Are pesticides harmful?

The short and resounding answer is, YES! When you have your lawn treated you are paying to poison yourself, your family, and the environment. How silly! 

Now I know that grass may look better perfectly green but is looks more important than health? No! When asked that question I’m sure almost everyone would answer no. 

Are there alternatives to pesticides? Yes! The most simple solution is to just not treat your lawn. How bad will it look if it’s not perfectly green and dandelion free? Not very bad if you keep it trimmed. Plus the trade offs are scary. So why not just let your lawn be in its natural state, one that’s good for our health, and the animals and plants too. 

Another option is to create a no mow lawn. There are some beautiful options of landscaping that will take your breath away, plus no mowing, and good for you and the planet. Sign me up! Here are some ideas to get you started: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ideas/lawn-less-yard-solutions

How does faith come into play here? Well, like I said in my first blog post “Soil and Sacrament” God’s first commandment to is is to care for creation. God gave us creation, the animals and plants, not to use to our advantage, but to care for. Yes, there is a certain order to things with humans being the most intelligent obviously and set apart from animals and plants. But just because we’re smarter doesn’t mean we should “bully” animals and the environment and take advantage. In fact, the opposite is true. Because we’re smarter we have the responsibility to care for those things. God charges us with this great responsibility.

Here’s a neat article from the permaculture institute about “God on laws”: http://permaculturenews.org/2010/10/08/god-on-lawns/

Please take the time to consider your responsibility to God’s creation, and your family because these decisions affect everyone. We are not perfect and it’s hard to live in a growing world with all the technologies, many of which have negative environmental impacts. 

But because it’s overwhelming does that mean we give up? No, God is calling us to not give up. He entrusted us to care for each other and the earth and He gave us that awesome responsibility and it’s up to us to respond to it. One person, one family cannot do it all but does that mean we should “throw in the towel”, and just say it’s not worth it? Not at all! Every little part you can do DOES make a difference! 

From going pesticide free in your lawn, to buying organic and local when you can, to shopping at farmers markets, and thinking about the materials you buy when you purchase items such as clothes, toys and cleaning products just to name a few making natural material choices when you can, to perhaps choosing to drive less or buying a hybrid vehicle. All these little things add up, I promise they do! 

And by doing them you can inspire, and motivate others to change. Will you be the change in your family and among your friends? Inspire others around you to do the same. It’s a beautiful world we live in; let’s help each other keep it that way. 

For more information on how pesticides are harmful: http://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/green-science/the_dangers_of_pesticides

Brief post

The intention with my blog was to have a space to share how God has been an instrument of healing in my life, and more in depth insight from that healing and how that impacts how I see the world through His eyes.

FB, on the contrary, is a space where I go to stay connected to family and friends in this busy world we live in. Our relationships, as we know, enrich our lives, those around us and our community when we are intentional about giving them our time and energy.

So that you can connect with my blog and my writings, I will share a link to my blog, if I can ever figure out how to do it! and you can follow my writings at my blog site. Thanks for taking the time to read my writings, and I hope you find them hopeful, relevant, and inspiring!

Modesty

Today I’d like to share with you about modesty. Modesty is about the way we present ourselves and the way we dress. We are called to be dignified (def. having or showing a composed or serious manner that is worthy of respect) and the key word here is respect. If you watch this video you’ll notice that although the feminist thinks their eliciting respect through their actions they are in fact eliciting the opposite response from others.

It seems to me that the secular or “mainstream” world thinks that the Church teaches that women should be submissive and that there is no freedom there. But, in fact, that is not true and the fact is that the teachings of the Church give women enourmous dignity and respect (see Pope John Paul’s teachings, http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/controversy/feminism/pope-john-paul-ii-s-teaching-on-women.html).

The Orthodox, Catholic, and some Protastant Churches hold these teachings, which are strikingly different from the secular or “mainstream” world. The secular world teaches that beauty and sexuality are a priority, so it is a very shallow and unfulfilling teaching. The Church teaches that you are much much more than what you look like, and that you are a beautiful child of Christ that should be cherished and respected.

The secular world teaches that sex outside of marriage is somehow “liberating” and that there is a “freedom” in it. But having sex outside of marriage is often misguided, misdirected, shallow, and can often leave you a single parent having to provide and care for your kids on your own or worse feeling pressured to choose abortion which is a horrible decision to have to make and live with.

Sex within marriage is beautiful, and chaste and pure. If you wait until marriage you know that your love for each other is founded in Christ and not just the physical expression of love. Love making is beautiful but that is only part of love between a husband and wife and our intimacy. We are making love whenever we show our spouse kindness, whenever we are unselfish, whenever we listen to them, or whenever we do any act of service out of love for them.

I urge those who are caught up in the secular worlds ideas of what beauty and relationships should look like to talk to a family member or friend who is Christian and are a member of a Church who teaches the virtues I have wrote about. Find out more from them and the Church about your worth as a child of God and I know you will see God’s promises and how amazing they are. That shot term attention and pleasure and the consequences of following that path will not bring us the dignity that God wants for us. He loves us more than anyone, even more than our parents or spouse can love us, and His love is perfect and He wants what is best for us. And that is found in the Church teachings of modesty, protection of virtue, honor, respect, love in marriage, honoring and respecting your body, and using it to fulfill God’s beautiful plan for His glory.

Additional resources: Theology of the Body explained. A great start to understanding the gifts God has given you and the meaning of the human body and sexuality. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=ZSTpAgAAQBAJ&source=productsearch&utm_source=HA_Desktop_US&utm_medium=SEM&utm_campaign=PLA&pcampaignid=MKTAD0930BO1&gl=US&gclid=COHH_uyey84CFfRTMgodqf0K-Q&gclsrc=ds

A Parent’s Guide: Theology of the Body for Teens. http://www.christianbook.com/theology-middle-school-edition-parent-guide/brian-butler/9781935940074/pd/940071?dv=c&en=google&event=SHOP&kw=books-0-20%7C940071&p=1179710&gclid=CjwKEAjwudW9BRDcrd30kovf8GkSJAB3hTxFHZDM9ChiWnFPXB9mjzWTF4ToRM_AtVU3sizYSj75pxoCZiHw_wcB

A new book, featured on Focus on the Family Daily Broadcasts, “… where mother-daughter team, Chris Shook and Megan Shook Alpha, want to help. In Beauty Begins, they explore the origins of beauty (which doesn’t start with a fashion magazine) and challenge each of us to trade the pressure of perfection for God’s perfect love.” https://www.amazon.com/Beauty-Begins-Making-Peace-Reflection/dp/1601427298

For more on Dressing with Dignity: Colleen Hammond has a book on the topic. https://www.amazon.com/Dressing-Dignity-Colleen-Hammond/dp/0895558009

And she also has an awesome FB page that you can join to get ideas for dressing modestly while still looking your best! https://www.facebook.com/groups/DressingWithDignity/

More “About” my blog

Instead of putting this on my “About” page, which I think I’ll still add it to later, I thought I’d just make it a blog post since its kind of under the radar all the way back in my “About” page and wanted to share this before continuing my writing 😀

Faith comes first in my life; my relationship with Christ God. God calls us to care for His creation and I am passionate about being a good steward. I am also passionate about writing about things that move me, and things that move me and others closer towards a relationship with Christ God; closer to that freedom that can come from following Him, and His teachings which we find in the Bible, and in the rituals at Church. So, my blog will consist of mainly three types of post; personal faith, environmental stewardship, or where they intersect.

What About Laundry Detergent?

If you would like to help care for God’s creation there are many little things that you can do, and they all add up. The little things really do make a difference. There’s no one better place to begin than another, but today I have chosen to start with laundry detergent.

I will continue to interweave little tips like these throughout my more substantial blog posts, and I hope you find them informative and useful.

Laundry detergent negatively effects the environment: “Sodium triphosphate and trisodium phosphate can make their way into the water and interfere with sea life development.  ^[10] In fact, phosphates that make their way into the water can increase the growth of toxin-producing algae which can kill plants, fish, dolphins, and other sea creatures.”

Laundry detergent negatively effects our health: “Researchers have found that detergents can disrupt endocrine function and interfere with hormone balance. ^[4]”

So what can we do? Switch laundry detergents. Compared to the name brand Tide, the Seventh Generation brand, which is plant-based (see: http://www.seventhgeneration.com/products) does not have all those harmful chemicals and is only $1 more per bottle at Target. See them at target.com here: http://www.target.com/p/seventh-generation-natural-liquid-laundry-detergent-blue-eucalyptus-and-lavender-100-oz/-/A-13221027?lnk=rec|pdpipadh1|related_prods_vv|pdpipadh1|13221027|2 AND http://www.target.com/p/tide-clean-breeze-high-efficiency-liquid-laundry-detergent-100-oz/-/A-13918062.

Now I know you might be saying $1 adds up, but isn’t $1 worth helping the planet and future generations, not to mention keeping you and your family healthy.

I look at it this way; we are all called to give, right? Well this is one way of giving that you can definitely feel good about. You can consider your extra $1 a month for laundry detergent or $12 a year a charitable thing to do.

Another way to save is by using less detergent. Studies have been done that show most people use almost twice as much detergent as they need to. And with the exceptionally clean water we have in Duluth you can use even less.  “If you put too much detergent into the wash, residue will remain on your clothes. This residue is what leads to skin irritation, rashes, endocrine disruption, and possible respiratory distress. ^[14]” 

I usually go to line 1 with small loads, line 2 with medium loads and line 3 with larger loads, never do I use a full cup of laundry. Worried about not smelling fresh? Well, unless its a natural, fragrance is actually toxic (more on that anther time), and most people will smell just fine with clean clothes and bodies and do not need to add fragrance, which is usually very overpowering.