Springtime Greentime

I love springtime in Southern California. I think it's springtime now. Seasons are a bit more difficult to distinguish here. But the flowers are beginning to bloom. It stays light later. It's vegetable garden time. Because of my unusual schedule this year, my dad planted the entire vegetable garden at our house while my mom took double-duty with the childcare responsibilities. They watch the girls twice a week and sometimes they come to our house. I got to help only with the sprinkler system this year, and now it will be my job to tend the garden. Hope it stays alive! Springtime is also a time when appreciation for nature comes easily. On our few days away last week, Devon read Serve God Save the Planet. It's a great book about environmental stewardship. Check it out! Her reading sparked lots of conversation and excitement about how we, as a family, can make a greater effort in responding to God's call to care for the earth. The little decisions we make about stuff we buy, stuff we waste, food we eat, and how we conserve, can be worshipful decisions.

For the month of April, we're starting a new series of Wednesday night lessons for the high school group called, "April is Green: learning to be stewards of creation." We'll have Bible lessons, group activities, a video to watch called The Story of Stuff, practical things we will do together as a group and practical suggestions we can do on our own to participate God's work of taking care of the earth. I hope the series will be fun, informative, insightful, and empowering. This is the focus for each week:

Week One: Genesis 1. Introduction to why it is important for Christians to be stewards of creation.
Week Two: Psalm 24. God loves the earth.
Week Three: James 2. Believing and doing.
Week Four: Luke 18:18-25. The Freedom of Simplicity (and its environmental benefits)
Week Five: Exodus 35:2. Psalm 46:10. Worship and Reflection.

Comments

[dustin f]

Hi, my name is Dustin and I work with a Christian environmental organization called Christians in Conservation: A Rocha USA. I noticed that you mentioned the book "Serve God, Save the Planet" in your post, and I thought that you might like to know that sponsors its author, Dr. Matthew Sleeth, as a "creation care evangelist." We would love for you to check us out at our website, en.arocha.org/usa. You might also be interested in the website for Dr. Sleeth's book, www.servegodsavetheplanet.org.