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Showing posts from December, 2011

It Takes Faith

Throughout the course of this year, we have talked about a lot of different topics. But intellect is not everything; simply knowing stuff does not count. When it comes down to it, it all takes faith. You know what that is, right? Faith is believing something that is not there -- like the wind. In John 3 , Jesus gave this very same metaphor to Nicodemus. "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8, ES V). Faith requires commitment without giving hard evidence (or, in some cases, it gives hard evidence for the very opposite of what is promised). Faith requires submission, humility, and  love . It requires us to give ourselves up to the mercy of hope, and believe someone else's word -- with nothing to back it. Faith and ego really go well together, eh? Anyway, now that we hace definitions cleared up, let's go over this year's foc

What Do I Need? -- Part 4

I have been impressed to do a series of posts on the basic necessities of twenty-first century life. Why?  Because independent living means that doing all of that stuff on our own, we need to know exactly what to consider. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Heat. All I have to say is wood cook  stove . Why? So long as my land is properly forested, I can supply my own fuel. I can prepare food (hence the name). I can warm my house. All of it. I can heat my water. I can bake. I can dehydrate my foods. Et Cetera... You don't have to believe me: but I have evidence ( Exhibit A ; Exhibit B ; Exhibit C ).  That being said, I encourage you to purchase the following instructional DVD: Getting Started with Wood Cook Stoves: A Hands-On Introduction  by Mountain Media Ministries. It is a quality investment. However, there are precautions that have to be taken when using wood and open fires. Listed below are some resources: Fireplace and Home Fire Safety from the US Fire Safety Wood Stoves: Saf

What Do I Need? -- Part 3

I have been impressed to do a series of posts on the basic necessities of twenty-first century life. Why?  Because independent living means that doing all of that stuff on our own, we need to know exactly what to consider. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Food. Obviously in order to survive, we need food. How do we move to independent resources of nutrition?  One plant at a time... Planting . There are two main categories of planted foods: garden  foods and orchard  foods. We eat from each section, so we may as well know what they contain. The garden is where I would find my roots and veggies (sorry, the joke was just waiting to be used). Leafy greens, legumes, and ground provision can be planted in gardens. Strawberries would also thrive here, as will other botanical "fruits" that grow only upwards. Note that flowering plants (like quinoa and buckwheat, which are pseudo-cereals) would be ideal in a garden setting. Gardens can be potted, or placed on a plot or several plots of land.