i awaken to the Artist’s colors singing across the sky heavens silently shouting glory fills my eyes and my soul stirs my heart yearns to join this Artist
in surrender i’ll sit at His feet and join Him as we greet all the unknowns of this new day
as fuchsia infused clouds rest in a cobalt sky i pause i lift my eyes to tell the Artist of the deep longings of my soul to be seen to be known and still to be loved to lament to grieve to enter my suffering and still be safe and secure in the One who is above and beside and beneath He does not hide and He will not interfere He is always here He invites beckons whispers gently knocks at the door of my busy life
i must invite Him in and be at peace He is mystery He is Emmanuel see the colors in all creation the beauty and mercy of His salvation the Bread of Life waits at the table for us the Light of the World exposes the darkness it’s merciful pain seeing who i really am i remember that He already knows the Good Shepherd comes to give me rest and peace
on that day we just wanted to go home to be safe in familiar surroundings and in the company of faces that were a part of our story we wanted to kiss our sons and daughters hold our mothers and fathers see their eyes and feel safe
while so many spent that day longing searching crushed by the increasing pressure and certainty that a father was gone a mom may never be found a daughter ran in to rescue others and never returned a son couldn’t get out a group of strangers valiantly fought for life
there were some gifts in the shadows light breaking through the smoke and flames
we saw each other
we beheld the beauty and treasure of…. us we became human we remembered our humanity in a way that brought us face to face with our frailty and brevity and in that moment we turned to love and some of us turned to God to curse Him or to seek His face and pray Kyrie eleison Christe eleison
we knew for a few brief moments that we are here to love we knew that we are here to comfort one another hold each another see each other
now we scroll now we post we can be so unkind to anyone who is different or disagrees with us and the greater sin and distortion is that we justify our rudeness feel pride in our dismissiveness are gleeful when we hit enter and inform the world of wherever truth we think they need to hear it seems we have forgotten our humanity
after 25 years maybe the best way to remember is to never forget that we were created by a loving God that we don’t have as much time as we think that we are all human that we all need love and need to love to remember that our tribe our party our cause might be turning us against our best self and each other
maybe the best way to remember is for the next 25 years we take time to lean in to our frailty to reflect on the brevity of this life to seek God to love our neighbor to be human
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ – Matthew 22:37-40
i’m on a lost and found table which means of course i know exactly where i am but no one else does
separated from certainty waiting to be recognized next to a gray hoodie and a pink water bottle adorned with barbie stickers and a pair of warby parker sun glasses
it’s funny how much stuff can go unnoticed and is apparently unwanted and how temporary and impossibly thin i can feel
like the shadow of a tree lengthening and diminishing as the sun welcomes the night
after all these years of waking up you realize that life is an apparition we are a mist on this earth
we toil and run sing and work dance and hate love and fret create and scream
and the theme of it all the ostinato beneath this journey is a longing that we know cannot be fulfilled while we are still here
we long to be free from being tethered to the soil and we know that we have been leaving since our story began we just want to stay
so instead of identifying where this longing leads we invest our souls in tiny pursuits expiration dates constrict all of our efforts to be known loved and declared worthy until we find ourselves on the lost and found table
screaming for someone to join our tribe yet afraid of losing our loneliness crying for justice and healing yet ignoring the wounds of our crumbling souls
i will be found
after all the warby parkers were picked up surely someone will will see me
barrenness is an opportunity to be filled is an opportunity to bless someone in need is an opportunity to be emptied of self is an opportunity to confront misplaced desires is an opportunity to know who you are is an opportunity to confess on your knees is an opportunity to find the way the truth and the life is an opportunity to have a reference point in the tumult of your soul is an opportunity to be still in the storm is an opportunity to let silence have its way is an opportunity to let go of this word is an opportunity to surrender your life is an opportunity to shelter beneath the shadow of His wings is an opportunity to gain everything is an opportunity to truly live is an opportunity to find your identity in the uncreated One is an opportunity to truly be alive
I took too many photos (Is that even possible?) during my recent trip to Guatemala. Whittling down the images I processed in black and white for this post was a bit painful. Like trying to tell Baskin-Robbins what flavor I want. (In case you’re interested, it’s always vanilla. I know… I know…)
This first gallery contains images from Antigua, Santa Maria de Jesús, Santiago Atitlan and Altamira Oriole Antigua.
Opportunities to love the unnoticed and to care for the forgotten are opportunities to have your soul grounded in what matters, and liberated from all the temporal pursuits that occupy so much of our mental and spiritual energy.
Our contact in Guatemala took us to a ministry in Santa Maria de Jesús that provided a solid foundation for the best that we image bearers carry – namely our longing to connect and to express love for others – as well as giving us a chance to be uncaged from our many preferred prisons. Examples abound.
The ministry is called Harvesting Happiness. The work is profoundly simple and indescribably beautiful. Provide lunch for the elderly population. Provide a gathering space where the aged can enjoy a meal, create art, and have their birthday’s celebrated. They also bring lunch to the elderly who cannot walk due to illness or other physical limitations. Beautiful.
Which brings us to Carmen, and her home.
Standing next to Carmen is Brennan. She is one of the ministry leaders at Harvesting Happiness who leverages her medical training to help Carmen’s oxygen saturation go from below 90 to a marginally acceptable level that morning, and consistently uses her super power (love and other-centeredness) to impact the elderly community around her. Carmen considers Brennan to be her “mom.” Carmen remembers her mom, and feels like the love, care, and medical oversight that she experiences through Brennan is her mother’s love returning to her. Our Guatemala contact built her home a few years back.
Let me encourage you to find the unnoticed and to love them. Let me also encourage you to find ways to be uncaged. Thanks for stopping by. I don’t know when exactly it is, but… Happy Birthday.
The Summer of 2026 has been busy with trips, vacation, work, etc. I have neglected my photoblog, but would like to invite you to my grand-reopening with the first of two posts from my trip to Guatemala. Since 2022 our church has been sending mission teams to minister at orphanages and to build homes in an under resourced community. So, here are a few color images from this beautiful country. The vehicle above is known as a “chicken bus.” There is no organized public transportation in the cities, so these refurbished, tricked out, beautifully painted buses are common. I would love to do a photo project one day in Guatemala and take as many images of these buses as I can.
Regarding building homes… this is what a home looks like:
El Zapote is a small community at the base of Fuego, an active volcano in Guatemala. We partner with a Guatemalan church to build homes for families. Having the opportunity to bless these families with a home of their own is my favorite part of these trips. When we complete the project we surround the family, pray for them, then officially present them with the keys to their new home. Yes… I cry every time.
And then… the children…
The orphanage we work at is located in Santiago, Atitlan, Guatemala, near Lake Atitlan. The beauty of this region is only matched (and exceeded) by the beauty of these kids. These are just a few images of a large ministry that cares for orphans in Guatemala from pre-school age to 18. I’ll close with various images from our trip, including one of an elderly woman that I will write about in my next post. Thanks for stopping by.
moments that make you stop press the brake turn off the engine witness ponder and weep and i must tell you why beholding beauty takes intentionality a decision to fight the pull of gravity the darkness of this world birthed of pride arrogance abides amidst the lies that sound so noble that sound so true but if your eyes are open you will see hidden in the gray light blind leaders with black souls immovable stubbornness meet resistance with persistent songs of hubris and insolence and lives are lost icy parades march on drones scream hearts go pale a son cannot hear his mother's wails and sighs a fatherless girl is forgotten lost in an ocean of why eyes taken from this world never to witness God’s lavish crimson stroke on a blue canvas Lord have mercy help me to remember
This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my Father’s world: the battle is not done: Jesus Who died shall be satisfied, And earth and Heav’n be one.*
if the light can reach my soul then why can’t i find my way if the words can pierce my mind then why are there none to say if the room is filled with friends then why am i so alone if i just can’t see the end then where am i to go
if i can sing a melody of fire then why is it cold at night if i can walk along a distant shore then why am i sad and my eyes so dry if i can run into your arms then why is the path so long if i can wander in a field of memories then why do i awake forlorn
fly oh my soul fly the Light has come down for you guiding your searching soul His promises faithful and and true for they will mend and make you whole and remember the never-forsaking God is beside you let His embrace define you
fly oh my soul fly His fire will scatter the night stay on the sorrowful shore and raise your tears to the sky as you open your heart and let go of the why yes it’s narrow and steep so stay on your knees and fly oh my soul fly
time to begin time to restore time to connect time to shout time to be still time to forgive time to ponder time to surrender time to confess time to grieve time to let go time to rage time to diminish time to sing time to receive time to stop time to harvest time to pray time to feel time to part time to give time to run time to open time to kneel time to finish time to conquer time to rest time to be time to plead time to weep time to finish time to love time to hope
I know! I married and movie star! (And now, this starlet is not too happy with the way I started this tribute!)
Because my bride, my love, is only a movie star if you measure stardom by the capacity to live your life for others, by the authenticity and safety you give others because you are integrated and at peace with yourself, and by fulfilling your role as mom and Nana with embodied grace and love.
Perfection is not for those who wish to be impactful mothers. It is a messy, imperfect, daunting, perilous journey, filled with detours, fireworks worthy joys and celebrations, hurts, and the work and often difficult commitment to love… selflessly… with abandon… I am so grateful for the grace and love that I see in our kids that came from their mom.
Nana: Thoughtful. Present. Patient. Giving. Ruth makes everyone feel special, seen, welcome, safe… and that’s her with any other adult that is a part of her world.
But for her grand kids… well… turn up the volume and crank the bass all the way up! She is all in. She has a way of making small things special. A ride to school turns into a conversation where she expresses care, love and affirmation. A visit to her office turns into an opportunity for a grand child to partner with Nana and all the important work she does.
There are too many examples to name, but Nana consistently speaks life over these kids. She connects with them in deep levels that are understood between her and each child.
She is a shining star in the hearts of all who know her… especially her beloved grandchildren. I am grateful.
rutakintome pictures 
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