The Ant and the Grasshopper

 

Do you remember the fable about the ant and the grasshopper?  It 

concerns a grasshopper who spends the summer playing music and 

singing while the ants are busy gathering and storing food for the winter.

When the winter is upon him, the grasshopper finds himself starving 

and when he asks the ants for food, he is rebuked for his idleness. 

The story is used to teach the virtues of hard work and saving.  One

of the morals of the story is "To work today is to eat tomorrow." 

In the book of Proverbs we read:

"Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,

 which having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies

 in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest." Proverbs 6:6-9

There was a time when a family had to work hard to put up food

for the winter, because they couldn't run out to the store or a restaurant

whenever they got hungry.  Not many of us live this kind of life now,

but the principle of preparing is still essential.  Life as we know it,

could be threatened at any time, and it might become impossible to

"run to the store" for dinner.  And if you could get to the store, you

might be shocked to see the shelves empty.

September has been declared National Preparedness Month by the

Department of Homeland Security.  You can check out FEMA's

site here to learn more about that and here's a few more really good

sites to help you understand how to prepare your family for upcoming

emergencies.

Center of Disease Control 

American Red Cross

In our family, preparation is a part of our life style.  It's not something

we focus on one month a year, because the government thinks it's a 

good idea.  It is a good idea, and I'm glad to see so many people starting

to catch on. But for us, it's part of living providently and something we've

been doing since we were married.

I had the opportunity to teach a basic Home Storage class to some Spanish

speaking members of our church congregation a few weeks ago.  No, I

was not blessed with the gift of tongues on that evening.   I had an

interpreter and he did a great job.  I enjoyed working with them and 

helping them understand how to get started with home storage.

In honor of National Preparedness Month and because none of us want

to be a "grasshopper", right?, I thought I would take the next few posts and 

explain the basics of home storage.  I hope it will be helpful to those who

need to begin a storage program in their own home, for their family.

In an emergency situation, the first thing you want to have is your 72 Hour

Emergency Kit.  You can go here to learn more on how to put this together.

The following plan is for normal, everyday, "ant like" behavior.

The Basics of Family Home Storage

* Three - Month Supply

* Drinking Water

*Financial Reserve

*Longer-Term Supply

Three Month Supply - Build a small supply of food that is part of your

normal, daily diet.  One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items

each week to build a one-week supply of food.  Then you can gradually

increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months.  These items

should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage.

Drinking Water - Store drinking water for circumstances in which the

water supply may be polluted or disrupted.

Financial Reserve- Establish a financial reserve by saving a little money 

each week and gradually increasing it to a reasonable amount.  

Longer-Term Supply- For longer-term needs, and where permitted,

gradually build a supply of food that will last a long time and that you

can use to stay alive, such as wheat, rice and beans.

More on each of these to come......

*MYOF Goal #18 - Work on monthly storage and preparedness.