Change and Growth

As it has been almost an entire year since I last posted I wanted to share two words that have been bubbling around my mind in the past few weeks. There are a lot of exciting changes that are in the process of happening in my household and as I prepare for them it has caused me to reflect on where I came from and how far I have come.

I am a huge advocate for social change. I believe in helping individuals change while simultaneously working to create collective change. I also love to see my progress. I like to see tangible ways that change is happening. I like to see results and I like to see them ASAP.

Change, I am finding, is a lot like growth. It happens steadily, slowly, overtime and can't be forced or rushed. My garden has been a huge reminder of why change is like growth.

Around this time last year we were creating the raised beds at our house and planting our garden. As someone who loves the harvest season I was anxiously awaiting that fruitful day. Last year we had a nice harvest, but it never felt like completely enough. I wanted more. I was impatient.

This year, however, I was overjoyed to see the wait was worth it. Where last year we had zero berries this year we have already harvested around 50 strawberries and we are about to have some blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries! It took them a while to grow, but now that the wait is over it was so worth it.

Last year it felt like we would never have any berries. This year we're constantly going out and picking more. Change is like that too. Don't be discouraged when things don't fall right in your lap. Don't expect everything to work out perfectly when you first try it. Instead take time, enjoy the smells around you, be in the present, and work towards that change. If you don't see results right away take time to just enjoy the process.

Sit down, grab a nice cup of coffee or dandy blend and enjoy the journey.
Most good things take time.

Grace & Peace, Tanner

What does "Healthy Food" mean to YOU?

This past Saturday I spent time at our local farmer's market offering a food tasting utilizing fresh produce from the Market. While I was there I asked the question, "What does "healthy food" mean to you?" I find that this question is an important one to consider in our world of fad diets, healthy food pyramid schemes, cleanses, and instant gratification. It is not enough to say you eat healthy food because what the entails could vary person by person.

The answers I received at the Farmer's Market varied, but I wanted to share a few:
What does "Healthy Food" mean to YOU?

• It got me to 74 years old
• Guilt Free
• Veggies and Fruits
• Food that gives you the vitamins and minerals you need
• Long Life
• What nourishes our bodies
• Healthy life
• My way of life

These are all great answers. I would now like to share 5 "healthy food" tips from my own life.

1. Know it or Grow it: I know that you can get the same nutrients in your fruits and veggies if you buy them canned or frozen, but I'm a personal fan of enjoying locally grown fruits and vegetables. I enjoy purchasing them from the farmers market where I can get to know the growers and ask them questions. I also enjoy growing my own produce where I can know exactly how it was taken care of because I'm the one growing it. I have also found both these methods to be budget-friendly ways to get my 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day!
2. Avoid processed foods: The more processed the food, the less healthy it is. Look for foods that have minimal ingredients in them.
3. Make it yourself: I have found that 9/10 times that I cook a meal from scratch it is going to be healthier than if I bought it pre-made. It is also going to be more affordable. 
4.  Choose Whole Ingredients: When deciding what foods to buy choose whole ingredients more often than not. By this I mean, whole grains, whole apples, whole carrots, etc. The less processed and prepared the better.
5. Choose a plant-based diet (mostly): While I know that not everyone needs to become vegan or vegetarian (however, I would strongly encourage it!), it is good for your health and the environment to choose a diet that is mostly plants. Michael Pollan says it well when he says, "Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Most, if not all, of the nutrients we need we can get from plants. It is also more sustainable for our planet to eat mostly plants. Whole Food, Plant Based eating is the way to go, even if you still occasionally eat meat. If you don't believe me check out the Double Pyramid put out by the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition (https://www.barillacfn.com/m/publications/pp-double-pyramid-healthy-diet-for-people-sustainable-for-the-planet.pdf).

I hope these insights help you in your journey to a healthier life. If you ever have questions feel free to comment below and I'll respond to the best of my ability and knowledge. 

Listen to the quiet voice that calls you

Ever since I was in Middle School I have had a bleeding heart for social justice. I can remember back during my time in the abhorrent years of middle school finding solace in acts of service with my youth group. Even my first sermon I ever gave focused on justice for the "least of these." Often times the places I enjoyed serving most in one manner or another revolved around food. It is crazy to look back and see the small steps that would lead me to where I am today.

During my undergrad years I continued to develop a passion for social justice, but struggled to find the right area to focus on. I explored many different ones and all the while had an idea of where I should be...that I constantly pushed aside. I saw advertisements for community gardens and read into the environmental reasons why someone should be vegetarian, all the while telling myself that I didn't have time to garden and I couldn't be vegetarian with the food options I had. I gave these excuses while simultaneously overbooking myself with other forms of service. It wasn't that I couldn't partake in that kind of social justice; it was that I had prioritized other types. I was still learning. I am still learning.

Flash forward to 2016. I had been out of college for a year and in the midst of my first year of marriage. Brianna and I learned about a community garden and finally--after years of thinking about the perks of joining one--we got two plots at a garden across the street from the apartment we lived in. This was a great way for individuals all throughout the community to have space to garden, to build community, and to have ways they can donate their extra produce. All of the excess produce was encouraged to be donated to the local Hot Meals Programs and Food Pantries. It wasn't long into the season that we transitioned into the new garden coordinators. We didn't want to just be a part of the garden, but we wanted to help it grow and make sure it would keep running.

It was this same year that I left the church I was working for and accepted a job as a Community Nutrition Professional for The Ohio State University Extension. My passion for creating access to healthy, affordable food for all led me to this position. I had no experience with Extension before, but I felt my time at the church was coming to an end and I needed to be focusing my energy on food. It took me years to come to this conclusion and finally settle my social justice focus on food, but I finally found it.

Now I am working towards promoting, educating, and helping provide food access to all individuals in my county. I do this through my job as an educator, but also as the chair of our county's Local Food Council and as a member of our Creating Healthy Communities coalition. I still coordinate our community garden, but since we bought our house we have developed a garden in our backyard too. This garden has allowed us to get to know our neighbors more as many have come over to see what we are doing and talk with us about our plants. I have gone from just having a side hobby of gardening to making it a sustainable lifestyle that I hope others can see and want to join. We have a rain barrel system we set up to collect water for our gardens, we compost our food scraps, and we have even become vegetarian. The lifestyle that I dreamed about and said I wanted I finally have. How did I get this lifestyle? I decided to pursue it and that's exactly what I did. I learned how to build things myself to save money and I sought out help when needed. I want others to see that the lifestyle we have is not only sustainable, but also easy to replicate.

 I view social justice as a wide-range of topics that works best when people have their focus to funnel issues through. Choosing food justice isn't just about addressing hunger--although that is a huge issue. Food justice deals with sustainability, the environment, gender equality, racial equality, and so much more. Many of the issues that I had become passionate about can be partially addressed with our food system. This is one part of the solution. We need people working in all sectors of influence to truly make a different in the fight for social justice.

I share this part of my story as a way to invite others to find their focus. It may take time so don't be discouraged if you try something out and it doesn't seem to be your fit. I thought I was supposed to be a youth minister for most of my life. Now I know, for me, that was a stepping stone to a different calling. I am thankful for my time at the church because it led me to where I am now. Keep looking for your calling. Keep searching. The next time you feel the urge in your soul, that continuing draw, follow it. Stop saying, "Maybe another day...I'm too committed to other things." Instead, step back and focus on that calling. Ask yourself, "is this a fleeting thought or is this more?"

Where are your priorities? What is calling your heart? What is the still, quiet voice saying to you?

Go to it.

Two is better than one: My 40 days of chores

In my last post I shared my Lenten challenge that I was about to embark on. In an effort to balance my household chores ethic out I took it upon myself to do all of our chores during the past 40 days. I had a plan set up that every time I would neglect a job or complain about it I would add money into what I called a "complaint/douche jar." I had tons of great intentions for this experiment and came away with the following great insights:

1. The Invisible Chores: As I started to focus on doing all the chores I began to notice all the invisible tasks my spouse would do throughout the week. I started noticing all the different ways that Brianna would clean our house that I had simply neglected before. These were jobs that I had never even thought of let alone noticed that she did them herself each week! During this period I became a lot more observant because I did not want to neglect any chore no matter how small they were.

2. Two is Better than One: During this period of house husbandry it made itself abundantly clear that household chores should be divided equally among all who are in the house! It can be incredibly draining to feel like you have to do everything. I found myself always wondering if I remembered to do everything and could hardly take time to rest because if I didn't do it, then it didn't happen!

3. Be appreciative: Even though it is a given that chores should be divided equally, I learned the importance of being appreciative that you have someone to clean your house with you. Be appreciative that you aren't alone. Throughout the month when I would notice things that I had often neglected Brianna would thank me. I know that she didn't need to thank me and I did not deserve the thanks, but it always made it seem easier. Of course, we don't need thanks for doing what we have to do, but it always helps.

I became abundantly appreciative of my spouse near the end of the 40 days as I had to get my wisdom teeth removed. This procedure made me invalid for about four days during which my spouse did everything for me. I did not plan for this to happen during my 40 days of house husbandry, but it just happened that way. After experiencing what it's like to do everything I had a deep appreciation for Brianna as she worked to take care of me during my recovery AND still get all of our household chores done!

Overall now that we have celebrated the Resurrection and these past 40 days have ended, I am glad to have a partner to do life with. I am glad we are an equal team and we can rely on one another to contribute. I'm glad I'm not in this alone.

Confession: I am lazy.

I have a confession to make.

I struggle with contributing to household chores equally.

For some this may seem silly, but it is not. This is a problem that I struggle with. A huge part of why this is a problem is because it is inconsistent with the words I espouse both online and in person. I claim to be a feminist and egalitarian and yet I allow my laziness to dictate how I spend my time. I go on rants all about how there should not be gender roles, but then I procrastinate and neglect chores around the house until my wife does them for me.

This is not okay. This is not something that should have happened. But, like any bad habit...this can be fixed. Sometimes it is extreme measures that I need to do in order to change an old habit and create a new one. Today as I reflected on this issue of laziness I think of the countless, often over-looked, Scriptures that tackle this very thing. I can think of Proverbs 10:4, Proverbs 12:27, Proverbs 26:15, Matthew 25:26, and Hebrews 6:12 to name a few. If I truly am against traditional gender roles and I truly want to dismantle the patriarchy then I need to make a change and let my actions reflect my words.

I share all of this not to brag or ask for pity, but I share this for accountability. As my friends and family, please keep me accountable. I want what I say and believe to mean something.

My solution is this: Using this time of Lent, for the next 40 days, I am going to respond in the opposite extreme of what I have been doing. I told my wife that I will be her househusband for the next 40 days. By this phrase, I mean that I will do all of the chores. I will also not complain about it. To help with accountability I am keeping a "complaint jar" and for every complaint I share during these 40 days I will put a penny in the jar. My hope is that this helps me better understand all of the chores I have been neglecting and helps me to balance out into an actual equal contributor. I also think this is worth doing because there are many couples out there where the man has the expectation that the woman should do all of the chores and my hope is that by switching the roles it will show just how ridiculous and unbiblical this approach really is.

So here's to 40 days of laundry, dishes, vacuuming, and cleaning. Here's to finally pulling more than my weight!

Please help me in this journey.

How volunteering can be good for you!

Bark! Bark! Bark!

The alarm caused by my two protective dogs reverberated in my ears as I walked into the house after a night at the shelter. I haven't spent too much time volunteering at the homeless shelter this season, but it was nice to spend an evening there again. I have gone through phases in my volunteering at this particular shelter: some years I have had a weekly pattern of volunteering and other years I have volunteered in spurts throughout the season. This particular season has been one of the latter. 

As I was reflecting on my evening, sipping on my coffee, and reading a chapter from An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor I thought of this blog post. The chapter was on community. I immediately assumed that the chapter would discuss how church community is a great and needed element in our lives, but instead it focused on how we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. It discussed the practice of viewing people for their humanity even if you don't relate to them well. It talked about crossing barriers of the "Other" to truly get to know the strangers around us. BBT shares beautifully that, "“You shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Those most likely to befriend strangers, in other words, are those who have been strangers themselves. The best way to grow empathy for those who are lost is to know what it means to be lost yourself.”"

There was a lot of incredible wisdom spewed throughout the chapter, but what really stood out to me was the reminder of how community can be good for me. Community is good for you. It's not just about the other as if they were someone less than you. It is about knowing what it means to be in their shoes. It's about realizing that we are brothers and sisters. Our place in life does not make one of us better than the other. We are equal and we should treat those we volunteer with as such. We are called to love the other who we did not make up as if they were ourselves. It isn't just good for the person, but it's also good for us. This chapter fit perfectly with what I had been thinking about as I had returned to the shelter to volunteer this past evening. While trying to avoid the risk of sounding selfish I wanted to spend the rest of this post sharing 3 reasons why volunteering can be beneficial for you as a person and not just the group or place you are volunteering at. 

Why volunteering can be good for you:

1. Volunteering can help you see the Other: When you volunteer you most likely are stepping outside of your comfort zone. You are most likely going to interact with individuals who are different than you. While it is important to realize that you are not better than the person you are working with, it is also important to truly see them as a person and get to know what they are like. Volunteering is a way to get to know the stranger.

2. Volunteering can humble you: When you aren't around people who are different than you it can be easy to get lost in thoughts about how great you think you are. Sometimes when we take time to volunteer and really look at the world around us we can see there is more to life than just you and your likes.

3. Volunteering allows you to use your passions outside of your job: Many millennials have grown up being told they can pursue their dreams and they should choose jobs based on their passions. While this is great advice, it has also led people to think that every single thing that they enjoy doing they should be paid for. This is simply not true though. Volunteering can connect your passions to helping others without getting paid. Yes, volunteering does take time and time is money, but there is a freedom in knowing you can help others and not get paid for it. There's more to life than gaining more money.

These are just some of my thoughts. I would love to hear more ways that volunteering in your community can be beneficial for you as a person--without dehumanizing those you are working with.

Grace & Peace. 

Overnight Oats

For my post this week I'm going to do something I don't think I have done before. I'm going to share a current healthy recipe that I've really enjoyed recently. This recipe is a way to help you make sure you eat breakfast each day and has very little prep time--which in our busy world of go, go, go and instant gratification a recipe that has little prep time and few ingredients, but is still healthy is always a plus!

Many have said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and there have been studies to back that up! (https://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/breakfast-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day for more information). One of the biggest arguments I have heard for not eating breakfast is time. There's not enough time for breakfast. My response is: PLAN!

Instead of saying you don't have time, take a minute or two out of your schedule the night before and prepare a "grab and go" breakfast for the next day. You can even plan out your entire week if you want! What if your issue is not being hungry when you first wake up? This was an excuse I often gave! Instead of saying you aren't hungry when you first wake up, why don't you bring your breakfast with you and eat once you feel hungry! That way you planned to have breakfast, but can eat it on your own time! Does planning take time? Yes. Is it worth it in the long run? Yes! Studies have shown that people who eat a healthy breakfast find it easier to maintain their weight, find it easier to concentrate on their tasks in the morning [because they aren't distracted by hunger], are prevented from binge eating, and often find that their breakfast sets the tone for the rest of the day!

So try out this recipe: Overnight oats (whole grains, dairy, and fruits!).

Ingredients and Supplies:

1. A container that you can seal (jar, small Pyrex container, etc.)  
2. 1 cup of Milk (nonfat, 1%, 2%)
3. 1/2 cup of Old-Fashioned (or Rolled) oats
4. Fruit of your choosing (optional)

Directions:

1. Pour 1/2 cup of Old-Fashioned Oats into container
2. Cover oats with milk
3. Put lid on container and refrigerate overnight
4. In the morning cut up and add fruit on top of oats.
5. Enjoy!

I hope this helps you incorporate healthy breakfasts into your busy life.

Grace & Peace,

Tanner