Take Care Now – our non-profit organization

• Tweet

Since today is Earth Day and you now know our names, we’d like to share something that’s been a part of the Cool Fam for the past couple of years.

In the spring of 2006, we had just gotten back from a trip to Europe when we wondered why Americans don’t live as energy- and space-efficiently as Europeans. One reason is that we just have a whole lot more space, energy, and everything else to live off of. But we felt convicted that this is God’s earth, and we should be mindful of how we use it.

So after some planning (and I’d like to think prayer as well), we started a non-profit organization to promote caring for the earth and our neighbors on it. We named it Take Care Now.

We were excited about the prospects of having our own non-profit and had some great ideas. We got stickers, reusable shopping bags with our logo, and a website. We were spreading the word, and people agreed. But then Cool Mum got herself preggers–I think I’m partially to blame. Our lives’ priorities shifted.

Take Care Now is still “together.” Our Facebook group retains its 100 or so members. Our website was up until just last week, when some silly blog took over the hosting plan.

We’ll talk more later about TCN – what we did, what we hope to do. For now, I’ll leave you with the text of the old About page. It’s a good explanation of what Take Care Now is all about.

Take Care Now exists to inspire Christians to act on their faith through care for neighbors and stewardship of resources out of love for God.

We think that the earth is a very cool place to live. And we think that we as Christians should take care of it. Here’s why:

You’ve probably heard of stewardship, the wise use of what God has provided. There is stewardship of one’s talents, finances, and time — but what about the natural resources that God has given us?

Jesus said that the greatest commandments are: Love the Lord your God with everything that is in you and love your neighbor as yourself. Where does environmental stewardship fit into this? Being mindful of creation shows love for God and our neighbors.

By caring for the earth, we show our love for God by appreciating His glory that is evident throughout creation. Romans 1:20 teaches that God’s power and divine nature can be seen by what has been made. Psalms 24 and 89 declare that the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. This incredible place in which we live is a gift, and we should honor and maintain that gift.

We show our love for neighbors by helping to keep this place wonderful because we all live here and share it. This also helps the poor (some of Jesus’ favorite people to love) by fighting air pollution, water contamination, and the increasing accumulation of waste, as they don’t have the resources to shield themselves from such problems.

We don’t have to force environmental stewardship into our lives as Christians. It should be a natural part of living lives of love. We know that God wants us to be good stewards of all He has given us. Likewise, we know that our decisions affect our neighbors now and in the future. The next step is to act on this knowledge! There are many ways to do this that don’t take much time and can help you be a better steward of other resources as well.

We don’t want to exalt God’s creation, nor do we believe in devoting your life to saving the earth. There are simple choices that can make a difference. We believe in exalting God through showing love in actions and in truth, as stated in 1 John 3:18.

We’re excited about starting this movement to care for God’s earth. It’s like a new world of ways to show our love for God has opened up to us. If this sounds good, we hope that you’ll join us in honoring the Creator by caring for His creation!