If you have been busy the past six years and missed the effects of El Nino, go to any web site that discusses our changing weather. Frequently it is heard in the news, read in the paper and spread on the Internet. It has affected and will continue to affect crops, animal and human life; ocean temperatures and nearly everything formerly believed to be constant in our lives.

On September 19, 1997 over Art Bell's Coast to Coast AM radio program heard by 18 million listeners; Art, Gordon-Michael Scallion and my husband, Stan Deyo, discussed the effects El Nino forced onto our environment. It can no longer be shrugged off as a passing strange event. The weird has now become the norm and it is impacting all of our lives in a soon-to-be devastating way.

The Sun which has always been a "taken-for-granted" constant is now considered "unstable". As of 1991, it began emitting two new rays and once-rare, solar flares and CMEs are disrupting our lives with increasing frequency. New, frightening diseases are appearing and formerly controlled bacteria and viruses are reemerging only to be found drug-resistant.

Wheat , cotton and corn crops are seeing more severe droughts. Grain stores are down. Fish, frogs and microorganisms are sick and/or mutating. Places that don't need rain are pelted with too much. The Larson and Ross Ice Shelves, due to significant ocean heating, are breaking apart. Significant melting would cause massive coastal flooding and could leading to polar shifts. These are no longer "airy-fairy, what-if" scenarios nor are they products of Millennium Fever. That's over, but now terrorism is in our midst - something we hoped would remain in nightmares only. These major concerns are bearing down on us and it is up to each person to set aside provisions.

Growing up my mother always keep a stash of canned goods, packaged foods, toilet paper, disinfectant, candles, blankets, and other usable items in our crawl space. Foods were neatly lined upon makeshift shelving, rotated into meals toward expiration and replaced upon consumption. When asked why she stored things, she never really pinned it down. It might have been still vivid memories of the Great Depression or that underlying sense of unease most of us have felt for some time now. Whatever the reason, she passed on the baton of emergency preparedness.

We were blessed not to have endured the destructive forces of hurricanes, earthquakes, unemployment and civil unrest; but in Missouri, we certainly experienced power outages from tornadoes, blizzards, ice storms and flooding. Twisters ripped through Tornado Alley - often enough to make us wary of anvil-shaped clouds. On several occasions we were certainly glad Mom had squirreled away plenty of food, candles and extra blankets. I suspect these occurrences are only a whiff of what is in store for planet Earth. It does say in Scripture that hard times are coming and I think they are just around the corner.

With that cheery thought, we encourage each of you to do several things. First and foremost, have a daily chat with the Lord. He will point you in the right direction and help with the hard decisions. Times ahead will certainly be scary and it helps to know He is on your side.

Next, take positive steps to organize your household with the following pages as guidelines. These lists were researched and cross-referenced through many organizations such as FEMA; Australia's EMA; American Red Cross; USGS-NEIC; New Zealand and Canada's government prep sites plus countless other disaster preparation areas and survival specialists. We have made these suggestions simple, yet adequate to cover many situations.

And last, as Stan has addressed many times on the radio as well as on the Internet, it is important to build community within your area. Few people can be totally self-sufficient. The only way we can expect to survive really tough times is through group effort. The answer is NOT to blow your neighbor away if he has failed to prepare himself. If he is not paying attention to events around him, share this information. It costs you nothing and may save a life in the process. If anything is unclear or you have questions, please feel free to email us.