Our first stop has been to camp for 30 days outside the Sisters area. We found an amazing campsite that has really clean forest right along a creek that will be perfect for splashing in on super hot days (if we ever get any this summer). There is no one around and we are able to let the dog run free, she takes off exploring and then comes back to nap.
It has been a pretty sunshiney morning so I kicked the kids out of the motorhome right after breakfast. Its awesome to watch their imaginations unfold out here in all of this wilderness. They are good listeners and stick together well so I don't worry about them at all.
Lexi suddenly became concerned that the Myra she loves so much would run off and not come back. She took off after the dog and of course the dog is faster and unconcerned with the kid.
Andon, with his laid back and calm demeanor, gently said "mom, I have been trying to find Lex to play and she is nowhere out here". Uh-Oh! This cannot be good. Sure enough, no shrieking 3 year old to be found. We rallied our troops and took off through the brush, it only took a couple of minutes but it felt like forever. I finally heard her little voice (of course, when we need her to be loud, she isn't) and she appeared through the brush, tears streaming tyring to find her way to us. I scooped her up and hugged her tight the worry gone and now replaced with relief and pride that she was trying SOOO hard to find her way back.
"Mom, I was so worried, it was like a maze. I was chasing Myra and it was like a maze".
Dang, smart kids. They always have a way of painting a clear picture for us stupid adults. Isn't that what the american dream feels like sometimes? We take off after the things we love and it traps us in a stupid maze. I can't help but wonder what God thinks when we do that, "dang, it. Lost another kid today". The best part is that no matter what maze Jeramie and I get ourselves into, God is ready to scoop us up when we find our way back.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
There's been a stirring...
OK. So Jeramie and I have gone through some awesome changes this last year. I will save you the details but basically we believe God has called us to do something out of the box and remove ourselves from our comfort zone. So we sold some and gave away most and are heading out cross country longterm. Yes, we have shoved 2 adults, 3 kids and 1 obnoxious dog into a 300 sq ft motorhome. Anyone who knows me knows that this is HUGE as I am not the "camping type person". The latest joke in our family is that Jeramie had to buy a 37' class A motorhome just to get me to go "camping" because, really, is it still considered camping in a motorhome?
So after much prayer and spiritual confirmation we left behind our comfortable life in beautiful Bend, Oregon. We are not however going into this without doing our research and we have some goals in place. We will see how long they last because we are aware God can and might redirect us at a moments notice. Jeramie has been working as a disaster assessment inspector for the last couple of years. We hope to continue the disaster assessment work with FEMA, homeschool the kids on the road (roadschooling) and just be around as many people as possible. We are also keeping our options open to volunteer with recovery work post disaster but are waiting for God to bring us the proper venue to work with.
We both felt like we were hanging out trying to build our own little empire which limited our availibility to be used at our fullest potential by God. We understand that God will use us in whatever way we allow but it was like we were saying to him, "this is where WE have us so do what you will with us under these conditions". God stirred us both at the same time (amazing thing in itself) and changed our hearts to say instead "ok God, do what you will with us, we are ready to do anything you have for us, whatever that may mean". We became uncomfortable with being comfortable and decided to let go of american privaledge as our society and culture view it and see what happens. It has been strange, yet freeing with moments of fear sprinkled in. Its a chipping away of our personal identity. Like Zacchaeus, we jumped out of the tree. We are done putting our security in what we are able to do for ourselves and being enslaved to our postage stamp size piece of this world.
This has never been an issue of discontent with the comforts that God allowed us. We have never been without and are not at all unappreciative of the lifestyle we have been maintaining. We have come to recognize that maybe our plans for ourselves are not the absolute BEST of what God has for us. We are not caught up in the romantic dream of the freedom to do as we please but rather we are now freed because we whole heartedly strive to do what God pleases.
We are excited to see where He takes us and on fire to do what He wants. We hope you enjoy following us on this journey.
Luke 13:22-30; Luke 18:18-30; Luke 19;1-10; 1 Corinthians 13:13; 2 Corinthians 5:7; 2 Corinthians 9:12; Galatians 2:10; Galatians 5:6; Galatians 5:13
So after much prayer and spiritual confirmation we left behind our comfortable life in beautiful Bend, Oregon. We are not however going into this without doing our research and we have some goals in place. We will see how long they last because we are aware God can and might redirect us at a moments notice. Jeramie has been working as a disaster assessment inspector for the last couple of years. We hope to continue the disaster assessment work with FEMA, homeschool the kids on the road (roadschooling) and just be around as many people as possible. We are also keeping our options open to volunteer with recovery work post disaster but are waiting for God to bring us the proper venue to work with.
We both felt like we were hanging out trying to build our own little empire which limited our availibility to be used at our fullest potential by God. We understand that God will use us in whatever way we allow but it was like we were saying to him, "this is where WE have us so do what you will with us under these conditions". God stirred us both at the same time (amazing thing in itself) and changed our hearts to say instead "ok God, do what you will with us, we are ready to do anything you have for us, whatever that may mean". We became uncomfortable with being comfortable and decided to let go of american privaledge as our society and culture view it and see what happens. It has been strange, yet freeing with moments of fear sprinkled in. Its a chipping away of our personal identity. Like Zacchaeus, we jumped out of the tree. We are done putting our security in what we are able to do for ourselves and being enslaved to our postage stamp size piece of this world.
This has never been an issue of discontent with the comforts that God allowed us. We have never been without and are not at all unappreciative of the lifestyle we have been maintaining. We have come to recognize that maybe our plans for ourselves are not the absolute BEST of what God has for us. We are not caught up in the romantic dream of the freedom to do as we please but rather we are now freed because we whole heartedly strive to do what God pleases.
We are excited to see where He takes us and on fire to do what He wants. We hope you enjoy following us on this journey.
Luke 13:22-30; Luke 18:18-30; Luke 19;1-10; 1 Corinthians 13:13; 2 Corinthians 5:7; 2 Corinthians 9:12; Galatians 2:10; Galatians 5:6; Galatians 5:13
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