Simplicity in Sunsets

Living in Silicon Valley and the hustle and bustle of just regular life in the Bay can be exhilarating and exciting at times. However, there have been more moments as I get older and having lived in the Bay for a long time, it’s hard to step out of the “Bay Bubble” and slow down. When you’re running and going at such a fast pace, it’s hard to notice and enjoy the little things that God has placed in your life. When you’re in an environment where it’s so easy to “control” every little aspect of your life, it’s hard to let go and let God into your life. I know that this perspective or reflection may not be true for everyone but I wonder if it resonates with some people. 

Having been out on the road for awhile now and out of the environment that we live in, I have come to realize how important it is to intentionally make time to slow down. I don’t mean just waiting for the weekends or vacation times but purposely carving out time in each day to slow down. When I say “slow down”, I don’t mean spending time on my phone, TV or on the computer browsing my good ole favorites of Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, watching “This is Us” or even online shopping or reading blogs (just saying these are my crutches ya’ll). What I mean is finding things that give me life and that fills my soul. 

Being out here on the road and in the midst of God’s creation has made me slow down and take a deep breath. It’s slowly helped me see the beauty in the little things such as sunsets. Living in the Bay, it’s hard to notice and enjoy the sunsets because I’m either in a car, inside a place, or in the house making dinner. But out here in the wilderness of His creation, in the vast open sky, the sunset captures your attention. The colors, the beauty, and the time it takes for the sun to set is just amazing. Sitting to enjoy the sunset has been and is one of the things that gives me life and fills my soul. It slows me down because in that moment, all I am doing is watching the sun set in the sky. Such simplicity. 

Loving Lake Powell

This by far was my favorite campground in our entire trip. We stayed at Lake Powell - Wahweap Campground. Our RV site was big and spacious with lots of room for the girls to run around, ride their bikes and scooters. The entire campground was clean and we had a view of the lake. There was fire pit and the best part was that it was quiet and relaxing just sitting outside. You could even see the jack rabbits hopping around the campground and hear the coyotes at night. Loved this spot and so glad that we spent 4 nights here. The best part of this location was how decently close everything was. From this location, we were able to visit Horseshoe Bend, take tours of Antelope Canyon, take the tour of the Carl Hayden Dam, go into the town of Page for groceries and to eat, 2 hour drive to Monument Valley, and much more that we didn’t realize was so close to us until we left.  We met a family who we met at our Zion RV resort and just happened to stay at Lake Powell too at the same time we were!. They told us they rented a boat in Lake Powell and that you could drive the boat yourself to wherever you wanted to go. How cool is that? 

Lake Powell gave us a lot of time to just really sit and relax and hangout as a family. I just loved sitting outside in the sun and looking at the view of the lake. The girls loved going down to the beach and playing in the sand and water. The most epic thing at this campsite was the moon rising behind Navajo Mountain in the distance. It was literally an epic moment and experience to see it. We were just in awe of what we were seeing. Truly an amazing experience to see the moon so big, full, and glorious rising slowly from behind Navajo Mountain. The colors and the glow of the moon, I can’t even begin to describe the majestic nature of it. It was just epic. Here’s a short video of the moon beginning to rise. 

 I am so thankful for these majestic moments out here because it’s such a great reminder of how blessed we are to live in His creation and that God has created all of this for us to enjoy and be reminded of how majestic He is. I can’t say that enough because it’s a good reminder for me to be thankful for the life He has blessed me with despite whatever trials and tribulations that life is thrown my way.

How deep and how wide!

If you haven't ever been to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, it's really breathtaking when you step out onto the cliff and look down. The canyon is so deep and so wide that there's no possible way to see everything from just one point. We spent 4 days at the Grand Canyon and at every different viewpoint, it was always "AMAZING!" (as the girls would say). The colors, the jagged rocks and
edges of the canyon, the depth of the canyon, it's all just so beautiful no matter where you look!

It just amazes me how much beauty there is in nature that literally is all around me. It just reminds me that I don't need to be at a place like the Grand Canyon to appreciate beauty in nature but I just need to slow down, look around, and notice. Yes this sounds simple but life somehow takes me for a spin and I loose my ability to step on the brake to slow down. Right? I know that I'm not the only one who feels this way at times.

One thing that I really enjoyed was the first night at the Grand Canyon, enjoying the sunset. It was the most the beautiful sunset with all the different colors in the vast immense desert sky and how it changed the look of the canyon to this mysterious looking but a different kind of beauty. The beauty of the canyon at that moment reminded me of how deep and how wide the Father's love is for us. To me, God is a mysterious Father whose love for me is something that is big and beautiful. I mean, seriously, with all my faults, sins, weakness, I find it amazing that God still loves me, "has my back", and continues to walk with me through everything and anything in life. Seriously His love is so deep and wide for me, deeper and wider than the Grand Canyon! How crazy and amazing is that?! I said it earlier in my Instagram post but I'll say it again because it's a truth that I need to be reminded of everyday. How great God is and how vast and deep His love is for me, Dave, and the girls. For He is good and He is bigger than all our biggest fears, worries, and struggles. 

New Places, New Faces

One thing that has been really interesting, fun, and out of our comfort zone is meeting new people at each place that we stop at. We have met people from Montreal (Canada), Oregon, Ontario (Canada), Bakersfield, Jacksonville (Florida), and even people who live in Campbell down the street from us! It’s been fun having conversations about where people have traveled or are traveling to and what their lives are like. It’s also been fun sharing a little bit about ourselves as well. It’s definitely been interesting to hear from the older folks and what they share with us, it’s like they’re imparting wisdom to us. It's also fun hearing how seeing our little trailer camper brings them memories of when they started RVing with their own kids back in the days. I do feel like God has been giving us affirmation throughout this trip through the people we have met. One thing that has been consistent that people shared is the sentiment of “cherish this family time with your kids because they grow up fast.” There's so much truth in that because even though out here the days and weeks seem to slow down a bit, the time on our journey coming quickly to an end for now. I love being in new places and meeting new faces. 

Grand Canyon Trailer Village campsite

Lent Season in God’s creation

Lent season has started and I found it very fitting that the Sunday before we departed from home on our journey that Pastor Brad spoke about preparing ourselves during this season of Lent. Our journey for us has just begun and we have been away from the comforts of our Silicon Valley home for a full week now. It has been hard to slow down, be in the present, be at peace, and to really soak it all in when you’ve been running at such a fast pace for so long. A lot has happened for our family to be at this point in this season of our lives. God has truly led us to where we are today.

As fun as it is for me to post pictures, blog and write little snippets about our experiences and adventures we have had so far, this journey is so much more than an experience. So, if you have a few minutes or so, I’ll be sharing with you about how our little family got here and why we are on this journey in this season of our life.

Over the past few years, Dave and I have experienced the following as a family and as individuals: loss of loved ones due to cancer or health issues, personal struggles that we individually battle with, and the stress/busyness of living in Silicon Valley. Through all of this, we have been asking ourselves why is that God has placed us in these experiences of loss/grief, personal struggles, and the busyness/stress of living in the Bay. Thus, it has been a journey for both of us in listening for God’s voice in our lives and to listen with discernment through the prayers and words of our community of family and friends. So as we are in the season of Lent, we are leaning into slowing down in order to hear God’s voice more clearly in our lives; searching for His voice for healing, restoration, and what He is leading us into. Therefore, God has led us into this journey of leaving our “day-to-day” life to be in the midst of His creation so that we may be able to center ourselves, be filled, and be more deeply rooted in our faith in God. And so, it is very fitting that during this Lent season, we are giving up our comforts of our Silicon Valley home to take up living simply as a family together in the midst of God’s creation so that we may be able to hear His voice and let Him lead us into the next season of life, whatever that may be. We are living and traveling with open hearts and open hands. Thus, we are embracing our life journey that God is leading us on.