Nomads You And I

We say “thank you” to God by renewing our minds. “…do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind .”  (Romans 12:2)  This work of transformation and the renewal it brings will continue the remainder of our lives.  Acquiring and maintaining this renewed mind is quite doable, though at times is challenging.  In this podcast we explore how God t...

On a warm weekend one September, I was anticipating two things: A spontaneous "anything can happen" visit from someone spiritually struggling whom I immensely love, and in the middle of this visit, a previously scheduled rafting trip down the Deschutes River in Maupin, Oregon. I determined to let Providence's current take me wherever He would on both journeys. I trust Him. I'll never forget what h...

Every Friday my husband would return to his hometown to thoughtfully wander in solitude, a piece of property in the wooded, rolling hills on the outskirts of Silverton, Oregon— land owned by generations of his people. This quiet ritual refreshed him mentally and renewed him emotionally. In the spring he'd come home and tell me about the smell of the good earth awakening as it comes back to life, t...

When I was growing up in the suburbs of south Salem, Oregon, occasionally my sister’s horses would escape the fence and go running toward busy Cunningham Street wide eyed, ears straight up, bucking for the joy they could not hold inside until they were exhausted. People, horses or cars were ever hurt, but it was a job and a half to convince them to come close enough to my sister so she could again...

Thank heaven for all the life - beautifying things that only God is both willing and able to do. 

It's around early February 1982. I'm 19 and Mark is 23. We've been married around 2 1/2 years and I'm getting a little bored and looking for "a little something new to do".  We're sitting across from each other at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Los Chiles in Keizer, Oregon. And I say to him, "You know we talked about waiting 5 years before starting our family? Maybe since it takes sometimes year...

Isaiah 53:3 tells us that the Messiah would be “A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief”. Sooner or later, we will ALL become acquainted with grief.   Why were we all created with the ability to experience the agony of grief, the deep pain of depression, or the sadness that accompanies discouragement? In this podcast we  explore what our Creator has to say about that question and His wisdom ar...

We love life and in this podcast we share a few of our big and little reasons why.

Let's ponder together today, your most precious commodity. "Dost thou love Life? Then do not squander Time; for that's the Stuff Life is made of."   ~ Benjamin Franklin "Beware of the barrenness of a busy life." Corrie Yen Boom As if you could kill time without injuring eternity. Henry David Thoreau "Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were...

This story from The Book of Virtues, is a memorable tale that serves to remind us that as sweet as it is to anticipate the blessings of the future,  we do best to find reason to treasure the present as best we can, and make the very best use of it, no matter the challenge. The wise protect their happiness by not allowing their hearts to wish they could  "pull the thread".  Here's how God helps......

 I wish I could gift everyone in this world a Janice. She's warm and encouraging and helps me keep my head on straight. To the lives around her she is always full of great media recommendations --- and those within this podcast are no exception! 

She's both a Tapioca Fairy AND a sheriff (or sorts) and she came over one evening around sunset to sit with me under my weeping willow to share with one another "things we love."  We invite you to join us to find out what on earth a tapioca sheriff is and to ponder a few lovely things for awhile. 

At first the question was "should we live nomadically"? --- followed by the weighing out of the advantages and disadvantages both to ourselves and others.   Then the question became "when"? So many things have fallen into place that make this era in our lives look to be ideal one to take the leap. This podcast tells the story of that mental journey of choosing our "when".   Note: This po...

Master host of THE Podcast JABERWOCKY unbuttons his parka for this tell all (not really) list of a few of his favorite things.  

Of the vast number of churches that exist in America, why did we choose the church of Christ as our church family? Once we explored the vast evidence of God's existence and then the pre-scientific foreknowledge and archaeological evidence pointing to the divine inspiration of the scriptures, our logic became the relatively simple process of elimination we share in this podcast. Preview: We wanted...

Part Three: Ties up all the loose ends: Bringing order to feeding the fam, health & fitness habits, and sharing some helpful ideas for homeschooling families that I gathered along our own 13 year journey educating our children at home.  Part Two: Discovering the Delight of an Organization Celebration contains the nitty gritty, step by step fast-track system for a fine-tuned home that has made all...

Part One: In this the first of a three part series on the topic of bringing order to your life, we explore the attitudes, motivations and blessings of living a well-ordered life and specifically explore practical ideas around the pursuit of spiritual growth. Part Two: Discovering the Delight of an Organization Celebration contains the nitty gritty, step by step fast-track system for a fine-tuned h...

Part One: In this the first of a three part series on the topic of bringing order to your life, we explore the attitudes, motivations and blessings of living a well-ordered life and specifically explore practical ideas around the pursuit of spiritual growth. Part Two: Discovering the Delight of an Organization Celebration contains the nitty gritty, step by step fast-track system for a fine-tuned h...

Most sunny days, I pull myself away from written projects that stimulate me intellectually to hike about 6 miles up and down a mountain. I enjoy listening to music or audiobooks during those challenging climbs so that each walk feels fresh. Often I am seeing ambitious runners and think to myself what a blessing it is that those who have always wanted to time to go from couch to marathon have been...

Here we share our hopes and dreams for our grand two+ year quest, should Providence smile upon them, as we travel around the country living outside our Airstream Van. 

There's an Answer to all that ails us, and the Cure remains the Cure, universally. and forever.

"We've talked about doing that someday, ourselves!" is often the reply when we share our plans to liquidate much of our belongings to live out of a van and see the country for awhile.  Perhaps this podcast will be helpful as we explain some of the things we learned and did physically, relationally, spiritually and mentally, to be ready to live nomadically. 

During the course of our Nomad Quest prep it hit us, “What if we set out to visit 100 churches of Christ!?" What a passion project THAT would be! Think of it!  We could learn so much by watching the unique or ingenious ways these brethren love one another and get God’s beautiful, transformative work done in spirit and in truth within the patterns of the New Testament. We could also interview...

People have been personality typing since at least Plato.  We've been studying the concept since the early 80's through six different curricula: Interact, Tim LaHaye's "Discovering Your Temperament", Gary Smalley's "Hidden Keys To Loving Relationship's", Meyer's-Briggs Type Indicator, Jordan B. Peterson's "Understanding Myself" and now our FAVORITE for it's complex fluidity: The Enneagram.&nb...

In this episode, we recount the top five reasons we love the Beaverton church of Christ --- and express our appreciation to our beloved church family for these 28 years together.