In The Beginning...

Isn't technology wonderful? This year I'm using the ESV One Year Bible which will guide me through the complete Bible in the year 2010. It's organised by the ESV Bible publishers, and the day's readings pop into my RSS reader (Google Reader) every morning at 8.30am.

On Friday, we got stuck in with day one's readings - Genesis 1-2, Matthew 1-2:12, Psalm 1 and Proverbs 1:1-6. Every day there'll be a section of the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Psalms and Proverbs. When I can, I'll try to blog something about the readings, either on the day or shortly after.

Genesis 1 is all about beginnings. With the words that John later picks up, 'In the beginning', Genesis takes us back to the start of every created thing. But while everything was being created, God was already there, the Creator by whom and through whom everything else was formed.

Three things strike me from the account of creation:

1. God's Word has power - God speaks, and things happen. Let there be light, he says, and there is light - three days before the sun is formed! At each stage, God speaks, and the creation is established and completed.

2. God creates in his image - humans are created in God's image, 'in our image, after our likeness', and given the task of being fruitful, multiplying, filling and subduing the earth, and having dominion. We are the pinnacle of creation, the final part, the only creatures made in the Creator's image, so we cannot think less of ourselves. But at the same time, we are still just creatures, we are not the centre of creation, so we should not think too much of ourselves.

3. God's creation is good - at the end of each day, God reviews his work, checks it, and declares that it is good. Having created humans, God's review declares that everything is very good.

A perfect paradise. So far from what we experience now, yet we look forward to when God will re-create, when the new heavens and the new earth are unveiled. Better than Eden.

A Green Christmas

Bing Crosby sang about a White Christmas. Elvis Presley sang about a Blue Christmas. This year, I think we had a green Christmas.

The motto has been around for a while now - reduce, reuse, recycle.

It was certainly a reduced Christmas for us. First of all, we didn't get round to posting out Christmas cards. Things were a bit hectic and we didn't get round to buying or writing the Christmas cards. So while it means a little less revenue for Royal Mail, it also means less paper and card consumption.

As well as this, the Christmas cards that we received this year were a lot smaller than in previous years. Many of them would have been A6 size or even smaller. So while the number of cards received may have been something similar (or maybe even slightly more), the actual paper used to produce the cards will have been less.

We also didn't use as many Christmas lights this year - last year I had strung some lights up the handrail of the stairs, but I didn't bother this year, leading to less electricity being needed.

What ways did you seek to produce a green Christmas? What more can we do next year for a better environmentally-friendly Christmas celebration?

Mixed Up on Methane?

I haven't been following the Copenhagen Climate Talks very closely. I'm not entirely sure that we can change the climate to such an extent as some are suggesting. But today when I was driving, I heard a suggestion on the news. Seemingly, climate protesters and Eco-warriors want us to eat less meat, to cut down on our cow consumption. The methane produced by a cow or sheep is much worse than the CO2 produced by cars.

That strikes me as a slightly odd suggestion. Surely if we reduce eating as much meat, then more animals will survive, thus producing even more methane than if they were being eaten?

So do your bit to stop global warming and have a burger and steak - from a local farm, obviously to reduce transport costs and gasses!