• Our Mandate

    We have a mandate to turn this patch of earth into a paradise. Imagine Greening the Desert meets the Apostle Paul.

    Life was supposed to be simpler. Simpler than most of us live, anyhow. There’s too much stress in the life we’ve built that we were never designed to carry. The simpler, more rudimentary tasks bear the burden of a rested soul even in the midst of productivity.

    There is a resting culture that works diligently but does not panic. Does not dread. Does not fret over what his neighbor has. Building a life that finds meaning in work, because that work gives life and vital support to those in need.

    Perhaps this will only ever appeal to a comparative handful. Perhaps many if not most remain desperate to avoid simple labor. Perhaps we’ve accepted the marketers who tell us we need things that take us above and beyond simple living. But perhaps there is a simpler life that produces less stress, less anxiety, less panic, because it does not try to live beyond its means.

    This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart. 

    Ecclesiastes 5:18-20