Photo Gallery: Seth D. Willard (Installment I)

I am not a seasoned photographer-I can hardly be called an amateur-but if I'm holding a camera and see a beautiful sight (especially outdoors) I can't help but snap the shutter. That's not to say it'll even turn out! On the other hand if it does, then I'll probably set it as the desktop background for the computer. In which case since I'm that far already, I might as well share it with you by posting it on Greener-Grass. So that is what I've done now; I took these at Lake Carlos State Park in October, the time I was so preoccupied that we were just as good as lost wandering all over the woods and horse trails. Is it worth getting lost just to take pictures? Probably not, which is why I don't do it very often! Anyway, you are welcome to use these for whatever you want. Just right click on the image, select 'copy' and paste somewhere else, or 'save image as' and store in your computer. I will post more autumn scenes as I upload them to Blogger as well as various others I take. I have a friend who is a "real" photographer and she would like to share some of hers with you too.




If you use one of these in a publication, please state that the "photo is by Seth D. Willard" if it is appropriate. Otherwise forget it.

Clean Up Your Act....Naturally

In the next bunch of posts, we will be discussing the natural lifestyle: how a Christian should view the "back to the earth" movement, organic gardening and foods, genetically modified organisms, natural health products and remedies, and more. I hope you find it interesting, as I surely do. This complete article is taken from the September 2003 ShopNatural email newsletter. It is a good introduction to what we all can do to make a difference for the planet we live on.

This month we’re looking at using natural and organic cleaning products in and around the home or office. While many of us may use some or all of these products occasionally (or regularly), many are also unaware of the potential harm that can come from mass-market cleaning products. [For the purposes of brevity, the term “commercial” is used in this article to denote non-natural, non-organic chemical-based products to differentiate them from natural and organic products.]

There are some alarming statistics from a variety of reputable sources about the quality of air in our homes. In fact, most statistics report that indoor air quality is two to five times WORSE than outdoor air quality. There has been a dramatic rise in childhood asthma in the U.S. in the last 20 years. Some studies have linked this rise to the increased use of chemical cleaners as well as the increased reliance on ‘closed loop’ heating and cooling (heat pumps, air conditioners, etc. that re-circulate air). Another alarming statistic is that women who work inside the home are far more likely to develop cancer than women who work outside the home. Many more of us, men and women alike, are working from home these days, so this should be a statistic that makes us all take notice!

There are over 17,000 synthetic cleaning products on the market today yet only 30% have been adequately tested for adverse health effects. What are some of these suspected health effects? Allergies, headaches, chemical sensitivities, asthma, Attention Deficit Disorder and cancer. Is there a direct, provable link? Not in all cases, but there certainly is enough evidence that suggests that chemicals in the home, in our yards and playgrounds and at work and school have certainly contributed significantly to health issues. The residue from these chemicals not only gets added to our groundwater, but it also floats around in the air, causing us to inhale micro particles of substances that are known to be hazardous to healthy living. Rather than continue on with the litany of scary things that could happen, let’s focus now on the positive changes we can easily make in our routines that will promote good health, safe homes and a clean environment.

Household Cleaners

Most commercial household cleaning products contain chlorine, ammonia or anti-bacterial chemicals. Using these product to clean most problems is like using a tank to drive to the grocery store…a bit of overkill. Anti-bacterial products DO kill bacteria. However, the overuse of these products is causing new bacteria to form that are resistant to these products. In most cases, household cleaning can be accomplished with natural products and, occasionally, with a bit of extra elbow grease. You can also mix your own cleaning products from simple ingredients, if desired. Check our Resources section at the end of this article for websites and books on the subject. [Word of caution: always use care when mixing anything and never mix anything with commercial cleaning products!].

Laundry Products

Many of us have fallen into the “whiter whites” trend, wanting our laundry to always be sparkling and bright white. To accomplish this, commercial laundry products use a variety of chemicals (bleaches and optical whiteners, to name two) that can cause allergies, skin irritation and sensitivities. Natural products clean clothes just as well as commercial products without all the toxic by-products.

Some tips for getting clothes cleaner using (any) product – make sure you use the right water temperature for the clothes. Cold for colors, warm or hot for lights/whites. Why? Cold water will preserve the color of the clothing longer and warm/hot water will help ‘brighten’ up your light or white colors. Use the proper amount of detergent. Use too much and you leave a residue on your clothing that can still cause irritation (even with natural products); use too little and your clothes will begin to look ‘dingy’ making you think it’s time to go back to commercial products. For optimal results, measure the cleaning product and use the amount appropriate to the task. Finally, when washing clothes, let the tub begin to fill with water and add the laundry product(s). You’ll get better cleaning results when you allow the soap to dissolve properly in the water before you jam your washer full of clothes.

As for drying, look for natural dryer products or use natural softeners in your washer. For even better results, hang clothes out to dry when possible. You’ll increase the life of your clothes (washing and drying your clothes too frequently makes the fabric wear faster) and they’ll smell great. You’ll lower your laundry costs (either at home or at the laundromat) when you skip or reduce your use of the dryer.

Personal Care

Shampoo, conditioner, soap, shaving lotion, moisturizers, toothpaste, mouthwash,– these kinds of personal care products have been around a long time in the natural market place. In fact, these were some of the first ‘cleaning’ products made back in the “olden” days of natural products. Over the past 20 to 30 years, these products have continued to be improved and now are often considered higher quality and more ‘upscale’ than their non-natural counterparts.

Commercial personal care products often contain many chemicals, dyes and perfumes that have not been tested for safety and that may contribute to in-home pollution as well as personal sensitivities. But given the incredibly wide variety of natural and organic products, it makes sense to at least start here since you’re bound to find a product that not only works as well as your mass-market product or better!

Baby Products

Even when we don’t give much thought to ourselves, we’re often highly sensitive to using natural and organic products with our babies and children. The availability of products geared specifically to babies and young children has grown by leaps and bounds (almost as fast as your children grow!) and there’s every reason to use natural and organic products for your growing kids. Exposing them to harsh chemicals in the home and in their personal care products is not a great idea given the volumes of data published about the proven and suspected dangers of using these chemicals. From baby wipes to diapers to diaper rash cream to shampoos, you can find natural and organic products for all your growing children’s needs without introducing toxic chemicals to their vulnerable systems.

Paper Products

As much as many of us try to avoid using throw-away paper products, there are times it is a necessary convenience. Switching to natural paper products saves trees, improves the environment, and provides the same quality products you’re used to. Most natural and organic products are made from a certain percentage of recycled post-consumer waste. This is important because post-consumer waste is waste that has been recycled after the consumer has used it – such as recycled cardboard or newspaper.

In addition, many commercial products use are bleached and one of the toxic by-products of some paper manufacturing is dioxin. Switching to natural and organic alternatives can reduce the use of bleach and dioxin and helps keep our environment cleaner.

Go natural

One of the chief complaints some people have about using any natural or organic product is that it sometimes costs more than the product you find on the shelf of your local grocery store. It’s important to understand that there is a cost that is not being added onto the price of the product on the shelf but one that we’re all paying every day – a polluted environment. If the cost of cleaning up the environment and paying for the health care issues caused by these toxic chemicals was included in the cost of these commercial products, you’d find that the natural and organic alternatives were far less expensive. Unfortunately, these ‘hidden’ costs are not so hidden – it’s just that we’re paying in different ways – with our health, the health of our children and the health of the environment.

So, look around your home and find ways to switch to natural and organic products. You and your family will be healthier and you’ll help keep your home and the rest of the world a bit cleaner and free from harmful chemicals. Every journey begins with a single step. What step will you take today?

Resources

Annie Berthold-Bond, The Green Kitchen Handbook Practical Advice, References, and Sources for Transforming the Center of Your Home into a Healthful, Livable Place.

Theo Colburn, Dianne Dumanoski, and John Peterson Myers, Our Stolen Future. Plume/Penguin, 1997.

Sandra Steingraber, Living Downstream. Addison Wesley, 1997.

Dan Fagin, et. al., Toxic Deception, Birch Lane Press, 1996.

(c) 2003 ShopNatural Cooperative. All rights reserved. Cumulus Weblog Group takes no responsibility for the content or the outcomes resulting from following the advice in this article or in the books cited. Please seek direction in prayer before implementing any major changes to your lifestyle.

Is this blog for you?

I think it's time for a little description of the purpose of this weblog and a summary of what you will probably find here in the coming months and beyond.

This is the internet home of Seth Daniel Willard. I am an 18 year old homeschooled student, and live in Minnesota with my family, which includes 5 siblings. There is Ian-16, Ember-11, Sam-9, Nathanael-4, and Josiyah-2. My parents are Lloyd & Tanya, and they're in the prime of life! Mom has willingly been a keeper at home since I was born, and Dad is a Mechanical Engineer who sacrificed promised titles and wealth so he could move his family from the Twin Cities to "the country" where he started his own medical company.

Anyway, my weblog is a compilation of many different endeavors which I have thought about or started doing, and is intended to be viewed and utilized by a wide range of people: Christians of any denomination, as long as they are sincere; Messianic Jews, since that is the form my faith has taken; and non-Christians, who may be searching and seeking or simply browsing and uncovering.

On this site you will read a lot of articles (if they may be called that) which were written by myself. Sometimes they will be funny or comical or contain 'good' criticism directed at certain folks. Other times I will be serious, reasoning, debating, pleading or trying to persuade you (or myself) of something. The tone is bound to fluctuate according to my ever changing emotions and feelings, but the message will be consistent with what I believe.

You will hear me talk about Christianity, worldviews, religion (in both forms of the word), homeschooling, history, family vision, health, the outdoors, projects I am working on or have been thinking about, books and magazines which I enjoy, companies I really trust, recipes that were a hit in my late magazine The Recipe Monthly, methods or products I'd use again, questions in my head that I'd like to ask you, etc...

This place is for people pondering current political and cultural events, for those with questions about the environment and natural living, for those looking for encouragement and support, for those who like to try new inventions, make discoveries, get creative juices flowing, sing a new song from the heart, and so much more!

Finally, it is for old acquaintances-in light of Auld Lang Syne-to whom this website is dedicated.

So please look around, all of you. Read what's interesting, skip what's not, ponder it over, and check back often.

Thanks for your time,
Seth D. Willard

Psalm 100-The Thanksgiving Passage

As Christians, you and I know that the November holiday is more than just Turkey Day or a football party. For one, it's a historical and meaningful observance of the faith of our fathers, remembering how they (the pilgrims) came over to a new land so they could have the freedom to worship and live the way they knew was right. Secondly, it is a recurring reminder for us to give thanks for the great bounty we enjoy today and praise and worship Him who gave it all to us, and cares about us no matter what!

Shout for joy to Yahweh,
all the earth!

Worship Yahweh with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

Know that Yahweh is Almighty.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people,
the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him
and praise his name.

For Yahweh is good
and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues
through all generations.

Remembering the Lego Days

We (my brother Ian and I) used to play with Legos alot when we were younger. They were the best entertainment around, and they were just so fun! Now Ember and Sam (ages 10 and 8) play with them, but instead of being in "sets", they are all mixed up and scattered around.

I was looking at all the boxes from the sets yesterday, since we saved them, and it brings back alot of memories, especially of when we got a particular set or the first time we built it. I gave Ian Sharks Cave Cove for his birthday, and I also picked out the Space Port sets that got us hooked on that line. We never had any Wild West, but wanted some bad. The Shop at Home catalog made all the layouts look so attractive.

It's too bad the Lego Co. has changed their focus to Harry Potter, Star Wars, Bionicle, and other subjects more appealing to so called modern builders. What they had was certainly good enough. It is hard to find "noble" legos now, so I hope ours last for a long time. "Pick up your toys, kids...they're getting stepped on!"

The Role of Your Worldview

The very first week after I finished school found me involved in a similar, yet in ways much more intense, occupation. Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota hosted the staff of Worldview Academy, a ministry based in Texas, and around 200 teenage students who flocked there to attend the 2005 Leadership Camp which the academy puts on every summer at various colleges across the nation.

It started on a Sunday afternoon and lasted through Friday morning. As with most new experiences, I had no idea what I was getting into beforehand. As we drove up, camp counselors in red STAFF shirts waved, danced, and hollered “Welcome to Worldview Academy: the best week of your life!” They helped us bring our luggage into the dormitory, where everyone received a colored bracelet for the team competitions and a room key.

A diverse group of kids came to the camp, but it is interesting to note that a large percentage of them were homeschooled. For example, one of my roommates was homeschooled and my small group consisted of seven people including the twenty-year-old counselor. Of them, four were currently being homeschooled, one had done a Christian school, homeschool, and was now in a public high school, one had never been taught at home, and one graduated with the homeschool class.

No matter our background, who our roommates were, whether we had a large breakfast that particular morning or a small one, it didn’t even matter what color team was winning the competition for the Spamley Cup, we all seemed to get along pretty well. Of course, the counselor’s job was to make sure everybody “got something” out of the lectures, so in order to answer his questioning in the right, one had to make sure to listen carefully and take lots of notes.

We attended two lectures each morning and three in the evening with the afternoons being free. The topics, which ranged from author Jeff Baldwin’s “Ten Biggest Decisions of Your Life” to his “Christianity and the Arts”, were divided into three groupings: Worldview, Leadership and Apologetics.

Included were a briefing on Pseudo-Christian Cults, “Seven Sweet Lies You Already Believe” and talks on Evolution, Critical Thinking, the Reliability of Scripture, a Christian’s role of cultural contribution, and “The Twelve Trademarks of Great Literature.”

We started with an introduction to worldviews in which Jay Winslow, an English teacher in the public schools, taught that one’s worldview is his framework for understanding existence, and that everyone has a worldview, whether they know it or not. He said that our ideas have consequences, and our worldview will be apparent in the work we produce. For example, Shakespeare had a strong biblical worldview as evidenced in his masterpieces (along with Handel, Bach and Michelangelo.)

Ernest Hemingway, on the other hand, had a terrible worldview, believing there was no purpose for life or suffering. He is joined by Pablo Picasso with his abstract art, Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, and John Cage (who believed music happens by chance).

Brandon Booth, the camp director, reminded us that leadership is influence and communication. He shared by saying that in order to be a servant leader we must have: meekness, which is controlled power, integrity (the quality of being complete and undivided) and vision (or the ability to see Yahweh’s [the LORD’s] presence, power and plan in spite of obstacles).

The Charisma Driven Leader seeks recognition, demands his rights, and is influenced by the people. But the Character Driven Leader seeks righteousness and responsibilities, influences the people and is focused on them.

Mark Bertrand entertained the class with his jokes, comics, great PowerPoint presentations, and interesting details. In his lecture “WISDOM is not what YOU THINK” the writer and teacher taught that our assumptions about wisdom are utterly wrong. He said that wisdom does not come from within us; instead it comes from outside. It is not what we THINK; it stems from obedience, not intellect. It is measured by deeds, not sentiments.

Where does wisdom start? Psalm 111:10 says “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.” The fear of Yahweh requires seeing with His eyes and a right relationship with Him. In other words, wisdom starts with worldview. It flows from worldview and builds upon it.

With all the activities going on at camp, it turned out to be a jam packed week. Devotions, meals, lectures, competitions, and even an evangelism practicum where we witnessed to visitors at Como Park Zoo filled up our days. And then there was worship, small group time, more food (always enough), visiting during the walks back and forth from building to building, and finally a quite night of sleep (sometimes not! Heads reeling with questions in need of answers; and never long enough!)

But looking back I see it was good. The best week of my life? No, home life gets me that. But at the Worldview Academy Leadership Camp, I did learn some important stuff, namely the fact that we are expected by our Creator to think in terms of worldview.

This means that our Christian worldview, because it is rooted in the scriptures, is stronger than and can overthrow false beliefs, man’s reasoning, and anything that is not Truth.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not fight according to the flesh. For the weapons we fight with are not fleshly but mighty in Yahweh for overthrowing strongholds, overthrowing reasonings and every high matter that exalts itself against the knowledge of Yahweh, taking captive every thought to make it obedient to the Messiah…”

With this in mind, we need to encourage people to be consistent in their worldview, no matter which category it happens to fall under. Theism or atheism; polytheism or pantheism. One god or none; many or everything. For if they try to be consistent and their beliefs are untrue, their whole religion will fall apart because only Truth will bear inspection. Pray that they will find the Truth that they might be set free.

Joshua 1:6-9

Reading Ten P's in a Pod has inspired our family to read more scripture together and also to memorize it. Recently we have been working on Joshua 1:6-9 which says

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for Yahweh [the LORD] will be with you wherever you go."

I typed that from memory, with help from my sister Ember. Thanks so much Bert!

America Recycles Day

Since I really take an interest in recycling and the environment, I am naturally quite excited that today happens to be a day devoted to encouraging people to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

We are blessed to have an incinerator in our county that burns garbage (after it sorts it for recyclables) and uses the heat generated to warm up the local hospital and 3M plant. I don't have to feel too bad about what I throw away (I still recycle all I can) since our garbage isn't going straight to a landfill. Apparently they haul away the ashes and even use some of them in concrete during road construction!!

I will have more environmental notes in the weeks coming up.

Welcome to my new blog!

I'm glad you found your way over here. This is the place to stay updated on all the grazing, musing, and wandering Seth Daniel Willard is doing. And believe me, I do alot of it!

Let's keep in touch!