Passover begins tonight at sunset. “Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew, is one of the Jewish religion’s most sacred and widely observed holidays. In Judaism, Passover commemorates the story of the Israelites’ departure from ancient Egypt, which appears in the Hebrew Bible’s books of Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, among other texts. Jews observe the week long festival with a number of important rituals, including a traditional Passover meal known as a Seder, the removal of leavened products from their home, the substitution of matzo for bread and the retelling of the exodus tale.” I’d like to wish anyone who celebrates Passover with extended family or friends a Happy Passover this week.
Today is also “Earth Day” and it was founded in 1970 as a day of education about environmental issues. The holiday is now a global celebration that’s sometimes extended into Earth Week, a full seven days of events focused on green living and confronting the climate crisis. The brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson and inspired by the protests of the 1960s, Earth Day began as a “national teach-in on the environment” and was held on April 22 to maximize the number of students that could be reached on university campuses. By raising public awareness of pollution, Nelson hoped to bring environmental causes into the national spotlight. Since 1970, Earth Day celebrations have grown. In 1990, Earth Day went global, with 200 million people in over 140 nations participating, according to the Earth Day Network (EDN), a nonprofit organization that coordinates Earth Day activities. In 2000, Earth Day focused on clean energy and involved hundreds of millions of people in 184 countries and 5,000 environmental groups, according to EDN. Activities ranged from a traveling, talking drum chain in Gabon, Africa, to a gathering of hundreds of thousands of people at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Today, the Earth Day Network collaborates with more than 17,000 partners and organizations in 174 countries. According to EDN, more than 1 billion people are involved in Earth Day activities, making it “the largest secular civic event in the world.” I hadn’t thought much about Earth Day this year. I hear about it on the news and see posters for different Earth Day Fairs. Pastor Elaine talked about it yesterday in church. When I did the research on Earth Day, I found it very interesting on its history and how much the world needs to have Earth Day to remind us to take care of this beautiful world that God gave us.
A few years ago, I did a musing about dandelions, those pesky weeds that just seem to be all over the place. When my kids were young, I had paper cups lining my kitchen windowsill with “bouquets” of beautiful yellow flowers that they picked for me. I look back now and can still picture how excited they were bringing them inside for me to see. I just thought they were weeds, I never realized they were food. They are full of vitamins and in some parts of the world are used to reduce blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. There are still studies being done on that. Other studies in animals have shown that extracts from dandelion roots and leaves can naturally lower cholesterol levels. How amazing is that annoying weed? Roasted dandelion roots can be used in a tasty drink similar to coffee. There are dandelion-based coffee substitutes at health food stores.
When I look at a dandelion today, I see a smile on a child’s face as he/she hands someone a bouquet of yellow flowers, I see bees getting their nutrition they need to survive, and maybe someday I will try a dandelion salad or coffee. Maybe…
On this beautiful Earth Day I was able to spend the morning outside working on a new garden. I’ve been talking about having new fences on either side of my yard this spring. The 2nd new fence is being installed on May 6 and there is a big pile of slate that is sitting there left over from their yard. It is on the border of our properties and she has asked me to get rid of it. My son is taking most of it, my other neighbor took some of it too. After talking with my husband, I decided to try to build a small slate wall along where the fence is going about one foot out and having another garden in front of the fence. We have a couple of slate walls (only about 6”-8” high) bordering our gardens. We had them done by a landscaper I worked for at the time, now I am attempting this on my own. Am I crazy? Maybe???? In my musing a couple of weeks ago I talked about how “Mental crowding can cause spiritual congestion”. I felt that congestion starting today as I had a number of things going around in my mind with chores I wanted to do, going camping every weekend, and just keeping up with things. So I decided, while my husband was busy cleaning out our shed, I would go over in the corner of the yard and see if I could attempt this project on my own. I am actually proud of what I have accomplished by just moving pieces of slate around and lining them up. It’s not that easy at all!!! They have to fit just right and it is a lot of bending and getting up and down and moving the pieces around. But…I found myself not thinking about anything at all! I spent a few hours just moving pieces of slate and then deciding I needed to move a few more. Before I knew it, it was coming together and I felt great!! (of course, my back and hips might just complain later but it was worth it) It was just me and God working together in nature. So nice and peaceful on a beautiful sunny day. It doesn’t get any better than this.
Join me in singing praises about God’s beautiful world.
“All Things Bright and Beautiful”
https://youtu.be/FT_oDqOEGpc?si=Zt1IkbD-fhS72aBX