Blogging seems to have taken a backseat to huge life events, hence the 2 months of silence from me. May was the month of finishing my CD and almost-the-wedding plans. June was completely full of family arriving in Montana to celebrate, a glorious wedding weekend, and a beautiful honeymoon on Maui. July already seems to be flying by as we are back in Montana for a short time to get ready to move in to “our” camper and head out to the open road! My real reason for not writing so far is that I really have no idea how to sum up all that has taken place, how to express the richness of these last couple months as God has brought so many dreams to pass. Should I just carry on and start writing about the next thing? Or should I attempt to share it all with you so that you know what’s been going on in my world?

Well, I suppose I could attempt to sum it up.

It’s all about relationships.

That is the theme of every story in the past weeks and months. Yes, there were some important events… but even in the ways that those events unfolded it was clear that God was clearing space for relationships to grow and deepen. Take our wedding for example: We had planned a beautiful outdoor event in the forest with a reception in the backyard of some family, with me thinking, “it’s June… the weather will be perfect.” Ha! The morning before the wedding day, a layer of snow covered the ground that needed to be very dry in order for things to go according to OUR plan. So that Friday morning plan B kicked into full gear. The only thing was, plan B wasn’t exactly planned besides the church where it was going to take place. As my plans came crumbling down, I watched as the friends and family that surrounded us rolled up their sleeves and dove in to make this wedding happen. And not just happen, but it was more beautiful than I could have hoped, because it had been built on the love and hard work of people who David and I have deep relationship with. As we stood in that room surrounded by people that love us, I felt so cared for and carried by them… much more than if they had just been guests at a perfectly planned event.

This theme of relationship continued into our honeymoon on Maui, the small island packed to the gills with people who have known me since childhood. In the plane on our way over the Pacific, I coached myself in saying “No” to people who wanted to spend time with us, since afterall, this was OUR honeymoon. But as soon as we arrived I felt my attitude beginning to shift. I was realizing that Maui isn’t just a beautiful place that i wanted to show David, it is an island of people that I wanted to show David. We talked about it and decided to throw ourselves into the lives of people that are incredibly invested in me and my family, and now, into David’s life as well. We spent such sweet time with precious people in those 2 weeks and not once did we feel overextended or like we didn’t have enough time for each other. And we were over-the-top blessed by them as they poured out on us with generosity and support of our new direction to share my music on the road. The blessing of God was unleashed as we said yes to HIS plan, which as always, was people.

And we feel that this has all be preparation for the next step which again will be about investing in and nourishing relationships we have across the country. Our entire route for our tour has been planned based on where we have a friend or family member who wants to host us and believes in my music.

So feeling very refreshed (and very tan) we are getting ready to head out this week! We will be making our way through Wyoming, visiting some family of David’s, and then on to Fort Collins, Colorado, where we’ll be spending some time with my family and I’ll be sharing music on a few occasions as well. (If you live in either of those places and have an idea of a way for me to share my music in your community, please let me know so we can make the most of every opportunity!)

This blog will be where I make frequent updates on our travels and share stories from the road, so stay tuned!

If you are reading this, it is quite likely that you are one of those people that we have the blessing of relationship with…. Thank you! We love you!