Hello, you. I haven't written here in this quiet space in a little while. Why is it that writers always feel the need to explain themselves when they come back to the world of their blogs? I don't know, but we do. Anyways. A lot has happened since we met here last. For one thing, there was a global pandemic. I say that so nonchalantly and like it's a thing of the past, though, clearly we are still in it. But, now we are in it, with plenty of toilet paper, so it feels less urgent, I think. We had to come off the road two months early because of this pandemic and I know missionaries are supposed to say spiritual things, but if I'm being completely honest, I wasn't sad about it.Road life is intense and I was tired. So, home has been nice. When we first got home, we qua[...]

Just a few days before we left our house for the next several months, we decided to hang some pictures and buy a new rug. I washed and arranged the silk flowers. We finally hung the curtains downstairs. There's something in us that wants to make our space beautiful and bring order to it, even if we aren't there long. A few years ago, when I first learned we would be traveling, I was so nervous. I remember going over and over in my head what I would need to pack. And then I tried to imagine what it would be like to live in a trailer. I spent hours on Pinterest, looking up RV hacks and organizational tips and how to decorate my house on wheels like a gypsy would. My brain was incessantly churning. I didn't sleep as much because of all the thinking. Perhaps that[...]

You never know what a year will bring. But, later, when those 365 revolutions around the sun, spin to a close, you can look back and see what the year was trying to tell you. I thumb through the pages of this last year and put my ear up closely to the pictures, the scribbling down of my days, to see if I can hear what my life is saying. To listen for what my Maker is telling me, through the reverberation of all those light-speeding moments. Just before the new year had birthed out new again, Haven was born. Haven, whose name means, "safe place." And "a refuge." We whispered into her that the One who made her is our safe place. He's our true Home. And that all of us are meant to be safe places for others. We prayed that she would become that sort of human, walking around[...]

My family is in the middle of a big life transition. You may have read about it in the last post. We're gonna leave in about a week, and my heart feels a little quivery. But, I have to remind myself that my heart has often felt a little quivery, even in my everyday normal life. It's never taken much to shake me up. News headlines. A difficult relationship. My children's tantrums. Storm clouds. A certain time of the month, when hormones are out of whack. I've always had to recenter myself back on Jesus, so many times, through out the day. This has just become a normal and vital spiritual practice. So, yeah. We're going on an adventure. We'll be living in our RV during the school year, traveling the U.S., ministering to churches. A couple weeks ago, we moved into it, so we could get a[...]

About a year and a half ago, Life Action, (the ministry that Brent and I are a part of) came to us and said, "Hey, would you guys ever consider being on one of our road teams? Your family could travel the country in an RV and minister to churches throughout the U.S." And I said, "No. Absolutely not. Stupid. Stupidest idea ever."  And then I was angry at Brent for like three whole days for even thinking about it. Because I didn't want to live in a house on wheels. Even if it was just for the school-season part of the year. But, I did at least pray about it. Because isn't that what Christians are supposed to do? We're at least supposed to pray about things. I told God that it was dumb. I said, "But, hey. Could You help me to be willing to at least be willing, if that's the thing [...]

Life is so much, becoming. That's the adventure, really, of following Jesus. As we follow Him, keeping our eyes on Him, slowly learning to trust Him with this little thing and then that big thing, He actually helps us to become who we were always intended to be. Our very best, most beautiful selves. I love that. The other day, I found a Monarch caterpillar munching on some milkweed. So, I brought him in, right after he had quietly attached and suspended himself underneath the Lilac leaf. I love the story of caterpillars and tadpoles and baby salamanders. How they all start out in this world, looking entirely different from what they will end up being. I fell asleep the night I brought my caterpillar friend inside,  absolutely in awe that there was a little creature ov[...]

The week is new again. There's clothes strewn all over our bedroom floor, clean ones at least, because we were too tired to unpack from our "vacation." Brent and I took the kids to family camp for a week and so we camped in an RV. A really nice one, so there was no suffering involved. Running water. Soft covers. Comfy beds. Three square meals a day. I'm a wimp, I admit it. This is my kind of camping. Then we stayed an extra week, because we had meetings every morning out at the camp and Brent and I were the emcee's. We figured there was no way we could emcee the event and arrive there punctually with three kids and my pregnant self,  so when Brent offered to sign us up for another week of lodging and meals, I thought that sounded pretty nice. But, now we're back. We're bac[...]

Yesterday,  I cleaned out a bunch of crud out of my cedar chest. Because it was high time, and I had this whole stack of journals that I'd been keeping that was just taking up space. I'd been keeping them because they were full of prayers and thoughts and Scripture verses (mostly Scripture verses, actually, because I was trying to get the Word to sink right into me) and I felt bad just throwing the past away like that. So, I thought a little bit about it and took some time to read through my old stuff. As I was flipping through those pages, I started to feel that same confused feeling I used to have all the time, and that same depression that I used to struggle with and I was mad at some of the stuff I'd been through and floored by the thoughts I used to think. Now, not everything w[...]

Dear little troubled heart, It's okay. I know you've been a wreck lately and you've sort of lost your way, but I wanted you to know that you don't have to stay here, in this anxious place. You see, your Maker is close by. He's close at hand, even closer than you think and He hears you when you pray. So, come on over. Be still, for just a minute, because I've got a plan. A plan to set you free again, and to make your soul secure, in God's good grace. But, it'll take some work. A fair amount of intention on your part. I know you're ready. So, first, just confess. Talk to Jesus and just tell Him the ways that you've spun out of control. Maybe it's pride. Or fear. Or getting all wrapped up in yourself that you couldn't even see you were all wrapped up in yourself. Maybe it wasn't [...]