Recycling … An Effort, but Worth It! October 1, 2008

Okay, I will admit first off that I am NOT a “treehugger” as some of my friends have lovingly called me, but I do feel that we need to take care of what God has given us … that includes being good stewards of our time, money, body AND the earth.  I will also admit that recycling is a pain!

 

A couple of years ago, I made a New Year’s resolution to recycle, but I chose a very bad time of year to start.  Like my other resolutions, it fell to the wayside … mostly because I was not used to recycling, and I did not want to stand in the cold and sort (wimpy, I know … I’m just not a cold weather gal! ).

Within the past year, though, my family has made a HUGE effort to start recycling, and I mean effort.  It is so much easier to throw everything into the same trash bag and haul it off to the dump or let the garbage men come and get it, but I was determined not to do that anymore.  I live in an area where there is no mandatory or curb side recycling pickup, so we need to lug our recyclables to the local trash dump (which I have actually come to prefer because I can choose when the unwanted items leave our house instead of waiting on someone to come and get them). 

All of that aside, my main motivation was the fact that we were filling our trash can with mostly recyclable materials that did not need to fill up a landfill.  It consisted of aluminum cans, water bottles and “mixed paper” (cereal boxes and such).  Since then, I set up a system of small trash cans in our garage that enable me to sort the different items into cans (#1 “pete” plastic, #2 plastic, glass, mixed paper, aluminum and miscellaneous).  It is amazing to me how many times those trash bins need to be taken to the recycling center, but it makes me SO thankful that we are doing something to reverse the filling of landfills.

So, today my encouragement to you is to start recycling if you do not already, and if you do … kudos to you!  I have a friend who says in so many words that most things that are really worth doing take effort, and I definitely think that it applies here.  Happy recycling … it really does make a difference!

Being a Neighbor September 24, 2008

Our neighbor's tree went right through the center of our playset!

Hi!  I know that it has been a long time since I have posted, and thank you to those who were concerned about me!  Literally, life happened, and September was a VERY busy month with the startup of two MOPS groups (www.timberlakebaptist.org/mops), a big concert for the missions organization we are a part of (www.allowthechildren.org), the start of school and activities and a HUGE yard sale … I will put that into a future post, though.

Last night, we were able to go over to a friend’s house for dinner (so fun! ), and I happened to check messages on the way home … our neighbor prepared us for the sight we were to see when we got home (it made me SO thankful that I checked the messages! ).  Needless to say, we were a bit shocked because it was not a natural occurance.  Someone (not our neighbor) was taking the tree down and obviously did not correctly plan for its placement upon falling (he was not even a tree expert, but just a man who needed some wood who took the trees down for free). 

My first reaction was “oh no”!  My son could not wait to see it because he thought it was SO cool (typical 7 year old boy stuff), and my 5 year old daughter was concerned because she was not sure if she could play on it anymore (answer … no! ).

Anyway, I know that dealing with neighbors is tricky, but I am more concerned about our Christian testimony than anything else … seriously.  Our playset can be fixed/replaced, and my children can find something else to do; yet, the relationship that we are trying to build with our neighbors can either be permanently damaged or continue to flow along smoothly. 

Here are some verses that come to my mind immediately …

Matthew 22:37-39 – “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.  And the second it like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”   That is what I am here for anyway, right?  I am here to honor and glorify the Lord, and I am to be an example of what he would do.  I can exhibit that my loving my “neighbor” as myself is a Christlike thing to do.  Also, my “neighbor” in this instance is truly a neighbor, but Jesus was not just talking about your physical next-door neighbors .

Luke 6:31 – “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.”  Huh?  It’s the “golden rule” … to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  Would I like my neighbors to rant and rave and get angry?  Of course not!  Would I like them to deal graciously and have them be understanding and kind?  Yes!

In all of this, we will work things out with the neighbors and hopefully get the repairs done or a new playset ordered in time for our kids to have fun, but I just wanted to remind myself that our attitude in a situation is sometimes more important in the situation itself.   Take care!

Friday Focus ~ Time August 29, 2008

Time management is so hard for me!

Currently I am trying to finish up a book that the ladies at our church went through on a Wednesday night.  The topic was “self-control” (one of the fruits of the spirit), and I thought that I had self control, of course.  Then, when I found out that the study talked about time, emotions, habits, tongue, anger … wow! I knew that I needed to be a part of that study for sure.

I learned a ton from the book, which is a self-study (and a Bible study of sorts).  It is entitled The Fruit of the Spirit is Self-Control by Lynn Stanley, and I HIGHLY recommend it.  I am reading the section on time, and it was really convicting this week.  Here are a few highlights of some of the books wisdom …

~ “Instead of wasting time trying to invent ways out of circumstances or tasks we don’t like, we could ask God for a creative solution in order to get things done in such a way that He will be glorified.”  I definitely need help with that one.  It is so easy for me to get busy doing other “important” things so that I do not get my real duties out of the way.

~ “Instead of fretting and fussing about the toys strewn all over, we can take a child in our arms and tell him how much Jesus loves him.”  How many times do I really spend time playing with my children … I often seem to be “too busy”.

~ “Instead of complaining that we need more hours in the day, we can ask God for the wisdom and endurance to maximize the hours He gives us.  When we have worked as diligently as possible, we can trust Him for the outcome.” I definitely need to focus my days on the Lord and ask Him for the ability to do everything that I need to.

~ “Instead of falling into bed exhausted each night, we can eliminate all that is not necessary.  If our labor does not honor God completely, if our effort cannot – in any way – be helpful in expanding His kingdom, it is probably a waste of time.” YIKES … that one was really convicting!  What am I doing that I could eliminate?  Is there anything I am doing that does not further God’s kingdom that I can discontinue doing?  You bet! 

I hope that this has been an encouragement to you as these words have been to me.  Enjoy your long weekend … I am taking a break and be back on Monday or Tuesday!

How about you?  Do you have any great time management tips to share?  We can all use what seems to be more time in our day!