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Year of Plenty: One Suburban Family, Four Rules, and 365 Days of Homegrown Adventure in Pursuit of Christian Living
In 2008, Pastor Craig Goodwin and his young family embarked on a year-long experiment to consume only what was local, used, homegrown, or homemade. In Year of Plenty, Goodwin shares the winsome story of how an average suburban family stumbled onto the cultural cutting edge of locavores, backyard chickens, farmers markets, simple living, and going green. More than that, it...more
Paperback, 217 pages
Published
February 24th 2011
by Sparkhouse Press
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“For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.” Romans 8:22-23
I was reading the Fuller Focus magazine a few months...more
I was reading the Fuller Focus magazine a few months...more
After buying one plastic toy too many, the Goodwins followed the path of many before them. Local. Homemade. Used. Real. They got to know the people who provided their food and goods. They learned to make their own butter (something I would like to try). They discovered that things they took for granted, like having two cars and store-bought birthday party favors, aren't actually necessary, and that walking one mile to the local elementary school is actually more fun than piling everyone in the c...more
After giving my wife the skunk-eye when she recommended this book to me, I dove in and am glad I did. This isn't just for readers interested in the "green movement" - There are wonderful nuggets of Truth for the everyday Christian, let alone wonderful insights for pastors from a pastor about community, outreach and thinking Christianly about everything. Oddly enough, one of my favorite passages from this book comes from the epilogue, where the author quotes Anne Lamott who quotes E.L. Doctorow:...more
I'm still reading this but I'm more than three-fourth done. This family decided that they were fed up with the consumerism they had embraced in their lives so they em barked on a year living by four rules: local, used, homegrown, or homemade. And they started this project three days after they agreed to do this in January! With both parents being pastors much of the story is based around their Christian beliefs and how this effects the author's church as well as their daily lives. They also agre...more
I picked this up off the clearance rack at B&N and shelved it when I got home. A few months later I seen a posting from the local public market about the book and having the author come in an sign it. It wasnt till then that I realised I had a local book, so I went and grabbed it and started it. I really liked it, there was a little more religion then Im used to reading... but the author is a pastor so that should be expected. We have been looking to make life style changes and this book was...more
A Wonderful book that bridges the gap between our Christian beliefs and social responsibility and protecting God's creation. So much of what the author explained in the book connected with what my wife and I have been feeling has been lacking in the church. He was able to back up what he explained in the book with solid facts and theology, which I really appreciated.
I really enjoyed the author’s humbleness and humor while documenting his family’s steps over the course of the year that this book...more
I really enjoyed the author’s humbleness and humor while documenting his family’s steps over the course of the year that this book...more
I have been diving into some books about living simply and this is one that seemed interesting. It's a look at a family that makes the decision to now partake in the consumerist world that we live in and go a different direction, purchasing only local items and choosing one country to support, Thailand, in which they would buy a select few goods. They come to the conclusion to pursue this type of life after a cheap purchase after Christmas for a gift and the realization of how they have just spe...more
Craig Goodwin, who is a pastor and farmers’ market manager at his church, just might be a “voice crying out in the wilderness” – a John the Baptist of sorts, preparing the way for the LORD in a land of materialism run-amok and idolatrous consumerism. Although I’m sure he had no intention of bearing such a role, his family experiment serves as a sign-post to those of us who also feel GOD’s call to exit a life of unquestioning allegiance to ‘the pursuit of happiness’ – in exchange for the radical...more
Loved it ... for many reasons. Even in his theological reflections of WHY we should live locally and try to have relationships with the people who produce the food we eat, Craig isn't "preachy" - and he doesn't take himself too seriously, as many authors (and pastors!) do. He's a normal guy who tells his family's story in an often humorous way, challenging me to consider the little ways I can live differently in a society that thrives on materialism and capitalist ventures. It was extra fun beca...more
WOnderful book on one family's efforts to live a more agrarian and modest lifestyle. There are a number of these kinds of books on the scene, but Goodwin's is well-written and theologically thoughtful (he is, after all, a pastor! And it shows in all the best ways.) I highly recommend this book ---and his website--for deepening our understanding of living more authentic, God-honoring lives.
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A wonderful book that really makes you think about what is possible in terms of changing your life to live more lightly on the earth. It also made me realize that a life lived in harmony with the earth is a life that is naturally abundant and healthy. A good splattering of theology as well, mixed with personal testimonies. Definately worth reading.
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I do not know why I bother reading these things. More smug nonsense. I am so tired of self-congratulatory writers on issues of the environment and sustainability. Sustainable communities should be the goal, not more smug books on "wow this was hard and we did it, look at how self-flagratting we are for not BUYING everything;" with little/no mention that there are people who live in poverty in THIS country for whom this is a fact of life, not a social experiment for a book deal.
This is by a local Spokane minister and author, who I had met but I was more than pleasantly surprised to enjoy the local issues of green living and the theological musings what go with how much is enough and some of the real issues with trying to get the local foods. I hope to apply more of his ideas to my lifestyle and give this book as a gift. I thought it was much better than Kingsolver's book which was similiar...
Craig has done a great job, especially, as a first time author, to remind us of the importance of being mindful of where the "material" of our lives derives from, from our food to our clothing. Spirituality isn't just an internal thing -- it relates to living! Good book from a fellow Fullerite!
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This was an excellent book. Lots of information about eating local, but also about changing your mindset about community. Author, Craig Goodwin in a local pastor in Spokane who started the Millwood Farmer's Market. I am looking forward to visiting it this season.
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The best "Christian Living" book I've read.
Dec 29, 2011
Callie
marked it as to-read
relevant recommended 2011 top ten hm
May 14, 2013
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