Hope, the Next Attribute of Christ

 2 Nephi 31:20

What is hope?

Hope is a trust that something you believe in will be so. For example, you have hope, or trust, that when you die you will go to heaven. You have hope and trust that when you go to bed at night that the sun will arise and you will get up to greet a new day. We hope for this to be true, we expect this happen. Hope and faith go together, which you will see this week in the scriptures I plan to blog about.

When we hope in things of God we are showing faith that we trust in Him to lead and guide our lives in a way that will help us gain eternal life. With hope we can endure trials and hardships. With hope we can endure to the end.

When we go through tough times it is hope that gets us through, hope to see a better day. It helps us endure to the end which is something we must do. I have found at times that I just wanted to give up and climb in bed and forget everything but, I know that I have to stand strong in Christ and endure what I must so I make sure that hope and faith are strong in my life and help others to do the same.

We are living in a time when there is so much evil surrounding us and some people don't even see it. They see it as part of life, but we are surrounded and we have to stand firm in Christ and His plan in order to fight for the good to shine through all of this darkness. And when we do, we have the hope of a promise from out Father in Heaven that we will have peace and joy in this life and the life to come in eternity.

As righteous women, we need to shine the light of Christ for others to see and hang on to their hope of a better life. Our example is so important to sustaining our families and helping others to endure to the end. Jesus needs us to do our part by helping our brothers and sisters in this world find Him and learn to do the same. It's time to become part of God's Army and shine the Light high for all to see.

Emergencies Happen Every Day

Emergencies do happen every day. Nobody wants these things to happen to them or others but they do, so we need to "be prepared for the worst and hope for the best". I heard that phrase somewhere, not sure who said it first.

Being prepared for what is to come is the smart thing to do. The world today sees earthquakes, tornado's  hurricanes, flood, droughts, and snowstorms. Our economy takes its ups and downs without our permission so we have to adjust to its will. Being prepared for whatever comes our way is the only way to stay sane in troubled times.

It's important to know what things to store for your family so I have included some links that might be helpful in preparing for the worst. There are lots of websites out there so do your research them and choose wisely.

Emergency Kitchen

Food Storage Tips

Seven Major Mistakes

Helpful Tips

Being Prepared Means less Fear

Hello,

Today, I plan to talk about the importance of Emergency Preparedness. I want to share my story about being prepared.

I grew up in Florida, and you know that means hurricanes but we hardly ever see them on the west coast. After I grew up and started having my family I realized I had more than just me to worry about so I started attending hurricane preparedness seminars. Every year I would go and every year I learned new stuff. We had only had one hurricane once that just sat in the gulf, Hurricane Elena, but eventually it moved off only leaving us with some beach erosion.

One year, my mothers aunt became ill so I took my kids and went to Miami to help her out for  a while. I never liked putting the radio on in the car because it was always a good time to talk with my family. But one day as we were going to the library my daughter begged me to turn it on, good thing we did because we heard the news saying that Hurricane Andrew was heading for Miami.

What a scare, we only had a day and a half to get ready for landfall. So we rushed home and started prepping the yard and house for the storm. All those years of preparation seminars helped me to be better prepared for this major storm. After the electricity went out we headed to a hallway in the middle of the house and waited out the storm. Early the next morning after daylight appeared we went out to assess the damage.

We had a couple of trees down, one against the house but no real damage, and one across the driveway. We still had no power then we saw why, a tree from the neighbors yard had fallen over the power line from the street to the house. But we were all in good shape other than that. The bad part of it was the electric company couldn't fix lines to the house until they had power up on all the streets. So we lived several weeks without power.

Lucky for us my aunt had a gas stove so we could still cook without a problem but the well was on an electric pump, so we had to go borrow water every day from friends, once we were able to get out of the driveway. I think because of all those seminars we were better prepared for the storm. We always have to be prepared anywhere we live and not just because of  Mother Nature.

I have learned that emergencies happen when you lose a job, or a loved one, or the economy gets tight, there are just so many different scenarios. But the key is to be prepared no matter what. All those things need the basics which include cash, food/water and shelter. If those needs are met then it is easier to think through your situation and get down to business of picking up the pieces.

The funny thing is after 8 years of living out west with no real emergencies, we moved back to Florida to be closer to family in 2004. Yeah, that was the year 4 big hurricanes hit Florida. welcome back, right?

Anyway, over the next few months we will be discussing how to make emergency preparedness plans. Until then stay safe.

Let's Get Started

Looks like I had a few more views so maybe it's working, I think I will keep these posts going after all, lol.

This week is the challenge week, my goal...to challenge you to start buying your food storage suggesting certain items. You don't have to buy what I suggest it's only to help you get started or get you thinking about other things you want to store.

If you have been watching all the struggles going on around the world, and even in our country, I'm sure you are starting to get a little nervous about what is coming our way. We have a bad economy that looks like it could get worse, natural disasters, stronger outbreaks of virus's and illnesses, etc.

Well, the scriptures tells us if we are prepared, we don't need to fear. So that is one reason why I felt like I could be helpful to those who want to be prepared, by creating this weekly post on food storage and preparedness. I do hope you can benefit from it.

I would like to challenge you to work on 3 different areas, if you can. If you can't, just work on what you can. If I suggest a 3 month supply but you can only do 1 month or even 1 week, then do that. The point is just get started and get what you can. Anything is better than nothing or depending on someone else for help.

Sometimes I get great ideas and charge into things without a plan, then I get frustrated when things don't work out. If you are like me, then a step by step plan can be very helpful. So let's take this one week at a time and see what happens.

This month, the 3 items I would like to challenge you to work on are:

1) Honey - 1 supply (basic staple)
2) Toothpaste - 6 month supply (basic non-staple)
3) Pork n Beans or Baked Beans - 1 case (tasty food)

tips for honey storage:
http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodstorage/a/honeystorage.htm

Did you know there are different kinds of honey?

http://honeyo.com/types.shtml

Cost of honey varies per dealer and variety, I get mine from the flea market. I spent $22 on 6 lbs of Wildflower Honey. That will probably be a 2-4  month supply depending on how much you use. I learned a couple of things about honey; it is 64 calories per tablespoon but when a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar you will use 1/2 cup of honey. So you can plan how much will last you according to what you would use as a family, test it. I also learned that Wildflower honey is good for allergies. If you get annual allergies, like I do, a teaspoon can help build up resistance to what's in the air. Not use if that's true but I'm willing to try the natural over the man made, test it out.

Toothpaste is inexpensive, and we want to be sure we are still being clean and healthy during trying times, so we have to think about these things, too. Watch for sales or buy 1 get 1's then store up on as many as you can afford depending on how much your family uses a month. For my family, we use a medium tube a month and the price is around the $2 area, so to get a 6 month supply will only be $12. For me that is easy to do depending on whatever else I need to get.

Pork n Beans is something that can be stored that has flavor so I thought that might be a good direction but from what I can see it only has a 2-3 year shelf life. My thought is the tasty stuff will have shorter shelf lives, sad huh? You can shop around for those, watch for sales, and look online for food storage company options.I checked out the prices at Walmart. I found a large can of their brand beans for $1.48, comes in a case of 12 cans so I would spend around $18 for a case.

So for around $50 I have started my food storage with several items. I think that will be my budget for the month, $50. But you do what you can so can feel prepared.

I think that's it for this week, let me know how it works for you or some suggestions of good deals and tips that can be helpful to all of us. Next week will be some recipes using honey and other food storage basic items.

Withstanding the Storms

I live in the Tampa Bay area and my eyes have been glued to the Weather Channel due to the new hurricane coming into the Gulf of Mexico. I have a fear of these storms because I experienced one years ago...Andrew. I never want to go through that again. I now have a healthy respect for Mother Nature.

I had moved away thinking I would never have to experience it again. After 8 years away from Florida, I felt prompted to move back to Florida to be closer to family. Wouldn't you know it, that was the year Florida had 4 big storms hit, 2004 (welcome back, right?).

Anyway, I remember watching the huge oak tree branches swaying back and forth. I thought about how strong those trees were and if the strong winds could topple them over then what could this storm do to me. I was afraid again. Then I noticed this small tree, which my youngest son named Bob, and it wasn' t moving at all. The wind was blowing hard all around it but it stood strong and unmoved. I knew there was a life lesson in this.

I have the opportunity to use it in my blog today. We are living in an unstable world with trials blowing all around us. Who are we going to be like, the mighty oak or Bob, our little unwavering tree? I have read that if you have fear then you do not have faith. That was a difficult thing for me because I was afraid of storms but I know that I have also read in the scriptures that if we are prepared we need not fear. So we are prepared as can be for this storm and any others that come our way. We studied and acted upon the things we learned to be better prepared for disaster.

The same with everything else in life, we can prepare for life's storms if we build a strong relationship with God. We do this by learning His ways and His plan for us. We can do this by studying His word, the scriptures and through daily prayers. If we can do this we can withstand those strong storms that find their way into our lives. We can become like Bob if we act upon the things we learn from studying God's ways.

It won't always be easy but we have to trust in Him to lead the way through these storms. He is there for us if we want Him to be. We just have to ask Him to help us. I honestly don't know how people do it without Him but I am grateful for His love and guidance. I know that I can get through anything with Him by my side. I have done it before and I will do it again and again. No Fear!!!