Have you ever wanted to get away from the daily grind?  Sick of all the "worldly influences" infiltrating their way into your lifestyle?  Drowning in a sea of possessions and clutter, not to mention those bills?...

We're there!  Join me as we begin our journey to... well, we're not sure where.  Sound crazy?  It probably is... but let me give you a little back ground first...

I'm not sure exactly when the idea first came to me, but I know it was one of those times when finances were a little "tight".  The comment, "Let's just sell everything, get a camper, load up the kids, and GO!" escaped my mouth.  After saying it, it began to grow on us.  Even me... the home-body.  Don't get me wrong... I'm not shy...  furthest thing from it actually, but I moved from my parent's house (living there since I was in 1st grade) to the home I in live in now with my husband and children.  Not a whole lot of moves or changes... yet, there was something appealing about just "taking off".

It came up every now and then after that, but never seemed a possibility.  I mean, can you imagine?  A family of eight in a motor home?  Whenever we mentioned it anyone, we got snickers and out-right laughs.  We heard a lot of, "You're crazy!"  Little by little, the idea began to grow into a dream. 

Then, there was a family in our church... a husband, wife, and two boys.  One morning the father was driving to work, same as any other day... he drove off the road, and died.  Certainly not in their plans.  In fact, they'd just bought a home.  They hadn't even moved in.  Their plans were of a future.  Another story we came across was about a wife (and mother) who got cancer and battled it for 5 years.  She's better now, but they decided they were going to take their children and spend time as a family... in a motor home.  I can't help but be frustrated and ask...  why should we wait for something bad to happen to give us a reason to live out this dream?  We don't want to look back on our life and "wish we would've"... we want to "be glad we did".  No regrets... or at least as close as possible.

The name of this blog "DANDELION SEEDS" is a part in that dream as well.  Everyone knows how tough it is to try and kill a dandelion... the root is so deep and strong, not to mention the fact that when it goes to seed and the wind blows... well, you might as well forget trying to keep it from spreading!  What a wonderful thing to have faith so strongly rooted in the Lord like the dandelion, and spread the word of God like the dandelion seeds.  We want to be like the farmer in the parable found in Matthew 13:1-23.  We want our trip to be one of "planting seeds".  It's what the "motto" of DANDELION SEEDS means... "scattering inspiration one seed at a time..."  We want our trip to allow us to spend time with each other and our kids, but most importantly, we want our focus to be on the Lord and His calling in our lives ("Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life..." Matt. 28:19 (The Message)). 

We've noticed how just going out in public as a family, certainly turns heads.  We don't think anything of it... we can't imagine what our life would be like without everyone in it (and can hardly remember what it was like with two or three anymore!), but people really look at us.  We're being watched (whether we like it or not).  We're consistently told, "You sure have your hands full!"  We've chosen to reflect God's grace by responding with, "Yes we do... full of God's blessings."  We've decided that if people are going to comment, ask, or just gawk... we might as well use it as a way to share Christ.  Our response may cause someone to think a little about what we've said and possibly open their hearts to learning more about our wonderful God.

Just last week, my husband and I made the decision to turn our dream into a reality, unless the Lord tells us differently.  I'll share on this blog our "pre-journey" to remember the entire thing, because even the time before we leave is part of the journey. 

If any of you have ever dreamed of doing some thing some day, I hope that you will enjoy reading our dream.  May our life be a blessing to yours.