A PRACTICAL TWIST ON GIVING "THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS"

Many thanks to Kay Curtis, Diva behind Cedar Fort's "Books and Things" catalog for sharing this clever, cute Christmas idea.

"Books and Things" advertises great books, art, music, and other great LDS-themed products, but Kay always tucks something free and fun into each edition. Sometimes it's an FHE idea. Sometimes it's a recipe. This month's edition will feature a lovely and meaningful Family Preparedness gifting idea based on the 12 Days of Christmas, and Kay is letting me share it a bit early.

The set includes a poem sheet that explains the plan, and twelve poemed tags for each item. Here's a sample of the cute tags and poems that accompany each of the twelve items, but visit "Books and Things" online catalog to download the entire set.

ENOUGH and MORE

My trip to the Storehouse, mentioned in the post below, was enlightening in other ways as well. A senior missionary couple runs the Storehouse with the help of a senior service mission couple and other local volunteers. At lunch time, the sister missionary in co-charge cooked us a wonderful lunch, all from basic items that came from the storehouse shelves. And it was gourmet quality!

The point here is two-fold. First, the Lord asks that we help Him provide for the needs of his children not with cast-offs and crumbs, but with the best of what He has created. And secondly, when we know what to do with what He has provided, we can do very nicely on basics.

I've been blogging about food storage down in the right corner. Each week, I'm posting an item we should buy and add to our storage. In 52 weeks, if we follow the list, we should have a balanced, inexpensively-acquired supply of food storage that can be incorporated into our menu planning and therefore, easily-rotated. We don't need to store only vacuum-packed or freeze-dried food. We just need to rotate what we buy by incorporating it into our daily meals.

The reasons for having a food supply are many. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been doing this for decades, responding to the counsel of living Prophets who have warned us to lay in store for times of need. But any person who reads the papers or listens to the news can surely see the wisdom is storing extra food against times when storms prevent us from getting to the store, or as a hedge against inflation, a bridge between jobs or when extra bills upset the family budget. By having some storage, we can wait to purchase items when they are on sale because we can do without until the price comes down. And when reports of tainted foods are raised, we can fall back on food that was packed before the outbreak occurred.

Tom and I pull from our storage regularly for this or that. But we have relied on our food storage exclusively a few times when we were between jobs and what little cash we had was needed to meet the mortgage and utilities. I canned back then--a hundred quarts each of peaches, pears, applesauce each summer, and a freezer stocked with vegetables put up from a summer garden. We ate well, and because we had the foresight to also store five pounds of chocolate chips and nuts, there were delicious cookies and cakes to make the meal special. Instead of a poor man's diet, we were still dining. And I believe that made a major difference in my husband's attitude as he headed out the door to apply for work. He was down, but he was not out, because he knew he was still providing for his family from our previous abundance.

There is peace in preparation. I don't can the way I once did. We buy cases of what we enjoy now, and buy in bulk when things are on sale. But we don't need to have a Costco in our cellars. A few basic items, paired with the skill to prepare them, will be enough to weather the storms that threaten our families.

The Lord sets patterns. All we need to do is see them and follow. The Storehouse showed me yet another pattern of preparation, that storing simple foods and having the skill to prepare them will see us through.

Political Wisdom from Fairytales

It's hard to deny the brilliance of the fairytale writers and their clever wordsmithing. Much like parables, great thought provoking truths are subtly disguised in story format, leaving the listener to ponder the intended message long after the tale is told.

One of my favorites is The Emperor's New Clothes, the tale of the prideful clothes-horse of a king who contracts with some tailors for the sewing of a fine suit of clothes. Playing on the King's arrogance, the swindling tailors convince the emperor that they are sewing an ensemble made of fabric so exquisite it cannot be seen by those too inferior to appreciate and recognize its value. The tailors bet that the pride of the king, his court, and his constituency, will prevent all of them from admitting that the only finery the emperor is wearing is his own sorry birthday suit.

And the tailors' ruse would have proven successful had a small child, untouched by the pressure to conform, not hollered out the truth that, though unuttered, was always obvious to all.

That pressure to conform, and the consequent tide of silent tongues, is not limited to fairytales. Ask the average Joe on the street what he thinks about the hot bed topics of our day and most likely his opinions are fairly traditional. If that's the case, why don't the polls on differing networks reflect this?

Has our fear of being labelled "unenlightened" or "unprogessive", caused us to keep our opposing points of view to ourselves, confessing them only in secret or anonymously? Or worse yet, have the "enlightened" and their glitterati spokepersons marketed their point of view so seductively that we too are beginning to see the fine tailoring of an invisible suit?

When did this happen?

Naked is naked no matter the political or intellectual spin. But right is right, and eternal princples like marriage retain their meaning only if we seemingly small voices holler collectively and call the world's bluff.

Review of THREE ANGELS FOR CHRISTMAS

Lori Nawyn is an award-winning essayist and author of short stories whose latest offering is a beautifully illustrated, seven-page Christmas booklet entitled, Three Angels for Christmas.

Punctuated by three of her heartwarming Christmas card images created in her own signature style, the story within is a quick-read glimpse of a moment in the author’s life when the Christmastime loss of three dear loved ones challenged her ability to appreciate the intangible gifts Christ’s birth brings to each of us.

Like permitting a glimpse into her own journal, Nawyn invites readers to spend a few minutes joining her on her journey from innocent joy, to despair and back again. Intended especially for others who may be grieving lost loved ones during what is for some, a painfully difficult time of the year, Lori Nawyn’s booklet concludes with a discussion exercise and three principles she gleaned from her trials that could be used to facilitate thoughtful sharing.

Christmas card-sized and packaged, with an envelope included, Three Angels for Christmas provides a tender, empathetic holiday offering of hope for the sender who is seeking a special Christmas greeting for a harrowed heart.

Available through Brigham Distributing.

LIFE IS A TAKE-HOME TEST

One of the greatest talks I have ever heard was given by then Elder Holland who was then the President of BYU. Entitled, "The Will Of the Father In All Things", it really causes one to pause and examine his or her own willingness to "go and do the things that the Lord has commanded". He reads this oft repeated and ascribed to scripture and asks, "Really? Always?"

The questions put the principle of obedience front and center. I believe we could all quickly raise our hands and say that we "want" to "go and do what the Lord has commanded" and we desire to do them "at all times, and in all things and in all places", but most of us, me at least, would have to admit that I still have a ways to go. And for that I gratefully accept and embrace the Atonement of Christ.

Life is an interesting take-home test--an open book examination with the answers provided. Our job is to solve each of the problems, showing every step of our work, demonstrating that we not only know the correct answer, but that we can actually apply the principles necessary in order to achieve it.

Elder Holland points out that when Christ appeared to the people at the temple in Bountiful, they were probably still reeling from the devastation they had endured months earlier. Hungry for comfort and understanding, their expectations were likely deep and high. Waiting anxiously for the Lord's first directed words, they knew the first utterance would be critical. And what was it? A declaration of His obedience. . . "I have done the will of the Father."

I know what happens in my heart when I am more consistent in meeting this standard. You do too. There is mighty power in rightouesness. Imagine. It's staggering, isn't it?

FOOD STORAGE JUNKIE!!!

I'll be leaving on a jet plane for Utah on Labor Day. And what a "labor day" it will be . . . (well, at least the day after)as my oldest son and his wife will be heading off to the hospital on Tuesday to deliver their third child! (Pinch the grandma!)

I strode through the store aisles today, looking for last minute "grandma" type goodies and toys to tuck into my bag to entertain my new grandson's siblings. A few things! That was it! But I left with my bill totalling about seven times what I had expected to spend. The theme of my purchases? Food Storage. Yes, I am food storage junkie.

Two people live in my house--Tom and me, plus the elders downstairs who are our ocassional dinner guests, and yet we have two refrigerators and two freezers, and all four are full! Our basement looks like the Civil Defense shelter for the free world, and on top of that, every "BOGOF" offer calls to me like a temptress, seemingly whispering, "You never know. . . If you get shut in during a blizzard, you might crave Double Stuffed Oreos!

In truth, I live in the mission field, surrounded by neighbors who don't see the worrisome signs and who don't want to think about depressing topics like inflation, natural disaster or worse. I don't see it that way. For me, my storage is my peace . . . my personal sling and five-stone set of proven defenses that I can use to hold the Philistines of disaster at bay.

I think of children, my friends and my neighbors each time I place an extra can in the pantry . . . one for us and one for you and one for the little boy who lives down the lane. . . I realize that I'm counting on Elijah's and Brigham's miracles . . . that the barrel of meal will not waste and the cruse will not fail. I must do more than count on miracles alone. I need to teach and inspire and share all the added good news that we need not fear if we prepare. Therein lies the peace.