Surviving the Mark: A Guide to Joyful Survival, Fearless Planning, Practical Recipes, and Quality Time with the Lord

By Carol O'Brion

>Making complex concepts easily understood is a gift Carol OBrion brings to her reading audience. She presents simple yet delicious recipes to help when food will be scarce. Carol shows options for fresh, frozen, dried or canned food in the creative recipes offered at a time when food may be hard to find. Additionally, Surviving the Mark provides uplifting, encouraging devotionals to help one stay positive in a not-so-positive time of history. Practical, inspirational and chock-full of wisdom, this book is a necessity for everyone interested in surviving a disaster.
> Nancy Trifilo, author Held Captive No More; Insidious Bonds


>Surviving the Mark teaches the reader about preparing for the day when they cannot buy or sell. Alternatively, it shows how to be prepared for any event that prevents one from going to the grocery store and preparing meals without modern conveniences. It explains why they should have food on hand, how to make lists of practical foods and supplies to store, how to cook, dehydrate, can and freeze efficiently and how to trust God above all things for provision and deliverance. The final chapter contains devotions, visions and Bible studies for dealing with todays world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512738322

Carol O'Brion

>Carol O’Brion is a Christian writer, living with her husband in Southern Oregon. Her life is consumed with loving Jesus, family, and friends, and her special way of bringing that love, is cooking for them. Carol gives all glory to God for her gifts and talents, and for the blessings life has provided. Her best times are those spent at the throne of God, listening to Him speak. >For more encouragement and exhortation, please go to carolobrion.com. Comments, thoughts and prayer requests are welcome.

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© 2016 Carol O’Brion.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-3831-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-3833-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-3832-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016906177

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/13/2016

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Preface

Chapter 1 Why and How to Begin

Chapter 2 Food is a Gift

Chapter 3 Dehydrated Foods

Chapter 4 Home Canning

Chapter 5 Freezing

Chapter 6 Bread, Baking

Chapter 7 Go-to Recipes

Chapter 8 Waste Not Want Not!

Chapter 9 Non Food Items You Must Have And How to Improvise With Life Hack Substitutions

Chapter 10 Medical Supplies and Information

Chapter 11 Devotions, Exhortations and Visions

About the Author

Dedication

To my parents, Jeannette and Creighton Bailey for all the love, encouragement and wisdom along the path of life. I am here because of you. Your investment in my future has shaped me to be what God has called me to be.

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 NIV.

Acknowledgements

Without God it is impossible to do anything. I want to thank Jesus for giving me words to speak, skills to share, and gifts to encourage. I prayed the Lord would speak through my fingers as I type, and He has done it. He is faithful and always gives exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ever ask or think.

For my husband Mike, who believes in me fiercely, invests in me, and loves me unconditionally. He is my greatest gift, my greatest reward.

For Georgia Whitlock and Barbara Carstens: I want to gratefully thank my two best friends for believing in me, encouraging me, praying for me, putting up with me, and seeking the Lord for His wisdom over my endeavors. A three stranded cord is not easily broken.

For Gary DeGrande: Thank you to my childhood friend and California personal chef, and serious culinary genius. Gary always has a kind and encouraging word, loves his friends generously, and walks in integrity. His advice has been a wonderful gift.

For Shawn O’Brion, Kerry O’Brion, Kelly Shaw, and Erin O’Brion: My children, my joy. Their love lifts me to new places and gives me strength. Thank you so much, my family for your support and love.

For Leon Pantenburg: For me, newly discovered expert with an amazing website. I am humbled that he allowed me to share, so I encourage you to look at his website and blog and study his wealth of knowledge http://survivalcommonsense.com

A very special and heartfelt thank you, to Lynda Renne, Marci Johnston, Sandy Doughty, Sharla Johnston, and Renee Stacy. These lovely ladies prophesied over me a word from the Lord that brought this project to life. Their faithful obedience lifted me to a new place of destiny. Blessings, blessings, blessings to you, my friends.

Preface

A few years ago I heard the Spirit of the Lord instruct me to start getting ready. I didn’t know what I was getting ready for, but I knew by the Spirit to start storing food, medical supplies, warm clothing, and household necessities. Every month my husband and I set aside a small amount of money to buy supplies. We didn’t know why, but we followed the leading of the Spirit. We noticed people all over the world were doing the same. There were TV shows dedicated to prepping, websites with unbelievable information, and books with all kinds of survival instructions. There were many speculations about what would happen, from a zombie apocalypse to an electro-magnetic pulse. The more I studied it, the more I realized that nobody really knows exactly what is coming, but the clues in the Bible became clearer as time passed. Prophecy appears to be lining up perfectly with the news. End times are upon us and the time is short. Even the State government has encouraged Oregonians, to stockpile food and water in the event of the earthquake deemed imminent by seismic geologists.

Diverse peoples, cultures, countries, and religions have this one thing in common; that they sense something is coming very soon. Mike and I decided to be obedient to the urging of the Lord, and have reaped a harvest exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ever ask or think. We simply believed and asked the Spirit of God to reveal to us what to do. None of our preparation has been done in fear, but only in obedience. Motivation by fear is never going to get you to victory. Trust God. Glory!

Just to be clear, I do not believe the Body of Christ will go through all of the great tribulation. That is simply my opinion based on the weight of evidence I have found in the scriptures. My opinion means nothing definitive, it’s only a gut feeling. I am not an expert. I am not preparing for us to go through the tribulation, I am preparing for whatever comes to us in the meantime. I believe that in part, I am preparing for those who are not swept up in the rapture of the Church. I am preparing to provide for friends, family, and strangers alike. Then again, I could wake up one morning, snowed in, electricity down, and would be content to wait till power was restored.

Preserving food makes perfect sense to me. I’ve always been interested in healthy food, preserving, and cooking. I know the Lord has gifted me in this area and given me the desire to love people with food. We are prepared to supply meals to those in need, minister with a dinner to those going through a family crisis, or just to bless.

I sincerely hope and pray you are encouraged and uplifted by my message and find useful information.

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John 2, NKJV.

Carol O’Brion

Chapter 1

Why and How to Begin

I sensed the Spirit of the Lord say to me, Tell my people to get ready and to be prepared. Tell them to buy while they can in order to be prepared for the day when they are unable to buy and sell. That day quickly approaches, they are running out of time. I asked Him how to do that, and here we are, learning to be prepared.

Over the last few years, our supply closet has grown, our pantry has grown, and our knowledge has grown. I love to cook and in the past, put up freezer meals for my husband’s lunches to take to work. I canned fruit and preserves, and baked goodies for the family. I sensed an urging to increase my knowledge and my skill. Soon we were dehydrating all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and meats just for fun. It really is fun! We made beef jerky, diced chicken, peaches, pears, vegetables, soup mixes, and fruit leathers. Dehydrated food doesn’t weigh much and since we had our house up for sale, we knew it would be really difficult to move heavy and breakable jars of food. After the move to our forever house, it became apparent that I needed to expand my canning knowledge to pressure canning, as well as water bath canning. We needed to preserve vegetables and meats safely and deliciously, ready to open and use immediately. Another benefit to that is, we don’t have to wait for something to thaw, and the product preserves texture better. Now our pantry is full of luscious savory foods, all ready for winter meals this year, and for whatever may or may not come in the future.

Are you ready for any one of many scenarios that are possible? It’s not difficult to have a few necessities in place. If there is an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse), the lights will go out. All computers will be dead, and all computer driven machinery will be dead. That means my car won’t start, my television won’t turn on, and my electric stove, oven, and microwave are useless. There would be no grid, no communication, no phones, cell towers, or radios. So what if that happens? First, don’t open your freezer until you have to, and it will keep things frozen for a couple of days longer. You will need some time to assess your situation. Get your barbeque and propane burner ready. Do you have spare propane tanks? If not, do you have a fire pit and wood? Do you have plenty of aluminum foil and a cast iron pot for cooking over an open fire? Where is your alternate water source? If you have a well, do you have a hand pump? You can find directions online to make one with pvc pipe. Do that ahead of time. What about sanitary measures? Do you have some water stored to use for flushing your toilet temporarily? Do you have a portable toilet? Do you have a bucket you can use or a hole dug for that purpose? Do you have candles, flashlights, and batteries?

Is it winter? How will you heat your home? If you have a woodstove, a pellet stove, an oil heater, or fireplace, do you have a supply of fuel? Do you have a generator and fuel to run electric heat? Are your heat sources safe, and approved? Don’t take chances, keep your family safe. You don’t have to have every one of these alternatives, just chose what works for you.

What if there is an earthquake? Do you know to immediately check gas lines for leaks and turn off the main valve? Ask your power company to locate the main valve if you can’t find it. Tie a piece of brightly colored plastic or tape nearby as a marker. Keep slippers next to your beds so if the quake happens at night, no sleepy little ones accidentally walk on broken glass. Is there electricity? If not, do you have a lantern or flashlight available so you can see to assess damage? Sweep broken glass and ceramics out of the way before allowing family members and pets to walk freely. Carefully open kitchen cabinets to restack items that might have fallen. Check the house for structural damage and move the family and pets to the safest area. Determine if you have running water. My pantry shelves are blocked in with stays across the shelving, so no jars will topple over. That’s not a mess I want to clean up should that happen.

Have a family plan. Make each person an important and integral part of the plan. Determine the safest place to gather. After the adult makes the damage assessment and cleans up any broken glass and removes obstacles, other family members will know to spring into action. One can be in charge of retrieving pets, one can check for water leaks. One can check the gas valve and one can re-stack kitchen shelves.

Consider an act of war, a terrorist attack, or a government shutdown with no law enforcement available. Some people have gated properties, some have underground shelters or converted basements. Some believe guns and weapons are necessary, some don’t. Some have go-bags packed with bare necessities if they have to run. I’m not planning for that personally considering where I live, but pray and use the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Ask Him what you should do. It is my hope to feed hungry people, no matter how unrealistic that seems in my flesh. You have to seek the Lord for what He asks you to do and what your beliefs influence you to take on. Above all things, do nothing out of fear. The Bible tells us not to fear so we want to be in a position to remain calm in all situations. We don’t want to create a situation where the enemy can come in and cause fearful obsession. We want our family at peace and confident in their ability to help. Practice and be prepared. Remember, you are a member of the Body of Christ. As such, we all have an important voice, talent, and unity enabling us to accomplish goals together. We are to help each other, encourage each other, and share our Spiritual gifts. Together we have all the ability we need. Pray that the Lord reveals to you what your purpose is and submit to Him. You are made in His image, you have the mind of Christ, and He equips you for every season. Wow!

If your family was confined to your home for an extended period of time, how would you keep children occupied and divert their attention from fear and dread? Or even worse, from boredom! Do you have a supply of games, toys, books, and art project materials? Think back, we used to make macaroni jewelry, kites, stuffed animals, and cookies. All we needed was paper, crayons, food coloring, glitter, and pipe cleaners to have a great day. Making gifts for someone else brought joy and kept us busy for hours. Be ready to focus their attention on a gift project and the blessing it will bring to someone. Make the children feel important and productive. They need to feel some control in the midst of an adult situation. Help them to know that the Lord will use their willingness and thoughtfulness, to love and encourage others.

Very recently, the Lord revealed to me that this book is intended to instruct people how to prepare for a time when they will be unable to buy or sell without the mark of the beast. It may be for us; it may be for those who come after us. This book is useful for many reasons, even for just a cookbook, devotionals, or for life hacks. But consider the world we live in. Times are getting harder. Right is wrong and wrong is right. People are turning against each other, nations are threatening wars, and Biblical prophecy unfolds right before our eyes every day.

It looks to me like we’ve become very dependent upon our own strength, our own intellect, and seek out people for things we can’t do ourselves. Instead of going directly to Jesus, we look to professionals. We feel sick so we go to the doctor. We need help with a dispute and we go to an attorney. We are depressed so we get a pill or call a friend. Need money? Go to the bank for a loan. That’s all fine while these resources are available to us. But what if they were not available? Go back and remember what the Scripture tells us. Jesus provided all these things for us when He took on the cross. He gave us healing, deliverance, provision, salvation, and prosperity. He is our source; He is the wellspring. Jesus commanded us to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons. What does James 5:14 teach us?

If anyone among you is sick, let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. NIV.

We have confidence because:

…who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed. I Peter