...today's post will be in the form of a (really bad) limerick.
There once was a couple who lived in the North
After 30 long winters they decided to venture forth.
To the south they would go
Where they'd rarely see snow.
Now they're packing for all they are worth.
(Humor me, you can make worth rhyme with North and forth if you say it right.)
Friends brought boxes from far and from wide
Books and things were carefully packed up inside
Where'd we get all this stuff?
It is much more than enough!
Their packratting ways they decried.
The moral of this cautionary tale?
Should you ever put your house up for sale
Get rid of your junk
So you don't have to lunk
It, paying $.50 a pound according to the scale.
Feel free to leave comments in limerick form. Or not.
Donna was unable to get the comment section to work, so she emailed this rhyme:
There once was a frugal queen
Saving money was her hobby it seemed
Her kingdom was Nesbit
A much needed respite
For the friends and family she gleaned
4 comments:
I won't be able to do this in verse, but I wanted to respond to a post you made a few days ago, specifically with your Bible study challenging you thus:
"Have you been guilty of gossip, slander or a critical spirit toward your pastor or any of the leaders of your church? . . .
Do you have critical thoughts and attitudes toward anyone in your church? Have you verbalized those thoughts to others?"
I have a few problems with this. First of all, it sounds like (and I will grant you that this is not in its complete context) we are expected to speak and think kindly of those within our church, which does not seem very Christ-like to me.
Secondly, I understand not gossiping and slandering people, but not to criticize seems to go too far. I seem to remember Jesus being critical of the Pharisees (and the money changers in the temple).
Recently Barack Obama and John McCain have been criticized for the religious leaders they have been affiliated with. Both have clarified to some extent or another their disagreements, even renunciations, of these leaders' more controversial views. This study seems to suggest that we should just follow our religious leaders with challenging views that seem discordant with the teachings of Christ.
I know the pastor is the shepherd to the congregation, but didn't God give us minds to use? We aren't exactly sheep, are we?
Here is part of an interesting post in the Daily Kos blog addressing some of Jeremiah Wright's inflamatory rhetoric:
Damn you rich! You already have your compensation.
Damn you who are well-fed! You will know hunger.
Damn you who laugh now! You will weep and grieve.
Damn you when everybody speaks well of you!
A rant from a radical preacher? Without a doubt. Someone on the Obama campaign? Well, Sen. Obama says so. That's the Scholars Translation of Luke 6:24-26, and the speaker is Jesus of Nazareth.
In the King James Version, the first part of Luke 6:24 reads "But woe unto you that are rich!" That comes off as quaint and a lot less shocking to modern ears -- not the kind of preaching that nets you space on Fox News. But Jesus meant his words to be shocking. He meant them to strike against the status quo and shake up the comfortable.
God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human.
God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme.
That's Jeremiah Wright.
Is the vision of a pastor standing in his pulpit shouting "God damn America" shocking? Yes. But don't mistake Wright's (or Jesus') statement for what some drunk in a bar would mean using the same phrasing. Wright isn't saying "FU America!" he's saying "these actions of America are worthy of God's condemnation." He's just saying it in a way that cuts through the Sunday morning sleepiness and makes people sit up in their pew.
From Gandhi to King, it's in the nature of spiritual leaders to grab their audiences by the throat and their nations by the short hairs. This was true at the time of the Civil War and during the Civil Rights movement. Martyrs did not become martyrs by appealing to the status quo.
Dear Anonymous,
While your comment is not exactly the light-hearted limerick I was hoping for, I do appreciate your taking the time to respond to my earlier post.
I think we may have a difference in definitions. The Bible study asked the question, “Have you been guilty of a…..critical spirit toward your pastor or the leaders of your church?”
To me, having a critical spirit is different than criticizing. May we criticize our pastors and leader? Yes. Keeping in mind the following:
Jesus speaks in Matthew 7:1-5 about removing the plank from our own eye before we remove the sawdust from our brother’s eye.
He also says we should ‘love our neighbor as yourself’. Mt. 22:39.
And, the apostle Paul admonishes us as follows:
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Be imitators of God, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 4:29-5:2.
After I read and apply the above verses, I find that I have very little to say to criticize my spiritual leaders. If there was an issue of say, immorality, or heresy, I would criticize, but with the goal of restoring relationships and not to condemn.
How is criticizing different than a critical spirit? In my opinion, when you criticize you are addressing a particular issue. When you have a critical spirit however, nothing that other person does or says measures up to your standards.
Did Jesus say harsh and inflammatory things? Absolutely. But He is the Son of God, He is perfect and can look into men’s hearts.
Jesus regularly condemned the Pharisees. He condemned their haughty, proud spirits, but showed compassion to those who are humble and contrite in heart. One Pharisee in particular, Nicodemus came to Jesus at night (Nic at night). Their verbal exchange is recorded in John 3 and resulted in Nicodemus becoming a follower of Christ.
I know I haven’t answered all of the issues you addressed. I seriously wanted to do this in limerick form, but didn’t want you to have to wait too long for a response.
Thanks for commenting, I hope to hear from you soon.
Even though the calendar says
It's March 17, it's not in your head,
St. Patrick's day was
On the Ides of this March
So we'll limerick next year instead.
Cheri:
I'm accepting your limerick challenge, albeit belated. But, great poetry takes time to compose, time that I didn't have yesterday. Here it goes:
There once was a lady named Cheri
Who moved only what she could carry.
She packed and she sorted,
The pound charge she thwarted.
Said Pat, "What a gal did I marry."
Her friends said, "What's more left to pitch?
She often gets spring cleaning itch.
The small moving truck,
While not getting stuck,
Lacking ballast, could go in the ditch."
From the Northwoods she'd long been ensconced in,
To the hills where there's rarely some frost in
She moved and unpacked,
Thought of items she lacked --
"I left it all back in Wisconsin."
love and prayers as you continue to pack,
kjh
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