I once read a quote that said, "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." Only recently has that witty little notation come to have real meaning for us.
As you know, we have been advertising our lift-off date as August 1st... And up until today we have been intent (if not irrationally adamant) on sticking to that schedule. The renovations are in full gear, I'm pulling ridiculous hours to get everything done, the kids are wondering why mommy and daddy are so busy and not playing with them (mommy and daddy are finishing work, tying up lose ends, renovating, commuting, prepping insurance and the like, and fumbling their way through new transitions), and now we have been hit with news that Indi is needed at Sick Kids for more testing - - starting tomorrow morning!
***Please keep Indiana in your prayers...
August 1st is losing it's appeal.
We will keep you updated.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Catch Up
Due to the big move-out of the house, the licensing of the RV, changing ownership, and moving down to the Danforth (which we are absolutely loving!), we have been absentee bloggers...
Coming soon will be more pics of our new home, a detailed account of the chaos that has accompanied our move, and the remarkable emotional impact of the last two weeks...
If you happen to be passing by TOB, check out the big dark pink RV in the parking lot!
Man it's HOT out there... Stay indoors if possible, don't idle, hydrate, be nice...
Coming soon will be more pics of our new home, a detailed account of the chaos that has accompanied our move, and the remarkable emotional impact of the last two weeks...
If you happen to be passing by TOB, check out the big dark pink RV in the parking lot!
Man it's HOT out there... Stay indoors if possible, don't idle, hydrate, be nice...
Sunday, June 13, 2010
The 1998 Fleetwood Discovery NAME CONTEST...
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Monday, June 7, 2010
SOLD!
Well friends, she's 36 feet in length, runs on diesel fuel, and she's pink!
At 4:53 pm on this day, the 7th of June, 2010, we shook hands with Roger and sealed the deal. We are now the proud owners of our next home on wheels... A 1998 Fleetwood Discovery... Approximately 215 square feet of living space.
We haven't named her yet... All suggestions are welcome. Email them to us at:
nomadsbychoice@gmail.com
P.S. More pictures of "unnamed RV" to come...
At 4:53 pm on this day, the 7th of June, 2010, we shook hands with Roger and sealed the deal. We are now the proud owners of our next home on wheels... A 1998 Fleetwood Discovery... Approximately 215 square feet of living space.
We haven't named her yet... All suggestions are welcome. Email them to us at:
nomadsbychoice@gmail.com
P.S. More pictures of "unnamed RV" to come...
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Cement
Have you ever carried a bag of cement? It’s heavy, dead weight. It stifles your ability to walk. You move, but it’s more of a stiff and slumberous trudge, like Frankenstein’s’ monster.
Try as you might, you cannot carry such a thing and ignore the fact. The weight is real and cumbersome.
As we approach the date of departure -- which increasingly feels more 'real' everyday -- where words and imagination become indisputably palpable, it gets heavy like that bag of cement.
Although we pretend not to be, we are tense about finances, walking around with a bit of a clenched jaw. We are unsure of how this whole thing will play out. We are nervous about what a family full of allergies will eat. And still there is that lingering doubt, like maybe this whole thing is some sort of extremist response to a mid-life crisis…
And it feels like cement.
“59 more days” rolls of the tongue like “tomorrow” rolled off yesterday. Are we ready for this? Is this really happening?
As my wife comes downstairs from putting the kids to bed, she puts her arm around me and smiles. She tells me something Pica said and we laugh…
I am suddenly reminded of the moment we’re in. I’m reminded that tomorrow is promised to nobody. I’m reminded of how much I love my wife and kids. And just now the load gets lighter. The bag tears at the bottom.
We’re in this together. And the fear that sometimes pushes us around is just interference. After all, if God is for us, who can be against us? Maybe we're more prepared than we think...
Try as you might, you cannot carry such a thing and ignore the fact. The weight is real and cumbersome.
As we approach the date of departure -- which increasingly feels more 'real' everyday -- where words and imagination become indisputably palpable, it gets heavy like that bag of cement.
Although we pretend not to be, we are tense about finances, walking around with a bit of a clenched jaw. We are unsure of how this whole thing will play out. We are nervous about what a family full of allergies will eat. And still there is that lingering doubt, like maybe this whole thing is some sort of extremist response to a mid-life crisis…
And it feels like cement.
“59 more days” rolls of the tongue like “tomorrow” rolled off yesterday. Are we ready for this? Is this really happening?
As my wife comes downstairs from putting the kids to bed, she puts her arm around me and smiles. She tells me something Pica said and we laugh…
I am suddenly reminded of the moment we’re in. I’m reminded that tomorrow is promised to nobody. I’m reminded of how much I love my wife and kids. And just now the load gets lighter. The bag tears at the bottom.
We’re in this together. And the fear that sometimes pushes us around is just interference. After all, if God is for us, who can be against us? Maybe we're more prepared than we think...
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The ever-problematic procedure of choosing
Apparently, I could not choose a better title...
There can be no denying that this process for us has been, and continues to be, a ‘decision-making-process.’ After all, we have made the decision to sell our house and most of our belongings, just as we are now in the process of making decisions regarding what our new home-on-wheels will be, where we will go, and that sort of thing.
People have been asking us why we are doing this. For those of you who want to know, we are doing this because we somehow feel strongly that we should. Unfortunately we have little more to offer by way of explanation, unless you are interested in a bit of a Bible study. If not, we encourage you to stop reading here, and we’ll meet up again at the next entry…
If you are interested to hear a bit more about how we have come to make these decisions, in light of the uncertainty that forever presents itself to the Christian decision-maker, we can offer only our experience and a some scripture.
Through out the bible we are given phrases like “Get up” (Jdg. 7:15, 1 Ki. 19:5, Eze. 3:22, Mark 2:9, Acts 22:16), “Go out” (Ex. 16:4, Luke 14:21), “Do likewise” (Luke 10:37), “Seek me” (Jer. 29:13, Amo. 5:4), and “Follow me” (Matt. 4:19, Luke 5:27, Acts 12:8). These are all sending messages. No matter how we cut it, these are action words.
For us, such repetition finally jarred us into asking questions like, “how can we ‘go out’ and ‘follow Him’”? And herein lay the crux. Upon deciding that ‘yes, we should make more of an effort to “go out” beyond our comfort zone,’ we are immediately left with a harsh and sometimes debilitating LACK of holy street signs pointing the way.
Indeed, in our humble experience, long gone are the days of burning bushes, pillars of fire from the sky, and luminous stars throwing spotlights on where to go.
The other day we were reading Philippians, and in 2:12 it says that we should continue to “work out” our salvation. This too is a phrase of action. It seems to hint that there are no clear lines to follow, save that somehow we are to go and seek first the Kingdom of God – before all other things. And with this as our chief concern God will lead us as we go. He will lead AS WE GO.
How does He do that, you ask… We ask that too - - all the time!
We have no idea, except that in the last several months, as we have slowly made decisions with the bible in one hand and our lifestyles in the other, we have felt peace along the way. Sometimes after making a substantial choice we will each have a lot of joy about it, and this coupled with encouragement and prayer from others has served to slowly shape a clearer vision of what we are to do…
So for now, we’re taking it a day at a time, one small choice followed by another.
There can be no denying that this process for us has been, and continues to be, a ‘decision-making-process.’ After all, we have made the decision to sell our house and most of our belongings, just as we are now in the process of making decisions regarding what our new home-on-wheels will be, where we will go, and that sort of thing.
People have been asking us why we are doing this. For those of you who want to know, we are doing this because we somehow feel strongly that we should. Unfortunately we have little more to offer by way of explanation, unless you are interested in a bit of a Bible study. If not, we encourage you to stop reading here, and we’ll meet up again at the next entry…
If you are interested to hear a bit more about how we have come to make these decisions, in light of the uncertainty that forever presents itself to the Christian decision-maker, we can offer only our experience and a some scripture.
Through out the bible we are given phrases like “Get up” (Jdg. 7:15, 1 Ki. 19:5, Eze. 3:22, Mark 2:9, Acts 22:16), “Go out” (Ex. 16:4, Luke 14:21), “Do likewise” (Luke 10:37), “Seek me” (Jer. 29:13, Amo. 5:4), and “Follow me” (Matt. 4:19, Luke 5:27, Acts 12:8). These are all sending messages. No matter how we cut it, these are action words.
For us, such repetition finally jarred us into asking questions like, “how can we ‘go out’ and ‘follow Him’”? And herein lay the crux. Upon deciding that ‘yes, we should make more of an effort to “go out” beyond our comfort zone,’ we are immediately left with a harsh and sometimes debilitating LACK of holy street signs pointing the way.
Indeed, in our humble experience, long gone are the days of burning bushes, pillars of fire from the sky, and luminous stars throwing spotlights on where to go.
The other day we were reading Philippians, and in 2:12 it says that we should continue to “work out” our salvation. This too is a phrase of action. It seems to hint that there are no clear lines to follow, save that somehow we are to go and seek first the Kingdom of God – before all other things. And with this as our chief concern God will lead us as we go. He will lead AS WE GO.
How does He do that, you ask… We ask that too - - all the time!
We have no idea, except that in the last several months, as we have slowly made decisions with the bible in one hand and our lifestyles in the other, we have felt peace along the way. Sometimes after making a substantial choice we will each have a lot of joy about it, and this coupled with encouragement and prayer from others has served to slowly shape a clearer vision of what we are to do…
So for now, we’re taking it a day at a time, one small choice followed by another.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Great Expectations
Remember I told you how "a few days later the phone rang"? (See "A mess you can't get out of"). Well it was a friend of ours telling us about someone they knew who was getting kicked-out of her place. For whatever reason, our friend called us. The woman moved in with us that night. A couple of months later and an identical call (but from a different friend) had us asking our 5 year old if we could give her bed to someone who needed a place to live - and was coming to live with us. She said "yes," and then jumped into bed with her sister. Over two years later and our girls still voluntarily share a bed!
Our small three bedroom town home (our first home) was now a relatively full-house (6 in total). These once strangers who occupied our basement and third bedroom quickly became family. Over the next two years, as they found their feet and moved out, others moved in.
A good friend of mine said something to me this morning that stuck with me throughout the day. It wasn't until my drive home that I was able to put it down, and I take it up again only now to tell you about it. She said, "I think that you may be putting a lot (meaning expectations) on this trip." Maybe I am? Are we setting ourselves up for a giant letdown? These were two of many thoughts I wrestled with throughout the day. I was genuinely worried that that was exactly what we are doing...
But what occurred to me so clearly during the drive home is that the very reason we are doing all of this (selling everything and hitting the road) is because we ARE "putting a lot" on this trip - - in fact, we're putting everything on this trip!
I was reminded today of our expectations for this odyssey:
We want untainted time with each other and with our children. I anticipate that.
We want to slow down, to become single-taskers, opposed to multi-taskers. I anticipate that.
We want to meet people, and to see what's happening outside of our familiar-zone. I anticipate that.
And we want to have time where we can push into God - the one who created us. We want time to LISTEN, to be still, to read and to pray. And I anticipate that.
When we asked God to use our home and our resources (in that old prayer), He came through in a big way. I expect nothing less this time around.
Thanks Kim for all of your wisdom and encouragement as we prepare.
Our small three bedroom town home (our first home) was now a relatively full-house (6 in total). These once strangers who occupied our basement and third bedroom quickly became family. Over the next two years, as they found their feet and moved out, others moved in.
A good friend of mine said something to me this morning that stuck with me throughout the day. It wasn't until my drive home that I was able to put it down, and I take it up again only now to tell you about it. She said, "I think that you may be putting a lot (meaning expectations) on this trip." Maybe I am? Are we setting ourselves up for a giant letdown? These were two of many thoughts I wrestled with throughout the day. I was genuinely worried that that was exactly what we are doing...
But what occurred to me so clearly during the drive home is that the very reason we are doing all of this (selling everything and hitting the road) is because we ARE "putting a lot" on this trip - - in fact, we're putting everything on this trip!
I was reminded today of our expectations for this odyssey:
We want untainted time with each other and with our children. I anticipate that.
We want to slow down, to become single-taskers, opposed to multi-taskers. I anticipate that.
We want to meet people, and to see what's happening outside of our familiar-zone. I anticipate that.
And we want to have time where we can push into God - the one who created us. We want time to LISTEN, to be still, to read and to pray. And I anticipate that.
When we asked God to use our home and our resources (in that old prayer), He came through in a big way. I expect nothing less this time around.
Thanks Kim for all of your wisdom and encouragement as we prepare.
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