Oh Happy Day!

First, let me say Congratulations to the USA for the celebration of another July 4th! Today we are free, free from the oppressions that sought to bind us and limit our freedom of Religion and other freedoms. As we have stood for years on the foundation of our Constitution and sent our sons and daughters to defend the freedoms this land enjoys, we must hold dear our united history and our conviction to remain the greatest land on Earth!

Today I ran by this blog: As I read I realized we all have concerns about different things in this world. I don't believe in Global Warming because we are told in the Bible that there will be a new Heaven and a new Earth following a war called Armageddon. Basically what we know as Russia is going to march on Israel, then China will join the force and from there a huge world war climaxes with the coming of Jesus. Yay! I believe it! I look forward to it and my Hope is in HIM!

But, before all that, there will be things that really set us on edge and discourage us and push us into doing things we don't want to do, forcing us to accept a different way of life and we are told that it must come to pass and not to get our selves all worked up about it. The verse that has continued to come to mind is this one. Jesus said: My Peace I give to you; my Peace I leave with you. And so I accept my Savior's Peace and Rejoice in it!

AND

YET,

I have a few things that concern me about what is going on in my corner of the world.

I hope you will join me, and Mrs Hoppes and make a statement for something you feel has robbed you personally or otherwise. Is it the gas prices or the resulting cost of food at your grocery store? For me it is a couple of things. Food prices, due to higher gas prices and the always high electricity.

I have long dreamed of running my air conditioner without an electric bill. Running my whole house without an electric bill, in fact. I'd love to build an Earth Sheltered home and make use of the cool of the ground to stem the intense heat of the sun. I'd have a Wind Turbine and a Solar System and be self sufficient. I also like the idea of building a Dome home and enjoying the extreme efficiency of cooling a Dome as well as being reasonably protected, due to the absence of lift on a dome home, when the Tornadoes haunt North Texas.

However, dream as I might, I am still paying that silly electric bill with the west sun blazing down on my two story home....warming up all that brick to radiate warm through the night.

Well, remember that old Indian prayer?

Lord, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I can not change.
The Courage to change the things I can
And the Wisdom to know the difference.

With that, my act of rebellion, or perhaps my act of defense in the face of Goliath is to build and use a Solar Oven. Yes, I built it after more than a year of contemplation. It is on my patio right now, on the West side of the house taking advantage of all that wonderful energy from the fierce Texas sun...and I cooked in it today and have made the commitment to CHANGE those things I can and learn how to use this thing on a routine basis!

Thank you Mrs Hoppes for your blog and your encouragement! We share a similar path to a different goal. We are however united on that path to say NO!

After cooking a nice pasta dinner in the Solar Oven my older son turned up his nose and said "Why are you doing that, you have a brand new oven?" It was the same look I remember on the day I bought him some shirts for school at the Thrift Store. Some still had tags on them. His school was a Private Christian school and he begged me "not to let Mrs. R see me there." I didn't have the heart to tell him if Mrs. R. was there, she was likely shopping, too!

So, he refused to eat my pasta meal. And he was troubled at my being over the top, this after learning yesterday I had started a compost pile, and while he was headed up the stairs I asked why it bothered him. "Cause he didn't understand WHY, I was doing this, and only saving at best a few dollars." And I said a few dollars adds up.

I didn't tell him I felt that money was OURS to do with as we pleased. I didn't tell him I sometimes feel this American Glitzy world of having the biggest, prettiest, best, sparkliest has lead us to be slaves to pay for it all. That in being those slaves we are really no different than the Israelites making bricks in the captivity of Egypt. And if I can protest in my own way, if I can make it such that I am not participating in it further, then that gives me comfort. If I can do anything without electricity, it gives me immeasurable joy!

For you it maybe the last thing you would EVER do! That's ok, we are on our own journey through this life. For me, I will continue to use my Solar Oven and fight my electric bill one meal at a time. It is a commitment I am making to myself, for my own reasons.

If you are on a journey to fight back and you have a blog, mention mine so your readers can be inspired by my journey and Mrs Hoppes' journey. We encourage each other when we see how many of us there really are.

And, as always, I would love to read your comments. If you are from the North Texas area, I'd like to know that as well. I enjoy reading Texas blogs.

To your journey,
Melissa