As I say in the podcast, I truly hope this oil spill serves as a wake-up call for America. While I fear it may be a news blip that captures our attention for a moment and then the real clean-up gets left to the handful of people who really care, I still have a bit of hope that it will force us to open our eyes to the need to rely less on oil. We all use oil, we all are to blame for demanding cheap oil in this country. We have a responsibility in this incident that we should own up to. I hope as responsible human beings we will be willing to make the sacrifices and changes necessary to turn away from environmentally hazardous sources of energy.

I hope too that Americans will use our outrage and voice to ensure BP is held accountable to clean up the mess they created as well. When incidents like this have occurred in other areas of the world, the major oil companies have often evaded any responsibility for their destruction of local environments and economies. I mention in Everyday Justice how ChevronTexaco has destroyed the Niger River Delta through similar oil spills and toxic fallout from their refineries. When local women there could no longer make a living fishing (as they had for generations) because of the pollution they protested and asked Chevron to clean up the mess they had made. Chevron hired local mercenaries to deal with the protest who ended up killing some of the women and burning their boats. Courts later decided that Chevron was not responsible for the actions of the mercenaries they hired. While these multinational companies have so far gotten away with pollution and atrocities in third world nations, perhaps the tide will shift now that America is affected. Granted, poor fishermen and Louisiana natives are not high on our country's priority list (as seen by the response to Katrina), but at least there might be slightly stricter legal pressure to hold BP accountable in this situation. Or, at least, one can always hope.

So if you're interested in exploring these topics further, download the podcast and join in on the conversation.

I'm excited to finally be able to share what I've been thinking about for the last two years with everyone. My hope is that Everyday Justice will help people see how they can join in on seeking justice and serving the Kingdom of God. Oftentimes it is easy to get overwhelmed by the magnitude of justice issues or to feel that you just can't commit to seeking justice in the ways radical ways that we hear the most about. And I admit – the issues are huge and most of us can't be a Shane Claiborne or Mother Teresa, but we can still love our neighbor as ourself even with our simple everyday actions. That's what this book is about – discovering how our daily choices can make a big difference around the world. It's an introduction to biblical justice for those who are curious and a deeper exploration of a few practical ways that justice can be lived out in our modern world. We all need guides and encouragement along the way, and I hope Everyday Justice can serve readers in those ways.

And, I'm excited to also announce a new website launching in connection with the book – everydayjustice.net. This isn't a book promo site; it's a site where people can find out more about the injustices in this world, discover how they can fight for justice, hear stories of the people out there doing justice, and be in community with others seeking justice. It's intended to be a resource that anyone can contribute to. So if you are passionate about seeking justice or simply want to find out more, I invite you to visit everydayjustice.net. Feel free to join the conversation, submit your story or tip on just living, and help build a community of justice seekers there.

I look forward to seeing where these conversations lead and I hope you enjoy the book and are inspired by it to seek justice in the everyday.

The book is being published by IVP and will be released in October. I saw it listed in the newest IVP trade catalog recently which was really cool and made the whole thing seem more real. As in – all the writing I tried to squeeze in between diaper changes and playing Candyland is actually becoming something.

The book, as the title implies, is about justice – about the ways each of us can live into the way of life Jesus calls us to live. I think too often we get overwhelmed by justice issues and decide that they are just for the Mother Teresas or the Shane Claibornes of the world to care about. So this book is about the ways each of us in our simple everyday lives can act justly. In it I explore the ways that we can love our neighbors through what we eat, wear, drive, and consume. But the book isn't just a list of do's and don'ts, but an exploration of what it means to love our neighbor. It explores what it means not only to pursue justice with our day to day actions, but also how we can avoid supporting systems of injustice with those actions as well.

I'm excited about it – click here if you want to read what others are saying. I just thought I'd share some of the excitement at moving forward in this process with you all here!