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The Unexpected Companion Joining Us On Our Adventure

“Adventure, yeah. I guess that’s what you call it when everybody comes back alive.”
― Mercedes Lackey, Spirits White as Lightning

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The idea of embarking on some grand adventure sometimes overwhelms me with feelings of eagerness and anticipation. Going to the moon, or sailing across a sea, or driving 10,000 miles around the country – these concepts alight in the mind like small, beautiful birds landing on the springy boughs of a raspberry bush. Ideas, you know, and all that.

Yet no sooner had we begun preparing for our trip than the real feeling of adventures descended around us. For no matter how exciting an adventure may sound during its conception, as soon as preparation begins in earnest, you realize why people are so in love with the idea of adventure and yet so rarely embark on them.
Continue reading “The Unexpected Companion Joining Us On Our Adventure”

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Do Roses Have Thorns, or Do Thorns Have Roses?

“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses.” Alphonse Karr

Thankfulness is very much in vogue these days. Much has been made of the positive affects of gratitude. Not a day goes by on these various social media platforms that I do not see someone espousing the benefits of a thankful outlook.

A friend of mine has even started a hashtag on Twitter, #gratefuldaily, and it seems to be catching on: he simply says one thing that he’s thankful for and follows it up with #gratefuldaily. I think this is a wonderful kind of routine to have in a world where so much seems to go so wrong. There is something life-giving about this constant turning from disappointment towards thankfulness.

But I’ve noticed that much of the thankfulness in the world resembles the prayers of my children. “And thank you God that Mommy made my favorite food tonight,” or “Thank you God that I got to play Wii today.” Not that there’s anything wrong with the prayers of a child – more of us should pray with the fervor and sincerity with which little ones naturally overflow.

But there is another level to giving thanks, an even more powerful stage of gratefulness that we often fall short of. Continue reading “Do Roses Have Thorns, or Do Thorns Have Roses?”

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An Excerpt From My Latest Book Project

   The following is an excerpt from my latest project, a book I co-wrote with Mike and Fi Lusby titled, And Then We Danced. The chapters are told in alternating perspectives throughout the book, first from Fi, then from Mike. This particular chapter is told from Mike’s perspective. You can find out more about the book or order it on my website or on Amazon. Here is an excerpt from the book: Continue reading “An Excerpt From My Latest Book Project”

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Visiting With Grandma, and the Nature of Forgetting

Dad and I walk into the room and find her with her back turned, bent over and studying a square piece of white fabric. She seems so small, the way trees shrink in the winter after their leaves have all been blown away.

“Hey, mom, look who I brought,” he says in a strangely loud voice, then continues as she turns and eyes us up. “It’s Shawn.” The last bit was added to avoid any unnecessary embarrassment.

“Well, look who it is,” she says in a voice that sounds like her old self, only muffled. She reaches up with her still-strong fingers and grabs my chin, then plants a kiss square on my mouth.

“Hi, Grandma,” I say quietly, hugging her. There is a new quality to her hugs now, a desperation, as if each time she lets go she is acutely aware of all the time that has passed. Continue reading “Visiting With Grandma, and the Nature of Forgetting”

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Some Pictures From Inside the Bus Where We’ll be Living for Four Months

Thanks for stopping by. Let me show you around.

This is our dining room. The table turns into a bed, which will be mighty handy should any of you happen to come visiting and decide to spend the night. Can’t wait to chat with you about life and writing here.

Here’s the kitchen. There’s a small stove top opposite this sink. Not exactly gourmet-meal making quality, but check out Maile’s blog once the trip starts for her creative take on simple meals.

That’s the bathroom. There’s a small shower to the right. Enough said. (I leave the bathroom metaphors to Jen Luitwieler, whose book was just named an Amazon good read.)

Three bunks for four kids. But two of the kids are quite small. We’ll figure it out.

Our bedroom (and study…and refuge from the chaos…and place with mirrors which kind of reminds me of Hotel California).

And finally, the view from the back to the front. It’s a big bus. Am I ever so slightly nervous about driving it? Perhaps.

Watch out, America! Eight more days until this ship sails.

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God’s Renovations Involve Wrecking Balls, Not Paint Brushes

The house sits mostly empty on this cold Sunday afternoon. The chickens walk up on to the deck and peck at the glass patio doors, their heads twitching from side to side, trying to figure out why a wall of plastic containers obscures their view of the living room. Cardboard boxes stand by the front door – they will carry away the final remnants of this time in our lives.

An unexpected peace fell over the house this week as we packed up our stuff and wedged it into storage. In my experience, all great adventures begin and end with a storage unit. Boxes of books, clothes, and dishes never touched in the two years we lived here have vanished. There is something refreshing about empty space. There is something about simplicity that makes it easier to breathe.

The house even seems bigger now, without the chairs and table and wardrobes, the carpets and end tables and piles of things we never used but only moved from spot to spot. It’s been a good reminder to me, about how our life can expand if we’re willing to throw some of our stuff on to the altar. Continue reading “God’s Renovations Involve Wrecking Balls, Not Paint Brushes”