I would like to share with you some very sage words from the Blackburn Ward Welfare Coordinator Carolyn Kwong.
‘It was pointed out that many of the pioneers had to suddenly move West with only a handcart for survival. Hopefully our storage, our garden edibles and our 72 hour emergency packs will never have to be modern day ‘handcarts’.’
In 1976 Spencer W Kimball said ‘The time to disregard this counsel is over ... We want you to be ready with your personal storehouses filled with at least a year’s supply. You don’t argue why it cannot be done; you just plan to organise and get it done.’
In 1988 President Gordon B Hinckley said ‘There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed.’
Then most recently from the Church we have been counselled to keep a 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.’ www.lds.org
It puts me to mind of the early days in the bible, Exodus 31-34. The Lord commanded Moses to cut two tablets of stone and bring them with him to the top of Mount Sinai where He, the Lord God, wrote on them with His finger the commandments which the people should follow. While Moses was away the people quickly forgot the Lord and looked for an idol, using the gold from their adornments they made a calf of gold to worship. The Lord was wrath with them and sought to destroy them because they had become a stiff necked people, yet Moses pleaded with the
Lord not to. After he came down from the mount with the tablets and saw for himself what the people had done Moses broke the tablets. The people could not live the law which he had received from the Lord. Later the Lord again bade him hew two stone tablets in which He would write the commandments upon. Moses then brought down these commandments, known to us as the ten commandments.
For close to, if not more than, seventy years now we have been counselled to prepare ourselves. First with a years supply and now a three month supply. How much longer will the Lord be lenient with us before He, as He was with the people led by Moses, is wrath with us.
President Hinckley said ‘Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the
commandments of God.’ The Times in Which We Live,” Ensign, Nov 2001, 72
The time for excuses is over, we need to do everything in our power to prepare ourselves and our families now.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Whole Egg Powder
Having organised a whole egg powder order for the ward and others, and picking up the bulk bags. I settled in to bag 75kilo's of egg powder into 1kilo bags.
Ever wondered what 60 kilo of egg powder looks like? check out the pics below and you'll see. First there is the beginning phases of getting it all, bagged up, then I had to go through and insert an oxygen tab into every bag, then seal them all.
I am grateful for of my 4 year old daughter, who helped by stepping on the pedal to close the sealer and for taking the sealed bags and stacking them up for me. She did a great job and only caught my fingers in the mechanism once.
It was a mammoth job and took most of the day.
But well worth it knowing we are getting ourselves prepared.
Ever wondered what 60 kilo of egg powder looks like? check out the pics below and you'll see. First there is the beginning phases of getting it all, bagged up, then I had to go through and insert an oxygen tab into every bag, then seal them all.
I am grateful for of my 4 year old daughter, who helped by stepping on the pedal to close the sealer and for taking the sealed bags and stacking them up for me. She did a great job and only caught my fingers in the mechanism once.
It was a mammoth job and took most of the day.
But well worth it knowing we are getting ourselves prepared.
I often speak about the choir to which I belong. I love that choir, I love the people I have met there, the friendships, the shared love of singing, the sense of unity as we sing. I love the way our voices blend, sometimes in heart stirring harmony that leaves you feeling uplifted and close to tears, others times unified by the ghastly sound as we struggle with a particularly hard arrangement and our ability to laugh and try again. These people are my family, some close brothers and sisters, some cousins you meet from time to time and others you know by name but not sight, but family all the same. We as members of this Church are also family, we are all different, bringing to the Gospel our unique voice, blending it together in our shared love of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are one in sustaining our Prophet, his counsellors, the church leaders and authorities globally and locally. We are one in bending to the will of the Lord, in striving to live His commandments, commandments that are the same for each of us. When we work together in all things we bring harmony and uplifting peace not only to ourselves but to all within our reach. We stand as one, we need to continue to stand as one in all things. Joseph Smith said we were a peculiar people. Not strange bunch of weirdo's peculiar but peculiar unto the Lord, we are His people and that sets us apart from the rest of the world. Through the gospel principles and commandments and through the many wonderful axillaries and programs the church has in operation we are able to further our ‘peculiar’ habits that set us apart from the rest of the world.
Education is one of the ways we must stand together. We have been counselled to get an education.
‘And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith’. D&C 88:118
It is not by coincidence that the next verse is:
‘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;’ D&C 88:119
Getting an education for our own progression and for our future ability to support ourselves and our families is vital to our spiritual progression. ‘It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance.’ D&C 131:6
‘This is our labor, our business, and our calling—to grow in grace and in knowledge from day to day and from year to year’ Discourses of Brigham Young pg 248.
‘But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.’ 2 Nephi 9:29
We can see very clearly in the world around us the decline in social standards and expectations, ‘No amount of success can compensate for failure in the home’. Is a much used and loved quote from David. O. McKay. It speaks not only to the failing of family connections but the growing disrespect people have for themselves and for others, further reducing the social standards and expectations. Today’s society is becoming reduced to the lowest levels of education and tolerance. We see parents who allow their children to drink and smoke and use foul language as part of their daily lives, they are not teaching their children the value of work and common courtesy, they allow them to drop out of school and be unfit for any employment. These children in turn become parents of even lower educated and socially responsible children and the cycle continues in a downward spiral. My heart breaks for these children who have no clue of their divine worth nor of their temporal capability and worth. By getting an education we are lifting ourselves out of the current social expectations and allowing / encouraging our children to grow up and be educated knowing the value of improving ourselves. Giving our children chores and responsibilities and setting the social expectations based on Gospel principals cannot help but raise children who will have a solid work ethic, make righteous choices and raise their social and economic prospects. “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6
President Hinckley encouraged women to also get an education and continue to learn, whether we chose to become stay at home mothers or not. Enrolling in short courses and learning not only increases our emotional state but our family life as well. A happy Mum is a happy home. Children learn by example, we can teach them the value of learning and to appreciate the gift of intelligence that our Father in Heaven bestowed upon us.
Spiritually speaking we need to continue to learn and study the scriptures.
‘We, of course, seek after knowledge, light, and intelligence and to inform ourselves upon all matters of importance. The glory of God, we have been told by the Prophet Joseph, is intelligence; and we desire to gain knowledge and to become as intelligent as we possibly can. But above and beyond all other things the fathers and the mothers in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints desire that their sons and daughters shall secure an abiding testimony, an absolute and a perfect knowledge regarding the divinity of the work in which we are engaged. That is of more value than anything else in this world, provided, of course, that those of us who receive that testimony, who obtain the knowledge that we are engaged in God's great work, abide therein and continue in the faith’ Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards, p.160
We need to continue to learn and to grow, spiritually and temporally. We need to beactively engaged in living the 13th Article of faith, ‘We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.’
Until next week remember it is good to be an education seeking, spiritually growing, temporally preparing, scripture studying, knowledge gaining, family strengthening Latter Day Saint.
Yours in preparedness
Georgia
Education is one of the ways we must stand together. We have been counselled to get an education.
‘And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith’. D&C 88:118
It is not by coincidence that the next verse is:
‘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;’ D&C 88:119
Getting an education for our own progression and for our future ability to support ourselves and our families is vital to our spiritual progression. ‘It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance.’ D&C 131:6
‘This is our labor, our business, and our calling—to grow in grace and in knowledge from day to day and from year to year’ Discourses of Brigham Young pg 248.
‘But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.’ 2 Nephi 9:29
We can see very clearly in the world around us the decline in social standards and expectations, ‘No amount of success can compensate for failure in the home’. Is a much used and loved quote from David. O. McKay. It speaks not only to the failing of family connections but the growing disrespect people have for themselves and for others, further reducing the social standards and expectations. Today’s society is becoming reduced to the lowest levels of education and tolerance. We see parents who allow their children to drink and smoke and use foul language as part of their daily lives, they are not teaching their children the value of work and common courtesy, they allow them to drop out of school and be unfit for any employment. These children in turn become parents of even lower educated and socially responsible children and the cycle continues in a downward spiral. My heart breaks for these children who have no clue of their divine worth nor of their temporal capability and worth. By getting an education we are lifting ourselves out of the current social expectations and allowing / encouraging our children to grow up and be educated knowing the value of improving ourselves. Giving our children chores and responsibilities and setting the social expectations based on Gospel principals cannot help but raise children who will have a solid work ethic, make righteous choices and raise their social and economic prospects. “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6
President Hinckley encouraged women to also get an education and continue to learn, whether we chose to become stay at home mothers or not. Enrolling in short courses and learning not only increases our emotional state but our family life as well. A happy Mum is a happy home. Children learn by example, we can teach them the value of learning and to appreciate the gift of intelligence that our Father in Heaven bestowed upon us.
Spiritually speaking we need to continue to learn and study the scriptures.
‘We, of course, seek after knowledge, light, and intelligence and to inform ourselves upon all matters of importance. The glory of God, we have been told by the Prophet Joseph, is intelligence; and we desire to gain knowledge and to become as intelligent as we possibly can. But above and beyond all other things the fathers and the mothers in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints desire that their sons and daughters shall secure an abiding testimony, an absolute and a perfect knowledge regarding the divinity of the work in which we are engaged. That is of more value than anything else in this world, provided, of course, that those of us who receive that testimony, who obtain the knowledge that we are engaged in God's great work, abide therein and continue in the faith’ Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards, p.160
We need to continue to learn and to grow, spiritually and temporally. We need to beactively engaged in living the 13th Article of faith, ‘We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.’
Until next week remember it is good to be an education seeking, spiritually growing, temporally preparing, scripture studying, knowledge gaining, family strengthening Latter Day Saint.
Yours in preparedness
Georgia
Waverley Welfare week ending 27th July.
Self Reliant Tip
Sprouts and wheat grass.
To sprout wheat, broccoli, alfalfa and other seeds and grains soak the
seeds in a clean glass jar of warm water for about an hour. Place a piece
of cheesecloth or stocking or other loose weave material over the jar
opening and secure it with a rubber band. Turn the jar upside down to
drain off the water and sit the jar on an angle so the excess water can
drain out and sit on the window sill. Each morning half fill the jar with
water and swirl around the seeds, tip out the water and return to the
window sill. After three to five days you should have sprouts ready to
eat. Give them a final rinse and place in a container in the fridge to
prolong their life.
Wheat grass is made by layering cotton balls on a tray (with holes in it
to drain) sprinkle a single layer of wheat over the cotton balls and
wetting the whole lot, carefully drain off excess water and sit on the
window sill. Each day carefully water the wheat and once it is
approximately 10 cm high it is ready to be harvested for juicing and
salads etc. Cut at the point where the green begins with a pair of
scissors. A 20ml serve of wheat grass juice is equivalent to eating 1kg
of green vegetables.
Sprouts and wheat grass.
To sprout wheat, broccoli, alfalfa and other seeds and grains soak the
seeds in a clean glass jar of warm water for about an hour. Place a piece
of cheesecloth or stocking or other loose weave material over the jar
opening and secure it with a rubber band. Turn the jar upside down to
drain off the water and sit the jar on an angle so the excess water can
drain out and sit on the window sill. Each morning half fill the jar with
water and swirl around the seeds, tip out the water and return to the
window sill. After three to five days you should have sprouts ready to
eat. Give them a final rinse and place in a container in the fridge to
prolong their life.
Wheat grass is made by layering cotton balls on a tray (with holes in it
to drain) sprinkle a single layer of wheat over the cotton balls and
wetting the whole lot, carefully drain off excess water and sit on the
window sill. Each day carefully water the wheat and once it is
approximately 10 cm high it is ready to be harvested for juicing and
salads etc. Cut at the point where the green begins with a pair of
scissors. A 20ml serve of wheat grass juice is equivalent to eating 1kg
of green vegetables.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Week ending 20th July Main topic 'Self evaluation'
It has been a great week with the first ever Welfare Know How class. It was attended by 8 people on the Wednesday night and 1 on the Thursday morning. I am very pleased with the turn out and the interest shown. We tasted tomato, celery, carrot, mushroom, capsicum, kiwi, watermelon, yoghurt drops, banana, teriyaki tofu jerky and teriyaki beef jerkyas well as beef vegetable soup.
I look forward to more classes and more people coming along. The next class will be on fire safety and evacuation plans on Wednesday the 20th of August.
After expressing great frustration at finding a goodly source of freeze dried fruits and vegetables for us available in Australia and not in one tonne minimum orders, I have for the moment thrown my hands up in the air and given up ...But not for long, long enough to turn my full attention to other things that we stand in need of, then I will be back into it again.
Invest in some glow sticks (about 3 dollars from the Reject Shop) and
keep some in every room (yes even the kids rooms) in an easy to get to
place. During a power failure they will give instant light to help you
while you organise other lighting solutions you may have. Or just stick
with the glow sticks, they put out a decent amount of light. Have FHE
or family counsel meeting to discuss why they are being stored and to
stress the importance of the children not ‘accidentally’ using them.
It might be fun for the kids, if a night was spent with them as the light
source for the evening, so they will get used to the idea and not be
tempted to ‘just see’.
We often hear and even say ourselves that this Church is true, the one true Church on the earth today. I know this to be true. My heart sings with joy at being numbered in His flock. I love that we are never alone. No part of the gospel has been left for us to guess about. We have at our disposal information and assistance at every turn. How marvellous, how uplifting and heart warming. I am grateful for such guidance, such love from our Lord and Savior and from our
Church leaders. One part of the Welfare program that I haven’t spoken about for some time is Employment. We are encouraged to get a good education so that we may be employed to our full potential. The Church website has this to say as its header for employment. The Lord has commanded us to work and to provide for the needs of ourselves and our families (see
Genesis 3:17-19, 1 Timothy 5:8; D&C 42:42; 56:17). Suitable employment also gives us opportunities to improve our talents and develop the divine attributes within us.
Once we have a job however it is not the end of the story. Whether we like our job or loath it we need to be productive employees, we need to be increasing our skills and employment prospects. Whether that is staying current with job related tasks or seeking further education to be eligible for promotions and advancement or a career change.
‘The Activity Book’ has a great self evaluation questionaire, which I have reproduced here. We should all take some time to evaluate ourselves, whether we are happily employed in the job of our dreams, working a job we hate, studying or a homemaker. The questionaire can be fitted to each of us regardless of our current situation.
Self Evaluation (pg 41)
Seriously and honestly consider whether or not you are making any progress toward becoming the kind of person you want to be.
Do you know what kind of a person you want to be?
Yes_____ No_____
Are your present attitudes and behaviour helping you to
move in that direction?
Yes_____ No_____
Can you defend the things you do on the basis of your
reason for doing them?
Yes_____ No_____
Do you:
Defend the rights of others as you do your own?
Yes_____ No_____
Attempt to control your emotions and think before you
act?
Yes_____ No_____
Consider the effects of your attitudes or actions on
others?
Yes_____ No_____
Make life better in any way for anyone else?
Yes_____ No_____
Have reason to be proud of yourself?
Yes_____ No_____
Listen to other points of view with an open mind?
Yes_____ No_____
Treat others fairly?
Yes_____ No_____
Care whether or not you are a contributing member of
society?
Yes_____ No_____
Try to find more than one solution to problems?
Yes_____ No_____
Look at problems objectively rather than emotionally?
Yes_____ No_____
Want to improve our society?
Yes_____ No_____
Are you becoming — Yes No
More understanding?
More responsible?
More tolerant?
More patient?
More considerate?
More honest?
More dependable?
More cooperative?
More confident?
More sensitive?
More self directed?
More generous?
More appreciative?
More interesting?
More accepting?
More mature?
More determined?
More responsive?
More fun?
More loving?
We can also think of what we can do to improve each of these areas whether we ticked Yes or No.
Until next week remember it is good to be a self evaluating, constantly striving to improve, Spiritual and temporal strengthening, divine attribute developing Latter Day Saint.
Yours in preparedness
Georgia
I look forward to more classes and more people coming along. The next class will be on fire safety and evacuation plans on Wednesday the 20th of August.
After expressing great frustration at finding a goodly source of freeze dried fruits and vegetables for us available in Australia and not in one tonne minimum orders, I have for the moment thrown my hands up in the air and given up ...But not for long, long enough to turn my full attention to other things that we stand in need of, then I will be back into it again.
Self reliant Tip.
Invest in some glow sticks (about 3 dollars from the Reject Shop) and
keep some in every room (yes even the kids rooms) in an easy to get to
place. During a power failure they will give instant light to help you
while you organise other lighting solutions you may have. Or just stick
with the glow sticks, they put out a decent amount of light. Have FHE
or family counsel meeting to discuss why they are being stored and to
stress the importance of the children not ‘accidentally’ using them.
It might be fun for the kids, if a night was spent with them as the light
source for the evening, so they will get used to the idea and not be
tempted to ‘just see’.
We often hear and even say ourselves that this Church is true, the one true Church on the earth today. I know this to be true. My heart sings with joy at being numbered in His flock. I love that we are never alone. No part of the gospel has been left for us to guess about. We have at our disposal information and assistance at every turn. How marvellous, how uplifting and heart warming. I am grateful for such guidance, such love from our Lord and Savior and from our
Church leaders. One part of the Welfare program that I haven’t spoken about for some time is Employment. We are encouraged to get a good education so that we may be employed to our full potential. The Church website has this to say as its header for employment. The Lord has commanded us to work and to provide for the needs of ourselves and our families (see
Genesis 3:17-19, 1 Timothy 5:8; D&C 42:42; 56:17). Suitable employment also gives us opportunities to improve our talents and develop the divine attributes within us.
Once we have a job however it is not the end of the story. Whether we like our job or loath it we need to be productive employees, we need to be increasing our skills and employment prospects. Whether that is staying current with job related tasks or seeking further education to be eligible for promotions and advancement or a career change.
‘The Activity Book’ has a great self evaluation questionaire, which I have reproduced here. We should all take some time to evaluate ourselves, whether we are happily employed in the job of our dreams, working a job we hate, studying or a homemaker. The questionaire can be fitted to each of us regardless of our current situation.
Self Evaluation (pg 41)
Seriously and honestly consider whether or not you are making any progress toward becoming the kind of person you want to be.
Do you know what kind of a person you want to be?
Yes_____ No_____
Are your present attitudes and behaviour helping you to
move in that direction?
Yes_____ No_____
Can you defend the things you do on the basis of your
reason for doing them?
Yes_____ No_____
Do you:
Defend the rights of others as you do your own?
Yes_____ No_____
Attempt to control your emotions and think before you
act?
Yes_____ No_____
Consider the effects of your attitudes or actions on
others?
Yes_____ No_____
Make life better in any way for anyone else?
Yes_____ No_____
Have reason to be proud of yourself?
Yes_____ No_____
Listen to other points of view with an open mind?
Yes_____ No_____
Treat others fairly?
Yes_____ No_____
Care whether or not you are a contributing member of
society?
Yes_____ No_____
Try to find more than one solution to problems?
Yes_____ No_____
Look at problems objectively rather than emotionally?
Yes_____ No_____
Want to improve our society?
Yes_____ No_____
Are you becoming — Yes No
More understanding?
More responsible?
More tolerant?
More patient?
More considerate?
More honest?
More dependable?
More cooperative?
More confident?
More sensitive?
More self directed?
More generous?
More appreciative?
More interesting?
More accepting?
More mature?
More determined?
More responsive?
More fun?
More loving?
We can also think of what we can do to improve each of these areas whether we ticked Yes or No.
Until next week remember it is good to be a self evaluating, constantly striving to improve, Spiritual and temporal strengthening, divine attribute developing Latter Day Saint.
Yours in preparedness
Georgia
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Feeling grateful
Just thought I would take a minute to share with you how grateful I am for the opportunities that have come my way since taking on the calling of Ward Welfare Specialist.
I have learnt so much about being prepared, what it really means to be prepared and how to get myself and my family into a self reliant frame of mind.
I am humbled by the positive feedback and encouragement I have received from people within the ward and from other wards and non members.
I stand amazed daily at the information that falls into my hands, the contacts I have made and all the excellent bargains I have located. I know I am doing the Lord's will, I know it because I alone could not have found even a quarter of the information I have, let alone the contacts and bargains.
Many people who do not know or see the Lords hand in their lives may well scoff and say that I did find the information and I did all that I have done. I know because I was once a skeptic and a non believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. But now I know different. I am strong and I can do all things because He is with me. I believe He guides us, leads us gently to the experiences and knowledge we seek and I am honoured to be an instrument in His hands to bring the knowledge and skills we all need to be prepared for all things to this blog and to my Waverley welfare newsletter each week.
until next week.
yours in preparedness
Georgia
I have learnt so much about being prepared, what it really means to be prepared and how to get myself and my family into a self reliant frame of mind.
I am humbled by the positive feedback and encouragement I have received from people within the ward and from other wards and non members.
I stand amazed daily at the information that falls into my hands, the contacts I have made and all the excellent bargains I have located. I know I am doing the Lord's will, I know it because I alone could not have found even a quarter of the information I have, let alone the contacts and bargains.
Many people who do not know or see the Lords hand in their lives may well scoff and say that I did find the information and I did all that I have done. I know because I was once a skeptic and a non believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. But now I know different. I am strong and I can do all things because He is with me. I believe He guides us, leads us gently to the experiences and knowledge we seek and I am honoured to be an instrument in His hands to bring the knowledge and skills we all need to be prepared for all things to this blog and to my Waverley welfare newsletter each week.
until next week.
yours in preparedness
Georgia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)