Unknowns and Decisions...

Hello, from MS! That picture was taken on the back porch of our house in Blue Springs a few years ago by a friend. We never knew that just a few years down the road that we would no longer be living in MS. Fast forward, and here we are returning to the state for several weeks to visit family/friends. Guess what? We have not adjusted well to MS life at all. Let me clarify that-Johnny and I have not. The boys are loving being treated like little princes by grandparents and are having a blast reconnecting with friends. We all have loved spending quality time with our families and friends. 

In the meantime, I feel like a whiny brat. We are ready to go! The first week and half was awful for me. I miss seeing water pour over the rocks of the river from my window. I miss being able to walk a few feet and be on trails. I miss meeting new people. I miss watching our boys have adventures in the woods. I miss Johnny telling me about his bear friends he would see weekly as he ran in the morning and evenings. We really have no desire to live here anymore, at all...at least for the foreseeable future. 

The other day, I read some posts that I made once we made the decision to resign from our jobs and  say goodbye to normal life. We had lots of unknowns. For the most part, we have those answers now and are looking forward to what lies ahead.

1. We wondered if we would be able to support our family with the income we could make. Check.

2. We wondered if we would really like it long term. We have always traveled the months of June and July but we never really knew if once we didn't have a date to return due to work if we would still love it. Check.

3. We wondered if we really would enjoy living in a super tiny space. None of us have ever cared that much about things and space, but we were living in a house in which we could at least retreat from each other to another floor of the house! Now, that isn't an option. But, we actually all love it. So, check.

4. We wondered if we could connect with a church or have some sense of where/how to let God use us the most. Check. (And just so you know, church life in Appalachia is a book of its own! I have written 2 posts about our experiences and have just chosen not to publish them to the public. I may in the future. I may not. I told Johnny he needed to get wrist scar tattoos and wear robes and sandals to church--maybe then they may not be so rejective of long hair and outward appearances! Jackson had a kid ask him, "Where you are from, do other boys have long hair?" While we were at home among the river crowd, the church crowd...not so much! I guess I should have brought resumes with us! Just kidding, I had rather them take an outward inspection, it told us a lot about their hearts.  Thankfully, we found a church plant just a few miles from us to connect with! And guess where they were meeting--in the pastor's home! How familiar is that!

In the meantime, Johnny and I are trying to sort through and make several decisions about our future and what that will look like. All of the options and choices we have to chose between are good. We are going to be the same people, live for the same things, and be who we are in all of those places. The good news is that we really don't have to give it a whole lot of thought. While we all make plans and think about our future, only God knows what that will really look like. Everything we think about and plan can change in the next minute. I am glad that our hope is in something much more stable than people, jobs, societal status, or our circumstances. We look forward to see where our next steps lead us. In the meantime, I cannot wait to stick my feet in the sand in FL and have some adventures! And I am counting the days until I see this view again in March! I am pretty sure the mountains and river can be my permanent home.

We have a few more weeks here and would love to connect with more of our friends! If you want to meet up, let us know! We can no longer be the host home! We have room for our 4 and no more! 

(Oh, and Nettleton people...help me out. Johnny is running and biking daily. So if you or your friends see this random guy running down the road, he is innocent or pedaling away, he is innocent--just exercising. I am so afraid he is going to get shot around here! Most of the time he is around the Cason/Liberty, 371 areas. We have yet to see anybody running, walking or biking around here! At our other home in Blue Springs, we would see people pretty frequently. So please, help a girl keep her husband!)

Live a Meaningful Life!