You Can Change Your World!

This is an amazing video on how a community changed their world and invested in "more kindness to themselves and to the environment," as is said in the video. It goes along with Donna's post on taking care of the earth. Watch this video on how a very small group of people, who met around a kitchen table, started a revolution that, literally, changed their surroundings and their life crossing all age groups.

Video: How We Can Eat Our Community Landscapes What should a community do with its unused land? Plant food, of course. Pam Warhurst cofounded Incredible Edible, an initiative in Todmorden, England dedicated to growing food locally by planting on unused land throughout the community. With wit and clarity, Pam Warhurst explains how she and a team of volunteers came together to turn plots of unused land into communal vegetable gardens, and to change the outlook on food in their community. This guerilla gardening video is a witty presentation and does an excellent job of inspiring us on the topic of "propaganda gardening," as Warhurst calls it. Now, I believe, 30 or so other communities in England have, also, gone Incredible Edible, along with many others around the world.

In Hot Springs, AR, there is community garden at this location:

Free Greens, Inc. a charitable community garden project :

228 Oak St.
Hot Springs, AR 71901
Tel. 501-463-4975
Contact: Neil Thomas

FGI is an open space charitable community garden project in historic downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas - located at the Clinton Cultural Campus grounds, on Oak and Orange Streets.

A 501-c not for profit organization working to improve the quality life of all those within its community through a variety of programs ranging from educational programs to charitable clothing donations (Free Greens Free Coats) as well as running a full four season full production food garden which distributed over 3000+ pounds of locally grown organic whole foods to community neighbors in need as well as those garden members and their families.

Free Greens, Inc - Rooted in Community

God Commands Us to Take Care of the Earth

Since Stephen has been posting on the toxicity in our world, I can’t help but put a little spiritual slant to our posts since we're both ordained ministers. I’m not going to preach to you; however, in order to truly live in joy on this beautiful planet we all call home, we have to do our part and do the best we can to help take care of it. Why?

Do you recall  the scripture in Genesis 2:15? It says.”Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.”

In that verse, the word “keep” in Hebrew is a very special word. It means to care for something so gently and completely, and to make sure that no harm comes to it... to cherish it as a mother would her baby. That was the command that God gave to man. That was man’s responsibility, which is now mankind's responsibility collectively.

Let’s all take notice of the things that are happening our “home,” which is the only one we have, and do what we can to “keep it”  in the scriptural sense. What we do to the earth, we do to ourselves. Let’s make sure we do our part and pass on to our children, grandchildren, and the future generations to come a beautiful, safe, healthy world in which to live and enjoy life as best as we possibly can. 

However, we can only make a difference by working together and making changes in our lifestyle NOW. We can change the way we clean our homes, raise our food, dispose of our garbage, and live respectively in regards to the environment in our own little corner of the world.

As one little girl said at the end of 20/20 TV show a few years ago hosted by Diane Sawyer, “Be nice to the earth.”

She couldn’t have said it any better. As the scriptures tell us, “And a child shall lead them...,” let us all be nice to the earth.

God bless you,
Pastor Donna

Are you Right or Left Brained?

Have you ever wondered if you were

left-brained or right-brained?

This is interesting. Test yourself HERE.

Full Movie: FOOD, INC

Here is a most interesting video that everyone needs to watch. Share it with people you care about for it is an hour and half well spent... Enjoy!



This will be posted on the GMO page for easy reference for everyone.

Have a good day...

Bees and Our World

It is reported that Albert Einstein once said: 

“If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination … no more men!”

These are words to take to heart. 

There is a new film that has been released and that can be ordered  entitled: More Than Honey. It shows the importance bees play in our lives and our food supply and how they are now disappearing and dying. These special little creatures are not just the providers of a special sweetener you use. They pollinate; they, essentially, are responsible for a great portion of our food supply. Watch the trailer below.


More than Honey - Markus Imhoof (Official Trailer) from CIBER Science on Vimeo.
This is another little video I posted  HERE sometime ago.

Bees pollinate a significant majority of the world's food. In North America alone, honey bees pollinate nearly 95 kinds of fruits, including almonds, avocados, cranberries and apples. In fact, we can thank honey bees for one in three bites of food we eat. We all rely on bees – and the pollination services they provide – every day.

What’s happening to bees?

In recent years, bees have been dying off in droves. First in France in the mid-1990s, then in the U.S. and elsewhere, colonies have been mysteriously collapsing with adult bees disappearing, seemingly abandoning their hives. 

In 2006, about two years after this phenomenon hit the U.S., it was named “Colony Collapse Disorder,” or CCD. Each year since, commercial beekeepers have reported annual losses of 29% - 36%. Such losses are unprecedented, and more than double what is considered normal. Much has been made over the "mystery" surrounding CCD, but two points of consensus have emerged: Multiple, interacting causes are in play – key suspects include pathogens, habitat loss and pesticides; and Immune system damage is a critical factor that may be at the root of the disorder. Read more... 

There is a PDF that is quite interesting. It is a Bee Tool-Kit. You can access it HERE. Share it with your children and grand-children, and make the young ones aware of the importance that bees play in their life and life of this beautiful planet we all share and call home: It is the only one we have.

Check out the little widget in the side-bar and observe the bee-harming pesticides/chemicals being used in our agriculture that remains on your food supply. It is alarming. 

Visit with your local farmer's markets, and ask whether their produce is grown with bee safety in mind. If so, I urge you to patronize and support them.

Have a safe, Natural Living day,
Stephen

Toxicity in our Food, Our Homes, Our Life!

We live in a world that looks pretty on the outside, but when you look within our food, our atmosphere, our water, there is so much that we don't see that is harming our entire existence short term and long term. Nothing is as it looks.

Take a beautiful, shiny apple in a grocery store. It looks very innocuous... it looks harmless from all appearances. Watch this little video. There are several videos on the state of our world and the pollutants we exist with in the environment so I am going to put a page up that just has this information. It will be in the menu bar in the next few days so it is handy for reference.

Have a great day,

Stephen

What's On Your Food?

It is insane what is used on your food! I have a great widget in the sidebar to find out what pesticides and herbicides are being used in today's chemical based world. You need to know so that you can make wise decisions  in your grocery shopping, especially if you have children or grandchildren living in your home, or you could become pregnant.

An example are oranges and other citrus. Most people handle them without thought. They are handed to children to eat without washing thoroughly or peeling them.

There are some interesting substances listed on the citrus fruit cartons used to help ensure freshness. Some of these are Imazalil (Link to information on toxicity to humans, including carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, acute toxicity, and toxicity to aquatic organisms.), Thiabendazole, and Orthophenylphenate. Then there are coatings of food-grade vegetable, beeswax, petroleum, or shellac-based wax or resin, all used to maintain freshness."

When choosing between organic and non-organic, check the widget in the side bar of this blog first. If it is a fruit, nut, or vegetable that is treated with many pesticides and herbicides, it would be well to choose the organic even if the cost is a bit more. Or, go to your local Farmer's Market and shop. Ask if they are natural growers.  Your health is worth it!

Have a great day...

More GMO News

More GMO News: Whole Foods to label GMO foods. They will be first store to do so!

Whole Foods To Label Genetically Modified Food Slate Magazine (blog) The upscale grocery chain Whole Foods Market is getting ahead of the game, becoming the first major retailer in the United States to require that all genetically modified foods in their U.S. and Canadian stores be labeled by 2018. It's a move that... See all stories on this topic » Slate Magazine (blog)

Whole Foods Says GMO Labeling A Requirement At Stores The Inquisitr Whole Foods says GMO labeling is a requirement for all foods sold in its stores in a move that some believe will radically alter the industry. The genetically modified labeling requirement is a first for any retailer in the United States. It comes as ... See all stories on this topic »

A question of coexistence: Lewistown neighbors lay bare national GMO debate Great Falls Tribune In Montana, with a climate largely unfavorable to some major commodity crops such as corn and soybeans, the planting of crops containing genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, was effectively delayed until the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved ... See all stories on this topic »

Whole Foods Market Commits to Full GMO Transparency Gourmet Retailer By 2018, all products in Whole Foods Market's U.S. and Canadian stores will be labeled to indicate whether they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs), making it the first national grocery chain to set a deadline for full GMO transparency. “We ... See all stories on this topic »

Like Raw Milk? Support this AR Bill!

Hi,

Just found this news on-line recently posted.

"A bill was just filed in Arkansas this week to ALLOW unpasteurized cow milk sales in AR–up to 500 gallons directly from the farm. This is an exciting opportunity for more food freedom in AR. PLEASE help support HB1536!http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2013/2013R/Pages/BillInformation.aspx?measureno=HB1536
If you want more info, contact me @washingtoncountyteaparty.ar@gmail.com or call 888-311-4348"

If this is important to you, contact the Washington County Tea Party for more information.

Wherever you live, you can go to http://www.realmilk.com/ to find unadulterated cow and/or goat's milk right from the farm. 

Years ago, we used to get raw milk from  a great dairy farm in Illinois. It was some miles away, so we got together about 6 families who shared getting milk for everyone. That way you just had to make the trip once every 6 weeks. It worked out great.

So if a farm is some miles away, share getting it. The milk is well worth the effort.

Have a great "natural living" day,
Stephen

News on GMO's

Here are some posts on GMO's Hot Off the Press:

GMO Poll Finds Huge Majority Say Foods Should Be Labeled Huffington Post Americans are largely uncertain over whether genetically modified foods are safe for the environment or safe to eat, but the vast majority say that foods containing genetically modifiedingredients should be labeled, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov ... See all stories on this topic »

Vt. House committee approves GMO labeling bill Addison County Independent MONTPELIER — Vermont is one step closer to becoming the first state to put mandatory labels ongenetically modified food products. On Friday, the House Agriculture Committee, after weeks of testimony, passed H.112, or the “GMO labeling bill,” by an 8 ... See all stories on this topic »

Shumlin: GMO labeling good, bill bad Barre Montpelier Times Argus Shumlin heard from Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Thomas Donahue against the bill on the grounds it would harm a number of local businesses, like Westminster Cracker, which uses genetically modified Canola Oil. Then a member of the ... See all stories on this topic »