Great White Elephant Judgement, Part II

You never know what might spark an important realisation: a work of art, a rambling breeze, a brick to the head, or even the confused ramblings of some old friend...

Anyway, a few pieces are coming together now regarding the history of the thing that lurks, and was spawned, and was revealed the night of the Great White Elephant Judgement. It was indeed spawned in a confused mind--the confused, even demented mind of Santa Claus. That explains a lot, doesn't it? This creature, a hideous collision of Ma Ingalls' dress form, a road kill reindeer, and the ten-horned beast of the Apocalypse of John, which has now been unleashed to torment many of you, now lurks, in waiting, exploring it's new surroundings, terrorizing weary travellers from the vaulted perch on which it now sits. It plots mayhem. It wishes it knew whether it is a boy or a girl. It has a name. It is...

BlitzenStein

Letting me get my hands on it was another bit of confusion. You all may want to get Santa's head examined before he fills your stockings. One mistake like this was enough.

Things To Do While Wearing Flip Flops

Well, maybe the flip flops were not the best choice on a chilly morning, near sunrise, to go photograph geese and cacti on a gravel path, but they did the job. I thought I was going to drive Venom to school. I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise, and pleased to remember my camera was in the glove compartment. There's a nice place for walks on the way home (yes, I did drive her to school--for finals), and I was compelled to stop. I did get cold feet, however. Ha Ha!! The geese photos are for my Dare Not Linger friend. I was thinking of you when I took them. I also have discovered how to embed a slide show. Look out!

The Great White Elephant Judgement

It lurks patiently, biding it's time. It knows all about long waits. Spawned in the twisted, or perhaps sadly misguided and very confused imagination of someone or something; mass(?)-produced in China, at a factory operated by some person who, perhaps caring more for his personal health and well-being than the wise management of his factory, didn't look too closely; packed in a box; shoved into a container; shipped across the turbulent Pacific seas; sucked into the holiday retail vortex, and spewed out upon the crowded shelves of TJMaxx,

"the [thing] passed out of knowledge and legend;

and even so much of it's history

is known now only to a few..."

And boy, if it falls into the wrong hands...

Water, "running humble with a power you cannot see"

The Story:

There was this guy named Naaman. He was an army commander for Aram. The king liked and respected him, because God had used him to bring victory to the Arameans. But the poor guy had a nasty skin disease. On one of the Aramean raids into Israelite territory, they had captured a little Israelite girl. She was now a slave of Naaman's wife. She noticed his skin disease, and told his wife that if only Naaman would go to the Israelite prophet, he could be healed of his disease.

Naaman went and told this to his boss the king. The king said, "Go, by all means!" and sent him with a letter to the king of Israel and a bunch of gifts and money. Naaman went off to the king of Israel. When the king saw the letter, which said "I'm sending Naaman to you so you can heal him of his skin disease," he kind of freaked out and said, "Who am I? Some sort of god to give death and life? The king of Aram is trying to pick a fight!!" and he tore his clothes over it.

When Elisha the prophet heard about this, he sent off to the king and said, "What's your problem? Send this guy here and I'll take care of it and he'll know that there actually is a prophet in Israel."

So Naaman headed over to Elisha. When he pulled up in his chariot, Elisha sent someone out to tell him to go bathe seven times in the Jordan river and he'd be all well. This made Naaman really mad. He said, "I thought this guy would come out to me, and call on the name of his God Yahweh, and wave his hands over my diseased skin, and cure it. Instead he tells me to go take a bath in Israel's river. Heck, we have better water than that back home in Damascus! I can take a bath there!" And he stomped off in a rage.

But his servants came to him and said, "Come on, Naaman! If he had asked you to go do something hard, wouldn't you have done it? So he's told you to go do something easy. Just try it and see..."

So Naaman went down to the Jordan and tried it...

and it worked!

The song:

Andrew Peterson, "All You'll Ever Need" Resurrection Letters, Vol. II

Safe Places