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Friday, 22 April 2011

A Dark Good Friday

Greetings!

Today I would like to explore the Good Friday that many Christians celebrate.

It centers around Jesus Christ being beaten almost to death by several groups of people who had made false charges against Him, and then taken to a hill above Jerusalem to be crucified with 2 other criminals.
On a Friday.

This happened around 200 years ago, yet still is alive and current to all of us.

Handel's 'Messiah'

As Paul Harvey would say:

".....now here's the rest of the story..."

Central in the history of Jesus dying while on a cross is that

G-d turned away from His only Son.

I think this was the greatest grief that Jesus could have born.

Earth reacted to this in many rather stunning ways.

There blew in a sudden and severe storm,

turning the sky so dark that it looked like it was night.

There were loud claps of thunder.
The ground shook like an earthquake.

It shook so severely that many tombs that had been sealed broke open.

But wait....there's more!

There are reports all over Jerusalem that loved ones that had died...

and been buried...

are alive!

They are knocking on doors to see their loved ones again!

Wow.

AND, the seamless curtain that hung in the Temple,

that separated the people from the awesomeness of Y'weh -

split from top to bottom!

To demonstrate how important this curtain was,

the priests would draw "straws" to see which one

had to go behind the curtain every day to wait for Y'weh to speak,

or to perform religious ceremonies.

They knew the power of their Y'weh,

so the chosen priest would have a rope tied around his waist,

just in case G-d struck him dead.

The rope was to pull him back to the 'people's' side.

Wow again.

c. 1550, Michelangelo sketch

What an incredible event,

and how sad for the followers of Christ that He died in such a horrible way.

....But now for the rest of the story....

c.1900

Jesus' body was taken down from the cross by some friends.

One of His friends lent space in a tomb, because Jesus was too poor to own one.

A pet peeve of mine:

People that leave Jesus on the cross.

check out the dates these were painted:

c.1308, Giotto's 'Lamentations"

c. 1505, Andrea Solario's 'Lamentation'

and a modern coloring page for children:

All of His disciples and followers and at least a few members of His earthly family were sad and grief stricken. They were scared. They were at a total loss.

Why would anyone call this Good Friday?

It sounds more like Dark Friday to me.

But...

Oh yeah, you have to wait for more,

just as Jesus' disciples had to wait too!

by Spencer Williams

see you tomorrow!

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

dominoes@myinkspired.com

Friday, 18 March 2011

March Lions and Lambs

Welcome!

'March comes in like a lion, and leaves like a lamb.'

Well, the lion part of March is supposedly over, so we will play a little catch up with the lion. Then on to the lambs!!!

vintage engraving

This vintage clip is courtesy of Dover. I love how the victorian age artists draw their animals. Some were drawn from a 'guesstimate' as the artist had never seen an actual live one!

Here is a fun puzzle for the young ones, with a great coloring sheet background:

oops, I see I don't have the words for this...so make up some of your own!

"Every animal knows more than you do."

- Nez Perce proverb

While I have been browsing around for informaton on lions and lambs and March ideas I discovered a few things.
First of all, there is some fantastic artwork out there of Lion/Lamb in the context of scripture - the Bible. Some are based on verses about Yeshua (Jesus) being the Lion and the Lamb of God. This is based on verses from Isaiah found in the Old Testament part of the Bible (the books traditionally placed in the front of the Bible). Judah refers to the original 12 tribes of Israel.

Many refer to a verse that says "and the beast shall lie down with the lamb, and a small child shall lead them" referring to a time of peace. Most artists throughout history have interpreted this with paintings of lions or bears and lambs; sometimes with a small child.

I love the sweet images of peace!

"Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much larger and better in every way."

- John Muir

Here is a page from an old Aesop's Fables book:

A kindness is never wasted; Aesop's Fable

Here is a cool modern take on the lion and the lamb -

You can find the site where they sell t-shirts and more at:

http://www.spreadshirt.com/white-lion-and-lamb-men-C3376A2610195

Lion Fun Fact:

Lions live in families of 20 - 30. There will be a few adult males and a few adult females with cubs. They share in their meals. Lions usually consume their kill all at once. Occasionally they will hide their meat in trees if they are threatened by hyenas.

This looks more like a lion that roars in with March!

"The greatness of a nation and

its moral progress

can be judged by

the way its animals are treated."

- Mahatma Gandhi

Here is another coloring sheet for the kids, or for you!

The second thing I found really surprised me! Evidently the promoters of the hit movie series "Twilight" have adapted a Bible verse for their mass promotion!

It says: "The lion fell in love with the lamb." This means - for all you none teenage savvy folks - the lion (the vampire) fell in love with the lamb (human girl).

Interesting take.

I like this one better however:

The artist of this painting is an amazingly talented watercolorist.

You can find her blog here: http://www.maryjaneone.blogspot.com/

Well, that's all for today. I'm off to physical ~~torture~~ therapy!

Yes, Christine, you are a wonderful physical therapist.

I love to stretch. I love to exercise. I love to stretch. I love to exercise.

hmmmm.... best finish with a spot of humor!

"Trust me, I'm a vegetarian!"

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

dominoes@myinkspired.com

Saturday, 19 February 2011

Lions Wallpapers

The Best Top Desktop Lions Wallpapers in all kind of resolutions and sizes. For your PC, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Mac OS. High Resolution Lion Photos, widescreen, 4:3, 16:9 and HD wallpapers.