Fellow Patriots,
Happy New Year and an awesome 2021 to you!!! Can you believe we are finally out of 2020?
Welcome to the Patriot Express Newsletter (PENL) Edition #90. May you be healthy, blessed, and joyful today and everyday. The start of a new year. Goals and changes we pledge to improve upon. Weight loss? Exercise? Go to church more? Call loved ones more often? I'm thinking focus on world events less and more on your preparedness plans? Pledging 2 hours per week off social media and testing your plans? I know, I know, there is more to life than preparedness...until you need it. Actually one other important thing is getting the PENL completed and posted on time and this edition is a race against the clock.
Ms. Lucy and I had a great Christmas with family and friends in WV and VA. Lots of road time but some quality family time. As we go in to the new year we personally must give thanks for the health and safety of our family and friends. We are truly blessed. Is there anything better than seeing the sparkle in the grandkids eyes at Christmas? Watching Ms. Lucy interact with each child is like magic. Her gift and blessing in life is her ability to communicate and work with young children. Yes, the grandkids eyes sparkle when they see their Mar Mar walking in to the room.
I had the opportunity to meet up with two Patriot sisters from Roxboro, NC who drove up to Roanoke, VA. I think we made full use of every minute of the three hours spent together. It was great to see these young ladies and hear everything they have accomplished in their preparedness efforts. I am really proud of them for not giving up and always seeking answers on the best way to do things. Things like "using solar or alternative energy sources to heat a greenhouse during the winter months." Or, "getting a secondary power source on the well pump in the event electricity goes out." Or, "alternative ways to store food products within the home as storage space becomes critical. Time really passed quickly as it always seems to do when spending time with our sisters and brothers. Then, to top it off, they handed me a beautiful basket filled with home canned jams and jellies, chocolate candy, pralines, peanut butter pretzels and a piece of hand-crafted jewelry for Ms. Lucy. Fair trade off, right? Ms. Lucy gets the jewelry and I get all the jams and goodies? Seriously, ladies, you touched our hearts in a very special way and we thank you very much. PS....the peach and ginger is soooooo good. I have enjoyed it each morning this week. Bless you both.
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
Thursday Zoom Rallies – We will kick off the 2021 Zoom Rally series starting this Thursday, January 7, 2021. I will post further information on the Zoom series on Tuesday. Monitor the website for information. I received an email from one of our Zoom regulars who stated she was possibly going through withdrawals not having zoom during a three week period. It has been a nice two week break for me but I have missed spending Thursday evenings with the Zoom crew.
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
Parler – Preparedness101@Preparedness101
Connect and give me a shout. Share with family and friends.
Big news just out. It appears Heritage Life Skills 2021 is a go and will be help May 21-23, 2021 in Waynesville, NC. Woo hoo. This is big news and great excitement coming up. I'm thrilled for Ms. Jan and Mr. Bill, and the Carolina Readiness Supply store. If you have never attended HLS in the past you may want to consider marking your calendar and visiting a beautiful part of North Carolina and hanging out with some great people. Oh, and also get some great training over the three days.
Moving along …
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.
As HFS continues to grow, I believe it's important to remind everyone respect and honor is important to the HFS family and mission. We welcome everyone aboard and hope you find a comfortable place to hang around and learn preparedness. With multiple platforms (Zoom, Signal, and Comment section in articles) to interact with other HFS members I remind everyone to treat one another respect. We all come from different backgrounds, ages, experiences, and desires. Disrespecting, demeaning or intimidating comments will not be tolerated on any account.
Let’s move along and get to some thoughts...
Thoughts for the week –
I wanted to write an article to post on the website this past week specifically on this topic but time didn't permit me to do so. Between lots of road miles, visits, and battling a head and chest and head cold, the quickest way for me to share these thoughts is to go ahead and post them in this section. So let me get started. Those who know me know I always come out of vacation or the holidays motivated and fired up when my time was spent around my liberal family. Oh yea.....
I heard so many folks in 2020 saying they couldn't wait to get to 2021. True, but, I'm thinking "if you haven't learned by now that you need to be self-reliant then 2021 will be no different from 2020." Individual adjustments to the attitude and mindset can make a huge difference and only the individual can make it. Right? The spiritual, psychological, and physical well being is the individual responsibility. The mental tool box is the individuals gift and if the person doesn't know how to use his/hers, they are probably going to need roadside help.
So lets talk about this a bit. Why? Because I see many preparers on social media focused on the space ship and not the asteroid falling to earth that could land on their head. Okay, that is a little dramatic. I hope you get my point. There is nothing wrong with watching global and national events as long as you are spending equal time completing your preparedness plans. Now, I'm just throwing this out to everyone. What a person chooses to do or not do is on the person. Until the person accepts a change of mindset to the "preparedness" mindset and way of life, all other efforts are pretty much for nothing. The preparedness efforts and mindset is the individual and family insurance policy to survive through self-reliance. Personal opinion only and I'm sticking to it. I know I sound like a broken record to many by constantly repeating "one is none, two is one, and three is better." In most cases your initial plan will fail and a secondary plan must be in your plans. What will you do if?
I commented a few times on the Signal App to the Thursday Zoom Group using the App about the Nashville bombing being a great learning opportunity. I know, it sounds morbid and pretty insensitive to be focused on preparedness on Christmas even and day. I agree. Question for you. Who can tell me a single event in the history of the world that specifically targeted a location using sensitivity and consideration before striking. What is my point? Preparedness is 24 x 7. We must be prepared and alert to possible events that could impact our way of life in our local area. Just like in Nashville, TN, it wasn't the blast that should have everyone's focus....but it does. I have talked about this in classes, articles, and zoom events. How will the event impact you in your area. Cause vs impact. The blast was the cause and the impact was the major damage to the AT@T facility. How would it possibly impact you? Well, your plans should tell you these answers.
At the same time the Nashville bombing was taking place a major winter snow storm swept across the southeastern states. Rain, freezing ice, snow, and power outages. Just like a few weeks ago when the hurricane swept across the gulf spawning tornadoes across Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas knocking out utilities to many. Several or our Patriot brothers and sisters lost power and other utilities during this period. Everyone was focused on the election when the hurricane appeared on the radar with minimal notice. Threats and hazards are often this way. A single threat that produces multiple threats. Or, like the Nashville bombing would have it, a coincidental major winter storm happened with additional impacts.
The question I asked then and now is this, did any preparers stop and immediately asses how these events could impact their preparedness plans? Remember, cause and impact. Here's some things preparers should be asking based on the Nashville event and winter weather:
- How did the Nashville explosion impact me? Do I, my family, or people on my Communication P.A.C.E. Plan use AT@T services? You may not know off the top of your head but your P.A.C.E. Plan should indicate who listed a cellular phone as one of their contact methods and who did they list as the carrier? AT@T cellular services went down in about a 200 mile radius around Nashville. Did it impact you or anyone on your P.A.C.E. Plan? Did this impact texting through AT@T? If a person listed their cellular phone as their P or primary and texting as their A or alternate you have lost the two primary means of communication without knowing it. This would eventually be discovered but the time wasted getting critical information to your team could be costly.
- If you do not have some cash set aside and an event hits in your region or distant region and you can't get cash from the local ATM machine when needed or you have to leave home for another emergency and stop to get cash and can't, there could be no other contingency plan if credit card machines are down as well. It is important to have cash on hand at all times.
- Not far away from Nashville a winter storm impacted several states on Christmas eve and day. Many areas had rain, sleet, ice, then snow. By sundown the roads turned to ice skating rinks for vehicles. In my region of east TN calls went out for anyone with four wheel drive vehicles to help stranded motorist trying to get home from their swing shift jobs. Most of the wreckers in the vicinity worked along Interstate 40 from Knoxville to Bristol helping stranded motorist in ditches. Away from the interstate on the country back roads it was the same with no one to respond other than good hearted citizens willing to go out on Christmas eve to help stranded strangers. Folks spent hours upon hours waiting on help to find them. Many of the areas would be in limited to no cell service areas. The million dollar question is...how many of these folks had Day Bags or Ready Bags in their vehicles to provide resources to keep them warm, hydrated, fed, and possibly a change of clothing is needed. If the vehicle slid off the highway and over the hill does the person have a flashlight to signal for help and also look for dangerous obstacles if trying to escape and reach safety? How about a whistle to signal for help? Emergency roadside flares? How about a first aid kit? Yet, the simplest question to ask here is do you even have a day bag, ready bag, or bug-out-bag? Any kind of bag?
- The total number is unknown but reports surfaced that EBT and Debit cards in grocery stores tied in to the AT@T system would not work so stores and markets required cash. Basically the same as a post-disaster area from tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods, where cash is king and digital payments would not be possible. Hopefully anyone who prepares would not be caught in this predicament because preparers always keep several months food available. Right?
On a personal note, had I not applied the "one is none, two is one, and three is better" philosophy to my own life, I would have been caught in a jam recently. I was towing a pull behind UHaul trailer behind my truck when the trailer tongue jumped off the towing ball causing the trailer to engage the hydraulic brakes as I drug it by the chains at 55 mph. I'm not sure the trailer kept from flipping over as it rocked from wheel to wheel, left to right. I got the truck and trailer stopped on the side of the interstate about 8 feet off the road. Ugh. The trailer rested on the rested on the ground and the trailer was loaded with about 1,000 lbs of office furniture. I did not want to unload the trailer on the side of the interstate. It would be impossible for me to lift the long trailer tongue about 18 to 20 inches off the ground to reconnect. The primary jack to the truck for changing tires would not work because it must connect to a point elevated high enough to insert the jack under it. Dang. What will I do? Fortunately, I keep a small hydraulic roller jack in the bed of my truck that would work perfectly. This small jack weighs about 20 lbs and is about the size of a loaf and a half of bread. I won't waste your time with the rest of the story but the second jack in my plan saved me and allows me to get the trailer tongue lifted and back on my towing ball. Crazy thing is, I have been lugging this small hydraulic jack around with me for 35 years.
Okay, lets move along to the news…
Preparedness News –
1. From J.W. Rawles - Survival Blog - WALITAODAB. Living In The Age of Deception And Betrayal (survivalblog.com) - This is a great read. I recently mentioned the three avenues of warfare taking place in America. The good guys, the deep state, and international threats. How do you know what is the truth? You probably won't know in man cases.
2. From Bryan Rucker - Survival Cache - How to Hunt Without a Firearm: Survival 101 - Survival Cache - This is good information to know and have. You may not always have a firearm with you and/or you may need to save your ammo or practice sound discipline.
Other News –
1. From Secular Democrats of America - Democrat document surfaces demanding Biden clamp down on conservative Christians, remove them from public office and re-educate Trump voters – LeoHohmann.com - Here it is coming to a theater near you. Okay, maybe not a theater but to your local church and community. Thought the Democrats would assume the position of rest after the Biden election participation? Check this out.
2. From NC Scout - American Partisan - The Next Question, by Publius Valerius | American Partisan - This is an excellent read. Good thought provoking article.
3. From John Whitehead - The Rutherford Institute - The Rutherford Institute :: 2020: The Year the Tree of Liberty Was Torched | By John W. Whitehead | - JW offers another thought provoking article on the state of our nation as we leave 2020 behind. Where do we go from here?
Drum roll...........
That's all my Patriot brothers and sisters. Stay alert and strong.
Thanks much for your time to read the PENL and hanging with us at Hope for Survival. We all have different desires in news and what we read at different points in our day. Hopefully HFS has provided information to stimulate your thinking and the realities around us. It is important for you to keep your feet and minds grounded as the world continues towards an unknown destination.
Keep the faith and continue doing great things for yourself and others. Be kind and do a good deed for a stranger this week. I don't know how much you monitor your local news or regional. Suicides are on the rise and the holiday season will contribute to this national problem. Think of those around you and share a smile or a meal if you can.
Keep the emails flowing. I am a few days behind schedule but I will answer your email back as soon as possible. Go bring new friends and help spread the word on Preparedness. Visit the HFS YouTube page and check out the numerous preparedness videos. Subscribe and hit like. It’s a minimal price to pay for free information. I appreciate you sharing the great things you are doing with your plans and progress moving you forward. Keep charging ahead.
Prayers - Please keep our great nation, our elected leaders, military and first responders in your thoughts and prayers. We pray for good healthy and wisdom in this new year. Please pray for our leadership to find answers and guidance to the problems facing our great nation as we continue to resolve our election. We must pray for our Patriots traveling to Washington D.C. on Jan 6, 2021. May peace be cast upon us and protect us each day while searching for honesty in the election results. I pray for each, and every one of our Patriots. May we all be protected from the growing evils surrounding and attacking our families daily. May we pray for all the blessings and things in life to be thankful about and continued hope for revival around the world. Thank you Jesus for an answered prayer for one of our Patriot sisters disability approval on the first attempt. Thank you for this answered prayer. We must continually pray for the unsaved, our family and friends who live each day without the protection for eternal life and salvation. Amen.
Keep charging and have a safe week. Don’t allow the events around us to create fear in your life. Build your own self-reliance and focus on hope. We are a blessed nation and we must continue to be great people.
Blessings,
Bravo Echo Out,
Comments