September
National Preparedness Month
What a great month to start preparing!
"It wasn't raining when Noah
built the ark." Brigham Young
This quote has been the theme of my blog, "The Ark", for the last 5 years.
What did Noah do to prepare his home for the coming storm?
First, he made a plan according to God's instructions, then he built the ark. It did not take just a few days, weeks or months, it took Noah about 100 years. He made sure the ark was sound and built well. People laughed at him as he built and prepared the ark. He warned them and warned them to be prepared but they continued to ignore him.
Next he gathered in supplies, bedding, clothing, food, water, lighting, and all the supplies they would need for one year, and of course, all the animals and living creatures two by two on the earth. He taught his family the gospel of Jesus Christ, to keep the commandments and to have a strong testimony, to stand strong and not let others influence them. They were not only temporally prepared but spiritually prepared too!
Each of us needs to build OUR "ark"! Each "ark" will not be the same. Each family needs to build their "ark" according to their family's needs, likes and dislikes. Each of us needs to make our "ark" sound and strong from the storms both temporally and spiritually. Each of us needs to gather in our supplies of food, water, medical supplies and emergency equipment and supplies we might need. Each of us needs to listen to the warnings, and admonish them, of our living prophet, prophets of the past, our general church leaders and in the scriptures. Each of us needs to warn our family, our neighbors, our co-workers to be prepared for the coming storms.
"If anyone has doubt concerning the terrible things that can and will afflict mankind, let him read the 24th Chapter of Matthew. Among other things the Lord says, 'Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.' ... For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. ... For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.' He went on to describe many disasters including: the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, the Black Plague that killed millions, the Chicago Fire, Pompeii, and the Tsunami in Southeast Asia. Then he said, 'What we have experienced in the past was all foretold, and the end is not yet. Just as there have been calamities in the past, we expect more in the future.' Occasions such as 9/11 pull us up sharply to a realization that 'Life is fragile, peace is fragile, civilization itself is fragile. The economy is particularly vulnerable. We have been counseled again and again concerning self-reliance. We cannot provide against every contingency. But we can provide against many contingencies."
What are some of the contingency we have been forewarned would come our way? Famine, drought, pestilences, earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, tsunamis, terrorism and war, and economies failing. How many of these are we seeing these in our day?
Let's build our "ark" and be prepared for the storms! Let's start right now and not procrastinate as we go along, but stay focused and determined to be prepared! Noah did not build the ark overnight, he built it one board at a time. We to can build our "ark" one thing as a time.
New September Monthly Assignments
Food Storage: Drinks
This month we are focusing on adding all types of drinks to our
short storage and long storage food storage.
Drinks: Fruit juices (bottles, canned, cartons, dehydrated/freeze-dried), lemonade mix, milk (dehydrated/freeze-dried), hot chocolate mix, apple cider mix, etc.. What ever type of drinks your family will drink. Do not store something they will not drink, a waste of your money. Fruit juices in bottles, cans and cartons do not usually last as long, about a year. Make sure you keep on top of the expiration dates and rotate before they expire. Box powdered milk from the grocery store usually only last about 6 months. Rotate them as needed. Use the milk so your family will be accustomed to drinking it, use while cooking and where milk is call for in recipes. There are long term storage dehydrated/freeze-dried milks that are whole milk, watch the expiration dates on these, they may not store 20+ years, it may only be 7-10 years.
How much to store: Determine how much your family drinks, each variety, in a month, multiply that by the number of months you have set your food storage goal. Each time you go grocery shopping or find the types of drinks you are storing on sale purchase them and add them to your food storage. Always be on the look out and aware of sales throughout the year.
Where to store: In a cool, dry, dark place like your pantry or a closet. Never in the garage, to hot!
Remember: Rotation, Rotation, Rotation is the success of any food storage.
Emergency Supplies:
72 Hour Emergency Family Bag
You can use a sports bag or a backpack
The 72 Hour Emergency Family Bag is an important part of your
72 Hour Individual Emergency Backpacks.
Emergency Preparedness Ideas
New discovery . . .
Did you know that WalMart now carries Auguson Farms long term food storage on their website? You can order online and then arrange to pick it up at your local WalMart or for a prices have them shipped to you. You may also be able to purchase them in the store. They also carry some Mountain House products.
I have not used the Auguson long term food storage brand but I understand it is good. There prices are really good.
Click here to review the products they sell. I am quite impressed with the variety they sell. Scroll through the 5 pages. Jim Bakker also sells these on his website but you will pay a lot more and his shipping is expensive and can take up to 6 weeks for delivery.
Learning Knot Tying and Lashing . . .
What? I need to learn how to tie knots and lashing too?
Yes, you never know when you might need to secure something, like a tarp or tent or build a shelter, by using knots and lashing. Different types are used for different things. If you do not know how, invite a Boy Scout, if you know one, to come to your home and teach you. Have a Family Home Evening on this subject. It can be great fun, make a contest out of it.Continue to practice your know tying so you do not forget.Comments and Questions: We love hearing from you. Please leave you comments or questions below. We all learn from each others experiences and knowledge. If you have a question please leave it below, I will do some research and answer it in my next blog posting. Thank you for sharing your comments and questions.
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