Christmas is almost here!

Christmas has always been an exciting event at the Boughers. The anticipation is part of the fun. We eat ,we sing, we laugh, we remember, we eat, we laugh and .... we eat some more, we try to remember. We are planning on Big Easy turkey and over stuffed stockings and lots of presents. BTW: Where else do they consider it real fun to eat candy out of your socks?

This year Dad and Mom Lowery are with us. Jan drove to Marked Tree, Arkansas and picked them up from Leisa. (Leisa drove half way.) They are doing pretty well. Dad is able to get around better than Mom Charlotte, but is still having trouble with his sight. He enjoys any outings that we do. I took him to Grizzle Tools and Bass pro - I think he could look at stuff all day. Mom enjoys the heat at home and TV. We were all rooting for the Voices of Lee.

We had a party the other day and invited friends from our past - Jim & Barb Risner, Jim was my room mate at CBC; Steve & Mindy Benintendi, Steve is one of Karen Slagles's brothers, they are missionaries; Dan & Trish Crace, Dan was our Real Estate Agent, but he is also an old Music pastor buddy from Music California, and our new neighbors Doug and Tracy. We had lots of fun telling old stories and ringing the little Christmas bells. Lot of laughs! Mom & Dad made it through the night adding their own stories of church funnies in the past.

Update: much to my dismay, the weather has not been kind in Missouri. We've had some very cold and windy days. I'm always extra thankful for sunshine and any rise in the temperature that comes my way. After all these years God has never seen fit to send us to the equator - that sounds like such a nice place to live, shorts and t-shirts year round!

Lyssie and Tiff are with us in Missouri too. Todd and Jen will be in Baton Rouge with her family - Jen is due sometime in July! (Jan thinks its a Boy.)We are looking forward to a great Christmas and lots of surprises.

FYI: We just found out the Lyssie has been chosen by her peers as the Rotary student for the month of January 2010 and at the same time the Character Student of the month by her teachers. Nixa Junior High will never be the same. What a Great kid!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Blessed 2010!
From all the Missouri Boogies

Star Date 2009 - Thanksgiving in Des Moines

Tom’s log:
For the first time ever, we spent Thanksgiving in Des Moines with my side of our family. 35 Boughers in the same party room – we were at least 23 Boughers over the Limit. West Des Moines has restrictions on “Too much laughter in one room”. West Des Moines Officer Bill Jess was there to make sure we didn’t exceed 90 decibels. I’m sure that the folks who live near the party room had a tough time believing that no one had added any extra oomph to our punch! (FYI: Boughers don’t need any chemicals to enhance our craziness.)


Monday:
Todd and Jen were able to come up from Huntsville to Nixa.

Tuesday: We all drove up together in their Toyota SUV. Jan, me, Tiff, Lyssie, Jen & Todd along with Sophie the black poodle and Ellie the blond poodle were all piled in the same car for a 6 hour COLD journey.
Tuesday evening: We arrived in West DSM and unloaded our stuff, some staying at HK and Rachel’s and others at Aunt Barbs.
Supper: We all ate at Jason’s Deli - Jason’s now has set a Bougher Limit too.

Wednesday:
Breakfast with Uncle Steve and his Iowa buddies at Dahl’s. They hash over what could have happened if Ferentz would have let Vandenberg pass down the sidelines with 40 seconds left in the Ohio State game and who will Iowa play in the BCS bowl.
Lunch with the whole gang at Urbandale Café - including Kirk’s bunch from Eagle Grove and Wisconsin. Most of us ate fried tenderloin sandwiches, yumm! It’s a great Iowa treat that the US has not caught onto … yet.
Supper at HK and Rachel’s – Pizza with 35 Boughers and the Gamedingers. The Gamedingers are Rachel’s folks from Wisconsin. Pray for them, they spent 2 days with an overdose of Boughers.

Thursday:
As you can imagine there was so much going on. Early AM we all start carrying stuff down to the party room to get it set up. The ladies were trying to organize the hams, turkeys and buffet in a party room kitchen, about 10’ X 6’.

Here is a little T-Giving Day window: The food was organized in the kitchen, the football game was on the big screen, jokes were told and played, memories of the past were all around, songs were sung, pictures were shared, cousins played football outside and Uncle Dave slept. He has learned to cope with his in-laws. It’s kind of like Uncle Neal did with Aunt Dar – just sleep your way through the whole thing. Jan has learned to just jump in and roll with it. She played a borrowed keyboard and we sang Christmas carols – she had to play without a sustain peddle, a pianist’s nightmare. That of course happened after we ate too much. (The Klingons never showed.)

Friday:
We returned home to Nixa and tried to find NORMAL once again.

To the Future and Beyond:
Jan is planning a trip to Alabama to pick up her folks for Christmas in Nixa!

Who is in Control?

There are some things that really bug me … like:

1. People who have had their turn signal on since July.
   

   I guess we need to increase the "ticker" volume!
   

2. People who use the cell phone in the public restroom.
   

   Don't they know they have voice mail? Some things really can wait 5 minutes!
   

3. People who put on make up, shave, or text while driving.
   

   I watched as a lady was using the eye lash curler as she drove down the street. Disaster is just around the corner – she could be eye lash bald!
   Watch at any 4 way stop, someone will be on the phone not paying attention to who is next.
   

4. People who don't know that, in the case of a tie, the person on the right at a 4 way stop goes first.
   

   Who taught these people who to drive? Did Sears really sell drivers licenses?
   

5. People who drive the wrong way on parking lots.
   

   Even if there are no arrows, the lanes are marked – slanted away from you, so you know you're headed the wrong way …duh!
   

6. People who "back-in" to a "head- in" only parking spot.
   

   See number 4. Yes, I know that is the only way you can park when going against the flow. You are Parking and Exiting dangerously!
   

7. People who can't park between the lines.
   

   It should be a requirement for people to buy small cars if they can't park the big ones. Did you know that you can back up and re-align your car? Just a thought!
   

8. People who never put back a cart, they leave it in front of your car, or against it.
   

   Where's Gomer when you need him? He'd say "Shame, Shame, Shame." I just call it LAZY!
   

9. People who don't turn their phone on vibrate at meetings.
   

   I know YOU are important, but give the guys who are holding the meeting your full attention. That means NO texting too. NO reading of texts or sending texts. See number 10.
   

10. People who text.
    

    I know you think it saves time. But it doesn't. Just call me and we'll talk. When I hear your voice, I'll know if you are happy, sad or angry with me. That beats adding exclamation points!
    

    And learn how to SPELL will you?
    

    
    

You can see that most of my frustration is people related. And I didn't even get into the people who think that bathing should happen only once a week or the others that think that deodorant is for special occasions.

(I wonder what it would be like to live on an island?)

I know that life is filled with unknowns and things that come unexpectedly. And it's really up to me to figure out how to deal with them. I can spend all of my travel time talking to these discourteous, unthinking, idiots who are driving to work at the same time as me, or I can spend the time listening to an Andrae Crouch CD. I'm sure that my health and attitude is improved with Andrae and then the idiots don't know I'm even on the road with them. The phone company will just have to come up with some Courtesy plans for the rest of those tecky freaks. Whew! I'm glad I got that off of my chest.

I've learned that things really fall into one of three categories:

UMC - Under My Control

These are the things that are Under My Control:

• What I eat.
  
• How much I eat.
  
• How much I exercise.
  
• How many showers to take.
  
• What clothing to wear.
  
• When I go to bed.
  
• What entertainment to watch or listen to.
  
• Who I hang out with.
  

OMC – Outside My Control

These are things are Outside of My Control:

• The Weather.
  
• Building/Repairing Roads and Bridges.
  
• Driver Training for the State.
  
• Other people's choices.
  
• Taxes
  

UHC – Under His Control

These are the things that are Under His Control:

• The Weather.
  
• The World.
  
• Birth and Death.
  
• Eternity.
  
• Anything that I have given Him permission to control.
  

I am learning that when I give Him control over an area, I must release it completely. And when I totally let go, there is a PEACE that moves in and takes over. That's when I think, "Why didn't I do that before?"

His promises are TRUE. I can cast ALL of my cares upon Him. He is the Author and Finisher of my Faith. He will guide my every step and lead me in righteous paths. No weapon formed against me will prosper.

He is for me, so who can be against me? When I give Him control, those things that are Under My Control and Outside My Control are reduced. The categories move. When I release them, they all move Under His Control.

Why would I want to hold on to any of them? I don't know, but I'm still working on a few of the left over discourteous drivers and cell phone users. And He still hasn't given up on me. That's GRACE.

Help me Lord to share it more freely!

This really is our new car.

At least it's a JEEP and the same color as Daisy's!

I bought it for me. You know something to go
hunting and fishing in. But Jan put her claim
on it. Now there will be no blood stained carpets
or fish perfumes added.

I'm looking for rubber mats and liners to protect
it from the critters.

Quite a thought ... Jan in a JEEP.
Who knows maybe next, she'll mow the lawn?
These boots are made for walking!

Our NEW Car!

How do you like it? It reminds Jan of our first
'72 Nova ... the exterior color was close.

Bo and Luke were running into some tax problems
and had to sell the General. All I can say is Ya hoo!

Now I just have to figure out how to get Jan into the
car through the windows. Remember those Duke
boys welded the doors shut for racing?

I'm looking for a dog named Flash.

FREE "Live" Webinar September 5th

I want to invite you to be apart of my "live" half hour webinar on Saturday, September 5th at 1:00 Pm Central Time. I will be sharing information that will benefit you and your volunteers.

You can sign up for this FREE webinar by clicking on http://discipleship.ag.org/Christian_Education/Training_and_Helps/Online_Training/index.cfm?targetBay=0f6af55d-6e99-4155-bcc0-518519e56386&ModID=24&EventDetail=60301b57-e9c2-4180-8a46-f3eb4294e4c7&Process=EventDetail

I have based the webinar on the book "What Every SS Teacher Should Know" by Dr. Elmer Towns. There will be an open discussion time at the end for Q & A.

Subjects Included:
- Retention Rates
- Learning Styles
- Improving your Lectures
- Improving your Discussions

FYI: The session will also be recorded for your use following the event.
TJB

Moving to Nixa

We have finally found a new home in Nixa, Missouri. God has provided a house that is very close to our floor plan in Madison. Jan is with the inspector now and checking out all of the room sizes. She is picking out paint chips and planning the usual move-in upgrades. The "honey do's" have just begun. Thanks for the prayers, now it's time to find some guys with muscles to help us load in Madison and unload in Nixa.
T&J

Changing Adresses Again.

Yeah, you heard it right we are moving to Springfield. We still have to sell our home in Madison and pack a few more boxes. I am in a new position at HQ with the Discipleship Ministries Agency. I will be their new Adult Resource Consultant. We plan to be at General Council and hope to see you at the RT Reunion and at the CBC Reunion. So for now we will only be using our cell phones and you will have to send snail mail through 1445 Boonville 65802.

Here are some thoughts I had on "Change"

Change is part of life that is never on the want list. And change continues to jump right in front of you when you least expect it, kind of like an armadillo on a 2 lane Texas highway!

Without change, GROWTH is stopped or at least it slows to a crawl. So adjust, re-adjust, re-configure, re-focus, and re-alize that change is so much better than finding your name in the obituaries!

Yes, it's time to start all over again.

God is still in control and the ride isn't over. I'm asking for a front seat this time and I'm requesting fewer bumps in the road.

I plan to listen much more carefully to the Words God speaks and follow them directly.

Whatever time is left, needs to be used effectively for the Kingdom.
I've built too many sand castles along the way.

It's time to build His way and on His schedule - I guess that's REAL CHANGE .... anyway!

Faith Hero Graduates!

I have many people who have influenced my life. I am thankful to God for each one.

But today, I want to thank God for allowing me the priviledge of being a tenor in Revivaltime Choir. We were all so blessed to be able to minister while we were in Central Bible College. RT made that happen and Brother Cyril McLellan was always at the helm. He has just passed away - funeral to be held on Tuesday, May 27th at 11:00 AM. Jan & I just arrived in Springfield today (Monday) to be able to attend.

His style of ministry and desire to glorify God came through every arrangement and every broadcast. RT was heard on over 600 ABC radio stations - "Across the Nation and Around the World" (that is just one of the sound bites by narrator Lee Shultz.)

There are over 800 choir members around the world who were influenced by Brother Mac. He made serving God fun while letting us know that quality was never to be sacrificed.

We know that thousands of lives were being changed at that long, long altar. At every concert and every broadcast we were always instructed that eternity was in the balance. And there was always Room at the Cross for another broken heart to be healed, another life to be forgiven.

And while all of that was going on over the radio waves, God was placing part of Brother Mac's heart into each of ours.
Cyril McLellan, always loved always remembered.
T

Change and Hope

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Change and Hope

Change:Yes, change is before us. In case you haven’t heard we are returning to pastor. After almost 6 years here in Madison/Huntsville Alabama area, God has released us to resume the role of lead pastor.

We have served here in Huntsville, as Small Group Pastors, helping our relatives in their “start up” church of now over 3500! (They will celebrate 10 years as a church, this May.)

God is good and has blessed them over and over. Our special thanks to Rusty & Leisa for allowing us to serve on their staff these last 4 years. If you’ve never heard of The Rock, you can check them out at therockfwc.org.

Back to us. After serving as a Field Rep for GPH for 2 years, that position closed and that closure lead to us becoming the Small Group Pastors here. Last year GPH called and asked me to take on a 75% assignment of a new type of Field Rep working mostly from my home via the phone. After much discussion the ELT has decided to end that trial program due to poor projections of the economy. That led us to our current status and search.

Hope:
We are trusting God to open the right door, quickly. The process is very tedious, but that is the process that is before us. We hope to relocate soon in a city that needs our encouragement. We are praying for a congregation of people who are ready to touch their city for God.

We want to help equip them for service. (My heart is to see God turn spectators into servants.) FYI: Maintaining the status quo is not in my make-up.

Your prayers and ideas are appreciated.
Blessings,
Tom & Jan

Stetzer's Survey of 2000 A/G Pastors Fall 2008

Ed Stetzer has just completed a survey of 2000 pastors of A/G churches. Here is a sampling of some of their answers:

Growing Churches don’t turn inward
1. Pastors who agree that most of those who attend their church have developed significant relationships with people at their church are in churches with significantly lower levels of growth in average worship attendance

2. While research among Protestants shows that laity’s weakest area of spiritual formation is in building relationships, it appears that AG churches that have achieved it have done so at the expense of any new relationships.

3. Stetzer also shared with us that too many of our pastors have created a co-dependant relationship with their congregation.

My Thoughts on the Survey
1. Stezer’s partner, Tom Rainer has already told us that groups become families somewhere from 6 to 18 months. This answer could be telling us that our church has become a locked up family – EXCLUSIVE. Have we become so focused on those already in attendance that we have forgotten or overlooked the hurting people on the outside?

2. Stetzer’s Survey tells us that we’ve achieved real relationships "at the expense of any new relationships.”

3. We must understand our assignment is not to create people who need us, but to help people grow in the Lord and equip them for service.
Eph. 4:11-13 Note: Service is NOT spelled “serve us”

Okay, it’s the New Year, time for something to say.

Here goes:
(1) FYI: I am not celebrating with Obama on the 20th.
(2) I will be praying for him and his cabinet – God is able! (God save the president.)
(3) Good News and Good News: I am not planning to sell all of my GM stock – I don’t have any.
(4) I am sad to see President Bush go – I believe that history will show him to be a much wiser, smarter and qualified president than the media portrayed.
(5) I will be praying for conservative, God fearing candidates to show up before the next election and win. We must trust God to prepare our leaders for tomorrow. God call men and women to serve as politicians with integrity and wisdom.
(God help us - save Nancy and Harry!)
(6) I still believe that wars are terrible but must be won – get the media out of there and we’d have the job done in a month. Israel cannot give up Gaza. We must back Israel.
(7) I am rooting for Pop Warner to go to and win the Super Bowl – we could have a Bird Bowl!
(8) I am still working out at the gym daily – FYI: many older people are there, I’ve been sweating with the oldies. It makes me feel younger.
(9) I am believing God for a great move in America this year. Prodigals coming home. Marriages healed. Signs and Wonders confirming His Word.
(10)I am asking God to help churches in America to truly disciple people and get them out of the pews and back out on the streets telling their stories.