B & B Dreams

I was listening to "Generations" with Kevin Swanson this week (seriously behind in listening to my downloaded podcasts -- who has the time!?!), and he was talking about how it's very possible we're headed for another "Great Depression" that would make the Depression of 1929 look like a "Walk In The Park."  (You can find a link to listen to his broadcast from January 1 on this page.  In fact, he closes the program by reading a narrative from someone who grew up on a farm and claims that, at the time of the Great Depression, he/she didn't even know there was a depression.  Life went on as normal.

So, what implications does this have for me?  I think first of all, I need to remember that God is in control, and He will supply all my needs.  I do not need to be afraid.  At the same time, life could drastically change.  When you are already living paycheck to paycheck, and groceries at Aldi are climbing in cost, it can be stressful to contemplate the future.

Living in the "big city," there is no opportunity for us to have chickens or goats or cows or bees or anything like that.  A small garden is about all we can manage in the yard that really isn't ours.

So how can I prepare myself to meet my family's needs as the economy takes a turn for the worse and how can I also prepare us to meet other's needs?  I could argue all day that there's nothing left in the budget once we meet our basic expenses to help out anyone else.  But in reality, that trip to Arby's for dinner last Wednesday was a selfish act rather than a self-sacrificing one.  It allowed my life to run a little smoother on a busy day rather than allowed me to have some extra cash to meet my family's real needs or the needs of another.  It's obvious that cutting out the unnecessaries is a first step, but only if the money that was spent on those is used wisely.  There's not a big list of unnecessaries that use up our money, but the occasional eating out is something that definitely eats up dollars that would be better used elsewhere.  For starters, when cooking, I could simply prepare double and put one meal in the freezer.  Once I have enough meals saved up, I could put away (or meet a need with) the money I won't need to spend on groceries for that pay period or month.  Putting away extra meals like this also ensures that, should someone have a need, I can simply go to my freezer and pull out a meal for them.

What else can I do?  What does everyone feel about stockpiling?  I definitely don't want to be like the foolish man who built bigger barns.  But is it wise to store a limited amount of water, dry goods, paper goods, etc?  (The Red Cross suggests doing this for emergencies.)

What else?  We've been really decluttering lately, in preparing for having new carpet installed.  This could, in fact, serve another purpose.  The less clutter I have taking up space in my home, the more room I have for others.  We often have overnight guests, but would I be willing to make room for someone on a longer-term basis?  Decluttering would make it easier to "squeeze" someone else in.

Any other tips or thoughts on this subject?  I'd be glad to hear them.

I had a "random" thought a few hours ago -- as it relates to the church truly understanding community.  We can debate all day about whether God would cause a disaster and I'm not here to debate that.  What I am wondering is if this might be a wake-up call for the church, which has not figured out how to truly live in community as the first century church did.  Instead, we've bought into the world's materialism and succumbed to the sins of selfishness and self-centeredness.  A depression might just teach us the lessons we need to learn about meeting each other's needs.

Blessings,

Barb