In undertaking the responsibility of creating a blog, one that has quality and appeal, I never realized how intellegent this thing called the worldwide web actually is.
WWW might as well be the representative logo of one of my most idolatrous pleasures. Television is my obvious #1 distraction from my true responsibilities in life. In fact, right now, I am trying to decide which channel to watch while enjoying my wee bag of Walker’s Big Eat Salt & Vinegar crisps. I have had to mute the television now in order to put my full attention into this blog (notice I couldn’t be bothered to turn the flippin’ thing off…I have just now).
Lately I find myself online while watching television, or even worse, downloading televsion shows to watch while I’m online. I say ‘even worse’ in a few ways: mainly because I have to keep minimizing and maximizing screens in order to do anything with my full attention; and secondly because by the end of my internet/televsion/www experience, I couldn’t actually tell you what I’ve just done because I’m so facinated by all the bells and whistles and hearing and seeing things that my brain isn’t even actively involved as much as going along for the ride.
Now having just written that and also having held a study hall with some 15 year-olds tonight, I look back on what I just said with a sense of 19th century nievete. How those of old must have thought they were being overwhelmed by the speed of the railroad and telephone line!
Thankful you have hung in there log enough to get to my point. I have just this evening received a comment from a very good photographer who is responsible for taking a photograph of a very popular tree. It is this tree that appears so often when using google image search to find a photo of a mustard tree. It is, in fact, NOT a mustard tree. It is, rather, a ___ tree. Following is the comment our famous photographer has made to my blog:
The tree in this particular post is an American Burr Oak and was, conveniently, photographed by me. I’ve been photographing this same tree for about four years now – you can see the complete set of images here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wyoming_1/sets/651608/ Glad y’all liked it. One of your other readers, who happens to know me, spotted it and pointed me in this direction. It’s a small world sometimes. - David Vernon ~ Delavan, IL
In fact, David, it is a small world. I discover this daily. I am happy to learn the true root of this tree, yet now I find myself on an unexpected hunt for the mysterious MUSTARD TREE, the type of tree that grows from the mustard seed to which Jesus spoke of in each gospel. Readers are looking for it, I am looking for it. So where is this mustard tree jpg, so much like the kingdom of God?
Please consider this a WWW appeal for the illusive mustard tree jpg. If you or anyone you know has a mustard tree, I implore you to take a classy, iconic photo of the tree and send it to me. Full credit will be given, of course. It’s just that I never expected to be sitting in my wee apartment in Scotland faced with the timeless WWW question, what does a full-grown mustard tree actually look like?
God’s blessings to us all, and just remember, we don’t always get to see the big picture, but what we do helps to design it.
4 responses so far ↓
Keith // 8 August 2009 at 1:12 pm |
If you find anything I would be interested also. Looking to plant a mustard tree in my yard as an illustration when teaching of Christ’s example.
Larry Caplan // 28 August 2009 at 4:14 pm |
I don’t know if anyone is still monitoring this thread, but I am a county extension educator who also just got a phone call about “mustard tree”.
After a good bit of searching, I found something called “Nicotiana glauca.” Its common name is “tree tobacco”, but Wikipedia says that it is also sometimes known as the “Mustard Tree.”
This plant originally came from South America, and was introduced into the southwest US, where it has become a weed. In its native land, it supposedly gets up to 6 feet tall. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotiana_glauca
With all due respect to religion, this can’t be the tree mentioned in the Bible, since neither Jesus nor anyone else from Europe or Asia or the Mideast even knew about the Americas 2000 years ago.
Joy in Georgia, USA // 21 September 2009 at 3:57 am |
I too am looking for the mustard tree and of course if I can possibly grow one here in North Georgia. Many thanks for your blog.Joy in Georgia,
Aarn Farmer // 24 October 2009 at 10:07 pm |
I think you are missing the point. The idea that Jesus was getting across was that the kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed in that it starts small then grows really big, far bigger than a mustard seed normally grows. In fact it grows into a large tree whereas the mustard seed usually only grows into a bush. He was using a contrast in that the mustard seed DOESN’T grow into a tree but the Kingdom of God DOES grow into something very large from small beginnings. I think you will find your hunt will be in vain.