An Update From Pastor Scott Morris

Pastor Scott Morris recently sent a letter updating everyone on the status of the house building project and he asked me to post it here for you all to read. The letter included pictures from the first week of construction but I could not get them to format here as they were in the letter. I will try to post them in a moment and then post the letter below.

He mentions in the letter that the block should be nearing completion. That should have been done about one week ago. Unfortunately the block layers were delayed and then the weather delayed them even further. They are hoping to begin today and finish quickly.

It will be tight but we still hope to have the slab poured as quick as possible and the framing started on May 23rd. Pray for us if you think of it. We know God is able to guide and help.

If you would like to help with the framing process that week, you can contact me by phone, text or email. We have heard from others that can come and work a day or two at other times and we appreciate that very much.

OK, here are the pictures. The letter from Bro. Scott Morris is below. Thank you for taking time to read it.

Davy

316-992-4658

davykellyandodie@gmail.com

Greetings, 

In the words of the Psalmist, “Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good.” I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the project to build a home for Odie to live in. God has blessed and we are on schedule! The blueprints are approved, permits are issued and the foundation crew began Monday, April 17. As of Wednesday, April 19 the footers are poured and ready for the block layers to begin.  Hopefully by the time you receive this letter they will have started and the foundation will be close to completion. Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good!

There is no way to express our gratitude to God for all that He has done thus far.  We have faced what looked like dead end obstacles, but God has moved and provided each time.  From the encouragement of the township, to the approval of a septic system, to the favor we have found at the county level, we have seen the hand of God at work and we are thankful.

We are also very thankful to all who have given willingly and sacrificially. We have had a steady flow of support coming in and we appreciate every dollar.  I personally would like to say thank you for all who are on board and sharing the expense of this project.  This was a burden that God laid upon my heart and the response has been overwhelming.  From a church in Africa giving the first offering, to individuals, families and churches all across the country, God has begun to provide.

God’s people have given a little over one third of what we are expecting the project to cost and we are believing for the rest to come in.  Let us not forget what we stated in the first letter, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Thank you to those who have given and those who are yet to give. We know that God is going to provide the means to complete this home. 

Where do we go from here?

Once the block is completed, the HVAC, plumbing and electric prep will begin and the slab will be poured.

The next step will be to begin the framing.  Our plans are to have a crew on the ground the week of May 22. We would like to begin that Tuesday morning and would love to be able to completely frame the house and get it in the dry that week. If you or someone in your church who has building experience would like to be a part of this please contact Bro. Davy. 

Many have talked of wanting to use their God given talents in helping with this project. If you specialize in any area of home building and would like to be a part, please let us know so that we can see if your skill set matches the need at the time   

From The Boggs Family and myself, again we say God Bless you and thank you for all you have done thus far. 

  

Sincerely,  

Pastor Scott Morris 
ksm71@bellsouth.net 
601.788.4843 

Bro. Davy has set up a special Boggs Family Ministries account solely for this building project. Checks should be made out to Boggs Family Ministries and marked for house. Boggs Family Ministries is a 501c3 and you will receive a donation receipt.  Donations should be sent to 

Boggs Family Ministries, 

P.O. Box 28, 

Waynesville, OH 45068

Music And Ministry Month, What A Ride!

We have had lots of questions about our schedule during Music and Ministry Month at Hodgenville Pentecostal Church. Today I will try to explain exactly what we are doing at HPC this month.

Most folks that come here regularly are familiar with our usual schedule during revival. Most weeks we travel on Saturday, have revival services Sunday through Friday and then travel again on Saturday and start the whole process over.

Of course, staying in one place for four weeks is a whole different animal. We were honestly a little intimidated by staying in one place so long and not being in church singing and preaching six nights and seven services a week. We like being in church. We like being in a different place every week. We like revival.

So we knew this we be a big adjustment even though it is a temporary one. We also knew we could make the transition and that it could be an intriguing experience. It has been a fun challenge and we have enjoyed every minute of it.

Having fun does not mean the same thing as goofing off. 😁

Saturdays so far have been spent on group sessions with musicians and singers. These sessions required a lot of preparation and pushed us considerably out of our comfort zones. We have been pleasantly surprised with how great those sessions have been and every minute of preparation has been worth it.

These Saturday sessions could actually be packaged in a two day bundle and presented in a workshop format to a large church or group of churches. We have fielded a few questions about it and we might consider it in the future.

We have been practicing with various ensembles on Saturday nights and then singing during the regular service and the altar services.

During the week we have been doing individual hour long sessions with church folks that have signed up. We help with piano, learning harmony parts, vocal technique, family singing and instrument instruction. Pastor David Webb set it up so that we would do that six hours on Monday, six hours on Tuesday and three hours on Wednesday.

These sessions have been an absolute joy! Each session brings a new challenge for us and each session also brings great satisfaction. We have also had a few sessions with a special visitation of the Holy Ghost. That is always wonderful.

The weekly schedule also includes time for us to go to Ohio on Thursdays and Fridays to keep things rolling on the house. As I mentioned back in February that is icing on the cake for this full wonderful month.

This whole adventure is the vision of Pastor David Webb and it honestly seemed way to big for us when he approached us. In spite of our initial hesitation, it seemed God ordained and we are super glad to be a part of this grand experiment.

This is a fantastic way for us to expand on our second tenet of evangelism, which is to edify, encourage and equip the local church. Out of our comfort zone? Over our heads? Yes to both! But we are buckled up and ready to fly!

Thank you for tuning in today.

Davy

Revisiting The Strawberry Patch

Often the challenges of life that lie ahead are too overwhelming to spend much time thinking about. We would drown in despair if we allowed ourselves to ponder the future on a regular basis. 

For some it may be the doctor's diagnosis. 

For others it is the word you received from your employer or the uncertainty of the direction of your own business. 

For some it is the unbelievable hurt you are enduring as your marriage spirals out of control.

For others it is the darkness that has settled over your mind and you have trouble even remembering the brighter days in your past and can not believe there will be brighter days in the future.

For some it is the crushing weight of a wayward child that is hooked on substances that you can barely even name, much less understand.

You do not know how all of this came to be. You have questions that need answers but you are finding no answers.

Why me?

What next?

Where is God?

Why isn't God moving?

When is God going step in?

Does God care?

Is God paying attention?

Will the pain ever end?

Am I serving God for nothing?

If God is touched with the feelings of my infirmities, what in the world is He waiting on?

I am about to suffocate and I need some help Now!

There may be a million other problems I have not named and a million other questions that I have not mentioned. The point is that life can spin out of our control in a New York minute and fear can engulf us before we know what is happening.

Fear is controlling. Fear is paralyzing. And the Bible says fear hath torment.

I can feel the witness of that reverberating from people who will read this. Amen, Davy, Fear is controlling. Fear is paralyzing. And the Bible says fear hath torment.

You are in a real place and you need real help real soon. You need relief today if not sooner.

I must admit that most of the things that torment me are not life and death as they are for some of you. I will survive one way or the other but in the thick of things they feel like life and death even if they are not.

I am nearly paralyzed right now by some of the challenges of life but I must remember my own preaching. I have been preaching this year, "What God Has Done Before, He Can Do Again!"

He has proven that over and over and over again! He has proven it in His Word. He has proven it in the lives of saints that have testified to me. And God has proven that in my own life!

Two plus years ago when we were in our last months of preparation leading up to City Reach, I was overwhelmed with the weight of responsibility of the known obstacles, trembling in fear of the unknown obstacles and wondering aloud to my closest friends and family if I was getting in way over my head.

Yet through the fear, foreboding and intimidation I could not help but hear myself preaching about the scarecrow. I saw Frank W. Boreham's scarecrows every where I looked. (Most of you have not heard me preach the message about the "Secret of the Scarecrow" but stay with me, you will catch on.) The scarecrow looms over the strawberry patch keeping the birds from feasting on the tasty ripe strawberries. 

Thousands of birds are perched on tree limbs, fence posts and fence rails looking at those luscious strawberries. They would swoop down and eat to their hearts content if not for the ferocious looking man with a straw hat standing in the midst of the patch.

Yet, notice two birds sitting on the shoulders of the scarecrow. They are covered in strawberry juice. They have learned the secret of the scarecrow. 

The scarecrow may be intimidating. He may strike fear in your heart. But the scarecrow can not prevent you from what God has provided for you. While all the other birds perched on trees and fence posts longed for even one juicy strawberry, two birds had conquered their fears and now enjoyed unrestricted access to the whole patch.

Boreham said if he were a bird and if he had discovered the secret of the scarecrow, that he would no longer avoid scarecrows. He would now seek them out. He would actively look for every field that was guarded by a giant scarecrow. 

Once you know the secret of the scarecrow, he is like a giant billboard advertising there is something good and tasty for you in this field. If there were nothing good for you in the field then there would be no scarecrow to try and keep you out.

You get it? That obstacle, difficulty, sickness, heartache screaming in your face to turn around and go the other way, is trying to keep you from good things God has promised you!

Every where I looked before City Reach, I saw giants in the land. Giants of despair, disappointment and defeat. The city is too big. You are small. The logistics are too daunting. You are inadequate. The complications are too many. You are insufficient. The obstacles are too high. You are feeble.

I saw giants and scarecrows every where. After I had cowered in fear for a while I heard my mind rehearsing what I had preached to others through the last years. All those scarecrows have a secret. The scarecrow can not prevent me from what God has promised me. 

I took my own preaching to heart and I ran headlong into City Reach with almost reckless abandon. The facts were foreboding but my faith saw strawberries. There were times of doubt and confusion and fear but I never lost sight of the strawberries.

Now, here we are months past the last 2016 City Reach campaign and I can still taste strawberry juice! I am still rejoicing at the souls saved, the saints encouraged, the relationships restored, God's provision for me and my family and for Bro. Jimmy Radcliffe!

God Did That!

And God will do it again!

He will do it for me. He will do it for my family! He will work miracles in current difficulties.

And God will do it for you, my friend!

Will it be easy for you? Probably not.

Will your load get suddenly lighter because you read my words and believed my report? Maybe not.

But hang on to God, friend. Dare to climb over that fence and discover the blessings God has placed at the feet of that scarecrow. That luscious fruit, the blessings of God, were there before the scarecrow showed up. He is there to scare you away.

Please remember! The enemy can not prevent you from what God has provided for you. However, you and I must believe the promise and get on the other side of that fence. Climb over it. Slide under it. Break through it. But get to the other side.

I think I see strawberry juice on some of your faces in the near future!

God bless you all. Thank you for reading.

Davy

Weekend Woundup and Weview #18

Kelly Jo had a few pictures on her phone from the music sessions last week. We missed posting them Friday so we will throw them in here.

Weekend

I will start the Weview of our weekend all the way back on Thursday. We left Hodgenville Thursday morning and drove the Green Machine to Waynesville. The block layers were supposed to begin laying block Thursday if it did not rain overnight Wednesday and I wanted to be there to see it and to pay them anything that was owed.

It did not rain Wednesday night but they did not start. We did have a couple of small spells of rain Thursday but nothing significant. Needless to say there was nothing owed. 😁 Hopefully they will get the block started and completed later this week.

There were other things to do that were house related and there was salsa to drink so the trip was certainly not in vain. We took care as much of that as we could and then we headed back to Hodgenville about 11:00 Friday morning. Friday night was spent doing laundry and preparing for the Singers Group Session Saturday.

That session began Saturday morning at 11:00 AM and was well attended. Pastor David Webb has poured a lot into this Music and Ministry Month and his folks seem to be excited. They are participating well and we are enjoying it very much.

Here are a few pictures from Saturday morning.

Saturday night we worked with an ensemble of young people ages 7-13 or so to learn a song. They did very good!

Sunday was the fifth Sunday of the month so it was an extra special Sunday at HPC. On fifth Sundays they have a big morning service, a huge church dinner and an afternoon service. Both services were outstanding.

They are planning to build a new sanctuary next door to the existing building and Sunday was the big reveal of the plans. God helped and moved during the service and it was a privilege for us to be here and be a part of it.

The Sunday afternoon service was great too. The choirs sang, the youth ensemble that we worked with Saturday night sang and a few of the families sang as well. They all sang so well. The service ended with a wonderful move of God in the altar. As a congregation we felt faith rising up in our hearts to believe God for miracles and I am expecting some testimonies of those miracle.

That pretty much wraps our our wonderful weekend. I hope you had a great weekend too. Thank you for reading today.

Davy

View Out The Front Window April 30, 2017

The view out our front window has not changed this week so I thought I would give you a glimpse out the front door of the parsonage here at HPC.

Odie has set up housekeeping in the parsonage and we are living part time in it and part time in the BoggsMobile. It is very nice have some extra elbow room but I am such a creature of habit. I happen to really like our little home.

Here are links to our posts from the last week.

Odie's Saturday Post

This Week in Pictures

Going Around The Block

Lord, I Believe

Your Must Have A Good Foundation

Weekend Woundup and Weview # 17

Harmony and Anointing Are Amazing

Hello Friends,

This is Odie checking in from Hodgenville, Kentucky. We have had a wonderful week working with some great people here at HPC. It is an honor for my family to be included in this Music and Ministry Month. I only play a small role but I am thrilled to be here. 

Music and singing is very dear to my heart. It has always been part of my life. I am grateful that my parents raised me in a home with a love of music and taught me an appreciation for it at a young age.

I started singing in church around the age of 4 and I was 5 when we recorded our first cassette tape. When I listen to the recording now I can not believe my parents let my singing slide by. I guess they thought it was cute. I do remember putting my heart into the recording. Thankfully my singing has progressed and gotten better, I think. I am a long way from being my best but I am always striving to be a better singer. 

In the summer of 1993 Mom started teaching me to sing harmony. I started with the alto part but I dreamed of being a high soprano singer. Sadly that was not in the plans for me. I accept my position as an alto and I have grown to love that part. 

I will always have a deep appreciation for someone who has a big vocal range and can ring the rafters but I am happy to add my voice in as well. It is a privilege to sing.

When I began singing at 4 years old I never dreamed that I would sing Gospel music all over the United States and in foreign countries. What an amazing journey it has been and continues to be.

I have been reflecting this week on things that happened when I was younger and the impact they had on me. One of the first songs I sang harmony on was Use Me Lord I Pray. Here are the lyrics to the chorus.

Use me Lord I Pray 

Make me stronger everyday 

Here's my life please take control 

Use me body mind and soul

Lord I give my life to you today 

Use me Lord I pray 

This song was written by John Dixon. I remember thinking way back then that it had awesome words. It has been a prayer of mine through the years. 

Mom sang this chorus during a prayer time after a session last Saturday. I was reminded of learning to sing harmony on this song. I had no clue how singing the Gospel would come to be an everyday part of my life. I am extremely blessed and grateful that get to do something I love so much. 

I love being able to work alongside my family as a ministry team. Singing with my Dad and Mom is my happy place. But I will never forget an experience I had when I was 14. I was at youth camp without my parents and I was asked at the last minute to sing a special. I usually did not sing without Mom and Dad.

I obeyed leadership and got up and sang my song. I sang it through once, repeated the chorus a couple times and maybe the second verse. I went and sat down as I was trained to do. 

Later those in charge told me the Lord had been moving and I should have kept singing. It Is one of the first times I remember feeling the anointing singing by myself. It kind of took me by surprise but it was a learning experience. My parents being there was not a necessity to be anointed. I could have it for myself too. 

Singing is nothing without the anointing of God. There are times when I sing and I do not feel anointed at all! It causes me to examine things and see why I did not have that extra touch. I want to always be a willing and available vessel that God can use to touch others. It is a honor and a humbling experience to be anointed by God! 

There a many experiences over the years when God moved while we have been singing. I never want to lose sight that it was Him moving. I was just a minor part of his plan. 

We have reached the end of my rambling and reminiscing. I have a hard time putting into words the things I feel in my heart. I hope my awesome editor was able to make sense of all this! I am so thankful for the opportunities that I have had to minister to others through music. 

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Odie