The Freedom to Love

In looking at boundaries, we cannot escape one main point: responsibility. Our boundaries basically define our sense of responsibility for us. They tell us what our lives consist of and what we are responsible for. We must own our body, feelings, attitudes, behaviors, thoughts, choices, desires, and limits.

If we were to stop there, behind carefully guarded fences, we would live a very safe, but very unbiblical existence. This would fall short of love, the goal of life. The biblical concept of love involves loving and laying down our life for others. However, it is impossible to give away what we do not have, and boundaries are our way of “having” the self that we can then choose to give away.

Owning our own lives is the essence of freedom, and there is no love without freedom. Freedom realizes oneself, and love motivates us to give that self to others. When we give before we are free and truly own ourselves, we have fallen short of servanthood and into slavery. Realize what you own, and then share yourself with others. This is to fulfill the law of Christ.

I read this from a great book called Changes That Heal by Dr. Henry Cloud. (cheesy title I know, but this is one of the only books that makes sense to me in terms of blending psychology and faith) This passage about "Seperating from Others" really speaks to me at this point in my life. The idea of first having freedom and then giving yourself away in love is a refreshing way to think about my sense of self and how I relate to others. I'm sure I don't have to have it ALL together in order to start giving to others, but at this point, I feel like I need to do some serious soul-searching and responsibility-building. Then I can give myself fully and not half-assed.

I'm sure it's a balance that's hard to achieve...I hope I can be at peace with where I'm at and take comfort that I don't need to try so hard...I just need to give it up to God and things will work out the way they need to.

Favicons

Favicons - They are the little icons you see in your web browser, tabs, bookmarks, RSS readers, etc. I just found out how to get our Jo Outdoors logo onto our website!

Here's where I found out how:
http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/09/favicon-tutorial-display-your-logo-on.html

Buy Fresh, Buy Local

I just wanted to share some information with you all as to why buying local foods is really a no-brainer.

Reasons why I try to buy local:

1. Buying local helps you know where your food comes from. Local food is more nutritious and generally less likely to be doused with chemicals (or antibiotics for meat products) or genetically modified. By the way, eating local honey may help you fight seasonal allergies!

2. The food is fresher, tastes better, and comes in more variety. Produce shipped from far away is grown for longer shelf life and not for taste. Big farms usually opt for the more durable or "reliable" varieties. (ie: Red Delicious apples from Washington).

3. You are supporting the "little guy" as opposed to those evil commercial farms. Small farmers are a dying breed (my family has a small farm, so I feel very strongly about this!). The middle man is cut out and more of the profit goes directly to the farmer.

4. Urban gardens can bring a community together. They also provide much needed green spaces in urban areas. There are many great programs that can be designed around an urban garden to educate the community about their health and keep youths involved rather than "in trouble".

5. Resources used to ship food hundreds and thousands of miles are saved when you buy local. You are also supporting the local economy by supporting local farmers. Local farmers tend to buy from local merchants as well, keeping money in the community and saving even more in resources.

6. Buying produce that is in season can save you money. You can even split a produce "subscription" with a neighbor, bringing the freshest crops of the season to your doorstep.

Learn more about buying local from these websites (thanks Amara for the links!):

www.foodroutes.org
(where I got most of my facts)

www.localharvest.org
(find small farmers, urban gardens, farmer's markets and more)

www.buylocalpa.org
(buying local in PA)

Grow Pittsburgh
(great model for sustainable urban agriculture in Pittsburgh)

Urban Farms: Oasis in the Inner City
(cool article about the social implications of urban farms/gardens)

Wikipedia has a great list of resources about Urban Farming

Simply in Season is a great cookbook about using produce that is in season...here's the blog!

Victual Reality
(blog about the eco-politics behind your food)

Matt Clement comeback

So my cousin is Matt Clement who pitches for the Red Sox...or tries to.

He's been laid out for a while having had reconstructive surgery on his shoulder. He's been given a lot of flack by the media and individuals in certain articles. Besides being biased, I think much of it is skewed or unfair.

Anyway, he seems to be on the fast track to recovery and should return to the rotation in a few months. Read an article about him here.

one of THOSE days....

Ever had one of THOSE days?
Ever had everything wrong?
All your plans are set ablaze?
And your day runs on too long?
(it's a test)

Today I had such a day.
Today it was mine to own.
All my progress wiped away
and into the wind was blown.
(I am blessed)

I want to start a fire.
I want to hide in a hole.
Lay down into the mire
and castrate my very soul.
(what a mess)

Somebody please hold me now.
Somebody please help me stay.
Cause I really don't know how
I will move on from this day.
(give me rest)

Ode to Snow

Oh Snow, you are so cold...
but also beautiful.

You freeze my toes...
but warm my heart.

You crash people's cars...
but make my sled fly.

Oh terrible and wonderful thing that is Snow...
How sad and glad I am that you have come!

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If you like sled riding, but hate the cold, try out Line Rider!

txt msg = wtf??

People are so odd...here's a text message I received from a number I didn't know, but it was a 724 area code, so I thought it might have been someone from home who changed their number... Bottom line: don't bother responding to these random messages...they get you nowhere.

Random #: So theres this guy im totally in love w. his names mike **** n he is so amazing n way too good to me n i cant stop thinking about him. Goodnite i love u <3

Me: Hey, I dont hav this # in my fone so im not sure who this is. :\

Random #: Who is this?

Me: Tricia

Random #: Tricia who

Me: Chicka. r u from Saltsburg?

Random #: No im from hempfield. Dont txt me i dont kno u

(Hello...you text'ed me first!)

Then later, I got another text from a different number that was in the middle of some kind of conversation... Do people actually send these things to the wrong number or is this Spam?? :P