Greetings and Explanations

We (Miles & I) created a blog a few years ago to keep friends and family posted on what was going on with our family and of course to post lots of pictures! Well I have been tossing around the idea of starting another blog that would be more personal, i.e. personal thoughts, what I am studying, what I am learning, etc. With all of our moving around over the years, I have left long time friends, new friends, school friends, church friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. There are many people I would love to stay in contact with but quite frankly it is very time consuming, when I need to invest my time where we are... if any of that makes sense.

Simply stated, if you have known me for a long time or a short time and care to follow what is going on in my life then great, please do. If not, then don't, no hard feelings!

So how did I come up with "Life Outside Of The Bubble"? Well I planned on making this explanation short, but I see now that it may get lengthy as it calls for a little bit of testimony. So first, I was not born into a Christian Bubble. My mom & dad married in Southern California and moved to Wyoming around my 1st birthday. After my mom dabbled around in a couple different religions she finally settled (for awhile anyway) at a Baptist church where I attented regularly with her. When I was 8 yrs old I asked Jesus to be the Lord of my life. I understood that I was a sinner and He was the only Savior. Not too long after that my parents divorced. My mom headed back to So Cal while my dad stayed in Wyoming. I was given the choice of who I wanted to live with, so off to California I went with my mom. That decision started a long list of decisions that my parents weren't very good at making me stick with. I moved back and forth between them every couple of years. As a kid in California, life involved church (for a little while), moving a lot, mom's boyfriends, 2 stepdads, partying, "fun", and extended family. Not exactly what you picture when you think of a Christian Bubble. As a kid in Wyoming, life involved church (off/on), a stepmom, 2 of my 3 step-siblings, a somewhat absent dad who was always busy doing his own thing, partying, "fun", and extended family. Are you seeing the trend....

Eventually as a teenager I walked away from the Lord. That seemed easier then trying to fit into the Christian Bubble crowd. Well, the Lord broke me (alongside Miles) down in every way imaginable - through my marriage, through my kids, through my other family members, finacially, and even physically with health issues. Once Miles and I made the decision to turn our lives around and begin following the Lord, I began struggling with fitting into the Christian Bubble. Where did I fit in with my personality, after the life I had already led... I even had very visible tattoos??!! The fact is I don't "fit in".

It seems that the Lord never used "normal" circumstances in my life and today it is no different... so this is my blog about my life "Outside Of The Bubble"