A 2015 HIGHLIGHTS Letter from the Bollinger Family
“The Lord has done great things;
whereof we are glad!” –Psalm 126:3
whereof we are glad!” –Psalm 126:3
A HOST of trains was the theme of Caleb’s second birthday on March 13th that we attended. What a fun little boy he is! Our favorite line of his this year happened when we arrived at his home for a visit in Michigan. When he saw us, he stopped, paused and then said, “I missed you!” Yep, this melted our hearts!
A HEART full of love was ours when we first saw our baby granddaughter, Grace Nicole, born on May 20th. Her sweetness causes us to just want to kiss her all the time. She’s developing all kinds of new modes of getting around and trying new foods. She loves her big brother and can say Da-Da and Ma-Ma now. Yep, this melts our hearts, too!
A HOLIDAY of fun happened over Labor Day weekend with our Mitchell and Bollinger relatives. Caleb and Grace got to spend lots of time with aunts, uncles, cousins and three of their great-grandparents making treasured memories.
A HAND of help was what we were as we cared for our grandchildren during the Revive ’15 conference at the hotel in Indianapolis in late September. Nathan, Katie and Chiree were busy in their roles of videoing and photographing. It was so encouraging hearing testimonies from several of the 3,000+ women who attended the conference sharing how challenged they were to faithfully study God’s Word daily.
A HEAVENLY picture of gospel was portrayed at the wedding we attended of Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Robert Wolgemuth on November 14 in Chicago. Their story is so beautiful how the Lord led Robert (a widower) to pursue Nancy (never having been married before) blending their lives and their ministries. Click “Unexpected Grace: Nancy and Robert’s Story” to hear the special details of their story as they share how God can be trusted in every facet of our lives.
A HEARTY time of counting our blessings from the Lord was what we experienced at Thanksgiving. Truly, this is our favorite holiday and can be celebrated everyday as we count our blessings.
May we share a few?
Mom (June Bollinger) had two strokes this year and three times of internal bleeding, all requiring hospitalizations. It’s amazing that she is back at home now improving, and Dad (Jim, Sr.) is doing such a good job as caregiver. (Our God is the Great Physician!)
Jimmy experienced a massive rotator cuff tear (from working so hard for so long) and had surgery on December 28. His recovery time will be 6 months. Though the first week of recovery is supposed to be very painful, by the second day, his pain was almost nothing… and without pain meds! (Our God is Jehovah Rapha – the God Who Heals!)
Larry and JoEllen Wright
ministering in Canada
Chaplain Jennifer Smith
ministering to women inmates
in Arkansas
· In February, Chiree traveled to the Dominican Republic where 2,500 Latin American women from 13 countries attended the True Woman conference through Revive Our Hearts ministry. God worked in significant ways in these women's lives, from salvation in Christ to accepting their design as a woman created for His glory. (Our God is the God of All Nations!)
· Speaking of true womanhood, Mama (Elaine Mitchell) is a true woman indeed. She is greatly loved by her church family at Calvary Baptist of Neosho, where she is now the oldest member at the age of 91. Her letter- writing ministry continues, as well as her gift of encouragement. (Our God is the God of the Virtuous Woman!)*See end of this post for the promotion God has given our dear mama.
· Funerals are hard, especially when it is for your loved ones. But we all can have the HOPE of HEAVEN when we place our faith in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins through His blood and resurrection. It was hard to tell our dear friends goodbye this past summer, Paul Greer (age 26) and Brenda Sauter (age 58), but we know that we will see them both in heaven one day because of their faith in Christ. (Our God is the God of Eternity!)
Paul Greer
1989-2015
Brenda Sauter
1957-2015
A “HAPPENINGS” New Year’s Project (A friend challenged us to do this. Want to join us?)
Start this year with an empty jar. Each week add a note of something special the Lord did in the happenings of that week. You might even want to put a dollar in each week as a special missionary offering on New Year’s Day 2017 when you read about the amazing year of happenings the Lord allowed you to experience.
*This blogpost was ready to be posted the first week of January when suddenly our world changed. God called my precious mama home to be with Him on the evening of January 5th following a massive heart attack on January 4th (her faith securely placed in the Lord Jesus Christ). We have gone through all the emotions one experiences when a loved one is unexpectedly taken home who is a dear, precious saint that lived with family…us. Not easy at all.
Our tears flow daily and nightly. Often these tears are not teardrops but what seem like a faucet of tears. We miss her terribly. We miss her presence. We miss her joy. We miss her wisdom. But we trust God and we cry out for His grace moment by moment and He has faithfully and lovingly given it to us–––and He has given to us Himself. He promises us that He will never leave us or forsake us. So, we are not alone, and Mama is safe in the arms of Jesus being cared for perfectly. Thank you for you prayers as we seek to carry her baton of Christ-like love.
Because He lives, we can face tomorrow,
Jim, Ann & Chiree
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