I Love God’s Green Earth

I love I Love God’s Green Earth: Devotions for Kids Who Want to Take Care of God’s Creation. I know there are a variety of opinions out there about how we should be caring for our planet, but I think Michael & Caroline Carroll presented a great devotional book teaching children how to approach the issue in a reasonable and balanced way. If you’ve been wanting to talk about the issue of conservation with your children, but weren’t sure how much you wanted to steep your family into the discussion, this might be a great book for you all to tackle together.

I Love God’s Green Earth is a new release from Tyndale House Publishers and it is broken up into 90 days worth of “devotionals.” At the beginning of each devotional, the Carrolls share a Bible verse and ask the reader a question. Each devotion includes: a scripture verse, some scientific fact to consider, some thoughts to connect the scripture to the scientific fact, a question for the reader to get them to start thinking about what they might be able to do to help care for that which they have dominion over and some “fun stuff” like a joke or a riddle to accompany the message.

The reason I like this book is because I think it is easy for Christians to dismiss the idea that they can play a major role in helping to care for the earth. However, I would remind them that we should care for God’s creation faithfully and in a wise and reasonable way – which will look different for each unique individual and family. We should take delight in caring for that which we are in authority over. For most of us that means just thinking about what items we might recycle instead of tossing in the can, or maybe some of us are interested in planning our own home gardens! Again, every person’s role looks different according to ability and opportunity. I think this book provides plenty of food for thought in determining what each family unit can do to care for the earth.

There are certainly aspects of this book that I’m not totally gung-ho about, but overall I’m thoroughly satisfied with it because it provides food for thought. Sometimes just thinking about the problem can help us find our own individual solutions to it. I don’t think this is a “one size fits all” issue and I’d rather the government not step in to regulate our decisions in this area. Instead, I think we should be wise stewards of what we have possession of, caring for it as best as we can and helping to protect that which we are responsible for. I like how this book urges people in a productive, upbeat way.

Are you curious about I Love God’s Green Earth? I have one copy to giveaway to one of you, courtesy of Tyndale House Publishers. To enter, simply leave a comment below. This contest is open to U.S. Residents only.

******

In honor of Earth Day, we have another fun add-on to our Earth Day books giveaways. In addition to the book, the winner will receive a Marcal Small Steps starter pack worth $25.

Marcal Small Steps products use 100% post-consumer waste. I (Jennifer) was able to try these products out. I would not recommend the tissues (they are just too scratchy), but the toilet paper and paper towels are great.

I don’t know if you know that although many people recycle, there isn’t always a market for the end-result, so I love that they are trying to find a way to use it.

Check out the Save a Tree Calculator to see how many trees you and your family could save a year. You can also find out more at their Facebook page.

******
Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Carrie comes by her book obsession honestly, having descended from a long line of bibliophiles. She blogs about books regularly at Reading to Know and Reading My Library.