Redeemed

   All of us have suffered from the result of sin.  Even the earth feels it running through its veins and it groans with agony as it longs for the return of its maker to come and not just restore it, but also blessedly make it new.  We each have our own experiences with this enemy.  Wheather it is sin that we actively have partnered with, or often the ricochet of someone else’s bondage to it.  Some of us hold the burden of physical illness that so evilly steals and destroys. For many of us it’s all of them combined.

   But the narrative does not end there.  God does not intend to leave us in this state of depravity, indeed he killed death and in that he has killed sin itself! It is finished, I know that deep within my soul and find such solace and joy in this resolute fact.

Although, I believe that we often look to the end and forget the in between. God also redeems!  He does not forget the pain that we currently feel or disqualify the fire that we may have walked through in our past.  Often times I shun my past, run from my pain, do everything to wipe out the memories of discomfort.  But, I feel God washing over me the word Redeemed! Redeemed means to gain or regain possession of something in exchange for payment.  I am so thankful that he payed the price so I could take back possession of so much that is lost through the consequences of sin. For me it looks like dignity, peace, hope, and health. Most importantly I am learning that God doesn’t just redeem to restore just me.  He finds great joy in using us as tools to help others. My story is not just for me to see how God has so graciously walked me through so many dark times, but just as importantly to then walk with others that are going through similar struggles.  How truly amazing to then be a partner with the one who Redeems. So I will not hide, I will not be silent, I will share with others my story in hopes that I can be a device in the hands of the almighty to let others know they are not alone in their walk through this groaning earth. Until Christ returns. Amen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p31gY0t4pA

~Sandy 

The Florida Keys !!

Florida Keys (Ohio Key) 

   Really, a place like this exists in the Continental U.S? Outstanding!!!   The Florida Keys have a heavy Caribbean vibe as well a high Cuban influence. It felt like we where flying over the ocean as we drove our RV across the 42 bridges of the keys. ( I drove the 7 mile bridge at night in the car and I felt my heart palpitating  , freaked me out !

Wes "flying" the RV through the Keys

Duval St

We drove from Fort Lauderdale  all the way to the last key (key West) on Saturday to pick up my Half marathon registration packet. It was getting late so we got the low down from the "locals" as to where to  grab some dinner and everyone told us to make a b-line for Duval Street. On Duval Street there are an abundance of shops and restaurants. Wes is always up for a hamburger and I love salads so Caroline's is where we landed.  We walked the warm humid night streets to Kermit's Key Lime Shoppe,there we grabbed some key lime pie dipped in chocolate on a stick... ( the desert Key West is known for).

We stayed on the middle keys so the next morning we had to get up at 4:30 a.m  to make the 45 min trek back to the Key West to make it to the start line on time for the race. It was an absolute beautiful run and it was so fun to have the whole family meet me at the finish line. While I was running the kids and Wes walked around the docks and enjoyed watching  the exotic fish swim around. 

Gorgeous Half Marathon !

 After the race we wanted to go to the beach and swim for a bit, but we quickly learned that Key West is NOT known for its sandy beaches. Most of the island has no sand at all, the land drops right off into the turquoise waters. We  finally managed to  find a spot to dip our feet in. After that we walked to the "southernmost spot in the U.S" which is also only 90 miles from Cuba! We also hunted down the famous O-mile marker sign. 

our small sliver of sand 

On the way back to the RV we stopped off at the Key Deer Refuge and saw the endangered Key Deer. We  walked to the near by "Blue Hole" where the only wild alligators in the keys are found.

Isolation is a feeling that has snuck  into my heart on occasion during  this last 6 months on the road. I talked to the Lord about it and he showed me his goodness this passed week in the form of meeting many other fellow road schoolers. To our surprise there where 7 other families in the same RV park we were staying in. We meet some of them and enjoyed doing a fun experiment with the Chrimes family. Svea,(the mom) put together a craft explaining animal and plant cells. Ally  was thrilled to help since she has been studying biology this year. It was a blessing hearing some of their stories and knowing that there are others out there sharing similar adventures with their families. Collin had a blast playing with the Mann family who has 11 children, (many who are boys) a great experience for us all. 

The Mann children told us where we could find Manatees at the docks right next to our RV site. Our whole family loved watching these docile giants swim right up next to us. They love drinking the fresh water from the hose. 

 

 Our favorite place on the Keys was Bahia Honda State Park, which was just  a couple miles from our RV site. This is a pristine beach with  soft white sand. The most alluring thing about this beach is its shallow waters. You can walk way out into the water and only be about thigh deep. If you look down through the clear calm water you can see silver fish swimming around your ankles. I feel in love with this tranquil place. 

And the adventures continue !!!!!! 

Georgia and Florida

Savannah Georgia/ Tybee Island December 27^th- January 3^rd

Tori on Tybee Island

    We stayed on Tybee Island about a 15 minute drive from down town Savannah Georgia. The island was quiet and peaceful. The beach had hard packed sand so you could ride your bike on it.
 I enjoyed a long 12 mile run on the sand early in the morning and watched the sun rise over the ocean, something that never grows old. The first day we were in town we went to down town Savannah. It was super warm and sunny, a perfect day for walking along the cobblestone streets. We  perused the River Street shops and found an amazing candy store called River Street Sweets. They sold true southern delights like Pralines and Gopher Chocolates. Of course we had to buy a box of these candies and then we walked through the many “squares” of Savannah until we reached Chippewa square  were Forrest Gump was filmed. Wes and I made fools of ourselves acting out Forrest Gump’s famous quote “ Life is like a box of Chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.” 

We bought a “Palmetto rose” from one of the street vendors made from a Palmetto palm. 

Ferry in Savannah GA

Spanky’s restaurant was a great place to enjoy deep fried ( super unhealthy) southern chicken fingers.  On Tybee Island we celebrated Ally’s 15^th birthday and New Years Eve. We took the kids to watch the movie Big Hero Six and we all had fun watching Ally open all her birthday presents. Her favorite present was the quill pen from Boston and a big bottle of M&Ms from the M&M factory in New York. 

Ally reading Lacey's birthday card that she wrote for her

Florida Vero Beach/Sebastian January 3^rd – January 10^th

We stayed in Sebastian Florida, what felt like the retirement Capital of the World. I am pretty sure we were the only people in the whole camp ground  under the age of 60. The kids and Wes enjoyed helping the older folks figure out how to work the wifi while they did school work in the lounge next to the pool. We were all happy to be able to enjoy the pool again since the pools in the North East where closed for the season.  The beach in Vero was B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L and the water was warm. The whole family loved playing in the clear turquoise water.  The town of Vero was quaint and quiet  and the down town was small but had plenty of nice shops. We grabbed some ice cream for the kids to cool off after playing in the sun.  This town was my favorite town that I have been to in Florida so far.

We drove about an hour to Merritt Island Fl , the location of Teen Missions International. This is an intense missionary training camp that I attended as a teenager. It was surreal being able to walk around the camp with my children and talk to them about my experience there.  I couldn’t believe that one of my past leaders was still working at the camp and happened to be our tour guide for the day. 

We stopped by Cape Canaveral to show the kids where the space rockets are launched. The following day Wes was able to see the bright light in the morning sky of the rocket launched from SpaceX ( the same owner of the  company that Wes works for owns Space X, so Wes had an extra interest in the launch)  

While walking around one of the swamp areas in Sebastian we saw wild Flamingos in the trees. It was bizarre to see them flying around, so long and pink. We are used to seeing them standing stationary on one foot in zoos (Santa Barbara zoo clips their wings so they cannot fly).

Pompano Beach January  10th-17th

By Ally

ooohh the rain storm is coming!

Yeah, they kind-a like Florida :-)

The first day in Pompano Beach we played in the ocean and collected shells. It was a warm day and the water was really nice. The warmest we have experienced so far. The next three days Shelby and I studied for a huge midterm. These days were not all that exciting, just study, study, and study. On Wednesday after studying for three hours I took the Midterm test. It took me five and a half hours to take that test. 70 questions and 5 essay questions included. I am happy to say that the 5 and a half hours that I spent on the test, and plenty more hours of studying paid off when I found out a day later that my Midterm grade was 92.32%. Yeah! :) The next day it rained SUPER hard and since we forgot to close the car doors that night our minivan was soaked and smelt like mildew. We did everything we could to air the car out. Thankfully the stench went away after a few days. That same rainy day we decided to check the ocean out. The waves were tossing and the current was raging. All we did was put our feet in. It poured on us as we did so, and guess what!? I spotted jellyfish in the water too!! Once my dad saw them he told us that we had to go :( It was too dangerous in the ocean that day. So we went in the pool instead. Friday was a slow day. All of us were tired after the full week. Mom learned that there was a “Shake Shack” in Florida. Shake Shack is like the “In N Out” equivalent that originated in New York. In fact we haven’t had it since New York and when we found it in Florida we wanted to go. Then we went to a nice beach called Del Rey Beach in Boca Raton that Mom and the little kids went to a couple of days before. There we swam in the warm ocean and cracked some coconuts open to explore what was inside. For the whole week that we were in Fort Lauderdale we were at a campsite that was  right next to a super busy highway. Not only that, but next to a train track! Every night a huge rumble, like a helicopter , was heard and woke everyone up. Also the noise from the constant traffic on the highway made it super hard to get to sleep. Over all, the week in Fort Lauderdale area was sort of a slow week where we just lived our lives and did not do much sightseeing.