Well here is our second post. If you didn't know by now, we don't plan to fill this blog with a bunch of useless day by day stuff...mainly because our day by day is pretty much the same for now. Andrew is still working 50-60 hours per week, Meagan is teaching swim lessons part-time, and Balto is just loving being a dog.
So we are excited to report that we have started packing and are preparing things for a big sell off in April. We have thought about buying a new car (bigger one), but have decided against it because we are trying to be debt free. As of this post, we have paid off almost $2000 worth of credit card debt and are on track to pay off more by the time we leave (hopefully all of it).
As each day passes we find ourselves talking to more and more people about this "escape". We tell them what our plans our, and how we are going about doing it. It's amazing to watch people's reactions. They get this far-away look in their eyes and they tell us how envious they are that we are doing something like this, and that they wish they could do it. Well I'm here to tell you folks, you can do it if you put your mind to it. If it is something that you are passionate about, you will find time to do it. I understand that many people have kids and families that they don't want to uproot, but I ask you, "What are you teaching your kids?". Are you teaching them that it is okay to dream, but not to act upon your dreams? I'm not saying that you should quit your job with thousands of dollars of debt, and move to Bora-Bora or whatever, but you should try to responsibly prepare to follow your dreams (God-centered, debt-free, savings to fall back on, etc). Involve the kids in your dream and definitely be on the same page as your spouse is.
You might be saying, "You don't have kids, you don't know what it is like." I'll say, "You're right, I don't have kids, but listen to our new friends who are doing something similar..."
So let's call them John and Jane. Not their real names of course. I want to protect their identities in case someone they know happen upon this blog. John works a good job according to other people's standard. He makes decent money and he and his wife have a side business that is starting to earn them some money. Jane is now a stay at home mom. They have 4 kids ranging from young to teenager. When we shared what we are about to do, John told me what he was about to do. Apparently he is unhappy with his job and is not getting fulfillment out of it. He also says he feels that God is calling him and his family to another city. So, with 4 kids and a wife to take care of, he is planning on moving to the new city and live in a RV for 6 months to a year. He is in the process of getting his house ready to sell (to get out from the mortgage) and quitting his job. To save money, they will live in the RV until they can find a new place to live. True story.
Now, to me, that takes a lot of faith and a lot of courage. He is not making a rash decision, but he and his wife and kids are on board with him. They are planning on doing this together and are going to need each other when times get tough. So you can see why we hit it off. Here is another man who is following what he believes and is faithful enough to follow his dream. He knows that a mediocre life is not for him and he wants his family to experience awesome. If you're following God, it can't be anything but awesome.
So back to us. Out west is where we need to be for now. Are we supposed to be there forever? Or just a month? We don't know. What we do know is that either way it is going to be one heck of a story. We are just gonna step out on faith and see where it takes us.
As a side note, we aren't going to be posting every single day. When we do leave though, we will do our best to keep the blog as updated as possible, and hopefully have some great pictures to share with y'all.
Until next time, find your awesome.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Thursday, February 6, 2014
A little about us
Wow. Our first blog. Never thought we would be "bloggers". Then again, we are about to do a lot of things we never thought we would do. We are about to radically change our lives. And people are definitely calling us crazy for it. You're probably asking yourself, "What are they talking about?". What are they about to do? Well let us tell you....
We have made a choice to no longer be average. We have made to choice to no longer be victims of circumstance and chance. We were made for greater things. We don't know what just yet, although we have a pretty good idea. Anyways, more on that later.
So about us as of right now....
Our little family is Andrew, Meagan, and Balto. Andrew is ex-military, a certified health fitness specialist, and has a master's degree in exercise science. He has had a master's degree and certification for months now with no job prospects at all, despite spending many hours each day applying to jobs all over the country and enlisting the help of employment specialists. He is currently working a seasonal job for a tax service. Gotta make ends meet right?
Meagan also has a master's degree in exercise science. She has had that degree for almost a year and a half at the time of this writing. She loves aquatics and teaching children how to swim, which is what she currently does part-time for a living. She also spends many hours each day searching for jobs, with no prospects at all.
Balto is our awesome dog. He is a timber wolf/Alaskan malamute mix. He currently spends his days hanging out and wanting to play, and sprinting when we take him for a walk/ run. He was made for the outdoors (like us).
So reading those descriptions doesn't make us sound too exciting. It makes us sound like thousands of other people in America. It sounds like the status-quo these days. We did the "right" thing according to previous generations. We went to college, we got our degrees, but where are the jobs? Isn't that what was supposed to come next? So now we are are stuck struggling to pay the bills, to put food on the table, and we are struggling just to survive.
Don't get us wrong now...our life isn't terrible. We have some amazing friends, some we have met this year and others whom we have known for years. We have families who love us, and who want the best for us. But unless we somehow come into big money (not likely to happen so don't hold your breath) then we need to make our own way. We are sad to be leaving our family and friends, but we cannot let that sadness stop us from chasing our dream. We want our friends and family to know we love them, and we invite them to experience life with us, either through here, the phone, or even better, in person.
That being said, come May of 2014 there will be a change. We will no longer be stuck just surviving. We are choosing life. We are planning to sell most of our possessions and take to the roads. We are heading out west. Why you may ask? Because that's where God is leading us. That's where, in our heart of hearts, we know we are meant to be. We don't have a job offer waiting. We don't have a place to live waiting. What we do have waiting is the adventure of a lifetime. We refuse to limit ourselves to mediocrity. We are going to step out on faith and watch life happen. Join us as we laugh, as we cry, as we prepare for and experience one of the greatest journeys of our lifetime. In the end, it'll at least be a story to tell the kids and grand-kids and hopefully it will inspire them to step out on faith and go for their dreams.
Yes, this is for real, it is not just a story. Join us as we go after the Spectacular.
We have made a choice to no longer be average. We have made to choice to no longer be victims of circumstance and chance. We were made for greater things. We don't know what just yet, although we have a pretty good idea. Anyways, more on that later.
So about us as of right now....
Our little family is Andrew, Meagan, and Balto. Andrew is ex-military, a certified health fitness specialist, and has a master's degree in exercise science. He has had a master's degree and certification for months now with no job prospects at all, despite spending many hours each day applying to jobs all over the country and enlisting the help of employment specialists. He is currently working a seasonal job for a tax service. Gotta make ends meet right?
Meagan also has a master's degree in exercise science. She has had that degree for almost a year and a half at the time of this writing. She loves aquatics and teaching children how to swim, which is what she currently does part-time for a living. She also spends many hours each day searching for jobs, with no prospects at all.
Balto is our awesome dog. He is a timber wolf/Alaskan malamute mix. He currently spends his days hanging out and wanting to play, and sprinting when we take him for a walk/ run. He was made for the outdoors (like us).
So reading those descriptions doesn't make us sound too exciting. It makes us sound like thousands of other people in America. It sounds like the status-quo these days. We did the "right" thing according to previous generations. We went to college, we got our degrees, but where are the jobs? Isn't that what was supposed to come next? So now we are are stuck struggling to pay the bills, to put food on the table, and we are struggling just to survive.
Don't get us wrong now...our life isn't terrible. We have some amazing friends, some we have met this year and others whom we have known for years. We have families who love us, and who want the best for us. But unless we somehow come into big money (not likely to happen so don't hold your breath) then we need to make our own way. We are sad to be leaving our family and friends, but we cannot let that sadness stop us from chasing our dream. We want our friends and family to know we love them, and we invite them to experience life with us, either through here, the phone, or even better, in person.
That being said, come May of 2014 there will be a change. We will no longer be stuck just surviving. We are choosing life. We are planning to sell most of our possessions and take to the roads. We are heading out west. Why you may ask? Because that's where God is leading us. That's where, in our heart of hearts, we know we are meant to be. We don't have a job offer waiting. We don't have a place to live waiting. What we do have waiting is the adventure of a lifetime. We refuse to limit ourselves to mediocrity. We are going to step out on faith and watch life happen. Join us as we laugh, as we cry, as we prepare for and experience one of the greatest journeys of our lifetime. In the end, it'll at least be a story to tell the kids and grand-kids and hopefully it will inspire them to step out on faith and go for their dreams.
Yes, this is for real, it is not just a story. Join us as we go after the Spectacular.
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