Amidst the Chaos - Pray

    The world outside is frightful.  The agents of chaos are legion right now.  Mass destruction warfare is now more possible than ever before, because courageous men did not act when the opportunity was present.  In our country, agents of anarchy want to use their evil to deliver tyranny on the masses through imposed Marxism.  In our church, the evil theology of modernism is encased in prelates unfaithful to the unchanging magisterium of Christ's bride on earth.  Inside family life we also have the chaos of too much noise competing for the attention of us parents and our children.

    Now is the time to pray.  Pray for a moment of silent reflection amidst the storms, war, noise and chaos.  Find your moment and ask to be the instrument God needs you to be to bring the world back to him one soul at a time.  Now is the time to become the missionary of his word, to create safe havens for our families to make the new missionaries, and to remember this struggle is an eternal one on God's timeline not ours.

    Like everything else the Lord teaches...what seems hopeless by the world's terms is actually the situation where we can use his power working through us for miracles in our time to flow.  It all starts with a prayer to beat back the chaos.  The call is now out there...what do you say>

-ehw

The Cross and St. Joseph

     What can you learn from a man who says nothing in the entire Bible?  It turns out we can learn a great deal from his silent example and the symbols of his biblical and tradition based stories handed down from the Patriarchs.  For this reason he is a patron saint of my family and our little Blue Knight Evangelization club.

    St. Joseph was a carpenter, and it is this trade he passed down to his son.  Working with wood is one of the oldest traditions of mankind.  In the Garden of Eden we began this tradition of working with wood through the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge.  Working with first gave us the fruit of unity with God, and the later one's fruit planted inside us the seeds of pride to create our fallen world.

    The Tree of Life required no pruning or sacrifice to care for it or provide for our souls.  Once the world fell though, God needed to send his son to set things aright.  The job required Jesus to use the materials, tools and symbols we humans could grasp.  As partakers of the Tree of Knowledge we humans always look for God to symbolize rewards for good behavior by showing us the "land of milk and honey." Overturning our fall from grace could not however come without sacrifice and correcting the pride from the fruits of Knowledge.

    So enter into this story a carpenter.  A man who sizes up a tree, cuts it down, cures it, and then crafts it with man made tools to provide necessities of life.  A carpenter will build tools, homes, carts, and hundreds of other items to ease our daily burdens to give us a better life.  Yes the carpenter kills a tree to provide us a better life.  It is the way of things in a fallen world.

    It was the carpenter St. Joseph who provided Jesus with the earthly skills and tool set to make the very cross he will carry to Calgary.  In the Jewish tradition it would be St. Joseph who introduced Jesus to earthly scripture (remember Jesus was there when they wrote it in the Trinity), apprenticed Jesus, brought up in the knowledge of Jewish ritual, taught Jesus the culture of the world he lived in when they went to market or met customers, and ensured Jesus had a sound domestic church with his wife Mary .  St. Joseph was responsible for introducing Christ to the complete earthly tool set needed to communicate with the world the message of salvation. 

    Being the faithful and obedient son, Christ learned his lessons well.  This is why Christ took the dead wood of the cross, a barren man formed tree as his greatest tool.  While the Romans saw it as a tool for a public belittlement of men to keep their earthly power over a population, Jesus had other ideas.  Jesus took the dead tree and used it to pass through to eternal life.  Through his death he obtained the glorification briefly glimpsed at the Transfiguration for all eternity.  In this act he corrected the error of Adam and Eve, and showed us our personal path to redemption.

    Through the works of a child, we get a glimpse of the qualities of the parents who raised them.  Although St. Joseph never said a word to us in the Bible, the impact he had a profound impact on the life of Jesus.  Looking for guidance in his example and patronage for our families can greatly advance our spiritual lives towards the Tree of Life.

-ehw

ANCIENT PRAYER TO ST. JOSEPH

Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interest and desires.

Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him close in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for me. Amen.

Please visit The Catholic Company to see more about this prayer.

What a Child Teaches about Ad Orientum Worship

        Robert Cardinal Sarah, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Divine Worship of the Catholic Church, recently pleaded with bishops around the world to resume worship Ad Orientum.  Ad Orientum, or facing the liturgical east, for the entire congregation to include the priest was how the Catholic Church worshiped until Vatican II.  The local changes made to have priests face the congregation, and turn their back on the tabernacle is a matter of great controversy.

    In the traditional Catholic Solemn High Mass the priest always says mass Ad Orientum.   Priests may also offer mass Ad Orientum under the Norvos Ordo (or Vatican II mass).  Vatican II documents never explicitly directed bishops to have priests face the congregation during mass.  This liturgical change it happened "on its own" along with a whole host of other changes.  The controversy around this is very rich, and I am only beginning to understand the various historical positions.

    I've heard many compelling theological arguments supporting Ad Orientum, however I wanted to reduce this to the lowest level of natural law I could in my head.  So I looked at the behavior of a child to see what would our natural inclinations be in this situation.  I used the example of my five children as infants to see if I could discern a pattern of some sort.

    When a child awakes from a nap, wherever they are, they call for their parents.  The child will have at least one or more needs after walking: cleaning, hunger, loneliness, being too cold or hot.  The child will cry out.  First as a whimper, then as a scream until they get some attention.  When you come to "rescue" the child, they will almost always be looking our direction.  Standing, sitting, climbing it will not matter.  They will be looking for you as they call out.

    In a way, Ad Orientum worship is not much different than a child awakening.   When we go to church we all need cleansing, nourishment, companionship and comfort to continue on our journey to heaven.  The priest, the servers, the laity are all just children in the eyes of God.  So when we call out to the Father in prayer we should all be looking in the direction he is coming from. This is what Ad Orientum means, looking towards the spiritual east the direction which God will come.

    It does not sound like such a bad idea.

-ehw

Into the world

Back into the world

    The hardest part of any religious retreat is when you leave the protection of the cloistered environment and must return to the real world.  This weekend Father Jack presented a talk on living your faith in the real world, and not turning a faith community into a faith ghetto.  He said this at the beginning of the retreat.  It gave us each plenty of time to meditate, pray and plan for the afternoon exit.

    For Catholics practicing the magisterium, we face many challenges in the current political and economic climate.  In just a single keystroke any one of us can, and eventually will, experience a portion of the sufferings of Christ for our faith.  If we are lucky we will not face the physical harm being put on christians around the world, but this is also not guaranteed even inside the once secure United States.  The daily newscast is enough to prove these two problems a dozen fold.

    Despite these threats, traditional Catholics and christians cannot retreat from society.  We must continue demonstrating, even to those who hate us, we respect the image of God embodied in each person.  We hope and pray one day, all will celebrate in full communion with our faith as children of God.  We must in word and deed demonstrate the faith Christ taught us through the apostles.  This is the daily witness of the faith required by all, and the most effective means to evangelize one person and moment at a time.

    As a father I often find myself challenged when faced with worldly threats and my calling as a Catholic man.  Instinctively I possess a built in desire to protect my family from all evil.  I also have a desire to remove threats at their origin.   (I've had St Michael the Archangel as my working patron for 25 years, so yes I do mean protect from and root out all evil! )  Despite this, I am a practical man.  I recognize one day my number will get called, and I'll be walking with St. Joseph towards Jesus for a little talk.  If I do not prepare my children to assume the mantle of defense of the faith and evangelization, I failed my grandchildren's grandchildren a hundred fold.  

    The solution is easier to conceive than walk.  We must maintain the protection of children and families to permit evangelization of our successors in some type of safe environment.  As adults we must continue to engage the world as Christ-bearers everyday, no matter the cost to ourselves.  This is our cross to bear as we evangelize in word and deed.  As the generals of our households, we also must do what all great combat generals do.  Be willing to sacrifice the things we love most in this spiritual war.  This means slowly introducing our children into the conflict.  As their intellect and faith allow, our children must replace our tired bodies standing watch at the gates of the city of God.

    In the spiritual war, can we offer no surrender and no retreat.  For this is simply how it is in the real world.

-ehw

Faces of Joy

    Seeing the joy on so many young faces this weekend at first communion was a great experience.  This is actually one of the best parts of parenthood.  Helping your child experience these good steps towards adulthood should fill you with joy as well.  Helping our children to know and love the Lord is a challenge, and of the greatest importance to parents for our own eternal salvation.  So let us pray we do our evangelization joyfully, and the children respond in kind as they continue their rites of initiation!

   -ehw 

Sense from Tragedy

    This week two sisters lost their babies in child birth on the same day in childbirth just hours apart.  One of the sisters, and her children, are friends of our family.  The loss struck home after our two miscarriages last year, and with our anticipation of Baby Echo's arrival in August.  We know of their pain, and pray for their families to weather the storm of emotion which comes with it.   The event brought back common question from a few people I talked to: "How can God let such pain enter the world if he is so great?"

    Maybe this can help explain a little bit...

    A little over a week ago some criminals broke into my car, and emptied it out of everything they could make money from.  I was mad, scared, embarrassed, the whole range of emotion.  I of course went to mall security, called the cops, and asked if they had anything which could help my situation.  As I walked with the security manager to my car we started talking.

   As we approached my car he identified how they crooks got in from previous robberies.  Then we waited for the patrol unit to arrive with a detective.  As we waited I popped the trunk and in it only three items remained.  One of them was a 14 year old army camouflage folding chair issued at only one place in the Army.

  He looked at it and said, "Were you an OC in the desert?"  Well yes I was...  Soon I found out he was Sidewinder 39 Ancient, and he found out I was a Cobra 13 Ancient at the Army's National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.  He threw artillery fire, and I chased armored companies across the desert floor.  We roamed the desert  for two years together, possibly only meeting at a dinner or two for mere minutes...but we effected each other's work and knew the call signs. 

   I asked him how he liked the tour, and he responded it was a tough tour.  During their tour out in the desert he had a stillborn baby in 2001.  It was then my heart sank, and I knew the other side of a story.

  Almost 14 years ago in a desert far far away in 2001:

   When my wife had our first pregnancy her blood pressure spiked greatly.  The doctor scheduled extra checks, and on her week 38 visit the blood pressure was still at the same spot...high...as the week before.  The doctor then said abruptly, "One way or another this pregnancy ends today."  Just the tone of her voice put chills in our hearts, and the words sunk into our heads like lead weights in water.  After a quick trip home to get our hospital bag we had our baby girl in our arms just four hours later.  My wife's blood pressure ended up causing no problems, and quick action by the doc kept the cord around my girl's neck from causing lasting harm.

   As we held our baby a few hours later I asked the nurse if the doctor was always that curt in her bedside manner.  The nurse said no.  My wife however matched the profile of a women who lost her child in the clinic earlier in the year.  The doctor would take no chances with this pregnancy, and wanted to protect the baby at all costs.  This was why the doctor was so focused during our delivery day.

Ten days ago...

   I put my hand on that Security Chief's arm, and told him his baby saved my baby's life.   I know my words can do nothing to ease the pain of such a loss, but I had to say them.  I was happy to then hear his other children are now strong adults.  He is proud of them, as he should be.  I did however remember him and his family in my prayers at some point in the days since that moment.

    So here is the answer to the question about pain and suffering in this world right under the nose of an all powerful God.  We live in a fallen world feeling the effects of original sin.  Fallen worlds have sickness, death and people doing their selfish will rather than working for unity in God's will.  Through all of this God, still gets the last laugh.

    I know babies born without the breath of life go straight to the embrace of God.  Then you have incidents like the losses of these three families.  I know the crooks got away with my stuff, but in their evil I met a man thousands of miles and years later who's family's sacrifice saved the life of my lovely oldest daughter...my Desert Rose.  What will come out of the losses of these sisters today?  I do not know yet, but I know there is seed sown for great and redeeming works of grace which may not bloom for decades.  When it blooms the name of two cousins will be on it, and they two will rejoice in its bloom as they dance with the Lord.

    Until the day this new grace blossoms, I will enjoy the dancing of my blooming Desert Rose as I reminisce on this chance to see how God works his will through both the good and the bad.

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Transfigure Us O Lord!

    Today's reading was about the Transfiguration of our Lord.  The great foreshadowing for heaven's glories!  

    The thought of that reminded me of this photo I took a few weeks ago.  A nice statue of Mary  backlit and a little flash up front...Well illuminated just like she was in life as she fully accepted and lived the life of love Christ called us to lead.  

     Well here is to praying we all have a good week dreaming of God's glory!

-ehw  

Saint Thomas Aquinas

    St. Thomas Aquinas wrote millions of words in his lifetime.  Today was St. Thomas Aquinas' feast day.  So my picture tonight is of his last work, the Shorter Summa.  I must say it is a masterpiece.  It says more in a paragraph than I can muster with a novel.  I am slowly working my way through it.  I can handle one chapter at a time.  Then I have to really meditate on what he said, because see I am just an old infantryman not used to such big thoughts.  Once I get it though, I am inspired for weeks.

    Been working the real job a total of 15 out of 16 days straight....so I'm a little tired but also creatively needy.  So when my patron saint's day came up today, I just had to take a few minutes to enjoy it in my own special ways.  First I got to be with my kids, watch a few minutes of a movie, say a rosary with my daughter, and then grab the camera of course to remember the man for what he was most famous!  No I will be off to bed for a long winter's nap!

-ehw

PS To get the effects I experimented with gels on my flash.  It was quite fun!  Processed in Capture One 8, my current favorite editing suite.

Stepping Outside the Norm- Blue Knights

    As a high schooler I so longed to escape the drama and pressures to simply conform to popular culture.  I had no desire to participate in underage drinking, running the edge of the law, or disrespecting my parents.  I had no real love for the show described as funniest of the times...the Simpson's.  Here we see the prototypical popular culture Hollywood wants us to accept: A dunce Dad who worships beer and donuts, the Mom who is good hearted, the girl who always knows best, and the little boy who is a bratty idiot bumbling through life.   Any number of shows continue this tradition today.  

   I thought then being an adult would allow me to just be...me!  Then came college and adulthood.  That pressure to conform to popular culture just nevers stops.  I was watching football one Sunday last year, and noticed the commercials were just a rehash of everything of those years but even worse.  Dumb men, women on display, worship of bear and stupid stunts by young boys.

    I finally realized the reason I kept being targeted like this was I refused to come inside the "normal" range of tolerance for this behavior. Where most say that this is simply harmless, silliness I could not in good conscience allow my children to see it, before they had the Armor of God to fend off the vices.

    So I've been supporting this little boys club at church, called Blue Knights ( www.beholdpublications.com). In fact a friend and I founded the parish club for our boys.  Since then the group remained small, not for lack of marketing...simply because it competes with so many other things out there.  I pulled my eldest from the last part of two baseball practices last year to attend these meetings...yep we're not the norm.  We shut off broadcast TV, and screen what we see on Netflix.  Radical?  To most yes. However only the beginning of what I must do as a parent.

    My wife in her spiritual journey learned the thing we will each be judged on by Christ will be how we did my our children in terms of bringing the faith to them.  I learned contemplative faith is a gift of God given to some, but not all.  As a result, whatever we do for our children to raise them as children of God requires us to provide each child the unique skills and rules necessary for them to traverse life's turbulent seas.  

    My Father repeatedly said the same as I grew up, "I love you the same.  I just love you differently."  As a child I did not understand it as well as I do now. Of course I also wish the English language would use the proper words for types of love more freely.  What he said really echoes the bible parable about the workers coming in at different times...or being given different amounts of talents.  To each God loved them the same (unconditionally). However God gave of himself to each differently based on the man before him.

    Some children will never pass the stage of the Fear of God (doing what is right as to not disappoint God).  This is fine, because if they keep the Fear in their hearts, they will always live inside the boundaries of natural law. This takes them towards God's Kingdom with their fellow men.  Other's given the contemplative gift, well maybe they will be quiet enough to listen and heed God's word.  From that personal message I pray they develop a Love of God, where they make God's ways their own freely without reservation.  Either way, as a Father I would be happy to one day have them beside me worshipping God in heaven for all eternity.

    Society has no interest in you making it to heaven.  The world we see on TV wants you to buy this good, pull the election lever for their candidate, or pull you from others and focus on your personal pleasure.  So to each of you out there contemplating the road you will travel with your family, don't be afraid to step outside the norm.  Homeschooling, one parent employment, staying up every night working late in charity for your public school child, finding the right worship methods for you, finding the right role models in faith....each journey is custom built for you.  

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."   

    -Robert Frost

    Happy praise God Sunday!

-ehw

P.S.  These photos are what you can do if you turn the norm on its head....Halloween should be looked at for a Christian as the eve before All Souls Day when we praise those of virtuous living!  We should pray for our family, friends and selves to be on the same road to heaven!    

The Hand in the Sand

    On this Sunday morning, with the two youngest kiddos on my lap, I read the Divine Office of Readings for today.  The reading was about Ester.  Here she was a young woman being rounded up, just because of her beauty and taken into the harem of the king.

    I cannot imagine the thoughts and fears she had on that fateful day.  She was nothing more than a pawn, in fact she was less than a pawn at that moment.  She was a grain of sand in a vast desert.  However, inside that grain of sand we know as Ester something stronger and more significant was ready to bloom through the grace of God.

   See Ester had the seeds of faith planted inside that grain of sand through the gift of faith.  Through the events unfolding around her she would receive the choice to stand fast with her faith or cover her face in fear.  Her free choice to sacrifice herself for her people is a foreshadowing (one of many) of the type of life Christ led on his way to the cross.  

    As a parent Ester's story only tells part of the story's lesson.  Her foster father Mordecai fulfilled his parental and priestly duties towards Ester by first forming her in faith, and then continually reminding her of God's covenant through to her people.  A covenant which only survives if each generation embraces it freely in their hearts and deeds.  That is why Mordecai continued to remind his adopted daughter of God's commandments and covenant until the crisis peaked.

    The challenges we face in this world today are no different than those Mordecai and Ester faced.  The way to overcome those challenges are also no different than their responses.  Parents and children must respond to the hand in the sand, the love and wisdom of the Holy Spirit in all that we do.  

    Parents and clergy must form their children with wisdom and the fear of God (that is the desire not to disappoint God) so they can evolve their faith into Love of God (where we make his will our own).   We parents can never stop living our lives calling out both ourselves and our children to holiness.  We must never stop praying the gift of faith is given to our children.

    Children must understand as early as possible, they have a great inheritance.  The covenant of God passed down and expanded from God through Abraham, through David, through Christ to each of us.  Through this covenant we bind ourselves to follow his law, and obtain the rewards of eternal unity with him in heaven.    Their basic choice in life is to chose virtue over vice each day of their lives.   Whether they choose to do it from fear or love will be their own, and a decision they must understand accountability falls on them alone.

  Have a blessed Sunday while remembering how Ester and Mordecai listened to the hand in the sand.

-ehw

Fingers in the sand

Today someone drew in the sand a little story.  The lines left behind still drew me into an enchanting world of mystery. I may understand parts of the story, but I will never grasp the whole story!  I am sure of this since it was not my hand drawing out the tale.  It immediately made me think of God's handiwork I see around me, and the mysteries of God I will never comprehend.

Did you have an adventure from fingers in the sand today yourself?  

-ehw

Words and deeds

    This week's readings and homily at church brought to light a concept of our faith as Christians.  It was that God's ways rule, not ours.  Simple concept, making perfect sense, if you accept that God is perfection in every way.

     In our lives, however, the natural cycle of things is we are born narcissistic looking out for ourselves.  As such it would be only natural for us to think that whatever we need, want or think gets our desires covered is the correct course of action.  Good parenting knocks that silliness out of us young.  We can start seeing how selfishness actually causes separation from our brothers and sisters.  Only by working with others, and caring for them as much as ourselves do we build the friendships needed to survive in this world.  This basic understanding of friendship is the antidote to narcissism.  Friendships allow us to  succeed as a husband, father, coach, soldier, businessman, farmer, or priest.

    The Gospel (Matthew 21:28-32) today told us the story of the two brothers.  One brother said no to his father's commands, but went out to follow them anyway.  The other brother said yes to his father's commands, but did not heed the instruction.  One was in the right, and one was in the wrong at the end of the day.  For the man who repented and did the right thing, salvation awaited him.  For the man who talked the talk, but walked away life would end.

    Obviously we would rather say and do the right thing all the time!  This would surely be the easiest way to unity with Christ in word and deed!  We are however fallen creatures, made with weakness and stubborness.  As such we are very capable of failing in word, deed or both! 

    Thankfully our perfect God knew this, and provided us many paths towards redemption from our birth until the very end of our earthly lives.  It is truly the only way we could be saved given our original state of mind.  I guess it is just one more way to understand why God's ways rule, not ours.

-ehw

Change of Perspective

Just a quick post as we all head past the top of the week...

Just a quick play with light and depth of field here in our Blessed Sacrament chapel a few weeks ago.

It is very peaceful in the chapel, and the soft lift, and lovely rose window let one sink into the presence of our Lord.  

Like most people I found myself drawn to the largest light source...and after a few minutes I realized the Lord was there in the quiet shadows waiting for us all.

-ehw

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Directions, Corrections and Instruction

     I once was afraid to ask for help. To ask for help was then a sign of weakness.  Then one day a revelation hit me when I realized someone always is over me.  It does not matter if I am the subject matter expert, the boss, the Dad or husband. There is always a boss, a customer and of course God watching over me.  Since I must ultimately answer to a boss, knowing their needs was not weakness but a strength. So why was I still afraid to ask for directions, corrections and instruction? 

     The solution seemed pretty self evident after further reflection.  Try to get it right the first time, corrected in the first edit for follow on publishing, and to keep learning so my problem solving capabilities improved before a new problem arose.  To accomplish those goals I needed directions, corrections and instruction to improve my imperfect self.  Technical manuals, practice, improved listening skills, and learning more about the Lord began to aid my growth as a person in many ways.     

     So get over the pride of self, and fear of perceived weakness.  Get direction, correction and instruction.  You'll be a better person for it, and a whole lot easier to live with!

-ehw

P.S. Fujifilm X-T1 in Savannah, GA.  Raw file processed in Captue One Pro with a few minor edits.  I highly recommend trying this RAW developer and processor out.  It is a superior product to both Aperture and Lightroom for most Raw conversions...digital asset management no so much so far. 

He is Risen!

Happy Easter!

Pink Springs In

Spring is barreling its way into Roswell, Georgia. Those of us with hay fever are also remembering why Atlanta Metro is known as the friendliest city to trees in the entire Untied States. The pollen count went well over 2000 for trees this week. Lovely time of year, the weather is great...but your cars are yellow...and don't touch your eyes!

We had a crazy week around my house, and a zany week to come with all sorts of fun and Holy Week to wrap it all up!

This year I found myself able to take off the last three days of Holy Week. SoI grabbed it. It is my favorite time of the liturgical year. I love the opportunity to contemplate on the fact that Jesus, God Incarnate, dies for me and everyone so we may be free. It brings me hope and peace.

The photo today reflects that thought as well. The tree went to sleep in fall, shedding its outer layer of leaves to survive the winter. Now with the light and warmth of spring new flowers arise. In them we see a mere prelude to the glory and beauty that is the love of God in our lives.

-ehw

Something a little different

Today was two days in one, so please forgive me if this is a confusing.

We had one of those days around the house which makes you appreciate each person in your family and close friend circle a little more than when you woke up.

We had the little boy praying for his favorite pastor, now in heaven, the night before surprise me with the things he learned about faith, hope, love of God, and respect for authority this year in Blue Knights (and his catechism!).

We had a friend race over to help us and another storm heaven with prayers, as Mom and Dad had to make an unexpected trip...and we saw how deeply we love the lives of our children...and the new one on the way...before any saw the first light of day.

I had two big kids step up and grow up just a little more when faced with a challenge. I love them lots. Much more than words or photos could ever show (well no one really gets photos of me with my kids since I'm the photog!)

And then my youngest daughter fell asleep on my shoulder in church tonight while two boys sang in the children's choir (of course now at almost 10PM she just wants to party!).

This photo I played with seemed to fit the day's adventures. A lovely red blossoming flower surrounded by by busy texture. That was today...life unfolding surrounded by the texture of confusion, noise, friends sustainment, and warmth.

All in all it was a day when we could say God is good to us in ways we could not fathom at the first light of dawn. A day reminding me to say thank you to God for all he did in so many little ways and lives to sustain us. A day which makes me say thank you for having one more day tomorrow to recover and praise his name again.

-ehw

Something a little different

Today was two days in one, so please forgive me if this is a confusing.

We had one of those days around the house which makes you appreciate each person in your family and close friend circle a little more than when you woke up.

We had the little boy praying for his favorite pastor, now in heaven, the night before surprise me with the things he learned about faith, hope, love of God, and respect for authority this year in Blue Knights (and his catechism!).

We had a friend race over to help us and another storm heaven with prayers, as Mom and Dad had to make an unexpected trip...and we saw how deeply we love the lives of our children...and the new one on the way...before any saw the first light of day.

I had two big kids step up and grow up just a little more when faced with a challenge. I love them lots. Much more than words or photos could ever show (well no one really gets photos of me with my kids since I'm the photog!)

And then my youngest daughter fell asleep on my shoulder in church tonight while two boys sang in the children's choir (of course now at almost 10PM she just wants to party!).

This photo I played with seemed to fit the day's adventures. A lovely red blossoming flower surrounded by by busy texture. That was today...life unfolding surrounded by the texture of confusion, noise, friends sustainment, and warmth.

All in all it was a day when we could say God is good to us in ways we could not fathom at the first light of dawn. A day reminding me to say thank you to God for all he did in so many little ways and lives to sustain us. A day which makes me say thank you for having one more day tomorrow to recover and praise his name again.

-ehw

Some Contrasts in NYC

I just wanted to share two photos taken minutes apart in NYC, not even a block apart from the other.

The first photo is a Saturday night picture of traffic at about 6:15PM...It shows the towers of steel, the light, the motion of the city. People were hustling through Hell's Kitchen to grab dinner, or go see a show down the street a fe blocks in the Theater District. A few blocks to the east thousands of people streamed into Times Square using the warm weather to enjoy Super Bowl Boulevard on its last night.

Then there was this I took a few minutes earlier after the Saturday Vigil Mass at St. Micheal the Archangel...

The noise in the church was minimal, the congregation small (like 20 max in a church for 600-800 people) and the priest busy with four people talking about getting more involved at the parish....

Over my stay here this was what was so hard for me to comprehend, but easy to appreciate. On one floor you find a party, on the next a serenity, in one building complex business activities, and the adjoining one an abandoned hulk of glory long past.

There is so much crammed into this little piece of real estate! I would need to cross counties for in Georgia to experience some of these juxtapositions you get inside a city block here in New York City. It is not totally bad, it is not totally good...it is what is. It is something one must be constantly aware of in this city...as you should in any major city I've visited (like Tokyo, Seoul, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Berlin...I guess I've been a few places in my life).

By being aware of these many different possibilities in such a tiny area, one can both begin to appreciate what they have before them AND properly shift mindsets to handle the environment to your best advantage. And that was my lesson to self for the day I can take anywhere at anytime.

-ehw

PS Fujifilm X-E1 with 35mm for the street photo, and the 14mm for the altar photo. Came out alright on both accounts I think.

Through the Looking Glass

Full day of travel and meetings...and this is what I see from my window. If I was not so tired I'd be walking with the tripod snagging a few shots. Instead I'm going to crash!

Besides I've been reading a lot about the Theology of the Body and I have a lot to pray about...it provides so much to learn and apply in my family life that my head is bursting from that as well!

-ehw

P.S. X-E! from the hotel room with a couple tweeks in Snapseed.