I – Prepare

Practical Knot Tying

Adventurer Bear Grylls provides instructions on learning how to tie the most practical knots you can use for everyday needs:

  • reef (square) knot (tying two rope ends together)
  • reef knot with two hitches (to prevent slippage)
  • overhand knot (tying two rope ends together that won’t unravel)
  • clove hitch (securing the rope to a post)
  • clove hitch with additional hitch or two overhand knots (to prevent slippage)
  • clove hitch using loops (securing the rope to an open pole or stake)
  • clove hitch sliding the loops together (securing the rope to a carabiner)
  • Italian hitch closing the loops on itself (to belay a person down a cliff)
  • stopper version of a hitch (to trap the rope )
  • bowline knot (for tying a rope around your waist)
  • figure-of-eight knot (for tying an adjustable loop or handhold)

[ Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, Devotional Insights on Courage by Bear Grylls ]

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Concealed Carry Daily Prayer

More than two-thirds of Americans pray and a majority pray every day. According to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey, 55% of Americans say they pray every day, 16% say they pray weekly, and 6% pray monthly: add them together for a total of 77% of USA citizens say they talk to God in prayer.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Spiritual Fitness in the USA Military ]

And according to a LifeWay Research survey, most Americans who pray (83%) think at least some of their prayers are answered. Their topic of prayer focuses mainly on their family and friends (82%) or their own problems (74%).

Chart: What People Pray For

Depending on God for guidance and protection are common themes of everyday prayer. And since carrying a firearm for self-defense is such a high responsibility, it makes sense to turn to the highest power to request divine care in properly meeting that commitment.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Jeff Cooper’s Principles of Personal Defense ]

Here’s a prayer by SemperVerus® you may want to say when you arise every morning:

Concealed Carry Daily Prayer

My Father in Heaven, your will be done.
 
I pray today that I will love you with all my passion, character, intellect, and muscle and that I will humbly love the people with whom I come in contact.
 
Help me to be a disciplined peacemaker—a wise discerner of good from evil—proactively alert and aware of my spiritual and physical surroundings.
 
I pray I will never be forced to use my weapon. But if I must as only the last resort in self-defense, make me courageously fast and accurate to stop the attack.
 
Amen.

(Concepts for this prayer are taken from Matt. 6:9-14, Mark 12:30-31; Heb. 12:14; Phil. 1:9-11; 1 Pet. 5:8-9; and 1 Cor. 16:13-14)

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

Invite SemperVerus® to present its 5 main strategic principles—prepare, aware, be, know, do—to your organization to inspire and motivate your members.

Join the SemperVerus Brotherhood™!

Checklist: Matters to Consider When Deciding on a Handgun

If you’re thinking about becoming a handgun owner, you may be wondering how to begin. Perhaps the thought of walking into a gun store makes you nervous. Or confused. The extreme variety of firearms from which to choose can be daunting and baffling.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, The 4 Basic Rules of Gun Safety ]

Click the image below to enlarge this PDF document created by SemperVerus to help you narrow the options to your specific situation. Download, print, and take it to your gun store to work through the choices with a knowledgeable and helpful firearms retailer.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Self-Defense Training Directory ]

Checklist: Matters to Consider When Deciding on a Handgun

[ Read the SemperVerus article, The Process of Becoming a First Time Gun Owner ]

To help you compare how you handle different firearms, see this list of worthwhile items to evaluate compiled by TacticalProfessor Claude Werner for testing and deciding what gun is right for you. Also see his Pistol Evaluation checklist.

You may find A Glossary of Gun Terms by AmmoMan.com, Gun Glossary For Women Shooters by Carrie Lightfoot at The Well Armed Woman, USCCA’s Terminology Guide, Pew Pew Tactical’s Handgun Training Terminology You Should Know, and USA Carry’s Firearms Terms for the Beginner to be useful in your personal firearm education.

Also see TheTruthAboutGuns.com for “Guns for Beginners” articles, GunMagWarehouse.com for A Beginner’s Guide to Buying a Handgun, and Pew Pew Tactical’s Beginner’s Guide to Guns.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Learn the Basics of Ammunition with Winchester® Educational Infographics ]

And learn about USA state gun laws at

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Directory of Holster Makers ]

Invite SemperVerus® to present its 5 life-changing success-generating components—prepare, aware, be, know, do—to your organization to inspire and motivate your members.

Join the SemperVerus Brotherhood™!

A Navy SEAL Reveals 8 Secrets To Grit And Resilience

USA Navy Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) Training

What can the USA Navy SEALs and research teach us about getting through life’s tough times? James Waters, a former SEAL Platoon Commander, offers the following:

1) Purpose And Meaning
Without a good reason to keep pushing, we’ll quit. Studies of “central governor theory” show our brains always give in long before our body does.

2) Make It A Game
What’s one of the things people who live through disaster scenarios have in common? They make survival a game. The best way to deal with stress is to see problems as challenges, not threats.

3) Be Confident — But Realistic
Lack of confidence isn’t an option but neither is denial. Hope and despair can be self-fulfilling prophecies.

4) Prepare, Prepare, Prepare
Marathons aren’t as hard after a few months of training. But if you had to run one tomorrow you’d probably cry. Who survives catastrophic scenarios? The people who have prepared. Reducing uncertainty reduces fear.

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