I believe that Sovereign God created the earth and all that lives on it. He made it all and all of it is His. We who live on the earth therefore have a special responsibility to care for what God has created. We must treat the earth carefully, we must look after it, we must be caretakers of this planet. Unfortunately the earth isn’t being cared for very well and often some of those who seem to be most against careful environmental practices are Christians, the people who follow God, follow the Bible and seek to obey all that is written in it’s pages.
So what are we supposed to do? Do we need to become militant environmentalists? Do we need to protest against global warming? What should I do? I think the very least I should be doing as a Christian is to make sure that I don’t pollute the earth. I need to be as good an environmental steward as I can, even if it costs a bit more to live that way. If all of humanity truly cared for the earth we would not be talking about global warming. It wouldn’t be an issue because we would be living in such a way as to minimize our effect upon the earth.
I believe the Bible. I believe God made the earth and since it is His creation I need to care for it. I need to glorify God by my life and one way I do that is to honour Him and His creation. One way I honour God is by not polluting or harming what He has made.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Life Gets Busy!
Life gets busy! Between work and play, family and friends, there are not many spare minutes left in a day. But no complaints. I would much rather be busy and happy than bored with nothing to do. We all dream of a leisurely life with nothing to do, but most people really don’t thrive doing nothing. Somehow, we are designed to be busy.
Designed to be busy? What about retirement, rest and relaxation? I find it interesting that most people can lie on a beach for a while, or read books for a couple of weeks, but soon tire of it and want to do more. They want to be busier. Most of my retired friends are either serving as volunteers or are back in the job market working part time. My friends are not working because they need the money, but because they need something to fill a few of their spare hours. We are designed to be busy.
Yes, I know I have used the word “designed” a couple of times. I believe God designed us and one of the things He put in the design was the need to keep ourselves occupied. That may be a full time job, or it may be a hobby like painting or sewing or carpentry or cooking, but we need to do something. We seem to need to keep our minds occupied. Most of the healthiest older people I know have found a good balance between “doing” and relaxing. Their days pass quickly because they are serving or in some other way involved with people. Some of the unhappiest people I know are those who are house bound, ill, or for some reason can’t leave their homes. So if you are busy, be thankful. It keeps you occupied and it probably keeps you happier than you would be if you had nothing to do.
Designed to be busy? What about retirement, rest and relaxation? I find it interesting that most people can lie on a beach for a while, or read books for a couple of weeks, but soon tire of it and want to do more. They want to be busier. Most of my retired friends are either serving as volunteers or are back in the job market working part time. My friends are not working because they need the money, but because they need something to fill a few of their spare hours. We are designed to be busy.
Yes, I know I have used the word “designed” a couple of times. I believe God designed us and one of the things He put in the design was the need to keep ourselves occupied. That may be a full time job, or it may be a hobby like painting or sewing or carpentry or cooking, but we need to do something. We seem to need to keep our minds occupied. Most of the healthiest older people I know have found a good balance between “doing” and relaxing. Their days pass quickly because they are serving or in some other way involved with people. Some of the unhappiest people I know are those who are house bound, ill, or for some reason can’t leave their homes. So if you are busy, be thankful. It keeps you occupied and it probably keeps you happier than you would be if you had nothing to do.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
A Symphony of Praise
We had a great summer vacation, camping and hiking in the Cascade, Teton and Rocky Mountains. It was wonderful to be in the mountains, to be surrounded by trees and lakes and towering peaks rather than concrete and glass. We loved climbing up mountains and walking through beautiful valleys. We were amazed as we watched moose, deer and other animals. We had a wonderful, peaceful time.
Our vacation was fantastic, surrounded by all the beauty of nature. We loved it, but others might have considered it a horrible vacation. Not everyone loves wilderness vacations. Not everyone wants to flee the city at vacation time. Everyone is different. Sandra and I love getting away from the busyness of the city and fleeing to camp in the quiet of nature. Others want only to get to a big city and enjoy all there is to find in a major urban centre. We are all different. We all have different likes and dislikes. That's the way God created us. He made all types of people, all with different interests, and He uses us in different ways. That’s our incredible creator at work.
Aren’t you glad that not everyone likes exactly the same things? In a church, some people like to work with children or youth. Some like to paint and clean. Others like to sing or teach. A few even like doing the administrative work or mowing the grass. Our amazing Lord created us to work together as a team, each doing what they like and are best at doing. Each doing what they were created to do. The church is like an amazing symphony orchestra, the Lord is the conductor. When we all play our part we lift heavenward to Jesus a beautiful symphony of praise.
Our vacation was fantastic, surrounded by all the beauty of nature. We loved it, but others might have considered it a horrible vacation. Not everyone loves wilderness vacations. Not everyone wants to flee the city at vacation time. Everyone is different. Sandra and I love getting away from the busyness of the city and fleeing to camp in the quiet of nature. Others want only to get to a big city and enjoy all there is to find in a major urban centre. We are all different. We all have different likes and dislikes. That's the way God created us. He made all types of people, all with different interests, and He uses us in different ways. That’s our incredible creator at work.
Aren’t you glad that not everyone likes exactly the same things? In a church, some people like to work with children or youth. Some like to paint and clean. Others like to sing or teach. A few even like doing the administrative work or mowing the grass. Our amazing Lord created us to work together as a team, each doing what they like and are best at doing. Each doing what they were created to do. The church is like an amazing symphony orchestra, the Lord is the conductor. When we all play our part we lift heavenward to Jesus a beautiful symphony of praise.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
A Real Rodeo
I was at a Stampede last night. No, not the Calgary Stampede, but at the High Country Stampede Rodeo at Fraser, Colorado, a small town high in the Rocky Mountains. There was bull riding and cow roping and bareback bronco riding and barrel racing and mutton busting and calf scrambling. Yea, mutton busting and calf scrambling, but we’ll get to those latter.
The Saturday night, Fraser, Colorado Rodeo is a truly local, small town rodeo. It is fantastic. The participants are not famous rodeo stars from around the continent, but folks from local ranches. They’re not rodeo pros, they’re ranchers, men and women who ride horses for a living and play at the rodeo on weekends. I loved it because to me it was real. It was real in the sense that it was real life, regular folks entering competitions and having fun. There were teens and moms and dads all out there putting on a great show for everyone and having a lot of fun. Big, rodeos like the Calgary Stampede are great, but they are different from a local rodeo. I loved this rodeo because it was just ordinary ranchers having fun and competing with one another. The rodeo was well done, professionally done, but not by a bunch of high paid professionals.
Mutton busting? Kids between three and six years old riding a sheep, just like the adults who ride bulls. Except the kids wrapped their arms around the sheep’s neck and held on for dear life. Yes, don’t worry, they wore a helmet! Calf Scrambling? All the six to twelve year olds in the audience, city slickers and ranch kids, let loose to chase 4 calves which each had a ribbon tied to their tail. What a site, what a messy, gooey bunch of kids as they ran, fell and tumbled through the dirt and ???? trying to grab a ribbon. This was a family rodeo, pure fun, pure joy to watch. Families out together having a good time. It made me realize again how precious our families are and how we need to spend time together and have fun together.
The Saturday night, Fraser, Colorado Rodeo is a truly local, small town rodeo. It is fantastic. The participants are not famous rodeo stars from around the continent, but folks from local ranches. They’re not rodeo pros, they’re ranchers, men and women who ride horses for a living and play at the rodeo on weekends. I loved it because to me it was real. It was real in the sense that it was real life, regular folks entering competitions and having fun. There were teens and moms and dads all out there putting on a great show for everyone and having a lot of fun. Big, rodeos like the Calgary Stampede are great, but they are different from a local rodeo. I loved this rodeo because it was just ordinary ranchers having fun and competing with one another. The rodeo was well done, professionally done, but not by a bunch of high paid professionals.
Mutton busting? Kids between three and six years old riding a sheep, just like the adults who ride bulls. Except the kids wrapped their arms around the sheep’s neck and held on for dear life. Yes, don’t worry, they wore a helmet! Calf Scrambling? All the six to twelve year olds in the audience, city slickers and ranch kids, let loose to chase 4 calves which each had a ribbon tied to their tail. What a site, what a messy, gooey bunch of kids as they ran, fell and tumbled through the dirt and ???? trying to grab a ribbon. This was a family rodeo, pure fun, pure joy to watch. Families out together having a good time. It made me realize again how precious our families are and how we need to spend time together and have fun together.
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