Collage of Parrots by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
International/World Parrot Day falls on May 31st each year. You can read about the history, events, and suggestions for participating in the day at the National Day Todaysite. (The link goes right to the Parrot Day page.)
I’m sure you can tell by the above collage that I really like parrots. All of these images were taken in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, at a wonderful place called “Parrot Mountain and Gardens” near Dollywood. Well, I take that back. The colorful one with the blue head (that kinda looks like an angry bird to me) was taken at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia. It’s really a Lorikeet and not a parrot, but I didn’t realize that until I went looking for the link for Busch Gardens and saw that it’s on their aviary page. Oh well. I’m pretty sure all the others are parrots, my favorite one being the little gold one named Goldie, who I think is a “sun conure,” but I’m not 100% certain.
I really like all birds, which is odd for a cat person, but I used to know a lady who trained assistant dogs, and because of her way with animals, she actually taught a bird to call her cat, and then the cat would give the bird a ride on its head. So, it is okay to like both birds and cats. 🐦🐈 As far as parrots go, I’ve only owned one. It was a very old, maybe sickly, African Gray, and I had to give him away shortly after getting him. But I’ve also owned parakeets, budgies, and cockatiels. Now, though I just go visit them because they have such a long life span, especially the double yellow-headed Amazon I used to dream of owning, and I wouldn’t want to stress about who would take over if it outlived me. And when I can’t visit in person, I have a few favorite birds I like to visit on YouTube. Here is a sampling of them:
Beaker Beak has an adorable voice and some really cute poses…
Beaker Beak Chatting (video short)
And then there’s Apollo who is highly intelligent and strongly trained…
Apollo the Parrot Asking Questions
Another favorite of mine is Tico who sings a variety of styles with his guitarist known as The Man (Tico and The Man) and sometimes guest musicians…
Tico Singing Ba Ba Ba Barbara Ann
And finally Chloe Alexander with her bird (Gallagher, I think), who I heard long before she auditioned on AGT, and I felt so bad for her when the bird refused to sing. This is, I think, before she realized he would just keep singing with her. I had never even heard the song before watching this video, but I love her voice and the bird…
Chloe Alexander and Gallagher singing Creep by Radiohead
And I’ll close with a few Bible verses about birds (even if they’re not parrots)…
Genesis 1:20 BSB [20] And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”
Genesis 2:19 BSB [19] And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
Isaiah 31:5 BSB [5] Like birds hovering overhead, so the Lord of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and preserve it.”
Matthew 6:26 BSB [26] Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Cute Cockatoo at Parrot Mountain by Crystal A Murray, CC License = Attribution, Noncommercial, Share Alike Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original image and to access my full photo stream at Flickr.
The word “adoption” comes from a Latin word that means “choosing.” So, when we adopt a child, we choose the child. When we adopt a pet, we choose to bring it into our lives and care for all its needs. Hubby and I have adopted eight kitties. We are actively working on an adoption of one of our adult nephews because we want him to feel the value of being chosen as a son. And, I would love to adopt the beautiful cockatoo above, but I don’t think the kitties would like that. I mean, you can clearly see that it was asking to come home with me, can’t you?
By the way, if you click on the image and go to my Flickr feed, you’ll see the golden conure that buddied up with me and refused to go back to his perch. I had a wonderful time at this place called “Parrot Mountain” in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and I would love to have adopted all the birds available in the nursery. It’s a Christian-owned sanctuary with Scripture plaques throughout the park and well-cared-for animals. I highly recommend a visit if you are ever nearby.
In today’s reading from Deuteronomy 32:19 through Deuteronomy 32:28, we will read of the desire for adoption created by great wrath stirred up in God’s heart. He desired to choose children who wouldn’t reject Him and seek after false gods. But, He didn’t desire that to replace the original children; He desired it to create jealousy in the Seed of Abraham. This part of the poem is too long to cut and paste, so please click the link to read it for yourself.
The poem begins with God telling the children how He would hide His face from them because they were untrustworthy. And then He sets up the adoption plans…
They aroused my jealousy with a non-god and provoked me with their vanities; I will arouse their jealousy with a non-people and provoke them with a vile nation.
Now, I know it’s hard to think of all the people on the earth that were not of Abraham’s seed being a non-people and being vile, but they were. Because they all started out with the same truth and ended with serving false gods, they had become vile. Israel was well on her way to the same end, and this prophesy tells of God’s answer for that. He would extend His mercy to those in ignorance in order to provoke those who knew better.
As the poem continues, God talks of His fiery anger and plans for punishment. God says He will heap disasters on Israel and use all His arrows against them. He says they will be fatigued by hunger, consumed by fever and defeat, and attacked by wild beasts and poison reptiles. Their troubles will be outside and inside with swords that create childless parents and deaths of young and old alike. The last stanza reads like this…
I considered putting an end to them, erasing their memory from the human race; but I feared the insolence of their enemy, feared that their foes would mistakenly think, “We ourselves accomplished this; Adonai had nothing to do with it.”
The poem ends with God saying that Israel is a nation without common sense or discernment. I can see a similar situation happening within Christianity as they bring in the apostate spirits of messages that cause people to focus more on themselves than on God. I think we must be careful not to so harshly judge those who rejected God as if we are unable to duplicate that behavior. Any person who puts the flesh and the soul above being led by God’s Holy Spirit can easily end up just like historic Israel.
There was a time in my walk with The Lord that I accepted “replacement theology” as it was preached because I didn’t know any better. When the church used the Scripture from Revelations 2:9 about those who say they are Jews and are not, and then said, “We are the new Jews,” it seemed to make sense. But I was a new believer. Now I know that adoption of those who are grafted into the original root does not dispose of the original seed. I have a heart for Israel, and I have met Jews who’s love for God is more evident than many who proclaim Christianity. I know that God loves those that do not reject Him. I also know He will make a way for them to spend eternity with Him because we have a promise of a day when the two flocks will become one. But, the door that opened for adoption of those of us not naturally born into Abraham’s seed opened up way back in The Song of Moses.
I am thankful for the open door that allows you and me, our families and friends, and many whom we love, to have the right to call God our “Abba, Father.” We have been purchased and grafted in to a holy root by the blood of Yeshua. I believe that even though we see various methods used throughout history in order to draw a people to God, these methods and changes are not surprises or sudden turns by God. I think that God has always wanted all people to come to Him, and that it has never been His will for any to perish. Knowing what is required to dwell in His presence, I believe that–from the beginning, God made adoption plans.
Crystal is, like her name, multi-faceted. She can even write about herself in third person and only feel a little awkward about it. 🙂 She loves to write; she loves kaleidoscopes, fractals, and all things colorful; she loves her husband, her family, and her feline furkids; and mostly she loves Yahveh Almighty, her Creator. She believes her creative mind is in her DNA from Him, and she believes He sees His creations as she sees the images inside a kaleidoscope–all different yet all beautiful and most beautiful when light (His light) shines through them.
Crystal Writes A Blog 
Adoption Plans
Cute Cockatoo at Parrot Mountain by Crystal A Murray, CC License = Attribution, Noncommercial, Share Alike
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original image and to access my full photo stream at Flickr.
The word “adoption” comes from a Latin word that means “choosing.” So, when we adopt a child, we choose the child. When we adopt a pet, we choose to bring it into our lives and care for all its needs. Hubby and I have adopted eight kitties. We are actively working on an adoption of one of our adult nephews because we want him to feel the value of being chosen as a son. And, I would love to adopt the beautiful cockatoo above, but I don’t think the kitties would like that. I mean, you can clearly see that it was asking to come home with me, can’t you?
By the way, if you click on the image and go to my Flickr feed, you’ll see the golden conure that buddied up with me and refused to go back to his perch. I had a wonderful time at this place called “Parrot Mountain” in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and I would love to have adopted all the birds available in the nursery. It’s a Christian-owned sanctuary with Scripture plaques throughout the park and well-cared-for animals. I highly recommend a visit if you are ever nearby.
In today’s reading from Deuteronomy 32:19 through Deuteronomy 32:28, we will read of the desire for adoption created by great wrath stirred up in God’s heart. He desired to choose children who wouldn’t reject Him and seek after false gods. But, He didn’t desire that to replace the original children; He desired it to create jealousy in the Seed of Abraham. This part of the poem is too long to cut and paste, so please click the link to read it for yourself.
The poem begins with God telling the children how He would hide His face from them because they were untrustworthy. And then He sets up the adoption plans…
Now, I know it’s hard to think of all the people on the earth that were not of Abraham’s seed being a non-people and being vile, but they were. Because they all started out with the same truth and ended with serving false gods, they had become vile. Israel was well on her way to the same end, and this prophesy tells of God’s answer for that. He would extend His mercy to those in ignorance in order to provoke those who knew better.
As the poem continues, God talks of His fiery anger and plans for punishment. God says He will heap disasters on Israel and use all His arrows against them. He says they will be fatigued by hunger, consumed by fever and defeat, and attacked by wild beasts and poison reptiles. Their troubles will be outside and inside with swords that create childless parents and deaths of young and old alike. The last stanza reads like this…
The poem ends with God saying that Israel is a nation without common sense or discernment. I can see a similar situation happening within Christianity as they bring in the apostate spirits of messages that cause people to focus more on themselves than on God. I think we must be careful not to so harshly judge those who rejected God as if we are unable to duplicate that behavior. Any person who puts the flesh and the soul above being led by God’s Holy Spirit can easily end up just like historic Israel.
There was a time in my walk with The Lord that I accepted “replacement theology” as it was preached because I didn’t know any better. When the church used the Scripture from Revelations 2:9 about those who say they are Jews and are not, and then said, “We are the new Jews,” it seemed to make sense. But I was a new believer. Now I know that adoption of those who are grafted into the original root does not dispose of the original seed. I have a heart for Israel, and I have met Jews who’s love for God is more evident than many who proclaim Christianity. I know that God loves those that do not reject Him. I also know He will make a way for them to spend eternity with Him because we have a promise of a day when the two flocks will become one. But, the door that opened for adoption of those of us not naturally born into Abraham’s seed opened up way back in The Song of Moses.
I am thankful for the open door that allows you and me, our families and friends, and many whom we love, to have the right to call God our “Abba, Father.” We have been purchased and grafted in to a holy root by the blood of Yeshua. I believe that even though we see various methods used throughout history in order to draw a people to God, these methods and changes are not surprises or sudden turns by God. I think that God has always wanted all people to come to Him, and that it has never been His will for any to perish. Knowing what is required to dwell in His presence, I believe that–from the beginning, God made adoption plans.
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September 23, 2014 Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | Abraham's seed, adoption, Bible Commentary, Bible study, Complete Jewish Bible, Deuteronomy, Israel, Parrot Mountain, replacement theology, Scripture, song of Moses, Torah commentary, Torah Portions | Leave a comment