Happy Valentine's Day!
As I write our yearly blog today, the beautiful snow is gently falling as it has been for the past several days. (Actually, since Christmas Eve, the snow on the ground has been accummulating.) It really feels like "Hallmark Moments."
Hallmark movies always have a love story of some sort. In our family blog for this year, Jimmy and I would like to share with you the most important love story that ever happened to us. That story is how we individually accepted the greatest love ever extended to us–Christ's death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins and His resurrection that assures us of a home in heaven. We call these stories, "Our Spiritual Birth Certificates." Jimmy's certificate is dated 1971; mine is dated 1966.
We hope that you are blessed and encouraged as you read these stories. Our prayer is that you have your very own spiritual birth certificate because of God's great love that has taken place in your heart at one time in your life. If you don't have this, do place your trust Christ today as your only hope for salvation!
Jimmy's Spiritual Birth Certificate
Growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, my only recollection of going to church as a family was for Easter and Christmas at a little country church in Missouri when I first started school. When we later moved to Colorado I was ten years old, I remember attending a vacation Bible school where I memorized John 3:16, but I never really understood what it meant.
Even after moving to Colorado our family only attended church on special occasions throughout the next several years. Then in the late 60’s, my younger sister and brother, Patty and Kenny, went to a summer camp in the mountains called ID-RA-HA-JE (which stands for “I’d Rather Have Jesus”). At that camp they heard for the first time that Jesus had paid for all their sins and that it wasn’t anything they could do to be God’s child and earn their way to heaven. They both trusted Christ as their Savior and came home really excited to share it with Mom and Dad. Almost immediately Mom and Dad understood the gospel and trusted Christ. I wasn’t living at home when this happened, but later Patty would talk about the gospel and the end times, which interested me.
One of the speakers at Camp ID-RA-HA-JE, Yankee Arnold, soon afterwards started Colorado Bible Church. My family began attending there regularly and sometimes I would join them. In November of 1971, Yankee asked me if I would drive him and his family down to Hollywood, Florida, for him to speak at Florida Bible College. That was a memorable time for me as the Lord worked on my heart. A short while after returning from that trip at the age of 23, I trusted Christ as my Savior. I remember Yankee asking me to share my testimony in church. I shared that I had finally understood John 3:16 and that I knew-that-I-knew that I was saved forever because of what Christ had done for me on the cross and now I could tell others. That was 50 years ago. I'm very thankful that my parents and all my siblings have trusted the Lord, too. I'm also thankful for the love and grace I have learned from God in His Word and for the doctrinally sound churches that my wife, children and I have been able to be a part of throughout all these years.
Ann's Spiritual Birth Certificate
As a child, I was brought up going to church regularly on Sunday, but I don’t really remember having any good biblical teaching through my elementary and junior high years. At the age of 9, I wanted to join the church we were attending. I thought that in order for a person to be a Christian, one would have to be good, believe in Jesus, join the church and be water baptized. Mother and Daddy took me to the pastor to talk about joining the church. I believed Jesus died on the cross and I tried to be good, so I thought the next thing for me to do was be water baptized.
That was a special day for me, but I remember vividly that the very next day I was so disturbed because I had done wrong and wished that I had waited to be baptized. I had believed that the water had literally washed away my sins and because I had done wrong things that next day, my sins weren’t forgiven. This bothered me terribly for the next five years as I tried to do right but often did wrong. Then in 1966 when I was 14, Mother and Daddy started attending Grace Bible Church in San Antonio, Texas, where Daddy began studying God’s Word and saw that the forgiveness of all sins was only through trusting in the blood and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He trusted Christ as his Savior and really began to grow in his relationship with the Lord. Mother had made that decision earlier in her life, and she now was growing because of her time in God’s Word.
One Sunday afternoon the church had a baptismal service that we attended. Afterwards, I told Daddy about all my fears of not having my sins forgiven because had I trusted in my water baptism to save me and I had done so much wrong since that time. He showed me Eph. 2: 8, 9 and I understand for the first time that my salvation was not of any good works that I did (including baptism) and that Christ had done it all for me on the cross. That day I trusted Christ alone for my salvation, and I knew that my sins were forgiven–past, present and future.
Five years later, at the age of 19, I was re-baptised in the ocean by a teacher from Florida Bible College where I was attending. This time it was for the right reason–a testimony (or picture) to my church family watching of what had transpired in my heart, which was that I had believed Christ died and was buried for my sins and rose again to give me eternal life. I trusted Him and Him alone to be His child and go to heaven some day and not my church membership, water baptism or good works. (My younger sister, Michelle, soon afterwards trusted in Christ as her Savior.)
Though there have been many, many times over the past 54 years that I have failed and sinned, yet I have never doubted or feared that I wouldn’t be God’s child. I know that I am His for all eternity. I am so grateful for all Christ did for me and that His mercy and grace carries me through every day of my life. I am also very grateful for my husband, my many teachers and pastors, as well as my many friends who have helped me grow in my walk with the Lord throughout the years.
"Goodbye Farm" Family Reunion in May
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Our wonderful growing family of 11–We love them all so much!! Such a special reunion to be together before we closed the chapter of 35 years of our life on the farm. |
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| My niece, Rachel, and her hubby, Brad, and their three boys, Coen, Casen and Everett have made so many farm memories over the years. So did my niece, Rebecca, who couldn't come to the reunion because of living in Hawaii with lockdown. We Facetimed her often to take part in our activities. |
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| Such a special time to have my younger sister, Michelle, with me during this reunion as we reminisced so much of our life together here. We missed having her husband, Dan, with us, but we were so glad he and Michelle got to come to the farm in the fall before Jimmy and I left for Michigan. |
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| Mother and Daddy would have been over-the-top in love with their 8 great-grandchildren if they were here!! We enjoy often telling these little ones about their wonderful great-grandparents. |
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| Our last hay ride with Jimmy and his 1951 "Old Faithful" Tractor |
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| Since the family farmhouse was empty, we decided to have one last party in the living room and dining room to celebrate Grace's 5th birthday. She chose a rainbow theme. |
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| The farmhouse made a great "Party Venue." |
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| Katie made a delicious and beautiful "5" rainbow birthday cake! |
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Grace is as sweet and loving as this picture portrays her. The night before Grace's party, the family gathered together in the empty living room of the farmhouse to pray together, thanking the Lord for all the wonderful memories and asking His blessings on all the future people who would come into this home. Needless to say, there were bittersweet tears, along with treasured memories. Little did Grace know that when she chose a rainbow theme for her birthday, how appropriate it would be because a few days following her party a double rainbow appeared over the farm–God's reminder to us of His promises, which felt like a loving hug from Him! |
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| The grandchildren loved having their own little apple cider cups on the last night together! |
Thank you, dear Lord, for our family and thank you for our many friends and extended family members who enrich our lives here on this earth and bring lots of joy to our hearts! To each of you on our mailing list for our blog, we love you dearly, and thank you for being a part of our lives!!
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The Bollinger Blog
Saturday, December 5, 2020
Our Decision to Sell-Out and Move from Missouri to Michigan
This past February, after much discussion and prayer with our family over several months, we made the decision to sell the family farm, which included the sixty acres of land, the farmhouse, as well as the home we were living in that adjoins the farm. Whew! That was an emotional and hard decision since the farm had been in the family for forty-seven years. And, yes, there were tears as we followed through with this decision. The farmhouse was where we raised Nathan and Chiree. There were so many cherished memories, but we knew we could take every one of those cherished memories with us, even when it was all sold. And, that is just what we have done!
Clover Nook Farm
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We love Jack and Judy Hubbard and are blessed to have them as the new owners of the farmhouse and land! |
Also, our recent home of six years located next to the farm was build for my parents twenty years ago by Jimmy as the general contractor, along with Nathan, both grandfathers and numerous friends helping with the building.We put it with a realtor in October. It has not sold yet, but we know the Lord has just the right people for it, in His timing. (UPDATE on this Valentine's Day: God brought a retired pastor and his wife from Illinois to purchase our home. It is truly a "God-Story," and we praise Him! We will be closing on it in a few days.) |
Since all four of our parents are now in heaven and our children were both a twelve-hour drive from us (Michigan and Colorado), we felt it was time for us to make this move. We made the decision to buy a home in Michigan and then go to Colorado two to three times a year for extended visits. One of Nathan’s single friends had a home for sale just one street over from Nathan and Katie’s home and was a perfect choice for us. He got married in June and sold it to us in August.
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| 2341 Daniel St. Niles, Michigan 49120 |
We moved to Michigan the middle of October and absolutely love being able to be with Nathan, Katie, and the children often. It only takes one minute by car and four minutes to walk to their house. The town of Niles has a population of 12,000, which is about the size of Neosho, and our quaint neighborhood of four streets is nestled in the country, reminding us of the neighborhood of the 1950’s TV show, “Leave It To Beaver." We have enjoyed meeting new friends and looking for a new church home. We are just five minutes from Revive Our Hearts/Life Action Ministry Center where Nathan works and are looking forward to volunteering there.
We have a few home projects to work on this winter. The former owner had begun updating it (a 3-bedroom, 2-bath ranch with a full basement partially finished). He had installed beautiful maple hardwood floors in the kitchen, dining room, living room and hallway, remodeled both bathrooms and took out all the landscaping. Since purchasing it in August, Jimmy has it all painted inside. Right now he and Nathan are finishing up installing new baseboards throughout and finalizing the new kitchen.
(Feb. UPDATE: Baseboards are installed. Kitchen is finished, and we love it!) In the spring, we will put in landscaping and a back deck. We have already begun making special memories and look forward to using our home for family, friends, missionaries and whomever God sends our way.
Niles is the southern part of the state of Michigan, ten miles north of South Bend, Indiana (home of Notre Dame).
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The countryside is absolutely gorgeous! (This is an arial view of "The Lodge," which is a ministry of Life Action/Revive Our Hearts for pastors and pastor's wives retreats, as well as for marriage retreats - https://lifeactionlodge.com). |
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| Fruit orchards of apples and grapes are in abundance. |
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| Beautiful lakes...some are just 30-40 minutes from us. |
Our nation and our world have faced turmoil and pain almost every month of 2020. We know that all of us are burdened with the state of our nation. Our prayers are important, and more than ever, may we pray fervently for ourselves and for our leaders that we would each be humble and resolve to live according to God's perfect law...the Bible. We recognize how easy it is to be angry and without peace. We admit that both Jimmy and I have often found ourselves frustrated, unsettled, and concerned in these storms, so we have had to purpose to anchor our hearts with the truths in God's Word. He IS God, and He IS in control. We can trust Him!
Many of us have not only gone through all that the pandemic has brought in changing our lives, but we also have faced sickness or Covid, heartache or the loss of a loved one. We have ached and cried and prayed along with you. Some of you may have things in your lives we are not aware of to be praying for you. Please feel free to let us know. We really do care.
While we are walking through these difficult days, may we be found faithful in sharing the good news that an eternal relationship with God begins the moment one places his/her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way to forgiveness of sin. Then heaven can become each one's final, perfect home to be safe in the arms of Jesus. Hallelujah, what a Savior we have! If you haven’t trusted Him to be your Savior from sin, please do so today.
Our sweet, fun, very energetic and snuggly five grandchildren are growing up fast!
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| Caleb Elias Bollinger, age 7 |
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| Grace Nicole Bollinger, age 5 |
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| Brielle Christine Bollinger, age 3 |
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| Isaiah William Patterson, age 2 |
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| Micah James Patterson, age 1 |
Recently, we received some exciting news. Each family is looking forward to having a new baby in their home come June 2021...Yay!! We are so grateful to the Lord for these two little ones growing within their mommies!
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| Nathan and Katie's Baby Announcement (February UPDATE: Recently, all four of us grandparents and all three children got to join Nathan and Katie at an Ultrasound Family Studio for this wonderful Gender Reveal Event as we watched this sweet BABY BOY bouncing within Katie's womb...so special! Suffice it to say, Caleb was jumping up and down with glee to find out he is getting a baby brother!! )  |
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| Andy and Chiree's Baby Announcement (February UPDATE: Gender Reveal happening in a week!) |
P. S. “Grounded" is a new weekly video podcast from Revive Our Hearts. It originated in March because of the pandemic to meet the need of helping women become grounded in God’s Word in the midst of all the turmoil. Every single episode has been very helpful to me! Would you consider investing 45 minutes into watching/listening the specific program that aired November 16th and then asking the Lord to prompt you to share with someone you know that needs encouragement?
This episode was a powerful program of four women each sharing her testimony as it related to either a difficult relationship issue or a family health crisis or the death of a loved one. They share how the Lord is helping them deal with these emotions, particularly during the holiday season. At the beginning, the hosts share some holiday recipes and some good news of things happening in the world despite all the troubling events. The beginning of the program begins at 11:25, and the specific testimonies begin at 26:21. If you would like to listen to this video podcast weekly, you can always watch it on YouTube if you miss the live broadcast on Monday mornings. Subscribe here.
