Author Archives: Ellen

We Pray For Those Who Do Not Pray ~ Hymn

We Pray For Those Who Do Not Pray

We pray for those who do not pray!
Who waste, O Lord, salvation’s day;
For those we love who love not Thee—
Our grief, their danger, pitying see.

Those for whom many tears are shed,
And blessings breathed upon their head;
The children of Thy people save,
From godless life and hopeless grave.

Hear fathers, mothers, as they pray
For sons, for daughters far away—
Brother for brother, friend for friend—
Hear all our prayers that upwards blend.

We pray for those who long have heard,
But still neglect Thy gracious Word;
Soften the hearts obdurate made
By calls unheeded, vows delayed.

Release the drunkard from his chain,
Save those beguiled by pleasure vain,
Set free the slaves of lust, and bring
Back to their home the wandering.

The hopeless cheer; guide those who doubt;
Restore the lost; cast no one out;
For all that are far off we pray,
Since we were once far off as they.

Words: C. Newman Hall, 1878.

Cave Hill Cemetery

As we entered Louisville, Kentucky we put the Cave Hill Cemetery in our map app and found our way there. This was the only cemetery we visited on our Land That We Love Tour.

Cave Hill Cemetery is a 296-acre Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of burials in Louisville.

Cave Hill National Cemetery, located in Louisville, Kentucky, is comprised of six burial sections at the northwest corner of the privately owned Cave Hill Cemetery, a grand Victorian-era cemetery that provided a proper resting place for the dead within a beautiful park setting.  The national cemetery features rows of marble headstones following the curvilinear pathways of the grounds.  The cemetery is the home of the 32nd Indiana Monument, also known as the Bloedner Monument, the oldest Civil War memorial in the country.
We missed out on these parts of the cemetery altogether. I didn’t research the cemetery ahead of time and it was just a side wish to be able to go to the cemetery because of our time constraints on getting to our tour in Shelbyville on time.
E.L. Huffman was buried in 1869.
As you can see we had another great weather day on our travels.
Always sad to see missing parts on these old statues.
Old cemeteries always draw me in. We only got a taste of this one but it was worth the short stop.
Hope you have a peaceful weekend.

Three Days of Travel

This post is more of a travel journal for me for our days of travel between The Badlands in South Dakota to Lexington in Kentucky on Our Land That We Love Tour. Tomorrow I’ll share the photos from the cemetery we visited in Louisville.

Friday September 24th our route to Omaha, Nebraska took us through more of Iowa than Nebraska. We traveled I-90 from the Badlands to Interstate 29 south through Iowa to Omaha. These photos are proof positive that taking photos from a moving car isn’t the best way to do it.

Sapp Brothers headquartered in Nebraska. Because we were in Omaha we thought eating steak would be appropriate. We found Gorat’s Steakhouse and were able to get an early table and meal. Gorat’s where the food was good but the ambiance could be described as ‘faded glory’. The service was good and the food was good and we’ll leave it at that. We paid about the same for steak here that we did in Wyoming $67.00 for two steak dinners.

After dinner we found a Costco to fill our tank up with gas. We paid $2.739 per gallon. Then we checked into our hotel for the night. We tried Aloft a new offering from Marriott properties. It was a modern, trendy property with minimalist interiors. No free breakfast. Our AAA rate was $125.00 and with taxes the total was $147.71. This new modern concept was not pleasing to us or comfortable for us.

On this day Friday September 24th we drove 469 miles and it took approximately 6-1/2 hours.

Our drive to St. Louis on Saturday September 25th took us south through Missouri. The miles we would drive were 431 and it took approximately 6-1/2 hours. We filled up with gas from Costco again in Independence, Missouri at $2.579 per gallon.

Our hotel in the burbs of St. Louis was a Residence Inn and we enjoyed the extra space. Our AAA rate was $137.00 for the night with the total after taxes $157.43. We also topped off our gas tank at another Costco closer to our hotel at $2.699 and did a little shopping while there. We found a Mexican Restaurant for Linner.

Early Sunday morning the 26th of September we tried to travel on Interstate 64 to Kentucky. What a sad photo of the St. Louis Arch. We ended up on the wrong highway when google was over zealous in making sure we would miss road closures in Louisville, Kentucky 250 miles away! They wanted us to go north to Indianapolis so my vantage point for getting a clear and good shot was lost. We got off that route pronto and reconfigured to go our original route with plans to deal with the closures when we got closer to Kentucky. Back on Interstate 64 we traveled through parts of Illinois and Indiana before we crossed into Kentucky.

When we made it around the detour to get into Louisville we took a short side trip to Cave Hill Cemetery. We had a little time before we needed to carry on to a scheduled tour of Bulleit Distillery in Shelbeyville at 3:30, which we enjoyed.

It was a good day of travel after our early morning google maps mess up. While we were at the Bulleit Distillery we asked the staff for a recommendation for dinner. One of the recommendations was for the best barbecue in Kentucky which we decided would be our choice. Red State Barbecue on Georgetown Road in Lexington did not disappoint.

Delicious! We both got the brisket. This was a self serve type of arrangement where you go up and order at the front counter and pay, you are given a number and you wait to hear your number when your food is ready. There was a constant stream of people coming and going picking up orders or ordering in and eating. I didn’t keep the receipt and we paid cash so I don’t remember the total but it was very reasonable. This was one of our favorite meals on our trip.

Our hotel for this night was in Georgetown at the Lexington Georgetown Fairfield Inn. Our AAA rate was $129.60 and with taxes $142.88. This property was rundown and not a favorite. The staff was friendly. Our total miles this day were approximately 337 miles with driving time at 5 hours.

We were in for an amazing experience on Monday September 27th with a short drive north of Georgetown. That post or more likely posts will be for another day or days. But first, Cave Hill Cemetery tomorrow.

 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.

Enjoying the Light Hodgepodge

1. Three things you’re grateful for this first week of November? 

*The two Bible studies I’m in. One on Mondays in the book of 2 Timothy and a ladies Bible Study on Thursdays in 1st and 2nd Kings on Trusting God. Both are real good and I’m thankful for the teachers and the content of the studies.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

2 Kings: 18:5-7 “He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the LORD. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered.

*Dear painted our storage closet and that involved emptying it out and then organizing things better when we put the stuff back in.  We were able to transfer stuff to my garage instead of keeping it in the house. Neat and tidy for now! Here’s a peek in the door. I’ll show more photos at another time.

*Thankful that we can trust in God especially while the world is going down the wrong path.

2. Is Daylight Savings Time a thing where you live? Do you think we should continue setting the clocks forward and back? Why or why not? If you could add an extra hour to your day would you want it added morning-noon-night? Do you think it likely you’d be more productive or more likely that you’d just waste more time? 
Yes, the manipulation of the clocks is a thing here. I think we should leave well enough alone. It just messes with our internal clocks. Given the choice I’d take an extra hour in the morning. I am more productive in the morning for sure. I’m more productive when in a pinch so the extra time would probably be easier to waste.
~
3. Who is  your favorite author? Your favorite book by your favorite author? 
I don’t think I can narrow it down to just one. I have different favorites in different genres.
In the world of fiction: George MacDonald ~ Sir Gibbie
Fiction: Elizabeth Goudge ~ The Dean’s Watch
and Historical Fiction: Stephen Lawhead ~ Byzantium
In the world of fantasy: J.R.R. Tolkien ~ Lord of the Rings (3 volumes) and C.S. Lewis: Narnia Series
Christian Authors: Devotionals: Any by Charles H. Spurgeon, Doctrinal books: by John MacArthur ~ The Gospel According to Jesus and by Alistair Begg ~ Pathway to Freedom
~
4. It’s National Sandwich Day…will you celebrate? How often do you eat a sandwich? What’s your favorite? 

We don’t eat sandwiches regularly anymore. The last sandwich I had was a turkey sandwich. I love a good Salami sandwich and a Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich, too.

5. Have you started your Christmas shopping? If so when did you start? If not when will you start? Do you give more or fewer gifts than you did five years ago? 

We bought some small things on our trip across the U.S.A. in September. In October we bought a couple more gifts. We give more gifts now than 5 years ago because we have two grandchildren now!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Fun times in October!

Our grandkids and our daughters-in-law enjoying all the sunshine they can get. We all love it when Auntie Lolo comes to visit. These are all photos that she took.

The Badlands Continued

Continuing our drive through the Badlands on our Land That We Love Tour. It was a windy cold day and we were happy for our layers.

This was a couple we kept bumping into at each of the turnouts. They were from California and they had no fear of walking out on the rocks.

I was more comfortable on walkways.

Goodbye Badlands. We are so glad we came and made the loop.

And now we were off to Omaha, Nebraska for the night. My camera got a good rest as we drove to Omaha.

Great God, With Wonder and With Praise

The Thames 106

Great God, With Wonder and With Praise

Great God, with wonder and with praise
On all Thy works I look:
But still Thy wisdom, power, and grace,
Shine brighter in Thy Book.

The stars that in their courses roll
Have much instruction giv’n;
But Thy good Word informs my soul
How I may climb to Heav’n.

The fields provide me food, and show
The goodness of the Lord;
But fruits of life and glory grow
In Thy most holy Word.

Here are my choicest treasures hid;
Here my best comfort lies;
Here my desires are satisfied;
And hence my joys arise.

Lord, make me understand Thy law;
Show what my faults have been;
And from Thy Gospel let me draw
A pardon for my sin.

Here would I learn how Christ has died
To save my soul from hell:
Not all the books on earth beside
Such heav’nly wonders tell.

Then let me love my Bible more;
And take a fresh delight
By day to read these wonders o’er,
And meditate by night.

Words: Isaac Watts, (1674-1748)

The Badlands at Dawn

On Friday September 24th we were up before dawn for our 39 mile tour of the Badlands. This would be day 4 on our Land That We Love Tour. On this day besides taking in the Badlands our drive would be a total of 469 miles and approximately 6-1/2 hours to our destination for the night in Omaha, Nebraska.

We saw some Big Horned Sheep at our first stop and along the way.

The 39 mile loop is easy to access off of Interstate 90. We started on the west end of the loop and returned to Interstate 90 on the eastern entrance. The loop has convenient parking areas along the way to stop and enjoy the vistas. We took advantage of each one. Several of the parking areas also have restrooms.

That little black smudge in this photo is a buffalo. I zoomed in as far as I could to get this shot.

We were so thrilled to have started our tour before it got light and we would recommend dawn in the Badlands. Sunset would probably be another lovely time of day to be here, too.

Our first stop along the way and we were already blown away by the amazing landscape. I will be posting several days worth of photos from the Badlands.

We found ourselves reciting part of Psalm 19 and praising the Creator of it all as we began our day here…

The Law of the Lord is Perfect

The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
    making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
    enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
    and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can discern his errors?
    Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
    let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable in your sight,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Rapid City and Wall, North Dakota

George Washington

We parked in downtown Rapid City with intentions of eating ‘Linner’ at one of the restaurants there. Note: this downtown area is a pay for parking area. You can use coins or credit card to park. The Italian restaurant we were interested in was not going to open until 5pm. We tried another restaurant but it was not good for us after a busy day of traveling and sight seeing (too loud and noisy and fried). Downtown Rapid City has a unique tourist feature with the Presidents of the United States memorialized on every corner. We were only able to photograph a few of them. This would be an amazing teaching moment for your homeschooled students or any students.

John Quincy Adams

James Monroe

William Howard Taft

Harry S. Truman

Lyndon B. Johnson

Ronald Reagon

George Bush

We said our adieus to Rapid City and got on to I-90 heading to Wall, South Dakota where we would have dinner at the Red Rock in Wall and spend the night. It was a down home restaurant with down home service and menu. We made it there in time to enjoy a seat next to a couple of gals who were traveling home from Pennsylvania to Oregon and who were originally from Southern California as are Dear and Me! A wonderful serendipitous meeting with enjoyable conversation.

All along the road to Wall you’ll see these signs every few miles reminding or enticing you to stop in Wall!

We stayed the night in a cabin in Wall at Frontier Cabins.

We filled up with gasoline at a Shell station just off of I-90 at $3.159 a gallon. Our lodging at the cabin with tax cost us $119.90.

We were ready to leave the following morning before dawn to discover and enjoy the Badlands. These cabins were on the highway that leads you to the west entrance to the Badlands loop.

It was a full and draining day but good. South Dakota has a lot to offer and we could have spent more than one night to enjoy all the area has to offer.

Trick or Treat Hodgepodge

 

If it’s Wednesday it must be time for Hodgepodge. Click over to Joyce’s blog to join in the fun.

1. Is Halloween a big deal in your neighborhood?

We live out in the country with homes far apart. We do not get trick or treaters. There are some homes decorated for Halloween. Our kids come by all dressed up which is fun. Our church puts on a Fall Fest Trunk or Treat that our grands will go to this year. Last year because it was the only thing happening in town and we had over a thousand people show up. That’s a lot for a town of 5000.

Was it something you celebrated as a child?

Yes we went around our neighborhood with pillow cases for bags. It seemed like the whole neighborhood was out and most houses gave out candy. We enjoyed sorting our candy when we got home. Our father would accompany us.

With your own children?

Yes, we enjoyed Trick or Treating with our kids and seeing all our neighbors.

Do you like candy corn? 

Not particularly.

2. Are you a scaredy cat? About what? 

I’m a scaredy cat about driving in snow or icy conditions.

3. Last time you were somewhere that should have been busy but felt like a ‘ghost town’? 

Nothing rings a bell.

4. Do you like chili and if so how do you like it?

Funny you should mention it but I made a pot of turkey chili Tuesday.

Beans or no beans?

Yes, we like to add black beans and a can of Pinto Chili Beans

Meat or no meat?

Yes, meat.

Beef or chicken?

Beef, chicken or ground turkey

Spice or no spice?

Yes, jalapenos and chili and cumin.

Favorite toppings? 

5. Would you describe yourself as a night owl? What time of night qualifies? What are you doing while everyone else is asleep? Do you then ‘sleep in’? Define ‘sleeping in’. 

Not a night owl.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Our son Josh was able to fly down to our nephew-in-law’s father’s memorial service last week. These are some of our nieces, nephews and our son together at the memorial. We couldn’t attend but were glad that Josh could be there in person to represent our family and to support Lenny and his family as they grieve.

Love each other, stay together.