A Treasured Testimony of
Love and Commitment
My dear, dear in-laws
celebrated their 70th
wedding anniversary today!
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| Jim and June Bollinger 1943 |
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| Mom and Dad Mid-1960's |
September 28th and 29th was the
weekend for the big celebration
of this very special anniversary!
Mid-afternoon on Saturday,
we began with fellowship time,
weekend for the big celebration
of this very special anniversary!
Mid-afternoon on Saturday,
we began with fellowship time,
followed by a time of honoring
Mom and Dad.
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| Truly a precious moment |
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| Total enjoyment! |
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| We all enjoyed celebrating the 70 years of God's blessings on our parents' lives. "The is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes." Psalm 118:23 |
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| It was sweet to watch Mom and Dad cut their cake and serve it to each other. |
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| Patty read the testimonies of love for Mom and Dad written by her and her siblings. |
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| Nat was our emcee and added the props to go along with the testimonies. |
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| Dad had written out his and Mom's testimony of how and when they came to trust Christ as their Savior...so very special to all of us as we heard him read it to us. (Here is an excerpt of his testimony. You can read all of it at the end of this post.) |
Jim & June Bollinger - Salvation Testimony from Nathan Bollinger on Vimeo.
Making memories with family portraits...
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| God gave six incredible children to Mom and Dad! Launny, Kay, Jimmy, Connie, Patty, Kenny |
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| This is just one of many fun "stair-step" pictures of the six kids. |
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| It wouldn't be a Bollinger family picture without their fun natures showing through! |
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| We six spouses are so very blessed to be a part of this fantastic family. |
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| "All Because Two People Fell in Love..." There are now 62 people in the Bollinger Clan! (And... 47 of the 62 were able to be at this celebration!) "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply..." Genesis 1:22 |
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| "Grandchildren Galore" There are 14 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren and 3 great, great grandchildren. "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord..." Psalm 127:3 |
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| Launny's Clan Jo Belinda, Nate, Ian, Cade, Sam, Jessie, Kolton, Trevor Christy (Lenny, Leandra, Allie) |
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| Launny's Clan had fun pretending like they were the"Black Sheep." |
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| Kay Cade's Clan Dean Gary, Kathy Kym, Kinzlee (Jordan) (Mark, Lara, Alec and Sara) |
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| Jimmy's Clan Ann, Chiree, Nathan, Katie, Caleb |
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| Connie Boeckenstedt's Clan Don (Kara) (Kevin, Julie, Ryan, Justin and Zoe) |
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| Patty Diliberto's Clan Nat Matthew, Avery (Amy and baby girl within) Nathan, Natalie, Christine, Jacob Stephen, Elisabeth, Charlie, Emilia Daniel, Robyn, James, Nonie |
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| Kenny's Clan Kathy, Kory Kellen, Terryn, McKenna |
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| FIVE GENERATIONS Kolton and Cade became the first two great, great grandchildren to Mom and Dad. |
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| FIVE GENERATIONS! Kinzlee became the third great, great grandchild to Mom and Dad. |
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| Mom and her devoted daughters, Kay, Patty and Connie |
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| Launny's daughters, Belinda and Christy... always loved and cared for by Jo! |
Our time of honoring Mom and Dad was
followed by a DELICIOUS Italian meal
cooked by Don, Kenny, Kellen,
Kory, and Connie.
SO GOOD!
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| The entire room was filled with the aroma of Don's fabulous spaghetti sauce with meatballs, Italian sausage and pepperoni, along with tortellini.
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| Cooks, Don and Kellen, thinking it though... |
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| Cook, Kenny, enjoying the festivities |
After dinner was more fellowship time
with neighbors, friends and extended family.
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| Tim and Holly Dave and Wendy James and (Tammy--can't see her) (Alma--can't see her either or... Phil, Patty, and Virgina Johnson) So glad these friends could come! |
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| Many of us had yet to meet Kathy (great gal!), wife to nephew, Danny Loy Barks. |
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| My mother, Elaine Mitchell (right), is always included in the Bollinger gatherings. She and Aunt Doris (and Aunt Marie) were glad to see one another again. |
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| What a wonderful surprise to have Jacqueline and Avery Regier arrive for this celebration with their children, Tatiana and Tobias. Jacqueline, her sister, Penny and their parents, Jim and Darlene Ireland, pretty much adopted Mom and Dad as their own parents way back in the 1970's.
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| Mom and Dad with Dad's sister, Marie, on the left, and sister-in-law, Doris, on the right Mom's niece, Verna and nephew, Danny, both in the center, the six Bollinger kids Dad's four nephews on the back with his niece, Nancy, in the center back |
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| Dad's niece, Nancy Stone, and her husband, Jerry, her daughter, Stephanie with husband, Kent Zimmerman, their twins, Zachary and Zoey, and Dad's sister, Marie Birk |
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| Dad's nephews: Brian (and Sherry) Art and his wife, Joyce Scott and his wife, Kim and daughter, Bethany Guy and his wife, Karen Dad's sister-in-law, Doris |
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| Dad, Marie, Mom and Doris |
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| Mom's niece, Verna, and her hubby, Lyle... Lots of wonderful memories have been made with them through the years. |
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| Mom's nephew, Danny Loy, and his wife, Kathy... The cousins like reminiscing about the fun they had as kids when they were with Danny Loy! |
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| Dad enjoying his brother's four sons |
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| All of these men carry the "Bollinger" name! |
Sunday morning began with brunch,
followed by a family church service.
followed by a family church service.
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| Launny helped with the fried 'tators. |
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| Kay did a great job cooking the scrumptuous brunch: scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, green chile, sausage, bacon... |
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| Patty and Connie baked delicious sweet breads and coffee cakes to go with the fruit, coffee and juice. |
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| Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal and time of fellowship! and beautiful worship in song. An excerpt from the Bollinger family choir... "I Will Sing of the Mercies of the Lord Forever" --thy faithfulness to all generations! |
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| Dad often shares how much he is blessed by hearing the gospel in church, so Jimmy shared that precious gospel during our church service and the importance of the Word of God in our lives. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth." Romans 1:16 
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Bollinger gatherings wouldn't be complete
without lots of sweet children!
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James had fun mimicking his dad, Daniel. the celebration and during all our activities. The only accident during the weekend was James' forehead cut when he ran into the sharp edge of one of the counters. OUCH! What a brave little guy he was! Thank you, Lord, for taking care of him! |
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| Terryn loves the role of mommy to McKenna and getting to hold Nonie and Emilia. |
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| Trevor is a fun uncle for his nephew, Cade. |
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| Happy Mommies and Happy Babies! Katie and Caleb Robyn and Nonie Kym and Kinzlee |
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| Kolton knows how to make his Great-Grandpa Launny pose! |
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| Gary and his girls... his grandma, his mama, his daughter, his granddaughter |
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| Zoey is Grandpa Jerry's sweetie-pie! |
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| Elisabeth and Stephen enjoyed "Table Time" with their little ones, Charlie and Amelia. |
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| Zachary loves his Great-Grandma Marie! |
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| Trevor, Ian and Sam... Busy little guy, Cade, kept them hoppin' all weekend! |
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| Papou Nat and Yiayia Patty getting to hold Emilia and Nonie... two of their seven grandchildren! |
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| All the years of babysitting others' babies and now Kathy gets to babysit her sweet little granddaughter, Kinzlee. |
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| Avery rode by herself with her daddy, Matthew, all the way from Denver, Colorado, since her mommy, Amy, needed to stay home as she will soon deliver a baby sister to Avery. |
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| Nephew Caleb liked being included in his Aunt Chiree's video work. |
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| Grandma Kathy loves helping to care for her first grandchild, sweet McKenna Rae. |
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| What happens when crawling babies are put on the floor?? They move quickly!!!! |
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| These five babies are the newest additions to the Bollinger Clan. McKenna Rae Bollinger 12-11-12 Emilia Grace Osborne 1-26-13 Caleb Elias Bollinger 3-13-13 Wenona Mishelle Diliberto 12-2-12 Kinzlee Jordan Long 8-15-13 |
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| Cousins Nathan Bollinger and Nathan Senger taking care of their little guys, Caleb and Jacob |
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| Cousin Kellen, admiring Cousin Kinzlee |
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| Mom with her daughter, Patty granddaughter, Natalie great-granddaughter, Christine |
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| Mom with great granddaughter, Jessie, and great, great grandson, Kolton |
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| It is a tradition when we are at Mom and Dad's house for Dad to make his famous "Bollinger Popcorn." So, bags of Dad's popcorn were given out to everyone who attended this wonderful celebration. |
Today, October 4th, the actual day
of their 70th anniversary...
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Mom and Dad enjoyed "rockin' together"
before eating their anniversary meal
of fried catfish and hushpuppies.WE LOVE YOU, Mom and Dad! |
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| Sunday, October 6th Cornerstone Bible Church families presented Mom and Dad with a basket full of cards and a dozen red roses. Everyone loves this very special couple! |
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| The Neosho Daily News October 6, 2013 |
by Belinda Bollinger
I think it's all right to say, I come from good stock
A lot of unique things thrown into one big pot.
Seventy years ago two people said, "I love you"
That many years shared - known by very few.
God made sure nothing was left to guess
To make it, He would have to be their guest.
And, oh, how their life has shined
With blessing after blessing, and more to find.
I've heard it said we're all cut from the same cloth
Truth is, by the blood we have all been bought.
By grace we have been set free
So true, that shows on our family tree.
Abraham was told his descendants would out-number the stars
And this family He made will not miss that by far.
Our numbers and years grow and grow
And we are scattered to and fro.
But we remain always together in our hearts
With love and devotion never to part.
I have been told family is forever
With roots so deep and branches so many
our family tree no one can severe.
With five generations and counting our numbers are many
And seeming no end to talent and gifts, if any.
We all know our greatest gift is heaven
Yet many earthly blessings to us have been given.
So, to you both we lift a glass
To memories made as through this life we pass.
For you both being our heroes give God praise
Thank you for guidance through life's crazy maze.
Our house built on rock instead of sand
For good choices made, You had a hand.
From humble beginnings in immeasurable riches
With God always keeping it between the ditches.
And knowing Your love will last through eternity
Is as perfect as love can be.
~~~~~
Our Testimony
(Written in September 2013 by Jim
Bollinger, Sr.)
In
December of 1970, Patty and Kenny went to Christmas Camp at IdRaHaJe. They came
back from camp and were really fired up. I was sitting on the couch with Mom
when they shared the gospel with us and told us they had gotten saved. Right then is when I trusted the LORD as my
Savior. Mom left to go into the kitchen to get something out of the oven and
then came back into the living room. Later, she told me that she trusted the
LORD as her Savior then, too.
Before
Patty and Kenny shared the gospel with us, I knew the facts of the gospel that
Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. What I had heard most of my
life was that I had to be good to be saved. Now I understood that Christ died
and paid for my sins and all I had to do was receive the payment Christ had
made for my sins! It was so enlightening to me to see it that way. When I
understood the gospel, I realized that I was saved and I was excited like Patty
and Kenny were. I still can’t believe God would save a wretch like me! You make
that decision just one time. If you truly trust Christ, you are saved.
After I
made that decision, my life then began to change…a little here and a little there. We began attending Youth Ranch with
Patty and Kenny, a Bible study for teenagers taught by Yankee Arnold every
Thursday night. Soon afterwards, Yankee started Colorado Bible Church and we
began attending church there. The gospel was always given. (Hearing the gospel
at church is a blessing to my heart!)
I had
never learned the Bible at other churches I had attended before I was saved. After
we began attending Youth Ranch and Colorado Bible Church, I started reading my
Bible. I don’t know how many times I have read through it. The Bible just never
gets old to me. My favorite book in the Bible is John. I like John. Mom says
that is her favorite book, too. Mom’s favorite verse is John 3:16 – “For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in
Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” My favorite verse is Philippians 4:13 – “I can
do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”
In August
of 1974, four years after we trusted the Lord as our Savior, Mom and I packed
up our things and drove to Hollywood, Florida, for me to attend Florida Bible
College for one semester. That semester of being taught the Bible was over my
head and intense, but I learned a lot while I was there.
Mom and I
are now both 87 years old. We have been
married for 70 years and saved for 43 years. We are so thankful that all the
immediate family has come to know the Lord as their Savior. That is God’s
greatest blessing to us!
Jim and June Bollinger
