closer to the clouds

I began to think about what I would name my blog as I drove across the country toward our new life. I was in the van with Ethan and Audrey and we followed Mark and Owen in the Jetta. All but our essential worldly possessions (toothbrushes, underwear, etc.) were packed away on a semi-trailer and all that has been "known" was packed away with it as we closed the chapter on our life in Indiana and headed west (to Iowa first and then to Colorado). I say all that has been known, but my favorite "knowns" were right with me: my precious Jesus, my beloved husband, my darling children and the prayers of many whose hearts we will miss and lives we shared.

That was Monday, July 2 and when we reached Iowa I still didn't have my heart set on a good name for my blog. I wanted it to "feel" right, not just be some random name I decided on. I wanted the name to come from what I was living and "knowing".

The kids and I spent 2 1/2 weeks away from Mark. WAAAAAAYYYYYYY too long, but God was so gracious to us - meeting our needs in so many ways during this time...

...Mark was so blessed to be staying with a man, Bryan, he met when he worked at Focus on the Family 10 years ago. Bryan, who now works for Ransomed Heart Ministries, was the first to offer Mark a place to stay when the word was sent that Mark would be traveling west and needing a place to board. He blessed Mark (and therefore me) with his generosity, hospitality, genuineness, and friendship. I think I will get the opportunity to meet Bryan this weekend. I am looking forward to that.

...the rest of us stayed in Waterloo, IA with my family. We were spoiled and treated with the utmost care. I really enjoyed being able to spend the extended time with them. I was particularly blessed by the time I got to spend with my youngest sister, Carrie, and her family the first week we were there while my parents and older sister, Toni, were at my Grandmother's 90th birthday party in Pennsylvania. Having Grandma return with them was a special treat too. It was a rare and wonderful time to be with her those days and she plans on coming to visit with them over Labor Day weekend.

But, all good things must come to an end... so they say. Mark found temporary work and a home with a fenced yard (our only real criteria for the perfect home) and so we set the date to head west. My dad graciously agreed to be my traveling buddy so that Mark could start work. We wanted to be together on our 10th anniversary - July 19th - but decided that the 20th would suit. So, we left Waterloo at 5am.

All this time I pondered a blog name and still nothing that suited. Until we stepped out of the van for the first time in Denver. I immediately felt, physically, like I was closer to the clouds; as if, I was higher in the sky. I said something to my dad about it and later on to Mark. But, it wasn't until after we were here for a couple of days that it began to seem to me that my experience with the clouds was a representation of all that I had been through over that last weeks and the life that I had not yet experienced - different. All the "known" - even how far away from the clouds I had grown accustomed to feeling - was going to be different. It also reminds me that my God, who "rides the clouds", will always be the same for me. What peace and rest there is in the love of my never-changing God.

So, I begin this blog with the hope of sharing my new "known" and the blessed pathways of walking with my Great Guide in this land that is closer to the clouds.

Deuteronomy 3:12
God answered, “I will be with you... you will worship God at this very mountain.”

(I took the picture in the header on our first trip to the mountains.)