It was getting late and it was raining.
I knew I should walk down and close the door.
I made a justification: it was raining and nothing had happened before when the door was left open.
I wake up.
I go check.
There are feathers scattered around, including baby ones and the fence is down.
The chickens were attacked and three are gone, including a baby chick.
I know, these are just chickens. But it is my fault, I didn’t go down and close the door.
These baby chicks have had more meaning than just chicks.
A friend shared that because we have a rooster, all the eggs we get are fertile. It is just a matter of when a hen decides to sit on some of the eggs that they grow, hatch and become baby chicks. One of the hens chose…these were the eggs she was going to sit on.
There were three.
Weeks went by and nothing happened. We began to think the eggs were rotten and the allotted time had gone by. We were giving mama hen one more week.
One egg hatched. Three days later another hatched.
The third never made it and disappeared.
There were two.
We watched them grow like weeds and new meaning came from the Lord hiding us under his wing as I watched one chick hide under its mother’s wing with only its head peeking out.
I watched them. I watched mama hen be a mama bear towards the other hens. I watched mama hen find crickets for her babies and rip up food for her babies.
Last night, I didn’t close the door.
Now there is only one.
I feel like this is our dreams. The same friend as above shared that sometimes we have choices in our dreams…which ones do we want to sit on? Which ones do we want to invest our time, energy, care and love into? Sometimes the Lord gives us a choice to choose which dreams we want to sit on.
Sometimes part of that dream never comes about, it never hatches.
Sometimes you forget to close the door and part of that dream dies.
But one part might live, one part might make it and it needs to be nurtured, cared for and protected. And then we can watch it grow up and become what the Lord meant it to be.
Here’s to hoping, dreaming, grieving and allowing God to hide us under His wing, just like a mama hen.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
A Renewed Mind & An Undivided Heart
“Jesus lived in constant confrontation and conflict with the world around Him, because kingdom logic goes against carnal logic.” –Bill Johnson in The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind
A renewed mind and an undivided heart. That is what came to me this morning as I spent some time with Jesus. Last year I felt like my whole year always went back to the theme of Newness and Change. This year I think it may be about having a Renewed Mind and an Undivided Heart. What does that even mean?
I have been feeling at conflict with the world around me the last few months…not in the sense that I am fighting with everyone or thing around me but more in the sense that I am beginning to feel like I don’t belong to the world around me. I live in an RV and most of the people I know think I am crazy. Am I crazy? Or am I just a girl trying to follow her Creator? I know my life doesn’t make much sense to some people at times and when I step back and take a look at it, I wonder what is going on sometimes too. And I know that I can’t tell you where I will be or what my plans are this week or that, because I just don’t know…I always joke with my mom that I am on a need to know basis with the Lord, and I don’t need to know. But I am called to have an undivided heart and that to me, means that I follow after the Lord no matter the cost and I seek His kingdom. I am afraid that the cost is high but what right do I have to complain when Jesus paid the ultimate high price through his death…for me. He died for me. So people think I am crazy or they think that what I am doing is really cool but is not for them. What am I doing other than trying to run after Jesus with my whole heart? I am nothing special, I am doing nothing special. But I am at conflict with the world around me because I think I am starting to gain an understanding of kingdom logic and it really doesn’t fit with carnal logic. It sometimes hurts to move away from carnal logic and embrace Jesus’ way of thinking. People sometimes don’t understand, they want me to just be normal. I can’t. I can’t be normal in the way that my culture and society expect me to be normal.
My heart feels a little broken as I hand my heart and mind over to Jesus to be renewed. I am broken but I want to see Jesus in this world…in the world that is around me.
“Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” –Psalm 86:11
A renewed mind and an undivided heart. That is what came to me this morning as I spent some time with Jesus. Last year I felt like my whole year always went back to the theme of Newness and Change. This year I think it may be about having a Renewed Mind and an Undivided Heart. What does that even mean?
I have been feeling at conflict with the world around me the last few months…not in the sense that I am fighting with everyone or thing around me but more in the sense that I am beginning to feel like I don’t belong to the world around me. I live in an RV and most of the people I know think I am crazy. Am I crazy? Or am I just a girl trying to follow her Creator? I know my life doesn’t make much sense to some people at times and when I step back and take a look at it, I wonder what is going on sometimes too. And I know that I can’t tell you where I will be or what my plans are this week or that, because I just don’t know…I always joke with my mom that I am on a need to know basis with the Lord, and I don’t need to know. But I am called to have an undivided heart and that to me, means that I follow after the Lord no matter the cost and I seek His kingdom. I am afraid that the cost is high but what right do I have to complain when Jesus paid the ultimate high price through his death…for me. He died for me. So people think I am crazy or they think that what I am doing is really cool but is not for them. What am I doing other than trying to run after Jesus with my whole heart? I am nothing special, I am doing nothing special. But I am at conflict with the world around me because I think I am starting to gain an understanding of kingdom logic and it really doesn’t fit with carnal logic. It sometimes hurts to move away from carnal logic and embrace Jesus’ way of thinking. People sometimes don’t understand, they want me to just be normal. I can’t. I can’t be normal in the way that my culture and society expect me to be normal.
My heart feels a little broken as I hand my heart and mind over to Jesus to be renewed. I am broken but I want to see Jesus in this world…in the world that is around me.
“Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” –Psalm 86:11
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Change
This fall I decided I had had enough of our ugly ghetto looking RV. We have done a lot of work to the inside of it but not much to the outside. Our RV is old…it’s an ’83 and was originally done up in burnt orange and browns. Sometime in the 90’s the previous owner decided to give our little RV a makeover and everything went from orange to teal. And the outside was given a new paint job into cream, nail polish pink and a lovely shade of green (okay not lovely at all). Along with that were the few rust spots and the few places my husband did a quick fix job on a few holes to keep the mice out. Needless to say…it was ugly! So we had a few weeks of down time in Alabama and at our friend Lorie’s house so we painted the outside of our little RV home. Here are the before and after pictures:
You know sometimes change is hard. I like change, but that doesn’t mean that it is easy to go through or that it doesn’t take some time to adapt to the newness but life would be so boring without it….maybe even ugly without ever allowing a new coat of paint to be added.
You know sometimes change is hard. I like change, but that doesn’t mean that it is easy to go through or that it doesn’t take some time to adapt to the newness but life would be so boring without it….maybe even ugly without ever allowing a new coat of paint to be added.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Resting
This year has been full. We have traveled this year more than we have in any other year. And I am tired. I know we have had some down time. I had a month of staying with my parents in October while Ben was up in North Dakota working on the sugar beet harvest. But for me, there is something that is not restful when I am around or staying with other people. It is not the other people, it is me. I am an introvert to the core of my being. It doesn’t mean that I don’t like people. I love people, I love hanging out with people. However, it does mean that I get my energy from being alone and having alone time. Since we have been traveling so much I haven’t had the chance to get much alone time and I felt like I had hit a wall of sorts. I had become very emotional and tired and was beginning to feel like I couldn’t function. So Ben and I headed to our friend’s land in Alabama, and it has been just what I needed. We are parked out in an old horse coral. We have plenty of space to feel like we are on our own, yet have friends here as well and have a sense of our neighbors and friends being close by. It is perfect.
I think I have been going through a time of reassessing what I am doing with my life and what I want to do with my life. I have been thinking about how Ben and I live in an RV and it is hard sometimes to not have a permanent place to live. At the same time, I love to travel and don’t think it’s time for us to give that up. I had a friend say recently that we need to do what is best for Ben and I. That was really good to hear because I don’t think I had ever thought about what was best for Ben and I. It now feels really good to take that into consideration and begin to ponder what the best is for us. So this is not a blog saying that we are doing this or that. I don’t know what we are doing other than following the path that the Lord has set before us and right now that is traveling with the Jesus Kitchen and I am really looking forward to heading back out in February. In the meantime, we are heading to Georgia for Thanksgiving and then we’ll head to Massachusetts, then back to Minnesota for Christmas and to work a bit before hitting the road again.
I think I have been going through a time of reassessing what I am doing with my life and what I want to do with my life. I have been thinking about how Ben and I live in an RV and it is hard sometimes to not have a permanent place to live. At the same time, I love to travel and don’t think it’s time for us to give that up. I had a friend say recently that we need to do what is best for Ben and I. That was really good to hear because I don’t think I had ever thought about what was best for Ben and I. It now feels really good to take that into consideration and begin to ponder what the best is for us. So this is not a blog saying that we are doing this or that. I don’t know what we are doing other than following the path that the Lord has set before us and right now that is traveling with the Jesus Kitchen and I am really looking forward to heading back out in February. In the meantime, we are heading to Georgia for Thanksgiving and then we’ll head to Massachusetts, then back to Minnesota for Christmas and to work a bit before hitting the road again.
Monday, November 14, 2011
West Coast Tour: Endings
The last leg of our journey consisted of a fun adventure to the Grand Canyon. Neither Ben nor I had ever been there before and it was quite amazing. It looks fake! And there was so much about it to take in…I would love to go back someday and take a trip rafting down the Colorado River or take a hike down into the canyon itself.
From there we wandered through the Painted Desert and into Utah to take a look at Arches National Park. The desert is such a beautiful place in its own right. I had never really desired to go to a desert because it’s too hot for me…and it was hot but it has a beauty all its own and I’m glad we took a little journey into it to see it.
From there we landed at our friend Jodi and Louise’s house in Colorado. They are a wonderful couple from one of the other Christian kitchens at the Gatherings that we go to. They spoiled us while we were with them…by giving us good food to eat, good food for our souls and lots of adventure. We drove over a 13,114 foot mountain in an old suburban truck, went for beautiful day drives and went horseback riding in the mountains.
We were truly blessed while we were on this trip. We had lots of adventure and got to see so much of God’s beautiful creation. I don’t think I will ever forget this trip…the trip the Lord said to go on and it was cool to see Him not only in His creation but in His people as well. The body of Christ is a beautiful thing and we are so encouraged and blessed by it!
From there we wandered through the Painted Desert and into Utah to take a look at Arches National Park. The desert is such a beautiful place in its own right. I had never really desired to go to a desert because it’s too hot for me…and it was hot but it has a beauty all its own and I’m glad we took a little journey into it to see it.
From there we landed at our friend Jodi and Louise’s house in Colorado. They are a wonderful couple from one of the other Christian kitchens at the Gatherings that we go to. They spoiled us while we were with them…by giving us good food to eat, good food for our souls and lots of adventure. We drove over a 13,114 foot mountain in an old suburban truck, went for beautiful day drives and went horseback riding in the mountains.
We were truly blessed while we were on this trip. We had lots of adventure and got to see so much of God’s beautiful creation. I don’t think I will ever forget this trip…the trip the Lord said to go on and it was cool to see Him not only in His creation but in His people as well. The body of Christ is a beautiful thing and we are so encouraged and blessed by it!
Friday, November 11, 2011
West Coast Tour: California
I have to say that California, as a state, is not my favorite of places. However, some of the most wonderful people I know live there! We spent a loooooooong time in California…most of our trip out west was actually spent here. Here is a synopsis of what we did:
Went to the Redwood Forest, visited friends in Eureka, went to the Lord’s Land (it is now a YWAM base but used to be a Hippie-Christian commune and all the little cabins are made with amazing carpentry and are beautiful), went back to Eureka to visit the same friends as before, went to Redding to visit Bethel Church, spent a couple nights resting at a ministry just outside of San Francisco, went to San Francisco to visit our lovely friends at Outer Circle, went to Bakersfield where we spent a month with our friends Bryan and Emily (really Emily kidnapped us for that long… : ) ok, not really, but it was super fun to be there!), we met an amazing church family at Hingepoint church, went to the Sequoia National Park and saw the biggest tree in the world, visited Wes and Nica in LA AND went to Disneyland.
Wow. That was a lot of stuff in the five weeks that we were in California. But all of it was wonderful and we had such a blast!
Went to the Redwood Forest, visited friends in Eureka, went to the Lord’s Land (it is now a YWAM base but used to be a Hippie-Christian commune and all the little cabins are made with amazing carpentry and are beautiful), went back to Eureka to visit the same friends as before, went to Redding to visit Bethel Church, spent a couple nights resting at a ministry just outside of San Francisco, went to San Francisco to visit our lovely friends at Outer Circle, went to Bakersfield where we spent a month with our friends Bryan and Emily (really Emily kidnapped us for that long… : ) ok, not really, but it was super fun to be there!), we met an amazing church family at Hingepoint church, went to the Sequoia National Park and saw the biggest tree in the world, visited Wes and Nica in LA AND went to Disneyland.
Wow. That was a lot of stuff in the five weeks that we were in California. But all of it was wonderful and we had such a blast!
Monday, September 19, 2011
West Coast Tour: Oregon
After the Rainbow Gathering, a few of us (5 to be exact plus the cat) piled into our mini-van and headed to Oregon. We were on our way to visit my friend Sarah from college, in Salem and ended up camping out behind our friend Heather’s house for a night, which was a lot of fun to see her!
After that we finally made it to Sarah’s house. It had been 2 years since I had seen Sarah, so it was wonderful to see her again! She let us all camp out in her house and spoiled us to death with food and kindness. We were truly blessed by Sarah and her husband Troy. While we were visiting Sarah we stopped by her parent’s house to say hello and low and behold, there was Wanda (Sarah’s mom) making me a beautiful rug on her loom. I was amazed and we all got to try our hand at the loom…what a wonderful way to work on getting your aggression out as you bang on the loom! No, really, it was great you, should try it sometime!
After Sarah’s we drove around all of Oregon. Not really but it felt like it. We headed towards the beach, where we spent a couple days camped out and enjoyed Oregon’s rocky shoreline. Then we headed inland and spent a few days at some lake in the mountains, where Ben and I went canoeing and I thought to myself…I have never been canoeing and looking at snow capped mountains at the same time before. Spectacular!
The next day was our friend Angela’s birthday; she was one of the five traveling with us. So we drove up to Crater Lake, gazed at the beauty up there. Then, we headed towards a little fancy cheese shop and a chocolate shop. Of course we had to eat at Taco Bell (yuck) because it is Angela’s favorite (made the sacrifice for her!!).
After that we finally made it to Sarah’s house. It had been 2 years since I had seen Sarah, so it was wonderful to see her again! She let us all camp out in her house and spoiled us to death with food and kindness. We were truly blessed by Sarah and her husband Troy. While we were visiting Sarah we stopped by her parent’s house to say hello and low and behold, there was Wanda (Sarah’s mom) making me a beautiful rug on her loom. I was amazed and we all got to try our hand at the loom…what a wonderful way to work on getting your aggression out as you bang on the loom! No, really, it was great you, should try it sometime!
After Sarah’s we drove around all of Oregon. Not really but it felt like it. We headed towards the beach, where we spent a couple days camped out and enjoyed Oregon’s rocky shoreline. Then we headed inland and spent a few days at some lake in the mountains, where Ben and I went canoeing and I thought to myself…I have never been canoeing and looking at snow capped mountains at the same time before. Spectacular!
The next day was our friend Angela’s birthday; she was one of the five traveling with us. So we drove up to Crater Lake, gazed at the beauty up there. Then, we headed towards a little fancy cheese shop and a chocolate shop. Of course we had to eat at Taco Bell (yuck) because it is Angela’s favorite (made the sacrifice for her!!).
Thursday, September 15, 2011
West Coast Tour: The Rainbow Gathering
Our team finally arrived in Montana and met up with us. It was so wonderful to see them. Didn’t realize how much we had missed everyone taking off early. We spent a couple of days getting ourselves ready to head into the Gathering, and then we hopped in the bus and took off for South-Western Washington, where the Gathering was held this summer.
It was a very interesting year. Well, actually, it was a hard year for me. Ha! It started off with hiking in later in the day (we usually hike into the Gathering in the morning) and then on top of that…it rained! This was my 10th national Gathering and I have never had to hike into a Gathering in the rain. It wouldn’t have been so bad had it just been rain…but there were still snow banks taller than me all around…so the rain was COLD!! Needless to say we tried to hike in as fast as we could and get all our tents set up and our personal stuff brought in but by that time we were all soaked and our stuff was soaked and the sun was going down. BURR!! I attempted to make dinner for our team that night, but we had forgotten all the cooking utensils, so I made pasta with a tent pole…interesting.
We had a hard time getting ourselves together after that first day. We normally go into the National Gathering with almost 30 people on our team and this year we had 20. We normally have our kitchen set up and running by the afternoon of our 2nd day at the Gathering, and this year we were limping along and not completely set up by the 4th day that we were there. A few of us took turns being in charge of the cooking in the kitchen…which we normally do, but this year it was 10 straight hours of cooking in one day for each of us. I would try to have at least two meals cooking, beans in the pressure cooker cooking and two meals being prepared to cook with each meal serving at least 150 people. Not to mention having to make sure to get beans, lentils and rice soaking so that they would cook faster. Praise the Lord that we each had “Kitchen Monkey’s” (someone to help us do all the cooking for the day…thanks Michaela!!!!) this year! Usually by 2:30ish I would get delirious and not really know what I was doing…it truly was the grace of God that any food got made at all! Ha! This year I also learn how to use a saw and cut wood for our bonfires, yep, in 10 years I had never pick up a saw and I didn’t even cut any fingers off!
All this to say, I really learned that in our weakness God is strong! I learned that God can still move regardless of me. Praise the Lord because He is SO good! So even though I think it was a tough gathering and I really can’t remember all of the details because of delirium, I do know that God moved, people got to see Jesus in us and we got to love on the Rainbow Family!
Picture: Me cooking away in the Jesus Kitchen
It was a very interesting year. Well, actually, it was a hard year for me. Ha! It started off with hiking in later in the day (we usually hike into the Gathering in the morning) and then on top of that…it rained! This was my 10th national Gathering and I have never had to hike into a Gathering in the rain. It wouldn’t have been so bad had it just been rain…but there were still snow banks taller than me all around…so the rain was COLD!! Needless to say we tried to hike in as fast as we could and get all our tents set up and our personal stuff brought in but by that time we were all soaked and our stuff was soaked and the sun was going down. BURR!! I attempted to make dinner for our team that night, but we had forgotten all the cooking utensils, so I made pasta with a tent pole…interesting.
We had a hard time getting ourselves together after that first day. We normally go into the National Gathering with almost 30 people on our team and this year we had 20. We normally have our kitchen set up and running by the afternoon of our 2nd day at the Gathering, and this year we were limping along and not completely set up by the 4th day that we were there. A few of us took turns being in charge of the cooking in the kitchen…which we normally do, but this year it was 10 straight hours of cooking in one day for each of us. I would try to have at least two meals cooking, beans in the pressure cooker cooking and two meals being prepared to cook with each meal serving at least 150 people. Not to mention having to make sure to get beans, lentils and rice soaking so that they would cook faster. Praise the Lord that we each had “Kitchen Monkey’s” (someone to help us do all the cooking for the day…thanks Michaela!!!!) this year! Usually by 2:30ish I would get delirious and not really know what I was doing…it truly was the grace of God that any food got made at all! Ha! This year I also learn how to use a saw and cut wood for our bonfires, yep, in 10 years I had never pick up a saw and I didn’t even cut any fingers off!
All this to say, I really learned that in our weakness God is strong! I learned that God can still move regardless of me. Praise the Lord because He is SO good! So even though I think it was a tough gathering and I really can’t remember all of the details because of delirium, I do know that God moved, people got to see Jesus in us and we got to love on the Rainbow Family!
Picture: Me cooking away in the Jesus Kitchen
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
West Coast Tour: Side Trip
The next part of our trip we had planned on going to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons. However, since our trip to Devil’s Tower resulted in us having a broken tent, we needed to get that fixed. Thankfully we had gotten our tent at REI and we have a membership, so that means lifetime warranty on anything we purchase from them! We were in the middle of nowhere, pretty much, and the nearest REI was 6 hours away…in the wrong direction from Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. So, we made some adjustments and headed towards Bozeman, Montana.
I had never been to Montana and I was quickly taken in by the beauty that can be found there! We spent the night in Bozeman and got our tent replaced the next day with one that can stand up to wind! We had fun setting up all kinds of tents in the store to see what would work best for us, since the last tent obviously didn’t really work so well!
Later that day we took off towards Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. We stopped at a campground on the side of the road that night, which was a little strange but beautiful. Then the next morning we packed up and made it to Coeur d’ Alene and found a campsite towards the south end of the lake were we camped for 3 nights. It was so nice being here because we definitely needed some rest before meeting up with the Jesus Kitchen team and heading into the Gathering. This time was great because it was a little cold and rainy which made staying in the tent and sleeping really nice!
After our time at Lake Coeur d’ Alene, we heading back to Missoula, Montana to wait for someone from our team to arrive at the airport. Once she flew in we headed two hours north to a little town called Lakeside, where the YWAM Montana base is. We set up camp and waited for the rest of our team to arrive. While we waited we found a cheap place to get our kitty (we have now named her Gypsy) neutered, which was awesome because we didn’t want her going into heat at the Gathering! And while we waited we took a quick tour of Glacier National Park. Amazing! I wish we had had more time…days actually…to spend there. It was so beautiful. Words and pictures cannot describe the beauty of God’s creation in that place! Still as glass lakes, wild rivers gushing, mountains so tall that the tops were engulfed in foggy clouds, far away waterfalls cascading down the mountainsides and glaciers tucked into crevasses way up in the mountains…just to describe a few things. What can be more beautiful than all of those things in one place? It was a very magical place and I would love to return there someday.
I had never been to Montana and I was quickly taken in by the beauty that can be found there! We spent the night in Bozeman and got our tent replaced the next day with one that can stand up to wind! We had fun setting up all kinds of tents in the store to see what would work best for us, since the last tent obviously didn’t really work so well!
Later that day we took off towards Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. We stopped at a campground on the side of the road that night, which was a little strange but beautiful. Then the next morning we packed up and made it to Coeur d’ Alene and found a campsite towards the south end of the lake were we camped for 3 nights. It was so nice being here because we definitely needed some rest before meeting up with the Jesus Kitchen team and heading into the Gathering. This time was great because it was a little cold and rainy which made staying in the tent and sleeping really nice!
After our time at Lake Coeur d’ Alene, we heading back to Missoula, Montana to wait for someone from our team to arrive at the airport. Once she flew in we headed two hours north to a little town called Lakeside, where the YWAM Montana base is. We set up camp and waited for the rest of our team to arrive. While we waited we found a cheap place to get our kitty (we have now named her Gypsy) neutered, which was awesome because we didn’t want her going into heat at the Gathering! And while we waited we took a quick tour of Glacier National Park. Amazing! I wish we had had more time…days actually…to spend there. It was so beautiful. Words and pictures cannot describe the beauty of God’s creation in that place! Still as glass lakes, wild rivers gushing, mountains so tall that the tops were engulfed in foggy clouds, far away waterfalls cascading down the mountainsides and glaciers tucked into crevasses way up in the mountains…just to describe a few things. What can be more beautiful than all of those things in one place? It was a very magical place and I would love to return there someday.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
West Coast Tour: Microburst, Anyone?
Do you know what a microburst is? According to Google it is: “A sudden, powerful, localized air current, esp. a downdraft.” Have you ever been stuck in one? Well, let me tell you I have never been in a scarier storm then being stuck in the middle of a microburst.
Here’s what happened: Ben and I were stuck in our pattern of camping one night in a place and moving on the next day and it had ended us up in Wyoming at Devil’s Tower. We were going to just stop by and see it but it was getting later in the day and decided to camp out in the park’s campground. We were walking around trying to find the site we wanted to set up in and we read a sign that said to be careful where you set your tent up because the large old trees that were there where known to fall over. The only thing was that the “large old trees” were everywhere and one could not set up anywhere and not be in a place that a tree could potentially land on if it were to fall over. So we picked a spot and I made sure to look up and not be directly under any leaning tree. As we began to set up, you could see that a storm was coming and that we should get set up quickly so that we wouldn’t have to do it in the rain. We were able to get our tent set up and all of our stuff in the tent just as the rain started to come. I am not sure on all the details of what happened next. I do know that it started to lightning and thunder very loud and I headed for the van. Then all of a sudden it started hailing and getting windy. The next thing I know, it’s very windy and Ben is still outside trying to make sure that our tent would be okay. Suddenly leaves and branches are going all over and the hail and rain is going through the air sideways. I see Ben start running for the van and he hopes in just as I see one of those “large old tree” fall over right in front of us. And then our pop-up tent gets ripped from the ground and is heading across the campground and then there goes our new tent, it crumpled then rolled into a ball and started to get blown away. I think at this time I was probably screaming and I assumed the very well known tornado drill position you learn all your life growing up in Minnesota. Our van was being rocked like crazy and a big branch came crashing down on the back of the van and Ben started up the engine and through it into reverse and we jumped over the branch and went zooming backwards till we were in the clear. This all took place in about 5-10 minutes. Then everything cleared up and the sun came out.
Crazy!
Our van plastered with leaves.
The tree that fell over. The pile of branches in the forground was where our van was.
Well we survived the microburst but our poor little pop-up tent was a crumpled mess of metal and canvas and our new tent that we had only used four times was also a mess. It turned out that because we had put a tarp inside of our tent, when our tent went rolling, everything got rolled up into the tarp, which kept all of our stuff dry. The tent itself, however, had a very bent pole. Bummer. Ben did the best he could, and worked at straitening our pole back out and we were able to get it functioning for the night. But this did end up sending us on a 6 hour detour to Montana to get our tent replaced. Thank the Lord we had gotten it at REI and had a lifetime warranty on it.
Despite our crazy storm in at Devils Tower, the rest of our time there was awesome. It is such a strange sight to see this big old tower looming up over you. And it’s just there, nothing around it and it is beautiful! We spent the rest of our evening hiking around the Tower and watching the sunset reflecting upon it.
Here’s what happened: Ben and I were stuck in our pattern of camping one night in a place and moving on the next day and it had ended us up in Wyoming at Devil’s Tower. We were going to just stop by and see it but it was getting later in the day and decided to camp out in the park’s campground. We were walking around trying to find the site we wanted to set up in and we read a sign that said to be careful where you set your tent up because the large old trees that were there where known to fall over. The only thing was that the “large old trees” were everywhere and one could not set up anywhere and not be in a place that a tree could potentially land on if it were to fall over. So we picked a spot and I made sure to look up and not be directly under any leaning tree. As we began to set up, you could see that a storm was coming and that we should get set up quickly so that we wouldn’t have to do it in the rain. We were able to get our tent set up and all of our stuff in the tent just as the rain started to come. I am not sure on all the details of what happened next. I do know that it started to lightning and thunder very loud and I headed for the van. Then all of a sudden it started hailing and getting windy. The next thing I know, it’s very windy and Ben is still outside trying to make sure that our tent would be okay. Suddenly leaves and branches are going all over and the hail and rain is going through the air sideways. I see Ben start running for the van and he hopes in just as I see one of those “large old tree” fall over right in front of us. And then our pop-up tent gets ripped from the ground and is heading across the campground and then there goes our new tent, it crumpled then rolled into a ball and started to get blown away. I think at this time I was probably screaming and I assumed the very well known tornado drill position you learn all your life growing up in Minnesota. Our van was being rocked like crazy and a big branch came crashing down on the back of the van and Ben started up the engine and through it into reverse and we jumped over the branch and went zooming backwards till we were in the clear. This all took place in about 5-10 minutes. Then everything cleared up and the sun came out.
Crazy!
Our van plastered with leaves.
The tree that fell over. The pile of branches in the forground was where our van was.
Well we survived the microburst but our poor little pop-up tent was a crumpled mess of metal and canvas and our new tent that we had only used four times was also a mess. It turned out that because we had put a tarp inside of our tent, when our tent went rolling, everything got rolled up into the tarp, which kept all of our stuff dry. The tent itself, however, had a very bent pole. Bummer. Ben did the best he could, and worked at straitening our pole back out and we were able to get it functioning for the night. But this did end up sending us on a 6 hour detour to Montana to get our tent replaced. Thank the Lord we had gotten it at REI and had a lifetime warranty on it.
Despite our crazy storm in at Devils Tower, the rest of our time there was awesome. It is such a strange sight to see this big old tower looming up over you. And it’s just there, nothing around it and it is beautiful! We spent the rest of our evening hiking around the Tower and watching the sunset reflecting upon it.
Monday, August 15, 2011
West Coast Tour: South Dakota
When Ben and I left Minnesota we had about 10 days before we would meet up with the rest of our team. And the first place we headed towards was South Dakota. I had never been to South Dakota…can’t say that I really ever had the desire to. But it was on our way to the west and I had heard that the west side of this state was pretty. I was pleasantly surprised once I got there. South Dakota is beautiful once you get into it a ways and it is true that the west side, the Badlands and the Black Hills are very pretty. We pulled into the Badlands and spent one night there and the next day we hiked around and were amazed at how cool the Badlands are.
The next night we headed into the Black Hills where we stopped to see Mt. Rushmore and then stopped in a little park called Windy Cave. We spent the next day touring one of the largest expanding caves in the States and went on a search for wild buffalo…but never did find them.
By this time in our trip I was trying to get used to living out of a van, which is not always the easiest of things. And we were getting into a not so great pattern of setting up a tent each day and then packing up again in the morning and then driving to a new location. We had not planned our trip at all and wanted to see everything along the way, however, we were on the way to exhaustion because of all of our moving, setting up and tearing down. Even so, it was still fun to be out on an adventure and seeing some of the amazing creations that God had made.
The next night we headed into the Black Hills where we stopped to see Mt. Rushmore and then stopped in a little park called Windy Cave. We spent the next day touring one of the largest expanding caves in the States and went on a search for wild buffalo…but never did find them.
By this time in our trip I was trying to get used to living out of a van, which is not always the easiest of things. And we were getting into a not so great pattern of setting up a tent each day and then packing up again in the morning and then driving to a new location. We had not planned our trip at all and wanted to see everything along the way, however, we were on the way to exhaustion because of all of our moving, setting up and tearing down. Even so, it was still fun to be out on an adventure and seeing some of the amazing creations that God had made.
Friday, August 12, 2011
West Coast Tour: Beginnings
So I haven’t written in awhile but instead of dwelling on that fact I will just get into it. Ben and I have been doing a West Coast Tour this summer and it has been quite the adventure I must say. There is too much to tell all at one time, so I figure I will give a synopsis of our summer in shorter blog posts. This is the first of let say a few. : )
Beginnings:
We had spent the spring down south doing our regular tour of Gatherings and work. It was a very busy spring but we ended up back in Minneapolis for the month of May. It was also busy with work and visiting people. While we were out traveling our team was trying to decide if we would spend the summer on the west coast since the National Gathering was going to be in Washington. I felt like the Lord spoke to me and told me that Ben and I were to go west and to not worry about money. Ha! Easier said than done! So we worked a lot and very hard while we had the opportunity to and saved. We sold our little truck and bought a mini-van and on June 10th we packed it up and hit the road, just the two of us heading due west.
Traveling Companions:
Traveling companions are always nice to have…for awhile at least! While we were in Minneapolis our RV was parked at my parent’s house. A few days before we set out on our adventure I would walk outside at night to go to the RV and I would see a little cat go running across the yard and into the woods. I started putting food out for it, but it would only come around at night after dark. Finally, one day the cat came out during the day and stayed around. She was very dirty and kinda ragged. Ben and I had compassion on her and brought her in, gave her a bath, gave her a cat box to see if she would use it, then put her in the car the next day with us and headed west. It is interesting traveling with a cat. She is very loving and does okay in the car…however we were soon to discover that she does not play well with others…animals that is. She may be cute and somewhat cuddly with humans but once she is around other animals she turns into a killer. She has had three fights to date and we have had her for two months. And there’s no backing down for this cat…she is crazy! We haven’t really named our cat…it changes all of the time. Here are some of the options: Meow, Kitty-witty, Meowzerton, Kitty-meow, Stinky, Stinkerton, Skunkie, Missy Moo, Lola and Zuie. It is kind of like a choose your own adventure…but it’s with a name.
Beginnings:
We had spent the spring down south doing our regular tour of Gatherings and work. It was a very busy spring but we ended up back in Minneapolis for the month of May. It was also busy with work and visiting people. While we were out traveling our team was trying to decide if we would spend the summer on the west coast since the National Gathering was going to be in Washington. I felt like the Lord spoke to me and told me that Ben and I were to go west and to not worry about money. Ha! Easier said than done! So we worked a lot and very hard while we had the opportunity to and saved. We sold our little truck and bought a mini-van and on June 10th we packed it up and hit the road, just the two of us heading due west.
Traveling Companions:
Traveling companions are always nice to have…for awhile at least! While we were in Minneapolis our RV was parked at my parent’s house. A few days before we set out on our adventure I would walk outside at night to go to the RV and I would see a little cat go running across the yard and into the woods. I started putting food out for it, but it would only come around at night after dark. Finally, one day the cat came out during the day and stayed around. She was very dirty and kinda ragged. Ben and I had compassion on her and brought her in, gave her a bath, gave her a cat box to see if she would use it, then put her in the car the next day with us and headed west. It is interesting traveling with a cat. She is very loving and does okay in the car…however we were soon to discover that she does not play well with others…animals that is. She may be cute and somewhat cuddly with humans but once she is around other animals she turns into a killer. She has had three fights to date and we have had her for two months. And there’s no backing down for this cat…she is crazy! We haven’t really named our cat…it changes all of the time. Here are some of the options: Meow, Kitty-witty, Meowzerton, Kitty-meow, Stinky, Stinkerton, Skunkie, Missy Moo, Lola and Zuie. It is kind of like a choose your own adventure…but it’s with a name.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Before and After
This summer Ben and I did some revamping on our RV. We gutted out the inside and redid the floors, repainted the walls, added some tile work, created a new bench seat (with storage in it) and added some shelves and cupboards. It's soooo much better than it was and I wanted to show some before and after pictures.
Looking towards the back of the RV (notice the ugly carpet)...before...
....and after. Good-bye ugly carpet!!!
This is looking at the kitchen area...before...
...and after. The big cupboard that's above the stove was where our microwave used to be, but we pulled it out so we could use the space more practically.
Again...and after picture. Notice the tiling that Ben did on the wall : )
Looking towards the front of the RV...before...
...and after.
Our new bench couch. We have storage inside and put the old cushions on top to create a comfy seat.
One more to just show the new wall color in the living room/dining room.
It was a lot of work, but so worth it! We are still currently in Massachusetts. We are planning to leave this Friday and work our way slowly down to Alabama.
Much love,
Ben and Teresa
Looking towards the back of the RV (notice the ugly carpet)...before...
....and after. Good-bye ugly carpet!!!
This is looking at the kitchen area...before...
...and after. The big cupboard that's above the stove was where our microwave used to be, but we pulled it out so we could use the space more practically.
Again...and after picture. Notice the tiling that Ben did on the wall : )
Looking towards the front of the RV...before...
...and after.
Our new bench couch. We have storage inside and put the old cushions on top to create a comfy seat.
One more to just show the new wall color in the living room/dining room.
It was a lot of work, but so worth it! We are still currently in Massachusetts. We are planning to leave this Friday and work our way slowly down to Alabama.
Much love,
Ben and Teresa
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Back On The Road
Ben and I are heading towards the east coast as I type. We have just finished our time at the Shawnee Regional Gathering, in southern Illinois. It was nice to be back in the woods for a little bit but I’m not sure that I was prepared for it. The last month before heading back out on the road has been very full and busy. Ben and I have been working hard at getting our RV ready to go…we gutted the inside and painted the walls, redid the floors as well as other modifications. Shiloh (or Harvey the RV as I like to call our RV) looks wonderful inside…however the outside is still in need of some love!
Right before we went into the Shawnee Gathering we meet as a team, there are 5 of us now, and we listened to a sermon by Heidi Baker. It was a very good and challenging sermon. Something we heard in her sermon was that not only does God love us…but he likes us. If everyone could truly believe that God likes you…how would that change the way you act? He likes us just the way we are. We don’t have to be someone else or try to be someone else, because God likes us for who we are. Keeping this in mind is very empowering. A lot of times at the Gathering I wonder why the heck I am there. I feel out of place and that I can’t connect to anyone. But one day a friend and I went to hand out scarves to people and before we entered each camp we visited we reminded ourselves that God likes us and it was so encouraging and empowering.
Throughout this gathering and even now, I am being challenged on what it means to love people. I keep asking the Lord to give me his heart for people; to see them with His eyes. But what does that actually mean…what it looks like for me to love people? To love those who are traveling with me, to love the Rainbow family, to love those I meet on the road while traveling? What does that look like? In John 5 it says that the Son only does what he sees the Father doing. I want to be so near the heart of God that I will do what I see my Father doing. It’s very challenging to me to dig into what this actually means….and to not only look at it but to put it into practice.
Right now Ben and I are heading to Massachusetts to visit friends and family out there for a couple of weeks. Then we will head back south to Alabama and then north to Minnesota for Christmas. We are making and trying to sell our crafts as we go to support ourselves. So if you are interested in buying any soaps or Fork Art please let us know. For more information please contact us or look at our pages on Facebook at: Bent Art and Lil T's Soap
For those of you in the Minneapolis area we are having a Christmas craft sale at the end of November. For more information please visit: Bonnydoon Gift Fair
May the Lover of our souls continue to lead you deeper into His heart.
Benjamin and Teresa
Right before we went into the Shawnee Gathering we meet as a team, there are 5 of us now, and we listened to a sermon by Heidi Baker. It was a very good and challenging sermon. Something we heard in her sermon was that not only does God love us…but he likes us. If everyone could truly believe that God likes you…how would that change the way you act? He likes us just the way we are. We don’t have to be someone else or try to be someone else, because God likes us for who we are. Keeping this in mind is very empowering. A lot of times at the Gathering I wonder why the heck I am there. I feel out of place and that I can’t connect to anyone. But one day a friend and I went to hand out scarves to people and before we entered each camp we visited we reminded ourselves that God likes us and it was so encouraging and empowering.
Throughout this gathering and even now, I am being challenged on what it means to love people. I keep asking the Lord to give me his heart for people; to see them with His eyes. But what does that actually mean…what it looks like for me to love people? To love those who are traveling with me, to love the Rainbow family, to love those I meet on the road while traveling? What does that look like? In John 5 it says that the Son only does what he sees the Father doing. I want to be so near the heart of God that I will do what I see my Father doing. It’s very challenging to me to dig into what this actually means….and to not only look at it but to put it into practice.
Right now Ben and I are heading to Massachusetts to visit friends and family out there for a couple of weeks. Then we will head back south to Alabama and then north to Minnesota for Christmas. We are making and trying to sell our crafts as we go to support ourselves. So if you are interested in buying any soaps or Fork Art please let us know. For more information please contact us or look at our pages on Facebook at: Bent Art and Lil T's Soap
For those of you in the Minneapolis area we are having a Christmas craft sale at the end of November. For more information please visit: Bonnydoon Gift Fair
May the Lover of our souls continue to lead you deeper into His heart.
Benjamin and Teresa
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Days Gone By
So it's been almost 5 months since I've sat down to write on this blog. Yikes! I think I have a problem being committed to writing on here...full of good intentions but good intentions don't make getting myself to write any easier! Ha!
Life has been good and crazy since last writing on here. A lot has happened. Let me take you on a quick (really not so quick...you might want to find a comfy chair before diving into this one) run through of the last 5 months.
We first went to the Talladega Gathering in Alabama. It was a really really wonderful Gathering. We became good friends with a camp called Front Gate. They are some pretty amazing people and I am glad to be able to call them my friends! There weren't many people at this Gathering and so we really got to know those that were there.
After the Talladega Gathering our group got some work at NASCAR. This was one intense week of a lot of work! Not something that I think I would like to do all the time but it was a good time of hanging out with our group...although I got put on a job that was separate from everyone else. I got to work inside the track and spent most of my time watching the races. I am not a fan of NASCAR but it was fun watching the cars go flying by and it was fun to watch them crash (and no one got hurt in the crashes)!
After NASCAR we headed back to Minnesota after a minor breakdown in Nashville. Both Ben and I got our jobs back and worked hard for six weeks before heading to the National Gathering.
The National Gathering was in Pennsylvania this year. As I went into this Gathering I was preparing myself for an extremely hard Gathering. Ben's first Gathering was in PA and he said that it was his worst. So that thought combined with my last eastern Gathering (where I was covered head to toe with poison ivy) was all I could wrap my head around. As we headed out on June 18th to the Gathering...I was prepared for the worst! However, I was pleasantly surprised and this Gathering ended up being one of my favorite National Gatherings! The place we camped was very beautiful and though it was in the 80's and 90's for most of the Gathering, our camp had so much tree cover (you could barley see the sky) it was in the 60's and 70's in our camp! We also got to see the Lord work so much in people's lives at this Gathering...we got to love people and see people get healed. Not to mention we camped close to some of our friends from previous Gatherings and it was great fun to see them again!
For me though, this Gathering was so good because I got to do some different things then I normally do at a Gathering. For one, I got to be the cook in our kitchen a few days. Being the cook means that you are in charge of the kitchen that day...it means cooking food all day long and feeding hundreds of people. I really enjoyed cooking in the woods for so many people! It was so fun to see people's faces when they got food when they were so hungry and it was fun being creative in the kitchen with the food that I prepared. It was a lot of work and after 8-9 hours of cooking my brain was mush but so worth it! I also got the chance to do face painting. For me this was a step of faith, as I am not very confident in my ability to paint...especially people's faces! But it was cool because I traded face painting for stories. This means that I would paint someones face after they told me a story about themselves. Often as I listened to their story the Lord would show me a picture of how He saw them. I would then paint that on the person's face...and I believe that the Lord steadied my hand to paint what had come to mind. I loved being able to do this for people and to get the chance to interact with people at the Gathering in this way.
At the National Gathering this year our team from the Jesus Kitchen prayed over me, as we do with each team member. Someone prayed Psalm 126 over me and the end of that Psalm says: "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him." I am not sure how to share with you that this has become my heart's cry. I have found myself becoming a weeping person, when I think of the kids that I come into contact with at the Gatherings my heart weeps. I want to share a excerpt from my journal: "Because I love you Lord-I will follow you. I will follow you to a people who don't know me, who probably don't care if they know me. I will give up my loved ones-my family-my security and I will follow you because I love you. Because you have done so much for me-I will go. This is not just a trip-it is my life and I am walking into the unknown because I love you Lord." And as I go, I go out weeping because of all that I must leave behind. I have never thought of the cost of going or what I would have to give up, like not seeing my family for long periods of time. But I also go out weeping because of those kids at the Gathering and it is them and the love for them that I feel that truly breaks my heart. I see myself going out with seeds to sow...which is God's love and I weep.
So I ask that you would all continue to journey with Ben and I as we go on this crazy adventure. Please remember us and our friends at the Gathering in your prayers. We are currently in Minnesota until the beginning of October and then we will hit the road again. We are working at getting our crafts going as a means of being financially self sufficient. Ben is doing fork art, where he makes jewlery and sculptures out of forks and spoons. He is calling it BENT ART. And I am making home-made natural soap, which has been a lot of fun! We will be in a craft fair this weekend at Caffetto Cafe in Uptown in Minneapolis. For more information check it out on either mine or Ben's Facebook page.
With all our love,
Ben and T
Life has been good and crazy since last writing on here. A lot has happened. Let me take you on a quick (really not so quick...you might want to find a comfy chair before diving into this one) run through of the last 5 months.
We first went to the Talladega Gathering in Alabama. It was a really really wonderful Gathering. We became good friends with a camp called Front Gate. They are some pretty amazing people and I am glad to be able to call them my friends! There weren't many people at this Gathering and so we really got to know those that were there.
After the Talladega Gathering our group got some work at NASCAR. This was one intense week of a lot of work! Not something that I think I would like to do all the time but it was a good time of hanging out with our group...although I got put on a job that was separate from everyone else. I got to work inside the track and spent most of my time watching the races. I am not a fan of NASCAR but it was fun watching the cars go flying by and it was fun to watch them crash (and no one got hurt in the crashes)!
After NASCAR we headed back to Minnesota after a minor breakdown in Nashville. Both Ben and I got our jobs back and worked hard for six weeks before heading to the National Gathering.
The National Gathering was in Pennsylvania this year. As I went into this Gathering I was preparing myself for an extremely hard Gathering. Ben's first Gathering was in PA and he said that it was his worst. So that thought combined with my last eastern Gathering (where I was covered head to toe with poison ivy) was all I could wrap my head around. As we headed out on June 18th to the Gathering...I was prepared for the worst! However, I was pleasantly surprised and this Gathering ended up being one of my favorite National Gatherings! The place we camped was very beautiful and though it was in the 80's and 90's for most of the Gathering, our camp had so much tree cover (you could barley see the sky) it was in the 60's and 70's in our camp! We also got to see the Lord work so much in people's lives at this Gathering...we got to love people and see people get healed. Not to mention we camped close to some of our friends from previous Gatherings and it was great fun to see them again!
For me though, this Gathering was so good because I got to do some different things then I normally do at a Gathering. For one, I got to be the cook in our kitchen a few days. Being the cook means that you are in charge of the kitchen that day...it means cooking food all day long and feeding hundreds of people. I really enjoyed cooking in the woods for so many people! It was so fun to see people's faces when they got food when they were so hungry and it was fun being creative in the kitchen with the food that I prepared. It was a lot of work and after 8-9 hours of cooking my brain was mush but so worth it! I also got the chance to do face painting. For me this was a step of faith, as I am not very confident in my ability to paint...especially people's faces! But it was cool because I traded face painting for stories. This means that I would paint someones face after they told me a story about themselves. Often as I listened to their story the Lord would show me a picture of how He saw them. I would then paint that on the person's face...and I believe that the Lord steadied my hand to paint what had come to mind. I loved being able to do this for people and to get the chance to interact with people at the Gathering in this way.
At the National Gathering this year our team from the Jesus Kitchen prayed over me, as we do with each team member. Someone prayed Psalm 126 over me and the end of that Psalm says: "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him." I am not sure how to share with you that this has become my heart's cry. I have found myself becoming a weeping person, when I think of the kids that I come into contact with at the Gatherings my heart weeps. I want to share a excerpt from my journal: "Because I love you Lord-I will follow you. I will follow you to a people who don't know me, who probably don't care if they know me. I will give up my loved ones-my family-my security and I will follow you because I love you. Because you have done so much for me-I will go. This is not just a trip-it is my life and I am walking into the unknown because I love you Lord." And as I go, I go out weeping because of all that I must leave behind. I have never thought of the cost of going or what I would have to give up, like not seeing my family for long periods of time. But I also go out weeping because of those kids at the Gathering and it is them and the love for them that I feel that truly breaks my heart. I see myself going out with seeds to sow...which is God's love and I weep.
So I ask that you would all continue to journey with Ben and I as we go on this crazy adventure. Please remember us and our friends at the Gathering in your prayers. We are currently in Minnesota until the beginning of October and then we will hit the road again. We are working at getting our crafts going as a means of being financially self sufficient. Ben is doing fork art, where he makes jewlery and sculptures out of forks and spoons. He is calling it BENT ART. And I am making home-made natural soap, which has been a lot of fun! We will be in a craft fair this weekend at Caffetto Cafe in Uptown in Minneapolis. For more information check it out on either mine or Ben's Facebook page.
With all our love,
Ben and T
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Alabama
We are now in Alabama and I kind of feel like we are rounding to the home stretch of this leg of our journey. Ben and I have enjoyed some much needed down time over the last couple of days. We ended up staying at a large bass fishing state park here in Alabama, where we didn’t do any fishing at all. We didn’t actually know that we were going to be at one of the largest bass fishing lakes in the country or we would have maybe gotten a fishing license!
Our time traveling (not really traveling through time but rather our time out on the road) has been going well. We just got out of the woods almost a week ago. We were at the Apalachicola Rainbow Gathering in Florida. It was a very good Gathering. Our team actually got to the Gathering kind of late so by the time we got there it was almost over. But it was really good to be there at that time and get to know and hang out with the people who were left there. We were at this Gathering about 10 days, but it’s getting harder and harder to keep track of time and dates…so I am not sure if it was a full 1o days or not...or if it was more than that. While we were there we had some great times together as a team worshiping and praying together. We also had a “love tea party” where everyone was invited and no one was allowed to serve themselves a cup of tea…someone else had to pour it for you. It was a lot of fun to have everyone over to our camp.
We are definitely feeling the Lord calling us to be more inviting to those around us and I have been thinking a lot about Isaiah 58 where it talks about what true fasting is and what is pleasing to the Lord…to feed the hungry, to loosen the chains of the oppressed, to cloth those that need clothes and to provide shelter to the poor wanderer.
We are also called to be reflections of God’s glory. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, it says that we are reflections of God’s glory. I am always amazed and blown away by this statement because I am broken and yet the Lord always uses me to be a reflection of His glory. One time I created a piece of artwork reflecting this scripture. I took a full length mirror and I smashed it with a hammer. I then took the pieces out of the frame and hung it up on the wall. When someone looks into the broken pieces…the outlook is not a whole person but just bits and fragments. I see this as a representation of what it is to be a reflection of God’s glory…broken yet still able to reflect His glory.
So we continue on our journey that the Lord has set before us. We will be heading into the Talladega Gathering here in Alabama on Thursday or Friday. I invite you to join with us in this journey by being in prayer for us as we head in. We could possibly be in at this Gathering for up to 3 weeks but that is always variable!
Please pray for:
-Our marriage that we can find time to spend with one another when there are so many people around and so much to do. That we can fall in love more and more with each other and learn how to live gracefully with each other in a small space.
-For the Talladega Gathering, that our team would learn more about what it means to be inviting and that we would be reflections of the Lord’s glory.
-That we would see the Lord continue to move more and more in our lives and in the lives of those we meet.
Blessings!
Love Benjamin and T
Our time traveling (not really traveling through time but rather our time out on the road) has been going well. We just got out of the woods almost a week ago. We were at the Apalachicola Rainbow Gathering in Florida. It was a very good Gathering. Our team actually got to the Gathering kind of late so by the time we got there it was almost over. But it was really good to be there at that time and get to know and hang out with the people who were left there. We were at this Gathering about 10 days, but it’s getting harder and harder to keep track of time and dates…so I am not sure if it was a full 1o days or not...or if it was more than that. While we were there we had some great times together as a team worshiping and praying together. We also had a “love tea party” where everyone was invited and no one was allowed to serve themselves a cup of tea…someone else had to pour it for you. It was a lot of fun to have everyone over to our camp.
We are definitely feeling the Lord calling us to be more inviting to those around us and I have been thinking a lot about Isaiah 58 where it talks about what true fasting is and what is pleasing to the Lord…to feed the hungry, to loosen the chains of the oppressed, to cloth those that need clothes and to provide shelter to the poor wanderer.
We are also called to be reflections of God’s glory. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, it says that we are reflections of God’s glory. I am always amazed and blown away by this statement because I am broken and yet the Lord always uses me to be a reflection of His glory. One time I created a piece of artwork reflecting this scripture. I took a full length mirror and I smashed it with a hammer. I then took the pieces out of the frame and hung it up on the wall. When someone looks into the broken pieces…the outlook is not a whole person but just bits and fragments. I see this as a representation of what it is to be a reflection of God’s glory…broken yet still able to reflect His glory.
So we continue on our journey that the Lord has set before us. We will be heading into the Talladega Gathering here in Alabama on Thursday or Friday. I invite you to join with us in this journey by being in prayer for us as we head in. We could possibly be in at this Gathering for up to 3 weeks but that is always variable!
Please pray for:
-Our marriage that we can find time to spend with one another when there are so many people around and so much to do. That we can fall in love more and more with each other and learn how to live gracefully with each other in a small space.
-For the Talladega Gathering, that our team would learn more about what it means to be inviting and that we would be reflections of the Lord’s glory.
-That we would see the Lord continue to move more and more in our lives and in the lives of those we meet.
Blessings!
Love Benjamin and T
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Month 1: Florida
We've been on the road now for almost one month. I can't believe that a whole month has gone by. It's been a good month but it has had it's challenging moments as well!
We left Minnesota for Florida on Feb. 4th and we took about a week to get down here. We were able to stop by and see a few friends along the way, which was really wonderful and we didn't really have a time line for when we needed to be in Florida so it was nice to take our time getting here. However, it was our first trip with the RV and we had a few kinks to work out! We had to replace our alternator...that caused a few adventurous moments in the rain/snow and dark! But the Lord orchestrated everything for us and it ended up all working out perfectly!
We were at the first Rainbow Gathering from Feb. 12th-19th in Ocala National Forest. During this time we ended up camping with another Christian kitchen called Jesus Loves You. They are a great group and our friends from other Gatherings. It was wonderful to camp with them and see how they do things at a Gathering. It was also wonderful to just watch them as they loved the Rainbow Family and to learn from all their experience.
We are now parked in a town called New Smyrna Beach which is just south of Daytona, Florida. We were able to get some work picking up trash at the Daytona Bike Week. It's nice to have some work but it can be a bit tiring have to look down at the ground all day long! It's been fun, though, seeing all the different kinds of bikes and I (Teresa) am working in the Harley Davidson section...so it's fun to people watch (when I look up from the ground) as well.
We will be here working until March 9th and then we'll be heading over to meet up with Rachel and Nigel (another couple from our kitchen). We will then spend a few days just resting together and praying for the next Gathering, which starts this week and is in Apalachicola, Florida. We will be there for a couple of weeks and then I am not sure where we will go from there yet.
It's been a good time so far. I am learning a lot about living in such a small space and learning how to be fully dependent on the Lord. It has been challenging for me, personally, because I am an introverted person and realizing how important it is for me to take some time off from all that is going on around me and to just be.
Prayer Requests:
-That we would finish out our work time with energy and physically have the strength to keep going (it gets a bit sore on the shoulders/neck to look down all the time!).
-For our marriage that the Lord would protect us and give us time to spend together even though there is so much going on.
-For Ben as he works on fixing up the RV (just little things that need to be worked on) that he would have the wisdom to know what to work on and that he would have the time to do so.
-For our team that we would continue to be united and love one another!
Thanks to all! We will try to be better at writing although we do not always have internet access.
Love,
Ben and T
We left Minnesota for Florida on Feb. 4th and we took about a week to get down here. We were able to stop by and see a few friends along the way, which was really wonderful and we didn't really have a time line for when we needed to be in Florida so it was nice to take our time getting here. However, it was our first trip with the RV and we had a few kinks to work out! We had to replace our alternator...that caused a few adventurous moments in the rain/snow and dark! But the Lord orchestrated everything for us and it ended up all working out perfectly!
We were at the first Rainbow Gathering from Feb. 12th-19th in Ocala National Forest. During this time we ended up camping with another Christian kitchen called Jesus Loves You. They are a great group and our friends from other Gatherings. It was wonderful to camp with them and see how they do things at a Gathering. It was also wonderful to just watch them as they loved the Rainbow Family and to learn from all their experience.
We are now parked in a town called New Smyrna Beach which is just south of Daytona, Florida. We were able to get some work picking up trash at the Daytona Bike Week. It's nice to have some work but it can be a bit tiring have to look down at the ground all day long! It's been fun, though, seeing all the different kinds of bikes and I (Teresa) am working in the Harley Davidson section...so it's fun to people watch (when I look up from the ground) as well.
We will be here working until March 9th and then we'll be heading over to meet up with Rachel and Nigel (another couple from our kitchen). We will then spend a few days just resting together and praying for the next Gathering, which starts this week and is in Apalachicola, Florida. We will be there for a couple of weeks and then I am not sure where we will go from there yet.
It's been a good time so far. I am learning a lot about living in such a small space and learning how to be fully dependent on the Lord. It has been challenging for me, personally, because I am an introverted person and realizing how important it is for me to take some time off from all that is going on around me and to just be.
Prayer Requests:
-That we would finish out our work time with energy and physically have the strength to keep going (it gets a bit sore on the shoulders/neck to look down all the time!).
-For our marriage that the Lord would protect us and give us time to spend together even though there is so much going on.
-For Ben as he works on fixing up the RV (just little things that need to be worked on) that he would have the wisdom to know what to work on and that he would have the time to do so.
-For our team that we would continue to be united and love one another!
Thanks to all! We will try to be better at writing although we do not always have internet access.
Love,
Ben and T
Monday, January 4, 2010
Getting Closer
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year! I can't believe that the holidays are already over...I feel like we were just getting into it when suddenly it's over. We had a nice holiday... Ben did a lot of plowing because of all the snow, but he enjoys it so it's good.
Now that January is here, the ball is beginning to role for us to get ourselves ready to head out on the road at the end of the month. I am very excited with a mix of a lot of other emotions too! It's hard to not get overwhelmed with trying to move into an RV...having to go through everything we own and decided what to take with us, what will actually fit into an RV, what to put in storage at my sister's house and what to sell or give away. It's also hard, because do you give everything away, knowing that you may one day need that one thing you just gave away if we are ever going to live in an actual apartment or house someday in the future?
Wisdom. We need wisdom as we sort through our entire lives possessions and decided what is worth keeping, taking or leaving behind.
I think it will actually be very refreshing once we are all done. I love getting ride of "stuff" so I look forward to being at the end of the cleansing process. However, while in the middle of it...all I can say is STRESS!!
I am also beginning to feel the pains of actually leaving friends and family. This happens to me anytime I am changing seasons in life. I love change and look forward to embracing it, but that doesn't mean that it's easy all of the time or that I am not sad that I will be away from a lot of my family and friends for an extended period of time.
The end of the month will be here before I know it! I ask that you would join Ben and I in prayer as we enter into this new season of life.
Please pray:
-For wisdom as we go through our stuff
-For all the emotion and stress that comes with moving and change
-Protection for our marriage. That we would be able to work together as we move into the RV and head out on the road
-For all the details that need to be taken care of before we go
We hope to leave at the end of January (no specific date as of yet). We will be heading down to Florida for two gatherings. We are not sure where we will go after that...we have to wait upon the Lord and see what is happening once we are down south. We hope to be back in Minneapolis in May for about a month before heading out the the National Gathering in June-July.
Love and Peace,
Ben and T
Now that January is here, the ball is beginning to role for us to get ourselves ready to head out on the road at the end of the month. I am very excited with a mix of a lot of other emotions too! It's hard to not get overwhelmed with trying to move into an RV...having to go through everything we own and decided what to take with us, what will actually fit into an RV, what to put in storage at my sister's house and what to sell or give away. It's also hard, because do you give everything away, knowing that you may one day need that one thing you just gave away if we are ever going to live in an actual apartment or house someday in the future?
Wisdom. We need wisdom as we sort through our entire lives possessions and decided what is worth keeping, taking or leaving behind.
I think it will actually be very refreshing once we are all done. I love getting ride of "stuff" so I look forward to being at the end of the cleansing process. However, while in the middle of it...all I can say is STRESS!!
I am also beginning to feel the pains of actually leaving friends and family. This happens to me anytime I am changing seasons in life. I love change and look forward to embracing it, but that doesn't mean that it's easy all of the time or that I am not sad that I will be away from a lot of my family and friends for an extended period of time.
The end of the month will be here before I know it! I ask that you would join Ben and I in prayer as we enter into this new season of life.
Please pray:
-For wisdom as we go through our stuff
-For all the emotion and stress that comes with moving and change
-Protection for our marriage. That we would be able to work together as we move into the RV and head out on the road
-For all the details that need to be taken care of before we go
We hope to leave at the end of January (no specific date as of yet). We will be heading down to Florida for two gatherings. We are not sure where we will go after that...we have to wait upon the Lord and see what is happening once we are down south. We hope to be back in Minneapolis in May for about a month before heading out the the National Gathering in June-July.
Love and Peace,
Ben and T
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Thank You!!
Thank you to everyone who was able to come to the On The Road Pottery Open House last weekend. It was a great turn out of people and it was so wonderful to see everyone who stopped by as well as meet so many new people!
Ben and I are very thankful to everyone for their encouragement and support as we get ready to head out on the road at the end of January.
For anyone still interested in getting some pottery, Dan Tarro has still has an auction open until December 13th at 5:00pm. More information can be found at: http://tarro.art.officelive.com/aboutus.aspx.
Ben and I are very thankful to everyone for their encouragement and support as we get ready to head out on the road at the end of January.
For anyone still interested in getting some pottery, Dan Tarro has still has an auction open until December 13th at 5:00pm. More information can be found at: http://tarro.art.officelive.com/aboutus.aspx.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
On The Road Pottery Open House
Our friends, Dan and Julie Tarro have graciously opened their home to sell Dan's pottery artwork in order to help supply some of our needs as we go out to live on the road full time bringing the love of Christ to those in need.
When: December 5th from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm and December 6th from Noon - 5:00 pm.
Where: The Tarro's house which is located at: 17164 Eveleth St. NE, Ham Lake, MN 55304
There will be a silent auction on Dan's website as well as during the open house, so check it out at: http://tarro.art.officelive.com
There will also be art and crafts for sale from us, Nigel and Rachel Houghton and Deborah's Joy.
Come learn more about what we are doing as we follow the Lord's call on our lives!
We hope to see you there!!
When: December 5th from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm and December 6th from Noon - 5:00 pm.
Where: The Tarro's house which is located at: 17164 Eveleth St. NE, Ham Lake, MN 55304
There will be a silent auction on Dan's website as well as during the open house, so check it out at: http://tarro.art.officelive.com
There will also be art and crafts for sale from us, Nigel and Rachel Houghton and Deborah's Joy.
Come learn more about what we are doing as we follow the Lord's call on our lives!
We hope to see you there!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)