It was a really great trip. I am
very thankful for our friends and family, who made time for us during our visit
and for the hospitality of my mother in law, who let us stay at her house for
more than a week. I feel loved and blessed!!
It’s hard to believe that one
year ago we still lived there. One year ago, the desert was one of the last
places we ever thought we would live. Time goes by so quickly!! When we moved last
September, it was with the intention we would return to Washington as soon as
my husband could get relocated. Now that we have started a life, here in Nevada,
we both feel this is where God wants to use us. We love our city and the people
in it!!
Was it hard to move to a new
state, with no friends and family? Absolutely!! Did I feel loss after quitting
my job and leaving my church?? You Bet!! Was every tear and doubt worth it??
For Sure!!
I realize now, as long as I am
trying to follow the will of God and let him lead the way, I am generally much
happier. He has given me new goals and a purpose. He has stretched me personally
and spiritually. He has led me to a church I love and given me a wonderful
community of friends. I get to spend every day caring for my son and teaching
him important lessons at such an early age. I love taking care of my family!!
God is good!! He has blessed me
beyond my anything I could have imagined!! All I had to do was leave everything
I knew and follow him!!
As happy as I am here, I did
really enjoy visiting all of my friends and family in Washington. However,
since quitting my job, our budget has gotten much tighter and the trip almost
didn’t happen. I drive a hybrid car, so gas wasn’t really an issue. My biggest
concern was feeding my family on the road. Restaurant food can be really
expensive and really unhealthy!! The cost of drinks, such as sodas coffee and
juice, add up quickly.
That is where a little planning
came into the picture………
I fed my family on a 12 hour road
trip on less the $10 and the food I had in my refrigerator. We stopped for
nothing but bathroom breaks and gas!! It was wonderful.
We had many eggs to use before
leaving, as well as a lot of fruits and veggies. I hardboiled eggs and cut up
fruits and veggies for my toddler to eat on the road trip. I put honey and
mustard (he has a thing for mustard) in travel shampoo bottles for dipping
sauce. I froze leftover lemonade in sports bottles for ice and he drank it as
it melted. I filled Sippy cups with the milk that would not be drinkable when
we returned. I also gave him a handful of nuts, because he loves them and I
love the added protein. I put all of this in a few cute caricature covered meal
containers. He felt very special to have his own Spiderman and Lightning
McQueen meals on the go!!
 |
| The marshmellows are potty treats!! |
For my me and my husband, I made an egg scramble with leftover eggs that needed to be used and canned black beans and diced tomatoes, staples in my pantry. I bought corn tortillas to make egg scramble burritos. I also bought a Costco size of hummus (one of my favorites and a craving that day) to dip veggies. I brought along some sriracha and spicy mustard in travel size shampoo bottles for dipping and burrito sauce. I froze more lemonade and water to keep it all cool in my cooler bag; we drank it as it melted. I also filled an empty gallon sized water bottle with coffee to refill our iced coffee throughout the road trip.
When we got there at about 1AM we
were tired but we were healthy and not hungry!!
If you are wondering how I got my
toddler to sit in a car seat for 12 hours without any tantrums, I loaded Veggie
Tale movies I had previously bought on I-tunes on an old I-Phone with a cracked
screen. I put the broken phone in a toddler case and let him watch the movies
on the way.
Our trip home was a little more
expensive, because we didn’t have a refrigerator to empty (I’m sure my mother
in law wanted to keep most of her groceries) but we did pack food for less than
$30. I made sandwich wraps and brought cheese sticks. I froze more lemonade and
refilled our coffee/water jug.
I had a wonderful time but am so
happy to get back to my life. I love my life!! I am looking forward to see how
God calls and challenges me in the future!! Is God calling you to make some
life changes? Do you question his plan for you, or even fight it sometimes? How
is God challenging you or helping you grow? Do you trust that his plan is
perfect and he wants good things for his children?
May Your Joy Be Full,
Rachel
3 and said to him, “Go out from your land
and from you kindred and go into the land that I will show you.”
Acts
7:3 (ESV)
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Rachel, I love your blog. I certainly find myself questioning God's plan for us at this point and I pray over it hoping to gain some sense of understanding as to where our lives are going and need to be. Moving here to Washington was so hard on our marriage and even harder on our financial status. Hopefully something positive happens for us soon. I enjoy reading your blog. It fills me with a positive feeling.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for reading!! I pray God will give you some answers. It's hard to move, especially as far as you did. I can only imagine how hard it is if you aren't feeling sure of your calling to your specific area. Have you found or thought of looking for a church in the area? Personally, I found I need to feel connected to God's people in order to feel connected to him. Even after living in Washington for a few years, finding the right church changed our experience. I learned that I needed to develop a relationship with God that I didn't even know possible. When we decided to move, we found a new church before we even found a place to live. We were very lucky, God made it immediately clear what church we should call home.
DeleteIf you haven't found one and don't know where to start, I recomend finding one in the "Acts 29" network. Acts 29 is a network of bible believing churches. That is how we found our current church. When we lived in WA we attenced Mars Hill Church. Going to that church changed our lives. There isn't a Mars Hill location in Spokane, but they are in the Acts 29 network and I think there are 2 Acts 29 churches in the area.
Life is easier to navagate when you aren't doing it alone:-)
Thanks for your comment and I know God will show you his way!! He never said it would be easy, but it will be worth it!!
Thank you. I will look into that. We actually have not been to church ever in our marriage because my husband often worked during church times even Sunday so it just became a given that we didn't go. He has mentioned us starting to go here but I've been apprehensive of attending a large church. I like small and comfy. I have never gone this far away from family and it is hard knowing that it would take so long to get there if something happened and that's if I could get the money together the daily struggle since my husband losing his last job to coming here for this one has certainly been hard on us as individuals and tested our marital bond. Thank you for taking the time to get back to me.
ReplyDelete