I don’t want to rub it in, but I seriously just looked at
our screen saver and it looked exactly like the view we have from our window
right now: a cotton candy clouded sky with sea, surf, and sand. We’re camped out on Padre Island National
Seashore, and not only is it free, but it’s extremely beautiful, and relatively
desolate. Although we were sad to leave
Alpine and the many friends and doctors we had so graciously become acquainted
with and inspired by, our gypsy spirits were ready to journey on. Although I must admit, even though Alpine was
not on our travel itinerary, I know why He was on God’s; it was the first place
I could see our family settling down again (at least for a couple years ;o) But while the Lord has always answered our
prayers for safe travels, they haven’t always been maintenance free. I will say, His timing is incredible however! Although the new alternator in Arizona
consumed half of our “Zoo” day, Phoenix could not have been a better place to
need RV parts. And once again, though needing
new tires was a bummer, San Antonio was the ideal spot for them to be
replaced. We even got to enjoy the
exoctic river walk and historic Alamo while they were being changed! To boot, Addalynn’s prayers were answered and
she got to “meet” the ocean before nightfall (she’s half mermaid you know
;o) Although the weather thus far has
been less than ideal, we’ve still managed to go boogie boarding, shelling, bike
riding, and running on the beach. We’ve
learned to take full advantage of library storytimes and McDonald’s playplaces
almost every town we go to. But even
though our motorhome is covered in fine powdered sugar sand and we wade the
ocean with goosebumps, we’ve been told brighter and warmer days our coming our
way soon, so we’re not ready to throw in the towel yet (pun intented). Plus, this sleepy little beach town has us
pondering. After hearing Sunday’s
message on loving the 53% of people that will never step foot in church, we are
dumbfounded by the number of homeless people down here. With the devastation of hurricane Harvey and
hiring signs in almost every business window, it seems something else is
keeping these people in poverty. Perhaps
they are poor in spirit as well. Although
this blog may not find you in a warm place right now and you might not even
know anyone that’s homeless, I know we all know someone who is hopeless. I challenge us all this week to offer someone
who’s path we cross true hope. How we do
this you ask? By creatively connecting
with them, putting yourself in their shoes, loving on them, and sharing with
them the hope that you have… the hope of eternal life with Jesus, by knowing
and following the abundant life He has planned for each and every one of
us. God Bless you all! Peace and Love, Eric, Jenna, Addalynn, Ethan,
Abram, Sophie, and Holly
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Supernatural Shopping
He did it again! In a
way I would least expect it (how could I imagine anything less at this point
:o) Although we ended up in Alpine,
Texas by way of our really sick dog (yes again!), it was very clear we were
meant to celebrate Easter with such a wonderful community and church. Just days before we were “supposed” to leave
Big Bend, Sophie, our 9 year old, eats anything and everything, mastiff (yes we
have two large dogs living in our motor home with us), had an abcess on her jaw
that was blowing up like a balloon by the minute. Although we were sad to leave our new friends
with twin boys Ethan’s age (on their birthday ;-( , I knew we had to get Sophie
to the vet…80 miles away. We first
stopped in Terlingua, Texas and saw Dr. Sam, a kind, retired vet who advised us
to see the “Dodson’s” in Alpine. Minutes
after driving into town, between the best $5 dollar “hot and ready” I’ve ever
had, the beautiful college campus on the hill, a small town grocery store, and
lots of thrift stores, I loved Alpine.
It not only reminded me of Wheatland and Laramie mixed together, it
“felt like” we were supposed to spend Easter here. Not to mention Dr. Zach took such good care
of Sophie, who ending up needing surgery and lots of rechecks. Needless to say, almost a week later, we are
still in town. Easter certainly was a
blessing in Alpine. This “Easter Bunny”
got to go shopping with Jesus.
Seriously. I walked into the
thrift store and found a potty chair, a horse game, and a spider man game all
sitting on the shelf next to each other.
Being the indecisive, cheap, and list-maker that I am, I was thrilled to
not only be in a cheap store, reusing toys, but I was so joyful to be shopping
with my very best friend, who not only loves and knows me, but once again has
proven that He loves and knows my children.
An hour later, Easter baskets full of perfectly picked toys, books,
shoes, and candy, I knew why God had led us to Alpine. Little did I know that the church were we
would attend was not only doing an Easter Egg drop from a helicopter (17,000
candy and Gospel-filled eggs, taped shut!), but was a place we felt at home on
Easter (although we did miss you all!)
It never ceases to amaze me how the instant connection that is made with
true brothers and sisters in Christ.
Especially when celebrating the day that gives us true hope:
Easter. Praying yours was blessed as
well. And as always, we pray you are
feeling God’s presence and seeing His hand in your lives as we are in
ours. He is so good! Miss you all…
Peace and Love, Eric, Jenna, Addalynn, Ethan, Abram,
“Stinky” Sophie, and Holly
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Thirsty
It’s just barely 3 o’clock in the morning and I’ve woken up
to the vision of our 80 pound mastiff jumping up on her back legs with a look
of utter despair on her face. My
response to this vivid dream was to scream (yes out loud…my poor family) “she’s
thirsty, give her water!” Just another
“crazy dream”? I think not. I believe it’s actually God humbling me a
little bit, telling me I love my animals, who already have their ticket to
heaven, more than the thirsty souls I meet: friends and family alike. Immediately after I awoke with a start, I got
out of bed to check the dog’s water bowl (full), chugged some water myself (I’m
sunburnt, and I’ll get to that in a minute), and read my Jesus calling
devotional on how God’s people continually grumbled (that’s me!). Ok, I’m awake…at now 3 a.m…but it did finally
cool off to 80 degrees, praise God!
We finally made it to Texas, Big Bend National Park to be
exact. Although the park is 800,000
acres of strikingly beautiful land, mixed with desert, mountain, and river,
through a youtube video we watched on Big Bend and specifically it’s Hot Springs
(which Eric has been craving since we left Wyoming), through circumstances of
Rio Grand Village (RGV) being the only place we could camp due to our generator’s
daily task of charging our batteries, through the heat, and through our
family’s deep love for water (literally, I think Addalynn’s growing a tail,
Ethan had swimmer’s ear last night, and Abram, can’t forget Abram 😉,
napped in the reeds yesterday, baby Moses style), the Hot Springs draw us like
you wouldn’t believe! Did I mention that
we tried to drive up into the mountains one day to ‘beat the heat’ and Black Coffee
our jalopy jeep (sorry Eric) overheated, directing us once again back to the
river. Oh and yesterday, Sunday (how
clever Lord, Your day!), the nature trail with the secluded beach was closed…so
it was back to the Hot Springs once again!
Mind you it was the weekend, on spring break, during peak season in Big
Bend: to say it was crowed would be an understatement. But the crowds at the springs come in waves
as Eric says (no pun intended).
Yesterday Addalynn and Ethan hiked from RGV to the springs (a 2.8 mile
“Moderate” hike) and let me assure you it was no coincidence they did
awesome! Abe and I hiked to the springs
from the other direction where you drive your 4wd in to a parking lot only a
quarter of a mile (“Easy” hike) from the springs. The spring itself (about 105 degrees) is surround
by rocks built by a masonry who a guy named Lankford hired back in 1912 to help
heal his Tuberculosis. And healing pool
it is! It waterfalls into the Rio Grand
River (80 degrees) where the melding of the two is a little piece of
heaven. Across the river is Mexico, but
the people there are so elusive the way they delicately (and trustingly) place
their beautiful, hand-crafted trinkets on the trails with money jars beside
them. Although you are literally right
on the border, you feel safe being in a National park and not on a hopping
street with people everywhere (my dreaded foreign experience). In fact, you see cattle, goats, and donkeys
far more than you see the Mexican farmers and ranchers themselves! And to boot, you hear them coming for a drink
by the sound of their cow bells ;o) Hopefully I’ve been able to paint a picture
of how mystical and almost magical this place really is (if I haven’t, remember
we’re always looking for more vagabonds to go with us!) This Hot Springs being awesome and in a
National park brings people from all over the world to, at the very least, dip
their toes in (although most don’t spend all day there like we do! Hence my
sunburn from yesterday).
Back to my dream. I
believe God is drawing us to this particular Hot Springs because people are
thirsty and need healing just like Lankford did! But not the thirst and healing of the body
(although we need that too!) but of the soul.
And I myself don’t feel like I’ve been properly portraying the magnitude
of God’s importance on the extraordinary journey that He’s been taking our
family on. I love to hear other people’s
stories when you meet them, none of which I’m envious of, not to be self-righteous,
but I’m so glad to finally be following God’s will for our family: together,
traveling, exploring God’s AMAZING earth (although Wyoming in the summer still
tops it all ;o) and meeting His INCREDIBLE world. But I don’t want to just “meet” people
anymore. Because for all we know, this
could (and very well may) be the last time you meet on earth. I want to “love” people on earth so I can
“meet” them in heaven someday. I don’t
want my faith to be in the ‘in your face’, ‘over the top’, fake, and phony to
the point of hypocritical, because I’m not righteous, Jesus is, but I want my
faith in Jesus to be sure and clear. And
I want to speak His name, of His blessings, and His guidance for our family
with confidence and boldness. I don’t
want to drop anymore subtle hints, “walk on eggshells”, “work up to” talking
about my faith anymore. I don’t want to
talk about church casually acting like its entertainment and done out of
convenience. I don’t want to talk about
Jesus like He’s just part of my life, when in reality He is my life. I walk away from these friendships longing for
more time and the right words, wondering if I planted any seeds of hope, all
along feeling deceitful because I didn’t share who I truly am: a daughter of
Christ, a child of God, and being hypocritical by merely calling myself a
Christ follower and only truly seeking approval of the world. If people that drink can talk about their
drinks why can’t people who worship talk about who they worship? I get that it makes people uncomfortable. But the reason it does is because people who
aren’t worshipping God the way that they know they should be don’t want to talk
about God. They’re uncomfortable because
let’s just be honest, we all have a God sized hole in our very souls, that only
He can fill, because He created the need for Himself in our lives. So why should we be the uncomfortable ones if
we are walking in close fellowship with Him?
No need to be self-righteous about it, but instead excited about it! Share your testimony (that should never be
more than 24 hours old!) People all
around us are thirsty and hurting.
Sometimes they don’t even know they are.
And sometimes they don’t want to hear about the “well that will never
run dry” (Jesus). Just remember: as much
as you feel convicted to show the way, share the truth, and shine His light,
that same conviction is felt from them to follow His way, know His truth, and
have His light.
If I haven’t said it
with enough clarity up until this point, here it is: God is the reason why we
are doing what we are doing. He leads
and we follow (the peaceful days at least ;o).
People love to hear our story about selling our house, quitting our job,
living in motorhome with two adults, three kids, two dogs, and the occasional
(although I hope EXTINCT) mouse, and traveling the country. But our story has lost its saltiness. It has no flavor. It gives no glory to God. As Christians following Jesus, we are the
light of the world and the salt of the earth.
I’m sorry to say, but my light has been “hiding under a bushel” and my
salt has lost its saltiness. I don’t
ever want it to be a surprise to people that I’m a Christian. Lately, I feel stunned when I discover that
friends we meet aren’t Christians because I like them so much and our kids even
play well together! But when I’m honest
with myself, our conversation is lacking something: there may be friendship but
there’s not fellowship. Our stories
aren’t about God’s grace (God at work) in our lives. And if I feel His ever-present hand in my
life than why am I not showing and sharing it?
Our journey, each individually and as a family, with God has been the
purpose and the very best part of this trip, even though it’s not always the
easiest or most vocalized (forgive me Lord).
But I want it to be! I want to
stop grumbling, and I want to take my hands off and let Jesus take the
wheel. When He’s driving, everyday is
not “easy”, but peaceful, joyful, and hopeful. More than anything, I want to give You the
glory for every bit of this extraordinary adventure! Because I see You in all of it! Now I want to voice Your name to those we
meet, to love them, show them how we quench our thirsty souls and heal our
brokenness, in hopes that they choose You too, in hopes that we get to “meet”
again someday in our heavenly dwelling.
So, to the friends and family that are reading this, first
off, I’m sorry it was so long winded (I pray you’re still with me). But more than anything, I’m sorry if I’ve
deceived you in anyway: our journey is not about us, it’s about Him…it’s about
Jesus and our wild, off the wall, walk with Him. How very blessed we are to be holding His
hand and we pray with all of our hearts that you are too! And if you haven’t reached out to walk with
Him yet, and if there’s still breath in your lungs, start now! I promise He will never let go! And you my friend will finally experience
true peace, joy, and hope. Trust me, I
have experience life without Jesus and I would NEVER go back. God has special plans for each and every one
of us and we know He’ll show up and walk with you right where you are. Follow Him and watch how extraordinary He can
make your life become!
Peace and Love,
Eric, Jenna, Addalynn, Ethan, Abram, Sophie, and Holly
"Beach" Treasure
Although the Lord made His will very clear in Las Cruzes,
New Mexico, this same clarity was unseen at Elephant Butte State Park, just
outside of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.
Not only did our dog get really sick just days before my leaving to
Minneapolis for a wedding, but there were windy, napless, and downright
terrible “school” days. As mentioned
earlier, I need to reread my blogs, because embarrassingly, I was even doubting
this crazy adventure. Details aside, I
felt like a bad wife, mom, and teacher.
I was planning how we should go home (wherever that may be), I should
get a job working with animals who don’t talk back, and put my kids in school
and daycare where they had sane people taking care of them, because clearly I
was not. Despite this terrible scheming,
I was lesson planning for Spanish when in walks Addalynn and Ethan with new
“treasures” they had found on the beach: a Spanish talking and singing Arial
mermaid doll and a sand dune buddy car (we later picked up the brand new pail
and shovel that they had found for Abram).
For those of you who don’t know our children, these toys could not be
more perfect for each of them! I
seriously had to laugh out loud you guys.
Here I am, attending my own pity party, dwelling on the fact that I am a
terrible mom and teacher, and God is out on the beach gifting my three kids
(and husband who got to drive our jeep on the beach) with toys He not only knew
they would love, but toys He knew would show me how much He loves them, and is
going to help me through this so often daunting task of being a wife, mom, and
teacher…on the road. Thank you
Lord! I need all the help I can get
(even if it’s from Ariel 😉).
After leaving Elephant Butte which was wonderful, just colder and not as
scenic as I imagine the white gulf sands of Padre Island will be, we headed
through Las Cruces again on our way to White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, Marfa,
and finally down on into Big Bend, Texas.
White Sands was AMAZING!
The best playground for an almost two year old we’ve found yet! Although I am glad we waited a day for the
wind to die down. Carlsbad Caverns,
unreal! Literally, either the dim lights
of the caves, the humidity, or their out of this world beauty made me feel like
I was dreaming. Marfa and its mysterious
lights, definitely had me thinking. So
much so that I wanted to drive to where the lights where coming from just to
make sure no one was “spotlighting” to trick me (I was the baby of my
family). Big Bend National Park was not
at all what I imagined, but I don’t know why that surprises me anymore, nothing
is! It was becoming ever apparent we
were losing touch with the rest of the world as we made the two hour trek down to
this “must see” park: we had no cell phone service (now you can have some grace
with the month late blog posts). The
terrain driving in to the park was desert-like and desolate, nothing new. We couldn’t run our generator camping back
country. So there was only one place in
all the park we could stay: Rio Grand Village.
But I tell you, the minute we saw the green life drawn from the Rio
Grand River and felt the warmth (it was 104 the day we arrived), I was ready to
stay. Although my poor husband would
laugh at that last statement. This may
surprise you and totally contradict this whole adventure we’re on, but I am not
a good traveler. I hate change, have a
hard time being flexible, love routine, and have a tendency to set
expectations. Something’s gotta
give! Thankfully he’s learning to tune
me out in a loving way, knowing that I’ll be fine in a couple days ;o) Big Bend was Breathtaking and
Lifegiving. Read on…
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)