Building...for now, or for Eternity?

Glasgow...we made it into the city center before the shops began to open. A driving tour is the best way to initially see a new city, though it does not exactly give you your bearings without a good map! We did not have time to walk all of Glasgow, so photos from the bus and from a few times when we got off the bus, will have to suffice. Glasgow is definitely a place worthy of a return visit though!     For a little history, it is worth noting that this city grew like crazy during the Industrial Revolution, as most large cities did At one time it was known as "The Second City of The Empire" meaning that it was second after London. While industry has changed over the centuries, with banking being huge in Glasgow (ever heard of the Royal Bank of Scotland?) it is a very vibrant city. The architecture ranges from many centuries old to the very new.

     

This is the Museum of Modern Art which started as a town home in centuries past and has been renovated over the years. The tower on top was added as were the Corinthian Columns on the front. The statue is the Duke of Wellington. (You find these statues a lot in the UK!)

You will see more of this later, but it is Glasgow University located near Kelvingrove Park

I am pretty sure this was the original train station. Check out that clock!

This cute little building is now the Tourist Information Center. I love the way they saved the old buildings and found practical new uses for them. So much better than demolition of a great history!

This is another Art Museum and I would best describe it as the Scottish version of our Smithsonian museums. Practically everything from Scottish history can be found here.

I had this one in here for a good reason. I seem to have forgotten the reason. A lot of these buildings are red sandstone.

This is the OLDEST medieval building in Scotland, right here in Glasgow. They try to keep it clean but it is constructed of sandstone, which is soft, so that is a chore. It has a nice charm to it. We did not get to go inside the Provand's Lordship, but it is near the Glasgow Cathedral which you will see later. This was built in 1471 and was originally a part of St. Nicholas' Hospital.

I do recall a story about these cranes but this photo was important to someone, so I thought I would post it. Glasgow is an ever growing city and still has the largest population in Scotland.

I could do an entire blog on the Bridges of the River Clyde. There is even a Historical Trail that leads you to each and every one of them. This is a fairly new bridge and they are really into suspension bridges in Scotland...and strange ones at that. This one is unique because you are looking at one span, one arc. It starts on one side of the highway and ends on the other so the suspension cables are pretty interesting. Someone in our group took the top photo, but I snagged the second photo from the Glasgow site because we did not get to see the bridge at night and I thought it was pretty incredible. While I love people, I also love architecture and though math and physics don't come naturally to me, I find the physics of this stuff just fascinating! I hope the kids got the value from it too!

This is called the Second Rotounda, because there must be a first one somewhere. It is not really often that you see circular building so they are pretty unique when you find a good one. It is nice that they are saving it.

Because I ran across quite a number of versions of this shot, I picked the best one and figured it was worthy of posting because CLEARLY the kids found it quite fascinating. I am guessing those are not Fords in the parking lot.

This was a short post but I thought you might like a quick tour through the city. We did make a couple of stops where we were able to get out and stretch, snack, stretch, eat....we did a lot of that and the kids enjoyed it EVERY time!

Buildings as you know are things and really don't have the eternal value that souls do, but they are interesting to study at any rate. It is particularly interesting to see buildings that have stood the test of time and have lasted over the centuries. This makes them special because they have been here so long, but it makes them really special if things of eternal value take place, or took place, within those walls. You will get to see some of those types of buildings along the way.

For today, maybe it would be good to consider and evaluate what we are building in our own lifetimes. What are we investing in? Do we spend all of our time and money on things that will rust, wear out, and just deteriorate in a landfill....or do we spend a significant part of our time building for the Kingdom? It is something we all should continually evaluate because we never really 'get there' do we? Hopefully this trip is/was a real growing experience for the young people involved, and for all of those who are following the blog. As for me, I try to invest in things that have something happening for the Kingdom, whether it is a building project at church, or the creation and continuation of a unique school like TMA where The Master is the really important thing. Admitedly, it is very hard to stay on task, especially when I spend too much time near the Apple store....but things that involve the Word of God and the Souls of Men are really the only things that will survive into eternity.  Just a little food for thought for myself today!

Blessings!