Quote from St. Nick

                                                                                                        

“The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic His giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.” ― St. Nicholas of Myra; (St. Nicholas Day is December 6th)

     Nicholas of Myra was a real person who lived from AD 270-343.  His hometown was in Asia Minor, now Turkey.  He was a faithful Christian, known for his generosity.  Many legends grew up around him and his generosity, leading to the development of the "Santa Claus" myths.  ("Santa Claus" comes from the Dutch "Sinterklaas", itself derived from older Latin renderings of St. Nicholas.)

     Nicholas was very wealthy, and he rose to prominence in the Christian Church.  He was also single.  One myth about him involved helping three poor young women with their dowries, money that allowed them to marry.  It was said that the young women hung their stockings near the hearth.  Nicholas threw some gold coins down the chimney, and the coins landed in the girls' stockings.  From these legends, you can see the beginnings of more modern St. Nicholas stories.

     Nicholas was also known for standing firm in his defense of orthodox Christian belief.  A group following a leader named Arius wanted to weaken the teachings about Jesus being fully God. The Council of Nicaea met in AD 325 and stood firm for the teachings put forth by Athanasius, versus those put forward by Arius.  Lesser-known legends have grown regarding Nicholas' participation at the Council of Nicaea, but these seem mythical.  The best attested accounts do not indicate that Nicholas was even present.  Although this blog is not especially religious, I am not without education in this area.

     The household we formed in adulthood has celebrated St. Nicholas Day as a separate day for decades. We started this custom even before having children. 

     

Poison Ivy

      This fall, we took a trip to the mountains in Arizona.  (See my other blog, Christian Nature Poetry for more details.)   Even the poison ivy there was beautiful, decked out for fall.  (The area along the Little Colorado River there was one of the few places in the southwest wet enough for this plant.)

   Anyway, the poison ivy prompted me to repost ditty of mine from way back.

BANE & WOE 

 

Naughty, naughty, Poison Ivy:
Touch my skin and make me hive-y.
Blotchy skin and splotchy face:
Itchy, itchy every place!
Should have looked a little closer,
Maybe purchased from a grocer;
Should have brought a field guide:
Now I've got that stuff inside!
Thought I knew the out-of-doors---
Wandered over hills and moors---
Now I think I'll stay at home:
'Til tomorrow---then I'll roam.
---C. Marie Byars, 1986

Christian Nature Poetry Blog: this poem, different visuals

This Blog: same poem, earlier post, different visuals
 

Birds' Nests

 
"Temptations, of course, cannot be avoided.  But because we cannot keep birds from flying over our heads, there is no need that we should let them build a nest in our hair."  -- Martin Luther's Large Catechism,  "Explanation of the Sixth Petition" ("Lead us not into temptation.")

"That the birds of worry and care fly over your head, this you cannot change. But that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent."  --Chinese proverb

What's Your Path?

 
Some quotes to ponder as you hike this summer... or not 😉.  This blog, in curating quotes, seeks to find dates and where these quotes were made across most of this site.  That data for all these quotes was not easy to find.  However, this is not just from one list in one one place.

"Only those who wonder will find new paths."  --Norwegian Proverb

"Curiosity keeps us heading down new paths." --Walt Disney

"No love, no friendship can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever."  --Francois Mauriac (French novelist of the early 20th century and lifelong Roman Catholic)

"Mountains cannot be surmounted, except by winding paths."  --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German poet)

"Difficult roads often have beautiful destinations."  --Zig Ziglar (American motivational speaker)

"In order to get through the hardest journey, we only need to take one step at a time... but we MUST keep on stepping."  --Chinese Proverb

"An interesting journey never follows a straight path."  Marjan van der Belt ([female] New Zealand-American Ecological Economist)

Near Prescott, AZ, with my husband

"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."  --Ralph Waldo Emerson (American 19th philosopher & author; co-founder of the Transcendental Meditation religious movement)

"In life, you either find your own path and lead a authentic life,  or follow others and become part of a herd."  --Paul T.P. Wong (Canadian Psychologist)

"Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence."  ---Henry David Thoreau (American 19th philosopher & author; co-founder of the Transcendental Meditation religious movement)

"Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." --King David of Israel, ~1000 B.C. in Psalm 119:105

I enjoyed "roaming" a lot as a child and teen in Gallup, NM.  I also got interested in the works of Henry David Thoreau.  I liked some of his other works better than his best-known Walden.  He even had an essay (growing out of an original talk) called "Walking." The "Walking" essay is referenced elsewhere on this site. 

Exceptional? [Thoughts on Patriotism & US History]

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." --Thomas Jefferson with John Adams & Ben Franklin; Opening lines to the 2nd Paragraph of the Declaration of Independence; July 1776

     

   This is an opinion piece.  However, I believe I have some education and life history that give my opinions some weight.
     American "exceptionalism" contains the idea that we are an "exception" to the way history has played out for other nations.  While I agree that we have wonderful founding documents, we are still a nation comprised of flawed human beings.
What's the point in arguing about the term "American exceptionalism?" We're a nation of imperfect people, founded on some amazing ideas of a democratic republic, enshrined in our Constitution. 

    We've done some very noteworthy things; we've done some things that were stupid and even cruel. Accepting all these facets doesn't make us [1] less American, nor [2] less willing to accept or work on problematic parts of our past. 

   Can we unify on this, too?   --Marie Byars