One More Question and Answer

In yesterday's post I tried to answer a few common questions concerning Odie's house. Thank you for all the positive response. I did forget to add one big question and the answer that goes with it.

Folks that love Odie and that are concerned for her welfare will often ask us, "Will Odie be able to stay some where by herself?" The answer is, yes, Odie has always been pretty responsible and reasonably self sufficient even with her handicap. Kelly Jo trained Odie early on to know what to do when she is by herself.

There are areas she is working on now to help her develop more and more independence and all of this is part of the process. She knows and we know there will be challenges. But we also believe Odie will be able to cope with and overcome those challenges one at a time.

One of the great advantages to building on the location we have chosen is its very close proximity to so many of our family and friends. My parents, all my siblings and many, many relatives live a very few minutes away. Plus, there are wonderful neighbors there.

So the answer is, Yes, Odie will be able to stay in her house by herself.

But I like my brother Steve's answer best. When some one asked him, "Will Odie really stay in her house by herself?"  

Steve said, "She will if we put the locks up high enough!"

That sums it up perfectly!😉

Thank for reading today.

Davy

Odie's House - Answering a Few Questions

We have had lots of questions since we put up a post concerning trying to build a house for Odie to live in. We expected lots of questions and we welcome them. Thank you for your interest.

The number one question by far has been; "Does this mean Odie is going off the road?" That is an obvious question and we have an answer for you. 

The short answer to that question is, no. The longer and slightly more complicated answer to that question is, no.😊 Odie has no desire at all to go off the road and we love Odie traveling with us. She has been a road warrior all her life and she labors faithfully in the work that God has called me and our family to do for Him.

We work well together as a ministry team and as long as the Lord allows us all strength to do it, Odie will load up in the BoggsMobile and show up to sing and testify in churches all over the USA, as she has for many years.

Odie has taken a few weeks off now and then over the last several years. In fact, she will be gone for a week of vacation two weeks from now. She needs that and we need it too. It is good for her to enjoy some independence while getting some rest and it is good for us as well.

We imagine that she will spend some of those weeks off the road enjoying her own space, once the house is a reality. She is 31 years old and her desire to have a place of her own is only natural. Her plan is to enjoy the best of both worlds, life in her bunk on the bus with us and room to spread out when she is in Ohio.

Odie was home for a month after City Reach concluded while Kelly Jo and I were gone to Africa and Europe. Then she was home during the Christmas break. That made for a pretty long space of time at home for Odie.

My parents are so good to take care of Odie whenever she is home. She loves staying in her own room at my parent's house and she is excited about her own room in her own house. Her own home will be perfect for times like that.

A second question has been; "When did all of this come about?"

When we first started to feel a need to find a piece of ground for Boggs Family Ministries, we dreamed it would some day include a fully handicap accessible house for Odie. Kelly Jo and I could die tomorrow and we intend to take care of Odie even if that happens. We really had no idea where this land would be or exactly what the timing would be.

The original plan was to find something to purchase, pay it off and then borrow the money to build Odie a small handicap accessible home. With no definite ideas beyond that, we prayed and kept our eyes and hearts open.

We actually looked at land and barns and houses in several states over a period of a couple of years. We really feel like it was God that opened the door for us to purchase the property right next to Dodds Church with a barn big enough to pull the BoggsMobile in on day one. We are extremely happy with it.

A lot of work has already been completed on what we jokingly refer to as The Lazy OD Ranch. The barn has a new roof and other improvements. The water is in, the septic system is planned and most of the leg work has been completed with the county and township.

That is where Pastor Scott Morris came in. Bro. Scott approached us very carefully with the vision and burden the Lord has given him. He was completely considerate of our needs and not wanting to force an unwanted or paralyzing project on us. He and the men that have joined with him are concerned for Odie and what is best for her and we are overwhelmed and very grateful for that.

We are so astounded that we do not even know how to express it properly. A home for Odie is something we have dreamed of but we did not have a clue it might come together like this. Thanks to the concern and vision of these men and the generosity of God's people to Boggs Family Ministries, our plans for Odie may become a reality soon.

The third question is; "When will all of this take place?"

Obviously, the answer to that depends on a lot of factors but this is our plan.

-The sketches are in the hands of a professional and plans are being worked on as we speak.

-We are also trying to coordinate various people that have volunteered their skilled labor to this process and make decisions that need to be made in advance as to building materials design and such.

-We plan to be home the week of Easter (Mid April) for Dryden Rd Pentecostal Church's 60th year celebration. We hope to do the dirt work and foundation that week. 

-The next 4-5 weeks we will be ministering close enough that I can be in Ohio a day or two each week to coordinate prepping the electric, HVAC and plumbing for the slab. This time period will also include pouring the slab. I will have more information about where we will be those 4-5 weeks soon.

-The week of May 22nd we will go home and we will preach revivals in the Ohio area for the next three months. This will allow us to work on the house during the day and have church at night and be close enough to drive back and forth. 

-There are two churches coming May 22nd to frame the house and get it dried in. From there it will be a whirlwind of activity trying to get as much done as we can before Dryden Rd. Fellowship Meeting August 22nd.

How will it all end? Your guess is probably as good or better than mine but I am sure it will be an adventure. We have several skilled tradesmen that are coming to help us at crucial stages and others are talking to us about coming. If all of it comes together, Odie may just have a house before this thing is over.

I believe that may answer some of the most frequent questions that have been asked. We definitely appreciate your prayers in the days and weeks ahead.

Thank you for reading.

Davy

When Your Box Falls Apart

Have you ever felt like things in your life are falling apart and there is nothing you can do about it? Does life seem unnecessarily difficult on some days? Does your situation suggest that God might be unfair? What in the world is going on here? Why all the trauma and drama?

What do you do in times like these?

First, I try to put things into some type of perspective. Are we all still alive? Are we likely to live through this? Are all of our fingers, toes and limbs still attached? If the answer to all three questions is Yes, then I take a deep breath and calm down a bit.

If we are alive and not immediately bleeding to death, then maybe we can take a moment and slow the panic down a notch or two. I am really good at panic and if I can eliminate the hysteria, then maybe we can survive.

Secondly, I start looking closely at the massive mess we find around us. God has taught me that often the solutions and answers I need are probably within arms reach of the chaos and confusion.

This was brought home to me in an everyday crisis that happened to us a few years ago. I think about this often and I believe it merits retelling here today.

Our home on wheels has two doors. The front door has storage compartments. You can get in that way but it would be quite a climb. There is no inside handle on the front door. The entrance door is about midway back.

We came back to the BoggsMobile after lunch one day and the entrance door would not open. The bolt lock was unlocked and the latch pulled, but the door would not open. I lifted Kelly Jo up into the front door and she tried the latch from inside and it would not open. Something was broke inside the door and you can not take it apart from inside the bus.

If the latch had broken while we were all inside we would have been stuck! Kelly Jo would have been going out the window. I was able to take the latch apart from the outside and get the door open. I did not have time to take the door completely apart and I knew I could not buy that latch at WalMart or Lowe's anyway. I decided it was better to wait until I went to Nashville the next week.

We arrived at Prevost in Nashville a few days later and I took off the inside panel from the door. The latch was busted and Prevost had one in stock so I closed my eyes and bought it. I am so mechanically UNinclined it is not funny, but I had it tore apart, so my options were few. I waded in to see if it could be done.

While I was working I needed a tool that I thought was inside the bus. I was looking for the tool and picked up a cardboard box we keep in a junk drawer that has a little bit of everything. The box fell apart in my hands and all the contents went to the floor. 

The box that fell apart was full of all kinds of stuff. It contained wire nuts, staples, tape, screws, washers, screwdrivers, pliers, tape measure, hammer, rope, flashlights, wire ties and on and on and on. 

You get the idea? All of it went to the floor. All over the floor! The contents of the box slid 8-10 feet each direction on the wood floor. It was a mess! I was already under stress. The day was already a bona fide bad day. Then the whole box falls apart and I spill the contents all over the bus.

I found the tool I needed and began to install the new latch. I left the clean up for later.

I was almost finished when I ran into another problem. To complete the job I had to put a very small nut on a very hard to reach place and I had no tool to tighten it. I could not get it on. Just as I was about to give up, I remembered something I saw in the junk I had dropped all over the floor.

I remembered seeing a very small crescent wrench a good brother gave me years ago as part of an object lesson. I forgot the object lesson long ago and had no idea where the wrench was until the box fell apart in my hands and the contents spilled all over the floor.

You can see how small the wrench is when compared to a small set of finger nail clippers.

The small little wrench was the perfect tool for the task at hand. I could not have finished the job without the little wrench. Follow along with me here.

That means I could not have finished the job without the box falling apart and everything scattering all over the floor. Suddenly the broken box did not seem all that terrible.

I readily admit, this was not a life and death situation. This was not real trouble. But it was the trouble I was having for that day and it was troubling to me. I could not have finished the task for the day without the box falling apart in my hands and junk scattering every direction.

That speaks to me. I try to apply it to situations that are much more difficult and much less understandable. This is the lesson I have tried to apply.

The next time I feel like crying or quitting when things fall apart, stop. Look closely at the pieces scattered about. I may find that the very thing I need is waiting there for me among the scrambled contents of that broken box!

Broken boxes, jumbled contents and inconvenient messes may be the exact thing you need to solve your pressing problem.

By the way, I did get the door fixed!

Davy