Monday Message

Now's the time to start planning your garden!

"Brethren, I wish to urge again the importance of self-reliance on the part of every individual Church member and family. None of us knows when a catastrophe might strike. Sickness, injury, unemployment... I do not predict any impending disaster ... yet prudence should govern our lives ... We can begin with a one week food supply and gradually build it to a month, and then to three months. I am speaking now of food to cover basic needs. ... I fear that so many feel that a long-term supply is so far beyond their reach that they make no effort at all.  Begin in a small way... gradually build toward a reasonable objective." - Gorden B. Hinkley, Priesthood Session

This is the time of year we say, "next year I shall work on Christmas earlier."

This is the time of year we tend to set new goals. I feel like we should set them all year long and that goals are the stars to steer by not sticks to beat us.

http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=174ddbeb0d5689543e624c877&id=08750bf3a8&e=f758bfd784 - I have been following this for the past weeks. Some great info in here - watch her clips. She probably doesn’t know about storage so cut her some slack and stock up as you can. Lots of times we need to have our storage even when things might “appear to be going well." 

Sometimes people are motivated to stock storage when things look bleak and get complacent when things are good. When things are good that is the most important time to stock up. In our work we had to stock in the good times for the bad times were always close. Things never stay the same that should be written somewhere.  

Think to your self... what if I could not go to the store for a month due to lack of funds? What would that be like? On what you have stored? Would you have the normal foods you have now? Or would you have wheat and beans, some salt, and a few odds and ends... which would you like to have? What would you wish you had gotten when you had money to do so? This part is just the easy one. Now what would month two be like, is it getting harder? What about month three, are you now really worried? By the end of month four you are now out of about every fresh fruit and veggie, cheese is getting low and you are rationing it. In your recipes by now things are getting harder, you are having to make most everything from scratch. So your time now is sparse as you expend more time in food prep.

Maybe you will never have to do this but if you have to get by for a time I want all of you to be able to get to the end of month four saying I am out of fresh fruit and veggies but I have canned and dried versions. I can still make do with what I have. That is what I want to hear that you can still make do.

It is not easy but lots in life is not easy.

I am here to say most things you get no warning that you are about to get blindsided so don’t just prepare when you are warned, do it all the time. Yes, it takes time to gather but I know you are in the store anyway grab a bit extra. It needs to be on the same level as brushing your teeth. You do it automatically and you don’t wait for the one day you feel great. Same with storage. Work all the time on it, don’t wait for the day you will have more money. Believe me that happens only for few and that also has its challenges. So in short I am telling you not to wait for this or that do it steadily. Yes, some self denial will have to happen for the greater good.

The best welfare program is your own home storage make it so you are covered or you can help others but store what you eat and eat what you store doing the rotation makes things a lot easier

Learn from others learn learn learn

Start planning your garden. What rumor have you heard? Sister Shook hates gardening with a passion. Yep, I hate every aspect of it. It hurts me for weeks just getting it in. It is dirty, hot, buggy. I usually get hurt besides the weeks to feeling good enough to walk well again, the whole of it is awful...then why do I do it? Well number one is a Prophet said to plant a garden and so I do. I will suffer and do it. Second is it helps us to store food for the bad times and helps us through these bad times it does. I have always hated gardening. My sister is a master gardener, my grandma and aunts gardened wonderfully and then you have me... I grumble and gripe but do it I must.

I push on. Things will never always be fun, full of roses and chocolate. If that is what you are looking for you may be very disappointed. We cannot sit around and wait for things to happen, we have to do keep pushing on.

I am proud of all you do. Keep pushing on. Share ideas with each other, share sells with each other. We are all here together to support each other and help each other. If you don’t know how to do something find out, ask those who do, teach yourself with library books or the internet, what ever works. Yes, there is only so many hours in a day but little bits here and there... it all adds up - same way with storage.

Keep working and learning!