God's Faithfulness in 2017
So many people have invested in our lives, cried with us through hard times and rejoiced with us during special times. Many of those people are you, the ones reading through this blog entry. Thank you. We truly can't do life without the community of family and friends, and we always know that God is faithful through anything we face. He goes before us, and we praise Him.
It was so hard to lose loved ones, but God was faithful throughout last year to give comfort us as we said goodbye to our precious Mom Bollinger (90) on January 21st
our dear brother-in-law, Don Boeckenstedt (70)
on April 2nd
our sweet Aunt Marie (93) on November 2nd.
All of them trusted in Christ as their Savior from their sins and they are safe in the arms of Jesus in heaven. We loved them. We miss them. (Below is our treasured last family picture with Mom and Dad and all six kids and their spouses, 2016.)
We are blessed to get to be with Dad (91) each day, the patriarch of our Bollinger Clan of 73. God has been so faithful to care for him this first year of being a widower. Dad is pictured with his 6 kids after Mom's funeral.
We are blessed to get to be with Dad (91) each day, the patriarch of our Bollinger Clan of 73. God has been so faithful to care for him this first year of being a widower. Dad is pictured with his 6 kids after Mom's funeral.
Below are his 14 grandchildren (13 pictured, but Christy, below, was unable to be at the funeral because of caring for a sick relative).
Grandson, Kevin, (in the blue) did such a wonderful presentation at Mom's funeral.
Our Chiree married her beloved, Andy Patterson, on April 8th. It was a beautiful, sacred ceremony in a chapel nestled in the hills of northern Arkansas. There are many special memories of the day. Later in the month a reception in Missouri and one in Colorado gave 400+ friends and relatives time to rejoice with them. Thank you to each of you who could come. And, thank you to those of you who helped us with the wedding and the receptions. We are so grateful to you!
We love Andy and are thrilled to have him in our family!! He works for Computronix in Denver and is in his 11th year of teaching a weekly young men’s Bible study. Chiree continues to work remotely with Revive Our Hearts (ROH) as their video editor.
We took Dad on two trips in the summer that were great fun for him. He got to be with Nathan and Katie seeing the gorgeous Michigan lakes and the ministry they work with, Revive Our Hearts (ROH). He is pictured below with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, the main teacher on their radio and podcast programs for ROH.
He was also with Andy and Chiree while we helped them move into their first home in Colorado. Best of all, he got to see many grandchildren on both trips, as well as lots of them came to see him, too, over the summer.
Below he is surrounded by 15 of his 29 little great-grandchildren and their parents...One very blessed grandpa!!
The summer also brought a big announcement that a Patterson baby was on its way and would arrive in late February! So exciting!!
One of the evenings, Papa and Grammie babysat for the foursome to go out to dinner and walk at the lake, making some cherished memories.
In May and in September, my dear niece, Rebecca, and I spent a week each of those months teaching together at the McPherson Prison and Cornerstone Transition Home in Arkansas. Her passion for helping women come to know the truth that sets us free is contagious. It's always such a blessing to me to serve alongside her...and she's a ball of fun to be with, too!
She and I also traveled together to attend the women's conference, Revive, in Indianapolis at the end of September and were so encouraged by all we learned there to let the gospel adorn our lives. It was also a blessing to be with our kiddos as they worked the Revive conference with video and photography.
She and I also traveled together to attend the women's conference, Revive, in Indianapolis at the end of September and were so encouraged by all we learned there to let the gospel adorn our lives. It was also a blessing to be with our kiddos as they worked the Revive conference with video and photography.
Nathan, Katie, Caleb (4 ½) and Grace (2 ½) welcomed Baby Brielle Christine into their family on October 27th. She is an absolute doll, and we all crazy about her!
Caleb entertains her with his antics and consoles her when she cries…such a sweet, big brother.
Grace pretty much thinks of her as her own baby doll and loves to hold her.
Nathan and Katie enjoy parenthood and keep busy with Revive Our Hearts video work, conferences and church activities.
Oh, and the greatest news is that Caleb made the most important decision of his life…He trusted Christ as his Savior in October!!
And, may we add a bit about our sweet Katie...such a precious daughter-in-law to us and a perfectly suited wife to Nathan and mommy to her children. We love her dearly!! She is such a blessing, and those who know her would heartily agree! We also have her to thank for all the wonderful photos, many of which are on our blog each year. She keeps her huge camera readily accessible and consciously captures moments that mean so much to us.
Lots of memories were made at Thanksgiving with extended family. We treasure these times together and are so grateful for the things God as given us---our family and friends (you all!), our church, our community here in Neosho, Bollinger Electric, our health, and even our trials because He uses them to cause us to seek Him even more. Our faithful God is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving.
Photo credit to Maria Peterson
Lots of memories were made at Thanksgiving with extended family. We treasure these times together and are so grateful for the things God as given us---our family and friends (you all!), our church, our community here in Neosho, Bollinger Electric, our health, and even our trials because He uses them to cause us to seek Him even more. Our faithful God is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving.
Katie (and Grace) playing
"Count Your Many Blessings"
for our family hymn-sing
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It was a beautiful white Christmas in Colorado with Andy and Chiree and extended family who live there. We enjoyed celebrating Chiree’s 34th Christmas Eve birthday, attending Christmas church services, helping get things ready for the baby, playing card games and just relaxing. Having spent many years living in Denver over 30 years ago, it was nice to return, reminisce and be with lots of family and friends.
As for the two of us, we love each other to pieces! Jimmy is my “Babe,” and I’m his “Annie.” We know how needy we are for God’s grace and how often we are tempted to seek our own way or to give in to worry and fear. But the Lord is so faithful to pick us up and meet our every heart need. We enjoy mornings reading the Word and praying together, investing in the lives of some elderly folks in our area, holding hands (still one of our favorite things to do), downsizing our “stuff,” and laughing at each other’s crazy things we do and say---like the time I silently motioned to Jimmy as to where my phone was and he pointed to my ear. EEK!! I was talking on it!! Could it be that turning 65 caused this??!
Favorite books we read together that we highly recommend:
*A Shelter in the Time of Storm – Psalm 27 – by
Paul David Tripp
*Make Your Bed – by Retired Navy Seals,
Admiral William McCraven
(from his commencement address at the University of Texas)
Challenge we are taking this year from
Psalm 92:1,2:
*Upon rising each morning, thank the Lord for His loving-kindness.
*Upon retiring each evening, thank Him for His faithfulness.
It’s a good thing…to show forth thy loving-kindness in the morning and thy faithfulness every night.
Prayer Reminders:
*May we faithfully pray for our pastors, our government officials, our military, our law enforcement, our firefighters and our medical workers. Many give their all for us. Thank you, Lord, for each of them.
*May we be faithful to take and make opportunities to share the gospel with a lost and needy world. So many people don’t have a relationship with the Lord or the assurance of heaven. Simply telling our own testimony with the scriptures that helped us come to know the Lord is the greatest tool for sharing the gospel.
Our love sent to each one of you!
Jim and Ann and family
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Favorite moments captured
from Andy and Chiree's wedding day
Our wonderful photographers:
Jon and Jennifer Courville
http://www.joncourville.com
Hair Stylist
Cousin Natalie Senger
Make-up Artists
Cousin Rebecca Dellinger
Cousin Rachel Burek
Friend Rebecca Swager
The handsome and joy-filled groom!!
Andy
The Men
Jim, Nathan, Andy & Wayne
The first look at his bride!
Andy's Best Man
Brother-in-law Nathan Bollinger
Chiree's Maid of Honor
Cousin Rebecca Dellinger
Bridesmaids (sisters-in-law)
Katie Bollinger
Melissa Patterson, Holly Patterson
Melissa Patterson, Holly Patterson
Musicians (friends)
Pianist - Hayley Mullins
Violinist - Leanna Thornton
Harpist - Erin Tieman
Wedding Coordinator (friend)
Rebecca Swager
Florists
All the girls!
Assistants (aunt & friend)
Michelle Dellinger
Christy Miller
Assistants (aunt & friend)
Michelle Dellinger
Christy Miller
Flower Girl and Ring Bearer
Niece Grace Bollinger and Nephew Caleb Bollinger
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| Doormen (long-time friends) Dr. Dennis Greer Senator Ed Emery |
Officiators
Pastor Dave Ernst
Missionary Richard Barnds
The Kiss!
The Bride and Groom
Mr. and Mrs. Andy Patterson
Streamer Flags
Natalie Christensen
Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel
Bella Vista, Arkansas
Cake
Debbie's Custom Cakes
Servers
Friends Shannon Wedge and Heather Ueland
Wedding Dinner
Catering by Shirley Schmidt
Neosho Big Spring Lodge
Neosho Big Spring Lodge
Mitchell and Bollinger Cousins
Music Leader for Ceremony and Reception
Uncle Nat Diliberto
Master of Ceremony
Friend/Former Boss at ROH
Wes Ward
Clovernook Farm Hill
~where Chiree grew up~
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
~Soon to come later this year~
Videos of the wedding day!
(and a collection of the humorous pictures)
~Soon to come later this year~
Videos of the wedding day!
(and a collection of the humorous pictures)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Want to get to know Andy better?
Our photographers wrote this
on their wedding blog:
on their wedding blog:
Andy, you were one of the most joyful grooms
we've ever had the pleasure of working with.
All of the weddings we've shot can be
described as joyful (praise God!),
but you had such a special
way of expressing your joy.
It was priceless.
we've ever had the pleasure of working with.
All of the weddings we've shot can be
described as joyful (praise God!),
but you had such a special
way of expressing your joy.
It was priceless.
Since Andy's friends weren't able to come to Missouri for the wedding, Chiree surprised him at the wedding dinner reception with a 5-minute tribute video to Andy from the guys who attend his weekly Bible study. As you will hear, these guys were very grateful for his investment in their lives.
Andy and Chiree sharing
at the Colorado wedding reception
about the goodness of God
from Psalm 107
at the Colorado wedding reception
about the goodness of God
from Psalm 107
