Last evening, just before I was about to go to bed, I got Annie's email and then Tracy's, asking me to write about the Depression era Mothers and what they would have done in times as we are now living. I prayed about it last night and talked to Jim about it. Jim had such a spirit of God on him as he spoke to me. We have had a hard time lately ourselves. Jim said to tell the families to just stock up on canned things for the winter. And if you have fresh produce out of your gardens, "can it." Jim isn't one with words. But as he spoke, I could see that the Lord was speaking through him. And as I write this morning, I can see the wisdom in what he was saying.
Frozen food is nice to have. But you can always trust the fact that you have canned goods that won't spoil for years, in case the electricity would go out. So one thing I would do, if I were some of you with big families, is to stock up on canned vegetables, fruits, and canned evaporated milk and meats. And put this all in some sort of storage room. You can easily stack canned goods in flat boxes and store them under the beds, if you have little storage. Papa really spoke to me about this and I could tell it was more than just Jim speaking. It was as if the Lord was speaking. So I am really going to stock up on some canned things for the winter. Then I have my own canning from my garden.
Also, ya know, in the winter it's not hard to store fresh milk for the week. When the children were all home, I got about 5 gallons of milk a week. I stored it in the winter on my porch. But, ya know, you could make some sort of box to put outside to store milk in to keep it cold this winter. Just put the box up by a backdoor or up against the house. Put a heavy lid on it and make sure the sun won't shine on it. And even if the milk freezes, it will thaw out and is still just as good.
The old timers, in the winter, used to have window boxes? They opened the window and put a wooden box in the window. Like you would fit in a window air conditioner? Then the box had a door on the front. So it worked like a little refrigerator. Over the front where the door is, you could just put a curtain over it to look like the hanging curtain that is there. If at all possible, put your box on the north side of the house. My little root cellar and my only kitchen window are on the north side of my house. It's colder on that side. You wouldn't want to put your box where the sun would beat down on it during the day. You could certainly put some of your refrigerator items in there. It wouldn't work as a freezer unless it gets really cold ... like below zero. But this box would come in mighty handy for leftovers and for margarine or butter, ketchup, pickles, mustard, etc.
The main thing is that we need to know the state of our pantries. To keep a sharp eye as wise mothers on our storehouses. Deut. 28 says that we will be blessed in our storehouses if we obey the Lord.
COURAGE, MOTHERS, COURAGE
Ya know, I have lived in life and death situations and my knowledge took me through, in part? But I want to talk to you seriously about courage? You can know all the right things to do but not do them because you are scared half to death? Fear will paralyze you and make you just want to sit and do nothing. You can have the idea as to what to do ... what you need to do? But the fear will bind you and take your strength.
I mean, you could watch 24-7 TV news about death and destruction. But you had better not? Those folks are precious that report this stuff on Fox News. My heart goes out to them, as they seem so sincere and are, I think. But they are not believing the Lord? I mean, I am sure some are ... God bless them!!! And ya know, I have watched a lot of this with Jim. But ya know, I am not going to watch it that much more. I mean, I will be polite to Jim about it. But I was praying and the Lord just impressed me like this. "You have watched it enough to discern the times and the seasons our country is in, and that is enough. "
I mean, it don't take a rocket scientist to figure out that "What comes around goes around." What is effecting one state will effect the ones around it. Some of us are in for some hard times ahead. And yet, as Canaan has shown us, God's word works. There are hard times up ahead to be had, but the Lord is with us and will be mighty in our midst. We must be dutiful and faithful as homemakers. But it is He that will either make or break us.
We must put Him first and cry after His presence. His life ... His anointing is the key, let me tell ya. Fear will take you down quicker than starving to death. Get the fear out of your house. Turn the TV off and make a full pantry. Canaan said that Psalms 91 is what brought her through. I am going to write this chapter down and put portions of it on the wall in every room of the house. When I homeschooled the children, we memorized this chapter. But in times of fear, sometimes we forget what we have memorized. We need to have the promises of the Bible out where we can see the words. We need to hide the word of God in our hearts and speak it to our children.
My children would say something negative to me when they were young and I would say, "Don't confess it." And they still tease me about this and say it themselves. And yes, Mother, you may feel scared half to pieces, but don't say it. When you open your mouth and confess fear? Then demons are loosed in your house like a virus and will go to the rest of the family. And you get a family that is running on fear? And they will run right out he door to the street. No, Mothers ... don't spread fear into your house. Speak the word of God into your home and into your children. Confess openly, "I am a mother of faith and courage. I will make a home out of nothing if I must. God will help me. He won't destroy my home as I am faithful to Him. The old time mothers made it through the Depression era and if they did it, I can do it, too." And ya know, those Depression era women had so much less than what we have. I mean, in the flat prairie lands, it didn't rain for 3 years. They didn't even have a garden to take them through. The ranchers didn't have any rain to water the horses or cattle. But ya know, they all lived to tell it? And we will, too.
I told Jim a few days ago, "Ya know, Honey, folks are gonna be livin' like we have all along." Well, it didn't hurt us any. But it sure hasn't been that we have made it because of survival skills. I mean, the survival skills come as you decide to trust in the Lord. As you decide to not give up, no matter what. I mean, right now Jim and I are between a rock and a hard place. But Jim said last night, "I will find another job if I have to cook in a restaurant." And wild man would walk to work, too, if he had to. That old boy is hard to keep down and is tough as a nail. He is 65 years old ... but he is strong in spirit.
A WILDERNESS HOME
And ya know, if I was in one of those homeless camps I have seen on TV? I would just make a tent for my family. I think, with all the debris around, you could find a few poles or tree limbs and pound them into the ground. Then put a rope between them and hook blankets up around them. You could use one of those 5 gallon plastic containers for a toilet? They are easy to sit on and hopefully you could find a lid for it. Then make another clothes line on the outside of the tent to hang wet clothes. Then just take some sticks and build a makeshift fence to put around the tent. At least you would have some privacy and give the children a place to rest. A Mother can make a home wherever she is. Just tell the children you are camping out. The main thing is to give the children a place away from the other people to be quiet.
And, like Annie was saying, you could make a formula for the baby out of watered down milk. In the 1960s we used the canned milk to make a baby formula. All the mothers did this, back then, that didn't breast feed. We mixed it half water and half evaporated milk. We put a Tbs Karo syrup in one daily bottle to make sure the baby didn't get constipated. And also we started feeding our children baby cereal at 2 weeks old. Just once a day in the evening. Mix it up really fine and gooey with milk or warm wate.
Take care of the baby and keep him warm and dry and fed. Baby should be a top priority. I think the elderly would be treated first, anyway. But make sure, Mother, that your baby is cared for and the young children, especially.
But if you have a home to live in as, thank the Lord, Tracy does? Then, yes, I would stock up on canned goods. Cookies and crackers would be good to make and keep in a dry, cool place in the house. Ya know, you could make quick breads in canning jars and store that away. You just use the wide mouthed pint or quart canning jars. Bake the bread in the jar and make sure the bread doesn't go over the top. If it does, just slice it off the top. But while it is hot out of the oven, screw the canning lid and ring on ... it will seal from the heat. Store this bread in a cool, dark place. It should last for at least a year. If you open it and it isn't moldy and smells good, then it is good. If it has mold on it, then don't eat it.
Tracy, if I were you, I would just bake a bunch of goodies for the freezer. If the electricity were to go off, the baked goods would still last a while.
Now as far as buying things at the store for your family storehouse. Just buy the canned things. Then stock up on the white sugar and brown. Buy as much flour as you can store safely. Buy cornmeal for cornbread and a box of oatmeal. Then make sure that you have baking powder, baking soda, and bread yeast. Go through your spices and see if you need cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger. The spices that are outdated, I save to boil in water in the winter to keep the house smelling good and to keep the moisture in the air. Make sure you have shortening and cooking oil if you can afford it.
Buy candles on sale ... but make sure, Mother, to watch them. As you light them, put them up someplace away from the children. You can make a country candle holder like this. Just take an old jar and put one of the little candles in it. The glass reflects the light and makes it brighter. This way, the open flame is down in the jar. You could put some of your outdated spices in the jar, too.
Also buy some cocoa to make cocoa for the children. I still buy the big box of instant milk to cook with, and it makes a nice hot cocoa.
But Tracy, yes, just put your trust in the Lord and make a home in the wilderness. You know how to do it. I will be writing more on this later.
