Skip to content
Pam Schmoll
Menu
  • Blog
  • Contact
Menu

Sacred Objects

Posted on March 9, 2023March 9, 2023 by Pam

It is my first full day in Florence, Italy, and I visited the Bargello Museo. It is walking distance from where I am staying and formally called Museo Nazionale del Bargello. I took too many photos and cried at one point. I am in a city that draws tourists to see sacred objects mostly in admiration that honor Jesus through the centuries. I have a special affection for Italy because of the book of Acts which documents the mission trips of the early church. Most of that history is tracing Paul’s travels to spread the Good News. I had the privilege of serving in 2017 near Bari, Italy, and am happy to return for a rest. I am also in a city that has a thousand shops and a thousand restaurants. So far the spaghetti bolognese and pizza prove this is also a culinary destination. Florence is more affordable than Switzerland where I just completed a Discipleship Training School and more than a month of service in east London.

The Bargello Museo is huge with room after room of art honoring Jesus. Many pieces feature the Madonna and Babe. In all art forms Jesus and Mary have the same face only Jesus is smaller. My faith came to me apart from the Roman Catholicism that is in awe of Mary. Mary was a blessed servant but there is no scripture that assigns her deity. It is a miscalculation and a distraction. God loved Mary as much as He loved Jesus and God loves you as much as He loves Jesus. That is hard to understand that my holiness comes only through belief in Jesus as God’s only Son.

It may be wrong to combine a travel event with faith but the art is remarkable. I saw amazing statues (tall and small), ivory carvings, glazed pottery, metal (variety) in sculpture, antiquities, ancient church pews, unique church architecture, tile work, gems, pulpits, and a cute couple on a tile roof I viewed from a museum window (they gave me a thumbs-up when I signaled that I wanted to take a photo). Life goes on in this magnificent city that showcases the beauty of art that honors Jesus.

Towering Bargello Museo
Some Church History

"Thoughts from a genuinely evaluative mind."

Pam writes so that must make her a writer. Recently retired, she can now fill days with family, friends, missions, writing, creating, and showing up for whomever needs her. Pam loves the Lord and people. The Bible is God’s love letter to us (and who does not need more love) so she studies and writes some more.

Pam lives in the Pacific Northwest but was home-grown in Southern California. She attended San Jose Bible College and finished a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry at UCLA. She became a teacher, then a Research and Development Chemist, then she built two successful real estate businesses in two states. Pam also pursued study at Fuller Theological Seminary and just completed six months serving in missions abroad.

Pam has two amazing children, married to two precious in-laws, and five sweet grandchildren. Pam is a gifted connector and communicator and the Northwest has the perfect climate for staying inside and writing – or baking! She has been writing since a wee one and is currently converting many years of blogging, by topic, into ten books. The first is a collection from 2011 titled, Beautiful Enough. The second is a yearly day-timer titled, Weekly Planner - Lessons in Life, Glory, and Grace. Number three is in progress with the working title, Christmas Today.

Ten facts about Pam in no particular order:

  1. On the team that developed an insulation for the Alaskan oil pipeline.
  2. Loves looking at homes, decorating, and has flipped five homes.
  3. Likes being tall.
  4. Films have helped define her vocabulary.
  5. Comes from Colorado tenement farmers with history traced to Wales.
  6. Was lost but now is found.
  7. Baking makes her happy – as does eating sweets with coffee, of course.
  8. She thinks mission work is the most important work in the world.
  9. The church started in Rome so she is learning Italian.
  10. Pam is a work in progress!

“I will be your God throughout your lifetime - until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.” Isaiah 46:4

© 2025 Pam Schmoll | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme