View Out The Front Window February 21, 2016

Check out our posts from the last week at the links below.

Odie's Saturday Post

Big Loop

Look What The Lord Has Done - Castle Rock

Tent Poles, Tent Trailers and Tent Sites

Travel, Trailers and A Good Tired

Weekend Woundup and Weview

Our view this week has been one of almost constant change.

Here is our view out the front door in Sapulpa, Oklahoma.

This is our view out the front window in Sapulpa.

This is our view out the window at the Oklahoma City Walmart.

This is our view out the front door at Walmart.

This is our view out the front window at Pauls Valley Walmart.

This is our view out the door at Pauls Valley.

This is our view out the front door in Gainesville, Texas.

This is our view out the front window in Gainesville.



This is our view out the window from our motel in Queens the night we arrived.

This is our view out the window during the day.

This morning we are singing and preaching for Pastor Hardyall at New Life Christian Center in Queens, New York and at another church this evening. Bro. and Sis. Hardyall have really rolled out the red carpet welcome for us and we appreciate it so much. We are having a wonderful time. Hopefully we will have pictures and information about the trip tomorrow.

I hope you have a great Sunday.

Davy

Planning Time For Singing at Sea 2017

Hey friends, it is Odie checking in. When I wrote last week's Saturday Blog I had no idea where I would be reporting from this week. We could get no clear direction on where I needed to be while my parents were gone to New York. 

On Sunday afternoon we decided that I should go to New York with them and I was able to get the last cheap seat on their flight. So here I am reporting from New York. 

We flew into JFK on a nonstop flight from Dallas yesterday, Friday. We are here to preach and to meet with some pastors over the weekend about the possibility of a City Reach Campaign in New York this summer. We have no idea if something can be put together that quick but we are super excited about the doors God is opening here! Stay tuned in the coming days. I am sure we will have many exciting things to report.

Pastor Hardyall and his wife and son met us at the airport and then we met two of their daughters later. They have already captured our hearts in just a few hours. We are really looking forward to spending some more time with them this weekend.

Singing At Sea

Long time blog readers will remember that I have been on two southern gospel singing cruises. The first cruise was in February 2012. My cruise companion for 2012 was my cousin Lisa Isaacs.

Enjoying beautiful Half Moon Key

My Host group The Isaacs

Our ship The Carnival Fascination

My second cruise was in February 2015. My 2015 cruise companion was Kaylene Stephens.

The Carnival Paradise in Mexico

Breath taking sunset 

The Isaacs were not on the 2015 cruise. Jeff and Sheri Easter were our host group in 2015.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Singing at Sea put on by Templeton Tours. The ship is completely chartered. The bars and casinos are shut down. We get to enjoy all the fun and food of a cruise in a Christian atmosphere. At least 25 of southern gospel groups are there to sing. I have a fantastic time! 

The picture below is  me and Jeff Templeton on the cruise in 2012. 

I knew 2016 would be extremely busy year so I did not plan to go this year. As sailing day approached for this years cruise I caught a very bad case of cruise fever. The Carnival Paradise set sail for the Singing at Sea on Monday and I was not on board.  I did have some dear friends who sailed this week. I cannot wait until they get back to land today for their reports to start coming in!

Monday afternoon I called Templeton Tours and started the official planning for my next cruise. I have to book a handicap accessible cabin way in advance because there are only a few and they fill up fast. The 2017 Singing at Sea will set sail on Monday February 13th and I plan to be aboard. 

Many of you have expressed interest in this cruise to me. Now is the time to begin planning. The 2017 brochure is supposed to be online Monday at www.singingatsea.com or you can call the offices of Templeton Tours to request a brochure to be mailed to you. 1 (800) 334-2630 Prices are reasonable for a Christian cruise starting at just under $600 plus  $195 taxes and fees per person.  It will not get you or me a discount but tell them Andrea Boggs sent you. 

Next year the cruise we be sailing with Royal Caribbean. The ship is the Enchantment of the Seas. From my initial investigation the ship looks beautiful. The cruise will be a four night cruise leaving Florida on Monday the 13th and returning Friday the 17th of February. I am already counting the days. Let me know if you will be sailing too on the Singing at Sea.

Thanks to  Google for photo of the Enchantment of the Seas. 

Thank you for reading today. Have a wonderful weekend!

Odie 

A Big Loop!

This week was definitely a driving week. We drove the BoggsMobile 600 miles from the time we left Gainesville lastThursday night until we returned yesterday morning. Kelly Jo had to drive the car most of those miles with the exception of the leg between Tulsa and OKC.

We also drove the car at least a few hundred miles looking at tent sites and making other special trips along the way. The mile pretty much get bigger and longer the next few weeks but at least we do not have to pull the trailer for a while. Kelly Jo can take her proper place in the copilot seat in the front of the BoggsMobile.

As I mentioned Wednesday the Green Machine was already loaded in the trailer. It looked kind of lonely when I opened the door Wednesday morning before we left Sapulpa.

Since that task was completed all we had to do was crank the bus and then pull over and hook up the trailer. We were ready to roll about 8:30 AM.

We drove to Oklahoma City and parked at Walmart on the southeast side near I-240. We unloaded the car and set out to look at a few places for City Reach OKC.

We happened to be looking at sites near our favorite Chelino's and before I knew what was happening the Green Machine turned in and parked us right at the door!

I do not care for the salsa at Chelino's but I absolutely love their food. I need to combine their food with Acapulco salsa! It was a very, very good lunch.

We jumped right into eating and forgot about pictures. I did get a picture of the tacos we ate later from a super great taco truck that Pastor Jeremy Brooks told me about at SW 44th St and S May. Wow! Outstanding!

The taco truck is just 15 blocks from our number one choice of locations for City Reach OKC. The location was suggested by several folks at the Planning and Vision Service in Blanchard, Oklahoma in December and the taco truck certainly lends quite a bit of weight to that selection.

Since we never know if a location will be available until we make all of the inquiries, we looked at several other locations as well. We have a list of possibilities, with one that seems every bit as good as the number one choice. I believe that God is going to help us in OKC.

We went back to Walmart, loaded up and pointed the bus toward Blanchard. We wanted to stop for a few minutes at Bro. G.W. Birdsong's visitation at the Blanchard church. We stopped for fuel at Love's by the interstate with the intention of leaving the bus there. After we were fueled we could not get into a parking spot, so we drove on.

We ended up parking across the road from a gas station in Blanchard. There was plenty of room to park and it is obvious from the tire tracks that big trucks park there all the time. After we were situated, we exited the bus and there was a "No Parking" sign laying on the ground. We honestly had nothing to do with it being on the ground but Kelly Jo did turn it face down. It is the small white thing next to the first rock in the picture below.

I am very glad it was possible for us to stop in Blanchard last night. Bro. G.W. was a great man and devoted his entire life to spreading the Gospel message. He evangelized right up to the last few months of his life. He and his wife have pointed thousands of souls toward Heaven and now He is is seeing it for himself.

Since we wanted to avoid being towed, we did not stay long at the visitation, Soon we were back on the road and moving toward Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. We were settled in at Walmart and KJ was doing some shopping by 9:00. Who says parking at Walmart is free? Are you kidding me?

We were only 85 miles or so from Gainesville when we stopped at Pauls Valley but we needed to drop the tent trailer in Wynnewood. So we spent the night at Walmart and started early Thursday morning. 

We did have a special treat Wednesday night. Bro. Bruce and Sis. Priscilla Mayhan text us after church and came by to visit a few minutes.



We always love being with our friends. Thank you all for taking time to come see us and for treating us to whatever we wanted at Braum's. The next one is on me!

I rolled out of bed at 5:30 and worked on transferring a few more things from the bus into the trailer. We were rolling by 6:50 and pulled into Wynnewood as the sun was coming up. It took a couple of hours or so to get the trailer taken care of but that included visiting with my dear friend, Bro. Larry Landress.

While I was messing with the trailer, Kelly Jo went on toward Gainesville in the Green Machine so she could stop at the laundromat and get that out of the way. She and Odie worked the rest of they day sorting and packing for our big trip to New York City.

I pulled in about 11:30 and worked on several things throughout the day that I might get around to telling you about later. Needless to say, we have been keeping busy and having a good time preparing for City Reach.

Today we plan to fly to New York City. We will be preaching in at least two churches and meeting with other Pastors as well. It seems that God is already opening doors for revivals but our main focus in Queens is looking at the possibility of putting together a City Reach campaign there this summer. I appreciate all of you praying about that with us.

IF all goes as planned, Odie will be checking in with you tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

Davy

Look What The Lord Has Done in Castle Rock, Colorado

Most long term readers here know that we have a soft spot for churches that are just getting started. We need to spread the Gospel message far and wide and planting churches where there are no or very few conservative Pentecostal churches is a great way to do it.

We have tried diligently to bolster new church efforts physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually. It is always very satisfying to see them leap out of the nest and soar by winning souls, training converts and going forward in ministry.

I love to proclaim the triumphs of these churches when God visits them and helps them. I received a great report from Pastor James McCoy in Castle Rock, Colorado last week concerning their desperate need for a building in a super expensive real estate market. I think he sums it up best in his own words.

Pastor McCoy gave me permission to post the following below. I hope you enjoy reading what the Lord has done for this congregation and join us in praising God for them!

Davy

A miracle near the mountains!

Hello, from Denver, Colorado.  I’m Pastor James of Liberty Holiness Tabernacle.  We are still excited to have a work in the Denver area and are looking forward to watching God work in the Rockies!

February has been an overwhelming month in a miraculous way.  A young lady, fresh out of Bible college, prayed in the night for our church.  The very next day, as she worked in a womans clothing store, all the female clothing customers left and two guys showed up.  The guys said they felt like the Lord sent them and asked our young church lady if she has anything big they could help pray about.

The young lady said I’ve been praying about our church which is small currently meeting in the pastors’ house and need a location. One guy chuckled and said “I know why I’m here” and gave the young lady a phone number.

I received a text of the happening pretty quick.  I then called and made contact with one of these gentlemen.  He informed me that he has a building that is used as a childrens dance theatre, lessons, and another startup church just left and outgrew the building and Sunday morning and Wednesday nights are available for use.  We scheduled a time to meet and walked through the place.  It was perfect place that seats up to 70, a PA system, choir mics, a stage.  However, I knew rent goes for about 3 or 4 thousand a month out here and we had about 1/10^th of that that we could commit.  

So, I asked the question, how much would you rent it for ?  The guys reply was...

“the way I’d like to work it is, what can you afford? And as you grow, it could increase”.  I then said I’ll pray about it.  I asked the church to pray and fast to ensure we know this is God and that we respond correctly. With Gods Hand all over this, I talked to God and a few close preacher friends and then scheduled lunch with the guy.  I looked the guy in the eye and said that we could only afford a few hundred a month.   The guy said “great, when can you start?”

Praise the Almighty!   God has opened a door and we start having services at a new location. 740 Wilcox Street   Castle Rock, CO 80104 starting February 28^th.   Oh yes, by the way, The location is on Wilcox street which is the main street going to downtown castle rock and about 70 yards from the interstate.  God has already provided a way for us to get outside signs !  Every member of the church has been telling of this miracle and we have four families or single folks that promised to come to the first service (Feb 28^th at 11AM) and one family and another individual are not saved.  I am in awe of how God moved this month and pray that God add souls to His kingdom at west.

The website has been updated with the new location and the visiting ministers.  Check it out at www.libertyholinesstabernacle.org and pray that God continues to move that people turn their heart toward God.   We pray this is just a start for God to put holiness churches in the west.  We have started a missions fund and a building fund.  We have seen a soul saved and a young person filled with the Holy Ghost and look forward to God moving much more !

We see the state of Colorado and Denver in particular as an American mission field.  According to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau, there are over 3 million people in the Denver metro area.  Castle Rock is projected to triple over the next 5 years.  We live in an area that has more pot shops than starbucks. As far as we know, Liberty Holiness Tabernacle is the only independent holiness church within 50 miles of Denver and we know of only one other church in an eight hour radius.  Our long-term vision is for us to grow in the Lord as individuals and a church to the point that we can support other preachers and works in Colorado and the Denver area.

Our world is filled with so many humanistic ideas, carnal programs, and man centered churches.  This is nowhere more obvious than in the western US.  Each day, millions of people wake up and see the beauty of God’s creation in the Rocky Mountains and never give thought to the Creator. 

During our prayer meetings, the Lord led us to establish a tag line for the church: “Real People. Real Needs. Real God.”  We believe in our modern society there are many people who want something real.  They are discouraged by man’s everyday processes and programs and want something more.  They see through the man-made gods formed to fit people’s desires and want a God who can direct their lives.  At Liberty Holiness Tabernacle, we want people to see that we are real, that we all have real needs, and that we are truly serving a real God.  A God who does not only take over our services, but takes over our hearts and lives as well.

I realize the task we have undertaken will have its challenges.  God has shown favor and moved mightily ! If you are ever in the Denver area, we would love to have you in service.  We are now meeting at 740 Wilcox Street Castle Rock, CO 80104.  Service Times are Sunday Morning at 11am and Wednesday night at 7pm.

Thank you for all the prayers ! and we desire your prayers that God would have 2, 3, 100's of Holiness churches out west.

God bless,

Bro. James McCoy

303-931-9465

Tent Poles, Tent Trailers and Tent Sites

Tuesday was another busy but productive day. I started early going through our tent trailer making sure everything was transferred to Bro. Jimmie's trailer that needed to be. Then I sorted everything that was left and put all of it in place to ride. When that was finished I cleaned the inside of the trailer.

I left a few minutes after 9:00 in Bro. Jimmie's pickup and drove to Miami, Oklahoma to pick up a new center pole that needed to be replaced. That round trip took about 3 1/2 hours. I did a little work with the poles when I returned and then Kelly Jo and I left for Tulsa.

We spent the next several hours looking at a few tent sites that had been recommended and then driving systematically through neighborhoods exploring and praying. We are very excited about a few possibilities we found for the location of City Reach Tulsa and now we move to the next step in the process.

I will prioritize the list and then we will work our way down from top to bottom, seeking permission and finding out what is required to set up the tent in each location. Hopefully we will be able to set up at the very first place we ask about, but if not, we will move down the list.

Bro. Jimmie worked on designing and building storage in his trailer for all of the tent revival gear and he made a bunch of progress. He hooked the Volvo truck to the trailer late in the day and it looks great. What do you think?

Kelly Jo and I arrived back at the bus after dark and began to load up. We put the wheel chairs in the car and then loaded the car in the trailer and strapped it down. Today we will go to Oklahoma City. We plan to spend a few hours looking for City Reach sites there today.

When we are finished in Oklahoma City we plan to drive on to Blanchard. Bro. G.W. Birdsong (Pastor Lendell Birdsong's Dad) passed away this week and his visitation is tonight. We hope to be able to stop there for a little while before dropping the trailer in its place for a few months and then going onto Gainesville late tonight or tomorrow morning.

Thanks for reading.

Davy

Travel, Trailers and A Good Tired

Yesterday started early in Gainesville, Texas. The BoggsMobile was cranked up, the trailer was hooked up and we were pulling out of House of Prayer by 7:00 AM. We made a stop at Flying J at Ardmore, Oklahoma to empty the holding tanks and then another stop near Stroud, Oklahoma near11:00 to eat breakfast/lunch.

This is a picture of the monster omelet that Kelly Jo cooked for me.

That is definitely the breakfast omelet with the lunch inside! I added some homemade salsa from Sis. Linda at Ft. Worth and it was perfect!

By 11:55 we were pulling onto the Sapulpa, Oklahoma camp meeting grounds where Bro. Radcliffe lives, exactly five hours after we left Gainesville. We dropped the trailer and Bro. Jimmie hooked it up to his truck and pulled it next to his trailer.

We had planned for this process to take at least two days because Bro. Jimmie needed to load things properly so the contents would ride well AND so that the contents would be in the correct order. We new that would take some planning and some time. 

After a while of looking and thinking we started carrying and we were a long ways toward being finished within six hours. Six hours for a bunch oi figuring, then transferring 400 chairs, all the side poles, the center poles, all the stakes, all the tent bags, straps, tarps, carpet, banners, generators, sledge hammers, fence posts and a few thousand other things! Not bad at all.

The whole process was very smooth and quick. Bro. Jimmie being ready and having thought things through a million times before hand really, really helped.

I did not get any pictures of the trailers together and I did not get any good pictures after the contents were transferred. I am sure we will have pictures later.

Bro. Jimmie will build storage along the walls for all of the miscellaneous stuff and that will take some time. But we were amazed at how well the transfer went. Kelly Jo jumped in like she always does and did as much work as we did. We could not have done it without her! It was a really great day. 

Soon Bro. Jimmie's trailer will be finished and the Volvo truck will hook up and we will be pulling into a city near you. We can hardly wait! Thank you for praying for us. We are overwhelmed at times with all the logistics but on days like this we definitely sense the hand of God leading and guiding. We are very thankful for it.

We went for a great meal afterward. The food was good and the fellowship was even better. After all of that was over, it was time to hit the sack and I think we all were tired enough to sleep a day or two! We were tired but it was a satisfied tired, a good tired!

We have more things to work on today so I best get to it. Thanks for reading.

Davy