Part I - Pictures from Carter Caves State Park

We have had a fun and exhausting week at Carter Caves State Park near Olive Hill, Kentucky. It had been five years since we came to the Boggs Family Reunion and we were excited to be able to make it this year. It was great visiting with everyone, sitting around the campfire, preparing and sharing meals and getting to know some of our extended family better. Having most of my immediate family here too was icing on the cake.

It was a special treat to minister in three churches in the area while we were here as well. I have prayed for years that God would open up doors of opportunity for us among our families and he has answered that in a big way this week. The Boggs family has opened their hearts to us and welcomed us with open arms. I am very thankful to them and to God that orchestrated it all. I have a sneaking suspicion that God is not finished yet.

We only took a "few" hundred pictures the last several days. I will have to spread them out over the next few days so that I do not gum up the servers at Google. They will not all be in order but I will try insert some descriptions now and then so you know what you are seeing.

We plan to leave this area later this morning. It is about 360 miles to our next revival and we begin services tomorrow evening. Thanks for reading and God bless everyone of you.

Davy

Kelly Jo and I walked (Hiked might be too strong of a word) some of the beautiful trails in Carter Caves State Park. Very little of their trails are smooth, super easy or level so we took our time and enjoyed the view. Some days we walked by ourselves and other days we had various combinations of family members. The first day we walked to one of several natural bridges in the park.

The Smokey Natural Bridge. 

This is the same bridge with Kelly Jo standing below for scale. 

We were climbing the steep stairs to the top of the bridge when I bent over to move a limb from the steps. The other end of the limb was in a brush pile about 6 feet away. When I moved it I startled a doe that was also in the brush pile. She startled me too!

She ran about 25 feet away and Kelly Jo took a few pictures.

Kelly Jo cooking in the campground.

Mexican S'Mores

More hiking.

This is the much smaller Raven Natural Bridge from the top. 

And the Raven Bridge from the bottom. 

My brother Steve cooked some great steaks over the fire.

Friday night we had some singing at the campground. We had a great night.

Tune in tomorrow for more pictures from Carter Caves State Park.

View Out The Front Window July 13, 2014

A Great Sunday

Travel Day

Pictures From Home

Schedule Change

Spelunking

Boggs Reunion Day

We have had a super week at Carter Caves State Park singing, cooking, eating walking and visiting. It has been great. The Boggs Reunion yesterday was a lot of fun and the evening was tremendous. We have oodles of pictures to post from the whole week and we will try to get them up in the next few days.

Today we plan to pull the bus to the church we are singing at this morning and then come back to the park and spend some more time with immediate family. I am not sure if I will leave the bus at the church or bring it back. We are paid through tonight but it is a pretty good chore to get in and out of here. It might be easier to leave it at the church.

Here is the view out the front window this week. I hope you have a super great Sunday.

Davy

Boggs Reunion Day

Hey friends, happy Saturday. It is Odie coming to you from Carter Caves State Park in Kentucky. This is near the area where our Boggs family is from originally. It is beautiful here at Carter Caves. If you are ever in the area I highly recommend visiting the park. 

Dad put up a great post about things he learned right here in the park when we was 14 years old. If you have not read it you ought to check it out. I think you will like it.

It has been very good catching up with different family members on the Boggs side. We all gathered around in the campground with a couple of guitars, a mandolin and Mom's piano to pick and grin a while last night. It was a lot of fun. We have some talented cousins that can really sing and I think we all had a good time. I am looking forward to the actual Boggs reunion today. Lots of food will be involved in the day and I know it will be good. I am still trying to be good and not blow the diet but it will be a challenge this weekend.

My Grandparents arrived yesterday and all of my Dad's siblings and their spouses are here. We have not all been here together for 5 years so this is special. My only Boggs first cousins missing are Deidre, Victor and Isaac. I wish they could be here to enjoy the fun but we are having a grand time. 

We have been taking lots of pictures this week so I am sure we will have a bunch of pictures to post soon. Here is one from last night to hold you over.

We have enjoyed Mexican S'mores a couple times this week. They are totally scrumptious!! Dad posted about them last year. Mom even made them low fat this time. 

I do not cook very often, but I do enjoy making something occasionally. I decided to make Buffalo Chicken Dip for today's dinner. The recipe I use I found on FRANK'S® Website.   I usually do the slow cooker version. 

I prefer Ranch dressing and Cheddar cheese in mine. This is a dish I can make fat free! You can serve it with chips, crackers, pretzels, or by itself. I even like it cold. Sometime I eat it on a sandwich. I know this is not a new dish but it is one I enjoy making and eating.

You can find the recipe HERE.

I do not have any pictures from past times I have made the dip but here is a picture from their website. 

Odie

Spelunking and Perseverance

In July, 1981 our family camped at Carter Caves in a pop up camper for nearly two weeks. I was 14 years old and had just finished 8th grade. I ran all over this park roaming the trails, touring caves, swimming and having myself a time. One of the reasons I remember when it was is that we watched Prince Charles and Princess Di get married on a small  black and white TV sitting on a table outside our little camper. They were married July 29, 1981.

I remember Carter Caves about as far back as I remember anything from childhood but it was that trip that made it a part of my heart. I fell in love with this place that July. I hiked every step of every one of the main park trails and went into all the caves I could find. 

I re-learned an important lesson about perseverance that week too. I signed up for spelunking tour through one of the caves. The spelunking tours go off the the path of the regular commercial lighted tours. You crawl or your belly through the mud and water and squeeze through tight passages exploring nooks and crannies with nothing but a flashlight. I mean with a name like "spelunking" it has got to be fun!

The description sounded awesome to me even though I had a pretty good touch of claustrophobia. How bad could it be, right? 

Well it turns out it could be pretty bad. I bought my ticket and showed up at the cave entrance with everyone else. I had my long pants, long sleeves, solid shoes, flashlight ready and I was ready to go. By the time the cave guide finished reading all the fine print about all the impossibly narrow passages we would be slithering through I was completely convinced I would suffocate in a deep passage some where IF the whole thing didn't collapse and bury us all.

As the group filed into the cave I slinked into the woods and followed the trail up the hill to the camp ground. Dad and Mom were surprised to see me back so early. I told them how dangerous the spelunking tour was but I could see right away that Dad was not convinced.

My Dad was not going to be a part of raising a bunch of quitters and I already knew that. "Once you start something you can't quit. Quitters never win and winners never quit." 

I pretty much believed it at that time but this was different. I was making a prudent decision based on accurate information given to me by a cave guide probably under 20 years old that was trying to scare everyone to death during this tour. I was saving my life by backing out.

Nope! According to Dad I was quitting and quitting was unacceptable. Plus I had wasted the $1.75 I has spent on the non-refundable spelunking cave tour ticket.

Dad never once said that I had to pay for another ticket and follow through or forever be labeled a quitter. He did drive the lesson home pretty good. I do not even think he suggested that I had to do it. But I knew when I was walking up that hill before I ever told my Dad about it that I would never be satisfied with myself until I spelunked through that cave.

The next time the tour was offered that week I slipped away and bought another $1.75 ticket, gathered at the cave entrance and listened to the impassioned speech about all the dangers that lie ahead. I ignored my cowardly heart beating visibly through my shirt and refused to allow my feet to turn and run. When they opened the gate and started inside I turned on my flashlight and marched with the others toward certain and disastrously painful death.

33 years later I do not remember much about the actual tour. I am pretty sure I was scared in some of those passages, I know I prayed the whole time but I am also sure I had a great time. I do remember how I felt when I walked out of that cave alive into the sunshine. I felt like I could do anything because I was not a quitter. I remember how I felt when I walked into camp covered in mud from head to toe. I felt like a world champion. I pretty much was because I was not a quitter.

I am not convinced that I can do much on my own any more. I have tried and failed way too many times to put much confidence in myself. But I am VERY convinced in the power of determination when combined with trust in God. 

The power of the human spirit is amazing sometimes. Men have completed some huge feats, almost unbelievable tasks because they refused to give up. You combine that determination and no quit attitude with complete trust and faith in God then there is no telling what God can do in our lives. I Know that to be true.

The spelunking tour reinforced that in the heart of this 14 year old boy. I have bought the ticket and went home defeated more times than I care to remember but by God's grace I have raised up to go again. I did not quit.

Not quitting does not mean Not failing. A thousand times no! Not quitting means Not quitting. We may fall and stumble and make a complete mess but we are Not quitting. We are not going to stay down but we are going to get back up again by God's grace and help! Our mind is made up and we will not wallow in defeat and die in despair.

Micah 7:8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.

Amen!

Oh, by the way. The three hour spelunking tour that was $1.75 in 1981.... Is $30 now! OUCH!

Have a great day and do not quit!

Davy

Schedule Change

We have added a date to the calendar. Yesterday morning I received a text asking us to sing Sunday morning at another church nearby here. We have plans to spend the afternoon with my immediate family Sunday afternoon but everyone was OK with us making plans for Sunday morning.

So we will be singing at Gregoryville Christian Church near Grayson, Kentucky. Google maps says it is about 11 miles from here. It is located right on US 60 between Carter Caves State Park turn off and Grayson. It is also visible from I-64. 

Service begins at 11:00. Come on out and be in service with us Sunday morning if you are nearby. 

We had another great day relaxing and spending time with family. Kelly Jo and I took another walk to a second natural bridge yesterday evening. This time my Bro. Steve, his wife Karen and Cousin Reva's grandson Solomon walked with us. 

We may make it to the third natural bridge before the week is out. It sure is beautiful here. I will have some pictures to prove it. Here is one to wet your appetite. 

We had a great day visiting with extended family and sitting around the fire in the evening. There should be more good times to come. 

Davy

Pictures From Home And A Story

We had a restful and productive day at Carter Caves State Park. We will have pictures to post and stories to tell later in the week.

I am posting a few pictures from our last week near home while we were in revival at Anchor of Hope and the 4th of July. The first picture is me with my good friend that runs the Acapulco restaurant in Lebanon. He is a good guy and takes care of me while I am home. 

Odie ran into friends at the mall.

On the 4th we visited with some of the family at my Dad's barn and at Acapulco. 

After a great meal for Kelly Jo's birthday on the 3rd we splurged with a little Graeter's ice cream. 

I have a funny story. Kelly Jo and I were out running in the Green Machine near the end of April. We climbed out of the car and a man stopped us and said, "It's probably none of my business but I noticed your tag is expired."

We knew we had bought the new stickers so we were amazed that he was correct. We had driven thousands of miles in no telling how many states for over 3 months on expired tags. In some states that is no big deal but other states are very picky on tag enforcement including Ohio. 

We opened the glove box and there was the registration with the new 2015 sticker waiting to be put on. We put it on right that moment. The old sticker had expired January 16th. 

We were in bad frigid weather that month and we remembered putting the sticker on the bus and deciding to wait for a warmer day for the car sticker. 

Fast forward over three months to the first week of July. I was going through some insurance and registration papers and saw another 2015 sticker. 

What in the world? No! It could not be the BoggsMobile sticker.

Yep, it was the new sticker for the bus that we did not put on after all. There have been way too many winters in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri that we have had to warm up the license plate with a blow dryer or heat gun to get the sticker to stick. The cold years must have ran together in our frozen brains because Kelly Jo and I both clearly remembered putting the bus sticker on in January. 

You know what we did? We forgot! So here we are installing the new sticker 5 months and 18 days late on July 4th. 

We ought to get a refund for part of the year or something. It is very funny now since I did not get pulled over and given a ticket. 

Now back to food pictures. 

A Long Travel Day to Carter Caves State Park

We had an extremely long and grueling travel day on Monday. It was 7 miles from Pleasant Valley Church near Olive Hill to the campground at Carter Caves State Park. We drove the the Green Machine up here a little before noon to see if our spot was available and to make sure we could get into it. The trip back and forth in the car and then once in the BoggsMobile was 21 whole miles. Like I said, an extremely long and grueling travel day.

The last 7 miles in the bus did take 25-30 minutes because of the abundance of curves and hills. The last hill up to the campground is very steep and has a hairpin curve but the BoggsMobile has been up here twice before so I knew what to expect. We also had our last fifth wheel and Chevy truck up here at least twice.

It has been 5 years since we have been here and I was confused about the best spot for the bus. They have several 50 amp sites big enough, but with trees, narrow roads and poles there is ONE site that is perfect for us. When I reserved the spot online several months ago I reserved #68. From memory and from pictures I thought this was the spot where I parked in 2009. Later I discovered how to access my reservation history and found out the ideal site for the bus is #62. By the time I called to see if I could change #62 was booked.

When we drove around this morning in the Green Machine we found 3-4 other sites that were easier to access than #68 but they were all reserved for at least a few nights this week. So we wiggled into #68 and set up for the week. Actually Kelly Jo backed in perfect the very first time. That does not mean it was not difficult to get into it just means she is an awesome driver!

It was about 4:30 by the time we were all settled in and since I was running on about 4 hours sleep I laid down on the couch and took a nap. After nap time we went outside and spent the evening enjoying absolutely perfect weather. Kelly Jo grilled some low fat hot dogs and we loaded them up with cheese, kraut and horseradish mustard. Yummy.

It was a good day. The lightning and threat of rain forced us inside after 10:00 and the weather guessers are calling for rain most of the next 24 hours. That's OK because we are not easily bored and we have plenty to keep us busy inside. The rest of the week should be more of the same stuff.

Thanks for reading.

Davy

A Great Sunday!

We had two great services Sunday in Kentucky. Sunday morning we were at Dixie Park Free Will Baptist Church in Grayson and Sunday night we were about 13 miles away at Pleasant Valley Gospel Tabernacle near Olive Hill. Dad's first cousin George Boggs and his family attend Dixie Park and another first cousin Reva Whisman and her family attend Pleasant Valley.

We had a great time singing and preaching both places. I always appreciate an open door to minister. God knows I want to encourage and help folks when I can. It is especially nice when we have a chance to be with our families in church. We seldom get to spend much time with our Boggs kin in this area and I appreciate the opportunity to minister in their churches. It was an honor for us and a blessing to us.

It was a busy morning at Dixie Park and we did not get many pictures.

Kelly Jo and Hollywood!

We had a great lunch at a little Mexican place in Grayson. 

After lunch we moved the bus to Olive Hill.

The Green Machine and the BoggsMobile in front of the fellowship hall at Pleasant Valley in Olive Hill.

We have planned a few days off this week. We had this scheduled before we knew we would miss the weeks we did with Odie's eye crisis. We will be parking at a beautiful state park nearby and family will begin trickling in Wednesday night. By Saturday we should have Boggs people all over the place and the Boggs Reunion will be in full swing.

I won't be completely useless this week. I hope to spend the first three days of this week working on sermons for the conference in Nigeria in December. I am usually farther ahead in preparation by now and I need to get to work. If all goes well I should have some outlines in place before the week is out.

We may or may not have phone service or internet this week. If you do not hear from us for a few days you will know why. We will post if we can at all. God bless you all reading.

Davy

View Out The Front Window July 6, 2014

Week in Review

He Knows My Name

Revival In Pictures

Happy Birthday Kelly Jo

Schedule Changes and Tent Pictures

Praise Report and Prayer Request Concerning Odie

Revival

This was our view at Dodd's Thursday and Friday.

Out the front window.

And out the front door.

We had planned to leave early to mid morning on Saturday. We did not make it out very early. I blew a fuse while working on the exterior lights on Friday. After I repaired the problems I wanted to see if the lights work so I needed to change the fuse. We have a huge bank of fuses behind the wall in the closet and that is exactly where the blown fuse was. Once I got the closet apart my big fat hands would not fit in the tiny spot.

Never fear, Kelly Jo is here!

By the time "we" put everything back together and had most of the stuff in condition to leave it was nearly 2:00 AM when we laid down. I let the girls rest a while Saturday morning and we pulled out a little before 11:00.

We had to stop in northern Kentucky at Flying J to empty our holding tanks but that was the only stop besides bathroom breaks. We were not in a big rush so we took our time and enjoyed the drive. It was a beautiful day to drive east through the beautiful Kentucky state. I love this place.

We pulled into Dixie Park Free Will Baptist Church Saturday evening and here is our view last night.

From the front window.

Out the front door.

We are singing and preaching here this morning. We were here a few years ago for a service and we are very thankful to be back. I do have a very serious prayer request concerning this church. Pastor Terry Harris was having some health problems and just a few days ago they found he had a cancerous brain tumor. He had surgery Saturday morning to remove as much of the tumor as they could and he will have to have treatments as well. This is Bro. Harris' second bout with cancer and he needs a miracle from the Lord. We know God is able so please join us in praying for complete healing for this Pastor. Pray for his family and his church as well.

My cousin George Boggs came by and visited a little while. I always enjoy visiting with him and I look forward to being in church with him tomorrow and visiting with cousin George and the whole family later in the week.

Tonight we will be at Pleasant Valley Gospel Tabernacle near Olive Hill, Kentucky. Come on out to be with us if you can. I hope you all have a great Sunday.

Davy

He Knows My Name

Hey friends, it is Odie. 



How was your 4th of July week?  We had a wonderful time at Anchor of Hope in Lebanon, Ohio. Dad posted some pictures from revival this week. I always look forward to our services there. We had great fellowship with Pastor Bill and Sis. Norma Lamb and Pastor E.J. and Sis. Lacey Lamb and all the folks. 

Today we leave for eastern Kentucky. We will be at a church in Grayson, Kentucky Sunday morning and near Olive Hill, Kentucky on Sunday night. We are really looking forward to both of these services. We have some extended Boggs family in both places and it is going to be good to be with them and minister in their churches.

I am still rejoicing over the good report I received at the neuro ophthalmologist on Monday! If you have not read Dad's post about it please do. God has been extremely good to our family! We can never thank nor praise Him enough! I still need God's help to navigate through some of this so please continue to pray.

Tuesday night we sang He Knows My Name during the service. The lyrics to this song have always spoken to my heart. While singing it Tuesday, I had a flashback to the first time I heard a portion of the song written by Annie McRae. 

We recorded this on our 2006 project Simple Truth. The song was originally recorded by the McRaes for their 2005 Perfect Love project. The whole album is one of my favorites. 

Summer of 2005 I was sitting in Joplin Missouri listening to clips of the up coming release of Perfect Love. The song immediately reached out and grabbed my heart. The lyrics to the bridge really stood out to me. 

"He knew who I was when He carried my cross, He knew that I would fail Him but He took the loss"

This so very true of the mercy of our great God! The entire song is so encouraging. 

I may not know many of you personally. I may never know your name and I do not know what you are facing today. I felt the need to remind someone that He knows who you are and that you matter to God. He loves you with an everlasting love. 

If you have never heard this song, I suggest you look it up on YouTube. It is also available on iTunes by the McRaes.  Take a moment and read the lyrics and let it uplift you today.

Have a super weekend!! We are scheduled to be in Kentucky tomorrow at two different churches and then a few scheduled days off. I look forward to seeing some extended family I have not seen in a while!

Odie 

He Knows My Name

Annie McRae

Verse 1 

He counts the stars one and all 

He knows how much sand is on the shores 

He sees every sparrow that falls 

He made the mountains and the seas 

He's in control of everything 

Of all creatures great and small 

Chorus 

He knows my name 

Every step that I take 

Every move that I make 

Every tear that I cry 

He knows my name 

When I'm overwhelmed by the pain 

And can't see the light of day 

I know I'll be just fine 

'Cause He knows my name 

Verse 2 

I don't know what tomorrow may bring 

I can't tell you what's in store 

I don't know a lot of things 

I don't have all the answers

To the questions of life 

But I know in Whom I have believed 

Bridge

He knew who I was when He carried my cross 

He knew that I would fail Him but He took the loss