Looking Back to Move Forward

I've been blogging here at Green 4 God for quite a while now.  My posts have veered away from "green" issues and onto other spiritual issues as well as more secular tips for conservation.  But, it's always nice to refocus on your purpose by revisiting the past.  For instance-"Why did I start writing Green 4 God?" 

The short answer might be--Because I had to. After all, when you have ideas rolling around in your head, sometimes you have to share them or you'll explode. 

The longer answer would be something along these lines-I began writing Green 4 God because I felt that there was very little conversation in spiritual circles that had to do with caring for the environment.  Even though the faithful have always been taught to care for Creation, at some point the environmental movement sped ahead and left the faithful behind. It was time to remind the faithful that caring for the environment isn't something we do that's separate from our faith but as an extension of it.

I still feel this way.  There are far too few spiritual conversations that include our responsibility to be stewards of Creation. Perhaps that word "responsibility" is the reason why. 

I don't know about you but I have plenty of responsibilities.  The idea of taking on another is not terribly appealing; especially if it has anything to do with work or guilt.  If someone starts a statement with "We should..." or, worse still, "You should..." not only do I get defensive, I close myself off from what they have to say pretty quickly.

So what I propose is a change of attitude and better word choice.  Let's think of caring for Creation not as something we have to do in addition to our other responsibilities but as something that we already do that we might be able to do a little better. 

After all, I know very few people that frivolously waste money, time, or energy without a second thought.  Most of the people I know have families and budgets and have to make the most of everything they're given. The same idea goes for conservation-Make the most of what we're given. 

Here in Texas, we've been in a drought for several years.  Water conservation is in most everyone's minds. Very few people around here are planting flora that need a lot of water.  It just doesn't make sense.

In the summer, it gets really hot here-we're talking 100+ degrees in July and August.  This is not the time of year to bake bread and have the oven on all day.  We don't leave lights on in the house in the heat of the day if we can do without them.  After all, we have a lot of daylight around here.  There's no need to add to it on most summer afternoons.  Of course, we close the blinds during the hottest part of the day too.  It does a little to keep the heat at bay.

So, the point is-most of us are already doing things to be good stewards. So, let me be the first to say, "Good job!  Keep up the good work!" And let me also be the one to say, "Hey, have you tried the new LED lightbulbs?  They're more expensive but they last a long time and give off almost no heat!"

Blessings,
Laura

Check out my new blog: www.suburbansainthood.com where I talk about all things spiritual including my own struggles.

Still Green After All These Years

This December I will celebrate my 4th anniversary here at Green for God. (Time does fly.  I've actually seen it flying by my window at times.  Really.)  And even though my topics have diverged from my original focus (stewardship of creation), I still like to find new ways to be a good steward and share those ways with you.

So here's the latest green step we've taken as a family-We bought an electric lawn mower!!!!

My 11 year old mowing the lawn for the first time!
 

Note:  In true form of being a good steward of creation and of our treasure, we've been waiting for our previous mower to die for several years now.  My husband has patched and repaired, bolted and oiled but finally, it was time to say goodbye to "Ole Gassy".  (No.  I'm not referring to my husband.  We're talking about the gas mower here.  Focus people!)

So, we have ventured into the world of electric mowers.  To make it easy on you, dear readers, I will present my review of our electric mower in Pro/Con format.  You're welcome.

Pros-

• No stinky gas smell in the garage and yard.
• No emissions to contaminate the air.
• Quieter motor means less noise pollution and irritation.  PLUS, I can actually converse a bit with my husband/son while they mow.  (Wait.  That may a "Con" for them....)
• My husband says he doesn't feel as bad after mowing now.  He supposes that this is due to the fact that he not sucking mower fumes while he mows.
• It's MUCH easier to start than an old-style mower.  Literally just the press of a button.

Cons-

• The mower is much heavier than the gas version so it takes more muscle to mow the yard.  There is a self-propelled feature that helps a lot but it does drain the battery more quickly.  Of course, if you're looking for some exercise, this might just do the trick!
• The cutting path is narrower than our old mower which means it takes more passes to cover the whole yard.
• The battery does lose it's charge fairly quickly (see note above regarding the self-propelled feature) but our yard is fairly small so it works for us just fine.

Overall, we're very happy with the new mower and would buy it again if we needed to.  Only time will tell about the durability.  I'm sure I'll give you updates as time passes since that's kind of what I do...

Many (Green) Blessings,
Laura

Noah, Creation, and Fr. Barron

Recently I've been listening to a CD compilation of several of Fr. Robert Barron's Word on Fire homilies.  I always enjoy listening to Fr. Barron.  He manages to convey deep concepts in a very interesting, and often fun, way.  Needless to say, his brainpower far outstrips my own but, because of his great speaking skills, I can actually understand most of his deep theological and philosophical points.

So, there I was driving down the street listening to Fr. B give a homily on the story of Noah and the Great Flood when I was struck by something interesting.  Father pointed out the specific wording of a portion of that reading that I hadn't ever noticed or thought about before.  "God said to Noah and his sons with him: 'See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark.'" (Genesis 9:8-10)  Excuse me?!?  Did that just say that God made a covenant with animals?  Yep.  Turns out God's covenant is not just with mankind.  It's also with animal kind.  Did you know that?  I didn't.

I don't know about you but, to me, this is a significant point.  The idea that God entered into a covenantal relationship with Man is amazing on it's own.  But, the fact that God values all living creatures so much that he entered into a covenant with them really gives me pause.  If I didn't think taking care of Creation was important before, I certainly do now.  It underlines the Church's teachings about the value of Creation as well as our responsibility to care for it. 

As you may know, a covenant is far different from a contract.  When two people form a contractual relationship, the contract only remains intact if both parties uphold their part of the bargain.  But a covenant is different.  Because a covenant is based on a relationship, if one of the parties doesn't keep the covenant, the other party is still obligated to fulfill it.  This is true of our covenant with God, it's especially true in the covenant of marriage, and now we see it's true of our covenant with Creation.

So, instead of asking, "Am I taking care of the environment?", the question now becomes, "Am I remaining in covenant with God and all living creatures?"

Blessings,
Laura