Standing Up For What Matters

Hey y’all. I’m a seventy something grandmother. I was born and bred in the South. My grandkids call me Bamma or Bammy. You can do the same.

I’ll start right off by saying that I’m a Bible-thumping Christian. Jesus Christ is my north and my south, my east and my west. He’s my standing up and my laying down. My beginning and my eternity. Through Him I can do all things because He strengthens me.

Knowing Him in such a personal way, He has laid on my heart to think about Isaiah 24. Specifically Isaiah 24:20 which states, “The earth staggers like a drunk. It trembles like a tent in a storm. It falls and will not rise again, for guilt of its rebellion is very heavy.” NLT

Well, I’m not a scientist but my small logic tells me that if the earth is staggering it has come off its axis. Why? Because of its rebellion. How can the earth rebel? By us, those who have dominion over this great planet Earth. We have mistreated her in unspeakable ways…….AND we continue to do so. Can we change it? Perhaps.

This is my thought of what I want to stand up for and ask you to do the same. If each and everyone of us would devote just one day a week to doing better by God’s fabulous creation, planet Earth, I think it would make a difference. It’s a small thing but I think it could work.

I would love ideas on the little things we can do to rebuild our gift from God. I started with a thought from Isaiah and I will end with a thought from the same, “He tell things over and over – one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!” Isaiah 28:10 NLT

When I think of this marvelous earth we live on, I naturally think of its creation. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The last verse of that same chapter, it is stated that, “And God saw everything that He had made and it was very good…..”

Indeed the creation was very good, and since God created the earth and all that is in with such care and and delight, shouldn’t we care for it with the same delight? Verse 28 of Genesis states that God gave man dominion over the earth and all that is in it. How incredible is it that the self-existing, powerful Creator made mankind His vice regent in cultivating His creation? Man alone was given dignity over all other creatures.

I having been reading about the Plastic Island in the Pacific Ocean and the destruction this has wreaked on the earth’s marine life. The article I read by ecolife stated that not only does this invasion of plastics in the Pacific cause wildlife deaths and toxic emissions, among other hazards, it is impossible to clean up!!!

BUT, there are little things we can do to prevent further contamination. The first is so easy…..pick up trash whenever you see it and properly dispose of it. I think it might make a big difference if we all could do just that. Who knows what this small kindness might just start.

Speaking of kindness, be kind to your fellow dominion holders of this spectacular orb we call Earth. If we all loved each other more, we might just love our planet more.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
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• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.