While I was throwing away quite a few empty coffee bags I work I could not help but think, "There has to be SOMETHING we can do with these!" So I decided we would use them as pots for plants. So far I was able to recycle 13 Starbucks Coffee bags ranging in size from 8 ounces to a pound. (These were obviously free as they were intended for the trash). I spent $5 on a bag of potting soil (which we only used half of) & $10 on a flat of 18 plants. This project took about 30 minutes & the lessons we learned in the process were great! Not only did we have a little agriculture lesson on how to pot a plant but we were also able to apply some real life lessons.
We discussed that God gave man the job of laboring over the land.
Genesis 1:26-30 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
And we are trying to do our part by being good stewards of what we have been given. We are keeping a few coffee bags out of the landfill & we are repurposing them into something beautiful!
We also discussed what might happen to these flowers if we didn't water them. If we do not water these plants they will die. We are a lot like these flowers. Without Living Water (Jesus). We will wither up & die & spend eternity separated from Him & our thirst will never be quenched!
John 4: 13-15 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
I pray that our children will follow in this example & that this will help draw them closer to God. I will continue to sow these seeds into our children as this is my greatest responsibility.
If you are interested in doing this project yourself here is a little "How to..."
First, Collect your supplies:
Coffee bags
Potting Soil
Flowers (with a small base)
Scissors
Shovel or cups (for scooping soil & watering plants)
Water
Helpful hands
Cute outfits (optional)
You are going to want to "shape" the bags & fill them half way with soil. If you are using the 1 pound bags, you will want to cut them down a little bit.
Prepare your plant & set it in the bag.
Fill in the sides with soil & pack it down.
Water the plants & then use them as decorations or give them to others to show them how much you care! We plan on delivering ours to neighbors, grandparents & maybe even a few for Starbucks! Just Remember no matter how messy this gets, NEVER turn away cute helpers!!
Sarala
Ally
Caitlyn
If anyone happens to have coffee bags that they are not planning on using, we will gladly take them! We have a few other projects in mind!
