Life as a Yowler

With the exception of a few small trips, we have taken a break from traveling for the last two years. There were a couple reasons. Covid was a major one. There were several unknowns and scares with that. Another reason was a very stressful season of house construction.

Our house has been under construction for the last two years. This process has been the most stressful season of my life. I don’t handle messes or chaos well. We lived in a 350 sq ft cabin(on our property) for 1.5 years of the 2 year renovation process. Six people in that small of a space forced us to get creative….and grumpy with each other at times. Overall, we have very happy memories and the kids still ask to occasionally sleep in the cabin for a night. They love it. Isla(our 5 year old) has most of her memories in this cabin and she still views it as home. As for me…..I will be avoiding it for the next 30 years.

We’ve been living back in our house since July. There have still been people coming and going(finishing projects up). But for the most part the house was livable.

Praise God He brought us through these last two years. . I can’t tell you how thankful I am to be on the other end of the stressful season. Things are lifting. Things are improving. I am experiencing true joy and thankfulness again. We are laughing and enjoying each other again. We are enjoying having so much more space. We have created so many memories already(since moving in in July). We are cultivating a loving, peaceful home environment again. We are healing. It’s only by God’s grace that we are where we are.

People are visiting us again. I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to be able to host and enjoy family and friends. Our kids are making happy memories with cousins and friends, and I’m so thankful for that.

Brandon has continued to travel for work, but we haven’t always joined him like we used to. The kids are getting more involved in activities, which makes traveling more difficult.

We decided to take a trip this week and celebrate the hard season we’ve just come through. There were times of huge discouragement and dispair. There were times that felt hopeless. I learned to not trust my feelings and emotions, as they can be so deceiving. I held tight to God’s word. I learned that God is good and faithful, even when it doesn’t feel that way. I learned to depend of Christ and not myself. I learned to surrender my will and desire. I learned that I have the loudest, most rambunctious kids in America. I learned that spending a full day inside our 350 sq ft cabin was like pure torture, and outings were VERY needed.

Today we’ve been making our way through Wyoming. We went from extreme wind and hitting several tumble weeds(no joke), to snow covering the ground and falling as we drive. We are now driving in a full blown snow storm and just saw a snow plow slide off the road. 🥴 Not a great sign. We drove past several wild horses, which are always a favorite to see.

We will make it to the mountains of Utah by this evening. It’s perfect timing to travel, as we will already be adapted to a time change before the time change comes to Michigan.

I can’t tell you how thankful I am and how refreshing it feels to be enjoying life again. The spirit of heaviness is definitely a real thing. Circumstances can play a huge part into feeling joy, but God has been teaching me to look for reasons to find joy no matter what season I’m in. The more I cling to Jesus and choose gratitude and thankfulness, the more the enemy is forced to flee. The more I let go of bitterness and unforgiveness, the more freedom I experience. Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.

Romans 8:1-2 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Here’s to living life and living it to the fullest! Here’s to making so many happy memories. Here’s to enjoying my family and pointing them towards Christ. All glory to Him!