WITHOUT PRACTICE, PLANS ARE ONLY INTENTIONS

There is a reason we say at MPS that preparedness is a journey.

Many of us are excellent in the planning phases. Others are better at executing plans. To be truly self-reliant and prepared, we must all learn to be good at both.

Both planning and practicing are equally important. You can have a stockpile of emergency supplies. A bombproof bug-out bunker. Extensive mapping of routes to and from rendezvous locations. But none of it will be of much use if you aren’t confident in actually putting these plans to use.

So, in the spirit of this week’s theme, I want to challenge each of you to go out and practice some of your preparedness planning.

Here is a list of ideas, ranging from simple to more complex:

• Practice cooking emergency food with a camp stove or open fire (no modern on-the-grid appliances)
• Practice locating, filtering and using fresh water sources in your area. You should practice cooking, drinking, eating, cleaning and bathing with the water you find.
• Do a mock “bug-out.” Practice from different locations, especially your home and work. If possible, practice traveling by foot or bike in case cars are not an option.
• Practice for specific scenarios that could occur in your area, i.e. boarding up windows to prepare for a hurricane. Or using a backup power generator for a long-term power outage.
• Practice fire-starting using a variety of methods.
• Join a local or state emergency drill, if available in your area.
• Practice alternative modes of communication in case cell service goes down, i.e. walkie-talkies, radios and more.
• Practice basic first aid or enroll in training, like CPR certifications and more.
• Practice navigation with a map and compass.
• Start gardening. Not only is this “practice” for serious long-term emergencies, it maximizes your self-reliance right now.

10 ideas to get you started. Have more ideas? We’d love it if you shared with us.

Finally, I wanted to briefly talk about the second part of the theme for this week (before I let you go practice, which is much more important).

The second part: build out your plans.

In all reality, I think FEMA is saying “take your plans from a piece of paper to reality.” That’s important, but I think a bigger point is being missed.

You should constantly be thinking about adding to your plan. One can never be over-prepared. You want a solid base to build from. But no one should fret that they can’t get prepared all in one go. That’s just not the reality for many Americans.

The preparedness journey is about doing the best we can each day and leaving the rest to God.

Finally, it’s important to remain calm. Every day is a blessing. We use good days to prepare for the worst. Then we know we can have faith that we will make it through anything.

It’s our mission at MPS to help you every step of the way – planning, practicing and building out your plans. Don’t hesitate to call 866.229.0927 to speak with one of our preparedness advisors.

Have a great weekend, friends – and happy practicing. We’d love to hear what you did to practice. Or see your pictures on our social media sites!

In Liberty,

Grant Miller,
MPS Preparedness Advisor

P.S. To learn more about self-reliance, follow MPS on Facebook or Twitter.