I have always loved the outdoors. I was raised on a farm a couple of hours from Alaska, in Smithers, B.C., Canada.  Being raised on a farm was an amazing way to grow up.   I was a member of the local 4H Club, participating in beef and sheep raising, as well as showmanship, but mostly I loved the public speaking opportunities and demonstrations the club presented me with.

My first job was at the local fish hatchery as a tour guide. The job encouraged me to stay active and healthy. These  are two traits I have instilled in my  family. As a family we enjoy camping, biking, geo caching, hiking and playing games outdoors.  In order for our families to continue enjoying our earth, I strongly believe that ALL of us are called to take care of it. Everyday we have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of creation and everyday we have the responsibility to protect it.

It wasn’t that long ago when hikers didn’t hesitate to drink out of the lakes, rivers or streams.  Now we all think twice.  What has happened?  Our society has made everything disposable.  The lakes, streams and oceans are polluted.  We need to clean up our act to protect our earth.  David Suzuki was right when he said that “What we do to nature, we do to ourselves.”

We cannot solely blame commercial industry without pointing the finger at residential homes that are carelessly dumping anything and everything down the drain and into our landfills.  Studies have shown that the largest contributors to pollution are actually residential homes not industries.

A particular verse in the Bible that rings true to me is:  I completely believe that we must “First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean” (Matthew 23:26). We are such a small part of this universe with the ability to make a huge impact. Many of us believe that one person cannot change the world, but the truth is, WE CAN. One person at a time, one step at a time. That one persons is you and your first step in in your home.

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Gandhi’s call to action is a phrase to live by, “we must strive to be the change that [we] wish to see in the world”.

Resources: http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/columnists/david-suzuki-what-we-do-to-the-earth-we-do-to-ourselves-1.2043193

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Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.

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