Monday Message

"The counsel to have a year’s supply of basic food, clothing, and commodities was given fifty years ago and has been repeated many times since. Every father and mother are the family’s storekeepers. They should store whatever their own family would like to have in the case of an emergency… and] God will sustain us through our trials." (James E. Faust)

It is hard to think ahead sometimes when we are dealing with so much, but we need to try and do this, make a habit of it. It means self denial too...sacrifice a little now for later when you will really need it. You will be so thankful that you did. Lets say your family uses two jars of peanut butter a month, would it hurt to buy four?  Eating at a fast food place would cost more and, at the same time, do less for you too.

I know we can justify about anything if we wanted to. Justifying makes me think of our kids. We wanted to have a good Sabbath day so on Sundays no Super Mario on the nintendo was our rule. Even though the kids would try to change our minds, we would not cave on this but they kept trying to justify why they should. On the way home from church they would keep trying but the funniest justification was - "we can baptize Mario." We said no, but it was a cute try. So if we think long enough we could come up with why we should not get food stored.

But in the end when things get hard for you because of loss of a job and such, what will you have wished you had gotten? It is always easy when we have that job finally and part of us thinks we made it and that we will always have the job and finally we deserve this, that and everything. Starting storage is far from our minds then life jerks your chain and something happens that having storage would have been so helpful.

Before we put in the basement I stored food on shelves in a bedroom not far from the kitchen. One of the kids' friends asked me one time if we were poor. I said no, what makes you think so?  They said because you have all this food. I said it is because we have the food that we are not poor. Indeed, when things have been tight we have it to help us through.

Food for thought...if you cannot get groceries due to loss of work or whatever you do not have a choice of what to get. Food stamps won't let you get toilet paper for example. They also for the most part are not enough your family may not be in a position to help you.  If you go to a food pantry it won't be like going to the store. You are limited by bags or lbs of food then you have to work with what you get...limited choices.  

I had a chat with my daughter who lives in a hurricane area like we live in a tornado area, she said that many feel why get a storage when a hurricane can wipe it all out? I said it could be if you had your storage in you would be very helpful to those who were hit. I see no downside to having storage.

When we moved we always took it with us as well for this very reason that when we moved there would be deposits on housing, water, gas, phone etc. leaving us no money for groceries.

We have had insurance for many many years and never used it but on the times we needed it we were glad we had it. Food should not be any different and if rotated and used and replaced it will be a blessing to your family or someone else's family. And if you store it you will have a choice in what you get!

Having skills enhances your storage like canning - I have meat like roast canned, yum! Without that skill and supplies I wouldn't do without, I just would not have certain items like beef and noodles or roast with gravy and lots more. I would not have my yummy orange marmalade. You can buy it and store it and you would have it but if you did not store it you would not have it. And for supplies having them means I will be able to can provided I think ahead and purchase a box of lids from time to time. If I just plan to do a box or two a month it won't seem as bad as if i have to do it all at once...kind of like the peanut butter I mentioned in the beginning.

Skills will help us as well.

Here is the skill I have been working on - socks from a long tube I knit, this gives me another way to make socks I now know a variety of ways to make them.

I knitted one long tube to make a pair of socks.

Separating the socks into individual ones.

Successful separation of the socks.

Preparing to knit the ribbing on the second sock, keeping the stripes in order.

Starting to work on the toe with the purple yarn.

Preparing to cut the tube to work in the heel.

Starting to knit the heel.

Finished product!

Do I need to know how to make them? I could probably live without knowing but it enhances my life and that of my family.

What are the skills you are working on to enhance your life?