The Light of Christ - Our Responsibility

Matthew 5: 14-16

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Christ has given us the sacred responsibility to let our light - the Light of Christ within us - shine to others. We do that by striving to be like Him. When we serve others, we are serving our Father in heaven, and we glorify Him. It is our responsibility to help others, lift others when they are down, teach others, share goodness and the light we have within us with others. 

We also have the responsibility to be humble enough to receive, because that is how we help others share their light.

What's A Nauga Farm?

My Google email is naugafarm@gmail.com. (You're welcome to email me.) I've had many people ask me where I came up with that, or what is a Nauga farm? I think the story is worth sharing in case anyone is needing a chuckle today.

Many years ago, when I was in college in Idaho, I had an interesting conversation with a California girl. She was very nice. Now, in spite of the fact that she was blond, from California, and used phrases like "gag me with a fork", I do not have any prejudice against anyone who fits any of those descriptions! As we visited, she asked me where I was from. I told her "Montana".

She said "Wow! Really? Then you're Canadian, huh?" She seemed pretty excited at the prospect of meeting a real live foreigner. I said "no" and explained where Montana was, and that it was next to Canada, so she wouldn't feel like she was too far off. She asked if we had electricity, had to ride horses to get around, and a few other things like that. I answered all her questions until her curiosity was satisfied. She just kind of looked at me, like she was processing the whole thing, and then said "Well... what do you guys DO there? I mean like, what does your dad do for a living?"

I couldn't resist. I said "He raises Naugas."

She asked "What's a Nauga?"

I said "Do you know what Naugahyde is?"

"Oh ya! That leather stuff they cover chairs and things with!"

"Exactly! Well, he raises Naugas and sells their hides."

She was satisfied, and that was the end of the conversation.

(The photo of the "nauga" above, is a Google image."

Light - One More Idea (Addendum!)

Another great idea for either long or short-term alternative lighting is outdoor solar lights. For those of you who didn't see the comment left by "Kristy", she mentioned using those after Hurricane Ike. If you are lucky enough to have sun during the day, charge them up and then bring them indoors at night. I had intended to include that option and then forgot about it, so thank you Kristy for the insightful comment!

I don't have any experience with outdoor solar lights. I'm wondering if they need direct sunlight, or if they'll charge even on a cloudy day. Does anyone know? I'd love some comments if you have experience or knowledge about that.

And look at all the options! With ambiance like this, I think they would be a very soothing alternative during a crisis. Maybe I'll start using them - crisis or not! And save a lot of money on electric bills at the same time.

Light - When The Power Goes Out - Part 2

A flashlight just isn't going to cut it if you are without power for a week, or a month, or indefinitely. You will need some long-burning lamps or lanterns, and they need fuel. They can use lamp oil, kerosene, other fuels, or solar powered.

Oil lamps are easy to use and inexpensive. The basic requirements are a container to hold the oil, a wick. Most of them have glass coverings around the flame and come in hundreds of designs and styles. They come in free standing, hanging or wall-mount design. You can burn almost any oil in them, including
olive oil, nut and seed oils, hemp oil, vegetable oils, fish oil, mustard oil, Castor oil... you name it. Other kinds of fuel are coal oil, white gas, and  kerosene, also known as paraffin oil. Some fuels burn cleaner than others, and give off different odors. There are a dozen or more different sizes of wicks used, depending on the lamp. We have lamps that use 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8". I keep this lamp sitting on top of a bookshelf, filled and accessible all the time. We've had to use it many times when the power was out.

Here are a few more samples of styles of oil lamps:

Pressure lamps/lanterns use a "mantel" instead of a wick. The fuel is pressurized, usually by you pumping a lever. These give off a much brighter light than a wick lamp. I'm not going to go into detail here about how they work. When you shop for lanterns or lamps, you can learn the details specific to whatever you buy. We have a Coleman lantern and an Aladdin lamp, like the ones in the pictures.

Lamps and lanterns are usually not very expensive. Neither are the accessories for them: wicks, mantels, fuel, extra chimneys (the glass covering). Now is the time to do a little shopping, and stock up on plenty of fuel, wicks, mantels and matches.

And here is one of my little candle lamps that I didn't include in the last "Light" post.

Not-So-Wild Turkeys

There's a large flock of wild turkeys in our part of the woods, but you wouldn't know they were wild. The neighbors have turkeys of their own, and the two flocks have become good acquaintances. Mainly because she throws feed out for her turkeys, chickens and peacocks, and the wild turkeys come and help themselves.

It's fun to watch them in the Spring when they gather in our yard, pecking for tidbits in the grass. The males strut around like they're really something, and the females don't give them the slightest satisfaction of noticing them. It's hard to get very close, but here are a few shots I took recently of our emergency food storage - Uh, I mean wild turkeys! It's only through-the-window quality, but I hope you enjoy them.

 

 It's interesting how their heads turn blue and their "snood" comes out to hang over their beaks. Yes, that is it's official name!

 

 

  The feathers are absolutely beautiful in the sun!

Jesus Christ is Our True Light

John 8:12

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Isaiah 60: 19-20

The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

Light - When the Power Goes Out - Part 1

Most of us have probably been without electricity at some time. We live in a rural area and it goes out fairly often, sometimes for several hours. A storm can take it out, a tree across a power line, or construction down the road. Short term outages are pretty easy to plan for, but we may be faced one day with long term outages, or no more power at all. There are a number of alternatives to electric lighting. In this first part, I'll talk about the more short-term options.

Most alternative lighting options require a fire or flame, so you should plan ahead well for adequate ventilation and a safe place to have it. More home fires are caused by improper usage of fires used for light, than from any other reason. Especially if you have children, extra caution should be taken to make sure everything is safe. It would be a shame to have a small crisis turn into a major disaster. But there are some short-term options that don't include flame.

Cyalume Sticks
Cyalume sticks are the safest form of indoor lighting available. They are not affected by wind or water and make no sparks or flames. Most people have probably seen the novelty version that kids wear around their necks or arms. They're usually available at carnivals or other festivities, but they also come in larger sticks of various lengths that are about 1/2 inch around. They are used for night-time "flares" or road markers, signals for emergency rescue, markers for objects or workers on night-time construction projects, or any other number of things. I spend some of my summers as a wild-land firefighter, and Cyalume sticks are often used in the fire camps at night. They can be bought at sporting good stores for about $2 each. They may also be carried in variety stores that have a camping section. They are a plastic stick that is safe enough for a baby to play with. They give off a soft glow, not a bright light, and come in different colors like red, yellow, blue and others. We keep some in our emergency "72-hour" kits.

To activate them, you bend the stick until the glass tube inside breaks, then shake it a little to mix the chemicals. They come in different durations, like 3-hour, 6-hour and 12-hour. Cyalume is the only form of light that is completely safe inside a home when there may be a gas leak, like after an earthquake. Flipping on a light switch, or even a flashlight, could run the risk of sparking the gas. 

Flashlights

Everyone probably has flashlights. They are excellent to have for most types of emergencies, except where there may be a natural gas leak. If you have to use a flashlight in that circumstance, go outside of the home or building to turn it on (or off), and then go back inside.

The three main problems with using a flashlight are:  1) they give light to a very small area. You can only see where the beam of light is directed and the rest of the room is still dark.  2) the batteries run down fairly quickly. If you have it on constantly, a flashlight may only last through one night, and  3) batteries don't store well for extended time periods. They last longer if you have a cool place to keep them, and they are in an airtight container. I've heard of some people storing them in the fridge. Alkaline batteries are intended to stay good for 3 to 5 years, but if stored well, can keep a lot longer. Lithium batteries will store for about twice as long as alkaline batteries - 10 or more years.

Be sure to use krypton or halogen bulbs in your flashlights, because they last much longer than the regular bulbs and give off several times more light on the same energy consumption. You should keep a few extra bulbs on hand also.

You can also buy hand-crank flashlights, or the kind with the lever on the handle that you squeeze to create the power yourself, and get a workout at the same time! Or you can buy solar powered flashlights. Charge them during the day and use them at night.

         


Candles - Wax

I think every home should have a large supply of candles. If you have a safe place to burn them, they give off a good amount of light in a room, and a little heat to boot. I store all kinds. The long taper candles are not my favorite because they burn down faster when they are thin, and they drip, which usually wastes a lot of wax. If you get taper candles, make sure they are a very good quality, slow burning, non-drip type. Most emergency preparedness stores sell "Pink Ladies". They are about 6 inches long and burn slow and long with little or no dripping.

I usually burn the candles in a jar, or votives that you put in a glass votive container. When they melt, the melted wax just stays in the container and every bit of it is consumed. The tall Advent candles in glass that you can get in the grocery store are great! They burn for several days. Votives can burn for about 15 hours and the little Tea Light candles for about 8. They will burn for more or less time depending on the quality of the wax. Paraffin candles are cheap and both melt and burn fast. Tallow candles burn brighter, longer, and are fairly smoke-free compared to wax candles. I've also started to burn some soy candles and really like them. White or light colored candles give out a brighter light than dark candles. To increase the light, you can set the candle to the side of a room and put aluminum foil or some other reflector behind it, or set it in from of a mirror.

Just be EXTRA careful because of the fire danger of an open flame, especially if you have small children. Making sure you have safe broad-based candle holders, candle lanterns, or a glass covering, will alleviate much of the danger of having it knocked over or something touching it. I've set them in a glass jar to burn and that works well.

Candles - Oil
I have several oil candles. They are usually a decorative glass container that you fill with lamp oil and has a wick in it. They burn a very long time. Most emergency stores have "100-Hour" candles. It is a container that holds about 1 cup of oil or liquid paraffin with a wick in it, and they only cost four or five dollars each.

You can make your own oil candles by pouring salad oil in a dish with a paper wick. Trench Candles are a very cheap way to stock up on candles if you want to take the time to make some of your own. You only need a small amount of wax. Here are the steps to make them:

1. Stack 6 to 10 newspapers together. Place a narrow strip of cloth or twisted string along one edge for the wick.
2. Roll the paper up tightly around it, leaving about 3/4" of wick sticking out each end.
3. Tie the roll tightly with string or wire about every 2 to 4 inches.
4. With a small saw, cut about 1" above each tie and pull the cut sections into cone shapes. Pull the center string or cloth in each piece toward the top so a little sticks out for the wick.
5. Melt your paraffin or wax in a simple double boiler, and soak the pieces of candle in it for about 2 minutes. (See my soap-making post for simple instructions for a double-boiler.)
6. Take them out and put on a newspaper to dry and cool.

Always keep the extra wax and ends of candles to melt down and pour in a jar for new candles. I have made many jar candles over the years out of what would have been wasted wax. Go here for how to recycle candle scraps. If you are going to make your own candles, you need to have a supply of wick, also. It's inexpensive and is found at most any craft store. Just remember to pick some up the next time it's handy.

And don't forget the matches! Matches are SO cheap. It would be a crying shame to not have matches in an emergency when they are so easy to get now. Think ahead and be prepared! Grab a few boxes of wooden matches each time you stop at Walmart. If you can find the "strike anywhere" matches - get them. They seem to be harder to find but could be a real life-saver in an emergency.

In part 2, I'll explain the different types of kerosene, oil and propane lamps and lanterns that you can get, and show you the ones I use.