Fellow Patriots,
Greetings and welcome to the PENL Edition #113. Thanks for being here with us to check out some thoughts and preparedness information that will hopefully help you on this journey to self-reliance. Have fun and make the most of each day. Even when the clouds are dark and heavy and your days may seem to never find sunshine, don't lose hope or focus. Sometimes we have to adjust our position to see the best view.
Last week I asked the question, "are you better prepared now than at the start of May?" We are already approaching mid-June. Time is moving fast and I often wonder if folks are preparing at an equal pace. Especially individuals who are just starting out in preparedness. A bit of advice I would share with you is to enjoy yourself while preparing. Don't let stress take the fun from your day and efforts.
In this edition of the PENL I continue to focus on preparedness thoughts and concerns I have that needs to be shared. The thoughts are things I observe and questions I receive through the week. We all are in this effort together and sharing thoughts and questions helps spread information to everyone who is reading the PENL.
Thursday Zoom Rallies – In this weeks HFS Thursday Zoom rally, special guest Pierce from Prantics visited and briefed the zoom group on Pre Attack Indicators & De-Escalation and Situational Awareness. Pierce and his information was a great success. I was fortunate to meet Pierce at Heritage Life Skills 2021 and we shared a long conversation on multiple security and preparedness topics. HFS and the Zoom group appreciates Pierce sharing his time, experience and skills with us. Thanks much, Pierce.
New members to HFS - Several of the new members emailed wanting to do the zoom rallies. Awesome. I will be reaching out to all of you in the next couple weeks on how I plan to go forward with Zoom. My goal is to hopefully provide quality information, training, and effort to everyone participating. The obstacle is the amount of time required to put a single weekly zoom rally together and then conduct it. As much as I would like to do two zooms per week, it just isn't possible right now. So a lot of discussion continues on how HFS can juggle and adjust to keep information flowing and training available. I'm certain it will work out. It is just figuring out the best way to go forward. I asked the Patriots in the ongoing zoom group for suggestions and advice and I received some great suggestions. All the new folks should be getting a email soon on this topic.
Hope for Survival YouTube - It was a very busy and productive week and below you will find some of the results. Thanks to a Patriot brother from NC for the connection to other preparedness podcasters across America. I joined Duff and Dale on the Survival Prepper Podcast and then joined Jim Walton on the Preppers Broadcast Network Preppers Live Podcast to discuss preparedness and community building. This seems to be a hot topic and folks are asking about the HFS approach to building teams. I want to give a big shout out to both shows for the invite and great questions and conversations. You may not realize it but there are many great patriots across America working to help citizens get prepared. .
Here is the Summer of 2021video where I discuss some thoughts on preparedness briefly and thoughts on what could be ahead during the summer months. If you haven't already subscribed to the page, please consider doing so. This informs you when HFS post a new video. Thanks for your consideration. Thanks to everyone who subscribed in the past week.
Here is the HFS appearance on the Duff and Dale Survivor Prepper podcast on Friday, June 4, 2021. It was a pleasure sharing preparedness thoughts with these gents. No matter how long we have been preparing it never hurts to cross-check thoughts with others.
Here is the podcast interview with Jim Walton from Preppers Live on Monday, June 7, 2021. This was another solid platform on the Preppers Broadcast Network (PBN). As I said above, preparedness offers a lot of quality voices across America attempting to help patriots get prepared. Thanks to JW for the invite and great conversation. This is audio only.
HFS will be joining Sara Hathaway at the Changing Earth podcast on Sunday, June 13 and Paul Seawright on the All American Podcast on Sunday, June 19th, 2021.
Communications: You can now follow HFS social media on the following outlets:
Facebook – Hope for Survival
YouTube Channel – Hope for Survival
MeWe: - //mewe.com/p/hopeforsurvival2
Connect and give me a shout. Share with family and friends.
Moving along …
If you are a guest or newcomer to the HFS journey, please check out this link for additional information offered through HFS. https://www.hopeforsurvival.com/post/guest-and-newcomers-information-page
We must make this brief public announcement to protect the innocent.
Ding, Ding, Ding....Attention HFS readers..... Opinions shared in this newsletter are just that, opinions, and nothing more. Read at your own risk. The owner and author of this site is not responsible for hurt feelings or thin-skinned readers. I do my best to show restraint and respect to the best extent possible. I take as many precautions as possible and try to remain as nonpolitical as possible, however, there are times when I just can't help but point certain things out. Occasionally I use words only Patriots recognize and understand. It's not personal against any non-Patriot. It's just the truth. Sometimes we must pull up our spenders and suck it up. Just saying. Stay the course, read what you want, and avoid the rest. Avoid fear porn as much as possible and the day will be okay. When all else fails… Keep the faith and always have Hope.
Let’s move along and get to some thoughts...
Thoughts for the week –
This week was birthday week and I want to thank all the HFS family who extended a birthday wish through text, phone calls, emails, and cards. It meant a lot to me and made the day the best birthday yet. Thank you. I owe Ms. Lucy a BIG thank you for her efforts to make my day special. Ms. Lucy pulled off a big surprise that I didn't expect at all. Historically, I prefer a quiet day with little fanfare. I tend to be low key in my private time (what's that?) and I may even seclude myself a bit. I like to think a lot and reflect on people and things around me. I am more of a observer and processor vs being noticed. I don't know about you, but as I have aged, the things are being replaced by people. It is amazing how wonderful life can be when surrounded by good people.
So when I went to dinner with Ms. Lucy thinking it would be a quiet evening with the two of us, she had invited several of the HFS HSV sisters and brothers to join us for dinner and birthday cupcakes. It was great. I did not expect it at all. Thanks to those who could attend and share their evening with us. Thank you for the cards and gifts. Bless you. As Ms. Lucy often comments, "the HFS Patriots are my family." Thank you for being a part of my special day. Again, I owe a big "thank you" to Ms. Lucy for making it a great day.
One of my HSV Patriot brothers gifted me with a very special token that I will treasure for years. It has the Hope logo laser engraved on it beautifully. I'm sharing this with you to point out how amazing God is. The token had a Bible verse engraved on it, Psalms 31:24, " Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, ye that hope in the Lord." What was not known by my Patriot brother is this verse is maybe my favorite Bible verse that I often refer to for myself. Thank you so much for your kindness and your personal comment below the Bible verse. Your personal comment is mutual brother. Blessings. This same Patriot brother celebrates his own birthday on Saturday, June 12, 2021. Happy birthday from all your sisters and brothers at HFS. Be blessed always.
Another thing that made it great was my buddy Wilson the squirrel sent me a card with his newest picture and he even signed it. How about that. I have been so busy lately I haven't had a lot of time to chat with him. Here is the card Wilson sent to me.
Wilson often tells me to always have a sense of humor. Get it?
Next ...
The past week was one of the busiest weeks I have lived through in a long while. It is all good and things are great. It was just a reminder to appreciate time and not waste it if your plate is full. Even if your plate is not full, each minute we live is a minute we can't get back. Invest it wisely. Time discipline is important in preparedness. Just as you manage your finances to determine what you can invest each pay period, you must also manage your time to ensure you are building your preparedness package at a good pace yet not so fast you burn out and quit. Sometimes it is wise to step back and let the dust settle for a week or two. It is important to understand what you are preparing for (plans) and not simply buying large quantities of resources that no one will eat when the time comes. It is important to plan appropriately with your time, finances, available space to store the resources, and understand why you are doing it. All of this can be categorized under the mindset and your mental tool box. Your understanding to why you prepare should be more of a mental investment than a action you are simply doing.
Next ....
One of the most often questions I hear when discussing team building or building a community is "how do I meet people" or "how can I find people to consider for my team?" I believe each circumstance can be different. Locations, personalities, needs, and understanding, plays a key role in this process. Recently I was guest on the Prepper Broadcasting Network with Jim Walton as the host and he shared a great way to meet people in a community starting out. As simple as it sounded, it was something I had never really given much thought to doing. Jim shared how he started a Community Garden to meet new people. Brilliant, right? Jim even wrote a book on this topic. So it doesn't really matter if you are left or right. No politics involved. Simply bring people together to meet and bond and learn a skill while learning who may or may not fit in a preparedness group. Oh, and in the process a group is working together to provide fresh vegetables. It allows you to see who is willing to work and put forth the effort and who isn't. Bingo. Remember, you don't have to have a lot of land to grow a garden. If you can't grow it out, then grow it up. Back yards, rooftops of apartments, hill sides, and even on water sources. If a person has the willingness to step out there's numerous ways to grow food. You can search the internet and find numerous plans and suggestions on growing food. The biggest shortage is effort and willpower.
Next ....
One area I continually notice a shortfall is folks are to focused on events and news. They sacrifice available time they could be preparing by investing time watching news and world events. Don't get me wrong, this is a important area, but if a person isn't investing time to build a global, national, and local threat matrix to determine most likely threats and how they will impact the person on the local level, what is the point? Folks want to know what is going on and figuring out why and when the next event will occur and not asking how will it impact them nationally and more importantly locally. I cover the threat matrix process monthly in the HFS Zoom rallies. It is not hard to do and should become habit in your preparedness process monthly or even more often if events dictate same.
Here is an example:
The first step is setting up your three tiered matrix and through news and validation of news, identify what you believe are the biggest threats on the global, national and your local level within your five mile radius.
Then, build a more detailed breakdown of how the events on your first chart could drive specific events. How would a global or national famine type event impact you locally? Or, a world war globally, how would it impact you locally? Trucking, industry, employment, shortages of resources, crime, and so forth. Here is another example of the second chart you should build and keep current:
Once you have the two charts completed and filled in, you then review your preparedness plans to ensure you are prepared and resourced in the areas identified. Often times you are both prepared and resourced, you simply need to adjust or tweak things to be more specific if needed. How I build my five mile radius threat matrix could be different from yours based on locality and the ability for 18 wheelers to get to your area to deliver resources. The impact on communities near a major interstate system close to a major city would likely be resourced better than rural communities. If the No 1 threat is a global war, resources nationally would be impacted to support the military first and the citizens second. How would that impact you? Do you now see a greater need to prepare?
Many citizens trust they will always have access to resources in the local box store. Consider a major war, rising cost to key resources, unemployment, and supply chain breakdowns, and you should understand at a greater level why having food, water, medicinal and other resources is a must to stock and prepare. Only you can decide to be prepared.
Next ...
Please understand I am NOT advocating to take or not take the vaccine in my following comments. I am simply sharing a personal story and wondering how many of you possibly encountered something similar.
I visited my local Primary Care Doctor this week and after he walked in the door and before he took a seat he asked "have you been vaccinated yet?" NO was my reply. Personal choice to this point. If the scene had been a cartoon it would have showed the Doc's head exploding and blood pressure sky rocketing. The next few minutes went to slow motion as he faced me and shouted "your blood pressure is terrible, you are obese, and you are going to die." Echo, echo, echo, echo....as his words sunk in. Hmmm. This isn't going how I expected it to go. Then he said "those who are not vaccinated may as well play Russian Roulette because that is what they are doing". Ding, ding, ding. Is he done yet? A minute or two later he left the room and came back about five minutes later. He was calm now. He said "your blood pressure is good and you are keeping your weight down, this is good." Hmmm, do I have two different doctors?
So if you have not been vaccinated and if you will be going to a doctor soon, be prepared to possibly hear something along the same line. When I shared this story with Ms. Lucy she said "I'm surprised you didn't dress him down and put him in his place." Great point and in the past I would have been thrown out of the doc's office indeed. I needed a prescription renewal from him and he held the get out of jail free card. Not me. So give it thought and be prepared to possibly provide a response, if any, to why you have yet to be vaccinated. Just a word of caution. If you are there because you need something from the doctor that requires effort on his/her part, such as a referral or prescription, be cautious to how you respond. Good luck.
Okay, lets move along to the news…
Preparedness News –
1. From Survival Blog Contributor - Survival Blog - You Can Shoot -- But Can You Fight? I am a Marine. My style is direct and without flourish. (survivalblog.com) - It would be worth your time to check this out and go through it slowly. Take note to each question and answer it honestly. How do you rate? Many may decide it is time to focus more time on firearm safety, functionality, target engagement, tactics, and shoot- don't shoot type events. (Thanks Festus for providing this for this weeks PENL) Good stuff.
2. From Joseph Alton - Survival Medicine - Dental Trauma | Doom and Bloom (TM) - One of the areas most often not considered when sourcing for preparedness resources. Excellent article by Dr. Alton. Consider purchasing dental kits for about $8 per kit that includes temp repairs.
3. From Lauren Dibble - Hillsborough Homesteaders -How to Make Soap at Home (hillsborough-homesteading.com) - Here is another home skill that could come in handy in a long term survival posture.
4. From Green Thumb Gardner - Tomato Plants Wilting [Too Much Water Edition] | Green Thumb Gardener (gardenerthumb.com) - Ahh, the personality of the tomato plant. If you have ever grown tomatoes you have probably endured a tomato plant personality that is hard to figure out.
5. From a Guest Contributor - The Prepper Journal - Amateur Radio - The Beginner's Guide for Preppers - The Prepper Journal - Good information to consider having handy during our current times if you are a ham radio operator.
Other News –
1. From Dave Hodges - Common Sense Show - RED ALERT! DEEP INSIDER SOURCES SAY BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS PANICKING AND MAJOR FALSE FLAG OPERATIONS ARE ON THE TABLE TO BE FOLLOWED BY MARTIAL LAW | The Common Sense Show - I am not always a big fan of DH but he is very good at nailing points and gathering facts. I sometimes have a hard time with the sensationalism at times. No fault to DH, it gets attention and makes money. In my last YouTube video past about a week ago also suggested the belief a summer false flag would occur to take the negative attention off of Washington D.C. and the governments handling of Coronavirus and Covid-19. The degree of the false flag is undetermined at this point but I also would leave a lot of options open as to the type of event. With problems on multiple fronts both globally and nationally, any number of events could happen or one happen with piggy back events following soon after. Our best bet would be to remain focused and paying attention. (Thanks Festus for this submission)
2. From Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge - CIA (Dis)Information Operations Come Home To The US | ZeroHedge - Well, I could spend a week on this topic but I can't and won't. But, anyone who believes there is not predictive programming taking place and disinformation campaigns being constant in the US of A, then I don't know what to tell the person. It is not difficult to sway thinking or information a society believes through these types of campaigns. It is just that simple. (Thanks Festus for this submission)
3. From Brandon Smith - Alt-Market - Cyber Polygon: Will The Next Globalist War Game Lead To Another Convenient Catastrophe? - Alt-Market.us - About six months ago I was watching a podcast with a guest I had never heard of. The reason I remember the guest is because he predicted there would be another crisis the summer of 2021 following the Covid-19 event. The new event would involve Microsoft hacking, a supply chain break down and global famine as a result of the combination of events. Now reading this article certainly reminds me of the past interview and the upcoming cyber exercise. Stay tuned.... (Thanks Festus for this submission)
4. From N.C. Scout - American Partisan - Mises Institute: Private Security Isn’t Enough: Why America Needs Militias | American Partisan - Excellent article. Wonder why so many National Guard troops posted to defend the Government with no magazines or ammunition to thwart any attempted threat or take over? Who represented who and who decided who was the threat to our political figures? A true clown show where everyone dressed like a clown with no ring leader.
5. From Zachary Stieber - Epoch Times - Justice Department Unveils Proposed Gun Restriction Rule (theepochtimes.com) - Now this should be interesting going forward. No matter how much air politicians waste breathing and spewing the need for gun control, they know it will go no further. Or will it? Has the time finally arrived where the government will push the Patriots to the finish line? Time will tell.
Drum roll...........
That's all my Patriot brothers and sisters.
Thanks for your emails and messages. I enjoy hearing from you throughout the week and sharing your preparedness projects and accomplishments. I am still catching up on email so please forgive me if a response is a few days late.
Prayers - Please keep our great nation, our elected leaders, military and first responders in your thoughts and prayers. We pray for good health and wisdom. Please pray for our leadership to find answers and guidance to the problems facing our great nation. Please pray for the former President and his family. May your faith remain strong and answers to the unknown provided. God is good and may our prayers blanket and protect you and your circumstances. I pray for each, and every one of our Patriots.
May we pray for all the blessings and things in life to be thankful about and continued hope for revival around the world. We must continually pray for the unsaved, our family and friends who live each day without the protection for eternal life and salvation.
As Patriots we must stay strong and never give up. Our home, community and nation needs us now more than ever. Our nation suffers in many areas. The hole will only get deeper. The headwinds are strong against us but we must keep charging. Have a safe week. Don't allow the events around you to create fear in your life. Build your own self-reliance and focus on hope. Remember we are a blessed nation and we must continue to be great people today and make a better tomorrow. Keep charging."
Blessings,
Bravo Echo Out,
