Preparing Your Family for Any Situation

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Preparing Your Family for Any Situation" Focus on the Family with Jim Daly
Release Date: January 22, 2025
Host/Author: Focus on the Family
Guest: Kathy Lipp

---

Introduction and Context

In the January 22, 2025 episode of Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, hosts Jim Daly and John Fuller welcome Kathy Lipp, a renowned speaker and author, to discuss the critical topic of preparing families for any crisis, big or small. Drawing from Kathy's personal experiences and her insightful book, Ready for: Preparing Your Heart and Home for Any Crisis, Big or Small, the conversation delves into practical strategies, emotional resilience, and the spiritual dimensions of emergency preparedness.

---

Kathy Lipp's Personal Emergency Experiences

House Fire Incident

Kathy opens up about a harrowing experience with a house fire that profoundly influenced her approach to emergency preparedness.

Kathy Lipp [00:29]: "This was years ago and my husband and I live in a townhouse with our four kids, and we were both working from home that day, and somebody comes knocking on our door and is screaming, fire."

The situation escalated quickly as Kathy and her family faced the immediate danger of the fire engulfing a nearby building. Amidst the chaos, a critical moment arose when their son Jeremy went missing during the evacuation.

Kathy Lipp [03:43]: "We are literally the people who grabbed the dog and left the kid in a burning building."

This terrifying experience underscored the importance of having a well-thought-out emergency plan to prevent such heart-wrenching moments.

Travel Emergency

Kathy recounts a travel mishap that further emphasized the need for preparedness.

Kathy Lipp [04:54]: "I was flying cross country. I was going to be Speaking at a charity event... Every hotel room, every rental car, everything was gone because people who were smarter than me were making reservations in the air."

Stranded overnight at the airport without her luggage, Kathy's predicament was alleviated by the kindness and prayers of fellow believers, reinforcing her belief in community support and divine provision during crises.

Kathy Lipp [06:38]: "This woman gave me a sermon right there at the ticket counter, and she encouraged me... those agents, four agents, got together, all of them Believers and said, we're going to get you home."

---

Principles of Emergency Preparation

Importance of Planning in Advance

Kathy emphasizes that emergencies can test one's character and decision-making abilities. Planning ahead is crucial to navigate crises with wisdom rather than fear.

Kathy Lipp [08:07]: "If you get angry, you lessen the amount of tools you have. But when we approach a situation like that, believing in God's abundance... we can actually get a lot farther."

Incremental Steps to Prepare

Starting small can make the overwhelming task of preparedness manageable. Kathy suggests practical initial steps for families to begin their preparation journey.

Kathy Lipp [11:26]: "Start off very small. Could you, within the next month, get 10 gallons of water together, $101 bills and come up with a five-minute plan?"

---

Practical Tips for Families

1. Water Supply

Water is emphasized as the most precious resource during emergencies.

Kathy Lipp [24:52]: "Get your water supply. Water is your most precious resource in many, many emergencies."

2. Emergency Funds

Having cash on hand is essential, especially when electronic transactions are unavailable.

Kathy Lipp [14:30]: "Start stacking that up. Get your water supply... have $101 bills."

3. Three-Day Go Bag

A pre-packed bag with essentials can be a lifesaver during sudden evacuations.

Kathy Lipp [15:24]: "You want to have a three-day go bag. That's three days of water, food, clothes... And make sure you think about your pets too."

4. Emergency Binder

Organizing important information in a binder ensures quick access to crucial details during a crisis.

Kathy Lipp [19:06]: "I have our emergency response numbers... It's better to have it and never need it than to not have it when you need it."

5. Decluttering

A clutter-free environment allows for faster evacuation and easier access to essential items.

Kathy Lipp [21:18]: "You need to know where your stuff is... having a place for everything and everything in its place."

---

Spiritual and Community Aspects

Attitude and Faith

Maintaining a positive attitude and relying on faith can significantly impact how one handles emergencies.

Jim Daly [10:51]: "Some would put that in the faith category... having wisdom."

Taking Care of Neighbors

Preparedness extends beyond the family to the broader community, fostering a supportive network during crises.

Kathy Lipp [23:08]: "When we thought about being prepared, we thought about we wouldn't deny her our food, we wouldn't deny her our water."

She highlights the importance of mutual aid and ensuring that neighbors are also equipped to handle emergencies.

Kathy Lipp [24:31]: "Having that list ahead of time is so important... to know that you have a soft place to land on the hardest day of your life is a gift."

---

Host Experiences and Final Advice

Jim Daly shares personal anecdotes about dealing with emergencies, reinforcing the practical advice provided by Kathy.

Jim Daly [21:45]: "Gene had to do it all on her own... having that list ahead of time is so important."

John Fuller echoes the importance of dialogue and joint planning within families to avoid conflicts during high-stress situations.

John Fuller [22:22]: "Have a conversation with... make the decisions now while our adrenaline is not going off the charts."

Kathy concludes with a heartfelt message encouraging listeners to take actionable steps toward preparedness.

Kathy Lipp [25:39]: "Have the decisions now while our adrenaline is not off the charts... let us be that help to the people who need it in the emergency."

Jim Daly wraps up by urging listeners to utilize Kathy's book as a valuable resource for family preparedness.

Jim Daly [26:10]: "If you never encounter a problem like we're talking about, then that's wonderful. But if you do and you're not ready, that's a disaster."

---

Conclusion

This episode of Focus on the Family with Jim Daly serves as a comprehensive guide for families looking to prepare for unforeseen emergencies. Through Kathy Lipp's personal stories and practical advice, listeners are equipped with the knowledge and inspiration to safeguard their homes, hearts, and communities. The emphasis on incremental preparation, coupled with spiritual resilience and community support, offers a balanced approach to facing life's uncertainties with confidence and faith.

For more detailed strategies and resources, listeners are encouraged to obtain Kathy Lipp's book, Ready for: Preparing Your Heart and Home for Any Crisis, Big or Small, available through the episode notes.

Transcript

[Kathy Lipp]

Have that conversation. What's going to be most important to you? Let's make the decisions now while our adrenaline is not going off the charts, while we're not in fear for our life, let's make decisions now so that we can be able to be that help to the people who need it in the emergency.

[John Fuller]

That's Kathy Lipp, and she's our guest today on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. We're glad to have you join us. I'm John Fuller.

[Jim Daly]

John, emergencies can strike any of us at any time, and we're never promised an easy life without any worries, as hard as that is to accept. That said, I want to let our friends in California know that we are praying for you. Those fires in the Los Angeles area have been devastating, and we know you're all feeling it. We also remember our friends in North Carolina who dealt with flood damage last September. These kinds of situations are exceptionally hard since we have no control over them. How we react to these circumstances is what's important. We can either live in fear or we can live in wisdom. And we wanted to come back today to a program we recorded with our friend Kathy Lipp. And as you will hear, she dealt with a wildfire near her house, which prompted her to learn how to be ready for anything. And she captured her learnings in a book by a similar title.

[John Fuller]

This is a very timely conversation. Kathy is a popular speaker and author. She's the host of Clutter Free Academy, the podcast with Kathy Lipp. And the title of the book she wrote that is really an essential read for us in today's world is called Ready for Preparing youg Heart and Home for Any Crisis, Big or Small. Now we've got that book here at Focus on the Family. Just stop by the episode notes for all the details. And Jim, we're going to pick it up as you welcomed Kathy to the studio.

[Jim Daly]

Kathy, welcome back to Focus on the family.

[Kathy Lipp]

Always my favorite place to be.

[Jim Daly]

Now, it might be that John says you're our favor because you consistently bring bagels to eat.

[Kathy Lipp]

I'm not done.

[John Fuller]

It's a calling card, isn't it?

[Kathy Lipp]

I want people to be excited when I enter the room.

[Jim Daly]

Well, it's always fun to see you. You stated in the book something that I mentioned in the open. You had a fire coming at you, but it wasn't a wildfire. I think it was a house fire.

[Kathy Lipp]

Yes.

[Jim Daly]

With a neighbor. What went on and what got your attention in that experience?

[Kathy Lipp]

This was years ago and my husband and I live in a townhouse with our four kids, and we were both working from home that day, and somebody comes knocking on our door and is screaming, fire. And so we.

[Jim Daly]

Yeah, not a good way to start the day.

[Kathy Lipp]

A great way. So we grab the dog and head out to the grass where we're standing out there. And I look two doors down, and. And it's engulfed in flames. It was terrifying. It was just terrifying. And so we're standing out there, and we're sitting, and we're thinking. And, you know, at this point, all of our kids are in college. They're doing their own thing. But it was our son Jeremy's first day of school. And I said to Roger, there's no way that Jeremy came back from school today. Right. And he said, no, no, no. We would have heard him. And Roger's just standing there. And then suddenly, my husband goes into the burning building, and I'm like, what are you doing? And about a minute later, he comes out, and I'm like, thank God. And Jeremy is behind him.

[Jim Daly]

So he had come in late, and you guys didn't notice that?

[Kathy Lipp]

We didn't notice that he had come in. So we are literally the people who grabbed the dog and left the kid in a burning building.

[Jim Daly]

Okay.

[Kathy Lipp]

And that's not what you want to be doing in an emergency. And so, um, it was at that point we're like, yeah, we need a better plan. I. We're standing out there, all of us, in our bare feet. I have my phone, but we don't have. We don't even have a leash for the dog who's 40 pounds. You know, it's like, what do you do now? Our neighbor two doors down lost their entire house. Yeah. The one in between us, she moved in the night before.

[Jim Daly]

Oh, my goodness.

[Kathy Lipp]

We'd never even met her. So she came home, and they had to break down her door to make sure she was. There was nobody inside. So she kept going to her house and then leaving and coming back because she's like, well, that can't be my house. There's plywood over my front door. Yeah, it just. You can't think in those moments, so you have to think beforehand in order to say what happens when a crisis comes. What do I do?

[Jim Daly]

Yeah. You had a travel experience, which I loved. I mean, you laughed about it, which was good. I would hope that I could laugh about something as horrific as what you went through. But what happened and how did that add to the. For you to think about a plan.

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah. So I was flying cross country. I was going to be Speaking at a charity event, one that's pretty near and dear to my heart. And we get up in the air, and it turns out we have to land in a different airport than where we were supposed to be. And I needed to be at this charity event the next morning because I'm speaking for this group of people, and I'm not used to being on the East Coast. I don't know how to maneuver things. Well. Every hotel room, every rental car, everything was gone because people who were smarter than me were making reservations in the air. Like, I didn't know. Yeah. So I land at this airport. I end up spending the night at the airport. And I put out a call to all my friends on Facebook. It's like, okay, how can I get from Pennsylvania to Virginia? Like, how does this happen? And now if you're on the east coast, maybe you're like, oh, I could do that in my slee sleep. I'm from California. Like, we don't do trains. That's not our thing. And so somebody suggested the train. Me and a group of other people that spent the night at the airport, we formed our own party, and we. We traveled over there. We got Ubers. We get on the train, and I finally get, like, two hours of sleep while I'm on the train. By the way, I don't have any of my luggage. So the person who's picking me up for the event takes me to Target and I get together. I know you've done this.

[Jim Daly]

You've done this.

[Kathy Lipp]

Ye. At Walmart, you know, in the middle of the night. Yeah, exactly. I show up, I do the event on no sleep, and then I'm flying out the next day, and my flight's been canceled. And the person who is the agent. Agent.

[Jim Daly]

The poor recipient of all this angst.

[Kathy Lipp]

I just start cracking up. Like, I mean, what else are you going to do at this point? It's so easy to get angry about, but this is not in her control. And I just start laughing. And she says, why are you laughing? I said, I came here to speak to a church, and I told her everything. And she goes, well, that's why you're getting all this opposition, because you're a preacher. And this woman gave me a sermon right there at the ticket counter, and she encouraged me, and she says, you know what? This is going to be a story that you're going to use about God's provision for years to come. And here I am on Focus on the Family. And by the way, those agents, four agents, got together, all of them Believers and said, we're going to get you home, we're going to get you back to your husband. Now, it took about a day and a half, but I got. I was one of the few people that weekend to actually get home.

[Jim Daly]

That's so funny. I remember when I was first hired at Focus in 1989, I was on a training trip with somebody and we got to the rental car counter and they had lost the reservation. And so we're there and this colleague was very upset and kind of going at the agent talking about, you know, it being out of your control. I'm kind of quiet because I'm the newbie. Right. So I'm just listening to how this goes. And then the agent goes, oh, you work for Focus on the Family. I love that radio program. And this person's demeanor changed instantly. Oh, well, thank you for listening. Yeah. So do you happen to have a Volkswagen? I mean, it was so funny.

[Kathy Lipp]

It's so true. But you know, what, what, what are our tools in that situation? We can, if we get angry, we have, lessen the amount of tools we have. But when we approach a situation like that, believing in God's abundance, believing that, you know, if, if we pray, we show up, we're trying to serve the people who are trying to serve us, we can actually get a lot farther in these emergency situations.

[Jim Daly]

Well, I like that reminder that these are things that are out of your control and they're out of. Usually out of that service person's control, actually. And it's so much nicer to respond out of the spirit than the flesh.

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah.

[Jim Daly]

But it really, it does test your mettle.

[Kathy Lipp]

Well, and I don't know about you, but when I'm tired or hungry or hot or breathing or. Yeah, exactly. These are all things that make me not be my. But I can remember, I get to choose my attitude in the midst of it.

[Jim Daly]

Kathy, I love the fact that you do this incrementally, this awareness. So it's not just one instance like the house fire and, you know, standing out in the lawn with your 40 pound dog and wondering where your son is, but other things that contributed to this idea that you need to be prepared. So in that buildup, you also had a vacation that went awry, 16 days, which is rather nice. Yes.

[Kathy Lipp]

We were staying in Canada. Yeah, we were, we. It was my 50th birthday, we were doing a long trip and we decided we wanted to test some of our readiness. So instead of bringing our giant suitcases to be prepared for absolutely everything, we said, okay, how Little can we bring and still, you know, make this enjoyable. And the one enjoy not so enjoyable part was sitting in the hot laundromat doing our clothes because we brought so little with us. And I started to research, like, how can you do your laundry without a washing machine machine? And it the number one supplier of that information are some very scary doomsday prepper sites. And I'm like, okay, I'm not down with that. But they started to have some information about, you know, what do you do in a crisis? What do you do in an emergency? I have now found out because I live in the mountains and we lose power regularly, how to do laundry without a washing machine. I have a little tub and scrubber the old fashioned way. It's like, I'm like, you know, I need my hair in a gray bun. Exactly. But it's started to open me up to, you know, this is not an if situation, it's a win. We're all going to approach crisis in our lives. And I think a lot of people don't want to prepare because to prepare for every circumstance is overwhelming. And we'll often say, I'll trust God. But I think so much of what we see in God's word is to have wisdom. So that's the approach I want to take is how do I have wisdom in these.

[Jim Daly]

Well, I was going to mention that because, you know, it's. Some would put that in the faith category.

[Kathy Lipp]

Right.

[Jim Daly]

That, you know, modern conveniences. I'm going to. I just have faith in God that things continue to roll and I don't need extra water, I don't need things in the garage to take care of us.

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah. I would encourage you to talk to somebody who's been through a crisis.

[Jim Daly]

And the question is, for those that aren't thinking and maybe don't have the discipline, let's face up to it. It takes some thinking and some planning and some doing to do this. How does a person a not become overwhelmed at the task? And then what's enough?

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah. Okay, so let's just start off with. I have never been known as somebody who is super disciplined. Anything I've learned about organization and preparing, it's against my nature. It really is, but I see the need for it.

[Jim Daly]

So you're the decluttering person.

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah. But that came after what, 35 years of being the clutter person.

[Jim Daly]

Okay, I like that.

[Kathy Lipp]

So I'm, I'm learning. And here's the beautiful thing. With God's grace, we can change some of our character flaws. You know, this is something that we, we have the capacity to do. We can change some of our habits. And so one of the things I would say is to start off very small. So I would encourage everybody who's listening. Could you, within the next month get 10 gallons of water together, $101 bills and come up with a five minute plan? And what I mean with a five minute plan is, hey, what would we do within the first five minutes of a fire? What would we do within the first five minutes, where I live in California, of an earthquake? What's your most likely scenario? We've even had the conversation. I come from a long history. You know, my first husband lost his job pretty regularly. My dad was unemployed most of my childhood. We've had the conversation, what if Roger comes home and he's lost his job? Or what if something happens to my job? What are our first responses? Like after we pray, that's the first thing we do. What do we do about money? What do we do about our next mortgage payment? What do we do about the, you know, how do we adjust our budget? What do we cancel that we don't need anymore? It seems like a weird topic, but here's the thing. It was so freeing to have a plan that was written down.

[Jim Daly]

That's good.

[John Fuller]

This is Focus on the Family with Jim Daly and I'm John Fuller. Our guest today is Kathy Lipp, and we're talking about being ready for whatever might come our way. Kathy has captured so many great ideas about doing this in her book ready for preparing your heart and home for any crisis, big or small. Just check the episode notes for all the details to get your copy.

[Jim Daly]

Kathy, I like that. That's easy. 10 gallons of water. I think we might have that in the laundry room. It may be distilled.

[Kathy Lipp]

That's okay. You could even.

[John Fuller]

Hoity toity water.

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah.

[Jim Daly]

What'd you just say?

[John Fuller]

Distilled water.

[Jim Daly]

Special toilet water.

[John Fuller]

John. Hoity toity.

[Jim Daly]

Hoity toity water.

[Kathy Lipp]

What is that?

[John Fuller]

You pay extra for distilled water.

[Jim Daly]

Very, very fancy, very precise in emergencies.

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah. John, we don't live like.

[John Fuller]

Come on.

[Jim Daly]

But the other. The next phase, other than one now, why the $100?

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah. So it's never bad to have extra money on hand. Right?

[Jim Daly]

Right.

[Kathy Lipp]

And then also, I mean, we all have apps on our phone that hopefully we'll be able to use if we need to pay somebody for something, but in a lot of places, cash is king. And so if you need to. And this is just the start of what you're saving up you know, I want you to start with 100 eventually.

[Jim Daly]

100 ones.

[Kathy Lipp]

101S. Yeah. Because you know, somebody might not be able to make change and probably not.

[Jim Daly]

Yeah, so they can't make it now.

[Kathy Lipp]

Right, Exactly.

[Jim Daly]

I didn't know we were in emergency, but every place I go is please use exact change.

[Kathy Lipp]

Well, and also I was on a trip in Northern California where all the power went out for three days and they couldn't accept our debit card, they couldn't accept our credit card, we couldn't even pump gas. And so the cash we had on hand was really important to us.

[Jim Daly]

Yeah.

[Kathy Lipp]

So having that on hand, water is always a good thing to have on hand. And then that little plan, not toilet water. Sorry I said anything, if you need to flush a toilet, that your water becomes toilet water. Yes.

[Jim Daly]

Okay, let's move on. Okay, the three, two, three plan, which I think is a little more extensive, a little more ambitious. What is the three, two, three.

[Kathy Lipp]

So you want to have a three day go bag. So that's three days of water, food, clothes. If you need to leave your house, grab that bag.

[John Fuller]

This is in some sort of a backpack or something.

[Kathy Lipp]

Exactly. And you can keep it in your car. During like with us with high heightened fire season, we keep it in our car. So that's three days, then two weeks of being at home without being able to get outside resources. So, you know, make sure that you have two weeks worth of water for everybody in your family, two weeks worth of food, two weeks worth of everything, and then three months of financial, you know, backup.

[Jim Daly]

Let's talk about that three day bag because that one, you know that that could be a lug if you're thinking about water for. Yeah, well, that's water, food, toiletry items.

[Kathy Lipp]

And so we have a list in the book and on the website of exactly what you need. Hopefully you're leaving by car. You know, that's the hope. And so that's not going to be too much, but at least get your clothing together. You need minimal clothing, but you know, three days worth of fresh underwear is going to be good for anybody. Get some dried food in there. That's going to last for a while. And make sure you think about your pets too. Any pets that you're going to be bringing along.

[Jim Daly]

Oh, my goodness.

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah, they need their bowl, they need their leash, they need their water, they need their canned food. So yeah, it does take a little bit to think about it, but three days isn't that overwhelming when you start to get it together.

[Jim Daly]

Yeah. You know, Kathy, Experience is a great teacher. Here in Colorado Springs, we had two big fires, almost back to back, different years, but close together. I think over a thousand homes were lost in the two fires, and one was the Black Forest fire, the one that we had to evacuate. People died because they were getting their stuff.

[Kathy Lipp]

Right.

[Jim Daly]

You know, and there, you know, the irony with a fire like that is there is some time to make some decisions. And this one person went and got a U haul and started loading their furniture and everything in. And by the time they were ready to leave, the fire had really collapsed around their house. And they went to start the truck, and there was no oxygen in the air, so the engine couldn't start. And then they had to flee by foot. Another elderly couple, they died in the garage, both of them right near the car as they were loading it. So speak to the spiritual dimension of this. Nothing like that is worth your life. No. Possession is worth your life.

[Kathy Lipp]

No. This is why, you know, the bag. I want people to get that together because your medications, you know, your communications with your loved one, but nothing is worth your life. Nothing. And the idea of loading a U haul with your couch.

[Jim Daly]

Yeah. In the middle of a fire.

[Kathy Lipp]

In the middle of a fire. And let's just admit it, we make bad decisions in the midst of a crisis. And so I think it is worth praying about, is worth planning to say, what do we do in the circumstances? What are our priorities? Like, if you're going to run into a burning building for photos of your grandparents, that needs to be something that you've thought about first. You don't need to be looking for those things. And you have to realize, this is why I want people to prepare, because I want you to live without regret. You know? Do you need to scan those photos? It's a spiritual posture to say, my job is not just to protect myself, but my job is to protect my neighbor. And nothing in my house is worth either my life or my neighbor's life. So let's prioritize those and let's be the hands and feet of Christ in the midst of a crisis.

[Jim Daly]

Let's go through a couple of others. You mentioned the extra money. What about the emergency binder?

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah.

[Jim Daly]

So now we're getting into. Wow, this has really taken some time.

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah. Okay.

[Jim Daly]

But it's a good thing.

[Kathy Lipp]

But it's a good thing. Okay. So if. When I had kids, I had a binder for.

[Jim Daly]

You still have kids, by the way? They're just older.

[Kathy Lipp]

They just. I. I don't count them on my taxes anymore. Yes. Exactly. So when, when somebody would come and be at the house, like, here are the important things you need to know. And it's almost a history of like, who would you call in a crisis? And also, I don't know anybody's phone number except for my husband's. I remember when I was all on auto dial, we used to know everybody's phone number.

[John Fuller]

Who remembers these things.

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah, exactly. So I have those numbers written down. I have our emergency response numbers, all of those kind of things in that binder. You know, it's better to have it and never need it than to not have it when you need it.

[Jim Daly]

You know, one of the things Gene and I did a kind of a gray grab box that has our stuff in it. The home mortgage, the car titles, insurance.

[Kathy Lipp]

Information, those things that are so hard to replace.

[Jim Daly]

We haven't done a fireproof box, but that would be the next thing for.

[Kathy Lipp]

Us to grab and to have scans of those on the cloud.

[Jim Daly]

Yeah, that's a great idea. We haven't done that.

[Kathy Lipp]

You just slide them through and you're set. Or even just taking pictures of them will help you in a crisis.

[Jim Daly]

I want to come back to the decluttering comment because we were talking about it in kind of a different context. Why is it important to declutter in the event of an emergency? I mean, you can only imagine it's pretty self evident.

[Kathy Lipp]

Absolutely. Well, first of all, for some people, it's just the physicality of getting out of the house. I mean, really, seriously, I've dealt with clients like that. The other thing is you need to know where your stuff is. Like in an emergency, do you know where your backup medications are? Do you know where your cell phone is being. I mean, just having a place for everything and everything in its place. It sounds so kindergarten, but it's so important. And like you said, when you're grabbing things or we've had people have to go into homes to recover things. For other people to know where those items are is very, very important.

[Jim Daly]

You know, it's fascinating when you, for Gene and I, going through that experience of having to evacuate due to a wildfire. You know, I was actually coming back from a trip, so I'm coming in. Gene's been working all day because we had, you know, probably the morning we had the evac, and then we had about eight hours, I think we had to leave at 5pm was the goal. And so I showed up and, you know, it's everything you could put into a car, basically.

[Kathy Lipp]

Yes.

[Jim Daly]

And so I get there about 4:00. And I'm looking at what Jean has put in, and it was awesome that she did that. And she had to do it all on her own, which made me feel a little bad, actually. But then I started looking and I found this candle opera that was still in the box. And I pulled it out and I said, why are we putting this in there? She said, well, it just came in the mail and it's the centerpiece for the table. I said, you know, I think insurance will take care of this one. So I put it back, but it is. You have to have kind of an idea of what you want to stuff into your car when you have to go.

[Kathy Lipp]

Right?

[Jim Daly]

And that's the plan.

[Kathy Lipp]

Having that list ahead of time is so important.

[John Fuller]

And one thing I hear you both saying is talk about it with your spouse, with your family. So there's not negotiating in duress. When you're stressed out, that's not the time to start saying, but, Jim, that's an heirloom item. And I had. I mean, you don't want to have that conversation then, right?

[Kathy Lipp]

And, you know, it's fire season around our house. When the cage is out for the chickens, the cat carriers out, you know, it's like to think about those things in advance. You don't want to have to go digging through your garage to be able to find those things, you know, in a crisis.

[Jim Daly]

Kathy, one thing you suggest repeatedly throughout the book is that in being prepared ourselves, we're in a position to help others. Your neighbor, you mentioned that a couple of times already. What does that look like, practically?

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah. So when we lived in San Jose, our neighbor was somebody who, you know, is in her 80s. She's, you know, just. She lives by herself. And as we thought about being prepared, we thought about we wouldn't deny her our food, we wouldn't deny her our water, of course. So we kind of prepared for us, plus her, because we knew that, you know, that would be somebody that we would need to be taken care of. And to think about it, like, now that we live in the mountains, caring for our neighbor looks very different. We're part of the OMO Ranch Fire Safety Council, and we meet once a month, and people think it's overkill. But we live in Northern California, and if you've watched the news at all, you know that we are a tinderbox up there. And so we get a lot of experience, like what happens in an emergency. How do we make sure that everybody's accounted for? How do we make sure that roads are taken care of. So you need to figure out what your neighbor situation looks like and say, how do I care for my neighbor? For us, it was also exchanging keys with another couple that if they had an emergency, they could come stay at our house, no questions asked, and back to them. So we made sure that everybody had the codes and everything. To know that you have a soft place to land on the hardest day of your life is a gift.

[Jim Daly]

That's a good statement right at the end here, Kathy. Talk to the person who's listening and thinking, you know, this is really important. I haven't done a thing. I haven't thought about it. You know, modernity hasn't really alerted me that I need to think about an emergency like this. What are the simple things they should do right from the get go? A good starting place.

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah. So I would just, I would reiterate the $101bill. So every time you go the store, could you get $5 out, you know, and start stacking that up? Get your water supply. Water is your most precious resource in many, many emergencies. And then have a conversation with, you know, whether it's a husband or a wife or maybe it's your roommate or, you know, in our case, my mom, it. We're charged with her care. Have that conversation. What's going to be most important to you? Let's make the decisions now while our adrenaline is not going off the charts, while we're not in fear for our life, let's make decisions now so that we can be able to be that help to the people who need it in the emergency.

[Jim Daly]

I like that so much. And again, there's lots of spiritual application here. Taking care of your neighbor, loving your neighbor, Wisdom, wisdom, all of that. So, Kathy, this has been so great, as it always is. Remember, declutter.

[Kathy Lipp]

Yeah. Get rid of everything you don't need. For sure.

[Jim Daly]

I always cringe when you're here.

[Kathy Lipp]

Yes.

[Jim Daly]

I've got to.

[John Fuller]

You're thinking the garage, aren't you?

[Jim Daly]

Yeah, no, the garage is in pretty good shape now. It's the closet. I gotta think of my part of the closet, so. But Kathy, it's always so good to have you. Thank you so much for being with us.

[Kathy Lipp]

This message is so important to me and I'm so glad to be able to share some good starting points.

[Jim Daly]

It's kind of like going to the doctor. It's not what we want to do.

[Kathy Lipp]

Right. You know what? Can I just tell you? Every time you walk into your pantry and you, you see a little bit of food stored up, you see your emergency bag by the front door. You're going to be proud of yourself. And that's a good feeling.

[Jim Daly]

That's good. And let me turn to you, the listener. This is a resource you really need. Very practical. And again, Gene and I have lived through it. John, you and Dina have done something similar. So it may happen to you in your life where you need that emergency plan, you need that emergency kit, you need the extra dollars. There's no downside to preparing. And if you never encounter a problem like we're talking about, then that's wonderful. But if you do and you're not ready, that's a disaster. So do get a copy of Kathy's book from us right here at Focus on the Family. And when you make a gift of any amount, we'll send it to you as our way of saying thank you for joining the ministry.

[John Fuller]

Yeah. Be a part of the support team. Make programs like this possible. Resources online. We have so much for you. Donate today, a monthly pledge or a one time. Our number is 800, the letter A in the word family. Or stop by the episode notes for details. On behalf of Jim Daly and the entire team, thanks for joining us today. For FOCUS on THE Family, I'm John Fuller inviting you back as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ.

[D]

If the fights with your spouse have become unbearable, if you feel like you can't take it anymore, there's still hope. Hope Restored Marriage Intensives have helped thousands of couples like yours. Our biblically based counseling will help you find the root of your problems and face them together. Call us at 1-866-875-2915. We'll talk with you, pray with you, and help you find out which program will work best. That's 1-866-875-2915.