I'm going to hike the Appalachian Trail

I liked the idea of a bucket list, but i had to face reality, "I was never going to be able too do things again". That has been my mindset for the last 4 years after being diagnosed with Ménière's Syndrome. But after this past winter doing my expermet, (Check out pervious post), i was feeling better. So I decided to play around and make a bucket list on Pintrest. Then i saw it "hike the Appalachian trial" and i decided i was going to do it. I don't know how or when, but I'm going to do it.
So, why?

These last couple months have been hard on me. I was feeling better health wise, except a few drop attacks. But i was now starting to feel...... trapped, I guess would be the word for it. You see i also have a son with HF Autism, and we decided to homeschool him after his third suspicion from school.

I love my kids and husband, but I feel inadequate. I know some would argue that im a life support for my family. My husband has been even trying to tell me that since i told him i was going. Who was going to take care of the kids if i left? How was i going to save the money for me trip, (I already figureed that one out)?

Also my husband has decided that since this was going to be such a extrme life experience for me that he wants to go with me. But he can't just take off 6 months from work. So he suggested we go for 1 week a year. Are you kidding me? It would take 25+ years to finish the whole thing. My husband says, "well just work on getting in shape. We'll practice with the little hikes around here. We have to wait for the kids to be able to take care of themselves." Which is all sound reasonable, right?

I guess I should mention that i want to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, a 2,189 mile hike. There's just something that.... I don't know the word for it, but i have to try for the thru-hike. Maybe it's just that i have to prove to myself that i can do something.

Reasons I'm going

• Heal my broken mind.
• To build up my wounded self confidence.
  
• I have never followed through with anything.
  
• Posting this till retirement is not an option. Life is short to wait for an adventure.
• Everyone says to reduce stress or i need a break, but when i tell them my life they don't know what to say.
• I can't reenlist in the military.

Why I can't go.... All reasonable arguments

• Who's going to watch my kids for 6 months?
• My husband can't just take 6 months off from work if he's going with me.
  

So for now I keep training like im going next year.

Update- I will be doing my AT thru hike in 2019!!

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Book Review: The Insanity of God: a True Story of Faith Resurrected

The Insanity of God: A True story of Faith Resurrected

By Nik Ripken with Gredd Lewis

 

I don't care what church you go too, if you call or think of yourself as a christian then you must read this book.

This boook starts off telling about Nik Ripken's found Jesus and felt the calling to preach the gospel to the world. His schooling, marriage, and then evently traveling to Afirca. I do have to say though the first half of the book was ok. It was sort of like just reading another book.

I was able to relate to Nik through all the questions he asked himself. I have been asking myself those same questions and never really found any answers, until i read this book.

"Does God, in fact, promise His children safety? Do things always work out for those who are obedient? Does God really ask us to sacrifice— and to sacrifice everything? What happens when our best intentions and most creative ideas are not enough? Is God at work in the hard places? And does He expect us to join Him in those hard places? Isn’t it possible to love God and to pretty much keep living the life I already have? What does it really mean for God to tell us that His ways are not our ways? Would He really allow people who love Him dearly to fail? And, if so, is this a God who can use even holy failure for His purposes?"

The one question they didn't ask themselves til later was were they willing to die for Jesus? After the death of one of there sons they found themselves back in the states and wondered what they should do next. They decided to work with persuctuated christians. They wanted to now how they could help them. Which they find out very quickly is how the persuctuated can help them. Nik tells about his travels and stories that are told to him while visiting other Christians.

If you asked these same questions or just wondered how christians lived in other countries, this will answer your questions. You will not looked at a persecuted Christian with pitty and sadness. You eill look at them with joy and inspiration. This book will inspire you to be better then you are now.

Im going to end this review with the same quote he ends this book with. "Don't you ever give up in Freedom what we would never give up in Persecution."

 

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