A Rebuke from St. Augustine
October 17, 2008
I was reading Mark Noll’s Scandal of the Evangelical Mind last month in preparation for a talk, and I was very surprised by how contemporary a quote by St. Augustine appeared. In the passage from “The Literal Meaning of Genesis”, Augustine warns about the armchair science that Christians of his age engaged in. It made me think about how critical it is for Christians who care about creation to really know their subject–to learn from the world God made as well as from the Scripture He gave us.
Celebrate “Christians in Conservation Month” with A Rocha USA!
October 16, 2008
A Rocha turns 25 this year and in honor of that silver anniversary, we’re rolling out “Christians in Conservation Month,” the purpose of which is to invite Christians (and everyone else) to do three things:
• Rejoice and give thanks for the goodness of God’s creation;
• Recognize the damage to creation caused by our actions and inactions; and
• Take steps to help Rectify that damage.
Put another way, “Christians in Conservation Month” is about much more than merely “caring about the environment.” It’s about walking the talk. It’s about putting our faith into meaningful action…and celebrating—as only people who serve the God of hope can— while we do it.
To help facilitate this month-long effort, we’ll provide ideas for activities (25 of them!), informational materials, opportunities to share accomplishments and more. We’ll even help connect folks with efforts and events near them. For this and more, please see “Christians in Conservation Month” at www.arocha-usa.org.
- Tom Rowley
Executive Director, A Rocha USA
3 Reasons for Choosing the Thrift Store
October 15, 2008
I know some people have an apprehension to buying used items, whether it’s clothes, kitchen items or toys, but there are only a few isolated, unique situations where, for sanitary health concerns or otherwise, you need to buy new. The vast majority of items can easily be used second-hand. Here are three reasons why I think buying second-hand whenever possible is the way to go: Read more
Learning to Enjoy the Ride
October 13, 2008
My desk sits before a four foot window in the basement, looking out at five feet of corrugated iron that makes a window well. Spiders are active spinners this time of year, and have found this protected place perfect for their thin webs, unbothered by a roaming dog or the inevitable Bocce games of a late summer’s evening. The breeze still moves through here, stretching each web, pulling its inhabitant back and forth like slow breath.
And so I set about each day, spinning my own stories in this unbothered place, hoping that the thin filaments of my ideas can bear the weight of the words I hope to catch. I sit still here, me and my arachnid companions, each of us vigilant for what we know unexpectedly will arrive.
Two nights ago a thunderstorm hovered above the house, pouring its energies downward, clearing the window well of everything but wetness. The next morning each spider not busy climbing back up a spout was once again spinning, creating a space to catch what might come their way, what they knew they needed to sustain themselves.
Finding poetry is something that happens by intentional chance. And so I continue to spin, learning readiness in the most unlikely of places. I get writer’s block. I feel fear and doubt and other things I need, but that overwhelm me. I touch dark places, and places pulsing with light. And when the breeze blows, I hang on tightly as this world breathes on me, learning to enjoy the ride.
Amy Wevodau has recently published poetry in Relief Journal, Crux and Radix, is currently working on a Young Adult novel narrated as a series of poems, and blogs every so often about finding poetry in everyday life: http://findingpoetry.blogspot.
