Friday, April 11, 2008

Joel = Dad




It's a bit surreal, I must say. Like most newborns, she mostly just eats, poops, sleeps, and cries. But every now and again she just looks around like a curious human being, checking out her surroundings and trying to identify the source of the deep voice singing songs to her. I don't know how to communicate the feelings that I'm feeling -- feelings of responsibility, of joy, of circumspection, and of relief. It's like trying to explain the emotions I felt when I visited some city to someone who's never been there. You just can't quite help them understand. Well, now I understand you dads out there. I know the happy knot in my stomach, the flutter in my chest, and the smile on my face which is Selah Eden Triska. She is my girl. My daughter.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Almost a Monk, Pt. 3

I’ve already done an all out blog about a previous walk through the woods. So I’m just going to include photos and stuff with perhaps a few comments here and there.














This was my favorite station of the cross this time around. They fixed the spelling this time, and I loved the image of the broken cross leaning against two other trees.





Someone that went on the trip with us mentioned afterwards that this cross caused them to reflect on Christ’s understanding of falling multiple times...not in the way of sin or anything, but moreso an understanding of getting knocked down and having to get up again.















Most of us tend to criticize Catholics for ending their stations of the cross at 14 with the burial. "Where’s the resurrection!?" we demand. Well, the stations of the cross is a tool to help a believer focus on tha passion -- which is the story of Good Friday for Jesus. However, a Norwegian guy named Daniel noticed while he was walking through the woods that this muddy creek came directly after the last cross. He interpreted this as a symbol for the leap of faith. Many do not have a problem reflecting on Jesus’ death -- that is the death of a good man or good teacher. However, to take youself to the 15th cross of the resurrection requires some uncomfortable work and some determined faith.




This is Daniel. On with the walk through the woods.









The path eventually became less and less clear. I actually walked until it evaporated into "the nothing" (Warning: obscure reference to 80’s movie). It was then that I turned around so that I would not become utterly lost in the Ozarkian woods.














What? I think fungus is interesting. Don’t you.