A Word For Wednesday-One Step At A Time

Today it is time for A Word For Wednesday. Our word for today? One Step At A Time. I posted it on our YouTube Channel a few minutes ago. 

One Step At A Time

First of all, thank you all for praying for us and specifically praying for my health to improve enough so we might get back out on the road. I do not even know how to say thank you strong enough and loud enough. We appreciate all of the concern and prayer more than we can express.  I still have a ways to go, but I am still climbing by God's grace.

With all of the prayer being offered and the texts, calls, emails, cards, letters and comments, there comes a measure of responsibility on our part, to keep you informed on how things are going and if I am improving.

Let me begin, by saying I am definitely 1000 times better than I was in mid March and even many, many times better than I was three weeks ago in the first part of June.

We are thankful for every ounce of improvement that we can sense or see. Praise God for His help!

From the very beginning of this ordeal, I have tried to stay active, even if it was only marching in place in the BoggsMobile for a few minutes at a time. On May 20, KJo and I began riding our stationary bike, hoping to build up my wind and endurance. This is how I KNOW that I am making some progress.

That first day, I rode one minute and had to quit. On May 21 I rode one minute and rested one minute. I repeated that five times for a total of five minutes riding in ten minutes time and 1.1 miles. We have kept building on that six days a week.

On June 1, I rode three minutes took a one minute break and rode two more minutes. The next day I rode eight minutes and the next day nine minutes. On June 10 I rode twelve minutes. Like I said, one step at a time.

Since June 12, I have been riding twenty to twenty three minutes and five miles, plus or minus a tenth or two, six days a week. This effort has undoubtedly helped my lung capacity and endurance.

During this time, I have sung and preached once or twice each week and sang some during services at our home church. I have done all of this while using the portable oxygen machine and my levels stay up pretty good.

Here is where the rub comes in and where I would like for you to focus your prayers unto God. I still need the supplemental oxygen to do anything at all. I have taken it off several times when I am near the bus exhaust or adding gas to the mower or using anything that makes a spark. If I do much at all without the oxygen, my levels drop.

I am doing my best to be patient with this and I do see improvement at times. I have been told repeatedly that this can take a good amount of time and I understand that with my head. However, my heart is raring to go and to get back to doing what we love to do, what we are equipped to do.

I know that God is able to repair all of this and allow my lungs to absorb oxygen like they are supposed to this very instant. I have complete faith the God can complete the work. God is a miracle working God!

Until that miracle comes, we are determined to move forward one step at a time as we are able. 

Last week, our Pastor, Bro. Bennie Sutherland, ask us to sing for the altar service at our home church during revival. It may not seem like much of a start, but this is the first time I have been to church more than two nights in a row in months.

We were able to sing each night, enjoy the services and still do a few things during the day that needed to be done. I was more tired than usual, but I was able to exhort and sing each night without extreme trouble.

We ended the week of revival with a very busy weekend and I handled it pretty well. Praise God!

This week, we are taking another test step.

Bro. Chambers in Charlotte, North Carolina has asked us to help with the singing and for KJo to play the piano. Bro. Chambers knows that I and not 100% and that I may not even be able to attend all of the services. I hope to be able to go as much as possible and to sing.

My tendency is to push as hard as I can go and find the limit. That is exactly what I did about three or four weeks after COVID and the result nearly killed me. I really want to avoid that if at all possible. I can not do that.

There is a temptation to swing the pendulum back the other way and never try to do anything. I can not do that either.

The compromise between the two extremes is to keep taking baby steps, making all the progress I can without going over the edge again.

That is the plan. We will pray and step forward. We ask you to continue to pray for us. We believe that God will provide answers and stay faithful.

Thank you for reading today.

Davy

Buried With Him By Baptism Into Death

Last night I posted a YouTube video from our part of the service at Dodds Pentecostal Church Sunday morning. I hope you enjoy it. It has one song at the beginning and then altar singing after my preaching on "The Christian Commitment".

Buried With Him By Baptism Into Death

Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Hallelujah!)

I grew up having well over 100 first cousins counting both sides of our family. I was naturally closer to some of them because we lived closer, we were close in age, went to school together or attended the same churches.

I have a cousin that is separated from me by less than one month in age. We were both raised right here in Waynesville, Ohio. He is in the middle of the picture below between Pastor Kelly Rogers and me.

Say Hello to Steve Moore!

We were close when we were growing up and we have many great memories. My life and vocation have sent me all over the country and I have not been able to keep close ties with a lot of my family. I always feel a little guilty about that, but one cousin in Kentucky helped me with that recently.

She said, we know we love one another and we do not have to be together all the time to prove it. We know it, nothing can change it and that is enough. Well said, cousin!

Steve, his wife Jenni and one of his daughters Erica.

Steve has lived right here in the county where we were raised. He married well and has raised his family and is now enjoying grandchildren. He has lived a very nice life with only one thing missing.

In his own words, he was missing living for God! He had the Gospel seed planted in his heart as a young child from two sets of Godly grandparents and that seed would not be ignored any longer.

Earlier this year, while watching a church service at home, he repented of his sin and gave his heart to the Lord. He and his precious wife have both testified to the incredible change the grace of God has made in several areas of his life. He is born again by God's grace!

When he wrote me an email a few months ago telling me all about his experience, I began to weep with joy and gladness! I can not tell you how happy I was at that moment and the happiness is still bubbling today in me and in Steve. Hallelujah!

The worldwide pandemic drove us and many others to have services online. Steve was not going to church, but his hunger for God drove him to watch those services and the exposure to God's Word and God's Spirit pulled on his heart and he surrendered!

It is another indication that God can take what the enemy meant for bad and turn it for our good!

He asked me in that first email if I would consent to baptize him in water whenever I was physically able to do it. I was honored at the request and we began making plans to get that done.

It all came together Sunday. Pastor Kelly Rogers contacted Pastor EJ Lamb and we used the baptistry at Anchor of Hope Sunday afternoon.

Several from the Dodds Church were in attendance along with others. The Lord was also there and allowed us to feel His wonderful presence throughout the service. Praise God for His help!

We have some pictures from Odie and I will have a video of the baptism portion of the service. I hope to have it up by 10:00 AM Tuesday on our YouTube Channel.

Thank you for tuning in today.

Davy

Nice To Have The Proper Jeep At Home

The Jeep is back in the capable hands of KJo. Monday evening I called the dealership to check on the repairs. I was not in a hurry for it, but it was a few days past the estimated time frame. I was hoping they were not expecting me to show up and I had misunderstood.

They were only a few minutes away from having it ready, so I headed that way. The paint repair looked good and they had given it a decent wash and spit shine. The rain and snow this week spoiled the wash, but that is no problem. It was a factory paint problem and covered under the original warranty.

So the Jeep Compass loaner car went back. It is a nice little Jeep, but a bit small for our needs all the time. It was fine for the short term.

And the Jeep Grand Cherokee came back home.

It is nice to have it back. I had not driven the Jeep much since we bought it, but I drove it about three hours Tuesday and I am going to drive it some more today. IF I am going to drive the bus long distances like we must do to travel, then I need to know if I can drive without difficulty.

Driving the Jeep is not the same as driving the car, but it is a start. I am doing my best to build up to full strength and full duty. Please keep praying for us. We desire God's help and His direction. 

Thank you for stopping in today.

Davy

Visual Journey

Hey Friends,

This is Odie reporting in today. I hope you are doing great this weekend. Can you believe that we are speeding through April 2021? Time seems to be flying by faster with each passing day.

Seven years ago this month, in the blink of an eye, my life suddenly changed. If you are a new reader click here to see the full story. It was an extremely terrifying time.

Many of you remember that time in our lives. You helped pray me and my parents through that season. I will forever be grateful to all my brothers and sisters in the army of God! You rallied around my family and went to war on our behalf! 

The prayers and support worked! We came out victorious and I do not want to lose sight of that victory! Reflecting on what God has done for me with my vision caused me to look back at the big picture of my journey.

Visual Journey
Here is a brief recap of my vision history. My first visit to an eye doctor was back in 1999. The doctor prescribed reading glasses. Once I had my reading glasses I  found that they were extremely helpful. 

I no longer had headaches every day after school. Turns out all of the headaches were not Algebra or Science related like I had thought. My reading glasses saw me through both junior high and high school and into my twenty's.

By 2006 I realized that I was wearing my glasses most of the time. I could feel my eyes straining without them. I decided it was time to get my eyes checked again. 

I made an appointment with an eye doctor in Pittsburg, Kansas. That doctor gave me the expected eye exam. Then he also expressed some serious concerns that worried him. He encouraged me to find an Ophthalmologist and have some specific testing done. 

That was the beginning of my in-depth eye journey. The concerns that the doctor in Kansas voiced really worried me. Our precious friends at Faith Tabernacle in Weir, Kansas prayed for me that night. I remember that God visited me with a special blessing during the revival service.

A few months later we were home and it was time to get the tests done.  We spent many hours at the eye doctor as they performed a series of tests.

The conclusion: My eye pressures were high and my optic nerves are misshapen. I was given the title of a Glaucoma Suspect at just twenty years old. They decided to just keep checking routinely and watch for changes. The doctor said that the anomalies in my eyes might be Cerebral Palsy related and might not give me any problems.

Eye doctor checkups became normal for me every time we were home. Thankfully things stayed the same. My prescriptions would change from time to time, but nothing dramatic happened.

Then in April 2014, my life changed! I woke up on a Sunday morning to find my vision was gone in my left eye. I felt like I had a massive black smudge over my eye. Suddenly we were navigating uncharted waters. We were trying not to drown in worry and fear. 

Why had my vision suddenly left? Was this because of the other issues the doctors were watching? Could my vision loss be corrected? Was I going to be completely blind? Would I now have to navigate life blind and physically handicapped? Those were just a few of my questions and it was so hard to find the answers.

Every moment that we walked this unknown road we prayed and believed for a miracle from God. On the ninth day, God began to answer those prayers. My vision began to return! It was a real miracle! Within a few months, my sight was better than it had been before it left! 

I want to stress that to you. My vision is better in both eyes now than it was before I had the period of blindness! Hallelujah!

During my time of vision loss, I prayed for God to heal me and or direct me to the correct doctors that I need. I can honestly say God answered both of those prayers.

The doctors diagnosed me with Optic Neuritis, which is where the Optic Nerve is inflamed. Optic Neuritis is a strange ailment. It is hard to pinpoint the actual cause and impossible to prevent it from happening again. There is not a promise that vision will return after Optic Neuritis, most likely never fully return. Praise God I am completely better!

The Optic Neuritis does not seem to be connected to the existing issues. The Glaucoma Suspect worries are probably linked to trauma at birth or Cerebral Palsy. 

We personally say that my sudden vision loss in 2014 was an attack from the enemy. We rebuked the enemy from attacking my life while praying with a friend, and we pled the blood of Jesus over me. My vision instantly started to return.

I have continued to routinely have checkups with my fantastic eye doctors. I am blessed to have Dr. Amy Kopp on my team. She is genuinely concerned about my vision health. She is not afraid to say that God has worked a miracle in my case.

Last month I went in for a checkup with Dr. Kopp. They did the routine vision checks. My prescription changed slightly. My eye pressures were perfect. The pictures of my optic nerves were unchanged. We will continue to monitor things with the checkups.

All of the periodic tests are normal to me now. I do always have a knot in the pit of my stomach when I go for these visits. Getting the good news helped me tremendously. I value my sight. I thank God every day that I wake to find my vision to be clear!

Thanks for coming on this visual journey down memory lane today. I am always grateful that you take the time to read my post. See you next time!

Odie

City Reach Tent Revival Phoenix

Our dear friend, Bro. Jimmie Radcliffe reminded me this weekend that City Reach Phoenix began five years ago this week. That is nearly unbelievable! To think that something we actively prayed about and planned for three to four years is now five years in the past. Wow! Time really does fly!

Pastor Noah Martinez tells me on a regular basis that they are still seeing residual results from those three weeks of tent revival all these years later. The church has had the opportunity to reach families and extended family members of people who attended and prayed during revival. That is the amazing work of God. I am very thankful that Pastor Martinez keeps me updated.

It does not always work out that well in every city. But I am convinced it works much better when the church systematically and enthusiastically follows up and looks for occasions to continue ministry where the tent revival left off.

In the last few months, a young couple came to the church there at Desert Cove and both were gloriously saved. They decided their lives needed something and they figured what they needed was God. They had no idea how right they were! Of course, we know that God was drawing them.

After attending church for a few months and experiencing several radical life changes, they told Pastor Martinez why they chose their church in particular out of hundreds of other churches.

These young folks were high school age five years ago when the three week tent revival was going on. They seriously considered attending City Reach Tent Revival, but never did. However, when they decided they needed to try a church, they remembered the tent revival and determined to try that church.

They walked into the church, God met them there and they are now saved. They are saved as an indirect result of City Reach. I will take that and praise God for it. That makes it worth every mile, every dollar, every drop of sweat, every sleepless night, every wind storm and every other difficulty and hindrance.

There were dozens of people that helped us carry the load that whole year. Individuals and churches that gave sacrificially and abundantly so that money would not have to even be a consideration when it came to where and when we could have tent revival.

There were hundreds of individuals that prayed for multiplied hours that God would save, heal and deliver during City Reach. There were churches that met in their sanctuaries and prayed while we were having church under the tent hundreds of miles away.

There were church members that labored physically to prepare for City Reach in their city and then worked like mules during revival.

Of course, Kelly Jo and Bro. Jimmie Radcliffe worked hard and gave so much of themselves to make City Reach a success. It could not have been done without them and I can think of no one else that I would have rather had beside me that whole time.

Bro. Jimmie closed down his business to work and travel with us. By the grace of God's people, we paid his road expenses and paid him a small token of appreciation each week, but there is no way we could pay him what He was worth to us and to the kingdom of God. He made a tremendous sacrifice and City Reach would not have happened without it.

And here we are looking in the rearview mirror five years later! Like I said, unbelievable! Yet it is fact. I have been looking at posts from April of 2016 and I have been weeping as I go. You can begin HERE and then go HERE for a summary and links to many other posts from City Reach Phoenix.

I hope you enjoy some of the pictures and testimonies at least half as much as I did. Wow Again! Praise God for His help!

Thank you for joining us on Mile Markers today. I would love for you to share these posts with your friends and family.

Davy

A Little More Portable and Transportable

May God bless you for praying for us. I am getting word each day of dear friends bombarding Heaven on our behalf. We appreciate that more that we can express.

I have not felt like getting out much this week. As I said yesterday, I have good strength, but I do not have much breath or stamina. I have been told that both will come with patience. I am waiting.

I think I have quoted this Gerald Crabb lyric recently, but it is worth quoting again. "Patience is a virtue and a weakness of mine."😍

Even though I have not been out much, I do have a way to get out now. Due to the kindness of several individuals and a few churches, we were able to purchase a lightweight portable oxygen concentrator.

I was able to walk slowly up to Odie's one day and I rode up in the car another day. I also climbed in the car with KJo and went to town. I stayed in the Jeep while she ran errands, but I was able to do that because of the new machine.

I was also able to be outside guiding KJo and Dad Tuesday while they were doing the work of the evangelist, because of the portable concentrator. I could not have done that without it. 

I hope that I do not have to use it long, but I am very, very thankful to have it. Being tied to a machine is one thing, but being tied to ONE place is another thing.

This one works differently than the regular machine in the BoggsMobile. The one in the bus is capable of producing an constant flow of oxygen, so I can talk and breathe smoothly. A battery operated machine is not capable of that for long periods yet.

To save on battery, the portable concentrator senses when I am inhaling and sends the oxygen in a short pulse as I breathe in. When I am talking, it gets confused, I get confused and my oxygen level goes down.

So it is not perfect, but it is wonderful. I suppose it is good for me to talk less and study to be quiet. It is nice to be able to get out and about!

Thank you for getting out and about to Mile Markers today. We appreciate your visit.

Davy

Grass Is Growing

The temperatures have taken a nose dive yesterday and today. It was below 30 last night and will struggle to get to 38 today. We had a very cool and wet spring last year while we were home during the lockdown. I am sure hoping this year is more spring-like!

Thankfully, it was a beautiful day Tuesday. Dad came Tuesday morning and mowed the grass for the first time. It was already nine or ten inches tall in some places on March 30. That is difficult to believe.

I have never been one to stay in one place long enough for the grass to grow much under me, but I suppose my ways are changing for a bit. The grass is growing.

While Dad was here he helped us remove the bus from the barn, do the work of the evangelist, get the bus into the barn and get everything hooked back up. None of it is really hard work, but it must be done step by step.

I could not have done it without KJo and my Dad. I have plenty of strength to do what I need, but I do not have the breath or stamina. I am trying very hard to follow the advice of people that know much more than I do and take it easy.

I did climb the stairs to my study today and spent a few hours up there, using oxygen. My levels stayed up good and I enjoyed being surrounded by so many of my dear friends (books).

Odie is still doing well and Kelly Jo is as pretty and as hard working as ever. Thank you for praying for us and thank you for stopping by Mile Markers. Have a super great day.

Davy

Yes, Best of Times and Worst of Times

To paraphrase Charles Dickens, these are the best of times, these are the worst of times. To interpret, this has been an awesome week and this has been a horrible week. During this week we have been covered by the Spirit of the Lord over and over and we have been slammed over and over with sickness.

Yes, these are the best of times and these are the worst of times.

Since Saturday, March 13, I have sliding backward in my breathing. By Wednesday morning of this past week, I perceived that I was in trouble. By that evening it felt like I had no more room in my lungs for breath and we began to reach out to friends and family for prayer.

The pressure on my chest was severe and constant. Then God's people began to pray. One dear friend called a few minutes before 9:00 eastern Wednesday night. In moments his prayer was covered by the Holy Ghost and we were too. It was glorious for over 20 minutes. KJo and I were ushered into the presence of God right in the BoggsMobile.

Later, I found that others were in serious and fervent prayer for us at that very time. They were touching God, God was touching them and God was touching us! All over America, they were praying and we were feeling it. Praise God!

Even though we felt wonderful in our spirits, Wednesday night was a rough night for me physically. I could barely get enough oxygen, even with supplemental oxygen.

Thursday was shakey, but I rested better Thursday night and Friday night and we have been praising God for it. I still have a long way to go to get back to where I was three or four weeks ago, but I think I am headed in the right direction.

Thank you for praying for us, please continue.

Some Misinformation

By Thursday morning, the word was out to many, many people that I needed prayer. I always appreciate people praying, but some told me they had heard some things that were not true.

Some heard that I was in the hospital on a ventilator and might not make it through the night without a miracle.

Others heard that the doctor had told me I had double pneumonia and needed a miracle.

I am so sorry for the misinformation that was spread. 

I am afraid it is like the news stations that make every rainstorm into the storm of the century and then nearly nothing happens. Soon the people do not even listen to the genuine warnings.

I was very, very sick. I was lower than I have ever been in my life. I did think there was a possibility that I could die without God's touch. I am tremendously thankful for all that prayed for me and that touched God on my behalf. 

However, I am sorry if you received an alert that was not true. I can not do a thing in the world about it, I have no idea how it began, but I am sorry if you received prayer requests that were not true. I hope that does not harden you the next time you get a very serious request to pray for someone.

Thankful!

We are very thankful for the help and guidance that we have received from doctors and nurses and other medical personnel that have offered guidance, advice and direction all the way through this mess. We are thankful for you.

We are also tremendously thankful to all of you that have fervently prayed and offered scripture and words of encouragement. May God bless you for your kindness and thoughtfulness toward us. Some have prayed for hours at a time and others have not gone 15 minutes during the day without praying for us. Thank you.

I am better than I was Wednesday and Thursday. I had no other good direction to go, but up. However, I am not out of the woods yet. I am not able to go, I am not able to preach, I am not able to exert at all. I need some time to heal and I need God's help to heal. Please keep praying.

If the truth is known, I was probably trying to preach and sing and work too much too soon. That may be part of the reason for the recent physical difficulty.

We appreciate you joining us today on Mile Markers, friends.

Davy

Sunday Morning Sanity 3/28/21

No view change this week.

Sunday Morning Sanity

Do not panic. The end of one thing is not the end of everything. It is only the end of one thing and the beginning of many new things. 

Pastor Carter Conlon

Many of you have been praying for me this week and I appreciate it so much. I may tell you more about it later, but we are praising God for His help and strength. Hallelujah!

May God bless you with a super great Sunday.

Davy

The Weekend Write Up 3/15/21

This past Thursday, Ohio lowered the eligibility age for receiving the COVID vaccine to 50 years of age. That takes us in by a decent margin. 😁

Odie scrounged around and found availability and appointments for me and Kelly Jo. Friday morning we drove to a pharmacy a few towns away, walked in, got our arms pricked, waited a few minutes for adverse reactions and then made our way home.

Odie was already scheduled for her vaccination at the health department on Saturday. Her shot went well too. All three of us have a few aches and side effects, but so far so good.

There are a number of people that are not going to take the vaccine and some of them are my friends and acquaintances. I understand their hesitancy and I do not believe that anyone should be forced to receive a vaccine that has been approved for emergency use, or really any vaccine.

However, COVID knocked me off my feet. The very first symptom I felt was in my lungs and my lungs are not near right yet. I did consider waiting a while longer to take the vaccine, but I only considered it about two seconds. When it was available, I was ready.

Over the last year, we have been very careful to do everything we could reasonably do to avoid being affected by COVID and we plan to continue to be very careful in the future. For us, that carefulness included receiving the vaccine.

If the vaccine is not for you, that is completely fine with me. I hope you will extend the same grace to us.

Dear Friends!

A big highlight of our weekend was a super visit from our dear friends, Pastor Alan and Sis. Tammy Harris. They were up from Central City, Kentucky for a wedding and they took time out of their busy schedule to come by and see us. We love these dear friends and we were so happy they thought enough of us to drive out of their way to visit us.

I spent most of Friday evening and Saturday evening preparing to preach on Sunday night. We appreciate the local Pastors that have invited us to preach while we are home. I may not be able to sing and preach at 100%, but they are still asking us. I am thankful for their graciousness toward our family.

We had a great time with our friends at Anchor of Hope Sunday night. We sure appreciate Pastor EJ Lamb for inviting us and for his people receiving us so warmly. We had a wonderful time.

Odie snapped a few pictures.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Davy