What I've Learned on the Road - Guest Post by my Daughter Emily

Today's post is my first Guest Post.  My 17-year-old daughter Emily journaled some of her thoughts about our four months on the road and it's just too good not to share with the world! 

From My Emily:

I haven’t written much about our trip.

Mostly because I’ve been living, in a richer and scarier way than ever before.

Not knowing where I’m going to be living next week is scary. Not knowing what might happen in the next three days is scary. Not knowing my surroundings is scary. Not knowing if my cell phone and wifi will work at my next temporary home is scary. Knowing I won’t hug my best friends for at least six months is scary. Knowing I won’t have a house when I enter the Lone Star State is scary.

I’ve traded those securities for a life full of things I will probably never get a chance to do or see again.

I have jumped in the current of a lake carved by lava thousands of years ago in Firehole Canyon, Wyoming.  I have climbed a mountain (albeit it was a small one, but still!!). I have stood by with huge eyes as a buffalo walked five feet in front of me in Montana.

I have seen purple lightning strike right next to a vivid rainbow in Wyoming's blood-red sky. I have laughed until I cried under the stars of Tennessee with my brother. I have seen an arm of the Milky Way in Wisconsin. I have seen the sun rise over Lake Michigan and swam in its freezing embrace. I have seen mud bubbling out of the earth’s belly and Old Faithful bursting out in astonishing glory in Yellowstone Park. Zip-lined through the Indiana woods, six feet off the ground as branches whipped my legs. 

I have walked through the Creation Museum’s startlingly lifelike version of Eden, a place I have longed for and wondered about my entire life. Hiked through the wooded hills of Indiana. Watched the Nolichucky river rapids sweep over boulders like a crashing, mad stampede. Seen glaciers for the very first time in Montana. Slept under shooting stars in Washington. Bogged for crawdads in Montana. Ate at the original KFC. Stepped into Texan dinosaur footprints that dwarfed my size-10 foot. Seen moonlight shining through Arkansas’ fog. Eaten sweet wild mulberries right off a tree in both Indiana and Tennesee. 
Walked over ground that Laura Ingalls Wilder, one of my heroes, regularly treaded on in De Smet, South Dakota. Screamed on roller coasters I was dragged on at the Mall of America. Ridden a horse (without assistance!) through a Tennessee wood. Driven just feet from the edge of a cliff in Glacier Park. Sat stone-still in the van as huge bighorn sheep rushed past us in the parking lot.

I’ve learned:

·         that you never drink out of still water. Pick clear, quickly-moving water.

·         that purification and lavender oil smell really good combined

·         I don’t *need* Starbucks every week (now it’s much more of a treat than it ever was!)

·         what reasonable propane costs are

·         how to assemble a campground in less than a half hour

that apples and avocados ripen each other very quickly

·         fig bars go amazingly well with coffee

·         hot showers are a luxury and not a necessity

     how to elevate a camper

·         how to set up five beds in ten minutes

·         you don’t have to have a silent environment to write or work

          you don’t NEED to download the new Skillet album the DAY it comes out

·         baking soda and lavender draw out infection

·         how to wash a full dishload by hand in 20 minutes (paper plates are my best friend!)

·          and many, many other little tips and tricks I never would have had to learn outside of my current lifestyle.

·      

      

 Not to mention the household things I’ve learned. I’ve been using a lot of essential oils, which are now my go-to medicines: mint really helps headaches and girl cramps and PanAway helps with stressed or strained muscles and knots! I’ve learned how to cook large meals on a foot-wide stove or over a fire. When Mom was gone in China for a week, I got a taste of what she goes through every day of her life. 

I think the most difficult things for me to master have all been internal. I never thought of myself as selfish, materialistic, or vain, but when we moved into my moving home, my supposed good virtues got a prompt smack in the face. Learning to get along with ten other people in limited space has required a lot of dying to self, patience, and biting my tongue till it hurts, even if I’m 99% sure I’m right. Letting go of most of my earthly possessions was harder than I thought, but four months later, I’m starting to forget I actually have more stuff in storage (most of which will probably be given away!) Having just a few feet to primp and preen has been embarrassingly rough, actually. I used to spend an excessive amount of time on how I looked, curling or straightening my hair or painting eyeliner wings. Getting over having noisy bunk mates is still being mastered, but I’ve found wearing a smile and staying quiet is in the best interest for everyone.
  

Being cautious and careful with money is a new thing for me. Sure, I might have watched my account back home, but I also had three jobs that ensured I would always be comfortably topped off. Now, most of my money is either for things I actually NEED or an occasional treat. Imagine that!!

I feel as if I was in a comfortable, safe dream, and then was whisked away to a foreign and frightening world that was all the same beautiful and breathtaking, a world that very suddenly ripped off dross and revealed gorgeous gold beneath, however painful it was.

I’m still in the refiner’s fire and am still learning every day, like my brother learning how to walk. My legs are shaky and nervous, but I want to see what else is out there, and walk into the rest of God’s world I haven’t yet laid eyes on. 

Emily, I'm so proud of you.  I'm proud of the way you think of others. I'm proud of the way you have embraced change.  I'm proud of the way you have chosen to see things through new eyes when you could have just chosen to bide your time until we got home.  I'm proud of the growth and maturity I see in you.  Phil 1:6 makes me think of you, "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to carry it on to completion in Christ Jesus."

Creation Museum, Petersburg, KY, Prepare to Believe

Oh wow, I am pretty much speechless, so I'm writing a blog post, lol!!!

We just left The Creation Museum I feel saturated with truth, and hope, and boldness!

My kids are asking questions about sin and salvation, origins and the future.  

If you have to choose between this and Disneyworld for a vacation, choose The Creation Museum.  It's not as big or as expensive, but the quality of the exhibits and the TRUTH your family will take away from this are invaluable.  

First of all I want to thank the two families who gave us passes so we could enjoy the museum FREE OF CHARGE! You read that right.  What would have cost us around $200.00, was provided for us for free.  All tickets are two day passes so we will be going back tomorrow to see more!  It definitely takes two days to take it all in. 

From the first display replicating the "Lucy" bones found in Africa to the last exhibit we experienced, the planetarium, God's word was the cornerstone of all the information presented. 

Questions were raised about all the information which is so often presented as fact.  How many times have you read or heard, "Millions and millions of years ago...". We just did recently when we visited Mammoth Cave, the Ranger who led our tour authoritatively informed us that the caves were ten million years old.  In contrast, when he talked about what happened in the caves a few hundred years ago, he was more vague and willing to admit he didn't know how work was done by native peoples or how certain artifacts that were found in the caves were used.  There was no question however, when he explained that the caves were formed over millions of years by underground rivers.  

At The Creation Museum, there was so much to see and absorb and we were encouraged to ask questions and seek answers in God's Word.

Emily's favorite was The replica Garden of Eden which was absolutely beautiful.  Considering the pre-fall condition of the world was a new experience.  Imagine a world without pain or death.  Stop. Really imagine that. It was perfect, and it's where we are headed in the future in the new heaven and the new earth.  Lions lay down with lambs, it happened once, it will happen again, and you will want to be there!

Or maybe the espresso stand was Emily's favorite!

Doug's favorite was Walking through the life size Noah's ark where we considered that Noah was given a huge project by God to do.  He was faithfully obedient to Gods instruction resulting in the salvation of himself and his family.  God judged the entire planet, but provided a way of escape for the righteous who obeyed Him.

Ben's favorite was the planetarium where we flew through the skies and felt like we were really In a spaceship seeing the planets and stars.  It prompted the kids to ask, "If there are so many galaxies, what makes Earth so special?" While we don't have a perfect answer, we can consider that because God sent His one and only Son here to die for mankind, He thinks the inhabitants He created for Earth are pretty special.

At the dragon exhibit we observed the connection of the phenomenon of dragon lore across the centuries and the continents, presented creatively with concepts of young earth and dinosaurs cohabiting with humans. This was both educational and entertaining.  

We got to hear Buddy Davis talk about the T-Rex and how interpretations of it have changed over the years.  Archeologists and paleo-artists are really part detective, part artist and much of what they create is interpretive. We made our own t-Rex sculptures from green clay, straws, and toothpicks. 

Finally at the end of the day, we met Ken Ham the founder and creator of The Creation Museum.  We were able to thank him for his work, tell him about the big billboard in North Houston we were excited to see go up, and take a few pictures with him.  Being in the presence of believers was a breath of fresh air, a sigh of relief, and a sense of renewal.  

Visit www.creationmuseum.org and start planning your trip today!