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Have you ever thought about bartering? Imagine that money is no longer in use or we cannot buy and sell because worldly powers under the influence of the devil have decided that the way things are now, with free will or choice in faith, it's no longer relevant or even harmful to others. Just 10 years ago these ideas would have been strange to think of but now they are gaining traction and are coming along full steam ahead like a freight train travelling at breathtaking speed. Unstoppable, so best to get out of harm's way and engage in pursuits linked to wisdom rather than paralysing fear. We need to be ready for times ahead and bartering could be of great benefit for such times. Bartering is all about swapping one thing or things for others instead of using money and is defined as "to trade by exchange of commodities rather than by the use of money" according to Dictionary.com. This means, for example, if one person has fresh eggs from chickens they own and another person has fruit trees, and if both agree then eggs can be swapped or exchanged for fruit. The transaction is mutually agreeable with needs filled and both parties involved benefit without money. Sounds good doesn't it? After brief research online it has been established that bartering existed well before money was in use, and even since then people of widespread cultures have bartered all over the world in preference to using coins and notes to get what they want and/or need. Bartering is alive and well today, and with the current climate we may indeed see this increase initially, until by necessity it eventually becomes a quiet type of underground activity for physical survival.
What if you don't have chickens or fruit trees? You could exchange something you can do such as babysitting, making clothes with a sewing machine, painting, cleaning homes and/or cars, baking homemade pies and cakes or nutritious meals, artwork, driving the other person to work every day (not sure how long this will last due to the price of petrol) and any number of things you can think of within your capabilities. It would be wonderful to have a few acres to set up and establish with some chooks and a big veggie patch, also a dozen or so fruit trees studded here and there, but unless you own your home and land this is not possible when renting on a courtyard block. Downsizing as we age is welcome but it has limitations. While we are on the subject, do you think it may be a good time to get together among brethren to make plans for who grows what and enough for others within your congregation? Prices are creeping up higher and higher, with some saying they have increased suddenly. Alarmingly, many news reports keep on warning that prices are only going to get steeper and steeper for food items as well as fuel. Yet we know that the time will come when even a loaf of bread will be prohibitively expensive and will take a full day's wage according to the Bible (Revelation 6:6).
Seeing changes out there amongst others is interesting. So far some are preserving their fruit and vegetables in Vacola jars like my granny used to do. This was beneficial for produce in season to be stored for when out of season, for example summer fruits such as peaches and apricots to have on hand during the winter months when they were not in the stores all year round. Others have put up pictures on Facebook of their land prepared and cultivated ready to grow any number of items such as tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, lettuce, herbs like dill and parsley — all good stuff. It is just a little hard not to envy the land some people own and what they are doing with it. Some lovely memories of mine included picking fruit off our grape vines and trees back in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. We grew feijoas, pomegranates, satsuma plums, peaches, apples, bananas, tomatoes, peppers, sultana grapes, lemons, oranges, apricots, guavas, persimmons, figs, nectarines, and some forgotten as memory fades — most likely veggies. All of these between two half acre blocks. No wonder I have enjoyed watching the TV series "Escape to the Château" and now have just completed reading the book written by the talented husband and wife team Dick and Angel Strawbridge. They have 2 children and live in a gorgeous French Château which was run down and rather dilapidated before they set about restoring the building, outbuildings, huge vegetable gardens, greenhouse, moat, and various other parts of their 12 acres with Angel's parents close by in a separate building which we would consider as next door. Similar to our situation but on a much larger scale. They have been very busy over the last decade and have set themselves up to use all their space, even the moat with a houseboat as well as a huge glamping tent insitu upon the water, in addition to several stylish suites inside the castle all differently designed for weddings and a variety of functions including food lovers events and weekend getaways, among other ideas.
Reminders of "those were the days" when we lived next door to my parents-in-law who were both excellent cooks. Europeans are like that, where men often cook just as much as the women do, if not even moreso. My husband's father Tony went out to catch fish in his boat 2-3 times most weeks, if the conditions were right. He would come home and fillet his fish — rarely would he come back empty handed. Many times we had King George Whiting or Garfish wrapped up in packages enough for dinner and leftovers. Our children adored their Opa who would carry them around outside to feed and check on all the chickens while they were free ranging around, then before dark, back into their shelter to perch for the night. Opa built a swimming pool inground in clay soil which was a marvel in itself — a man of many talents but sadly he died in August of 1988 when his grandson whom he adored was almost 2 years old. He was born near the border of Hungary and Yugoslavia and was multilingual; his wife born in Lithuania spoke 7 languages (worked as an interpreter) with German and English being their everyday preferential language between them, often flipping between the two. How he loved his family, always ready with amazing food and drink after we got home from a tiring day at work. The hospitality we received and all those who visited were second to none and everybody felt welcomed to stay for as long as they desired. In some ways Opa reminds me of Mr. Strawbridge who is a qualified Chef, Engineer, Builder, handyman extraordinaire, and is there anything this man cannot do? He even prepared one of the turrets over 4 stories high for a lift to be installed in their mansion. Angel is the artistic one who relishes in glamorous style and flair reminiscent of the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and 50s with old fashioned decorative restoration. One of their suites is all finished with Art Deco furniture and lighting which is one of my favourites. Between them they really are a dynamic duo as were my parents-in-law, both hospitality experts.
The memories were very happy indeed and there is one that is interesting to share about life and how people live depending on past experiences. The day was hot and we were outside in the backyard enjoying time swimming in the family pool while Opa served us drinks. He worked as the Head Club Car Manager overseeing everything customers enjoyed while travelling overnight on a train that went between Adelaide and Melbourne known as The Overland. We could see how much he loved people by the way he spent time talking to everyone, and nothing was too much trouble. People were drawn to him as he was a good listener. At his funeral there were so many people from the Railways Department in attendance to pay their respects. He met people from all walks of life and had many interesting stories to tell. On this particular day Tony shared something about his wife Rita and the fact that she liked to stock up on many food items such as canned goods. Tony asked me if I knew why she did this and asked if I considered it hoarding? He then told me it was because of World War II and the horrors they went through escaping from Hitler. Food was so scarce and they were hungry most of the time. I remember responding that it must have been awful and can completely understand the desire to have food stored for times when we cannot buy or grow, never thinking this could be a possibility about 40 years later in the future. Also, it never, ever occurred to me that during my lifetime we would have a cashless situation as things are heading that way now. Imagine waking up one morning to the news that our present monetary system has been rendered obsolete, replaced, and whatever money we have in the bank or on hand is now defunct and of no, or little value. It is coming whether we like it or not.
Yet here we are and we know what God says in the Bible about the end times in which we are living. Scripture tells us in Revelation 13 things hard to imagine but nevertheless are true and will come to pass. Are we ready for these things to take place? How can we ever be ready to change from good times to bad times? The only way to do this to the best of our ability is to be close to God by reading what He gives us and to take all of it to heart which means we must be serious. We can resolve now to not weaken for times such as is written in Revelation 13:16-17 "He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name". No more buying what we need at the shops unless we are unfaithful to God and follow the demonic realm with Satan leading the charge to stir up huge deception. Whatever we do we must remain steadfast in the faith no matter how dire things look, for our hope, our trust, our reliance is on God for His help. We do what we can by planning now to help ourselves in small ways such as growing food if possible for both our physical families and to share among spiritual family members too. We can also put away a bit extra each time we go to the supermarkets for however long or short this might be. This may not seem like much but it is our part to do by being proactive, as it is within our power while we ask God for our daily bread — both physical and spiritual.
Loving family, whether physical or spiritual, is a wonderful thing with food we purchase to cook for all those potlucks we enjoy, and what a most meaningful labour of love if the food is grown and tended over time by our own hands. There is just something incredibly innate in providing good food for our children and families. Right now I am thinking of a warm, sunny Spring day with a picnic blanket stretched out in a grassy meadow with interesting clouds gently floating by, some in shapes one can squeeze their eyes to make out as different animals. The light breeze gently wafts an aroma of lavender and is most welcome as we enjoy warm French baguettes with freshly churned butter and toppings such as cheese (fromage — ooh la la), and/or thinly sliced cold roast lamb from leftovers, seasoned suitably to melt in your mouth. The picnic basket is full of locally grown nutritious fare as well as a bottle or two of red wine from the Barossa Valley to enjoy throughout the long afternoon. Nice dream but back to the reality of wondering how long before the proverbial blanket will be ripped out from under us like those tricks we saw as children on TV where the tablecloth was pulled or yanked dramatically in one deft movement while all the dishes and cutlery remained in their place without breaking or dropping. Oh how we wanted to try this at home — but please, do not try this at home unless you are using plastic or melamine cups and plates!
Therefore we do what our Father asks us to do by persevering in prayer while living one day at a time. Matthew 6:25-34 records "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? "Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble". That sums up what we aim for in our hearts and minds as we meditate upon God's goodness. The following link is for a sermon titled "In God we Trust": https://youtu.be/y744jenOqU4
During these challenging times of war overseas and threats of World War III globally we must be ready to help others. As always, in every situation, the Bible has much to offer and gives us comfort, inspiration, and stirs us into action via our Helper, the Holy Spirit of God. Knowing the Bible as we do, it shows us that the experiences written about in the Old Testament are also repeated, replicated and reinforced in the New Testament — it all fits snugly, purposefully, supernaturally because all of scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16). If we need a bit of help locating this scripture and may forget if it is in 1 or 2 Timothy, I find it helpful to know that the number 2 represents both the Old and New Testaments. Pentecost is almost upon us and it always delights hearts to celebrate this momentous occasion knowing what happened nearly 2,000 years ago. At that time they all shared what they had amongst themselves to ensure those that were lacking were provided for. Acts 4:32 is the place where we can read about this beautifully pure act of love in giving and receiving in genuine, heartfelt Agapé love. Imagine pleasing God with love in action like the first century Church of God members did by being fully of like mind in service to others of the faith as it is written in John 13:35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”