So-Called Christian

Warning: LONG POST!

Let me start by saying first that I love Jesus. I am also not perfect. For one reason or another I have never been able to stay on track with reading my bible. I think the best I have done was to read regularly for 10 minutes a day for maybe a week or two. I have always enjoyed the time I spent reading the bible, but I am just not great at being regular. I think the problems usually stem from me being wrapped up in other things. See, I love reading. I devour books like I devour food. I am so obsessive when I read books that when there are important things to be done I must FORCE myself to not read. The only way I got through college was by banning books for pleasure unless it was on a break.

Well.. In church the other day God spoke to me and basically pointed out this discrepancy.. I will read read read fiction and non-fiction books alike, yet I still have not read the greatest book ever written. He charged me to not read another book until I have finished the entire bible. Sounds big, huh? Well... It probably will be huge. I began my challenge this week. I did some math and realized that if I read 30 pages a day I can finish in in 2 months. Well, that sounds pretty do-able. I am anxious to continue reading the Wheel of Time series that I began a few weeks ago.. so.... I have to get on it!

So far I have truly been loving reading my bible! It is amazing how much I have missed out on.. I never went to church regularly when I was little so I really don't know many of the "typical children's bible stories". I know it sounds insane, but there have been times while reading that I have been shown so much action, drama, and humor I almost couldn't believe I was reading the bible. It's supposed to be dry and dull, right? Now, don't get me wrong, I have read a few of the books before, and loved them, but this is wholly different!

Today was a struggle... I can't find my bible. Anywhere. I looked all over. I am faced with the fact that I am going on vacation for 11 days and I will need a book.. OCRAP. So.... I went to the library and checked one out. Yep. Well, I got home and realized, hey, I don't need my hard copy, there are websites with the entire bible online! So.. I've been reading for a while, and I finished Genesis today. I feel awesome! :)

I plan on keeping my blog updated with my thoughts or interesting stories that I read.. hopefully it will bless you, maybe inspire you, but it will definitely keep me accountable!

My Green Journey

I did not grow up being green! I honestly am not sure how this all started, all I remember is being disgusted by how we as Americans abuse the Earth. From a faith perspective, as a Christian I strongly believe that we were put on this earth to love God, each other, and our planet. When God created Adam he told him to tend the earth and care of all the animals on it. When you take a look at the earth today it's obvious we are not doing our job.

The ice caps are shrinking, animals are dying in a mass extinction the likes of which we haven't seen since the end of the dinosaurs, we are dealing with the biggest oil spill in history, we throw so much away that children in cities like the bronx are afflicted with asthma which is caused by the massive amounts of garbage that is incinerated almost in their own backyards. You tell me if we are being good stewards.

Yes, you can get angry and point fingers, you can say laws need to change (and they d0), but the most important actions lie with the individual. Nothing will change if we don't make it change. Put your money where your mouth is! Now, I understand that this is a HUMONGOUS change to make, it took me a long time to get where I am now.. But you can do it. You MUST do it! This is yet another reason I am beginning my consulting work; besides Americans destroying their bodies with unhealthy lifestyles, we are destroying our planet. I want to help people make the transition to a sustainable lifestyle. For ideas, here are some things my family is doing right now:

1. For a family of four, we fill one small trash can per week (no liner, they impede things from breaking down), one recyclable size-d bag of recycling a week, and we compost our food scraps.

2. Cloth diapers

3. Hang our laundry to dry

4. Garden

5. Eat locally and in season

6. Purchasing sustainably - this incorporates used as well as eco-friendly companies

7. No air conditioning unless ABSOLUTELY necessary, which is usually for long enough to cool down the upstairs so my boys can nap.

8. Cut down on water and electricity usage

9. Eliminated all harsh cleaning/beauty products and use only natural products.

10. Houseplants to clean and filter the air inside

11. Driving much much less

12. Walking to the grocery store and places that are close for entertainment

13. My husband drives a scooter instead of a car when it's nice out. We own one car and one scooter

14. Talk it up to try and get others involved!

15. No disposable paper products. (For the gross factor we do have a roll of TP for our guests, and I am using organic products for that one week a month..)

16. Make things from scratch so you don't need to buy more.

These are the short list of things my family is doing to be green.. If you want help "going green", let me know! I'll give you a free consultation and will help you transition to a green lifestyle. :)

The Family Garden

This is my first year with a vegetable garden. We are attempting to garden organically (surprise!) and are learning so much! We have faced HUGE problems with a gigantic slug infestation. We have tried all the old tricks, (beer in pie tins, etc) to no avail. Yesterday I went to check on the garden and when I looked underneath one of my lettuce plants I was stunned to find dozens of slugs. It was the same story under each lettuce plant. After consulting with my grandma, I decided that the best move for my whole garden is to cut out all of my lettuce and try to save the rest of my garden from these invasive pests. I shook each plant out and slugs were falling out like rain. GROSS! Nate and I spent 20 minutes at the sink pulling off good leaves and rinsing them off, which led to the finding of at least 2 dozen more slugs before the night was done. *sigh* However, the rest of my garden looks very good and I'm hoping I'll be able to eradicate these villains!