My Friend Amanda Hasty

Hey Friends,

This Odie checking in from Ohio. I have had a excellent week here at home. My Mamaw and Papaw are so kind to let me stay with them! I love coming to my home away from the BoggsMobile.

As I type this post I am listening to Christmas music and looking at my tree. I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas! 

Amanda Hasty

Now let me introduce you to my dear friend Amanda Hasty. Everyone who meets Amanda loves her and they do not forget her. People all across the country often ask me how she is doing. Amanda is doing great. I was thrilled to see her Sunday night! That visit with her has kept me smiling all week. 

Last Sunday night.

Amanda has been my friend for just about as long as I can remember. We grew up together at Dryden Road Pentecostal Church. She always made life fun! I was 3 when we started attending Dryden Road so Amanda would have been 2. We are 13 months and 2 days apart in age. 

In 1995 we became neighbors. The Hasty's bought a house next to the house they had been renting. When they moved from the rent house to the house they purchased, we started renting their old house. 

I collected many happy memories the two and a half years we lived on Nicholson Road next to the Hasty's. Their back yard bordered our side yard. We had a chain length fence separating the yards. Amanda and I spent countless hours playing across the fence. We played house, school, cowboys and Indians and always church. When we could not be outside playing, we would talk on the phone.

This picture was taken August 2015

In 1997 we bought a house and moved to a West Carrollton and closer to the church. Amanda and I remained close and still spent time together at church and I remember visiting their house on some Sundays between church services. Oh, and the daily phone conversations continued.

In 1999 Dad became the Pastor at a church in Wichita and we moved to Kansas. I will never forget having to tell Amanda goodbye. That is definitely a sad memory. She could not understand why I was moving away and she was mad at me for leaving. Ever since then she lets me know she loves me but she loves my Dad and Mom more than she does me. LOL! It Is okay, because my parents are way cool! 

The last few years she lets me know how much she loves me when we are home. I think she is starting to forgive me for moving to Kansas over 16 1/2 years ago!

Last Sunday night, Amanda with one of her favorite preachers.

I am so thankful to have Amanda as a friend. I love you, Amanda Elizabeth Hasty! You will always be my buddy. Thank you for brightening my life.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a superb Holiday week. 

Odie 

Barn Project - LED Yard Light

Kelly Jo and I have been working on a project at the Lazy OD Ranch. There are so many projects that need to be done and so little time to work, so it is difficult for me to prioritize them. It is almost like I do the one that is screaming the most at the moment. But this one needed a day or two without rain and temperatures above freezing would be nice too. When the weather window opened up, we jumped on it.

The barn has a light on the front that comes on automatically at night. It is plenty bright and it should be. It is a 500 watt light. I have been looking for an LED replacement and I found one a few weeks ago and ordered two of them.

This is the light on Amazon

This is their description:

This high powered 38 watt LED Yard Light is a direct replacement for a 300 watt incandescent. It features wall or pole mount installation and corrosive resistant housing. This LED Yard Light has an average life of 35,000 hours and it has 4000 lumens.

I could probably have used one light and mounted it in the center where the 500 watt light is but I did not know for sure it would be bright enough so I bought two and mounted one on each side.

They looked good as darkness fell and the lights came on.

This is the real test after dark. Here is the front of the barn with the 500 watt light on. It lights up the front really well.

This is the front of the barn with only the two new LED lights on and the area is lit up as well if not better than the big 500 watt light. I am well pleased. I was not sure a 38 watt light could really put out that much light!

Other than the fact that I have nothing to do and I love climbing 15-17 feet up an extension ladder carrying tools and materials 40 times over two days; here is the real reason I made this change.

A 500 watt light running an average of 12 hours per day at 12 cents per kilowatt, costs right at $21.60 per month. That's not that bad in the grand scheme of things especially when a good light is one of the cheapest forms of protection from thieves and vandals. (Men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light.)

As you can see the LED lights light the front of the barn up very well and they use 76 watts combined. 76 watts of light running an average of 12 hours per day at 12 cents per kilowatt, costs $3.28 per month.

Basically the same light for $3.28 per month! That is a saving in electricity of $18.32 per month!

Now, the lights cost $60 each so they were $120 for the pair. I already had the wire, boxes, screws, staples and wire nuts. My labor is free and Kelly Jo works for Salsa. That means the total cost was $120.

At $18 per month savings I can make that back in less than 7 months. Everything after that is all gravy!

I had already replaced the light over the man door. It was also a 500 watt light that stayed on all the time. I replaced it with an LED with a motion detector that is super bright and only comes on at night when some one approaches the door. That light is less than 23 watts.

I dropped from 500 watts to 23 watts on that one, plus it only comes on when needed. At this rate, the power company will be sending me money for my bus payment and diesel. Riiight! I will let you know how that works out.

That is some of what we have been up too. Thanks for reading.

Davy

The School Supplies Arrived!

Pastor Sam Snow arrived back in the states this week safe and sound from a trip to Nigeria. He was there with Bro. Shobanke dedicating a church and preaching for the saints. He delivered the suitcase of school supplies that we sent and he took some pictures to document it. You know what we say around here, "If there are no pictures, it did not happen."

Here is proof it happened!

I am thankful that the supplies and the candy for the children made it to Nigeria. I mentioned sending the supplies HERE and HERE and we appreciate those that were able and willing to help. At times some one will give what they feel like is a very small amount of money and they feel it is not enough, but every dollar is put to good use in Nigeria. Thank you very much!

Sis. Ruth and Sis. Rebecca, their staff and all of the children at GoodNews Christian School thank you as well. I am sure I will be receiving an email soon expressing their gratitude and I will pass it on to you. I sincerely believe these kids are a worthwhile investment and should the Lord tarry His coming, their Christian education will bring great dividends for the kingdom of God.

By God's grace, I am expecting that Kelly Jo and I can deliver the school supplies next year live and in person. We should be finished with City Reach 2016 sometime in November and I hope and pray we are able to go to Nigeria shortly thereafter before we shut down for the year. It is in our plans and I am believing God to bring it to pass.

Thanks again for all your help with this and I appreciate Pastor Sam Snow for doing the leg and back work.

God bless you all.

Davy