Reviewed by Rachel Stone Flourish, Fall 2011 Year of Plenty By Craig Goodwin Sparkhouse Press, 2011, 224 pages By now you've likely heard of more than one year-long experiment written up on a blog or in a book, or both—Julie & … [Read more...]
Christ vs. Consumerism: Choosing Contentment in a Commercialized World
by Matthew Sleeth Flourish Magazine, Spring 2010 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and … [Read more...]
One Woman Turns Trash Into Art… and a Business
According to the EPA the average American produces about 4.4 pounds of trash a day, 29 pounds per week, 1,600 pounds a year. There are lots of ways to reduce that number that we've talked about at Flourish before such as composting, recycling, … [Read more...]
Data to Design: Infographics About the Earth
Good magazine regularly features infographics that try to present complicated data in aesthetic and understandable ways. Here are five of the best ones about the environment and topics related to caring for Creation. America's Appetite for Energy: … [Read more...]
Toolshed: A Guide to Giving Abundantly
By Kendra Langdon Juskus Flourish magazine, Fall 2010 Giving is en vogue. And deceptively easy. Actually, it’s as easy as swiping a credit card. Lately it seems that every purchase we make is advertized as a purchase for good: … [Read more...]
Becoming Generous Souls: Jonathan Merritt Interviews Writer Marty Duren
Interview by Jonathan Merritt [Ed. note: This article is part of our series of weekly reflections, called Deep Down Things, published on Wednesdays.] Marty Duren is a writer, blogger, minister, and a good friend of mine who is known for … [Read more...]
A Shopping “Mallternative” for Christmas: Host a Church Holiday Market
[Ed. note: This article is part of our weekly series of church activities, called Cultivating Community, published on Thursdays.] It may seem too early to bring up Christmas, but we know how it goes: In October we have the best intentions … [Read more...]
The Paradox of Efficiency
by Rusty Pritchard [Ed. note: This article is part of our series of weekly reflections, called Deep Down Things, published on Wednesdays.] The advent of more efficient electric lights ought to be hailed as a great step forward for … [Read more...]
Cultivate Community by Sharing Your Skills (and your truck, and your weed whacker…)
[Ed. note: This article is part of our series of weekly church activities, Cultivating Community, published on Thursdays] In his article “The Neighborly Arts: How Skills Contribute to Community,” Mark T. Mitchell challenges our best … [Read more...]
Forget personal responsibility?
by Kendra Langdon Juskus The most recent issue of Orion Magazine (a forum for exploring the intersection of the natural and cultural worlds) features a column by writer-activist Derrick Jensen, entitled "Forget Shorter Showers." The piece is a … [Read more...]