4/20/23

Dear Email Subscribers,

I’ve really been enjoying the beautiful weather we’ve had in our area in the last ten days or so. For me, it’s hard to be in a bad mood when the sun is shining, flowers are blooming, and the kids can happily play outside. Ahhh….

With the nice weather, I've been able to include the kids in planting an herb garden from seed, and I'm looking forward to planting a vegetable garden very soon. God impressed strongly on me at the beginning of March that Jesus is coming back soon, and I need to grow up and stop worshipping the idol of comfort. I was strongly convicted about the way I’ve been living. Not that my choices were sinful in and of themselves, but I was living in a way that was distracted, frivolous, and wasteful. God allowed me to consume myself with comfort for a time, and I believe for a reason, but the time has come to stop. He challenged me to get WAY out of my comfort zone and write about the changes I’m making so I can lead others to change.

As I look into references in Scripture to the rapture and the second coming of Christ, I’m convicted that I haven’t taken the words of Scripture to stay alert and be prepared seriously. My guess is that you probably haven’t either. I literally cannot remember the last time I heard this message preached in church. It’s possible that I closed my ears to the message, but I have no recollection of hearing it since I was a child.

As a result, I’ve been examining my way of life and making changes. I’ve reduced waste, trying to narrow my focus on things that are essential and truly important. I’ve documented those changes in these email messages. (To read past messages, see the links at the end.) I would love it if the rapture comes before the tribulation, but in my study of Scripture I don’t find that to be a clear message. Instead, the Bible promises that we’ll face very difficult things. Since God has been so gracious as to warn us in advance, I see that we have no other choice but to get prepared. We must live like we believe the Bible is actually true, and if we do that then we have a responsibility to prepare ourselves.

The power of the Holy Spirit is very important during this time of preparation. We can’t truly change if we don’t seek a power much stronger than ourselves to guide us and give us courage. Please read The Acts of the Apostles (here's a link to get started) to see how awesome the power of God truly is!

The reality is that the Bible DOES tell us very clearly what we can expect to happen. Now is the time we have to get ready. If we don't take His message to heart, we'll be like the young virgins who didn’t have enough oil in their lamps when the Bridegroom came.

Be tenacious. Get prepared. Jesus is coming back soon, and we may have to endure tribulation. If we’re prepared, we’ll be able to withstand pressure from our government and leaders to accept the mark of the Beast because we won’t need what they have to offer. And again, if Jesus doesn't come back within our lifetime, these preparations definitely won't hurt anything!

The World Health Organization has a meeting coming up at the end of May to put a plan into action for "one world government'-type organization when another pandemic hits. Not if. When. (To read the actual document being presented, you can go to the WHO website and see it all laid out for you. Search for Article 21, specifically.) They are seeking to control the way the entire world handles future pandemics with power to mandate lockdowns, to monitor every single person on the planet, and mandate what treatment we must all receive if we're to be allowed to travel, seek medical treatment, etc.

IT'S TIME.

This change has caused my heart to be full of gratitude for what we have right now. I’m so thankful to have the ability to travel, have running water, electricity, internet access, telephones, and all of the other modern conveniences we so enjoy. We have no right to expect those things to continue indefinitely. We’ve been able to live in excessive comfort in our country.  Rather than feel entitled to it, we need to live with thankful hearts, realizing that we have no guarantees. We must grow up and stop worshipping the idol of comfort today.

In closing, please tell me how I can pray for you today. I'd be honored to do so. Just reply to this email and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Love,

Kimberly

Past email messages:

It's Time, My Friends (3/27/23)

Your Will Has No Power (4/4/23)

Shutting Up and Losing Weight (4/11/23)

Grow Up and Prepare:

If we’re unwilling to submit to our government’s mandates, we may be unable to buy, sell, travel, or communicate. Much of my lifestyle has been driven by a desire for comfort and pleasure, fueled by technology. I’m prayerfully re-prioritizing so that we’re not dependent upon the internet, government, or technology to survive. I welcome your ideas and suggestions as you pray about what God lays on your heart to do.

In the last week, I've purchased seeds to plant a garden and planted my herb garden. I got a book on medicinal herbs, so I now have a guide for harvesting and storing them. My mother-in-law has agreed to help me can and freeze items that come from my vegetable garden this summer.

I'm working on stockpiling a three-month supply of essentials, focusing on things that don't require refrigeration or a freezer. My Costco membership has been helpful for saving money by buying in bulk. It's got a lot cheaper gas too!

If necessary, my husband can hunt for meat. I'm not excited about butchering and processing that meat, but I found a book that explains in detail how to do it. I'm planning to dry fruit from instructions in that book too. I hope to harvest fruit from our trees this summer. My husband grows wheat, so if we don't have access to flour, I think we could figure that out, and there are apparently maple trees near the farm that could be tapped for maple syrup. Again, instructions in the book will help!

In the past, we've eaten out a lot and gotten used to convenience foods. I have a freezer full of good things that need to be used up, so I've been cooking from those things all week. Our family has ordered pizza every Friday night for years, but this week I plan to make the homemade pizza that they typically love at an enormously reduced price. The kids will enjoy helping me make it, too.

In order to make it easier to cook during the week, this week all of our freezer ground beef was browned and repackaged in 1-lb freezer bags, now easily available any time I need it to make a recipe. Several breakfast foods were made from things I've had in the pantry for too long (quinoa, anyone?), then frozen in single-servings for easy and nutritious breakfasts. Now I won't rely on expensive breakfast bars for quick and easy meals.

I've also realized that worshipping the idol of comfort for me included being rather lazy. (I'm a writer, so I spend a lot of time sitting.) So, I'm incorporating more movement into my days - walking, gardening, playing ball with the kids, etc. I've been doing little things like making my bed, straightening up the house daily, and not setting things at the bottom of the stairs to take up later. My smaller body makes movement much easier, so I've been jogging short distances just because I can. I don't intend to spend money on another gym membership since I have a treadmill, weights, and other equipment at home that I can use instead. If I ever need to rely on my body to get me from place to place (rather than a car), I want to be able to do that with a lot more ease than I'd have right now if I had to. My husband's getting a bike refurbished for me, too. If I needed to go seven miles out to the farm and didn't have a vehicle, that would be a two-hour walk, while on a bicycle it would take maybe 20-30 minutes.

I've been trying to convince Rick to get horses on the farm again, but he's the one who'd have to take care of them. That's not high on his list of things to do right now. He says he'll consider it when we move back out to the farm. I guess if he does that, the kids and I will need to learn to ride!