Weekly Wisdom #10

Weekly Wisdom #10

Motivational Monday - Practice drills for your family are a good way to remind your family what to do in case of emergencies. Today for your family time, take a bit of time to review what your family would do if there were a fire in the house. Go through each room in the house and point our two exits for each room. Then have the kids go and act as if they are doing something they would do each day, when all of a sudden someone yells fire! Have them go through the mock emergency, and their escape routes. You might also want to pair up your kids so that they have a buddy system to ensure that the younger ones have an older one responsible to help them. Or one adult to one or two children as a buddy system. This way you know who you are each responsible for and then the parent is responsible to check in with each of the older ones. Practicing for emergencies will help us to keep calmer in emergencies. It is a well known fact that when in emergencies we all tend to not think clearly, so if we have practiced, then we won't have to think too hard, it will be a natural reaction of what we should do. Preparedness is not living in fear. Preparedness is being aware of things that could happen, so we know how to act responsibly, and confidently, with clear minds. Preparedness is peace of mind!

Timely Tuesday – Ever thought of how much toilet paper your family would go through in one year? Here are a couple of ways you can figure it out. Start today, and either have a small paper and pen beside your toilet, checking off a mark every time you change the roll, or have a bag somewhere in your bathroom where you can place all of the empty rolls for one month. Count them up and multiply by 12, then you will know how many rolls your family will need for one year. I personally would rather use toilet paper, than newsprint, or old magazines. Start storing your toilet paper, every time you buy one package for your house, buy one to tuck away for storage purposes, and don't touch it. Soon you will have a nice little stash! Your family will thank you.

Workin' Wednesday – In an emergency, there are three things vital to your survival. Water, Food, and Shelter. If you have these three things, you can deal with most other problems. In your 72 hour kits, you have your food for a minimum of 3 days, your water and water purification options, and now you should make sure today that you have some sort of shelter ready for your family. The types of shelter you will want for your family will depend on the size of your family and any special needs they may have. If you are on your own and love being in the outdoors, you may get away with a tarp, ropes, and a few stakes as your shelter. However if you have to evacuate and you have a spouse and a few children of various ages, you should think a bit differently. Do you have a comfortable tent that would be easy to grab and go? Do you have enough tarps in case of severe weather, so you can shelter your tent? Think of this third most important survival need and prepare for it today. If you need to purchase some things you don't have, then at least make a list of what you need so you can start working on it. Water, Food and Shelter will keep us alive! Take away any one of these and ..... well you get the picture!

Thrifty Thursday – Today think about saving money by using your clothesline. Don't have one? You can pick up all of the basic supplies to build a clothesline from your local hardware store for fairly inexpensive, compared to even one month worth of using your clothes dryer. I have heard many people complain about the high prices of utilities, but don't think of simple ways like this to decrease their expenses. Plus using a clothesline gives your clothes a great fresh smell that they can only get by being dried outdoors. Even in the winter you can dry your clothes outside. They may be a little stiff, but if you pop them into the dryer for 10 minutes they will fluff up nicely. 10 minutes.....compared to one hour to dry a load. Significant savings, and another important way of being prepared.

Food Storage Friday - I read this quote the other day, "Food in the basement is better than money in the bank." Not sure where it came from, but I my thoughts are, "Ya think!" Take a good long look at the news today, most of us would agree that food in our basement / our own "grocery store", will be to us, as Noah's Ark was to those that boarded it. In fact President Ezra Taft Benson said "The Revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah." I suggest we do it NOW! Start investing in what is important! I am not saying that you shouldn't invest in other things too, but we have been counseled for many years to do this, as was Noah counseled to build the ark, and the time to disregard this counsel, is past. "FOOD IN THE BASEMENT IS BETTER THAN MONEY IN THE BANK!" Think about it!

Honey Carrot Cake

2 eggs (can use substitute)

½ cup oil

¼ tsp salt

1 cup honey

½ cup butter milk (use powdered)

1 cup shredded carrots (could use dried ones and reconstitute)

1 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

2 cups flour

Beat eggs. Add all other liquid ingredients and mix well. Add dry ingredients. Beat until smooth. Add carrots and mix well. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

TODAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES

October 2008 Medicine Hat 1^st Ward

Sleep When The Wind Blows

A farmer needed an extra hand to help on his farm. One young man came to interview for the job. "What are your qualifications?" the farmer asked. "I can sleep when the wind blows," the young man said. This simple reply confused the farmer, but he was desperate for help and the young man was hired.

The young man was a diligent worker through the harvest season, but the farmer still questioned his answer.

Autumn ended and the first cold storm of winter came late one night. The farmer panicked as the winds began to blow. Calling the young man for help, the farmer grabbed his coat and pulled heavy boots on his feet. He was disappointed to find the young man asleep in bed at a time like this. Grudgingly he ventured out alone planning to shuffle all of the animals in the barn and then fix that last hole in the roof. He mumbled about the young man sleeping and was sure all the farm equipment was left standing in the field, collecting rust from the snow.

However, when the farmer reached the barn all the animals were tucked safely inside. In fact, clean hay had already been set out for the new day. Not a single hole could be found in the roof, and the tractor was parked perfectly in the shed.

"Who could have done it?" the farmer wondered. And then, he realized what the young man's answer meant, "I can sleep when the wind blows."

By preparing ourselves and our families for any emergencies that may happen, we will have the confidence to handle the unexpected. We will be able to sleep when the wind blows outside our homes.

Becoming Self-Reliant

Providing in the Lord's Way is a welfare manual which states, "We are the children of a Heavenly Father, and we rely upon Him to sustain us in all that we do. All things on earth and in heaven belong to him, and He has given us everything we have – our talents and abilities as well as our material goods. He has given us a stewardship over the things with which he has blessed us. He never forsakes us, but He does not do for us what we can do for ourselves. He has commanded us to use the things we receive from Him to take care of our families and ourselves. When we do so, we are self-reliant."

Emergency Preparedness

Each family needs to be prepared to sustain themselves for a period of at least 72 hours in the event of a physical disaster. It may be at least 72 hours before help can arrive and resources will again be available. Stores may not be opened, or destroyed, and public services as well as utilities may be interrupted or simply not available after a disaster. We will be dependent on ourselves to care for our physical needs and the protection of individuals and property immediately following a disaster.

Here are some helpful hints for your 72 hour kits.

• Have it in a portable container close to an exit of your home
• don't overload your kit, you may have to carry it for some distance
• each family should have their own kit with food, clothing, and water
• distribute the heavy items between the kits
• it should contain a basic first aid kit, and manual

I will give you more information each newsletter and with your weekly tips on what kinds of things to store in your 72 hour kits.

For now you need to think of winterizing your kits, if you needed to use them for an emergency in the winter months, which are fast approaching.

Include extra warm socks, warm boots, water and wind proof coats, sleeping bags, gloves, scarves, hats, space blankets, and any other things you might think of that will help you to remain warm.

Remember it would be wise to have one of this kits in your car and keep it with you at all times in the winter months.

Home Storage

Our home storage should include a variety of things. Each month I will cover a specific topic, with weekly suggestions to go along with it.

Your home storage should include things like:

• a 3 month supply of food that will make regular meals for your family
• a minimum one year supply of life sustaining foods. The First Presidency recommends the five basic food groups in the category are: wheat and grains, legumes, sugars, oil, and powdered milk
• toiletries, such as: toilet paper, soaps, personal hygiene, etc.
• medical supplies, such as: first aid kits, medications, etc.
• pet supplies,
• light sources
• alternate cooking sources
• and much more, we will cover as we go along

Recipe

FOCACCIA BREAD

2 cups warm water, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 tbsp salt, 1 cup fine diced onion, ¼ cup oil, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp yeast, 6 cups flour 2 tbsp sugar, other spices or herbs as you desire.

Combine water and yeast; add oil, flour, salt, and sugar to the water and mix. Knead in the onion, garlic and other spices. Spread the dough on a cookie sheet, or in a dutch oven, and let rise. Brush dough with oil and seasonings.

Bake in oven at 350 for 30 minutes or until done. For dutch oven, bake with 8 – 10 coals under and 14 – 16 on top for 35 – 45 min.

During the last 5 min of the baking brush the top of the loaf with oil again. The bread should be golden brown and sound hollow to tap.

Ideas to live by

Spiritual – Read a book to strengthen your testimony.

Home Preparedness – go through your canning supplies and restock for next season

Family Time – simple and sweet go for a walk and enjoy fall.

Family Home Evening Ideas

Have a family home evening this month to discuss the possible emergency situations that could happen in our area. Talk about some of the things happening in the world today and how they affect us. Make some goals to review your 72 hour kits and your home storage so you can update and improve.

Read ensign articles on home preparedness and find quotes from the prophets through the years to support your goals.

For your treat make something from scratch using only what you have on your shelves without going to the store for anything.

Ponder This

You have 5 minutes to vacate your home. What do you take with you? Are you ready?