CAREFULLY CARELESS

When we meet new people on the road, we know nothing about their background. Nothing at all to keep us from assuming the best. We have nothing with which to hold against such a new acquaintance. There is no preconceived context to place them in a labeled box. They are given a clean slate with which to draw themselves. They can present any side or angle of themselves that they wish to show us. This contrasts how our biological families and longstanding neighbors present invit

"The term honeymoon comes from the idea that “the first month of marriage is the sweetest”, hence honey (sweet) and moon (referring to a calendar month). Back in the day (we're talking 5th century), the Babylonians would give the bride's father a month's worth of mead to ensure his daughter's happiness (and to make him forget how much he spent on the wedding). This month was called the "honey month," which eventually evolved into our beloved "honeymoon." (batchmead.com, Feb.

Stranger: "Basta premere il pulsante e uscirà l’etichetta con il prezzo del pane da usare alla cassa, ma bisogna pesarlo prima della stampa." Me: "Uh. Sí." On more than one occasion since living overseas, I have been rightfully humbled, feeling what many marginalized persons have felt before--I must be dumb, or at the very least, missing something key to comprehension. The foreigner, the elderly, the disabled, and the minority have all felt this same feeling, not because of a

I've never stopped to ponder what the wife of the infamous Ark-builder was actually like. Strangely though, she has recently become a comfortable companion for me-- a friend, whom I can warmly sit and relate to her story. As a boy mom, we both know the pangs of being punched, bruised, and yelled at in the names of love and hate. She welcomed three daughters in-law, into the family. (I'm sure she could shed a lot of wisdom I have yet to obtain.) I on the other hand welcomed a

"Abandonment means refusing yourself the luxury of asking questions, The moment you truly abandon yourself to God, you no longer worry about what He's going to do." (Oswald Chambers, Utmost for His Highest, Apr. 28) Abandon: To forsake, relinquish, yield without restraint, give up control, leave completely, physically depart, release inhibitions, renounce utterly, freedom from artificial constraints, ease to surrender, leave behind, release, hand over, or give up completely

Our brains are meant to learn. We know this is the purpose of our cerebral organ. It's very structure is based on the absorption and process of information. We have all heard about studies showing how children's brains more easily sort information (like languages), and we are strongly advised to challenge our adult brains with new knowledge in order to keep our mental muscles firing on all cylinders. Knowledge in and of itself is not an enemy. However, when we are in the cro

The greater the gift, the greater the demands. I'm not sure if anyone has quoted that before, but I think it stems from Luke 12:48, which says, " From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." It hit me recently how much this relates to marriage, but how we only associate it with gifts other than marriage. Think about it: if work requires our time or dedication, we'll oblige. If getti

If you hate poetry, well you won't appreciate this, but if you've ever lived without modern appliances, and then come back to them, you'll understand. I have had a month of grand appreciation and decided to write my own Ode... "Ode to Appliances: Buttons of Ease" With the ease of buttons all quarters are lost. And with them too thoughts of dedication: The days which suited best for washing and drying, The time which suited best for function or applying. Each machine open, av

It happened gradually. I left my parents house for a dorm that I made has homey as possible. Then I made an apartment as cozy as I could with some friends. Soon I left my apartment and moved into my first home with my husband. I naturally became a homemaker even with a fulltime job. I love making a place a home. I brought all my babies into that first home, which I nested in for almost a decade. After that, we felt a call to leave that home, so we rented a house not far away

We have been contemplating going overseas for as little as a month and as much as an entire year because we still don't know where God is calling us to live after traveling around North America for two years (and then some). We also want to soak up our probable final year of full-time traveling. Life is too short to wait until you're retired. You may never get there. So if you can go, you should go. However, we've had unexpected circumstances keep us in our old stomping groun

There's enough full-time RV families to answer all your questions of how? why? where? etc. We, personally, watched Keep Your Daydream on Youtube for years before moving to the road. However, if you're not a full-timer, it's easy to romanticize or scrutinize the mobile lifestyle. Every time I meet someone on the road and tell them I live in an RV with my husband and four boys, they say, "Wow, I have a million questions." So, I figured I'd answer the top 10 for those who are s

We have met so many families who seem to be utilizing "camping" as glue for their family. I would have assumed that the opposite was...

I have a son who LOVES all food. Having once been fed solely through a G-tube, he appreciates eating more than my other kids. When a...

According to Our World Data, if you are a keen conversationalist, on average you will talk to three new people each day. Then by the time...

I've ALWAYS wanted to visit Hawaii, but when I boarded a plane to Oahu for the first time the strangest anxiety swept over me. That's the...

I remember going back and forth on highway 400 every day in the spring of 2015. Every morning and every evening, back and forth in my...

We are often asked how we have any privacy, let alone intimacy, living on the road with four boys all together, all the time. Well after a year in the RV, I can confidently say that our marriage is deeper and more intimate now than when we had regularly scheduled date nights and plenty of space to separate from our kids. In case you're one of the curious ones, I'll let you in on the secret. When we lived in brick and mortar, my husband and I had two very different jobs, and

After nine months on the road, we finally returned "home" for some important doctors appointments. While we don't have a physical home in...

I've noticed a trend while walking down the busiest streets in North America with kids. Instead of hiding from the unpleasantries, the...

It has happened many times. I wake up, and I'm not sure what day it is, what time it is, or what I'm going to see out my window. I can't ...