So How Is The Weather?

It's been really hot the past few days.  I can't remember it ever being this hot this early in the summer.  Maybe it's because it's quite possible that it's never been this hot this early in the summer.  Or perhaps even as the image on weather.com below displays, it's never been this hot ever in modern history.

There are record highs being set, and meanwhile some of my family is at a wedding in Virginia which was one of the areas hit by a weather incident I've never heard of before (derecho?).  On the other side of the country, fires are burning everything.  


Ultimately, I believe many of the weather anomalies of the past decade or so have had something to do with climate change.  I will admit that for me this is a faith position, and I don't have the knowledge/training to prove things one way or another.  The thing is, I suspect no one can actually prove climate change is happening or not.  What bothers me is that until perhaps very recently it was seemingly categorically dismissed by many faith communities (and for some it still is).  I suspect this has more to do with an inherent suspicion/animosity toward science than much else.  What's further puzzling is that some of these communities have posited that people's behavior regarding other aspects of their lives have brought on natural disasters.  So a link is drawn between human behavior and calamitous weather - but only in terms of God punishing certain behaviors with disasters.


The Bible is a diverse enough collection to maintain several different positions on why bad things happen (to good or all people).  But the prevailing opinion - especially in the "Old Testament" is that we reap what we sow.  It seems by the thermometer that we're sowing hell.

Chew Your Food

Lately I have been re-reading Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food.  Pollan is an excellent writer, and his work regarding eating habits and a predominant ignorance about the source of our food has been illuminating if not, in some ways, terrifying.  

What strikes me as I read through this book a second time is the spiritual connection with food that I often ignore.  My attitude toward food is often that it is fuel.  I must eat in order to live, and so I choose to eat as quickly and often cheaply as possible.  Quite frequently, I have eaten alone.

I think some if not many of my attitudes toward food are cultural (meaning for me a North American white guy), and as the story of my faith comes from another culture, it's fascinating for me to notice Biblical accounts of eating that are so different from my normal routine.  What and how one eats in the Bible are often matters of holiness.

Recently, I have attempted to eat in a more holy fashion, and I understand this to mean more than simply "saying grace" before a meal.  I seek to eat with others and to enjoy that time of fellowship.  I also try to eat more slowly and enjoy what I'm eating as I am thankful to be eating at all.

Perhaps if we simply chew our food and savor this most basic of behaviors, we will reconnect with other basic elements of creation and thus be more inclined to live in a way that expresses thanks to the Creator.  

Screening Nature?

I love nature documentaries, and the mother of them all lately has been the Planet Earth series done by the BBC. I saw yesterday that over Earth Day weekend BBC America will be showing the series uncut. I rejoiced as I’ve been too frugal (cheap) to buy the set yet, and now I can record it.

At the same time, I am aware of the ironies or outright problems involved in connecting with nature by watching it on a screen. It’s breathtaking to watch, and yet by watching I’m choosing to be inside rather than out in the midst of the nature around me. I’m also using energy, and the production of this energy continues to be one of the top threats to the beauty of nature.

I think a “both/and” rather than an “either/or” approach to enjoying such programming would be helpful. Viewing the Planet Earth series and other programming about the beauty all around us should inspire us to spend all the more time sharing in the actual beauty while minimizing our time in front of the television. And yet, if we are going to watch something anyway (and most of us do at least some), what better programming to watch than that which inspires us to make true connections with creation and seek its care?!

Why we need to get outside

As I type, the windows of my office are open. There is a slight breeze coming through, and I can pick out about 4 or 5 calls from song birds around the office. Nearly all the trees have begun budding, and though the sky is a little overcast, it is bright enough to cast shadows. In the air, there is the smell of cut grass and spring flowers that my nose picks out now and then. It sounds pretty romantic, huh? This idea that even while I'm doing my work, I'm connected to what's outside of my office. When you hear descriptions of activity like this outside, whether it's involving blogging or picnicking it generally sounds nice. On a warm Spring Day, we talk about how much we'd rather be outside than in the office. It sounds good.

But, for many people, outside is just a transition area from one building to another. You go outside to get in your car, get out of your car, and go in for work, school, and errands. We may go outside to do yard work or fire up the grill. On the nicest days of the year, we may sit out on our porch or patio and enjoy a nice sunset with friends. We may go for a jog around the neighborhood. But, ask yourself honestly, "how much time have I spent outside this week, compared to inside?" "Is there anytime you have been outside this week, when not just in transit from one place to another?" 

Our rooms and buildings so often seem more comfortable to us, because we have so much more say-so in how they are constructed. This afternoon, when the temperature sneaks above 80, we will close our windows and turn on the air conditioner, leaving the breeze and sounds of birds outside, so that we can have an exact, predetermined temperature that suits our tastes better. We can adjust the lighting to exactly what we need. We can flip open a laptop and read about anything we want, browse pictures of friends and loved ones, and play games that only require slight movement of the fingers and eyes. We can decorate with whatever colors we want, and we can avoid interaction with most things living by simply closing the door. We can play whatever sounds we want, making up a virtual soundtrack to our lives, minute by minute. We can also be incredibly efficient if our minds do not get distracted by all these distractions we decorate our rooms with. The room seems, logically, like the obvious place to spend all your time.

So, it makes perfect sense that we spend so much of our time indoors. There are many who just don't feel that the outdoors is "their thing." If you like to go camping, fishing, hunting, hiking, or mountain climbing, you are described as outdoorsy. For those who don't participate in those activities, the outdoors could seem pretty useless. On top of that, our time outside typically is limited to associations with leisurely, "trivial" activities. You go outside to play, right? All the important stuff, goes on inside closed doors. 

From a spiritual perspective, it's just sad to me that we don't spend as much time outside (I am guilty of this too). There are so many things I find in my time outdoors that help me grow spiritually. The easy one, is you feel a connection to God through Creation. When you see the beauty in the outdoors, it makes you think of God, and that is good. We so often stop there and think that's the only spiritual possibilities in Nature. Let me also throw out, though, that the outdoors change the way we live. It is so big and huge compared to our buildings and rooms, and there are so many things going on. Life is happening all around, even in the most urban area. Processes are going on around you that you cannot control or even understand. Which really sounds more like our relationship to God: being in a walled up, finite space where we have most of the control over the conditions, decoration, and activities or an infinite space with things happening all the time in which we function as a small piece in a much larger, grander thing? 

Going outside, opens up your senses, your thoughts, and yes, sometimes your allergies. But, just about every time I go outside, I see something I did expect. I hear or learn something I was not seeking to learn. It is an environment much more conducive to an openness to what God might be trying to speak. In my room or office, I control the agenda almost completely. To encounter God, I must be incredibly focused. When I'm outside, God tends to sneak out of the unexpected places much more frequently. So, get out--whether you live a few miles from Eva, Tennessee or downtown Memphis. Whether you go out during your lunch hour or you do your daily reading out on your porch. It is important, in our lives, to challenge ourselves and not always be completely comfortable. It is easier to find challenges in the great outdoors. God is waiting to tell you more things than you can count. Don't wait. Get out there. 

Paper Plate Debate

This is on my mind today, because we had a group come in who was having lunch in one of our meeting rooms. I set up tables and chairs for them and put out plates from our cabinet for their food. I pulled these plates from the cabinet in our kitchen--the ceramicy sort of plates you probably have at your church--with the intentions of going down after the group had finished and giving them a run in the washing machine.

When I went down later to check in on the group, after their pizza arrived, I noticed that the plates I set out had been returned to the cabinet and a stack of paper plates was set out instead. Since I try really hard in daily life to avoid as many disposable items, seeing things like that happen grate on my like fingernails on chalkboards. I'm not sure if it was a co-worker or one of the participants who made the switch, but, either way, it really set off a lot of thoughts for me about paper products especially involving food.

It seems to me that paper products have probably surpassed permanent in everyone's typical meal. If you eat fast food, you're using paper. And, it seems, more and more that churches go to paper for every meal over those aforementioned plates most have in their cabinets. There are a few attitudes that seem prevalent in regards to paper vs permanent that I when I push for permanent: (1) washing dishes takes a lot of time and effort, and (2) using paper/Styrofoam plates the more noble gesture for a guest to offer the host (because it saves him/her the time and effort).

This is an issue that doesn't seem to be on very many people's radar, because it is such a common practice these days. It seems very cut and dry that just taking everything you use and throwing it away is far easier than scrubbing and drying dishes or even running the dishwasher, and it might be. But, it really isn't that much easier. In the end, there is more trash to take out, the trash has food all over it that will probably attract critters, and it costs more (and yeah, I realize that it's not much, but you could totally rent several movies for that). And, if you have a dishwasher, it's really barely more time than taking out the trash.

So, what gives? Is washing the dishes so bad, that we have to get plates that we'll use once and then send down the road to our landfill to spend decades rotting? The answer, of course, is no, but I'm being a little snarky here, I realize. It is just another one of those temptations that are really easy to give in to, because it saves a bit of work. "I know it's better to wash the dishes, than use disposables, but it has been a long day, and I'm just tired." And that just snowballs.

And, this is not asking to get rid of your car and flush your toilets with rain water. It's just putting dishes in a machine, pushing the button, and getting them out. And, even that work is something that can build community within our families, gatherings, and churches. If we would not be in such a hurry to finish and get on to the next thing; if we lingered together to clean up our messes, we might make some connections that weren't there. We might slow down enough to notice something or ponder something we would otherwise miss. And, we would take the gifts we are given and use them more respectfully. We have the time if we will make it.

So, I ask you to think about this at the next gathering where people feel that the time to clean plates and cups is just not a possibility. And, if you are every planning an event that I attend, know this: I will stay after and clean the plates if I need to, and it will not be a terrible inconvenience to me. I am willing, and I really want to--not because cleaning dishes is my favorite activity, but because this is really something we can make room for.

Are you sweating in January?

We are hitting the mid-point of winter as far as the calendar goes, and even though it's unseasonably warm this week, we're bound to see some pretty cold temps over the next few months. Last Saturday, I think the thermometer got its highest at about 7:30am, then proceeded to drop as the day went on. Yet, that evening, I was leading a discussion about 2012 summer staff at camp, when I found myself almost breaking a sweat.

The room was full of people, and we were talking about important stuff, but I didn't feel nervous. I wasn't sitting too close to anyone, and I wasn't overdressed for the weather. Why did it feel like I had just downed a shot of habanero pepper juice? I ended up stripping down to an undershirt, and I felt very relieved when I walked out the door into the winter, freezing temps. What had happened, I discovered, is that the thermostat in the room had been jacked up due to the cold outside.

Think about this for a moment and how silly it is: It's miserable cold outside, so let's make it miserable hot inside. That way, it doesn't feel good anywhere. It's like treating flaky, dry skin by rubbing lard on it until it's completely greasy and full of acne. Nevermind that it costs a lot, a lot of money to heat a building. So, we pay a lot of money to heat something way more than we need it. As we do this we are wasting resources that are in small supply right now to do that, all in the name of over compensation.

There is an idea out there that 72 degrees is the perfect temperature, and we must heat our homes to this at all times. Well, I was sweating last Saturday with it set on 70 degrees. So, did we really need it there? Of course we didn't. We would have probably been fine at 65 degrees, and we really probably could have managed at 60 degrees if we really had to. Even changing your thermostat 1 or 2 degrees can have a significant affect on how much your heating unit has to work. So, keep that in mind. In the dead of winter, we are sometimes asking our heating units to change the temperature by 60 degrees. Let's not push them anymore than we have to. It will save us money and keep us from that ridiculous feeling of sweating like it is July in the middle of January.

There are so many ways to make this work, especially at our homes. Play with the thermostat--drop it down a degree at a time and see what you can comfortably interact in. Turn it down more when you aren't there. When you are at home, dress warmly, so you don't have to heat it so high. You'll be amazed by how much keeping your feet warm will affect the way the rest of your body feels about the temperature. Getting a good pair of house slippers could save you a great deal of money and resources. Find some warm, comfortable, trendy pajama pants and snuggle under the blanket when you're watching TV. At my house, we keep the temperature at 65 when we're at home, and our electric bill is consistently below $100, often much lower. But, it that sounds too crazy for you, at least, challenge that theory that the thermostat always has to be set at 72. Bump it down a few notches and see if you notice. Put on those house slippers that have been cluttering up the closet. I bet you have other things you could spend that money on. I know we have better things we could do with that electricity.

Stillness in the Bleak Midwinter

During Advent, our pastor adds a little tweak to the order of worship. At the end of the service, we are asked to sit back in our pews and just be still, while music is played on the piano. So, during that time of the postlude when we typically gather coats, pocketbooks, and bulletins to throw away, we put off our list of things to accomplish, probably less than one or two minutes for silence and contemplation (at least, that's the idea). I don't know how the rest of the congregation feels about this practice, but it could be my favorite part of church over the course of the entire year. It draws me right into thinking about Advent, Christ, and this season.

In a time in the year where the daylight and climate make it easier for us to be still and contemplate our faith, we have managed to come up with lists of things we "have" to do during this time of year. It stresses us all out, people complain about it regularly, and yet we are still chained to it. I'm not saying that the Christmas season is just all-out misery, but it has been drawn out and stretched into a big set of obligations that I don't think the Christians who introduced the idea intended.

In fact, the timing of Christmas isn't so tied into the actual historical date of Christ's birth, anyway. It's timed with the winter solstice. Winter Solstice has been celebrated by all types of cultures for a long, long time, but we Christians saw a great deal of symbolism that could be had from this time of year. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, daylight-wise. This time of year seems to be dimly lit, because it's dark outside an hour before you get off work. So, the day after the Winter Solstice is a great moral victory for us, because it's the day that the light begins to return. You see where early Christians saw a metaphor there?

You're probably thinking by now, "why is Troy giving us a Christmas history lesson? Isn't this supposed to be a Creation Care blog? When are we going to get the guilt trip about using less wrapping paper or taking an energy efficient vehicle to visit Grandma?" Well, my creation care angle in this post is one about being better connected to the Earth. During the Christmas season, so many of us are just connected to the inside of buildings and cars. This Christmas we will be inside decorated rooms at parties, stores trying desperately to sell us stuff, watching hear-warming television specials, and crammed inside our cars driving hours to get to Christmas celebrations. The idea of light in our lives, in a literal sense, will be lost, because most of our will be coming from bulbs.

It's hard to stop, this time of year. We have a checklist of things that we must do, so that no one gets left out or offended. We want to take part in those traditions we have cherished since our childhood--and, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. But, for at least a moment or two each day, sit down, go outside even. Look at how the world is changing. Feel it in the air. See the lights at the end of a cold, winter day. Imagine that first Christmas, and how it must have felt to bring Christ into the world in a stable with animals and straw as your company. Hear the sacred songs of the season in your mind. And know, just as the earliest Christians realized through this brilliant metaphor for the season, that light will soon return. Light enough to light up this entire world where there was darkness. And, if you can manage to be still long enough, out in this world, the world that God made, I bet you will feel even more.

December Tips

We all think of "green" for the holidays. We want to hang the greens, but we also worry about spending so much "green." Unfortunately, so much about the holidays involves waste - so we challenge you to be as green as possible in all your celebrations. Here are some specific tips on limited waste from www.blessedearth.org

• Skip paper cards. If everyone sent just one less card per year, we could save 50,000 cubic yards of paper.

• Reduce the trimmings. If every family reused just 2 feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet!

• Wrap in reusable material such as cloth bags or reusable gift bags. If every household in America wrapped just 3 presents in reused materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

• If you must use wrapping paper - buy the kind made from recycled paper and make sure you recycle it when finished. So often we rip it off and throw it away and it takes up room in a landfill.

• Switch to LED holiday lights. They cost about $8 more per strand than standard bulbs, but use up to 100 times less energy and will last about ten years when used indoors.
  

August: Reusable Tips

Reusing as much as possible is crucial to eliminating waste. Here are some tips to help you live a reusable life.

~ Get a good reusable water bottle to take with you as much as possible. Avoid plastic water bottles at all costs - even if they get recycled, they require energy for manufacturing and disposal.

~ Reuse any water that you don't drink to water plants. Don't dump it down the drain.

~ Reuse paper that is only printed on one side. Print on the other side or use it as scrap paper to make notes or grocery lists. Then, when you have used it fully, recycle it.

~ Use rechargeable batteries whenever possible. Ask in your community about battery recycling programs.

~ When you eat, use washable dishes, utensils, cups, and napkins. They eliminate waste and make for a nicer dining experience.

Creature Care Practices

This month our focus is on caring for something living be it a plant, pet, or person - as we are all creatures together. And in caring for one creature, we care for many creatures as God made us all a part of creation. Here are five simple practices to connect with creation as we care for fellow creatures.

~ Put out a bird feeder, birdbath, or birdhouse.

~ Plant something in your yard or get a houseplant.

~ If you are considering a pet, adopt one from a shelter or rescue agency. If you don't need a pet currently, volunteer to help at a local shelter.

~ Take a dish made of fresh fruits or vegetables to a friend or neighbor. Encourage them to do the same if possible and share a gift of healthy food.

~ Once a week for the next month, walk or bike somewhere instead of driving. If you must drive or ride in a car, share the trip with someone else.

Water Practice 3: Connect water with your senses

Take time to connect to water with your senses.

We all know how much a part of our life and faith water is if we really take time to think about it. The trouble is that we rarely spend time thinking about it. Most of us take water for granted more in a day than we really appreciate water in a year.

During a time in your day when you are using water—bathing, washing hands, washing dishes, washing your face, when you’re out in the rain—pay attention to the feel of water on your body. As you do that, consider a verse from scripture that refers to water, for instance:

- In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)

-As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, my God. (Psalm 42)

-The woman said to Jesus, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." (John 4:15)

-For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. (Mark 9:41)

Water Practice 2: Use only what you need

It is so easy to leave a faucet running. When we are rinsing dishes or getting ready for a shower, we let it go and lose track of time. It is time consuming to keep turning the faucet on and off, and there is plenty of water, so why does it matter?

I refer back to times when I have had a finite amount of water, and I had to really take seriously how much I used. I realized I didn’t need as much water for cleaning as I thought. I thought of all the times I left a faucet running, while I did other things, and it seemed so wasteful and arrogant to let it go that way just because I could.

I think of the people all over the world who must walk miles to get all the water they will use in a given day and carry it back on their heads. I think of how they would look at me running my water for no good reason.

Then, if we feel this way, how must God look at us wasting these gifts? Is water any less important to me than it is to the one who must walk miles to get it? Not really. If this were true to me every day, how would I act about that? Would I let it run down the drain while I walked off to get more plates, or would I ration out only what I needed like I did when I was in the woods with limited water?

What actions would best tell God, “I am so thankful for this life-giving water. I realize how important this blessing you give me is.” This is a way of giving thanks—to treat these gifts with the importance they deserve.

Water Practice 1: Collect Water for Use

We let so much water that could be used around the house wash away.

Take some time to consider all the water that is lost down the drain or into the ground in your house. For instance, water runs down the drain when you are waiting for the hot water heater to kick in. You could let that water run into a bowl, pitcher, or watering can to use later. This can be used to water plants or rinse dishes waiting to be washed. You can also set up a rain barrel or bucket to catch some of the water that falls from the sky. You, of course, would not drink this water, but you can use it to flush your toilets. This cuts down on the amount pumped from your well or city water. This could save you money, but that’s not all.

I’ve found that these practices slow me down and focus me on these simple tasks. When I do that, it clears my mind and helps me appreciate simple things. This calls me to prayer. These acts certainly take more time, but I feel a closeness to God while I do them, and I am more thankful for this basic necessity of life.

So, collect some of this water, and when you do that extra work it will inevitably create, make it into a prayer of thanks.

Water

We get references throughout the Bible to water. It makes sense for the biblical writers to compare things to water—everyone on earth knows it and uses it just about every day. Water is a huge part of every human’s life, whether you realize it or not. Sadly, for many of us, we don’t respect water as one of the most important elements to life.

Think about how many parts of your daily life depend on water: quenching thirst, bathing yourself, using the bathroom, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, cleaning your dishes, and washing your clothes—just think of what it would be like to do without all of that for even a day, when you really need it.

In this part of the world, though, water is plentiful, and we rarely get close to running out. When you have so much, it’s easy to overuse something. So, we leave our sinks on, we take hour long showers, and we pay no attention to our leaky faucets.

I was backpacking with a group of youth, miles into the woods of Nathan Bedford Forest State Park. The shelter where we were sleeping was nowhere near a water source, so a group of us had to hike several miles to a creek to filter water. We were all out of water from drinking, cooking, and cleaning over the past day. As we walked farther and farther, we grew more and more tired. I was so worn out and just wanted a large gulp of water. We were next to Kentucky Lake for part of our walk, and I even considered drinking some of that filthy river water. It was such a relief finally getting to our water source, filtering that water, and getting to wet our throats.

I remember one of the youth on the trip saying, "I never realized how important water is and how much I waste it. When we get back, I’m not going to waste so much water."

When you are out on the trail and only have so much water with you, you have to treat it with great importance. When you are back in the world of running water, piped into your home, it’s harder to see it with so much reverence. But, water deserves our reverence still, doesn’t it? Isn’t it still one of the most important elements in our life?

If we find more time in our daily routine to pay respect to water, even if it is just finding ways to use less of it, it can really make us more thankful people. If we thank God for these gifts more regularly, we are in closer communion with the one who made us.

Learning from Job

The Book of Job has fascinated people for centuries. I think it appeals to so many people because it treats one of the ultimate life questions: "Why do the innocent suffer?" This question can be spun many ways and made the foundational point for "The Problem of Evil" or "Theodicy" - which fundamentally asks, "Is God good/just?"

From my perspective, a reading of Job doesn't fully satisfy these issues, but some good points are made. Usually the section that gets the most attention is that of God's response to Job in the last few chapters of the book. God answers Job by asking Job, "Where were you when..." and lists several chapters worth of details about creation. Often this is understood as God "smacking Job around" or simply telling Job to shut up and realize that God is God and Job is not. That might be part of what's happening, but I don't believe it's the whole.

More than anything, I read this section as God laying out for Job the intricate connections of creation. It is clear that God has gone to painstaking ends to make things "just so." If any of the variables were off, it could all go awry as so many parts depend on one another. Ultimately, God is communicating with Job that God has the utmost care for EVERYTHING in creation - including Job and humans, but not just Job and humans. Everything in creation matters to God.

I invite you to read those few final chapter for yourself or with a group. Discuss the connections, and feel free to share your thoughts on this reflection.

February Focus: Creation is Connected

Recently our material has centered more on specific practices. This month we want to focus a bit more on the spiritual side of creation care. Of course, we want the spiritual to impact the practical and the way you look at things to shape your behavior, as the two are deeply connected.

This month is all about connection. We are focusing on how creation is connected and our connection with it. In a post last year which featured an Earth Day letter to a local newspaper I wrote: "'The environment' is not something separate from us. We are all part of the environment - intricately woven into it and inseparable from it." When human beings forget that we are part of creation and treat "the environment" as something separate, something we can decide to care for or not, we can do untold harm.

This month we will highlight this connection through scripture and other sources, and we hope you will feel more connected with creation through these readings and thoughts.

Electricity: Practice 5

Knowing where electricity comes from

Take some time this week and find out where your energy comes from. Call your local power company or go online and see if you can find it. It may be difficult.

Try to get a sense of what is truly happening every time you hit a light switch or plug something in. It may make you look at it differently.

Set goals for next month about being a better steward regarding power usage. Look at the actual kilowatt hour usage on your bill and commit to decreasing daily usage. You might even set an extreme goal and be surprised that it isn't as tough as you thought.

Electricity: Practice 4

Turning things off

There are so many items in a house that often get left on when they are not being used. Televisions, fans, chargers, radios, cable/satellite boxes are just a few.

Sometime this week, take time when you leave a room or your house to make sure you have turned everything off that is not essential. As you make your rounds, notice how many things you have that use electricity, and think of how much power it takes to run your house in any given day.

Be humbled by how much money and resources this takes. Be proud that you are being a good steward with these resources, but at the same time don’t forget to realize so much more than just your money makes this possible.

Electricity: Practice 3

Refrigerator

This one appliance is uses a pretty hefty percentage of your normal energy bill. It makes sense—you can’t really turn it off each day.

Here is one practice that will keep it from working as hard, and help you use your resources more wisely: Sometime this week, stock your refrigerator and freezer as full as you can. If you have an empty fridge (like my college apartment fridge), it will be cold just like a stocked one. The difference is that one has cold things, while the other has cold air.

When you open the door of an empty fridge, cold air goes out to your kitchen, and the fridge has to go to work to replace it. In a stocked fridge, the cold stuff stays there and stays cold. End result: a stocked fridge doesn’t have to work as hard. If you are not the type who always has a fridge full of food, it doesn’t mean you need to buy a lot of food you can’t possibly eat or leave that mayonnaise jar in there when you know it’s expired. Just take some empty containers like milk jugs, fill them with water, and put them in those empty spots. You save resources and money, just by leaving them there.

Electricity: Practice 2

Heat/Air

This, I think, is one of the most difficult issues involving electricity to make some kind of change with.

We are so used to a consistent temperature that it is hard to imagine anything other than a room somewhere between 68 and 72 degrees. It has become so that in many buildings I find myself the hottest in the winter and the coldest in the summer. We have this amazing gift of never having to worry if we will freeze or be exhausted by heat. But, many of us get too comfortable, using this gift when we aren’t around or stretching it during the most extreme times of the year.

This week, if you do not already, be mindful of your thermostat when you leave your house. Give your heater a break while you are gone. It will save you money. If you already adjust your thermostat when you go, try adjusting the temperatures when you are there. Make common sense adjustments like dressing with warm house slippers (your feet inform the rest of your body on how to feel). Use blankets on your couch. Dress warmer. This will save you money, which is big to some. But even if you think it is well worth your money to keep the thermostat where you like it, this is a way to be in better touch with the gifts God gives you, saving coal reserves. It also keeps you in tune with the seasons, as God created us to be.