The Path

There was a family, a mother, father, sister, and brother, bound to one another in blood and a vision to spread a deep and unequivocal love throughout the lands. They ran and ran as fast as they could to as many places as the fingers on their hands.

Then, one day, they stumbled upon a cave. They wandered in, finding many along the way who were hiding in the shadows. They offered light and love to all they met along the way. They followed the path deeper into the cave and finally into a large open cavern. They halted to observe the many openings.

They knew this place for this place had been foretold to them and they knew that it was time for each to take their own path. They were told that this was an important part of their journey. That the individual journeys would strengthen them and they were assured that these paths would one day all wind back together.

They meandered around the opening for quite some time contemplating, praying, putting fears aside and saying goodbye. And then, one day they got up, bid farewell and each entered into their path.

 

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Changing Skin

It’s been two years since we ditched the bus to roam around the globe to learn, listen and encourage. We’ve been to nine countries in that time and written story after story about that season.

We detoured back the US in November of 2016 and when we left Australia in November, we arrived minus one Holland. Our daughter, Graciana, stayed back in Australia to navigating the world of “adulting.” We have watched from afar as she has learned some hard lessons. Good Night! What a paradox to go from being so engaged in the development of your child, catching them when they fall, to then having virtually no ability to reach out and soften the blows. And yet, she has rallied and it has been a joy to watch her begin to fly!

For the past six-month we’ve been in Phoenix, AZ. (our longest stop in six years!) and have been just soaking in good family time. While here we have been journeying alongside my parents as they both went through a sort of metamorphosis, getting their new skin as I like to call it. They have both been working through their difficult cancer diagnosis. My father, battling an aggressive Prostate cancer and my mother with a slow growing non-Hodgkins lymphoma.  It has been an absolute joy to participate in daily community with them, lending a helping hand and watching them both overcome the obstacles set before them.

I have always loved my parents but I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that this intense time with them has allowed me to fall in love with both of them in a new and fresh way. They are each so unique and fantastic in their own right and together they are team Price!

I have loved just sitting and listening to them reminisce and share stories of their lives. Some of them stories I have never heard before. If I could have kept a recorder going the whole six months, I would have. For now, those precious memories have been captured in my mind’s eye.

Over the months, we watched them go from about a three to an eight and as they continue to exercise, sharpen their minds and use food as a source of healing, they continue to excel. My dad has had a rebirth of creativity and over the time we’ve been with them, he has designed websites, written books for 2BRealMen and written curriculum for an online class for his Twisted Thinking Transformed material. It’s been a blast to watch him soar! Then, this past week we all pitched in and moved my parents into their awesome new apartment. They are happy and healthy, ready for a new adventure! And, as we leave them, we are expectant that it will be the richest chapter of their lives.

The season of backpacking/global travel, releasing our daughter into the big wide world, dovetailed by our current stop over with my parents, has been the most difficult and most engaging two years of our journey thus far. We have experienced a refining in ways that are still manifesting and will most likely be for the years to come. We have discovered that like the honey bee, we are built to pollinate. We launch, refueled and ready to ignite love, truth, and life…to any we meet along the way.

We’ll kick start our six-month journey in Phoenix, AZ and route north to CO then jog east to MI, loop back west through UT, then north to Calgary, Canada! Then west to Vancouver and south to LA, finally back to PHX!! That will take us approximately 8000 miles. Our hope then is to fly back to Australia for another trek around the globe. More info on our actually routing HERE…

Lastly, it’s been brought to my attention that I need to ask more often for help/support. So, if you feel led to give monthly, so as to spur us on practically but also build up our faith, you can do so at MODERNDAY.

Thanks for caring for us with your faithful prayers and encouraging words this past season. We look joyward to continuing to share the love and stories along the way.

 

The Right Word

We live in a world of technology where opinions/ideals/views etc are shared at the drop of a hat, click of a send button and can have some damaging effects. Can opinions change? Can view point’s change? YES! And often as we gain wisdom and experience in life, they do. So, why even share them at all?

~opinion~ |əˈpinyən| noun a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge • the beliefs or views of a large number or majority of people about a particular thing • ( opinion of) an estimation of the quality or worth of someone or something • a formal statement of advice by an expert on a professional matter

*When you give your opinion on something, you offer a conclusion or a judgment that, although it may be open to question, seems true or probable to you at the time (she was known for her strong opinions on women in the workplace).

*A view is an opinion that is affected by your personal feelings or biases (his views on life were essentially optimistic), while a sentiment is a more or less settled opinion that may still be colored by emotion (her sentiments on aging were shared by many other women approaching fifty).

*A belief differs from an opinion or a view in that it is not necessarily the creation of the person who holds it; the emphasis here is on the mental acceptance of an idea, a proposition, or a doctrine and on the assurance of its truth (religious beliefs; his belief in the power of the body to heal itself).

*A conviction is a firmly held and unshakable belief whose truth is not doubted (she could not be swayed in her convictions), while a persuasion (in this sense) is a strong belief that is unshakable because you want to believe that it’s true rather than because there is evidence proving it so (she was of the persuasion that he was innocent). Words are a powerful thing.

THE RIGHT WORD

The ancient texts say that the tongue is the hardest part of the body to control. The heart controls the tongue, for “as water reflects your face, so a man’s heart reflects a man.” So even when we don’t say a word, our heart exposes us.  I’m not sure yet, but my hunch is that Christ was not opinionated, rather convicted. So that the words that come out of his mouth were pure and for building one another up in love or for tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God. To be like Christ is to be made new, put off the old. The old for me is the idea that being an opinionated person is some sort of badge of honor.

In my life, taking pride in my opinionated persona has not only turned others away from me but also left me isolated and alone. For each opinion I put out lays a brick around my feet. Building higher and higher until I am surrounded, like a rock, like an island. I often say, “don’t put me in a box,” and yet, every time I spout off an opinion or a view, I put myself in a box.

In 2008 I was convicted about my words/opinions and decided to go on a 6 month fast from speaking. My speech was limited to directives, encouraging words, and basic conversation. I used the time to explore and examine my heart (soul) condition. It was really hard work but quieting my heart and tongue helped me weed through my words and showed me how to speak/act only out of belief/conviction rather than opinion/view. Through the process, which was happening despite my fortitude or good intentions, I was freed from the prison wall of bricks I had laid over the years and a seed of wisdom was placed on my tongue. I found that releasing my words required a measure of faith in a Creator that is faithful and most of all Just. It also required a willingness to lay down my pride and allow others who have not yet experience this sort of freedom a healthy dose of Grace.

Here we are six years later and I am reminded daily that my words can either tear down or build up. I am reminded daily that what comes out of my mouth exposes my heart, showcasing my truest intentions, testimony and hypocrisies.

And this is my hope. “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; Is. 55:10-13

I am reminded that this is an ongoing life long process, as one of my first songs, written in 2002 “Shhh” foreshadows this amazing journey.

My voice is so loud in my head I cannot hear the one who speaks * I walk away frustrated Broken and displaced * I want to learn to walk someday * But it’s so much easier to crawl * I hate how I’m numb sometimes * Or wallowed up in my pride * Self indulgences, introspection * How can I see the God in me If I’m only looking in? * For I have nothing new to say * I’m not unique * This struggle to communicate * Has left me incomplete * Teach me to hear * Your still small voice.

Happy Anniversary

WordPress just sent us a little “Happy Anniversary” note, stating that we started out blog  3 years ago. It’s hard to believe, that three years have passed since we first started dreaming about this life.  And, since then we have traveled over 30,000 miles through out the US and visited Australia twice, including our current visit.

I’m sitting at a cafe in Mornington, Victoria, Australia. It’s a warm summer day and just a few blocks down the street is one of my favorite beaches of all time. My children are working on blogs for home school and Craig is reading the local newspaper. We’ll head to the beach later this afternoon.

In the meantime, thanks to the note from wordpress, I’m looking back over all the memories we have made, so many amazing people we have met and awesome things we have been able to try. We dreamt of a simpler life, a more creative and cohesive life, and one with deep meaning from a spiritual and philosophical perspective, practicing reconciliation as a daily discipline. We dreamt of a life that included visiting and encouraging community on a broad scale and we have found such a rich tender of kinfolk around the globe.

We have found a genuine faith on this journey. This faith is not our own, but a gift. One that we cherish and hold dearly. A gift that continues to inspire us forward. And one that keeps us humble, knowing that there is no way in the world we could have humanly made this all happen. It’s a beautiful thing, this life. Hard to the core, but we are free!

Hospitality in Los Angeles

Rest fell upon us in the most incredulous of all places, Los Angeles. It’s not where I think to go to when I’m looking to relax. It’s crowded, fast and it takes forever to drive anywhere. However, our couple day stop at the Halula abode in Montrose, turned out to be one of the most pleasant and unassuming times we’ve had. We meet Jenica and Wes Halula at the Holland House Gallery night in 2007 and thought they were some cool cats. They run a production company called Happy Fun Time and they are the kind of friends we call “kinfolk.” We kept up here and there, on Myspace and then Facebook and who knew that we’d be camped in their front yard four years later. It was the most challenging drive way we’ve, or I should say, Craig has managed. But, with the help of Banjo and Wes, it was conquered and we set up shop.

Enjoying the warmth of the sun and the surrounding mountains, we were able to tackle some good school days, get some groceries and enjoy company with old friends, Michelle and Kevin. We also hosted our first dinner party with the Halula’s as our guests. It was such a pleasure to finally be able to share in hospitality using our space.

On a side note; we have been blown away by the constant provision from God, through those with compassionate hearts. Always in the neck of time too.

When we arrived in LA we realized that we were down to our last fifty dollars. It had cost us $1100 in Gas to drive these last twenty days. Needless to say, our hearts pattered a few beats as we realized that our gigs we’re still a week away and we had no income in sight. With in a day however, we had two spontaneous gifts given to us, that allowed us to refill the tank and get our groceries. We still can’t figure it out. Nobody knew, we hadn’t put out a prayer request or set up a fundraiser and we didn’t do some special service project or anything noble. It just happened or did it?

Now, there is the prosperity gospel and there is the poverty gospel, both of which we don’t aspire to. We just don’t believe in a “woe is me” manipulation so those around us feel sorry and give to us, and we surely don’t believe that we’re doing something so significant that we are warranted some great reward. We’re just living life. We are however, learning that this journey isn’t about us at all, that our needs being met isn’t even the point, but rather that we are apart of a bigger picture, we are one big “body,” like the “sea pens,” and our motion is connected to others motion. No, things don’t “just happen.” We really believe there is a beautiful tapestry being woven and we are all apart of it. So, as hard as it is, our focus remains on serving and trusting. And, although it has been humbling and hard to learn to receive, we have had such graciousness and mercy bestowed upon us that we can’t hardly wait to pass it on.