Word of the Day - Joyce Trangsrud
*Joyce submitted this to her Arizona church home Lord of Life for consideration for their "Word of the Day" in April 2022. We thought it would be fun to share this "Word of the Day" with the N-D Parish!
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My name is Joyce Eriksmoen Trangsrud. I grew up on a farm and lived most of my married life on a farm in North Dakota. We bought a home in Sun City West and became associate members of Lord of Life eight years ago. We are snow birds who divide our time between ND and AZ. I have a degree in Home Economics Education, but have spent most of my life as a volunteer in the school, school and community. I served as president of our school board and was chair of the board of directors for a large nursing home/retirement facility in Fargo. I was the lay female representative from our synod to Madagascar. I have served on numerous boards of the Lutheran church on Conference, District. Synod and and Churchwise levels. We have four children and six grandchildren.
WORD OF THE DAY - FRUGAL
Has anyone ever called you frugal? Is it a bad thing or a good thing to be frugal? According to Websters dictionary, being frugal is being thrifty, not wasteful, economical. I want to share with you my experience of being called frugal.
Several years ago, when our family of 14, who were living and working in various parts of the world from Kenya Africa, California, Maryland and North Carolia, all came to the lake to enjoy a couple weeks together. During this time, I would occasionally remind our grandchildren not to be wasteful of the use of water and paper products, all of which are not as plentiful at the lake as they are in the city. Several times our oldest granddaughter, who was then about 15, would gently in a fun way, tease me by saying "oh Gramma, you are so frugal." I was never offended, and we would laugh together. The last time she said that I commented to her that she should make a list of all the ways her Gramma is frugal, and then someday when she comes to my funeral, she can share the list so everyone can have a good chuckle.
Now let's fast forward about four years and this wonderful granddaughter is in college. She is now the frugal one who does not eat anything that is not environmentally friendly, who buys her clothes at thrift stores, who has slept in a tree a couple nights to prevent the forest from being cut down, and who is choosing classes that focus on the negative impact of climate change and on policies that protect the environment.
In the first chapter of Genesis, we are told that God created the earth and all that is in it and in verse 31 God saw everything that he had made, and it was good. Then God created humans to be stewards of the earth, to have dominion over it and to care for it. Our generation has not taken this command as seriously as we should have. Through our emphasis on progress, we have often misused our natural resources and created serious problems that future generations will be dealing with. We are not necessarily individually responsible for past activity, but we are responsible for our actions going forward. With the help of God, we can lead responsible lives and contribute to a more secure futures for generations to come.
