Cowboy Up, Buttercup!

Read something during one of our long drives (we are now in Northern, ID from Southern, UT) that talked about living in the now rather than getting caught up in the past or the future. It almost made the point that we get enslaved to the dreams, goals, ideals, etc. of the future. I, for one, am guilty as charged. In itself, it doesn’t seem that bad. It’s good to have dreams, goals, and things to look forward to. Unfortunately, what is often missed in the process is whatever it is in front of us today. Kristine likes to call it my “Go Mode.” I like to accomplish my tasks and goals and can often overlook what’s right in front of me in the moment. Soooo we had an opportunity presented to us in Western, MT. One lone cowboy. A gallon sized hat. A couple spiffy boots. A gray beard. And a thumb. But we have a schedule! It’s not safe! What if… What if… What if…!
What if this man was the very thing presented to us for that day? Sure, we had our own plans for the day and had to call an audible to make some changes. However, we got to help someone other than ourselves. A hardworking man who served our country for over 20 years, including 2 tours in Vietnam. A man who has had a rough go at things lately and no longer had a way to get home to Barstow, CA. A broken man who had been stripped of all he had (including money, truck, and wife), kicked to the streets, and been denied help by “the church.” A man, who by the time we were dropping him off at a train station in Idaho bound for Bakersfield, was confessing to thoughts of suicide for the first time in his life right before we pulled over to face what was in front of us in the moment for that day. Sure glad I’m not the one in charge of this whole thing we call life. There is a peace to knowing that if I just walk with eyes open today, someone bigger than myself will show me what he has for me and how, really, it’s not about me. It’s about considering others better than myself and seeing people the way God sees them… with love, compassion, and grace. Man, that’s a tall order. Near impossible. But with Christ all things are possible.
What’s in front of you today?

 

Zion National Park, UT > Bryce Canyon National Park UT > Payson, UT >  Butte, MT > Missoula, MT > Sandpoint, ID

Headed from Zion to Bryce Canyon

BBRRRYCE CANYON! Pictures do not do this place justice... If you haven't been, make the trek!

These start with a dime size hole in a rock. Bryce Canyon experiences 200+ freeze/thaw cycles each year which continually changes the landscape. Learn somethin' new everyday.

Had some amazing drives from Southern Utah to Northern Idaho complete with pastures, rivers, fall colors, mountains, snow, and small towns.

Get busy livin' or get busy dyin' - Shawshank

Have you ever been so amazed by someone’s generosity that it makes you pause and question if you would do the same for someone else? And then you come to the raw conclusion that maybe you need to do an evaluation? I mean, honestly, how many of us would let someone borrow, with no strings attached, our motorhome to take wherever and however long the borrower wants? Since we are on the receiving end of this scenario we feel INCREDIBLY blessed and are challenged to make sure our hands are always wide open, freely giving, with no strings attached. Jesus said that it is more blessed to give than to receive. The blessings that are in store for our lenders must be incredible. Here are a few pictures (all can be clicked on to enlarge) of our first days on the road… Thousand Oaks, CA to Barstow, CA to Las Vegas, NV to Zion National Park, UT. This house and community were a huge blessing over the last 5 years. First stop... Thousand Oaks to pick up the RV from two of the most amazing people we know! Meet "Boachmen," he's a Ford Coachmen! Campsite we found at the base of Zion National Park. Spent 2 nights here with Zion in the background... miles and miles of hiking. Couldn't get enough! Zion National Park - Photo not doctored! Zion - Photo definitely doctored to look this good!

surprise!

41 and counting…

so we are sitting on an airplane right now and have been up for 41 hours so far with about 12 more to go! well, we have had a nap or two for an hour or so. we are on yet another adventure… this one all began about 10 days ago as we were seeking god about where to go next. we were in malaysia at the time. our plan was to be "tourists" for the month of august and head back to life impact in thailand for the month of september. so here we were throwing ideas around… vietnam, laos, cambodia, etc. however nothing was sitting well. out of no where we had the idea of going back to thailand and being with life impact until we felt more sure of where to go. we instantly felt peace about this decision and both felt god had just spoke that to both of us. what peace!
we hopped on a boat and headed north about 12 hours later. over the next few days we started to feel god calling us "home" and that he was calling us back to life impact right away so we could say our good-byes. we had NO IDEA that this was his plan and it sure wasn't ours. but again, that peace came back when we were making the decision to go home. the bible says that it is a "peace that surpasses all understanding." total freedom thats for sure.
just a side note… during this time back with life impact god continued to speak huge to us about just what he is preparing us for as we go back home and it is so exciting we can barely contain ourselves. he had us up till 4 in the morning giving us vision. our god is alive and speaks! anyways more on that later with another posting!
so we began the process to try to get home which was another thing that we had to lay at god's feet and trust that he would iron out the details because all the flights were full until august 31. this date would be too late to accomplish some of what we wanted to be home for… anyways god came through more than we can imagine and all of a sudden we are on buses and planes and trains back to good ol california!
and to top it all off… we haven't told a soul back home so it's gonna be surprises all around! we can't wait to see you all!!!!!
love you guys!

if his grace is an ocean we are all sinking

malaysia

after our friends flew out of indonesia back to the states we headed to malaysia... we stayed for a few days in kuala lumpur and did some city tour stuff while trying to figure out some more travel plans. one place we spent some serious time at was the mall where we found free internet... how people figured out traveling before the internet is beyond me! this mall was absolutely huge... 12 or 13 floors. complete with an amusement park, bowling alley, and a pool hall. below is a picture of the elevators in the mall.
we decided on heading to langkawi, malaysia for a little r+r together. langkawi is an island on the west side of malaysia on the indian ocean. it was absolutely beautiful. after a few days we began a long journey back to thailand by ferry, bus, train, and bus again. about 36 hours of travel later we were back in thailand and back with life impact! so here we are... for now at least. reconnecting with people here and seeing where to head to next... always an adventure. thank god for the internet!

our last boat trip posting... promise!

this sweet video is of matt jumping off the rock cliff at about 60 ft. okay, just kidding, he's in the boat wearing the goofy hat, wishing he could jump but realizing that at age 27 and with broken bones, all you can do is sport awesome hats. these guys were crazy but it was awesome to see them from the dingy. check out the water in the second picture. it was absolutely beautiful. third pic is of our entire team. def. a trip of a lifetime, even if we were too old to jump! :)