It is my desire in the pages of this memoir to express my deep and sincere gratitude to so many people who have reached out to me with caring, encouragement, and kindness in the various chapters of my life. Many of these individuals are highlighted in this book; they are indelibly engrained in my memory. Above all, I reserve the most resounding shouts of praise and thanksgiving to the loving and almighty God, my Creator and Sustainer, who has stayed by my side each moment of my life, whether I have realized it or not, not allowing me to drift too far from Him, always lifting me up when I have fallen or become discouraged, charting a wonderful course for me to follow, and giving my life meaning and purpose ... and my Savior Jesus Christ, who has forgiven my sins and given me the promise of abundant life in this world and eternal life in the next.
Where more poignantly than in a small country graveyard can a traveler fathom the flow of history and tradition? During the past twenty years, Terry G. Jordan has traveled the back roads and hidden trails of rural Texas in search of such cemeteries. With camera in hand, he has visited more than one thousand cemeteries created and maintained by the Anglo-American, black, Indian, Mexican, and German settlers of Texas. His discoveries of sculptured stones and mounds, hex signs and epitaphs, intricate landscapes and unusual decorations represent a previously unstudied and unappreciated wealth of Texas folk art and tradition. Texas Graveyards not only marks the distinct ethnic and racial traditions in burial practices but also preserves a Texas legacy endangered by changing customs, rural depopulation, vandalism, and the erosion of time.
This scripture was revealed through spirit writing in 1181. It traces Wenchang's development through his many transformations culminating in his apotheosis as director of the Wenchang Palace and custodian of the Cinnamon Record that determines men's and women's fates. The god has since assumed a high position in the Taoist pantheon, has been introduced into the school system and Confucian temples, and now controls the all-important civil service examinations in China. The text translated here provides a unique window into the religious world of Traditional China. Numerous anecdotes of good- and evil-doers reveal the ethical dilemmas facing men and women of the time, from social questions like infanticide and discrimination against women to more purely religious issues such as how evil gods are punished and how China's divergent religious traditions can be reconciled.
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