So, the world still seems crazy, and our life has not changed much since my last post, there isn’t much more I can say about the current circumstances. Instead of talking about social isolation and pandemics and all of that, I decided to make a post about the week we spent in Wyoming last July.
What a cool state! Wide open spaces have a way of making me feel small and at peace all at the same time. They make me feel a sense of wonder, the beauty of landscapes revealing a magnificent Creator. Here are some of my favorite views from around Wyoming:
We spent most of our time near the city of Green River, Wyoming. It was a cool city with amazing views of Castle Rock. It is also home to some great friends and the Assembly of God church where Matt preached. While in Green River our friends Nate and Tina were very hospitable and gracious “tour guides”.
On Saturday we had a full day of driving and exploring, the first stop was an old “ghost town”. With Wyoming’s population density of 6 people per square mile, you could imagine there are lots of areas that feel like a ghost town. I found myself wondering, as we drove around the scenic, wide open spaces of Wyoming, “Where are the people? and How long does it take someone who lives in the country to get to the store?”
This ghost town had been abandoned long ago, and unfortunately any remaining stone structures had been covered with graffiti and bullet holes. I did find myself saying “don’t read that” several times to the kids. In spite of the profanity spelled out on the old walls, it was fun to let the kids explore and imagine what the town used to be.
After that little bit of exploration, some refreshment was in order. So we stopped over at Farson Mercantile, “Home of the Big Cone”. Yum. The slogan was fitting, they didn’t skimp on portion size. It was a popular pit stop, out in the middle of nowhere, there were families and a large group of bikers all sharing the space together.
After our snack, we drove to our friends’ family cabin. It was built by their grandparents and now serves as a getaway spot for the whole family. It was such a cool spot, and further encouraged us to find a home base of our own in Indiana – a place that our kids and grandkids can enjoy long after we are gone if they so choose. I’m so glad they took the time to show it to us.
After exploring the homestead, we took some other interesting drives and came across a festival at an old mining camp/town. It was cool to look around but unfortunatley we arrived a little late and most of the food stands were sold out.
On Sunday Matt preached at the First Assembly of God church. The church was friendly and receptive and hungry for God. We enjoyed lunch with the pastor and his wife after service.
On Monday Matt did an extensive repair job on the RV. The hydrolic jack hose sprung a leak somewhere back in Northern California and here in Green River, Wyoming there was a shop that sold just the hoses we needed. Matt has discovered that he can learn how to do almost anything by watching a youtube video, and I was quite impressed at his ability to fix this leak.
The kids and I visited the welcome center in Green River with the pastor and his wife, and then had some ice cream while Matt was fixing the RV. Then they took all of us on a long and beautiful road trip down to the Red Canyon. It borders Wyoming and Utah and is like a minature Grand Canyon, without the crowds. It was great to make new friends that enjoy a good road trip as much as we do!
Thanks for reading about our week in Wyoming, it really is a great state and we enjoyed it very much. I hope you are all enjoying life’s adventures . . . at home. Well, I hope we can all have great adventures again soon!
If you would like to find out more about our ministry, Kingdom Pursuit Ministries, go to www.kpministry.org
The world seems crazy right now. We are in the midst of the coronovirus pandemic and it all feels very surreal. I think it is scary for a lot of people and we don’t know exactly how this is going to turn out. There is this sense that we are all in this together and I do feel hopeful in spite of it all. So, I am writing this post just to sort out how I feel about it all and where my source of peace is in the midst of the crazy.
It hit me like a ton of bricks, we were just making a weekly Walmart run, and surely people weren’t being as crazy as all the rumors I had heard. They were. You could feel the sense of panic and fear just driving through the parking lot. It only got worse inside. After we split up our large family to divide and conquer the list, I hear the words “There’s no hamburger” from my husband after he was unable to get all the items on his list. The fresh meat section was not the only victim to the mass hoarding. The freezer section looked like frozen pizzas were about to be discontinued forever. The soap was nearly gone and thankfully not everybody had found out where the RV toilet paper was hidden. When we finally got to the checkout (there was only one cashier in the entire store, but I’m guessing the rest of the employees had to help restock the shelves). The lines were moving at a snail’s pace and the stressful situation came to its boiling point when my five year old put the cart seat belt towards her mouth. “AHH, STOP!” I yelled out of sheer panic, to which she started crying. I felt like a jerk and also hoped and prayed that she miraculously hadn’t touched any other gross things in the store. 2 unpleasant hours in the Walmart welcomed us into this crazy time.
This was Thursday, and in some ways, things have only gotten more bizarre. Feelings of frustration and disbelief for the reaction of this virus had gotten to me and honestly, I have found myself not feeling very peaceful. After getting on my soapbox for a day or two (to the pure enjoyment of my family) about all that was wrong with the world and how everyone was handling the pandemic the wrong way – yesterday (Monday) I found myself coming to a place of reluctant acceptance. I have decided to get over it and concentrate on my own personal responsibilities, things that I can control.
I can’t control the media, I can’t control the government, and I certainly can’t control how many people are going to get the corona virus. I can’t control how my friends react, how many people in my community hoard toilet paper, or whether or not the church services will be cancelled where we plan on ministering.
I can decide to cooperate with local, and federal governments and health organizations and trust that they have our best interest in mind. Obviously I can wash my hands (gross, wash your hands people). I can decide not to worry, complain, panic, or be afraid. I can decide to make my home pleasant in the midst of these crazy times. I can pray for health and healing and a miracle. I can decide to be at peace by trusting in God.
This is from last year at the salt flats, but I thought it looked a little bit like end of the world type stuff.
It’s not that a period of “social distancing” is all that terrible. We homeschool already, maybe the rest of the world will discover how cool it is? I’m kind of a homebody and our home can be wherever we want it to be. I’ve learned to live with uncertainty in our own life as we sometimes don’t know where we are going. A couple of weeks ago my biggest challenge was my new health and fitness goals and trying to take some weight off before summer. Maybe I should try to get back to that idea again instead of eating up our snack stockpile.
Sometimes the world feels crazy, and sometimes I feel helpless, and sometimes I feel frustrated when things feel out of control. Recently I had an experience where a person had let me down, and I found myself very frustrated with the disappointment. In the moment , I found myself getting in the car, and Lauren Diegel’s lovely voice from “Turn your eyes upon Jesus” started playing when I started the engine and reminded me why I was frustrated and disappointed – I had lost my focus. People can be disappointing sometimes, the world can be crazy and chaotic, but Jesus is perfect, never disappoints, and always amazes me. I read a post that quoted Corrie Ten Boom (one of my heroes) recently. She said:
” If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God you’ll be at rest. “
– Corrie Ten Boom
So, what to do when the world seems crazy? “
“Turn your eyes on Jesus, look full in His wonderful face,
and the things on earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
Thanks for reading along, hopefully the next post will be about some fun exciting adventure, for now this seemed more realistic.
If you would like to find out more about our ministry, Kingdom Pursuit Ministry, go to www.kpministry.org
On one of our winter trips to Texas, while visiting in Waco with our pals the Gaines’ (just kidding, I only pretend we are friends, they don’t know us:)) we stumbled across a COE campground. I found the Speegleville COE campground using my handy RV Parky app. I had never heard of COE campgrounds before, but we quickly learned that although the campground was a bit off the beaten path, the extra 10 minutes added to our drive was well worth it for the oasis that we discovered.
Let me tell you why we have fallen in love with the no-frills, all-views, COE Campgrounds! COE is short for Core of Engineers, (technically, the name is United States Army Core of Engineers, but that is a mouthful!) According to their website :
The Army Corps of Engineers is the steward of the lands and waters at Corps water resources projects. It’s Natural Resources Management mission is to manage and conserve those natural resources, consistent with the ecosystem management principles, while providing quality public outdoor recreation experiences to serve the needs of present and future generations. https://corpslakes.erdc.dren.mil/visitors/visitors.cfm
High Quality H2O
So the COE campgrounds are centered around water recreation in some form. This is reason #1 why I love them. Hello beautiful sunrise/sunset! There is just something peaceful and wonderful about looking out over the water. There have always been wonderful water views whenever we have stayed at one of the COE parks. Fishing, swimming, boating, or just hanging out on the shore and skipping rocks with your kids, there is plenty to do along the water.
Wide Open Spaces
Sometimes you roll into an RV park because it is convenient, right along the highway, or maybe you like extra ammenities like cable and free wifi, typically (not always) these convienient types of RV parks are a bit on the crowded side. I don’t know about you, but I don’t particulary love being about 10 feet away from my neighbor’s sewer hose. Reason #2 that I love the COE campgrounds – Very Spacious campsites! These sites are, by far, the largest, most spread out RV sites of any that we have stayed in over the past 4 years.
Bargain Hunters Unite!
You would think that with all this bragging on the great features of my favorite campsites, that I would be trying to justify an expensive price tag. But, I don’t have to because these guys are totally affordable. Reason #3 that I love the COE campgrounds – affordability for families! Like 20s-30s, and if you are a senior citizen, you can buy some sort of lifetime pass and get 50% off! We travel as a party of 7, and sometimes campsites like to charge an extra $2-$5 per person over 2 people, per night. The COE campgrounds we have stayed in allow 8-10 people per site! As a disclaimer, I wil mention that these campgrounds do not offer long term stays – two weeks is maximum in one site. This does not bother us as we are on the move often.
Is there anything not to love?
I feel like I should give full disclosure that as a nomadic family, we really keep on the move. Most of that is due to the fact that my husband is preaching in a different church every week. Sometimes we will be able to stay in one spot for a couple weeks at a time if the churches are close together. Because of this constant moving, we are able to see alot of campgrounds and compare them. Typically if a campground is level and not overly expensive, we are good to go.
We do not tend to look for campgrounds that have lots of activities and amenities just because we are not there long enough to enjoy them. Honestly, we rarely go into the shower/bathroom facilities because we have our own. So, if you are looking for a long-term type of stay with plenty of entertainment, this might not satisfy your desires. If you are looking for a peaceful, no frills getaway check out the COE campgrounds!
Bonus – an adorable visitor
This post would not be complete without mentioning the little visitor who came by during our stay at the Airport Park COE near Waco. According to another camper, this little guy was rescued by a couple older ladies when they saw his mother die after being hit by a car. They were raising him when they were reported for not having the proper license to care for a wild animal. It was decided to drop off the young deer at this local park because it was known that a group of deer lived here. When dropped off however, the fawn went directly to the campsite to be with people, with whom he had an attachment.
He would come by often and visit with us, he was very friendly. We did get to pet him and he had the most beautiful big eyes. Unfortunately he did not love the jumping and nipping from our puppy Oliver and eventually started to attack him with his hooves.
Thank you for reading along as I talked about the COE campgrounds, so far we have stayed at Speegleville Park and Airport Park both in Waco Texas and Millers Ferry Campground in Camden Alabama.
If you would like to read more about our ministry, Kingdom Pursuit Ministries, go to www.kpministry.org.
The other day, I got up, smelled the coffee and poured myself a cup, I found one of my favorite Pandora worship music stations and hooked it up to our sterio via bluetooth. In that moment, with my foggy morning brain, I realized how content, and peaceful, and at home those two actions made me feel. I didn’t matter if I was in a Walmart parking lot, camp ground, church parking lot, or at our sweet little lake house. I could do these simple things and feel at home.
I might be writing this post just for myself, to remind myself of the importance of a good routine in the midst of change. It seems that constant change can quickly turn into constant chaos if we are not intentional about maintaining our routines. Don’t get me wrong, the constant change in scenery and possibility of new adventures is something I love about RV life.
Roadschooling is crazy sometimes
It is sometimes difficult to maintain a homeschooling routine, but because our curriculum has goal setting as a clear priority, it helps us to stay on track. One day we may only get a few subjects studied – because we drove alot, or we had a really late night revival service and needed to rest, or we are at a beautiful destination that begs to be explored. When days like that happen, we can make up for it by working a little later the next day.
It seems natural to come up with a schooling routine, I do take the education of our kids seriously, and it weighs on me sometimes if I feel like I have slacked off and have indirectly encouraged the kids to slack off. That issue is always in front of my face, there is always school work to be done. I suppose it is the rest of life, the non-schooling part of life, that I have noticed small routines and everyday patterns developing.
What am I doing everyday?
Then it also occured to me that it is important that my routine is built out of good habits and not bad ones. I have found that too often, I have fallen into the habit of becoming a phone zombie and wasting precious minutes, and even hours mindlessly scrolling because it was convenient, familiar, and honestly, addicting. While it might be comfortable for me to do this same thing every day because it was familiar, it was becoming a part of my routine that was, in many ways, doing more harm than good.
I don’t think that social media is in itself bad. (I feel the irony while I am typing on a blog that I will then share on Facebook and Instagram.) I really enjoy seeing what is happening in the lives of my friends and family. We are traveling and making new friends often, and it is nice to be able to see what everyone is doing. At the same time, I don’t need to be able to see what everyone is doing every day, and honestly, every hour. So, I decided I need to make a much more conscious effort to put my phone away.
A new quietness/more free time
I have noticed something while I have put my phone away more often. I have noticed the quietness. The stillness has seemed at first uncomfortable, and it has helped me to realize how often I grab for my phone and that I have such a short attention span. It has also helped me to engage more with the people around me. I may have missed a few opportunities to post some exciting things on instagram, but I also feel like I have enjoyed those exciting moments a little more fully.
In this stillness, I have also noticed that I have more time to do the things that I do feel are really important. I have felt a greater stirring within myself to go and pray, and it is painful to admit that I haven’t noticed this stirring because I was distracted. I honestly feel like God will stir us to pray, but it is a quiet, gentle stirring. I have also been able to enjoy a bedtime routine of reading to my little girls when I had often found myself soooo ready for them to be in bed already. This distractedness had become a part of my daily pattern, and it is something that I can minimize.
Routine improvement
So, right now I am trying to improve my daily routine. I still have times for mindless phone scrolling and catching up with the world, it is just less, and I am liking that. I think noticing and examining my routines was a good first step for me. Some of my routine was good and some needed improvement. Even though our life is full of the change that comes with travel, I have found that there are things that stay the same. What I do with my free time is still up to me.
Thank you for reading along while I talk about my daily routines and struggles. I hope you all are having great adventures and also having some time of quietness.
If you would like to find out more about our ministry, Kingdom Pursuit Ministries, go to www.kpministry.org
I just love Januarys, the idea of a fresh new start fills me with hope and excitement each new year. I often find myself over-indulging during the holidays, and then acting like a bear getting ready for hybernation, eating everything in sight. At some point, every January, I find myself setting personal health and fitness goals, relationship goals, spiritual goals, and travel goals. I feel very excited about 2020 and I also find myself feeling reflective about life. This post is an update on our January and looking ahead into 2020.
This month we have been enjoying the lakehouse and also preparing for our travels to the southern States. Although Indiana has had a mild winter, we are still looking forward to the perfect 60-70 degree temps that are beckoning us south. The whole family has been looking forward to getting back on the road. The excitement has helped to keep us motivated for the many days of sorting, packing, and sorting some more. We aren’t exactly minimalists, but have found that we have to be pretty particular about the things we take in the RV with us, the things we store for later, and the things we donate.
For years now, our kids have been asking for a dog. Matt and I are not exactly dog-people and we are already at full capacity in the RV. But, just last week, we relented to the many requests of our kids and added Oliver the Traveling Dog to our family. He is a Cockapoo and he is totes adorbs. Right now we are in the midst of potty training and hoping that one day he will sleep through the night. We all love him and the girls have even made him his own Instagram account – he was pretty excited about it.
Change, it is a comin in 2020. I have found myself reflecting often about life and how we are no longer a family with a bunch of little kids. That stage just seems to last forever and also it seems like a blur. One day you’re carrying a carseat and a toddler and spending countless hours in the church nursery and the next thing you know, most of your kids are taller than you and you’re talking about college and future spouses and your kids are helping plan kid’s ministry! I am not saying that one stage is better than the other, both are wonderful and come with their own set of challenges. I just have been noticing it more lately and warning my dear husband that I might turn into an emotional wreck, longing for her babies.
So, this year we will have three teenagers in our family! Our oldest will be graduating. One of the challenges we have noticed this past year is the actual, physical size change in our kids and how that impacts our tiny living space. They have grown so much since the day we moved into the RV back in 2016. Along with the physical growth is the familiarity of this nomadic life, the kids are used to being on the move, and tend to prefer it. I love to see them curious about the world and grow in their sense of adventure. I can imagine that if we had waited and tried to move into an RV when we had 3 teenagers used to a stationary life and a regular house it would have been very difficult. I am thankful for God’s timing and that we made the move when we did.
So where will we travel in 2020? We plan on revisiting some familiar churches in 2020 and also visiting new places. The start of the year is taking us to Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and Oklahoma. We hope to make a special senior trip to Washington D.C. and historic Jamestown for our history-loving oldest child in the spring. We will spend more time this summer in Indiana, our home state. This year we are also planning a trip to Hawaii for a month of ministry – yay! We are pretty excited about it (even though we will have to leave our beloved RV behind) and will be posting more details as we take that adventure.
Thank you for reading along as I rambled a bit about our life and travels. I hope your 2020 is filled with joy and adventure!
If you would like to find out more about our ministry, Kingdom Pursuit Ministries, go to www.kpministry.org
Our family of seven has been traveling in a 36 ft RV since April of 2016, but this blog is a new thing we have tried this year, so this will be the first time to do a year end review. I enjoy looking back to see where we have been and reflecting about the places we have experienced and the friends we have made along the way. This blog has been a fun way to share about our travels, and I think it will be fun to put together a list of all the places we have been this year.
Sometimes I am surprised at the places we have seen in such a short time. Sometimes I get mixed up with the timeline of things. So, I have put this together month by month, listing the places we stayed, the churches where we ministered, and some Highlights and Crazy Moments that happened.
January – Elwood, Indiana to Memphis, Indiana to St. Louis, Missouri to Claremore, Oklahoma to Norman, Oklahoma to Waxahachie, Texas
Churches where we ministered:
Open Door – Converse, Indiana (Sat-Sun)
First Assembly of God – Norman, Oklahoma (Sun-Thur)
Revelation Church – Duncanville, Texas (Sunday)
The River Center – Tool, Texas (Sunday)
Highlights:
Starting out the year at Open Door (the church where Matt got saved as an 8year old boy) has become a special tradition for our family. Not only for sentimental reasons, but because the services are always powerful and, in a way, seem to set the tone for the year.
Our old car bit the dust on Christmas Day, someone generously gave us $5,000 for a new car!!
Visiting the Blue Whale on Route 66 along the way.
Extended services in Norman Oklahoma, there was an excitement present and people were committing their lives to the Lord!
Staying for a couple weeks with our dear friends, Randy and Joanna Herndon!
Eating super yummo tacos at Taco Suave in Waxahachie!
Returning to Revelation Church and visiting with Matt’s old college professor Randy Jones and his cool family.
Our kids especially enjoyed playing with the Herndon kids while in Texas.
Crazy moments:
Losing our windshield wiper and then burning up our windshield wiper motor while driving through a snowstorm southwest of St. Louis.
February – Cayuga, Texas to Waco, Texas to Dulac, Louisiana
Churches where we ministered:
New Beginnings Assembly of God – Cayuga, Texas (Sun-Thur)
Lord’s House of Refuge – Dulac, Louisiana (Sun-Sun)
Highlights:
We were at two new churches this month, both of which were very hospitable and friendly. They both welcomed our family and we truly felt loved.
We made our second visit to Waco, Texas, this time staying over for a few nights in a beautiful campground outside the city. Mammoth bones, shopping downtown, and of course, the Silos. This time we even drove by some of the houses featured on Fixer Upper.
So much food!!! Southern hospitality is really a thing, these churches loved us with food, we ate so much! In Louisiana, we tried so many new foods, their spices are unique and delicious.
Salvations, Healings, People getting more excited about God!
We loved listening to the accents of our new friends in Texas and Louisiana.
The landscape in Dulac, Louisiana on the bayou was so different and unique, we feel blessed that we were able to explore the area for nearly two weeks.
March – Dulac, Louisiana to Mobile, Alabama to Clanton, Alabama to Prestonville, Kentucky to Brown County, Indiana to Elwood, Indiana to Clay City, Indiana
Churches where we ministered:
Temple Asssembly of God – Clanton, Alabama (Sun-Thur)
Calvary Full Gospel – Prestonville, Kentucky (Sunday)
Holy Chapel of God – Shepherdsville, Kentucky (Sunday)
Discover Church – Indianapolis, Indiana (Sunday)
Clay City Assembly of God – Clay City, Indiana (Fri-Tue)
Highlights:
2 revivals in one month is alot, but it was awesome!
The pastor in Clanton gave us a tour of his beautiful property – he has an impressive collection of horses and cows, and a cute basset hound.(the cows were my favorite)
We enjoyed a short return visit to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
Catching up with pals at return churches is always a blessing
Particularly powerful altar ministry time in Shepherdsville Kentucky
Celebrated my mom’s 60th birthday party at Brown County State Park, it was a fun family camp out time, complete with an old-fashioned group photo.
Matt was healed from his painful diverticulitus that he had been diagnosed with back in Nov.(2018)!
Crazy moments:
This was the month where I decided it would be a great idea to start 7nomads, an online t-shirt shop. I didn’t discover until a couple weeks in that there was a blog option included with my online store package. As you can see, the store didn’t make it, but the blog took on a life of it’s own!
We discovered, on the way to church in our tow vehicle in the most unpleasant way, that our youngest gets car sick on winding roads…
Poor Caleb broke his wrist during the family-campout at Brown County in an unfortunate scooter accident.
Speaking of camping – Indiana State Parks do not turn on the water hookups until late-April/May. We should have known that…
April – Elwood, Indiana to Memphis, Indiana to Elwood, Indiana to Argos, Indiana to Edgerton, Ohio to Elwood, Indiana to Jasonville, Indiana
Churches where we ministered:
Grace Tabernacle – Laconia, Indiana (Sunday)
Restoration Church – Sellersburg, Indiana (Sunday)
Trinity Assembly of God – Lakeville, Indiana (Sunday)
Cornerstone Assembly of God – Elwood, Indiana (Wednesday)
Jasonville Assembly of God – Jasonville, Indiana (Sun-Wed)
Highlights:
This was a month of preparation for our Alaska trip, it was full of excitement and anticipation, as well as a month of soaking up the love of friends and family. We had a wonderful Resurrection Sunday with family up in northern Indiana and Ohio.
A dear friend from Edinburgh set up a get-together, it was wonderful to see some old friends.
Powerful worship service at Grace Tabernacle in Laconia!
We really felt the love and support of the churches this month as we prepared for Alaska.
Crazy moments:
It seemed like a rush to get all the kids’ dentist and eye doctor appointments in this month and last month, plus the extra appointments for Caleb’s broken wrist.
May – Jasonville, Indiana to Urbana, Illinois to Clinton, Iowa to Storm Lake, Iowa to Plankinton, South Dakota to Rapid City, South Dakota to Miles City, Montana to Conrad, Montana to Balzac, Alberta, Canada to Rochford, Alberta, Canada to Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada to Pink Mountain, BC, Canada to Muncho Lake, BC, Canada to Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada to Fairbanks, Alaska to Denali National Park to Houston, Alaska
Churches where we ministered:
The Church of New Beginnings – Storm Lake, Iowa (Sunday)
The Oasis Group – Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada (Sunday)
Harvest Church – Fairbanks, Alaska (Fri-Sun)
South Fairbanks Assembly of God – Fairbanks, Alaska(Sunday)
Highlights:
The Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, crossing into Canada, making it to Alaska!
There is really too much to share about this month, it was amazing!
I did a whole blog series for this trip if you want to read more about it: Epic Road Trip to Alaska
Crazy Moments:
So.Much.Driving.
June – Houston, Alaska to Anchorage, Alaska to Nikiski, Alaska to Whittier, Alaska to Chickaloon, Alaska to Tok, Alaska to Destruction Bay, Yukon, Canada to Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada to Iskut, British Columbia, Canada to Hope, BC, Canada to Seattle, Washington to McMinnville, Oregon to Waldport, Oregon to Crescent City, California to The Redwoods in California to Boonville, California to San Francisco, California
Churches where we ministered:
Hilltop Assembly of God – Houston, Alaska (Sunday)
Aurora Heights Assembly of God – Nikiski, Alaska (Sunday)
Bethany Church – Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada (Sunday)
Hope Pentecostal Assembly of God – Hope, BC, Canada (Sunday)
Family Life Christian Center – Boonville, California (Sunday)
Highlights:
Like the month of May, this month was filled with unforgettable experiences, most of which are documented in the blog series “Epic Road Trip to Alaska”, feel free to check it out.
Hope, British Columbia was amazing in so many ways – what a beautiful place! Several movies were filmed in this location, and it was easy to see why. The church services were powerful here as well, with the small Canadian congregation and pastor’s family being especially kind and welcoming to us.
In this month, we drove through Washington and Oregon, skirting the Pacific Ocean for a couple days. It was beautiful, and we were even able to land an ocean view campsite on my birthday!
Seeing (and also smelling, unfortunately) wild seals along the Oregon Coast.
The Giant Redwoods in northern California!
The Golden Gate Bridge, and other random interesting sites in San Fransisco. I know this sounds overdramatic, but when we pulled out of the tunnel just north of the Golden Gate Bridge and I first caught a glimpse of it, it literally took my breath away. It was spectacular.
Crazy Moments:
The drive to Boonville, California. It was beautiful, but also extremely curvy.
Driving around Portland, Oregon, unable to find a campground (all booked up and no boondocking allowed around the city)
July – Somewhere northwest of San Fransisco to Fernley, Nevada to Salt Flats, Utah to Brigham City, Utah to Green River, Wyoming to Cheyenne, Wyoming to Loveland, Colorado to Pueblo, Colorado to Ordway, Colorado to Colby, Kansas to Kansas City, Kansas to Edina, Missouri
Churches where we ministered:
Green River Assembly of God – Green River, Wyoming (Sunday)
Edina First Assembly – Edina, Missouri (Sun-Wed)
Highlights:
The Salt Flats in Nevada! We didn’t even realize when we were planning this trip that we would be going through the salt flats, so it made for a very cool surprise!
We made a small detour up into Idaho so that we could put the sticker on our USA map, AND visit the home of Napoleon Dynamite and friends.
Wyoming is a very scenic state, and we quite enjoyed the change to wide open spaces after being in the more densely populated areas in Washington, Oregon, and California.
The pastor at Green River took us for a drive into the Flaming Gorge in Utah. It’s almost like the Grand Canyon, but a bit smaller and less crowded.
We reconnected with one of Matt’s college buddies and his wife and kids while in Wyoming and they showed us around their lovely state.
My parents came out to Colorado while we were there, enjoying a week vacation around scenic Colorado.
We also visited with some old friends who live and minister in Colorado. They took us on a trip to Bishop’s Castle near Pueblo, it was quite an interesting place, it deserves it’s own blog posts one of these days…
Crazy Moments:
The RV sprung a leak in one of the hydrolic hoses, but it happened when we pulled over checking on the generator that had stopped working. If we had been driving, it could have been very bad, causing a fire or even an explosion. God was watching out for us, as soon as the leak was discovered in a parking lot, the generator started working again. Matt was able to replace the hoses in Wyoming because he’s a stud.
Just East of California, we stumbled across a historical marker that told the tale of the Donner Party. If you, like me, forgot this story from your history books don’t look it up and then read it out loud to your children before reading it yourself first. Chilling.
August – Edina, Missouri to Elwood, Indiana to Union City, Indiana to Argos, Indiana to Edgerton, Ohio to Columbia City, Indiana to Elwood, Indiana to Vevay, Indiana
Churches where we ministered:
Calvary Assembly of God – Union City, Indiana (Sun-Wed)
Victory Barn – Edgerton, Ohio (Sunday)
Power Surge Tent Revival – Edgerton, Ohio (Sun-Wed)
Victory Christian Fellowship – Columbia City, Indiana (Fri-Sun)
Vevay Assembly – Vevay, Indiana (Sat-Sun)
Highlights:
Powerful altar times in Edina, Missouri.
Family wedding in Kokomo, it was great to see everyone in one place for such a joyous occasion after being gone for 3 months.
Our first Tent Revival to plan ourselves. We had great support from family and friends, as well as the Victory Barn Church.
Great services at the Outpouring Conference in Columbia City with some old friends.
We looked at, in person, the lake house that we had been looking at online for some months now, and then we made an offer!
Powerful services in Vevay Indiana.
September – Vevay, Indiana to Elwood, Indiana to Akron, Indiana to Delphi, Indiana to Akron, Indiana to Columbus, Indiana to Memphis, Indiana to Akron, Indiana
Churches where we ministered:
Cornerstone Assembly of God – Elwood, Indiana (Sun-Wed)
Delphi First Assembly of God – Delphi, Indiana (Sunday)
Northview Assembly of God – Columbus, Indiana (Sunday)
Free Gospel Fellowship – Pekin, Indiana (Wed)
Faith Harvest – Greenville, Indiana (Friday)
Hardinsburg Assembly of God – Hardinsburg, Indiana (Sunday)
Highlights:
We bought a house this month! It’s on a lake! We love it!
We really enjoyed ministry this month, there were moves of God, and we saw old friends rededicate their lives to the Lord.
My parents selflessly helped us move all of our stuff from the parsonage in Elwood to our new home base in Akron!
We had a nice time in southern Indiana, exploring Corydon and Louisville, and visiting with Matt’s Aunt and Uncle.
Crazy Moments:
Extensive dental work the day before we closed on our house. Ouch.
We bought a house! I’m still in shock.
October – Akron, Indiana to Blanford, Indiana to Kingman, Indiana to Akron, Indiana to Prestonville, Kentucky to Akron, Indiana
Churches where we ministered:
Grace Tabernacle – Blanford, Indiana (Sun-Tues)
Spirit of Life Ministries – Kingman, Indiana (Sunday)
Calvary Full Gospel Church – Prestonville, Kentucky (Sunday)
Lakeville Trinity Church – Lakeville, Indiana (Sunday)
Highlights:
We invited all our family over for a birthday party at the lake house! It was still warm enough to enjoy the outdoors.
We enjoyed returning to familiar churches this month, they are open to revival, and are very loving towards our family.
We attended two very sweet weddings this month.
We were able to visit the Covered Bridge Festival while in the area holding services.
Matt preached at his dad’s church this month and we also celebrated his dad’s birthday.
Our oldest daughter got her driver’s license this month! We are still trying to convince her that she can drive the RV.
Crazy Moments:
Nothing too crazy, just enjoying life, getting used to having our own home base. We did alot of the boring stuff required of grownups: finding local doctors, putting up a mailbox, switching our address.
November – Akron, Indiana to Memphis, Indiana, to Akron, Indiana to Petersburg, Indiana to Akron, Indiana to Greensburg, Indiana to Akron, Indiana to Columbus, Indiana to Akron, Indiana
Churches where we ministered:
Agape Community Church – Cannelton, Indiana (Sunday)
Living Waters Assembly of God – French Lick, Indiana (Sunday)
Love Never Fails United Christian Church – West Baden Springs, Indiana (Sunday)
River of Life Assembly of God – Petersburg, Indiana (Sunday)
New Beginnings Assembly of God – Greensburg, Indiana (Sunday)
Come As You Are Ministries – Columbus, Indiana (Sunday)
Highlights:
We enjoyed returning to these churches this month, some of these pastors are among the first that had us come in and minister at their churches.
We celebrated Thanksgiving with Matt’s family and then hosted Thanksgiving with my famiy at our little home.
Crazy Moments:
We did quite a bit of driving this month, traveling on the weekends and staying at our lake house throughout the week. Although it did require more planning and packing, it is starting to get cold, and makes it a little more comfortable to be in the house this time of year.
Some crazy guy tried to intimidate and threaten the congregation during one the services this month. The church was prepared, though, and quickly diffused the situation.
Photo credits: Monica Middleton and Celia Fitzcharles (Thanks)
December – Akron, Indiana to Batesville, Indiana to Akron, Indiana to Edgerton, Ohio, to Akron, Indiana
Churches where we ministered:
Church on the Rock – Batesville, Indiana
The Reformation Faith Ministries – Kokomo, Indiana
Safe Harbor Church -Rochester, Indiana
Highlights:
It’s Christmastime! It has been fun to decorate our little lake house this year, and we are currently enjoying celebrating the season of our Savior’s birth!
In closing, it seems like this year could be described as “Going, Going, Going, and rest.” Thank you for reading along, I hope you all had a year of your own adventures!
If you would like to find out more about our ministry, Kingdom Pursuit Ministries, go to www.kpministry.org
We bought a house, and it’s on a lake! I have had so many emotions about this decision, even though we knew it was the right decision and the right time.
Backstory stuff
Here is a little backstory of our nomadic lifestyle (does anybody else hear the little lego guy imagining the “Wildstyle” lego girl say “backstory stuff” when you hear the word backstory? Maybe it’s just me) Anyway, my husband Matt and I, along with our 5 kids, moved into a 35 foot RV back in April of 2016. My husband resigned as pastor of our church and we embarked on the adventure of full-time evangelism as Kingdom Pursuit Ministries. We wanted to do it as a family, traveling together and so it seemed like getting an RV was the best way to do this. Not only has living in an RV been the most cost-effective way for us to travel, it has been, and still is, a great adventure!
We travel most of the time, and so far we have driven through 43 states and 4 Canadian provinces. Indiana is our home and we minister in Indiana churches about half of the year. My parent’s driveway, Matt’s brother’s giant propery, and other relatives have been very generous and gracious hosts to us over the past few years. No one ever complained, but we never wanted to wear out our welcome, we knew we wanted to eventually have our own homebase, to park the RV when in Indiana. We have always been looking, and pricing out properties, trying to decide what our homebase would be. It has been weird, because we didn’t really need a house, our house is on wheels, and is everything we need.
Last year a wonderful Pastor couple asked us if we could use a home base. They didn’t know that we had been looking for something. They had bought a home and the church parsonage was empty if we would like to use it. We accepted this generous offer and we were able to use the parsonage as our home base for a year. Looking back now it really prepared us to know how to manage two separate homes, and to pack up in a timely and efficient manner.
Why a lakehouse?
While we were traveling up to Alaska, we were also searching for properties online. We first looked at land, but found out that a large downpayment was necessary and expenses like a well, septic, added driveway, etc. kept adding up. It made more sense to look for a little, low-maintenance home that also had a large enough driveway for our beloved RV. We looked at duplexes that we could rent out one side and live in the other, but nothing worked out, and that is probably for the best, because we are too busy traveling to be good landlords. That led us to the idea of finding a property that we could rent out when we are gone(which is every weekend and for up to three months at a time). That idea led us to look at lake properties.
We were pleasantly surprised to find lake properties that were super affordable and not too far from our family(we do understand that distance is a relative term, an hour or two drive is not a big deal to us). When we first found our future house, Matt’s parents looked at it for us and took lots of pictures. We feel in love, just looking at the photos and hearing their descriptions. We probably would’ve made an offer over the phone, but we had to make sure the RV would fit in the driveway.
With a little manuevering, and some excellent backing up skills by my husband, the RV fits snuggly in the driveway, with room for up to two cars next to her. Yay!
Excitement, mixed with guilt filled our hearts as Matt and I took the leap and bought this sweet little lake house. Excitement, because, of course! Guilt, because in a way we felt like we were cheating – on the RV, on the nomadic lifestyle, on filling this traveling evangelist family role that we had given to ourselves. Can we do both? Can we be a traveling family and still own a home? Is it selfish to want both? It brought me to do some serious soul-searching and see that this ministry lifestyle isn’t centered around an RV, but that the RV is just a tool, a wonderful tool that keeps us traveling together and sharing in adventures.
I still feel in shock most days, waking up and looking at the peaceful views of the little lake. I didn’t think we needed another home that we loved, but I feel like it is such a refreshing place, it has brought a much needed settling to my heart that I didn’t even know I needed. Will we use airbnb for our lake house? I am not sure, but I do think it will eventually be a place that we can offer for others to use as a getaway of sorts.
Does the lakehouse mean that we are stopping the travels? No. We are still traveling together, now we just have a place to come back to that is just ours. And what a lovely place it is.
Here is a bit of a photo tour of our little place:
Thank you for reading along, if you have been following this 7nomads blog, you will notice that we no longer have the 7nomads t-shirt shop. We have decided to lose the t-shirt idea, it didn’t quite turn out to be all that I wanted it to be. But, I discovered along the way that I really enjoy blogging, so we have kept the blog.
If you would like to find out more about our ministry, Kingdom Pursuit Ministries, go to www.kpministry.org
We have been back in our lovely home state of Indiana since the
beginning of August. It has been a great couple of months visiting with
family and friends, being in familiar areas, and finding new things to
explore. A couple weeks ago we took a field trip to the town of Corydon,
Indiana. Even though we are often traveling and exploring new areas, we do have
a curriculum that we are going through with the kids’ homeschooling so we do
have to carve out special days every now and then where we take a full day and
do a field trip.
Corydon, Indiana was the first state capital
of Indiana and is not only chock-full of historical sites, it is a very
charming town to visit. Our first stop on this adventure was the Constitution
Elm, where the first constitution for Indiana was created by 43
delegates. Why were they all hanging out under this tree? Because it was
really hot in June and in 1816 the shade of this ginormous tree was better than
the inside of the stone capital building. Thank you, Lord, for air
conditioning! Anyway, the tree is dead now, but the very large stump is
still there, with a large stone enclosure around it to protect it from the
elements, unwelcome climbers, and graffiti. There are many things to learn
about the early days of Corydon, Indiana. This website was super
informative: https://townofcorydon.com/town-history/
In fifth grade, we give a special emphasis on
Indiana History, and even though we were all visiting Corydon together, extra
attention was given to our little 5th grader to make sure she was getting the
full Indiana History experience.
After visiting the Elm, we walked around the city
square checking out the old stone state capitol building, reading the various
historical markers, and taking opportunities for photo opps along the way
including an interesting chat with Governor Frank O’Bannon (hehehe). Just off
the square is the old Governor’s home and The Old Capitol herb garden. We did
not pay for a tour of the buildings, but the herb garden was free to walk
through, and (bonus!) there were some very informative gardeners tending to the
garden. They patiently answered all of my questions about the plants and told
us about the common uses for each one. Apparently, there is a rumor that
Lamb’s Ear was used as toilet paper back in the day! (Well, if you have to use
a leaf, pick a soft one).
After all that learning we took a lunch break
and then drove out to the site of a civil war battle. This battlefield was just
outside of the town of Corydon, we read all the information about the battle,
and walked around a bit. It wasn’t a big battle, but lives were lost and
towns were overrun if even for just a little while. War is scary and I
always find myself thankful for the service men and women that are willing to
risk their lives for love of country and freedom.
We drove back into town to check out the White
House Candy Company because we had heard so many great things about it from
some of Matt’s relatives who live in the area. They were right, not only was
the White House Candy Company totally adorable and stylish, the chocolates were
super yummy. Although we didn’t get any ice cream, I am sure we will be back to
give it a try.
We took a short walk down the block and across the street to
Zimmerman’s blown glass. This family-owned business is now located in an old
Sinclair station. This place was extemely cool. They were not blowing glass
when we were there, but they were making batches of glass in their ovens.
A friendly employee/artist was very informative and gave us a quick
tour/science/history lesson.
We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the town of
Corydon – history, science, art, and candy! Something else brings us back
to this area periodically. Matt’s family, the Eckarts, are from this part of
the state, and many of his relatives, including Matt’s mom who died of cancer
in 2005, are buried in a cemetary close to Corydon. After exploring the town,
we drove out to the cemetary and remembered. Matt was blessed with a
Godly heritage and it is a good thing when we can pause and remember these
special people.
The surrounding countryside of Corydon is beautiful,
and if you enjoy hilly, windy roads, it makes for some fun adventures. Just
past the cemetary is a really cool road that drives right through a creek. We
always try to make a point to go this way and stop the car right in the middle
so we can all get out and walk around. It was a fun way to end our field trip.
Thank you for reading along. I hope you are all having great
adventures!
If you would like to find out more about our ministry, Kingdom
Pursuit Ministries, go to www.kpministry.org.
My childhood pastor (and now father-in-law) used to often say
“The only thing you can take to heaven is your relationship with God and
your relationship with others.” I’m paraphasing, but the idea is
solid. You aren’t going to heaven without a relationship with God and if
possible we should live peaceably with others, our relationships will last for
eternity.
I follow other traveling families on social media and
I have noticed a common theme – community. I think when you travel a lot, you
notice the human need for community and for friendship, or fellowship as it is
often called in church life. Before we traveled around the country, we lived
like everybody else and in one sense you could say that I took for granted the
built-in community that you get by going to the same church several times a
week, seeing the same neighbors every day, and having a routine that is
consistent. In another sense I can see that even back then, in what sometimes
seems like a lifetime ago, I had to make the choice to participate in
community, to be friendly when, for me, it was sometimes easier to keep to
myself.
Now that we are living this nomadic lifestyle,
it takes even more effort to maintain friendships and build community. We
are always meeting new people, and I find myself frequently pleasantly
surprised at the connections we are able to make with people whom we have just
met. I like how C.S. Lewis puts it; “Friendship is born at that
moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the
only one.'”
So the making of new friends isn’t really the
difficult part. It seems that I could get along with just about anybody for a
short time, finding common ground in one place or another. Disclaimer: this has
not always been easy for me, I find myself naturally awkward and shy. After
years of being pushed by my parents to make friends, or at least conversations,
or at the very least, eye contact, and then 20 years of marriage to a very
outgoing husband, I have found myself not only able to be friendly, but actually
enjoying the process of meeting new people! Do not fear, fellow introverts of
the world, friendliness can be learned!
Maintaining friendships is harder. If you live
a regular, stationary life the difficulty might be that after being with
someone for a while, you find things they do that get on your nerves, or find
out that they might happen to have different political views, or
whatever.
In this nomadic lifestyle, it is difficult to
maintain community because of obvious reasons. The distance is the main
obstacle. It takes effort, I can’t rely on the fact that I will see the same
lovely faces three times a week at church. I have to make that phone call or
send that message and set a date and time and then we can sit together and eat
and talk and laugh.
I remember fondly a time this past spring when
a friend reached out and made that connection a reality for me. I had posted
something on facebook about being with family for easter and how it was such a
blessing. A friend of mine commented “When are you coming down to
visit?” and I didn’t know for sure so I just said that I missed them and
hoped to see them soon. That answer didn’t satisfy and she called me up. I am
so thankful for persistent friends! She set the whole thing up and we visited
with her and several other friends the next day. It was just what I
needed.
I think I am guilty of using social media to fill the
void of community sometimes. I feel like it isn’t just me, too many of us
are sucked into a virtual world and missing out on the real one. The irony is
not lost on me while I sit here typing on my blog that I will post online.
Looking at pictures and commenting about loved ones’ lives is great and I love
to be able to see their lives and keep up. But it is a weak replacement for the
real thing. Not only that, too often I miss out on my own little community – my
husband and 5 kids!
We had breakfast with an older gentleman a
short while ago and he showed us his flip cell phone. He said if he wants to
talk to someone, he will call them because calling is better than texting. He
demonstrated by acting like he was talking to a friend “It’s so good to
hear your voice! I have missed talking to you! How are you today?”
He’s right. But I don’t see myself going back to a flip phone.
I still see the value of these online tools, and I
regularly use texting. I think they have their place. But they also have their
limits. Texting is great for short bits of information, but not so much for a
meaningful conversation. Social media is great for friends and family gossip, I
mean updates, (hehehe) but it is a weak substitute for actual community.
Can we also just talk about how spending time with
friends AND food is a great idea? This isn’t a new thought, it is even in the
Bible: “So continuing daily with one
accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they
ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,praising
God and having favor with all the people…” Acts 2:46-47 We have
found that when you spend time over a meal with people, your relationship
deepens. This is true with new friends, old friends, family, and especially
within our immediate family.
Something pretty cool has happened on the road
as we have been traveling, we find ourselves returning to places we have been
before, and reconnecting with people. It is pretty cool because it seems that
with friendship, you can pick up right where you left off. The kids have made
friends along the way, and it is cool to see them excited to go back and
visit.
I’ve also noticed that I value my time with my
friends and family more. I don’t get to see them as often so I have realized
how precious that time is. I think traveling has affected all 7 of us in this
way. I have really been working on being intentional with my time and
appreciating the people I happen to be with.
Thank you for reading this post as I talk
about community. I hope that you are all enjoying that sense of community and
friendship in your own lives!
If you would like to find out more about our
ministry, Kingdom Pursuit Ministries, go to www.kpministry.org
I’m sorry for what I said about you in the
past. On roadtrips across the great USA it is often necessary to
drive through Kansas.
So, I have been through Kansas
quite a few times. With the destination in mind, it seems that it has always
been a rush, with no time to stop and explore. I have been guilty of
complaining about the seemingly endless farm fields, flat lands, and wide open
spaces.
But something happened this week, this week we
are driving through Kansas with time to spare. Our journey is taking us from
southeastern Colorado to North Central Missouri. The trip is about 800 miles
and we have almost a whole week to do it.
Upon entering Kansas from Colorado, we stopped
at the welcome center to enjoy some free coffee, stretch our legs, get a photo
with Dorothy and the rest of the Wizard of Oz cast, and pick up a couple of
travel brochures. I am a sucker for welcome centers and travel brochures/magazines.
Even with my handy smart phone, I find these old-fashioned paper sources of
information much more informative and I like the tactile feeling of flipping
pages as opposed to staring at a screen. Anyway, we were able to find
some great information about some places that we would stop at later.
We drove a little further into the state and
stopped along a rest stop. I had read on my RVParky app that Kansas rest stops
offer free dump stations and overnight parking was allowed. The rest stop had a
large circle drive past the dump station. There was adequate space for us to
park and have a picnic and run around in the yard. It really was a park-like
setting and we decided to stay for the night. Thankfully the extreme heat from
last week had passed and we stayed cool with our windows open.
The next day we made a pitstop at Walmart and
then drove on to the town of Oakley. We stopped at the Buffalo Bill
Cultural Center. I didn’t know much about Buffalo Bill apart from his famed
wild west show. Apparently it was near the city of Oakley that William F.
Cody earned his nickname after winning a Buffalo hunting competition against
William Comstock where he killed 69 buffalo in one day! Poor Buffalo, but there
was a purpose for all that hunting – the meat was used to feed the railroad
workers.
We enjoyed taking a few photo opps with the
giant sculptures and face-cut-outs of famous western figures outside of the
center. Inside the center we talked to the friendly, helpful workers and did
some shopping at the gift shop. I found an interesting book about Annie Oakley
(but no, the town was not named after her)
Also in the town of Oakley is the Fink Fossil
Museum, housed in the same building as the public library. This museum has a
very impressive collection of fossilized shark teeth and various sea creatures.
These sea creatures’ bones and teeth were found right in the middle of
Kansas! I am often amazed that there is no mention of a world wide flood
in museums around the USA, as the evidence seems to point to that possibility,
but there is only one accepted viewpoint on the history of things and I wish
alternative theories were mentioned. Nevertheless, the fossils were very
interesting to look at, even if I disagree with the timelines that were
given.
In this museum there were also several
displays about the local history of that area, including a sod house, a replica
of a train station, local shops, an old firetruck, and a nice collection of
artwork by local artists. Before we left we bought a few pieces of candy and
the nice lady at the counter gave each of the kids a fossilized shark
tooth.
The area where all these fossils were found is
near Oakley and is called Monument Rock. It is kind of like a minature version
of the Badlands. Is it terrible that we didn’t actually go and explore it? The
kids were much more excited about the playground next to the library, and I
figured I had given them enough learning opportunities for one day. Maybe next
time we come through.
We made the trip into Kansas City for some
famous bbq. It was difficult to choose where to go, there are so many choices
and they all had great reviews. We decided on Arthur Bryants for pure
historical/nostalgic value. Technically they are in Missouri, oh well, close
enough. Arthur Bryant’s did not dissappoint. Yum! Everything was messy and
delicious.
After our bbq adventure of yummyness we spent
the night in the Cabella’s parking lot just west of Kansas City (we actually
left our RV there while we drove into the city for dinner). This particular
Cabella had a wildlife museum and the world’s largest collection of mule deer.
It was interesting to see all of the varieties of animals and the large
aquarium. It is funny to me that sometimes we seem to enjoy boondocking in
store parking lots just as much as a campground.
An amazing perk of full-time travel is there
is plenty of time to explore small towns all across the globe. Even if you
don’t travel full-time, there is always something new to experience and explore
if you look hard enough. It is worth the effort, who knows what kind of
adventure you will have!
The lesson I learned in Kansas could apply to
other areas of life. Complaining about boredom is never a good
idea. I don’t let my kids do it, so maybe I should take my own
advice. I remember reading somewhere the words of one wise mother who
would reply to the classic “I’m bored” complaint from her kids
“There’s no such thing as boredom, only a lack of creativity.” True.
Thank you for reading along, I hope you are all having wonderful
adventures!
If you would like to find out more about our ministry, Kingdom
Pursuit Ministries check out www.kpministry.org.
