It's Always Sunny in Arizona

Now that I've been here about a month, I have noticed even more Michigan/Arizona differences. Please enjoy part two of culture shock / simple facts I have learned about Arizona/Tucson in general.

• It is literally sunny every day. Whenever I check the weather for the week, it's always a little row of suns. No clouds in sight. This is a strange concept for me. 
• In the paper the other day, I saw an article about places to go to see leaves changing. It was so strange to me! Three places were listed and none of them seemed to have an abundance of color-changing trees. What a dramatic difference from having color-changing trees visible out my window for the past 22 years!
• Business casual is more casual than it is in Michigan (or in Virginia or California, according to fellow staff at Iskashitaa.)
• Someone told me that they had scheduled a speaker for November, but they canceled it because 70 was the average temperature and people wouldn't sit outside because it was too cold. 70 degrees. Too cold....this is not something I am able to comprehend.
• The mountain ranges are a natural compass. Catalinas to the north. Rincon to the east, Tucson to the west. (The southern range isn't as visible in most of the city.) 
• Helmets are a thing here. Tucson is considered a bike-friendly city (although most of the people who tell me that own cars), and I've noticed that the majority of people wear helmets. Typical MSU students don't wear helmets while biking. I think this can be easily attributed to the setting (MSU is a largely enclosed campus with bike paths separate from roads; Tucson is a large city with bike lanes.)
• I now recognize the Tucson area code in phone numbers. It's interesting because after being on campus for 4 years, most people have different area codes, so it is normal to say the full 10 digit number. Here, however, the area code (520) can be assumed and many people simply give out their 7 digit number. This sometimes throws me off at work when I'm taking down a number.
• Lizards are the squirrels of Arizona. In Michigan, squirrels are everywhere. Here, it's lizards that scramble frantically through yards.
• In my neighborhood, nearly all the mailboxes are physically attached to the houses. (A few are embedded in the fences that enclose the entire yard, but these are the exception. In Michigan, practically all mailboxes are at the ends of driveways.)
• The sidewalks are random and unreliable. Apparently when Tucson was built the street plans did not include sidewalks, so some places have them and some don't. In addition, if there is sidewalk in front of your home and it gets damaged, the city won't replace it, you have to.
• Citrus grows here. I've always thought of lemons, oranges, and grapefruits growing in exotic places, but they grow here! A part of town is called Orange Grove; it actually is an orange grove.
  
  Probably there are more things, but this is all I can think of for now. Apologies for any typos; the keyboard on this computer is terrible. Fortunately I should have mine soon!

In the Cultural Kitchen

Unfortunate circumstances have prevented me from updating in a while, but I am back now!

Today I attended my second Food Preservation Workshop. This is one of the main parts of my role here at Iskashitaa. Coordinating the volunteers can be tough, but I think the longer I am here and the more people I meet the easier it will get.

I have enjoyed these workshops greatly and I am so glad I will be able to continue to participate in them. It is a great way to get to know people and their stories, all while learning how to make delicious products! In addition, it is a wonderful feeling to be able to do this with foods that Iskashitaa has picked from local backyards, gardens, and farms. It is also wonderful to learn so many different recipes that are multicultural. Some of the foods that grow here are native to refugee countries, so they are able to teach us their recipes for some of the foods, such as figs or dates.

Today my efforts were put toward pomegranates: cutting them open and getting all the berries in a bowl, and then juicing them.We ended up with about a gallon of pomegranate juice, and we still have pomegranates to juice next time.

We also juiced prickly pear (a cactus fruit) and made Prickly Pear Syrup and we have prickly pear juice. This is a though and tiring job, plus the prickly pear has lots of little spines (hence the "prickly") that easily get into skin. I was lucky to be with the pomegranates!

We also made some dressings: orange grapefruit marmalade, grapefruit orange pecan, and grapefruit vinaigrette.

At the last workshop, we made lemon curd, Rwandan grapefruit marmalade, Cactus Kiwi Jam (made from the pitayas I talked about in another post), and we canned previously grinded carob powder.  Carob powder can be used as a sugar substitute and it is also high in protein. When I have access to a camera I will try to get some pictures!

Today I also tried a calamondin lime for the first time. Imagine my surprise to find that they are orange! They look like baby clementines but are not sweet at all! The peel can also be eaten and they are part of the kumquat family.

This weekend get to participate in a cooking retreat with Iskashitaa's new joint venture, "Dishes and Stories." This is a culinary enterprise for refugee and immigrant women. It will provide job experience and training, starting out as a catering business, but the eventual hope is that it will become a small café serving multi-ethnic food options, with the menu coming from recipes of the women's mothers. I look forward to sharing more after Saturday!

Grace Alone

Today, I attended a United Methodist Church (Catalina UMC) for a Sunday service for the first time since I've lived here.

I have discovered that the bus system is not very reliable. This morning I went to the bus stop and waited half an hour before the bus came, and it wasn't the bus I expected. I boarded it anyway, and it did stop only a block away from where I was planning to get off on the original bus. I was then planning to take one more bus over to the church. 

Unfortunately, the other bus drove by before I could get to the next stop. That meant I had to walk the rest of the way to the church. Googlemaps claimed this was only a 15 minute walk, but in reality, it was double. In the hot Arizona sun this was not the most fun. I am thankful for my investment in an insulated water bottle. 

This might seem a little extreme, but there is only one UMC closer to my home than Catalina, and that is the church I am attending the next 2 weeks for work. I wanted to go to church today, so I was willing to make an effort. 

Catalina UMC has 2 traditional and 2 contemporary services. I went to one of each. 

The highlight for me from the first service was a song called "Grace Alone."  I almost stayed for another traditional service just so I could sing it again. The music was elaborate; apparently it is part of a program called "Third Sunday Music." The choir was large and they also had quite the ensemble, complete with a timpani. Some highlights from the message:

"When I don't feel like I need to be forgiven is when I really do need to be forgiven." 

"When you don't want to hear about Jesus dying on the cross for us is when you are lost like the sheep, the coin, the prodigal son..." 

After the service I met a wonderful and friendly man who I exchanged business cards with (I'm such an adult now) and who helped me find the contemporary service. The contemporary worship was different even from other contemporary bands I have experienced in churches. Some of the songs they sang were written by people in their band.  I liked that this service had a "greeting time" and a time for prayer requests (even though that was short.) The traditional service, which was in a large sanctuary, did not have those times. Some message highlights:

"It matters what you believe. It matters how you live. Your faith MUST inform your life."
"How am I being the hands and feet of Jesus Christ for others today and what will I do to model the presence of Christ for others tomorrow?" -John Flowers  

"If you treat people like dirt, you probably don't believe in Jesus."

Another thing I like about Catalina is that they serve communion in the chapel after every service. Unfortunately I was too late to take communion this week, but if I ever return here I could probably take communion between services. The chapel was beautiful and empty when I stopped in after the 2nd service, and the Bible on the altar "just so happened" to be opened to one of my favorite Psalms. (43) This was a sign of comfort and peace to me.

After the second service, I talked with two people. One of them is a dual Ph.D student and she ended up giving me a ride home, which I was very thankful for. If she had not, I would have ended up waiting for the bus for a long time, walking a long way, or both. Because it was the middle of the day by then, I may have even had to go into some of the small stores or restaurants along the way to get out of the heat for a while.

I also learned that during football season, fans go to the early services so they can be home in time for the games, since they start in the morning on the west coast!

Today I am thankful for the opportunity to go to worship in this new place.

 Grace Alone

 Every promise we can make

Every prayer and step of faith

Every difference we will make

is only by His grace

Every mountain we will climb

Every ray of hope we shine

Every blessing left behind

is only by His grace

Grace alone, which God supplies

Strength unknown, He will provide

Christ in us, our Cornerstone

We will go forth in grace alone

Every soul we long to reach

Every heart we hope to teach

Everywhere we share His peace

is only by His grace

Every loving word we say

Every tear we wipe away

Every sorrow turned to praise

is only by His grace

Grace alone, which God supplies

Strength unknown, He will provide

Christ in us, our Cornerstone

We will go forth in grace alone

Quarterly Public Meeting

Today was a very long day for me! I'm so glad to be home, and to have the day off tomorrow! (Although I do have to go into the office for about an hour to finalize some things for Saturday...)

Today we had the Refugee Resettlement Quarterly Public Meeting for Strategic Planning. Members of organizations that work with refugees attended this meeting to develop a 2-year statewide strategic plan to address some key issues regarding refugee resettlement. The first meeting took place in June and focused on different issues. The meeting today focused on three main areas: integrated health, K-12 education, and employment. The summer intern and the other new staff and I attended for Iskashitaa and we were each assigned a different "track." I participated in the employment track.

Once in our tracks, we had to decide as a group which goals we thought were most important to address. For example:

• Develop/expand job search assistance options six months after arrival in the US 
• Identify options for affordable and accessible childcare
• Expand on-the-job training opportunities

We had nine of these potential goals, and each member of the group received three stickers to vote for whichever they felt were the most important. We ended up focusing on three goals: 

• Develop/expand Vocational English Training
• Expand on-the-job training opportunities
• Develop strategies for refugees to earn a living wage 

We then split into groups to address the goals specifically. We were supposed to determine objectives to achieve the goal, identify a date by which the objective should be accomplished, decide what the performance measures should be (how to measure success), and suggest possible responsible parties and participants. What a task! 

Somehow I ended up being the scribe for my group, which involved writing down all of these things to be turned in at the end of the session. These will then be reviewed the overall team, revised, sent out to everyone, and then an implementation team will begin working on them. All of the goals here were community input through past reports, conferences, and listening sessions with refugees. 

It was a very informational time for me. It is easy to talk about problems, but it is not always easy to talk about solutions. When we talk about solutions, we have to think about what is feasible and realistic. We have to think about the resources that are available and also make sure we are not duplicating existing services. We have to realize that this is a process, and the problem is not going to be solved in 2 years. But we can make a start. We can make progress. 

The idea of it being easy to talk about problems stood out to me especially. Whenever my group was off-topic, it was because we were talking about the needs. So many needs exist, and many people have firsthand stories to tell about the needs. Sometimes it even becomes tempting to say, "Well, if there was a solution, wouldn't we have already found it?" It seems that we often enjoy complaining, but we offer no suggestions on how to fix the problem. But this was not the reason we came together. We came together to seek solutions, and that was something we would do together. It will be interesting to see the results of this collaboration when everything is compiled, revised, and sent out to us to review. 

Another interesting note is that the facilitator of the employment group was a former US-2! He said he participated in the program around 1975. That was a great connection to make! 

After this meeting, we went back to the office and did some work there. We have a food preservation workshop on Saturday, so I am trying to coordinate volunteers for this at the last minute. Then I went to our Refugee 101 in the evening. This happens once a month also functions as our volunteer training. It was great to hear this more in depth and build on my knowledge about refugees and some of the countries they are coming from. It was also encouraging to talk with those attending who are interested in volunteering!

After an interesting but long day, it is good to have some time to rest. 

Pitayas and Pomegranates

Today I went on my first harvest! It was unexpected (for me), and pretty small. We harvested fruit from one cactus and one pomegranate tree.

It was so cool to touch a cactus and to pick and then eat its fruit! We each ate some of the pitaya fruit while we were picking it. (And who knew pitaya was a fruit before it was a store? I didn't, until today. The fruit is better.) It is sort of like a kiwi, except bright pink/red on the outside and white on the inside. I'm going to look for pictures to put up! I need to start bringing my camera everywhere.

We also harvested a pomegranate tree. I tried some pomegranate while we were harvesting, too--it's tart but good! We came away with about two boxes of pomegranates and one bag of pitayas.

After the harvest, we stopped back at the office and then headed downtown for our bimonthly Food for Thought dinner. This dinner is meant to be a time for refugees and non-refugees to spend time together sharing a meal and sharing stories. It is meant to be a cross-cultural exchange, and we try to hold it at a restaurant either owned by a refugee or that employs refugees. Tonight we went to a wonderful Mediterranean restaurant called Sinbad's. The food was so delicious, and I met many new people! And as our supervisor said, what better way to spend September 11th than seeking peace and change through building relationships with people from many different countries, cultures, and backgrounds?

Tomorrow is going to be a long day, so I'm hoping I can get a lot of rest in tonight.

Activities and Acronyms

It has now been 2 weeks since I arrived in Tucson, and I have now had a full week of work, so I wanted to share about some of the things I have been doing. So much is going on that it is still hard to get a grasp on what my schedule will be like, but things are starting to take shape.

At work:

• Last Tuesday, I went with Natalie (the development director) to a lunch for the YAVs in the area, since Iskashitaa will have a YAV this year. YAV--Young Adult Volunteers, is a program through the Presbyterian church. It is similar to the US-2 program, but it only lasts for one year. It has been great to meet Heather (our YAV, and the harvesting coordinator), especially since we are learning things at the same time. 
• Last week I spent most of my time in the office preparing a presentation, sending emails, and familiarizing myself with the many Googledocs of Iskashitaa. The director's house is on the same property, so we also have 3 dogs running around. A common afternoon activity is comforting the dog that is afraid of thunder. (Since it is still monsoon season, we frequently have afternoon storms.) 
• Saturday we had the Farmer's Market, which I posted about a few days ago. 
• On Sunday, I went to Rincon UCC (United Church of Christ) for Connection Sunday. We set up a table and talked with people before and after their two services, and we also attended one of the services. The UCC was an interesting experience and a different viewpoint for me. The theological differences were evident in the service, but I appreciated the great heart for social justice & peace, the welcoming spirit, and awareness about global events.  This church is going to be a partner with Iskashitaa for a new program they are starting called Dishes & Stories. (More about that on another day.) 
• Yesterday, I went with Natalie to Casas Adobes UCC for a presentation. She gave a general presentation about refugee resettlement/refugee 101 and the programs that Iskashitaa offers, and then talked about potential partnerships. 
• This morning, I did a presentation for the United Methodist Women (UMW) at the First United Methodist Church (FUMC). The presentation focused on the US-2 program, my journey to this point, and what I will be doing with Iskashitaa. I also met the president and president-elect of Tucson's Church Women United (CWU), who I will be meeting/interacting with more starting next week. The women were very welcoming and I enjoyed the morning and lunch. 
• Acronyms are a big part of my life. 

Non-work Activities: 

• On Wednesday, I went to the second Wesley Foundation meeting. This was an uplifting evening of worship and fellowship. 
• On Thursday, my friend and fellow US-2 Darlene came over to visit. This was a great night! Darlene is also from Michigan, and because we are in the same program we are able to relate to each other well. Darlene has given me great advice about living in Tucson and it was so uplifting to see her.
• Thursday afternoon I managed my first trip on the bus! This is an accomplishment because the bus system is pretty elaborate and confusing. I went to one of the library branches and checked out 3 books. I'm planning to go back maybe once a week. 
• After Natalie and I finished the presentation at Casas Adobes, we went to an oriental mart. I was excited to get some groceries not available in typical grocery stores. 

This next week is looking just as busy, if not busier! I am still trying to find a Bible study to attend and we are also still working on my bike situation. I would appreciate your prayers in these areas! 

It's Time to Look Up

A few days ago I wrote a post about the origin of my blog URL, hungry4justice. This post is about the origin of my blog title, "It's Time to Look Up." Just as I owe my URL to Katie, I also owe my blog title to those who introduced this song to me.

This line is from a song called "Come On, My Soul" by Rend Collective Experiment. I first heard it at Wesley Woods this summer when I was a counselor at the high school camp. I had once upon a time found another song that I thought was paired with this one, but at this point it is lost to me. (Because the opening lines "sing my soul" are not in the official song by Rend Collective Experiment.)`

Sing my soul, sing my soul
Sing my soul, sing my soul

Come on, my soul
Come on, my soul
Let down the walls
And sing, my soul
Come on, come on, come on, come on
It's time to look up 

Heather Humm prefaced the song by talking about the line, "It's time to look up." What she said (as I understood it), was that sometimes in our lives we become caught up in all the things going on around us. We are overwhelmed by our obligations and preoccupied with tasks to be completed. She said that sometimes when she is at Wesley Woods, she takes a moment to pause and look up through the treetops into the light, into the sky. To look up to God and remember that He is good and He is love and He is more than these obligations, these problems, these tasks, these things.

As a person who is frequently tempted to measure self worth in terms of action and performance, this was such an important song for me. To me the line "It's time to look up" is what reminds me to look up to God in every circumstance, no matter how hopeless I might feel.

In the broader sense of injustice and human suffering, it is a line that says to me, Now is the time to look up to God. It is the time to let down the walls of fear, of anger, of hate in our hearts. Now is the time to believe in God--in His power, in His justice, in His mercy, in His love. Now is the time to look up and trust God and to know that He will give us the strength to move forward in the face of incredible adversity. Now is the time to look up--to believe, to trust, to hope.

Here is the official video of the song.

Thank you to Heather for the words that have stayed with me to influence my future (forgive me for any misrepresentations/misunderstandings/false memories.) Thanks to Miah and the others who lead the song in a way that spoke to my heart and stuck with me through the summer months. (I prefer your version, but sadly I do not have a video of it.) And thanks to anyone else who was involved in bringing the song to camp this summer. 

Farmer's Market

Today I worked at a Farmer's Market with Iskashitaa. They took a few months off for summer and this week was their first week back. It was both exciting and overwhelming to be working a booth here. Iskashitaa takes some of the gleaned fruits and veggies and makes jams, jellies, and preserves with them, and these products were our main focus. We also sell hand-made harvesting bags and African baskets.

The farmer's market is such a great environment. It is great to see vendors who are trying to sell their products locally and be mindful of the earth. I was a little surprised by the variety of products offered; when I think of farmer's markets I generally just think of vegetables. Not only were there vegetables and fruits, there were also plants, flowers, herbs, jams, eggs, honey, espresso fudge, bread, vegan gluten-free baked goods, candles/lotions/skin treatments, pet treats, and more. Our booth was next to a woman who was selling her home-made candles, lotions, and skin-treatments. She is very conscious of the ingredients she uses and how they affect the environment. She said her products are actually edible. Her products are almost vegan, other than the sugar she currently uses. She said she is hoping to be able to switch to a vegan sugar when she can afford the cost. 

It was enjoyable to talk with the people coming by our booth and to share about our programs with them. Many people signed up to receive our newsletter, to volunteer, or to donate unused fruit from 

their properties. We had samples of fig preserves and orange marmalade available, and they were delicious! I'm looking forward to learning how to make many of these products. 

This particular farmer's market is held at a non-profit movie theater in Tucson called The Loft.Throughout the market, videos that were created about Iskashitaa played on the loop in the theater for free. One of the videos Iskashitaa was featured in was sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation! What an exciting surprise that was for me. 

All in all, I enjoyed working at the farmer's market and experiencing a community of people interested in buying local products. 

The upcoming week is very busy for me, so please keep me in your prayers! Pray that I will be able to have good rest and that I will be relying on God as I am continuing to learn about my new position. 

California Days

Labor Day weekend for me was spent with Tucson Wesley in California! I was given the exciting opportunity to join the Wesley group as a chaperon for their weekend trip to the San Diego area. 

I was so thankful to have the chance to go to California--especially so soon! I love traveling and seeing different parts of the country, but since I don't have a car here I have expected that to be challenging. Thus, it was an amazing blessing for me to get to visit California my first weekend here. 

A lot of people were surprised to hear that I had never been to Cali or the Pacific Ocean before! San Diego is a common vacation destination for Arizonans. (I was also told that people from San Diego don't like Arizonans much.) 

Here are some main points from the trip: 

• Friday afternoon I left  the church with a group of 9 others in a church van. With a few stops, it took us 6 or 7 hours to get to the church we were staying at in San Diego (which, fun fact, is the biggest UMC in the Western Jurisdiction.) 
• The drive, though long, I enjoyed a lot because of the scenery: cacti, mountains, enormous piles of rocks that seem like mountains but probably aren't, seemingly endless desert sand dunes (where apparently Star Wars was filmed?), border patrol vehicles, and the fence marking the US-Mexico border. 
• After the second van and car arrived late in the night, we had a group total of 28 people. 
• We spent our first day at the beach on Coronado Island. It was my first time seeing and swimming in the Pacific! The beach has always been a special place for me, so it was wonderful to smell the salt water and feel the sand on my feet. I reached my personal goal of leaving without a sunburn, and the water was so warm! It only felt cold to me for a few minutes; it was far warmer than any of the Great Lakes or the north Atlantic. 
• In the evening, we visited the Arizona State Wesley at a nearby church to have dinner together as well as a short devotional time.  (Also a rivalry exists between ASU and U of A. Anyone surprised? I wasn't but I still had to ask.) 
• On Sunday morning, we had a beautiful worship service at a public park in the Mission Bay area. The ASU and U of A Wesley Foundations were there, as were the Lutheran student groups from both schools. A group from Northern Arizona University was there as well. The scenery was beautiful, and I loved seeing members of different groups all lead the musical worship together. (Some songs I really love, too. 
• After this, most of our group went to Mission Beach. I went with the other chaperons to Balboa Park, a historic part of San Diego with many museums, older buildings, and beautiful architecture. Unfortunately we couldn't spend much time here because we were hungry and the restaurants had high-price menus. 
• After a short walk in Balboa Park, we drove into downtown San Diego to try and find somewhere to eat. Sidenote--driving a church van in parking ramps is a bit scary. Even though the height limit is posted when you drive in and a bar hangs down, our van was so close to the cutoff that we were constantly flinching as we drove through the garage. 
• That evening we went to a restaurant called Stacked. It allowed for nearly endless customization. Each table is given an iPad, on which they can go to any menu area and either "start from scratch" or start with a pre-made menu item. You can drag and drop different items to either add them or remove them from your order--and watch the price change accordingly. You can even pay at your table using the iPad and easily split your bill. 
• We also went to Yogurt-Land once. This was a win-lose situation for me. On the downside, it was late and I was exhausted, and they didn't have taro-flavored frozen yogurt. :( On the upside, they did have mochi as a topping. 
• The last night, we had a short outdoor devotional time. One of the Wesley members gave a short talk that I loved. What stood out to me from it was the idea that if we tell our friends about movies/sports/foods that we love, why wouldn't we tell them about the God that we love? If God is so important to us, shouldn't we be sharing Him? We also sang some of my favorite worship songs, Cannons and Revelation Song. 

Overall, the whole weekend was a great experience. It was fun to get to know some of the Wesley students and learn more about Tucson Wesley's group culture. (The things I think about after being in IV...) The songs we sang for worship had very solid, Biblical lyrics and I appreciated that a lot. I learned more about Arizona and California and specifically the University of Arizona. I had some great conversations with the Wesley students and I'm grateful I was able to spend that time with them. My first California trip was a success! 

To Hunger for Justice

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." 

Matthew 5:6 

A few weeks ago, while I was still in training in New York, I was trying to come up with a URL for my blog. The wonderful and intelligent Katie Pryor, a fellow US-2 serving in Biloxi, suggested
hungry4justice as my URL, stemming from the idea that one of Iskashitaa's primary interests is food justice, and my position is Food Justice Coordinator. (Also if I ever start a twitter, I have a hashtag to match: #h4j.)

Since that time, I have been reflecting on what it means to be hungry for justice.
Hunger is something universal; all living things need nourishment. Hunger alerts us to a need in our bodies for sustenance, and the longer we go without that sustenance, the more uncomfortable we become. If the sustenance never comes, hunger becomes death.

To hunger for justice, for righteousness, might be regarded as a person's need for justice. It could be the knowledge that one will be unable to function properly until justice is achieved. Just as pangs of hunger and growling stomachs alert our bodies to the need for food, instances of systemic injustice and human suffering alert our souls to the need for justice. To be hungry for justice is to realize that just as seeking food is vital for survival, so too is seeking justice.

This Beautiful Creation

Do we tire of beauty?

This question has been on my mind as I have been taking in the new sights of Arizona and California this past week. I have never seen so many cacti or palm trees in my life. I am not used to mountains being visible from my front yard. The beauty here is astounding.
I wonder if to locals it seems commonplace?

Today, as friends were driving me home from the weekend trip to California (I'll write about that soon!), I was telling them where I lived. I meant to say, "It's the house next to the really tall palm tree." But instead of palm tree, I said pine tree!
I felt so silly because I haven't seen a single pine tree since I arrived in Tucson last Tuesday. Yet in a way it makes sense; I have spent my whole life looking at pine trees (my yard in Battle Creek is full of them) and I have rarely seen palm trees.

Being away from Michigan makes its beauty stand out more to me: the greenness of the grass and the trees, the way the leaves change color in the fall, the sparkling white on everything after snowfall, the budding trees and flowers in spring, and the seemingly endless blue waters of the Great Lakes.

Being a new resident of Arizona makes its beauty stand out to me in its newness. The differing flowers, bushes, and trees fascinate me, and I am constantly trying to comprehend the wonder I feel at these new experiences. I wonder if any Arizonans who have never been to Michigan would feel the same about the vegetation of Michigan if they were to go? I often wouldn't take a second glance at pine trees or other common parts of nature, and yet whenever I think about any of these things more in depth, I am easily astounded by their complexity. It is easy to see beauty when I take the time to reflect.

Do I tire of beauty?  I find myself hoping that I won't fail to notice the beauty around me and that I can every day appreciate the beautiful mountains and the cacti and the palm trees, regardless of what stresses and challenges might seek to distract me. I hope that I can recognize God as Creator every day and worship Him through my acknowledgment of the vast and awe-inspiring forms of beauty in our world.