Woven

This week we welcome Will Harris, owner of White Oak Pastures, to talk with us about what it means to be a good steward of the food we buy and consume. We had so much fun spending the day with Will and the rest of the crew at WOP.

Will Harris is a fourth generation cattleman, who tends the same land that his great-grandfather settled in 1866. Born and raised at White Oak Pastures, Will left home to attend the University of Georgia's School of Agriculture, where he was trained in the industrial farming methods that had taken hold after World War II. Will graduated in 1976 and returned to Bluffton where he and his father continued to raise cattle using pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics. They also fed their herd a high-carbohydrate diet of corn and soy.

These tools did a fantastic job of taking the cost out of the system, but in the mid-1990's Will became disenchanted with the excesses of these industrialized methods. They had created a monoculture for their cattle, and, as Will says, "nature abhors a monoculture." In 1995, Will made the audacious decision to return to the farming methods his great-grandfather had used 130 years before.

Since Will has successfully implemented these changes, he has been recognized all over the world as a leader in humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability. Will is the immediate past President of the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics. He is the Beef Director of the American Grassfed Association, and was selected 2011 Business Person of the year for Georgia by the Small Business Administration.

Will lives in his family home on the property with his wife Yvonne. He is the proud father of three daughters, Jessi, Jenni, and Jodi. His favorite place in the world to be is out in pastures, where he likes to have a big coffee at sunrise and a 750ml glass of wine at sunset.

http://www.whiteoakpastures.com

This week we welcome Will Harris, owner of White Oak Pastures, to talk with us about what it means to be a good steward of the food we buy and consume. We had so much fun spending the day with Will and the rest of the crew at WOP.

In Episode 15, we begin our series on Stewardship.

In Episode 15, we begin our series on Stewardship. Over the next 5 weeks, we'll work through what we think it means to be good stewards of what we've been given and more specifically, we'll be discussing stewardship in the areas of food/farming, clothing/goods and technology. To kick off the series, we're discussing our personal views on stewardship. Our prayer is that this series wouldn't make anyone feel guilt or shame, but that it would open all of our eyes to the awesome responsibility God has given each of us to steward the earth and all that is in it to the best of our abilities.

This Week's Resource:

God and Money

This week we wrap up our Grace series with a discussion on extending grace to others.

This week we wrap up our Grace series with a discussion on extending grace to others. We've talked about accepting grace from God through the Cycle of Grace, we've also discussed giving grace to ourselves through self care/soul care and now we discuss showing others grace. Showing grace to others should be the fruit of acceptance and sustenance. We also know that some relationships are complicated so we also speak to boundaries and how grace and boundaries have to be in balance in all of our relationships.

Resources:

The Book of Forgiving

Boundaries

Self Care is a hot buzz word these days. But, what distinguishes it from soul care and when do we know when we are creeping into selfish care territory? Jesus is clear that we are called to die to self when we become one of his disciples but he also lived out examples of how to take care of ourselves in order to be fruitful disciples. How do we live in balance between taking care of ourselves and serving others? As always, we don't have all the answers but we can share what God is teaching us in this area. Thanks for listening!

Resources

Selfish Care vs. Self Care vs. Soul Care- Nathan Foster

Sacred Rest

Self Care is a hot buzz word these days. But, what distinguishes it from soul care and when do we know when we are creeping into selfish care territory? As always, we don't have all the answers but we can share what God is teaching us in this area. Thanks for listening!

Before we can extend grace to ourselves and others, we have to learn how to receive grace from God. Most of us live our lives in the Cycle of Works, but, in the next episode in our Grace series, we will learn how to live our lives in the Cycle of Grace. We will discuss what it means to begin from a place of acceptance instead of a place of achievement. Know that you are loved!

Before we can extend grace to ourselves and others, we have to learn how to receive grace from God. Most of us live our lives in the Cycle of Works, but, in the next episode in our Grace series, we will learn how to live our lives in the Cycle of Grace. We will discuss what it means to begin from a place of acceptance instead of a place of achievement. Know that you are loved!

Resources:

Cycle of Grace: Living In Sacred Balance

Cycle of Grace Study Guide

Sonship Manual

Ephesians 1:4-6

John 1:12