My nieces and nephews and their spouses and kids! We have an internationally adopted crew! It is a blessing to all...

Join us for episode 5 in the series Caretakers of the Universe as we see part one of "The Best Thing That's Happened To Me."

Come along as we gather materials to create our epic novel series.

Sit back and enjoy the third episode in the series Caretakers of the Universe.

Cheryl Hill visits the people of Benin and checks out a Benineze answer to diabetes.

Join us for episode 2 as we develop our story and characters.

God's Green Africa President, Dr. Cheryl Hill and Green Apple TV Director, Brad Bischoff recently visited Benin, Africa. They had a great time there, but let's face it... getting there is half the fun!

Join us in this first installment of our weekly series documenting the making of our Graphic Novel series, Caretakers of the Universe.

In October, God's Green America invited 60 Educational, Governmental and Faith-Based Organizations representing more than 150 million Americans to learn about ways to bring green to their groups.

My personal favorite is the "New Black" style. I have one. Well, I had one. You see my wife has claimed it because she loves it too. She get comments on it every time she has it out in public.

I'm not one to normally care some much about how my food containers look. But, you see, these bottles will last a very long time. And why not enjoy the bottle that will sit on your desk and be at your side everywhere you need water for years and years to come. In fact, these are even covered by a lifetime warranty.

So, check them out at www.quenchweb.com and I think you'll agree that these bottles are pretty cool.

Keep it simple. Keep it green.

Ben

Director of Green Apple TV Brad Bischoff begins his personal journey through Benin, Africa.

Food, Inc. (Summer 2009) was a successful green message film. However, successful is the exception rather than the rule for environmental message movies.

According to an LA Times article, viewers are tending to prefer escaping reality as opposed to facing it. 

Well, I guess I have good news and bad news then. First the bad news... there IS bad news out there. Is it all as bad as some politicians and others would have you believe? Maybe, maybe not. But, is it bad? Yes. This world is falling apart around us and we need to step up and take care of it. That, I suppose, is the good news - we CAN make a difference. Every little thing makes a difference in the end. As great as it would be for all of us to start buying 100% local organic products and retrofit our homes with solar power... it just isn't happening overnight. So, do the little things. It all adds up.

Keep it simple. Keep it green.

Ben

Join Dr. Cheryl Hill and Director of Green Apple TV Brad Bischoff as they discover opportunities for greening and economic opportunities in Benin, Africa.

• You don’t need a lot of fancy dishes to set an elegant Christmas table. Start with a simple set of white or cream dishes and some serving bowls and platters in the same color. (They don’t have to match exactly). Add sparkle and color with accessories such as table linens, flowers, candles, and greenery.

• Look for one-of-a-kind serving dishes in closeout stores, antique stores, and yard sales. If you want to invest in special Christmas dishes, I suggest starting with a set of soup bowls or salad plates in a pattern that coordinates with your basics.

• One of the simplest and most dramatic ways to dress up your table is to use chargers under your plates. Look for these in discount stores in gold, silver, cranberry color, black, or whatever you choose. Use in place of placemats or tablecloth.

• Ornaments from a discount store make adorable, colorful napkin rings. Simply put the hanging loop around the napkin and lay the ornament on top—a supremely easy splash of “ta da.”

• Make generous use of natural materials to decorate. God did such a beautiful job of decorating the earth, and you can never go wrong with following His lead! Bring in pine boughs (from your yard or a Christmas tree lot), pine cones, magnolia leaves, nuts, fruits. I love pomegranates and adorable orange kumquats! Tuck greenery around the edges of platters and make generous use of herbs and spices as garnish. But be careful using holly or mistletoe around food—they’re toxic if ingested.

• For a wonderful and fragrant natural touch, bind evergreens and herbs together in bundles with florist’s wire. Cover wire with a big bow and tie the bundles on the backs of your dining chairs.

• For a stunning Christmas centerpiece, choose your favorite glass bowl—I use three of them different sizes. Put in fresh cranberries, baby oranges, and holly greens. Add water and floating candles on top. You can also use whole lemon and limes or nuts in the shell with the cranberries and greens.
• Decorate liberally with candles—columns, votives, tapers. A generous collection of cream candles in crystal holders of different heights and sizes and clustered on a mirror creates an absolutely stunning tablescape or centerpiece. For meals, keep the candles scentless. Everywhere else, seasonally scented candles are a great way to make your whole house smell Christmasy.

• Create a three-dimensional tablescape that looks good with or without platters of food. (I leave mine up the entire month.) Drape the table in a white tablecloth, then use boxes in three sizes to create a cluster of “platforms” of different heights. Drape another tablecloth over the boxes and arrange it so it “flows” around the boxes. Drape a real or artificial garland of greens over and around the boxes and add candlesticks of various sizes to the arrangement. When guests come, place some serving dishes on the box “platforms” and some on the table (use ceramic or glass pedestals from the discount store if you have them). After the party, take away the dishes, brush away the crumbs and the tablescape becomes pure decoration.

• If you don’t have an extra table for a buffet, a folding banquet table is a worthwhile investment. Drape a floor-length cloth over the top and no one will be the wiser!


Simple Idea: For beautiful snowy table settings, look for 100% white cotton tablecloths at closeout shops or the restaurant section of a discount club. The cotton can be bleached—so they’ll always look fresh without kid-glove treatment. I store mine loosely folded and draped over sturdy hangers in a closet.

Simple Idea: My very favorite all-time decorating item is tulle, that fine netting often used for wedding veils. You can find it in a rainbow of colors at a fabric or discount store for less than a dollar a yard. I buy it by the bolt at Christmastime and use it to drape through tree branches, wrap presents, tie as decorative bows or napkin rings, or lay over white tablecloths as festive table runners.

Simple Idea: Lighting is one of the most effective ways to decorate and create an atmosphere. In rooms where no one will be reading or doing close work, keep the lighting gentle and warm and make liberal use of candles, twinkle lights, and lamps.

Simple Idea: Soak evergreen boughs (from your yard or a Christmas tree lot) in a bathtub full of warm (not hot) water for several hours, then pat dry before using for decoration. They’ll soak up the water and stay fresh much longer.

Simple Idea: One of my favorite decorating tools is a simple metallic paint pen in gold, silver, or copper. Use it to paint simple freehand designs (stars, spirals, stripes and dots) on tapers or column candles. White or cream candles look beautiful with gold embellishments; red candles take on an extra-rich look with copper, and blue candles are spectacular with silver. (Sometimes the paint pen with scratch up little grains of wax, but these are easily brushed off.) If you wish, you can write guests’ names on clear glass ornaments, tie the ornaments with bows to match the pens, and place them in stemmed water glasses as place holders!

It's hard not to visit IKEA just for the food, but we have bigger ideas. In this episode, our first meeting with IKEA to share the GGA message.