alrama

[andybondurant]

New Post has been published on Andy Bondurant

New Post has been published on https://andybondurant.com/2022/11/15/submission-im-not-ready-for-jesus/

Submission: I’m Not Ready for Jesus.

Submission to Jesus is core to the Christian faith. Interestingly, while Jesus is all powerful, he doesn’t demand you to submit to him. He understands you may not be ready to submit. Jesus will give you space, but it doesn’t mean he will abandon you either.

A long time ago in a country far, far away…

The summer before Kia and I married, we spent three weeks in Guatemala attending language school (Kia was a Spanish major). We would spend every weekday morning in class, each afternoon hanging out in the city of Antigua and the weekends on excursions around the country.

One of those weekend excursions included traveling to Lake Atitlan and several of the small villages surrounding it. According to legend, each of the twelve villages dotting the lake have a spiritual connection to one of the twelve disciples. One of these villages was Santiago Atitlan known for it’s mostly Mayan inhabitants and their indigenous weaving. The name Santiago means James, but legend has it that the spirit of the village is connected to Judas Iscariot – the disciple who betrayed Jesus. 

Let me explain why.

Mischievous Maximon

Santiago Atitlan is also famous for housing Maximon, a Mayan god. This wooden idol carved and dressed to look like a modern day cowboy is visited by thousands and thousands of both pilgrims and tourists every year. In our 21st-century Western world, we typically dismiss the power of an idol carved from a block of wood. But make no mistake, wrapped within ancient wood statue are a spiritual strongholds. 

The idol is hosted by a different family every year who are required to make him available to the pilgrims and tourists daily. There is no official pay for hosting Maximon, but there is a kickback in the form of offerings presented to Maximon. Each visitor is expected to give a small gift to pray to, photograph or simply see the idol. This gift comes in the form money, flowers or alcohol. You’ll find these gifts laid around the idol (and the bodyguards employed to protect it). 

The hosts of Maximon aren’t paid, but a requirement of hosting is to use the offerings within their host year. The money is used to build a shelter to house Maximon and hire help to watch over him. The flowers are used to adorn the home. The alcohol is consumed by the hosts and their friends. 

Wood Block or Spiritual Stronghold?

This is where the spiritual stronghold in the village of Santiago Atitlan rears it’s ugly head. It’s as if the host family must live in submission to Maximon. Since the alcohol must be consumed by the end of the year, many hosts end the year as alcoholics. What is hailed as a blessing at the beginning of the year, becomes a curse by the end of the year. Then one family passes the curse onto the next. And the cycle continues.

The village of Santiago Atitlan hates the curse this idol brings, but it is their curse.

Spiritual strongholds are real, and spiritual power isn’t limited to small villages in third world countries. Today, throughout the world, in our homes, businesses, schools, we battle powers we cannot see. It has been this way since the beginning of time.

Another Lake. Another Village.

Is was reminded of Santiago Atitlan when reading a story of Jesus in the book of Mark.

The story begins with Jesus crossing the Lake of Galilee to escape the crowds pressing him throughout the Jewish villages and countryside. It is this crossing when Jesus famously calms the wind and the waves for both himself and those following him. Waiting on the eastern side of the lake were 10 Hellenistic villages – the Decapolis, which were inhabited by people of Jewish descent who followed Roman custom. It was a form of syncretism – mixing Jewish tradition with Roman worship practice (just as the people of Santiago Atitlan mix their Mayan customs with Catholic tradition). 

The village Jesus landed near had a spiritual stronghold overshadowing their community, just like the village of Santiago Atitlan. It wasn’t an idol, but a man. This man was being controlled by demonic strongholds. When possessed by these demons, the man terrorized their village. The people responded by chaining him over and again only to see him supernaturally break the binds. So he was relegated to a life in and among the tombs outside the village.

The village hated this demoniac, but he was their demoniac.

Submission = Freedom

Mark 5 describes what happens next. Jesus steps out of the boat, and the man runs, falls and submits at the feet of Jesus. No introduction was needed. The man knew. Jesus had the power to free him from the unseen power controlling him. Jesus commanded the demons inhabiting the man to leave, and cursing Jesus, they leapt from the man into a herd of a couple thousand pigs who threw themselves over a cliff. 

Do the math. The man was filled with hundreds, if not thousands of demons. They controlled his life. Just like Jesus has power to control the winds and waves, Jesus also has power over unseen powers who, at times, control us.

Jesus has the power to command the spiritual powers attacking your heart, mind, life to flee. It begins with submission to Jesus. The man knew who Jesus was, so he ran and fell at the feet of Jesus. He submitted to Jesus.

But I’m not ready to submit!

But not everyone is ready to submit to Jesus. And Jesus is okay with that.

The village heard about the arrival of Jesus, and the freedom the man experienced. They went out to meet Jesus, and they saw the man fully clothed and in his right mind. However they weren’t ready for Jesus.

“A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. Then those who had seen what happened told the others about the demon-possessed man and the pigs. And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.” -Mark‬ ‭5:15-17‬ ‭NLT‬

In an amazing turn of events, they beg Jesus to leave. No reason is given. Maybe it was fear – of Jesus’ power, of Roman repercussions, of the unknown. Maybe it was spiritual strongholds in their own lives. No reason was given, but they begged Jesus to leave.

Jesus respected their request. And without further discussion, Jesus proceeded to leave.

Submission: Not ready. Not abandoned.

Submission to Jesus is best for you. Jesus has the power to set you free. But if you’re not ready that’s okay – no reason needed. If Jesus was comfortable with leaving that village, then he’s comfortable with giving you space too. But, let me warn you, it doesn’t mean you’ll stop hearing about Jesus and his power.

In one final twist to this story, the man asks to go with Jesus. It’s the kind of request you’d expect Jesus to respond to favorably. The man is in his right mind, and he’s fully submitted to Jesus, yet Jesus tells him to stay. He tells the man to go home, and tell his friends and family of what God had done for him. Jesus left the village, but his story stayed with them; the evidence of Jesus’ authority over the spirit world remained.

You may not be ready for Jesus, and he’ll respect your wish. Jesus will leave you alone, but he will not abandon you. The evidence of his power will remain around you. It is the goodness of God chasing you.

[pinkguacamole]

Wandering around Santiago Atitlán in Guatemala

[aventurasdeunatortuga]

Guatemala Days 7-11

Lake Atitlan

The last 4 days have been spent at Lake Atitlan in the town of Panajachel. On Saturday Emily arrived to Antigua and to our surprise we got upgraded to a deluxe suite which was very fancy.

The next morning we took a shuttle to Panajachel, one of at least 11 towns on the shore of Lake Atitlan. Lake Atitlan is an enormous lake formed from a volcanic crater that is thousands of meters deep. There are at least 3 separate languages spoken by the indigenous people in the surrounding area, that’s how big around the lake is.

On Monday we explored the Atitlan Nature Reserve which was really cool. We hiked to the lakeshore, went across suspension bridges through the jungle, and saw spider monkeys and coatís (a central american variety of raccoons which only live in high altitude jungles).

On Tuesday we did a tour of three different towns along the lake. We got to the different towns by boat. First we went to San Juan La Laguna which had a lot of fair trade textile co-ops. This has helped combat a lot of social problems such as poverty and lack of education access, and has helped elevate indigenous women of the area. Several families team together to weave and form the co-op and whatever the co-op sells the profits are divided equally amongst themselves. A requirement for entering the co-op is enrolling children in school. We visited one of these co-ops and learned more about the weaving process which is incredibly complex. It take between 3 weeks to 3 months to weave a single garment. Unfortunately a lot of factory made copycat products are sold on the street for less than a 10th of what it costs to produce handmade products.

After San Juan La Laguna we stopped in San Pedro La Laguna for a drink. This town has a lot of expats and unfortunately has lost a lot of its ties to their indigenous culture. It’s now known as a party town (San Pedro La Locura is the nickname).

Finally we went to Santiago Atitlan, the largest of the lakeside towns. Even though it was only 15 minutes away by boat from San Pedro they spoke a completely different Mayan language (there are 22 Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala and most are completely unrelated to each other linguistically).

In Santigao Atitlan we visited some religious sites. They practice synchronism between Catholicism and traditional Mayan practices. We visited a church where both Mayan ceremonies and Catholic Mass are practiced, often at the same time. It was very similar to a church I visited in Chiapas, Mexico in the town of San Juan Chamula which also practiced Mayan-Catholic synchronism.

We also visited the shrine to the local deity Maximón. The deity is believed to inhabit a wooden statue and the shrine location rotates to different homes every year. It is tended to by the family living in the home and a shaman. The statue is over 500 years old.

On Wednesday we got a day pass to a local resort for $20 and we got to use their pool, beach, and got lunch. It was very luxurious. We walked back to our hotel from the resort and barely missed a huge thunderstorm. It started maybe 10 minutes after we got back. The lightning caused a power outage in Panajachel which lasted nearly 30 hours. We had to navigate by flashlight and eventually candlelight once the flashlight died. It was very spooky but also kind of nice to be disconnected from everything.

I’ll post again tomorrow to tell about today’s trip to Chichicastenango. Until then,

[icalledstrong]

Orillas de Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala

Una vista a Santiago Atitlán

[gersondelarosa]

25 centavos • • • • #Santiago #Lake #Atitlan #Solola #Guatemala #Trip #Travel #TravelPhotography #Beautiful #Summer #Morning #Fun #Awesome_Earth #Adventure #Vacation #InstaTravel #BestOfTheDay #PicOfTheDay #TravelBucketlist #Love #View #Art #Coin #Hike #perhapsyouneedalittleguatemala #QuePeladoGuate (at Santiago Atitlán) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuJlGzmhANM/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=49i8aqspzs82

[chaletnz]

Lake Atitlan: San Pedro & Santiago

In San Pedro the tuk tuks were even crazier than elsewhere in Guatemala that I’d seen so far - or maybe there was more traffic and narrower streets so it just seemed like there were more close calls! This town was very dirty, with a huge amount of stray dogs running around in the streets, it also seemed to be interestingly targeted towards Israelis with a lot of signs and menus in Hebrew. My overall impression of San Pedro was that it's there for partying and/or doing a Spanish school! We didn't spend too much time here and moved on to our final stop around Lake Atitlan which was the village of Santiago. It’s home to 60,000 people, one of them being a friend of our guide Elena who would be showing us around. Her demeanour during the tour was disinterested and bored but her friend was great, I wished the entire tour could’ve been with him! Our next part of the tour was in tuk tuks so the French couple rode with Elena, and myself and Toyoda-san rode in the other. Our first stop was at a local home where some old Guatemalan ladies were selling their traditional garments, one of the ladies put on the Guatemalan headdress as featured on the back of one of the quetzales coins. We hopped back in the tuk tuk with the Star of David displayed proudly on the back and the name Bethlehem emblazoned on the front (all tuk tuks have a name on the front). The next destination was a visit to the shaman’s house to see how people worship in an ancient Mayan ceremony, though it seemed more like a chance to get money from tourists for the right to take a photo. None of us opted to pay for this ticket. Our guide also told us that the Mayan history is very important in this area of Guatemala, there are 22 different Mayan languages spoken around Lake Atitlan. Elena speaks one and her friend spoke two, of course both also speak Spanish as the lingua franca of the country as well as English for guiding. We returned to the Colonial church again to go inside and see how it's a mix of Christian portraits and Mayan motifs. We were then taken to an art gallery which had a running theme of painting local scenes from the view of a bird, or the opposite view like a loaf of bread at the market. Our final stop was atop a hill with a view out into the inner bay. Our group had lunch at Cafe Arte near the marina, our meals came out as we had ordered. I had a chicken burrito and a mocha latte which was decent considering it definitely was not a specialty coffeeshop! The four of us chatted over our lunch about our travels and backgrounds and plans for the rest of our trip after today. We sat in this restaurant waiting for Elena to eventually get the group together and take us back to the boat to ride back to Panajachel. Once we returned she rushed us back to the tour office but our transport was still half an hour away. She wanted to have us sit on the curb and wait for it but I insisted on being allowed to go browse the market stalls down the street. I took it upon myself to inform the others of the departure time for the bus and then headed off in search of a bracelet and a hoodie. I didn't find a suitable bracelet but I found a nice zip up jacket that I had been looking to get to have at work in the office. It was only 50 quetzales ($8) which was fantastic because the first stall where I saw a similar one was 150. I snapped it up and wore it on the long windy bus ride back to Antigua. Part way through the journey we seemed to turn a corner and the rain suddenly came lashing down for a while but then it was gone and dry by the time we were in Antigua. The driver dropped me right at the door so I could ditch my bag and then go for a walk around the city. I headed out to the market but it was closing so I picked up a big bottle of water and grabbed a quesadilla from Taco Bell before turning in for the night since tomorrow would be my one day in Antigua alone before joining the Intrepid Travel tour group in the evening.

[rightcaps]

$46.57 17% off sell - Beaded Hat Band- Hatband Cowgirl Western- Leather Ties- Men- Women- Handmade in Guatemala 7/8 Inches x 21 Inches - C018OEMXRYI Handmade, a Fair Trade Project, this hat band is made by Mayan master beading artists in Santiago La Laguna near Lake Atitlan in rural Guatemala.Indigenous motifs worked in colorful seed beads embellish the 7/8” by 21” band. Suede leather ties make it adjustable to fit most hats.Beadwork is relatively new in Guatemala, but the impact of its trade makes a tremendous positive difference in the lives of the indigenous women who have learned this intricate skill.Great gift for the cowboy, cowgirl, or city slicker with ethnic flair! more product select from our Cowboy Hats:https://www.rightcaps.com/21-cowboy-hats # 's #& # /8 #

[chabochi]

[megan-ttravel]

Santiago, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

[aroundtheworldonaktm]

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala to Barra de Santiago, El Salvador, 20.12.2019, 273 km

טיפסנו מהמלון הנחמד על גדות אגם אטיטלן בעליה תלולה בדרך עפר להרים שמצפון לאגם, והקפנו את האגם מצפון ומזרח. בדרך יש תצפיות יפות על האגם. עזבנו את האגם ודהרנו בכבישים טובים לאורך החוף הפסיפי עד לגבול גואטמלה -אל סלבדור. חיכה לנו הברדק הרגיל של הגבול, עם תורים של קילומטרים של משאיות. בעזרת מאכר שלקחנו עברנו די מהר את הצד של גואטמלה, והגענו למעבר של אל סלבדור. אנחנו מצוידים בהעתקים של כל מסמך שאפשר להעלות על הדעת, וכרגיל זה לא מספיק – צריך ללכת לעשות צילומים כל פעם מחדש. לקראת סוף התהליך הודיעו לנו שהמחשב מודיע שיש בעיה עם מספר השילדה של רחמן, אולי האופנוע גנוב או משהו. העברתי את הזמן בשיחה עם עוד סלבדורי שחי בארה"ב ובא לביקור ונתקע בגבול מאותה סיבה. הוא סיפר בין השאר שהחיים בסלבדור בלתי אפשריים כי הכנופיות גובות דמי חסות מכל עסק ומי שלא משלם מקבל כדור. אחרי עוד שעתיים גם הבעיה עם האופנוע של רחמן נפתרה ונכסנו באור אחרון לאל סלבדור. תיכננו לישון במלון נחמד (לפי האינטרנט) על רצועת חול על החוף הפסיפי, 40 ק"מ מהגבול. המלון לא נמצא. ירדנו לחוף ושקענו עם האופנועים. בעזרת נערים מקומיים נחלצנו. השכנים דיווחו שהמלון ��גור. חיפשנו בחושך מקום אחר בסביבה ומצאנו חדר נחמד במחיר מופקע. אל סלבדור התחילה ברגל שמאל.

[born2travelit]

Guatemala 🇬🇹 Panajachel --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 🇬🇧 "Pana", as it is called by the locals, is a quiet town on the shores of Lake Atitlan, today we go to discover its "pueblos". 🗻🌋🗻🌋🗻🌋 After a navigation of almost an hour, we get to Santiago de Atitlàn. 🛥🛥🛥 Following the Lonely Planet we search "Maximòn", a puppet, by old Mayan beliefs, venerated here. " 👹👹👹👹👹 Have you ever witnessed to any extravagant rituals during your wanderings? 🙈🙉🙊 [taken from our travel diary 📒] ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 🇮🇹 “Pana”, così com’è chiamata dai locali, è una tranquilla cittadina sulle sponde del lago di Atitlàn, oggi ci dedichiamo alla scoperta dei suoi “puebli”. 🗻🌋🗻🌋🗻🌋 Dopo una navigazione di quasi un'oretta, approdiamo a Santiago de Atitlàn. ⛪⛪⛪⛪ La sua cattedrale è maestosa, qui, come in tutta l'America Latina, sono molto religiosi. All’interno della chiesa, una trentina di donne in ginocchio dinanzi l’altare recitano il rosario tra preghiere e canti suggestivi. 🙏🙏🙏🙏 Seguendo la Lonely Planet andiamo alla ricerca di “Maximòn”, un pupazzo, frutto di vecchie credenze Maya, molto venerato qui.” 👹👹👹👹👹 È già ora di andare. Partiamo alla volta di Guatemala City, da lì sarà tutt’un’avventura fino ad Ahuachapan, in El Salvador. 🇸🇻 😬😳😱😱😱 Vi è mai capitato di assistere a rituali stravaganti nel vostro vagabondare? 🙈🙉🙊 [tratto dal nostro diario di viaggio 📒] ● ● ● ● ● 🌍🌎🌏🌍🌎🌏 Follow us guys! •••••••••••••••• 🌍🌎🌏🌍🌎🌏 Visit us on: Www.born2travel.it ••••••••••••••• 🌍🌍🌍🌍🌍 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● #born2travelit #guatemala #travel #photography #guate #antiguaguatemala #antigua #quepeladoguate #nature #perhapsyouneedalittleguatemala #visitguatemala #photooftheday #instagood #love #travelphotography #explorandoguatemala #volcano #centralamerica #lakeatitlan #picoftheday #wanderlust #guatelinda #instaguate #travelgram #landscape #tikal #instatravel #guatemalacity #instagram (presso Panajachel, Solola) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwbsv5ClTG6/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=3fzo0d42zhq0

[pinkguacamole]

Today was my version of a perfect travel day, and such a nostalgic experience, even though everything here is new to me and I hardly speak Spanish.

This morning I walked out the door with a few points of interest in mind, and I just let it flow.

I strolled down some side paths, made it to the dock and hopped on a boat to another town on Lake Atitlan- San Pedro. When I got to San Pedro, I just walked up, up, up through the town and crossed over the hill to see amazing views and end up in the neighboring town of San Juan.

San Juan is an artsy town with lots of gorgeous and colorful textiles. After looking around at shops (and seeing many versions of a dress I already have that I got when I randomly was in a Guatemalan fashion show in Maryland 3 years ago), I wandered back into town.

A tuk tuk driver stopped me and told me I had to see the “mirador.” I’m pretty sure I was headed that way anyways, but I’m glad he reminded me. Once again I went up, up, up and saw incredible views of the lake. When I landed at the bottom of the hill again, the same tuk tuk driver was there so I hopped in and he insisted he should take me to San Pedro so I could catch the boat back. On the way he showed me some views and tried to convince me to spend more time with him… anyways I told him I had to get back for dinner and he let me off in town. I had an hour to kill before the next boat back so I chatted with a Swiss backpacking couple by the water.

On the boat ride across the lake I couldn’t stop smiling.

Once I was back on the docks of Santiago where I started, I wandered home, collecting all sorts of street food along the way.

It was amazing to reconnect with the part of myself that wandered for 5/6 years after spending the past 3 years in “normal life” having the things I craved while I was alone on the road: community, a job with purpose, and income. Now I can have both? I am so grateful and will unironically say I’m hashtag blessed to live all the versions of the life I always dreamed of for myself.

[northameicanblog]

Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala: Santiago Atitlán is a municipality in the Sololá department of Guatemala. The town is situated on Lago de Atitlán, which has an elevation of 5,105 feet. The town sits on a bay of Lago Atitlan between two volcanos. Volcan San Pedro & Volcan Toliman. Santiago Atitlan is southwest of Panajachel across the lake. Major highways reach Lago Atitlan at San Lucas Toliman and Panajachel. A road links Santiago to San Lucas Tolliman. Boats connect the numerous communities around Lago Atitlan. Wikipedia

[archcacao]

Beautiful Sunrise at Lake Atitlan 🌄 www.archcacao.com #lakeatitlan #Guatemala #mayanland #mayan #relax #nature #connection #gratitude #change #peace #stressfree (at Santiago Atitlán) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWsxaKxrwhi/?utm_medium=tumblr

[gersondelarosa]

Door to heaven ☁️ • • • • #Santiago #Lake #Atitlan #Solola #Guatemala #Trip #Travel #TravelPhotography #Beautiful #Summer #Morning #Fun #Awesome_Earth #Adventure #Vacation #InstaTravel #BestOfTheDay #PicOfTheDay #TravelBucketlist #Love #View #Wood #Woodwork #Hike #perhapsyouneedalittleguatemala #QuePeladoGuate (at Santiago Atitlán) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtiytKmh4jS/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1jeokmf30ma85

[capsshow]

$48.02 20% off sell - Hatbands Leather Turquoise Handmade Guatemala - C518UNGMANQ Handmade, A Fair Trade Project, this hat band is made by Mayan master beading artists in Santiago La Laguna near Lake Atitlan in rural Guatemala.Indigenous motifs worked in colorful seed beads embellish the 7/8” by 21” band. Suede leather ties make it adjustable to fit most hats.Beadwork is relatively new in Guatemala, but the impact of its trade makes a tremendous positive difference in the lives of the indigenous women who have learned this intricate skill.Great gift for the cowboy, cowgirl, or city slicker with ethnic flair! more product select from our Cowboy Hats:https://www.capsshow.com/21-cowboy-hats # 's #& # #