Monday, January 1, 2018
Life As School
Since I'm meant to be keeping records of our schooling anyway, I'm thinking this blog might be a good vehicle for it. The last couple of weeks have been pretty relaxed, but some learning has still been happening. Cinnamon taught Pepper to use the swing. We've been harvesting zucchini, beans and apricots together as well as collecting eggs. Cinnamon and Pepper have been learning about the different varieties of beans we have, and in the last weeks they've learned a lot about animal husbandry and animal behaviour as we raise a batch of chicks.
It's been amazing to see how the behaviour of our chickens have changed while they've been raising chicks.
The older girls have worked hard on their vege patch which has made good progress
This second photo is a couple of weeks old - I hope to take another one soon. We had strong winds that left Poppy despairing over her precious plants, but God answered her prayers and they survived against the odds.
Kayaking on the dam has been a great activity for the hot summer days. Oh, and we learnt a lot about bees when we had a bee colony removed from under our verandah (I haven't included photos of that since they have other people in them)
And *finally* the girls are starting to be willing to play for other people, and Poppy is even *requesting* "family band" (admittedly partly because I let her off piano practice which she doesn't love) - something which used to be a *huge* battle with all of them. Cinnamon can keep up with her sisters for a couple of pieces, and the older three play Pachelbel's Cannon (according to a somewhat biased Mummy) beautifully. Welcome to our homeschooling year. May I do better at keeping records this year!
Thursday, February 2, 2017
A Day In The Life
Some days, being a homeschooling Mum feels like having several jobs all at once. I can be on my feet the whole day... and then get to the end of the day, look around the house and wonder what I've been doing all day. So here's one glimpse of a day - as much for me (to remind me that I am actually doing stuff!) as anyone else.
My morning started with our littlest person climbing into bed with me. I don't know what time it was, but early, because it was still dark. I'll call her Pepper, because she adds a real spice to our lives :) I didn't sleep much after that, but finally dragged myself out of bed at 7.30. I'm trying to get up earlier in the morning, but it's a battle - especially when I do something dumb like stay up late watching a movie like I did last night.
ANYway, I turned on the oven to warm up breakfast (rice pudding, sweetened with dates and a little rapadura), rounded up the chickens which had escaped their pen (regular morning occurrence), let out the guinea pigs, then spent 45 minutes in prayer and meditation before Pepper woke up again and came to me for snuggles. The next hour was taken up with serving and eating breakfast and reading bible, interspersed with putting on a load of laundry (someone I won't name had wet the bed), discussing plans for Marigold (the oldest) to play hymns at church in two weeks, helping Poppy (our flamboyant yet fragile second-born) with Fur Elise on the piano, and helping everyone choose their chores from the job list for the day (when I'm organised, I write out a list of jobs for the day on a small whiteboard and each of the oldest three chooses three or four jobs - depending how big the jobs are).
By 10.30, after supervising Maths for Cinnamon (4th daughter) and Poppy, while advising Ivy (our tenacious and determined middle child) on how to prepare "twice-baked potatoes" and ensuring that Pepper finished her breakfast, I felt sleepy enough to go back to bed (but didn't!). I'd also given Cinnamon her pocket money for the month, and went through how much a tithe is and how to divide up the remainder between spending and saving. Oh, and put some of Ivy's money in her savings account at her request.
After that I brought in a load of laundry and hung out the new load, trying to make the process a mini workout by squatting to take each item out of the laundry basket. In the middle of hanging out the laundry, I heard the squawking of chickens, so went to collect the first eggs for the day. Meanwhile the girls were taking turns with piano and violin practice and Marigold and Poppy were taking turns using "their" laptop for their daily touch typing practice (copying out the book of Deuteronomy bit by bit). They also wrote out their scripture copywork. Thankfully today Cinnamon's was up to scratch - I've had to get her to rewrite it quite a few other days because she has been so sloppy.
Sometime after that Marigold asked me what my expectations were for cleaning the shower and bath, so I walked her through that, then helped Ivy with her maths since it was a new concept today - multiplying fractions. In between all this, there were a few trips outside with the buckets from the kitchen and laundry sink (I collect the water we use for rinsing dishes and washing hands to water pot plants). I gave Cinnamon her jobs, including putting away her laundry. Meanwhile I checked the peach tree for ripe peaches and brought in some water for drinking from the rainwater tank, on the way discovering a tomato that had been eaten by a blackbird. Somewhere in there Marigold completed her "chicken welfare" course on Coursera (much to our relief - an inordinate amount of course time was devoted to ways and means of killing chickens - not quite what we were expecting).
In the midst of the morning, there were several discipline issues I had to deal with with Pepper. Lunchtime snuck up on us and it was time to feed Pepper. After lunch Poppy read to Pepper in preparation for her nap, while I hunted for a protractor... after Marigold told me she couldn't work out how to measure angles with the compass I'd given her (when she first asked for a protractor, I gave her a compass, and being the kind of child she is, she struggled for a good ten or fifteen minutes trying to work out how on earth she could measure an angle with it before almost losing it).
Meanwhile, Poppy was scrambling to finish her "list" for the day, since she's been waiting all week for a chance to watch a movie with her sisters, and Pepper's nap time is my preferred time for this. We like to keep Pepper's screen time to an absolute minimum. Poppy handed me her notebook so I could read her "history writing" - she wrote a few lines about Diet Eman, author of the book "Things We Couldn't Say", which I have been sporadically reading aloud for several months. (I don't have the stomach to read it aloud often, since it is a biographical account, including time that Diet spent in concentration camps for her work in the Dutch resistance during WW2).
By 3.00 while the girls watched Fiddler On The Roof, I was writing this while eating far too many macaroons (made by Marigold several days ago - they were a bit of a flop, but still thoroughly edible). I just collected the fourth egg of the day... I took a break from writing to bring in dry laundry, make the bed that had been wet, collect and "can" some more peaches and prepare dinner (slow cooked marinated meat and salad with tomatoes fresh from the garden)...
By 4.00 Pepper had woken up and wanted some Mummy play time before she joined her sisters to watch the last of Fiddler on the Roof. I checked out a documentary on living on $1 a day to put on for the girls some time in the future, then had some discussion with Marigold and Poppy about Jews and Russia, prompted by Fiddler on the Roof.
I read a letter from the camp director at Marigold and Poppy's church summer camp - I really appreciate that he writes a letter to the parents each year summarizing the topics discussed in their Christian Living classes.
After dinner the Raamonster rang from his work four hours away and we chatted about the day and plans for the weekend and holidays later in the hear, after he had chatted to Marigold and Ivy (Poppy, Cinnamon and Pepper had each had their turns earlier in the week). I had some play time with Pepper, and now here I am, finishing this off and just about ready to go to bed. I'm amazed at how much of a blur the day behind me already is! This is a mostly true account, but maybe not completely accurate in timing. I haven't written about every detail of the day - that would be too boring even for me, but I think it gives a reasonably honest snapshot. Maybe I'll write another in a year, just to keep track of how my life changes. Maybe...
My morning started with our littlest person climbing into bed with me. I don't know what time it was, but early, because it was still dark. I'll call her Pepper, because she adds a real spice to our lives :) I didn't sleep much after that, but finally dragged myself out of bed at 7.30. I'm trying to get up earlier in the morning, but it's a battle - especially when I do something dumb like stay up late watching a movie like I did last night.
ANYway, I turned on the oven to warm up breakfast (rice pudding, sweetened with dates and a little rapadura), rounded up the chickens which had escaped their pen (regular morning occurrence), let out the guinea pigs, then spent 45 minutes in prayer and meditation before Pepper woke up again and came to me for snuggles. The next hour was taken up with serving and eating breakfast and reading bible, interspersed with putting on a load of laundry (someone I won't name had wet the bed), discussing plans for Marigold (the oldest) to play hymns at church in two weeks, helping Poppy (our flamboyant yet fragile second-born) with Fur Elise on the piano, and helping everyone choose their chores from the job list for the day (when I'm organised, I write out a list of jobs for the day on a small whiteboard and each of the oldest three chooses three or four jobs - depending how big the jobs are).
By 10.30, after supervising Maths for Cinnamon (4th daughter) and Poppy, while advising Ivy (our tenacious and determined middle child) on how to prepare "twice-baked potatoes" and ensuring that Pepper finished her breakfast, I felt sleepy enough to go back to bed (but didn't!). I'd also given Cinnamon her pocket money for the month, and went through how much a tithe is and how to divide up the remainder between spending and saving. Oh, and put some of Ivy's money in her savings account at her request.
After that I brought in a load of laundry and hung out the new load, trying to make the process a mini workout by squatting to take each item out of the laundry basket. In the middle of hanging out the laundry, I heard the squawking of chickens, so went to collect the first eggs for the day. Meanwhile the girls were taking turns with piano and violin practice and Marigold and Poppy were taking turns using "their" laptop for their daily touch typing practice (copying out the book of Deuteronomy bit by bit). They also wrote out their scripture copywork. Thankfully today Cinnamon's was up to scratch - I've had to get her to rewrite it quite a few other days because she has been so sloppy.
Sometime after that Marigold asked me what my expectations were for cleaning the shower and bath, so I walked her through that, then helped Ivy with her maths since it was a new concept today - multiplying fractions. In between all this, there were a few trips outside with the buckets from the kitchen and laundry sink (I collect the water we use for rinsing dishes and washing hands to water pot plants). I gave Cinnamon her jobs, including putting away her laundry. Meanwhile I checked the peach tree for ripe peaches and brought in some water for drinking from the rainwater tank, on the way discovering a tomato that had been eaten by a blackbird. Somewhere in there Marigold completed her "chicken welfare" course on Coursera (much to our relief - an inordinate amount of course time was devoted to ways and means of killing chickens - not quite what we were expecting).
In the midst of the morning, there were several discipline issues I had to deal with with Pepper. Lunchtime snuck up on us and it was time to feed Pepper. After lunch Poppy read to Pepper in preparation for her nap, while I hunted for a protractor... after Marigold told me she couldn't work out how to measure angles with the compass I'd given her (when she first asked for a protractor, I gave her a compass, and being the kind of child she is, she struggled for a good ten or fifteen minutes trying to work out how on earth she could measure an angle with it before almost losing it).
Meanwhile, Poppy was scrambling to finish her "list" for the day, since she's been waiting all week for a chance to watch a movie with her sisters, and Pepper's nap time is my preferred time for this. We like to keep Pepper's screen time to an absolute minimum. Poppy handed me her notebook so I could read her "history writing" - she wrote a few lines about Diet Eman, author of the book "Things We Couldn't Say", which I have been sporadically reading aloud for several months. (I don't have the stomach to read it aloud often, since it is a biographical account, including time that Diet spent in concentration camps for her work in the Dutch resistance during WW2).
By 3.00 while the girls watched Fiddler On The Roof, I was writing this while eating far too many macaroons (made by Marigold several days ago - they were a bit of a flop, but still thoroughly edible). I just collected the fourth egg of the day... I took a break from writing to bring in dry laundry, make the bed that had been wet, collect and "can" some more peaches and prepare dinner (slow cooked marinated meat and salad with tomatoes fresh from the garden)...
By 4.00 Pepper had woken up and wanted some Mummy play time before she joined her sisters to watch the last of Fiddler on the Roof. I checked out a documentary on living on $1 a day to put on for the girls some time in the future, then had some discussion with Marigold and Poppy about Jews and Russia, prompted by Fiddler on the Roof.
I read a letter from the camp director at Marigold and Poppy's church summer camp - I really appreciate that he writes a letter to the parents each year summarizing the topics discussed in their Christian Living classes.
After dinner the Raamonster rang from his work four hours away and we chatted about the day and plans for the weekend and holidays later in the hear, after he had chatted to Marigold and Ivy (Poppy, Cinnamon and Pepper had each had their turns earlier in the week). I had some play time with Pepper, and now here I am, finishing this off and just about ready to go to bed. I'm amazed at how much of a blur the day behind me already is! This is a mostly true account, but maybe not completely accurate in timing. I haven't written about every detail of the day - that would be too boring even for me, but I think it gives a reasonably honest snapshot. Maybe I'll write another in a year, just to keep track of how my life changes. Maybe...
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
A Way That Seems Right
We live in a world where tragedy and brutality abound, despite so many people truly desiring peace. How is that? Why is it that even ordinary "nice" people can be complicit in the murder of the friends and neighbours in the massacres that echo disturbingly throughout history? Jews beaten to death in wartime Germany and her allies. Babies left to die alone in Rwanda. Children enslaved and tortured after being sold by their own parents all over the world...
The answer, as always, is in God's word. A single, divinely inspired sentence sums up the truth:
Down through history, wars, massacres and genocides have started with a bunch of people - nice people, passionate people, even kind people - doing what seemed right to them.
This is where suffering comes from, and this is why we need a saviour. Not a politician or philosopher or revolutionary, but The Saviour, Jesus Christ. May He come quickly!
The answer, as always, is in God's word. A single, divinely inspired sentence sums up the truth:
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 14:12
Down through history, wars, massacres and genocides have started with a bunch of people - nice people, passionate people, even kind people - doing what seemed right to them.
This is where suffering comes from, and this is why we need a saviour. Not a politician or philosopher or revolutionary, but The Saviour, Jesus Christ. May He come quickly!
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Four Things I Don't Want to Tell You
While I've written before that homeschooling is not who I am, it still shapes a big part of my life. If you're a homeschooler - even the most radical unschooler - I'm pretty sure you know what I mean.
There are many things that I do because my children aren't sitting in a traditional classroom in a traditional school. Some are awesome (like asking one of the kids to prepare dinner and then walking away), some are survival instincts (like locking my bedroom door when I'm on the phone). There are also many things I don't do because my kid aren't in a traditional classroom. Some I don't miss at all (like sitting in school traffic). Others... Well, that's kind of what this post is about.
Whether you're a homeschooler or not, there are some conversations that I long to have with all my heart, but I'm held back by the things I don't want to tell you. Except today I'm putting it out there so if others are feeling this way and also don't know how to explain to anyone, maybe you'll feel a teeny tiny bit of support from across cyber space.
1) I don't want to tell you I feel utterly inadequate. Almost. Every. Day.
I don't make it to Mums-only evenings very often and I'm wary of having this conversation with my kids around (remember, they're pretty much there 24/7). I remember what I used to do at school. And my kids aren't doing it. Mostly it's because we don't want them to, but as the days, months and years slip away, I start to wonder if my kids should be churning out reams of (pointless) writing like I used to. Am I too easy on them? Am I too hard on them? Do we do enough academics? Do I give them enough individual attention? The list of questions goes on. And on. And on. But if I tell you this, you might politely suggest (you'll say it with your face, even if you don't with your words) that I could just send my children to the professionals. And there is no tactful way to answer that. What I think of the current education system is becoming less and less... tolerant. I'm pretty sure you'll be offended if I respond truthfully, because deep down I probably think you're kids shouldn't be in the system either.
2) I don't want to tell you I feel overwhelmed.
The pressure of being fully responsible for the well being of five other humans beings, day in and day out can be brutal. When I really tackle those feelings honestly, I realize that part of this is pride and arrogance. God's grace covers a multitude of my sins, mistakes and inadequacies. For which I'm eternally grateful. But once in a while I would like to have a "normal" conversation about this feeling of being overwhelmed. However, you may be tempted again to give that "obvious" answer (send them to school), and I may offend in response.
3) I don't want to tell you I'm exhausted.
If your kids go to school, you may not realize just how much work five kids being at home every day is. They go to the toilet here. Not at school. They sharpen their pencils here. Not at school. All our learning resources are here. Not at school. And I don't have a janitor. Like a school does. Thankfully, our girls do a lot around the house. They are pretty good at cleaning up after themselves. But sometimes, when Poppy needs help with her Maths, and Ivy with her piano practice, Cinnamon wants to show me where she's up to in her book, Pepper needs to use the toilet and Marigold is already in there... Yep. I'm exhausted. But I don't want to tell you, because you can't possibly understand why I would choose to do this to myself... After all, if I just sent the kids to school...
4) I don't want to tell you I'm lonely.
Because I have people all around me all day every day. We're building awesome family relationships. How can I possibly feel so desperately lonely? I don't want to tell you because you're probably thinking if it's so hard, well, I should just stop. But I'm not going to stop unless God brings me to that point. And so I'm lonely, because for the most part, I'm doing this alone. I've got some awesome encouraging friends who I love and appreciate more than I can express. But the opportunities to deeply connect with them in the midst of everything else are extremely rare. Connecting with other adults while on this parenting/homeschooling journey is difficult in ways I can't even begin to express in words. And so I just don't want to tell you about it.
And yet, for all those hard bits, I am truly, awesomely thankful that I get to take this amazing journey through life with the Raamonster and our five little flowers (although some of them are getting so big now, they're practically going to seed :)). There is a lot of hard. But I'm pretty sure I've said before, hard is not bad. It's just hard. The feelings of inadequacy and overwhelmth and exhaustion and loneliness are all opportunities for growth. I'm trying to make sure that I actually grow, by the grace of God.
There are many things that I do because my children aren't sitting in a traditional classroom in a traditional school. Some are awesome (like asking one of the kids to prepare dinner and then walking away), some are survival instincts (like locking my bedroom door when I'm on the phone). There are also many things I don't do because my kid aren't in a traditional classroom. Some I don't miss at all (like sitting in school traffic). Others... Well, that's kind of what this post is about.
Whether you're a homeschooler or not, there are some conversations that I long to have with all my heart, but I'm held back by the things I don't want to tell you. Except today I'm putting it out there so if others are feeling this way and also don't know how to explain to anyone, maybe you'll feel a teeny tiny bit of support from across cyber space.
1) I don't want to tell you I feel utterly inadequate. Almost. Every. Day.
I don't make it to Mums-only evenings very often and I'm wary of having this conversation with my kids around (remember, they're pretty much there 24/7). I remember what I used to do at school. And my kids aren't doing it. Mostly it's because we don't want them to, but as the days, months and years slip away, I start to wonder if my kids should be churning out reams of (pointless) writing like I used to. Am I too easy on them? Am I too hard on them? Do we do enough academics? Do I give them enough individual attention? The list of questions goes on. And on. And on. But if I tell you this, you might politely suggest (you'll say it with your face, even if you don't with your words) that I could just send my children to the professionals. And there is no tactful way to answer that. What I think of the current education system is becoming less and less... tolerant. I'm pretty sure you'll be offended if I respond truthfully, because deep down I probably think you're kids shouldn't be in the system either.
2) I don't want to tell you I feel overwhelmed.
The pressure of being fully responsible for the well being of five other humans beings, day in and day out can be brutal. When I really tackle those feelings honestly, I realize that part of this is pride and arrogance. God's grace covers a multitude of my sins, mistakes and inadequacies. For which I'm eternally grateful. But once in a while I would like to have a "normal" conversation about this feeling of being overwhelmed. However, you may be tempted again to give that "obvious" answer (send them to school), and I may offend in response.
3) I don't want to tell you I'm exhausted.
If your kids go to school, you may not realize just how much work five kids being at home every day is. They go to the toilet here. Not at school. They sharpen their pencils here. Not at school. All our learning resources are here. Not at school. And I don't have a janitor. Like a school does. Thankfully, our girls do a lot around the house. They are pretty good at cleaning up after themselves. But sometimes, when Poppy needs help with her Maths, and Ivy with her piano practice, Cinnamon wants to show me where she's up to in her book, Pepper needs to use the toilet and Marigold is already in there... Yep. I'm exhausted. But I don't want to tell you, because you can't possibly understand why I would choose to do this to myself... After all, if I just sent the kids to school...
4) I don't want to tell you I'm lonely.
Because I have people all around me all day every day. We're building awesome family relationships. How can I possibly feel so desperately lonely? I don't want to tell you because you're probably thinking if it's so hard, well, I should just stop. But I'm not going to stop unless God brings me to that point. And so I'm lonely, because for the most part, I'm doing this alone. I've got some awesome encouraging friends who I love and appreciate more than I can express. But the opportunities to deeply connect with them in the midst of everything else are extremely rare. Connecting with other adults while on this parenting/homeschooling journey is difficult in ways I can't even begin to express in words. And so I just don't want to tell you about it.
And yet, for all those hard bits, I am truly, awesomely thankful that I get to take this amazing journey through life with the Raamonster and our five little flowers (although some of them are getting so big now, they're practically going to seed :)). There is a lot of hard. But I'm pretty sure I've said before, hard is not bad. It's just hard. The feelings of inadequacy and overwhelmth and exhaustion and loneliness are all opportunities for growth. I'm trying to make sure that I actually grow, by the grace of God.
Monday, December 21, 2015
We Won't Be Keeping Christmas
I've never celebrated Christmas. To most people, not observing a day that has become an integral part of our culture seems ... strange, especially in a professing Christian.
But most people now know about the pagan origins of Christmas, right? Most people know that Christmas didn't start with Jesus Christ. Many have the mistaken idea that they can borrow a pagan festival, put Christ's name in it, and it's all good. But does the Bible endorse pagan festivals? Does the Bible say that anything with Christ's name on it is good... no matter what the "thing" is? God did get pretty angry at the Israelites when they started observing pagan festivals and borrowing pagan customs - why would we think He has changed? Would Jesus Christ have encouraged His followers to celebrate His birth on Christmas day?
If we truly want to worship God the Father and Jesus Christ, we need to do so in "Spirit and Truth", acknowledging that GOD alone is the author of Truth. If it's not His Truth, it's not truth at all.
There are many more things I could say, but someone else has already said it, better here.
But most people now know about the pagan origins of Christmas, right? Most people know that Christmas didn't start with Jesus Christ. Many have the mistaken idea that they can borrow a pagan festival, put Christ's name in it, and it's all good. But does the Bible endorse pagan festivals? Does the Bible say that anything with Christ's name on it is good... no matter what the "thing" is? God did get pretty angry at the Israelites when they started observing pagan festivals and borrowing pagan customs - why would we think He has changed? Would Jesus Christ have encouraged His followers to celebrate His birth on Christmas day?
If we truly want to worship God the Father and Jesus Christ, we need to do so in "Spirit and Truth", acknowledging that GOD alone is the author of Truth. If it's not His Truth, it's not truth at all.
There are many more things I could say, but someone else has already said it, better here.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Gray and Not Ashamed
"Your hair is silver on top and brown on the bottom, " a little girl at church observed a couple of days ago. Yup, it won't be many more hair cuts before I'm gray all over (although "silver" sounds nicer!).
"I wish I had your courage," said a lady twice my age, "but it [gray hair] doesn't suit me, you see." To which I say (in my head) something along the lines of "Pfffft, whatever."
Seriously, though, at less than forty, it's not easy to let nature take its course, especially when I get asked if my children are my grandchildren! Gray hair is way more alternative than eating organic or cloth nappies. I don't actually set out to be weird and different, but this is something I feel really strongly about. I'm not "having a go" at what other people choose to do with their hair, but I'd like to free other women my age (and a lot older) from feeling like they have to maintain an illusion of youth by covering up gray hair.
The Bible says:
In other words, the natural aging process is not something to be ashamed of or hidden. If God thinks gray hair can be awesome, who are we to argue? (On the other hand, an elderly person who has gained no wisdom in their lifetime and continually makes foolish decisions has to be one of the saddest people on the planet.)
I'm choosing not to cover up the physical aging process. I'll do my best to stay fit and healthy so I can best serve my family and community, but rather than hide behind colour from a bottle, I'm trying to make sure my character growth keeps up with my graying hair. May my "silver-haired head" be found in the "way of righteousness"!
"I wish I had your courage," said a lady twice my age, "but it [gray hair] doesn't suit me, you see." To which I say (in my head) something along the lines of "Pfffft, whatever."
Seriously, though, at less than forty, it's not easy to let nature take its course, especially when I get asked if my children are my grandchildren! Gray hair is way more alternative than eating organic or cloth nappies. I don't actually set out to be weird and different, but this is something I feel really strongly about. I'm not "having a go" at what other people choose to do with their hair, but I'd like to free other women my age (and a lot older) from feeling like they have to maintain an illusion of youth by covering up gray hair.
The Bible says:
The glory of young men is their strength,and
And the splendor of old men is their gray head. (Proverbs 20:29)
The silver-haired head is a crown of glory,
If it is found in the way of righteousness. (Proverbs 16:31)
In other words, the natural aging process is not something to be ashamed of or hidden. If God thinks gray hair can be awesome, who are we to argue? (On the other hand, an elderly person who has gained no wisdom in their lifetime and continually makes foolish decisions has to be one of the saddest people on the planet.)
I'm choosing not to cover up the physical aging process. I'll do my best to stay fit and healthy so I can best serve my family and community, but rather than hide behind colour from a bottle, I'm trying to make sure my character growth keeps up with my graying hair. May my "silver-haired head" be found in the "way of righteousness"!
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Is Carbon Dioxide Really The Problem?
The climate change discussion brings me to tears. Literally. I'm probably not going where you think I am with this, so please read on.
What causes me pain is not the conflict about who or what causes changing climate conditions, although the older I get the more I hate conflict. What hurts is all the things that aren't being said. Things like: what really matters is not the planet we are living on, but all the other people who are living here with us. Things like: the choices we make impact other people around us - near and far - and every. single. one. of those people matters. An actual human being, possibly a child, is making the fabulous "eco friendly" (ahem) stuff, which may well be full of toxic chemicals in order to make it energy-saving. That person matters. Things like: any decision we make that costs a piece of someone else's life or livelihood is wrong, whether the byproduct is carbon dioxide or ... something else toxic.
I hate how the terms "eco friendly" and "carbon offset" and "energy efficient" have become marketing tools that play on our guilt about hurting the planet... while people are suffering. Is carbon dioxide really the problem when coal-fired power plants pump out all kinds of poisons other than carbon dioxide into the air and farm run-off and industrial byproducts pollute our waterways? How about we just learn to live with less stuff? How about we learn to be a little less comfortable? How about we stop buying "conveniences" that poison the men, women, and children making them? If we focus simply on trying not to hurt other people with our selfish indulgences, then I'm 99% sure we would cut carbon dioxide emissions down a heap. On the other hand, if we simply try to cut down carbon dioxide emissions a heap, I'm pretty sure we'll still hurt a whole bunch of other human beings with our selfish indulgences.
Yep, there are a whole bunch of fingers here pointing straight back at me. I've gone round in circles trying to buy the "right" stuff, when really, I just need to buy less of it. Even (gulp) books.
I try to buy local. I try to walk instead of drive. We have solar (although I'm not convinced that it's that awesome - how much energy goes into making those solar cells (shipped from overseas, by the way), and what toxic byproducts result from the process?) But in the end, my decisions need to be based on how my life is impacting others as a whole. Am I living a life of greed and self-indulgence? Or am I trying to give in a meaningful way, wherever and whenever I can? If the value of my life becomes all about my carbon footprint, then I'm missing a whole lot of other important stuff.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, I'm convinced that what this world needs is not merely for peoples' behaviour to change, but for their hearts to change. Without a change of heart in all the people of the world, the climate situation is hopeless. And to be honest, I just can't see that the biggest problem this world has (to put it overly simplisticly) is the temperature. Children all over the world (even prosperous western nations) are being abused, exploited and trafficked in ways that defy belief. Unborn children are being cut into pieces inside their own mothers' wombs at the consent of their own mothers... to the extent that the annihilation of the unborn is booming business. The poorest and most vulnerable people of the world are being manipulated into gambling away the little they have for the profit of big investors. Somehow I can't see how prolonging the "life" of the earth should be a priority over these crimes against humanity.
When my husband looked into "ethical investments" they were all focused on companies that were "environmentally friendly". My blood boils to think that apparently so few people care about the impact of their investments on actual human beings - an "ethical" investment may exploit children and the poor, but at least it leaves a small carbon footprint? Seriously?!
I guess you can probably tell I'm angry and sad. More than anything, the sad wins. I ache for the change that Jesus Christ alone can bring. In the meantime, I'm striving to live my life in a way that gives others a tiny glimpse of just what that change will mean. This is not about a philosophical question of who or what controls the weather and how (and by the way, in the end, I'm convinced that God has way more power than we puny human beings have the arrogance to credit ourselves with): this is about what's more important to me - God's people or my stuff?
What causes me pain is not the conflict about who or what causes changing climate conditions, although the older I get the more I hate conflict. What hurts is all the things that aren't being said. Things like: what really matters is not the planet we are living on, but all the other people who are living here with us. Things like: the choices we make impact other people around us - near and far - and every. single. one. of those people matters. An actual human being, possibly a child, is making the fabulous "eco friendly" (ahem) stuff, which may well be full of toxic chemicals in order to make it energy-saving. That person matters. Things like: any decision we make that costs a piece of someone else's life or livelihood is wrong, whether the byproduct is carbon dioxide or ... something else toxic.
I hate how the terms "eco friendly" and "carbon offset" and "energy efficient" have become marketing tools that play on our guilt about hurting the planet... while people are suffering. Is carbon dioxide really the problem when coal-fired power plants pump out all kinds of poisons other than carbon dioxide into the air and farm run-off and industrial byproducts pollute our waterways? How about we just learn to live with less stuff? How about we learn to be a little less comfortable? How about we stop buying "conveniences" that poison the men, women, and children making them? If we focus simply on trying not to hurt other people with our selfish indulgences, then I'm 99% sure we would cut carbon dioxide emissions down a heap. On the other hand, if we simply try to cut down carbon dioxide emissions a heap, I'm pretty sure we'll still hurt a whole bunch of other human beings with our selfish indulgences.
Yep, there are a whole bunch of fingers here pointing straight back at me. I've gone round in circles trying to buy the "right" stuff, when really, I just need to buy less of it. Even (gulp) books.
I try to buy local. I try to walk instead of drive. We have solar (although I'm not convinced that it's that awesome - how much energy goes into making those solar cells (shipped from overseas, by the way), and what toxic byproducts result from the process?) But in the end, my decisions need to be based on how my life is impacting others as a whole. Am I living a life of greed and self-indulgence? Or am I trying to give in a meaningful way, wherever and whenever I can? If the value of my life becomes all about my carbon footprint, then I'm missing a whole lot of other important stuff.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, I'm convinced that what this world needs is not merely for peoples' behaviour to change, but for their hearts to change. Without a change of heart in all the people of the world, the climate situation is hopeless. And to be honest, I just can't see that the biggest problem this world has (to put it overly simplisticly) is the temperature. Children all over the world (even prosperous western nations) are being abused, exploited and trafficked in ways that defy belief. Unborn children are being cut into pieces inside their own mothers' wombs at the consent of their own mothers... to the extent that the annihilation of the unborn is booming business. The poorest and most vulnerable people of the world are being manipulated into gambling away the little they have for the profit of big investors. Somehow I can't see how prolonging the "life" of the earth should be a priority over these crimes against humanity.
When my husband looked into "ethical investments" they were all focused on companies that were "environmentally friendly". My blood boils to think that apparently so few people care about the impact of their investments on actual human beings - an "ethical" investment may exploit children and the poor, but at least it leaves a small carbon footprint? Seriously?!
I guess you can probably tell I'm angry and sad. More than anything, the sad wins. I ache for the change that Jesus Christ alone can bring. In the meantime, I'm striving to live my life in a way that gives others a tiny glimpse of just what that change will mean. This is not about a philosophical question of who or what controls the weather and how (and by the way, in the end, I'm convinced that God has way more power than we puny human beings have the arrogance to credit ourselves with): this is about what's more important to me - God's people or my stuff?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)