WILMORE, Ky. — Nancy Sleeth doesn't use her oven very often. At least not her conventional oven. Instead, she turns to her more energy-efficient toaster oven, microwave and convection oven. When Sleeth bakes bread, she uses a bread machine.

She also uses fresh ingredients and avoids processed foods. Her pantry is filled with grains, fruits and vegetables. The family eats very little meat; when they do, it's locally raised.

Their next-door neighbor grinds wheat for them, and Sleeth and her husband, Matthew, share a garden with their neighbors. "We share our talent and gifts and resources," Nancy Sleeth said.

The Sleeths' food choices and cooking habits are just part of their bigger effort to help the environment. Eight years ago, they decided to face the issue head-on.

They were "living out the American dream. My husband was an emergency-room physician, and we were living in a big house in New England," Sleeth said.

One evening while the family was on vacation, she asked her husband two questions that would change their lives: "What do you think is the biggest problem facing the world today?"

"The world is dying," he replied.

Her next question was: "If the planet is dying, what are we going to do about it?"

A couple of months later, Matthew answered her. "I'll quit my job and put all my energy toward saving the planet."

The story of how the Sleeths and their children, Clark and Emma, downsized their lives, gave away half their possessions and moved to a house the size of their old garage is documented in Nancy Sleeth's new book, "Go Green, Save Green" (Tyndale).

As the Sleeths embarked on their environmental journey, they also began a faith journey. When Matthew Sleeth picked up a Gideon Bible in the hospital waiting room on a slow night, "a light came on. Here were the answers we had been seeking," Nancy Sleeth said.

"We took Jesus' advice and began cleaning up our own act before worrying about cleaning up the rest of the world," she said. During the next couple of years, the family began to change its lifestyle.

In 2006, Matthew Sleeth wrote about how he responded to God's calling in a book, "Serve God, Save the Planet" (Zondervan). "It's a biblical case for making changes in our lives," Nancy Sleeth said. Matthew now teaches full-time about faith and the environment all over the country.

The Sleeths chose to move to Wilmore, Ky., because son Clark was attending Asbury Theological Seminary, and when Emma was 15, he received a full scholarship to Asbury. "We couldn't justify flying the kids back and forth," Nancy Sleeth said.

"It's worked out great. We love it here," she said.

When the Sleeths speak to audiences, a topic they discuss is keeping the Sabbath.

"It's like a mental-health prescription. It's one day a week for us to stop. We live a 24/7 life. We need to shift to a 24/6 life," Nancy Sleeth said. "We need to take one day a week where we don't drive, or we're not shopping, running errands, eating out, and just be with our family and friends and with God.

"It will change the other six days of the week, I promise. It's the most important thing if you want to start this journey. We tell people even before you even change light bulbs, this is the most important thing to do, is to be still and come to rest. You can't know God's creation, you can't enjoy God's creation, if you're running around all the time. Coming to rest has been one of the biggest changes in our family, and we guard it jealously."

They often spend that time with friends. Even though their home is small, there's plenty of room for sharing meals with Asbury students and neighbors.

"Contrary to my earlier fears, we found the more we gave up in material things, the more we gained in family unity, purpose and joy," Sleeth said.

Here's a recipe from Nancy Sleeth's book.

BREAD AND SPREAD

• 1 1/2 cups warm water

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 2 tablespoons local honey

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 cups white flour

• 2 cups whole wheat flour

• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds

• 2 teaspoons yeast

Place first 7 ingredients in bread-maker pan in the order given. Make an indentation in the flour, and add yeast.

Set bread maker to whole wheat. Use the light crust option when available. If you don't have a bread maker, mix by hand or with a mixer. Allow to rise in greased bowl covered by a damp towel in a warm place until it doubles in size. Punch down and allow to rise again. Divide into two greased bread pans. Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees or until done.

Serve warm bread with an assortment of spreads (hummus, cream cheese mixed with chives and smoked salmon, soft butter mixed with garlic, cheese slices, cut fruit, and vegetables with dip).