downtown dallas

Things I saw while walking around the downtown area of Dallas.

contrary to nature

Contrary to nature
and by my nature
I’m a wild olive shoot

I’ve been broken
with no words spoken
I’m separated from the root

Contrary to nature
and by my nature
I’ve been grafted in

A divine appointment
A holy anointment
I’ve been grafted in

Now I’m a partaker
of all good things from my maker
it’s the root that supports me
I'm no longer forsaken
deprived and mistaken
it’s the root that supports me

It’s love and it’s kindness
true joy in his likeness
I’ve been grafted in
It’s irrevocable
unnegotiable
I’ve been grafted in

record snowfall

The biggest snowfall to ever hit Dallas was an accumulation of over twelve inches of snow. Here are a few photos that I took near where I live.

i pour myself out

I pour myself out
a cup is filled
a cup is poured out
an ocean hardly notices

Insight is best
when held deep within
unleash it and find
it dissolves to no end

canyon creek prysbyterian church

During the summer of 2002 I worked for James E. Langford as an intern architect. A lot of the work that his firm was doing at the time was ecclesiastical and I was fortunate enough to work on the construction documentation phase of the Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church. The building, while modern, is based on classical proportional design elements.


A cantilever portion of the building provides shelter for people being dropped off by automobile.




The steeple is central to the design of the church and is also the main structural component of the auditorium.

View of the exposed steel steeple.

Light is used to direct the focus upward.

The roof fans out from the steeple like an umbrella.

hand drawing

A pen and ink drawing of my own hand.

street lights

Street lights reflected on wet pavement make for an interesting composition.

pencil drawings

Here are few drawings of objects on my desk. The pencil holder is leather and filled with marbles so that it can be used as a paperweight. It has a zipper where you can remove the marbles (in case you lose yours). It was handed down from my grandfather.

Number 2 pencil.














Pencil holder
rough sketch.









Pencil holder
final drawing.

winter day inside my heart

The ocean is as gray as the sky
white sails unfurl with a deepening sigh
origami pushed forward by the wind
floating free with no sight of end

This is the winter day inside my heart
unfurling every precious thought
lifted up with breath-like wind
onward going my prayer ascends

grandfather

Today I realize more fully the impact that my grandfather had on my life as a child. My parents separated when I was young and I grew up with my mom and older sister. While my dad continued to keep in touch with me my and sister, I wanted/expected much more from him than the occasional phone call or weekend holiday visit. I felt that I really didn’t know him and craved to have a father figure in my life. There were seasons where I looked to men at church and found qualities that I desired in a father, but those were only seasons and I desired a father-son bonding that really didn’t fit into those contexts.

After my grandmother passed away in the early eighties, we began to spend more time with my grandfather as a family. Almost every Saturday morning he would drive his truck over to our house for a pancake breakfast. Afterwards he would often take me for a ride in his truck to run an errand, get our haircut together, or go visit a family friend. I didn’t realize it then, but this Saturday morning ritual provided a father-like bonding experience for me that I would grow to cherish.

My grandfather was a man of few words, but what I learned from being around him was invaluable. His humility, kindness, generosity, and compassion drew me towards Christ and made me want to be around him more and more. Sixteen years after his death, I realize that I would not be who I am today without his involvement in my life. The debt I owe my grandfather is the continuing debt to love others as he loved me when I was a scrappy little kid with not much to offer in return.

city soil

Slide between the bushes
step across the street
go on back to the place
you feel you can retreat

It’s been a long, long night
these days have taken their toil
and you’re not sure you will exist
another day on city soil

The promise was deceptive
but you anchored down
into the hope
that things would one day change

It’s just like California
and the promise of pure gold
but the smell is not the smell of gold
it’s just the city soil

It’s just the city soil
it’s hard under your feet
like the souls that walk upon it
looking for a safe retreat

So go and wave your white flag
send a flare up in the air
let them know you don’t belong here
it’s just the place in which you dwell

middle east

It has been almost ten years since I traveled to the Middle East, but many of the sites and places visited have stayed with me over the years.

A gate leading into the market area of the Old City Jerusalem.







The remains of a Roman coliseum located in Himmeh, Jordan.






The gold plated roof of the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem.






Roman ruins discovered in Jarash, Jordan.






The agora located in Jarash. The torch in the center of the market area remained lit constantly.

new american man

I am the new American man
Met my wife in Japan
Adopted three kids from New Zealand
And made my home in Switzerland

Well we are all Americans
And we are all international
We all come from different places
But share the same distinct lineage

Well it may be surprising
That I was born in India
I grew up Russian Orthodox
On the coast lands of South Africa

Well I’m the new American man
And my life’s far from bland
The melting pot don’t seem to melt
It just gets richer as it stands

I am the new American man
And I know where I stand
No two cars, one point five kids, pet in the yard
or boring American plan

cassie

I imagined her in the library
she is not cold
she is warm
and she is glowing
she is confident
and full of knowledge
Life is ending
and hers is beginning
fateful chaos
mingles with mystery
her life is history
and yet she lives on

sorrow

Sorrow surrounds me
and swallows me whole
darkens my days
and prolongs my nights
fills me with fears
and scares me frights
keeps me bent
toward lowly sights

Sorrow sings to me
and connects with my soul
shows me my bareness
with utter distaste
reminds me I’m broken
and full of mistakes
keeps me buried
in failure’s wake

Sorrow escape me
you’ve taken your toll
ransacked my days
and stolen my nights
take back your fears
and take back your frights
I’m looking up
toward higher sights

ethiopia landscapes

The road in front of the church.

Trees provide shelter from a hard day's work.







A typical village in the Rift Valley.

The majority of the land is government owned.






Tree branches stretch out like a man's arms when waking from sleep.

ethiopia heartaches

Shoes are considered a luxury in this area of the country.

Clothes are worn long beyond the point of shredding.

Diseases often abound when feet go unprotected.







The hesitancy of these hands say much more than facial expressions.






A pair of sandals is a good fortune to those who can afford them.

absense

Absence surrounds me

hangs over my head

creeps up my stairs

and slides in my bed

where it plagues my mind

and torments my soul

leaving me empty

with nothing to hold

so I struggle and fight

to make sense of it all

but I am afraid

that I am much too small

ethiopia faces

A girl on the side of the road just outside of her village.







A balancing act.








A kind man.








Boy from a village in the Rift Valley.







A shepherd boy holding his whip in his right hand.

ethiopia places

View from the hotel in Addis Ababa.







The market along the road in Addis Ababa.







Detail of window at church in Asella.

Dirty laundry at the orphanage in Addis Ababa.

Clean laundry at the orphanage in Addis Ababa.

sadness in her eyes

She comes across as joyful
but anyone can see
there’s sadness in her eyes
clever words flow from her lips
and flattery is her guise
like a freight ship she emerges

in the stillness of the night
stealing your next breath
then vanishing out of sight

thesis

These are a few preliminary sketches from my thesis project in architectural school.