Community Church Garden.
Jun/101
Recently, our home church decided to start a community garden. This community garden would be different from what you would usually refer to as a community garden. There would be no plots assigned to individuals for their own use of planting and harvesting. Instead, this garden has a decidedly mission-oriented purpose. The church-goers become the volunteer gardeners, and the harvested crop is given away to those in need – low income families that might not be able to afford fresh produce, as one example.
When the idea was first on the table, we were both excited about getting involved. The project just got sweeter when it turned out that Karen, my sister, would be overseeing the start of the garden! Soon, I found myself signing up to help as a team leader for the garden. This means that I will be overseeing garden maintenance at an assigned time (every other Saturday morning) and plugging volunteers into the ministry of working in the garden. My role may also develop into one of coordinating food distribution, drafting recipes utilizing the produce, or even mentoring kids via the garden, but for now our focus is on garden maintenance.
Here’s a shot of the empty, plowed up plot on the church property:
Day 1 of planting: here I am after having helped bury a soaker hose and getting ready to hook it up to water the just-planted tomatoes.
Day 2 of planting: folks hoeing the ground and getting stuff planted:
Trevor posing with the palettes-turned-compost-bin that he helped build behind the tool shed:
Lastly, the beautiful rows of plants and some of the many volunteers who helped out:
This community garden will hopefully successfully grow:
-Tomatoes
-Corn
-Bush Beans
-Squash
-Broccoli
-Cauliflower
-Okra
-Onions
-Cucumber
-Herbs
-Marigolds, Cosmos, Zinnias, and wildflowers
-Sunflowers
There may even be a few random plants, like cantaloupe, thrown in the mix thanks to some plant donations.
Can’t wait to see how everything does this summer! We hope it will be the start of a unique and yet practical ministry.
Sharing…
Feb/100
“Sharing with others is the way to real joy.”
Another excellent snippet from the book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger.
This is an apropos quote in light of the Haitian earthquake. In the days and now weeks since the earthquake, individuals, churches, non-profits, charities, and governments around the world have shared their resources and wealth with the Haitians. The dire need of this nation for help was seen and heard on televisions and radios, and people responded. Responding to those in need recovers part of who we are meant to be: loving neighbors.
Yet there are times beyond the tragic global emergencies of earthquakes, floods, famines and the like when sharing and meeting needs is still called for and important. We face this calling to be loving neighbors in ordinary life, with ordinary people, people who are closer than an ocean away.
The quote, “sharing with others is the way to real joy,” is a great quote in light of community and what it speaks about meaningful community. There are many ways that community can be meaningful, but this quote touches on just one: sharing. It is through the sharing of a home that others can feel welcome, and therefore loved. It is through the sharing of finances that another can be blessed or relieved of a financial burden, and thereby be more free. It is through the sharing of our minds and thoughts that one another can learn, be challenged, and grow. It is through the sharing of kind words that we can bring encouragement, and lift the spirit of another. It is through the sharing of hearts and lives that we come to know one another deeply, and can help each other through listening and compassion.
Sharing opens us up to freedom, relief, love, growth, encouragement, compassion, among other intangible benefits. This is why sharing is the path to real joy. Real joy has eternal significance; it is not a fleeting feeling or a fading reality. Real joy is the proof of Kingdom realities invading earth, the proof that Jesus is alive and well in our hearts and lives. Joy, then, is found in selflessness, sacrifice, generosity, and love… qualities of being and action that define Jesus and his life’s work.
Furthermore, joy begets joy. It is a joy to be a bearer of joy to another. Joy is a two-way street; sharing brings joy to both giver and receiver. May we uplift our communities, our friends, and ourselves by bringing joy through generous, intentional, continual sharing that reflects our Savior.
QOTD: Sellout to the Enlightenment
Dec/090
Quote of the Day:
“Theologian Patrick Kerans has argued that commitment to unlimited growth and an ever-increasing materialistic “standard of living” is really a sellout to the Enlightenment. During the eighteenth century, many Western thinkers decided that science was the only way to find knowledge. This thinking elevated all things quantitative and devalued all things nonquantitative. Thus intangible values such as community, trust, friendship, and the beauty of creation became less important. It is hard to measure the value of friendship, unspoiled nature, and justice. But Gross National Income (GNI) is easy to measure. The result is our competitive growth economy where economic success and material things are all-important to many people.
If Christianity is true and Kerans is correct, our society will eventually collapse. A social structure built on the heretical ideas that the scientific method is the only way to reach truth and value and that material things are all-important will eventually self-destruct.”
-Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, 5th edition, pg. 25
Challenging stuff, especially in light of the materialism that drives consumerism during the holiday season.
Foto Friday.
Aug/090
Our Ragamuffin Cooking Club had its August gathering last Saturday. Yet this month’s theme was unlike any other we’ve done in the 3+ years we’ve been together. Last Saturday was our first ever Photo Scavenger Hunt!
We were given a list about 12 hours in advance with a list of 35 or so food places in Lexington to go to. Points were awarded for having your picture at the place mentioned. Additional points were awarded for completing various tasks at each destination, and in some cases, there were opportunities for bonus points for “going the extra mile” on the task. Of course, the bonus tasks also had to be recorded on film.
Trevor and I were unsure how crazy we wanted to get into it. We decided to limit ourselves on how much money we’d spend on food items – and with the exception of actual meals we decided to eat (brunch and dinner), we kept it around $20 spent, total. We also knew we needed to take a break to go home and feed our dog, so at least 2 hours were spent at home. Lastly, we had to incorporate our grocery shopping for the next week, so additional time was spent at some of our destinations (the farmer’s market, Good Foods, Whole Foods…) doing actual shopping. Yet in the end, we — amazingly — tied with exactly 163 points with none other than my sister and brother-in-law! The prize? Tickets to see the new culinary-themed movie Julie & Julia. We’re now planning on catching the show together sometime soon.
Here are some highlight photos from the day.
The place: Krispy Kreme doughtnuts. The challenge: Put mini doughnuts on your fingers.
The place: Magee’s Bakery. The challenge: Take orders behind the counter.
The place: Alfalfa’s. The challenge: Eat alfalfa sprouts.
The place: Coffee Times Coffee House. The challenge: Smell coffee beans. The bonus: Smell the beans in the roasting area.
The place: any ball field. The challenge: Eat concessions. (there were no concessions to be had at this ball field. It was empty.) The bonus: with a kid in uniform. (we lucked out finding this kid throwing practice balls with his dad, and they let us take his picture, score! We were the only ones to do this particular challenge.)
The place: Fazoli’s. The challenge: Share a breadstick. The bonus: Eat breadstick from opposite ends.
The place: Missy’s pie shop. The challenge: Buy a slice of pie. The bonus: With Missy. (There is no Missy, but this lady posed as Missy for us! She was the baker extraordinaire.)
The place: Mellow Mushroom. The challenge: Eat a slice of pizza. The bonus: While looking mellow. (I gotta say, Trevor nailed this one.)
The beauty of the day was going to a variety of places, mostly local dives, and doing goofy things for fun. Other destinations included My Old Kentucky Chocolates, Ramsey’s, Starbucks (the quest to go to as many out of the 16 in Lexington as possible, bonus points for getting photos with baristas), deSha’s, Natasha’s, Third Street Stuff, Lynagh’s Pub, and more….
Check out more photos and some of our competition at the cooking club shutterfly site.
Kristi’s Oldest Friend.
Aug/090
We had a wonderful – albeit brief – visit from none other than Kristi’s oldest friend and her friend’s brother, Becca and Greg.
We took them to dine at Natasha’s Bistro in downtown Lex, and enjoyed good conversation until midnight. We also enjoyed being a bit goofy…
What is wonderful about Becca is how she has kept in touch with me over the years. We knew each other from the same girl scout troop and then having the same homeroom in the 5th grade. When I moved after the 6th grade, we kept in touch with letter writing… and have been writing letters, sending postcards, and putting together packages and mementos from our travels to share with one another ever since! Phone and email may have never taken off for us, but we sure do enjoy the old tradition of writing, and the occasional visit.
We were blessed to have her attend our wedding back in February, and doubly blessed to have them be our first guests in our new home, whom we had the privilege to host a mere 5 months later! (Truly, open invitation for anyone to stay with us in Kentucky! We love extending hospitality to others…. it is a joy for us!)
Becca and Greg overflow with joy and love of God, making it a wonderful treat to be around them. Along the way, we learned we had crossed similar paths – Greg is interested in joining the Dominican order and knew a fellow St. John’s graduate, Brother Ezra, who is in that very order. Small world! As they were visiting with us after a 5 week trip around America, we also discovered that we had both visited some of the same majestic sites around America – Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Badlands, Arches National Park, and our mutually agreed upon favorite, Glacier National Park. Of course, talking to them gave me the itch to go back, and to venture into a new area I did not previously have the opportunity to experience: the back country. Another destination for the must-visit-again lifetime list!
What destinations are on your lifetime-must-see list? Share away in the comments!
10K Training
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