Although this week we are supposed to get some real heat finally here in Western Pennsylvania, on Saturday I was out getting ready for winter. As I wielded a chain saw and helped run the splitter and stacked firewood - I thought to myself, “Tell me again Doug, why do you choose to do this?”

Why do I choose to heat with wood? Why did I spend a considerable amount of money to put an efficient, EPA approved wood stove in my home? Why do I spend hot and humid days outside getting ready for winter?

There are actually alot of reasons and benefits (not the least of which I need the exercise!). I think it comes down to the fact that - it is good for me to stay close to the seasons. I need tangible and regular reminders of the heat of summer, the harshness of winter, the beauty and harvest of fall and the new life of spring. In my everyday - I can run from climate controlled environment to climate controlled environment completely oblivious to rain, snow, heat or freezes. I can easily fall into the trap of doing my own thing; living in my world (but absent from the Creator’s world).

So - beyond a host of other reasons (using the resources around me, the need for wood to dry out to evolve into good fuel, becoming a little less natural gas reliant, involving myself in the land around me, investing in and being mindful that heat costs us something [it isn’t as easy as flipping a thermostat], etc.) I sweat in the summer and work to heat my home in the winter to stay rooted to the creator’s world.