A Thought ... or two ... or three ...

“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.”

--Thomas Paine

The Earth — Use It Wisely

“The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.” —Psalm 24:1

God gave us an incredible gift—the beautiful world in which we live. Naturally, though, as we share this planet with so many others, we run the risk of seeing its beauty diminished and its resources depleted.

While we have every right to use the resources God placed in and on the earth, we also need to recognize our responsibility to respect the earth as His and to preserve its resources for future generations.

In Genesis, the Lord told Adam (and, by extension, all of us) to “tend and keep” the earth (2:15). Because we don’t know when Jesus will return, it would not be responsible stewardship to leave our children and grandchildren without the resources that God provided for them as well.

We might think our individual efforts to preserve God’s world aren’t valuable. But we can all work together to do our part. Buying and consuming less, simplifying, repairing instead of replacing, reusing, and recycling are all good stewardship practices.

One way we can testify of our love for God and to express our gratitude for what He has done is by tending and keeping the earth and all that it offers. Until the Lord returns, let’s use our world wisely.

—Dave Branon, Our Daily Bread

The natural world that God has made
Is given to us and must be shared;
May generations yet to come
Be thankful that we cared.

—D. De Haan

“God created the world and He has placed it in our care.”

Check out St. Mary’s youth project site: www. exploreyournest.org

"Let no one be discouraged by the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills, against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence. ... Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of our generation."  

--Robert F. Kennedy

Read Two American Dreams, an article about two people in the same society but living in two completely different worlds.

Read the provocative article, "Why Having More no Longer Makes Us Happy."

“Knowledge of history can be the first step away from anger and bitterness.  Truth leads to understanding.  Understanding and forgiveness lead to reconciliation and healing.”

--from the Kunte Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial Wall at the Annapolis City Dock

 

“Every great and commanding moment in the annals of the world is the triumph of some enthusiasm.”

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

“Every day that I live becomes more meaningful, more fulfilled, and, for me, much more enriching. Time is too short, so I've discovered, for all the tremendous revelations of the love of God which he has given to me - new insights, new visions, new possibilities, new dimensions of human living, new relationships with people around me, new depths of concern, and of agony, and of joy which make my life - yes, I can truly say it - so deeply meaningful that I'm eager when I go to bed at night to awake the next morning and to say, ‘It's a new day, a new life, it's a new experience of God and of humankind.’” 

--Beyers Naudé
Afrikaner-South African cleric, theologian and anti-apartheid activis