Better Safe than Sorry

   Hi everyone! I am rather refreshed from my week off of blogging, and it kinda gave me some time to get a few things in order and know exactly where I am going for the next couple of weeks with the blog. Mother's Day was a really special one for me because things are starting to calm down with my very busy twins, I was able to get a good long nap in during our afternoon time, and I am just starting to feel like life is settling down again after a whirlwind two years + of one thing after another happening.
   I wonder---do you ever feel like you are finally, in your life, getting to a point where you can handle it if life throws you a few curves? I have hesitated to put it into words before because it seems like when I finally get close to that , something else happens. I mean, we have had medical setbacks, a house fire, carpenter ant invasions, garden/crop failure, job losses, etc, and it just has kinda been one thing after another for a very long time for our family.
   I don't know, maybe you are in the midst of it today. Maybe you are wondering how to pay the electric bill, or if a spouse is going to find a job in enough time for you all to keep a home, worrying about a child who seems to be drifting away from the family.....I just want you to know I am praying for you.
    In my world, my life would be bleak without Christ and the hope He brings in the midst of the fellowship we share daily. My faith has been a mainstay through some very dark and cold valleys....and being in the place where I only have the Lord to rely on to meet and supply my needs, while very difficult times, were learning places in my life where I could see my faith grow by leaps and bounds.

    Where are you today? I would love to hear.

    I have been a rather busy bee the last week with getting a good part of the garden in, getting the new garden established and covered with wood chip mulch, working on catching up on personal things, etc. I feel good about the gardening season ahead, and with the help of a very eager friend who really wants to learn how to do what I do, I am looking forward to this coming harvest and the time of putting everything up for the coming cold months.
   I did have a moment of panic when I counted my available jars and lids and realized I only have enough to process about another 7 dozen Quarts and 5 dozen pints. Now to some of you, that may seem like an enormous amount of jars and lids. But for someone who processed right around 2000 jars last year, and who cans year round----for someone who is blessed to have full shelves but is heading into a productive gardening season and is used to putting up over 100 jars alone of spaghetti sauce........well, you can imagine how much of a shock that was.
   With ripples going through the canning community about a couple of things: the fact that there is a canning explosion going on in our country, with the interest through the roof, as well as a limited availability of jars, there are a lot of people saying get your jars and lids NOW before canning season really hits. Wouldn't it be terrible to have these beautiful tomato plants loaded with 60 lbs of tomatoes....and no way to process it for the winter? Well, I put in 34 plants, and have about six more to go, which is 10 more than I have ever planted in all my years gardening. But I am feeding my growing family, my mother, and this dear friend who is helping me is getting her own portion of the garden as she learns. ;)

   There have been other rumbles as well, quietly of course, and ones you will not hear on the mainstream news media (of whom I am beginning to wonder if they really know anything at all, or if they are just giving people enough information to keep them calm rather than concerned). We all know that the nation is in serious trouble with our debt load, and now with our entire country's income for one year being less than what we spend in one year. If this were a household budget we would be cutting out the TV, turning the heat down, hitting the food shelf once or twice, and figuring out where to cut to get back in the black and not sink further.
    However, it seems like either those who are in leadership don't see the iceberg we are heading for, which is financial ruin, or simply think it is unavoidable, and plan how to pick up the pieces when we hit and sink. There are a lot of normal, everyday, blue and white collar folks who are starting to get REALLY concerned about what the future holds for us this next year as a nation, and as individuals. Consider that gardening in the backyard, preserving skills, raising animals such as chickens or rabbits in your town...all of those things are exploding and  people are showing serious interest in learning how to cope if things get tougher. We are not talking about people just trying to find another hobby, or an interest, or feed a passion to " go back to the country". We are talking about unprecedented explosion of interest and intent by the average American to grow their own, have their own, and learn how to do things that used to be common knowledge.

    There are a lot of people who are worried about the economy tanking further, who are trying to find ways to make the budget work with inflation on the rise, and incomes staying the same or being limited.
    My heart goes out to them. I want to help as many as I can learn how to do the things that I know how to do and show them IT IS POSSIBLE to hang in there, be successful, and live on a very tight income in a good way of life.

   If I can encourage you in anything, folks, this is what I would say.

   Now is the time.

   It is the time to buy seeds. Time to break ground and start a garden. Time to start a real attempt at food storage pantry in your home, with meals and foods your family will eat. It is time to find out if your city or town allows things such as chickens, or rabbits, and learn about how to raise them and keep them for the sake of some fresh healthy meat. It is time to purchase and learn how to use canning supplies, to learn how to even air dry foods, and to put them away for storage and this coming winter. It is time for you to figure out where you can allocate money to have an "emergency plan" if things get much worse, and talk honestly with your family about it. I liken it to when my oldest was little and we would practice a fire drill at home. Stop, drop, and crawl to the nearest outside exit and then meet at a place we agreed on outside and down the street. There was no fire, and I thank God for that. But we were ready if there was. And that is what I am cautioning you to do today. Even if there is no fire, even if the Lord steps in and gives this amazing country another chance to start back on the right path, everyone is going to be on the same page no matter what. And you know your family is safe.
   I am not a gloom and doom kinda gal, and if you have read my stuff, you know this. My faith is in God alone to save me, and keep me. However, I do believe He gives us a heads-up sometimes to do what we need to do and KNOW what we need to do....He gives us that drive to sit back and think, to do, and to spring into action when needed.

    For four years I have felt like the proverbial ant working and putting away because one day it would all make sense. Like Joseph and the dream of the Pharaoh, I have been walking in that even when it is an unpopular view. And now I feel like we are seeing the writing on the wall as the story is being laid out in front of us, and we need to think about what we can do for our families.
   So take what I am saying to you today and think about it. Since January I have done more than enough posts on learning how to live on a budget, garden, preserve, etc. You will find enough on there to keep you busy for a couple weeks.
    I decided that one of the things I want to talk about is how to make your own cleaners for cheaply, that work amazingly well, and give you some ideas to work on for shaving money off of your budget. I also have lots of recipes and storage ideas, so I cant tell you what each day will bring, but it will be something to help you along  the path. :If you have anything in particular that you are most interested about, please let me know via the contact me button, through the FB page, or just comment on here. I want to know what I can do to help others reach success on their paths in life.

Many Blessings to you and yours,

Heather