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Spiritual Goal: Incorporate the words of modern prophets into your everyday life. In this modern day of easy communication, conference talks are easily accessible on computers, phones, and other devices as well as old-fashioned CDs. While working in the kitchen, listen to a conference talk a week. Choose one talk each week to listen to over and again, while doing chores. Not only will your spirit be fed, but, suddenly, those chores won't seem like drudgery anymore. Plus, you will get very familiar with the calming voices of our leaders. At the end of each week, write your thoughts on that talk in your journal. "Embedded in the gospel of Jesus Christ there are eternal principles and truths...members of the Lord's true Church, have special access and insight into these eternal principles and truths, especially when we listen to the Spirit for individual guidance and hear the prophet's voice as he declares the will of God to the members of the Church. You and I both know how important these eternal principles and truths are in our lives." L. Tom Perry, October, 2009
Emotional Goal: Read and study President Bednar's talk, And Nothing Shall Offend Them. Whenever you catch yourself feeling offended or being offensive, STOP IT! Choose charity. Give the benefit of a doubt. Love your neighbor. "As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we have been blessed with the gift of moral agency, the capacity for independent action and choice. Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon, To believe that someone or something can make us fee offended, angry, hurt or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation." David A. Bednar, October 2006
Physical Goal: Continue with daily exercise and all the other ideas we've explored over the last year. If you haven't yet begun, go back to the December 2011 newsletter and begin today. "Nutritious meals, regular exercise, and appropriate sleep are necessary for a strong body, just as consistent scripture study and prayer strengthen the mind and spirit." Thomas S. Monson, October 2008
Financial Goal: Hopefully, you have been working on each goal over the last 13 months. If not go back to the December 2011 newsletter and begin today. If so go back to the December 2011 newsletter and review through the goals of the last 13 months. Where is your debt? Are you about to hit a financial cliff? It's never too late to begin improving your financial situation; begin today. "Because Satan uses greed and the pursuit of possessions to sweep families off the celestial highway, Jesus advised, "Beware of covetousness. "Covetousness is restrained as we project our income, pay an honest tithe and generous fast offering, budget needed expenses, avoid unnecessary debt, save for future needs, and become temporally self-reliant. God's promise to us is, 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Anthony D. Perkins, October 2012
Storage Goal: If you have not yet begun to store food or are just beginning, go back to the December 2011 newsletter and begin today. If you have been working right along with the goals or even if you haven't done anything yet, try your hand at live cultured vegetables, the original super food and sweet craving tamer. Have you heard of probiotics? They are an expensive vitamin like thing, which are so easy to create in your own kitchen. Think of the health you will build and the money you won't spend. Cultured raw vegetables (aka kraut) are full of probiotics plus inexpensive, easy, delicious, and fun to make; not to mention they preserve the natural enzymes, minerals, and vitamins (particularly vit C and calcium) of living vegetables for the benefit of the consumer. Cabbage, even organic cabbage, is always inexpensive at the store if you don't have any stored in your basement or root cellar from your own garden. You will need 1 or 2 purple or green cabbages (purple cultured cabbage is a beautiful color), sea salt (not iodized table salt), a knife or food processor, a baby food jar filled with water or stones, and wide mouth quart jars. Thinly slice cabbage (save 2-3 outer leaves) into a large non-metal bowl. Sprinkle 1 T. salt over and set aside for ten minutes. Meanwhile, excluding the reserved leaves, blend the core and scraps with a bit of distilled water and toss with cabbage in bowl. With a potato masher, gently squish veggies until very juicy. Pack into jar(s). Roll reserved leaves into a log and push this into the jar to allow juice to totally cover cabbage. Top with baby food jar to further compact shredded vegetables below. Put jar(s) into a glass baking pan, cover with cheese cloth, and set on top of the refrigerator or other warmish place for three to seven days (check sooner in warm weather). Carefully, pull out a tiny bit of cabbage. Does it taste krauty and to your liking? If yes, cap and put in fridge minus baby food jar. If not leave it out for a couple more days and test again. Cooling stops fermentation; refrigerate when as mellow or sharp as you like. Cultured vegetables keep for a very long time in the fridge or root cellar; that is if you can keep yourself from gobbling them all up. Modern heat processing kills all enzymes and probiotics. Botulism will not grown in cultured vegetables but may in sealed, heat processed ones. At our house we like cultured vegetables so much and use them in such varied ways, I can't keep them in the house. Eat a bit daily to improve digestion, increase immunity, and fight the flu if you are already sick. Culturing can be done with vegetables of all kinds and has been for thousands of years in every part of the world. Some cultures add spices and hot peppers to their traditional cultured vegetables; think Korean kim chi or caraway kraut, yummy. They are such a big part of history that Hypocrites wrote about the healing benefits cultured vegetables back in the time of the ancient Greeks. They also fed the builders of the Great Wall during the Ming Dynasty. "Relief Society stands for self-reliance. The best food storage is not in welfare grain elevators but in sealed cans and bottles in the homes of our people. What a gratifying thing it is to see cans of wheat and rice and beans under the beds or in the pantries of women who have taken welfare responsibility into their own hands." Gordon B. Hinckley, October 2006
Emergency Kit Goal: Check sizes of children's clothing in kits. Change things out if need be. Also, winter gear is on sale now. Fill out your kits or buy extra for storage.
Pantry Box: Check to make sure your inventory is topped off. Add a couple fun things for emotional support in an emergency.
Provident Living Goal: Learn to enjoy many different vegetables and fruits. While it is true that Latter-Day Saint women should grow as much of their family's diet as possible, we can learn to eat a variety of interesting things and perhaps discover new favorites to grow in our gardens. Did you know pie pumpkins are not only for pie? They are wonderful grated on salads, pureed for soups, and look exactly like grated cheddar cheese on top of a Mexican tostada salad. God put herbs of the field and fruits of the vine on this earth to increase the health of His earthly children. Let's learn to know and love many of these gifts; who knows they just might save your life. Many of the following ingredients can be grown indoors during winter or stored fresh from our gardens in the basement, refrigerator, or root cellar to increase the nutrition of your diet.
