This article was originally published by Daisy Luther at The Organic Prepper
Lately, it seems like pretty hard to find good news.
Folks are judging each other based on who they vote for during the presidential race that occurred two years ago. Battle lines have been drawn and any day now, I expect a bloodbath to erupt between extremists on both sides. People are shooting at other people because of the color of their skin, the uniform they wear, or who they love. Heck, sometimes they don’t even need a reason, which is why good people need to be able to defend themselves. The things some teens do to amuse themselves is enough to make you sick.
On social media, the arguments have become vicious. People are becoming even more stressed and anxious after logging into Facebook hoping to see cute puppy pictures. Instead, they’re watching their friends rip each other apart over differences of opinions. And these opinions? They’re only based on what little we get to see in the news. Oh – and to ice the chaos cupcake, that “information” is massaged to get the most emotional bang for its buck or to manipulate us into hating, loving, or begging for gun control.
And, of course, our economy is also teetering on the brink of disaster, our water supplies are tainted, and our food is doused with cancer-causing chemicals.
The outlook is not very good in America right now. We’re heading to hell on a greasy slide.
We shouldn’t be having fun. We should be relentlessly preparing, shooting at targets, and getting the bunker ready, right? There should be no humor, no laughter, and no pleasure if we mean business. Right?
Wrong.
Fun is not the F-Word
Now, more than ever, you need to find some light in your day. “Fun” is not anti-prepper. It can be a remedy to the insanity of the world, lest that insanity infect you.
Every once in a while, someone (who doesn’t tend to last long around here) chimes into the comments section about the humor I try to inject into some of my posts. They tell me that this is all serious business, that the world is ending, and that they don’t find me one bit clever. Sure, they like the information, but my sense of humor, to them, is entirely out of place. They want me to remove anything that would cause a smile from my website, anything that is frivolous, and anything that shows there is life outside of prepping.
“Gadzooks,” they say. (Not really, because I think I’m probably the only person alive who still uses the word gadzooks.) “You admitted to watching a television show!!! Don’t you realize that a really bad law passed, they’re coming for your guns, and you’re being poisoned by *insert company or government agency here*!!!!! GET SERIOUS!”
Absolutely not. I can provide serious information without becoming a dry, humorless, unhappy person.
Because no matter what is happening, I want my kids to have a sense of joy. Survival is just as much about the strength of your state of mind as it is about your physical being.
Despite the horrible news in the world, I take some time each day to do something fun with my family. Sometimes we watch a free movie on Amazon Prime. Sometimes we play board games. (I smoke my kids at Scrabble – booyah!) Sometimes we read aloud. We hike, we go to museums, we go out to dinner, and we go on all-day-long road trips. We watch the antics of our fluffy baby chicks and we stick our feet in the creek. We go swimming, we enjoy meeting up with friends, and sometimes we just find animals in the clouds floating by overhead while we lay in the grass. We go on vacations and see cool places because I refuse to live in fear and limit my life.
Does this mean that I need to give up my “prepper card”? Does it mean that my commitment to preparedness is any less diligent than those who grimly ignore all things related to popular culture?
I believe that there are different routes to the same destination.
Prepping can be an exercise of optimism
The route I choose is the road of optimism. Smiling, laughing, playing, using my imagination – all of those things keep me happy and focused. We all have to make our own choices about how we live our lives, and I don’t want to look back and wish that I had spent more time living and less time just plodding along, waiting for a disaster. Every person needs time to “switch off” and there are many different ways to do that.
To be entertained and to take a break in a long day of hard work can mean the difference between proceeding to the next day with optimism and enthusiasm, and dragging yourself out of bed to trudge forth through another day filled with duty, hard work, and focus, until you go to sleep, then get up to do it all again. While this may work for some people, it doesn’t work for many others.
My goals for survival are not limited to just continuing to breathe air, scavenge for food, and figure out the enemy’s next move. I want to have the perspective to still find joy in that first crocus poking its head through the snow or to wonder how the sunsets over the mountains can be progressively more vibrant every single day. I want to watch the baby lambs hop around on their spindly wobbly legs and coo at the sweetness of it. I want to laugh whenever I watch chickens run because that is the funniest thing you can ever see on a farm – it cracks me up every single time, the way they pull their legs up and put their necks into it.
To be able to have that perspective, I need to take a break from the seriousness I involve myself in all day, every day. To approach problems anew, sometimes I need to let them go and throw myself into something else for a while. I, like many people, cannot thrive in a constant state of high alert.
I want to sit down at night with my family and just relax. I don’t want to spend every moment thinking about the possibility of China invading or North Korea launching an EMP strike over Kansas. I don’t want to be constantly thinking about what I’ll do if my home gets SWAT-teamed over the organic compost pile and tomatoes that look, to a nosy neighbor, like marijuana. I don’t spend all of my spare moments planning a nuke-proof bunker or drawing up designs for an ark to launch into the sea if a pole shift occurs.
Of course, this being said, it’s hard to shut off that mentality. We’re not passively laying there in a Beta state, dazedly absorbing commercials. We’re generally doing other things while watching the show, like sewing, doodling, or doing a craft. We pick movies apart and analyze them. We’ve found this to be an interesting and entertaining way to use our critical thinking skills, and I’m always impressed at what a good tool this can be when my kids come up with an angle that had never even occurred to me.
I remember this time when I wrote an article about some survival “what not to do” tips that I compiled during a season of The Walking Dead. Not only were there some comments that seemed a little over-the-top-critical on the article itself, but I also received some angry emails from readers who were unhappy with my topic. They seemed to feel that my “admission” that I watch a popular show somehow discredited all of the other information provided on this website. They were offended by this one article that compared some pop culture to survival situations, despite the fact that they were not compelled to comment on the more than 2000 other articles on the website that have no mention of television programs. Somehow, my mention of watching a specific show (one that is fairly popular with some of the preparedness set) seemed to summon up images that I sit here typing out articles while watching the Oprah channel and eating Cheetos.
What I like to do for fun
Well, here’s my response. I’m not always 100% serious. I do other things besides working in the garden, writing articles, and canning food. Sometimes I do stuff for absolutely no other reason more compelling than “because it’s fun.”
I, Daisy Luther, do solemnly confess the following:
- I watch not only The Walking Dead, but also Game of Thrones.
- In fact, I watch shows on Amazon or Netflix several nights a week.
- I also read fiction, and my favorite authors are Dean Koontz, George R. R. Martin, and Stephen King.
- One of my “gun” guy friends watches NASCAR.
- The most intense survivalist I know is a major gamer. Oh, and he also watches The Walking Dead. And to put the icing on the cake, we often discuss it over coffee the next day. Occasionally, that coffee is from Starbucks.
- One of my daughters makes money as an artist. Yep, she draws pictures.
- My other daughter makes money on Instagram. Yes, she promotes jewelry and clothing.
- An amazing preparedness writer I know builds remote-controlled toy airplanes.
- Both of my children are bookworms and read for several hours a day, just for fun.
- I’ve been known to get together with a girlfriend and pursue frivolous activities like scrapbooking or jewelry making.
- Another preparedness writer friend is a gourmet cook who can make anything from a pot of beans to fancy French food I can’t even pronounce.
- I like doing crossword puzzles.
- I like coloring.
- I keep my air conditioner set at downright cold at night. It’s glorious.
- An intense alternative journalist I know makes the most stunning and intricate mosaics I’ve ever seen.
- Sometimes, I eat cheeseburgers. From a restaurant.
- We go to concerts. And not lofty, classical music ones. I’m talking about ZZ Top and stuff like that.
- I don’t just plant vegetables. Sometimes I plant flowers that are strictly ornamental. I do this for no other reasons more serious than (1) because I like the smell and (2) because they’re pretty. We sometimes go see a movie at the theater. And get POPCORN.
- I absolutely live for the ocean. We go to the beach and play in the sand and sea. On vacation.
Does any of this mean that we aren’t serious about preparedness? No. Are we frivolous little flowers who don’t deserve to survive? No. Do I waste money on entertainment every day? Of course not.
It means that we value having a little bit of balance in our lives. I strongly believe that if your hobby doesn’t negatively impact your budget or use up hours that should be spent preparing, that some downtime is beneficial. It can help you to maintain your motivation through the long haul and in no way does it take away from what you’ve accomplished during your working hours. I don’t personally enjoy NASCAR, spectator sports, or video games (Zzzzz…) but I don’t judge people who do. It’s simply a matter of having your priorities in order.
Too much stress can mentally destroy a person. We all need to take a moment to get off of Facebook and the forums, to stop watching videos of horrifying events, to stop thinking about everything going wrong in the world, and give our minds a break. When we do, we come back stronger and more determined.
Life is about experiences, not about grimly preparing for the bitter end. It’s about joy and laughter and friendship and family. Do you want to be the person who sulks and hides in the house when it rains or the person who goes out and jumps in the puddles?
Go out this weekend and have some fun. Forget, for a time, the current events that cause us all stress and outrage.
Have FUN.
What are your guilty secret pleasures?
What about you? Do you have any guilty secrets? Any confessions about how you spend your spare time? Do you feel that these moments out of your day help or hinder your commitment to preparedness? And for those of you who take the opposite view, please share your reasons too.
Please feel free to share any information from this article in part or in full, giving credit to the author and including a link to The Organic Prepper and the following bio.
Daisy is a coffee-swigging, gun-toting, homeschooling blogger who writes about current events, preparedness, frugality, and the pursuit of liberty on her websites, The Organic Prepper and DaisyLuther.com She is the author of 4 books and the co-founder of Preppers University, where she teaches intensive preparedness courses in a live online classroom setting. You can follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter,.
As usual, Daisy has written well. Most importantly, she strikes a balance between recognition of the world as it is (divisive!) and the necessity for wise preps tempered with enjoyment.
I would like to add however, that some current thought departs from mere “fun” or even the so-called right to the ‘pursuit of happiness’ as a paramount goal. To learn more in this area one very able thinker is Jordan Peterson; numerous lectures/interviews online skilfully address today’s issues.
Again, well expressed Daisy!
Great article. One can too easily fall down the rabbit hole if all you dwell on is the news and doom and gloom. Gotta enjoy this life while we’re living it as WELL as be smart and prepared for possible future events!
Daisy, Thank you for this article! I was caught in the all doom and gloom cycle for a period of time until I realized that it was not beneficial. I have since moved from what I considered an ideal survival location to North Carolina to get out of the cold Midwest to be by a lake and get a used boat and be near family.
I am still watching events but am having more peace now than before. Thank you again! God bless, James
Lately, it seems like pretty hard to find good news.
Not on this website, as if it was all good news, there would not have any doom porn advertisers to click.
You have your muslim man lover’s ass to lick, blow.
Sorry mezofrybrain, I am a red blooded patriot America who puts America First, Not the commie state of parasites like you. So you demonize the Muslim so your bunch can steal more of their land. Everybody here see’s where you are coming from. Pure Evil.
You are no patriot. Government agent troll is my guess.
Describing yourself to a T Menzo. You smell of a Mossad Agent
You smell of shit like your buddy.
You live for hate and recognition.
I love ya bud. Love does conquer all. Figure I got another 20 in this life cycle. How many of your final years do you wanna waist in hate?
Think, don’t hate
What I consider fun is whitewater rafting, spelunking, rock climbing, snow skiing, horseback riding, hiking, etc. Do something that causes exertion.
And then typically primitive camping except really filling meals as your friends and family will be powerfully hungry after exerting themselves. Then laughing and storytelling around a campfire that has a little burning cedar in it for natural incense. And worshipping YHWH as GOD is absolutely real when around Nature.
And while doing all of that, using ancestral skills.
Nothing is more fun, fulfilling, educational, and renews your mind, body, and soul.
And if you take the time to add a little botany, history, and geology hands-on, well your kids will love it. And all of that is wholesome and as long as your wife doesn’t have to do all the cooking and sleeps confortably, then it can be very romantic as well.
There are plenty of inexpensive family vacations where if you intially borrow camping equipment by sharing with a friend by buying equipment he doesn’t have, then later buying it piece meal, then it is affordable.
And then you are BOTH pragmatically prepping and having fun.
Fun; Shooting a target repeatedly with your most hated scum politician or globalist trash’s picture on it and slicing it to hell.
That’s the proper Christian attitude to have, keep up the good work douche.
Who asked you a fucking thing?
Having a bad day sir? Not having the ability to tug on your pud because of erectile difficulties? Big Truck, Small Dick Syndrome?
Guess I’d be pretty mad at life too if I had your issues.
I’m mad at shit people such as yourself and waiting patiently for the day when I can let loose on your kind and just keep on going.
Menzoberranzan has a hard time even identifying who the enemy of America is. He claims it Globalists, but then claims the GJws and Israheell are his friends.
Well here is a quote from one of your so called friends to help you out some. I hope this helps sort out your confusion in your mind.
Netanyahu’s Real Feelings about America were revealed in a secretly tape-recorded conversation in Fink’s Bar in Jerusalem al-Quds in 1990.
Netanyahu’s Quote: “If we get caught they will just replace us with persons of the same cloth. So it doesn’t matter what you do, America is a Golden Calf and we will suck it dry, chop it up, and sell it off piece by piece until there is nothing left but the world’s biggest welfare state that we will create and control.
Why? Because it is God’s will and America is big enough to take the hit so we can do it again, again and again. This is what we do to countries that we hate. We destroy them very slowly and make them suffer for refusing to be our slaves.” Smoloko.com
Hey fuck you blow. You’re in bed with the muslim trash. I bet you are a cocksucker too.
I’ll be glad to go round and round with you every fucking day if you wish, scum atheist muslim ass licker.
You are too stupid to distinguish a zionist from a Jew.
Uh oh, somebody’s whittle freelings are butt fucking hurt! What TSB says about your buddies in Tel Aviv is true and factual. Truth can hurt the most fragile human beings such as yourself.
Hell, you are probably one of those 5 Israelis that were caught dancing when the Twin Towers fell. you adore Israel more than America, I’d say it is clear where your allegiance stands.
Thanks Anon, I can use Mezofrybrain to humiliate every day if he likes, to expose his people’s evil ways. We all know who the evil doers are. His and those just like him are really at war with the truth and facts. I’m just the messenger to stand up to his polluted nonsense.
American is catching on to this bunch, and posting the truth hurts their cause to destroy America from within. Its his bunch that created NAACP, Transexual bathrooms, Womens Lib, Antifa, etc all to create hate and division, and break up the Family Unit in America. They only consist of 2.1% of the US population, so they are vastly out numbered when the shooting starts. Regardless of their fake lying scum media shills.
No one is humiliated but yourself. You are in league with the islamic savages. Makes you my enemy. If we ever meet, you die.
His friends are the Squatter baby killers in Palestine.
As the death toll rises, Genocide is the Agenda.
Office spokesman Rupert Colville said rules under international law “have been ignored again and again” and that lethal force should only be a “last resort.”
“It seems anyone is liable to be shot dead or injured: women, children, press personnel, first responders, bystanders,” he said.
In Israel, six human rights groups have asked the Supreme Court to declare as unlawful any regulations that allow soldiers to open fire at unarmed civilians.
**Yep it takes a real coward to shoot children from hilltops, wounding and maiming innocent kids. That’s Mezofrybrains friends and buddies.
I’m happy to know that you are not only a godless atheist scumbag, but an islamic sympathizer. Do you rape children too?
Dammit TSB, Quit telling the truth. It’s not what certain people want to hear lol. Make up a story you know, like in the buybull!
Low IQ you have revealed yourself also as a scum atheist Islamic sympathizer. Y’all may as well join the liberal progressive socialists as you share their beliefs. I want nothing to do with your kind except facing you in combat. That’s where I will be at some point. Talk all the shit you want. Someone just like me will waste you.
F’n fun. Thanks Daisy, this article beats any Michael Snyder doom and gloom article any day. Maybe there is still hope for this site.
If this site is so hopeless, why do you keep returning to it?
To read my post’s? 😛
Or to watch Menzo and TSB play, better entertainment than watching Netflix. Maybe tazwuss will get a clue.
Ya but so far it’s a 1 sided arguement. I want to see menzostien come up with real honest comebacks instead of namecalling. Can he do it? I have my doubts but ya never know….
I side with the Israelites over the Islamic savages. There are lots of people here that claim to be Christian yet hate them. It’s a hell of a contradiction. That she blows is a fool and I’ll continue to bash him verbally. Too bad I cannot bash his head in because I probably would.
And you are name calling yourself in case you haven’t noticed. You talk much but say little. Narcissistic perhaps? Only someone that regards himself too highly would call himself a genius.
Hey Genius… And I’m even typing with both hands tied behind my back, and blindfolded, just to make it more fair. If you have the truth on your side, thou shall win every argument against the cabal lovers like mezofrybrain, who lives in a bubble of illusion. He chats like a low IQ paid shill. Notice how he fails to respond on the weekends? Sat & Sunday off for the paid spammer.
How many different names have you gone by now, blow? Zeus, whatuthunkit? You may be the anti-genius for all I know. You know I’m a real man and I’d bet a lot of money you’d run away from a fight with me if you ever saw me. I’m still in fighting shape and I am a veteran that has fought in war and waiting on the next one to be fought right here on our soil. I don’t know what the hell you are other than a prick.
Laughing keeps you young. It helps you get through the hard times. In the military, me and the guys I was with at the time, would suddenly break out in laughter at our miserable predicament. I tell you it works.
Deer and goose season is still my best times as well as getting out to the range. Out in the woods you don’t know what you’re going to see next. Its quiet and has a sort of reverence, especially knowing that most of the trees are way older than you.
Goose stew is just about my favorite. There is something so delicious about goose fat. Yum. Now I am powerfully hungry!
Nothing wrong with gaming, watching Netflix or Prime, watching TV period (for fun, shut off the news!) playing with your animals- the best stress reducer! People always hate on the ways people relax and unwind.
If you are healthy and most of your needs are being met. If you have people in your life that care about you and who you care about, you are rich. Enjoy it and keep the memories.
B,
Excellent comment! Best I’ve read in a long time.
Although I have to admit some of the previous comments are a hoot!
I think one word sums it all up
BALANCE
Yep, get with nature and be one, its where I find my center. Like last night watching 2 x 1 month old baby fawns running and playing with each other. And today watching various flocks of Wild turkeys with their babies come in and graze for insects and kernels of corn I throw out in the yard for them.
Head to this site to discover what the Native Americans can teach you about nature and sustainability, and from who’s culture has been destroyed.
ht tps://www.offthegridnews.com/lost-ways-found/native-americans-sustainability/
Part of this article.
It behooves all of us interested in living as sustainably as possible to delve deeper into the ways of the past. The ways that the Native American people managed to survive in some of the harshest climates in our country — places where winds blow, temperatures freeze or scorch and water is scarce.
What does it mean to be sustainable?
The term “sustainable” or “sustainability” has come to mean a number of things including:
•Renewing resources at a rate equal to or greater than the rate at which they are consumed.
•Living within the resources that are available without damaging the environment.
•A community that resembles a living system where all resources are renewed and in balance always.
•An economic system that provides a high quality of life while renewing the environment and its resources.
Although all of these definitions are somewhat different, they all hold something in common — a respect for the earth, for natural resources and a stewardship mindset.
John Muir commented in the late 1800s that “Indians walk softly and hurt the landscape hardly more than birds or squirrels.” As a result, the land before the Europeans arrived was rich and fertile, organized and well-tended. Native Americans did not struggle against nature. They worked within the set boundaries and out of a spirit of respect. They took no more than they could use and used all they could from what they took, being sure to put the time and energy into the land so that it would continue to yield and continue to produce for generations to come.
Native Americans practiced extensive and intensive land management for food, clothing, shelter and medicine that was guided by a number of ethics including moderation, reciprocity, restraint, celebration and gratitude. In fact, we refer to Native Americans as the “first ecologists” or “first environmentalists.”
** Check out this article and many more, and learn and share secrets to the balance of life.
The only balance you have is your knees holding you still while you suck off your muslim boyfriend.
Now now, that’s not balance. You must refute what is said with truth then you have balance. Otherwise it is just as scumbag liberals do… resort to name calling and skirt the original issue. Refute, refute, refute. Otherwise you just look like a fool….
Not any of your concern unless you’re another Islamic sympathizer.
Hey G, Careful, before too long he will pull the Anti-semite race card on us… You know, when they got nothing else to support their evil ways. out comes the race / religious card. A spade is still a spade in my deck.
You’ll answer to Jesus on that and more. As will I.
Jebus been dead for over 2000 years as your kind murdered him according to your book of fables. So it may be the little voices in your small head echoing and bouncing around that you may hear.
I prep so that I can have some fun. And live my life. Safe in the knowledge that it can’t be screwed with by some cry baby commie asshat
Because nothing says “SJW” more than some humorless douche nozzle freaking out at the mere thought that somebody, somewhere is having a good time
I thought this would be a good article to share with you the good news. If you want to go to heaven, simply believe the gospel: Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4). Salvation is a free gift given to us by God when we put our faith in nothing else but that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. Our works, baptism etc. does not save us, if you add anything to the gospel or take away anything it is an accursed gospel. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Salvation is an absolutely free gift you cannot earn it, it can only be freely given by God. If you have put your trust in what Jesus Christ did for all of us you are saved forever and cannot lose your salvation. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). I know that this is not what is said by many concerning salvation, but it is what the Bible actually says. It can be hard to step back from our way of thinking about how we think we should be saved and look at how God says we are saved. I just thought this was important to share with you all. If you want more information here are 2 great YouTube channels: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCI1_Uh85cvDbK2PyPiY0FaQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2vX57S7VeTU7wkhwONr9rw/videos?disable_polymer=1&app=desktop God Bless.
Amen, Jack. Christ plus Nothing = Everything. Too much Lordship Salvation garbage being preached these days. Salvation is a free gift and cannot be revoked for any reason.
Oh for christ sake….
Just came back from the Georgian Bay area.I enjoyed fresh produce,milk and wild boar sausages.Picked up a ton of stuff from the flea market some frivolous some practical.
It was wonderful to watch the beautiful sunset on the lake .To have a fire to enjoy not to cook on.Enjoying all these things now as they may not be here later.But some of the fun I had was because we had no internet .So it was card games,reading and listening to the radio.I will remember all these good times
For fun try putting a gallon or 2 of gas on top of 5lbs. of tannerite (do it where it is safe from fire). Now that’s what I call FUN! Or make a track to ride 4 wheelers on with cones and have a competition with cups of beer. Whoever has the best time and spills the least beer wins. Fill some trash bags with oxy acetelyne mix and stick a fuse in the end (a long one lol) light it and run! All kinds of ways to have fun!
Or on MLK Blvd in Portland.
Or MLK blvd. in ANY city lol.
I always thought the point of prepping was to survive the Big One, and continue to live, as in prosper, and enjoy the life you’ve been given. To thrive is to continue with life in an expansive and continuing way, and who in hell wants to share their terrible times with some one who is always down? When I used to see my soldiers headed down Depression Alley, I would get them all in a circle, pick one random man, and give him ten minutes to say anything he wanted about me, without repercussion. Not only did it break the spell of depression, I found out a lot about myself. Ahem.
Sean, if one always try to do the right thing and be honest in life, they should never fear what someone says about them, and they will sleep well at night. Respect is earned, and I am sure you gained a lot of respect by your men, for taking arrows if they threw them at you. Even after a situation, it is good to sit down with other to critique what happened, and use it as a learning tool of how to do things better or different for achieved success next time when something happends. Leadership is a treasure.
If you were honest with yourself you’d realize you are a piece of shit. You’d go get your sidearm, stick it in your mouth and blow what little brains you have out the back of your worthless skull.
That wasn’t very nice Menzostien!
To be a genius you are awfully slow. It wasn’t intended to be nice. Another hater of God’s chosen people you have revealed and just as stupid as blow man here.
One Hoax propping up another hoax. Did you know 4 out of 5 Gods choose Jif peanut butter? Its true.. lol
You’ll remember all the shit you’ve talked about God’s son when you’re begging for mercy and apologizing for it before God. Those words mark well.
I don’t need to beg anybody for anything. More illusion from your cult superstition. You seem to be a pretty good slave to it though. Little voices telling you what to do.
?
We eat wild caught fish and game, some high quality store bought, farmers market non-gmo fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains. We buy organic sugar and Celtic salt or Redmond’s salt, or high quality organic herb salt mixtures. We buy organic herbs in bulk or grow our own. We drink filtered tap water or glass bottled mineral water. We make our own juices, avoid storebought. We don’t watch T.V. but we play.
_ Having fun is a by product of doing what you love to do with the people you love. Many people try too hard to have fun and wind up miserable. You can have fun doing hard labor. There is something envigorating getting outside, sweating, and getting dirty doing the most demanding work. Do you think nuclear physicists walk around all day frowning. I assure you. They don’t.
_
In kinder gentler times, to encourage young boys to build ancestral skills, they received a “pup tent” about aged 10 or 11. And then actually used it. And later when fishing and hunting trips came up, slept outside. Still later when aged 16, they would have their first camping adventures. I can fondly remember the thrill of being totally alone primitive camping under the myriad stars.
It fostered independent living and ancestral skills. Practically all my friends had similar experiences in Kentucky. They were all Christians and faithful. Some went to scouts and did that on top of independent camping. At one time there was actually a co-ed Christian alternative to scouting called the Explorers as a way to have a mixer in high aged teens as some might end up liking each other and meanwhile learn ancestral skills among mentors.
Typically they made it a priority to get gear slowly and inexpensvely, and yet learn how to rough it. Then when they got married merely bought a bigger tent.
You could rent a canoe until you could afford one. Rural Americans routinely camped and most often just made things a little nicer especially for wives so they coud be comfortable sleeping outside.
I have no idea why this stopped being popular. It seems like some Gen Xers restarted camping. I have seen little evidence that Millennials camp.
Girls and Boys scouting is so weird and not wholesome anymore. I woudn’t recommend any parents support their kids attending. This is actually shocking to me because once a young man who became an Eagle scout was an achievement.
The drug culture mocked it, and that is probably why scouting declined. Scouting became full of dysfunctional children of single parents.
About a year or so back while going through an old flea market I found and picked up a Boy Scout Handbook that was Copy write 1967. Was in very fine condition. Stays in my pack when I’m not reading through it.
I spend some of my extra time in the summer fixing up an old abandoned mining cabin. It is way cool and looks like something from a Led Zeppelin album cover. Just a labor of love and fun and a cool place to hang out.
Yeah, someone had an old scout manual and they didn’t want it so I took it figuring some kid might like to read it. A far better book is Tom Brown Jr’s Wilderness Survival book. I used to give those away as Christmas and birthday presents. The 3rd book on Wilderness Living with the Earth is better yet as a very serious shelter is framed and mudded and will last a long time versus a debris hut. In it are ideas on a counterweight on a bowdrill to make an engineered one that is a significant version.
If you have access to rock and mud and even manure, you mix the clay with manure and make survival cement. Such a structure might last decades as it dries.
A,
I thought camping was mainly for fishing, hunting, and people traveling between towns or cities.
I like to camp, and I have done so, and been taught a lot of skills.
But waking every 45 minutes to feed the fire so you and everyone else won’t freeze to death is not always fun.
Living out of a back pack on foot, in a primitive wilderness is fun for about 2 days.
Horses, Mules, Donkeys and lot of “stuff” are the way to camp.
Our ancestors did it that way, these REI guys are all nuts.
Full disclosure, I’m an REI member, have been for years.
If you’re a Christian and a prepper and a parent, I hope you send your kids to Christian camping in the summer. Nothing builds their faith more than daily worshipping at least three times per day, but doing lots of sports plus ancestral skills and an afternoon.of swimming. Typically there is “quiet time” where the kids play chess, read, journal, or sleep.
Most kids are overstimulated by electronic games and the Internet. That is terrible for their mental development. They need fresh air and sunshine and to learn the name of trees and wild edibles and animal tracking and archery. They need to burn up calories by vigorous hiking, swimming, running etc. They spend hours playing old games like Capture the Flag, elbow tag, knots, etc.
It’s a lttle expensive but it jump starts their faith and makes them passionate about Jesus. More than one ends up meeting their future spouse at such events as well. More than one future pastor ends up realizing their true vocation. Most end up finding anlay ministry. Many end up becoming counselors in training and later counselors too.
And it is wholesome fun.
For fun I like to go Mountain climbing, spelunking and motor-boating.
This article sums up HOW we are to get through the “End Times” https://153wordsofgod.wordpress.com/end-times-signs-and-prophecy/
Matt,
You are sick.
Motor-boating is disgusting.
I use a sailboat. Wind is free.
Hard to keep a precise schedule,
but it is solar powered.
A boat is a hole in the water that you pour money into. This is true for all boats — motorboats, ice boats, powerboats, sailboats, obsolete aircraft carriers, a rowing scull, submarines — even a dingy.
Blame,
For the most part you are right. Private boats are generally “hobby” boats. Boats require a lot of maintenance, skills to maintain, and repair. Fortunately I was taught how to build wood boats and worked in the industry( Challenger yachts) for a time. I actually broke even on the last sailboat, a 45 footer, I sold it for what I had into it( excluding my labor and normal maintenance costs). So I had the use of a 45 foot sailboat to go weekend and two week vacation sailing for 8 years, for free. But most people don’t know how to build, re-build, or maintain a boat. The only people that make money off hobby boats is builders, sales brokers, Boat yards and places/people that make, sell, and install goodies like you see at West marine or the Seattle boat show.
Today I’m on the “hard” and will probably never get another boat again.
In American history, keelboats were often tugged by mules to get past certain difficult spots plus the current. They were often poled in shallow areas. And they took cargo. Then on the return, they might not need either because the current was facing the right way. Of course they often used sails too.
A flatboat was often taken in one direction with the current generally, then upon arrival, disassembled.
These and sailboats are in Kunstler’s post-apocalyptic World Made By Hand four novels. They are vital for trade as they were from the Revolutionary war period up until steam engines. You probably would enjoy reading them.
Sailboats are an elegant means of travel but not always practical. A good friend found a mentor who built boats and he used his workshop and built a small one under his guidance. I think boatbuilding is a remarkable skill typing many ancestral skills together.
During the SHTF situation with governors apt to close state borders (a feature often mentioned in pandemic prepearedness plans) then boat travel is the best likely means of escape to get away the fastest and possibly get around locals blocking the roads.
I have been a deep sea and inland sailboat sailor and racer since I was 8-years-old.
I built a sailing dinghy from scratch and a set of 1940s blueprints when I was 14-years-old. I have repaired countless wooden boats, steamed ribs, replaced planking, done all kinds of caulking, and installed hardware and rigging. I once tried recasting a chainplate in middle school metal shop. I have repaired countless dinghy, outboard and inboard motors.
My ex-wife was even a competent sailor. She would have been a perfect partner for a bareboat charter anywhere.
When the kids got old enough (average age around 12), my father and his best friend bought an old 28-foot 1947 Johnson sailboat together, an E-Skow, that the kids sailed the varnish off every summer. She was an old boat in 1966. Leaked like a sieve. Still had the old heavy cotton sails that constantly needed patching. She had the original wooden mast that had a metal plate screwed in where a woodpecker had gone to work once. Still sailed just fine though. The 34-foot mast now hangs from the high ceiling of the yacht club, with signal flags stretched from top to bottom.
As a kid, every Spring, I was handed all the tools and materials, and sent out into the boat yard to caulk, sand, and varnish (2-coats), the entire hull. The boat would not go into the water until this yearly TLC was carried out. During the summer she was sailed day and night by the two families that owned her. Best boat ever. For an old girl she was still bright and quick. My dog wouldn’t let us leave the dock without him. I like to think she was always happy when us kids showed-up. My best friend and I would compete in class races at the local yacht club on Sundays, usually finishing last. We would start in the middle of the pack of twelve (12) other boats and work our way to last. But we always had fun. A lot of fun. We started to get pretty good at tuning her. Once, on a lark my best friend and I got her around the windward mark first once — to everybody’s shock and amazement.
One of my oldest childhood friends wrote and edited various sailing and yacht racing magazines, starting out at “Yachting.”
From the time I was 10- to 16-years-old I crewed on a 42-foot Herreshoff, once ferrying her up from Gibson Island to Newport in time for the Bermuda Race. Our camp on a Finger Lake (which we have had since the 1960s), in Upstate New York looks like a marina.
My brother is even more deeply into sailing than I am. He was hugely sought after for his skills as a go-fast sailboat tuner. He builds ice boats — RNs, DNs, Renegades — on spec for a hobby. He owns a 1904 12-foot design that carries a jib, a barn find, which he has re-built over and over and over again. The last time we checked the boat’s speed with a radar gun the boat still did over 120 MPH. She’s a monster. My brother is a State District Champion in Snipes.
I managed one of the ten oldest-yacht clubs in the continental United States for 4-years while I was going to college.
My state representative and a vice-president at a shipping company wanted to sponsor me to Kings Point, but the US Flag fleet is disappearing (along with all other American jobs and manufacturing), and I elected to stay in college.
After college I worked for a top 100 New York ad agency specializing in the marine industry. My accounts were companies like GE (their sonar, radar, and ocean systems). There was also the hugely fun stuff, like doing yearly product catalogs for companies like Grumman Boats.
My father was even more deeply into it. After his retirement, my father ferried sailboats for hire, up and down the east coast for various boat owners — for the fun of it. Other than the usual marine diesel breakdowns, he never incurred a casualty. By the time he had to retire from that his reputation was such that owners were calling him.
So, yeah. I know a little. But just a little. Practically everybody knows more than I do.
Sometimes people as me if it’s my job to piss them off.
I tell them “No, it’s my hobby.”
Everyone needs to have a hobby they enjoy.
There are two other fun activities that are empowering for young people or preppers wanting to stretch themselves.
One is Outward Bound. It was originally designed in the UK as young men were found to be too soft when entering military service. Later it became international and was very popular in the seventies and eighties. The young person elects to do a week to ten days adventure in the desert, rock and mountain climbing, an ardous river raftingm etc and uses a lot of sort of primitive skills as they live outside exclusively. It is a little expensive though. It’s not for whiners.
The second is to attend a similarly ling ancestral skills workshop to hone your abilities in making fire by many meanw, make cordage,build debris huts, learn tracking, various trap designs, do a sweat lodge, make bowls and spoons, etc. That is all done outside with a mentor and you take turns doing food prep, cooking, and cleaning up. It is slightly less expensive than Outward Bound. Tom Brown Jr’s Tracker School was the original one. Now you have lots of choices with many taught by former teachers of his school.
The first builds character and resolve. The latter dramatically improves ancestral skills and you’re judged on your skills with constructive crticism. Typically a lot of time is spent on wild edible identification to ensure you actually can do it. Then often depending on harvest times, then prepare food like leaching out tannins from acorns or harvesting various parts of a cattail and making a recipe.
If you are new to prepping and lack a mentor, you can vastly improve with hands on training versus ever learning from a book. And there is a real diverse group at these with farmers, hunters, honesteaders, veterans, kooky liberals, earthies, permies, survivalists, etc attending.
We don’t all have to agree in a learning environment and can still get along and enjoy each other’s company.
To relax,watching my chickens do chicken things is a real hoot. Especially as Daisy said,watching them run around. Being with my cats. Reading the classics, reading westerns. Just tuning out the world for a few hours.
A buddy of mine had a rooster that was mean as hell and attacked people. I was leaning over the truck bed talking to him one day and it came up behind me and sank its claws in my back! His sister ended up blowing it away finally lol.
Gen,
You never walk around the rear of a angry horse or mule,
you never turn your back on any angry birds.
I once had a young goose that would always attack. I would grab him by the neck and toss him down the hill. Until he learned how to fly he invariably hit a shed or crashed in to something. He eventually became tame as he would follow me everywhere, like a little puppy pet, but he stopped the attacks against me. Strangers were a different story, he would still go full tilt boogie. Ever fight with an angry goose flying at your face? You have to be careful. Sounds like you lost against a chicken.
Oh I kicked a 50 yard field goal with that sob! But he was a tough fooker and came back for more lol. Everyone kicked the shit out of him but he refused to quit. I’m not going to pull my gun out and shoot something that isn’t mine but the sister did! Now that I think about it he probably would be ok with it if I did shoot it!
And ya, geese are mean as hell! I just had hens NO rooster to deal with. Geese and ducks… you can have em’.
In fact judas priest has a song about the lil sob too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydbpMkAEj4I
rellik, while sitting on the back porch watching two young mules agitate an old mare by casually sneaking up and nipping her on the rump, trying to get her to chase them my visiting Walmart dependent Daughter said she could not believe we were sitting here watching stupid animals play for our entertainment. Watching them hurt my ribs more than watching a Carol Burnett show.
Those crazy Tim Conway “Missus uh Wiggins” skits were hysterically funny. Look on youtube. There’s one where Vicki Lawrence says some double entendre and they all lose their composure and practically cannot go on! It’s terrific.
His sister ended up blowing it. . .finally. . . lol.
If you have to make time for having fun, then your life is too complicated and too over-scheduled. Rather than starting with ‘Fun’ go after things that consume the time that you don’t have available for Fun.
If you give a man time for Fun he will have Fun for a day. But if you teach a man to clear his schedule and uncomplicate his life, he will have time for Fun every day for the rest of his life!
Sure hope Miss Daisy can remain optimistic when the unprepared gimmedats are kicking
down her front door for her supplies. Hope she can nudge them away with some 000buck.
There is excellent whitewater rafting in Zodiac rafts for seven people in West Virginia. You can do the “ironman” twin courses of the New and Galley on successive days and you’ll be very tired on that second day. The outfitters set up a tent with excellent cots and feed you inexpensive steak dinners and the food is filling if not particularly delicious. The whitewater is class five and six, so pretty challenging at times and the guide steers while the other six take directions. The guides are most often ski bums who work in ski resorts the rest of the time and do mountain biking as well.
But a far less expensive trip is to do mere rapids on an inflatable “duckie”. In a place like the South Fork, these are run by mom and pop outfitters with primitive camping and you pack a cooler. The rapids are only three and four, but since there’s no guide, it s you and your wife steering and paddling, so there are occasional mishaps and the thrill of getting caught in a hydraulic. Now I like adventure so it didn’t scare us, nor another couple who went with us. But as mild as it was, it did scare another wife and who was fearful of going overboard.
A hydraulic is an underwater current that sucks you under and then ejects you. They can be dangerous as a hydraulic can sweep under submerged boulders and if brush was caught there, you can get hung up. By typically, the hydraulic is merely a fun thrilling submerged ride and it pops you up as you’re wearing life jackets.
Everyone in our group had a blast and it was the cheapest adventure I ever went on. And we took waterproof disposable camera and these have a thick rubber band so you strap it on your wrist so there is no fear about losing an expensive camera. You really need Teva river sandals.
Another very inexpensive side trip was snorkeling near Kona Hawaii. Of course getting there was expensive, but the snorkeling side trip was cheap. You take frozen peas and put them in a sock, and squish them. The pea particulates diffuse out and draw in myriad multicolored fish. It was delightful and not strenuous swimming and without the expense of diving certification plus gear. I would recommend aquasocks due to coral cuts. Obviously take off jewelry prior.
Costa Rica is cheap for ecotravel. You can do horseback riding and ziplines in the rainforest canopy and add in swimming near a very pristine pool near a waterfall. My whole family found this very memorable and thrilling and magical. Plus it’s very inexpensive to eat the local food and eat lots of fish and fresh tropical fruit. For years I have suggested newlyweds and families do this to save money and see the rainforest while it’s still there.
If you’re adventurous, you can spend half a day horseback riding in Shawnee National Forest and it’s very inexpensive. Then you can primitive camp and the next day do free climbing rock climbing. It’s basucally v,bouldering techniques. It’s not difficult bouldering and if both parents have been before, you can take nine year olds on their first adventures as long as they very disciplined and do precisely what you tell them. It’s not for wild kids and poor parents. Otherwise the kids should be 12 at least. And there are swimming holes and small ledges too leap off safely into. Expect to spend at least four days to do all that and a day of driving. If well organized at camping, it’s a snap to set up after leaving work, so the tent is totally set up by 7:30 pm and a late supper is possible.
To go rapelling, you need a guide and lots of expensive gear. That’s not something you can do on your own as it can be quite technical. Rappelling and climbing up is typically part of zipline tours as you ascend and descend. Obviously it’s not for people who are afraid of heights. When rock climbing, some spelunking, free climbing, mountaineering, then the worst situation is getting so scared that you get a kind of fear inducing paralysis where people panic as they have to feel for handholds and footholds, as they cannot see them, just feel for them. If someone is foolish and bluffs their way into your party, then this is a lot of work for the leader to extricate them. You often are ledging so this means hugging the rock face and so that can terrify some.
A still inexpensive trip is the Wild Cave Tour at Mammoth cave. You bring knee and elbow pads and gloves and they supply helmets and headlights. It’s thrilling spelunking and you see deserted parts that regular visitors never get to see. Guys with big shoulders may have problems as some very tight spaces are down there and you have to wiggle sometimes bending your body up and down and side to side. It’s not for claustrophobic people and it is exhausting and demanding, so not for wimps. However everyone who I have recommended it to, had a fantastic time. It’s booked well in advance; you cannot just show up as then there is literally no chance of getting a spot on the tour.
There are inexpensive winter skiing spots just outside of my state at Paoli Peaks, and while on manmade snow instead of perfect powder, the moguls can be semi-challenging. However the runs are very short. It suited for beginners and families to learn how to ski before going to Utah (not horribly expensive) versus Colorado which is expensive.
The Rough River is not aptly named as it is often very flat and ideal for water skiing. It can even be like “glass” at times and even beginners can learn there. They often fail when dropping a ski to try just using one. It’s a good tubing spot for the kids.
I’ve taken the family fossil hunting in conjunction with primitive camping and they all enjoyed finding geodes and various types of common fossils and saw some very large fossils as well and crystal formations like amethyst or quartz.
Canoeing is often inexpensive if using mom and pop outfitters. Sometimes based on the season, you might have a little portage, but not badly so. It’s largely dependent on adequate rain and time of the year. This affects small rapids and depth. You might wear waterproof boots if the depth is low or if warm, then good Teva river sandals (which I suggest all preppers own as standard footwear). You can’t really hike in Tevas because there’s no ankle support and they are bad in snake country if a Copperhead or Rattler comes along.
Here’s what prepping is. You wake-up 30-years later. All your food has expired. The place sucks even worse than when you started prepping. And otherwise nothing has changed.
If you are a crafty sort of guy, then some guys like to make Christmas presents like fire pistons, rocket stoves, a true tinderbox with flint and steel, etc. Then when making one, it’s just as easy to make ten. And it’s good fun to use your tools and introduce hunters and campers to prepping. And who knows, maybe recruiting people for your tribe when the SHTF.
Kids from age 9-12 enter a little professor stage. They like learning bird songs and identifying wild edibles and treebark and leaves. Then if homeschooling, then taking the time to mentor them, have them use a digital camera or phone and catalogue these so by sight or sound identify them at random. A good Audubon guide serves as a refernce where you discuss habitat or the uses of the wood as lumber or medicinally or what edibles can be found, or wh
If you are a crafty sort of guy, then some guys like to make Christmas presents like fire pistons, rocket stoves, a true tinderbox with flint and steel, etc. Then when making one, it’s just as easy to make ten. And it’s good fun to use your tools and introduce hunters and campers to prepping. And who knows, maybe recruiting people for your tribe when the SHTF.
Kids from age 9-12 enter a little professor stage. They like learning bird songs and identifying wild edibles and treebark and leaves. Then if homeschooling, then taking the time to mentor them, have them use a digital camera or phone and catalogue these so by sight or sound identify them at random. A good Audubon guide serves as a refernce where you discuss habitat or the uses of the wood as lumber or medicinally or what edibles can be found, or what mammals live in them. They have a lot of fun with this.
6-8 year olds like collecting cordage material and making rope and it calms an overactive child while they accomplish something useful. Then you can make dreamweavers from willow branches by hooping them. You could make a reel and a primitive hook and they could use the cordage to fish. And then make a fishing basket with them and using the rope to place it and retrieve it. Use their cordage as a clothesline when primitive camping. You take fun things and make them crafts and utilitarian tools.
Teenagers often get surly unless they spend lots of Nature time outside. A teenager is naturally tribal. That is why they seek out their friends to be independent to you but dependent to them. And so organizing strenuous outdoor games with many teens is a good fun activity. Making crafty things like origami and tye dye shirts and homemade soap especially if adding essential oils and flower petals.
Teenagers can learn to weave a net and it relaxes their overactive mind and becomes like prayer time. And then have them making a landing net so their brothers and sisters can get the fish versus losing it before getting to shore.
Take the teens on rites of passage milestone to instill and expand their self-confidence if you want to make them mature faster. They perceive the “worth” as medals on their chest. Then you acknowledge their worth as adults when they act that way responsibly and do it publically. This makes you valuable to them as the authority figure and raises up consciencious adult versus a terribly bitter typically useless teenager playing electronic games out of sheer boredom.
As they accomplish goals and projects, then buy them a pocket knife and saying, “I think you’ve demonstrated you’re becoming an a real adult.” And buying them a compass. Or maps. Or their own tent. Or a coleman stove. Or a propane lantern. There is a method to the madness and what is taught then becomes fun.
Teens LOVE challenge courses. They love obstacle courses and capture the flag and messy games where they get wet and throw water baloons and get a whipped cream pie in the face. This lets them act like 9-12 year olds again and be ridiculous. They are designed to improve community within their clique of friends and to expand that tribe to include others. These are full of problem solving and physical dexterity and strength. Often they wear a blindfold and their girlfriend guides them or hide versa to teach them interdependence in marriage and responsibility and diplomacy and tact in the midst of frustration.
I helped facilitate this with youth at risk, young married couples, teenagers, true refugees, etc and they all loved it especially the young married couples.
A lot of teenagers are socially akward so bring in a lady who is an excellent teacher and organize dance classes with maybe five different kinds taught. Then throw a dance with appropriate music and decorate the place. They will have the very best time. I promise you as they will feel very self-confident and treat each other respectfully versus that nonsense peer pressure at school dances. The young ladies who are girlfriend will be your friends forever because they love to dance but their boyfriends are clueless. Now both will have an excellent time. Generally all wish they could dance so now you facilitated that and this vastly improves their sense of worth. That is priceless in a young 16 old wanting to be acknowledged as a man.
I wish church youth ministry would do this more as then at summer Christian camp, I have seen this truly build community where instead of six different cliques, they all worked in one accord.
Doing a service project is generally fun but you must have trained craftsmen and ramrods to guide the project. The ramrod gets the materials and has everything ready to go and divies out responsibility to craftsmen who teach basic saferty and tool use. Ideally these are single day or weekend jobs and trying to accomplish a very specific task. And of course that can be teens planting a garden, or doing a blitz of landscaping for an elderly person. Planting fall bulbs for the spring is good. Heck it can be a group of guys helping each other on painting and repairing a porch and then eating a hearty mess of barbque and drinking icy beer. Most people enjoy doing this in a spirit of cameraderie and accomplishment, but they need a ramrod to tell them what to do with clear instruction and patience.
Team: together everyone accomplishes more. It’s not as fast as doing it yourself but you’re being a mentor to pass on ancestral skills.
It can be very fun to take apart an appliance like a washing machine with a teenager or another husband, teaching them disassembly and assembly, writing down how things were configured, using wire numbers, using a multimeter, identify the actual problem through troubleshooting, finding the part number, going to get it and then installing it. Then testing it. His wife will surely be grateful. A lot of young men are timid as they were taught that a technician needs to do it, yet they lack the money to have it done, so have a heart and mentor them in the spirit of fun, because chances are someone mentored you in ancestral skills.
The average young person is clueless on types of saws and what they do, various fasteners, drilling four holes to mount a box, using a tap wrench properly, different kinds of wrenches, etc. This mentoring can be fun and it sure is useful and frugal.
Female (hen) turkeys with their young are totally charming as long as you hang back and not spook them. They sort of strut as they leave forests into meadows and make a gentle call to their poults as if to remind them to pay attention and keep up.
Now tom turkeys are insane territorial FIGHTERS. They love a good scrap. There are plenty of folks who have caught the ire of a mean old rascal turkey. Look on youtube under eye of the tiger and turkeys! Its like they imagine themselves as charging elephants, not mere birds.
Fawn can be very tame as can chipmunks. Both are adorable. Hungry deer will come out when you leave out salt blocks and grain because they inevitably run out of food. And it’s magical to watch the whitetail leaping. Garden of the Gods in Southern Illinois is FULL of deer but has few campers and hunters. I have never seen so many deer at once. I probably shouldn’t write this as that’s how they get hunted.
Foxes are very fun to watch as they play and hunt.
Sex is more fun than anything else.
True. But not sex with animals or the same gender as he blows or he delusionally believes he’s genius does. That’s just sick shit.
Mezofrybrain only had sex with himself, and was severely disappointed. As You can feel his frustration of life in general, as he spews his hatred for all good things in life.
You mother gave head well. She swallowed. Your wife and sisters went next and did the same. I smiled.
Sex is all about being personally pleased. It is designed to be selfish.
Love is unselfishly putting your spouse before your own needs, and intimacy within marriage is a gift from YHWH that reflects this commitment.And so by mutual reciprocity each is unselfish.
Pre-marital sex risks your partner by rushing them without a care of their fear of pregnancy and STDs and abandoning them.
Martital intimacy is delayed until a joint commitment is made legally and blessed by the church and YHWH.
Sex has no meaning.
Romantic intimacy within marriage is layered in meaning. That is why we are so vulnerable by definition after, and why arguments can start the next day as trust is high so small biting comments sting and shock the most.
Sex is based on taking from the other.
Romantic intimacy with a marriage is about giving to the other.
Wives and Husbands
(Song of Solomon 1:1-3; 1 Peter 3:1-7)
22Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Ephesians 5:22-33
Notice the parallel passage from Song of Solomon which is the naughty book of the Bible. It is very erotic but a metaphor for romantic intimacy NOT sex.
Feminists get very focused on the single passage about wives submitting themselves to their husbands, then entirely skip the fact that husbands are supposed to love his wife as Christ loved the church ie totally live in a self-sacrificing manner yet acting in an authoritative manner.
If wives did their part, and husbands did their part, then romantic intimacy would naturally happen and be rich and cause profound pleasure. Wives being submissive and Proverbs 31 wives would totally end pornography in Christian relationships. It is not all the husbands’ fault.
10 4 uAn excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than vjewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She wseeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
15 She xrises while it is yet night
and yprovides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She zdresses herself5 with strength
and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
20 She aopens her hand to bthe poor
and reaches out her hands to bthe needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in cscarlet.6
22 She makes dbed coverings for herself;
her clothing is efine linen and fpurple.
23 Her husband is known in gthe gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes hlinen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 iStrength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many jwomen have done kexcellently,
but you surpass them all.”
30 lCharm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.
Proverbs 31-10-31
Christian wves stopped being submissive and stopped being Proverbs 31 ladies. And men became sheep and stopped demanding this and just married an independent rebel. Guys don’t do that. Feminism is ungodly, heretical, and satanic. Never date a feminist. They place themselves before their husbands needs by definition so violate both Ephesians 5, Proverbs 31, and their marriage covenant that they made before their husband, pastor, the church assembly, and YHWH.
No wonder divorce is so high.
Daisy,
You nailed it. I think there are some folks that – just like vigilante “road rage” types- that thrive on the impending epochalypse and look to the “end of times” to be the highlight of their lives. It’s sad. Prepare for the bad, but enjoy life as you live it today.
You said it better than I could.
Folks…enjoy the time you have and don’t be obsessed with “Teotwawki”.
Love ya, Daisy
Tpat
Men are innately aggressive and yet many find no time to practice neither unarmed martial arts nor weaponry like swords. Both are beneficial but require partners and a teacher (called a sensei in Japanese martial arts by tradition). Why not take some classes?
Obviously mixed martial arts which involve wrestling are the most practical for close combat. That has been proven empiracally over and over. The problem is determining the credibility of the teacher and his ability versus his teaching skill. Most often, they try to minimize talking to focus the students, but may themselves talk to guide you.
These include Russian Sanbo, Japanese Jujitsu, Greco-Roman, and the Israeli Krav Maga. Judo is the sport version of Jujitsu. Aikido is the often co-ed spiritual discipline version of Jujitsu. Karate has a few wrestling elements but primarily are atemi (strikes and punches) and kicking techniques.
Boxing is just a sport with some ridiculous rules and while good exercise is a bad martial art and not taught in the military as it’s not practical. It is beneficial for stances and footwork though and exercise.
I’m a firm believer in the boken as a weapon. It’s a wooden sword used to learn various attacks, cuts,blocks, slices, thrusts which would damage an edged weapon. You still swing with a katana but by practicing primarily with the boken, and with a partner, you get the IMPACT. In my experience, after 15 minutes, people s chests are heaving because they don’t realize how much work it is.
This is great exercise and good for prepping and clears your head and aggression. Ultimately it improves self-confidence and instills calm and some called mushin which means “no mind” and zanshin ” clarity and readiness through out the attack and after”. Perhaps several of you could benefit from this? Together both use calmness and muscle memory to attack and defend without the slowness of anticipating and reacting.
To really test yourself, you get a suburito which is a special bokken that weighs 2-3 times the weight of a katana. You swing that and it’s like the old medicine ball effect. It takes a lot of strength and discipline to use it. And then when you pick up a katana, it feels light as a feather.
You will run out of ammunition, even if you are a reloader, and if the SHTF is serious, then a good tanto and katana maybe your primary weapons. Always consider a wakizashi (short sword) to use inside as katanas being lengthier, often got caught in corners and walls and then the swordsmen was screwed.
Focusing your aggression through a sword is both fun and good practical prepping.
The least expensive way to start is by purchasing a sword staff. A long blade is hidden inside a knurled cylinder which is the handle. Typically both are painted jet black. You use the staff like a baton. Or you can unscrew it and attach the dagger. Now you have a very lethal weapon. Or you can use the dagger in one hand and the baton in the other. These are cheap to purchase and you could use them if modified as a thrusting weapon to catch fish or frogs.
If you really have no money, a honda has been proven to be more effective in law enforcement and is superior to a police baton especially if you use unauthorized choking techniques with it.
Regardless, unarmed and armed combat are just as important as ranged weapons like handguns and rifles and shotguns. If the SHTF, you have to conserve ammunition until you have a reasonable chance for a lethal strike.
And getting out your aggression is valueable or else you will give yourself ulcers.
Young men especially need the release of aggression so teach your sons. Certain targets like the fibula of the leg, the seven bones of the wrist, the radius and ulna of the forearm, the collarbone, the xiphoid process all break easily and are standard targets women learn. An atemi to the solar plexus or to the kidneys causes a gasp and then a second attack to finish the opponent. Choking an opponent out by pressure to the baro-receptors is very effective, but must be carefully practiced with a sensei otherwise you may think you know how to do it, but don’t actually. A hammerstrike to the collar bone easily disables the opponent and is not expected and once you break it, they can’t lift their shoulder and then they are eliminated.
Inner and outer and reverse grip wrist locks are used by law enforcement over and over and have so often been empiracally tested that only a fool dismisses them. And they are quite easily learned. Students learning them though will have terribly sore wrists until they stretch the muscles of the forearm and get limber.
Autocorrect changed tonfa to honda. Tonfa became widely used in America law enforcement starting around the early eighties as they were superior to police batons.
If you like movies, I highly recommend Seven Samurai. It’s mostly about the fall of the samurai after Sekigahara, who then have no way to support themselves as veterans and administrators for they served as knights under feudalism.
They are hired for a pittance and choose to be honorable and to defend a village of helpless farmers. The samurai train them as militia and then go up against 36 bandit ronin. So there’s all kinds of fight scenes using archery, spears, clever tactics, cavalry, swordsmanship, and flintlocks.
It’s really great to inspire your children about doing what is right even if there is no profit in it, even if it means your death. There is nothing objectionable in it.
Since it came out, it has consistently been in the top ten films of all time.