Time To Take An Assessment

     If you're like me, you have been aware of an underlying tension in our world and our daily existence for some time now.  If you were able to discern the changes early, then you most likely adopted a few new practices over the last few years, such as stocking up on essentials and food, and learning how to defend yourself.  You may have expanded your knowledge of sustainable living and returned to the forgotten skills of our ancestors, who knew how to live without the conveniences and luxuries of our modern culture.  You might even have determined it was time to renew (or begin) your relationship with God, and quit relying on the vagaries and shortcomings of man's false promises.
     But you may also be like me, in that I have to struggle against a blasé attitude about this new reality. I know and sense that things are going to change, but when week after week, and now year after year, have gone by and no major upheaval, the tension has now become my new reality.  And so, I find that I am guilty of not "keeping my edge", and not maintaining my storehouse and my training.
     These past couple of weeks I have felt a renewed awareness of world events ramping up to a boiling point.  And God knows, between terrorist attacks, assaults on our First, Second and Fourth Amendment rights, and the multitude of scandals in our own government, we have enough reason to suffer some major anxiety.  So PLW and I came to the realization that we needed to do a crucial re-assessment of our preparedness plan.
   

     I discovered that I have been dipping into my larder and not replacing canned goods, paper products, toothpaste, laundry detergent and OTC medicines as I should.  It has just been easier to grab something from our stash and then be indifferent about replacing it.
     The ammo situation has made it difficult to sustain any kind of self-defense training, so my mental sharpness has probably suffered as a result.  But I know that I need to practice my Op Sec more, and not be so complacent about my surroundings or the situations in which I find myself.
     I need to practice the skills that I have acquired.  My garden is flourishing, so I will soon be canning and preserving food, but I have let bread-baking, soap-making and cooking outdoors recede into the shadows.   I need to review the medical care that I have been taught; how to treat different kinds of wounds and how to correctly clean and stitch such wounds.  I need to think about how I will adapt to no water, no electricity and no computers, should we be faced with a TEOTWAWKI event.  I need to ask myself, "Am I mentally prepared?"
     But more importantly, I need to make sure that I am spiritually prepared.  Have I determined that I will stand for God and against the world system, if we are faced with that juncture?  How far am I committed to go in defending my faith?  Is my relationship with my Lord and Savior where I want it to be?  These questions are perhaps the most important; and this component of my preparedness is where I  need to be the most confident and secure.  Being proficient in all the other areas means nothing if my spiritual realm is not first and foremost on my list.  It is my most vital resource!
     So I ask you to assess your own situation and make an honest evaluation as to your state of readiness.  Do you need to sharpen your focus or add to your inventory?  Do you need to dedicate some time to polishing rusty skills?  And finally, are you where you need to be with the Lord? Make that your starting point and proceed from there.  We need to be observant, stay alert, and ever ready for what is coming.

1 Thessalonians 5:6      "So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober."