He Lives!

Hey, this is Odie checking in with you again today. I want to start by wishing you a Happy Easter. Thank God for resurrection day!

I am thankful that Jesus gave His life for us that we could be saved. But that's not how the story ends... on the third day, He arose.  My Savior lives!

Today I serve a risen Savior! Not only is He my Savior, but He can be yours too! If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus, I highly recommend my friend, Jesus! He has changed my life and He is waiting to do the same for you!

The Bible says, If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Hallelujah!

Jesus gives my life purpose. He is the reason I live.  I love the way the song writer Bill Gaither summed it up in "Because He Lives". 

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus,

He came to love, heal and forgive

He lived and died to buy my pardon

An empty grave is there to prove my savior lives

Because He lives

I can face tomorrow

Because He lives

All fear is gone

Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living

Just because He lives

How sweet to hold a newborn baby

And feel the pride and joy he gives

But greater still the calm assurance

This child can face uncertain day because He lives

And then one day I'll cross the river

I'll fight life's final war with pain

And then, as death gives way to victory

I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He reigns

This week I have focused on these lines 

"Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living

Just because He lives"

In my frail human mind I worry, fret and wonder about the future. But I must remember the He lives and He holds my future. Jesus makes life worth living.  He lives!
_________________

I want to close today by wishing my cousin Morgan Rae Evans a happy birthday. I can not believe she is now 13. March 26th 2003, when  Morgan was born, she brightened our family's world. 

Morgan, you are a beautiful young lady. We love you so very much! I pray that you keep your tender heart toward God! 

Below are a couple pictures of us from Christmas Eve 2015. 

Thank you for reading today. I hope you have a great holiday weekend. 

Odie 

A Day In The Fashion District.

We have spent several days driving and walking in neighborhoods around Los Angeles. I will try to post more about that later. Today's post is about our day with several tens of thousands of our closest friends in downtown LA in what is known as the Fashion District.

We had been to downtown and visited this same area way back in 2010. We arrived early last Saturday and found a cheap ($10) parking spot and soon realized it is the same parking lot we parked in on our first visit over 5 years ago.

Our first stop was for a 1/4 pound hot dog without the bun. Wow! It was great!

There are street vendors all along the way, some in trucks and some in trailers. One of the main companies is called Jesus Hot Dogs.

I figure with a name like Jesus Hot Dogs, they are bound to be good for me.

Most of the vendors serve hot dogs and tacos or quesadillas. Some have a menu of several items. Everything we ate was good AND it was not very expensive either.

We arrived early so it was not crowded at first. It was not long before you could hardly find a place to walk. I was too busy trying to stand up to get a picture after the crowd came.

We did find some more food though.

After about 3 1/2 hours, Odie's chair was still showing very good battery although it was not full charged. That did not stop it from going dead as we crossed the street! Oops! I think it is time to shop for new batteries!

We pushed Odie and the chair inside a little courtyard area and asked the taco shop if we could plug the battery in a while. They were very kind to allow us to do so. The battery is sitting on the floor below.

Since they were kind enough to give us some electricity, we bought a few tacos. It was the very least we could do!

We had planned some other activities but after charging about 40 minutes, we thought it was best to head back to the Green Machine about 1 mile a way. We almost made it! Here I am pushing her the last block.

Kelly Jo and Odie both found some great deals on skirts and other clothing items. Odie said she spent about $75 and she had a pile of stuff! I spent my money on food and socks. Always ask for socks and you are never disappointed.

We all wish we had time to go back before we leave the area.

Thanks for reading.

Davy

Another Year In The BoggsMobile

A few days ago we passed the 8 year mark of driving the BoggsMobile down the road. We now have 303,899 miles on it. That means we have now driven it 119,420 miles and it seems it has many more to go before it is finished.

Last year we posted a few pictures of the day we purchased it. You can see those HERE.

Folks often ask us if we like the bus or the fifth wheel better. Although we traveled in fifth wheels for years and we enjoyed it very much, we love the bus much, much better.

I really liked hooking up the diesel truck to the fifth wheel and making miles down the road. I do miss that but not near as much as I thought I would. It was a much bigger adjustment from pulling the trailer to driving the bus than I imagined it would be. But after a few thousand miles I was ready to go and never look back.

One thing we like better is that it is so much easier for Odie traveling in the bus. She is able to stretch out on her bunk rather that being scrunched up in the truck. That really, really helps her at the end of a long travel day. In fact, a travel day is much like any other day for her and that is a big plus.

It is also much easier for quick bathroom stops. It was a 30-40 minute stop sometimes to find a safe place to stop, get Odie out of the truck, get her cramped muscles unfolded, get her in the wheel chair, find an available handicap restroom and then reverse the whole process. All of that was amplified in rain, snow or cold.

Now she gets out of her bunk and slides to the restroom whenever she needs to.

The bus is so much better for Kelly Jo for many of the same reasons.

It is also much easier to stop for a quick overnight stop in the bus. We almost always had to find a campground with the fifth wheel since we needed electricity, but we almost never do in the bus. It is much easier to pull over and sleep a few hours now.

I think we are money ahead with this route as well. Fifth wheels and other RV's are not made to hold up to the demands that evangelists put them through. We would have been approaching the end of useful life on our NEXT fifth wheel by now and probably our NEXT truck as well.

Even though we spent more for this old bus and we spend quite a bit on maintaining it, I still think we are ahead of the game this way. The bus was built to run millions of miles and the Detroit Series 60 engine is known as the "million mile engine." The interior conversion on the bus is much higher quality than most RV's in our price range as well and has proven to hold up better. IF we can avoid a major breakdown, I believe we will stay ahead.

I was reminded of one of the best reasons I like the bus a few days ago during a long travel day. Kelly Jo had cooked a pork roast in the crock pot over night. About 30 minutes before we stopped at a rest area, Kelly Jo got up and began to warm it up. By the time I stopped, the meal was hot and ready!

Yep! That is what I am talking about!

I think we will keep the bus a while longer!

Thanks for reading.

Davy