Wednesday, April 30, 2014

1 Corinthians 11:32 – Discipline moves us from being awkward to being adept, at anything we do, especially daily living. We may want to lead rebellious and unaccountable lives, but that will not help us or anyone else. Permit God’s discipline to move you from being a novice to an expert in the faith. This is a Wekivaword.

Friday, April 25, 2014

With the Great Grandparents...Mimi and Papa and Taylor Anne



Taylor Anne

Exodus 34:6-7 – We are so blessed that God is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. God does not force us to love Him in return, but think what we miss by not doing that. Give your love to God today. And live in God’s grace. This is a Wekivaword.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Mark 1:40-42 – Jesus chooses to make people clean. If you have been wanting to start anew, to be made whole, then there is no better way to do that than to come to Jesus and ask him to make you clean. This is a Wekivaword.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Psalm 81:7 – This psalm has it right. Sometimes we wait an awfully long time before we call to God for help. Why wait? God rescues us when we call to Him. So, call to Him. This is a Wekivaword.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

I Corinthians 13:6 – Aim for truth in what you say and what you do today. Everyone will benefit; especially you. This is a Wekivaword.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Baby's First Easter...

Just a few photos of our new granddaughter today...

Winter Garden Memories...

Those of  you who have been reading my blog for some years will recall several years ago when I posted a few photos of the day that daughter Anne and I were over in Winter Garden, on a "photo shoot outing".

Anne and I have been going on photo shoots like that since she was in Lake Brantley High School.  In fact, I was more or less her assistant on those assignments. For one of them, she was to photograph birds in flight.  So Anne got the idea of going to the park in Winter Park so that I could run toward the pigeons in the park, and they would (naturally) take flight and she would snap them mid air.  It was a great idea. Sadly, the pigeons were very clever, and simply ran along the ground in various directions as I ran to and fro in the park.  I am sure all of you would have enjoyed seeing me, flapping my arms and running headlong at those very uncooperative birds!

Anne either did not make any photos of me running after the pigeons, or she has kept them under wraps, for which I am quite grateful!

I was recently reminded of our Winter Garden photo day, and went back to see my file of photos from that day, many of which I had not posted at that time, so I might as well post them now...



For those of you who are familiar with Winter Garden, you will recognize the watertower over the public parking lot. We were glad to see a big nest up there in the watertower which I believe was a bald eagle nest.



We then walked in the general direction of the main street and made what I will call light-and-shadow photos of the industrial buildings along the way...



I wish you could see Anne's photo of this same walk, because she has such a good eye, hers are almost always better than mine. I guess if I spent less time chasing pigeons that would help!








Friday, April 18, 2014

Join Us For Worship on Easter!

Join us for worship on Easter Day!

Sunrise service - 6:30 a.m.

Celebration of the Resurrection - 8:30 and 11 a.m.
...
Wekiva Presbyterian Church
211 Wekiva Springs Lane
Longwood, FL 32779


REMEMBER YOU CAN ALWAYS WORSHIP WITH US LIVE ON SUNDAY MORNINGS AT ELEVEN A.M. Including EASTER!

WEKIVA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IS THE FIRST CHURCH ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD TO OFFER LIVE SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP VIA OUR WEBSTE. WE HAVE BEEN DOING THIS SINCE JANUARY 2005, EVERY SUNDAY. VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO LEARN MORE:

www.wekivapresbyterian.org

Worship With Us At Noon Today - Good Friday - Wekiva Presbyterian Church

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Life in a Garden...

There is a line in the musical "My Fair Lady" that describes Eliza Dolittle as someone who looks as if she had spent all of her life in a garden. Sounds fantastic, doesn't it?

Gardens have long been special places to me and to our family, and as we draw nearer our 30th wedding anniversary, Judy and I are reminded of how special Longwood Gardens is to us. That garden, near Wilmington, Delaware, is where I proposed and she accepted.

I have recently written a blog article about Longwood and other destination gardens in the USA.

You can read about them here: Destination Gardens.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Friday 15
I Corinthians 13:6 – Aim for truth in what you say and what you do today. Everyone will benefit; especially you. This is a Wekivaword.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

What's in a Name...?



Here is a great photo of Taylor Anne Dalles with her Aunt Anne. Yesterday, our son-in-law Steven told us that he had a nickname for his new little niece, our first granddaughter, whom you met in yesterday's post. 

Tara and John have named her Taylor Anne Dalles.  Such a pretty name, and one with family associations since Taylor is John's middle name and is in honor of his maternal grandfather Donald B. Taylor, so of course is also Taylor Anne's "DeeDee"'s maiden name.  Anne reminds us of other Annes and Anns who came along before her including her Mimi (Patricia Ann) and her DeeDee (Judith Ann).  So, a very nice name indeed. And one that will serve her well in the years to come.

Steven noticed that her initials are TAD...and decided that "Tadpole" was a cute nickname (isn't it!).  When he told us that, we told him he should tell the new parents when he and Anne visited with them and the baby last evening.  So he did...

Lo and behold, John and Tara had already come to the same conclusion.  So at least for now, and probably well into the future, Taylor Anne Dalles will be our little Tadpole. 

She had a good first day yesterday and is embracing the world with a focused interest and curiosity.  She is enjoying all the attention coming her way and taking it in stride.  What could be better!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Introducing Taylor Anne Dalles...!       

 

 

We are so glad to introduce you all to our new little granddaughter, Taylor Anne Dalles. After a 36 hour labor she was born on 4/9 at 12:27 am. She is 9 lbs 1 oz, 21 inches and beautiful. Mom and baby are happy and healthy and daddy is already wrapped around her little finger.

 


Here are some profound thoughts on becoming a grandparent...

 

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

 

John and Judy
 

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Costal Carolina Antiquing

So, I have been visiting Southport, North Carolina, every summer since 1987. We go to the beach,at Oak Island. When we began these summertime trips, we were expecting our first child and now, that child is about to become a dad himself.

There are many reasons we have savored our family time there.  One that I have not mentioned in the blog before now is the antiquing. Down the years, we have found some cool treasures on these side trips of sleuthing for "sleepers" ( items of value or interest to be had inexpensively) in Southport. The framed engraving of John Knox in my office is one of those Southport finds.

If you are headed in the direction of Wilmington NC, it is well worth a visit. To read more, see the link: Southport Antiquing, the article I wrote for the blog "Drive the Nation".

The Flower Fields

If you happen to be traveling to Southern California between now and Mothers Day, be sure to allow yourself enough time to see The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, just north of San Diego. A wonderful feast for the eyes and for the soul, The Flower Fields were created in the 1920s by Luther and Olive Gage. The gently rolling fields are in bloom March through early May, ranunculus blossoms ranging from palest white to vivid fiesta hues spread across the landscape. The Flower Fields are for visitors of all ages. To read more, see the article I wrote for the blog "Drive the Nation":  Visit The Flower Fields.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Our church members were busy helping people in need yesterday.

There were about 128 people who participated in the Loaves And Fishes Walk – and I understand that the person who brought in the largest number of donations was our own Jim Brown.

Ken Lasseter reports we had 12 people turn out for the gleaning. “It was easy, fun, with plenty of camaraderie. We harvested 3 full pickup trucks of kale. The Society of St Andrew estimates that, from the field to the table, 96 billion (yes, with a "B") pounds of food are wasted each year in the United States. There are many hungry people in the United States. By spending just a little bit of time on Saturday morning, some volunteers representing Wekiva Presbyterian Church helped turn a little bit of this waste into food for many hungry people.”