July 2009 vacation photos

I’ve posted 250+ of my favorite photos from our vacation last week in the Bahamas.

You can view them here (click on the photo below)… or on Flickr or as a slideshow.

July 2009 Cruise to the Bahamas

Also, you can see the photos Laurie picked as her favorites on Flickr as well.

More Virgin Mary, less Virgin Islands

I’ll file this under the “Guilty as Charged” file.

The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest, says he objects to Christmas cards featuring family photos.

Look, I love family photos during the holidays. Plus, I actually read those annual holiday letters, all of which start with “What a busy year it’s been!” Seeing photos of my friends and their families and even enjoying a few sunny beach scenes when it’s cold and dark outside is a highlight of December.

But I enjoy the photos more when they’re inside the card, not the card itself. Because more and more, even devout Christians have been replacing Jesus, Mary and Joseph with themselves.

Can I plead my case that we saved a lot more money by making our own cards and having them printed as pictures, rather than buying a Christmas card and including a family photo?

“Doesn’t it strike you as weird to set aside the Holy Family in favor of your family? Does a photo of Cabo San Lucas trump the story told by the original San Lucas? Is Christmas really about you?”

Ouch! It makes me really rethink how I’m celebrating Christmas this year — as I stuff a few more Christmas photos into envelopes.

Listen to the full commentary.