The Newest Bowen

We welcomed a new addition to the Bowen family yesterday..."Bo" Bowen, Caleb's new Lab puppy! He is absolutely precious! Bo seemed to be drawn especially to Eli. Here are a few pictures of the newest Bowen.

'Tis the season...

Let's take a poll. How many of you are allergic to poison ivy/sumac/oak? Any or all of the above? If so, I am sooo sorry! I have been blessed in that I have never had a problem with these dreaded little plants. My sweet hubbie, however, is not so lucky. He can simply breathe it in and start itching. If he gets it in one spot, he's pretty much guaranteed that's it's gonna go everywhere.

Well, Seth was weed-eating around the yard one day last week. Two days later, you guessed it, those little red bumps showed up in one tiny spot. And the next day, his legs were completely eat up! We both knew he'd end up having to go to the doctor, but Seth wanted to experiment with a few home remedies first. Here are our results:

Scalding Hot Shower: uncomfortable, in my mind would worsen the itching
Results: did NOT work

Oatmeal: hot, gross, a mess to clean up
Results: did NOT work

Salt Water: easiest of our supposed remedies
Results: did NOT work, according to Seth...not enough salt

Therefore, our next option...

Salt: yes, rubbed straight on the wounds....it's okay, go ahead and laugh
Results: burned somewhat, shocker, yet did NOT work

And finally...

Bleach: that's right...it's so bad, we're resorting to straight up chemicals
Results: it smelled like feet and NO, NO help at all

Although, some of these temporarily relieved some discomfort, they accomplished nothing that over the counter medicine doesn't do. So, yesterday, Seth went to the doctor, got his shot, steroids, and some trial meds. Moral of the story? If you are severely allergic to poison ivy and find yourself in Seth's situation, just go to the doctor. The rest is a waste of time. :) Although, kinda funny to watch.

Six P's of God

At the beginning of this year, the elders at Maysville decided to start a "young professional" class on Wednesday nights. Seth's dad has been overseeing the class, but the guys have been teaching it some. Seth taught this week, and he did an amazing job as always. He always puts so much time, thought, and effort into his lessons to try to make them applicable to whomever he is speaking to.

This week he discussed facing adversity...something that we can all relate to in one way or another. You can turn to the Bible to see many examples of how you can handle adversity: Job, David, Paul, Jesus, Joseph, and sooo many others.

Seth gave us a list of reasons that we have to be optimistic through adversity: The Six P's of God.
(1) God's Power
(2) God's Provision
(3) God's Protection
(4) God's Presence
(5) God's Peace
(6) God's Promises

All of these things should bring us comfort every day! We have an amazing God and he WILL take care of us, no matter what we face! If that doesn't put a big smile on your face, I don't know what will! :)