The Lord Has Been Mighty Good to Us!

We are receiving questions every day about my breathing and strength so I need to answer publicly. 

The Lord Has Been Mighty Good to Us!

Although my strength is not what I would like it to be, I am stronger than I was even last week. I need to be much stronger to comfortably be able to sing and preach seven times each week, keep the bus going, set up sound and all the rest, not to mention travel between revivals. 

To preach each night requires me to do almost absolutely nothing during the day. If I was having to work on a bus project every day, I would be in a pinch. I believe that more strength will come.

I have ministered every service (5) since Sunday morning without using supplemental oxygen while in the pulpit. Most days my O2 saturation has been good and only dropped a few times for a few minutes.

In full disclosure, I am still using a daily inhaler to help me breathe. I am not sure what happens when I quit taking it. As I get stronger, I will eliminate the inhaler over time and find out.

As I mentioned Monday, I am having some trouble with my hip and leg which seems like sciatica pain. I am calling it my psychotic nerve.😢😁 I would appreciate you helping me pray for relief in that area too.

I have rearranged much of our late spring and early summer schedule. We have removed the tent revivals and deleted some miles and we hope that helps. Shortly after we made those decisions, we received some invitations that were completely unexpected and we have been able to insert some of those meetings.

As I said, God has been good to us and we have no complaints at all. Thank you for praying for us sincerely and fervently over the last few months. May God bless you for pulling me through by prayer. We will never forget it.

Thank you for reading today.

Davy

Martha Boggs Update

 Hey Friends,

This is Odie writing for this post on Tuesday. We are having a wonderful time this week in Elba, Alabama. God has blessed us with three great services of revival at Grace Fellowship Holiness Church. There are four more services this week. I am excited to see what God has planned for the rest of this revival.

I know many of you have been helping us pray for my Dad's Mom, my Mamaw Martha Boggs. Mamaw fell at home six weeks ago. God has answered many prayers for her. We are so thankful for how He has helped her!

She broke her right arm and gashed her left leg in the horrible fall. We know her injuries could have been much worse. God has been with her all the way through her long recovery!

A couple of weeks ago, things started taking a turn for the worse. The gash began showing signs of possible infection. It looked horrible! The change was sudden and terrifying to us. Below is a quote from my post from March second.

"Please keep praying for my grandparents, Martha and Eugene Boggs. Four weeks ago, Mamaw fell, and her recovery process has not been good this week. I am hoping and praying for God to turn things around! We had a really good prayer for her last night! I believe God can heal her completely!"

Later that morning, she went to the doctor again. The wound looked drastically better, and the doctor said no sign of infection! God turned things around! Friends, He answered our prayers. The doctor said it is amazing how 24 hours can turn things around. No, it is awesome how our God can make things better right on time.

Mamaw did undergo a skin graft to help her leg wound heal properly. The Lord helped that surgery and recovery go smoothly! We have been praising God for answering prayers for our family one more time!

Mamaw has been a trooper. Her whole recovery time was predicted to be six weeks. Four weeks in, the Orthopedic doctor told them that her arm had not healed correctly. Now he thinks surgery will be necessary to fix the arm. 

The leg wound had to be fixed first. Hopefully, we can know more about the arm in a few days. My prayer is for the arm to now be healing properly and for no surgery to be needed. God is more than able to fix her arm too!

My Mamaw has told me God has brought her thru this far. I know He will see her all the way to the end of this trial. She is rejoicing in His goodness to her.

She wants me to thank our many friends that have prayed for her! I told her early on that all of my friends loved her because she is important to us! We all appreciate your prayers and concern for our family!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit. See you next time.

Odie

No Pictures! Did It Really Happen?

If we have trouble with the bus but we have absolutely no pictures, did it really happen? Yep, it really happened!

Monday we had an unbelievable travel day, especially for our first day back on the road after five weeks. The Lord sent us good help and all ended well, by His grace.

First, we attended the funeral of Bro. Eddie Mooney in Ellisville, Monday morning. Bro. Mooney was a pillar in Ellisville and we were happy to be there in order to be able to pay our respects to his wonderful family.

After the funeral, we cranked the bus, disconnected the utilities, hooked up the Jeep and prepared to roll. 3/10 of a mile later, the right front wheel on the bus locked up on the main city street in Ellisville. There was smoke coming from the brake, but it was not excessively hot yet.

We unhooked the Jeep, directed traffic around us in the center turn lane and began pulling the bus forward listening for a dragging brake or something. After about 20 minutes, we drove a very little further down the road and it smoked again.

By this time, several men from the church spotted us as they were returning from the cemetery and they stopped to help. We walked alongside the bus while KJo drove very slowly until we could get it to a wide spot not blocking traffic.

The brake was not making any sound, but it was getting a few degrees hotter as we went. It sure seemed like brake trouble, but there was a possibility the wheel bearings were giving us trouble.

To diagnose the problem we needed to jack up the right front axle. Four men from two local companies came to help us. One of the church guys owns L&D Scrap and he called two of his men. Another man from the church called Deep Well Energy Services and two guys came in their service truck.

I also called our preferred bus shop in Vonore, Tennessee and between Jeff Rowe working with all of us on the scene, the mess was sorted out and they got us back on the road.

I did a test drive while making a circle back to the church via the interstate. Once we were satisfied all was working, KJo and I hooked up the Jeep and left the church 3.5 hours after we left the first time.

115 miles later, we pulled onto the grounds of Allentown in Semmes, Alabama. We were detached from the Jeep, leveled up and parked in about 35 minutes after arriving.

These are the only pictures we have.

We have no pictures of the BoggsMobile beside the road. Was the trouble all a bad dream? If so, it was a very realistic dream. I cleaned grease out from under my fingernails before going to bed.😍

I sure appreciate Pastor Kenny Morris, Pastor Scott Morris, Bro. Leon Henderson and all the other men from the church and from the companies I named. They all worked together to pull my fat out of the fire! Thank you, brothers! AND Praise God that Jeff Rowe still takes my calls!

Thank you for tuning in today. We will have camp meeting pictures later this week. Yay!

Davy        

A Small Stepping Stone to Victory

 Hey Friends,

This is Odie reporting for this final Saturday of February. I hope you are doing well. I am doing really good. 

I wrote about A Small Victory I experienced on the first Saturday of the month. God has blessed me enormously lately. I am thankful beyond words for His strength, comfort, peace and so much more. Those are just a few daily benefits that He has loaded me with.

I am happy to report that I still have not had some of the horrible pain. Also, I have not had to struggle for every movement since my last update. I did have several nights of a lot of pain and stiffness. Some days I had to move slowly.

Remember when I wrote about One Prayer Away? The day after that post was live for all to see, God met me so mightily at church. I took my burdens to the altar that morning and left them there. I knew something was different after my prayer that morning. My prayers and supplication were heard!

Today I am here to give you another praise report! I  am grateful when He allows me to have a small stepping stone on my way to complete healing! For the last two weeks, my pain has been very little. Most days, it was just a nagging ache that was manageable! I have been able to move better than I have in a while!

I praise God and glorify him! I thank Him for giving me a visitation from Heaven that I am still feasting on today! The blessings of God are marvelous! I can say that He has never once left me nor forsaken me. His promises are true, and He will be with me until the end.

Thank you to anyone who has prayed for us. The prayers are working. I am not walking yet, but I know God is working! My heart is encouraged. Dad is not fully healed yet, but I thank God for seeing him through each day!

 

 While I am waiting, I am leaning and trusting in a big God. He can do all things! God's will, timing and plan are always best! Thanks for reading!

Odie

What To Say?

What to say? How much to say? 

These are questions we ask often and we are never really satisfied completely with the answer to our own questions. We post here daily and have for over thirteen years and less often for many years before that. To quote our own words right here on Mile Markers,

Mile Markers are a good way to describe our updates from the road. They keep track of our progress as we move across the country. We post about the grace of God, great churches, Pastors, people, revivals, music, family, food, fellowship, fun, our travels and who knows what else.

Yet, there are so many things we say little to nothing about. Although we are public about much, we are considerably private about much more of our lives, because they are ...well...private.

One of the many things I learned from these many years of meeting with you here is that we do have a good number of regular readers that will pray sincerely when they know there is a need. You proved it in 2020 and again in 2021 and 2022.

We average 600 to 1000 people stopping by here each day according to statistics we are given by Blogger/Google. Those numbers are not impressive in comparison to big corners of the internet, but we are not here to be impressive.

There is no competition between us versus anyone. Mile Markers describes a family ministry posting about ministry things along the road. Oh, and lots of pictures! We compile the pictures and information in one place for ourselves and for our friends. Several hundred of you have become our friends in the process.

We have come to understand profoundly that many of you are praying for us daily. That is pretty cool and comforting. Several hundred people praying for us every single day is encouraging.

We will take that! We believe God answers prayer and we need God to help us. That is why we have decided to say what I am going to say here today.

What To Say? This!

I posted a prayer request on January 20 and an update Friday and you responded by praying. Thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. I am asking you to continue to ask God to help. I need His help.

Without being overly dramatic, I must tell you that I was in severe distress with my lungs within 36 hours of finishing the strong round of medicine to help me breathe. By Thursday evening I was struggling mightily to breathe and that lasted into late Friday morning.

I have had absolutely no congestion in my lungs that I know of. I have pressure in my lungs, I struggle to get my breath and my oxygen level goes down too.

Later Friday, I took a dose of medicine and that helped. I have taken a little each day to keep from going into distress. I could take even more medicine, but it is literally killing me in other ways.

There is no way I could preach revival in Texas this week. I hated to do it, but I had to cancel. Pastor RC Betz was completely compassionate and understanding. He sincerely invited us to finish the trip to his church and park there as long as we needed to and allow them to help us in any way they could. May God bless him and his people!

At first, I was hoping we could take one week off and be good, but after consulting others, including Pastors, spiritual mentors, friends and medical professionals, we came to the conclusion the only chance I have of recovering is to take a few weeks off and rest my lungs.

A miracle could absolutely change that and we are seeking that every single moment. Until then, we have regretfully and sorrowfully cleared our schedule for four full weeks. I will not sing or preach for four weeks while we pray and my lungs heal.

Where to go? Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky or Ohio? 

At least nine Pastors and another friend invited us to park the BoggsMobile at their churches as long as necessary. Most of them offered to help in any way possible including help gaining access to whatever medical assistance I might need.

We were completely overwhelmed by these kind propositions within hours and we were at a loss for which way to go. In addition, we always have the option of going home.

Here is a glimpse into our reasoning and conclusion.

1. I had an aversion to going into the extreme cold if I could avoid it.

2. IF we are able to resume our schedule after four weeks, our next eight obligations are in the southeast so it made sense to us to be in that area.

3. I did not look forward to driving the bus at all. Why drive the BoggsMobile over 1000 miles home and then over 800 miles back into the south four weeks later, The 500 miles from Texas to the southeast seemed insurmountable Friday, so 1000 miles of bus driving was out of the question.

4. Some of the churches that extended invitations were 500 or fewer miles, but then we would have been a lot further from our next revivals.

5. Some of the invitations to park at churches came from the southeast, so that is the direction we have been slowly driving since Friday afternoon. 

We have a good handle on where we will park the bus, but we really have no firm grasp on what the next four weeks will look like. Odie may go home and KJo and I may get out of the bus for a few days or whatever.

We will definitely be attending church, maybe even visiting different churches, including some we do not normally get to attend. However, we will go with the understanding that we should not be put on the spot to sing or preach. I have to do my best to allow my lungs to heal.

Here is a question we are receiving. Do you have any needs? Yes, we need God to help us and we are counting on God's people to sincerely and fervently pray for us without ceasing. That is our desperate need and that is what we greatly desire. Please pray for my lungs or whatever the problem is.

The next question we receive is "what about finances?" The inquirer always acknowledges the personal nature of the question, but I understand the simple and authentic motive behind it. I have asked the question of others in similar situations. I do not want to see friends do without when I have the power to help.

Please understand that we are not asking for finances. Yes, we must absorb four weeks with no regular income, but we have an emergency fund. I think this qualifies for use. IF we need, more, I am sure God will be aware and He will supply through His people as He guides. 

We have never asked you for money for our own needs and we are not going to begin now. Honestly, we are fine.

The final question is this. Is there anything at all we can do besides pray? My honest answer. If I knew there was something you could do to help me heal besides pray, I would immediately ask you to do it.

Now, let me tell you one more important thing. The Lord came to me sweetly and powerfully at 7:00 AM Friday morning while I was struggling for every breath. He visited me again at 8:15 AM. I can not describe the feeling. If you know what I mean then you know! He did not calm my breathing, but He calmed me. Hallelujah!

He has been near me since and I can make it like that.

Programming Notes: 

Odie will be posting quite a lot more than normal the next few weeks so please show up for her. I am not sure about A Word For Wednesday yet. We may have to take that week by week. Thank you for understanding.

And thank you for stopping by today. May God bless you.

Davy

Pausing To Praise

Note From Davy:  A dear friend of ours, Mark Capps, was tragically killed Thursday and we learned of it on Friday. We are in shock and disbelief! Mark was a long time employee of the Isaacs and our friend for 12 years. There are more questions than answers concerning his death and I simply do not know what to say about it at this time. Please pray for the Isaacs and Mark's family and friends.

Now, here is Odie!

Hey Friends, 

This is Odie reporting in from the road. The BoggsMobile is Tennessee bound. I am excited to be on the road again. This week, we had a fabulous time with our precious friends in London, Kentucky. 

Pausing To Praise

Recently I was praying for some extra special needs of people close to my heart. The actual needs of people are endless! So many people need God to move desperately in their lives! The sufferings and afflictions of my friends break my heart! 

I wish my words had the power to move mountains, heal the sick and save the lost soul! I was reminded that you and I have the privilege of helping our brothers and sisters. We can bear part of their burdens by going to God in prayer! God does have the power to turn things around!

I felt the need to pause to thank God for answering prayers in 2022. Reflecting on so many answered prayers from last year, I began to rejoice. The goodness of God is amazing!

As I reminisced, my faith was growing one more time! We are one week into 2023, and I am excited to watch God move in the days ahead! God can do the impossible this year for you and me!

I cannot share all of the prayers He has answered! There are a few I want to share today! I pray this will help you believe that God to move in your needs too!

Chloe Jean Shoemaker

My sweet cousin Chloe Jean will turn 1 on January 20th. Click here to see some of her story. She has already traveled through some scary situations in her short life! The exact details of her troubles are too many to write here. God has already performed many miracles in her little body.

Many of you helped us pray for her and her family. We are so grateful! I still regularly get texts from people checking on her.

She is doing wonderful now! They had a checkup with the liver specialist last month. All of their tests came back good. Now she can go 6 months between the specialist visits! 

Both of these pictures were taken on Christmas Day. As you can see here, she loves food! She is growing quite nicely! I am so thankful for this little one! Her smile brightens my world!

Bro. Larry and Sis. Rosemary Landress

In November, our dear friends Larry and Rosemary Landress were in a horrific car wreck. I shared a prayer request for them here in this post. 

Thank God they are both doing much better! They are now at their home in Oklahoma. Their recovery is still an ongoing process. God has brought them a long way in the last two months! I know they would appreciate your continued prayers!

The first texts I received from both of them post accident, I cried tears of joy! Then a couple weeks ago, I was able to talk to them on the phone for a moment. I rejoiced in my heart! They have been our friends for so long! I am so thankful God allowed them to stay with us longer! I can not wait to hug them again!

Becky Isaacs Bowman

Many of you are fellow Isaacs fans. Some of you let me know that you have been praying for our cousin. Becky Isaacs Bowman was involved in a head on collision three weeks ago!

God was merciful and spared her life! The injuries she experienced were not life threatening! Although, the injuries were life altering for a while! She underwent major surgery to fix the damage to her legs and knee. 

We are thankful that God has helped her so much already! This picture was taken 13 days before the accident.

 

Becky spent 2 weeks in the hospital and rehab. She was released to recover at home on December 30th. She cannot put weight on her legs, and the predicted recovery time is extremely lengthy. 

I know Becky and her family appreciate all the prayers on their behalf! The prayers have carried them through this valley! For more updates, check the Isaacs and John Bowman Ministries pages. 

Friends, as we move forward this year, remember God is still doing miracles for His children. He really does hear and answer our prayers. Keep praying and believing!

Thanks for visiting with me today. See you next week.

Odie

                                         

The Blessing In The Barn

We hit the road to evangelize in January 2003. When we came home for Christmas 12 months later in December, 2003, we parked our fifth wheel in a campground. Sometime over the next year or so, my brother Steve invited us to park in their driveway when home. We did that through Christmas 2007.

Once we purchased the bus in March of 2008, we realized it was to big to park in my brother's driveway. They had blessed us abundantly by allowing us to park there, but it was time to move on.

Bro. Rex Lloyd was Pastor of Dodds then and he invited us to put a 50 amp plug on the fellowship hall and park there when we were home. From then through Christmas of 2013, we parked at Dodds.

It was a tremendous blessing to have a place to park, but the cold winter weather was about to get the best of me and the bus. If it was cold, most of my time and energy were spent trying to keep the bus from freezing or repairing what had frozen. My time at home for Christmas was miserable.

I decided the BoggsMobile had made its last trip north in the winter. We would park somewhere south and drive the car or fly home for a few days at Christmas. I was done fighting the cold and snow.

In August, 2014, the property we later purchased became available. This was not just any property. It had an old pole barn and was right next door to where we parked. I had contacted the owner about selling with absolutely no interest on their part.

We looked at the property with longing every time we were home.

My Dad and I were standing at the crumbling fence dreaming about what could be done with the property next to Dodds Church.

The bus parked at Dodds, about 10' from the property and about 200' from the barn on July 4, 2014. You can see the barn over KJo's head.

A full view of the property in August 2014. It was not yet available when I took this picture.

The barn was rented to a man for several years. In late August, my Dad heard the renter was vacating the property. We were driving home from Vermont, when I got the call. I immediately called the owner and left a message.

When I arrived at Dodds, I walked over to the barn, introduced myself to the renter and asked if he had any interest in buying the property. When he said no, I told him that I did have an interest in it.

I also talked to the church and the great neighbors on the other side to see if either of them had any interest in buying the property. I would have been disappointed to miss the opportunity, but I did not want to step in front of them.

Long story short, the owner called in late September and we closed on the property in November 2014. This post has pictures of the first day we pulled into the barn in mid December. What a momentous occasion that was.

Yes, friends, that day literally changed my life. I knew I wanted to park the bus inside, but I did not realize how much of a blessing it was to get out of the wind.

Present Day

The whole bus would have been frozen the last several days if it was parked outside. There is no way to overcome the combination of below zero temperatures and high wind. We are so thankful for this old barn. It is an amazing blessing.

I intend to eventually insulate the whole barn so I can heat it a little in the winter, but these last nine winters have definitely been better than the winters before. Hallelujah!

Praise God for the blessing in the barn.

Davy

Purposely Thankful!

Several years ago a Pastor opened up a revival service for testimonies and his young son was one of the first to stand up. We could see the lump in the Pastor's throat and apprehension in his face as he wondered what his son would say. He was probably questioning his own decision to open up the floor to testimonies.

The young man said with complete sincerity, "I want to thank God for my family. We are not a perfect family, but we are a family."

I know the Pastor/Dad felt like crawling into the Bible stand as we all smiled politely and laughed like crazy inwardly. We all had a good tease and laugh about it later but it has become a common phrase in the BoggsMobile.

We will look at one another quite often and say, "We are not a perfect family, but we are family."

That pretty much sums us up. Even though we might like for the world around us to view us without all of our warts and other imperfections, the truth remains we are not perfect, we are not whole, we are not exactly what we planned to be by now. Yet we are thankful we are not what we use to be and certainly not as low down as we could be.

We are very thankful as a family that God has been so very good to us. That does not mean that everything is rosy or that we can even begin to understand some of the things that are going on around us. It simply means we are thankful for the place that God has brought us to at the moment in spite of what we think about the present circumstances.

We are thankful every day. We must be. When Paul describes the perilous times we live in, he includes two words grouped together; unthankful, unholy. I do not believe these words are placed side by side on accident. When we are unthankful, unholy will not be far behind.

I am determined to be purposely thankful. God has been so good to us. He has walked beside us and blessed us every step of the way. Surely, His goodness and mercy follow us each day.

 

There is no doubt that we live in an evil world, infected with 6000 years of sin that will beat you up at every chance. But we are determined to trust God and allow Him to work things out for our good according to His will.

Thank you, God, for loving us and helping us and guiding us.

Thank you, friends, for walking through this life with us.

Davy

Believing The Words of Jesus

Hey Friends,

This is Odie reporting in from Mississippi. Thanks for stopping by to visit with me. I hope that you are having a wonderful weekend. By God's grace, we are doing well. 

Answered Prayers

Thank you for your friendship and prayers. Many of you faithfully pray for our family! We greatly appreciate every single prayer! God hears and answers those prayers!

We felt your prayers during our tent revival in Thomasville, Alabama! Several times that week, I paused and thanked God for His extra strength. I could feel His help. I also witnessed my Dad's renewed strength to make it through the week. We had a great time during the revival!

When last Saturday rolled around, we were tired and ready for rest. Inside, my heart was full of joy! God has been so good to us once again! I must praise Him for answering our prayers.

Richton Tent Revival 

Today is tent setup day in Richton. Please continue to pray for us! Here are some things on my prayer list for this week. 

-Today's setup to go safely and smoothly. 

-The weather to be clear of storms. 

-My parent's physical strength to be renewed daily! 

-Lost souls to find Jesus. 

-The saints to be encouraged and healed.

We love being with Pastor Scott Morris and our friends at Richton First Assembly! God always meets us in powerful ways here. Our tent revivals here over the years have been extra special. I expect more of the same and better things in Richton Tent Revival 2022!

This week, you are invited to join us at the City Park in Richton, Mississippi. Revival is scheduled for Sunday night thru Thursday night at 7:00. Come experience what God has planned for us!

Believing The Words of Jesus

I was planning a fun blog for today, but my mind is going in another direction. My other post will have to wait for another week. I can not get a scripture off my heart.

In my devotions last week, I read John chapter 14. It is one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible. I feel Jesus speaking right into my soul every time I read those words. I love the words written in red that were spoken by our Savior!

This chapter is full of hope and promise. Jesus said these words, and I know without a doubt we can take Him at His word. Jesus went away to prepare a place for us. We can join Him there soon!

He promised us peace and comfort. Jesus also said that He would pray for us. I am awed every time that I think about Jesus praying for me!

Dad often quotes this passage from John 14:12-14. I have heard the verses all of my life. I believe them with my whole heart, but they have been burning in my heart for days.

12..Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 

13. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

 14. ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

Friends, you and I can believe the words of Jesus today! We can believe for God to do the impossible and it will be done. Jesus said He will do it. It is not a maybe or a possibility, but it is a definite I will do it.

We can not command God to work how or exactly when we think He should do things for us! We have been given the right to believe and ask for Him to move in our lives. He has a purpose and a plan for each of us! 

Do I see the answers to all my prayers right now? No, but my faith is renewed for today! We must keep believing and asking! Never give up faith! He is at work in our needs this moment!

I know this my seem like a broken record. I often write on this topic of believing and trusting God, but these are important topics in my life. I have found encouragement again in the words of Jesus. I  hope these word put a spring in your step today!

God Bless,

Odie

A Word For Wednesday, Everything Changes Except God

It is time again for A Word For Wednesday. This morning, I am posting A Word for Wednesday on our YouTube Channel. Please give it a listen and leave us a comment here or on YouTube.

Everything Changes Except God

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with the stuff of life. I am not up to the challenge. I am not as strong as I used to be. I am not as young as I used to be. No, I can not do what I used to do because time has changed me.

But time has not changed God! Hallelujah! God is still the same! He has the same power. He has the same strength. He has the same knowledge!

Everything changes except God!

Thank you for stopping by.

Davy

Pictures Of The Blue and White Gospel Tent Going Up In Thomasville, Alabama

Wow! Wow! Wow! Last night's service was worth every long mile and every winding trial! Hallelujah! Praise God for coming near us and touching us.

I promised a gaggle of pictures from the tent setup and today is the day! We had great help Saturday and everything was completed safely and in short order! Praise God!

You may have seen the video that we posted Saturday evening, but there are over 100 pictures below that are not in the video.

We are so thankful to each one that came. Look at this great crew!

I hope you enjoy these beautiful pictures!

Davy