The K Mills

I write it. You read it. That's it.

The Village Experience.

Thursday – Day 1

Today I left Sentani, hopping on a plane with 3 other guys to travel to a remote village and help a guy build a house. I have to say, it’s a lot different when you fly in a small plane. Suddenly the ground is a lot closer and foreboding than it is when you’re in a huge jet. There you’ve got pretzels and ginger ale and oxygen masks and stewardesses. In a puddle jumper? It’s you, God, the ground and the sky. And if there’s a problem in the latter? You’ll soon be seeing the former.

I’m hoping to do some research for my Indo adventure novel while I’m here, so we’ll see what pans out. Either way, I’ll get a lot of character-building, right? :)

 

Friday – Day 2

I needed to bring more padding for my sleeping accommodations. A plan sleeping bag? Not Enough. I could feel the slats of the wooden flood through my ribs They poked me. A lot. I found the best position to sleep in was a fetal one, because it somehow padded my sides enough that I wasn’t in constant pain. Just semi-constand. (Nah, it wasn’t really that bad… but it’s more entertaining if there’s tension, so I’m sticking with my sob story…)

Today we built a few sawhorses, then we moved a ton of heavy 4 x 4′s from one place to another. Honestly? I had no idea wood could be so heavy. Holy cow. I’ve lived a sheltered life. :)  After that, we started planing some wood, which is pretty cool. It’s basically a machine that shaves the planks of wood down until they’re all the exact same thickness. Which is pretty important when you’re making a house, you know?

After working, we walked down a muddy trail to wash off in the river. Which is also pretty brown and muddy. Honestly? I don’t think I’ll actually be clean until I get back to Sentani. Seriously. There’s mud and pig and goat poop everywhere. There’s the outside chance that I’ll reach the point where I’m not so sensitive to getting muddy and disgusting, but not likely. I mean, when I use 10 baby wipes to clean my feet off once I’m in my tent? There’s probably little hope for me going all native while I’m out here. Still, it could happen… I just wouldn’t place bets if I were in Vegas.

Tonight we had Mac and Cheese, and it was delicious. Only problem was, we made half as much, because we were afraid to use both boxes in case it was on the menu later. After we ate it and were still hungry? Only THEN we looked at the menu and decided it was safe to make the other box. Oh yeah, we’re geniuses, we are. :) It was still delicious. The green beans weren’t bad, either. We followed it up with some divine chocolate-covered almonds from my Mom. Sent around Easter-time no less. (Still delicious.)

I’m now safely secure in my Tent of Comfort and Safety (thank you, Clive Grey), listening to the offline playlists on Spotify, typing on my iPad Mini with my Bluetooth keyboard. (Already cleaned my ears with Q-tips, thank you.) Only problem is, I’m gonna have to make a colossal dump sometime soon, and you’re supposed to do it in the jungle by digging a hole with a parang (machete). I can tell you know, that’s not happenning in the dead of night. Nope, it sure ain’t.

It’s like I’m at camp or something here, being in a different place, new people, and sleeping in a tent. No canteen, but you packed a lot of goodies, so that’s awesome. Tomorrow I need to remember to take some Aleve in the morning… standing on your feet all day is EXHAUSTING.

- Kevin

P.S. It’s so humid here, my pillow is constantly moist. I’m living in a virtual rainforest.

 

Saturday – Day 3

I have yet to make a poop.

I’m going to attribute it to my working so hard. Maybe my body’s using up so much energy that there just isn’t any waste LEFT. It sounds good to me, at least.

Today was a solid day of work. I mainly stood all day by the planer, feeding in a plank of wood again and again and again until it was smooth and worthy of being a floorboard. The process takes a good 20 minutes per board, because we want to be careful not to overload the planer motor. Burning out the motor early in the process of creating a house? When we’re here for 2 weeks to do nothing BUT plane boards and make a floor? Well… that would just suck.

So we’re going slowly, shaving off a 1/8 an inch at a time until it’s the right height. It’s tedious, monotonous work, but I have my iPod Shuffle running the whole time under the hearing protection, so I’m good, in my own happy world.

Unfortunately, listening to insanely good music selections doesn’t make standing all day any easier. Aleve did that, to an extent, but it’s still odd to get a cramp in your bicep when you’re trying to scratch  your back. My muscles aren’t used to these motions, so they’re pretty strained. And buff. And sexy. Kim’s gonna love the new me. Raargh…

It’s hot in this tent tonight. Muggy. No airflow at all. Makes me wish I brought my USB fan in my office. Then I could plug it into the solar charger that I charged today and have some sweet airflow. Yep… that’d sure be nice… airflow… to dry off the sweat on my body… uh-huh… sure would be sweet.

Instead of tromping down to the river to wash off after working today, we all got naked and soaped up in a rainshower. Much cleaner, lemme tell ya. Just like camp… except for the naked part… and taking a shower in the rain. Okay, it was nothing like camp, but I enjoy saying that, so I keep on sayin’ it.

It occurs to me today’s Saturday. I haven’t talked to Kim since Thursday. We haven’t even discussed about using the satellite phone yet, ’cause we’re either working or cooking. (They love her menu selections. She really outdid herself.) Maybe I’ll talk to her tomorrow? Hopefully she’s not in withdrawl TOO much… what with the spontenous e-mails and videos she’s been getting*…. :)

- Kevin

*Before I left, I learned how to schedule e-mails and videos to be sent to Kim while I was gone, so each day she’d get a handful of scripture, photos, videos or an e-mail word of encouragement, even in my absence.

 

Sunday – Day 4

Had trouble sleeping last night. I was tired, but couldn’t sleep. Even after reading for an hour and FEELING sleepy, I lay there in bed for another hour. It’s odd… when you’re in a village? Dark is an all-consuming, midnight black darkness. You seriously can’t see your hand in front of your face. It’s bizarre.

So, when I almost drifted off to sleep? That’s when the village pigs decide to have a pow-wow underneath the hut we’re in. Screeching and grunting and rubbing against the foundational posts holding this thing up. If I wasn’t a grown, masculine man I’d be pretty terrified. Even as a full-blown bowl of testosterone, my mind couldn’t help imagining what it’d be like if the flood dropped out from beneath me, plunking me into the middle of their melee. It wasn’t a pleasant thought, lemme tell ya.

In retrospect, I think I should’ve brought sleeping pills. They would’ve helped.

On another note, I have yet to poop. I’m not bloated, sick or feverish. Just don’t have anything to poop. It’s become quite a conversation piece among the guys. They gleefully announce to me when they’re going to go into the jungle to poop. Say I should give it a try. And one day soon? I hope to. Mayhap even tomorrow.

My muscles are aching from lifting boards all day long. But she’s gonna be impressed with my tan, muscular build. That’s for sure. Raor…

- Kevin

 

Monday – Day 5

Last night there were no pigs having hoo-hah under our house in the middle of the night. Instead, I woke up at 3:30am to some village guy standing outside somewhere in the rain yelling “Yah!” every 3 minutes. For, like, half an hour. It was pretty dang bizarre, lemme just tell ya.

In other news, I made my Colossal Poop this morning. And you’ll never guess how… so I’m gonna tell ya. It was using the secret power of… coffee.

You read that right: Coffee.

The guys suggested I drink a cup of coffee to loosen my bowels, so I did. 20 minutes later, off I trot to into the jungle to follow the call. I had a head start when I entered the area and there was a pig ahead of me, squealing and running at the sight of me. Yep, that pretty much helped me vacate my stuff right there. Dang pig.

Was able to talk to Kim on the phone today, after figuring out the satellite phone. Glad to hear her voice, even with the delay. Praying she’ll continue to govern the house with love, patience and an iron fist. :) The guys and I ate spaghetti tonight, and it was awesome. Hats off to Kim again.

Instead of washing off with the regular 4:30pm rain shower (4 naked white guys sharing a bar of soap, all strategically positioned under the tarps to get a strong enough stream to rinse with. It’d be quite a sight, if anyone saw us. The villagers are all gone by that time.). Anyhow, as I was saying, instead of doing that we went down to the river and washed down there. It’s a muddy hike down, followed by a muddy hike up, but it’s semi-clean water, so that’s what we do. Me? I’d rather wait for a rain shower. But I’m being social, so… here I am.

I made no effort to express my distaste for swimming in a muddy, opaque river where crocodiles any other sorts of nasties could be lurking about. They enjoy teasing me about it, and I enjoy swimming downstream from them, so that I’m the last guy on the menu (provided Mr. Snapper isn’t swimming upstream…). I usually pee in the river too, mainly because it’s gonna be running down my leg anyway…

My solar charger is working like a charm, keeping my iPhone and iPod Shuffle nicely charged. It’s awesome. I do look forward to the new one coming with the US couriers these next few weeks. High capacity, two USB ports. Woot.

I downloaded a ton of Spotify playlists to listen to offline out here, and I found out that I can shuffle between all the Starred (hand-picked) songs easily. So that’s pretty fun, listening to “new” music as I cut the boards down to size. (I also have gloves, glasses and hearing protection on, FYI. It’s perfectly safe. The only way I can cut my hand is if I stick it under the cutter blades themselves, Which I won’t do. Cause I’m smart like that.)

Whelp, I’m gonna go read something… it’s kinda painful to type, hunched over like that. Maybe I’ll take a break tomorrow…

- Kevin

 

Tuesday – Day 6

We eat dinner from about 6:30pm to 7pm, after which Travis and I walk down the hill to the large evangelist hut we sleep in, while Andrew and Chuck stay behind and sleep in “the shack” at the worksite. Night is my favorite time, because that’s when I’m a viking! (No, I’m not really. But it is my favorite time.)

My typical nighttime ritual is this:

- Wash mud off feet outside (dip feet in large barrel of rain water)

- Find toothbrush and brush teeth ASAP

- Throw my electronics into the tent for later (iPhone, solar charger, flashlights, etc.)

- Remove sandal and stand on yesterday’s shirt. Remove all clothes and wipe feet off with said shirt. Stand naked and admire your buff physique from lifting heavy boards all day.

- Enter tent. (Be careful! Your entrance is also where your head sleeps, so you have to move gingerly to make sure you don’t get mud or dust or pig crap on your pillow. EVER.

- Pivot in tent so your feet are at the bottom of it (turn around). Grab the Anti-bacterial Baby Wipes and begin The Process. Wipe dirt off calves. Wipe dirt off bottoms and tops of feet. Grab more wipes and floss between the toes. (It feels so GOOD.)

- Get a Q-tip. Clean ears. Sigh deeply.

- Retrieve the iPad and keyboard and compose short journal note  before my back aches from being hunched over.

- Listen to Spotify playlists. Star songs I like, delete those I don’t.

- Watch a sermon or video.

- Read on the Kindle for a bit.

- Pray silently.

- Get sleepy, put in earplugs, pray for sleep. Drift off 30 minutes later.

That’s it. :) And now? My back’s aching, so I’m done for now.

- Kevin

 

Tuesday – Day 13 (Final Day)

The goats pee and poop all over the work area. On the boards, the cutting equipment, the generators… everywhere. And the male goat butted me in the back of the leg today. Right after I scratched his ears all lovingly like.

Stinking goats. They can be cute and wag their tails at you when you pet ‘em, then turn on you and attack in a second. You’d wanna punch them, but then they’d be more aggressive and come at you harder. Makes you wish you had a taser…

It rained a lot today, so we were able to take showers in the rain, using the runoff from the tarps as a poor man’s shower. The strange thing is the rain water’s soft… the soap kinda sticks to you. The other odd thing is stripping down to my underwear and lathering up, all while the village people are watching a few feet away. (When you live in a village, new people ARE the entertainment… even if we’re just planing boards for hours a day…)

I have quite the neck beard going on. And I’m a hairy, sweaty mess. It’s odd to think that it’s cooler here in the village than back in Sentani. So even when I go home, I’ll still be sweaty. And hotter.

It’s been a nice village experience. It’s pretty much what I expected. More mud, though. A lot more mud. More mud than I’ve ever seen in my life. Much less stepped in. And when I say “mud” I’m talking about dirt and clay mixed with rain, pig pee, pig poop, goat crap, etc…

Dis. Gusting.

I’ve decided to leave some shorts and T-shirts behind. Considering how remote this place is and how few new clothes come in, it’s the least I could do. I can always buy more clothes when I get home. I’m giving my Superman shirt to Istral (“Israel”), so whenever the Claussens see him wearing it, they’ll laugh and remember my contribution here. (Totally selfish, I guess…)

I do look forward to collecting things to send out as a care package in the future. Clothes, food, spices, tools, etc…

- Kevin

Book Review: The Harbinger, By Jonathan Cahn

I just finished reading a book called The Harbinger, by Jonathan Cahn, and I have to be honest, I’m pretty shocked. And not for all the right reasons.

First off, I was shocked right when I started reading it, mainly because of the circumstances that led up to it. Since buying a Kindle a few months ago, I’ve been gleefully adding samples of books left and right. I read a review, click on a link in Amazon, and away I go down the rabbit hole, sending myself 10-20 free samples at a time. (If you haven’t tried it, it’s a great way to preview a book, for sure. Especially with the non-fiction titles. It really gives you the nekkid bones of the book without having to drudge through the whole thing. Kinda like an x-ray, I guess…)

So at any given moment, I’ve got multiple sections on my Kindle (sci-fi, spiritual, creature fiction, prophecy, etc.) that I can delve into at any time. And last Friday, I was browsing the titles I hadn’t filed into a category yet, and found The Harbinger. Not having a clue what it was about, I started reading so I could slap it into the appropriate folder.

Two chapters into the sample, however, and I was intrigued. Intrigued enough to consider buying the thing, so I clicked on the “Buy Book” button, expecting to be taken to the Amazon Store where I could check the price and confirm my purchase.

Unfortunately, Kindles don’t work that way.

Instead, I realized I had suddenly just purchased my first full-priced book for my Kindle. (Granted, at $9.99 it wasn’t back-breaking, but still… I would’ve liked a warning.) So heads up, Kindle owners – don’t click that BUY button unless you’re serious.

The story’s about a journalist who has conversations with a prophet of sorts, who helps him draw startling correlations between an obscure prophecy for Israel in Isaiah 9:10 and the state of America (both past and present). As I read further into the story, this is where the shock I mentioned earlier set it.

Shock #1? That the prophecy for Israel so many centuries ago actually does apply to America today. While one could argue with the sometimes thin arguments that are presented, there are enough that are rock-solid, researched and factually sound that the idea of their being coincidental are patently absurd. They are astounding, to say the least.

For the record, I agree 100% with the message of the book. America is in trouble in the near future, primarily because of how far we’ve come from the spiritual origins of our nation at the beginning. Whether people like it or agree with it or not, the fact is we started as a Christian nation, dedicated to God with specific principles and statutes in place. Our present culture of compromise might very well try to neutralize and negate key portions of the Biblical basis that offend them, but not without damaging the very foundation we rely on.

Remove enough threads, and eventually the rope’s gonna start to fray.

My second shock, however, was almost as great as my first. Because frankly? This book is not very well written. It’s well-researched, to be sure. It’s complete and comprehensive and astounding, with the facts that are in it. But it is in desperate need of an editor to punch it up a notch.

I understand the format of the book, and why it was written the way it was. But you can’t present a book so heavily dependent on dialogue without making darn sure that dialogue isn’t bland. (And let’s face it, when you’re presenting fact after fact after fact? Blandness sets in pretty quickly.)

Do you need to read this book? Without question. Whether you’re a Christian, atheist, Buddhist or follower of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, if you call yourself an American this book will make you sit up and take notice. When a Biblical prophecy is this bizarrely accurate, ignoring its significance really isn’t an option.

That said, The Harbinger is a decent read, just don’t expect to be wow’d by the prose or characters themselves. They’re not the main event. The message is.

- Kevin

The Storm: Final Thoughts & Faith.

(This post is the last in a series of other posts about The Storm. If you haven’t read those yet, you can catch up by clicking here.)

Final Thoughts & Faith

Let me be perfectly honest. Thinking about a possible crisis scenario can get pretty dang depressing. It can shake you to the core when you consider the depth and range and long-term impact this would have, both on our lives and, more importantly, our children’s.

I don’t believe this is going to be “armageddon,” or even the tribulation (although it very well could be). I believe this is a result of our turning away from God and His ways. I believe He’s going to remove His hand of blessing and protection on America, specifically, and we will be reap the whirlwind that’s a direct result of ignoring Him. It’s not that He’s being hateful or vengeful, it’s simply the consequence of our actions.

Drop a rock on your foot? It’s gonna hurt.

Eat a handful of red ants? It’s gonna hurt.

Ignore God and His Word? Yeah… it’s gonna hurt.

Despite this, I don’t think the future is as bleak as it could be, at least for some of us. In addition to the distinct impressions I’ve been getting that this will happen, I’ve also had conversations with multiple people who all underscore the same truth: God will provide for His people.

The skeptic in me balked at this claim. I mean, let’s be honest. I can only store so much food and water. How in the world was God going to supply for our long-term needs through a calamity like this? It just didn’t seem possible. At all.

Then I remembered Israel, God’s Chosen People. He took them out of Egypt and led them directly into… a desert. Where He met their needs by feeding them manna. From Heaven. He brought forth water from a rock. Delivered them from a rabid army that had cornered them in. He supplied their every need, and all they had to do was trust and obey Him.

It sounds so easy, but it’s not. To hear Him? To trust Him? To obey Him? It goes against everything we are as self-sufficient, American people, puffed up with American know-how, gumption and pride. Why would we ever want to wait on God, we ask? We’re Americans! We can roll up our sleeves, dig in and get ‘er done now. Right?

Sure we can… but at what cost?

The words that keep floating into my thinking is “threshing floor” and “sifting like wheat.” An American collapse, as terrifying and uncomfortable as it will be, will not be the end of the world. (The end of the world “as we know it,” perhaps, but not the end of the world itself.) God is going to allow circumstances to shake us to the core. What we believe about God, His goodness and His love will be shaken violently.

Will we choose to believe? Despite what our eyes see around us? What our ears hear? What our logical minds or voices of authority will convince us is “the truth”?

Or will we draw closer to listen to the quiet whispers of God and Choose To Believe what He’s saying to us? At any given moment?

We can’t have it both ways. We can’t pledge our allegiance to Him and then turn around and go our own way whenever we feel like it. He’s not looking for lukewarm. The lukewarm “Christians” of the world? Who think they can attend a service on Sunday mornings and tack God onto their egocentric, American-made lives? When the shaking quakes set in they will fall away the fastest as their shaky “faith” suddenly fails them.

Why? Because they worship the god of Comfort. So when the world suddenly becomes extremely uncomfortable? For an extended period of time? Well, their “god” will have left the building.

Nope. God really isn’t looking for lukewarm.

He’s looking for those who are on fire for Him. Who aren’t afraid to cling to the unpopular belief that faith in Jesus Christ truly is the only way to be reconciled to Him. Who will stand up and speak out for His Truth, even when everyone else around them is frozen and mute, petrified of committing the tongue-wagging sin of (gasp) offending anyone.

Lukewarm? Ho-hum commitment? A convenient, “safe” faith?

These will not survive.

Yes, I believe what the future holds will be extremely difficult. Profoundly painful. Incredibly uncomfortable. But I will choose to believe that God is still good. That His word is still true. That no matter what I see in the world around me, the pain that I will personally experience in my life, He is still sovereign and will work everything out for His glory in the end.

My prayer is that everyone who reads this will take a closer look at their lives. What do you worship? What are the underlying forces that direct your life? The omnipresent voice that has driven the direction of your life thus far? Comfort and peace? The goal of retirement with financial security? More and more electronic toys? Recognition? Relationships? Respect?

What do you worship?

…and how will it save you when the world stops spinning?

Take the time today, while you still have it, to draw closer to God. To honestly and completely confess your sins and ask for His forgiveness. To repent for doing it your way, and seek to be led by Him once more. Ask Him what He would have you do, and how to best prepare for what’s to come in your life.

Worship Him. In Spirit and in truth. With your whole heart.

‘Cause lukewarm worship makes God wanna vomit.

-Kevin

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. – Revelation 3:15-17

The Storm: Tick Tock Timeline.

(This post is part of a series of posts regarding The Storm. For it to make the most sense, you’ll wanna start at the beginning here. Just scroll to the bottom and work your way up… as counter-intuitively as possible…)

Tick Tock Timeline

I want to emphasize to you that I’m not a prophet (at least, not that I’m aware of…). I don’t feel called to preach a doomsday message from the mountaintops or create an end times podcast. I’m not claiming dates or times or key passages of scripture to fuel the fire of all the 2012 apocalyptic mass hysteria. I’m just a guy who tries to seek God on a regular basis and believes He has spoken to me with this very specific warning. So I’m going to do what I can to prepare while there’s still time / money / resources left to prepare with.

And after that? It’s back to life as normal, knowing there’s a plan and a system in place when the time comes that we need it. Regardless of whether it’s sooner or later. Preparing for a crisis is not unlike insurance, except your money doesn’t go down a big hole in someone’s pocket. I’m hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. And like most people, I soon discovered my family was woefully unprepared for an emergency (of any scale).

So before the end May, I’m preparing my family for a minimum of 30 days with:

No electricity. 

No heat. 

No food. 

No water.  

No money.

No communication. 

…and no time left to prepare.

I imagine as people read these posts you’ll be tempted to dismiss all of this as nonsense. After all, it’s just one guy’s testimony, right? You might chalk it up to insanity, paranoia, fear-mongering, or whatever makes you feel better by pushing the possibility of discomfort far away. (Heck, that’s sure what I did when I first heard what He said to me.) Again, I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I’m just sharing what I, personally, am hearing from God, seeing in the world around me and doing to prepare for it all.

Thinking about a drastic change to life as I’ve known it? It’s uncomfortable. But my comfort isn’t my god. I’m responsible for more than just myself in this life. I have a wife and children to take care of. Ignoring what I feel God’s clearly been telling me simply isn’t an option. So I’ve made the decision to prepare now. To educate myself and buy whatever supplies I need now. While there’s an Internet. And an Amazon (WalmarteBay, etc.…). And food, water and other necessary supplies readily available on the shelves.

And if I’m wrong about what I believe I’m hearing? If I’m completely misinterpreting these signs and absolutely nothing happens in the immediate future? Well, then we can all sit back and laugh about it over hot chocolate and scones someday in the future.

But for today?

I choose to prepare myself and my family for what I believe is coming.

Kevin

 

What Is “the Storm”?

(This post is in relation to my other posts about The Storm, so if you haven’t read those yet, you can catch up by clicking here. Otherwise, confusion might set in, then jaundice… maybe even insomnia and incontinence. Personally, I wouldn’t chance it…)

As I’ve prayed for clarification about what “the storm” is, my current impressions are two possibilities: a solar storm and an economic collapse (most likely related to oil). I’ve provided some research and website links into both of these in the following section, but I’ll go ahead and describe them in a nutshell for you here.

Solar storm - The sun is extremely active lately and the chance of it burping a solar flare (Coronal Mass Ejection) is higher now than it’s been in decades. If it hits the earth square on, it’ll fry a whole bunch of electronics, including the U.S. power grids that keep electricity going and make everyday living possible. Even worse, repairing them would take a long, long time, because the machines used to make the parts would require — you got it — electricity.

Economic collapse - Our country’s dependence on foreign oil was news to me. (Hey, raising three spirited, super-fun kids and flirting with an über-hot wife takes a lotta time, you know). Anyhow, just doing a minimal amount of research was educational and extremely… disconcerting. If the price of oil shoots up? The price of everything shoots up. And in an economic climate where people are feeling squeezed already? It won’t end well.

I believe…

…the cost of living will escalate drastically as gas prices increase to unprecedented amounts. 

…the average American will be caught completely unprepared and will panic. 

…the comfortable world we’ve come to know as America’s standard of living is about to get very ugly, very soon. 

…what we see happening in GreeceEgyptSyria and Europe is foreshadowing what could one day happen in America. 

…the majority of us are either completely oblivious to the danger or in complete denial. 

Frankly, I think we’re too busy to see the signs. We’re more focused on our careers, making more money, plotting our retirement, updating our social statuses, catching up on reality TV, watching the latest movies, and ensuring we’re as utterly comfortable as possible at any given moment. We’re too distracted with the shiny baubles of life to take the time to pray and listen to what God is telling us.

Even when a natural disaster does get ample coverage? It’s only a matter of days before we completely forget about it, resuming the hectic pace of our own lives.We become so numb to the news that it just doesn’t faze us anymore. The signs are all there, but most of us are too ignorant and frantic that unless a disaster immediately affects our own status quo, we go through life utterly unaffected by the tragedies that continue to happen “over there.”

We simply don’t realize how good we have it right now.

As I sought God in His silence the past few months, He led me to be intentionally thankful for every single day. Well, when I was depressed with non-productivity and seeking His direction for something to actually do, this wasn’t well-received.Thankful? For twisting in the wind? I stubbornly refused.

Now, however, it makes more sense. Because when I combine His directive to “be grateful for every day” with His message that “a storm is coming,” it becomes clearer. Life can change in an instant. I’ve grown to appreciate my family more, laughing and loving on them more, rather than making sure everyone’s “behaving” at all times. I try to show everyone more grace as I’ve come to recognize how much grace I’ve been shown, day after day.

We need to make the decision to recognize how blessed we are today instead of thinking how much more we want in life tomorrow. We keep comparing ourselves to each other, in a country where we’re all incredibly rich and clueless. We are out of touch with the rest of the world as we surround ourselves with luxuries and comforts unheard of in other cultures. And we never, ever think we have enough. Of anything. EVER.

It’s sad. And it’s time we woke up to realize that all those passages in the Bible that talk about the “rich” and the “kings”? They’re talking about us.

To Be Continued…

- Kevin


“the Storm Is Coming.”

(This Part 2 of my blog posts concerning “The Storm.” To read Part 1, click here.)

New Year’s Eve 

It was in the middle of the night on New Year’s Eve when God spoke to me again. I had been sound asleep when He said, quietly but quite clearly, “The Storm is Coming.”

I immediately sat up and opened my eyes in shock (because, you know… I had been sound asleep up until that point). His words were absolutely clear, and they echoed in my mind, but I had no idea what they meant. Whatsoever. So I prayed for clarification, heard no response, then filed it in the back of my mind and went back to sleep.

I admit that it would be easy to write off a midnight message like this as a figment of my own imagination, but in the two months since that moment (both during and after my 3-week Daniel Fast), God continually underscored His words with multiple confirmations through His Word, devotionals, and “random” conversations and events.

In one instance, a friend had asked how we were adapting to life in Washington, and I lamented how I was still in standby mode, eagerly waiting for God to direct me next. At that point she reassured me, saying “Well, I’m sure there’s a reason for it. In fact, I recently read about how God usually has us wait because He’s preparing us for a storm.”

Yes. My jaw actually dropped open. Because at that point, I had told no one aside from my wife about what God had said to me the few weeks before. This was Confirmation #1.

Confirmation #2 arrived the following week when I left a message with another friend, saying we should try to connect and talk sometime soon. He messaged me back and said that at the very moment my message came through he was hitting SEND on an e-mail that he had wanted to send to me a few months earlier, but he had resisted because he didn’t want to come across as “weird” or “alarmist.”

The e-mail was a PDF attachment by someone named John Paul Jackson, entitled… The Perfect Storm. It concisely detailed much of what I felt God had been impressing on me over the previous weeks (and what I’m preparing for(. You can download it directly from my Dropbox folder at the following link:

John Paul Jackson – The Perfect Storm

Both instances were very freaky, inexplicable, and — needless to say — convincing. As much as I wanted to dismiss these things as random coincidences, I couldn’t. Because they kept happening.

- Kevin

Next post: What Is “The Storm”?

The Storm: The Silence Before…

September – December 2011 

When my family moved from Lubbock, Texas to Washington, D.C. in September, I immediately started praying to God and asking Him what He wanted me to work on as my first priority (i.e., promoting my book, Baby Codes, write a follow-up book, work on iPhone apps, develop consumer products, etc.). To my surprise (and somewhat dismay), He clearly led me to “WAIT.” As in, to do absolutely nothing, work-wise. At the same time, I also felt Him prompting me to become bolder in sharing my faith.

So September plodded by. And October. Then November. December. Throughout these months, I felt increasingly distant from God. Constantly praying for guidance, a specific leading, something to do that would feel “productive,” instead of just… waiting. But there was nothing. Just silence.

Looking back, I now realize this time was critical by forcing me to reexamine my faith more closely and acknowledging exactly how shallow it could be at times. Sure, I say I’ll do whatever He leads me to do, to follow where He leads, but my own personal comfort was still my secret idol, at times causing me to trump His promptings.

Do nothing but wait on Him? Agonizing. But the longer I did nothing, the more I was able to relax and just rest in His presence and in His promises. Rather than being so focused on what I wanted Him to give, I redirected my attention to worship The Giver. When presented with the choice between being obedient to what I felt God was leading me to do or being comfortable, I decided to choose obedience.

One direct result of waiting on God and experiencing His silence was my drawing closer to Him. Granted, it was between pity parties, confusion, fist-shaking and basic immaturity all around, but I pressed into Him and sought His presence regardless. More than seeking a word or divine direction, however, I primarily just prayed for His presence.

In the end, I believe that His suggestion to stop working and just WAIT, along with His subsequent silence, were combined for one specific purpose: to position me squarely at His feet, free of work commitments, distractions and background noise, to hear what He had to say next.

(To be continued…)

- Kevin

The Storm. (or “how I Went From An Average American Joe To A Reluctant Prepper.”)

I used to be normal.

Well, normaler, I should say. Up until a few months ago, I was your typical American. Enjoying the good life, surrounding myself with endless streams of entertainment, never really thinking much about the underpinnings of the “magic” that made stuff work. My iPhone, my MacBook, the Toyota Sequoia… I used these things on a daily basis. But I had no clue how they actually worked.

Every day I flip a switch to turn on lights. Twist a knob to take a hot shower. Pick up a phone to talk to a friend in another state. I tap into resources that I honestly have no earthly idea how they work. But they do. And I’ve enjoyed them for my entire life.

The problem is, I don’t think they’re always going to be there. In fact, I believe that life as I’ve come to know it is going to change drastically in the near future. For all of us, really.

To be perfectly honest, I wish I could go back. I wish I could unlearn what I’ve learned about the world the past few months. That I could somehow transition back to when I was blissfully enraptured with the magic around me, rather than seeing the serious case of ugly that was hiding behind the curtain. Grab a pair of ruby sneakers, smack ‘em together and go back home, if you will.

But I can’t. And as uncomfortable as I’m going to make people in the future with my updates, article posts and semi-coherent rants, I won’t be stopping anytime soon. Because I sincerely believe we all need to educate ourselves about what’s really happening in the world around us now, so we can be better prepared for the future.

It’s almost ironic. I’ve always hated the subject of history in school. Why waste time studying the past, when there was a present to enjoy, a future to plan for? The past was useless, I thought. Until I started to see the patterns of what happened before… and overlayed them with what’s happening now.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing how I went from a clueless casualty waiting to happen to a (slightly better) prepared person. It is my sincere hope and prayer that you’ll follow along.

Seriously. Start stalking me now. It’ll be worth it. :)

- Kevin

Free Music Friday: Sarah Reeves – Broken Things.

Again, I’m not typically into “worship music.’ It’s just too super sweet for me. But after following Sarah Reeves‘ debut EPs “Sweet Sweet Sound” and “God of the Impossible,” I knew her new album, “Broken Things,” would be a good investment.

Not as rocking as her previous outings, but still powerful enough to be in my top ten of 2012 so far. If you’re looking for a quiet, mellow album with an emphasis on being fully submitted to God (whether you’re whole OR broken at this point in life) – this is it.

As usual, leave a comment here or on Facebook and I’ll pick a winner come Sunday.

- Kevin

You can listen to her stuff on Spotify here.

Book Summary: Fueled By Faith, By Jennifer Kennedy Dean

I first heard of Jennifer Kennedy Dean way back in 2006 when I was trying to get a grasp on prayer and came across her book, “Live A Praying Life.” Although it was a bizarrely-designed book at 9” x 12”, it still contained such astounding wisdom on the subject of prayer that I’ve found myself referring to it at least once a year.

So when I discovered her follow-up, Fueled by Faith, I was curious what more she’d have to say about praying that she hadn’t covered before. Upon reading the first few chapters, however, I was once again deeply impressed with her wisdom. I think the point that really struck home with me was that faith in anything other than Who God Is will let us down. When we have faith in a person, a specific outcome, or (fill in the blank), we will undoubtedly be disappointed and our spiritual growth with slow.

But when we focus our faith on Him, regardless of what we see happening around us, that’s when everything clicks. Once we reach the point we can fully trust God to do what’s right, the stronghold that stress and anxiety has on us is broken. And by “right” I mean what is truly right in His eyes as He’s the only righteous one to make the call.

He is God. He will do what He wants to, and whether we see the benefit to ourselves or not is irrelevant. Because we’re not the main character in the story. We’re all just a supporting cast that He weaves into His story as He sees fit. The sooner we forget that key point, the sooner we get tripped up in matters of faith.

God is not a cosmic slot machine. He can’t be bribed into doing what you want based on your holy performance. He’s already laid the track for the trip. You can decide if you wanna hop on the train, trip over the tracks in your blind determination or be left behind entirely.

Kevin

 

Fueled by Faith: Living Vibrantly in the Power of Prayer – Jennifer Kennedy Dean

Subject: Faith

Time: 35:35

 

Key Thoughts: 

  • God Himself is the focus of our faith.
  • You can’t have faith in an outcome. You can only have faith in a person. Jesus said to have faith in God.
  • Many time our attempts to exercise faith are in hopes that we will be able to somehow manipulate our circumstances and bring about our preferred outcome by “faith” expressed through “prayer.”
  • We think to ourselves that if we can only learn how faith operates through prayer, then we can get God to do what we think He should do, when we think He should do it. This is flesh-fueled, faulty thinking. It isn’t faith.
  • Belief is not faith. And unbelief is not doubt.
  • Faith’s focus is Godnot a specific outcome.
  • Faith is trusting God. No matter what the outcome is.
  • We need to differentiate between believing in an outcome and believing in God. Faith is not believing something. Faith is believing someone.
  • Faith is fully-focused on God.
  • God’s blessings are free, unearned and undeserved. You can’t “buy” them with faith.
  • God will always, in whatever circumstance or situation or moment, be totally and completely in control.
  • Can God make promises to you about the future if He is not in control of the future?
  • Sometimes God intervenes to stop bad things from happening. We need to remember that even when He does not intervene, He does so on purpose. For a specific reason.
  • Faith is knowing that God sees what you can’t.
  • Faith knows that God is continually working toward an outcome that is beyond anything we could ask or imagine.
  • God’s plans are always for your benefit, and they are thoroughly thought out long, long in advance.
  • Wisdom is that which God alone possesses, and that which God alone can give.
  • Unbelief will cause you to dismiss God in favor of your own abilities. And many times people will decide to let fear direct their decisions in life.
  • The Israelites didn’t wonder if God had delivered them from Egypt and miraculously provide for them. But they didn’t have faith that He would continue to save them.
  • Unbelief is choosing to believe our own perceptions and intentionally not trusting God.
  • God put the Israelites in a position of hunger specifically so that He could provide for them with manna for the specific purpose of teaching them that they could trust in His promises.
  • Sometimes we confuse God’s will for His ways. We often see Him bringing His will about in a way that, to us, seems like a mistake. Don’t confuse what He’s doing with how He’s doing it
  • We need to keep in practice so that our response to any critical or negative thought or circumstance in life is faith.
  • God implants and nurtures vision, and He alone allows it to become reality on the earth.
  • Vision is a specific promise from God to you. It develops gradually, slowly, but in time becomes clearer.
  • Your responsibility is to provide the vision with the proper conditions for maturing. Feed the vision the Word of God. The vision will progressively unfold as you walk in obedience.
  • God implanted you with His vision at exactly the right time, and He will bring it about in exactly the right time.
  • Remember that the vision is God’s, and not yours. He will bring about His vision through you.
  • God will bring you through times and crisis points where you’ll recognize that there are elements of your flesh wrapped around the vision.
  • God will announce His plans before He brings them into being, so that we will fully recognize His work, and will not attribute His power to anyone or anything else.
  • Your job is to obey, moment by moment. Say what He tells you to say, and do what He tells you to do. Faith is expressed in obedience.
  • Your enemy is constantly working against your faith, but he can only defeat you if he can discourage you. He is part of God’s plan for growing greater faith in you.
  • Faith is obedience to the present-tense voice of God, and sometimes the obedience lies in not acting. When faith is exercised on the earth, you release His power into your circumstances.
  • God doesn’t want your best efforts or your well-meaning actions. He wants your obedience to His voice. 
  • God has been directing your life toward the vision all along. Ask yourself, how have your circumstances in your past been arranged so that the vision could grow? How have your particular challenges and heartaches and failures enabled you to host the vision?
  • Time and again, God will bring opportunities and drop them in your lap, and you will know that the vision is His, and He will bring it to pass in His way and His time.
  • His vision for you will fit you down to the last detail.
  • God arranges crisis moments at which times you will come face to face with your flesh, and see how you’ve wrapped it around the vision. You will have to relinquish ownership and lay it down.
  • God will purify you so that which you bring forth will be equally pure. He is working in you beyond simple obedience, digging up the roots of unrighteousness that lead to disobedience.
  • The process of purity precedes the promise of power.
  • As you stay God-centered, rather than problem-centered, you’ll see your situations from a different vantage point.
  • Praise doesn’t always radically change your circumstances, but it will change your viewpoint. Even in the midst of your darkest circumstances, God is who He claims to be.

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