tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-327902872012-02-16T11:23:56.057-06:00I have far to go: A lifelong journey of faith, ideas and familyjudihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.comBlogger241100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-79739234462967824352011-08-08T01:30:00.000-05:002011-08-08T01:30:20.327-05:00

Although I have gone far and still have far to go, I have been tied in knots for this past year when it comes to writing my blogs. They are beginning to resemble those new spiral notebooks I would buy every new year and start writing a journal, only to abandon them and leave a lot of white pages. At least no trees have died because of my virtual publishing absence. I have been working in fits

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-11130298134039580322010-08-08T21:20:00.003-05:002010-08-08T21:57:55.667-05:00

Phlox is an old-fashioned flower, one I'm privileged to have in my yard now because a former resident planted wild phlox as part of a natural butterfly garden. I remember pink phlox growing in my grandmother McElyea's perennial border when I was a child. As I have spent the last year looking up facts about my great-grandmothers and their families, sometimes tracking down where they might have

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-10746499439929752552009-06-27T21:21:00.011-05:002009-06-27T22:00:41.178-05:00

On our trip in June to Southwest Oklahoma, in addition to tracing my mother's childhood roots, I was searching for the burial place of the only one of my 4 great-grandmothers I hadn't found. Earlier this year I had looked for Emma J. McElyea and learned she was buried in Sayre Doxey Cemetery. After we got to Sayre, it was easy to find on a hill about three miles east of town. Doxey was a one-time

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-6498316802351371282009-01-02T21:18:00.015-06:002009-01-02T21:55:50.762-06:00

Over the years, our Christmas tree, Norm's and mine, has evolved into a family album of sorts. When I go back through photos, as I did this summer looking for images for the 40th anniversary celebration, there seemed to be a few constants for picture taking: Christmas decorations, pets, fronts of houses, and garden plants. This is our tree as it looked on Christmas morning, 2008, before we dug

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-57417047414146301202008-10-10T22:36:00.013-05:002008-10-10T23:18:09.970-05:00

On Saturday morning of the retreat, I followed the voice that called me to go outside for a walk. Sometimes I have to go to meetings at retreat centers, and we stay too busy, or the weather is too bad, for me to explore outside. This weekend, I wanted to feel my feet on the path, look at the sky and the distance, marvel at small things, and breathe the air. So while others were painting and

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-29436502228948770892008-10-10T21:41:00.009-05:002008-10-10T22:28:39.352-05:00

Another year, another retreat for women at Orchard Crest Camp. This gathering of 40 women from as far south as Kennett, as far west as St. Charles and from several St. Louis area churches took place the weekend of Sept. 19-20. I'm just now getting around to editing the pictures and reflecting on the experience. Here, the group gathers in a long oval inside the dining hall for the closing worship,

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-49887072626488607122008-08-15T22:41:00.006-05:002008-08-15T22:55:26.409-05:00

Today is a milestone of sorts, for the first installment of Thursday's Child was posted on August 15, 2006. This little blog of mine is more deliberate and reflective than Home Stories, and I haven't done much with it in the past year, but I haven't abandoned it. If you have checked it in the past, drop in again sometime in the next month and you will see some new things. In the past 11 months,

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-20892258098661056682007-09-23T21:23:00.000-05:002007-09-23T22:10:40.486-05:00

Orchard Crest Camp belongs to the Southeast Gateway Area of the Christian Church - Disciples of Christ. It is located east of Fredericktown on the Castor River. The cabins have bathrooms and electricity, but the entire atmosphere is still rustic. I spend the past weekend there, at a women's retreat. I've been on retreats there before, and I've counseled at summer camp. This event is about the

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-57972062629275082592007-09-02T19:44:00.002-05:002008-08-22T00:35:42.256-05:00

Note: This post contains a correction added on 8/22/08.August 26, 2007 was the final worship service at Rogers Heights Christian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I grew up. My parents, Jim and Frances, were members of another Christian church when they were recruited in the winter of 1945 to help start a new congregation on the east side of the city, across from the "new" Will Rogers High School

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-89635278828485311172007-08-15T23:18:00.001-05:002007-08-15T23:36:45.341-05:00

This week is an anniversary for this blog and its companion. The first post to Home Stories appeared on Aug. 11, 2006 and the first entry on Thursday's Child is dated Aug. 15, 2006. So a year has passed, and I have learned that blogging requires some self discipline, energy and creativity that I don't always have. But I'll continue whenever something needs to be said.August 15 is also the birth

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-84779181092450421902007-08-05T21:04:00.000-05:002007-08-05T21:36:09.810-05:00

Back in July, my cousin Mike celebrated one of those milestone birthdays, and Norm and I went to Tulsa to join in the festivities. There were several presents, but the one Mike seemed to enjoy playing with the most was his new grandson, Jason, who was 6 weeks old at the time of the party. When I look at this picture, I'm reminded of myself at 4 or 5 years old, meeting Mike when he was a baby and

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-79460546339019995272007-06-17T20:55:00.000-05:002007-06-17T20:59:37.679-05:00

Just a short note that I finally got around to adding some favorite blogs to the Links section in the sidebar. Among them are Doug's blog commenting on Southern Gospel; my pastor's blog, a blog by Norm's niece Debbie and a brand new blog by my cousin Debi. I check these every day and enjoy them all. To add these links in the template I'm using actually involves tinkering under the hood of the

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-33294242702554181962007-05-27T23:21:00.000-05:002007-05-27T23:28:35.146-05:00

This morning in a group at church, my pastor mentioned the post about "Life Lists and Lessons" . Then two other people in the group piped up that they had read it, too. Wow. It's great to know that I'm not just throwing words (and pictures) into cyberspace the way a person stranded on a deserted island tosses a note into a bottle and sets it adrift. Please, though, if you have any reactions,

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-27716385916043259732007-04-27T23:39:00.000-05:002007-04-28T00:17:22.827-05:00

Earlier this week, Norm was going through a stash of saved birthday and anniversary cards, and he came across a list of Life Goals I had made on Sept. 6, 1975. Back in those days, it was common for a workshop leader to tell you to write down your goals if you wanted to accomplish them. So on or about Labor Day of that year, while I was working part-time at a newspaper and still homesick for the

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-55992306929996557792007-03-29T21:45:00.000-05:002007-03-29T21:58:25.276-05:00

From Don and Kay in Garden City comes this photo of one of mom Linville's amaryllis plants (more correctly, a descendant thereof) blooming in their sunroom on Monday of this week. As Don noted, just in time for her birthday. Bertha Williams was born on this date 101 years ago in a Western Kansas dugout. A true pioneer, she loved flowers and grew an amazing variety of them despite the challenges

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-34867648307877557112007-03-25T23:30:00.000-05:002007-03-26T00:07:58.630-05:00

In Central Missouri, there is a retreat center known as Rickman Camp and Conference center, which is owned by the regional Disciples of Christ church. I spent the weekend of March 23-24 there with 21 other women. The rest of the story of the retreat can be found on Home Stories. About 11 a.m. on Saturday, I explored the prayer trail, and found all kinds of small details and wonders to photograph

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-1169438507683315612007-01-21T21:54:00.000-06:002007-01-21T22:01:47.713-06:00

Some 30 or 40 years ago, we hummed a Beatles tune: will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64? That was the age at which we youths expected to become old folks, tottering a bit, needing someone to monitor our meds and take away our car keys if we strayed too far off the center line.Today, I turned 64. That's 8 times 8, as I learned my multiplication tables in third grade. But as

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-1164518743725704552006-11-25T22:49:00.000-06:002006-11-25T23:25:47.040-06:00

For the month of November, this cornucopia has been the seasonal banner at our front step. Soon it will be time to put up something suitable for Christmas, but the image of natural abundance in the picture reminds me that I need to make a list of some of the things I am most thankful for.Back in 1999, I read a small book titled Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. The premise was simple...

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-1163283053008844072006-11-11T15:49:00.000-06:002006-11-11T16:13:27.686-06:00

November 11, 1918-- Armistice Day. The truce that ended World War I, or as it was known in that long-ago time, the War to End All Wars. Down through the years, the date has become a federal holiday, and now is known as Veterans Day, to honor all those who have served in all of the armed services in any of America's Wars since WWI. The photo is of Kansas City's striking Peace Memorial, recently

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-1162951682064558612006-11-08T23:01:00.000-06:002006-11-08T23:13:54.950-06:00

Yesterday I tried to write an Election Day post, but the upload feature wasn't working. Probably all those bloggers out there hogging the bandwidth! This photo is of a St. Louis landmark, the Old Courthouse. It was a working federal courthouse throughout the 19th Century and into the 20th. The slave Dred Scott lost an appeal for his freedom before the United States Circuit Court meeting in this

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-1160716275583110622006-10-12T23:53:00.000-05:002006-10-13T00:11:15.660-05:00

Despite the bank and postal holiday we observed on Monday, today, October 12, is the real Columbus Day. It's the date I learned in school, and that was forever sealed in my mind because October 12 was also my mother's birthday.Like these Canada Geese I photographed over the Mississippi River flyway last January, Columbus was a person with far to go. Maybe he was a Thursday's Child, too. Even

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-1159497288123072952006-09-28T20:39:00.000-05:002006-09-28T21:34:48.210-05:00

When fall migrations begin, I'm struck by how little faith I have. Wild creatures, like the geese in this photo I took last January when we spent a weekend at Pere Marquette Park near the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, seem to travel on instinct alone, or else they communicate in a mysterious language that we humans are not privileged to know. For them, concepts such as faith,

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-1158289162424649602006-09-14T21:43:00.000-05:002006-09-14T22:09:21.946-05:00

This past week has featured inescapable reminders of the solemn 5th anniversary of what has become known as “9/11”. For this generation and this time, it is The Day that Life Changed Forever. Indeed, a once impenetrable nation now appears vulnerable to any vicious malefactor in the world, live and in color on television. Over and over. On that day five years ago, I heard a radio report as I was

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32790287.post-1155670648021052682006-08-15T16:36:00.000-05:002006-08-15T14:42:46.970-05:00

Like all people of a certain age, sometime in my childhood I memorized the Mother Goose Rhyme designed to teach us the days of the week: Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child has far to go, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child works hard for a living....and I decided that I surely wanted to be a

judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508591953635697730noreply@blogger.com1