Friday, April 29, 2005
Whoops, The Feminine Side Took Over
The feminine side is out of control. No more blogs on chocolate and flowers for a while. Back to rides and Harleys!
A Rose By Any Other Name
In the beautiful Song of Solomon, the following is written in the second chapter, verses 1-3:
I am the rose of Sharon,
The lilly of the valleys.
Like a lilly among the thorns
So is my darling among the maidens.
Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
So is my beloved among the young men
In his shade I took great delight and sat down.
And his fruit was sweet to my taste.
Not your average Sunday School lesson. But so very beautiful. Those who occasionally preach on this text compare Solomon, the Rose of Sharon, to Jesus Christ in His glory and the bride of Solomon to the Christian church.
The poetry and imagery is so wonderful. The bride accompanied by her maidens in waiting is so beautiful that the maidens are like thorns, but the loved one is like a lilly.
Ah, but the Rose of Sharon is not a rose at all. It is equated with the Hibiscus syriacus. We know it as Hibiscus. Its flowers come in white, pink, purple and red. But this is no sissy flower! It actually grows to be a small tree that is pruned back to be a bush. Although it is a native to India and East Asia (and is the national flower of Korea) it grows also in the Middle East and in Europe.
And so a rose by any other name is not always the same.
The Bible is filled with the creation of God; it is not just another dry book. In it is some of the most exquisite poetry of love this side of the Rubiyat. Running throughout the Bible are not only the mystic streams of God's truth and the fruits of the spirit but also plants like the Rose of Sharon.
For is not love a part of life just like pain and suffering?
In the shade of God incarnate, can we not sit down and take our rest?
The sermons we hear often emphasize the fruit of the garden of Eden-but only rarely do we give thought to Christ as the Apple Tree of the Song of Solomon. And the Apple Tree has blossoms too. Its fruit is the fruit of eternal life.
God's continually is in the midst of creation. Nature around us is fruitful and reproductive. If you don't believe it, look out your window. Go wipe the oak pollen off your car.
HarleyDad
I am the rose of Sharon,
The lilly of the valleys.
Like a lilly among the thorns
So is my darling among the maidens.
Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
So is my beloved among the young men
In his shade I took great delight and sat down.
And his fruit was sweet to my taste.
Not your average Sunday School lesson. But so very beautiful. Those who occasionally preach on this text compare Solomon, the Rose of Sharon, to Jesus Christ in His glory and the bride of Solomon to the Christian church.
The poetry and imagery is so wonderful. The bride accompanied by her maidens in waiting is so beautiful that the maidens are like thorns, but the loved one is like a lilly.
Ah, but the Rose of Sharon is not a rose at all. It is equated with the Hibiscus syriacus. We know it as Hibiscus. Its flowers come in white, pink, purple and red. But this is no sissy flower! It actually grows to be a small tree that is pruned back to be a bush. Although it is a native to India and East Asia (and is the national flower of Korea) it grows also in the Middle East and in Europe.
And so a rose by any other name is not always the same.
The Bible is filled with the creation of God; it is not just another dry book. In it is some of the most exquisite poetry of love this side of the Rubiyat. Running throughout the Bible are not only the mystic streams of God's truth and the fruits of the spirit but also plants like the Rose of Sharon.
For is not love a part of life just like pain and suffering?
In the shade of God incarnate, can we not sit down and take our rest?
The sermons we hear often emphasize the fruit of the garden of Eden-but only rarely do we give thought to Christ as the Apple Tree of the Song of Solomon. And the Apple Tree has blossoms too. Its fruit is the fruit of eternal life.
God's continually is in the midst of creation. Nature around us is fruitful and reproductive. If you don't believe it, look out your window. Go wipe the oak pollen off your car.
HarleyDad
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Open Letter to ImpQueen
Dear Her Majesty:
I am touched by your blog of April 26, 2005. Further, it is good to be a "big ol' baby" when it comes to the suffering of others.
H.D. is like one of the three old witches of Greek mythology that shared one eye. Sometimes, I am blind to the suffering around me; but at other times I have for a few minutes the "eye of God" and see perfectly well. I believe that from time to time God lets me see as He sees if only for an instance.
We live in a world where physical beauty and youth are idolized. But quite frankly most of us are neither young nor beautiful. Our advertising media however, paints a picture where people are not overweight, have complexion problems or other personal problems. People spend untold funds and experience agony after agony to measure up to physical standards that are held up to them by the "gods of this world."
But some of us see life more realistically. Nurses see life as it really is. They see the physical problems and the pain. So do pastors, social workers and many others.
Some people are gifted to deal in kindness and compassion with other people who hurt . This is one of the real gifts of God. So when you deal with these people, you deal with them as God would. You participate in a working out of your own redemption and their redemption, knowing that the entire process is generated by the grace and love of Jesus Christ.
The cross of Jesus is an offense to the world. There is a song called "The Old Rugged Cross." Well, the cross is old and rugged. So are some of the people you deal with. Our faith is centered about suffering, death and resurrection. Your profession as a nurse, causes you to see the suffering and death. But it is NOT over with suffering and death. Our Hope is the Resurrection. Jesus , in fact, said "I am the Resurrection and the Life."
So Your Majesty, the ImpQueen, I believe that when you did what you did and you cared for the individuals and the hurts of the individual, the arms you put around them were not just your arms -but they were the very arms of Christ.
The actions you took were exactly the same as Mother Teresa washing the bodies of dying beggars in India or St. Francis washing the feet of a leper. (These are pictures not glorified by advertising, movies or television.) It is the Ministry of Jesus Christ-the real ministry of Christ in us doing what Christ always did and still does. As the Bible says: "When you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me." So not only is Christ acting through you in expressing His love and compassion but they are done as worship and service to Christ. When you embrace the hurting, you embrace Christ.
So, ImpQueen, it is good to be a "big ol' baby". These are holy actions and you stood on holy ground when you felt that way.
ImpQueen, I believe that I have , for the moment, the eye of God on this.
H.D.
I am touched by your blog of April 26, 2005. Further, it is good to be a "big ol' baby" when it comes to the suffering of others.
H.D. is like one of the three old witches of Greek mythology that shared one eye. Sometimes, I am blind to the suffering around me; but at other times I have for a few minutes the "eye of God" and see perfectly well. I believe that from time to time God lets me see as He sees if only for an instance.
We live in a world where physical beauty and youth are idolized. But quite frankly most of us are neither young nor beautiful. Our advertising media however, paints a picture where people are not overweight, have complexion problems or other personal problems. People spend untold funds and experience agony after agony to measure up to physical standards that are held up to them by the "gods of this world."
But some of us see life more realistically. Nurses see life as it really is. They see the physical problems and the pain. So do pastors, social workers and many others.
Some people are gifted to deal in kindness and compassion with other people who hurt . This is one of the real gifts of God. So when you deal with these people, you deal with them as God would. You participate in a working out of your own redemption and their redemption, knowing that the entire process is generated by the grace and love of Jesus Christ.
The cross of Jesus is an offense to the world. There is a song called "The Old Rugged Cross." Well, the cross is old and rugged. So are some of the people you deal with. Our faith is centered about suffering, death and resurrection. Your profession as a nurse, causes you to see the suffering and death. But it is NOT over with suffering and death. Our Hope is the Resurrection. Jesus , in fact, said "I am the Resurrection and the Life."
So Your Majesty, the ImpQueen, I believe that when you did what you did and you cared for the individuals and the hurts of the individual, the arms you put around them were not just your arms -but they were the very arms of Christ.
The actions you took were exactly the same as Mother Teresa washing the bodies of dying beggars in India or St. Francis washing the feet of a leper. (These are pictures not glorified by advertising, movies or television.) It is the Ministry of Jesus Christ-the real ministry of Christ in us doing what Christ always did and still does. As the Bible says: "When you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me." So not only is Christ acting through you in expressing His love and compassion but they are done as worship and service to Christ. When you embrace the hurting, you embrace Christ.
So, ImpQueen, it is good to be a "big ol' baby". These are holy actions and you stood on holy ground when you felt that way.
ImpQueen, I believe that I have , for the moment, the eye of God on this.
H.D.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Red Roses
HarleyDad is like a child and is still learning about life. The topic is roses. The rose sparks the imagination. It is seductive in its beauty. It is dangerous because of its thorns. To have beauty and danger so intertwined, sparks the imagination.
Below is Robert Burn's poem: "My Love is a Red, Red Rose."
As fair art thou, my bonie lass
Till a' the seas gang dry, my Dear
Well, HarleyDad is may or may not be outdone-so here is my response:
Below is Robert Burn's poem: "My Love is a Red, Red Rose."
O, my luve's like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June
O,my luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly play'd in tune
As fair art thou, my bonie lass
So deep in luve am I
And I will luve thee still, my Dear
Till a' the seas gang dry
Till a' the seas gang dry, my Dear
And the rocks melt wi' the sun!
O I will luve thee still, my Dear
While the sands o' life shall run
Well, HarleyDad is may or may not be outdone-so here is my response:
The Rose
Arrayed in silken dress
With hues of yellow and red.
Annointed with lovely perfumes
That beckon, call and possess.
I embrace you to my naked heart
And from me do droplets fall
Of blood newly shed that flows
From a heart pierced by thorns so sharp.
Your beauty did call and beckon
Overshadowing the thorns so hidden
And to my heart I am pierced
And for my folly I now must reckon.
H.D.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
TexBro, Tejas and Bluebonnets
Well ya'll, we just got back from Tejas.
HarleyDad, Brokerbelle and Princessbelle went down to Tejas for the wedding of TexBro. The Bride was beautiful. We are pretty shure she has a visual disability because she married TexBro who is only slightly better looking than HarleyDad. She acted like she could see, but we still are not sure.
GrandMatriarch (age 83) and GrandPatriarch (85) embrarrassed everybody by showing more energy than anybody else, hosting the wedding in their house. GrandMatriarch scared everybody by standing on top of a ladder to put up glasses in the top of her cubbard. HarleyDad responded by calmly turning the pages of his newspaper.
Sparkey and Beautiful Bridgette were there and Sparkey gallantly went to the GrandMatriarch's aid.
TexBro was a happy man and TexBro's Bride, the Yellow Rose, was beautiful. It was a lovely wedding.
Later we went to the Rose Capital of the U.S. Then it was home up through the Tejas highways and all the beautiful Tejas wildflowers, including the bluebonnet which is the state flower of HarleyDad's lot in Ozarklandia.
HarleyDad
HarleyDad, Brokerbelle and Princessbelle went down to Tejas for the wedding of TexBro. The Bride was beautiful. We are pretty shure she has a visual disability because she married TexBro who is only slightly better looking than HarleyDad. She acted like she could see, but we still are not sure.
GrandMatriarch (age 83) and GrandPatriarch (85) embrarrassed everybody by showing more energy than anybody else, hosting the wedding in their house. GrandMatriarch scared everybody by standing on top of a ladder to put up glasses in the top of her cubbard. HarleyDad responded by calmly turning the pages of his newspaper.
Sparkey and Beautiful Bridgette were there and Sparkey gallantly went to the GrandMatriarch's aid.
TexBro was a happy man and TexBro's Bride, the Yellow Rose, was beautiful. It was a lovely wedding.
Later we went to the Rose Capital of the U.S. Then it was home up through the Tejas highways and all the beautiful Tejas wildflowers, including the bluebonnet which is the state flower of HarleyDad's lot in Ozarklandia.
HarleyDad
Burrrrp!
Pardon me! I know that I have not written for a while. Here's my 'scuse. Well, I can't believe that I ate the whole chocolate MiniCooper. Sorry, Ah-Me.
I passed out from a chocolate high and woke up in a puddle of chocolate in an alleyway adjoining St. Godiva's Church in Hershey Pennsylvania. All I know is that I had chocolate all over my hands and a big ring of chocolate around my mouth.
Since that time, I have been drying out in an isolation ward and attending regular meetings of Chocolatics Unanimous. "Hello, I am HarleyDad and I have a chocolate problem."
Finally, I took the Adkins Pledge and plan on eschewing chocolate instead of chewing chocolate. I can stay away from carbohydrates one day at a time. Yes, I can, I know I can. The chocolate demons have been exorcised. The doctor told me at the clinic that I must maintain a regimine of exorcise or was it exercise. Oh well, I guess I will do both. He said something about that if you fall back into your sins, you will be attacked by seven more chocolate demons, all more fierce than the first and you will become seven times as fat.
In addition, I am going to the dentist today and having my sweet tooth extracted.
I have declared my independence from the Swiss Chocolateers. Although I am now indebted to the Swiss makers of cheese, keeping in mind that swiss cheese is always holier than our cheese.
Well, you can just call me Brocholi Boy now. Evidently that is all that you can eat on the Atkins diet. Then there is all the meat. Further I am instructed by the Chocolate Unanimous Group not to drive within two miles of a Cold Stone Creamery or a Marble Slab Ice Cream Store. Evidently autos driven by addicts are known to turn into these places despite the best efforts of the drivers, and you are hooked again.
Further, no eating your vehicles or chocolate MiniCoopers.
Well, see ya in meat purgatory.
HarleyDad
I passed out from a chocolate high and woke up in a puddle of chocolate in an alleyway adjoining St. Godiva's Church in Hershey Pennsylvania. All I know is that I had chocolate all over my hands and a big ring of chocolate around my mouth.
Since that time, I have been drying out in an isolation ward and attending regular meetings of Chocolatics Unanimous. "Hello, I am HarleyDad and I have a chocolate problem."
Finally, I took the Adkins Pledge and plan on eschewing chocolate instead of chewing chocolate. I can stay away from carbohydrates one day at a time. Yes, I can, I know I can. The chocolate demons have been exorcised. The doctor told me at the clinic that I must maintain a regimine of exorcise or was it exercise. Oh well, I guess I will do both. He said something about that if you fall back into your sins, you will be attacked by seven more chocolate demons, all more fierce than the first and you will become seven times as fat.
In addition, I am going to the dentist today and having my sweet tooth extracted.
I have declared my independence from the Swiss Chocolateers. Although I am now indebted to the Swiss makers of cheese, keeping in mind that swiss cheese is always holier than our cheese.
Well, you can just call me Brocholi Boy now. Evidently that is all that you can eat on the Atkins diet. Then there is all the meat. Further I am instructed by the Chocolate Unanimous Group not to drive within two miles of a Cold Stone Creamery or a Marble Slab Ice Cream Store. Evidently autos driven by addicts are known to turn into these places despite the best efforts of the drivers, and you are hooked again.
Further, no eating your vehicles or chocolate MiniCoopers.
Well, see ya in meat purgatory.
HarleyDad
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
The Return of Chocolate
As the world focuses on the important topics of the day, such as the new pope, Benedict XVI, HarleyDad focuses more on the more eternal values that do not change-chocolate! After all popes come and popes go, but chocolate was here even before the popes. Somewhere I heard that the Mayans used chocolate.
So ImpQueen in her blog will deal with popes while I set my eyes on the higher values-chocolate.
My friend Ah-Me at the office snook a look at my blog on Company time (I hope it was on her break) and sent me the following note which I found to be most clever, but probably purloined from another. Here it is:
"If the Swiss want to rule the world, who am I to disagree? Resistance is futile and this takeover would be anything but hostile! Everyone knows that money talks, but...chocolate sings. Beautifully. I put "eat chocolate" at the top of my list of thig to do everyday. That way, I always get at least one thing done!
Here are the rules of chocolate:
1. If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.
2. Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.
3. Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite, and you will eat less.
4. Eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate to balance your diet.
5. Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger. Therefore, you need to eat more chocolate.
6. A nice box of chocolates, can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Now, isn't that handy?
7. If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. (But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?!)
If not for chocolate, there would be no need for control top panty hose. An entire garment industry would be devastated. We can't let that happen, can we?"
Well Ah-Me, thanks for your comments and great quotations. But I don't know about this panty hose bit-I have been eating chocolate for years but HarleyDad has nothing to do with panty hose and refuses to even to consider it.
For your contribution, I am awarding you the car of your dreams-A Chocolate Minicooper. See the picture above. A car so good that you could eat it!
Now a few words to the ImpQueen and her papal blog.
If Ah-Me goes to confession she will probably have to confess things like this:
1. In my heart, I am a murderer because I could kill for chocolate.
2. I have lusted after my neighbors chocolate.
3. I have taken the name of chocolate in vain.
4. I stole a piece of my husbands chocolate bar when he was not looking.
5. I got angry when my husband stole a piece of my chocolate bar.
The person taking the confession (HarleyDad) would probably respond: "Ah-Me these are the high sins of chocolate. The punishment my child is this: 30 days of dieting. White Chocolate only during this period. Your diet beverage during the period of penance may be a chocolate drink."
Now go my daughter and sin some more.
This would be proof positive of the wisdom of HarleyDad and no doubt assure him of a high position, at least in the liberal American church.
HarlyDad
So ImpQueen in her blog will deal with popes while I set my eyes on the higher values-chocolate.
My friend Ah-Me at the office snook a look at my blog on Company time (I hope it was on her break) and sent me the following note which I found to be most clever, but probably purloined from another. Here it is:
"If the Swiss want to rule the world, who am I to disagree? Resistance is futile and this takeover would be anything but hostile! Everyone knows that money talks, but...chocolate sings. Beautifully. I put "eat chocolate" at the top of my list of thig to do everyday. That way, I always get at least one thing done!
Here are the rules of chocolate:
1. If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.
2. Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.
3. Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite, and you will eat less.
4. Eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate to balance your diet.
5. Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger. Therefore, you need to eat more chocolate.
6. A nice box of chocolates, can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Now, isn't that handy?
7. If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. (But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?!)
If not for chocolate, there would be no need for control top panty hose. An entire garment industry would be devastated. We can't let that happen, can we?"
Well Ah-Me, thanks for your comments and great quotations. But I don't know about this panty hose bit-I have been eating chocolate for years but HarleyDad has nothing to do with panty hose and refuses to even to consider it.
For your contribution, I am awarding you the car of your dreams-A Chocolate Minicooper. See the picture above. A car so good that you could eat it!
Now a few words to the ImpQueen and her papal blog.
If Ah-Me goes to confession she will probably have to confess things like this:
1. In my heart, I am a murderer because I could kill for chocolate.
2. I have lusted after my neighbors chocolate.
3. I have taken the name of chocolate in vain.
4. I stole a piece of my husbands chocolate bar when he was not looking.
5. I got angry when my husband stole a piece of my chocolate bar.
The person taking the confession (HarleyDad) would probably respond: "Ah-Me these are the high sins of chocolate. The punishment my child is this: 30 days of dieting. White Chocolate only during this period. Your diet beverage during the period of penance may be a chocolate drink."
Now go my daughter and sin some more.
This would be proof positive of the wisdom of HarleyDad and no doubt assure him of a high position, at least in the liberal American church.
HarlyDad
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