February 22, 2009

Celina, Texas and Calera, Oklahoma

We received a good report that Landis was well-behaved at Papaw & Mamaw's house in Texarkana last week. I was so proud of him and so happy for him to get to spend time with his grandparents.

Time with grandparents is something I used to take for granted. We lived only 7 miles from Grandpa Schwartz's farm and we were over there several times a week. And when I'd spend the night at their house, the sound of the milker (milking machine) would awaken me before dawn. I'd get up and after Grandma bundled me up, I'd walk out to the milk house. My Uncle Merlin would set me on a board fixed between 2 studs in the barn wall, which served as my perch and nervously I would sit there eye-level with the cows as they filed in to be milked. I remember being told why Grandpa limped when he walked. It had never dawned on me that something happened to him to cause him to walk the way he did. I just thought that was the way he chose to walk. Someone told me he fell out of the hay mow and broke his leg and, as a result, one leg was shorter than the other.

I have very fond memories of so many things from that farm. I remember my Aunt Ony, who was only 6 years older than me, taking me for rides on the little go cart. I wonder where they got that thing? Little platform close to the ground with four small tires and a small steering wheel. We'd weave in between all the buildings and splash through puddles or leave a cloud of dust in our wake. We used to beg for permission to walk down to the river. You could follow the lane that ran in between fields and led to the Prairie River. There was rope for getting a running jump, swinging out and making a big splash and LOTS of mosquitoes. I remember “helping” my uncles with hay baling on a hot August afternoon. And probably

one of my fondest memories is being sung to and entertained on a regular basis. My mom had four younger brothers and they were all still living at home the first couple years of my life. I was the first grandchild and with all those uncles I didn't lack attention. One of the boys would get their guitar and sing a song they wrote on the spot with my name, Becky Jo, plugged in and enough silly words in it to make me giggle until my belly hurt, while another one of them would walk across the room on his hands. Yes, good memories. And I'm glad Landis could tuck of few memories back into the corners of his mind to pull out later in life to relive.

We picked Landis up at 5:30 Saturday evening and after everyone got a potty break, we were back on the road toward McKinney, Texas where we spent the night. We found Trail To Heaven Cowboy Church near Celina the next morning and met a lot of friendly cow...people. It's definitely a much more relaxed atmosphere at a cowboy church. Pastor Kevin Landis had a GREAT sermon as he preached in his jeans and cowboy hat. He's doing a series on the calling of God on our lives and how God is constantly working in our lives to fulfill His will on this earth through us. Sometimes we don't see the point of something happening and sometimes things happen that we consider unfortunate but God is working through them for our good and His glory. I know somebody that shares this in their personal testimony.

I enjoyed visiting with Pastor Kevin's wife, Sharon after church. And Landis buddied up to their son, Garret, as they exchanged guitar skills.

We took our time driving up to Calera, Oklahoma, stopping for a long lunch at Wendy's and at Wal Mart to get a new pair of tights for Faith. She tripped walking down the wheelchair ramp and skinned both knees, tearing a hole in the ones she had on.

We still arrived at First Baptist Church of Calera about 30 minutes early. We had a quick and quiet service (yes, sometimes that happens) and drove 3 hours back to Texarkana for the night. We will stay in Texarkana on Monday for Bobby's sister Judy's birthday. We'll be back home Tuesday night.

February 13 & 15, 2009

Hendersonville, Tennessee; Bonham and Sulphur Springs, Texas

It sure was fun finally getting to go to Pastor Aaron Allison's church, The Church at Indian Lake, in Hendersonville on Friday, the 13th. Of all the Cornerstone offspring churches, this is the first to have us come in and sing and we were very appreciative. We didn't sing to a large crowd, but to be honest, we're used to that.

Gospel concerts aren't popular like they used to be. Bobby talks about how, back in the 1980's, the MidSouth Boys used to be busy every weekend just in the Texas-Arkansas-Louisiana region alone, and the concerts were very well attended. He said that even the Gaither Homecoming concerts are held in smaller venues than they used to be. Perhaps I'm just trying to make myself feel better about our small crowds but I do think that it's simply not as easy as it used to be to get people interested in coming to church for a concert anymore. One thing that Bobby and I feel strongly about is that we don't want to have a feel-good concert only. There's nothing at all wrong with a feel-good concert but we want to lead a church service that brings people around full circle to a moment with Jesus and the main way we do this is through prayer before a concert. If we just make ourselves available, He can do anything through these earthen vessels.

Our long-time friend, Mrs. Terri Weeks was able to attend the concert Friday night and that alone made the evening very special. Mrs. Terri suffered a stroke about 5 years ago and has not been able to walk or talk since then. However, that doesn't keep her from singing. Sitting next to me, I could hear her singing along with Bobby during “In The Garden” and “I Can Only Imagine,” in a language that only God understood. And I know He took pleasure in listening to her heart.

We got up early Sunday morning and left Bobby's parents' home in Texarkana to drive the 2 hours to Bonham, Texas. We were at Living Word Church of God last June for a Wednesday evening service and Pastor Brian Rayburn was kind enough to have us come back. However, it wasn't the normal 75-minute concert. Bobby sang about four songs before Pastor Rayburn preached about “Crazy Love.” He, his wife, Krista, their 2 teens and another couple, (a doctor who reminded me of Sam English, and his wife of sixteen months...they were so much fun but I can't remember his name...and he bought our lunch!) went to a little Mexican cafe` after church.

From downtown Bonham we drove cross country to Sulphur Springs to Calvary Baptist Church where Bobby's half-cousin, (they all call themselves "half-crazy") Gail attends. Bobby's dad, Bob had a half brother, Dawson Bowen who had four children; 3 girls and a boy just like Bob did. When Bobby's Sunday night booking in Reno, Texas canceled, Gail called Bobby and asked if we wanted to come sing at her church Sunday night, the 15^th. She got permission from her pastor and the door was opened just like that! Jehovah Jireh. God, our Provider, takes care of His children. We should never worry. When we worry it's an insult to God. There's no one that can provide for us better than He can and to worry is suggesting He can't do it.

The really neat thing is 2 more of Dawson's children came some long distances to join us last night. Mike Bowen and his wife, Rose came from the Jacksonville, Texas area and cousin, Pat Walters and her husband Bruce drove over from Grapevine. So after church we enjoyed a small reunion in the fellowship hall as we fellowshipped over food. Gail and David's son, Clint, his wife and their 3 children joined us as well.

In the picture after me, Hope, and Bobby is Rose and Mike Bowen, Gail and David Massey, Bruce and Pat Walters and Clint and his family.

We drove the one hundred miles back to Texarkana Sunday night, got to bed rather late and were up earlier than we wanted to be in order to get on the road toward home. Bob and Tena had a funeral to attend at 10:00 this morning so we wanted to get out of the house before that.

It was with great reservation we left our only begotten son, Landis in Texarkana with his Papaw and Mamaw for the week. There were many speeches and threats made before we left him behind. His schoolwork and practicing his guitar will keep him busy to some degree and Mamaw will encourage him to watch TV to pass the rest of the time. I told Bobby this morning before we left their house that I'm really gonna miss the little squirt. Bobby agreed and mentioned how much he helps us. But I came back with, “yes, he helps a lot but I'm talking about his energetic personality and the excitement he brings to our family...I'm really gonna miss him this week.”

February 8 in Searcy and Rison, Arkansas

The drive to Searcy on Saturday was easy. A 5 or 6 hour drive now is a breeze when we're used to sometimes 10 or 12 hours on the road. Our hotel was only a few minutes from the church on Sunday morning and we found it quickly. The situation there was a bit different than the usual for we didn't meet the pastor until after Sunday School. Pastor Jim Cantrell's father had open heart surgery over a week ago and didn't respond well. Jim and his siblings have shared in spending time with their ailing daddy and he said that his father was coming around over the last day or two.

But the really good news is, at the altar call a man came forward and accepted Christ! Praise God! Several others came up for prayer. Just before he dismissed us, Pastor Jim asked his congregates to pass by the offering plates one more time so as to give one more offering specifically for our children. That was a surprise and we'd never had that happen before. They handed us a wad of bills, the total being $99! We've decided to put it in an envelope and use it toward admission fees to museums, parks, or other attractions coming up this summer.

As of right now we're planning to go to Canada this summer, being gone approximately 6 weeks. The other night while we were listening to Pastor Joe, the children's pastor at Cornerstone, describe the campground where this summer's Kid's Camp was to be held, Landis and I looked across the table at each other when fishing was mentioned. His eyes were as big as quarters. But moments later I remembered: we're not going to be able to participate in Kid's Camp this summer. When I reminded him of it, his eyes showed so much disappointment I was afraid he was going to cry. I quickly pulled him close and whispered to him, "Landis, we're going on such a big and exciting trip. We're going to spend time in 3 of Canada's provinces, not to mention our own Montana, North and South Dakota where we'll see Mt. Rushmore and one of the homes of Laura Ingalls Wilder. We'll see mountains and there will be time to do a little fishing, swimming and grilling. It's gonna be a blast!" His eyes got big again and he was more than satisfied at this announcement.

Back to this Sunday evening in Rison. After some arguing about where, when and what to eat for lunch and a little bit of spilled Wendy's chili on Grace's black (thankfully...black) pants (I ALWAYS pack 2 pair of pants per day for her...but not this weekend) and the van floor, we arrived wearily at the hotel in Pine Bluff with about 40 minutes to unload the van, change clothes and wash faces. We got to Cornerstone Church of God outside of Rison a little before 5:00 thinking that church started at 6:00. But as I was sitting on the front pew talking to Grace I noticed a lot of people getting to church very early. Then I turned to Bobby and said, "Are you sure church doesn't start at 5:30? Sure enough, the pastor confirmed our suspicions and the service began less than 2 minutes later. I told Bobby I sure was thankful I wasn't still scurrying to get hair combed and makeup on, thinking that church didn't start until 6:00. That would have been a little more typical of me.

Pastor Jonathan Hall and his beautiful (and I don't say that lightly) wife visited with us moments before the service started and then, after singing 3 congregational hymns and a Bowen Family concert complete with kid's singing and testimony time, we enjoyed a rich time at the altar. One middle-aged couple approached the altar first and others soon surrounded them in prayer. Then Pastor Hall called me up to meet "Daniella" and told me I might have something encouraging to say to her. After the service Daniella and I visited some more and I learned that her 22 year old daughter had recently lost a baby at 7 months pre-term. As a result her daughter felt a resentment and a growing hatred for God. This hurt Daniella greatly but what also broke her heart was that she didn't know how to help her daughter. She felt that it was her responsibility to "fix" this problem and somehow get her daughter to see a God of love instead of a God who takes. The only thing I could tell her was that sometimes she can't help those closest to her but to turn them over to God and allow Him to do what only He can do. Her responsibility is to continue praying for and encouraging her daughter. I laughed when she came back with, "but I'm supposed to fix it, aren't I?" I'm so thankful that The Shack came to my mind at that moment. Bobby and I read it recently and it was, at times, overwhelming, emotionally speaking. For me personally, it was an eye-opening book of the height, width and depth of God's love for me, how He IS love, and that every single thing He does is because of love. I thought it might be appropriate for Daniella's daughter's situation and I was glad to hear her say her daughter likes to read.

We're about to get off here at our Ridgetop exit. We're home for the week and we're still trying to decide if we should drive back and forth next week or not. We're scheduled to sing in Hendersonville this Friday evening at The Church At Indian Lake and then do a mini-concert Sunday morning at Living Word Church of God in Bonham, Texas...and that's it. We don't have anything again until the following weekend...back in Texas and Oklahoma. Should we drive home for the weekdays in between? Or impose upon others again and stay in Texarkana? Not to mention missing our own Wednesday service at Cornerstone. This happens again the following 2 weekends, which means there's potential to be gone from home 3 weeks. The pros are we'd save gasoline and 2000+ miles on the Bowenmobile.

Speaking of the Bowenmobile and my talk of a motor home in the last post. What we're actually planning to do at the present is purchase a 5x8 trailer (possibly bigger) to put equipment and luggage in to create more space in the van. We could even sleep comfortably in the van if we could get equipment, luggage and wheelchair out of the way. The back couch lays out flat like a bed and the captain chairs in the middle are already gone so that opens up the floor for 3 little girls. When we have those Sunday evenings where the host church wasn't able to provide lodging, instead of trying to choke down an all-night drive, we can park, cover up the front windows and snooze. We figure that a trailer is much more do-able right now and is something we can continue to use behind a motor home or whatever we graduate into.

Praise God from Who ALL blessings flow. We are thankful for His goodness and His leading.

January 31-February 1, 2009.

We had a nice and restful week at Bob & Tena's, a.k.a. Papaw & Mamaw's house in Texarkana. Again, we were grateful not to have to drive the 12 hours home and then another 12 hours back to southern Louisiana four days later. Texarkana was only 5 hours away and much more do-able. Tuesday and Wednesday were rainy days but Thursday was beautiful and to give Papaw and Mamaw a little break from us, we took a family outing. The kids were eager to visit Fouke again because they're so intrigued with the legendary Fouke Monster. Fouke lies 20 miles south of Texarkana on Highway 71 and therein settled among the pines, sweet gum and walnut trees sits the house Bobby grew up in. As we drove by that tiny little house on Virginia Street and stopped to let the kids gaze upon it, the owner drove into the driveway and offered a tour of the inside of the house. Could it be? How often do you get to walk back into the home you grew up in after it's been owned by a stranger for 20 years? So the kids and I got to sneak a peek at the old home place where Bobby used to lay his head to sleep and eat his nightly supper.

The discussions recently have been centered around a larger vehicle to travel in. My Dad mentioned a motor home last spring and I remember just laughing at the suggestion, thinking, “that's really not necessary.” Now I'm laughing at myself and realizing that it has certainly become a necessity. Not only are we cramped but when we have a few days in between dates and need to lodge in one spot for a 2 or 3 days, it would be great to have a place to stay...anywhere we are. This is something we are praying about now, thanking God for that particular vehicle that is being prepared for us even now and the means to obtain it.

So Saturday, the 31st was Faith's 3rd birthday! We arrived at the Fairfield Inn in Lafayette on Friday evening and got settled and then on Saturday morning we began the cycles of “Happy Birthday To You” over and over to help Faith understand that indeed it was HER birthday and she wasn't 2 anymore. Throughout the day we asked her how old she was and she consistently said she was 2 and then we'd remind her she was 3. She's still giggling when she attempts holding up that 3rd finger. Also, Mr. Pat sent an e-card
http://www.bluemountain.com/view.pd?i=205535436&m=5678&rr=y&source=bma999
which made all the kids laugh hysterically, and a very unique video of himself wishing Faith a happy birthday with a small cake adorned with 3 candles.
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1073759852831
He encouraged Faith to get ready to blow out the candles and reminded her that she must give a very strong blow because her breath must get through the computer screen. He gave the countdown and as he said “go” he never stopped talking to her and encouraging her to give it all she had. Magically Faith was able to blow those candles out through the computer screen. That Mr. Pat is SO clever ...and thoughtful!

We celebrated her birthday at Chili's which was walking distance from the hotel and...OH...what a beautiful DAY!!! Sunny skies and 65 degrees. I wish we would have spent more time outside even if it would have been just walking around the perimeter of the parking lot. Instead, we watched others enjoy the weather as we occasionally looked out of our suite windows at the river behind us. A couple in a rowboat, a motorboat and an occasional duck waked the waters every so often. Personally, I enjoyed looking to the other side of the river at the lovely homes with their gazebos, perfectly manicured lawns and beautifully decorated patios. I look at it and wonder how I could copy what they did and not spend any money doing it. And right now I'm wondering how I started this paragraph talking about my daughter's birthday and am ending it with landscaping. I ask myself, “how?” It's 12:05 am Monday morning....that's how.

We're still driving back from Louisiana and as I right this next paragraph we're at Jackson, Tennessee. The Garmin (we call her “Laverne”) says we'll get to our driveway at 2:27. Bobby's doing well behind the wheel in spite of the persistent rain. We're in the company of Dan Seals, Ronnie Milsap, Don Williams, Shenandoah, Ricky Skaggs and Glen Campbell singing all of our old favorites but I expect we'll be switching to Fox News shortly since the kids are asleep (finally).

Back to Saturday. First Baptist Church of Broussard booked us for Saturday night as well as Sunday morning, sharing the pulpit with guest pastor, Wayne Jenkins. This church was so kind and gracious to us in so many ways. But they were so quiet in both services that I only hope they were ministered to. One woman responded to the altar call, given by Pastor Jenkins, on Saturday evening. But no one responded to the call on Sunday morning. Instead, from the stage I heard someone playing a game on their cell phone! Yes!...during the invitation. (I think it was the teenager on the second row, right behind Landis.) The spirit of Maury Davis came upon me and I came close to calling her out right then and there! I had to remind myself that I wasn't in charge and it wasn't my place. But what a distraction! Like Pastor Davis always says, “It never fails. If a baby's gonna cry in church, it will be during that moment when God wants to speak to someone. The devil will try anything he can to take our focus away from the voice of God.” However, no one said anything and that made me even more angry. We can't be taking a back seat to the devil like that, folks.

Home again, home again jiggety jig! But we'll not be purchasing any fat pigs.