wet n wild

Our rabbits have access to a sheltered hutch, but they usually prefer the outdoors when it's raining. The hole in the bottom right hand of the picture was dug by them.

fat cat

To see a really fat cat, click here.

Jesus fully God, fully human - Hebrews 1-2

I worked hard on Hebrews 1-2 over last weekend, and was really been struck by just how strongly trinitarian the author is in the way that he (yes, apparently there is a masculine verb in 11:32 - there go my hopes for a New Testament book written by a woman!) uses the Old Testament.

Take for example this quote from Psalm 45:6-7 which was initially written about God's relationship with the Israelite king. The writer to Hebrews applies it directly to Jesus:

"Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy."

God is the one reigning forever, an attribute that is also ascribed to Jesus (Hebrew 13:8). At the same time God sets Jesus above his companions, anointing him as his special king. So Jesus is God, but he's also distinct from God as God's Son.

In another quote from Psalm 102:25-27 the author of Hebrews takes a passage we may think of as referring only to God the Father, and again applies it directly to Jesus:

“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment.
You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”

So Jesus is not just redeemer of the world, he is also creator of the world. As the author of Hebrews is at pains to point out, it matters how we treat Jesus - he isn't just some guy, he's the Lord of all creation.

a dose of dosa - adventurous eating

Andrew and I had a new culinary experience a few days ago. We were in the mood for some mild Indian food and, as we live not far from a shopping strip made up almost exclusively of Indian shops, we decided to get some takeaway.

We thought we were going to a stock standard take away place, and had been planning to order butter chicken - something that would be nice and easy on a reflux prone tummy. However, when we looked at the menu we realised that, apart from a few very bland dishes obviously designed for non Indians (eg. chicken fried rice - hardly an Indian staple!), we didn't recognise a thing.

Almost everything listed ended in the word "dosa". Perhaps we should have been tipped off by the fact that the place was called "The Dosa Hut"! So we asked what they were and got some recommendations. We also picked two unrecognisable entrees at random.

The entrees were ok, but the dosas were fantastic. They are like a large savoury pancake, with stuffing and dipping sauces. They were also reasonably cheap and made a substantial meal, at around $6 each.

The decor was simple - plastic chairs and tables. We were the only non-Indians dining there that evening, however we were made to feel very welcome and no one made fun of our ignorance.

We plan to go back again. Perhaps later in pregnancy I'll go really crazy and get a 70 cm dosa: the footlong at subway pales by comparison!

If you're curious, as always Wikipedia has an article about dosas here.