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.