After a long break, I am back to blogging. Boy does it feel good to be writing again!

The last few years have been quite a whirlwind. A lot of personal growth has and continues to occur, and even more learning. When it all first started to explode (or implode depending on your perception), I shut down and stopped blogging. Truth be told, I shut down in most ways and retreated into self-preservation mode. Journaling even ceased for a while. It became overwhelming, I became depressed. I was tired of dealing with it and nobody else wanted to hear about it either, I told myself. You know isolation makes everything harder. Denying myself support and even the ability to process was not the best course of action but it is what I did. Writing helps me to process. It helps me figure out what I’m thinking and feeling. (Sorry yall, hate to disappoint the inquisitive, the real juicy stuff is still staying in my journal.)

I have learned that being open with our struggles is important, not just for ourselves but for others. It helps bring it out of the darkness, allowing God’s healing light in. We learn we are not as alone as we think we are. The people around you really do want to help. They can’t help if they don’t know you are struggling. It also helps others who are feeling alone in their struggle to know they are not alone. As we talk about it and heal from it, the shame is taken away, the power it has over us is taken away. Sharing our stories is important in so many ways. I started journaling again and began being authentically real with myself with those around me. What a world changer!

So where are we now?

We are still living in the 600 sq. ft tiny off grid house. This is the vehicle we chose to best facilitate the life we wanted to live so I plan to continue blogging about what we have learned and experience. Although now there is only 7 of us, after a short stent with 9 when Bou and his new wife (yes, he is married now!) stayed while they waited on their own housing. After living in the mostly completed house for 3 years (6 years since we first broke ground), we have experienced and troubleshot a lot of things unique to this lifestyle. Full disclosure – it isn’t finished in the “everything is completed” kind of way. There is still molding to do and the flooring we’ve had from the beginning is still piled under our bed. Meh, it is what it is. There are still a lot of little projects we want to do. Some specific to off gridding, some for purely recreational value. Some projects are simply because what worked 3 years ago no longer works for our family. Doing all of this with a larger than average family has posed additional challenges. Changing things up in a tiny house isn’t quite as easy as just rearraigning a few pieces of furniture, whole room design changes are required.

Travel with a large family is another area I will expand on. With dozens of “small” (under a week) trips and a handful of “bigger” (between 1 and 3 weeks) trips under our belts plus a handful of future trips in various planning stages, it’s become an integral part of life the last few years. Considering we’ve been in the same place for 6 years and I’ve never lived anywhere for more than 3 years, this is a record that comes with consequences. Adventure and travel are somethings that curbs my free spirit “I’m bored, we gotta go” wonderlust, shows our children their world and teaches in better ways than any book can. Of course we are doing it in a slightly different way. Besides our family size there are still budget constraints to content with. Balancing all of that and still being able to explore leads to some creative solutions. First goal is to visit historical and interesting things in each of the Continental 48 in a few different trips.

God has been foundational in all of this so this will be another area I will blog about. In my absence I learned I have a huge passion for studying His Word. Not just learning what it says but diving deep into it to a level I had never explored before – the original language, the cultural context, early Church fathers, the relation of the Old Testament and how it relates to Jesus and the New Testament. I totally geek out on this stuff so much I led Bible studies at our church for a couple of years. Not that it makes me a smarty pants in any way mind you! Just that it is something that ignites a passionate fire and I love to share with people to hopefully spur your own passionate fire.

Mostly I want to empower you. I want you to know that you matter, your story matters, you can find healing and create the kind of life you desire with true joy and contentment. It may be in a radical way, it may be tweaking a few things in the life you currently live. You can do either – or both! The idea of starting a fresh blog crossed my mind a few times but I couldn’t. There is just too much information and history in this one. It all plays a role together in this crazy thing called our life. Without one, we couldn’t have the other.

So here you have it. Together, Simply. Same foundational focus but slightly tweaked, a little more grown up and a little more real and raw.