Of all the places to visit in France, Omaha Beach was on our Top 3 list. Seeing thousands of white crosses, a few crumbling bunkers, and the uneven terrain from World War II bombers pelting the shoreline left an indelible mark on our hearts. Over nine thousand American military members are buried above the beach.…
“Nine point four million men come to Thailand every year for sex.” My simple Internet journey to double check this statistic from Noel Yeatts led to the discovery of more shocking statistics about sex-trafficking. The number of pedophiles or sexually broken people demanding to satiate their sex drive with sickening perversions and barbaric acts forced…
In November, twenty-five Courage Ablaze paintings—highlighting the Democratic Republic of Congo’s genocide and massive-scale rape—were donated to various West Michigan refugee non-profits. I would like to thank Marvin Veltkamp for making the donations possible. Marvin, and his wife, Joy, serve the African refugees here in America and in Africa—where they have started a sustainable farm…
Mental illness is rarely discussed. Yet a couple of different Let Go submissions dealt with this seemingly taboo topic. Art invites honesty. Within the context of art, we can say things that may not be as acceptable in another arena. I’m so thankful for the honesty of the participants at the Let Go installation. They…
Thank you to the thousands of visitors for successfully helping us to complete our ninth year of ArtPrize. It has been an amazing journey! Over 70,000 Let Go notes were added to our interactive healing installation—an artist/visitor collaboration. I would like to thank the one hundred twenty-six courageous individuals and third graders from Lone Pine…
“Mrs. Alderman, your new-born baby’s heart rate is 300 beats per minute.” He explained that a baby’s heart rate should be around 120 beats per minute. But our son’s heart rate raced almost three times faster. I bit my lip and fought tears. Over the next several days, doctors or nurses surrounded our baby, Grant,…
“You hate your father,” he suddenly blurted out. I sat there stunned. While having lunch with Larry Crab, a well-known counselor and author, I shared some of the deep hurt I had experienced when my father divorced my mother after 24 years of marriage, stripping me of my family. After crying over those difficult words…