Going Green... or...Stewardship

Many people today claim they are going Green when they decide to lesson their impact on the environment.

We have chosen to call it being good stewards of what God has so graciously entrusted to our care.

Going Green or stewardship whatever you decide to call it, requires examining many areas of life and investigating ways we can lesson our impact on the world around us. Not many people would argue the need to Leave No Trace in a National Park or Forest, but what about the traces we leave every day in our communities and homes.

Many days the children and I go for walks within a quarter-mile of our home and pick up garbage left on the side of the road. This is a wonderful opportunity I take to talk to my children about God creating the world and seeing that it was good. We talk about how the person who threw the garbage out of the window was not being a good steward of God's creation. The boys are usually the first to notice garbage now and eager to pick it up.

There are other ways we have chosen to lesson our impact on the environment. I have been using re-usable nursing pads for awhile, as well as washcloths for baby wipes. Just this week I ordered and received Shater's first set of cloth diapers. I received them on Thursday and begin using them yesterday. We really like them an I regret that I have not used cloth sooner.

An idea that is close to my heart is growing fruits and vegetables sustainably and buying locally at the Farmer's Market. When we do this we are not only caring for God's beautiful world, but as a mom I am providing the freshest and most nutritious food for my family.

We have chosen to buy our meat and milk from animals who are raised locally and grow up on pasture. By spending our money locally we are helping farmers in and around our community. We avoid meats or dairy that have been raised in CAFO's. You can too! See Eat Wild for more information.

As always, making much of our food and snacks from scratch reduces waste. Because we do not use a lot of pre-packaged convenience foods, the garbage I put our for pick-up each week has declined.

We are always open to trying new things that would make us a better steward of the land and home God has so graciously given us.

Here is something that I am looking into for when my cycle returns after nursing Shater.

Still Learning...
Holli