May you have a
Happy Valentine's Day
Thank you, Lord, that we can trust you. Thank you, Lord, for your presence in our lives. Thank you, thank you, thank you. How often we are reminded of this truth of scripture in I Thessalonians 5:17, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Every year has happenings that bring laughter and happenings that bring tears. We have truly seen this past year that joy and sorrow can co-exist with life and death happening in our family. God is faithful and gave us strength in every happening of our lives that caused us to look to Him. He navigated us through every day and every event. Thank you, Lord.
God blessed us with two beautiful grandsons this past summer. Through their births, we experienced the verse, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21). On June 12th, two days before Nathan and Katie’s little son was due, Katie realized that she hadn’t felt any movement from Samuel Ethan that afternoon. After she was admitted to the hospital, we learned the heart wrenching news that he no longer had a heartbeat. God’s amazing grace carried Nathan and Katie through the next 24 hours as she labored and delivered beautiful, healthy Samuel weighing 8 lb. 10 oz. who had already been born into the arms of Jesus. Evidently, something had happened to his cord on Saturday. Katie’s parents, her four younger sisters, Jimmy and I and Caleb, Grace and Brielle were all able to go to the hospital and spend almost four hours with him, loving him, crying, and thanking the Lord that we knew he was in heaven. A beautiful funeral was held five days later with over 600 people attending, either in person or virtually through the recorded live stream. Our lives have been forever changed. This was so hard and there have been many tears, but we love the Lord even more and trust Him even more.
Treasured moment: Grace and Brielle both brought their dolls to the hospital. As they were leaving to go home, Grace (6) ran back into the room and placed her doll on Katie's lap saying, "Mommy, I want you to keep her here so you won't have to come home tomorrow without a baby in your arms." We were all overwhelmed and in tears with the blessing Grace bestowed on her mommy.
Service for Samuel:
Minute 20:51: Obituary
Encouragement to family
Letter written to Samuel
Minute 43:37: Photo Montage
Minute 56:00: Gospel Presentation
"First Sight"
Drawn by Samuel's Grandma Debbie
We have been reminded over and over this past year of the frailty of our lives. Besides our little Samuel, we had eighteen other loved ones (friends and family) pass away. They all had trusted Christ as their Savior, so we know they are in heaven and that we will see them again, but, oh, how our hearts have grieved missing them. We have cried a lot of tears with lots of understanding friends coming alongside us. We don’t grieve, though, without hope because of Christ! “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). Hallelujah! May we be found faithful sharing the most important message and decision in the world!! And, may we wrap our arms of love around you who are reading this blog, as each one has most likely gone through grieving times yourself this year. We care. God understands your tears and so do we. "The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart" (Psalm 34:18).
A few days after the funeral, we drove to Denver as Chiree and Andy’s baby boy was due any day. She ended up being two weeks late. On July 11th, Benniah John (Ben) was born by emergency C-section that revealed a small, unhealthy placenta and unhealthy umbilical cord. We are so grateful to the Lord that though Ben was small (6 lb. 7 oz.), he was healthy and is continuing to thrive. We love him dearly.
Toward the end of July, Nathan, Katie, and the children set out for the long drive to Denver to stay for two weeks. We all needed to be together. We made special memories, even in the midst of several tender moments of tears. We stayed for two months in order to help Chiree recover well from her surgery. Truly, we can testify that sorrow and joy can co-exist, as we love these precious babies…one in heaven and one on earth. God's love and His grace has been so evident to us each and every day.
Jimmy and I have enjoyed being able to fully embrace our new life here in Michigan as we journey through our 43rd year of marriage. So thankful to be with each other every day making great memories, laughing, praying, sharing with others what God is teaching us and sometimes cooking together! We have loved our new church, Bertrand Bible Church and our wonderful “Neighborhood-Off-Walton-Road” friends. We have time daily with Nathan, Katie, Caleb (8), Grace (6) and Brielle (4) who are just one block over, as well as four different months, we spent in Colorado throughout this past year to be with Andy, Chiree, Isaiah (3), Micah (2) and Ben (7 months). All these things truly brought us much joy.
This past year we have been blessed by Legacy Coalition (an intentional Christian grandparenting ministry) through listening to incredible messages in a weekly webinar entitled, Grand Monday Nights. These webinars have given us tools for how we can better invest into the lives of our grandchildren. We also were able to attend the Grandparenting Summit in Winona Lake, Indiana, in October, which was live streamed throughout the nation that over 5,000 grandparents attended. Such a blessed time!! If your church doesn’t have a grandparenting ministry yet, would you consider sharing this with them? Also, there is a wealth of grandparenting resources on their website. This is such a vital ministry helping grandparents with grandchildren of all ages! We are very thankful the Lord has given us the health and the ability to invest in each of our grandchildren and to pray fervently for them. We love them and their parents so much!!
Revive our Hearts continues to be such a great source of encouragement and ministry that equips me and women all over the world. The True Woman ‘22 conference in Indianapolis is September 22-24 with the theme of “Heaven Rules.” Also, each Monday morning the podcast, Grounded, airs. This unique program offers a weekly infusion of a hope-filled look at the headlines, insightful interviews with people from around the globe, and an opportunity to open God’s Word with others. It is excellent and something I never miss listening to each week. Check it out and share it with others!
A huge blessing in our life came last January when we received an offer on our Neosho home that we lived in six years previously that was attached to the farm property. The Lord gave us the desire of our hearts for the sale of this house to be to the right people just as He did for the sale of the farmhouse and land to our wonderful friends, Jack and Judy in 2020 (as shared in last year’s blog). Ron, a retired Baptist pastor from Illinois, and his wife, Donna, not only loved and purchased our home but have become dear, dear friends of ours, too. The fellowship we have enjoyed through the year by mail, email and visits with them have been treasured. Thank you, Lord, for Ron and Donna and for Jack and Judy loving the place where our family memories were made for many, many years and for the precious new friendships we have with all four of them! Only God could do this!
OUR TRAVELS...
On our way to Denver in June, we had a great time in Kansas City at a reunion with all of Jimmy’s siblings and several other extended Bollinger family members and children. (I love this family I married into!!) We met at his nephew and wife’s home, Matt and Amy, on the property of Cider Hill Family Orchard. Check it out; it’s an awesome place to plan an event!
Bollinger siblings youngest to oldest: Kenny, Patty, Connie, Jimmy, Kay and Launny
Then all of us gals: Connie, Ann, Jo, Kathy, Kay and Patty
We took a two-week trip during the end of October and into November to Neosho for my dear cousin Roy’s funeral (age 96) and saw many special relatives there, as well as a few Neosho and Joplin friends, too. We so wished we could have seen everyone…hopefully, that will happen on our next trips there again. On the way to Roy’s funeral, we stopped and visited with friends, missionaries and relatives in Arkansas and northern Texas. We came home so refreshed by the fellowship we had with each one of them!
Jennifer Smith, Bethany Davis, and Lynn Leonard
Directors with Cornerstone Transitional Home
for ex-felons in Newport, Arkansas
Quitman, Texas
(In the background is their bear carved from a tree that had to be cut down...so cool!)
Directors at Father Heart
Unwed mother’s home through
Youth with a Mission (YWAM)
Tyler, Texas
Driving home, we stopped to connect with four of my maternal cousins. So fun!
Cousins Candi & Randy in Osceola, Missouri
The whole two weeks of traveling were peak times for the fall colors…BEAUTIFUL!! God paints gorgeous pictures!
The last two weeks of December and the first two weeks of January, we were in Denver with our family and extended family there. We had a delightful time with all of them!
Michelle treated me to the Candlelight Theatre seeing the Sound of Music...such a special sister evening!! (We missed seeing Dan during the holidays as he was preparing for knee surgery. We needed to do all we could to keep him from any "bugs" going around! He's recovering now and doing well.)
OUR VISITORS...
In the spring and in the fall, we thoroughly enjoyed visits here in Michigan from friends and family and missionary friends. What a blessing it was to have time with all of them that are so dear to us!
Jon and Peggy Sperling
Loveland, Colorado
Yankee Arnold
Tampa, Florida
Paula Barnds
San Antonio, TX
Rose, Robert and Ryan Jeffery
Neosho, Missouri
Matt and Ashley Johnson
Springfield, Missouri
Debby Greer and Mandy Pollack
St. Joseph, Missouri and San Antonio, Texas
Dan Greer - Easton, Kansas
Matt Johnson - Springfield, Missouri
Jimmy’s nephew and his wife and daughter, Kevin, Julie and Zoe and his sister Connie and sister and brother-in-law, Patty and Nat
Decateur, Illinois and Topeka, Kansas
How grateful we are that eternal life in heaven as God’s child is a free gift by faith alone in Christ alone for what He did for us on the cross, paying for all our sins and raising from the dead as our living Savior. This truly is the most important news we can share with everyone we meet who needs the Savior. One of the most valuable things we can give our children and grandchildren is to tell the story to them of how we came to know Christ as our Savior. We shared about this in our last year’s blog with our testimonies that we gave to our family and put in our safe with other important papers in life. If you haven’t shared your salvation story with your loved ones yet, do consider doing this, as well as giving them the written version of it. It’s a priceless gift!
Happy Valentine’s Day celebrating the love of God and your love for others!
Jim & Ann
P.S. These books offer great encouragement and help and the songs minister to hurting hearts:
You Can Trust God to Write Your Story – by Robert and Nancy Wolgemuth
The marvel of this book is that it weaves together dozens of real-life stories both from scripture and from people today who are in the midst of confusion and hurt as they learn to trust God as He writes their story. Ever engaging throughout, you won’t want to put it down.
Between Life and Death: A Gospel-Centered Guide to End-of-Life Medical Care – by Kathryn Butler, MD
This book offers a distinctly Christian guide to end-of-life care. It equips you by explaining common medical jargon, exploring biblical principles that connect to common medical situations, and offering guidance for making critical decisions. You will find the medical knowledge and scriptural wisdom you need to navigate this painful and confusing process with clarity, peace, and discernment.
Hope in the Dark –
by Hospice Chaplain, Bart Larson
Tear Soup – A Recipe for Healing After Loss
by Pat Schweibert and Chuck DeKlyen
Grieving the Loss of Someone You Love
by Robert Mitsch and Lynn Brookside
Journeying Through Grief – Four booklets for
the first year after a loss - Stephen Ministries
The Moon Is Always Round - A children's book using the imagery of the moon to explain to children that God's goodness is always present
Hurting Forward - A excellent blog by Tim Grissom that gives help for the grieving, the disappointed and those who offer comfort
"Your Ways Are Higher Than Mine"
sung by The Collingsworth Family
sung by the Hamilton Family
For a smile: :-)
Here are some statements that our grandchildren said lately and pictures that show their spunkiness.
Isaiah (age 3) says to Micah (age 2)…
“Micah, you look like a 90’s kid with your hair like that!”
Watching the football championships…
Grace (age 6): “Look! They are in a cuddle again!”
Nathan: “That’s called a huddle.”
