or this one?

Or perhaps this is my favorite Hospitality of Abraham [& Sarah] icon.

a canine companion to the godhead

I've been color-correcting and retouching icons of the Hospitality of Abraham all day. That and drinking tea and making a mental list of Christmas presents left to buy. It's dark now, and coldish outside. I have a freelance project to complete tonight and a trip to Apple Farm for Christmas sopresata.

I'm uploading my favorite of the day's icons. What is lounging under Abraham's table? Did the Trinity bring along a canine companion? Or perhaps Abraham and Sarah had a dog? I suppose, really, that it's a ram (although it doesn't look one bit like a one). One or two other hospitality icons have rams in them, foreshadowing the sacrifice of Isaac and ultimately Christ. But I prefer to think this one is a dog, and he's just lounging there with the godhead.

prayer

This icon sits on a small wooden table in my living room. I printed it on a laser printer and glued it to a piece of cardboard, the kind nylons come stretched over. The humidity of summer buckled and bubbled the surface.

It is a reminder.

It is not in my nature to be overtly religious. Yet there is something in this icon that draws me to prayer. In it I see simplicity of heart and mind. I am reminded that I do believe, that all my thoughts and mental maneuvers are of little worth. It is a reminder that my responsibility is to do the next best thing. And reminder that more often than not the next best thing is prayer.