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Spring Clean Sustainably Clean green this year

Mack Rudder, Staff Writer

Spring cleaning is a great way to deep clean your home to get rid of extra stuff you may have, but before throwing anything away this spring cleaning season try to think of other ways to get rid of it to prevent unnecessary waste from going to landfills. Here are five ways to mindfully spring clean this year:

1) Before just throwing an item out, check out your local recycling guidelines. The Cullman Sanitation Department will take paper, such as junk mail, cardboard, and magazines, metal, like steel, tin, and aluminum cans, and plastic number one (which is soft plastic bottles like water bottles) and plastic number two (which is harder plastic like shampoo bottles.)

5) Try to decide if someone else could benefit from this item, even if you no longer can. If the answer is yes, find a donation center near you that could put this item to good use. Most animal shelters will take blankets to use in their kennels. Clothing items and shoes can be donated to local shelters or thrift shops. If you are unsure of the quality of an item it never hurts to ask. You can call most donation centers to ask what donations they will accept.

6) If it is an old electronic item you are trying to get rid of, do not put it in your trash bin as the battery not only contains toxic chemicals that can seep into the soil, but they can also cause fires if the battery is punctured. Instead of throwing them away, most states have a program where you can recycle old electronics for free. In Alabama, you can call 903-589-3705 for free electronic recycling.

7) Try to cut down on how many disposable cleaning supplies you use this spring. Switch out paper towels for dish rags or old towels and t-shirts. This is also a great way to recycle in your own home.

8) Be mindful of what products you are using. Try to steer clear of chemicals that release off damaging toxins and when possible use green alternatives such as white vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice while cleaning.

Revival Is Happening

What started at Asbury is now everywhere

Olivia Britton, Staff Writer

Asbury University is a private Christian university in Wilmore, Kentucky. Although it is a non-denominational school, the college is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. Wednesday mornings at Asbury University are similar to any other. Around 10 a.m., students gather in Hughes Auditorium for chapel. Students are required to attend a certain number of chapels each semester, so they tend to attend regularly. The gospel choir sang a final chorus following the benediction on Wednesday, February 8th -- and then something happened that is difficult to describe. Students stayed, continuing to worship. They were struck by a sense of transcendence that was quiet but powerful, and they did not want to leave. Professor Rod Dreher heard of this and decided to visit the chapel to see such things happen. “I teach theology across the street at Asbury Theological Seminary, and when I heard of what was happening, I immediately decided to go to the chapel to see for myself. When I arrived, I saw hundreds of students singing quietly. They were praising and praying earnestly for themselves and their neighbors and our world—expressing repentance and contrition for sin and interceding for healing, wholeness, peace, and justice.”

Students stayed there for the remainder of the day and night, and merely 24 hours later the chapel was full. By Thursday evening, there was standing room only. Students had begun to arrive from other surrounding universities such as the University of Kentucky, the University of the Cumberlands, Purdue University, Indiana Wesleyan University, Ohio Christian University, Transylvania University, Midway University, Lee University, Georgetown College, Mt. Vernon Nazarene University, and many others. Throughout Friday, as well as in the early hours of Saturday, people continued to worship. At this point word of the revival had spread fast, especially through social media and news outlets.

What started at Asbury University soon spread to the rest of the world. Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama began a 24- hour worship service on February 15th. Larger crowds would come at night, however students had been coming into the chapel and praying all day long. Jonathan Bass, a professor of history, had been visiting and observing the revival starting at Samford. “It really was spontaneous,” Bass said. “It started building. It snowballed. There were times of prayer, students would get up and read scripture or give testimony, then another group would come in.” Samford students went on Spring Break March 3rd and returned on the 10th, as of the release of this article, services are no-longer being held at Samford. It is unsure what might happen after spring break but professors say that the chapel doors will be open.

Some Cullman County church leaders alongside Desperation Church started 168 continuous hours of prayer and revival that began February 19th. According to Cullman Tribune, Desperation Church Pastor Andy Heis shared a quick message Sunday evening via Facebook encouraging residents to come out and pray: “Hey listen, I want to invite anybody who wants to come. We know there’s a movement taking place across our nation today. Man, colleges all over experiencing the outpouring of God’s presence and its revival, awakening, whatever you want to call it, we just know God is moving. I just want to be part of it. I want to pray for them, I want to pray for our country.” Heis then announced that Desperation Church would begin a week-long prayer revival, and encouraged all who are willing to come out to experience what God is doing across the nation: “Starting tonight, Sunday (Feb. 19), tonight at 6 p.m. we are going to start 24/7 prayer for 168 hours, all week long. It’s open to the community. Come pray for your church. Come pray [for] our communities, our cities. Come pray for our nation. Come and ask God to really, really move.” West Point Baptist Church also announced that the church will be opening up each evening at 5 p.m. and staying as long as needed. Pastor Samual Tucker took to social media, releasing videos reiterating the importance of not just revival, but prayer. “I woke up early this morning and began to have my quiet time with the Lord, and God continued to press upon me the need for prayer. The need for God’s people to seek him. Matthew chapter 6 says, ‘Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and these things will be added. I’m 51 years old, soon to be 52, and I’ve heard all my life about things that used to happen, but I believe today is the day, we are in the moment of time for this generation to have a story, to have a memory, to have a movement of God that will carry them for years to come. I’ve preached on this for many years now. We’re past a revival; we are in need of a revolution. I’m convinced and convicted that it’s time the church does what it takes to get ourselves in position to have a revolution.” Desperation Church is located at 510 Fifth St. SW and West Point Baptist is located at 140 County Road 1242.

People’s hearts are changed by God, not by chance; revival is something that occurs when he places it in their hearts so they can help change the world. Although the timeline of this movement is uncertain, as long as God continues to move people, a movement will take place. The best thing you can do if you want to see change is pray. If you would like to see change you don’t need to fly to Asbury or even visit a local church, all you need to do is pray. Pray for our country, and most importantly, for the people.