How the journey began

It all began with a book that a friend recommended to me while I was in college about 8 years ago, "What the Bible Says About Healthy Living." Prior to reading this book, I always trusted that the stuff sold in the stores was safe. The government regulates everything after all, right? This book really opened my eyes.

My main discovery was about everything white. "White" usually means that during processing all the good stuff has been removed (e.g. white flour, white sugar, etc). You can check the book out at your local library if you wish to find out more details.

In response to this knowledge and our conviction to be good stewards of our bodies, I felt that we needed to start buying things as whole and natural as possible and do the prep work ourselves to ensure that we were getting the full benefit of the foods we were eating. I began buying whole grains and brown rice. I started grinding wheat berries to make my own freshly ground wheat bread. Friends introduced me to food co-ops that sold whole and organic foods in bulk at cheaper prices than the grocery stores. I began learning a little about the differences in organic and non-organic foods, but didn't really get into organics all that heavily. They are not that popular or prevalent in the parts of Alabama and Georgia that we were living.

Then we moved out to California. I learned a lot in the way of healthy living out there. Organics and green products were so easy to come by. I was able to learn more by talking with friends and farmers (at the farmers markets) and I was able to experiment with more (nothing beats the taste of fresh organic produce). We stuck mostly to organic produce while in California.

A year and a half later, we moved to our current home in Connecticut. I was worried that my access to organics and green products would be non-existent. It took a little over a year and a lot of searching, but I have been able to find several places within a 30 minute drive that meet most of my needs. The prices are much higher than they were in California because everything must be shipped in from other parts of the country, but at least we have options! We are also now desiring to consume organic meats and dairy in addition to organic produce.

Since moving to Connecticut, we have added our precious Eliana to the family. Having a baby around has increased my desire to live a greener life. Since she came into our lives, we have analyzed our use of household chemicals, microwaves, disposable anything, etc. We have moved from being focused only on what we were taking into our bodies to also looking at what we have in our lives. You might say that we slowly completing a "green cleaning."

Being that we are an enlisted military family living on a single income, we have a very tight budget. It is difficult to live greenly on a tight budget, but we are attempting to do it... one small step at a time. Our goal from the beginning of this journey has been to be good stewards of our bodies, but a benefit of this kind of living is allowing us to also be better stewards of the world God has given us. I am also discovering green ways of living that will even allow us to be better stewards of the financial resources we have been blessed with.

I hope that you will follow us as we continue our journey to living a greener life frugally and that some of you will even be challenged to join us on this journey.