Vigilance

'The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.'  

~Thomas Jefferson

While I don't often write about history, politics, economics, demographics, or current events, I am intensely interested in them.  There are much better-informed and more logically and eloquently-written sources for this type information and philosophy than I could be, so I won't try to fill a niche that's already being well-filled.  However, I will be writing about different policies that will affect us here at home and how we're planning to respond to them. 

As we see by the signs that a storm is coming and prepare accordingly, so we must keep an eye on our world, not so that we become frightened (after all, our trust is in the Lord and his loving sovereignty), but so that we can prepare.  Better to keep watch and prepare ahead of time when possible than to scramble and try to figure out what's happening when the winds blow, lightning strikes, and hail pummels you.

In light of our current president's economic views and his emulation of FDR (whose economic policies caused the depression of the 1930's to become great), our household is preparing for very hard times.  We're watching not only current policies, but demographic trends.  As we move through the next few decades, the Baby Boom will retire and, as is usual during that season of life, will spend less, which will lead to an almost permanent drop in the stock market as consumer markets are significantly reduced.  Life for our children and grandchildren will be very different from what we've know to this point.

So, what changes are we making in the day-to-day running of our household?

• We're cooking more from scratch.  (This includes the yogurt recipe previously posted, and making granola instead of purchasing boxed cereal - recipe coming soon! - baking more bread, making mayonnaise, and I've gotten our sprouts grower out again.) 
  
• We're working to get the garden to produce again.  (We started a compost bin this weekend - Arizona soil isn't so good and we'd rather use our own free scraps and yard waste than purchase compost.)
  
• We're sewing more of our own clothes (with fabric purchased at low prices on sale).  
  
• I'm going to study pattern-making to give us more flexibility in clothing design and save money on expensive patterns.  
  
• We've been using fountain pens for years, but we'll be purchasing more for the whole family (a bottle of ink can last for years and costs less than other pens which don't last as long).  
  
• We're cutting back where we can in order to purchase tools that will make our family more productive and less dependent on public policy (for example: a knitting machine, a clothes line, wood-working tools).
  
• We're learning new skills.  (The girls are learning to crochet; I'm re-learning to knit; I'm teaching the girls to sew; we hope to learn to embroider and draw and even paint; as well as the above-mentioned pattern-drafting, and Drew is teaching the boys wood-working skills.)
  
• We made many of our Christmas presents this year and will continue doing that for birthdays.
  
• Drew and I are going out for dessert for our date night, instead of eating dinner out.  We're also going to the movies less often.

We're not doing these things only for our family, but we hope that our preparation and work will put us into a position to minister to and help others.  Here's one example:

The new administration is planning to put into effect an energy policy called 'Cap and Trade'.  This will require local power companies to produce less electricity.  Our tax dollars will then be given to the electric companies so that they don't see a loss of revenue.  This will give us rolling blackouts and brownouts along with higher taxes.  We are working to save for solar power for our home.  When the rest of the neighborhood is sitting in the dark, we'll have light.  What an opportunity to invite our neighbors in, to share what we have, building relationships with them, and possibly having an opportunity to share the gospel.

The coming times will be challenging, but we hope to rise to the challenge in a joyful and faithful manner.

SDG!