Monday Message

“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.