Throwback Thursday 1/23/25

 Hey Friends,

Thanks for stopping by to say hello. It is wonderful to have you visit us.

Today is Throwback Thursday. I have some pictures for you from when I was a wee little girl. They are not the best quality. Of course, we were using a 35 mm camera back then. These prints are many years old now!

These were taken in the 1990s when we first visited the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our family visited this beautiful part of the country many times after this trip. 

Through the years, we have gained so many wonderful memories in this area. Not only did we collect memories, but we also made a lot of friends. Those friends are still near and dear to our hearts today.

I hope you enjoy to the past when we were all a lot younger. See you tomorrow!

Odie

Brrr It Is Cold

 Hey Friends,

I hope all of you are staying warm! I am staying hunkered in my house. Me and the extreme cold do not get along too well! We have had snow on the ground now for a long time in Ohio.

Mom was out last night and this was the temperature reading on her jeep -6 real temperature.

The low Tuesday in our area was -8° real temperature. Here is a screenshot of our weather right before I wrote this post.

Our friends in the south have gotten covered up with snow. That is a rare happening for them! We have received several text messages of pictures and videos of this snow in the not so sunny south. 

These pictures are from dothan, Alabama and Wilmer, Alabama, Richton, Mississippi. Grab you a blanket and a hot chocolate and enjoy these photos.

See you tomorrow!

Odie 

Time To Plan For PFYC 2025

Hey Friends, 

Thanks for stopping by to visit. Can you believe we are in the home stretch of January 2025?! We have been trying to nail down some things on our agenda this year.

I put PFYC 2025 on my calendar. If I could, I would attend the Pentecostal Fire Youth Conference every year. I love this event so much! PFYC is a fantastic two-day conference that focuses on young people. 

I am glad the young at heart can also enjoy the powerful six services. There is no age limit!  PFYC is centered around the word of God and changing lives for the better! 

God has met me in some memorable ways at PFYC! I am so grateful to everyone who makes sure PFYC happens! I know countless hours of labor go into this conference! It is a class act event!

 

It occurs every spring at the beautiful LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. For more information and to reserve your spot for 2025, visit the PFYC website here. 

This year, it will be held on Thursday and Friday, March 27-28, the last weekend of March. It is time to make your plans to experience PFYC for yourself!

Landmark is the theme for 2025. This is the official statement on the 2025 from their website. I believe spiritual landmarks will be happening in thousands of lives during PFYC this year.

Proverbs 22:28: "Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set."

Below is the schedule for PFYC 2025.

RockyTop Sports World is also available at a different location on Wednesday and Thursday nights. The PFYC website also has that information.

Please make plans, and come join us for PFYC 2025! Everyone needs to experience this conference at least once. You can check out previous years by clicking on the PFYC website's media tab.

I am looking forward to a move of God and phenomenal fellowship at PFYC 2025! Click here to see my pictures and info from 2024.

See you later!

Odie

Celebrating Ezra's 12th Birthday

Hey Friends,

Thank you for checking in on a winter Monday! It is always great to visit with our friends in this space. Please make it a habit to visit! I truly appreciate all of you who regularly check the blog. Your public and private comments have been super encouraging to me.

Mom and I are staying busy living life. Most of which has not been pictured here. On many days, Mom conquers ministry and family work at home. I help where possible or stay out of the way.

We are enjoying more family time than usual, which is one of the few positive aspects of our recent life change. On Friday night, we were on hand in Hillsboro, Ohio, to celebrate Ezra's birthday.

Below is my last selfie from a couple weeks ago with an 11 year old Ezra. I am glad we actually got to celebrate with him this year!

He turned 12 last week! Where did my little guy go? Wow, it does not seem feasible that he is that age! He was 4 when he joined our family! Time has flown by in a couple blinks of an eye.

Ezra is a kind, polite, helpful and handsome young man! I am so proud of him! He is smart and inquisitive. In 2025, he is knocking on the door of being a teenager.

Here are a few more pictures from the night! I had fun with all my cousins!

To close out this post, here is a picture of me with my cousin Courtney. We have always known that we look alike, but we are hearing it more often!

Well, that is all for now. See you tomorrow!

Odie

Sunday Sanity 1/19/25

Hey Friends,

I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday! We have returned to the deep freeze here in Ohio. According to the weather guessers, as my Dad called them, we will be there for several days. I will still rejoice and be glad because this is the day the Lord made.

Pastor E.J. Lamb provides with today's sanity. Mom and I attended service with our friends at the Anchor on Wednesday night. 

We sure do love Pastor E.J., Sis. Lacey, their children, and the Anchor of Hope church family! All of them have been special friends to us for a long time!

On Wednesday night, he preached on “ Faith Beyond Feelings.” The entire message was encouraging, but this little nugget stood out.

“Faith is not a walk in what I see and feel, but faith is walking in what I know”. Pastor E.J. Lamb

One thing I know God will always be with us, even when we can not see or  feel Him!

See you tomorrow. 

Odie

Odie’s 2 Months Post Surgery Report

 Hey Friends,

It is great to see you here today! Thanks for the sweet comments about this week's posts. 

We truly do appreciate all of our wonderful friends! All of the thoughts and prayers from our friends encourage us immensely. We feel God's strength from the prayers!

Some of you have asked how I am doing physically. Thursday marked 2 months since I had emergency surgery. I have not given an update since December. 

The report from my doctor at 4 weeks was excellent! She was extremely pleased with my recovery and released me from restrictions. She says I am an easy patient. I do not go back until my 6 month check up.

I am grateful that my incision has healed perfectly. That could not have been the case because of all the lifting I have to do to get around. I only experience occasional soreness and tenderness. 

The doctor does have me on a couple of medications to regulate things after surgery. Thankfully, I have not experienced any adverse effects!

I thank God for every good report. My recovery has been smooth. That is a massive answer to prayer!

I just wanted to take a moment to praise the Lord for His help! Once again, He has been with me in another area of my life! I am so thankful that I have God to lean on. He is my rock and my healer! 

See you later. I pray that you have a fabulous weekend.

Odie

Foodie Friday 1/17/25

 Hey Friends,

How are you all doing? I hope you are doing well today. I am happy to report that Mom and I are doing very good. The Lord is our strength and our help daily!

Have you seen our previous post this week? If you have not read them yet, please take a moment and look black. 

This has been a week of reflection for us. Here are the link to the posts from Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We also posted a new video to our Boggs Family Ministries YouTube channel yesterday. I have posted it below. You can also find it in yesterday's post.

As most of you know, yesterday was Dad's first Heavenly birthday. We spent the day honoring Dad and remembering him.

Thank you to everyone who reached out to us yesterday, letting us know that you were praying for us! We did read each message and found it encouraging! I apologize that I did not get to respond to each text message or comment individually. I will try to get that done today.

It was great to spend time with our family yesterday! We thought it was only fitting to enjoy a good steak from Longhorn on his birthday. Longhorn was his favorite chain restaurant steak. His favorite order was an outlaw ribeye from Longhorn. Mom and I split one yesterday. 

Just as I suspected the food was delicious and the family time was even more precious! I also predicted that we would laugh a lot, cry some and reminisce even more. We did all three of those things! I think it was a fabulous way to spend Dad’s birthday, surrounded by those that we love!

Mom and I finished out the day by going to church with our church family at DRPC! Church was the normal thing to do on his birthday! If I had to guess Dad spent more of his birthdays going to church than not. 

Today being Foodie Friday on the blog, I thought it only right to share yesterday's pictures with you. 

I hope you enjoy! Let me know if it flings or craving on you for a Longhorn!

See you back here tomorrow.

Odie

Happy Birthday Daddy 2025

 Hey Friends,

Thank you for dropping by for a visit! We have been in reflection mode this week. A couple of big days are here this week, back to back. 

January 15th, last year, Daddy came home from the hospital after the stroke. Click here to visit yesterday’s post

January 16th is my Dad’s birthday! Dad did not like a lot of attention on his birthday. He always wanted to make a big deal about mine or Mom’s, but not his! A blog post is just about all I could get by doing for him.

He does not get a choice this year! We are spending today honoring the great man I got to call Daddy!

Mom and I sat down and reflected on Dad’s last days on earth. He taught us to love God and His greatness always! Dad’s love for his Great God was evident until the end. 

Also, we included Dad singing If You Could See Me Now. This video was recorded as part of a church service at my house in April of 2020. We also played it at Dad’s celebration of life. Some people have requested to hear the song again. I figured his birthday was a great day to share it again.

I will close with a note for my Daddy. See you tomorrow. 

Happy birthday, Daddy! I love you, “More than a hog loves slop”! You will forever be my superhero! 

This is the first time in my lifetime that I could not celebrate your birthday with you in person. Over the years we have celebrated your birthday in a myriad of states and ways! You may not physically be here, but we are still marking this extra special date on the calendar. 

In a while we will enjoy a delicious dinner with several family members in your honor! I know there will be tears, laughter and lots of memories! I so wish you could be here with us! You are always dearly missed!

 Love Your Baby Girl, Odie!

Remembering Januarary 15th 2024

 Hey Friends,

Welcome to a frigid Wednesday check in. I hope you are staying warm if you are in the cold areas of the USA.

January 15th, 2024, was on Monday. The weather was also an arctic blast! Something happened on that date in history that still warms our hearts! We still look back on this day and rejoice!

Dad was released from his stay in Atrium Hospital and in-patient rehab! The brainstem stroke happened on December 29th, 2023, and Dad was rushed to the hospital for treatment. He remained there for several days, working toward recovery.

One of the many miracles God worked during that time was insurance coverage was approved for Dad to receive in-patient rehab. He was on the rehab floor for 11 days! Daddy worked so hard during rehab and beyond. He was determined to regain everything!

Dad requested to leave the hospital in dress clothes. He said, "I did not come in here with much dignity, so I want to leave with dignity." Mom made that happen. He left there looking good!

Mom and I were overjoyed at Dad's progress and help that came only from the Lord! We were so very proud of Dad then, and we still are proud today! He worked excruciatingly hard to be the best patient he could be!

Dad did not want a lot of attention or hoopla about his rehab release. We had to make him stop and ring the bell on the way out! His release was a victory for him, our family and the hospital staff! Go home day was worth celebrating!

We are so thankful for all the fantastic staff at Atrium Hospital! They were so kind to our family! Most of all took fabulous care of Dad! We can not adequately thank them for their loyalty, care, and concern for us! Many wonderful people were there every single day!

Katie, Tracy, Phylis and Emma were the therapists who helped Dad conquer so many tremendous obstacles! We left that hospital stay with a great appreciation for them and friends for life! Pictured below is Katie on his last day of in-patient rehab.

Today, a year ago, it was a giant milestone. We wanted to look back on a joyous occasion and remember the great times! Thanks for reading! See you tomorrow.

Odie

Thankful For Our Pastor And Church Family

Hey Friends,

Thanks for visiting with me today. It is good to see you again! If you are new to the blog, welcome. Please stop by every day. I am posting daily blogs, hoping to give you a glimpse into the lives of Kelly Jo, Odie and Boggs Family Ministries.

Today, I am here with a heart full of gratitude! It is impossible for me to tell you all the ways God has blessed us in the last 9 weeks since life suddenly took an unplanned turn! 

Mom and I are incredibly grateful! God has been so good to us, and many people have been Jesus' hands and feet. Their help and prayers are invaluable to us. Every call, text, email, comment, piece of snail mail and hug is greatly appreciated. I pray for God's blessings on each person!

We stop and thank the Lord multiple times a day! The future is still unknown, but we are doing our best to walk daily in His grace and plan for that particular day!

I want to publicly thank Pastor Bennie Sutherland and the Dryden Road Pentecostal Church. Our Pastor and church family have rallied around us, and we are overwhelmed by their love! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We love our church family!

The loss of my Dad has been painful for our Pastor and church! I wish I could ease your pain, too! Thank you for standing with us! We are suffering together, and we will persevere together!

Bro. B.D. Sutherland has been our Pastor and DRPC has been our church home for 36 years. They have been with us through good times and bad. I do not know where we would be without them!

Dad taught me the importance of a Pastor and a church home. He lived by example, teaching me to be submissive to a Pastor and work hard to stay connected to a church family.

Over the years, we have gained many road churches that feel like home. We have special connections with several dear Pastors. Their friendship, love, counsel, prayers, and support have been needed and appreciated! Boggs Family Ministries has many great men of God in our corner. We love them all!

The top of the list was right at home, where we belong: Pastor B.D. Sutherland and DRPC. Today, I am extra grateful to belong to DRPC!

See you right here tomorrow!

Odie

Gran’s 2025 Birthday Dinner

 Hey Friends,

I hope you had a great weekend! Mom and I had a good one. On Saturday, we spent the day with our cousin Lisa. 

Sunday was spent at church with our incredible church family. We are extra blessed to be part of the DRPC family, and we have had some excellent services lately!

Between services, we had time to celebrate a special lady's birthday, which was yesterday! 

That special lady is Mom’s Mother and my Gran, Betty Jo Morgan! Happy Birthday, Gran! We love you so much! 

It was wonderful to spend a couple hours with her on her birthday. I can not tell you the last time that happened. Possibly 20 plus years!

This year it actually worked that most of the Morgan crew was there for Gran’s birthday dinner. I think the total was 20! We had a great time with family!

I cherish these moments, always have, but they are even more special now. Life is fragile. The loved ones surrounding us are valuable treasures!

I hope you enjoy a small glimpse into our celebration of the World’s Best Gran! Thank you to Joey Danies for allowing me to use a few of your pics!

See you all tomorrow!

Odie