happy earth day

I happen to love April 22nd. I can't be entirely sure why, but being kind to the environment is a conviction of mine that comes from deep within. It is a tiny little insignificant detail in all the good I hope to accomplish as a christian woman... but undoubtedly I care about this great big green earth and I can't help it. So I would say, yes, I love being green.

It's not always easy being green, that's for sure. I struggle with being too poor to be green. You know what I mean- half the time recycled products cost twice as much as buying the brand new stuff. And I just can't afford solar panels. I have tried to start a compost pile, but almost a year later all I have is a pile of soggy decomposing mush. I put nearly more recycling out each week than trash, and when the truck comes I think of all the horror stories people tell me about how those recyclables get trashed anyway when all is said and done. I buy cage-free eggs and organic meat because I just hate the thought of animals being abused for no reason (I know, I know, please don't stone me for this one...) but anyway, just as quickly as I pick up my cage-free eggs I learn they can sometimes say that but not really mean it. I even reduce my carbon-footprint by walking to work! (and yes, that has everything to do with the fact that I can see "work" from my dining room window. I am no carbon hero). Not to mention, I am reminded of my inability to save a household plant... what good am I to this planet!

Nevertheless, I heart this planet and I just don't want to be part of its demise. I know this is not my home, but I am so thankful for the beauty of creation. So I just try to do little things.

For today, I thought I would share with you a cool new effort in being green. (Ah, the trendy ring that word has...) Anyway, you wonder, where can old fleeces go to die? Patagonia is collecting old fleece that somehow, in a complex melting process, turns into new clothing. You can check out how to donate your old fleece here. You've gotta pick your green battles; little things can add up.

"You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing." (Psalm 65:9-13)