The Christian and Creation ~ Glorifying the Creator

Hi friends,

I’ve been away for another long stretch, as seems to happen frequently around here.  I wanted to post a few announcements out of the silence so you all know what is going on and what to expect with the future of this blog.

The sudden halt in posts about the environment came because I began experiencing severe wrist pain, first in one wrist, then the other, then both simultaneously, and I was pretty well out of commission regarding computer use.  It was one more manifestation of pain of a slew of them throughout my body.  I’ve been going to doctors consistently for about a year now, trying to pinpoint the source or cause of the pain that has been attacking many of my joints.   I think we’re on the right track now, but still probably far away from any sort of effective treatment.

I’ve been having mostly good days for a while now, and want to start writing again. I constantly think of and jot down ideas for posts, bookmark interesting articles in the news and blogosphere, and have continued to interact with others in the creation care community.  I’m eager to share what God has been working in my heart and throughout the world of animal welfare.

For several reasons the focus of the blog is going to narrow a bit.  My education is in animal and food sciences – essentially everything from farm to fork: genetics to breeding to slaughter to food borne disease epidemiology to food marketing.  Though I have a deep passion for the environment as a Christian cause, because I need to limit my computer and research time (for physical reasons as well as to not unduly burden myself as a wife, mom and seminary student) most of my posts from here on out will focus on Christian response and responsibility regarding animal welfare and food, and all the many ways the two are linked (with a sprinkling of vegetable gardening and cooking, my favorite personal hobbies).  This area of discourse will certainly overlap with many environmental issues, but I will not be writing articles on specifically environmental concerns which would require extensive research outside of my area of education.

I had hoped to have the time and energy over the summer to tackle a series on the environment and poverty that required a great deal of research, since much of the information was new to me.  What I learned as I did research provoked me to tears and anger and a desire to let as many people as possible know about the link between the two.  But with the wrist pain and my family’s ever-changing schedule, I believe God was nonetheless telling me to take a step back toward my area of expertise, where I can use what God has given me stewardship of: first and foremost the witness of Scripture, and then the resources of my education, research, former professors, friends in the field, and my own working and personal experience.

If your primary interest in following The Christian and Creation was to read about a Christian environmentalism, I’ve updated the blogroll on the right of the page with some wonderful Christian groups who work in the field of conservation and environmental education for the glory of God.  I will continue to link to articles on the environment from some great Christian resources here on the blog.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns, or perhaps particular animal or food related issues you’d like to see discussed here!  I’d love to hear from you.

Grace and Peace,

Lauren

P.S. with a shift back to a focus on animal-related issues, perhaps you all can help me think of a catchy new name for the blog?  Send me any ideas!  I’ve always toyed around with the idea of changing it, but I guess I’m not especially creative