Spring has sprung and shows no signs of slowing down...

The above picture are some roses that my wife has been growing for medicinal purposes. They are beautiful to the eye and good for the body! There are so many things that our Creator has given us that fit that description, pleasing to the eye and good for the body. They come from the Earth, which God saw important enough to make a covenant with. Documented in Genesis 9:13 "'I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth." That impacts me in a way that lets me know that the Earth is very important and I can't help but identify that we are called to be stewards of it. I think of this call to stewardship often. When I think of the call of stewardship, I must identify a few things.

How- How do I do this? Personally? Professionally? The impact I have on the Earth is important so I need to think on how do I do this.

What- What can I do? What are proven methods that show a partnership between the nurturer (mankind) and the nurtured (the Earth) or is it the other way around???

Enemies- What is the opposition to this calling? Hmmm? I'd have to say mankind. I don't see any other creation abusing the Earth, but the negative impact that mankind has had on the Earth is undeniable.

I'll try to briefly expound on these as I continue, but I could and possibly should write a book looking at this more in depth.

How do I steward the Earth personally? We try to do our part by limiting our purchases of plastic. Plastics have taken our world by storm. I've written a little about this topic before and I'm reminded of it as I'm punching away on this plastic keyboard. Plastic has its place, but within reason. We literally can look at most areas in life and identify plastic somewhere at any given time. We've made a conscious decision to try and eliminate single use plastics from our lifestyle. Glass containers (which we have to drive to North Carolina to recycle) or paper/cardboard containers are our go to. As I become proficient in this at home, I can take it to my workplace. Encourage a recycling program within the world of cubes, the production line, or whatever.

What can I do? Another mental shift for me is to build soil. We have taken from the soil for a very time and what return to it typically is mountains of trash. The crazy thing is, the Earth responds by growing greenery atop the mountain. We aren't taught stewardship in public school that I attended (an ever increasingly time ago). We try to implement water catchment systems. Why? To help reduce runoff. When you consider that 1 square foot of roof per 1 inch of rain, yields 8 gallons of water, then consider how small a 1 sqft area is in comparison to the size of our roofs, my mind is blown. Then consider that for every acre of land, when it's organic matter is increased for just 1%, has the capacity to retain 20,000 gallons of water, I feel like I should do that!! So compost compost compost!!! That's how we do that! We compost a lot of stuff here. From grass cuttings, to leaves in the fall, to kitchen scraps, to animal byproducts. Compost feeds the Earth good stuff in return for the good stuff it provides to us.

What are the enemies? Convenience is the subtle yet deadly favorite deceiver. Walk into any gas station or convenient store and you'll see multi layered walls of plastic. All containing your favorite tasty beverage that contains minimal ingredients that we should be consuming. Yet we have public agencies that deem these things appropriate to consume. This is where I must tread lightly and know that I am not anti government, but anti corrupt government. Can one exist without the other? I'd say that taking a look at history would be a good place to start. I'll leave that to each person's decision. I will say that we became a Private Membership/Ministerial Association protected by common law for a reason. There have been times that I have doubted this decision, but as things continue to unfold, I am confident that we have made the best decision to protect our freedoms to eat what we want, from where we want, and a lot of that is by knowing the people that produce our food. Knowing the people provides insight into the "why" of their labors. Is it strictly profit driven? Is it an extension of their convictions to steward God given resources? If so we are in alignment and can do business. The enemy of conviction is by far convenience. Convenience so often leads to compromise, which often leads to complacency.

My hope is that this gives some inspiration to think outside of the cultural norm. There are options out there, many by which come by way of relationship. Wisdom is best exercised when looking at the why's in life. Our desire is to continue on the path of stewardship of resources and relationships until God directs us to do differently. (I don't think that will ever happen) :-)

Farm News!

Embrace Farm has begun participating in Polk County North Carolina

Farmer's Markets

I am offering to use this as a drop off location but my primary reason for attending these markets is to educate people of the opportunity to become members of a

growing PMA (Private Membership/Ministerial Association)

which enables people to have confidence

only available by know their farmer.

Ministry News!

Men's Gathering

Saturdays at 6:30 am

Open Road Coffee Shop

915 W. Mills St

Columbus, NC 28722

Full Proof Ministries

Sundays at

10:00 (Discipleship)

11:00 (Praise / Teaching)

199 Jackson St.

Tryon, NC 28782

Full Proof Ministries is a small diverse congregation that looks to see the beauty in all of God's creation. We believe the that the Bible is the Authoritative Word of God preserved for us to navigate this life in a way that glorifies God and benefits us, because He loves us.

I am priviledged to preach every 3rd Sunday when I am able.

For any questions please contact me through email, the website, or call/text me.

Your aspiring stewards,

Gordon & Elizabeth