Painted Churches

As they have almost every day this week, Tom and Roland played golf today. No big surprise there. Sadly for Tom, Roland has to leave on a business trip tomorrow afternoon, so his golfing buddy will be gone. Elizabeth and I will have to drag him along on some touristy outings.

Like the one we made today. We took a leisurely drive to visit some of the "painted churches" in this area. There are over 20 painted churches in Texas, most built by Czech immigrants in the late 1800's and early 1900's. From the outside, they look like any charming old country church. But inside nearly every surface is covered with bright painting; beautiful murals behind the altar and on the ceilings, elaborate foliage trails the walls, wooden columns and baseboards shine like polished marble in shades of green and gray. The artistry is amazing. Click on any image in the slide show below to see a larger version.



The drive took us along some very picturesque country roads, past rolling hills of green dotted with grazing cows, and by fields bursting with blooming wildflowers. What a beautiful day. A reminder of God's amazing work.