The collapse

A dialogue between the serpent and the woman ensues (Gen 3:1b–5), and the subtle and deceptive serpent convinces the woman to taste the forbidden fruit. The following climactic moment of disobedience is conveyed with shocking brevity. What took 20 verses to describe (Gen 2:5–24) is now dismantled in less than a single verse (Gen 3:6b) by the actions recorded in four, short converted yiqtol verbs: wattiqaḥ (she took), wattōʾkal (she ate), wattittēn (she gave), and wayyōʾkal (he ate).—The "Image of God" in the Garden of Eden, page 39
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I never thought of it that way before. . .pretty depressing how quickly we can destroy what God has built.

Speaking of which, if you aren't a believer in climate change, then explain to me the weather here. We had a thunderstorm last night! And it's raining right now. Well, it just turned to freezing rain as I'm writing this. And two weeks ago it was -18ºF. This is crazy!

Cue the reading from Psalms today:
God is our refuge and strength,
a help always near in times of great trouble.
That’s why we won’t be afraid when the world falls apart,
when the mountains crumble into the center of the sea,
when its waters roar and rage,
when the mountains shake because of its surging waves. Selah (Ps 46:1–3CEB)

That's reassuring, this last week of 2016, a year that has seen more than its share of international disasters—many/most of them man-made. May the new year bring shalom in it's fullest (Hebrew) sense. Of course, I realize that can only be God who brings it; it's a metaphorical saying, the new year can't bring anything by itself.
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