Monday, April 6, 2009

Prepare


Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing;
and establish a house, even a house of prayer,
a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning,
a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;
That your incoming may be in the name of the Lord;
that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord;
that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord,
with uplifted hands unto the Most High.




So... every New Year's I pick a word that will shape my focus for the year. It totally works.
Last year I picked "Gratitude", and had many wonderful experiences that taught me the depth of being thankful. There is something about asking for and creating focus on what I want in my life!
This year I chose "Be Prepared". Wow. I believe the minute I picked that, I have been haunted by the dusty shelves in my food storage, the state of my garden, and whether or not I have enough water saved up. Oh! And how are my 72 hour kits?? Do we have an emergency plan in case of a fire? I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, but have taken the counsel to take it on a little at a time.

Now I have fun picking out just one or two extra items when I grocery shop. I scheme over what meals my family would like to eat in case of an emergency. I have fun dreaming of roughing it with my family... hanging out fresh laundry out in the sun to dry, fresh bread made from freshly ground wheat flour baking in my adobe wood fired oven that I lovingly crafted in my back yard... and then I snap out of my romantic day dreams and am thankful for my washer and dryer, not to mention my computer... and Google... and eMail!! *kisses keyboard*

A funny thing has happened since January 1. I find that not only am I looking at how I can tighten up the ship, I have begun preparing myself spiritually. I gave up some intense pastimes that I thought I couldn't live without, but were taking time out of my family and me time. I have begun reading books again... by the boat-loads!! I love reading and I had forgotten how much I enjoy it.
I suppose what I have learned so far, is preparing is more about a state of mind and heart than it is about how much foodstuff I have tucked under the stairs. Not that that's not important, but that mindset has helped me not freak out that I don't have two years of food storage nestled away right this second. It will happen a little at a time. I'll get there.



For a little food storage fun:
http://www.shelfreliance.com/
http://mormonmommyblogs.blogspot.com/2009/04/righteous-giveaway.html

1 comment:

* said...

love your thoughts, and that adobe brick oven will get built...someday!:)