Promptings to get our houses in order

[VisionOfLehi]

This is actually... starting to worry me.

My promptings haven't been to get my house in order, so much, since I don't have a house. But I have felt that I needed to get out on my own (Tada!) and start progressing on that front. I definitely want to start out properly: Avoid debt, save up for emergencies, etc

What I'm worried about, though, is my family back home. I've mention food storage to my mom a few times, but I wasn't ever very big on it. My family getting out of debt was the bigger concern.

Are a great many people receiving this promptings? Are we intuitively aware of a "drought" to come? How am I supposed to help out my family who don't know about this?

[goofball]

I dont know how many are receiving promptings for home storage and to get their house in order and although I haven't received any promptings I tend to worry about the state of the world around me. I have been trying to get my wife to focus more on becoming independent. We had a great trial the other day as my in-laws power went out. You should have seen how helpless they were (as I know I would). I need to reevaluate my status and see if I could live even a few hours without power.

Bottom line to my rambling start now and never stop like those on this board who are a good example for us all

[Hemidakota]

Guys, something I have learned over the last few years, what is more powerful than a drought or nature? The Priesthood...live honorable in order to control the elements [intelligences] and nature. Now, that is not saying we should not be without food storage, just a word of wisdom here.

[lilered]

Another benefit of having a good food storage supply is that of being able to help ones family members, friends, and neighbors thru their hard times. Such has been the case many times over the years and it really made nice to be able to draw down on our food storage to give them a helping hand. :)

A comment: We recently took a 2500 mile trip. We decided to regulate our driving speed to 60 - 65 MPH instead of the 70 - 75 MPH norm, to cut automobile costs. It made a tremendous difference and benefit in increased M.P.G.. We did observe that we were definetly in the extreme minority. We also noted a number of trucks being picked up by the State Hiway Patrols which I thought was odd as they defiently are expierencing higher fuel costs. It seems though, driving slower to save fuel and lower costs had not yet occurred to them.

Edited July 1, 2008 by lilered

[spudman]

I'm feeling those same promptings myself. I've always been very frugal with my spending, but lately I've felt an urgency to cut my spending even more. Luckily we just moved closer to everything and will be able to cut our gas money by 75%. We are also working on a year supply of food storage. We are going to be doing it differently though. Last time we moved I threw out about 1/2 of our food storage because it had gone bad. We are now working on just having a year supply of the canned and dry goods that we normally use in a year. Then every month we go dry goods shopping for a month supply and it goes straight down the storage. Whatever food we need for the month we end up pulling from the oldest stock in our food storage. Then we will stock up on wheat and sugar, that have a very long shelf life. My goal is to not throw anything away!

lilered,

Interesting observation about fuel efficiency. Lately I've been going a group of 'hyper-milers' who go to extremes to save a couple of MPGs. I've learned a few helpful tips for changing my driving style to help reduce my fuel consumption. Slow acceleration, avoiding braking, slower speeds, etc. I've been able to get about a 20% increase in MPG. Of course, the biggest help for me has been riding my bike to work instead of driving!

[ruthiechan]

Carpooling and public transit if possible are other saving possibilities on fuel.

I too have been receiving the promptings of obtaining food storage. We are not nearly prepared enough. My biggest challenge is my husband who is far to relaxed about these things. >.< We used to have food storage a few years ago, but then when he was laid off I was able to feed our family, so he knows it's a good idea. . . *sigh*

Tefor, absolutely will you be blessed. Keep at it, and keep paying your tithing. You will be taken care of as long as you are doing all that you can. Remember, fasting and prayer are powerful tools to gain inspiration and guidance.

[debi56]

Reading this gave me an odd feeling. I have been inactive for a few years, but a few months ago, I felt the need to get things in order and felt that something would happen within 4 years. It was such a strong and nagging feeling that I have become active again.

[TEANCUM89]

debi56,

I'm glad to hear that you are returning to activity. The feelings you have are obviously from the Holy Ghost. My son went into the MTC tight before Chrismas of last year. Since that time I have had the spirit really pushing me to finish our food storage. Both my wife & I have prayed about it and were answered to use some of our savings to get this done. Now is the time to prepare both spiritually and temporally. May you stay close to the spirit as we enter this refiners fire that is coming!

[Guest TheLutheran]

Any thoughts on how to stay even-keeled during these tumultuous days?

Mindfully limit media exposure and stay close to the Lord!

The constant bombardment of "the sky is falling" by the media has had the positive effect of prompting Americans to re-evaluate their lifestyles. Hallelujah!! People are dusting off their bikes, I'm seeing a lot more pedestrians and we even got a scooter store in town! What a blessing to take a break from the rat race to ponder, "Is this really necessary?"

We live 10 miles from town so everyone, LDS or not, has a hefty stash of provisions. That's just the way we live. We also carefully plan our trips to town to hit every conceivable errand all at once. I'm worried about our LDS neighbors, though. Their 2-year supply of TP ended up in our trees the other night. And it was the nice 2-ply kind! :)

[debi56]

Teancum,

Thank you, I feel the same way too. I started reading the Book of Mormon and thought about how Lehi left all things behind except just what he needed. That would be difficult, cause I love my laptop. :) Someday we might be asked to do the same thing and I wonder how easy that will be?

[debi56]

Lutheran,

I watch very little tv because of the garbage on it. I imagine that you are more prepared than a lot of people just because you have had to be.

Did you gather up the tp in your yard and roll it up and store it? LOL I would have. Watch because they might come back wanting it from you.

[rameumptom]

One must have consistency. Before Y2K, everyone was preparing, then slacked off afterwards. After 9/11, everyone was preparing, then slacked off afterwards. Now, everyone is preparing, but if fuel prices drop and things seem to get better, they will slack off again.

The thing is, the prophetic warning voice has been given time and again. Those who have listened have been blessed during tough times and good times. Those who are waiting to obey, or restart obeying, may be too late.

When the 5 foolish virgins pounded on the wedding feast doors, the excuse, "we're just fashionably late" did not work for them. They were still left out in the cold to fend for themselves.

[ruthiechan]

Thank you, I feel the same way too. I started reading the Book of Mormon and thought about how Lehi left all things behind except just what he needed. That would be difficult, cause I love my laptop. :) Someday we might be asked to do the same thing and I wonder how easy that will be?

This made me think of what my father said. "Everything needs to be in hardcopy. If it's electronic it may as well not exist." Well, I think he's right. I blew up my website and all the postings on there that I had made, two years worth, are gone, including a prophetic dream I had (regarding myself) and some spiritual experiences. Hard drives fail, websites get hacked into, upgrades go horribly wrong. Such things are more likely than an earthquake or a flood.

I sure wish I had listened to him.

Now I gotta come up with the money to "develop" my digital pictures. *sigh*

As well as make sure I regularly print the things I put up on my site. *double sigh*

[Maya]

Me and my husband are looking for a smal farm or a plot of land with a house on it. We feel very strongly that we need soon to be able to grow our own food.

We in Norway are not in EU but since I am from Finland and vist there a lot I know some things from there. One of the, in my opinion dangerous, things in EU is that Finland is NOT supposed to add to grain, or meet production in EU so they are closing down smaller farms only huge farms can survive without support from EU. Sometimes I wonder what is it that Finland is supposed to give to Eu... tecnics like Nokia?? you cant eat that in the time of crises. Very easy to rule Finland by closing down the food stream from south Europe....

We used to have a hugge vatertank, but we sold that house...

Only problem with getting a house without big loan and a bigger backyard.... you are going to be far away fron the Church!

Edited July 26, 2008 by Maya

[lindsayjane]

I have to grin when I think of the 72-hour kit stashed away in my closet. When I divorced and left the church two years ago I had to move out of state with only what I could fit in my car. I left almost everything I had, including everything church related. I had convinced myself I didn't believe the teachings anymore, but I somehow couldn't part with that 72-hour kit. I realize now that the inspiration I received over the years to be prepared had settled so deeply in my heart that I couldn't let it go, even if my conscious mind wouldn't acknowledge the reason why.

[debi56]

Thank you to everyone. I have been putting away a little bit here and there and have been able to can some fruits, just lately though it has become like a nagging wife. I need to take inventory so that I know what I have and need. These are terribly exciting times but very scary times.

I did get a 72 hour emergency kit put together, it is stuffed inside a Rubbermaid garbage can, I might add it is a new garbage can. Maybe I will start a compost pile, if seasoned right can make a nice pate' to go with green jello. Ok I am just joking.

[Moksha]

I feel bad when I look at the title of this thread, because I have got a sink full of dishes and I do not feel like washing them.

[pam]

I feel bad when I look at the title of this thread, because I have got a sink full of dishes and I do not feel like washing them.

hahaha this is so funny. I had just read the title thinking...man I REALLY don't want to do that laundry that is piling up AGAIN.

[debi56]

LOL, I just realized that is what it looks like. Too funny.

[Iggy]

My house is getting closer to being in order - In the last month I have bought two DIY cupboards and put them together. I have them filled with food. I have a large cupboard in the kitchen filled with canned and bottled foods.

Now if I can just go through all of my clothes and give away the ones I will never wear again, and get the rest of them ironed, folded and put away.

Why can you never find a wench to do the housework when you really, really need one??

I got my laundry room all cleaned and straightened up. Laundry soap, bleach, and empty jugs filled w/water for flushing the toilet when the water goes off here, all on a utility shelving unit.

Husband is going to be retiring in about two years- I am looking for a place to move to in Oregon- Central Oregon Coast. About 1 to 5 acres- so I can have a garden, have my clothes line outside, not be bothered by close neighbors. Plus we want our own well too.

Haven't found anything yet- but I have only been looking for a year and a half- still have time to find something.

[debi56]

Wow you are doing much better than I. We have a very small house and finding places to put food storage is minimal. My husband has built some shelves but those are filled up with canned foods. I need to go down and have him start making dump runs and clearing out stuff, maybe that would help.

[Still_Small_Voice]

A possible upcoming attack by Israel on Iran might be in the works. And i heard they stopped a plot to blow up refineries in the middle east. The terrorists know the price of fuel is hurting the economy and might like to hurt us more if they can.

There is definitely going to be trouble with Iran in the future. I will be shocked if Israel (or someone else) does not attack Iran as they continue to try and produce nuclear weapons. The President of Iran had breathed out many threatenings against Israel and Israel is very concerned about their survival.

I have also had promptings to lay up in store lately while I have resources to do so. We were doing well paying down our debts and then my wife decided to try and start a business. We are now about $1,250 more in the hole which is frustrating to me.

But my food storage now is up to about 45 days worth for a family of five. What I want now is one of those water filters you can pump by hand with a replaceable filter.

We have run out of room to store food so now I am storing more food at a relatives house nearby.

[rameumptom]

This made me think of what my father said. "Everything needs to be in hardcopy. If it's electronic it may as well not exist." Well, I think he's right. I blew up my website and all the postings on there that I had made, two years worth, are gone, including a prophetic dream I had (regarding myself) and some spiritual experiences. Hard drives fail, websites get hacked into, upgrades go horribly wrong. Such things are more likely than an earthquake or a flood.

I sure wish I had listened to him.

Now I gotta come up with the money to "develop" my digital pictures. *sigh*

As well as make sure I regularly print the things I put up on my site. *double sigh*

Paper copies can also fail. Floods and fires are as hard on a piece of paper as on a hard drive. I can do things with electronic copies that I cannot do with paper: such as quickly and easily make copies of hundreds of pages at once. I can store gigabytes of data online, where there are several places that will give you free gigabytes of storage space. I even use my gmail account with a Firefox add-on that allows me to ftp files into an email to myself, which I store in a save folder. So, my journal, patriarchal blessing, genealogy and many important docs are kept at my website and a few other places online for free. I've also mailed a CD-ROM of documents to family members in other areas of the country, so it is still available in a harder format.

True, one must have electricity to read it, but if the day comes that we no longer have any electricity and computers, I'd think we had more important things to worry about than our journals, etc.

[Still_Small_Voice]

This made me think of what my father said. "Everything needs to be in hard copy. If it's electronic it may as well not exist." Well, I think he's right. I blew up my website and all the postings on there that I had made, two years worth, are gone, including a prophetic dream I had (regarding myself) and some spiritual experiences. Hard drives fail, websites get hacked into, upgrades go horribly wrong. Such things are more likely than an earthquake or a flood.

I sure wish I had listened to him.

Now I gotta come up with the money to "develop" my digital pictures. *sigh*

As well as make sure I regularly print the things I put up on my site. *double sigh*

Any information you value on a computer you must have two copies of or it will very likely be lost sometime in the future. Please, everyone, listen to this advice!

It would hurt me greatly if I were to lose a record of plain and precious spiritual truths I have been compiling for a few years now. I have about two copies of it on flash drives and another stored on my hard drive but nothing on paper yet. I haven't had the prompting to get anything on paper yet. Maybe that is something I should pray about.

External hard drives and flash drives are great devices to backup important data. I advise against storing important data on floppy drives, CDs or DVDs. Compact discs and digital versatile discs are damaged very easily and your data will be lost.

Edited July 27, 2008 by Still_Small_Voice

[rameumptom]

While Iran shall be a threat, I believe that China and Russia are greater threats. Both are advanced nuclear powers. China has never renounced its Lenin/Marxist/Maoist leanings, and it continues to support wicked regimes, such as the one in Zimbabwe.

Putin, former KGB head, has used the global war on terror as an excuse to consolidate massive amounts of power once again in the Kremlin. Freedom of the press, assembly, and other freedoms have been greatly reduced.

Both nations are working together to weaken the United States and seek to create a preeminent Asian power amongst the two of them (and perhaps shared with Europe). How are they weakening us? How about through supporting insane environmental controls here, but limited ones in their own states (as in the Kyoto Treaty)? If we reduce our economy by trying to be green, while they continue creating more and more coal burning plants, and increasing their economy, they'll be able to break us, even as we bankrupted the Soviets 2 decades ago.

They are now buying up huge chunks of our national debt and property. The Chinese have bought over $1 Trillion in treasury debt. IOW, they own a big chunk of us. We are in one essence, a slave to foreigners. We have giant trade deficits with them and the Arabs (oil), to the tune of more than $1 Trillion per year.

Interestingly, Lenin once prophesied that the day would come when Russia would hang the United States with a rope that the USA would bring to its own hanging. Perhaps our hubris and over contentment with material things have provided the way for our downfall?

If you want an idea on some of the financial mess we have, just read the last couple issues of Futures Magazine, or watch the Glenn Beck show on CNN Headline News, when he's talking to some of the former talking heads. You'll find we're closer to a Depression than you think. It may not come in the next decade, but if we don't make serious changes, it will eventually come. And the Chinese and Russians will step in as the next global powers to take our place.

Oh, and the Chinese and Russians continue funding the Iranians.