I'm Going On an Adventure

God started forming this post in my heart a week ago. In that time, it has changed and morphed. He's done SO MUCH. He's poured into my heart to the point where if I don't share, I think it may burst.

And that's the best time to share.

Last week, during breakfast with a sweet friend, I told her I started doing yoga again. I picked it back up because it helps my strength and flexibility, and, I said jokingly:

It strengthens my core. Apparently, God said this person I'm supposed to be is "statuesque." I don't know if you know this, but it physically HURTS to try to be statuesque without a strong core. Haha. There's probably a blog post in there somewhere.

 Oh...I didn't even know at the time.

Throughout this week, God has been showing me that it's about the process. There is value in the process.

Just over a month ago, God shared with me who He wants me to be (read about that here). When I wrote about it, I said it would take time, and I wasn't quite there yet, but somewhere deep inside, I thought, "Now that I know who I'm supposed to be, I have to start acting like that."

And it hurt...because I wasn't ready.

What I didn't realize at the time is God still has so much work to do in me in order to become that person. I cannot skip the process. There are idols to be overcome, thoughts to be cleared out, and fears to be faced.

In Alice in Wonderland, Alice didn't get her muchness back because she was told that's who she was. She had to go through the journey. She had to face her adventure.

I came to the most amazing realization today.

My adventure doesn't start when I become the person I'm supposed to be. My adventure is in the becoming. It's in the fire. It's in the Word separating bone from marrow and carving me into the person I'm supposed to be.

The power is in the journey.

And now I'm free.

Now I'm free to run and pursue and preach and screw up and bask in God's glorious grace because TODAY I am exactly where I need to be. Today I am exactly who I need to be, and as long as I take the time to pursue God and sit at His feet, He'll take care of who I'm supposed to be 10 years from now or 10 days from now, or heck, 10 minutes from now.

That's it, my friends. Normally I try to wrap this all up neatly with a bow and a probing question, but not today.

This is it. I don't know where YOU are, but wherever that is, I hope this helps you on your journey as much as it has helped me on my own.

You are loved, by me and by a glorious, almighty God.

Mountaintop Experience

It was the best idea EVER. My dad came up with it, and it was brilliant. My Nana, who lives far too far away, was going to be in Gatlinburg, TN all this week. We had planned on camping this month anyway, so he thought it would be a great idea to surprise her by camping there so we could see her for a few days.

Great idea?! BEST IDEA EVER!

I love surprising people, and this was no exception. We even decided to keep it a secret from the kids.

So, after many long weeks of preparation and trying not to blow the lid off our diabolical plot, it was time to leave.  We woke the kids at 5:45 on Saturday morning. We had mostly packed the night before and had made the finishing touches before waking them up. We bid them "Good Morning" and told them to grab their blankets, pillows, flip flops, and sneakers and hop into the van.

Little Ryan was confused because it was "still night outside." Destiny asked if there was a fire. Emily asked if the war had started and we were fleeing to the woods to live off the land.

I eased their minds and told them we were going on an adventure.  They begged to know where we were going, but we kept the lid on tight.  Josiah created wonderful, personalized scavenger hunts for each of them which really helped keep them occupied on the eight hour trip.

Finally, we pulled up to Jellystone Park...and it was raining.  "Oh...we're going camping," the girls said with a marked lack of enthusiasm, but seeing Pawpaw putting the tent up at the site made it all better. "OH!! This actually makes sense now!" Destiny exclaimed.

"I don't go camping without The Master," I said.

After a bit it stopped raining, and getting the site together got a bit easier. Josiah and Destiny hopped in the car to go get some condiments, and an hour or so later my dad got the call...

They were on the side of the road. It sounded like the transmission was out.

*INSERT OMINOUS DOOM MUSIC HERE*

I won't bore you with all the details - we needed to have the transmission rebuilt. Sounds like a crappy vacation huh?

Nope.  It was awesome.

As soon as Dad left to go get Josiah and Des off the side of the road, I turned to God in prayer. I can't always say that has been my first response to apparent tragedy, but it was in this case, and God is SO faithful.

Not more than 5 seconds after I lifted my head from praying Emily said, "This must be a Christian campground.  There's a big cross on the playground equipment."  I told her I thought the owners were indeed Christians because I had seen a scripture in the pamphlet they gave us.  I pulled it back out to show her, and the verse I saw (but hadn't paid enough attention to the first time) almost brought me to tears:

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

 the Maker of heaven and earth.

~Psalm 121:1-2~

And then, I thought of one of my favorite verses: Philippians 4:6-8, and just as that verse promises, as I handed my burdens over to God, He gave me the peace that passes all understanding.

My help came from the Lord.

We saw His mighty hands time and time again during the trip:

• When Josiah broke down, he pulled over into a parking lot...an auto repair parking lot...the only one for a 10-20 mile stretch. 
• We got to spend some wonderful time with my Nana, her sisters Janie and Lorene, my dad, and even a couple relatives I hadn't met before.  We even got an extra day!
• My dad's air compressor wouldn't blow up our air mattress because the coupling didn't fit, but our neighboring camper helped us out, and it was exactly the pump we needed.
• My kids snuggled with one another to keep warm at night in the cold mountain air...it's the closest they've ever been.
• We were very blessed that one of our relatives could help us pay for the repairs (we'll be paying them back, of course).
• He made us stop.  Instead of going, going, going, we were forced to stay. We roasted marshmallows and hot dogs over the camp fire, sang while my dad played guitar, went on walks, and simply enjoyed one another's company and God's beautiful outdoors. 
• When we needed to stay an extra night, but Dad had to get back (and most of the camping gear was his), the wonderful people at Jellystone Park gave us a cabin for the price of a tent site (which means they gave us just about half off the cabin rate).
• We woke up Wednesday morning to rain...so we snuggled in the cabin and ate leftover pizza in bed (we ordered it the night before - which was picked up with the help of more wonderful neighboring campers.).  We played cards and got ice cream in the game room, and the sweet lady who works in the office put on Smurfs for the kids.

We were well taken care of each and every step of the way.

As my Aunt Janie would say, "It's a 'God thing.'"

We're home now, safe and sound. The van is all fixed, and we had a camping trip none of us will ever forget...one that could have been miserable had we not turned our eyes to God and trusted in His provision.

We lifted our eyes to the mountains. Our help came from the Lord.

Fanning smoke

Phinehas likes camping!

Somehow I managed to NOT get a picture of my dad!! :( However, most of this stuff is his.  

See the cross next to Ryan?

                         

 

Great Nana FINALLY got her hands on this baby!

My Nana and her sisters, Janie and Lorene.  Three beautiful ladies!!

We roasted dogs...ya know...hot dogs. :)

People were indeed shorter just over a century ago...or they ducked a lot.

Pizza in bed

Cabin #3 :)

Wordless Wednesday: A Renewed Spirit

Much like Rachel from and then, she {snapped}(which is from whence this "Wordless Wednesday" post came), I am pretty much incapable of going with completely wordless.  I like words.  How about I compromise and try to keep it short!

Josiah and I went to the mountains last weekend.  We visited my parents, saw some beautiful scenery, played a lot, and just adventured through the countryside.  Here are some highlights:

We're starting our Friday journey!! SO much better than work!

It's a giant skate...in the middle of nowhere!!!

Josiah at the ruins of an old mill in Harper's Ferry, WV...*sigh* I love that place

Saint Peter's Roman Catholic Church...it was a picture of this beautiful old church that first brought us to Harper's Ferry.

We took some time to lounge around and dip our feet in the Shenandoah River.

In front of St. Peter's

If you're ever on US 340 just outside of WV, you should TOTALLY eat at this place.  The food is great and the atmosphere is so freaking neat it's unbelievable!

And we stumble across a place in the middle of nowhere called Dinosaur Land.  What?!  A giant skate and now dinosaurs!!

This is how big these concrete monsters were...

Sunset on Skyline Drive...and A LOT of fog rolling in, which forced us to stop at Big Meadow Lodge...

which is where we found this deer right outside the room early the next morning!

My mom and I during our visit.  It's rare that we actually get a picture together because one of us is almost always the picture taker.  Thanks for doing the honors this time Josiah!!

One of our last real stops.  We ate at Frisby's Restaurant in Powhatan.  The food was good, the server was really sweet, and it was reasonably priced!

I had such a wonderful time on our adventure.  It was so nice to be able to get away for a couple days with absolutely no schedule.  I highly recommend it!