If you click on the pictures above you can see them a lot larger on your screen. Notice in the one with Jason and Noah that there are three blankies...one that is brown with small blue polka dots with lime chenille on the back and one that is lime made from that yummy minky material that feels like "butta". The third is a pale blue chenille cable knit blankie that is in the bottom left corner of the picture. The first two I made for Noah. His room is blue, green and brown, with the retro dots and vintage lime chenille. The cable knit blankie was a gift from a dear friend. All three of those blankies are what we wrapped Noah in after we laid him before the Lord. They are also the blankies that he was cremated in...

The second picture has the famous sushi blankie that my friend Kim, www.mydolcebaby.com, makes. We still have "sushi" with us. It will be a treasure to keep because of the memories it represents. We have a couple of others from Kim that have the retro polka dots and some fun stripes, all of which can be purchased for anywhere between $25-$40 dollars. The reason I listed the prices is because of something that has me quite fired up right now...

I was looking through a magazine last night that had a lot of things dedicated to the environment, organic purchasing, and natural living. One of the final pages was dedicated to 10 things that make their featured guest happy...Some of them were reasonable, as far as the environment is concerned and their realistic prices. However, one thing that makes this person happy is a pair of vegan shoes, that is animal-product free shoes made of raffia. The shoes were priced at $545.00 USD. How very animal friendly! I have some rubber flip flops from REEF that were $18, or, another option is that on clearance at the Gap, you can get rubber flip flops for $5, at Old Navy you can get two pairs of flip flops for $5. But, I also know a better way to save an animal from being made into shoes...let's see...it's called Heifer International and for $500.00 USD, you can buy a whole stinking cow! This cow will go to a family that is in need and can use the cow (its udders) for milk and such. I know that's not vegan (drinking milk), but it does save the cow from being shoes or a belt or coat and it helps a family with real needs. You could also buy 4 sheep for a family that could shear the sheep for sweaters and blankets to sell or to keep themselves warm in their shanty for the winter. Heck, you could buy 21.8 of Kim's blankets at $25 a piece, all vegan (cotton or man-made materials) and donate them to a battered women's shelter if you have that kind of cash lying around or, better yet, if you feel God leading you to do that.

My point is, life here on earth is all about perspective...just because we can do something, doesn't mean we should. "Everything is permissible" - but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible" - but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

I Cor. 10:23-24

Though it's admirable if some are vegetarians, it's also admirable that others eat meat since God said it was okay after Noah and his family came out of the ark. In the midst of the things on earth about which we are so passionate, are we able to have eternal perspective that is not only beneficial to ourselves but to others around us? I'm pretty sure that buying a pair of $545.00 vegan shoes mainly benefits the purchaser and the designer (and, I guess, anyone who thinks that $545.00 shoes is cool...). And yes, I know the designer has to buy food and clothes and pay for shelter, but, if she sells 100 pairs of these shoes, because hey, they were endorsed by a beautiful rich celebrity, she'd have $54,500.00 in her bank account which is more than a lot of people make in one year. With that, she could really save animals from being shoes by letting 109 of them live with caring families that will look after them...

(p.s. This blog entry is not an open forum for discussing whether being a meat eater or vegetarian is your choice or which one is better. I don't really care. No offense. It's about being a wise steward. Just like the entry on forgiveness was not about spanking...instead, however, why not suggest a productive and life changing way to spend $545.00 USD and share that with the rest of us...Let's sharpen one another...)