Counting Our Blessings

Laughter is often good medicine for the soul, but one of the best medicines of all is counting our blessings.

So, if you are reading this blog, you are one of our most treasured blessings we are counting. To you we say,
"We love you!"

We are grateful for our health, for jobs during this difficult time in our economy, for a loving extended family, and for the many dear friends we have in our church, our ministries, and our rural neighborhood.

OUR PARENTS - BEST in the WORLD!

Jimmy and I keep busy. The phone calls for the electrical business are still good and steady, the outdoor jobs around the farm are always there, but the best part of living here in Neosho is being able to be near our parents - spending time loving them and helping with some of their needs as life as gotten a little more challenging for them. All three of them are the greatest! For those of you who know them, you understand what we mean. Over the years, they have become many our friends' adopted parents and grandparents.

Grandma Mitchell is 86 and full of ambition. She continues to counsel and give of herself to women of all ages, teaching them what the Lord has taught her. She's such an encouragement.

Papa and Granny Bollinger are both 84 and such givers. Granny loves having all the family in and is the best cook ever. Papa is truly the godly patriarch of the Bollinger clan - all 50 of us! He enjoys his wood-working shop and has produced some gorgeous pieces of furniture this year.

Blessings: We are grateful for all we can learn from the older generation. Their wisdom is so important to us and continues to shape our lives.

OUR CHURCH

We have now been at Prairie Flower Bible Church for 20 years. (It isn’t a little church on the prairie; it just happens to be on Prairie Flower Road for over 68 years now.)

Anyone who moves to southwest Missouri must come to visit our church with us. Pastor Dave Ernst boldly and lovingly preaches the Word of God, as do all our Sunday school teachers and AWANA leaders.

Meet some of our dear church friends

enjoying a fellowship dinner after church.

There are all ages at our church...even grandparents who have raised their children and grandchildren here.

Our elders are the finest. Pastor Dave, John Hipple, Darrell Wood, Don Greenwood, and Matthew Cawyer
--- godly men and great teachers of the Word.

We love our church family!

Blessings: You can be sure that if you bring visitors to our church who may not know the Lord as their Savior, they will hear the gospel of salvation every Sunday preached clearly---by faith alone in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8,9).

FUN TIMES

Nathan and Katie are 29 and Chiree is 26---

Where did the years go???

Computers are a favorite past-time,

whether working or playing

...but they all also enjoy getting outside together.

Nathan and Chiree are thrilled that Katie
is now their piano accompanist.

From the moment Nathan first met Katie's four sisters, he felt a part of their family. He really is "tickled pink" to have them as his sisters now making special memories with them, too.

During the courtship, our two families were able to get together four different times. This summer we had another great time together as we celebrated Katie's birthday, as well as Katie's sister Heidi's graduation from law school.

Blessings: We are grateful for all that our children are teaching us through their relationship with the Lord and through the things they enjoy doing and talking about. Time together with them is very much treasured.

A NEW JOB with REVIVE OUR HEARTS

Last November Nathan accepted the position of Video Producer for Revive Our Hearts ministry (www.reviveourhearts.com).

Katie also works periodically as their ministry photographer, along with doing her private photography business (www.photographybykatie.com).

Initially, they worked remotely from Franklin, Tennessee, and then in August they moved to the ministry's headquarters in Niles, Michigan.

They are blessed to work under the leadership of godly people and help in a ministry that promotes the truths of the Word of God. The past year they traveled frequently for various video projects for the True Woman movement, including a trip to the Dominican Republic...lots of learning experiences and seeing God's faithfulness everywhere they went.

Chiree has been working part-time remotely with Revive Our Hearts for the past three years. Needless to say, she was so excited when her brother and sister-in-law joined the team.

Besides traveling a lot with them for video projects, it was special for her to work alongside them at all three of the True Woman '10 conferences (www.truewoman.com).

Over 12,000 women attended the True Woman '10 conferences where we as women learned to embrace God's design for our lives and to reflect the beauty and heart of Christ to our world.

Chiree and Nathan filming a panel discussion

with Kay Arthur and Mary Kassian

Katie and Chiree capturing a special time of prayer

Blessings: The three of them are thrilled to be able to work for such a vital ministry, to have people helping them in their lives, and to get to work together as a family. Often they all say how very much they love their jobs.

PRISON to PURPOSE

Prison to Purpose (www.prisontopurpose.com) continues to still be a big part of Chiree’s work-week. She enjoys being able to assist in training conferences and to produce video resources for the ministry. It is so encouraging to see the lives of these precious women who have trusted Christ as Savior now serving the Lord in ministry throughout the prison.

We thank the Lord for putting Stacey Smith into our lives. Stacey is the founder of Prison to Purpose. She spent 12 years in prison for a drug sentence and now teaches four days a week in the very prison in which she was incarcerated. Recently she was given the position of women's chaplain at the prison. As an ex-felon, only God could have opened the door of these things for her.

(Stacey's testimony with 4 other inmates: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taF4KY6MDHM)

Jimmy and I go as often as we can to the McPherson Penitentiary in Newport, Arkansas (6 hours from us), where Prison to Purpose ministry began. We enjoy helping with the conferences throughout Arkansas and getting the resources into churches and other prison ministries.

Blessings: God is teaching us so much through this ministry and through these precious inmates. It truly is amazing what is happening in this penitentiary with 800+ women as the Word of God is preached daily in a government facility!

Reminiscing - THE WEDDING DAY!

We can't believe it has already been a year since Nathan and Katie's wedding on October 24th, 2009!

The day could not have been more perfect---everything we had prayed for to happen in the ceremony, as well as a gorgeous fall day with the leaves bursting in vibrant colors that allowed for great photo sessions outdoors before and after the wedding.

(Links to the 3 short videos of their Love Story, Wedding Day Highlight, and Humorous Happenings are at the end of this post.)

Katie's sisters: Christy (16), Emily (18),

Heidi (25), Hannah (13)

The groomsmen: Chris, Dan, Matt, Matthew, David, Paul

The bridesmaids: Katie's four sisters, Chiree, and Mandy

This was the treasured moment for Katie's dad

to walk the first of his five daughters

down the aisle for marriage.

Pastor David Schindel, Nathan and Katie’s pastor at Trinity Baptist of Franklin, shared the gospel relating it to marriage and officiated the wedding in such a special way.

The ceremony of commitment---

Yes, a few tears of joy were shed.

(The beautiful roses on the altar were in remembrance of Granddad Mitchell, the only one of the eight grandparents who was not there.)

Then came that exciting moment

that they had each been waiting for...

their very first kiss ever! Fun moment!

He just couldn't wait to give her another kiss. :-)

Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Bollinger

Katie's parents, Larry and Debbie,

our dear, forever friends!

Our THREE Children - We love our new daughter, Katie!

Katie’s sister, Christy (16),

made the beautiful wedding cake.

Along with the wedding cake, we enjoyed pumpkin pie, apple pie, and pastries that were made by Katie's sisters, mom, aunt and friends. The dessert bar was so delicious, and the apple cider was perfect to add to the festivities of a fall wedding.

During his year of courtship, Nathan introduced his rubber band wars to Katie's sisters like he used to do with Chiree while growing up. So, the girls made sure the rubber bands were ready for shooting as the newlyweds prepared for their honeymoon departure. :-)

Blessings: As the sun set, Nathan and Katie left for their honeymoon in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and we all thanked the Lord for His blessings on the entire day. Their prayer was answered that their wedding would bring honor to God for Who He is and for all He had done in their lives!

Thank you, Sara Quinett, for doing a fabulous job as the photographer and, John McPherson, for your assistance to Sara and for your lovely candid shots.

Many, many thanks to TJ Draper, Ben Hallock, and Joel Evans for capturing so well the video footage of this special day.

Thank you, Chiree, for the beautiful editing of the completed videos.

The 1-minute "Wedding Teaser" http://www.youtube.com/bollingerproductions#p/f/2/nrwh2GxdQeY

The 3-minute video "Love Story" http://www.youtube.com/bollingerproductions#p/f/1/cIBVecTymOg

The 3-minute video "Wedding Day Highlight" http://www.youtube.com/bollingerproductions#p/f/0/Cr6nDhaxFrk

The 3-minute video "Humorous Happenings" http://www.youtube.com/bollingerproductions#p/a/u/0/D2S0AXiGumc

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aunt Kay's Carmel Corn Puffs --- So yummy!

Purchase 2 (4 oz.) bags of Chester’s Buttered Flavored Corn Puffs and pour into a large roaster.

Carmel Sauce:

Put in a 2-qt. sauce pan:

2 sticks of butter

1 cup of brown sugar

½ cup light corn sugar

After this is thoroughly mixed, cook for 2 minutes, remove from heat and add one teaspoon of baking soda. Stir until mixed. Pour mixture over corn puffs and place in a warm oven (250 degrees) for 45 minutes. Stir every 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and pour onto wax paper to cool. Break apart and enjoy!