Always be Prepared

I like the idea of being prepared, of having what is needed no matter what situation should arise. I think I have always been that way. I remember when I was a kid and we used to go camping not far from our home (Just us kids, hauling all our gear in our arms) and our friend and neighbor was quite amazed at how much stuff my sister and I thought we needed to bring. We liked to be prepared!

   I still have a tendency to pack heavy and I like to have extra clothes for my kids (at least the younger ones), rain gear, jumper cables, water bottles, snacks and more in our van at all times so no matter what happens we should be prepared.

  We live in a time when it certainly makes since to be prepared. I doubt if there has ever been a time when it wasn't necessary to be prepared but there are certain things that definitely point to the need now. We are a country at war, natural disasters are abundant (I am thinking of earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, etc.), our nation is deeply in debt which makes our country less stable and we are in a recession. I think those reasons do encourage us to be prepared for whatever might happen. It bugs me when some people seem to worry and think things are worse than they are. That reminds me of this verse:
"You are not to say "It is a conspiracy!" in regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, and you are not to fear what they fear of be in dread of it. "It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread. " Isaiah 8:12 & 13.

  I see no great reward (just a bunch of stress) in imagining conspiracies or worrying about world events. In fact we are told specifically not to worry and that God cares for us more than he does for the lilies and the sparrows (and he takes care of them well!) and He even knows the number of hairs on our head. So we don't want to worry but God still wants us to strive to be prepared.

I love this verse:
"Go to the ant O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise. Which, having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in summer and gathers her provision in the harvest." Proverbs 6:6-8

My goal is to be prepared like that wise little ant!

This week some of our working toward being prepared has been:

• Going to the grain elevator (In a town about 50 minutes away) and buying over 400 lbs of Wheat and 50 lbs of whole corn. That will provide bread and such for us for quite a while. It is always nice to have a good supply on hand.
• Reading! Lately I have been reading aloud to the kids out of a survival book. We like to be in nature, going camping, canoeing, biking and hiking, and I would like to have our kids be prepared as possible for any situations they might ever face. It has been fun to read through the book together learning about making shelter, finding safe water, figuring out direction, dealing with hypothermia and much more. We might not remember everything we read (though we are attempting to practice some of it as well) but at least we have learned some. Learning ahead of time will help them not to feel afraid should they ever be in an emergency situation. Fear is one of the worst enemies of survival. We also enjoy reading out of various plant guides and Euell Gibbon's books to learn about finding wild foods. I have also been reading a lot of bee books which is helping me to prepare myself for my beekeeping adventure (which is going well- I will share more about that on Monday.).

The very most important step in being prepared however is this: "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Matthew 24:24 We need to be absolutely sure that our lives are right with God. It is nice to be prepared in other ways but that would only affect us for a little while but if we aren't prepared for Jesus' return then it will affect us for eternity.

Do you like to be prepared?