The Passing of President Gordon Bitner Hinckley

As many of you may know, President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away on Sunday evening around 7:00 p.m. (MST) with his family around him. He was 97 years old and the 15th President of the Church. He was a wonderful example and endeared himself to all. He will be greatly missed. With his passing, I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to talk with your families about the succession of the presidency in the church. Here is a wonderful article from LDS Living magazine about that very process. I have also included several links to articles about President Hinckley and two Family Home Evening Lessons (one on President Hinckely and one on prophets).

• Beloved Church President, Gordon B. Hinckley, dies at 97 (LDS.org Newsroom)

• Succession of the First Presidency (LDS Living)

• LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley dies (Salt Lake Tribune)

• Community Speaks of Hinckley's Warmth, Wit, and Genuine Concern for People of All Faiths (Salt Lak Tribune)

• Tribute to President Hinckley (BYU Photographers)

• FHE Lesson by Shauna Gibby--Follow the Prophet

• FHE Lesson by Shauna Gibby--Gordon B. Hickley

Spiritual Preparedness: Strengthening Our Lives Through Prayer

With the start of a new year, people all over have made goals for themselves, either written or pondered. Many people will abandon these goals within the first few months of the year. Let us not fall victim to this defeating cycle, let us strengthen our resolve and become more fully spiritually prepared with prayer.

According to the Encarta Encyclopedia, prayer is "...a person's act of communion with God..., and the words used. It is the natural result of a person's belief in God. Prayer may be individual or group, formal or spontaneous, silent or spoken. In one or more forms, it is at the center of worship (Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007.)." Prayer is our way of communicating with our Heavenly Father. He is there for each and every one of us if we only call out to him for assistance. Some may feel that the Lord can't be bothered with trivial things; but as it states in Alma 37:37, we are to "counsel with the Lord in all [our] doings, and he will direct [us] for good..." It says ALL our doings, not just the ones that we feel the Lord will find important.

Prayer can strengthen and prepare us in all aspects of our lives if we only use it. It is a vital tool that Father in Heaven has provided us with to help us through this earthly life. We wouldn't try and hammer a nail into the wall using only our hand. We would, of course, use a hammer. Why, then, would we attempt to go through our daily tasks without consulting and conversing with the Lord? Let us resolve to use this valuable tool we've been given and rely more fully on the Lord through prayer this new year.

Here are some interesting and helpful articles and a complete Family Home Evening Lesson on prayer:

• Faith and Prayer in Relationships


• FHE Lesson from LDS Living Magazine: Prayer


• Gospel Topics: Prayer

Financial Preparedness...Saving With a Happy Heart!

This post comes from Sis. April Craig and the Sharpsburg Ward Family Preparedness Newsletter:

"Sometimes when we are cutting our budgets, curbing our spending and trying to put all extra towards eliminating our debt, we can find we're in an emotional state of 'self pity' and feeling sorry for ourselves. We might be feeling grumpy about not being able to 'spend freely' or 'satisfy our many wants.' When this happens, our depressed spirits become a tool in Satan's hands. Don't give him that power. We should change our way of thinking. Instead of the common statement, 'I can't afford that,' we can tell ourselves, 'I choose to live within my means; and that item is not in my budget.' As we choose words of empowerment instead of enslavement, we gain confidence and discipline...our attitudes will change and Satan will no longer be able to twist these concepts in our minds. Challenge: Read the Jan 2008 Ensign Article on pages 58-63 entitled, 'Happily Living Within Our Means.'"

Smart Grocery Shopping Made Easy: 5 Tips To Save You Money

This post is thanks to Sis. April Craig and the Sharpsburg Ward Family Preparedness Newsletter

If you've been to a grocery store lately, you'll know that shopping for family meals can be a costly endeavor. Here are some tips to lower your grocery bill and save money:

• Have a Plan: Smart shoppers often make a menu of meals they will prepare in a week and create a shopping list based on the menu. Shopping with a list and sticking to it will cut down on those last minute impulse buys that drive up your grocery bill. Keep a note pad in the kitchen where you can add to your weekly grocery list as items run out or get low. (*Read up on this principle in Menu Planning: Save Time In The Kitchen at the Organized Home website*)

• Eat Before You Go: Hungry shoppers are tempted shoppers.

• Avoid Prepared Foods: Prepared foods, while certainly convenient, often contain high amounts of sodium and other preservatives and cost a lot more than if you made the item yourself. These items may save you a little time when feeding your family, but will end up costing you more in the long run.

• Use Coupons Wisely: Coupons can save savvy shoppers lots of money at the grocery store. Ultimately though, you are not saving money if you are not buying and item you need. Buying bottles of aspirin for $1 each is a great deal. But if 10 of those bottles expire before you even get to use them, you've just wasted $10. (*Check out The Coupon Mom to learn more about this principle*)

• Do The Math: Learn to figure out the price per unit for items you are buying to find out what the best deal is. Do the math when using coupons, too. Sometimes a name brand item with a coupon is still more expensive than a comparable store brand item. (*two links to help teach you about price per unit--How do unit prices work and Unit Price*)

The cost of food can be a huge part of a monthly budget, but by following these tips, you may just find you spend less and have a little more money left over at the end of each month.

(* Added by Sis. Schaefer to provide more information)

Emergency Preparedness: Real Life Experience

I just received an email from Sis. Lorna Boot telling me about this wonderful article in Meridian Magazine. It is about a Sister from California and her family's experience with the recent power outages (Read Emergency Preparedness online). The advice is practical and timely.

We have several weather situations here in the Southeast that can cause power outages--ice/snow storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc...--depending on the season. Growing up in Peachtree City, we experienced yearly ice storms between the end of January and mid March. For those new to the area, there is a definite difference between a snow storm and an ice storm. Ice storms are caused by freezing rain (Read about freezing rain). The aftermath is breathtakingly beautiful, but the damage is always tremendous--trees down, holes in roofs, downed power lines, etc...
After thinking about this, I was reminded that the last snow/ice storm we had in this area was about 2001; and the last BIG storm here was 15 years ago (I remember that one because it happened the weekend before my wedding).
Are we prepared for that kind of weather to possibly happen again this year? Even if another BIG storm doesn't come our way, we still need to make sure we are prepared for these situations. After ice storm season, comes hurricane season, torando season, etc... It's really something we should think about and do something about this year. Read the article in Meridian Magazine and see what you can do to prepare.

72-hour kit content list

As many of you know, we have completed the ordering for the 72-hour kits. Anyone that has participated each month has 95% of everything they need for their kits. There are just a few more items that need to be gathered/purchased to complete your emergency kits. Here is a list of the contents of a 72-hour kit. Anything in yellow, we have purchased as a group. Most items are per person. Non-consumable products can be per family (tent, shovel, etc...).
Put map and all documents in waterproof bag.
Place all items in a portable container near an exit of your home or in your garage.

A basic 72-hr kit should include:
*Water (emergency supply + 3 gallons)
*Food (for 3 days)
*First Aid kit (include any prescription meds)
*Complete change of clothing (including shoes)
*Emergency Blanket
*Tube Tent (1 per 2 people)
*Rain Poncho
*Battery Powered or hand crank radio
*Flashlight
*Extra batteries (if needed)
*Multi-purpose Utility Knife w/can opener
*Whistle
*Compass
*Map of local area (state)
*Emergency contact list with phone numbers (cell #’s and 2 out of state contacts)
*Waterproof matches
*Plastic garbage bags (3)
*Sanitation wipes (baby wipes)
*Dust mask
*Cash (smaller bills and at least 2 rolls of quarters--about $300 per family)

Additional items to consider:
*Hygiene kit (tooth brush/paste, deodorant, comb, shampoo, washcloth, feminine supplies, lip balm, insect repellant, sunscreen)
*Signal Flare
*Light sticks OR
*Emergency 100-hr. candle
*Duct tape
*Plastic sheeting/tarp
*Small shovel
*Regular Tent
*Work gloves
*Nylon rope
*Small sewing kit
*Hand/body warmers (Hotties)
*Water purification tablets
*Mess kit
*Portable stove
*Wool Blend Blanket
*Comfort items: books, games, cards, pencil/paper, hard candy
*Personal ID: Copy adults drivers license, Social Security cards, birth certificates and other important financial and medical documents, wills and insurance cards. For Children: put name, birth date, parental contact info (cell #s), 2 out of state contacts, physical description, current photo, and right thumb print on laminated card stock. Copy insurance card on back before laminating.
*Family documents: copy of pictures, hard drive, genealogy, etc… on disc
*Extra keys
Let's finish and assemble these by the end of the month. Post to the comments section when you are finished. Let's see how many people in the ward we can have done by January 31st.

New Blog to share information

I just received permission today from the Bishop to start this blog. On it, I hope to share information that will help you become better prepared both temporally and spiritually. I plan on updating this blog on a bi-monthly basis. Depending on what I find, I may update it more regularly. In order to receive updates, please subscribe to the blog by going to the bottom of the page and selecting "Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)." Then, click on "Subcribe to this feed." You may need to get a google account in order to do so. This is free and from what I've experienced, I do not receive junk mail or spam from doing this. Feel free to make comments, or ask questions. ---Jen Schaefer