Planning not worrying

So I finally did it.  I finally bit the bullet and bought myself a pressure canner.   Yup, that’s my big news for the week! But seriously, with all that has been going on with the hurricanes in the south, wildfires out west, and WINTER IS COMING my husband finally talked me into just doing it. Just buy the darn thing and get on with it!

I have a water bath canner, but I can’t can veggies, meat, broth, etc. so it is a needed item. And it’s an item I have wavered on buying for ten years. It is one of those things that I just kept putting off buying. Well, sure I need/want one, but we also want/need all these other things as well. But I finally did it (well, almost, it is still sitting in our Amazon cart!), and the timing couldn’t be better. It is September, harvest season, preparedness month, time to get on with it!

With all the natural disasters going on right now, we do have to plan ahead. I know that I have written about some of my views about self-sufficiency before, but I do believe that we should be prepared to a certain extent. Yes, God will provide all we need, but hiding our heads in the sand and pretending that there aren’t real issues going on is wrong. God will provide, but He also provides for us now. He provides plenty so we can place some away for when there isn’t any. Yes, trust ultimately in His generosity, but also realize when He provides above and beyond our current needs.

Since it is National Preparedness Month, I have been thinking a bit more about what would happen if we didn’t have access to the grocery store. Even if it was for a couple of days or weeks, would we be ok? Would we have enough food on hand to make it through? Would we have enough variety to not experience food fatigue? I was inspired to can up some Apple Butter, we made some Apple Jelly, and I have some more apples waiting to be made into Applesauce. (Do we see a theme here?) I am trying to add some variety to our stores. I am trying to think ahead, not worry, just think. What if? What if we can’t get out of the house for a while? What if we are snowed in? (Trust me, it’s a real possibility up here!) What if there is a natural disaster? What if there is a man-made disaster? (North Korea, I’m looking at you!) So yes, I trust in God ultimately to provide, but I’m also trying to act wisely and recognize God’s blessings in the here and now for an unforeseen time in the future. Our ancestors didn’t have access to grocery stores. They had to plan ahead. I am sure there was plenty of worry mixed in, but they were wise. They used what God provided them and planned accordingly. I only hope that we are doing our best to do the same.

Matthew 25:1-13

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.”

Who will you be like? The five foolish virgins who did not plan ahead? Or will you choose to plan ahead and be ready to meet God when He comes?

This is the canner I bought…

Check out some of my favorite canning books…

Blue Ball Book

Jackie Clay’s “Growing and Canning Your Own Food”

I’m getting some of these next year….or maybe for Christmas!

Tattler Reusable Lids

Happy Harvesting!!

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