March 21, 2012

Not so Wordless Wednesday

I recently wrote about our adventure on Sunday when we went to a doggy carnival in Lincoln, NE. If you didn't read it yet you should check it out, it might give you a giggle, and there are some SUPER cute pictures of my girl Blanca. On our drive from the Omaha area to Lincoln we noticed an interesting building that appeared to be made of glass with a large cross in front.

The picture above is the view from the interstate. When you drive for miles seeing fields as far as the eye can see this type of thing tends to stand out. Of course we wondered what it was and were very intrigued so we stopped to check it out.

It's called the Holy Family Shrine. Unfortunately right when we pulled up there was a man locking up the premises so we weren't allowed inside. But we were still able to explore the outside of the building and the sitting areas. I honestly don't know much about this place. According to the website, "...Inspiration from the Holy Spirit led the founders of the Shrine to create a place for travelers to seek out the intervention of the Holy Spirit, to be at peace, to heal, to be comforted, to pray, and to discover or re-discover the saving power of Jesus Christ..."



The architecture was breathtaking. Even though we couldn't get inside it was almost as if we were. They put a lot of thought and effort into every detail. Can you see the cutouts in the floor beside the pews? That was so you could experience the water flowing under the floor. Doesn't it look so peaceful?



I did enjoy the overall feel of the Shrine. It brought about thoughts of my Savior and what He's done for me. It was still hard for me to get over where this amazing building was plotted. The surroundings weren't exactly picturesque. I thought it was very interesting. My husband mentioned that it could symbolize that there is life even in the deadest of places. Even though I'm not sure that's what the founders were going for. The picture below is the view from the Shrine, what you would see when you look out from the inside. I suppose that the point is not to be bombarded by outside distractions though. And strangely enough some people find flat farm land that goes on forever pretty in some way. I can't see it...






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7 comments:

  1. How beautiful! And what stunning skies too, wow.

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  2. Oh my absolute WORD! This was on your drive from Lincoln to Omaha?? Is that correct? This is insanely amazing! Wow, I love that you got out of your car and took pictures and explored, even though the guy was closing up and you couldn't go in. Your photos are incredible and what your husband said about there being beauty even in what is dead is so so true, and so sweet. Or that there is life even in the deadest of places, so true! I love what this place stands for too, what you said about the Holy Spirit, this reminds me of something Thomas Merton would go to or have...Just so glad you shared!!!

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    1. Yup it's in between Omaha and Lincoln. Thanks for stopping by :)

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  3. That looks like the perfect place to spend some time reflecting. You are right, the architecture is amazing and I love your captures against the blue sky. Thank you for sharing!

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  4. Wow. The building is absolutely stunning! This would be a place I would love to be able to go to for prayer and quite time. I think the builders choice to build it there was spot on, the view you pictured from what you would see from the inside when sitting was gorgeous (I guess that makes me one of the strange people who find farm land pretty lol). But what I saw when I looked at it wasn't the farm land at first, it was the breathtaking sky that God had painted. Can you imagine sitting there at sunrise or sunset? It would be like watching Heaven itself open up. I can't help but think of God and all His awe inspiring creations when looking at it. But thats just my humble opinion. Thank you so much for sharing!

    ~ Annise

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    1. Thanks for sharing. I appreciate your thoughts. God really is an amazing painter!

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