Lately I've had something on my mind. With the state of our economy I find myself thinking back to the things our leaders have been emphasizing so much recently. They have been seriously focused on preparedness. Having our lives in order and being ready to weather any storms that life may throw at us. Recently we have received pamphlets about short and long-term food storage. We have received another about financial preparedness. We've been hearing it over and over from the pulpit and from our church news magazines. We need to be prepared as a people. We need to stop living in excess and focusing on worldly desires.

Personally, I've been hearing it but I've been slow to take to heart these messages. I've been pretty lazy in gathering my food storage. I'm sure we could live for a good month off of the food in our pantry but I promise you it would be a very sad month.

As I read and see the news reports that are growing more desperate each day I feel like the time is now. I can't put off any longer what I should have been doing all along! I need to buckle down and heed the counsel of the Lord who taught, "Organize yourselves; ^aprepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a ^bhouse of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of ^corder, a ^dhouse of God..."

While the current condition of the economy may end up turning around and we may avoid a national catastrophe I think we can all use this as a lesson to ourselves. There is danger in extending ourselves beyond our ability to pay. There is danger when we devote ourselves more to the vain and foolish things of the world, and less to the simple concerns of building a safe and happy home for our family. I truly believe that if we do all we can to follow the simple principles the Lord has outlined for us, including paying our tithing, establishing a moderate amount of food strorage and building on it, and doing our best to save what money we are able to, we will be able to enjoy a sense of peace even amidst the volatility of the world. The Lord does not desire for us to live in fear, but rather to follow after Him and His principles and find comfort and peace therein.

Obviously I have a lot of work to do. Though I feel so behind I hope that I am able to have a sustained, steady effort and build up my food, water and financial reserves. It feels like such a monumental thing - to gather food and money enough for my whole family. For a WHOLE YEAR! Thankfully, I've found some good websites. If you're interested you should really check them out. They're very helpful. The most important part seems to be having a plan. This is not something you can go about willy nilly (side note: I love any and all occasions to use the term "Willy Nilly"). Anyway, I'm providing a list of websites that I've found helpful. Hopefully you are all way ahead of me. But if you're not, here's the bandwagon. Jump on!
Provident Living
Safely Gathered In
Totally Ready
Food Storage Calculator