Just under a week ago, we were struck by some very serious storm cells across our area.  This morning, they struck yet again.

Tupelo was hit by an high-end EF2 tornado, maybe a lowend EF3 around 8 am this morning.  The farm store we visit, Scrugg's is sitting without much of their roof...and a whole lot of wet merchandise inside (the roof damage triggered their fire alarm sprinklers...).  The several wood and tin storage buildings in their lot for sale were splintered into parts -- a section of 2x4 was literally implanted in the exterior of the block building.  Several semi-trailer storage trucks were flipped about the parking lot as well.

One of the buildings at the Furniture Mart, near the airport, was twisted and pulled apart as well.  Several trucks along HWY 45 were rolled, and sadly, several of the huge oaks along the front of Lowe's were totally uprooted and ripped to pieces. 

I know, it is a true blessing no one was injured.  That section of Tupelo is major business-dense.... Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Lowe's, Scruggs, The Mall at Barnes Crossing, MDOT headquarters...you name it, it's in that 4 mile section there.  It could have been a terrible thing had it occurred later in the morning.  But, the trees...we aren't talking some normal trees here.  These were century old beauties....most close to 3.5 ft in diameter.  They have lasted countless storms over their lifetime, not to mention they withstood the building and populus explosion of developers in that area.  Now, they are simply scrap.  I hope they at least are salvaged for useful wood and not merely chipped up like the rest of the storm debris.

By noon the cells had drifted over into Alabama, but there have only been reports of wall clouds that direction, somewhere around Winfield, and some nasty lightening and heavy rains toward Birmingham.  Luckily, they lessened in strength as they continued east. 

I thought the news channel would have some of the photo's they have shared today online, but I sure can't find them there.  LOL....our "digital source for news" seems to be a bit behind the 'digital' times, I guess.  Oh well...if you've seen one up-turned tree or semi trailer, I suppose you've seen them all.

Here are some photo's online -- mind you, I have dinosaur-dial-up here so I've only seen one of the photo's shared.  I know nothing about the content of any other photo's shared here.

Here is The DJournal blog with some photo's of the storms as well...

And the iReport sharing...and his photo's are on CNN, also...

If anyone comes across better ones, let me know.  My mother and Grandmother are having conniptions up north as the Weather Channel shared some of our storms, which promptly set my phone to ringing this morning with questions as to exactly where we are in the county, what we planned to do if the storm blew this direction (it did skirt right over us with nasty clouds, but nothing more than hard rains and a ton of lightening), etc.  Grandmother's worry, you know.  And a Grandmother 700 miles away with Weather Channel access and a road atlas is not a good thing!

Hmmm....a whole entry just gone.  Poof!  It was there and then it wasn't.  Oh well, I don't suppose anyone cared to hear more about the shortages of this and that anyway, heh?

Well, I have to vent a little.  Really, I suppose it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but if I truly feel this strongly about something and I don't share it, I will end up regretting it.  I much prefer to regret things I have done than to look back and wonder if I had shared, would it have helped any at all, kwim?

We are moving into a food shortage in some areas.  I know you already know this.  You'd have to live in a cave to not know this.  Rice, flour, oil, gasoline...we are moving rather headlong to some serious changes in our daily lifestyles in this country.  You have to know I am not the least bit anti-USA.  I may have my own opinions about the government and such, but I am very red, white and blue.

However, I can't be the only one out there who sees that the good ol' US of A simply isn't the be all, end all it thinks it is these days, right?  We are not the global megaforce we (think) we once were, nor do I think those days are ever coming back.  While we have been sleeping in this country, other countries, once behind us in most areas of economy and lifestyle, have overtaken us and pushed us to the back of the crowd.  We have a comparatively low educational standard these days, we have a comparatively high standard of living, and we are hands-down, the largest group of selfish people on the planet.  We want what we want when we want it.  We don't care about the State of The Union really...unless it begins to infringe on what we feel are our rights.

Gasoline prices aren't going to get any better....yet do you see many of your friends making lifestyle changes in terms of gas usage?  I have some who are, some who aren't.  I am among those who are.  We are basically 'home-bodies' around here anyway, so my changes aren't of much significance really.  My once-a-week town trip is coming to an end.  I don't need to go off the homestead once a week.  I could rationalize out why I need to, but truthfully, I don't need to be in town weekly for anything at all...I merely want to be.  Could you say the same thing? 

What if you had but one tank-full of gas for your car (for us, that translates to 36 gallons, or $120+ out of budget right now!  OUCH!)  How long would that tank last you?  I can get a month, just about, on that here, barring any medical appointments...counting them, I need a tankful just for that!  But, do I get a month on that?  No...I go into town each week for things I don't actually need.  It is going to last me, though.  Gas is not getting cheaper and I am not prepared to put money into unnecessary things anymore.

What about our foods?  The rice issue is hitting home here.  I couldn't get more than 2 10# bags...and they weren't supposed to sell that either.  Rationing isn't something from WWII lore anymore.  It's here and now.  We don't live on rice as a main staple here, but we do use it quite often, and I am not a small bag sort of shopper.  I don't buy a pound of anything....even my butter is in 5# containers.  And I am just like most folks, well, dare I say Americans....I want to buy what I want when I want it.  Awfully selfish of me isn't it?

Why is it we feel like that?  What makes us think we are somehow deserving of having our needs met on any given plane of thought?  We are throwing one hissy fit after another because India and Vietnam have made a wise decision to save their food for themselves.  Have you watched our grain prices rise?  We grow our grains...we are a corn-producing kind of country here, and yet, we are walking through shortages here because of our long-range commitment to sell our supply to other countries.  We have shot ourselves in the foot...other countries are watching our frenzy with high prices on items we live strongly on, and they aren't willing to shoot themselves.  Bully for them, I think.

What preparations are you making for the future?  Used to be this meant financially only, retirement and all that.  Now that question has little to do with finances, and more to do with basic daily practical living needs.  Food is reaching high prices, our standards are lower (note the amount of recalls in the past year....) and our incomes aren't really pacing along with it all.  It isn't safe to buy our needs from the grocery store food-chain anymore, yet look how many of us still don't take steps to provide for ourselves at all?  Ridiculous people playing ostrich with their heads in the sand, waiting on it to pass.

I don't think it's passing.  It's gaining speed, if anything.  To continue making a living anymore, you have to be able to push down some fences and redesign your lifestyle.  Too many folks won't do it, though.  Maybe they don't know where to start, maybe they are scared of change.  Like it or not, it's not just coming...it's already upon us.  There is talk of removing the gas tax over summer.  Whoopie.  Prices have gone up every 3 days locally for the past several weeks, and I have no doubt they will continue going up over the next few weeks until Memorial Day when maybe a tax break on gas will come.  Like I said, whoopie.  By that point in time, removing a mere 20 cents or less off each gallon won't amount to a hill of beans.  It will probably create a complaint throughout my local government about how the state is losing out on tax dollars, which will mean I will get to see some other tax rise to take it's place.  Do you really think this article is far off the coming point?  I don't. 

What kind of future are you prepared for, or are preparing your children for?  Are you continuing to live a normal life in a world that has no normal?  You aren't preparing your children at all, then.  You are creating another generation of selfish 'I want what I want when I want it' folks who won't be equipped to put a meal on their table that is safe to eat.

So....do you have to run out and buy the farm or something?  Of course not.  I've seen some of my city friends up close....I would hate to see them heading for the country in their current state of preparedness.  They simply don't have a clue, and honestly, some of them aren't of the right frame of mine to be taught how to live in the country.  They'd bring the city along with them and mess up my country lifestyle 10-fold.

How do you feed yourself?  Do you have animals for food, or are you relying on Uncle Sam to purchase your food needs?  Look at the recalls....he isn't doing a very good job of keeping your family safe.  Are you afraid to take that step to raise any animals yourself?  Start small.  Chickens are easy to care for, depending on your level of personal standard for meat, they can be cheap to raise or somewhat expensive.  It's your choice.  Either way, they are a good start. 

Even better...rabbits.  You won't find an easier animal to start with.  They aren't expensive to start with, and pay for themselves several times over during their first year.  They are easy to house, easy to feed, easy to tend and even easier to butcher/process yourself.  Visit FaithFarm's articles and reposts on raising rabbits.

Did I have a point here?  Sure I did...I tend to get carried away and sometimes those points can be lost in the shuffle, I know   My point here is simple....the world is changing and you are going to have to change to some extent with it, period.  This will play out differently in each family, but it's going to happen.  This isn't the same good ol' USA anymore...we are in a global playing field now.  We don't keep our own supplies for our own people these days.  We grow wheat to turn around and buy it elsewhere;  we push biofuels only to continue relying on someone else to power our lifestyle.  We don't believe in doing for ourselves anymore and it's coming back to bite us on the backside finally.

Matthew 6:25-26 says we are not to worry about such things....
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

I agree completely.  The Lord is bigger than my greatest worry or fear.  I am exhorted many times over not to fear but to rest in the knowledge that He alone will supply my needs. 

However, I am also exhorted many times to not take on the life of the slothful man, but to put my hand to the plow and to work for my needs. 
Proverbs 12:11  He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain [persons is] void of understanding.
Proverbs 12:14  A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of [his] mouth: and the recompence of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him.
Proverbs 14:23  In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips [tendeth] only to penury.
Proverbs 21:25  The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.
Proverbs 18:19  He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.

I prefer to aid in my future.  Our goal here on Abundant Blessings Homestead is to be self-sustaining and God-reliant in our endeavors.  That means we change to suit the needs of the day around us in many ways, without failing to continue in our life-chosen path.  We do not change to meet the blowing of the winds around us, but it has always been our goal to move away from the world around us and into the path of The Lord....right now, that means move away from the reliance on fuel costs to keep us going, and the rising costs of food and feed needs to sustain us daily.