The Apple And The Pear

"Some say it was a pear Eve ate.

Why else the shape of the womb, or of the cello

whose single song is grief for the parent tree?

Excerpt from "Pears" by Linda Pastan

The pear trees just finished blooming here, and it seems they only lasted about a week! There are more than 3,000 varieties in the world. Did you know they are a relative of the apple? The first pears came here in the 1700's, and they are second only to the apple as the most popular fruit in this country. I would have guessed the banana. Nowhere in the bible does it say that the forbidden fruit eve ate was an apple, we don't know what it was. I think it may have been a fruit made specially for that occasion. Adam and Eve ate it for knowledge. Can one have too much knowledge? In this case, yes. They thought they would be like God, but all they were doing was being was disobedient to their maker. And as much as I love to learn, I do believe that knowledge causes loss of innocence. Perhaps there was more than meets the eye when Jesus told us to become like a little child. Children are trusting to their parents and innocent. Knowledge has not spoiled their view of the world or their innocence. And once that happens, it can be very hard to go back. Something to ponder on this Sunday.

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."

Genesis 3:6,7

Rejoice!

Did you watch the royal wedding? I taped it and watched today. Here are some of the hats, I took these pictures from the T.V. Phil sat on the couch beside me, looking on with amused tolerance. Some of his remarks: "Is she wearing that inside out?" "That looks like a hurricane hit it." "Why did they attach a bed sheet to the back of her gown?" But it was something else that interested me. It was so solemn, in fact, too solemn. I never saw one smile or laugh. It really looked more like a funeral. Perhaps their hats were too heavy... Isn't a wedding supposed to be a joyous occasion? Victoria Beckham wore black from head to toe, I wonder about that choice for a spring wedding. As for me, I was smiling, even giggling; at the hats. In the wedding speech, the Lord Bishop Of London said "This is a joyful day!" but to look at their faces you'd never know it.

"But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful." Ps.68:3

"Be joyful always ; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thess.5:16

The Whirlwind

Last night was a scary night! There were tornado warnings all over our area. The local news and weather on T.V. advised against going to bed unless you had a T.V. in your bedroom or a weather radio. Since we had neither, we didn't go to bed. We watched as one after another tornado came across into our area, our city had about three actual warnings. We are so blessed to be fine, with no damage. This picture of a possible tornado was taken by my friend just a few blocks away. She took it from her bathroom window, and even opened the window to snap it! I asked her why she wasn't running to the basement. She told me that she wasn't afraid with the camera in her hand, all that seemed to matter was getting this shot. She would make an excellent blogger, because I'm sure most of us know the feeling! The rest of the pictures are some damages we saw while driving around today. Stay safe, my friends.

"The Lord is slow to anger and great in power...His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet. " Nahum 1:3

Three's Company

See these three mallards? They visit us every evening, and like to hang around our bird feeder. They also wait at the back door for me to throw them some food. But notice there are two males and one female. Yet there is no fighting, pecking, or chasing. Thats right, these three are a threesome, they are all settled down as a family! We have lots of mallards around here, but I have never seen any do this, that female must have the charms of Cleopatra! Lately, only the two males have been coming around, so I have to think that the female is somewhere sitting on a nest. Wonder if any of them will demand a paternity test when the eggs hatch? I'll keep you informed if anything else happens.

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Matthew 6:26,27

Let The Hunts Begin!

Here are the Easter egg hunts we had with Anne Marie and Ella, they both had such fun! For my new followers, the black haired Chinese girl is Anne, our granddaughter. To read her short history, CLICK HERE. And Ella is the sweetie with the light brown hair. We have been her part-time caregivers almost since she was born, and though not actually related, she is like a granddaughter to us and we love her dearly. After the hunt, Ella asked us if we would hide the eggs again! So we did. Then when she left at the end of the day, she wanted to keep the eggs here so we could hide them again when she comes back. Here is the best hiding place ever.

"You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." Psalm 32:7

Going, Going, Gone

"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." John 14:2,4

All Ears

I want to know about your Easter, I hope you will be posting about it! So tell me, I'm all ears. And so is this post - bunny ears, that is. Here are some Easter things I photographed around the area. We bought the bunny donuts and sheep cupcakes for our family for the weekend. I also decided to make these baby lambs with the girls to go along with the big mama sheep, aren't they cute? And see the cute picture holder on a little spring? Anne made that for us as an Easter gift and colored it herself. She included her Easter portrait. And I bet you thought you were finally done with seeing the hanging peeps, but you'd be wrong!!! These are on the house across the street. Guess you'll be seeing them in your dreams by now. But I promise no more!!! Now I will be visiting to hear about your weekends!

"Since ancient times, no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. " Isaiah 64:4,5