To have dominion over sea and land;
To trace the stars and search the heavens for power;
To feel the passion of Eternity

This is what Edwin Markham thought we had been created by God for, at least part of what we were created for, but so many are "bowed with the weight of the centuries." (from "The Man with the Hoe.)

This world is messed up with a lot of pain, it seems. All kinds of stories, from those of close friends to just acquaintances, of pain and grief, of injury and attempts to slowly heal. I suppose that is the same the world over. I'm about ready for some counseling myself on trying to make life work in the Bay Area again, and I don't have huge grief, maybe just some small grief.

When I first got to Ethiopia, driving around Addis was overwhelming. The beggars are at every stoplight, all looking hungry and cute, with women carrying babies around motioning that they need food for their children, and disabled people using their hands (in flip flops) to drag themselves around- and wearing big warms smiles.

Martina McBride ran through my head so many times and somehow provided me with some solace... "Love is the only house big enough for all the pain in the world," and "I'll come down and get my hands dirty and together we'll make a stand."

That's the house I want to build.