| Do you remember the Y2k panic in the months | | | | more, but maybe 1, 3, or even 6 months. Think of |
| before January 1, 2000? People were stockpiling | | | | what a comfort it would be if your financial situation |
| everything from toilet paper to beans ( do you really | | | | suddenly did change through a job loss or illness, or a |
| want to eat 100 pounds of dried beans? ). | | | | storm hit and food supplies were limited, but you |
| Uneasiness was everywhere because nobody knew | | | | didn't have to be concerned because your family |
| exactly what might happen. Well, nothing much | | | | could weather the disaster until the worst was over. |
| happened, and life went on as normal -except that | | | | This is not the infamous bread and milk run that |
| nobody had to buy toilet paper for a while. | | | | happens Down South whenever there is a hint of |
| I know some overly-prepared folks who are still | | | | snow, but a more systematic approach to keeping |
| eating up the buckets of extra grain they stored | | | | extras of the supplies that your family uses. If you |
| away, but for most of us those days are long | | | | are a once a week shopper and never stock up, |
| forgotten. Fast forward to the mortgage-failing, | | | | then try buying an extra can of one or two items |
| bank-closing , stock market-plummeting scenario | | | | you use each week. Before long, you'll be able to skip |
| today. Homes are being lost, jobs are in jeopardy, | | | | a week of shopping when life gets busy. |
| and no one is sure how bad it will get. | | | | If you already have a well-stocked pantry for |
| Nobody knows how or when the current crisis will | | | | everyday use and want to build a more substantial |
| end and it may be wise for all of us to follow the | | | | food supply, start buying some items in bulk, or at |
| example of the woman described in Proverbs 31. It | | | | least a one month supply of non-perishables. To take |
| says she "watches over the affairs of her household" | | | | it a step further, read an emergency preparedness |
| and "she can laugh at the days to come." The only | | | | book such as Jack Spigarelli's Crisis Preparedness |
| way she could laugh at the days to come would be if | | | | Handbook. This book has an in-depth coverage of |
| she were prepared for whatever might happen. | | | | food preparation and storage, as well as other |
| Would it be prudent once again to stock up on paper | | | | aspects of being prepared. The Boy Scouts in your |
| necessities and canned goods, and perhaps carve out | | | | life will be proud - and you will be ready so that you, |
| a corner of the garage for a pantry? I'm not | | | | too, can laugh at the days to come. |
| necessarily advocating stockpiling food for a year or | | | | |