"Plan to build up your food supply just as you would a savings account... We urge you to do this prayerfully and do it now." -
President Ezra Taft Benson
"I stand before the Church this day and raise the warning voice. It is a prophetic voice, for I shall say only what the apostles and the prophets have spoken concerning our day. ...It is a voice calling upon the Lord's people to prepare for the troubles and desolations which are about to be poured upon the world without measure.
For the moment, we live in a day of peace and prosperity but it shall not ever be thus.
Great trials lie ahead. All of the sorrows and perils of the past are but a foretaste of what is yet to be. And we must prepare ourselves temporally and spiritually." - Elder Bruce R. McConkie, General Conference April 1979.
The weather certainly has been hot so far, I do hope you are staying cool.
I have been doing some late spring cleaning this week, also the raspberries are ripening so I have been picking them.
I also had my 42nd anniversary married to my high school sweetheart and still sweathearts :) I have known my husband since seventh grade art class.
I got a used weaving book and inside was a message to someone else but applies to all of us. She wrote "read read read and we will learn." We can apply this to any skills you want to learn. If you want to learn to can food, read. I also say ask someone who does canning to learn.
There are many things that want our attention and sometimes we feel overwhelmed. Just know that is normal and that is when we want to step back and see what we are doing. How can we fix what got us to this point? Sometimes we cannot see a way out and sometimes we just have to plow on through, but sometimes we can plan differently. Consolidate what we are doing. Sometimes we have too many self-imposed deadlines. Sometimes we are too hard on our own selves.
While it has been hot I came up with a recipe for fudgsicles.
Fudgsicles
1 ½ c. of very cold milk, I use powdered milk mixed up
1 pkg of instant chocolate pudding mix, I use sugar free
One container of yogurt, I make my own but other works too
1 c. cool whip light
Mix well, put in molds and freeze. Yum!
http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2013/03/yogurt.html - here is the yogurt recipe I use.
Making yogurt is a good skill to have.
Skills can take little or long times to learn. But as we collect skills we have resources to pull on now and in a time of need. When you are in a crisis is not the time to start learning or start your food storage, it is also not time to start to ease your kids into new foods. But if they are eating homemade food all along it will be something they are used to.
So keep building your binders with recipes from scratch.
http://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/2015/03/monday-message.html - cooking from scratch is a huge deal. I have mentioned it over and over in this post. I encouraged you to start a binder how are coming with that?
Having your own binder of scratch recipes that your family likes is a very important thing in your box of resources.
http://www.foodstoragemoms.com/2016/06/25-things-you-need-for-the-next-disaster/ are you set for any disaster that you may have?
http://www.meetpenny.com/2013/01/cooking-from-scratch-with-homemade-mixes/ if you are gluten free she has a mix for you too.
So keep working on your skills... read read read and learn learn learn!I am working and reading on weaving at this time. We are all learning :)
(Gordon B. Hinckley, October 2001)
“As we have been continuously counseled for more than 60 years, let us have some food set aside that would sustain us for a time in case of need. But let us not panic nor go to extremes. Let us be prudent in every respect.”
“From President Thomas S. Monson, First Counselor, we hear: "Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year's supply of food . . . and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year's supply of debt and are food-free."
“We call upon priesthood bearers to store sufficient so that you and your family can weather the vicissitudes of life.”
What a heat wave! As I am writing this message it's oh so hot. I loved the ideas in this next post.
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/04/04jun07g.cfm with the weather so hot I thought I would find something cold and yummy.
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/08/08jun09f.cfm how much do you spend on groceries?? All month? every time you go to the store - every dollar spent? If you are not staying in budget you will be shocked at your month’s total.
So to start writing everything down cause if you turn a blind eye to it the food you are getting is chewing up your budget. That includes eating out. If you are not on top of it, who is?
http://www.livingonadime.com/foods-you-need-pantry/ keeping a well stocked pantry is very budget friendly, saves gas and energy and time.
http://zenhabits.net/the-cheapskate-guide-50-tips-for-frugal-living/ this has such good frugal ideas. Even if your life at this time doesn’t have to be frugal you need to read because at some point - you may remember the roller coaster - sometimes we’re up and sometimes we are not... when we are up the work of preparing for when we are down needs to be tended.
There is one thing for certain - life is always changing. Be prepared for the downs because they will happen. Not if but when...
It is all part of learning and growing, like when a toddler is learning to walk - we try to get rid of sharp corners and dangers, we have our arms outstretched to encourage but they fall... they are learning. That is how it is for us. Heavenly Father has given us Prophets to guide and warn us. It is up to you to heed. You cannot tend to things when you are up and have a harder down time or follow the Prophet and it will be less hard. It won’t take it away but can soften the blow. But we have the choice.
http://zenhabits.net/50-tips-for-grocery-shopping/ we can learn from each other, help each other, learn from others.
I plan my meals - also take into account the store flyers. When I go with list in hand, with pen and paper, I keep a tally of adding each item’s price as I go. I don’t even trust a calculator as if I bump the wrong number I lose everything, with pen and paper I can always see the amount. I use leftovers and make TV type meals and freeze for a day. I hurt too much to cook.
Today soooo hot…. dinner is in the crockpot. I keep my eye on the weather. When it is to be hot I plan my meals to be lighter. I get groceries once a month. This is easier than running to the store all the time, it also shows if you are stocked up you can shift meals around.
http://www.foodstoragemoms.com/2016/06/make-chunky-monkey-pancakes/ yum - I love pancakes.
http://zenhabits.net/100-ways-to-have-fun-with-your-kids-for/ summertime - we need all the ideas we can get to do things with our kids and I will be the first one to say it doesn’t have to cost money or break the budget.
http://zenhabits.net/family-day-and-family-meetings/ some ideas for your family counsels and FHE. I like how they start their meeting complimenting, sounds like a nice family.
http://zenhabits.net/get-kids-outdoors/ kids need to get outside too
How are you coming on skill building??
I have been thinking about how women have over the years beautified their homes with skills they built/skills they have shared. Also, how frugal they were… they set examples for us, much can be learned.
Years ago I found these place cards, how tiny the work someone made - little works of art.
Look closely at the pic. In the beginning those are tiny shells, each card one and a half by three inches - we are talking tiny.
Keep plugging away on your storage and skill building.
"[The pioneers] were taught by their leaders to produce, as far as possible, all that they consumed, and to be frugal and not wasteful of their substance. This is still excellent counsel. Joseph Fielding Smith, "The Pioneer Spirit," Improvement Era, July 1970, 3.
"Acquire and store a reserve of food and supplies that will sustain life. ... As long as I can remember, we have been taught to prepare for the future and to obtain a year's supply of necessities. I would guess that the years of plenty have almost universally caused us to set aside this counsel. I believe the time to disregard this counsel is over. With events in the world today, it must be considered with all seriousness." L. Tom Perry, "If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear," Ensign, Nov. 1995.
Start by getting in a month’s supply then two, then three months, work up to a year. When you have that in your grocery shopping will change. You can wait for sales, you can skip a month of groceries if you have an emergency come to you, but keep it steady at twelve months. It is easy to let it slide. You must try to stay on it and also you must absolutely rotate your storage.
I have seen some who write on their food the date they got it, that helps them rotate.
http://survivallife.com/emergency-food-storage-small-spaces/ I know this is a prepper site but they had great ideas for storing in small spaces.
http://teachinggoodthings.com/homemaking-skills/ this has great recipes and homemaking but there are some not found pages but glean what you can.
http://basichomemakingskills.blogspot.com/ some basic homemaking skills
http://www.livingonadime.com/learn-homemaking-skills/ this has great ideas on how to learn skills
http://www.cranialhiccups.com/2009/04/teaching-kids-to-cook-part-i.html
http://www.cranialhiccups.com/2009/04/teaching-kids-to-cook-part-ii.html
http://www.cranialhiccups.com/2009/05/teaching-kids-to-cook-part-iii.html
These up above are teaching your kids.
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2012/09/simple-menu-planning.html - menu planning
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=vacuum+sealing+using+canisters+youtube&view=detail&mid=7016261FEE7DB4F857037016261FEE7DB4F85703&FORM=VIRE - Vacuum sealing in any jar.
https://www.pinterest.com/gramiv/cooking-from-scratch-and-storable-foods/ - cooking from scratch
I see that they show funnel cakes, we did that on the Fourth of July. Make traditions and try out new recipes, give cooking from scratch a chance.
Keep working on your skills. I have my tatting organized.
“When we really get into hard times, where food is scarce or there is none at all, and so with clothing and shelter, money may be no good for there may be nothing to buy, and you cannot eat money, you cannot get enough of it together to burn to keep warm, and you cannot wear it. You can’t eat money, but you can eat your three-month supply of food – IF YOU HAVE IT AND KNOW HOW TO USE IT." - President J. Reuben Clark (Church News, 1953)
If you think this can’t happen, oh yes it can and has.
Do you know what to do with what you have stored??
http://www.littlehouseliving.com/5-ways-to-save-money-gardening.html - thought you could use this info.
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2009/02/05/food-storage-blender-wheat-pancakes/ I think if you have a blender and store wheat you can make these, they are terrific. Give them a try, they are at the top of my favorites.
Living—A Way of Life
Objective: To understand that living providently means taking care of our immediate needs and providing for the future.
Provident Living—A Way of Life
As we strive to take good care of ourselves and our families, one of our greatest challenges is to find peace in the midst of an uncertain future. We may have the basic necessities of life today, but what about tomorrow? The prophets have urged us to live providently—in other words, to live in a way that will allow us to live well not only today, but tomorrow as well.
The wisdom of living providently has been recognized since ancient times. Joseph encouraged the Egyptians to store grain during the seven “fat” years against the lean years to come. From the ancient Greek storyteller, Aesop, comes a fable about the ant and the grasshopper, which illustrates in a very simple way the principle of provident living. In time of plenty, the grasshopper took no thought for what he might need when the winter came. But the ant worked busily, preparing and providing for a time when food would not be so plentiful. The ant could look to the future with confidence, while the grasshopper—if he thought about the future at all—could only hope for the best.
But living providently is more than just putting aside food for future need. It encompasses all areas of life. If we want to face the future with confidence and peace of mind, we must prepare ourselves in six areas: literacy and education, career development, financial and resource management, home production and storage, physical health, and social-emotional and spiritual strength. When we strive to prepare in each of these areas, we can enjoy peace of mind as we face the uncertainties of the future.
The general president of the Relief Society, Sister Barbara W. Winder, has told what it means to live providently: “Provident living means to prudently and frugally use our resources, to make provision for the future as well as to provide wisely for our current needs.”
Our leaders have given us general guidelines to follow in living providently. But we are the ones who must decide how to make them a way of life. In one ward, the sisters decided that they would each like to make an emergency preparedness kit. Each week in Relief Society, the leaders would show one item that the sisters needed in their kits. Many of the sisters finished the kit in time to give this gift of preparation to their families for Christmas
When we live providently, we are also in a better position to help others. In the Solo Branch in Indonesia, sisters set aside a spoonful of rice every time they cooked, then gave that rice each week to people in need. Even though these Indonesian sisters had an average income of only $140 per year, they were able to bless each other by wise planning.
How well prepared are you? Think about the six areas in which we need to prepare. Invite the Spirit of the Lord to help plan for your own needs in each of these areas. “Living providently today is the very best preparation for tomorrow, for a lifetime of tomorrows, whatever their challenges may be,” says Sister Winder. “The Lord has promised that ‘if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.’” (D&C 38:30.)
http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/FNP_101.pdf - have you noticed how costly cream of mushroom soup is and other soups as well? This recipe helps you save that money and yet is even more convenient when you have it at the ready.
https://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/07/powdered-milk-budgets-and-blessings?lang=eng - this is my favorite article, please read! It is more about family than powdered milk. See if this hits a cord.
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/youth-curriculum/11-november?lang=eng&_r=1 - watch this. I have loved it. Doesn't speak volumes?
Sometimes we get caught up in the moment not thinking of what the future might hold. We need to think - what if our job security changed? How would I feel? Would I have wished that I didn't get ___ or ___? And as times get hard would I start to hate that item?
I often wonder... can I make (whether it be food or clothing, etc..) just as good as from the store, maybe better?
One day, years ago I saw this beautiful small pieced quilt top with six tiny squares all pieced in that pine tree pattern. We are talking tiny and it was just the top not backed and not framed, just this little pieced fabric that they tea-stained. I loved it and would look at it every time I was in that store. It had a price tag of $80. Well, that would never happen so I wondered if I could do it myself. Mine would not be as good but I drew and worked and finally made and tea-stained it and I put it in a tray that my sister gifted to me.
So, when I look at it I am reminded I can teach myself new things. Also, things don’t have to be perfect.
We need to learn to live within our means. Someone who could afford it bought it and is happy with it but I am also happy with my imperfect one. It makes me happy.
We all can try. Keep working at living providently, keep building your storage - you can do more than you think you can.
