He advises in James 1:2-4,  “Consider it pure Joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James knew things about gaining Joy most of us are backward about. By faith the Lord Jesus, Paul and James knew Joy can be the outcome of the hardest knocks!

Now for the reality of feeling crappy and far from sensations of Joy. These upper lever Joy graduates actually believe, “All things work together for the good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes.” Romans 8:28

How insufferably, unimaginably crass it would have been as Jesus was sweating drops of blood to sing, “ReJoice in the Lord always.” There are times when the sensations of Joy are drowned by loss, pain and grief. When we are honest with those feelings and yet “faith” it to Joy we are practicing upper division Joy.

Paul’s greatest concentration of Joy references are in Philippians. This is Joy in the jail cell.  Paul and Silas added singing to their suffering Joy. They may not have felt “sensational” Joy but rather practiced volitional Joy, doing Joy when Joy is not felt. Note in all the Joy the mix of pain. We do not, “Fake it till we make it” We Faith it until we Realize it. Upper division graduates can feel pain and operate in Joy at the same time.

We must consider Paul’s, “ReJoice in the Lord always” verses as they comingle with other heart-felt conditions.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 2 Cor 1:8

I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. Rom 9:2

Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 2 Cor 11:28

Small children think pain and Joy are either-or. Upper division Joy grads know pain and Joy may be realized together.

Habakkuk was a classmate of James and Paul. In his term paper he wrote:

Though the fig tree does not bud

and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails

and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen

and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I Yet will I be Joyful in God my Savior.  Hab 3:17-18

Habakkuk astonishes me. Without apparent success, fruitfulness or even something to eat, he is able to reJoice in God his Savior! I wonder if he sat next to Moses in class.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enJoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Heb 11:24-26

I see again and again so many of these doctoral level classes are about perspective and “values clarification.” These people somehow transitioned from the typical worldling’s thinking that early stuff was the highest delight, to Christ is the highest delight! These upper level scholars must perceive something of the goodness of God most of us miss!

David was an Alum of this school. He wrote in Psalm 63:3, “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.” David’s value system priced God’s lovingkindness weightier in the balance than all the delights of life! He must have encountered God’s love in a way most cannot imagine. I am beginning to learn from graduates like Stephen, when we keep our eyes on Jesus we receive upper division Joy in spite of momentary pain, even death.

Some are unwilling to register and show up for classes because the homework can be crushing. I haven’t taken all the classes, but I can tell you, the few I have taken have been challenging, but so worth it. Hope to see you in class!

Steven C Johnson

Landing Strip Enterprises

 

SHARE A STORY OF HOW YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW ADVANCED TO UPPER DIVISION JOY.

 

 

MORE ON FOOD SHORTAGES

If your doctor discovered you had a life-threatening condition would you want him to tell you? If there was danger to our food supply would you want to know?

Recently I have written on this subject. I encourage you to research, pray and be lead by wisdom. Our church is having a meeting on this matter to see how we may care for one another and minister to others in challenging times. Remember fear is against the rules. We are overcomes. We are not ultimately preparing for challenges but for the appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ!

 

 

 

 

LISTEN TO THIS BLOG HERE!

 

GREATLY ANNOYED

 

Paul and Silas in Philippi Drive the Devil Out of A Woman Possessed by a Spirit of Divination,             Pieter de With (c. 1650)

Wanda Alger in a message on false prophets said, “It’s time to be annoyed.” It is worth listening to! See it at WandaAlger.me  She writes about Paul’s irritation with the slave girl who had a spirit of divination in Acts 16:18.

Listen to this blog here!   “We don’t mind shootings one by one but mass shootings irritate us because we must act either full of grief or indignation. We must pretend we care. The irritating thing is that we must put on the performance every time a mass shooting happens, and they seem to happen more and more frequently. It’s exhausting to pretend at those levels.”  (Undisclosed quote) I’ve noticed that reporters have virtually stopped using the expression, “random acts of violence.” The notion never made sense. There is nothing random.  I groan or laugh when a shooting happens and reporters say, “Investigators are looking for the motives for the shooting.” This is not to say there are never motives. Of course, there are. But motives and contexts for acts of virtue, or vice, are typically deeper than we can probe. “The thoughts of a man are deep waters. Delicious, healthy fruit and noxious, poisonous fruit both come from seeds planted in soil, watered and under the influence of sunlight. Things booth good or bad spring from: Soil – the nutritional context of the culture Seed – a truth or falsehood Water – our desire for outcomes Sun – the attention or highlights we give our plants Here is an example: Into the soil of permissiveness, inattention and self-absorption seeds of resentment, self-pity, and self-justification are planted. The seeds are watered by unresolved pain or lust, and get expose to the radiation of false media, gossip, and slander. No one is surprised when a seed grows. Paul was a master gardener. He knew about selecting the best seeds. “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life”  Galatians 6:8. We prefer trimming weeds over pulling. Our approach to getting rid of wickedness should be the same as the Lords. Go for the root. John the baptizer told the crowds, “The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire”  Matt 3:10. I get exhausted with conversations recommending limiting gun rights as a solution for crime. It is beating at the branches. I admit I run out of patience with folly.  The scripture says, “There is a way which seems right to a man which ends in death.”

There are financial “solutions” which cause economies to die.

There are ecological “solutions” which cause environments to die.

There are cultural “solutions” which cause societies to die.”

 

True solutions go for the root. This is a much harder than beating at branches.

Every honest soul knows that hands are not responsible for strangulations, matches are not responsible for arsons, knives are not responsible for stabbings and guns are not responsible for shootings. We must accept responsibility and take ownership!

 

A sign read, “84,999,987 gun owners did not shoot anyone yesterday.”

A few dozen did.

What is the difference between the two groups?

 

There were two strong men.

One strangled a woman to death.

The other helped a woman rototill her garden.

Both men had power for action.

What is the difference between the men?

 

STOPPING VIOLENCE IS HARD WORK

The hard work is getting to our children’s hearts and shaping their character from the inside out. I know some would like to substitute this hard work with measures like outlawing scissors, gasoline and rope. Easy fixes sound appealing, but like overnight miracle health plans to get trim and fit, they don’t work. Our efforts from earliest childhood must be to shape hearts. Did I saw this was easy?

Legislators merely putting print on pages does not work. Chicago proved this with the strictest gun laws.  When parents take ownership of raising godly children, and society supports their efforts, we have largely stopped the problem of violence.

I know some immediately say, “It’s too late. We missed our opportunities to shape children.” But is that a copout? Parents should always encourage their adult children to be people of integrity and upright character, caring for the welfare of others. We need to restore the notion that people are precious and valuable because they are made in the image of God!

 

RESTORING RESPECT FOR PEOPLE

I remember days in my youth when the waitress gave more respect to the customer, and the customer gave more honor to the waitress. Where did we slip in our values for people? When we consider people are made in the image of God we are inclined to be interested in them and honor them as special.

It is said, “Diminish life in one of its aspects and you diminish life in general.” If we dishonor or diminish the elderly the value of people in their teens is also diminished. If we devalue the tiny child in the womb we devalue the life in thirty-year-olds.

Restoring respect for people is a real solution! Did I say restoring value for people would be easy? It may be hard labor requiring decades to accomplish. I’m not aware of shortcuts. But I am aware of the truths which will have to sustain such reconstruction.

 

RESTORING REVERENCE FOR GOD

The fear of the Lord, the respect and worship of our creator, is what makes respecting and honoring our fellow creatures make sense. Many would like to say morality can be sustained without religion. Our American founders saw this is as nonsense.

President Washington in his farewell speech said,

Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens…

And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

Reverence for God is the foundation on which morality is built. Belief in the goodness of God and in our accountability to Him sustains good moral principles. There is no other foundation. Remove godly religion and morality will coast to a stop. Morality will fade over a generation or two when we exclude God from our schools and purge him from government and social discourse.

Restoring reverence for God is key to ending violence. Did I say it is easy? It would be “easier” to ban guns than to cultivate reverence for God. Of course, banning guns has backfired dreadfully in every nation before us! Restoring reverence for God is a hard work which may take decades, although I hope by the power of the Holy Spirit it may be Hastened!

 

UPGRADE PARENTING

Dog owners are responsible for the brutality of their animals. A violent dog is typically destroyed, the owner is responsible for injuries and must suffer consequences.

The Bible clearly says, “A father is not to be put to death for the sin of their children” Deut 24:16. But parents do have a weighty responsibility for raising their children. We know parents can’t be coerced to be good parents, and many parents don’t have the knowledge or skill they need. Most parents want to do their best. It’s hard work for them and hard work for those who would help them. We can do hard things!

There are food shortages but a more grievous deficit is the father shortage. Fatherless children are missing essential social vitamins. The vast majority of mass shooters are in this group. Fatherless children pact our penal institutions. The young man who abducted our daughter was in this category.

Did I say forging good fathers and mothers is easy? It may take years of hammer and anvil to raise a generator of good parents. Parenting is work we must own to have a healthy society. We honor America’s founding fathers. We are looking for leaders who have father-hearts.

 

RESTORE EDUCATION

The goal of public, private and home-school education should first be the formation of godly character, built, as president Washington said, on “religious principle.” Then we can learn the three “R’s.” Pretend this section is written three miles long! Most of you could do the writing.

Society’s values and manors don’t turn on a dime. Unlike a little speedboat huge steam ships, like societies, take time to turn.

 

MEASURES TO TAKE WHEN SOCIETY HAS FAILED TO SHAPE ITS CITIZENS

Now, because the above hard work has not been done we must make efforts to frustrate the mischief of undisciplined, rogue citizens. We have failed to do the hard work, now we must face the consequences. Last-ditch efforts must be employed.

We must convert schools and school grounds into hardened bunkers with locked and supervised doors.

Students must be frisked and their bags searched when they come to school

Children’s mandatory coursework must include self-defense training.

Armed guards must be employed.

School staff need to be armed.

Local police services need constant tactical training and communication systems need to be enlarged between class rooms, administrative offices, security, staff and parents.

Perhaps body bags should be stored in schools in case there is a breach.

Prosecutors must do their jobs. Some prosecutors have deliberately failed to prosecute. The luxury of this permissiveness cannot be sustained. Isaiah 26:9-10 tells us,

When your judgments come upon the earth,
the people of the world learn righteousness.
But when grace is shown to the wicked,
they do not learn righteousness

Our nation has gone so far in permissive policies toward criminals I fear it will swing to the other extreme. If the government cannot hold the center the public will insist on harsher penalties which may become gruesome.

When the government fails to discipline its rogue citizens others apart from our judicial system will take it upon themselves to do so. Our judges and government leaders must hold the center!

 

WE HAVE FAILED TO DO THE HARD WORK

We have failed to do the hard work of planting godly character in the hearts of our children. The weeds have taken over. A state of crisis forces us to trim weeds and beat at branches! The consequences of our neglect have caught up with us. We must take emergency measures.

When a rampaging, mentally ill murderer is at the door it is too late for childhood character lessons. It is time for last ditch efforts. If the dog was never trained and turns violent it must be put down when it attacks. How tragic that mass shooters, most so young, must be killed to stop them, when they might have been stopped as four-year-olds.

Makers of guns do not glorify violence. Creators of violent songs, games and movies do. How dare we suggest prosecuting gun makers before we prosecute these polluters of society! How wickedly tragic when young people practice the evils they have ingested! We have laws about spilling deadly chemicals or sewage. These polluters should be prosecuted!

 

Use deadly force to stop drug dealers. All of the perpetrators of mass shootings for the past 20 years “were either actively taking powerful psychotropic drugs or had been at some point in the immediate past before they committed their crimes.” Stopping the drug dealer would have stopped the carnage.

 

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

Several years after our daughter was abducted I met one of his classmates. This man said, “We mercilessly teased him [the abductor].” As this man spoke I thought to myself, “I am talking to an accomplice to the crime.” Don’t you think the people who are responsible for violence should be held accountable?

OK, let’s get personal. Are we able to own our responsibility?

Were you praying for your community the day that crime happened?

Did you confront that unruly child for their folly seven years before the crime?

Were you cultivating positive relationships and activities with that neighbor child?

Were you tolerant of abortion reducing the value of life?

Did you think the drug problem was not your problem?

Did you insensitively tease?

Were you inattentive, lost in your screen?

Are you and I not accountable as accomplices to crimes of violence?

There is very practical repentance we can do. It boils down to the chief commands our Lord Jesus gave us. Love! We can pray for that couple who is on the verge of breaking up and leaving wounded, aimless, fatherless children! We can befriend and mentor lonely children. There are many inconvenient things we can do.

We can again choose the hard work, the heart work, to turn our culture back to godly Christian character. It may take a few decades. Are you willing to pitch in?

Steven C Johnson

Landing Strip Enterprises

 

You might want to read My Winchester.

 

 

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“What do we need to see in the unseen world?” 

LISTEN TO THIS BLOG HERE!

 

This question was posed in my morning Men’s Group. What is your answer?

There are so many things we should know which we don’t! There is missing wisdom, solutions for problems, cures for diseases, and directions for success. We may not sure of what we are wanting, but there is an ache and longing for things which seem to be missing. They are hidden from us, undiscovered as of yet. 

John the revelator saw visions which stretched his knowledge of the glory of God, his heart and plans. The things he saw met needs!

Although we may have profoundly staggering revelations of our Father’s goodness we realize our knowledge is scant and fragmentary. We still long to know more of the throbbing, phosphorescing glory of God. We also need solutions, presently unseen, for fixing the garage door and broken relationship.

A man in our Men’s Group shared a story of listeners who call themselves the Sky Walkers. These saints are given challenges for listening. They pray for revelation and solutions. A large building had a water leak which could not be found. The owners did not want to destroy the building searching for it. The group was asked to pray for the location of the leak. Using several thoughts and images from the group a single spot in the building was highlighted. They broke through the wall in that spot and found the leak. Unseen things are findable when we consult with God.

How willing is God to share revelation with His kids, and what are we missing because we fail to seek Him?

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,

but on what is unseen, 

since what is seen is temporary,

but what is unseen is eternal.  2 Cor 4:18 

How are invisible things to be seen?

 

 

We are unaware of Most of reality. Our limitations for seeing are restricted to the tiny parameters between infrared and ultraviolet. We see a narrow band of wavelengths from 380 to 720 nanometers. There are an infinite number of wavelengths on either side of those boundaries. What are we missing that bees and angels see?

 

Our human hearing takes in a thin slice of sound vibrations. We hear between 20Hz and 20000Hz. There are infinite things to be heard – below as infra-sounds and above as ultrasounds. What are we failing to hear that our dog and the cherubim hear clearly?

Our senses are wonderful gifts but we should be humble enough to say, “We see in part and prophesy in part.” God’s bandwidths are wider than ours, like the span between earth and the highest heaven! This knowledge inspires us to search for more.

The Lord gave us human equipment for sensing. There are things to be sensed and known beyond our sensation faculties. Our Father wills to reveal them! Ephesians 3:20-21 tells us God is willing to take us above and beyond! 

Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

God is willing, even eager, to share with His tiny children things yet unknown to sight, sound or imagination!

No eye has seen, 

no ear has heard, 

no heart has imagined, 

what God has prepared for those who love Him.

But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit.  2 Cor 9:10- 12

It is possible to see unseen things. Paul said this is what saints do!

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor 4:18

How crazy-amazing that God wills us to peer into the unseen and discover things hidden there which we need!

It is God’s will that we seek and find His face. Yes, we are meant to see and fellowship with the unseen God! He also wills for us to find in the unseen word everything we need for life and godliness.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3

Why would the Apostle Paul urge us to earnestly seek spiritual gifts, especially prophecy, if there was not much more we need to see and hear?  See 1 Cor 14:1.

Who knows the extent of wonders our Heavenly Father would reveal to those who seek Him; things we need to know! James said, “We have not because we ask not.” What would you like to seek and receive from our generous God today?

Seriously, what is on your list? What do you need to see in the unseen world? We’ll join in prayer for you as you venture into the invisible for what you need!

 

SHARE THE WEIGHT OF THIS LONGING WITH ME

Dear Father,

I’m so grateful for all the things you have shown me, yet I long for more! Open my eyes to see the things I have never seen. My eyes ache to see You, Your heart, Your purposes and plans. Show me what You are pleased to reveal. Show me what I need to see.

Dear Lord, my ears long to hear Your voice, they pull like a vaccum to hear what you are saying. This is the day of Your revelation, the day of Your disclosure. I long to hear Your sweet voice and vital words. They are my daily bread!

Lord, I know I cannot bear the full measure of Your voice and the weight of Your words but give me all I can possibly bear!

Unseal Your books for reading. Upgrade my vision and discernment. Turn up the lights.

I’m longing to see You and hear You in ways I have never before. Share with me all the wisdom and understanding I can bear and apply for good.

Help me train my spiritual senses. Show me how to cultivate them.

Share your rebukes and corrections. They show me you care for my safety and success.

Share the assurances that I am on the right path. Lead me in the ways of righteousness for I want Your name glorified.

Share your truths with me. I will take them like seeds and plant them for a harvest of righteousness.

Dear Lord, you see and understand all. You share all good things with me. I give you my reverential devotion, for Jesus Your Son lights my path!

Friend, add the particulars of the unseen things which you need from our Father. Tell us what new windows open and the revelation the Lord shares with you.

Steven C Johnson

Landing Strip Enterprises

 

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PREPARING FOR FOOD SHORTAGES

One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.  Acts 11:28-30

In my last blog I wrote a story reflecting back after 75 years, on the famine of 2022-2023. I am writing today so that story will remain in the fiction category. There are many in the food industry chain predicting world-wide food shortages for this year. Note the links below. What can we do to prevent their predictions from coming about? How should we prepare?

Pam and I have been “preppers” for many years. Perhaps I got the inclination from the Scouts’ motto, “Be prepared.” We have always had first aid kits, extra beans, jugs of water, matches, plastic bags and things which might be handy for emergencies.

By the way, people might call you a “prepper” if you have a spare tire in your car, a flashlight, some extra cans of tuna, and a fire extinguisher.

There are all kinds of emergencies we may prepare for:

Technological – power and internet outages

Natural – tornados, earthquakes, floods, wild fires, ice storms and droughts.

Accidents – work, play and transportation.

Bad-guy problems – home break-ins, terrorism and war.

Our focus is on preparing for potential food shortages.

I must tell you, our first go-to is our Heavenly Father. He is the source of life and peace. He is the wisdom and power. Prayer will always be our first step toward solutions. To rely merely on reasoning, planning and activities without prayer is humanistic presumption. To pray alone without acting and preparing is spiritual presumption.

One of the wisest statements I have heard is, “Make your preparations, then don’t trust in them. Trust in God!”

By the way, Pam and I are not preparing food to ride out an apocalypse. Our spare tire is to get us through a momentary crisis so we can get back on the road and back to life. Having extra food resources can get us through a food-shortage window, so we can get back to life. We are not holing up, but preparing ourselves so we can stay on the road and move forward into higher purposes!

Two approaches for preparing for food shortages.

#1  GROWING UP. Growing, raising and storing up your own food.

#2  STOCKING UP. Stock up your pantry from existing suppliers.

 

#1 GROWING UP

Food shortages may be prevented or diminished by producing your own. This may be done in collaboration with others.

It typically takes an acre of land worked intensively to produce enough food to keep one person alive. Doing this is impractical for most folks. But you can garden small scale to supplement food you get from other resources. Even in a city you can grow vegetables in planters, and rabbits in cages, and whole gardens in community areas. Take note: A vegetable garden may benefit you more than a nicely manicured lawn. 

Pam and I have many raised beds, some fruit trees, blueberries and raspberries. We also raise chickens and quail. We live near rivers with fish and in a land of eatable creatures. There is also lots of land for foraging. We have had friends let us glean their orchard after the harvest. We have picked blueberries at a local farm.

 

In WW 2 the government encouraged families to have “Victory Gardens.” This was to make sure the soldiers and whole nation would be adequately fed. Millions of Americans had victory gardens. Just a little more nutrition from the home gardens, along with food rations, sharing and making due was the difference between national success and failure. 

Gardening may require a little education but you don’t have to be a genius. You just have to have some will and industry. Working with your own hands and getting dirt under your nails is good for the soul and the soil. Planting a seed and seeing it grow has always brought wonderment.

Gardeners gain a greater sense of community, security, independence and self-worth. And the better prepared you are to care for yourself the better your position to help other.

 

#2 STOCKING UP

We buy beef from a rancher in our church. We just bought a couple lambs from other friends who are raising them. We keep a stocked freezer. Pam does lots of canning and food drying. We buy bulk items from Azure Standard. They have great quality and decent prices.

Have a list of items for your pantry. A list allows you to do your personal assessment of your family’s needs and reminds you of things you might otherwise overlook. (Note the links below)

When we shop we typically get a few more items than we need; perhaps a bottle of shampoo, olive oil or trash bags, dog food or laundry soap. In time we outfit our pantry. When you do your weekly shopping put it in the back of the pantry and move the older stock to the front to be used. Buying food now may save you months from now when the food prices have inflated.

Some will not face the possibilities of food shortages soberly. How easy it is to be sleepy, unaware, or presumptuous. Facing up to the potentials is a first step. Growing and storing up even a few weeks of food will bring you a greater sense of confidence. And if you find shortages are not as severe as some scenarios predict you will have done no great harm in preparing. It’s ok not to need the fire extinguisher, first aid kit or extra food, but it is a security to have them. Seek the Lord, create a plan which is doable for you, and be at peace!

We are people of confidence not cowering! Our confidence is in our Lord Jesus and the covenant made with blood. Don’t let food shortages, or the wind and waves of our time, cause you to lose your sight of Jesus, or forget your mission to shine your light!

Steven C Johnson

Landing Strip Enterprises

 

            THE REAL POTENTIAL OF FOOD SHORTAGES

SIX MONTHS TO COLOSSAL FOOD SHORTAGES: Attacks on Food Supply Chain

PERFECT STORM HITTING US CROP PLANTING AMID TALK OF SHORTAGES

 

CREATING YOUR OWN VICTORY GARDEN

YOU CAN GROW IT: CREATING A VICTORY GARDEN 

WHAT TO PLANT IN A VICTORY GARDEN

 

WHAT SHOULD YOU STOCK IN YOUR PANTRY?

40+ FOODS YOU CAN STORE FOR A YEAR (OR LONGER) IN YOUR PANTRY 

PANTRY STAPLES: A MASTER LIST OF EVERYTHING YOU NEED 

 

FORAGING RESOURCES

THE 12 BEST FOODS ON FORAGING AND WILDCRAFTING

THE FORAGER’S GUIDE TO WILD FOODS

 

PRAYER POINTS FOR OUR FOOD SUPPLY

 

A PREFACE: The following is not a prophesy. I pray it will not become reality. The story is fiction but it paints possibilities based on facts around our food infrastructure. I have for many years prayed for farmers, food processors and truckers that they may be safe and prosperous for the sake of our nation. There are things we can do today to keep this story confined within the fiction category.

 

REMEMBERING THE FAMINE OF 2022 AND 2023

Although it’s been seventy-five years there are still people who remember. The famine of 2022 and 2023 has been the subject of books and documentaries. This is only a historical footnote and perspective based on one man’s remembrances. Jim Farris and ten-year-old son Jerry ended up surviving, but his wife Sally and five-year-old Jessica did not.

Most famines are man-made. Historically corrupt governments have been behind them. In the early 2000’s Socialist orientations and top-down federal decision-making limited free enterprise, innovations and initiatives. Once again, hunger rather than bullets would kill the majority. Best estimates put the loss of American lives at 69 million.

Jim Farris (101) of Buckeye, NY tells us his story 75 years later:

Until late in 2022 my wife Sally and I lived a version of the American dream. I was a successful engineer and Sally did well as an online marketing agent. We lived high on the proverbial hog. It showed a bit over my belt and Sally’s plus-sizes. We had a gym membership and Sally tried diet programs.

The last months of 2022 we dropped the gym membership and dieting. We began looking for accessible and affordable food with lots of calories. So did our neighbors.

In church we learned Jesus predicted, “there will be famines in various places.” We pictured it happening in Eastern Africa or Eastern Europe, not Buckeye. We never considered Jesus words, “Woe to you who are well feed now, for you will be hungry.”

The prosperity we enjoyed vaporized seemingly overnight. It really had been a slow roll down a mountain, till it reached the edge of the cliff. Most were not aware of the threat. The media did not think the staging was news-worthy.

We were drunk on abundance. We had unlimited food options, fast food and cooking videos. The obesity epidemic and weight-related health issues got news. Only muscle-building weight-lifters wanted to gain weight.

Sally and I had great jobs and money set aside so unlike a lot of people we did fine as food and gas prices went up. There were lots of explanations for prices going up. Sometimes we thought we were getting the straight story, and other times not. We knew fertilizer prices went up 400%. Farmers and shippers had trouble getting fuel. Dozens of food processing plants were destroyed by arsonists. It was crazy to see droughts in some places and floods in others.

As food availability went down prices went up. People started to sell off property in desperation. We bought a guy’s $40,000 boat for $3,000. We had the boat for 6 months then sold it for $600. Of course, those were inflated dollars.

I lost my job. Sally marketed cosmetics and hair products. People stopped buying. Sally kept working at one quarter of her income.

Two families we were close to lost their houses and came to live with us. Cars were parked and bicycles brought out. Wheel barrels and kids’ wagons became almost more valuable that cars.

We took our money out of the bank and bought food for friends and neighbors until we realized we were in danger of not having enough ourselves.

Stories of starvation didn’t happen much until the winter of 2023, mostly in the cities, especially with people on public assistance. Gas rationing saved fuel for farmers, food processors and truckers. Food trucks always had armed escorts. The national guard also kept watch. The government helped until they were out of resources. With staggering unemployment government lost tax income and fiat currency was no longer trusted. The government ended up seizing accounts with over $10,000. They raided retirement and pension accounts as well.

Most people had trouble heating their homes, and because it was cold people wanted to eat more food to stay warm.  We were on the edge of the suburbs just a day’s walk to a farm. I started working on the farm along with our ten-year-old Jerry. Once a week we walked home with a bag of corn or wheat for Sally and Jessica. I hated to see how thin they looked.  No one wanted to look at themselves in the mirror. I remember Sally coming into the house with a weak smile. She had looked through the car and found a bag of cashews beside the spare tire. I never thought I would punch more holes in my belt. It was for the kids.

We hated hearing the news about the deaths. Somehow it wasn’t so bad when you heard of families dying in the cities but it got too close to home when they were in the neighborhood.

Early on some desperate people would raid homes. Sometimes they were shot but most of the time they didn’t find anything. After a while those desperate for food didn’t have the energy to walk to someone’s home to rob it. In fact, we ran out energy to dig graves. We piled the bodies in an abandoned house.

Hunger brought out the worst and best in people. There were some marauding gangs looting people’s food stocks. We killed most of them. There were instances of cannibalism but most of that happened after people had already died.

Our culture had been drunk with food. Hunger brought back our sobriety. The biggest cultural swing was this; people began calling on God! And lots of people in Churches sacrificed and served one another. It was funny but in the worst of times it seemed that God was very close. He kindly spared many of us.

Early on most people pitched in to help one another. Neighbors watched out for each other. Although we wanted to share our food, and did it at first, we later kept our food to ourselves. It tore us up to see neighbor children shrivel to skeletons.

There were lots of amazing acts of sacrifice. Our neighbors two houses over, the Zaleskis, were both in their eighties. They brought out their entire pantry and shared it with the neighbor children. They said they knew Jesus, and had lived full lives. The children needed a chance. Later, after we recovered, we honored them a proper burial.

It may not sound like much but there was a big movement for victory gardens, just like they had in World War II. Just a couple hundred more calories a day from the gardens made the difference between life and death. Those gardens, plus food rations, which were never enough, and sharing, and gleaning, and foraging helped most of us make it.

Those raised by farm people with a custom of having large pantries thought of having stock at home as normal practice. They were sometimes called “preppers.” Most of the population didn’t stock food or store up. They relied on weekly grocery runs.

THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Now for the amazing stories many today wonder about. This was the most painful time of our lives but it was the most glorious because we felt God was with us!

Sally and Jessica both died. But here is the thing – Before Sally passed she opened her eyes and said, “Look, I see Jesus coming. He’s coming for me.” Sally had a beautiful smile but I had never seen her as beautiful as at that moment. [Here Jim Farris choked up for a few moments]

Jessica passed two weeks after her fifth birthday. She was trying to say something. I put my ear to her mouth and she whispered. “Angels, daddy. See?” [This time Jim Farris sat quietly for several minutes while his caretaker got him a glass of water. Then he continued.]

We saw miracles. Real miracles. A prophetic woman talked to our neighbors saying she saw a vision of a bread truck flying over our street and dropping loaves of bread. The next day and for three weeks more we woke with flaky white stuff on the grass and trees. We ate it. I’m convinced it was the same manna that Moses ate in the wilderness! After those three weeks the gardens and farms began producing again. The manna stopped. I don’t know why it didn’t come for Sally and Jessica, but it came for Jerry and me and others.

There’s a story of the last cup of cereal being multiplied to feed seventy people. And it wasn’t just a story. My uncle was there and told me first-hand how a band of Christians prayed for it and it happened!

There were many wonderful stories of miraculous supply. I only wish there had been more of them. My sister and her family were gleaning in a potato field in Montana. It had been gone over by machinery, but they kept digging day after day and found enough to live seven months till the early harvest in the spring of 2023.

Those were the wonderful stories. But there were heart-wrenching stories where people we knew tried to live on dried grass and tree bark. It wasn’t pretty. I think what wrenched my heart the most was when parents decided not to eat their rations but gave them to their children, hoping a relative or neighbor would take care of them. But sometimes the relatives and neighbors didn’t make it. I think that’s enough.

[We asked Jim Ferris if he had any concluding thoughts. He said again,] “No, I think I’ve told you enough.”

 

AFTER THOUGHTS FROM STEVE

I am the eternal optimist, especially regarding God’s great, generous goodness in Christ our Savior. I believe He wishes to wildly prosper countries who seek Him out and honor Him. The realist within me speaks, “Even so, we cannot presumptuously assume upon His grace. We must be aware of potential problems, seek His wisdom and prepare.”

My next blog will come with practical suggestions for creating stories with happier outcomes. In the mean time I encourage you upgrade your peace in Christ, have extra food and water on hand, and start your own “victory garden.” A wise man said, “Growing food is literally like printing money.”

I URGE YOU TO TAKE THE TIME TO SEE THIS VIDEO

SIX MONTHS TO COLOSSAL FOOD SHORTAGES: Attacks on Food Supply Chain

Steven C Johnson

LandingStripEnterprises.Com