Blessings - The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly!

Sometimes in life it is easy to focus on the negatives or start feeling discouraged from difficult circumstances, unrealistic expectations and disappointments.  (To my friend Heather in St. Louis...You asked me to be honest on the blog about both the good and the bad stuff, so here it goes!!!! :)

Recently, I have to admit, I have been struggling with a bad attitude.  I find myself grumbling and complaining about adjustments to our lifestyle.  Sometimes I feel just like a 2 year old who doesn't get her way! YIKES!

It all started after our little dog, Gus passed away last month. I took it pretty hard:( Shortly afterward, we had a very busy week of traveling and ended up being stuck in traffic one day driving north from Miami.  Our trip was supposed to be around 6 hours that day (including a one hour stop at a state park), and instead it took ELEVEN HOURS! We got in after dark to set up at the RV park, hurried to put the boys in bed, and I still needed to run to Target and do laundry.  I literally made it to Target just 20 minutes before they closed at 10pm. I had a list a mile long and I was like a crazy lady running down the aisles throwing things in the cart. Afterwards, it was time for laundry...out to the RV park laundry room!  Most of the RV laundry facilities have been super nice. This one was not so nice. The washers and dryers were old and did not work well so it took extra quarters to get things dry.  Alan had a seminar the next day, (which also happened to be my birthday), so he was busy preparing for that.   He did very sweetly offer to get the clothes from the washer and put them in the dryer for me that night...I accepted! Alan had ordered my birthday gift (two beautiful charms for my bracelet), but unfortunately, our mail was delayed so it did not arrive on time. He felt SO bad! After the seminar the next day, we were so exhausted that I decided that we all needed some rest time (a.k.a Mom and Dad needed a nap!). After our nap, I thought it would be nice to go out for my birthday dinner so no one had to cook.  We arrived at Olive Garden (where there was a one hour wait), and we were all still tired,  very hungry, and ready to eat! Below is a picture from that night. Caleb and Joshua were not in the mood for pictures as you can see from their expressions...

Shortly after our meal arrived at the table, Caleb got sick.  I mean, literally sick right there at the dinner table...ugh! Poor kid! Let's just say...it was a wee bit stressful time:) After we left the restaurant, Alan offered to put the boys in bed so I could go run out and rent a movie for us to watch.  When I came home, I found this beautiful bouquet of roses arranged in a "vase."

Yep! This is an empty popcorn kernel jar.  We do not have any vases now that we are living in the RV. (obviously, it would not be practical!) So- my creative husband improvised! When I first saw it, Alan asked, "Are you sure its not too CORNY??"  I just love his sense of humor:)

Some of you may have heard of the book One Thousand Gifts.  My sweet friend Lisa let me borrow her copy of the book to read last fall. I ended up returning her book before I finished it because we were in the midst of moving.  So- I decided to buy my own copy of the book this past week.  The author of the book, Ann Voskamp suggests we all make a list of God's gifts to us.  Just this week, I started my list of "Gifts" or Blessings that God has given me.  I am choosing to find the JOY in life's struggles. I am not perfect, and I often struggle with selfishness, pride, and just plain having a bad attitude about things when life doesn't go as I planned! I am trying to remember that it is often in the hard times, we grow the most and see God's Blessings.  It is easy to take blessings for granted when things are going great. Right now, I am choosing to see God's Blessings in the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!

1) Every week, when I am tempted to complain that I have to pack up all the dirty laundry, the baskets, the detergent, bleach bottle and dryer sheets, get the quarters ready, carry it out to the RV Laundry facilities, wash, dry and then fold up everything and take it all the way back to the RV....I will remember to be grateful for all of the wonderful people I have met in laundry rooms! I have met other moms, grandmas, grandpas and couples, who love to talk and hear about our full-time journey. Recently, a couple we just met helped carry our laundry all the way back to our RV for us! I will also be grateful that I did not have to wash all of the laundry by hand either!!!

2) While we were loading up from an RV park in Florida, I was driving our mini-van onto the dolly.  This is not as easy as you may think.  Sometimes it takes several tries to make sure the tires are in the right spot.  It really takes 2 people to do this job. One to stand in front of the dolly to guide the driver, and one to drive the van up the dolly.  Well...on this particular day, I had made a few unsuccessful attempts up the dolly.  The ground was sand, but it seemed to be packed pretty tight.  As I was backing off the dolly, the ramp shifted on the sand and one of the front tires hit the dolly. This caused a big gash in the tire and I quickly had to move it to the side of the road before all the air came out. Three hours later after Alan changed the tire, put the spare on, drove to 2 different places to get a new tire, we were on the road again.

I chose in this circumstance to be grateful for a husband who didn't yell at me or make me feel bad about what happened.  He was very gracious and instead took the blame saying he should have moved us over to the asphalt to put the van on the dolly.  I chose to be grateful for the sweet friends from our church in St. Louis who gave us McDonalds gift cards. I used the gift cards that day to feed and entertain the boys while we waited for the new tire. I will also remember to be grateful for the resources to fix things when they break!

3) When I am tempted to complain that I have to figure out where everything is in every new city we travel to, I will remember to be grateful for this trip to see new places and meet new people. This trip is a gift, an adventure, and I want to be grateful for this time with my family. Time is a gift!

4) When we are parked somewhere and do not have full hook ups and I am tempted to complain that we have to take quick "spit" showers to conserve water, I will remember to be grateful for having any water at all! AND - I will be REALLY grateful for the times we are camped somewhere with full-hook ups so I can take a long, hot shower!

5) When I am feeling homesick and I miss my family and friends, I will remember to be grateful for visits over the phone and on the computer.  I will be grateful for the new friends we are making in this ministry, as well as reconnecting with old friends on the road that we have not seen in a long time. Just this past month, we reconnected with some sweet friends we knew in St. Louis who had moved to Florida. We had not seen them in years.  They blessed us with their generosity, a lovely meal, encouraging fellowship, and entertaining our four boys. Thank you Inks family!

I will also look forward to future visits in person from family and friends too!! We would love to see you! Come visit any time. We do have a lovely dinette in our RV that turns into a guest bed! Tee Hee:)

On a serious note, we have several friends who are either battling cancer right now or have a loved one who is.  Every time I read their Caringbridge pages, I am so amazed at their faith and gratitude to God in the midst of some very difficult circumstances. I am not talking about a "Pollyanna" happy or the "happy face" that we can put on at times.  I am talking about a true JOY that can only be found from knowing Christ.  I am so blessed to hear their honesty about their struggles, as well as their hope that God is holding on to them throughout their circumstances... good and bad.

I know this is just a start, but I am still learning and growing! God isn't finished with me yet! I have to keep reminding myself to be grateful both during the tough times as well as the good times in life. For the most part, this RV trip is a fun and exciting time in our family, but life still happens.  There are still adjustments, and we still have responsibilities to take care of. We still need to run a ministry, pay the bills, homeschool four boys, cook dinner, and clean house (although it doesn't take near as long to clean our home nowadays. I only have one bathroom to clean now! HA!  I will remember to be extra grateful for that!)


As always, I am grateful to you...family and friends...who have loved, supported, prayed, and encouraged us through life and during our transition into this new ministry on the road.  We are grateful for you always! Love and miss you all SO much!

Blessings (Good, Bad and Ugly!- I mean that in the nicest way possible) to you and yours,

Jill and the boys:)


"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  First Thessalonians 5:16-18