The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen. 1:1) He did, ya know?

"The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and care for it." (Gen. 1:15) Man should care for God's creation perhaps?

"The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him." (Psalm 24:1) This land we walk on, the plants and animals, the resources... everything.... belong to the Lord.

Which begs the question, if the we say we love the Lord, how can we not also love his creation? How can we not be good stewards of the resources he has given us? We preach about good stewardship of our money and our time, but is stewardship of resources not important too?

I'll be honest. I've been a bit slow to get on the green bandwagon. I've lived most of my life in places that didn't have recycling available, or at least not easily accessible. I have thrown out more plastic bags than I care to remember. And have I mentioned how much I like really long showers?

And admittedly, there is more that I could do to care for God's creation than what I am already actually doing. In other words, I am not even half way where I should be. To be honest, environmentalism is a bit daunting. There is so much to it that I don't even understand. I am inexperienced.

But God kept putting people and things in my path that kept whispering ~ Caring for God means caring for His creation.

So I made a goal. I decided I would make one easy change at a time. Once that thing became habit, then I could add another thing. I am not very far along in my changes. I have been doing this for about 3 years, and you can tell from the list below that I am a slow learner. But hey, something is better than nothing, right?

So, here goes...

{Reusable Shopping Bags} Many stores will give you money back for using them. Plus, (and I love this one) Kroger will replace your bag for free if it rips or tears. It took me a while to make this a habit, because I kept leaving them at home. But I kept trying to figure out ways to remember, and now I put my wallet in the bags before I leave the house. I can't very well shop without my wallet can I? I also keep a spare bag tucked into a pocket in my van for surprise trips to Kohl's.

{Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs} This one is really easy because my electric company keeps sending me coupons to buy these things at dirt cheap prices. The only problem I've found is how to recycle them.

{Gardening} Who knew I would actually like gardening? But I can't tell you how much I enjoy seeing food come out of my backyard. It tastes better, it uses fewer energy resources (no transportation costs), no pesticides are used, and it saves me money. Win, win, win, win.

{Composting} I didn't even know what compost was a couple years ago. Basically, I throw all of my vegetable peels, stalks, cores, some dried grass clippings... whatever... into a bucket and let it decompose naturally. And then, I use it to fertilize my garden. Less waste goes to the landfill, and my waste is put to good use. Again, win, win.

{Recycling} Actually, my grandmother shamed me into this one last summer. And if an 80 year old woman can learn something new, why can't I? (Love you, Ninnie:) I still can't recycle a lot of things where I live, and I still have a lot to learn, but it is getting better.

{Use/Repair Something Old Instead of Buying New} I hate waste, and I hate spending money even more, so I've been doing this one a long time. What this one means is that if we live more simply and have less stuff, then we are using fewer resources. Do you really need that new sweater? What about a new cell phone? Really? I am not saying you should never buy anything. What I am saying is that you should evaluate the reasons for the purchase. Do you need it? Or do you just like new stuff?

{Energy Efficient Appliances} I have been putting this one off because of the point above, but my washing machine finally croaked. Did you know that a traditional top loading washer uses 40 gallons on a load? That is insane. My new large capacity front-loader uses less than half of that.

So, that's my short list. I am sure there are other things that I am forgetting (or don't even know about), so I have an idea. I would love it if everyone would share one thing that they do to care for the environment. Or that they should do. Then we all can have some new ideas about what to do next. So, fire away. (Blair, you can go first;)

Happy Earth Day!