in the stillness a silent language of colors calls to me darkness surrenders shadows succumb to nascent possibilities
birds soar and dance swimming in the prisms passing through the hues while the morning sings praises and a mirror river as deep as the sky beckons me to soar and fly or wade through the clouds and make a path to the sun to join the morning song to rest in the peace to release the tethers in my soul that i have buried in this sorrowful clay
tired of carrying these burdens i let them slip into the current i wait and trust and dare not close my eyes as the metamorphosis unfolds colors and light call to me nearly breathless i attune my ears to the passing moments the silent language speaks He is here and i am His
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.
to deny the brokenness the darkness the sin is to close our eyes and turn away from injustice from all the craters where schools once stood
is to place our hands over our ears to escape the tears carried on wailing waves on too many streets
is to cover our lips and become statues with utterless words screaming silently injecting our hearts with the novocaine of indifference after all what can we do really
we slingshot around the moon while shots ring out in the southside in the middle of the east on midwest streets unable to speak we cling to the songs of our tribes we can deal with that vibe
it's just too hard to try to understand i clasp my hands kneel down and pray for our enemies for our adversaries for our leaders to stay in a place of grace towards all life that mercy might reign for each child and soldier and mom and dad amen amen
God show us the way Kyrie eleison God come near today Christe eleison heal here today Kyrie eleison hear us we pray Christe eleison have your way in us we pray Kyrie eleison
like trying to hold the sands of the shore moments slipping away swallowed by tide and time like jumping high to swing from the clouds only to fall through the sky i tried to keep a moment or two
like a sunset over a soybean field or at the end of the road or a monochrome lighthouse showing the way to giant icicles on climbing day or two little girls on a summer swing with nana in the middle all is well or a grand city that rises and falls while a grand old bridge anchors it all or our two sons walking by the river or coffee starlings dancing in the air safe from the wind farm or the fire in the sky above a river flowing like time through fields and towns and seasons and lives until it joins the the moments in the sea and sand that still are slipping through my hands
so let’s talk of autumn mornings falling into my consciousness sunny skies shaking off the midnight rain while coffee murmurations dance in my eyes and i come into focus crawling out of my dreams stumbling towards awareness senses trying to make sense of the blue painted sky and those tiny beads of coffee are they escaping the scalding dark amber sea or just singing to the Creator’s design the indescribable unmistakable aroma is fresh and new and tells old stories it is a starling moment and i don’t really know what to make of it so i make my escape with the coffee beads and enjoy the view
when i see all the unrest the could care less and carelessness from those who should be our best it’s like a colorless sunset hollow empty shiny but still somethin’s missin’ life is just dissin’ you and me got to see these leaders and who they really be raisin’ anger makin’ danger riled up fired up lied to free to upset regress and not reset the soul or console the whole of our cities our children all the cryin’ moms does anyone hear the tears they just busy shoutin’ making fear screamin’ for what what do you want take off your mask and task yourself with being someone who is against the grain relieving pain runnin’ away from the insane inane life drain of sin and self of placing humanity on the shelf so your cause won’t die what’s the use if we just abuse and use and consider others refuse to throw away when they refuse to say what i want them to say Lord color us with mercy and grace make space for us to change and stop leaning into feelings and stay here kneeling into releasing the darkness we think is the light color our hearts with love light and truth solid unchangeable unquenchable truth fire that is higher than our silly ways have your way save us from us and deliver us to a new that never dies and that one day will help us to transcend the skies and leave this place of sorrow and woe no more night no more pain tears left behind oh God above make it so make it so we confess our sin leave judgment to you invite you to look within our broken hearts help us to start to say no to lies and yes to your truth oh God have mercy have mercy oh God color our hearts like a sunset singing loud testifying that you are here you entered our pain lived died and rose again HALLELUJAH! won’t you help us down here won’t you help us down here
i don't know about you but there is so much i need to say goodbye to i'll welcome the endings practice some surrendering
it's hard to study all the expectations that are now a pile of eliminations i thought this or that would be the life i would have releasing longings into the fiery ending of this day i guess it will be okay
turns out being free is not about me trying to step aside God are you tired of hearing about my pride set is ablaze like the end of this day i'm tired of getting my way
love and hope sin and shadow peace and stillness heartache and sorrow is there a place deep in the marrow of my soul where all the counterpoint of being human is awakened restored and rises whole
saying goodbye to all that tethers me to this dirt i'd rather stiffen my neck than lift up my eyes stand on my own than fall to my knees search me and know my heart let all the parts of me that you see with grace and mercy
I have been on a three month sabbatical that will end at the end of July. One of my goals during this time was to spend time in New York with my dad and siblings. My previous post came out of my time in New York. In all the years spent growing up on Long Island, and then years going back to visit New York – we have lived in the Midwest since 1988 – I never walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. So, I decided to take a stroll on that beautiful bridge. Here is what I saw, part 1. Thanks for stopping by.
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