Lessons Learned

3/18/16. After last night’s brief scare of strong winds and rain and remembering “be not anxious “ this mornings Psalm reading was 104, all about the greatness of God. He’s got this! No matter what...I am in His care. HalleluJAH!

3/19/16 Left Gulfport about 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. Stopped 45 minutes later right before crossing into Alabama at a wayside to double check the wheels on the car to make sure they were secure. One of the straps came off on an earlier trip so we’re being extra careful to make sure they’re on correctly. All good. (We thank God for His grace in giving us this and many other opportunities to learn how to manage our new life well.) Feeling much more peaceful as we drive. I have my moments and quickly remember that I won’t gain any time on my life by anxious thoughts and reactions. People do this everyday, and by the grace of God, so can we.

As we traveled Interstate 10 from Mississippi through Alabama into Florida panhandle, we made several stretching rest stops and one diesel stop. Bill really needs to stretch. (Please continue to pray for Bill’s shoulder/upper arm pain. You can also pray for back & bottom pain due to these long driving times.) Me, I can get up and walk around for which I am very grateful. When we stopped for diesel, we got to the pump and we’re confused by the type it was…bio-diesel. What’s that? Is it okay to use on a motorhome? They had no other options, so it must be okay, right? Being new we wanted to be sure so we went inside to ask someone. They weren’t sure either. Sooooo, what did we  do…we called our good  friend, Bill Munson. The bio-diesel is fine. Another lesson learned. Thank you, Lord!

The weather been quite beautiful and the highway landscape, looks like we could be in Wisconsin in June, tree lined and green. I’m overjoyed to report that I’ve been mostly peaceful on this leg of our journey. So very different than our trip from Texas to Gulfport. So very grateful for the peace that comes from the One who gives it liberally, if only we will receive it. I will say it again…thanks for all your prayers and praise God for His faithful Scripture encouragement. Worry won’t add an hour to my life. More like it steals those times of my life. Blessings to all you prayer warriors.

By 6 o’clock Saturday, we were getting close to Lake City, Florida where we planned on boondocking at Walmart. For those of you who don’t know what boondocking is, it’s parking your motorhome in a public parking lot or rest area for free overnight parking (where it is permitted). Most Walmarts allow this.  We called ahead to make sure.

I’d like to interject here how busy I can be as Bill drives. I’m checking Google Maps for the best route, letting Bill know how many miles to the next exit and the exit number. I’m checking the Truckers Path app and/or Pilot service station app (both of which Bill M recommended) to find rest areas or truck stops for fueling. Of course, I did a bunch of Googling to find a place to boondock. Walmart won out this time. And then there’s my wifely duties…making Bill a sandwich, getting him a snack or a soda or responding to a thud to see what we didn’t secure tightly. So far, one of the kitchen drawers came open and another time I forgot to secure the closet door. Nothing broken. Another good lesson.

I must admit boondocking  was fun even though I was a little nervous. Plenty of lighting and other rigs and trucks around. At first, I wasn’t sure how Bill would maneuver us into the lot but he did a fabulous job. Got a great night’s sleep. It was actually quieter than the motorhome park where we were in Gulfport as we very close to the Interstate.

3/20/16 Happy Palm Sunday! Sure wish we could be worshipping together. Unfortunately, we’ve been doing a lot of our traveling on Sunday’s which I’m not all that happy about….but it is what it is and we’ll learn how to plan better going forward.

As I write this we’re about an hour to an hour and a half from our next destination…Wickham County Park in Melbourne. We’ll be with our son and granddaughter for the next week. So excited. Not sure how much posting I’ll be doing in the next week but know that we’re thinking and praying for all our dear friends and family. Blessings to you all.

Peaceful Not Anxious

I’d like to start off today with an important answer to prayer. You’ve all been praying and the Lord has answered. You all know that I am not the best passenger. (I’m not all that crazy about driving either.) How anxious and apprehensive I am especially in larger cities and unfamiliar territory. Most of the time, it’s the other driver I’m worried about but with this big rig and my horrible depth perception, it’s been quite the challenge. Well, I said all that again, to say this. The Lord brought to my mind a verse and immediately helped me apply it to my anxious reactions on the road and in traffic. The verse is a familiar one…Matt 6:25-33. “Be not anxious…what to eat, what to wear,” or in my case, be not anxious in Bill’s driving or the driving of others, “for how will that add one hour to my life?” It’s simple enough but this time really impacted me as to the futility of my anxious reactions. I’m not “cured” yet but I’m certainly doing better.

Then in my devotion today another very familiar passage to me was quoted from the Amplified Bible. This particular verse in 1 Peter 3:4 refers to women’s adorning being on the inside not the outside, it says “…incorruptible and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit which [is not anxious or wrought up but] is very precious in the sight of God.” I shouted out “hallelujah” when I read this. I take it very personally when God keeps using the same words over and over to speak to me. He wants me peaceful not anxious. Those two words are my battleground…Praise the Lord, Peace is the winner.

Wednesday (3/16) had the potential to be a great day. We were going to the Seabee Base where Bill was stationed while in the military (when not in Viet Nam). Bill was pretty pumped and I was excited to share this with him. However (you knew that was coming, didn’t you), in order to get on base we needed a driver’s license (check), vehicle insurance card (check), vehicle registration (whaaaaaaaaaaaat?). I didn’t know that the registration was supposed to be kept in the car. I kept it in my safe box in my file cabinet back in Oshkosh. Big Whoops! (Another,) However, a guy standing in line told us that he contacted his Department of Transportation and they faxed a copy of his registration directly. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a state that will do that. We’d have to go on-line and have it emailed us and then bring it in. When I asked the powers-that-be if that would be okay, the gentlemen very kindly said that he really felt it wouldn’t be worth all this effort. He explained to Bill that the two-story Seabee museum was now just a small conference room and most everything else that Bill would remember was washed away by Katrina. So disappointing! He convinced us that I had already put in more time trying to get a copy of our registration than it would take for us to see what we would see. L

The good news is, we were forced to look around to find something fun to do to take our minds off the disappointment. Earlier in the week from what we saw, it appeared that a lot of boat tours and things like that didn’t start up for another week or two. Praise God for Google, as I found one called Eco-Tours (I know some of my eco-friends are going to be so happy for us) that had a two hour trip up the Pascagoula River. We had just enough time to make a quick sandwich, hop in the car, and head about 30 miles east to Gautier MS. It was absolutely wonderful. (I got pictures, but if you’ve read any of my other blogs, I still don’t know how to get pictures on the blog. I just don’t have the time to figure it out.) We saw two bald eagles, lots of osprey, an owl that took over an osprey nest, cranes, herons, egrets, a wild pig, and a type of damaging muskrat (starts with an “n” but neither Bill or I can remember what it was called). We went through many bayous, marshes, and swamps. It was interesting to hear the differences and watch the waterscape change as we moved from one to another. The swamps we went through weren’t as I expected…all thick and heavy and yucky (I’m running out of the right descriptive words). They actually were quite pleasant. We were told that’s because of the volume of water that flows through on a regular basis keeps it “cleaner” than what I normally would think.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and had good stories to tell; some believable, some not-so-much. We thoroughly enjoyed him as well as the mother and daughter who were also on the tour. Did I say the tour started at 3 p.m.? And it was a two hour trip? We got back to shore around 5:45. He said he’s never done a two hour tour in two hours but refuses to change it to a three hour tour because we all know what happens on those three hour tours. Right?

Thursday (3/17) was our day to stay “home” and get some things done, like laundry. This was a fun thing to do. First time doing laundry at a campgrounds. First time Bill and I did laundry together. Doesn’t sound all that exciting but doing things for the first time in this season of our life, is just plain fun no matter what it is. I also had some bookkeeping work (business and personal) to get done so I sent Bill off to pick up some groceries and things. We don’t buy a lot at one time as we don’t plan to far in advance (so strange).  We also spent a fair bit of time planning for our trip to Florida and our time in Florida. We’ve made our weeks reservation at Wickham County Park in Melbourne, FL which is about a half hours drive from Matt, our son’s place. It has lots of fun things to do there which will be nice as we will have our darling granddaughter, Rhiannon, with us for much of the time. We also spent quite a bit of time prior to today looking in stores and on-line for a portable grill and chairs for Bill and I. Today we drove about ten miles to the nearest Target thinking they might have the grill we were looking for. Well, it wasn’t the exact one but it sure was close. After having the clerk tear the whole thing apart for Bill to be sure it met all his requirements, we said, “we’ll take it” and we did. But that is not the end of the story as there was a Dick’s Sporting Goods store right across the parking lot and we were still looking for the chairs (one with a footrest for Bill and a canopy for me).  Wouldn’t you know it, Dick’s had the grill we were looking for and it was less money. While I was inspecting a collapsible chair with a canopy, Bill went scouting around the store and found the grill. He also found a folding lounge chair that he preferred to the one we were originally looking for. So, back to Target we went, returned the grill; went back to Dick’s and bought that grill, some accessories (you have to have accessories, according to Bill) and the two chairs. We are set!!! I think our shopping is done. It better be. We still have a bunch of stuff back in Oshkosh to pack into this rig. All I can say, it was a good day, a really good day.

By the way, as I was writing this, a major storm moved through the area with some strong winds and rain and I had to quickly remember to “be not anxious” and although I had to remind myself of that several times and suppress the jitters that wanted to take over, I’m peaceful at the moment and pray I stay that way as I close my eyes for another good night.

Good times continue

So when did I become such a scaredy cat? Oh yeah, I’ve always kind of been one. It’s just that when I’m in, what feels like a safe or familiar place, it isn’t as apparent. I’m also not that fond of big cities, especially driving in them. I’m a country roads kind of girl. So what do we have here? New Orleans…big, unfamiliar, not always the safest city. Why was I excited to go? Oh yeah, Bill wanted me to experience it for myself, I was curious about it, had moments of excitement, and I really did want to go, but then my mind got to work and fear crept in. “Renew my mind, Lord. Help me enjoy this part of the journey.” I’m so glad, I can ask Him for or about anything.

We ended up having a wonderful time in New Orleans (3/14). Beautiful day. Arrived early afternoon. We set out to find the beautiful gardens Bill remembered from years and years ago. We found the New Orleans Botanical Gardens located in City Park which is the most amazing city park I’ve ever seen. Bill wasn’t sure it was the same one, so instead of shelling out some big bucks to see the gardens (which didn’t look all the impressive from what we could see) we chose to wander the park. So lovely. We stumbled upon a sculpture garden. I thought the bushes and trees were going to be sculpted but instead we found some amazing, mostly, metal pieces. I took a bunch of pictures and if someone would tell me how to get them on my blog, I would be most grateful.

It was now time to head towards the port and the French Quarter. So grateful for GPS. Of course, we had to turn down the narrowest street and wonder if we would ever find a parking place. Thank God for a huge public parking lot just where we wanted to be. We walked around a bit, took a short ferry ride across the Mississippi River to Algiers Point and back. Then walked down Canal Street to the French Quarter where we planned to have dinner. Okay, so I’m a bit nervous again. Even in my younger years, I wasn’t crazy about crowds milling around going in and out of shops and bars and restaurants. It was fun to experience it; but once is enough for me. I can now say I ate at the Hard Rock Café on Bourbon Street. (Never been to a Hard Rock Café before either. Very tasty.) After a few wrong turns (road construction, again), we headed out of New Orleans. Another wonderful, blessed day. Almost forgot, we encountered a youth group wearing bright orange shirts passing out free water bottles at the park. They were on a spring break mission trip and each morning and afternoon they were doing something around the city to bless others. Love the people we are encountering.

On our way to New Orleans, we stopped at the Infinity Science Center/NASA Stennis Space Center. Stennis is the largest NASA rocket testing center in the US. Bill was pretty pumped about this place. Me too! I’ve always loved the space program. Infinity serves as the welcome center and has hands on exhibits. This is also where you register (with a picture ID) before you can board the tour bus that takes you to the Stennis Space Center which sits on 13,500 acres. There’s an additional 125,000 acres that serves as a buffer zone. Apparently those rockets make a lot of noise…dah. Needless to say the Stennis Space Center doesn’t take up all 13,500 acres, there’s 30 other government, private, and public companies and agencies that are also located on the property. Not sure what they do when the rockets are tested. We stayed on the bus for the entire tour except one time when we were allowed to get out and take pictures of a couple of the rocket testers. I got a great picture of Bill in front of one, but still waiting to figure out how to put them on the blog.

We’re still in the RV Park in Gulfport and we’ve seen a lot of people come and go already. Some people are really on the move. Me, I like staying in one place for awhile, a week, at least. So I was happy when Bill said that was what he was planning. The couple right next to us have been to AirVenture many many times and have good memories of Oshkosh. That’s always nice to hear.

Tuesday was a “work” day for me. So I spent a bit of time in the morning working for His House and Bill just puttered around. The afternoon took us again to those white sandy beaches on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. This time we didn’t just drive up and down the coast. I wanted to walk on the water’s edge and listen to the waves (one of my favorite things to do) which is exactly what we did. So beautiful. So relaxing. So wonderful. Once we sat down, Bill, of course, fell asleep. He definitely is taking advantage of this whole retirement thing. Good for him. Praise the Lord! We did a little shopping and Bill even said he enjoyed walking through the huge mall. Now, that’s a first! We’ve been looking for a grill that is compact and meets all Bill’s requirements (not an easy task). We’ve also been looking for a collapsible portable chair with a foot rest for Bill and one with a canopy for me. It appears that we will have to order them on line and have them sent to wherever we plan on being depending on the shipping time schedule. This could be interesting.

Okay, so there are some challenges to living on the road, but we’re really enjoying it. I’m still amazed that it really feels like home. We do all the same things in our home now that we could do on Ohio Street; just in a smaller area. We have all we need and for that we are truly grateful.

It's Vacation Time

My husband is amazing…11 hours and 15 minutes on the road to get from Scottsville TX to Gulfport MS.  We left Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. and arrived at 9:45 p.m. Google Maps said it was a six and a half hour drive. Of course, that’s by car and we have found that everything takes longer in a motor home. Another one of God’s ways of slowing me down. One issue, again, was all the rain; so we took a little bit of a longer route to avoid some of the flooded areas. We think we could have made it in eight or nine hours but we had several places where the traffic came to a standstill. I’m talking seven miles took an hour or more.

Once we knew we would be arriving after dark, I contacted the motor home park in Gulfport to be sure they would have a place for us. Oh my, they were so very very nice and accommodating. They gave us an extra easy site to pull into and told us not to worry about registering or paying until morning. Kisses from heaven!

So let me go back for a moment. Before leaving Scottsville, I admit, I was feeling a bit nervous (again). But, Praise the Lord, I didn’t have knots in my stomach…just butterflys. Once we were on the road, I started to get excited; the fear was gone and the adventure had begun. There are so many of you out there praying for us…thank you, thank you, thank you…I know your prayers  helped turn my knots to butterflys.

Did I mention, not only were we travelling at night, in highly congested traffic through road work areas, it was also, you guessed it, raining some of the time. I have found in this new season of life, my hands get real sweaty when I’m feeling stressed. Needless to say, there were plenty sweaty palm moments, but our God is faithful and Bill kept on a going.

I know we’re supposed to be free from time constraints and we wouldn’t have had to make the whole trip from TX to MS in one day, but once Bill knew we had an easy pull-thru spot to park in Gulfport no matter what time we arrived, he pressed on. He is really excited to show me where he spent part of his military life, visit some of his old stomping grounds, refresh memories, and make new ones.

In the months, even years before embarking on this journey, Bill would often talk about how nice it would be when traveling long distances (like visiting our granddaughter, Rhiannon, in Florida) for me to be able to make him a fresh sandwich right from our own kitchen. Well, now it is reality. This allowed us to keep on trekking. We made only one stop and that was to gas up right before crossing into Louisiana. I felt bad for Bill as I was able to get up and stretch while he stayed behind the wheel the whole time.

Needless to say, we were both relieved and very grateful to have made it to our destination. Of course, I must share one oops and that is just 500 yards from our turn that would lead us into the motor home park, we turned into a wrong driveway. That’s not good. You can’t back up a motor home pulling a car.  Nor is making a u-turn always a possibility. Truthfully, you can’t make a u-turn with a motor home pulling a car, it’s more like a “round-about turn.” Just to be on the safe side because it was so dark and we were in very unfamiliar territory, I asked Bill to let me jump out and scout out the area. Bless my husband for allowing me to do that and Praise the Lord, there was plenty of space for us to make the turn safely. Whew!

So here we are…I’m feeling like we’re really doing this thing. (I have had moments when it still feels kind of dream like.) Got up this morning, slowly. Got dressed, slowly. Made breakfast, slowly. Meandered down to the park office with Bill, slowly. Looked around, surrounded by other motor homes and RVS and realized, I’m not dreaming. I’m living in a motor home, moving about the country as Bill (yes, I really am letting Bill make those decisions) and the Lord leads. I’m still adjusting to not having a schedule of what the next day holds, but I’m surrendering that part of me little by little. Each day, I’m trying to focus on enjoying the journey one day at a time.

We spent the day today, exploring the Gulf Coast. Beautiful sandy white beaches. Big homes. Homes on stilts. Lots of restaurants. And I think, some remnants of Katrina. Tomorrow, Bill is going to show me New Orleans.  We’re going by car, of course. That’s why he wanted to park the motor home in Gulfport, besides it being near the base where Bill was stationed, it’s kind of in the middle of all the places Bill wants to take me.  I’m thinking this part of our journey gives us the opportunity to do the type of vacationing we couldn’t do when we were both small business owners.  Can’t wait! Never been to New Orleans.

Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who has been and is praying for us. Please continue! Still a lot of adjusting to do.

Peace be Still

Okay, so I forgot a few things. How could I forget to make some final comments regarding our first work project. Projects run three weeks. We were there three and half days. Although our experience was limited in time and activity (yes, that darn rain again), it was a wonderful experience and I can’t wait to be part of an entire project. The couples we met, we’re wonderful and so was the camp staff. Saying good bye to the Munson’s was very bittersweet. We have them to thank for our beautiful home and, I know it was a bit tough for them to say good bye to there home of eight years. I know exactly how that feels. They now have a smaller pull behind and I’m happy to say they will continue working on projects. Look forward to the time we all get to work together again.

One other thing I wanted to mention was about the group that came in as campers on Friday night; this morning they were all wearing t-shirts that had Jesus next to a boat with the words “Peace, be still.” Peace has definitely been a theme on this initial part of our journey. Love how God uses whoever or whatever to encourage us. Peace, peace, wonderful peace. Hallelujah & Amen.

When it Rains, It Pours (Blessings)

“Rain, rain, go away; come again, another day.” My oh my, has that phrase been running through my head this morning (Friday, 3/11). The amazing thing though, is that I don’t really mind it all that much. I’m enjoying my new home. It may be small, but it has everything we need. Hallelujah & Praise the Lord! Not one thread of regret or second guessing. Peace, peace, wonderful peace. (Thank you, Lord, for the peace that we heard you right.)

So I ended my story with the unexpected delight of being at the Scottsville Nazarene Camp & Conference Center which is located in the northeast corner of rain-soaked Texas in a tiny town called Scottsville. Gives the name of the camp some meaning, don’t ya know.

It was our intent, after our visit with Jenna (our niece), Tim, and family, that we would head towards Gulfport MS, so Bill could show me the sights and sounds of the Gulf Coast where he spent his time in the military when not serving in Viet Nam. Who knew this was right on the way to, our now good friends, the Munsons (previous owners of our home), March work project. Did I mention that they are part of the group of Christian workers that we are wanting to partner with? Well they, once again, reached out to us and encouraged us to join them for a few days to get a taste of the volunteer life on wheels. Love the way God answers prayers that we didn’t even articulate. A taste of our life to come. Thank you, Lord!

We arrived at the camp mid-afternoon on Tuesday (3/8). Rained most of the way; even had a thunderstorm warning with the possibility of tornados alert on the radio as we were travelling. Prayers ascending that we weren’t travelling into anything dangerous. I recommend knowing what counties you are passing through especially when driving in unpredictable weather; we had no idea how close this warning area was to us. Breathe, Share, breathe. Pray, Share, pray. Hallelujah…we made it safe and sound to the camp.

Grateful to Bill Munson, once again, for his expertise with a 40 ft motor home. He directed Bill as he backed onto a rather wet grassy area. I stood nearby soaking in all the rain and all the ins and outs of properly and safely parking a motor home. I’m thinking this rain was actually a blessing from above so we both had some guided experience in parking the motor home on a grassy area in the rain. Little did I know that the rain would continue for the rest of the week.  

Okay enough about all the rain. We’re here! We’re actually here. We’re getting a taste of our new life. There are four couples all together plus us (Bill & Jean aka Loral, Art & Tamara, Sue & John, Elmyra & Bob). The plan was to rebuild one of the cabins that had deteriorated. But, sorry, I have to mention it again…the rain forced them to find other projects indoors.

I helped the ladies redecorate the dining hall; switching from Valentine’s Day to Spring Time. I mostly undecorated and washed tables. Enjoyed it tremendously. For real! Also got to help in the kitchen Friday night. I was asked to put frozen pieces of chocolate chip cookie dough on sheets for baking. Do they know who they’re dealing with? Oh my, the restraint it took. But then, the delightful cook, Brenda, said she loved the dough and invited me to split one with her. I call these simple sweet moments, “kisses from heaven.” 

With all the rain (just can’t seem to get away from that topic, it’s been unreal), we spent a lot more time in our rig (love that word…which I have expanded to mean Righteous in God).  If anyone has any other suggestions for those initials, I’d love to hear them. So the time in the rig was well spent, in fact, quite necessary as, unlike Bill, I’m only semi-retired and had some bookkeeping to get done for His House Christian Fellowship. It’s been interesting working out all those details. Back on Ohio, I had my home office with three desks, at HQ (His House office) I had two. Now I have a small kitchen table and a ledge that fits my printer perfectly. It’s an adjustment, but once again, God is so faithful, and I actually like my new set up. Thanks to Perry B for having a portable printer available which Bill picked up the day before we left…it has been wonderful. There are so many little Godincidences (That’s coincidences with God in the lead), I can’t begin to share them all. Just know, He’s taking good care of us and blessing us above and beyond.

I feel like I’m all over the place on this post. It’s all so new. There’s so much to tell. Yes, probably more than some want to hear. But, those of you who know me well…I have a hard time saying anything in just a few words. I can’t wait until my posts actually get posted as they happen instead of days later. This unscheduled living is all so new to me I forget what I’ve done and what still needs doing. So with that said, I’m going to sign off of this post and immediately begin another as we are at this moment making our way to Gulfport MS. 

And The Journey Begins

It’s 6:30 Wed (3/9) morning and I’ve been awake most of the night. Not sure when thunder storms and pouring rain became an issue for me. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m not in my big house in a place I am very familiar but rather I’m in a motor home parked in a place at a campground that I’ve never been before. It’s been storming and raining so very hard since yesterday afternoon. There have been a few breaks but very few. I feel like we could be floating away at any moment. I keep reminding myself that God is in control. He is my refuge and strength, my ever-present help, my safety net in the storms of life. And, oh man, what a storm this is. “I am trusting thee Lord Jesus, trusting only thee.”

Well, that wasn’t how I wanted to start my blogging site. I’ve had many thoughts and great things to share in our travels thus far but I just haven’t had the chance to do it. Here’s a “quick” rundown.

Rounding that last bend in the road, and seeing our soon to be motor home (located near Tehlaquah OK) for the first time took my breath away. There never really was a question as to whether or not we would buy it. We just knew this was the one God had chosen for us and He did not disappoint. So many big and small things that we love about it. One thing that was above and beyond anything we could have asked for, is the couple from whom we purchased the motor home: Bill & Jean Munson.  Another Bill (seriously???). To keep things clear after our first conversation with him we tagged him “Monaco Bill” after the model motor home he had for us. Words can’t describe their generosity in all they did for us in those first few days. We had asked to stay in it overnight (even before the purchase was made) and they found us a local site to park which meant Bill had an opportunity to drive and set it up with the help of a very experienced RVer.  The other tips and gadgets they shared with us were and will be so very helpful as we begin to figure out how to live in this beautiful tiny house on wheels.

Another very wonderful blessing was how they helped us in the first leg of our new journey as motor home owners which I will get to in a minute. But first, one thing I hadn’t considered (I truly believe the Lord kept it hidden from me) was that I was going to have to follow Bill in the car until we were able to purchase a car dolly to haul the car behind the motor home. Seriously??? I don’t even get to ride in our new home yet and I hate driving in unfamiliar territory. But worse than having to follow Bill, once we were on our own, I actually had to lead the way. He had enough to learn in handling the rig (so much easier and quicker to type than motor home) that I needed to be the navigator which generally is my job, after all I’m the one with the smart phone. There were a few anxious moments…but we survived. Hallelujah!

Okay back to that wonderful blessing…Monaco Bill and Jean needed to be on the road, Tuesday, 3/1, morning, as they were heading out to do a work project (like the ones we’re planning on doing) and realized that we were all heading in the same direction. So, we got up early on Tuesday (won’t talk about the lack of sleep I had that night as well because of a thunderstorm and getting used to all the new sounds in our new home), learned how to pack everything tight so things won’t slip and slide and then we caravanned out of town. The idea was for Monaco Bill to lead my Bill into some tight spots for turning practice (Wal-Mart parking lot) and then a stop at a Flying J’s to gas up (or should I say diesel up). What a blessing. I must admit, watching Bill maneuver that thing through and around the pumps, cars, and trucks was pretty impressive…too bad I couldn’t enjoy the moment as my stomach was in knots for him. (Help me, Jesus, surrender my fears.)

Our first stop was Tuesday (3/1) afternoon in Reno TX to see our good friend, short-term house mate, His House alumni, and now President of the Board of Directors for His House, Kyle Ackeret. We had several discussions about there being room to pull the rig into his driveway and we were certain that it would work. What we didn’t expect to find were low hanging wires that prevented us from pulling in. This is our life now…figuring things out on the fly. After talking with the police department and being encouraged not to leave it on the street overnight, they were kind enough to offer us a few suggestions. We ended up meeting a delightful couple, Jeff & Callie Kent of Fossil Creek Self Storage, who let us park our rig on their property not more than a half mile from Kyle’s house. No hookups or anything like that, but Kyle wanted us to stay with him anyway and it worked out so very well. God keeps providing over and over in ways we never expect. Love experiencing His guiding hands in all this. Jeff Kent helped search locally and on-line to help us find a tow dolly (please, please Lord, I don’t want to be the lead driver anymore). Another act of kindness to help us on our way. Didn’t realize that tow dolly’s were so hard to come by. We ended up leaving Kyle’s on Friday (3/4) morning and driving to Greenville TX to purchase a dolly. I was very grateful that God lead us to an actual trailer place so we could get it all hooked up and ready to go right there on the spot. Hallelujah, I finally can get out of the car and ride in our new home.

As excited as I was to be in the rig, I must admit I was pretty nervous about the whole thing. Okay, I was more than nervous, my stomach was in such knots that I was constantly praying for peace, all the while knowing that Bill was doing a good job and God is in control. Just for the record, I don’t like driving anything bigger than my car and my depth perception is horrible. That’s a funny thing about this new lifestyle, I’m a horrible passenger and Bill doesn’t particularly like driving. Oh what a God we serve. He’s got quite the sense of humor. Despite that, we do love what we’re doing.

We arrived, safe and sound, at our niece’s, Jenna Steffen Piggott’s home in Longview TX on Friday (3/4) afternoon. We had planned to be there much earlier, but have found everything takes longer in a motor home.  Another lesson for me…I’ve always been hurry hurry hurry, get it done in the most efficient quickest way possible and move on. I’m learning to take things much slower; another adjustment God is making in my life. (Shape me, mold me, make me more like You, dear Jesus.)

We were able to park the motor home directly in front of Jenna & Tim’s house and they so graciously provided us with electric and water. We were only able to let out one of the slides as the other two were on the street side. We still had plenty of room to move around; and crawling over the bed wasn’t so bad. We were also limited to the clothes we could access as when the bedroom slide is closed, the bed is up against the drawers. A lesson in thinking ahead. Good thing we keep our clean underwear in the upper cabinets…we actually planned it for that very reason. We had most of our meals and just hung out a lot with the family, but slept “at home.” I must admit it was fun sleeping in our own bed on a city road.

Had a great time with Tim, Jenna, Joshua (10), Ivy (almost 9), Levi (2), and Lorelie (5 mos). In the short time we were with them, I must admit I learned some great things from Jenna. She’s pretty laid back and helped me relax and enjoy the journey. One thing that she said, as we were giving her and the kids a ride in the motor home with the car attached going around a tight corner and me holding my breath…she asked me, “what have you experienced thus far?’ My answer spoke volumes to me anxious heart. “We’ve had good success thus far; Bill is doing a great job, I can rest in that.”

Pulled out of Longview TX on Tuesday morning (3/8). Still holding my breath a little, but feeling a bit more relaxed. Progress.  PTL! 

Next stop, an unexpected delight: Scottsville (TX) Nazarene Camp & Conference Center. Which is the camp we are currently parked in as mentioned at the beginning. More on that in my next post.