Christmas Concerts
Part 1: Ohio and Michigan

Bobby said he wanted to do Christmas concerts this year. The funny part of that is we had planned a year ago to set aside money for this December, and we did, but it was spent on that beast of a motor home sitting in our driveway. We made a decision to just take December off for this year since it was hard to book dates in December anyway and taking the month off would be good for us. However, because of the the motor home expenses Bobby changed his mind and booked dates by advertising Christmas concerts with the participation of the entire family. It went over pretty well and by mid November, he had 14 Christmas concerts booked! I thought it was ironic that last year I made plans for this year to work 11 months and take the last one off. Instead, I took 11 months off and am working the last month!

We took the songs from our Christmas CD and made out a program and assigned scripture for the kids to memorize to introduce a few of the songs and threw in something new...a skit! We sat around the kitchen table as a family and timed the whole thing, going over it a few times and we all agreed that by the time we did the last concert on December 18th, we'd finally be getting the hang of it.

It's gone well. We started the Sunday after Thanksgiving in Adger, Alabama and drove on to Carthage, Mississippi for the Sunday evening service. I had to get past myself in the first few concerts. Self-consciousness and all. The following weekend Bobby had a private Christmas party booked on Friday night, nothing on Saturday, a cowboy church on Sunday morning where they only wanted us to do 3 or 4 songs, and a family concert Sunday evening. The Sunday evening booking canceled and so Bobby decided to rent a car and just take Landis. I really wasn't disappointed in staying home with all the girls and Justis. We had a nice time at home even though it wasn't nearly as restful as my weekends with just Grace and Justis. I had a lot more schooling to do plus I had to keep track of Landis getting his work done out there on the road. Not to mention all the work that children are at home. Don't get me wrong, it's good work. I'd much rather have them here and causing me work than for them to not be around. But it is funny how when Bobby and 1 child are gone I tend to think there's no need for me to cook dinner and that I'll be having a mini vacation. Hello! I still have four children I'm responsible for! When Bobby and the 3 children leave for a trip, the house usually needs a lot of picking up but by the time they get home on Monday, I've had time to pick everything up, catch up on all laundry, and clean a closet or sew or bake something. Not so with most of the children home, but still, I was very glad to be at home.

It wasn't until Monday, the 5th, as we were awaiting the arrival of Bobby and Landis from Texas that I realized that we'd be leaving that coming Friday and would be gone nearly 2 weeks. I had to let that sink in a little as I'm not used to being gone that long lately.

On Tuesday, we had no home school as we were gone all day long doing Christmas concerts. One at 11:00 at Crossroads Baptist Church in Greenbrier and Tuesday evening at Life Assembly in Mount Juliet, where my sister, Mary, joined us, contributing her humor and clever writing. There were meals provided at both places so we ended leaving the house at 9:00 that morning, coming home at 3:00 to make a couple of wardrobe changes including changing Grace's diaper and leaving again at 3:30 to be gone until 10:00! Long day.

We headed out Friday morning, the 9th, about 1 hour after the planned departure time. However, my husband, who chides me about "always" having to wait on me was just as busy as me with his running around and getting that one last item or making sure something was tightened or turned off...something he doesn't have to worry about if I stay home. We drove to Columbus, Ohio and made it in time for the 5:30 Kickback at the Drury. Bobby had reserved a two-room suite at my favorite hotel chain for the second time in two weeks. I teased him that he's trying to romance me back to being on the road. On Saturday morning we drove the remainder of the trip to Cleveland and checked into the Hilton Garden where we had adjoining rooms. We sang that evening at Willoughby Baptist Church. Bobby and the kids had just been there in August but he was successful in booking a Christmas concert.

The kids can't get around doing school on the road.

Glenda was such a blessing. She booked the concert, arranged for the great hotel rooms and brought Chik-fil-A nuggets, slaw, waffle fries and brownies for us for dinner in the church fellowship hall! Mmmmm. Our concert had improved much since the previous Tuesday and the folks seemed to enjoy it.

We didn't get much sleep because of Justis waking up at 4:20 Sunday morning. Was I ever thankful for having two rooms as I closed the door to the girls' room so Grace wouldn't be awakened. I was up with Justis for an hour and then dozed off and on until my alarm went off at 6:00. We were able to get everyone up and ready by 7:00 in order to enjoy a long and leisure breakfast bar in the hotel restaurant. From Cleveland we drove east about 90 minutes to a little Methodist church near Jefferson, Ohio. The pastor there was older but very young at heart with a desire to minister to the children. They were advertising "Breakfast With Santa" and provided breakfast as well as clay gingerbread men for the children to paint. And although he didn't preach Sunday morning, he still had a mini sermon for the children at the front of the sanctuary before we sang.




Again, the Christmas concert improved but I started hearing regular reports of the short blonde to my left. Faith was beginning to steal the entire show with her lip syncing of every song, yawns, leg-crossings, animated faces and various and peculiar facial expressions she would use in response to mine or Bobby's singing.

We enjoyed a delicious meal with our friend, Connie Smith in her home as she graciously received us and allowed us to just watch the football game and rest. She outdid herself with the rigatoni, garlic bread, salad and pumpkin roll. What a nice autumn comfort meal.

The Sunday evening concert was another visit to Pastor Bob Terasiak's church, Family Fellowship Church in Conneaut. You can actually see Lake Erie from the church - I love it. I enjoy going to Conneaut because of it's unique personality and beauty. We love being able to befriend some folks over the years and Pastor Bob and Sister Marianna are two people we look forward to seeing.

Again the concert went even better than the last one and again, I heard a few reports of our drama queen but a surprise was after Pastor Bob introduced Justis, who was sitting next to Grace in his stroller, I had to ask our friend Connie to take Justis and change his diaper because I could tell by his face that he had just pooped. I knew there was no way that poop would all stay in his diaper if too much time elapsed. So I had to tell Connie from the stage right there in front of God and everybody that Justis had serious troubles in his diaper and would she please take him out to change?

The folks at Family Fellowship brought in some great snacks for after church and we filled up before driving two hours to Milan to our not-so-favorite hotel chain, Super 8! The nice thing about this place was it was yet another two-room suite with no less than three double beds! It was very basic yet clean. The kids did see a couple of lady bugs though. We got to sleep in a little bit, enjoy a more simple breakfast, and then hit the Ohio Turnpike, headed west toward my Dad's home in Burr Oak, Michigan.

No Sense Crying Over No Sleep

Monday/Tuesday, November 14 & 15, 2011

It's been a tight season, financially speaking and I have had to keep putting off buying the "supplies" I needed for the upcoming long trip that Bobby and the kids would take when I would be left at home to paint the living room and bake ahead for Christmas. Finally, on Monday, the 14th, I saw an opportunity (my last one) to go to the store. I proposed to Bobby that after our company left Monday evening, I would pack the kids clothes, prepare their school lessons, cut coupons and prepare my grocery lists which would all cause me to go to bed very late and then rise as early as necessary to get to Wal Mart and Publix and be back home no later than 9:00 to get him to the airport by 10:00 so that he could pick up his rental car at the airport and they could be on their way to Oklahoma. He wasn't fond of the idea because he knows me and was afraid I would run late which would cause him to be late which meant he would have to choose from leftovers at the car rental place. I reminded him that I hadn't been able to get to the store before now because of not having the extra money and that there was no way I could go and get the things I needed once they left. I CAN push the wheelchair and pull Justis in the cart through Wal Mart but I can't get a cart-full of groceries at the same time. I'm not THAT good. He gave permission and after the company left Monday night, I dug in with packing clothes, preparing lessons, etc. I didn't get to bed until 3:45. Actually, I didn't go to bed. I kept my clothes on, my contacts in, my makeup on and laid on the recliner for an hour and a half. Rising at 5:15 I put my shoes on, made sure I had my wits about me and my purse before leaving the house and drove off in the dark of the night to Wal Mart.

I LOVE going to Wal Mart at that hour. I was the only customer. I was a dizzy, sleepy customer but I was alone with all the cleaning, straightening, organizing employees. On the way to the store I realized I wasn't going to be able to buy any paint as there wouldn't be anyone at the paint desk to mix it for me at that early hour.

"Oh well," I thought, "I'll get everything else I need and worry about the actual paint later."

I grabbed a biscuit at Hardees before driving to Publix which opens at 7:00. Again, I enjoyed being one of only a handful of customers as the store employees hustled and bustled around me saying "Good morning!" By the way, I spent $87.10 and saved over $62 after all the buy-one-get-one deals, other sales, and coupons! My cart was nearly full and I always compare to Wal Mart, thinking that if my cart looked like that at Wal Mart my bill would be well over $150. Ha! Which, I just realized, is what my spending plus my savings was at Publix!

It was raining so I was hurrying but trying to be careful and made it home by 9:00! I walked in damp, sleepy, and my arms loaded down with grocery sacks only to hear my husband say, "I think I'll just wait until tomorrow to leave."

I hung my head and all kinds of thoughts ran through my mind very quickly, like, "REALLY!?!" and, "Ha ha! For a minute there I thought you said you were going to wait until tomorrow to leave," and "What is WRONG with you?" and "That's a low blow!" and, "I can't believe you just said that!!!" Nah, I didn't even consider back-handing him like one friend asked me later. I hung my head down and didn't say anything for a second and then said, "I should have seen this coming." My husband changes his mind more than any woman I know.

Getting upset about the whole thing really wouldn't make much difference in his decision. I didn't blame him for not wanting to drive in the rain. They had time to leave at 4:00 the next morning and still make it to Moore, Oklahoma in time to sing.

And that's what they did. But you know, it was still raining. I had an uneasy or unsettled feeling when they left and let's just be real. Whenever you say goodbye to your family when they get in a car there's always the thought waaaay in the back of your mind that it could be the last time you see them. That thought was pushed aside and I prayed with faith for them as I laid back down to sleep after they left, knowing that staying awake and "thinking" about them would do no good.

Bobby called me at 7:20 to say they were still 30 miles EAST of Jackson sitting still on the Interstate and had been there since before 6:00! A cattle truck had turned over and there were dead cows everywhere! He said the first thing that happened was the trucks in front of him tapped their breaks, then slowed down. If he hadn't slowed down it could have been so much worse because he said about 10 cows came running toward him. He slammed on his brakes and swerved a few times missing them all. The trucks in front of him turned their flashers on and then finally everyone came to a complete stop.

We kept talking to each other over the next few hours and he watched as the arrival time on his GPS got later and later. He got in touch with the pastor from Highland Baptist Church and told him of his predicament.

By 9:30 I began to lose hope that they would make it to Moore in time to sing but at 9:45 Bobby called me and said they were moving again and he intended to stop only once and do some speeding. They did stop only the one time, 10 minutes to fuel up and use the bathroom. They made it to the church before 6:00 - plenty of time to set up and change clothes. The funny thing was Bobby, who normally showers before getting in the car, chose not to shower that morning - I think because he knew it was raining and he knew it would mess up his hair. So he had to wash his hair in the sink and put on a little extra cologne.

Like Bobby said, "It was only by the grace of God that (he) didn't hit one of those cows." God is faithful. Now...if Bobby would have just left when he had originally planned...then again...God might not have had the opportunity to show Himself like He did this way.

September 25, 2011

Honor's Reward

Another weekend at home with Grace and Justis. Another weekend with Bobby and the 3 middle children traveling and making music. I'm focused on being content with how things are right now. I really do enjoy being at home this year. I know that if and when I go back out there with Bobby that I will look back at my productive Saturdays and my restful Sunday afternoons with fondness. I am content but at the same time I miss my family and really would like to be out there with them. Looking back at last year I realize now that I was headed toward burnout. I was pregnant and emotional and then caring for Grace on the road was getting more and more difficult.

Speaking of Grace, it's her birthday tomorrow. I can NOT believe she'll be 13! I never dreamed 13 years ago that I'd still be changing her diapers and spoon-feeding her. These things weren't in my plans nor are they God's plans for her life...or mine. The Saturday before Labor Day I went to get Grace dressed for the day and, just in case you ever wondered, no, there's never a day goes by that I don't think about her healing. And just so you know what I think about that. I think...no, I KNOW, that God gave her her healing and we've received it. I rest in that and am totally confident in it. But it dawned on me this particular day to ask God what it was that was keeping that healing from manifesting. What is going on in the spiritual realm that is hindering this thing from happening?

That evening we all went to church. Bobby and the kids were singing about an hour west of Nashville the next morning so we could all go to Cornerstone together Saturday night. Guest speaker, John Bevere was preaching about honor. I had a question that morning about what was hindering Grace's healing and decided I should pray about what that was and that same day I felt like God was already revealing to me the answer to my question. Bobby bought the book for me and the CD set for himself so he could listen to it while driving.

Let me explain the connection between honor and Grace's healing. Mark 6:5 says that, "...He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them." He COULD NOT do mighty miracles. Why? Verse 4 explains. "...Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives and in his own house." The people around Him were familiar with Him. They'd watched Him grow up. They did not honor Him as someone great.

I saw the parallel in my own life as I listened to the sermon Saturday night. I didn't honor my husband. God's hands were tied.

The next morning, Grace and I watched John Bevere's message again, via the Internet. This was heavy to me as I began to realize the serious consequences of my attitude toward my husband.

Monday came and went and I never spoke with Bobby about this issue. Tuesday was no different. There was one thing different on Tuesday, however. I began to feel ill. The later the hour the sicker I began to feel. Not nauseous. Just heavy, sad, depressed, oppressed, bleak. It got worse until I went to bed thinking that maybe I just needed to sleep.

Wednesday morning I awoke and realized I still felt the same. I went to a nearby green-way and walked alone. Suddenly I realized what was going on. I felt terrible because I was under some heavy conviction. At least when I realized what was happening to me I felt a little bit better because I knew. But it wasn't until Thursday night after the kids were in bed that I had the opportunity to finally talk with Bobby.

I didn't stumble with my words, I didn't cry. I just told him that I was wrong and that I was very, very sorry. But I knew and even told him that this was only the beginning of my transformation. The longer something yucky like this has had it's claws in you, (years!) the deeper those claws have dug and it's gonna take some washing of my mind with the Word of God, and more time in the presence of Jesus to fix me.

I'm putting something out here for the whole world to see. I wasn't going to. I don't want to. But it's needful. I'm a work in progress as we all are and part of progressing is to be honest and admit my faults.

"...being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..." Phillipians 1:6

I've always been thankful for Eph 5:19 for Grace's sake. However, I think most of the time we're not supposed to keep silent in our praises (or the rocks will cry out) because it does something for us as well as the One we're praising. (Works the same way with our human relationships too) That's why I can go to church feeling terrible and leave feeling great. I'm needing to do that right now. Praise, that is...or just go to bed. Maybe both. It's been a long hard day...just like yesterday and the day before that and the day before that. The baby's crying every night and Grace is a drool factory as she is congested and has a canker sore. Yep sounds like I need to do the difficult and praise. I'll let ya know how that works.

HOPE

Our daughter, Hope, just got back from Kid's Camp a couple of weeks ago. She was so excited because she won a Game Cube...whatever that is. She's been so busy since she got home that she's not even asked to get it out of the box and hooked up. I hope that doesn't sound like she's unappreciative. Like I said, she's very excited about winning this thing. I know as the school year gets underway, the days get cooler and shorter and the rain starts to fall, we'll get it out and hook it up. And then there will be time restrictions for such a toy. We've never purchased electronic games for our kids until Christmas of 2009, when Bobby got them a Wii. They have had a lot of fun with their Wii but WE don't play the Wii unless it's dark, or raining, or work is complete, or snowing, or vacation...or we have company and want to entertain. This past Christmas we bought our youngest daughter, Faith, a Leapster specifically for something to do while sitting hours upon end in a car every weekend. In this case I think an electronic game is justified. So...how did Hope win the Game Cube? She was nice.

I still don't know all that was involved but I was beginning to think that if someone accused Pastor Joe (our childrens' pastor) of having a favorite, I would agree with them. He's always been partial to Hope, and rightly so, in my very biased opinion. When she was only a toddler, she spent the night with Joe & his wife, Kelli, who told us the next day that Joe kept waking every couple of hours to tiptoe out to their living room to peek at Hope who was sleeping on the couch and making sure she was ok. When Pastor Joe learned that Hope was going to be baptized, he told me that he wanted to do the dunking. And then the sweetest part of the story is when, last year at Kid's Camp, Hope received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Pastor Joe was the one laying hands on her and he began to cry.

But what happened at Kid's Camp wasn't about having a favorite. I just learned this past Wednesday that the camp staff voted for the child they thought should win the game. Hope got 4 votes, which I guess, was the most. Why did she get the votes? I think it was because she reached out to other campers and was kind to everyone...not just her closest friends. Am I proud of her? Absolutely! But do you know what? God puts that kind of thoughtfulness and kindness in people. None of us are that way naturally, unless, of course, you're a Disney princess. I see Hope at home with older brother, Landis, and younger sis, Faith. I see Hope every day and I know her ugly side (just as she knows mine). I just want to take a second to praise Jesus for what He does in our lives to make us more like Him. On our own, even our very best is not good enough. It's only His goodness in us that makes us anything at all.

To blog about the birth of our fifth child, Justis, in March, I've copied parts of my husbands' newsletter and added some things from my own perspective.

"An On Time God!

As I sit here and think of all the things I want to say in this newsletter all I can think about is what an awesome God we serve! He is always on time and is always in control.

I wanted to tell you what he has done in The Bowen Family's lives.

Back in August of last year (2010) Becky came to me and told me she thought she might be pregnant. To be honest with you I really hoped she wasn't. We were traveling and ministering in churches as a family for the last three years and things were going really good for us. I started thinking, how will we travel? What will we travel in? It's going to be even more tough to travel with five kids.

After a pregnancy test that showed negative I was relieved. Then a month later Becky told me that something wasn't right. She said she felt like something was growing in her stomach and if it wasn't a baby then what could it be?

She took another test and again it showed negative. She began to get concerned even more because 9 1/2 years ago her mother died of cancer, so Becky thought it might be a cyst or a tumor that was growing inside of her.

I told her I was praying and believing that it wasn't cancer and nothing was going to harm her. I told her to go get an ultrasound just to see what was growing in her stomach. She made an appointment and took our son, Landis with her. She didn't tell him what she was going to get checked out for other than just a check up. She had him stay in the other room because she wanted to speak freely with the doctor and not worry Landis.

Becky told the doctor her concerns and he said 'well, let's just have a look.' Just like looking away from the needle going into your arm makes it hurt less, Becky looked away from the monitor so she wouldn't see the mass in her abdomen. But on second thought she decided that it was best to face her fears and deal with whatever it was that she was about to fight and just as she turned toward the monitor she saw an oval with what looked like a little backbone trailing away from it. At the same moment the doctor announced she was carrying a baby and the whole moment was so overwhelming she said she felt dizzy.

Becky said she just about fell off the table. She said "are you sure" and he said "yes can't you see the spine"? And right away he asked if I'd like to know the sex of the baby. Of course she wanted to know and was so excited to be told it was a BOY!

They called Landis back into the room and Becky asked him what it looked like on the monitor but Landis said he didn't know.

She said "take a closer look" and then, very cautiously he asked, "a baby?" After his suspicions were confirmed he pumped his fists and with a super wide grin he said, "YES!"

Landis was so excited to be getting a baby brother. He later said he had been praying for years to have a baby brother but then gave up because he thought it wasn't going to happen.

We actually found out she was going to have our baby boy when she was 17 1/2 weeks into it.

We are so thankful to God for his blessings of children. The Bible says blessed is the man who's quiver is full!

The Lord knew that I needed a bass player!

Getting close to the due date I was scheduled to be gone for 21 days ministering in West Texas, Western Oklahoma and New Mexico. I canceled a couple of the first churches thinking the baby would be born soon. He didn't show up so on Saturday, March 5th, Landis, Hope, Faith and I left for Snyder, Texas leaving a very pregnant, very tearful Becky standing in the driveway in the pouring rain to be gone for 17 days with the due date right in the middle of that trip. Now, you'd think (as we did) that the 5th baby would come a little early, especially after the 4th baby came 2 weeks early!

We spent a lot of time on Skype during that trip and every night when Becky went to bed she set her webcam up so that when she went into labor, it would be ready to go and she could give us a call (after she called the midwife) and tell me "it's time!"

Now, when I left in on the 5th, I told Becky that the baby would wait to come until after we'd returned home. However, we both knew the chances of that happening were pretty slim.

So on Monday morning, March 21 we headed out from Amarillo with 965 miles between us and home. We anved at home at 10:45 PM Monday night and at 12:45 AM the contractions began. At 2:52 AM Justis Loy Bowen was born! See what I mean about God's timing?

We want to say thank you for your prayers and support of our family and our ministry. We couldn't do what we do without your prayers and financial support.

A lot of people have asked me if we needed anything. The only thing we need is diapers!

We have had several people send us a gift card from Walmart and other stores that sell diapers so we can go and buy them here in town. That would be awesome if you wanted to do something like that. God bless you for it.

As I close I ask you to continue to pray for The Bowen Family. We realize that time is running short. Jesus is coming soon! We all need to go tell people about Him and his saving grace.

Also please check out our schedule and if we are within driving distance of you please come see us. We'd love to see you!

One more thing, We have a new look to our website http://www.bobbybowen.com/

Blessings,

Bobby Bowen & Family

Maternity Leave

January and February 2010

Although I've been very quiet on this site, I've been very busy at home. In January we began a new trend...Mama stays home. Mama liked it very much. I needed a break physically as well as emotionally and mentally. I was nearing the 30 week point of my pregnancy and my midwife recommended I get off the road. So every weekend Grace and I would say goodbye to Bobby and the other children and they'd leave us. A couple of those times they were gone for 4 days, usually it was 3 days, and occasionally it was only 1 day.

Since Grace and I were going to be regular church attenders again, I asked Mr. Pat Johnson when he'd like us to attend. I knew he and his wife went to church on Saturday nights and that would have been my first choice too but because I knew his wife, Mary, might not appreciate Mr. Pat leaving him for a younger woman (Grace, that is) I decided to let him tell me when he'd rather we'd come since he tended to Grace during church. Mr. Pat preferred that we come on Sunday morning and so that is what we did and I was happy to do so when I considered that it would put me back in touch with my Sunday School class.

Grace LOVED going to church again and instead of crying when Bobby and the kids hit the road every weekend, she was GLAD. I have to admit I was surprised, knowing how much she loves to go places. But thinking it through I realized she enjoyed the fact that I was speaking to her a WHOLE lot more since she was the only other person there to speak to. I gave her choices of two when it came to what to eat, what to do next, which clothes to wear, and which show to watch. She also enjoyed the fact that she got to watch a whole lot more television. So when we asked her if she was ready for Daddy and the kids to leave again she smiled and screamed her happy scream.

I got so much sewing done on those weekends. I loved it. I made progress. I also read to Grace quite a bit and...blogged? Not so much. I decided I couldn't sew and blog at the same time so I decided that sewing would be pre-baby and blogging would be done post-baby.

My due date was March 13. However, I'd asked God to call this baby out a couple of weeks early because Bobby and the kids were going to be gone a lot in March. I walked and walked and walked and walked but even walking 2 or 3 times a day didn't cause our baby to come...when we wanted him to.

In the meantime Bobby and the kids were going out and ministering and having a good time...most of the time. One of my main concerns about them going out without me was Faith's safety. She's not afraid of anything and is very curious, to put it nicely. Not only would the children be on their own the hour before the concert, helping Bobby with set-up and making sure their hair was combed, etc., but they had to be still on the front row without Mom during church and oh, what about after the service when Bobby was greeting people and then tearing down his stuff? Faith likes to run off and explore the church. I begged Bobby please find the pastor's wife or some lady that might keep Faith under a watchful eye until Bobby is ready to leave the church. I could see that wasn't going to work as I'd hoped and so I knew that I had to leave it with the Father and trust Him with my family. I felt bad for Bobby but had to laugh at him as he had more responsibility on him than ever with leading the service as well as looking after the children. When they returned home from their first weekend without Grace and he said, "It was mentally exhausting for me just to make sure everyone changed their underwear and brushed their teeth!" Classic.

December 2010

We were able to attend Cornerstone on Saturday night, the fourth of December and then drive to Lyles, Tennessee to sing on Sunday morning. We always have baptisms on the first weekend of each month but I hadn't put everything together in my mind that Faith was a candidate for baptism now and she'd be there to get baptized. So when Pastor invited people up who were ready to be baptized I looked at Bobby and asked him what he thought about going to get Faith. Pastor always reminds us that the Bible tells us that the eunuch, after he'd heard the Gospel and understood the command to be baptized, obeyed that command as soon as the opportunity presented itself. He didn't wait for his family to get there to see him get baptized. Nor did he wait until an artist was available to capture the moment in a painting. The Bible just tells us to be baptized. Since we're rarely there for any weekend service let alone a baptism weekend, we decided to get Faith. I talked to the children's pastor first and he was all for it. Faith was all for it but kept asking questions. I tried to explain to her what we were doing and I believe she got it. For those of you reading this and feeling concern for the lack of discipleship, don't worry, the children's pastor gave us a packet that night of devotionals for Faith and I to work on together over several week's time to help her better understand what baptism was and what it meant. Fortunately, a there was another mom with her camera and she took a couple of pictures of Faith for me. I wish a picture could have been taken of Faith's feet as they were straight up in the air when her head was dunked under. So cute.





Mr. Pat Johnson joined us in Lyles at Wrigley Church of God of Prophecy the next morning and we had a great service there and we were able to spend our Sunday evening at home. Well, kinda of. We did go to Bethel to see the Christmas Program put on by Faith and her fellow Parents' Day Out classmates at Bethel Baptist Church that evening. She was one of the millions of angels...and a very adorable angel she was.



The following weekend we drove to Michigan. Dad's friend, Joann, invited us (Dad too) to stay at her home on Cory Lake west of Three Rivers. Joann has a beautiful home with a finished basement. We were able to have our own apartment, and a large one at that. We had a stocked kitchen, living room, pool table, 2 bedrooms and a large bath! Not to mention a beautiful view of the lake.



Joann's house before ...



...and after.




We arrived on Friday evening and again, enjoyed playing Farkle with Dad and Joann. And then on Saturday we joined my mother's family for a Christmas gathering in the fellowship hall of a local church. It's hard to believe there's 100 of us now!

On Sunday morning a winter storm was starting to blow in although the brunt of it had not arrived yet. A snowstorm is usually worse as you drive west toward Lake Michigan because of the lake effect but it turned out that they hadn't received much snow in Coloma where we sang Sunday morning at Lake Michigan Beach Community Church. It was a tiny little church and the room was full. After church my kids made a bee line for the snow as to get as much play in as they could. The snow we get in Tennessee is usually very dry and powdery; Michigan snow is much more conducive for building snowmen!





On our way back to Joann's house, it began snowing heavily and blowing. Bobby and I mentioned to each other that it would be nice to go back to Joann's and just stay there the rest of the day where it was warm and dry instead of getting out again in a couple of hours to go sing again. Well, that's what we did as my Uncle Moe Troyer spoke with Bobby on the phone as soon as we got back to the house and they agreed that the evening service should be canceled. So it was an evening of Farkle, movies and chili as the wind blew the snow around outside.



Bobby would have been fine with sitting still on Monday and letting the snow melt just a little but I was pushing to get home. Oh, it was pleasant where we were but I like being home these days and since the sun was shining outside, I didn't see any need to sit around and do nothing. It was soooo cold but my dad got the driveway cleared for us and we finally got ourselves packed and on the road home.



And finally, our last ministry weekend of 2010 was in Arkansas. We drove to Texarkana on Friday or Saturday, the 17th or 18th, and on Sunday morning the 19th, we got in the van and set out for White Hall which was about a 2-hour drive from Bob and Tena's home. However, we had just started out on I-30 when we thought the van was making a strange noise so we turned around and went back to Bob and Tena's. Grace and I stayed there while Bobby and the other 3 children borrowed Bob and Tena's car and left again. The van only had to go 1 block to take Grace and I and Papaw and Mamaw to church. It was a quiet and long afternoon as we waited for Bobby and the kids to return but once they did we only had a short while until we had to be at Rhema Baptist Church for our Christmas concert. Brother Jesse and the folks at Rhema feel like family to us and of course, there was family present. Bob and Tena, Bobby's sister, Judy, her son, Aaron and his son, Layne. I love it when they come and join us and, of course when you're with friends and family, you have to eat! So we enjoyed a lot of good food in the fellowship hall after the service.

It was back to Nashville on Monday where we began getting ready for Christmas!!!

It's Been A While

As you well know I'm way behind in my postings and the post written just prior to this one was written on December 18th, the events written about occurring in early November. December 20th was my last travel day as we were taking off for Christmas as a family and then I was planning to stay at home for several weeks, taking maternity leave and keeping Grace with me. My plans were to sew in January and the first half of February, have a baby at the end of February, and then do some catching up on my blog while re-cooperating after the baby. Although I did pretty good (good compared to how I behaved after previous births) about sitting still and resting, I found I was very busy whether it was because of visitors, feeding/changing baby Justis, or just being "mom" from my recliner. Obviously I did no blogging until now...the first week of May. I never would have imagined I'd wait this long. So, rather than try to remember details of trips, people and experiences from 5 months ago, I will summarize and consider myself caught up!

Our November tour to North and South Carolina was a busy one...and a tough one. We left on Saturday, November 6, and sang Sunday morning in Easley, South Carolina and Lincolnton, North Carolina, both return visits. This was our third visit to Lincolnton and this time, Pastor Joey Williams greeted us from the doors of his new facility...a former sock factory. By the way, no one got my joke using the word, "darn." Guess I'm getting old. Talk about space. This new building is and will be GREAT for this growing and excited church, Daystar Family Worship Center.

I mentioned the tour was a tough one. It was tough concerning our marriage. I'm sure we grew through the tough time, or rather, because of it, but it was probably the worst time on the road that we've had yet, at least it was for me. It was also the first tour we'd done with me being pregnant. What does that tell ya? It got stressful enough that when we landed in Clinton, North Carolina on Wednesday afternoon, our friend, Pastor Rodney Hall sensed the tension immediately when he met us in our hotel lobby. I thought I was hiding everything pretty good but he told Bobby later that evening, after asking him if he could get personal with him, that he said he could have cut the tension with a knife. Yikes!

We ministered (I hope) at a cowboy church in Greensboro, North Carolina the next night, Dunn, on Saturday night (return visit to Pastor Doug Howard's church), and Sumter on Sunday morning. We finished up this Carolina tour at Christian Fellowship Assembly of God in Hartsville, South Carolina where we met some of the most precious saints yet. Sister Gloria Joye Bowman and her husband pastor this congregation and we had a great time at their homecoming, Sunday afternoon, November 14. They were finishing up their fellowship meal when we arrived and when I got ready to feed Grace, Sister Joye insisted that I let her do the feeding. She spoke a little Spanish to Grace and immediately became her friend. Sister Joye and Grace took to each other pretty quickly and that's always comforting to me.

Because it was an afternoon service we were able to drive a while, stopping in Asheville for the night and then coming home mid-afternoon on Monday. My dad and his friend, Joann Riley were waiting for us when we walked into the house. They'd been staying at Kris and Mary's since Saturday and were going to be visiting for a week. They came to see us Monday evening because that was the only time we were going to get to spend with them as we were leaving for Oklahoma the next morning. We did a lot of laughing after a good dinner together, playing several rounds of Farkle.

Only that one night at home and we were leaving again the next morning. This time westward to Moore, Oklahoma where we sang for the Wednesday night service at Highland Baptist Church. Dave Evans is the pastor of this young and energetic body. We had a great night celebrating Jesus.

The following night we made our fourth visit to Chisholm Trail Cowboy Church in Enid, Oklahoma. We love Pastor Dan O'Daniel and appreciate his graciousness to us and his devotion to Jesus Christ.


We made our way down to Forth Worth. Colleyville, to be exact, to stay with Bobby's younger sister, Anita. This time we were privileged to meet her friend, David, who joined us for dinner at Texan Station at the Gaylord Texan and then he treated us to ICE! featuring Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang. It was "cool!"






Our service on Sunday morning was at probably one of the most raw and rustic places we've ever been. We left Fort Worth early and drove 72 miles north to Prairie Point, Texas where our GPS took us to a grassy/muddy lot out in the boonies. We pulled our van and trailer in to the middle of the field and parked next to the 40x30 metal building and waited for someone to show up. Now, I don't want to be misunderstood. We LOVED the folks! And we appreciate rustic and raw. But when you write a blog and you want to be honest so I was a little miserable with my open-toed shoes on that dirt floor. That was my fault. I should have worn appropriate clothing to cowboy church...like cowboy boots. Hope got poison ivy and the floor in the van was covered with little sticker balls from the sweet gum trees so we kept getting poked the rest of the afternoon until we had them all picked out of the carpet.














They had a turkey shoot after church, as well as horse riding and other fun. Even Grace got to shoot the gun, a first for her. The kids had a blast and weren't ready to leave but we had to move north to Calera, Oklahoma for the evening service.

We arrived early and had time to just sit so Bobby and I took advantage of the quiet time and were able to talk and work through some of the issues that had been a problem a couple of weeks earlier on the Carolina trip.

For the past several years we've been spending the week of Thanksgiving in Texarkana at Bobby's parent's house. We did that again this year and celebrated Thanksgiving with family that we rarely get to see. Brother and sister, Josh and Merranda, our nephew and niece, and Josh's son, Isaac were able to join us.









We sang in Greenville, Texas the Sunday morning after Thanksgiving and then headed home. We hadn't reached Texarkana yet when Hope announced to the rest of us that she had just led Faith in a prayer asking Jesus to come into her heart! There in the back of the van, the two had been sitting quietly talking for several minutes while the rest of us were talking in the front! As the kids were going to sleep later that night somewhere between Memphis and home, I sat in my seat thanking God that all of the children have given their heart to Him.

A Motor Home

November 5, 2010

Because our trusty Ford with its 233,000 miles was beginning to suggest that it wanted to retire from the road, we were forced to look into our options of transportation. We knew we needed a motor home and maybe now was the right time to look for one. Bobby began shopping on-line and found a Winnebago diesel with less than 100,000 miles in Wabash, Indiana. He made an offer which was counter-offered and after Bobby spoke with the seller he told me he and a friend would drive up to Wabash on Friday to look at it before handing them a check. I was kind of excited about sending Landis and Hope with their daddy and having a quiet house with Grace and Faith and getting a lot done that day. However, the friend couldn't go after all and Bobby insisted that I go instead, saying that it was better that I go and look at it with him anyway. Oh, how I didn't want to go. Oh, how I had so much to do and if I were to drive all day to north central Indiana and back that it would put me so absolutely far behind on my painting and packing and preparing to be gone for most of the month. But I knew he was right and that I really needed to go.

We got going fairly early that morning and found the place with ease. The motor home was in rather rough shape on the inside and by taking a good look I decided the previous owners were parents of small children who were not made to mind. There was everything from crumbs to quarters to matchbox cars in corners and behind things, not to mention lots of stains. The carpet in the kitchen area had been cut out and replaced with linoleum so evidently the carpet had been pretty messed up in that area. Blinds were missing, the visors were missing, the queen bed in the back had stains all over the mattress, the door fronts in the kitchen were dirty and grimy and the kitchen drawers were off their tracks. I stood there in the middle of the thing looking around and imagining myself moving in and it disgusted me. Finally, after a meal down the street and thinking things through, it came down to decision-making time. When Bobby asked me what I thought I told him that I thought the deal was a good one considering the mechanics, the price, the diesel and the low mileage. But considering the interior I could not picture myself moving into someone else's dirt and grime. I knew that if we bought it that day Bobby would want to drive it home and load it up for the following day as we set out to North and South Carolina for a week. So I told Bobby that I would compromise with him. I liked the idea of buying it but waiting to use it until it was cleaned up and remodeled. He was a little disappointed about not getting to play with his new toy right away but he understood and agreed.

I will say there's one feature that I love about the motor home and that is the large bathroom. It's not an enclosed bathroom with a hallway passing outside of it. Instead, you have to pass through the bathroom in order to get to the back room. Maybe that's not the most convenient situation 100 percent of the time but when it comes to getting ready for church in a small bathroom, being able to shut off the entire back half of the motor home and have all that room is definitely a plus in my book.

Grace, Faith and I drove the van home and the motor home carried Bobby, Landis and Hope. Bobby and I started talking on the phone that evening of the ideas we had and he suggested that we just gut the back bedroom, taking the bed out and put 2 bunks on either side. The more I thought about that I realized what a great solution that would be for Grace when it came to getting out of her chair and stretching out in a place that was safe as long as we had a rail or gate across the opening of her bunk. It may also solve the problem we have with Grace in hotel rooms. She falls off the bed easily unless she's watched closely, she kicks the wall, and sometimes she screams out of dissatisfaction, unhappiness or anger. If we could put her in HER very own bunk, equipped with speakers to pipe in some soothing music and maybe some colorful tracking lights for her enjoyment, the whole world would be a better place each and every night we're on the road.

The girls and I made it home a little after 11:00 with the motor home easing its way into the driveway a few minutes later while I was getting the girls ready for bed. A long day, a late night, painting and packing not finished, and a very tired woman trying not to get discouraged. I went to sleep quickly counting my blessings.

Shippensburg and Jane Lew

October 31, 2010

Because of the little hesitation Bobby noticed in the van as it approached New York City the week before, he decided to rent a mini van again and have us all pile in. Even though the van ran great all the way back home from New York, he decided he didn't want to make it work so hard pulling the trailer through those West Virginia hills. I figured it was probably a good idea except that we disliked the lack of space.

We arrived at our hotel Saturday night in Shippensburg and found out we were booked in a room upstairs and the hotel had no elevator. This has happened probably a half dozen other times. Bobby checked to see if we could move to a first floor room but the hotel was booked full so we opted to get Grace out of her chair and Bobby carried her upstairs while I took the wheelchair to the front desk and asked if they could guard it for the night. They agreed and I ran off to bed.

Pastor Dan Cluck met us at the front doors of the church and while he helped us unload the mini van, Bobby quickly explained that we don't normally travel in such a small vehicle and that our big van was taking a break this weekend.

We enjoyed a great service and at the close, Pastor Dan asked us our family to move to the center of the sanctuary while his congregation surrounded us to pray for us. Pastor Dan and this group of believers were a huge blessing to us not only because of their prayers for us but when we drove away Bobby told me that Pastor Dan had written a second check from the church in addition to the original love offering and for nearly the same amount as the original!! And I shouldn't neglect to tell of the lady who blessed me with the “pentecostal handshake.” She reached out to shake my hand after church and put a $50 bill in my hand and simply said, “lunch!”

A quick lunch was what we had to do as we were due to arrive in Jane Lew, West Virginia a few hours later. We arrived at Broad Run Baptist Church in Jane Lew in plenty of time and our friends, Brother and Sister Godfrey helped us get in and even supplied that children with some yummy snacks from the kitchen. Bobby and the children practiced some of their Christmas songs since we had a little extra time.

It was an enjoyable concert, as the room was nearly full and we sang and spoke of Jesus on Halloween as well as sang about 4 Christmas songs.

Afterward, we enjoyed some soup at a family restaurant before retiring in our hotel next door for the night.

Yancey and Sandy Brown and family

New York, New York

October 21-25, 2010

Since I'm behind it's taken me a while this morning to remember back a month ago as to exactly when we left for Walton, New York, but it was during the day time. I'm thinking early afternoon is when we left the house and made it as far as the bypass on the southeast side of Cleveland where we stopped to sleep at a La Quinta.

The following morning we continued on our journey and made it to Mr. Yancey Brown's home by mid afternoon. Yancey led us to a cabin about 30 minutes from his house near Downsville that belonged to one of his landscaping/yard mowing clients. We stayed in a rustic but remodeled cabin that belonged to a man that lives in NYC, currently works in Albany and formerly worked in the City for Rudy Guliani. Yancey said the man had more than one or two other homes where he was able to hang his hat. I was curious as to the last time he and his wife were there as the cabin was decorated with Halloween items and autumn décor. The wood-burning stove in the middle of the cabin kept us busy the first several hours to get the chill out and also got us in the rustling leaves and hot chocolate kind of mood. There wasn't time to sit and drink hot chocolate, however, as we had to unload and get dressed to go sing in Walton, crossing the Mighty Delaware on our way into town.

We enjoyed a very nice evening of music at Riverside Alliance Church as not only Bobby and the kids sang, but Yancey sang about 3 songs before Bobby came up, but Yancey also asked his 2 daughters, Bethany and Emily, to sing a song together and they did a great job. The interesting thing about Bethany and Emily is that both girls have Cystic Fibrosis. Both girls know the rigors of dealing with disease and disability but neither one allows what Satan has come against them with to slow them down or hinder their testimony in song.

The following day was spent sleeping in (a little bit), a leisure breakfast at the cabin, showers and school. We opted out of school on Wednesday at home because I was so busy and decided to, instead, do school while we were sitting in a cabin on Saturday with nothing else to do. The beauty of home school is you schedule school when it suits you best. I do like that aspect.

When it was time we got ready and drove toward Roscoe to Horton Brook Free Methodist Church but it wasn't easy. If I didn't know where we were I would have guessed we were in West Virginia. It was a mountainous, curvy drive but when we landed in a beautiful hollow at the church I got out of the van and could hear the roar of a happy creek at the edge of the gravel parking lot just yards away. I've always thought I'd love to build a home near a creek just like that. In the spring I'd open my bedroom window and let the sound of that rushing water lull me to sleep.

We had a really good time that evening as Yancey and Sandy and the kids came out, although they didn't sing. The people were responsive, too, and that always makes things more interesting. Coffee, cake and cookies were served after the service and then we started back to the cabin. However, we got a little turned around somehow and thought we might have been lost. Finally, we figured out how to make use of the GPS and realized we were very close to Downsville.

That was a rough night with little sleep as Grace decided she didn't want to settle down. We were in bed by 11:00 but because Grace was upset, Hope (bless her, Lord) began singing to her. The girl sang for 45 minutes and Grace still wasn't happy. So just a little before midnight Hope came in our room and complained that Grace was still upset and when she's upset she kicks Hope. I felt bad for Hope but I was so sleepy I didn't do anything. Don't know what I could have done anyway.

To make a long and not so memorable story short, Bobby and I drifted off to sleep about 5 times in two hours and had to rise at 5:00 in order to load up and leave the cabin by 6:00. What I've noticed is that there are so many Saturday nights that Grace doesn't want to settle down which keeps many or most of us up much longer than we should be on a Saturday night which hinders the anointing. It means I have to pray extra hard the next morning. (wink) I started to make light of the situation for just a second but there is something to that. Satan is happy to distract us, tire us, frustrate us, and cause us to grow weary in well doing, seeking to cause us to be ineffective in what we do. It's not a coincidence that it's Saturday nights when this happens.

It wasn't fun but we got everyone and everything loaded in the dark and cold rain and headed toward Liberty, New York. It turned out to be a nice day in spite of the dreary beginning. We ministered at Liberty Free Methodist Church where Yancey and Sandy and the kids showed up one more time. Liberty had two morning services and Grace and I skipped the first one in order for me to feed her and change her out in the van.

I enjoyed the second service where Bobby and the kids sang and then Pastor Dick Devendorf gave a great message called "How To Be More Than Happy."

After service we soaked up some good conversation with a couple of different people and then the Brown's and us had lunch together where, by this time, it was easy for us to converse and have a good time together as we'd spent most of the weekend together. Faith felt so comfortable with Yancey and Sandy's youngest, Riley, that she forgot her manners and poured out her sincerest feelings for the poor boy. She is NOT my daughter.

The couple taking the picture with Bobby and I attend Liberty Free Methodist and Hope, recognizing them from church, hugged them immediately. You just never know what a hug will do for someone. They approached us at our table just before they left and let us know our meal was paid for! We couldn't believe it that just a hug inspired someone to show such a nice gesture. The couple wasn't going to tell us what they were doing but they didn't trust the Pizza Hut staff to let us know.

From Liberty we drove south about 2 hours to Boonton, New Jersey where my long-time friend (and distant relative) Michele (Bontrager) Marshall lives with her husband, Garrett and their two children, Dylan and Mikayla.

We sat down to a delicious dinner with the Marshall's and they opened up their home for us to spend the night. The kids had a blast playing down in the finished basement while Mickie and I figured out where everyone would sleep. It was great to catch up with her after years of not seeing each other. So many things have happened since we used to see each other on a regular basis. The common thread I suppose, for both of us, was the passing of our mothers, which is how we're distantly related.

The following morning we tried to stay out of their way as the kids got ready for school and Mickie got them out the door and down the street, and then she and I visited just a little more while Garrett took Bobby to Wal Mart to get a new battery for the van.

Yes, a battery for the van because the night before after arriving at the Marshall's it died. I had the lights on for about 3 or 4 minutes without turning on the engine so I could see what clothes I was selecting in the trailer, when Bobby came out and scolded me for it. He said the engine had been sluggish, which is something I didn't know, and sure enough when he tried to start it, it didn't turn over.

Bobby had the new battery installed in no time and finally, after lots of tips and advice from Mickie and Garrett, we were off toward the City. We prayed as we drove and asked the Lord to give us favor and protection that day, specifically asking Him to lead us to a good parking spot. Mickie and Garrett advised us to leave our trailer parked at a hotel just before crossing the bridge into the city.

We had just prayed when about 5 minutes later we were in the Meadowlands and Bobby looked at the dash and then looked at me and said he just didn't have a good feeling about driving in. He said the van was sort of missing or hesitating just a little bit and he felt it was a warning. Our 3-day stranding in Decatur, Alabama was still fresh in our memories and we knew that being stranded in New York City would be much more costly.

Many folks that we've spoken to have suggested to us that we should have parked our van AND trailer and taken the train in to the city. However, we didn't think we could do that so easily with Grace's wheelchair.

So with great disappointment, yet with surprising trust I told Bobby that if he thought we should turn around and go home to please do it. Sometimes you just know you shouldn't argue with your husband but trust that he's doing the right thing even when your plans are destroyed or your expectations aren't fulfilled. I wish I could tell you why that happened; tell you that we were spared from a terrorist attack or from even some minor disaster. Just like not knowing why it didn't work for Bobby and I to leave the kids with the Johnsons in September and take a little honeymoon in Florida, I can't tell you why I didn't get to make my first visit to NYC – something I had been longing to do since we were first married.

We had a pleasant drive all the way to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania where we had the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday. Bobby mentioned that it was a shame that we couldn't find something to do in the area for the following week since we'd be coming right back to the same area the next weekend.

We stopped to sleep in Grantsville, Maryland and the following day endured a rough ride home through the hills and curves of West Virginia and eastern Kentucky.