thinking lifestyle

Matthew 6:26

Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you know you are worth much more than they are?

I've been thinking for years about environmental sustainable living. It's a slow process of bringing different area's of life together in sync with this idea. I will never finish this process, but here are some ideas that I'm working through.

CLOTHING: A few years ago I spent a whole year not buying any clothes, only wearing the things I already had. I got to the end of the year and found I still had items that I hadn't worn! Soon after that I traveled for 3 months with a backpack, it was a fun challenge, but I was so happy to see my clothes when I got home. For a time I put all my winter clothes in suitcases under my bed during the summer, and would swap them over half way through autumn. It was a really fun process because I forgot what I had, and became excited to wear 'new' items each season. I'm currently taking quite a brutal spring clean. I am living in an apartment with plenty of storage, I've accumulated things to fit that space. I have been holding onto a lot of clothes that don't suit me anymore, or don't fit me. I'm donating all my old clothes to a church clothing sale via my mum (she's the same size as me, so she get's first pick of my clothes and I hers). Hopefully I'll be able to half my wardrobe.

SHOPPING: I am trying to shop fair trade. What is Fair Trade, I hear you ask? The Oxfam Shop say, "Fair Trade has a number of key factors – stable prices, ensuring that producers, farmers and workers are paid fairly for their work and products and ensuring that there is stability in the income they can earn." Most of these shops are online, but not all. Some apps are starting up to help buyers know. My most preferred is Shop Ethical!. When this is an impossibility, I try find things at op shops. Something I am still really bad at is grocery shopping. I don't plan my meals well, and often have random things go off in the fridge. I forgive myself because it's a constant learning process.

CRAFT: I'm learning to make things myself. We're learning that things usually aren't cheaper when you make them yourself, but we do appreciate the process of creation. I really like learning new skills and trying different things. I am a fan of quilting and knitting, but am also trying my hand at candles and up-cycling. A few friends and I have a monthly craft night called Yarn & Craft, anyone is welcome to attend, we learn from each other.

HYGIENE: (Stop reading if you find monthly cycles to be gross!) Last year I was getting so tired to buying sanitary things for my monthly cycle. I had leaks and to much rubbish, so much cleaning, it was really disheartening each time it started. Then one day, I visited a vegan shop in my city and saw a menstrual cup. It's initial price is way higher than sanitary pads... but the fact is, it's a long term solution! I highly recommend looking into this and making the change. It's waste free, I don't have to carry things around with me all the time anymore. I can't imagine going back!

POWER: If ever we have our own home, we would love to get a solar panel, but until then, we have opted for an environmentally friendly power supplier: PowerShop. I'd also like to learn to be more careful with our water consumption, we're currently limited to shower length by having a smallish boiler, even then, we use a lot of water.

FINANCIAL: This is something that I am still working on. I still have a massive student loan. However, my husband and I have made the radical decision to live off one income. Why earn more money than we need. This allows me to be free to invest in my community in a volunteer capacity, and I'm really thankful for that. However, it does mean that if we ever want to own a home, we will have to go a long long way away from the city, or change out living style even more. In the last 6 months I have become quite obsessed with Tiny Houses! I watch a lot of tiny house home tours on YouTube. I got into them via Living Big In A Tiny House and in the last few weeks I've got to know Go Downsize. I was really struck by their debt-free video that I watched yesterday: Go Downsize: Debt free living - Our personal "getting debt-free" story. This is a dream, to one day live (even for a short period of time) in a tiny house.

I find this process scary at times, but I am convinced that it is the right thing to do, because I believe God cares for us, and will provide for us. I also believe that God made people with skills and responsibilities, including looking after our environment and the welfare of others.

How much longer!?

Why doesn't God do something? What is taking Him so long? Where is He? What are we supposed to do in the meantime!? 
In church the other day we reflected on these questions. 

(photo by me taken in Kangaroo Valley October 2014)

I wonder if you have heard the imagery of God being the Bridegroom and the people of God are his Bride. It is one referenced a few times in the bible. "Your Maker is your Husband" (Isaiah 54:5). The story of Hosea taking a prostitute for a wife to symbolise God's relationship towards people, Him faithfully trying to keep us, people ever seeking pleasure elsewhere. In Isaiah we also read of God rejoicing over his bride: "as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you" (Isaiah 62:5). I often find this idea really odd, but also amazingly beautiful. That God commits himself to people so completely, makes promises to them. One day when Jesus returns there will be a great banquet, a wedding feast, a celebration. A wedding between God and His people, a celebration where "they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God" (Revelation 21:3b).

In light of this imagery of Jesus as the bridegroom and the church as the bride. And people waiting for the day when we can celebrate a beautiful and amazing wedding. Read Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus told this parable:

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."

Where is God? He, the groom, has gone to collect his bride from all across the world. We wait as those in the celebration are gathered together. Just look at the amazing growth of the church in China and parts of Africa. God is working in this world, bringing people into relationship with Him by His Spirit through his people. God is not silent, his timing is just very different to ours! "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day" (2 Peter 3:8).

And so while God brings in more people daily to his wedding banquet, let us not grow weary of waiting. The delay is bringing more people to the joy of God through his mercy. And so we pray for patience, for wisdom to keep our lanterns of faith burning brightly. We can't borrow faith later on, but must pray to each be satisfied in God's love each day. Let us keep watch.

Eternal God, you have taught us that the night is far spent and the day is at hand; keep us awake and alert, watching for your kingdom, so that when Christ, the bridegroom, comes we mat go out joyfully to meet him, and with him enter into the marriage feast that you have prepared for all who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Easter

Why did Jesus have to die? What does it even mean that He might have risen from the dead? Basically, what does one man dying 2000 years ago have to do with me?

It's a great question. I think about it often.

I think we can find an answer on Easter Friday. There are seven words or phrases recorded from Jesus as he hung on the cross dying. In my church on the Good Friday Service (see below why it is good) each of the candles represented one of those sayings, as it was said the candle was snuffed out, by the end, Jesus breathes his last and gives up his spirit.

After this, we remember that Jesus' body was laid in a tomb nearby. That night the Sabbath day of rest began. No one could do anything for the body until that day was over. In the culture at the time, a day was not measured by hours but rather simply by participating in a part of that day, so Jesus died on Friday afternoon (one day), all of Saturday he was dead (another day), and on Sunday morning (the beginning of the third day) Jesus' tomb was found empty.

 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb.

(Mark 16:1-8a)

The Sun has risen! The tomb was empty, not because Jesus' body had been stolen, not because it was the wrong tomb, but because Jesus is alive!

Why is it called Good Friday? It's not just because we know that Jesus rose from the dead 3 days later, so a good man didn't suffer an unjust death forever. No, it is good because of what Jesus achieved on the cross. He laid down his life, freely, so that many might be saved.
But what does that even mean?

Jesus was a popular teacher in his time, which threatened the local religious leaders at the time, they worried that Jesus would overthrow their positions, but also bring attention from the Roman Emperor who might take away more rights from the Jewish people. So the religious leaders debated what to do with Jesus...
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should perish for the people, not that the whole nation should perish." He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. ~John 11:49-52

Jesus died on behalf of the nation of Israel, to bring peace, but not only for them but for all who are God's people! That is why it is Good Friday! We have someone who paid the perfect price for eternal peace.