Craigslist Joe

Okay.  So we're going to take a little detour (haha....get it?) from the JOURNEY to talk about a few of the things that inspired me to take this JOURNEY to begin with. 

 

As my header to my blog says, part of this was to celebrate 50 years on this Earth. 

Yes, it was my 50th birthday present to myself.

I think birthdays should last at least a week, so, of course, turning 50,
it had to last 2.5 months. 

It only makes sense, right?

 

Another reason I wanted to take this trip was Saige was off to college, and Auston is all grown up.
I felt like I had given my wonderful family 30 years of my life, and I wanted to take a little break. 
I told them I loved them very much, and I'm thankful for all those years, but I wanted a little retreat away from all the things I do all the time.

They were very supportive and understanding and said it would be okay. 

I think they said that. 

I'm not sure because I wasn't listening.
 
I had decided to do this anyway. 

Really...thanks, you guys, for your support and understanding. 
Especially my husband who has had to "run" things at home without me. 
We also have our own business, which I have had to keep working at during this time, but Barry has had to do a couple of "my" things, so thanks, Barry!
 

 

Another inspiration was that right after Victor gave us the JOURNEY sign,
(see my blog post It All Started With a Sign)
I had watched a documentary called Craigslist Joe. 

Here's the trailer if you want to watch it:  Craigslist Joe Trailer

It's a documentary about a guy who decides he's going to survive off of Craigslist for 31 days. 
All he has with him is his license, passport, a laptop, phone and a bike, I think.
He did end up surviving solely on Craiglist by doing things like working for a day to make money, finding places to stay, getting rides, attending events, etc. 

I watched it twice. 

You may not think it's worth watching twice, but it really touched my heart....
the people he met, the things he did! 

I said to myself, "I want to do that, but I want it to be a God road trip.  I want God to tell me where to go, where to stay, who to meet, who to talk to, who to go with me, etc.

Kind of like a missionary trip across America.

After watching the movie, I decided that's what I wanted to do, but I wanted to do the trip in an RV, which I didn't even own yet.

Another person who inspired me was my eye doctor, Greg Giles.  
He's an awesome eye doctor at La Mesa Vision Care 

Dr. Giles & me

He had told me a story about a little missionary trip he and his family had gone on.  They felt like God was telling them to go on an RV trip and visit some people that they know.  They bought an RV and made their plans.  God told Greg that he was going to have them break down during the trip because there were some people God wanted them to meet that they would not have met otherwise. 

I made sure I told God that I didn't want that to happen on my trip.....just sayin.

Anyway, that did happen. 
They did break down. 
The first time they broke down, this man came to help them.  They ended up staying at his house that night.  After talking together, they found out that the man and his wife had been praying for something, and Greg and his wife had the answer. 
(Not sure I have that exactly right, but it was a major God thing that happened).

They also got a flat tire, and a person showed up right behind them that was able to help them, and they had a God encounter with him too.

They also had a little fender bender in a KOA campground, but because of that accident, their insurance company totalled their RV, which still works fine, so the RV they actually bought for the trip ended up being free!

That sounds great too, but I'm not sure I'd like that way of doing things either....just sayin.

So after the JOURNEY sign, the Craigslist Joe documentary, my 50th birthday present, wanting a break from life, and Greg's stories of his God-inspired RV adventure, I wanted to go on my own.
 
That's how this JOURNEY came about.

This is a letter I wrote to God about it:

"Dear God,
I pray you'll show me everything about our JOURNEY...where to go, who to meet, who will meet me and come with me. Help me be a light and a witness to those that are joining me on the trip also. May you be glorified in all that we do together. I pray for safety and protection; to hear from you so clearly and to do your will and for people to be saved, healed, blessed. Glory to your name."

I already shared this letter in another post, but this is what God wrote back:

"Dear Lory, I love you with an everlasting love. I will show you great and mighty things.
We have such an adventure to go on....you and me.
I will touch people with my Holy Spirit. I will be glorified. Glory is your new word.
Look for my glory wherever you go.
I will show you the path to take. I will show you my wonderful ways.
There will be many people you'll meet. All will be touched by my glory in one way or another. Follow close to me. Do not go to the right or the left. Stay on the straight and narrow path. I will show you great things. Look for me in unexpected places.
I'm excited about our trip. Thank you for the faith and courage to take on this task. You will be blessed. We have great things to do together. Listen for me, and you will hear me. I will tell you each step of the way. I will be glorified. Keep listening.
I love you,
God."

So in January 2013, all the plans, prayers, odd jobs to make money for the trip began.

I am writing to you from Albuquerque, NM, and this trip has been way more amazing than I could have imagined, and there's lots more to write about.

Thanks for being part of my JOURNEY.