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Foursquare Church

As I was driving around an area of Abilene that I've never been to before, I came across this Foursquare Church.  It's actually quite a bit larger than it looks in this image.  It's a large horseshoe shaped building, but getting the entire structure in a picture wasn't too attractive since a lot of the street/sidewak and sky would be in the photo.  I preferred this composition. 

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Stained Glass Window

Inside the chapel at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, TX.  Each side f the chapel has theses beautiful windows.  Looking at the windows outside, the pattern is brown, so I was really surprised to see how colorful they are looking at them from the inside.

My heart is grateful for:

beautiful artwork

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Chapel on a Corner

This is a cute little chapel in downtown Abilene.  To the left of it is a serenity garden that I've seen before, but today the gate was locked and it looked like there might be some construction going on.

It's so good to see green leaves and green grass after the brown winter.  

My heart is grateful for:

the new elder who was installed at my church this morning

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The Staircase

In Santa Fe, NM there's a chapel that was built in the 1870s. (Loretto Chapel)  After it was completed, the nuns realized there was no way to get from the ground floor to the choir loft.  

They prayed a 9-day novena and on the 9th day a carpenter wandered in from the dessert.  He contracted with the nuns to build a spiral staircase and it took him 5 months to complete it.  His only tools were a carpenter's square, a saw and a hammer.  (he must have had the wood with him)

When the carpenter was finished, he left without payment.  There is no known record of the man and the subspecies of wood he used can't be traced.  They never heard from/about him again.

There is no center column and no side supports.  The only support for the staircase is the bottom step on the floor of the chapel.  He didn't put a railing on the staircase so for the first two years the nuns used the steps without railings or anything to hold on to when ascending & descending.  

The railing was added after two years of use.  

The Chapel was in use until a short while ago, but it's now a beautiful museum. The Chapel and especially the Staircase are strikingly beautiful.

My heart is grateful today for:

God's gifts to mankind for making beauty

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Jesus Carrying the Cross

In the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, NM there are these small sculptures around the perimeter of the sanctuary on the walls.  They're depictions of Christ carrying the cross.  I didn't photograph all of them.  The other one I captured is the first Time Christ Fell.  

I'm not Catholic, we don't have these types of sculptures in my Protestant church.  Regardless I think they're beautiful art in a beautiful chapel. This chapel is where The Staircase is located.

The Staircase is an architectural marvel.  I'll post it tomorrow with the amazing history behind its construction.

My heart is grateful today:

for God's grace in my life