Busy but refreshed

I've had a busy last few weeks. The most interesting things to tell about are an ecological retreat and confirmation camp. I was blessed to be part of a young adult fellowship through the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program which was an all-expenses paid retreat on an island in the Chesapeake Bay. There were about 20 of us from all over the country and from several different denominations. It was great to meet people and hear about their experiences and learn from each other. We had some interesting discussions about God and the environment and climate change and poverty. We also spent plenty of time playing outside in the marsh and the bay. We learned a lot from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. And we visited and learned about the community on Tangier Island. We worshipped together and experienced a beautiful sunrise and sunset. It was an awesome three days. Last week I got to go to the NJ Synod confirmation camp at Crossroads Outdoor Ministries. My supervising Pastor and I went along with four youth from our church. I love going to church camps and camping so I was excited to be part of the week, along with youth and other church leaders from around the state. I had a ton of fun and felt blessed to spend time with and learn from other leaders in ministry. And also to play outside and be goofy. :) Today I preached my last internship sermon, and began my last week of internship. Stay tuned!

How does your garden grow?

I thought I'd give an update on my foray into gardening this year. I did have one small setback; I wasn't quite sure when to pick the spinach and it looked to me like it still had growing to do, but it turns out that it was ready to go and since I didn't pick it, it went to seed. And at that point, it was too warm to plant more. I still have half the packet of seeds left though, so I think they can be planted when it starts to cool down again. Despite the spinach screw-up, the lettuce and green beans have been going very well. I picked my SECOND batch of lettuce today, and my first batch of green beans. Because of all the rain we had in June, the tomatoes are a little slow going, but they should come eventually. I took what I thought I would use from the beans and lettuce and then shared the rest with people at the church. Here are some pictures of my crops.

Gettin' Dirty

I apologize that I haven't posted in a while. I honestly haven't had much to write about that I thought would be interesting to read.

This is a picture of the raised garden beds that are now part of my internship church's property. It's very exciting. :) Church members can use the beds for growing vegetables, and whatever is leftover or not wanted will be given out with other items from our food pantry.





I have never gardened before. We had ample yard space where I grew up, but apparently my parents weren't into it. I was always kind of fascinated by gardening, and thought people who did it were cool, but never really had a desire to try it myself... until this year. I think my Better Homes and Gardens and Martha Stewart Living magazines pushed me over the edge with their articles on gardening in your back yard. So I decided to try it, and with the raised beds there for use, I finally got my hands dirty last weekend and planted some green beans, lettuce, and spinach. I was going to plant some tomatoes also, but someone else already planted several, so I didn't think it was necessary to plant more. And now I just wait and see if anything actually grows!






(Sadie enjoying the sun while I was planting.)

Happy Earth Day!

Some suggestions

I apologize, I haven't been posting as often as I would like lately. Things have gotten quite busy with the internship (not necessarily a bad thing), and I've been knitting up a storm, as well as starting some spring cleaning. That basically sums up my life over the past few weeks. I would like to share some things with you that have I experienced recently and/or just want to tell people about.

Slumdog Millionaire -- everyone should see this movie. I actually saw it about a week or two before the Oscars, and was thrilled to see it win so many awards. It was definitely deserving. I can't totally relate to you the way the movie touched me, as someone who has been to India. It's intense, don't let the commercials fool you. Yes, there is a beautiful love story that flows through the movie, but it's a lot more than that.

Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin -- I'm actually a little behind on this one as the book was published in 2006, and it has been on the NY Times Bestseller list since then. It's nonfiction and tells the story of Greg Mortenson, a former mountain climber, and his mission to build schools (and access to water and medicine) in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It's fascinating, gives an important perspective on war-torn parts of the world, and renewed my hope that people can make a difference in the world.

Getting tips for living "green" -- most people who know me, know that caring for creation is something I'm passionate about, and something I believe God has given us responsibility for. Though I *may* know more than the average person about being "green", I definitely still have a lot to learn. I have been signed up for several email newsletters for a while now that I'll share with you all in case you'd like to get some tips too.
Green America and Sierra Club are organizations you can join, but you don't have to join to sign up for their e-newsletters, which come about once a week and include tips, info on green companies, action alerts, interviews, editorials, etc. Ideal Bite sends you a daily email with tips for green living.
(These are just a few sites/organizations I know about. Feel free to ask if you want some more... my list of "green" links is the longest of all the sites that I have bookmarked!)