We will be traveling toward Claremore, Oklahoma by God's grace today so I will leave you with pictures from Owensburg. I hope you are not weary with tent revival pictures and reports.
Davy
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Tent Revival In Pictures - Owensburg, Indiana
We have had another wonderful Tent Revival the last 11 days and we are praising God for His blessings. Pastor Dallas Lakes and the Tunnel Hill church have a burden for their community and Owensburg felt and heard the effect of that burden. God has promised to meet with us in these meetings and He has done it again.
We will be traveling toward Claremore, Oklahoma by God's grace today so I will leave you with pictures from Owensburg. I hope you are not weary with tent revival pictures and reports.
Davy
We will be traveling toward Claremore, Oklahoma by God's grace today so I will leave you with pictures from Owensburg. I hope you are not weary with tent revival pictures and reports.
Davy
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Not Everything Goes Well - Same Song, 2nd Verse
I have been posting the last several days from my phone because we have no other access to the Internet here. Yesterday phone service was extremely slow and Blogger would not open. Other things opened after a long wait so Blogger could have been having a problem too.
Tent Revival is still going extremely well. The crowds have been good and the altar services are great every night. I have ended up empty handed the last few nights reaching for the lost but the message is going out and that is what I am here to do.
The church is responding well and folks are getting help from the Lord when they come for special prayer. We have one more service tonight and then we plan to take everything down, pack it up and head to Oklahoma.
Although the Lord is blessing and we are enjoying His presence Not Everything Goes Well as I wrote the other day.
I discovered yesterday that our house batteries need to be replaced as soon as possible. We knew shortly after buying the BoggsMobile they would need to be replaced but we have kept putting it off.
You may remember I replaced the starting batteries at the end of December but these are an entirely different set of batteries.
We have saved toward the expense of this but each time we have spent it on something else important like tires, our live CD, missions, and most recently our little green machine.
Since we never park on battery power alone, we thought we could put this off indefinitely. However, I found out recently that if one of these batteries goes completely bad it could damage one or both of our inverters and those are Really expensive.
I removed the panels yesterday to look at the batteries and at least two of them are swollen. That moved this project from the back burner in a hurry. Since they are over four years past due it is time to bite the bullet.
The house battery bank has eight 4D AGM batteries and the best brand runs about $500 each plus shipping. An acquaintance offered the same brand at $451 each with reduced shipping. That is a kind and generous offer but still very steep for us.
I have a friend who has a friend who has a battery business and he has offered his brand at nearly $150 less per battery. He can't offer the same warranty but he stands behind his product and is a good man.
I am very thankful he is willing to offer such a good price but it is still a big hit for us right now.
It could not come at a worse time...
Or could it?
You can go back to the 1st verse and chorus for my definitive answer.
God is faithful. God is working when we can not see Him. And God owes me no explanations!
Davy
Tent Revival is still going extremely well. The crowds have been good and the altar services are great every night. I have ended up empty handed the last few nights reaching for the lost but the message is going out and that is what I am here to do.
The church is responding well and folks are getting help from the Lord when they come for special prayer. We have one more service tonight and then we plan to take everything down, pack it up and head to Oklahoma.
Although the Lord is blessing and we are enjoying His presence Not Everything Goes Well as I wrote the other day.
I discovered yesterday that our house batteries need to be replaced as soon as possible. We knew shortly after buying the BoggsMobile they would need to be replaced but we have kept putting it off.
You may remember I replaced the starting batteries at the end of December but these are an entirely different set of batteries.
We have saved toward the expense of this but each time we have spent it on something else important like tires, our live CD, missions, and most recently our little green machine.
Since we never park on battery power alone, we thought we could put this off indefinitely. However, I found out recently that if one of these batteries goes completely bad it could damage one or both of our inverters and those are Really expensive.
I removed the panels yesterday to look at the batteries and at least two of them are swollen. That moved this project from the back burner in a hurry. Since they are over four years past due it is time to bite the bullet.
The house battery bank has eight 4D AGM batteries and the best brand runs about $500 each plus shipping. An acquaintance offered the same brand at $451 each with reduced shipping. That is a kind and generous offer but still very steep for us.
I have a friend who has a friend who has a battery business and he has offered his brand at nearly $150 less per battery. He can't offer the same warranty but he stands behind his product and is a good man.
I am very thankful he is willing to offer such a good price but it is still a big hit for us right now.
It could not come at a worse time...
Or could it?
You can go back to the 1st verse and chorus for my definitive answer.
God is faithful. God is working when we can not see Him. And God owes me no explanations!
Davy
Monday, June 4, 2012
Special Visitors
We have been blessed with many visitors in the Owensburg tent revival. We have had visitors from members of local churches, Pastors, Missionaries and most importantly visitors from the community of Owensburg itself.
The visitors from the community are obviously the most important since we came here to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. Pastor Lakes and the Tunnel Hill church have went to considerable expense of their time, talent and treasure for that purpose.
They desire, as I desire, to take the message we know and love outside the walls of the church. I concluded long ago that the people were not coming to our churches therefore I was called to take church to them.
Bro. Lakes phrased it almost as I did. He told the Tunnel Hill church, "It is obvious Owensburg is not coming to us so let's go to them."
This Pastor and this church have made a supreme effort to do just that. Every single person in this community that I have interacted with and invited to tent revival has already received an invitation from somebody in the church. That is awesome!
So Owensburg, Indiana is hearing the Gospel, the local church is being used and blessed of God, faith is being strengthened, lives are being touched and we are having a ball in the process. Does it get any better than that?
Well, yes it does. When special friends drive for hours to be with us and join in the fun it is like icing on the cake. Or better yet, like real butter on a piece of Pecan pie warmed in the microwave! Whew! That is good!
The special visitors that made our day were Renae Coffman and her oldest daughter Jacqueline. When they heard we were staying past Friday they drove over Saturday morning and spent the afternoon with us and attended tent revival that night.
Renae is our Pastor's daughter and she has been our special friend for many years. She and Jacqueline brought a little extra sunshine in an already good week. It was a great blessing to see them.
Thank you, Renae and Jacqueline for going out of your way to come see us. We love you much!
Sunday morning we had church inside and conviction followed us right in. It was wonderful to feel God reaching for men and women.
We also had another great service under the tent last night. Please keep praying for this meeting.
Davy
The visitors from the community are obviously the most important since we came here to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. Pastor Lakes and the Tunnel Hill church have went to considerable expense of their time, talent and treasure for that purpose.
They desire, as I desire, to take the message we know and love outside the walls of the church. I concluded long ago that the people were not coming to our churches therefore I was called to take church to them.
Bro. Lakes phrased it almost as I did. He told the Tunnel Hill church, "It is obvious Owensburg is not coming to us so let's go to them."
This Pastor and this church have made a supreme effort to do just that. Every single person in this community that I have interacted with and invited to tent revival has already received an invitation from somebody in the church. That is awesome!
So Owensburg, Indiana is hearing the Gospel, the local church is being used and blessed of God, faith is being strengthened, lives are being touched and we are having a ball in the process. Does it get any better than that?
Well, yes it does. When special friends drive for hours to be with us and join in the fun it is like icing on the cake. Or better yet, like real butter on a piece of Pecan pie warmed in the microwave! Whew! That is good!
The special visitors that made our day were Renae Coffman and her oldest daughter Jacqueline. When they heard we were staying past Friday they drove over Saturday morning and spent the afternoon with us and attended tent revival that night.
Renae is our Pastor's daughter and she has been our special friend for many years. She and Jacqueline brought a little extra sunshine in an already good week. It was a great blessing to see them.
Thank you, Renae and Jacqueline for going out of your way to come see us. We love you much!
Sunday morning we had church inside and conviction followed us right in. It was wonderful to feel God reaching for men and women.
We also had another great service under the tent last night. Please keep praying for this meeting.
Davy
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Details of Schedule Change This Week
Often on Sunday morning I post a Travel Day blog describing our Saturday on the road. Today is quite a bit different.
We had planned to take down the tent in Owensburg, Indiana after service Friday night and leave early Saturday and drive to Wichita, Kansas to begin revival today for Pastor John DiZazzo and Bethany Revival Center. But it seems to us that God had different plans.
During the service Friday night Pastor Lakes and I both felt a stirring to continue the tent revival here in Owensburg. I nearly shrugged it off because rescheduling or canceling revivals on very short notice is not something I am comfortable doing.
I realize how much effort many churches put into having revival and I do not take that lightly. Plus we love going to Bethany and always have tremendous services there. I knew they were ready for revival and I was ready to go.
However I could not shake the feeling that this tent revival needed to continue. All of this back and forth was going on in my mind as we were having a great break through in the altar service.
Now, let me insert something here. I have learned that I can not decide about continuing a revival based on whether or not we are having a good or bad service. That will not work for me at all. I love having a super service on the last night! I would hate to close every revival with a bad service.
You see what I mean? So that will not work. I have to have some clear direction from the Lord and that is what Bro. Lakes and I both felt like we had Friday night.
Bro. Lakes called the owner of the property to see if we could leave the tent up a few more days. The property owner was fine with it.
I called Bro. DiZazzo to see if he would allow me to reschedule at the last minute. He was kind and gracious as always and gave me the permission I needed to stay.
Bro. DiZazzo and his folks understand the value of the sovereign move of God in lives and a community. They were very encouraging to me in this situation and I am indebted to them for that.
So last night we were under the tent again and God met with us in a special way. My Pastor, Bro. Bennie Sutherland, taught me that often you know more about the quality of a decision after you make it than before.
Last night's service under the tent was proof of that. All my self doubt about staying here melted away as God touched lives in the altar. Praise God!
We will have church in the church this morning and then we plan to be back under the tent tonight through Wednesday night. We are looking forward to see what God is going to do in Owensburg, Indiana.
Please continue to pray for us.
Davy
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. I Timothy 1:15
We had planned to take down the tent in Owensburg, Indiana after service Friday night and leave early Saturday and drive to Wichita, Kansas to begin revival today for Pastor John DiZazzo and Bethany Revival Center. But it seems to us that God had different plans.
During the service Friday night Pastor Lakes and I both felt a stirring to continue the tent revival here in Owensburg. I nearly shrugged it off because rescheduling or canceling revivals on very short notice is not something I am comfortable doing.
I realize how much effort many churches put into having revival and I do not take that lightly. Plus we love going to Bethany and always have tremendous services there. I knew they were ready for revival and I was ready to go.
However I could not shake the feeling that this tent revival needed to continue. All of this back and forth was going on in my mind as we were having a great break through in the altar service.
Now, let me insert something here. I have learned that I can not decide about continuing a revival based on whether or not we are having a good or bad service. That will not work for me at all. I love having a super service on the last night! I would hate to close every revival with a bad service.
You see what I mean? So that will not work. I have to have some clear direction from the Lord and that is what Bro. Lakes and I both felt like we had Friday night.
Bro. Lakes called the owner of the property to see if we could leave the tent up a few more days. The property owner was fine with it.
I called Bro. DiZazzo to see if he would allow me to reschedule at the last minute. He was kind and gracious as always and gave me the permission I needed to stay.
Bro. DiZazzo and his folks understand the value of the sovereign move of God in lives and a community. They were very encouraging to me in this situation and I am indebted to them for that.
So last night we were under the tent again and God met with us in a special way. My Pastor, Bro. Bennie Sutherland, taught me that often you know more about the quality of a decision after you make it than before.
Last night's service under the tent was proof of that. All my self doubt about staying here melted away as God touched lives in the altar. Praise God!
We will have church in the church this morning and then we plan to be back under the tent tonight through Wednesday night. We are looking forward to see what God is going to do in Owensburg, Indiana.
Please continue to pray for us.
Davy
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. I Timothy 1:15
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Schedule Change
We were supposed to be on our way to Kansas for our next revival but we are still having church under the tent in Owensburg, Indiana.
I'll post more details later. Thank you for your prayers.
Davy
I'll post more details later. Thank you for your prayers.
Davy
Friday, June 1, 2012
And It Rained Not!
By Thursday afternoon the forecast was looking pretty bad for having church under the tent. The chance for rain at church time was forecast at 70%.
I sent a text to several friends asking them to pray and in a few minutes the forecast was changed. It went from 70% to 100% chance of thunderstorms at church time and all during church!
Pastor Lakes and I had decided the night before that if it was raining at 6:00 we would move the service to the church. I went to the tent about 1:00 and began to pray.
At 4:39 the heavens opened right on time and boy howdy did it rain! The rain was coming down and the radar was showing rain coming in for hours.
I was still under the tent when the rain stopped at 5:43 and the sky cleared. We set up for church and the Lord touched and moved in a special way in the altar service. It was awesome and God made it possible by stopping the rain.
There is no doubt in my mind that God moved the rain. The forecast after church still was calling for 80% chance of rain and it was raining around us but no rain at the tent. Praise God!
Thanks for praying.
Davy
I sent a text to several friends asking them to pray and in a few minutes the forecast was changed. It went from 70% to 100% chance of thunderstorms at church time and all during church!
Pastor Lakes and I had decided the night before that if it was raining at 6:00 we would move the service to the church. I went to the tent about 1:00 and began to pray.
At 4:39 the heavens opened right on time and boy howdy did it rain! The rain was coming down and the radar was showing rain coming in for hours.
I was still under the tent when the rain stopped at 5:43 and the sky cleared. We set up for church and the Lord touched and moved in a special way in the altar service. It was awesome and God made it possible by stopping the rain.
There is no doubt in my mind that God moved the rain. The forecast after church still was calling for 80% chance of rain and it was raining around us but no rain at the tent. Praise God!
Thanks for praying.
Davy
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Trailer Tire Update
The new tires are on the trailer and it should be ready to roll for many miles. Six good Firestone Load Range E tires were $1135.
There was no way to pull the trailer through all the low trees to the tire place so we removed the tires and took them to the store.
Bro. Jack and Bro. Tom from the Tunnel Hill Church already had the trailer in the shop where they work to fix a corner that needed repair. We took all six tires off in their shop (With Bro. Jack's help and ingenuity) and loaded them in his truck.
We arrived at the tire shop and less than 25 minutes later the tires were mounted, balanced and loaded back in the truck.
Bro. Caleb and Bro. Colton helped me put them back on the trailer and before I knew it the job was finished. It sure was nice to have a concrete floor, a good jack and air tools. That really made it much easier than it could have been.
I hated to replace all six tires at this time but once we removed them it was obvious I was making the right decision. They were in pretty bad shape. It looked like at least a couple more of them were separating so we were just a few miles from a major problem or even catastrophe.
As I mentioned the other day, God knows what He is doing when I do not have a clue. And you know what else occurred to me? God is under no obligation to keep me informed! He wants me to trust Him.
I do not know how, but God will work it all out! Amen!
We continue to have great services under the tent in Owensburg, Indiana. The weather man is saying there is 70% chance of storms at church time tonight. We are asking God for a space of time to have church but God's will be done.
Thanks for praying.
Davy
There was no way to pull the trailer through all the low trees to the tire place so we removed the tires and took them to the store.
Bro. Jack and Bro. Tom from the Tunnel Hill Church already had the trailer in the shop where they work to fix a corner that needed repair. We took all six tires off in their shop (With Bro. Jack's help and ingenuity) and loaded them in his truck.
We arrived at the tire shop and less than 25 minutes later the tires were mounted, balanced and loaded back in the truck.
Bro. Caleb and Bro. Colton helped me put them back on the trailer and before I knew it the job was finished. It sure was nice to have a concrete floor, a good jack and air tools. That really made it much easier than it could have been.
I hated to replace all six tires at this time but once we removed them it was obvious I was making the right decision. They were in pretty bad shape. It looked like at least a couple more of them were separating so we were just a few miles from a major problem or even catastrophe.
As I mentioned the other day, God knows what He is doing when I do not have a clue. And you know what else occurred to me? God is under no obligation to keep me informed! He wants me to trust Him.
I do not know how, but God will work it all out! Amen!
We continue to have great services under the tent in Owensburg, Indiana. The weather man is saying there is 70% chance of storms at church time tonight. We are asking God for a space of time to have church but God's will be done.
Thanks for praying.
Davy
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Not Everything Goes Well
Great, great, great service tonight under the tent in Owensburg! God is helping each night. Keep praying for us.
We are incredibly blessed by God in so many areas. I give God praise on a regular basis on this blog detailing some of the wonderful events that God orchestrates in our lives.
I can not tell it all. There is no way I can praise Him enough for his blessings. He daily loads us with benefits. God is so good.
Yet, Not Everything Goes Well. In fact it seems like some days are pre-stamped "bad day" before they are even started. But that does not mean that God is any less good or deserves less glory on those bad days.
Life happens. Cars break down. People get the flu. Drivers cut you off in traffic. It rains and floods. The wind blows too hard. A thief steals your laptop. A liar focuses his attention on you. The Doctor gives you bad news.
Is God asleep at the wheel on those days and at those moments? Absolutely not!
Ecclesiastes 9:11 "..time and chance happeneth to them all."
Matthew 5:45 "...for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
Life happens and God is still God! Most of the time when I look closely I can find God doing something special even in the difficult times.
You all know I hate mechanical trouble. I hate the unknown of vehicle problems. Yet I often find God working when I am totally confused and frustrated.
I knew when the tent trailer was given to us that buying a set of six tires was in the future. The tread looked great but they have some years on them and they have been sitting for quite a while. That is a bad combination.
I convinced myself that I could get a year of use out of them and determined to keep a close eye on them.
I climbed out of the bus when we arrived at Tunnel Hill Church on Saturday and saw that one of them has a huge bulge in the sidewall. It could have blown at any moment.
I do not want to buy a set of tires. It could require a $1000 or more for six of the proper tires and it couldn't come at a worse time.
Or could it?
It could have blown on the interstate causing lots of damage or even a terrible accident.
It could have blown Saturday when I was super pressed for time and caused me not to make it to Owensburg on time to raise the tent.
And the list of bad possibilities goes on and on...
But now I can replace these tires in a parking lot and not on an interstate or curvy state highway with no shoulder.
I can shop for better prices rather than pay the going rip-off rate along side the road.
You see what I mean? Even in trouble God is working.
I know some of you are facing much worse situations than replacing a set of tires. You see no bright spots at all in where you are today or what you are facing tomorrow. Some of you can not imagine a worst case scenario.
But God is still God and still loves you and is still working for you. You can rest assured that God has a plan and that He is working His plan.
He may not come when you want Him but He'll be there right on time!
Trust is very hard, Especially blind trust. But God will bring it all around for our good. He is trying to conform us to the image of Christ and most of us have a long way to go! Friend, you can trust God!
One more thought about my tires....
Could it be that when I stopped a few weeks ago along I-75 in Ohio on a busy day when I was in a rush to get some where important and changed a tire on an RV for an older couple that could not help themselves and refused their money that God noticed???
Yep, and He payed it forward.
God bless you all.
Davy
We are incredibly blessed by God in so many areas. I give God praise on a regular basis on this blog detailing some of the wonderful events that God orchestrates in our lives.
I can not tell it all. There is no way I can praise Him enough for his blessings. He daily loads us with benefits. God is so good.
Yet, Not Everything Goes Well. In fact it seems like some days are pre-stamped "bad day" before they are even started. But that does not mean that God is any less good or deserves less glory on those bad days.
Life happens. Cars break down. People get the flu. Drivers cut you off in traffic. It rains and floods. The wind blows too hard. A thief steals your laptop. A liar focuses his attention on you. The Doctor gives you bad news.
Is God asleep at the wheel on those days and at those moments? Absolutely not!
Ecclesiastes 9:11 "..time and chance happeneth to them all."
Matthew 5:45 "...for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
Life happens and God is still God! Most of the time when I look closely I can find God doing something special even in the difficult times.
You all know I hate mechanical trouble. I hate the unknown of vehicle problems. Yet I often find God working when I am totally confused and frustrated.
I knew when the tent trailer was given to us that buying a set of six tires was in the future. The tread looked great but they have some years on them and they have been sitting for quite a while. That is a bad combination.
I convinced myself that I could get a year of use out of them and determined to keep a close eye on them.
I climbed out of the bus when we arrived at Tunnel Hill Church on Saturday and saw that one of them has a huge bulge in the sidewall. It could have blown at any moment.
I do not want to buy a set of tires. It could require a $1000 or more for six of the proper tires and it couldn't come at a worse time.
Or could it?
It could have blown on the interstate causing lots of damage or even a terrible accident.
It could have blown Saturday when I was super pressed for time and caused me not to make it to Owensburg on time to raise the tent.
And the list of bad possibilities goes on and on...
But now I can replace these tires in a parking lot and not on an interstate or curvy state highway with no shoulder.
I can shop for better prices rather than pay the going rip-off rate along side the road.
You see what I mean? Even in trouble God is working.
I know some of you are facing much worse situations than replacing a set of tires. You see no bright spots at all in where you are today or what you are facing tomorrow. Some of you can not imagine a worst case scenario.
But God is still God and still loves you and is still working for you. You can rest assured that God has a plan and that He is working His plan.
He may not come when you want Him but He'll be there right on time!
Trust is very hard, Especially blind trust. But God will bring it all around for our good. He is trying to conform us to the image of Christ and most of us have a long way to go! Friend, you can trust God!
One more thought about my tires....
Could it be that when I stopped a few weeks ago along I-75 in Ohio on a busy day when I was in a rush to get some where important and changed a tire on an RV for an older couple that could not help themselves and refused their money that God noticed???
Yep, and He payed it forward.
God bless you all.
Davy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)