Join us for the CROP Walk to connect caring for creation with fighting hunger in our community and globally. This is peace through mission.  Can't make it to CROP Walk this year? Try an alternative challenge. Dedicate one hour to volunteer at a local food bank that serves neighbors facing hunger.

How does walking with others to serve those in need ground you in a deeper sense of responsibility for all of God's creation, both land and people? Alternatively, when your hands are directly involved in the labor of service (sorting, distributing, preparing), how does that physical act connect you to the dignity and value of each person and the earthly resources (food) God provides?

Isaiah 58:10: "if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday." (NRSV)

"Adopt" a nearby tree and observe its colors changing over the next several weeks. Note the shifts and shades each day.

What does this quiet cycle of letting go and renewal teach you about patience and the constant change in your own life? Ecclesiastes 3:1: "For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven." (NRSV)

Find a quiet spot in your backyard, a local park, or even your porch. Sit for 10 dedicated minutes and write down everything you see, hear, and feel. (Parents/Grandparents: Do this with the children in your life!)

The ordinary is extraordinary and beautiful if we take time to look! What is a detail you've never noticed before? Matthew 6:28-29: "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these." (NRSV)

Take a few moments to list the seven most beautiful places

in nature you have ever been, whether a majestic national park or a humble garden.

Acknowledge God's enduring creative power throughout your life by reflecting on these enduring memories of beauty.   Psalm 111:2: "Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them." (NSRV)

Tonight, declare a personal "Earth Hour." Turn off the screens, phones and non-essential lights for one hour after sundown. Be mindful of your energy use.

Step away from the screen and into God's presence. Sit quietly to watch the night sky. What do you notice in the dark?  Psalm 19:1a: "The heavens are telling of the greatness of God and the great open spaces above show the work of His hands." (NLV)

Head out and take one single photo of the most beautiful or interesting piece of God's creation you can find.  You only get one shot! Share your photo with your friends and family and share it with us on our Instagram or Facebook page. 

How does witnessing beauty reinforce your faith?  Reflect on the goodness of creation and its power to inspire.  Genesis 1:31: "God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good." (NSRV)