The word adventure tends to lean towards a positive note. Sometimes people set out on great adventures, exploring, traveling. New stages of life, such as getting married, having kids, or maybe starting a new career can be labeled as adventure.
For us, adventure usually means this dictionary definition:
adventure: an exciting or very unusual experience
We are rarely doing what most people consider normal and more times than not people are questioning our sanity and sound reason behind our choices. We have gotten use to it.
I have often tried to tell people I am not adventurous- I have no desire for adrenaline rushes of any kind, but people argue that having 5 kids is in fact, an adventure. I admit, they are right.
I like control, even though I know I don’t really have any. I want to know what is going on and when. I want to know how. I want to plan and then to execute the plan. I don’t like the unknown. I like to know the odds are in my favor. BUT God keeps asking us to do things that put us in positions where none of those things are possible!
2.5 years ago we were living in a camper, building what we thought would be our forever home. We designed the house with our family in mind. With our desire to host and love on others. With dreams in hand, we built the house. My husband mostly did all the hard labor while I tried to keep us afloat in the camper. But there were nights I’d bring the monitor out to the house after everyone was asleep and help in whatever way I could. That house was a true labor of love and although the process wasn’t easy, we have so many good memories of this time together.
Our story starts long before this. The journey of learning to trust God and let Him lead. It has been a process and not one we are always good at. I want ensure the magnitude of God’s goodness in our life is evident. I want to tell you every single detail. Maybe, in time I can. But today I want to share what got us where we are right now.
We lived in our newly built, gorgeous home for almost a year when God started nudging us. We felt pretty confident that God was telling us to sell our house. At first I resisted big time. No way am I selling this house! Are you nuts?? Our reclaimed wood walls, gorgeous oak hardwood floor. The sacrifice that got us here….. There was just too much I wasn’t even willing to humor giving up. But my heart softened and I started trying to really listen to what God was saying. In the end its just a house and what makes a home is who is in it. Ready or not, we moved forward.
We knew what selling the house meant for us. There were so many pro’s for our family and the more we looked at it, the more it made sense. God’s hand was in it all too. The timing of every single thing. The details. He was there.
Our house sold a few months after listing it. We immediately started building the shop where we live currently. Our agreement with the buyers gave us a little time to stay in the house after closing so we could get the shop ready, but we knew the shop wouldn’t be fully ready when we had to move. We had several friends who offered to let us stay with them. Talk about good friends- 7 extra people is a lot! The biggest thing we were waiting on for the shop to be livable was electricity. They told us 7-10 days to get it all ready. 30 days later we had electricity! We were displaced much longer than we thought and it was more difficult being homeless than what I anticipated.
Nothing so far has gone the way it was suppose to. Our house plans took longer to finalize than what we planned. The construction loan…. Then weather kept us from starting the new house. BUT here we are now, building a house again! Another labor of love. Another adventure. Again, the way God has shown us His grace, favor, and love in the process has been amazing!
I’m starting to think that maybe we (Joel & I) learn best when we are in difficult situations. Sometimes the stress wears on us, but often times it pushes us closer as we navigate unexpected hardships together. 2018 was nothing short of one big crazy, messy, adventure. We faced lots of things we didn’t plan for. We had to change direction. We found ourselves wondering in a valley we would rather not be in. BUT, I can’t imagine we could have learned all we did otherwise.
My hope is that this year brings newness to our family. I plan to share so much of our adventure with you too. I want to share the real trials, the humor, the joy, and most of all, I want to share God’s goodness in the daily details of our lives!
All the things 