Our relationship with the earth can be summed up by what English economist Kate Raworth suggests is a vicious cycle: “take, make, use, lose.” In watching the documentary “Kiss the Ground” recently, I was struck by the idea that saving the nation’s soil might be comparable to saving our soul as well (and Jeff has helped me with this idea).

Soil is to dirt what soul is to debt. A drought—whether it's due to external or internal weather—desiccates the land as well as mankind. The Biblical parable of the sower and the seed reminds us that growth only happens when we’ve properly prepared both the soil and our soul and when we haven’t added too much figurative (or literal) debt to our lives.

So, I ask you this morning, how can you “Be Good Soil” in your family and your community, such that you are a catalyst for growth and regeneration for everything and everyone around you?