Favorite Bits from Books (3)

"A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical ENCORE. Heaven may ENCORE the bird who laid an egg. If the human being conceives and brings forth a human child instead of bringing forth a fish, or a bat, or a griffin, the reason may not be that we are fixed in an animal fate without life or purpose. It may be that our little tragedy has touched the gods, that they admire it from their starry galleries, and that at the end of every human drama man is called again and again before the curtain. Repetition may go on for millions of years, by mere choice, and at any instant it may stop. Man may stand on the earth generation after generation, and yet each birth be his positively last appearance."

From Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton

I love the thought of God cheering on creation.

Favorite Bits from Books (2)

"We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty, disturbing uncomfortable hings! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anybody sees in them."

Also from The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

Frequently quoted by family members when adventures loom.

Favorite Bits from Books (1)

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

From The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (chapter one, page one, paragraph one)

Christmas Blessing

Christ, who by his incarnation gathered into one things earthly and things heavenly, grant you the fullness of inward peace and goodwill, and make you partakers of the divine nature; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you always.

From The Book of Common Prayer

Norad Tracks Santa

Ok, people have sent me this link before, but I've never followed it:

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/video.html

I can't think why I haven't--it's tremendous fun.

The video cam of the space station approach even shows the station reflected in his helmet!

And the story of how it all began is great.

Chrysalis II

Isn't it beautiful? Look at all the shading there.

I am so glad the caterpillar chose to stay on the tree--apparently, they often don't because the chewed-off leaves are a sign to tell birds "Look! There's a caterpillar here!!"

Of course, the decimated branches are near the top (and slowly starting to re-leaf), and he's down near the base of the tree.

The Book of Hebrews (First chapter)

I was reminded again how much I have come to love this book, both for its beauty and for its promise.

And, since we are currently in Advent, it seems appropriate.

I'm using the KJV because it is a beautiful translation: One theory is that the scholars who translated it tested their translation by reading it out loud to one another. It does sound like they may have.

So, without further adieu:

****

Hebrews 1

¹God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
²Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
³Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:
⁴Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
⁵For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
⁶And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
⁷And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
⁸But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
⁹Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
¹⁰And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
¹¹They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
¹²And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
¹³But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
¹⁴Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
King James Version (KJV)

(copied from: http://www.biblegateway.com/; I was sorely tempted to go on into the 2nd chapter, but if I did that, I'd probably go on to the third, and then . . . . So, I'll stop at chapter one & recommend the rest; there are several versions up on biblegateway, too, so if the KJV isn't to your taste, there are more modern translations. I'm getting quite attached to the New Living Translation, myself.

Oooh, they have a nifty Embed passage ap, too. I'll have to check on that, later).

Holiday Cheer

These always make me happy:

Seagull Bathing

Birds always look so happy when they bathe.

Wait a Minute . . .

Just another picture on the book.

Oh, wait. This one is moving.

 

Christmas Tree Ornaments

Question: Can a Mickey Mouse Ornament be elegant?

Question: Should it even try?

 

Christmas Trees: Christmas By the Sea

I found this a fun tree. The house actually had several, which meant the owners could indulge in all the themes they liked:

Christmas Lights: Mixed Metaphors

Or something of the sort:

Christmas Lights Again!

I want one of these.

I don't know what it has to do with Christmas, but I want one.

*Stops for a minute to think.

No, scratch that.

I want several.

A whole flock.

Sewing Machine: Things That Are Not in the Manual

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this. I've learned a lot in the last year, including a few things that don't make it in the manual, probably because they are so obvious no one really thinks they need saying.

Well, looking at an earlier post, I think I've learned and relearned some of them!

1) Hand-sewing quilting thread is just that. Do not put it in the machine. It will not thank you.

2) Ironing is important; very important (Actually, one or two people probably told me this; I just had to learn it the hard way--my last bag is a bit rumpled because I skimped).

3) If you get cross; stop. If you do not stop, Bad Things Will Happen. (Ok, I know this one, too, but I'm a slow learner).

4) Straight Lines Happen. If you just let the feed dogs take care of it, you will get a straight line.

This, to me, is an amazing event. I mean, I don't really resemble any Pratchett character much(1), and I don't think I'm very much like Bloody Stupid Johnson, but I do tend to share his belief that straight lines are things that happen to other people.

5) You know, this sewing thing . . . it's actually kind of fun.

And I'd better be doing some!

(1)Which is sort of a pity. I mean, it wouldn't be such a bad thing to be a bit like Granny Weatherwax.