Becoming Learners

"In addition to the spiritual self-reliance we have been discussing, there is temporal self-reliance, which includes getting a postsecondary education or vocational training, learning to work, and living within our means. By avoiding debt and saving money now, we are prepared for full-time Church service in the years to come. The purpose of both temporal and spiritual self-reliance is to get ourselves on higher ground so that we can lift others in need." - Elder Robert D. Hales -

This week I have been thinking a lot about education and the differences it can make in our lives long-term. Education is certainly a vital part of becoming self-reliant.

After I graduated from high school (barely), I married my first husband right away. I got several entry-level jobs during that time, while taking care of homemaking duties and doing the job of providing bodies for 2 little guys. I don't know that anyone ever gets married thinking about the marriage ending (through death or divorce or what-have-you), but these things happen sometimes - and sadly, more and more frequently. Due to my lack of education, once I was on my own with two little boys to support, I ended up relying heavily upon the goodness of others for the first while, then barely scraping by when I was finally able to get out on my own. I was generally making in the neighborhood of $5.50-$7.00 an hour trying to support us. Until I met and married Vance, I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't had great family support providing me with places to stay, loans, daycare help, and gifts.

Vance has an amazing job, which provides us with enough income that I am able to stay home with the kids, fantastic health benefits, wellness programs, etc. But what if something were to happen to him, rendering him unable to work? This was a question that was frequently on my mind.

Then, we read this edition of the New Era, published in April of 2009. I loved it! The articles in the publication, coupled with some intense prayer helped us to come to the conclusion that it would be in the best interest of our family's future and self-reliance for me to attend vocational school. It took nearly two years of very difficult sacrifices on the parts of every family member. But through those sacrifices I was able to obtain a skill that will not only help provide for the family in an emergency, it will help with incidental needs along the way, as well as hopefully helping us to assist our kids as they serve missions, attend college, and pay for weddings.

One of the reasons I loved the April '09 edition of the New Era was that it was so great in pointing out and stressing to youth the importance of receiving a good education, but also the fact that our education might not come in the form of a degree from a major college or university. A valuable education can be acquired from any number of places.

There are certainly many snags we might run into when seeking greater education. Time, finances, family constraints, and other issues might prohibit us from acquiring the degree or certificate we desire. There is good news, though. The fact is, we can educate ourselves in so many ways! I love this talk, "The Power of Diligent Learning," by Elder Jay E. Jensen. In it, he reminds us of a story told about a woman who felt she had never had an opportunity in life to do any learning. She was encouraged to learn more about simple things in her environment, beginning with the bricks her feet rested on, and through her efforts she was able to learn more than she had ever anticipated, thereby earning the financial means to follow many of her lifelong dreams.

We can also start in small ways. Maybe our goal is not a financial one, but a goal to gain knowledge that will benefit those we care about. Maybe you will choose to begin by learning more about the plants that grow in your surroundings: In an emergency, could they be consumed as food, or are they poisonous? Could they be used for medical purposes? Maybe you choose to learn about water purification techniques. Maybe basic, then intermediate first aid. Maybe better nutrition. Maybe child development, maybe money-saving skills like using coupons, or maybe sharpening your career skills.

The important thing is to start somewhere. Pray for guidance for a good place to start. Start setting goals towards your own increase in knowledge. Decide on something you're interested in and look for sources. Explore articles and books for free on the internet or at the library. Think outside the box. Look for sources and mentors that you may not have thought of before. Watch videos on the subject on YouTube. Just remember, it's never too late to start learning!

-Katie

Yard Sales

Matthew 14:17-21
"And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children."

I really believe that no matter what our financial circumstances, the Lord wants to bless us with the ability to meet our needs, even if this means we need to get a little creative. Sometimes, being self-reliant means finding ways to save some money, to make a little go a long way. Sometimes we are in dire financial circumstances, and other times, there might be things we need but don't want to spend a million bucks on it. And let's face it, it's much nicer to get more for your buck and either set aside the money you saved, or get two things you needed instead of just one.

For these reasons, we have always loved yard sales. Some simply don't like the idea of buying used items. Others may argue that the time and gas spent driving around to the sales would negate the money saved. But let me give you a few examples of our yard sale successes.

We have a baby on the way. It's been years since we were in the realm of infants, and had given away all of our clothing and equipment. The idea of spending jillions of dollars to start over is a little more than I can bear. We have been watching the yard sales. Recently Vance was able to find one with lots of little clothes and was able to get probably a week's worth of clothing for less than $12. We will continue to look for furniture and other needs. (Please note that it is NEVER safe to buy a car seat from a yard sale, because you never know what kind of abuse it has been through, which could render it unsafe in an accident.)

For a while our microwave has been possessed. The door will be closed, and suddenly out of nowhere it will start cooking. (Please imagine some creepy "Twilight Zone" music here.) And then the other day, it started shooting blue lightning. Time for a new microwave, but to find one with our size and wattage requirements would cost over $200. Yikes. Today Vance found just the microwave we needed and paid... $11 for it! It works great!

Every few years we take a family camping trip out of state. With our increasing family size and luggage demands, we are rapidly running out of room in our vehicle. We need one of those hard-side rooftop cargo deals. Again, these are pretty darn expensive, and we have a limited vacation budget. But Vance had his eagle eye open and found one, brand new, for $45.

We have been able to acquire a very large portion of our emergency supplies, household equipment, and even canning equipment in our yard sale escapades. I think some keys for successful yard saling are to make sure that you keep your budget in mind and make sure that you are only purchasing items that you really need. Just like any enjoyable shopping excursion, it can be easy to find a lot of stuff that would be fun but just not needed. If you have the budget for that kind of spending that's fine, but what if you have a limited budget for these purchases and you already spent your $5 on an inflatable canoe with a hole in it (just saying), when what you really needed were dishes?

Just remember, if your freaky about germs and such, most items are easy to sanitize and disinfect, and you can usually tell if they come from a home with pets or cigarette smoke (which may or may not be a turn-off for you).

I really can attest to the Lord's ability to help us stretch our dollars! He wants to bless our means and make them greater than we had thought possible. It's easy to get caught up worrying about what we can't afford, but sometimes if we re-evaluate our budget and think outside the box, He is more than willing to provide a way for us to have the thins we need, and even some of the things we want! We just need to have a little faith and imagination.

-Katie