eating healthy isn't just about you.

     Eating Healthy is better for the environment, which means it's better for other people. Well, I suppose that depends on your definition of eating healthy. I'm not talking about switching to a diet of frozen "healthy dinners" and overly packaged, chemical laden food bars and other not-so-good-for-you diet foods. I'm talking about the classic healthy whole foods diet. A diet composed primarily of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains. We all know that a vegetarian diet is better for the environment and a vegan diet perhaps even better still. Eating all things as locally produced as possible is very important for a healthy planet as well as purchasing organically grown foods. 

     Why does all of this matter? Well, there's about a million reasons, really, but just think about it for a minute... fresh fruits and vegetables are not processed, therefore you skip all that extra waste that would be produced during the processing and extra transport (and hopefully you skip plastic packaging this way, unless you're addicted to Trader Joe's, like me... sigh). Eating foods as close to their natural state as possible is better for you and means using less heat. we all know that cooking uses energy, right? when you eat a whole foods diet, that means that when you do cook, you cook from scratch.  Cooking this way ensures that you skip all of those chemical additives and preservatives and extra packaging, which is so much better for you and the environment. These are just a few of the obvious reasons why our food choices matter.  

     Some of these issues are debatable, I suppose.  Some would say that the only important thing is to eat locally, sustainably produced organic food, while some would say eating raw food is most important to maintain personal health. I won't get into those debates.  Overall, I'm just trying to say that any change we make that is a step toward a diet of whole foods that are minimally processed and cooked is a step toward healthier people and a healthier planet.  So, if you're currently eating meat at every meal, consider trying to cut it back to just dinner, or just try a vegetarian meal once this week, or just cut back on red meat.  If you've never gone to the farmer's market, go as soon as it opens this year (which was this last weekend if you live in Bellingham!) and check it out and/or consider joining a local CSA.  I'm not suggesting we all change everything about our diets and shopping habits overnight.  I'm just suggesting that we remain mindful in our eating and remember that what we choose to purchase and put in our bodies doesn't just affect our own health, but also the health of the planet and all of us who live here.  So, take a baby step or two along with me because I'm on this journey to better, more mindful eating and shopping habits as well.  I'm nowhere near where I'd like to be.  Currently, I'm hoping that buying in bulk will help me shrink the grocery tabs and the contents of my garbage can!  Now I just need to re-train myself to buy dried beans instead of canned (apparently most cans contain BPA, ick. Why is plastic everywhere?) 

Here's some further reading:

• A great, thought-provoking post on reconsidering your diet here.
• 100-Mile Diet
• Top 10 Reasons to Support Organic in the 21st Century
• Working conditions in American Slaughter Houses
  
• An article on the effects of cooking meat here: cooking meat dirties the air more than most people realize 
  
• Evidence Shows that Our Meat-Based Diet is Bad for the Environment, Aggravates Global Hunger, Brutalizes Animals and Compromises our Health

photo courtesy of ismon on flickr

Favorite

I just wanted to post this link. This particular post is an older post that I bookmarked a long time ago because I just totally resonated with everything she said, so I thought I would post it here in case you might enjoy it too.

Perfection

I've been thinking about perfection, grace and holiness.  Sometimes the more I read, the more I feel burdened about the things I do and think that need to change.  This is a good thing, to a certain extent, but perfection of action has never been the point.  Aiming for perfection brings guilt, discouragement and crankiness.  So you see, we need Grace.  We have unending grace in Jesus.  Grace that empowers us to change, enables us to change and makes us want to.  Without it, there is no point.  I would turn into one of those bitter people who preaches your ear off and makes you feel like dirt if you disagree with them or don't practice what they preach. That's not who i want to be. That isn't who i am. That isn't grace or holiness.
The point of the things I've written about on this blog is grace and compassion.  Grace with others, grace with yourself, grace because of and in Jesus.  I want to me motivated by love and proceed in it.  Therefore, I hope you will never hear that kind of condescension or preaching from me. more importantly, i pray you won't find it in my heart. It's not there now, since I'm more consumed by thoughts of my inadequacy than anything, but these issues are two sides of the same coin.   Neither one is love, grace or holiness. I'm learning how important it is to just take the next step and not take my eyes off of Christ. That's what I'm aiming for: to become more like Him, not to attain my own sense of perfection. so, I suppose can stop feeling inadequate now :) Grace.

Another Plastic Evil

I just watched this video and read this great post about how plastic is recycled.  I really found it shocking, but after a moment's thought, I wasn't really shocked at all.  Of course our recycling is getting shipped off to China and creating toxic fumes.  Ugh.  Of course it is.  Every convenience we have here in the western world is at someone's expense it seems. (This video is about the UK, but i have read elsewhere that this certainly is happening in the US.) 

Cutting back the plastic completely seems nearly impossible for me, but here are some ideas:

- Buy things in bulk or just simply the option with less packaging. (bring your own container to the bulk bin!)
- Choose salad dressing, sauces, spices, juice and anything else in glass.
- Choose concentrated detergents, powdered detergent or you could try making your own!
- Bring reusable bags to the store of course!
- Bring your own mug for coffee. disposable coffee cups have a plastic lining and usually a plastic lid.
- Let your fruit roll around in the cart rather than in a plastic bag.
- Bring used or reusable bags for produce and bulk items.
- Stop drinking bottled water and bottled soda (bottled water apparently isn't any better for you than tap!)
- Bring your own plates and cutlery when you are going somewhere that will have disposables: potluck, picnic, etc. (most paper plates are lined with plastic)

- Choose bar soap instead of liquid.
- Choose reusable whenever possible!

Check out these great blogs by people who are trying to reduce their plastic consumption:

• Fake Plastic Fish
  
• Life Less Plastic
  
• Living Plastic Free
  

gratitude

I've been thinking about it.  It's easy to be negative when times are hard.  We've had some difficult things to face in the past few months, but even before that I had noticed a need for more gratitude in my life.  I tend to approach life with a positive attitude (most of the time, certainly NOT all of the time), but this issue of gratitude is something a little different. Instead of thinking that everything will turn out alright, I really need to be grateful for and excited about the things in life that deserve it. I've heard of gratitude journals, but that always seemed very Oprah to me, not something I was going to do, but I've found myself in my regular journal listing things about life that I'm grateful for because I've been needing to.  When I look over the last season of my life, I have to admit that I need it.  Gratitude.  There are so many things in my life that are so wonderful and I get so caught up in the day to day things that disappoint. and you know, I really don't want to.  I want to learn to be uplifting, not in the cheesy sense, in the real sense that I am realizing that everything works out to something beautiful, even if it doesn't start that way. because I think it does.  I feel like the culmination of my life will be something beautiful and I don't want to get lost in the every day negativities, but rather be so grateful and content with what I have and hopeful for who I'm becoming.  In spite of the mess that it all seems to be at one time or another, life is beautiful.

Living the Dream

When I was younger, nothing held back my imagination or my spirit as I thought of what I wanted my life to be like as an adult.  My thoughts were full of faith and resolve.  These dreams and ambitions never encompassed what you might think - like going to a certain college or having the perfect new home with the picket fence and the hired help mowing the lawn.  No, I dreamed of unconventional things.  I thought about living a life of faith; not being tied down by the pressures of materialism and success as our culture defines it, but believing for more.  I thought about making an impact on the world.  I wanted to be willing to give up everything and follow God.  Not necessarily by moving to some third world country, but by living the way it seemed Jesus had.  I was inspired as I read and saw what Jesus really seemed to be about, rather than what my impression was from church growing up.  I wanted to be like him.
but somehow in the years since getting married, getting pregnant and having Elena, the pressures of conventional America set in.  I found myself thinking that if we were really on the right track, we would have the little SUV and the house that we had remodeled with the perfect nursery.  I would have a degree in teaching or something and be taking a break to have 3 babies in secession.  This is what I felt America expected of me and there was a certain part of me that bought in to the lie that if I were really successful, this is what I would be doing and be about. Though I must say, some of these thoughts were my pregnancy talking, there was another problem for me: I hadn't seen anyone living the way that I wanted to, especially no one with a family.  Just before we moved here I started to get glimpses of a couple of families living in a way that I could admire: giving their lives away instead of living for themselves.  Then when we moved, I was blown away - I think I found a church full of them.  Though i don't know many people here incredibly well yet, I can tell you that the people we're staying with have almost single-handedly started to restore my faith in that old dream from years ago. and the dream is this:

I want to be defined by love.  I want to live a life that is about being generous, hospitable, open, simple.  A life marked by giving rather than taking, by believing instead of just being, and changing and learning instead of staying the same. Living in a way that people know they can come to me if they need something, and I'll be there.  I want to learn how to have grace with people - grace in a way that brings people a casserole when a family member is sick. grace in a way that thinks of other people first. I want to live like i can change things in myself and in the world, like who I am matters more than what I do for a living. I want to focus my goals on these things, rather than attaining material possessions and a certain social status, giving in in my spirit to the pressures I perceive as coming from other people.  It might sound crazy, but I really began to wonder if it was possible to live this way.  It seems very few people do. I felt like most people I saw were fairly caught up with material possessions, acquiring more time and money to do and have as they desired, as though all their life that's all they ever wanted: to live "comfortably".

but, these people I'm talking about - the ones we've been staying with - they are giving their lives away. they are sick and they don't really let on. their kids talk to them often and openly. they opened their house to us, let us stay here for almost a month and made us feel completely at home. they share meals with us, ask us what we think about things and haven't once asked us what degrees we have or how many kids we're going to have or when we're going to buy a house. they are constantly giving. they make us popcorn and rent us movies. we didn't even know them when we moved in. they have been through and are going through so much, but you would never know it. nothing seems to bother them as they are so easy going and gracious. they give all the time and they seem happy doing it. they care about their community. they make me think. it gives me hope that I'm not just being idealistic. living the way i dreamed is possible.

Beginning Again

it's a pretty crazy thing we're doing - we moved here without brian having a job and without a place to live - just a place to stay and a friendly face to pick elena and i up from the airport. so, in the midst of this craziness, fortunately we have still been able to enjoy the beauty that encompasses this city. i can't stop talking about the weather. it's so amazing to experience a true fall: complete with the changing colors of the leaves, sweater-worthy temperatures and soup and hot tea in the afternoon. in california we would still be wearing our shorts and tank tops and praying for cooler weather that would arrive mid-november. i am so thankful to not be in that state and also for all of the small joys we have experienced since we arrived here. i am so excited about church. i haven't felt excited about church in a long time. it is so refreshing. i feel like this place fits me or i fit it, whatever. we are staying in a house around the corner from beautiful whatcom lake and whatcom falls. we took elena there and she quacked at the ducks. ducks are her favorite. "duck" is her official first word. coffee tastes wonderful every place i have ordered it. mmm... what could be better? elena is right at the age where she is taking everything in. i can almost see the wheels turning in her little mind. she has started pointing. it's so cute. all the parks here are clean and in beautiful areas. we took her to fairhaven park and she got on her first park swing. she is doing and seeing so many things she can hardly sleep. literally. oh and have i mentioned the focus on sustainability here? amazing. go to a restaraunt downtown and they are liable to offer something local, vegetarian, free-range, organic blah blah blah... it's so GREAT! i actually ordered breakfast last weekend that was vegan!!! this is so shocking to me as there is nothing like this where i come from. every store abounds with signs speaking of local, natural type things. i can't get enough. we went to the farmer's market today - more local organic goodness all around. YES! (and the garbage cans in this town are smaller than the recycling bins!) So, while i am absolutely loving this time we've had - i can't wait until we are planted here. beginning again by uprooting ourselves is going to be good for us. i know it. but, it's going to be hard. i miss friends... i will always miss them, even after we meet people here. no one can take the place of certain people in my life. that is surely the hardest thing about moving. still, i am glad for a new beginning. i am happy to know that i will be raising my daughter in a culture like this, a community like this, a church like this. so, while people think we are crazy, i know, we are also making something happen that we otherwise would have regretted later in life. we are beginning again, taking a risk and daring to believe that life can be different. and it is good, i think.

Getting Along

Recent events in my life have caused me to think about friendship, peacemaking, pride, forgiveness and the relationship between them all. I want to be a peace-maker, a friend, one who loves, lets things slide and isn't so caught up in pride (or self-consciousness - which is really the same thing) as to not be outgoing. i don't ever want to say to myself - i could never be friends with him/her and act like people aren't good enough for me. i've never been perfect at this and let's face it - some people will be near and dear to your heart and some will stay more distant. but, i don't want to find myself screening people out of my life or crossing them off my list or making people feel awkward (i.e. we can't invite lauren because she doesn't like so-and-so). i want to love, to use my language and my mind in a way that makes people feel secure, not insecure. this is not my greatest strength, but rather a hope. i think the holy spirit will get me there in time. i know that God desires for me to love the way he does and is more than happy to oblige. that's what i want most out of life - to learn to love. to be thoughtful, patient, fogiving, humble. a laundry list of things i am not, but want to be. And maybe if some of us really learned to love - especially when difficult - it would cause restitution rather than division on a larger scale. And we could all have a chance at getting along. peace.

Veg

A few months ago, when i was really beginning to do research on more things i could do to lead a more eco-friendly lifestyle, i kept stumbling upon eating less meat and/or going vegetarian/vegan as one of the top ways you could lessen your impact on the environment. I found this really intriguing. I really didn't understand what the connection was. so, i began doing what all curious people do - i google searched. then, i checked this book out from the library: Diet for a New America by John Robbins. i haven't eaten meat or drank milk in about 3 months. all this research has completely revolutionized the way that i think about food, health and consumerism. so, i just couldn't help but share some of this little journey with you. Colin over at No Impact Man (one of my most favorite blogs) just wrote about the connection between eating less meat and helping the environment. Here are some of the facts he cited from a recent report from the UN :
- 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock (more than from transportation).
- 70 percent of previously forested land in the Amazon was cleared to pasture cattle.
- Two-thirds (64 percent) of anthropogenic ammonia emissions, which contribute significantly to acid rain and acidification of ecosystems, come from cattle.
- The livestock sector accounts for over 8 percent of global human water use, while 64 percent of the world’s population will live in water-stressed areas by 2025.
- The world’s largest source of water pollution is believed to be the livestock sector.
- In the United States, livestock are responsible for a third of the loads of nitrogen and phosphorus into freshwater resources.
- Livestock account for about 20 percent of the total terrestrial animal biomass, and the 30 percent of the earth’s land surface that they now pre-empt was once habitat for wildlife, in an era of unprecedented threats to biodiversity.
- These problems will only get worse as meat production is expected to double by 2050.
So, i always thought that vegetarianism and veganism was for animal rights activists, which i could respect but not totally relate to. (i have never been a huge fan of the animal kingdom, though i am more so now) i had no idea of said implications of the average meat-rich american diet on the environment, nor health for that matter. eating a vegetarian (or even better - vegan) diet greatly lessens your risk of cancer, heart disease, obesity and virtually ever other disease you can think of (especially if you are making sure you get all the nutrients you need :) it's incredible. since eliminating meat and greatly reducing dairy in my diet, i feel so much better. people keep asking me what i've been doing to lose weight and i have to tell them that it was on accident!
even if you're not up for eliminating meat from your diet altogether, just skipping red meat once a week would save the 840 gallons of fresh water it takes to produce a single serving. and don't worry about missing out on things like protein and iron. there are many plant foods that have a much higher content per calorie - like lentils, tofu and spinach. If you do choose to eat meat (and dairy) go for the local, grass-fed free-range organic types. (better yet - find a farm in your area where you know what the animals are fed how they are treated, whether or not they are given a steady diet of antibiotics and hormones, etc.)
So, to top it all off - even though i was never bothered much (not enough to change) by the thought of whatever happens to farm animals, once i did some research (and read Diet for a New America) the thought of how the animals in factory farms and slaughter houses are treated made me ill - and unable to eat meat. i don't think these conditions are what God had in mind when he made us stewards of His beautiful creation. i won't go into detail here, as i do not wish to make anyone ill, but i would encourage anyone reading this to do a little research of your own and consider altering your dietary and grocery shopping habits. After all,vegetarian is the new Prius.

Resources:
Diet for a New America
Eat to Live
www.goveg.com
The Post Punk Kitchen - Vegan Cooking

move

If you haven't heard already, we're moving!!! it's the opposite of staying, being or feeling stuck, complacent or sedentary. it means change - BIG change. we're excited and a little nervous. we feel that God is calling us to move on, to believe He will take care of us in the midst of this crazy-ness and to dare to dream that life could be different. We're moving to Bellingham, Washington. Ever since we visited the first time - almost three years ago - we've talked and dreamt of living there. from everything we know, we're really excited to become a part of a church plant there called Mosaic (not the same as the one in so cal though). we're really excited to join them and what they're about. check them out here.
other things i love and look forward to:

• the weather - it doesn't get any better than cloudy and rainy for me - doesn't depress me at all. it makes me happy!
• it's absolutely gorgeous, right on the water, green with clear skies (as far as smog goes)
• better air quality (i like this advantage for elena too)
• beautiful downtown and old-town areas. fun for walking.
• lakes in town as well as being on the bay.
• close to seattle and vancouver, b.c.
• safer. i like the idea of taking elena to parks that i know are clean and being able to let her ride her bike in the neighborhood, etc.
• bellingham has ordinances about chain stores and corporations. they have maintained more small shops and locally owned businesses - yay!
• BEAUTIFUL parks
• change - i LOVE change, even though it's hard sometimes
• new surroundings and inputs into our lives.
• walkability - they have some great trails and there are so many gorgeous places there that it just makes me want to be outside!!
• affordability - it has all these benefits and rent is cheaper than modesto!!
• farmer's market - they have a big one
• added bonus: my sister lives there!
• more liberal as a culture - i like that. i like that they are mindful of buying locally and recycling, etc.

i think it will be good for us, for our little family and for our marriage as we journey through this together. we look forward to staying with different people as we are in limbo and brian is looking for a job. although this will be challenging i'm sure, i look forward to the sense of community. i look forward to how it will change me. going through external change tends to foster internal change, ya know? although this has been something we have joked about and dreamt about, we had almost dropped it when we both felt like the lord was bringing it back up - like it was time. i know that might sound weird, but it's true - i really felt like i had let it go when all of the sudden it just seemed right. i think that is God, but i know that "God speaking" means different things to different people. anyway, both brian and i have always felt like we didn't want to stay in modesto forever or raise our family here necessarily, so if we are going to go (which we are!) it'll be good to go while elena is little and not in school or anything yet. so, anyway - let us know if you want any of our stuff (well, maybe not anything) but we are trying to sell a couch, a recliner, a tv cart, a refridgerator and possibly a king-size bed. wish us well! brian leaves on Sept. 19th with the u-haul and elena and i fly out on the 20th. oh and that amazing picture at the top is from last year's trip there. we took it while sitting at the park on the 4th of July, waiting for the fireworks to start.

Simple

Simplicity - It often denotes beauty, purity or clarity. Simple things are usually easier to explain and understand than complicated ones. Simplicity can mean freedom from hardship, effort or confusion. It's something i've been thinking about. it makes me think of contentedness, joy, holiness. it makes me think of great figures in history - gandhi, mother theresa, jesus. it makes me think of people who are/were mocked or misunderstood and labeled as hippies and radicals. and it makes me think of those who consume less and give more, who reject the myth of the american dream that says if you get more, you'll be happy and successful and accepted. but, isn't it better to give than to receive? i don't think most people actually believe that. it's just something they tell their kids when they don't get what they want. but, there's profound truth in that old adage that should shape out lives. it IS better to give than to receive. that's why those who chase after what they may receive (material possessions), die still pursuing more and are never satisfied. in the end, isn't it "the simple things" in life that last and satisfy? For me it's reading, praying, making my daughter laugh, having a cup of coffee on a saturday morning with my husband, a cloudy day or a conversation with my sister. our culture tells us to go in debt in order to have a nice car, a nice house and a nice family with nice things and to spend the rest of our lives in pursuit of more, but i want to live simply.
Simple living (or voluntary simplicity) is defined as a lifestyle in which individuals consciously choose to minimize the pursuit of wealth and consumption. some consider this (or environmentalism for that matter) to be a religion unto itself. therefore, people who already follow a religion (namely christianity) tend to shy away from it. to me this seems sad. if you read through the gospels, doesn't it seem like Jesus was completely counter-culture? he was the one who told us to follow him and take nothing with us, that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom. i think the kingdom of God is the ultimate in simple living. that doesn't make it easy. it's difficult to reconcile His words with my reality. i feel the urge to "have nice things" (like that tv we got a few months ago that i think we are now kind of regretting) in order to prove something, even if it's just to myself. i feel like having nice things proves that we're capable adults or something, which is rediculous. as i look around our house and think about packing it up in the next month, i realize that we have extra. maybe not a lot of extra compared to some people, but extra nonetheless and i want to get rid of it, give it away, live with less, take only my slice of the pie. live simply.

Some Statistics to inspire simple living:

• Half the world — nearly three billion people — live on less than two dollars a day.
• The wealthiest nation on Earth has the widest gap between rich and poor of any industrialized nation.
• 20% of the population in the developed nations, consume 86% of the world’s goods.
  Approximately 790 million people in the developing world are still chronically undernourished.
• According to UNICEF, 30,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.” That is about 210,000 children each week, or just under 11 million children under five years of age, each year.
• Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.
• Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water survive on less than $2 a day, with one in three living on less than $1 a day.
• Millions of women spending several hours a day just collecting water.
  About 0.13% of the world’s population controlled 25% of the world’s assets in 2004.
  
  photo courtesy of blogrodent on flickr

Progress

So, I've been reflecting on what exactly I have been doing well and what i haven't in my efforts to reduce my ecological footprint. when we got our electric bill this month, it had gone down $15!! and that's in spite of the fact that we started cloth diapering and are dealing with the summer heat now. Anyway, here's what i've changed:

Energy

• turn off lights when i leave the room and re-think turning them on in the first place. (like during the day or if i'm just passing through a room. i thought i was doing this before, but i don't think i was really putting much effort forth.)
• when i do use the dryer, i always clean out the lint trap.only run full loads of laundry (it uses the same amount of energy to run a full load as it does to run a small load)
• unplugged small appliances in the kitchen when not in use (coffee maker, toaster oven, food processor)
• turn off power strips for entertainment center and computer desk when not in use.
• unplug phone chargers. apparently these are big energy suckers.
• use the dryer less (sometimes i need it to shrink my stretched out clothes, but other than that i don't use it. it makes me feel old fashioned)
• turn stove/oven off before food is completely cooked (food will continue to cook for a few minutes with the heat that's already in there, and i figure it won't make the house as hot.)
• don't preheat, i never cook anything that actually needs preheating (i'm not much of a baker, i would weigh 300 lbs.)
• always put a lid on what i'm cooking on the stove. things cook much faster. the watched pot actually does boil!
• stopped watching TV during the day. (it's so nice to be free of the commercials dancing in my head.)
• use the toaster oven rather than the big one for cooking small batches of things.
• eating more raw food, buying less processed food.

Garbage

• recycling (compostables go in the green bin, recyclables in the blue bags, etc.)
• cloth diapering! i actually really like it!
• broke the paper towel habit (i no longer grab them for toast or fruit or use them for cleaning or killing bugs :)
• trying to buy things with less packaging/in bulk, but i'll be working on this more
• using my reusable shopping bags (and getting my 5 cent discount, haha)
• making some baby food myself (i need to do more of this too, now that i'm more comfortable with it)
• cloth baby wipes - i cut up an old pair of flannel pajama pants = free!
• trying to reduce disposables - especially at restaurants and such.

Emissions

• i've been walking a lot! it's been so wonderful! i walk to the carrot to pick up our CSA box, i walk to save mart, to go get coffee, to the farmers market and to the library. fun fun, but only before noon.
• i've reduced my trips to target, which is across town. i think i only went once this month, which is good for me. i'm addicted to that place.
• i often don't even take the car anywhere during the day. if i get out for a walk in the morning, it keeps me from feeling house-bound and like i need to go somewhere.
• combining trips
• buying local produce

Water

• i have successfully weaned myself from my addiction to long showers and hot baths. it's nice to have that time for other things now.
• turn off the water when i brush my teeth
• turn off the water in between dishes when rinsing.
• i'm experimenting with watering the lawn less/using dirty water on the lawn, but so far it's turning pretty brown. i need to give it some more love (and dirty water).
• stopped eating meat. i never intended to stop entirely, but it just kind of happened after reading up on it. (read Diet for a New America if you're interested) side note: i feel better since i'm eating more veggies and fresh foods and it's cheaper i think. plus, you reduce your pesticide intake and it's all around better for you, but you're free to disagree with me.

Other

• started with the all natural cleaning products - works a lot better than i thought! works great, actually
• started an experiment with washing my hair with baking soda and rinsing with apple cider vinegar. i've read that you have to do it for 2 wks before deciding to stick with it or not, so we'll see! (so far it's interesting, i'm not sure how i feel)

all in all, since it's only been a couple of months since i started paying attention, i'm pretty proud of myself. i was afraid of embarassment in a few cases, but i got over that real quick and people don't look at me as funny as i thought they would when i hand them my reusable bags. i feel like i still have a long way to go, but it's actually been quite pleasant to make these changes (as you may be able to tell from all of my comments in parentheses) which was kind of unexpected. so, i'm looking forward to hopefully having some more progress in the future. i'm excited! especially as we begin packing for the big upcoming move, i hope to downsize in some ways to make things easier. yay! for those of you who actually read this, feel free to send me more suggestions.

HOMELESS

Homeless. Resource-less, food-less, family-less. I can't imagine what it would be like. my family has had issues over the years - times when one of my parents didn't know if or how the bills would get paid - but i know nothing of what it would be like to truly be homeless. nowhere to go. unimaginable.
i've been reading this book called the irresistible revolution by shane claiborne and thinking about homelessness (it's an absolutely incredible, life-altering book that addresses a lot more issues than just homelessness). i agree with him that our tithe belongs to the poor, that we are detached as a culture and as a church from the poor and that we ignore the endless passages in the bible that insist that following Jesus entails caring for and living among the poor. we are desensitized as a culture. i have found that it has been ingrained into me to look at the homeless population as dangerous, irresponsible alcoholics who cannot be trusted with charity. that's tragic. while i certainly cannot claim that no one is homeless due to their own irresponsibility, there is a part of me that keeps asking, "who cares?" since when is charity and grace and love dependent upon worthiness? I need to let he who is without sin cast the first stone, not me.
last night brian and i rented the the pursuit of happyness. you know, that movie with will smith and his son that chronicles the true story of the struggles of a single dad. i watched it and bawled right in the middle of it (and i really don't usually cry at movies) watching that movie was the last straw in realizing how ugly my attitude and lack of action has been.
i don't want to just sit in my comfortable house with my comfortable family, watching Extreme Makeover:Home Edition, tearing up and feeling good that someone else is taking care of the struggling and homeless while i do nothing. Jesus is changing my heart and now the way i live my life is certainly in need of reform.
any ideas as to what a broke, 23 year old stay at home mom can do to give her time and love away to the homeless and underprivileged while taking care of an eight month old?

photo courtesy of steven mcdonald on flickr

Individual Action

So, i feel that there's this tension in life. it's between what you believe and how you live. some of us, or maybe most, believe that the world should be different or that we should be different from the world at least and yet our lives are quite similar to the status quo. it's because of this other tension: Does my life and my little individual actions make a difference? i don't see anyone around me (or maybe hardly anyone) living out what i believe. ---
but i've been thinking about this lately and what i hope is that as we change our individual actions (be it whatever it is that you would like to see happening in the world around you) others will see your life and maybe the reasons you live the way you do and become inspired. even if that didn't happen (which i think it would) i still think that individual actions make a difference. your life is not so small that it doesn't affect anyone or anything around you. that's why we ought to listen to the words...

"Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise, but as wise making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." -Ephesians 5:16-17

photo courtesy of Adamk0310 on flickr

Becoming Who I Am

I had an epiphany recently. You see, oftentimes i've thought things such as:
"I admire when people are [into that or like that], but i'm just not that way."
"I wish i had the courage/energy[insert virtue here]to do that."
"If only i had the time for that"
"i would like to do [this or that] someday."
and i've realized that i don't want to live that way anymore. I want to be who I am without hesitation. I want to be someone who cares about things, who loves people and who takes their life and uses it to change the world (as much as is possible). i don't want to get stuck thinging that it's not possible or probable or just "not me". what an ugly phrase "that's just who i am" or "that's just the way i am, sorry". i want to be who i am in the good sense. i want to be who i've longed to be. I want to be like jesus. i don't want to ignore that homeless person in the park, forget about people suffering overseas in third-world countries or pretend my life and my actions don't affect the world. if that makes me a vegetarian, tree-hugging, activist-hippie extremist, then so be it. oh well. i'm freeing myself up to become who i am.

Intro...

OK, So as many of you know from my recent posts on myspace - i've been attempting to reduce my ecological footprint or impact or however you want to say it. so, that's definitely part of what i intend to write about here. i'll let you all know what changes i'm making, what works and what doesn't. some things may seem small, but my hope is that it will all add up to big change and that maybe along the way i can help inspire you to try a thing or two along with me. I also hope to chronicle some other changes that i'm hoping to make in my life. i would like to be more educated and involved in social justice and political issues and perhaps pass on some knowledge in those areas. i'm also beginning to attempt to simplify my life and give more away, but more on that later. So, i hope that you'll join with me on this journey and let me know what you think.