From the back cover of Surviving Off Off-Grid
Most of us know there is a problem with something in our society and our daily way of life. You might question why things are the way they are like…
- The industrial food system.
- The incredible dependence on oil.
- The public school systems.
- Politics and government.
- A society based on consumption and specialization.
- A reliance on foreign powers for resources.
- A medical system that exists mostly to push pharmaceutical drugs.
The list could go on. Perhaps one of these things doesn’t seem right to you, perhaps this list and more bothers you. It bothers me.
So what do you do about it?
Each generation seeks its own success and comfort, and each claims to be doing it for their children and their grandchildren. The grandchildren have more all right: more debt, more stress, more disease, more pharmaceuticals, more divorce…, more step-relatives, more wickedness, more modernism, and, well… they just have more. They have less of God and true religion, less character, less freedom, less practical intelligence, less integrity, less moral uprightness, and even less probability of surviving the slightest of disasters.
– Surviving Off Off-Grid, Chapter 3
This is what I have seen in my own life and in our modern society in general: We feel guilty about farming practices, so we shop at Whole Foods with our cute little reusable bags. We don’t like the way things are run in Washington so we vote one day a year and live the rest of our lives distracted, as if our choices don’t matter. We’ll complain about drug companies, but won’t take personal responsibility for what we put in our bodies.
We have salved our conscience with our little good deeds, but we haven’t even begun to address why we are here, how we got to this place, and what we need to do about it. We compromise so that we can still reap the benefits of an ungodly system. We are lukewarm at best.
I don’t know about you, but this is my story. I am 28 years old and have never butchered an animal, knitted a pair of socks, or made a candle. And yet I consume these things every single day. I have done nothing but consume and depend upon an ungodly industrial system most of my life and have been told it is good and normal because it makes my life easier and makes corporations richer.
But is it right?
Revolution Starts in the Mind & Heart
Once a man is wholly and truly converted to a right philosophy of freedom and life, he is never going to be satisfied with less than that. A true revolution, then, is founded on conversion in the mind and heart… Once we learn and believe that our system has produced death, destruction, cultural and social decay, slavish dependence, rampant immorality and an unviable life, it is natural that we will want to begin to exit that system and free ourselves from its influence.
– Surviving Off Off-Grid, Chapter 2
Our family has begun a journey towards a more sustainable, simple life. Some say that we are "extreme", so I ask you…
- Is it extreme to want to raise and educate your child instead of paying someone else to do it?
- Is it extreme to become debt-free and want to stay that way?
- Is it extreme to be the person who grows the food that feeds your family?
- Is it extreme to forgo a "quality of life" that is considered extremely wealthy in most of the world in order to live as we are called?
- Is it extreme to choose your geographical location based on fellowship and community rather than comfort and career?
- Is it extreme to desire to rely not on foreign oil and grocery stores, but on God’s direct provisions for your basic needs?
If so, then consider us extreme. And consider Surviving Off Off-Grid a handbook for a true and Godly revolution against an ungodly industrial system.
Watch This
Surviving Off Off-Grid will be available at Amazon on March 4th, so mark it on your calendar. You can also follow the book on their facebook page.
22 Responses to Surviving Off Off-Grid: Revolution Starts in the Mind and Heart
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my (grain-free) cookbook
books worth reading
An excellent video! The pictures and message were spot on and thought-provoking. My kids and I watched it together. I am looking forward to reading the book.
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You Know, I will admit,when I first read your blog I thought you were a extremist. But over time, I came to realize that you feed your family the way God has intended. You have learned how to depend on yourselves to be fed everyday, which is how its been from the beginning of time. It’s crazy to think that I was (and most people are) brainwashed into thinking you were extreme and that we need all these so called “groceries” to feed our family. I love your blog and read it now everyday when I rock our daughter to bed. I also linked to you and put Nourishing Days in my blogroll. Thank you for the awakening, keep it up!
Jennifer
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Amen Sister!!!!!
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Very thought provoking and intruiging. Sounds to be a book I will want to read.
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This looks awesome! I’m definitely interesting in buying the book from Amazon when it’s available.
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that video is very powerful. can’t wait to read the book.
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Can I live just “slightly connected” to the grid at first? I’m a big baby.
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Shannon thank you so much for sharing this most important message, I pray that people will get a hold of this message and run with it. People need to wake up and smell the roses or there won’t be any roses to smell.
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I learned how to do all those things, back in the 70s, because it seemed unlikely that I would ever have wealth. It seemed like I should at least know how to do things for myself.
If you want to learn how to live off-grid, start with just one room. This is a good article: http://solarray.blogspot.com/2005/12/my-solar-bedroom.html . The internet is full of good tutorials for learning to knit and cook. Buy Carla Emery’s book. It’s still the most comprehensive book on homesteading out there. Practice where you are. And one last thing, there are still elderly people in your community that know how to do these things. Talk to them. There’s a great story in Carol Deppe’s book, The Resilient Gardener, where she learned how to harvest pounds of nuts by asking someone how to salvage the nuts.
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Shannon Reply:
February 16th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Teri – Your point about learning from those who are wiser is such a good one. My grandparents, who have always been farmers, are never-ending wells of information and common sense. And we own and use Mrs. Emery’s book and second your recommendation.
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Hi Shannon,
I have read your blog for a while & your sustainability posts always leave me with a few questions – which I’ve never bothered to ask, but today, I thought I have time to write them.
First let me way, that I really value quality of life over quantity of stuff. This was brought home to me today when my husband & I went to an open house & I realized that the closets were ridiculously big, but the living spaces were small. I was really apalled by that. So I think that I can really appreciate the spirit of much of what you say.
So the questions –
1) what is your view on the place of specialized labor in your sustainability vision? Even in pioneer & simpler times there has been specialized labor – perhaps doctors, blacksmiths, general store owners who stocked the few items people didn’t make themselves. When I read what you have written about sustainable living, I’m left wondering what your view is on this. It seems that some type of specialized labor is necessary in any society; however, you posts leave me wondering about your view on this.
2) how does the fact that the new Jerusalem & the new heavens & new earth feature a city impact your thinking? It seems that the city is part of God’s plan because that’s where we end up. (I get the impression you view cities negatively).
I live in a major metropolitan area and my conservative, bible-teaching church has really made an effort to teach and develop a theology of and for the city. Adam and Eve started in a garden, but end up in a city. Cities are places where arts are cultivated. They are also places of wickedness and alienation. But God is redeeming the city – not abandoning it. When the Israelites were exiles in Babylon, Jeremiah prophesies that they should settle down in the city where God sent them. (Jer 29:5-6) Jeremiah 29:7 says they should seek the peace and prosperity of the city.We are in exile from God’s heavenly city now, but we work to be part of God’s kingdom coming in the city where we are in exile. So, our church started the second crisis pregnancy center in the US; we started one of the first Christian ministries of mercy to people with HIV / AIDS; we have Bible studies in prisons and homeless shelters. We have Bible studies for arts students. Hopefully we’ll be starting an outreach towards business people since we are close to the financial district.
It doesn’t seem to me that human organization into cities is in itself negative. But the human heart is desparately wicked above all things – so whether you are in the city or the country – if you are unregenerate, then ungodly things will happen. The city may concentrate this effect – but it can also concentrate good things as well. (I had a friend who did a pastoral internship in a rural area & an urban area & he said the heart issues were the same – they just manifested differently. )
I think you ask a lot of good questions & have a lot of good thoughts in these areas, but I want to encourage you to consider that a person can have a non-materialistic, non-relativisitic, non-consumeristic heart in a city too. It takes a lot of effort no matter where you are to not buy into the systems that have built up all around us.
Blessings on you & your family & your work towards glorifying God and living a life pleasing to him. I know that is your ultimate goal – which we both share.
It is hard to tell someone’s tone or attitude via writing, but please know that I intend these comments charitably & to stimulate thinking.
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Shannon Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 11:51 am
Jessie, I appreciate the questions. First, the book addresses the questions you are asking. I agree with the book in this area…here are a few snippets on specialization in particular:
“…Some men have skills and talents in management, while others are “small picture” folks, with an eye and heart towards artisanship in a very specific area……There is nothing dishonorable about being employed in a trade or specialty. In Agrarian Europe 250 years ago, the average farm would have employed dozens and dozens of workers – shepherds, swineherds, thatchers, millers, sawyers, coopers, smiths, brewers, etc. How do you think most people came upon their last names?
Here is where many people can get confused. How can we say that specialization is good, when we have already named specialization as one of the primary causes of many of the problems in the society today? Is specialization good? Or is it bad?…The point is that when specialization is very limited, and when it focuses on Agrarian activities, art, and skills, it is a good thing; when it becomes corrupted, and is the single most identifiable element of the society and culture, then it is a very bad thing.”
The bottom line in my mind is this…if my family is specialized to the point that we have no idea how to do the basics of life (that our forefathers knew such as raising their own animals, gardening, and much more) then we are not truly viable. If God were to judge and destroy all evil in the city/industrial food system/corporations then does our dependency on those things destroy our way of life and if so what does that say about us?
Your second question is addressed on many levels in the book. Particularly in Chapter 16, which deals with common objections. I encourage you to read the book if you’d like the author’s full opinion on the topic. This isn’t a theology blog so I won’t get too much deeper into it than to recommend the resource and post another small snippet (of a much larger and more thought provoking Q&A topic in the book).
“…Many people read the commandments in the Bible to “come out from among them” (2 Cor. 6:17), “come out of her” (Rev. 18:4), and to separate from the world, and they think, “Listen, I don’t go to bars, and I don’t do drugs, and I don’t go out and party, and I don’t spend my money foolishly… so I have separated from the world”; but in their rationalistic replies they show how foolishly and ignorantly they have failed to discern the plain teaching of the Bible. It is our mutual dependence and interdependence upon the world and worldlings that evidences whether or not we are a Biblically separated people. Listen, if all the wicked worldlings immediately perished or were stricken with some serious malady that caused them to be unable to continue in their jobs – the cities (and all those who rely on them) would collapse and perish. It is your dependence on the world that is at issue here, not whether or not you partake in all of their habits…”
My personal opinion is that city life is not sustainable, is historically a place of judgment, and is not in its present form or definition a godly place.
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Hi Shannon,
I have the same question as Jessie. Thank you.
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Shannon Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 11:52 am
Julie-Ann – I answered Jessie’s questions above, so you can take a look if you’d like.
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I share a lot of the same sentiments as Shannon and our family is making practical steps to become more self-sufficient. I’ll admit it is merely for health reasons and largely for comfort in case ‘the grid’ disappears. We agree that the ‘problems’ with our society exist. However, given that we live in a sinful world, problems are always going to exist and the earth will be redeemed, praise the Lord, in the end. This post seems to attribute a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ to temporal activities that are much more complex than that. These assumptions can be damaging and alienating. I also sense that the criticism you have received has influenced your thoughts and writings. Of course it would. I have found that the answer to that is not make the other’s view ‘wrong’ but merely another opinion. (I am not speaking of theological issues, only these temporal, secondary issues that don’t effect our salvation.) It is not ‘wrong’ to go to a grocery store, buy clothes, or attend a school. Neither is it ‘right’ to homeschool, knit your clothes, etc. These are choices that have varying effects and practicality on a diverse generation of God’s people. With that said, I applaud your research, your direction, and your blog. Keep it up, its nice to share similar beliefs and discuss this very interesting time we live in.
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Shannon Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
I disagree with your opinion that some of these other things are just opinions. The Bible, in my opinion (how many times can I use this word in my response?
), does give us a framework for determining answers to other questions, even some of the ones you mentioned. Now can we all get to an ideal way of living tomorrow? No. But moving towards an ideal (or in some cases commanded way of life) is a lot different than not moving at all…or defending the status quo. Man has fallen so far that we often forget where we came from. God placed Adam in a garden to keep it. Isn’t it interesting that after man fell he was still commanded to work the ground? Think about it. Man in the world before sin was an agrarian. Do you really think if man hadn’t fallen that we would have all the junk that we consume and that consumes us? I’m not saying I have a full answer for you…just that these are things to consider.
As I’ve mentioned before, this isn’t a theology blog, so I’d like to turn the question back to the original post. The book is your opportunity to be challenged in a way we have been challenged. You can take the opportunity to read the full case in the book and decide for yourself or you can pass on it. I’m simply presenting (and supporting something) that has been a blessing to our family. May it also, Lord willing, be a blessing for yours.
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Thank you for responding. I will certainly buy the book. I am enjoying your blog for food reasons also. Have started some bean sprouts and a sourdough starter from scratch. Thank you again.
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I’ve been following Nourished Kitchen for several months now, and I’m so glad to find you and read your perspectives from a Christian, Bible-believing viewpoint…so many of the other food/sustainability related blogs aren’t that way. I’ve been slowly converting my home to more traditional foods, and am currently looking for a piece of dirt where I can pursue more efforts towards sustainability, growing/raising my own food and living off-grid. Thank you!!!
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I don’t think you’re extreme but I would be careful when speaking directly about the public/private/home school decision we as parents navigate through. I consider my husband and I Christian, bible believing and extreme in many of the areas you mentioned and along with those we also send our kids to public school. My husband works for the district and we feel that God has called us to reach our community through this avenue. I welcome your knowledge about real food and I’ve been following you for about a year now, but please be sensitive to your audience in understanding God had different callings on each of us.
Also, browsing through the other comments, I would agree with Amy Strom when she says, “This post seems to attribute a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ to temporal activities that are much more complex than that. These assumptions can be damaging and alienating. I also sense that the criticism you have received has influenced your thoughts and writings.”
I am sad if people have criticized you for choosing to live in a manner worthy of the calling you and your family have. We need to practice more acceptance of other’s gifts and callings. I appreciate your vulnerability in the blog world and I will continue to follow your posts. Thank you for highlighting this book
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Shannon Reply:
February 18th, 2011 at 4:27 pm
Deirdre – Thanks for your comment! In my statements I was saying “this is what we do, is it extreme?” I don’t believe I made a direct statement saying that your choice is wrong and mine is right.
What I do think, though, is that whichever choice we make is a statement as to what we believe is right or wrong. If you say “I eat organic food” you are not directly saying to someone “eating non-organic food is wrong”, but you are, on some level, condemning eating non-organic food because you believe eating organic food to be more “right” than eating non-organic food. So whether we say it out loud or not, the way we live our lives is a testament to what we believe is right or wrong and in that we are condemning the lifestyle that we did not choose. Know what I mean? I explained things a little more in my response to Amy too, if you’re interested.
Thanks again for your comment and for reading!
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Thanks for posting answers to my questions Shannon.
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