Spring Arrives

             

For, see, the Winter is past:

Its rain is over and gone away.

The flowers appear in the land;

The time of singing has arrived,

And the voice of the turtledove 

               is heard in our land.

The fig tree gives out her green figs,

And the vines, the tender grapes,

Give a good smell.

--Song of Solomon 2: 11-13a  

   (translated c.m.b., 2024)

Lamb of God

 "Look, the Lamb of God,

Who takes away the sin of the world!"  

      (John 1:29b, 36b)

So said John the Baptist,

The voice of one who calls out. (Isaiah 40:3)

He is the Lamb of God,

Not the Ram of God.

"Your Lamb must be unblemished,

A one-year-old male..."  

     (Exodus 12:5a; Leviticus l4:10; Ezekiel 46:13)

Most things are cleaned with blood:

Without the shedding of blood,

There is no forgiveness.  (Hebrews 9:22)

Make One still young the offering,

The last of such bloody suffering; (Daniel 9:27)

Yet His soul shall rise to see

The spiritual children He brought to be.  (Isaiah 53:10)

The Ancient Lamb not very old;

With blood worth more than even gold:

It sets the human captives free

From sin's eternal misery.  (I Peter 1:19; Exodus, etc)

How much more will the Blood of Christ,--

He who offered Himself to God

Through the Eternal Spirit

As an unblemished sacrifice--

Cleanse our consciences from dead works

To serve the Living God?  (Hebrews 9:14)

As a lamb to the slaughter He was led;

And as a sheep before her shearers is silent,

So He did not open His mouth.  (Isaiah 53:7b)

"And I, 

If I be lifted up from the earth,

I will draw all people to myself."  (John 12:32) 

So taught the Lamb

Before His time had come.

"The Son of Man 

Must suffer many things.

He must be killed,

And on the third day raised to life."

  (Luke 9:21, 43, 18:31; Mark 9:32; Matthew 17:23)

Myriads of myriads, 

Thousands of thousands,

Angels and elders 

All saying with a loud voice,

"Worthy is the Lamb,

Who was slaughtered,

To receive power and wealth and wisdom

And might and honor and glory and blessing!"  

     (Revelation 5:12)  

For the Lamb,

The One in the center of the throne,

Will shepherd them.

And He will lead them 

To Living Fountains of Waters.  (Revelation 7:17a)

                 --translations & short verse c.m.b. (c) 2024

Here Between Ass & Oxen Mild

 

1. Here between ass and oxen* mild,

Sleep, sleep, sleep my little Child.

Thousand seraphim,

Thousand cherubim

Keeping watch above 

This Mighty God of Love. 

 

 

2.  Here within Mary's sweet embrace

Sleeps, sleeps, sleeps this Fruit of Grace. 

Thousand seraphim,

Thousand cherubim

Keeping watch above 

This Mighty God of Love.  

 

3. Here between rose and lily sweet**

Sleep, sleep, sleep, my Son petite.

Thousand seraphim,

Thousand cherubim

Keeping watch above 

This Mighty God of Love.

 

4.  Here between the shepherds wondering

Sleep, sleep, Jesus, newborn King.

Thousand seraphim,

Thousand cherubim

Keeping watch above 

This Mighty God of Love.  

 

  

5.  On this holy day which God chose well

Sleeps, sleeps, sleeps Emmanuel.

Thousand seraphim,

Thousand cherubim

Keeping watch above 

This Mighty God of Love.  

 

-- developed from the 13th century French carol, “Entre le bœuf et l’âne gris” ["Between the Ox & Grey Donkey"]; this version (c) C. Marie Byars, 2023

 

*The "ox and ass" portrayals go beyond assuming what might be in a stable. Medieval Roman Catholic churchmen and songwriters were adding their interpretation of Isaiah 1:3-- "The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s feed trough [manger, crib], but Israel does not know; My people do not understand."

 

 A donkey may or may not have conveyed the pregnant Mary to Bethlehem. The Bible doesn't say.  An otherwise hale and hearty Mary may have walked the 90 mile journey.

 

What Child Is This   Also features ox and donkey.  

 

**The lily was a symbol of the Virgin Mary's purity.  (Though not used for old Christmas symbolism, it's a nice way to remember the story of Good Friday & Easter were already embedded into the Christmas account.)   The rose has variously been a symbol of Mary and of Jesus.  For both, it is a symbol of purity.  When used as a symbol of Jesus, it hearkens back to then Old Testament Rose of Sharon (which was actually a crocus in Hebrew, a small, early spring bulb flower!).  The Rose of Sharon was the one who pursued His beloved in the Song of Solomon.  

 

(There are various myths about winter roses and Mary's searching and struggles, also, which cropped up over the centuries.)

 

The Nativity in the photos is our own.  It is a composite of a couple different Italian sets.   We wait until closer to Epiphany (January 6) to put out the Wise Men.

A Mighty Fortress

 

     October 31st is Reformation Day for Lutherans*.  In honor of this, here is the best known hymn by Martin Luther for you to read as a poem.  It is based on Psalm 46 and was written around 1529.  Some people think Luther wrote it in remembrance of his friend Leonhard Kaiser, who was martyred due to the Reformation.   

     The translation from German included here is closer to the original German, a little less like the modern hymn.   It is based somewhat on literal translations and somewhat on the known translations, with adaptations by this blogger.

     The picture included is the Luther's Rose**, designed by him.  It is rich in symbolism.  

1) A mighty Fortress is our God,

A good Defense and Weapon.

He helps us free from every need.   

That has us now o'ertaken.

The old evil enemy

Works still more earnestly.

His pow'r and ploys are great;

His armor is cruel hate:

On earth is not his likeness.

2) With our own strength is nothing done,

Else quick our loss effected.

But for us fights the suitable One, 

Whom God Himself elected. 

You ask who is He who came?

Christ Jesus is His name,

Of heav'nly hosts the Lord, 

God's only Son adored:

The battlefield He must hold.

3)  Though all  the world with devils were filled

All threat'ning to devour us,

We would not fear, for God has willed

They cannot overpow'r us.

The prince of worldly power,

Howe'er he might glower,

We will not be budged:

Since he's already judged,

One little word can bring him down.

4) The Word they still shall let remain

And not be thankful for it.

He is with us according to plan

With His good gifts and Spirit.

Were they to take our life,

Goods, honor, child and wife,

Let them go away.

They still will have no sway:

The Kingdom shall remain for us.

     ---Martin Luther, c. 1529; translation by various; adapted c.m.b., 2023

*Reformation Day, October 31st.  Centuries before this, the Roman Catholic church had taken over the Druid observance of Samhain. The Druids believed the barrier between the worlds of dead and living was "thinnest" at midnight on October 31st. The Church repurposed November 1st as All Saints' Day. October 31st became known as "All Hallows' Eve" in English. Luther chose the day before All Saints Day, by tradition, to post his 95 Theses (statements) in German on a church door, calling for a debate among church leaders and scholars. These were translated and sparked the Protestant Reformation.

**Luther's Rose:  this was first sketched by Luther around 1516 to 1520 and fully designed at the request of Johann Friedrich, Elector of Saxony. The black cross represents Jesus' sacrifice, the blackness symbolizing our sin. The red heart symbolizes our faith; Luther said that because of our sin, the heart ought to be black, yet, due to Christ, the heart is not utterly destroyed.  The heart is on a white rose, to show that faith gives joy, comfort and peace:  white is the color of angels and spirits.  The sky blue field symbolizes joy and that faith is the beginning of future heavenly joy.  The gold ring symbolizes precious eternity, which has no beginning and end.  

This rendering has the triple phrase often used by Lutherans, sometimes written in Latin: sola fide, sola gratia, sola Scriptura.  A fourth could be added:  solus Christus, Christ alone.

Blessed September

 

   During September in many Northern Hemisphere climes, little purple daisy-like flowers ("asters") are in bloom.  Across Europe, especially in England, they are often referred to as "Michaelmas Daisies."  This is due to their on-going blooming over the feast of St. Michael and All Angels on September 29th.

    The Bible does not say as much about angels as some people might assume.  But it does say some important things.  One thing to note: humans do NOT become angels when we die.  Angels were always created to be spirit only and are the servants of God. We were created to be both physical and spiritual. Though the physical must go into the earth for a while at death, due to humanity's fall into sin, the body will be raised at the end of time. We are not only servants of God: we are also His children.  When the angels fell into sin, they became the demons that are cursed forever. There is no salvation plan for them.  On the other hand, God sent His Son (who is also God Himself) to become human and to die for our sins.

     Michael was a powerful angel who shows up in the books of Daniel and Revelation. He is also briefly mentioned in Jude. His name in Hebrew means "who is like God?"  ("Micah" means "who is like Yahweh [the proper name for God].")  He fought in the great war in heaven after Satan rebelled against God, before humans were tempted.

   Gabriel, whose name means "God is my Strong Man", is the other angel with a name. He appeared to Daniel in the Old Testament. His main appearances were around the time of Jesus' birth, making announcements to Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, and making the announcement of Jesus' coming to His mother, the Virgin Mary.

     Other angels serve in other roles. Some are, indeed, our guardian angels.  Four remain around the throne of God.  None is described in the Bible as the cutesy little Valentine cherubs. 

Here is some Biblical poetry for you to enjoy over this happy festival:

For He [God] shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways.

In their hands shall they bear you up

Lest you dash your foot on a stone.  (Psalm 91:11-12)

#religion

#flowers

#nature

    

Simple Pleasures

 

Rather than coloring intricate adult coloring books, I like to color simple children's coloring books.  I like to get done sooner, but I also spend extra time shading them with pencils.

This was done at a coffee shop.  I was there with my husband, who's been on some convalescent leave. (His health issue worked out quite well.   We feel very touched by grace.)  He worked on a very intricate adult coloring page.

I tried to make the daisies look a bit like my favorite black-eyed Susan flowers.  I don't know that I succeeded.  The purplish-blue ones are alternately called bachelor's buttons, cornflower or chicory.

Waterfall

      These photos are from a hike into Zapata Falls in south central Colorado last year.  The waterfalls are in the Sangre de Cristo ("Blood of Christ") Range within the Rocky Mountains.  (For more on our trip there, see the post from October, 2020.)

      Some fresh translations from Psalm 42 add to the reflections.

7) Deep calls unto deep

At the noise of Your waterfalls; 

And all your waves and billows

Over me have passed.

8) In the daytime will Yahweh command His lovingkindness,

And in the night will his song be with me--

   a prayer to the God of my life...

11) Why, O my soul, are you cast down,

And why are you disquieted within me? 

Have hope in God,

For yet shall I praise Him,

The salvation of my expression [literally 'face']

And my God.    --Sons of Korah  

Notice how the falls spill from rocks high above.  Hikers are not allowed in that area.

    For fans of the Chronicles of Narnia, which are Christian allegories, waterfalls are in many stories.  C.S. Lewis' upbringing in parts of Ireland contributed to his depictions of Narnia.  I like occasionally mentioning Narnia in this blog because Lewis does such an amazing job describing the landscape.  It is part of the great joy of going to Narnia. The Hollywood productions (as Hollywood will do) focus so much on the great breathtaking near escapes that the amount of time just absorbing natural wonders is lost.

     Lewis does mentions a number of waterfalls throughout The Chronicles of Narnia. The most well-known is in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, where the Beavers take the Pevensie children along the ravine below a waterfall in order to avoid being caught by the White Witch.  She traveled by sled and couldn't follow them down the narrow space. 

    The Great Waterfall is at the furthest western limit of Narnia.  Falling over spectacular cliffs into Cauldron Pool, it becomes the source of the Great River. 

    In the last book. The Last Battle, the trickster ape, Shift, lives near these falls.  He finds a lion skin in Cauldron Pool and tricks his foolish donkey friend, Puzzle, into wearing it and pretending to be Aslan, the Great Lion (the metaphor for Jesus).  This great hoax brings down Narnia.  

    At the end of Narnia, as the move into ever greater, more beautiful eternal Narnias, Aslan's dearest go UP the great waterfall, in a way they never could have done in their previous lives.  (Imagine climbing those!)  I could not find any artist renditions of the beloved going up the Narnian falls, so I will leave you with these final Zapata Falls photos.  My husband took these.  If you look close, you can see me in blue shirt with the giant straw hat, which I refer to as my "ugly potato farmer's hat."  (This is not to imply that potato farmers are ugly, only that my hat is.)  It has warded off skin cancer, though!  And then he took one of me closer up, getting the photos you saw above.  What a day it would have been if we COULD have ascended the falls!

Backyard Flowers

      

     Once again, our backyard is awash with blooms before the insane heat of summers here takes off.  We were blessed with far more rain than is typical, plus some cooler weather, this winter and spring.

     Towards the end, you'll see the lemon blossoms.  You may catch sight of parts of the lemon fruits in these pictures.  You'll also see some of the lemon bushes near the bachelor's buttons [see below]. I say bushes because this is how citrus naturally grows.  To have 'trees', you have to repeatedly prune lower branches and paint the trunks white to prevent various types of damage.  We let ours go as shrubs, and we get a LOT of lemons.  This also allowed a second bush to grow up as a root shoot, filling a spot where we had cut out a thorny bougainvillea bush.  (We have one of those in the front yard, not pictured here.  It has hot pink, papery 'rays' around a cluster of small white flowers.  It's surprising this bougainvillea blooms anymore, considering its age and how many times it has been trimmed back.) 

     This year, there are a lot of Icelandic-type poppies in various colors.  (Our California poppies show foliage but no blooms yet.  You can check out some of the previous posts that show backyard blooms in past years.  You'll see the orange California poppies there.  Use the menu item with my name.)  Poppies are in the "mallow family", along with hibiscus and other flowers.

     There are also the 'cornflower blue' bachelor's buttons, or chicory.  Yes, the roots of these are used to make the ground chicory southerners use in coffee sometimes.  A couple of our bachelor's buttons, in close proximity, are about 3-1/2 feet (slightly over one meter) tall. These flowering plants are closely related to dandelions.  All of these are in the "composite family", which includes sunflowers and daisies.  (Discussions of composite flowers are in my older posts on backyard blooms.)

    Speaking of daisies in the composite family, there's a spot of orange in some of these pictures. This is an African daisy.  We actually had bigger swaths of both yellow and orange African daisies in other sections of the yard.  They've mostly bloomed out and gone to seed.

    Return readers may recall that my favorite flower is the black-eyed Susan.  Though it is rather hot for them by the time we get enough hours of sun to suit them here, we've had some success off and on the past few years getting some to bloom.  (It took years and lots of over-seeding for any success.)  I believe I saw the foliage of one 'Susan' tucked away.)

     Yet one other bloom on the scrawny looking shrub is one form of plant we call 'bird of paradise' here.  It comes in a blue and purple blooming variety and a yellow and orange blooming variety.  There is a completely different type of flower, striking in fiery shades, which blooms here also called bird of paradise. The bloom is somewhat bird shaped.  We do not have those.

    Please enjoy what we do have.  For those of you still "shivering" in colder climes, maybe this will perk you up.  Spare us some sympathy when we're broiling by the end of May!

A Compendium of This Blogger's Poetry

 (so far)

     Pardon my vanity, but there are people who actually seek out my own original work, as opposed to existing work by others.  I realized the menu item with my name currently pulls up several long photo exposes.  So, with your indulgence, I'm going to post links to some of my own poetry throughout this blog.  

     [I am not including my original translations of Biblical poetry. There's a "Biblical poetry" link for that in the side bar (on desktop or web versions).]

     The first one listed, on "joy", has gotten the most feedback for touching others over the years.  Other than that, they are mostly listed from newest posted to earliest posted.  (That's not the same as reverse order of when they were written.)  Thanks for reading.  In a world of being pushed & shoved by everyone and anyone grabbing a platform, I appreciate you spending some time in my less traveled corner of the world.  

Ode to Joy [my poem]

Ego Eimi [I Am]

Moisture Comes to Arizona

What Color Is Your Christmas?

Rain Redux

Perspectives

Nature Is Never Spent [from a line by Hopkins]

Black-Eyed Susan

The Word

May Day [with reference to my pagan German ancestors]

October in Phoenix

Choreographed

Joseph the Faithful Carpenter

Luther's Backyard [free verse]

Ki L'Olam CHasdo [His Lovingkindness Lasts to Eternity]

The Call of the Desert

Confessions

The Poe College Student [short spoof on Poe's '"The Raven'; not religious]

Bane & Woe [a silly poem on poison ivy; not religious]

Autumn Glory

 
     Here are some photos from around northern Arizona this October.  Northern Arizona looks a lot different than some of you who have never visited this state might expect. This is going to be a bigger post, photographically.  It will also have a couple different 'takes' on autumn interspersed.

    There is also much more "human activity" in some of these pictures than what I typically include.  Some of this couldn't be helped in order to "get the shot."  But it's a reminder that, despite how radical environmentalists frame things, our world is a human-natural world cooperation.  To even enjoy it involves a human imposition. 

     After the flood, God gave Noah a rainbow.  Christians think of this mostly as a promise that God would not destroy the earth again by a flood.  There is also a promise that seasons will follow each other in order until the end of time:

"Through all the days of the earth,

Seedtime and Harvst,

Cold and Heat,

Summer and Winter, 

Day and Night 

Will not take rest [cease, pause, have a 'Sabbath']."  (Genesis 8:22)

San Francisco Peaks

Trees 🌳:

Arizona Walnut

"Quaking" Aspen, a type of poplar;

usually the leaves go golden, 

but soil conditions allow some as this

to go reddish

Locust, pea family

A Non-Native Maple 🍁

A Native, Western Maple 🍁

Basswood/Linden (?)

     When you're young, you often just admire Fall for the beautiful change of colors.  As time passes, you are more likely to have the haunting sense of 'death' arrive.  The leaves are actually dying.  While the deciduous trees aren't dying, their dormant state looks dead.  Even perceptive children will pick up on this, as in this poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, an English Jesuit priest:

Spring and Fall

to a young child

Márgarét, áre you gríeving

Over Goldengrove unleaving?

Leáves like the things of man, you

With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?

Ah! ás the heart grows older

It will come to such sights colder

By and by, nor spare a sigh

Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal* lie;

And yet you wíll weep and know why.

Now no matter, child, the name:

Sórrow’s spríngs áre the same.

Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed

What heart heard of, ghost guessed:

It ís the blight man was born for,

It is Margaret you mourn for. (1880)   

*Leafmeal, akin to "piecemeal"; term coined by Hopkins  

The Bible gives up hope in this, though.  Job, who was plagued by disaster and lived thousands of years before Christ was born, said in faith:

"For I know that my Redeemer lives,

And at the last [day], He shall stand upon the earth.

And after my skin is destroyed-- this,

And in my flesh shall I see God,

Whom I shall see for myself,

And my eyes shall behold,

And not a stranger. *

My heart yearns within me!"  (Job 19:25-27)

*this is more accurate to the Hebrew.  Martin Luther made a similar choice, translating it into German, using the word Fremder, "stranger."

Mountain🌄Hike 🚶‍♀️ 🚶‍♂️:

solitary aspen leaf 🍂

Aspens Interspersed with Blue Spruce and Douglas-Fir🌲

Conifer Seedling with Aspen Leaf

Rain 🌧🌦🌨off in the Distance

Sweeping Vista

The Pinnacle Humphreys Peak 🗻

"Aspen Corner"

part way down the mountain 

Flowers 🌸🏵🌼💐 :

I was frankly surprised to see this many flowers still blooming, especially the 'last' lupine and all the black-eyed Susans, especially considering how cool it was already getting. 

Purple False-Clover

pea family

White False-Clover and Yellow Clover

(why one is a true clover and the other is not seems some botanist's whim)

Yarrow 

Golden Aster 

composite (sunflower) 🌼 family

Native Snapdragon 

Cliff Rose 🌹

rose family (along with many common fruits

such as 🍎apple, plum, cherry 🍒,  peach 🍑)

[alongside purple coneflower]

Purple Aster

 composite family; sometimes called Michaelmas Daisy,

due to blooming around St. Michael's and All Angels Day, 29 September 

Maroon & Gold Mexican Hats, composite family

Yellow Mexican Hats

(purple asters among both types of Mexican Hats)

White Asters or Fleabane

Wooly Mullein (Lamb's Ear)

Lupine, much like Texas Bluebonnet

pea family (note pods below)

Purple Coneflower, non-native; composite family

Indian Blanket Flower (Firewheel), Composite Family

only somewhat native to this area;

more common on the southern parts of the Great Prarie;

there are several subspecies with slight color variations

My Favorite: Black-Eyed Susans

composite family

native to the Midwest, from Wisconsin to Texas

They have been seeded and naturalized to this one field in Flagstaff, AZ.Though I like living in the West, these are still a big favorite with me.

with ponderosa pines

with Indian blankets scattered in

A poem of mine on these flowers from August 2019

Black-Eyed Susan