Happy Earth Day!! Today I hope we’re able to celebrate and appreciate the wonders and beauty of the natural world that has been gifted to us by God. Unfortunately, much of our earth is now riddled with different types of pollution, including that of air, land, and water. One way to help dramatically decrease the amount of pollution in our oceans is to use fewer plastic disposable drinking straws. You know the kind: the ones that are found and used at practically every restaurant, whether it’s five star or fast food. According to The Last Plastic Straw — an initiative to alter the nonchalant use of plastic straws that so dramatically affects the environment — about 500 million straws are used daily and discarded in the United States alone (1). The reasons straws are so impactful in our environment and oceans is because it is easy for them to get swept away from recycling bins and trashcans. A jolting statistic shared by Strawless Ocean, “An estimated 71% of seabirds and 30% of turtles have been found with plastics in their stomachs. When they ingest plastic, marine life has a 50% mortality rate” (2). Many animals mistake these pieces of plastic for potential items of prey. With a seemingly infinite access to plastic straws, today’s society heavily contributes to the pollution that is observed and experienced in the environment. Many people aren’t necessarily aware of the impact that straws have, but there are changes that can be made to catalyze the reduction of environmental pollution.
Step 1: Make a personal commitment to stop using plastic straws. Simply saying “no straw, please” when ordering a drink is an action that can easily impact the amount of plastic that you use cumulatively use weekly, monthly, and annually. Step 2: Ask businesses to only offer straws to guests upon request, thus reducing their overall production of plastic waste and preventing an unnecessary waste of straws. Step 3: Expose those restaurants to the array of alternatives to plastic straws, those of which include paper (AardvarkStraws.com), bamboo (Brushwithbamboo.com), glass (BeOrganic.me/), metal (Ecoatheart.com), or silicone (Reuseit.com)! All of these steps are actions that can help the conservation and preservation of the natural world and its inhabitants, including ourselves. With less potential to be affected by invasive plastic straws, sea life — including fish, whales, sea turtles, and birds — can continue to flourish and keep our ecosystems in-check. Though in a big world it may be hard to feel like you’re making a difference, an individual's lifestyle change to stop their use a plastic straws could be the difference between life and death for any number of creatures on our planet. https://thelastplasticstraw.org/ (1) https://www.strawlessocean.org/faq/ (2)
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I’m currently reading through the book of Acts, and I just recently finished Chapter 14, which addresses Barnabas and Paul’s missions to Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, and finally their return to Antioch. In Lystra Paul was stoned to near-death by Jews from Antioch and Iconium, having been dragged outside the city. “But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city” (verse 20, NIV).
There are two things that really stood out to me from this entire passage. Firstly, Paul was thought to be dead—the Jews dragged him outside of the city gates only after they thought he was dead. But he later GOT UP and walked back into the city, not with his own strength but with that of God. God was with Paul, even when he was near death, seemingly abandoned and disposed of. This stands as a reminder of God’s constant, everlasting presence in our lives, whether we feel Him or not. Secondly, God revealed something to me immediately as I read this passage. Today we often find ourselves fearful of the reactions we will receive from our attempts at ministry, whether it’s telling someone that we are believers or asking someone about their own beliefs. It’s scary, I know, and a lot of times I don’t want to do it. Sometimes God asks us to pray for a stranger or to talk to someone we don’t know, and it can be absolutely terrifying. I know—He’s asked me to do some of these things. Sometimes I do them, sometimes I make excuses and avoid them. We get scared of looking “stupid,” or getting teased because we believe in Jesus. This passage, however, gave me a new source of encouragement. After his stoning, Paul later RETURNS to the three cities, “strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith” (verse 21, NIV). How crazy is that?! Paul returns to the place at which he was nearly killed because he had not completed the work that they were called there to do. Yet we cannot always bring ourselves to invite someone to Bible study or ask fellow classmates about their faith. If Paul could bear to return to the place that he almost died, we can stand to look stupid for Jesus. This was the conviction God laid on my heart earlier this week. So I’ve tried to make the most of this week, inquiring about people’s beliefs and inviting people to Bible study. On one occasion, I was laughed at, but it resulted in a feeling of contentment. I’ve been mocked for the faith, and it’s kinda cool to not be bothered by it, I thought. This scenario didn’t bother me because I knew that I had at least tried. I think God used this specific situation as a test of my faith because the next day the person asked about time and location of Bible study. From this, I encourage all of you to continue strong in the faith, complying more with the things God calls you to. Your faithfulness will result in a greater happiness and in a strengthening of your own beliefs, for it is much more freeing to live in the persecution of the faith than in the bondage of the world. Today is my lovely Mommacita’s birthday!
Today is also special for another reason, however: I got another tattoo commemorating the strength I have that is from God. When my dad returned from a trip to Israel, he brought me back a figurine carved from olive wood. Depicted is a lion wrapped protectively around a lamb, surely symbolizing Jesus as both the conquering Lion and the sacrificial Lamb. Handing it to me, Dad revealed the ways in which I remind him of a lion: “Courage. Power. Strength. Unintimidated.” These words have rung clear in my mind ever since, a steady reminder that the strength found in Christ Jesus is also found in me. I have always had a love of lions, and Africa falls higher on my list of places-to-go than Australia (to those who know me, you’re likely be very shocked)! Naturally, I found it more than fitting to get the word “lion” tattooed as a constant visible reminder that my strength and ability comes from one ever-flowing source alone: God. Of course, I didn’t want “lion” written across my arm in English, however creative that may be for other languages. As I love Spanish, I briefly considered “león” but was quickly turned-off from it. Too, I considered “simba,” the Swahili translation of the word, but I’m sure it’s pretty obvious why I didn’t go with that one, no matter how much I love The Lion King. Then I had a revelation -- that may very well have been inspired by God -- to get it written in Hebrew. Immediately I fell in love with the idea and began writing it in marker on my arm. Today, I got it in my dad’s handwriting. Forever I will cherish it. אַריֵה Today I was in my biology lab’s recitation and we began discussing the different hypotheses pertaining to the creation of the universe. At one point we began talking about the earth and the moon. In short, it is believed that a comet crashed into Earth, shattering to 1/3 its former size. As chunks of debris drifted into space, a large piece got caught in the gravitational pull of the earth. Voila: the moon. Scientists validate this due to the fact that the geological substances of the earth and the moon have been connected to each other.
As we were learning this, I couldn’t help but ask the question, “Why would God make the earth and moon particularly in such a way that it could be hypothesized that they occurred outside of Him?” And then He revealed to me the answer: If these were different substances, it would be very easy for evolution and the creation of the universe according to scientists to be discredited. But it’s not. In fact, some may consider it to be more evident that evolution occurred than that I exist. But this evidence is secular. Look at where it is rooted: the attempts of man to prove the existence of the earth and its inhabitants outside of me. The evidence is compelling, but I want you to choose me because you trust and believe in me, not because science “can’t figure it out.” God wants us to choose Him out of LOVE and TRUST. If there were nothing to test our faith in this way, the choice to believe in creation by God wouldn’t mean as much as it does now. We need to confidently choose Him amidst the distractions and the diversions that the world offers. This week the SouthLake Christian family—composed of current students, alumni and families—suffered the loss of a dear mother, friend and supporter. Trina Law was many things to many people, including a warrior and a beacon of Christ’s light to those who surrounded her.
At 3 pm on Thursday, February 8, 2018, Mrs. Law was relieved of her battle with cancer and reunited with King Jesus. Though difficult for those of us who so desperately hold on to her, it is comforting to know that she is no longer in pain. She now worships the Father in her eternal home, a home in which we will one day be reunited with her. But this peace that is found doesn’t erase the pain of the loss, especially for her immediate family and those closest to her. Then what is it that God is trying to reveal to us through loss? I believe that there are a few messages that God tries to relay to us through personal loss. Firstly, I truly believe that God has a reigning plan for all things that happen. The Lord takes and the Lord provides—that’s part of the mystery of Who He is and His plan for our lives. I lost 3 family members in a period of 6 months. The pain of the losses was brutal, but we had to continue to believe that there was a reason this was done. I believe the reason that’s a little easier to see is this: personal loss should remind us of the loss God experienced when Jesus—His only Son—died on the cross for us. Though it was all foreknown, it doesn’t make the loss any harder. Some of us are in situations in which we know death is coming for someone we love. The point of rest should be in knowing that God understands. He can empathize with us in our loss. Just as God knew that Jesus would rise again, however, we can have the confidence of knowing that we as believers will one day be reunited with those we have lost, as they are now worshiping the King in heaven. Rest in Peace, Trina Law. We will see you again. |
1 Thess. 2:2"...but with the help of our God we dared to tell His gospel in the face of strong opposition." Categories
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