I was a vegetarian for a year, but that ended abruptly one night when my husband (then my fiancee) came to my seminary dorm to study, a sausage breakfast sandwich from the local Wawa in hand. It was a shameful end to my vegetarianism.

I became a vegetarian because of my growing concern about factory farms, especially those that produce meat. The first two chapters of Genesis are in my top ten favorite passages of scripture, and one of the main reasons why is that I love the image of all of creation living in harmony with one another and with our Creator. And so it is important to me to "tread lightly upon the earth" as is often said. I know some would argue that this would mean becoming vegetarian, but, for better or for worse, I am someone currently feels that I need to eat meat. So the question became how to do that in a way that fits with my faith values.

I currently buy my meat (and my veggies) from a farmer named Adam Barr. He raises grass-finished beef, and he tells me his animals are happy. We don't eat much meat anymore, since it costs more to buy from a small farmer, but that's okay. I know that this is a step for me toward living in better harmony with others: people, animals, the rest of nature, and our Creator.

This Thanksgiving we are going to feast on a locally-grown, organic turkey. A shout-out to the folks at the PC(USA) Enough for Everyone program for encouraging the church toward alternative Thanksgiving traditions!

I know these are just small steps, and I know these aren't the only steps toward living out our call to "do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with [our] God" (Micah 6:8), but these are the steps that I have felt called to take in my walk as a disciple of Jesus. What steps are you taking? How can we better walk together with creation and our Creator?