Lexical Landscapes: How we paint our worlds

"There are many things, in an unknown place, that you won't know how to look for, shapes you won't recognize, movement you won't understand. Learning the language of a landscape is the way we come to inhabit our world."

I'm using words right now to convey my thoughts to you. I realize that "duh" is probably the first thing that came to your mind, but that was just a prime opportunity demonstrating how saturated with words our worlds are. Even when I'm thinking to myself, i'm thinking in the form of words. When you're annoyed and yelling at someone internally, when you're admiring how beautiful someone is, when you're going through to-do lists in your mind, reading road signs, writing letters, receiving text messages, apologizing, saying "hey"--you're interacting with words. There's no escaping them!

We've heard that a man (or a woman) is only as good as his word. In some ways, I feel as though we've veered off from this and adopted the notion that words are fleeting, so it doesn't really matter how or where we invest our use of them. Typical language today consists of sentences strung together by the choice adhesive of the F-bomb or something of that nature. I'm not necessarily condoning or condemning --i'm just simply saying that we have come to a place in our society where we choose lackluster words to paint our landscapes. We forget the power that is connected to our words and have settled for much less than what we were intended to experience. 

Words can hurt or harm, but they are also incredible catalysts for love and life. It's ultimately a matter of volition and surrender that allows us to bless others rather than curse them with the words that come out of our mouths. In order to use words that give life, we often times have to get over ourselves. For example, saying "I'm sorry" and really meaning it requires us to embrace a posture of humility; saying "I love you" can require sacrifice; and calling someone out requires us to acknowledge that love isn't always comfortable. 

Words aren't just the things that come out of our mouths. They are the very thoughts and complexities that find their very roots in our spirits and manifest in different forms. The charge here is that we take with open arms the gift we've been given rather than sowing seeds of death and destruction. It could be as simple as saying, "Hello." It could be as powerful as saying, "I forgive you."

I could say so much more. Though, I feel as though i'm already rambling. I do want to bring everything full circle with this: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." It's no surprise that we can't escape words. If we as human beings are made in the very image of the Most High God, than our very tapestry consists of words (the Word). Having the Living Word in us is proof that we were created to be vessels that cultivate love and life, that encourage, that spur on, and live in such a way that His Word is evident to those around us. 

I know I need to be reminded of this constantly, but I also realize that it's insanely humbling to know what kind of power we've been given to love (What better way to inhabit the world, right?) :). 

Summer

Summer

Patience wears thin as I wait on
The coming of the summer sun,
That will take the cold, cool spring
By the hands and lead it
Over and far beyond the warmth of
The beating rays, the brightness of
Its seemingly unending days
That beckons all to bask in the
Promised euphoria of heat perfected,
The bliss of nature’s accolades emerging from
The cusp of its extensive slumber;
Anticipation of what is in view.

Day 4. The Earth is His.

Today, we practiced the posture of Remembering as worship during our spiritual formation time. We went over about 10 old testament passages that demonstrate God's people worshipping Him for all He's done or passages that call God's people into a posture where they acknowledge His faithfulness in their lives.

As a group, we went around and shared moments we remembered as an act of worship. The one that immediately came to mind was 4-year-old Megan (who's a big girl now!) at the church I grew up in. When my grandmother passed away, she came up to me one Sunday, tugged on my shirt and said, "lizzy, i'm praying for you." One day she'll know how much that impacted me. Until then, I can only share with others how much of the Lord's love and favor I was able to experience at that very moment. As the group share, we all realized and acknowledged how powerful it can be to worship in remembrance. It calls us to be vulnerable and to lay ourselves bare. Sometimes, remembering takes us back to dark places, but often times, those dark places only lead do the deliverance that the Lord is.

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be your name

Lord, thank you for being directional, personal and just. Thank you for your faithfulness. I ask that you would teach in me these things.





The earth's is the Lord's, and everthing in it; the world, and all who live in it. Psalm 24:1

We headed out to A'Rocha after our conversation time. A'Rocha is an " international, Christian organization working to care for God's world" (arocha.org). At this location, we delved further into the idea of creation care, what it looks to be stewards of God's creation, the world we live in. This challenged all of us radically. Most of us were from Southern California, and we live pretty wastefully. Now, you may be thinking ," I don't live wastefully." But let's break it down. How many of us recycle? Do you drive everywhere you go? Is it fuel efficient? I am so guilty of using paper towels like a crazy person! (i've adopted the usage of cloth napkins at my apt. now :)) As a nation, the United States average cost of living is higher than it is anywhere in the world. We use more than we produce. This in mind, many take a political stance at some point. Ah! Liberals, the Greens, etc. I truly was able to embrace the freedom that is so beyond the parties we put ourselves in, to embrace the freedom that we are the Lord's people. And if you need some theological proof, it is everywhere. We are given dominion, responsibility as we live in creation, as creation. It says we have rule, and in the original context, to have rule means we are to work, to serve, to cultivate the land-to care for, to guard and to keep. People in Vancouver are really bing on purchasing produce/goods from local growers. Not only does this support the community they are in, they know exactly where there food is coming from. When God gave Adam the duty of naming creation, He was inviting Adam into something very intimate and personal. He was inviting Adam into a relationship of stewardship-stewardship of God's handiwork. Picture the world we live in as God's artwork in a museum. You don't go into a museum and destroy, disrespect and deface the things that you see. Rather, you take care of, respect, and are in awe of the things you see. We are the image-bearers of Christ, and as such, we need to tend to this earth the way God did when He created it-with care, with thought, and with great love.

Not taking care of the earth affects everyone, especially the poor. As a resource, we need to use wisely. Rather than use up all the goods of the world, how to be sustain and cultivate what's already around us?

According to David Suzuki, here are ways to conserve
1. Reduce Home Energy
2. Energy efficient home appliances
3. Eat a meat-free meal once a day
4. Eat locally grown stuff (Farmer's market)
5. Replace dangerous pesticides
6. Use fuel efficient vehicles
7. Learn more and share with friends and family
8. Cloth napkins instead of paper ones.
9. Avoid buying things that are individually wrapped in large packages.
10. Rather than buying new clothes, exchange clothes w/ friends.

I hope to gain more knowledge in this area of creation care. I don't feel like i have a tight enough grasp yet to spur others on. For now, I plan on implementing what i learned, and through that, gain a deeper undertanding that affects those around me.





After we discussed the realities of the correlation between "deficit financing" and how many of us use the world's resources, we split up into teams, and helped the A'Rocha team with whatever they needed done with the land and with the plants. A few of us split off for some major weeding in a vast area of land as we spoke to a new friend we made who was interning there from South Africa.

After we left A'Rocha, we went home to the Gravely house and had dinner. I got to play w/ Tessa and her friends for a bit. Now, tiredness consumes me, and i'll continue next time.