The Story of Stuff
The Story of Stuff is the story of world consumerism and why now is the time to change. Call its agenda environmentalism, Christian stewardship, or just common sense, but the message is the same: Do not be ruled by the stuff you own. “Keeping Up With The Joneses” is a marketing ploy to make you unhappy, wasteful, and ignorant.
Craft In the Bible
I love this passage in Exodus. God singles out the skilled craftsmen to build the Tabernacle. He fills them with knowledge and expertise to make a dwelling place for Himself. And he inspires them to teach others their crafts.
“Then Moses said to the people of Israel, See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver–by any sort of workman or skilled designer” (Exodus 35:30-35 ESV).
Whenever I get discouraged that being an artist is unimportant in the grand scheme of life, I remember Bezalel and Oholiab. God put artistic skill inside them to bring him glory. That’s so great.
Iron Shield Film
Friend Chad Madden has created an excellent short film that has been accepted into the Doorpost Film Project film festival. Watch and vote for him here.
***Voting does take a bit of work, but it’s worth it, knowing your supporting the hard work of an up-and-coming filmmaker. So, if you’d like to enable Chad to move forward with his dreams, BEFORE you watch Iron Shield on Doorpost Film’s website, click on Vote Now in the bottom left corner of the film window… Click on the pink splotchy blob that says “Online Voting Now Open”… Create a profile… Watch Chad’s film and give it really high ratings and glowing, gushing, adoring comments… Watch and rate 4 other films in order for your vote to count (You can watch the other films while shopping eBay, checking Facebook, whathaveyou)… Enjoy the rest of your day. Chad’s prize for winning, you may ask? A decent budget to make a bigger short film. A vote for Chad Madden is a vote for freedom.
Save Tonight
“Save Tonight” (or) a typical Friday morning in the Blankenship Casa
You Don’t Have To Believe In Global Warming To Be an Environmentalist
I am here neither to prove nor disprove global warming. I can only point out that my Christianity and belief in biblical creation seem to stand at odds with evolution, and therefore, global warming. But I absolutely consider myself an environmentalist. Then how, you may ask, can my Christianity and environmentalism coexist?
Read the rest of this entry »
Is Your Organic Beauty Product Really Organic?
Many personal care products claiming to be “organic” aren’t. So the National Organic Standards Board is asking the USDA to enforce the same organic standard on beauty products as it does on food. The Organic Consumer’s Association has the story and a list of brands perpetuating the fraud. Visit Skin Deep’s searchable database to find almost any beauty product’s toxicity level.
New Computer, New Life
I don’t know if I can convey the delight, joy, peace, freedom, giggles, etc. that I feel at having a new laptop that WORKS! Really friends, I feel like the world is my oyster. I can actually watch videos! Or, get this, RECORD them. Or, if I want to, I can listen to music, type an email, and have like two other programs running at the same time (possibly even more).
The limits of old technology no longer bind my creativity. This is exciting. The possibilities are endless!
Unfulfilled Goals, Boo
New Year’s resolutions are usually total bummers because our human nature (often) disallows the following through on commitments we make. Thus Mr. Blankenship doesn’t make New Year’s resolutions, only aspirations. I quit making them some time ago as well. However, I do like to set small attainable goals. And I get really mad when I cannot attain them.
All this to say, the aprons I promised at the beginning of the week have not prevailed. I was SO on track by Tuesday. One apron down, four to go! But then life happened. And now I’m on my way to Texas to be with my dying Grandfather.
How do you deal with failed commitments and unfulfilled goals? How do you pick yourself up again and start over? Is late really better than never? I would love to hear your thoughts.
Five Aprons in Five Days
Etsy is a wonderful website where a person can find all manner of delightfully handmade items. Technically, I have a store on Etsy. But technically, it is sort of defunct. That is to say, I have nothing for sale there. Today. So in the spirit of being EXTREMELY productive and reviving our beloved store, Kingdom Boutique, Joshua and I have decided upon a goal for this week. I’m going to make five aprons in exactly five days. Then the aprons will be for sale. I’ll be blogging about my progress, hopefully with a few pictures. I say “hopefully” because my current technological situation (computer, phone, hard drives, you name it) makes posting images of anything I do very cumbersome, even impossible. But the aprons themselves will prevail.
Homemade Chemical Free Fabric & Paper Dye
This recipe for cranberry dye from ReadyMade Magazine looks scrumptiously easy and fun. The idea of creating my own papers and textiles is always enticing.
