Planted: A Story of Creation, Calling, and Community

by Leah Kostamo; Eugene H. Peterson

Publisher:

Cascade Books

, 2013

Overview

A Bird in the Hand is not a "how to" book, but a "how so" book in which the reader is invited to travel with Leah Kostamo on the wild ride of salmon saving, stranger welcoming, and God worshiping as she and her husband help establish the first Christian environmental center in Canada. Avoiding simplistic prescriptions or cliched platitudes, Leah wrestles with issues of poverty, justice, and the environment through the narrative of her own life experience. The lived-theology and humility of voice conveyed in these pages draws readers to new and creative ways to honor the Creator as they are inspired to care for creation.

Praise for Planted

"Grace, beauty, humor, and truth-telling combine in Leah Kostamo's story of the growth of A Rocha, a grassroots organization in which she and her husband Markku have been world-changers for good. This is a fascinating narrative in which committed environmentalists respond to God's call to renew our planet and our souls."
--Luci Shaw, author of The Crime of Living Cautiously: Hearing God's Call to Adventure

"Planted is one of the most captivating and inspiring books I have read in a long time. It offers rich and intimate glimpses into what sacrificial care for all God's creation can look like in the lives of ordinary Christians. Surely God desires for this to become part of our story as well."
--Ben Lowe, activist and author of Green Revolution: Coming Together to Care for Creation

"Leah Kostamo's elegant memoir shares the story of A Rocha, an organization that lives out the principles of Christian stewardship and community. With humility, grace, and candor, Leah takes her readers along the creation-care journey, sharing how many small acts can and do make a difference. Most inspiring of all, Leah and her husband, Markku, provide a living example of being the change they wish to see in the world."
--Matthew and Nancy Sleeth, co-founders of Blessed Earth

"The righteous person, says the psalmist, is like a tree planted by the waters. In this delightful book Leah Kostamo describes what it feels like to be (sometimes reluctantly) one of those trees, planted by the waters of God's good creation. With humor, irony, wisdom, and a refreshingly iconoclastic voice, Planted blooms and flourishes--with fruit every thoughtful Christian needs to enjoy."
--Loren Wilkinson, Professor of Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Studies, Regent College

Product Details

• Title : Planted: A Story of Creation, Calling, and Community
• Authors:
  • Kostamo, Leah
  • Peterson, Eugene H.
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Publication Date: 2013
• ISBN: 9781621897460

About the Authors

Leah Kostamo is the author of Planted: A Story of Creation, Calling and Community, a book Eugene H. Peterson called "remarkable." She works alongside her husband Markku to show God's love for all creation through the ministry of A Rocha. Together they started the first Christian environmental center in Canada, which over the past twelve years has welcomed thousands of visitors and interns who have rolled up their sleeves to grow organic vegetables, restore salmon streams, and inspire school children. Margaret Atwood, writing in Sojourners, said of Leah and Markku, "If all Christians were like them, ours would be a radically different world." Leah shares life with five other families (and a myriad of chickens) on Kingfisher Farm near Vancouver, BC.