Top 10 Reasons why people don't get food storage

Humorous, but does give pause for thought. In the past year we've really seen reasons why being prepared can be so important. From washed out roads that trap people in their homes, and possibilities of pandemics, to gas shortages and extended power outages. Please take the time to evaluate your family's level of "preparedness" and start making steps towards being even more prepared. If you need help because you don't know what to store or how to store it or even how to get prepared, please contact Cheryl. She can put in touch with the right information. Also, watch for more information to be available soon.

Top 10 Reasons why people don't get food storage (Author unknown)

10. My neighbors have a TWO year supply!
No, they don't. They don't have any food. Did you know that 85% of the members of the church don't have any food storage at all? If your idea of food storage is to eat someone else's food...........this is a really bad plan.

9. I've paid tithing for 20 years...the church can give me a little food.
Many members believe that when the times get hard, the church is going to come through like Joseph in Egypt. Absolutely not true. All the church storehouses and welfare farms across the country would only feed 4% of the members of the church. The church has been asking YOU to store food for 75 years. They're NOT storing food for you. Thus, another bad plan.

8. I'm moving in with my children / parents!
Really....that's just a bad plan all by itself. But it points out that most members don't have a year's supply because they're PLANNING on eating someone else's food! Of course, since no one HAS any food, we have yet another bad plan.

7. I have a year's supply...and the bullets to go with it!
I've heard time and again, "How dumb is that to go to all the time and expense of getting food...just to have some guy with a gun come and shoot my family to take it away?" Here's a better question. Are you afraid of the guy with the gun? Or are you more afraid of BECOMING the guy with the gun? What would you do if your children were starving to death? Would you lie? Cheat? Steal? Would you shoot your neighbor for his food? I guarantee....if you were watching your child starving to death, you would do anything you had to to keep them alive. If you don't have your year's supply, you are putting yourself in danger of losing not only
your temporal salvation, but your spiritual salvation as well.

So far, all the reasons we don't have our food storage involve eating someone else's food. Please, don't put your family's temporal salvation in other people's hands. No one is storing food for you. Not your neighbors, not the government...not even the church.

#6. The boat and the 4 wheelers are taking up all my storage space!
(priorities!)

#5. 3 letters....Y2K.
Ok, that's 2 letters and a number....but they're always making way too much out of everything! This is never going to happen!" (Every prophecy that has ever been given WILL happen.)

#4. If anything DOES happen, the government will be here within hours!
(insert laughter) Did you know the government has been telling us that we need to have food storage? They're actually CALLING it food storage! We now have the government telling us to store food, water, medicines...whatever we will need to be able to stay in our homes for several months.

#3. I can't afford scrap booking AND food storage.
The average food storage can cost as little as a dollar a day. We live in the richest society in the history of the world, and while there are cases where money may be a problem, most of the time it is a matter of priorities. We have chosen bigger homes, nicer cars, more tv's, computers, vacations...everything is more important than our food storage. If I asked, "Who has a cell phone?" most of you would say yes. You pay at least $30 a month to have a cell phone....that's about a dollar a day...the cost of
one year's supply of food for your child. Is your cell phone really more important than your child's temporal salvation?
You have to make food storage a priority.

2. I'm waiting for the cannery to sell Papa John's dehydrated pizza!
Food storage has always had a stigma attached to it. If it's not wheat, beans and powdered milk, it's not food storage. With the system I use, food storage can be sweet and sour chicken, tamale pie, chile and cornbread, beef stew, shepherd's pie, minestrone...even chocolate chip cookies! Your imagination (and your pocketbook) are the only limitations you have.

And the #1 reason why I don't have my year's supply of food?
A year?? I thought it was 72 hours!!

Announcements from Sunday, September 13

ALWAYS BE SURE TO SCROLL ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE ANNOUNCEMENTS. CHANGES ARE MADE, WEEKLY OR AS NEEDED, AND NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS ARE ADDED TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST.

*Relief Society University- If you are attending classes or Enrichments sponsored by the stake or our ward, be sure to mark those down as goals accomplished. You are learning new things!

*Book Club is on Wednesday, October 14 at 7PM at Cheryl Hall's house. The book is "The Wednesday Letters" by Jason Wright. Please join us for this great discussion even if you haven't read the book.

*Spiritual Enrichment will start up again this month. The first one will be on September 29 at 8PM and it will be held at Pat Wilder's house. See more info here: Spiritual Enrichment.

*Dinner Groups. You can read more information about those here and be sure to read the comments from Rorie, explaining more about the dinner groups.

*Emergency Essentials Group Orders are listed here. Be sure to have your money to Cheryl by September 27. Please make checks payable to "Lisa Vish". Also, our ward is now signed up to do bulk orders through Walton Feed. These orders are only twice per year and the next one is coming up probably next month. So look through your food storage and see what it is you might need. Walton Feed is good for bulk foods, emergency supplies, etc... (One of my favorite things they have is something called "Clear Gel"- it thickens without heat. Great to use to make fruit flavored syrups from fruit juice, etc... without having to heat. Works great!). Watch for more info to come as I receive it from the local representative.

*Be sure to click on the "Classifieds" section to the right (or scroll down) to see the changes recently made.

Dinner Group Schedule

The Dinner Group normally meets the 3rd weekend of the month (holiday exceptions happen though!) Everyone is welcome to sign up whenever they choose.... please contact Rorie Kirk for more information.

Please mark your calendar for the following dates:

September 19
October 24
November 14

Too Many Tomatoes?

If you have too many tomatoes to eat, but not enough for a canning session, try freezing them. Here's a blog that even includes pictures on this simple way of saving tomatoes.

Southern Plate

Chicken Co-op Information

If you are not in the chicken co-op, but would like to be, speak to Corinne Schulzke. (You may have to go on a stand-by list until there are enough slots) Also, if you would just like to be added to the list so that if someone doesn't want their chicken that time, they can let you have it, please contact Corinne. Here is the list of teams and the dates:

Date	Team	Members
Nov. 19	Team 5	K. Williams; Walker; R. Fisher; Karski
Jan. 7, 2010	Team 6	Meinke; Pedersen; Flannagan; D. Fischer
Feb. 25	Team 7	A. Allen; Bobo; Huffman; Brown
Apr. 8	Team 1	Campbell; Bauer; Mitchell
May 20	Team 2	Jerls; Owens; Hardman; Eide
Jul 1	Team 3	C. Hall; V. Hall; S. Allen;
Aug 12	Team 4	Bergman; Ashment; Revill; Wilhelm

Chicken Co-op Guidelines

1. Everyone participating will take a turn to go, schedule your own alternate if necessary.

2. Driving team must also stay for the half-hour distribution.

3. When you pick up your chicken, bring $14 for the next trip.

4. All chicken should be picked up within an hour of being called, during the half-hour window provided. It cannot be kept frozen. Chicken should be available for pick-up before noon.*

5. Each participant will get one 5 pound bag of boneless breast and one 5 pound bag of tenderloins. If there is a shortage of product on the day of pick-up, the team going to the plant decides what to get.

6. Please put receipt and change in the envelope/folder to allow us to keep track of costs. Prices fluctuate.

7. Once the cash surplus is sufficient, it will be divided (refunded) among the participants.

8. The store only accepts cash and does not give pricing or product availability over the phone. (See attached hours of operation.)

* If chicken is not picked up, and I can’t easily find someone to buy it, it will be donated to a charity.

Also, to clarify because the chicken comes in cases of 4, if one person does a “no show”, it jeopardizes the ability of three other families to get chicken. Remember:

A) if you are unable to get your chicken, you MUST find a replacement that YOU are responsible for (and let me know who that is)

B) if you don't find a replacement more than twice, you will be dropped from the co-op.

C) If you are buying someone else’s chicken YOU are responsible for making sure that you get the right amount of chicken.

If you have not yet taken a turn to drive or make calls, it’s time to step and either be a group leader or make sure that your team KNOWS that you will make the phone calls to let people know when the chicken arrives. I’ve tried to match the teams so that people who can’t drive can help in one of those two ways. Group leader “work” takes place ENTIRELY in hours that are “convenient” to working schedules—making phone calls and emails to collect uncollected money. A final way to contribute is to buy gas for whomever on your team drives.

There are currently 32 slots in the co-op, so the purchase should be 8 cases breasts and 8 cases tenderloins. This might require two people to split the purchase (4 sets each).

Driving Day Instructions:

If there is a price increase, you need to be prepared to cover. (An extra $36 should handle it.) This hasn’t happened yet, but could.

• Leave between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.
• Count the cash in the envelope and make a note of it at the top of the column.
• If there is a shortage of chicken, you must make the decision of what, if anything to substitute.
• When you are within a half hour of the pick-up place, call the list to let them know to come get chicken. Please call the bold numbers whenever there is a choice between numbers.
• Stay half an hour to distribute the chicken—keeping careful records of who pays how much and who picks up their chicken.
• Leave any extra chicken in a box on the front porch.

You should be finished with the whole thing around 11 a.m.—give or take a little.

Directions to Tyson Poultry Plant Store:

Take 575 North to Exit 19, it is Hwy 20 EAST to Cumming. Turn left at the end of the exit. (Exit 16 is Hwy 20 West—don’t take it.)

Stay on Hwy 20 through Lathemtown and Free Home communities. You will come to a small town square with a light, but just before getting to it, you will see on your right the Tyson factory.

At the light, turn RIGHT on Castleberry Road. The second driveway turns into the plant, go to the low brown building and park where indicated.

Directions to Tyson Poultry Plant Store via GA 400:

Take GA 400 North

Exit 15, Bald Ridge Marina Road

Turn Left

4th light, turn LEFT onto Tribble Gap Road

Go through one more light, second drive on the fight is the plant. There is a small black Tyson sign.

Birmingham Alabama Temple Schedule Changes

These changes will be implemented AFTER THIS OCTOBER GENERAL CONFERENCE:

Wednesday Endowment Sessions, effective Wednesday, 7 October, we increase our schedule to include three endowment sessions:

· 9:00 AM

· 11:00 AM

· 1:00 PM

If anyone has made Wednesday appointments for either the 10:00 AM or 12:00 PM Wednesday endowment sessions on or after 7 October please let the temple people know which session they prefer with the new schedule.

Saturday Endowment Sessions, beginning Saturday, 10 October, we increase our schedule to include four endowment sessions:

· 8:00 AM

· 10:00 AM

· 12:00 PM

· 2:00 PM

Patrons with previously scheduled Saturday reservations on or after 10 October need not make any change to their reservations, as we have simply added an additional endowment session.

BAPTISMS

We have added an additional time to schedule proxy baptism sessions at 1:00 PM on Saturday. Baptisms are scheduled through Sister Becky Crahan, Assistant to the Matron. This may be done by calling the temple, by sending an e-mail request to birmi-off@ldschurch.org or by calling Sis. Crahan directly at (205) 621-1875.

Strengthening Marriage Class

The Strengthening Marriage class will be held on Fridays from 7 to 9 pm at the stake center. It is taught by Kent and Vicki Griffith and lasts for 6 weeks. The first class will be on Sept. 11. Contact the Griffiths for more information (770-928-2567).