“Prayer, volunteering, financial support. Love of self and neighbor requires me to accept with humility that my physical existence is sustained by consuming the energy of plants, animals, natural resources, and the handiwork of all of the people who make everything I use available to me. I need to notice and savor with appreciation those necessities I am fortunate to have. With gratitude, comes a sense of responsibility not to squander the earth’s resources. Gratitude and responsibility require me to find ways to contribute to the replenishment of what I use, by attending to matters of social justice and ecological sustainability.

I am in awe of the ways my Creator sustains me. God has been persistent in giving me opportunities to learn that I am his, that his love for me is unconditional and everlasting. I express my gratitude to God by attending to our relationship with as much intensity and enthusiasm as I can muster, every day. I also express my gratitude to God by supporting those who are laboring to share the Good News with me and with the rest of the world. Contributions of prayer, volunteer work, and financial support help me ’pay forward’ a gift I received that is priceless.”

Dianne Cotton, 2.28.08


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