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.