Moreno Valley Community Garden Project

{ February 28th, 2009 }

Hello all, this is Jerry Casillas from CAP. I am starting a new project. Here is a little info:

The Moreno Valley Community Garden Project hereby known as (MVCG). MVCG is a division of Olive Branch Ministries. Olive Branch Ministries is a non-profit organization. MVCG is designed to allow each person or group to receive up to a 4 foot by 40 foot plot. The plot will be maintained by the person(s) or group it is assigned to. Plots are for growing fruits and veggies. The items grown are for personal use or can be donated to food pantries or church groups and are not to be sold. Items grown can be traded among other community members for food items only, but not to be traded to commercial vendors for their products. Registration is required. The registered representative(s) is responsible for their volunteers to maintain their plot. Maintaining the plot will require cultivating, planting & marking, weeding and harvesting only. Water is supplied and watering will be maintained by automatic sprinkler systems. There shall be no chemicals used in the soil or on the actual plants. MVCG will be available all year around with maintenance hours being from Monday thru Saturday 5am to 8:30 pm during Spring/Summer hours and 6:30am to 3:30pm during Fall/Winter hours. Plots are required to be visited by an authorized representative no less then once weekly, twice during harvest season. Please bring your own tools.

All registrants are required to submit a withdrawal notice in the event participating is no longer desired. Plots can be transferred to another party only after the new party has registered and has been approved by Olive Branch Ministries management.

Roy’s Ramblings 03/09

{ February 28th, 2009 }

Several years ago, I began an exercise program three days per week. Before I started the program, my blood pressure was absolutely perfect. I huffed and puffed, walked and trotted, lifted and pressed. Well, it so happens that I needed to go see my doctor for another issue. So, there I am, sitting on the exam table and the nurse comes in and takes a routine blood pressure reading. IT HAD GONE UP!!! But then, my mother became ill, and I stopped my exercise program so I could spend more time with my mother. And, once again, I went to see my doctor about some other matter. So, there I sit on the exam table, and the nurse comes in and takes a routine blood pressure reading. No more exercise. And my blood pressure had gone BACK DOWN to perfect. So, I said to my doctor, “You see, like I’ve said all along. Exercise is bad for you.”

Well, we’d like to think that exercise is bad for us, because we’d all rather just sit around and do nothing. But of course we know that that isn’t really the case. (A fact which my doctor was quick to point out.) Our body’s need exercise. They need to be stretched and challenged, otherwise they cease to be healthy.

This is why we have Lent (that begins February 25). Lent S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-S and challenges our spirit. It makes us climb the mountains of self-deception, and swim the rivers of
selfishness. It makes us re-examine lazy priorities, and toughens up our spiritual discipline. We’d like to get out of it, of course. Nobody likes to go through the pain of using muscles that have lain around getting soft and flabby. But to have a healthy soul, you have to exercise it. And that is what Lent does. It’s the once-a-year ‘Marine boot-camp’ that makes our soul’s solid, and strong.

So, join me this Lent. Maybe we can lean a little on each other when we ‘run out of breath’.

I’ll see you in church.

~Roy