Welcome to a new year!

Making actual hay while the sun shines. 

This year is going to be different.  Different times mean we have to do different things.   And times are very different.   Most of you will know what I am talking about because you are experiencing it and some will be lucky and life has still been normal for you.

If you go by the news in our country then certainly everything is fine.  Our headlines are things like  (I am using todays as an example) "Model spills details over ugly divorce."  How about "Dad tackles thieves in undies."   You get the idea. 

The actual news is not mentioned, at least not that I have seen.   Now I don't generally like to get a lot of news in a day but some things are vital information with which we make important decisions and this is part of being watchful and wise.   While ignorance is bliss it truly leads to the classic case of the wise will see trouble coming and get out of the way and the foolish will walk straight into it.  

So some facts:

The World Food Programme declares the world is facing a global hunger crisis of unprecedented proportions.

The Financial Times said millions of people are marching towards starvation as food crisis worsens. 

The IEA declared the world is in the middle of a "global energy crisis of unprecedented depth and complexity."

The BBC declared the world is facing a "global energy crisis." 

UK Farming Union declared an emergency situation and looming crisis due to fertiliser, feed, fuel and energy all being much more expensive.   There are 7000 less farms in the UK since 2019.  Some countries are purposely forcing farms to close such as The Netherlands.  

The World Bank declared that high food prices have triggered a global food crisis and prices are driving millions more into extreme poverty.

FIP addresses global medicine shortages.

The UN warns of a "looming food catastrophe" caused by multiple factors including the Russia/Ukraine, upsets in the fertiliser and fuel industries and the pandemic.  

The "Cost of Living Crisis"  plus "Global food Crisis" and "Global Energy Crisis" added together mean people are not only short on food they are cold.  

Even the King spoke on Christmas Day, in his first Christmas address,  of the "cost of living crisis" people are facing and TRYING to stay warm and fed.   

I could go on ....  I didn't even get the the war and Europe being at boiling point.  Please don't take my word for it.  It any of this is news to you please research and then further research in areas that could directly be dangerous for your family ie if someone depends on a particular drug,  has special dietary needs etc.  

Sometimes we turn on the TV and watch the news and they mention none of these things.   I am convinced the more people watch TV the less they know.   Some things we saw for ourselves like in our state they closed a main power generation plant and we noticed they didn't keep it there in place for possible emergencies.... instead they BLEW it up.   It doesn't take a lot of brains when you see this happening in other states as well (from whom we depend on drawing power in a heatwave) that trouble is ahead. 

Looking back at history we know our countries have faced things like this before.   The stark difference is the response.  During the war years (and the Great Depression) most of our governments leapt into ways to help people and had campaigns to get every able bodied person to plant a garden,  help their neighbours, form clubs to raise some animals for meat.  Advice was given, every resource counted,  socks were knitted and a giant land army was formed.   The government motivated people and it worked because there became an important mission and camaraderie from working together!   It succeed!  As ships were cut off the UK and Australia we still managed to feed  people and backyard gardeners produced millions of tons of produce!   We had Dig for Victory and The Victory Garden! 

But in this crisis all we hear is crickets.   We are not being warned.  Nothing.   You can draw your own conclusions from that and perhaps where you live your government is preparing you.  SOME have such as Germany has urged each family to have ten days of food and water.   If your country has then I think that is fantastic.   Ours, to my knowledge, have not said anything.  If people can't afford to keep cool in a heatwave or if the electricity generated is insufficient (this is more our problem than freezing temperatures) then it is too bad as far as I can see.    Some evenings Andy and I have seen and heard such alarming things with our own eyes that we have turned on the TV to hear the response.   But again... nothing.   It seems there is no plan.  Worse, it appears there isn't even a plan to make a plan. 

So it is up to us.  The wise woman watches the ways of her household.  She is not afraid of the winter because she is on the ball and bringing in supplies like  several merchant ships working at once!  She is not idle!  Nope,  she is one busy woman.   Last year I discovered that we are to be shrewd.   I never properly understood the meaning of this word and thought it had negative connotations.  I was wrong!  We are to be as shrewd as a serpent, yet innocent as a dove."  (Matt 10.16)   "A shrewd person sees danger and hides himself,  but the naive keep right on going and suffer for it." (Prov 22.3) 

Knowing a few facts is not gloom and doom.  It is possible to have a firm grasp on reality and still be happy and peaceful.  I do not feel afraid.   I know what I need to do and I have been working on it for a good while.   Being prepared gives you a great sense of security and beyond what we can possibly do I trust God to help us with the rest.  I am not a person to sit on the couch all day and say well God will provide.   If you have read even five minutes of scripture you will know laziness is dimly viewed and wisdom, hard work,  watchfulness, being busy with your hands, helping the needy etc.  all don't leave a lot of time!   In fact we are to be like the ants...  they work and prepare.  I think TV and media have induced people into the most dangerous ignorant slumber.   Their reality is not real.   Being prepared ahead is one of the ways you can most help your family.   Maintaining a happy household and atmosphere away from the world is truly a great and beautiful mission.

Over the last few years we have built up a network of Bluebirds from around the world.  I count many of you as my dear friends!   We are going to join this network up for some real life on the ground reports from each country that we can cover.   Because the world is so interconnected what happens in one place affects another.   For instance if China is locked down then the manufacture of many drugs the world depends on is reduced.   Things have a domino effect.  If a couple of countries that produce a huge percentage of the worlds food are knocked out then it will affect supplies.  It is obvious we need to think globally.

So what can we do?  Hopefully anyone who has been here for a while already is working on their pantry, their alternative power sources,  ways to keep warm if the gas or power is out and so on.  Hopefully.    There is so much we can do that will make an enormous difference.  My Grand Parents and their parents went through worse.   We can learn so much from them!  So I am reviving my past series  "Save like Nana did..."   and each week we will have a new subject.  I will do my best along with my Mum who can remember loads of things my Grandparents did as well as growing up in far more frugal times.     Then as a group we can help each other as well because living in different countries we cover a lot of different climates and circumstances.   Like two heads are better than one, right!?

Tomorrow we are getting started!   We begin with "Saving Like Nana did"  and we follow with an "on the ground report" from a Bluebird in Canada.    

So roll up your sleeves, get yourself a note book and take your vitamins we are going to build a Victory Pantry,  we are going to be prudent and we are going to be shrewd.  xxx