Last night I had an epiphany concerning sustainability & commerce. I stumbled upon a cache of receipts that I hadn’t placed in my recycle bin and realized that for every transaction we conduct in our lives in which a receipt is generated, somewhere, an unknown time ago, a tree was cut down to supply the paper for the transaction. Meaning that every time we buy, something had to die.

If our economic system is built upon a standard in which commerce must always be increasing, there will most likely be a point in which there are no more trees. Maybe in some Brave New World there will be a cashless & paperless society that wouldn’t be the problem.
Oh wait.

Now if I were to make something, and you were to make something or even have a service, and we exchanged our values & services then nothing had to die. –But that just sounds too perfect… How could that be applied to a large scale in such a specialized society? I’m open for answers…

from this weird news item:

You can find candles with just about every fragrance imaginable, from blueberry to ocean mist to hot apple pie. Now there’s a candle that lets you experience the scent of Jesus, and they’ve been selling out by the case.

“We see it as a ministry, ” says Bob Tosterud, who together with his wife came up with the idea for the candle.

Light up the candle called “His Essence” and its makers say you’ll experience the fragrance of Christ.

Bob Tosterud and wife Karen say the formula is all spelled out in Psalm 45.

“It’s a Messianic Psalm referring to when Christ returns and his garments will have the scent of myrrh, aloe and cassia,” says Karen Tosterud.

Wondering what that must smell like, Karen Tosterud ordered those oils, a combination that produces sort of a flowery, cinnamon aroma. Then she called on a friend who just happened to be a candle-maker.

“And in October, we got our first batch of 768 candles. We had no idea how it would go,” Karen Tosterud says.

But once word got out they went through 10,000 candles.

“It’s the only one on the market and everyone tells us it’s very unique and nothing like it,” says Karen Tosterud.

“We wanted people to be able to experience Christ in new ways and to be able to read a bible and have that scent and that candle as a reminder that he is with us all the time.”

“You can’t see him and you can’t touch him,” says Bob Tosterud. “This is a situation where you may be able to sense him by smelling. And it provides a really new dimension to one’s experience with Jesus.”

The candles never stay on the shelves for long. The Tosteruds say each one that goes out is like a ministry in itself.

The candles sell for about $18. They are sold in about 150 stores around the country. Or you can order them online at www.hisessence.com.

You can also call this phone number: 877-psalm-45.

Next up, cologne of Jesus called “Holy Eau,”– “Give me a spritz of his holiness!”

What I think will be funny is when a church burns down from His Essence getting out of control. The headline will read, “His Essence ravaged the church and while it spewed forth burning embers. One parishioner said he saw someone walking in the flames!”

Take me back 500 years ago, and I bet I could not only sell His Essence, but his shoes, his shroud, and even his teeth. So what if they are fake right? So long as you believe…..right?