04-22-08 - GO GREEN!!!
Genesis 1:26 - Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all
the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
This Sunday afternoon I went out with my family and some youth
from church and we walked along Cedar Avenue to do some
roadside clean-up. It was a blessing to have such a beautiful day to
take in the fresh air and spend time with family and friends. It was
not such a blessing to see how much garbage persons throw out
their windows. In my brief survey of over 200 cans I would deduce
that Lakeville drinks more lite beer than regular beer and more
Mountain Dew than Coke. McDonald s is by far the most popular
restaurant and Cub beat out CVS for pharmacy bags. When God
created the world, he created humanity in God s image. He created
us to be stewards over what he created. It was given to us as a gift
to take care of. Some persons see the environment or the world as
something to use rather than something to tend and manage. As
Christians, we don t celebrate Earth Day because of some pagan
belief that Mother Earth is alive. We celebrate it as a reminder to
care for the precious gift that God has given us.
Here are some other ideas for going green I hear my daughters talk
about:
1. Clean with Green - Try to use products made by companies like Seventh Generation - or
just wash windows with vinegar and newspaper,
scrub the tub with baking soda and water.
2. Unplug Unplug all the electronic stuff you have in the house when not in use.
3. 3 R s - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle The basic three still help a great deal. Use less and
when you do use something try to use it again.
4. Teach kids/youth about nature and farming Many of us are out of touch with basic concepts such as where our food comes
from. Take your kids to a working farm or the farm at the Children s
Museum in St. Paul
5. Buy a smaller vehicle or a hybrid We can all spend less at the pump and save fossil fuels at the same time.
6. Leave a small energy footprint Basically, think about what you need to use for power vs. what you want to use. Do you need
to play guitar hero 16 hours a day? Do you always need a radio or T.V. on for background noise?
7. Garden naturally Think about growing a few things in pots or the back yard.
8. Bring Your Own Shopping Bags Another no-brainer. As a volunteer who picked up hundreds of Cub shopping bags during road side clean-up on Cedar Avenue I am a big advocate on no more plastic.
9. Hop on your bike (or electric moped) Use people power. I love my regular bicycle and my daughter s electric assisted bicycle you see around church sometime. It goes 25 miles per hour and costs pennies to
recharge the battery.
10. Eat Less Meat - I'm not a vegetarian but I'm cutting back on my meat consumption and eating more organic produce thanks to my kids. After all, I grew up raising Angus Beef on the farm. Yet I know that most of the
deforestation in the world is caused by fields cleared for livestock grazing. Cows' methane is a huge contributor
to global warming, and the amount of resources it takes to feed one cow could grow many times more grains
and vegetables. Cutting down our consumption can make a huge impact.
We are also going green at CROSSROADS by helping start a new non-profit called THE GREEN BEANOrganic Coffee and Worship. If you would like more information about this new group that plans to open a coffee house soon contact Bekah Marzahn or Shaunna Heule They plan on starting worship services Sunday
nights beginning in June.
Have a great week! We ll see you Sunday where we ll be talking about how Jesus teaches us to walk the walk
and talk the talk.
In Christ,
Pastor Paul
