One of the contributing factors to my brothers’ death was hemachromatosis. By the time he was diagnosed, a year before he died, it had already caused serious damage to his organs.

It was a hereditary condition and my brother told me to get checked for it. So, I went to a doctor and had blood tests taken along with a painful liver biopsy. In the follow-up appointment to discuss the results the doctor was puzzled. He said I definitely had the condition but was not showing any symptoms. He asked if I had ever donated blood. “Yes, all the time”, I said. “I’m in the gallon club at Cedar Sinai.”

Then the doctor said, “Well, congratulations. You just saved your own life.”

Bloodletting is the only way to get rid of excess iron in the blood for someone with hemachromatosis. Donating on a frequent basis had cleared my blood of excess iron. If the iron hadn’t been removed it would have built up to high enough levels to do severe damage to my internal organs. At my age the damage would have already been life threatening.

This is How

You save your own life by contributing directly to mankind for the sake of humanity with no strings attached.

Not tithing. Tithing is to God.

Not your work. The work you do to create value for others in exchange for money is a wonderful thing. There’s no conflict between that work and the direct contribution I’m referring to here. They’re separate offerings made for a different purpose.

Not an action you take for a direct benefit. Although, its almost impossible to do something for others that doesn’t return to you, in some way.

Like Putting Quarters in a Strangers Parking Meter

Sometimes I use spare quarters to load the parking meters of strangers. I especially like to feed the meters of those who are about to get a ticket. It sounds like a cheap thrill, but, I find it thrilling for less obvious reasons:

I hate getting parking tickets.
I can’t save myself from getting one, but, I can save someone else.
Maybe one day someone will do the same for me.
I like the idea of being nice to someone before they’re nice to me.
I know the hassle I’m saving my stranger.
I know the cost to me is less than the hassle saved for my stranger.
I know my stranger will be in a better mood and their mood is contagious.
It’s possible their contagious mood travels around the invisible world and improves my own.
The state gives out parking tickets to make money, not to encourage people to change their parking habits.
Denying the state the proceeds of its deception gives me a thrill. Cheap for me, but not for them.
It costs me a quarter. But, it costs the state $25. 100 times ROI in money alone!
If my ROI is 100 in money what does it return in the improved and contagious mood of my stranger?
If my stranger has $25 more than he would, otherwise, what will he be able to do with the money?
If the state has $25 less what may it be prevented from doing that, like all state interference, would decrease the liberty and wealth of society?

Every time I drop a quarter this list comes to mind and makes me smile. Not such a cheap thrill after all, is it?

A Pint of Blood vs. 25 Cents

How much more beneficial is a pint of blood to save a life than a quarter to save a parking ticket? The prospects are enormous and powerful. Powerful enough to save a life. Maybe it would even save your life. Maybe, maybe, maybe. But, not for me.

It did save my life.

Scriptural Basis & Motivation

It was wise for Joseph and the Pharoah to trust God’s warning and prepare for the Egyptian famine. God warned, they listened, and Joseph prepared. By setting aside the wheat and supplies to save a nation Joseph was an active participant in God’s plan. This pattern in scripture well established: God, while capable and in control of all, weaves his people into the unfolding of his plans. Whether it be for spreading the Gospel, delivering a message or preparing his people for hard times, we are part of God’s plans.

“By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” — Hebrews 11:7

As you read through applicable scriptures ask yourself where you may fit into His unfolding plans. The answers will be different for everyone as we are each unique parts of the body. The only thing we all have in common and know, for sure, is that we all play a role in God’s plan for redemption and kingdom come.

“The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but the simple go on and suffer for it.”

“One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil,
but a fool is reckless and careless.”

“For the simple are killed by their turning away,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” — Proverbs 22:3 , 14:16 , 1:32-33

We’re told the prudent see danger and hide from it, that the wise must turn away from evil, and to listen to God to be at ease and without dread of disaster. And so, wisdom, itself, makes us part of God’s plan in listening, seeing, hiding and turning away.

We are saved by faith and not by works and yet, far from being complacent, God’s wisdom is for us to participate in his plans. In saving us by faith, God has, in turn, made us part of his plan of salvation for others.

Prepare the Way of the Lord!

Mission Statement

An Emergency Kit in every Home,
A Radio in every Small Group,
A Communication Plan for every Family.

Goals

To maintain a preparedness plan for the church to be kept as a working document, updated periodically and distributed to the church.
To address as many needs, in advance, of predictable emergencies that may occur in the local area.
To be flexible and open to adjustment should the membership decide they have been lead strongly to prepare for something that has been made known to them.
To ensure that members of the church are able to communicate and gather together in the absence of conventional means of communication.
To encourage and give specific suggestions to members of the church to prepare for their own emergency needs so that they may be able to better serve each other, the church, and the local community, in times of need.
To share plans with local sister churches to enable the church to more easily come together in times of need.
To work towards a longer term goal of being able to assist the broader community in times of need.

Strategy

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” — John 15:7-8

A Foundation in Two Steps

Most of the goals of this plan are achieved in only two steps: 1) Ensuring that each family has the items they would need in an emergency and, 2) Enabling each family to communicate with the rest of the church in the absence of phone, web or e-mail services.

After these two things are achieved the rest of the plan becomes a means to improve quality of life, address special needs of the church in an emergency, and enable the church to better serve each other and the broader community.

A Decentralized Plan

This is a decentralized plan for many compelling reasons:

Supplies are prepositioned at the place they will be used.
The work of transport and distribution is performed, in advance, which frees up resources during an actual emergency.
The purchasing, storage, maintenance and periodic updates required for all kits is performed by the church family that will be using the items.
Standardized kits and supplies can be customized to the individual needs of each family.
The church is not be made a target for theft and loss which deceases the potential for crime while ensuring that supplies will be available in times of emergency.

Primary Determining Factor

The primary determining factor of the success of this plan, after God’s will, is the number of families who address their own basic needs, in advance. To a large extent this will determine our ability to make ourselves available to serve others.

The more church families that can manage to acquire all the items recommended in the TDF Kits (Things That Disappear First) the more each member family “. . .will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

The church is only as prepared as each member family is prepared. All desire and ability to serve each other and the broader community is an outgrowth of the completeness of providing for these needs, in advance.

Gathering in His Name

“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” — Matthew 18:19-20

Only a small percentage of members need have radios to enable most of the church to communicate and arrange to gather in His name. For example, one radio per small group would have a dramatic impact in enabling the entire church to stay in touch and is probably the best first step.

The optimal number of radio operators will be determined by mapping out the location of all church members, taking geographical limitations into consideration and performing subsequent tests.

Serving these primary operators can be any number of relays (Other members using FRS/GMRS, CB Radios and household AM/FM receivers).

Clearing the Decks (& Network), in Advance

It is crucial to understand that no matter how many radios are used to stay in touch the “Network” can be easily overwhelmed. The most likely culprit of that overwhelm will be requests for items described in the TDF kits. In this way, the TDF kits and radio network are intimately tied together and affected by one another. To the extent that such items can be obtained, in advance, by each church family the network is freed up to relay important news, special requests and address aspects of an emergency that cannot be anticipated.

Therefore, as a church, we address as many needs as can be anticipated, in advance, so that our work during an emergency can best focused on serving others.

The Rest of the Plan

The rest of the plan can be as detailed and complete as the church may see fit to document. The entire plan rests on God’s will, the willingness of each family to set aside supplies for their own basic needs and the ability of the church to communicate with each other in the absence of conventional services.

The strategy for the rest of this plan will be gathered and documented through these “Next Steps”:

Sharing the Plan with Church Leaders & Members
Sharing Thoughts & Plans with Other Churches?
Incorporating Feedback into Plan
Enabling Members to Retrieve Updated Plans
Embed Templates in the Plan to Assist each Family
Add to Family Directory- List of Skills, Tools, Special needs.
Designate Radio Operators in Family Directory
Create Map of Operators

Spirit

How to Save Your Own Life