We Recognize:

That love is richly expressed through creativity, resourcefulness and industry.

That learning is valuable, especially the pursuit of God’s will through His Word, and that developing character is the chief object of learning.

That hospitality is the practical expression of the lordship of Christ in my life.

That raising children is a privilege, not a duty, and that a heritage of Godly sons and exceeds above any occupation in benefits, character-building challenge, and rewards.

That patriotism is practically expressed when the worth of the individual, friend or enemy, is regarded as paramount, and when each of us seeks to fulfill our individual responsibility.

That conforming to God’s standards and not the world may bring suffering, but God is working out His will in our lives, even through tough times.

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Brief History of the Talley Family Crest

In February 1989 I started a new job at Hallmark Cards as the Corporate Environmental Protection Administrator, fancy name for the Environmental Guy, huh? We moved to a rent house in Merriam, Kansas (5940 Antioch Rd) just southwest of Kansas City. While living there I had about a 15-minute commute to Crown Center, Hallmark’s headquarters. Mr. J.C. Hall, Hallmark’s founder had died in 1985 and the company was for the first time being operated by non-family management. It was rapidly diversifying and seemed to have lost the original vision and mission of the founder. So, a large team of long-term employees was commissioned to “find the company’s roots” and recapture the original vision. The team studied Hallmark’s 85-year
history and many of Mr. Hall’s writings.
After a couple of year’s work they developed a six-part mission/vision statement and posted it throughout the company. All employees were supposed to “get in step” with the vision.   But because the employees were such a diverse community and Jesus wasn’t the cohesive element, the “vision-thing” didn’t work too well.
At the same time this effort was going on at Hallmark, I attended a “Dad, the Family Shepherd Conference”. The passion of the speaker Dave Simmons, a former football player, was helping dads catch a vision for fathering. One particular point that caught my attention was the questions he asked concerning the future; ‘If you could listen in on your great-great-great-great grandchildren a couple of hundred years from now would they be talking about Jesus?   Would they be passionately in love with the Savior? What would/could you do to influence their lives so far into the future? Are you giving your children a
sense of destiny?’ Those questions got me to thinking about our eight children (before Anna Grace was born). What am I doing? I was praying with their mother every day, we were home-educating[1], we tried to consistently discipline, we loved to laugh together, we curtailed the television viewing and many other things. I was excited about all of the things we were doing, but surely where was the vision for future generations? What does being a Talley mean? Is there a special mission for our family?

As I mulled over these things in the weeks following I decided that the first thing I had to do was prayerfully develop the family vision/mission statement. I started with a blank sheet paper and began to jot down what ideals we valued. It was really just a long list of Scriptures that I had memorized and on which I had meditated. Gene Warr and Jim Kennedy are the guys who started me memorizing scripture 15 years earlier. The only problem was the list had more than fifty concepts on it. I began to group the issues/ideals under headings like, prayer, witnessing, discipleship, family, etc. It seemed I was stuck. I had been working on this idea alone but decided at this point to include Randy. After all, he had a degree in news and a career in public relations and was excited about the project. So I sent the long list to Randy and over the next couple of months we worked on several versions of the vision statement.
Sometimes when emphasizing meaningful scriptures it is easy to leave the impression that the rest of the Bible is not as important. But I never want to give that impression either directly or indirectly. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for doctrine (defining the road), for reproof (warning when we get off the road), for correction (how to get back on the road), for instruction in righteousness (how to stay on the road) and that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Now all we needed was a crest or symbol to typify the vision. Although Tina and I had looked for Talley family crests from Wales where our family supposed to have originated, the only thing we found was a few emblems unrelated to what we held as central family beliefs. You know, the ubiquitous medieval shield with lions, goats, yada, yada, yada on them. None really struck us as able to relate to what our family was all about.
This brings me to the third thing that influenced the vision. It occurred while I was on a business trip. I was flipping through the airline magazine and came across an advertisement for items marked with “your company’s logo”. You know watches, ink pens, ball caps, and stuff like that. It was on that plane during early 1990 that the idea popped into my mind.    I don’t remember the origin or destination of that flight but I really believe the idea was from the Holy Spirit.
After deciding a logo was a good way to go I called Randy and asked him to design the one. He had earned money for years with calligraphy skills and had worked for a graphic arts firm in Norman for a brief stint so I knew he was qualified to create a design. He came up with several great ideas and after much collaboration we finally decided on the one you see at the top of this brief history.
That Christmas we had gave out posters of the Vision and had sweatshirts silk-screened with the new logo for each person in the greater family, about 27 of them, I think. Since then the logo has been brandished on diplomas, watches, rings, polo shirts, and door plaques to name a few.
So what does it mean to you?
Please notice that each of the value statements is squarely centered on Scripture and character. Although the words ‘prayer’, ‘witnessing’, or ‘discipleship’ are never mentioned the vision is none-the-less oozing with them. We have made these ideals the central focus of our lives and the more than 19 years of home education. Our deepest desire is that all our children, grandchildren, indeed all future generations, would prize genuine love, learning, hospitality, children, patriotism, and suffering.

James Michael Talley
December 25, 2001
Springfield, Illinois

Although I would like to make the decision for you to follow Christ only YOU can do that. I am looking forward to being reunited with you or meeting you for the first time in heaven. What will you do with Jesus? For eternity’s sake, BE THERE!