A Very Morgan Christmas

Last night was a very Morgan Christmas and what a very merry Christmas it was. I think every immediate family member was present for the annual Christmas celebration. We gathered in the early afternoon at Kelly's parents' home south of Hillsboro, Ohio and the meal was the very first thing on the agenda.

In addition to all of the food prepared by the family, we had a very special treat as an appetizer. Bro. Jared and Sis. Valerie Burris gave us several pounds of elk meat while we were in California. KJo tenderized it Monday night and her brother cooked it on the grill Tuesday. Wow! It was good and it was a big hit! Thank you Bro. Jared and Sis. Valerie.

After the meal, we played our Christmas game and opened personal gifts.

These first pictures came from my camera and the rest come from Odie.



































































Thank you for reading today on Christmas. I hope you are having a wonderful day.

Davy

May God Bless You Every One This Christmas

Today we gather with part of our family to celebrate Christmas. Tomorrow, Christmas Day, we gather with another important part of our family to celebrate with them. We will be eating fabulous food, holding our loved ones near, playing games and thoroughly enjoying a little downtime with our families.

I love the Christmas season. I love the lights. I love the decorations. I love the food. I love the family. I love the fun. I love the frivolity I love the music. I love the whole thing. 

If you take away the lights, the laughter, the food, the family, the gifts and the gadgets, what do we have left? Oh, my friend, with all else dissolved, we still have the true meaning of the holiday, we still have the reason for the season.

The whole Christmas season rests on this one central fact. Jesus came to earth as one of us in order to save us.

The son of God became the son of man so that the sons of men might become sons of God! 

Wow! Praise God! Christ left the throne room in Heaven, was born of a virgin and fulfilled hundreds of prophecies, many that were proclaimed hundreds of years before. Divinity was robed in humanity and Deity was clothed in dust.

He was sinless. He was spotless. He was pure. He was God in the flesh. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh... I Timothy 3:16

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1:23

Him who knew no sin, became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Jesus Christ did not come to be king or lord or healer or ruler or creator. All of those titles were already his own.

He came to be the savior of the world. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners... I Timothy 1:15

Perhaps there is someone reading today that will not be surrounded by family and friends on Christmas. Maybe there is a critical person in your life that will be missing on Christmas day. Sickness, sadness, separation, death and despair might be the closest companions you have had all year.

If that is the case, then the fun and frivolity will have lost a lot of its luster for you this year. I am sorry that life has been so cruel. Please know that in the midst of our celebrations, your sorrow is never far from our minds and our families will pray especially for you.

The brilliance of Christmas's past may be faded and the memories may sting more than they soothe this year. All the accessories of Christmas may be more work than they are worth for you. God bless you, friend. God strengthen you, my brother and my sister. When all of the Christmas trappings bruise and batter your weary soul, may this sweet and gentle thought ease around the edges of your mind, God sent His son for you.

Christmas is all about a loving God reaching for helpless and hurting humanity!

There is no hurt in life that would cause Him to remove His presence. There is no pain so deep, that He will forsake you. The babe that was born in the manger was the man that gave Himself for you, suffered for you and even now is able to be touched with the feelings of your infirmities.

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25

May God bless every one of you this Christmas. May God restore you, heal you, empower you, comfort you, give His peace unto you and walk with you every step of the way. You are loved and you are not alone, my friend.

Davy

Weekend In The Rearview Mirror 12/23/19 (El Mirage to Home)

Our Weekend was mostly driving and I need to go all the way back to Wednesday to set up the tale just right.

Wednesday afternoon, before the last night of revival at Desert Cove, we turned the BoggsMobile around so that we would be facing the exit Thursday morning. KJo took this picture before church.

We had a very late night Wednesday and we did not get started as early Friday morning as I had hoped. I think we finally pulled out of Desert Cove about 7:30. The first few hours of the drive going north to Flagstaff and then east on I-40 is beautiful. It was cool, but very sunny and we loved the drive all morning long.

The whole day was great and everything went extremely smooth. The traffic was clear, the temperature was cool, the roads were in good condition and the BoggsMobile was running terrific. All of those were things I prayed about as we prepared to leave and I am thankful that everything fell completely into its proper place.

We stopped for the evening and night at a rest area near Santa Rosa, New Mexico. We have stopped there before, but this is the first time we have stayed here for the night. We were parked near a bright light and it felt as safe as day time. (Note for me: You need to park on the east end for level-er spots)

Since we went to bed earlyish, I was awake earlyish and raring to hit the road. I tried to forbear for a while so KJo could rest, but at 5:35 we were rolling. Our first stop was for a big breakfast at the Big Texan in Amarillo, Texas. We have eaten there several times, but Friday was the first time we were passing by at breakfast time. It was good.

The rest of the day was good although we did have a stiff north wind for about 90 miles once we left Amarillo. We fueled up in Hinton, Oklahoma and then stopped as planned for supper in Tulsa about 4:30 with our good friend, Bro. Galen Cummins.

Can you believe we forgot to get a picture with Bro. Galen? Wow! I guess we do miss Odie after all. Never fear, I found a picture of Bro. Galen with his wife and mother and Odie from November 2018.

Within an hour or so after leaving Tulsa, we were pulling into Claremore, Oklahoma and making our way to the Westside Holiness Church. I told you that Bro. Millikin picked up the new tent top Thursday. He left it in his Ford Escape at the church for us.

We unhooked the Green Machine, backed it up to the Escape, transferred the tent and then hooked the car to the BoggsMobile again.

We considered driving some more, but it was already more than 12 hours since we left the Santa Rosa, New Mexico rest area Friday morning. We were ready for bed. For the second morning in a row, I waited as long as I could stand and we pulled out about 6:05.

It was a beautiful day for driving, but the traffic was noticeably heavier than it had been the two previous days. Part of that is due to the area of the USA we are driving through and probably partly due to this being the weekend before Christmas.

Only two hours into our day, we made a stop to visit with Bro. Mitch and Sis. Lynn Boggs. It was super great to see them again and we hated to leave them. While we were visiting, Bro. Jason Fellers stopped at the same place to get gas so we saw him for a moment too.

The rest of the day was uneventful like travel days are supposed to be. After 10 hours, we settled in for the evening at Flying J in Effingham, Illinois. I was a tad bit tired. In three days the BoggsMobile had carried us and pulled the Green Machine 1644 miles according to the GPS.

Sunday morning began too early for me. For some reason, I was wide awake at 3:00 AM. I finally eased out of bed, had my morning devotions, did some writing, completed some computer work and looked for the sunrise. Just as it was getting light outside, I started yawning. Yay! I went back to bed and slept until 9:00. Hallelujah!

By the time we cleaned up, cranked up and the bus was aired up, we were getting started later than we planned, but that was OK. We only had about 280 miles to drive and we wanted it to be as stress free as it could be. AND it was low stress all day, pulling onto the Lazy OD Ranch and into the barn sometime after 4:00 PM.

It was solid ice in front of the barn door and the front of the bus slid sideways a good bit on our first attempt. The back wheels were on gravel so backing up was not a problem. I treated the ice with icemelt and tried it again. It slipped a bit, but the bus went right in with no major problem.

The heavy rear wheels ground the icemelt into the ice real good and broke it up.

I removed the tent from the Green Machine and loaded it onto the dolly we use to haul sound equipment. The tent trailer is in Mississippi so the tent will go with us the first of the year. I will load it back up before we go.

Odie was leaving for church as we were setting things up in the barn so I barely got to say hello. My Dad and Mom stopped by for a few minutes on their way to church and then we settled in, ate supper and called it a night.

That also wrapped up the weekend and a trip of 1923 miles from El Mirage to home. We praise God for protection and for the bus running great the whole way. Hallelujah!

Thank you for reading today. I know that most of you are gearing up for Christmas somewhere, may you have a merry Christmas. God bless you all.

Davy

The View Out The Front Window 12/22/19

We are still traveling across the nation this weekend so our view is changing nightly. We should be at the Lazy OD Ranch later today with the BoggsMobile snugly resting in the barn.

This was our view out the front window most of the week at Desert Cove in El Mirage, Arizona.

This was our view the last night.

This was our view out the front window at the rest area near Santa Rosa, New Mexico.

This was our view out the front window at Westside Holiness Church in Claremore, Oklahoma. 

This is our view out the front window at Flying J in Effingham, Illinois.

Here are the links from our posts over the last week.

Saturday Evening Post

Revival In Pictures

On Our Way InTently

Vintage View Vednesday

Go West Young Man

The Weekend In The Rearview Mirror

Thank you for taking the time to drop by on Sunday. Have a great Lord's day.

Davy

The Star Still Shines

Hey Friends,

Happy Saturday, this is Odie reporting in.  I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas! I hope you have a fabulous Christmas! I am looking forward to spending time with family and friends while celebrating the birthday of Christ.

My location changed this week. I am now at home. I found a cheap ticket, so I was able to fly from Phoenix and made it to Ohio Thursday. Thank you to Mamaw and Papaw for picking me up at the airport. It is good to home in my cozy beach cottage. Mom and Dad will hopefully arrive home tomorrow or Monday. Please join me in praying for them as they travel. 

The Star Still Shines

In Matthew chapter 2 we read of the wise men that followed the star from the East. They were searching for “The King of the Jews” for they had seen His star. The long hard journey ended in Bethlehem where they rejoiced. They came to Mary, Joseph and Jesus bearing gifts and worshiped the King. They sought to find Jesus and their efforts were successful because they followed the star.  

The wise men are examples for us to follow God’s leading. We must be wise men and women and seek the Lord. I do not want to lose sight of my King. I want to worship Him for He is worthy all of my worship!

The final Christmas song that I want to share with you for this Christmas season is “The Star Still Shines.” This song has become one of my favorite Christmas songs. I especially love Gordon Mote’s version. His smooth, melodious voice conveys the song’s message straight to my soul. 

As I prepared for this post I listened very closely to the lyrics and the second verse really resonated with me. Our world is crazy and seems so hopeless. Jesus is still the beacon of light shining for us in this dark time. His light will never go out. Praise God we have hope in Him! 

In the hustle and bustle of these final days before Christmas take a moment to seek Jesus. I hope that you find encouragement and inspiration from this song. Below I have listed the complete lyrics to “The Star Still Shines.” Click here to find the song on Apple Music or click here to listen on YouTube. 

Thanks for reading today. I appreciate you visiting us at Mile Markers. Have a great weekend. 

Odie

The Star Still Shines

Verse 1

There was a star in the Eastern sky

That shone down on Bethlehem

A few had recognized the sign

A King was born to them

And it drew them to a manger

To a virgin mother's son

Who would draw us to salvation

God's gift to everyone

Chorus 

And the star still shines

After all this time

As a light for me and you

It beckons us to seek Him

Wise men still do

Wise men still do

Verse 2

In these crazy troubled times

The world seems so out of tune

Sometime's it's like we're living

On the dark side of the moon

And if you're feeling faithless 

And you think you've lost your way

Or there is a hope that's bright enough

To turn your night to day

Chorus 

And the star still shines

After all this time

As a light for me and you

It beckons us to seek Him

And wise men still do

Wise men still do

Bridge 

It won't go out after Christmas

Like a candle in the wind

It's a light that shines forever

Not just every now and then

Chorus 

And the star still shines

After all this time

As a light for me and you

It beckons us to seek Him

Wise men still do

Wise men still do

Oh wise men still

Written by: John Colgin, Don Poythress, and Michael Puryear