Jun. 9, 2008 - Preparedness and Diet Thoughts
There are a couple of issues the Lord has placed on my heart in this past year or so that I thought that I would share.
The first is "preparedness". There are disasters around every corner and the economy is not something that I think we should place our trust in--no matter how good things look. The Lord has placed on my heart the need to have provisions stored for our family for at least a year. I'm on a couple of e-mail groups relating to this topic, plus have a couple of forums that I visit and a few websites that I glean wisdom from. I confess that the actual logistics of preparing for a family of 11 is quite daunting. To me though this isn't only about having a pantry bursting at the seams but also providing abundant fresh food and learning wilderness survival. In short it is becoming a lifestyle. It's just that it's so alien to our current way of life. My dream has always been to be self sufficient. I have learned a lot over the years. But now I feel that it is critical to begin getting serious about this. I need to turn my hobbies and good intentions into truths and realities.
The second issue deals with our current style of diet--which is really quite SAD (Standard American Diet) lately. Ironically, it seems that the more I learn about healthy eating the worse our eating habits seem to get. Literally: "who can save me from this body of death" (Romans 7:21-25). While I can blame much of it on busyness and lack of time, much of the problem is just plain laziness. Sigh. Our children have suffered for it and I am ashamed. Lack of energy and brain power, cavities, etc... Seems that there's always a lion in the road. And while I work hard and manage to get myself back on track, I find myself easily bogged down in that same old rut time after time. The wheels in my head are spinning to make things easier for me to not slip into old habits but it's so hard to replace old bad habits with good new ones. 
I'm open to suggestions!!
I've hesitated sharing these things since I am shying away from accountablity in a sense. I know that I need it, but dread it at the same time. I'm hoping in the future to have more time to devote to these two areas that I know will make a huge impact on our lives and I plan to continue to share more about how we are working these issues out in our daily lives. When considering how radical these ideas are, it's overwhelming but "through Christ, all things are possible".
Another beautiful California coast pic
