We live in the midst of an amazing creation. I am in awe of when I think of all the beauty that surrounds us. I love the deer family that comes into my yard almost every morning and every evening. My greatest earthl desire right now is to go to Alaska. I would love to hunt for some of the most amazing wildlife, but hunt with my eyes, no gun thank you very much. I was completely enthralled with the whales at Sea World. I have never seen such beauty, grace and power all wrapped up in one creature.
But we are destroying this world. I have been convicted to do as much as possible to treat this environment with care and gentleness. I'm quite certain I will never chain myself to a tree or lay down in front of a bulldozer, but there are lots of little things I can do to make a difference.
As much as I love this computer age, here are some facts: "Americans tossed out a whopping 5.5 billion pounds of electronics - TVs, stereos, cellphones, and computers - in 2005, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Only about 12.5 percent of this waste was recovered for recycling. The results? Millions of pounds of chemicals and heavy metals ended up in the ground even though it's easier than ever to recycle electronies." (From Better Homes and Gardens). Phew, 5.5 BILLION pounds???? And that's only electronies, there is a lot of other stuff being thrown out there too, I won't even start on paper and how we waste trees (case in point - The National Enquirer).
If you are like me, I didn't even know electronics could be recycled, but YES, they can. Here are some web sites to check out http://www.mygreenelectronics.org. For cell phones, go to http://www.greenphone.com. Here's one final fact: If 1 million Better Home and Garden subscribers recycled one cathode-ray tube TV this year, we'd keep 4 million pounds of lead out of the ground.
So go forth and recycle.
Monday, October 22, 2007
The Best Day of the Week
I really love Sunday. I love going to church. I love Sean's song "Make Me a Road that leads to Jesus; make me a bowl filled with living water," I love watching Kevin sing, I love how Jay makes me laugh during his messages. Most of all I love being filled with the Spirit of God and how going to church is the most perfect way to start my week.
I love NFL football. I especially love the Green Bay Packers, but I don't love how I very nearly have to hold my breath for the three hours they play because the games are so tense. It was a relief yesterday that it was their bye week.
I love that I don't have to do much of anything on Sunday. Naps are allowed. I even kind of love that the Sunday paper is all over the living room (as long as it's picked up by Monday). I love that this weekend Cody and Elizabeth were here for almost 24 hours. I love that Elizabeth and I could spend some time at the mall. Sunday is the fastest and the best day of the week. I am glad every day isn't Sunday though. I need the other days to remind me what a great day Sunday is.
I love NFL football. I especially love the Green Bay Packers, but I don't love how I very nearly have to hold my breath for the three hours they play because the games are so tense. It was a relief yesterday that it was their bye week.
I love that I don't have to do much of anything on Sunday. Naps are allowed. I even kind of love that the Sunday paper is all over the living room (as long as it's picked up by Monday). I love that this weekend Cody and Elizabeth were here for almost 24 hours. I love that Elizabeth and I could spend some time at the mall. Sunday is the fastest and the best day of the week. I am glad every day isn't Sunday though. I need the other days to remind me what a great day Sunday is.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Sometimes I Just Don't Understand
A woman I know passed away last night. She left a husband and two daughters – one in college, the other in high school. She was younger than me, never reached her 50th birthday. Cancer is such a random disease. Why does it strike this person, but not this one? Why are some healed and some leave us way too early? I have to admit it confuses me. Did God not hear the prayers to heal this woman , didn’t He understand that her husband and daughters need her yet? Here are some excerpts Dena wrote about recently from Psalm 38 and 40:
"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Do you know how its dimensions were determined and who did the surveying? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? "Who defined the boundaries of the sea as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and thick darkness? For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. I said, 'Thus far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!'
"Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? "Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you walked about and explored their depths? "Have you visited the treasuries of the snow? Have you seen where the hail is made and stored? Where is the path to the origin of light? Where is the home of the east wind?
"Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning? Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives? Who sends the rain that satisfies the parched ground and makes the tender grass spring up? "Can you hold back the movements of the stars? Are you able to restrain the Pleiades or Orion? Can you ensure the proper sequence of the seasons or guide the constellation of the Bear with her cubs across the heavens? "Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct it? Who gives intuition and instinct? Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?
"Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Have you watched as the wild deer are born? Do you know how many months they carry their young? Are you aware of the time of their delivery? They crouch down to give birth to their young and deliver their offspring. Their young grow up in the open fields, then leave their parents and never return.
"The ostrich flaps her wings grandly, but they are no match for the feathers of the stork. She lays her eggs on top of the earth, letting them be warmed in the dust.
"Have you given the horse its strength or clothed its neck with a flowing mane? Did you give it the ability to leap forward like a locust? Its majestic snorting is something to hear! It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength. "Are you the one who makes the hawk soar and spread its wings to the south? Is it at your command that the eagle rises to the heights to make its nest?
No, I don’t always understand, lots of times I just don’t get it, but my faith says God’s ways are higher than mine and I have to believe He is in control even when all we have are questions.
"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Do you know how its dimensions were determined and who did the surveying? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? "Who defined the boundaries of the sea as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and thick darkness? For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. I said, 'Thus far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!'
"Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? "Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you walked about and explored their depths? "Have you visited the treasuries of the snow? Have you seen where the hail is made and stored? Where is the path to the origin of light? Where is the home of the east wind?
"Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning? Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives? Who sends the rain that satisfies the parched ground and makes the tender grass spring up? "Can you hold back the movements of the stars? Are you able to restrain the Pleiades or Orion? Can you ensure the proper sequence of the seasons or guide the constellation of the Bear with her cubs across the heavens? "Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct it? Who gives intuition and instinct? Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?
"Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Have you watched as the wild deer are born? Do you know how many months they carry their young? Are you aware of the time of their delivery? They crouch down to give birth to their young and deliver their offspring. Their young grow up in the open fields, then leave their parents and never return.
"The ostrich flaps her wings grandly, but they are no match for the feathers of the stork. She lays her eggs on top of the earth, letting them be warmed in the dust.
"Have you given the horse its strength or clothed its neck with a flowing mane? Did you give it the ability to leap forward like a locust? Its majestic snorting is something to hear! It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength. "Are you the one who makes the hawk soar and spread its wings to the south? Is it at your command that the eagle rises to the heights to make its nest?
No, I don’t always understand, lots of times I just don’t get it, but my faith says God’s ways are higher than mine and I have to believe He is in control even when all we have are questions.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Exercise For The Right Reasons
I have two major events coming up in 2008. My eldest child is getting married and I have a high school class reunion. When women foresee a major event, what is one of the first things we think of? Yep, I need to lose weight and get into shape.
I’ve always enjoyed strapping on my ipod and going for a walk, but then my friend, Denise, called last winter and mentioned walking together. So we have been doing that, maybe once or twice a week, which according to the experts isn’t enough. The problem is, once I started walking with Denise and building our relationship, I no longer enjoy walking with just my ipod. I have my favorite songs on it, but it’s just not as much fun. I thought about joining “Anytime Fitness.” It’s just a couple miles down the road so I can easily hop in my car and drive there so I can exercise, although I am amused by the irony of driving somewhere to exercise. Anytime Fitness is rather appealing to me, not for the exercise, but I could have 30-40 minutes for guilt-free reading.
I will freely admit I do not have a 20-, 30- or even 40-year-old body, but a lot of that has to do the fact that I am not a 20-, 30- or even 40-year-old person anymore. In Women of the Word, we are working through Beth Moore’s study on “Daniel.” Babylon is an enticing place and our culture is no less a Babylon than it was in Daniel’s day. Why do I think I should lose weight? It’s not really for health reasons. I have absolutely wonderful health, I don’t bother with a flu shot, I rarely get colds. And I try very hard not to take that for granted and thank the One who gives me that. No my Babylon says I should look a certain way and I buy into that, plus don’t I want people to tell me how simply maaaahvelous I look? Those would be the true reasons for feeling the need to exercise. I keep forgetting it’s not all about me. In John Ortberg’s book “At the End of the Game It All Goes Back In The Box,” he says experts tell us that if we exercise, it will add two years to our life. But those two years are spent exercising. Could we do something else with those two years?
I’m not against exercising. I just want to do it for the right reasons. I do want to stay in good health, I want to have those couple hours with Denise each week and if we can build that relationship by walking together, that’s great. I like to be reminded though that it’s about the relationship and not the exercise. And I think I will look into joining Anytime Fitness because I really want that 30 minutes of reading time.
I’ve always enjoyed strapping on my ipod and going for a walk, but then my friend, Denise, called last winter and mentioned walking together. So we have been doing that, maybe once or twice a week, which according to the experts isn’t enough. The problem is, once I started walking with Denise and building our relationship, I no longer enjoy walking with just my ipod. I have my favorite songs on it, but it’s just not as much fun. I thought about joining “Anytime Fitness.” It’s just a couple miles down the road so I can easily hop in my car and drive there so I can exercise, although I am amused by the irony of driving somewhere to exercise. Anytime Fitness is rather appealing to me, not for the exercise, but I could have 30-40 minutes for guilt-free reading.
I will freely admit I do not have a 20-, 30- or even 40-year-old body, but a lot of that has to do the fact that I am not a 20-, 30- or even 40-year-old person anymore. In Women of the Word, we are working through Beth Moore’s study on “Daniel.” Babylon is an enticing place and our culture is no less a Babylon than it was in Daniel’s day. Why do I think I should lose weight? It’s not really for health reasons. I have absolutely wonderful health, I don’t bother with a flu shot, I rarely get colds. And I try very hard not to take that for granted and thank the One who gives me that. No my Babylon says I should look a certain way and I buy into that, plus don’t I want people to tell me how simply maaaahvelous I look? Those would be the true reasons for feeling the need to exercise. I keep forgetting it’s not all about me. In John Ortberg’s book “At the End of the Game It All Goes Back In The Box,” he says experts tell us that if we exercise, it will add two years to our life. But those two years are spent exercising. Could we do something else with those two years?
I’m not against exercising. I just want to do it for the right reasons. I do want to stay in good health, I want to have those couple hours with Denise each week and if we can build that relationship by walking together, that’s great. I like to be reminded though that it’s about the relationship and not the exercise. And I think I will look into joining Anytime Fitness because I really want that 30 minutes of reading time.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Books, Books, Books
I have always enjoyed reading. When I was younger, I read Tom Sawyer, all the "Little House" books and in 5th grade Mrs. Hager read "Caddie Woodlawn." In high school and college, torrid love stories were more my books of choice, but the one I remember most from those days was a book called "Mrs. Mike." I recently found that book at Barnes and Noble, read it again and enjoyed it just as much as I had the first time around. Carissa's favorite books are "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "A Tale of Two Cities." Ummmmmm that's not me so much, right now I tend to gravitate more to the Christian Chick Lit genre.
Recently, I have sort of rediscovered my love of reading. I never completely left it, but I had come the point where I couldn't even check out a book from the library because I couldn't finish it in the three weeks they allowed me. And because I never remembered to renew it, I was contributing to their purchase of new books with overdue fines. I love Wellspring our Christian bookstore. Dena and I started an on-line book club that we are still perfecting. But it's been fun to read a book and then see the comments from the women who are part of our club. I found another book club on line that I want to check out. When I get it all figured out, I'll put links to it on here and I also want to list books that I've read that maybe others would enjoy too.
As Dena says, "So many books, so little time." So true, so true.
Recently, I have sort of rediscovered my love of reading. I never completely left it, but I had come the point where I couldn't even check out a book from the library because I couldn't finish it in the three weeks they allowed me. And because I never remembered to renew it, I was contributing to their purchase of new books with overdue fines. I love Wellspring our Christian bookstore. Dena and I started an on-line book club that we are still perfecting. But it's been fun to read a book and then see the comments from the women who are part of our club. I found another book club on line that I want to check out. When I get it all figured out, I'll put links to it on here and I also want to list books that I've read that maybe others would enjoy too.
As Dena says, "So many books, so little time." So true, so true.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Life is Just a Game
Last week I was in Wisconsin and a lot of the news in the sports world was about Brett Favre breaking the NFL record for touchdown passes. I have liked the Green Bay Packers as long as I can remember knowing about football. During the "glory" years of the Packers in the 60's, I can remember sitting in our den with my dad watching football on our black and white TV. In the 70's and 80's, the Packers struggled. Then Brett Favre joined the team and the Packers were once again a successful team. I think I would be a Brett Favre fan even if he played for another team, but I"m glad he's on my team. I love to watch him play. He plays with joy, passion and a pure love for the game.
I'm in a game too, a game called life. God gave me X amount of days to live and He gave me the choice on how to live them. I'm reading John Ortberg's book "When The Game Is Over, It All Goes Back In The Box." He talks about how we should play this game called Life.
"You are not a pawn, a victim of circumstance beyond your control. Instead, you are responsible for your own life. No one else can take your turn. There are no designated hitters. You are not allowed to say "pass."
You have a "turn" every time you have an opportunity to choose. But most of us see only a tiny fraction of the choices we have. One of the best exercises for playing the game wisely is to be conscious of making decisions. The more you become aware of how many choices are up to you, the more eagerly you embrace your turn. You can practice this today. What will you feed your mind? What thoughts will you dwell on? Whom will you have conversations with? What will you eat? How will you spend your time? All of these are calls you will make and when you add them up, they create your life. No one else can take your turn."
It really is our choice, we can choose to live unhappy lives, being concerned only for ourselves or we can choose a life of joy, of giving, of playing this game with passion.
I'm in a game too, a game called life. God gave me X amount of days to live and He gave me the choice on how to live them. I'm reading John Ortberg's book "When The Game Is Over, It All Goes Back In The Box." He talks about how we should play this game called Life.
"You are not a pawn, a victim of circumstance beyond your control. Instead, you are responsible for your own life. No one else can take your turn. There are no designated hitters. You are not allowed to say "pass."
You have a "turn" every time you have an opportunity to choose. But most of us see only a tiny fraction of the choices we have. One of the best exercises for playing the game wisely is to be conscious of making decisions. The more you become aware of how many choices are up to you, the more eagerly you embrace your turn. You can practice this today. What will you feed your mind? What thoughts will you dwell on? Whom will you have conversations with? What will you eat? How will you spend your time? All of these are calls you will make and when you add them up, they create your life. No one else can take your turn."
It really is our choice, we can choose to live unhappy lives, being concerned only for ourselves or we can choose a life of joy, of giving, of playing this game with passion.
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