My experience working with men and women who are seeking to prepare themselves and their families for coming disasters has made one thing quite clear…preparing can be an anxious business.  When you or I decide to plan and to prepare for coming disaster, we open ourselves up to unsettling thoughts.  But the purpose of our preparation is peace.  We are seeking to act now so that when things go badly, we will not have to fear.  A little stress now as we prepare can go a long way to providing rest then. But does that
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Generally speaking, goats are fairly hardy animals. There are a few things, however, that can take them down. One thing that can cause a goat to become is basic mistakes in care. One thing many new goat owners forget is to provide baking soda for their goats. Yes, goats eat baking soda, and it keeps their gut working properly. Always have a mineral feeder or small feed tub with plenty of baking soda available for them that they can eat free choice. They’ll eat what they need when they need it. Obviously, it can get
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Every homeschooling parent starts out with high hopes and visions of peaceful days teaching their children the important lessons in life. Then reality strikes. Teaching at home is not easy. It involves a great amount of planning and a huge effort to motivate yourself as well as your children, not to mention knowing a whole lot of stuff. You need to stay organized to make learning time run as smoothly as possible and to be sure that you do not miss any crucial topics that your children need to know. Then, your child becomes a
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Everyday carry is something anyone can benefit from. More than just a mindset of preparation and planning, more often than not it will require a specific set of tools that will fit a specific scenario for a specific person.  What isn’t as personal perhaps is a list of the most useful items that might find their way into your pockets, bags, or car. The list below is composed of some of the most impactful and utilitarian of all the items designed to fit in small spaces. A note: The typical response by those looking to
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When the foundations are shaken and the support systems we’ve all grown dependent on fail, who will stand up and bring order and peace amidst the chaos?  There are some, I suppose, who hope that no one does, who hope that chaos will reign in this frightening new world.  Such a hope is misplaced.  History shows that where anarchy exists, tyranny is just around the corner.  Nature abhors a vacuum.  So does society.  In the world God has made, there must be leaders.  The question is, what kind of leaders will we have?  Will they
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Vehicle emergency kits are essentials for anyone using a vehicle on a regular basis, and perhaps even more important to those who use them only occasionally. An explanation as to why each of these items makes sense for a vehicle emergency kit is listed with the suggested item below. Spare tire and large ratchet/socket/tire iron for changing the tires This is a fairly normal accoutrement with travelers. It allows you to get yourself out of a basic jam that is a frequent occurrence.  If you have the money, opt for a torque wrench or a
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Illness and disease in animals can be very serious. If you keep animals on your small farm or homestead, you are responsible for keeping them well, both for their sake and your family’s. Your animals are a part of your lifestyle. Depending on what animals you keep, they may provide you with milk, eggs, meat, wool, or protection. The animals need you to survive and thrive, and in turn, you need them to meet some of your basic needs. Your animals can’t talk to you and tell you that they don’t feel well. This means
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There is an awful lot of discussion of autism in the news and in schools lately. For the last ten to fifteen years, we have seen a rise in the diagnosis of autism in children. The statistics are certainly bleak: 1 in 110 children has an autism spectrum disorder. No one fully understands this disorder or what causes it. Many things have been suggested: diet, vaccinations, or simply a rise in better diagnosing. The vaccination debate has been very intense in particular, with many parents choosing to forgo vaccines for their infants and babies. No
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One benefit of belonging to a large family with a network of mutual friends is no shortage of hand-me-down clothes. T-shirts are one of the most popular items passed between friends and family members. I’ve often looked at a younger niece or nephew and reminisced about when my own children, now teenagers, wore those same clothes at that age. Now that they’re older, my boys happily sport t-shirts formerly owned by their uncles, or even my dad! Free range teenagers give clothes a real workout! By the time my boys outgrow a t-shirt these days,
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Teaching one child at home while running the household, keeping a budget, and taking care of everyone’s needs is not easy. Homeschooling more than one child at different grade levels turns the difficulty up several notches. Homeschooling any number of children successfully requires patience, planning, and a lot of knowledge and research. It is not a task to be taken lightly, but if you are already doing it, you know that the reward is worth all the work. So how do you tackle the impressive job of single-handedly educating two or more children of different
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