Plastic containers and other packaging are a significant percentage of discarded materials. We can make progress toward reducing that amount by purchasing items in bulk (less packaging required) and by refilling containers we already have. Below are some local businesses that offer opportunities to do just that…… [click View Post above to keep reading]

when the Jews were exiled to Babylon, it was soul-crushing and spiritually devastating. Not only were they far from home, but they thought they were far from the very presence of God—between 700 and 1,000 miles away, depending on where in Babylon they ended up. So how could they even worship God, since they couldn’t go to the building where they thought God dwelt? That was the motivation for the lament in Psalm 137, “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion…. How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?” (vv. 1, 4)

Did you know that nearly 70 percent of Americans take at least one prescription drug, and more than half take two? That’s a lot of empty pill bottles when the medication is gone. While some of these bottles are recycled or reused, many of them end up in landfills. One group is working to change that. Cincinnati-based Matthew 25: Ministries, an international aid and disaster-relief organization, accepts donations of empty plastic pill bottles that are either sent to places where medical supplies are needed or are shredded and recycled….. [click View Post above to keep reading]