The recent weeks have been about returning.

We returned to Montana, and as we made the drive through the ever-so-slightly snow-capped mountains, David turned to me and said, “Do you have the same joy deep down in your soul that I do right now?” It was definitely a joyful moment. We had made it;  our west coast loop was complete. We had spent 3 incredible months exploring places that we were discovering together, some for the first time. The adventure and novelty of it all has been exhilirating, but this was the first time in a long time that something had felt familiar. As amazing as it has been, it did our souls some good to feel a sense of home again.

We spent a few days reconnecting with family and close friends in Bozeman, where David and I lived before we got married. David got to fish the Gallatin River again, which is possibly the thing he misses most about Montana. It was such a beautiful time to share stories of our adventures and my songs with those in the church we had been a part of before we left. It was the first church on this tour that felt like a return visit. People we singing along during some songs as some had purchased the CD before we left. It was encouraging to see that people there feel very invested in us. The night I shared was such a special occasion. People really got it. The got the heart of it. More than just thinking the songs were pretty or enjoying the diversion; people were drawn into the stories, and the principles and challenges from God’s Word hung heavy in the air as they soaked into people’s hearts. It was a night where we really sensed God was ministering….. so AMAZING to be a part of!

Our time in Billings was so good as David got to snuggle his new nephew, Benjamin to his heart’s content. And although everyone called him a “baby hog”, you couldn’t help but smile at the sight of this tender-hearted uncle. Time with David’s family was great. They were eager to hear about our adventures, and impressed to see our newly earned skills at backing up the trailer, as we parked it back in it’s winter-long spot, and traded it in for David’s regular car that we will be using from here on out. It was a sad goodbye to the trailer after so many happy memories, but as soon as we filled the gas tank of the chevy mailbu again, we were able to console ourselves about it.

Also, our time in Billings allowed us a new kind of music venue we haven’t explored before. David’s grandma was eager to have me play in her assisted living home, so I shared my music there on a Sunday afternoon for an appreciative crowd of seniors as well as all the Nickisch’s that live in the area. It was sweet to see them all in the same place, showing their support of us. I think it did Grandma’s Nickisch’s heart some good to have everyone around her and we were happy to help make that happen.

We also spent a few days in Great Falls visiting another of David’s brothers and his family. I sang for a group of people they invited over for some fall festivities and live music. It was a good night and we were touched by Jason’s generosity to turn off the World Series while I shared.

It was a monumentous trip to Montana also because I finally experienced David’s home town, Forsyth, in all it’s glory. It is a sweet small town, kept alive by the railroad tracks that run through it. It was fun to get a glimpse of David’s childhood and to finally get to see some pictures of him as a baby and little kid, and I can report that he has had dimples and blue eyes from day 1.

Then it was off to Minneapolis, which felt like returning for me. It is one of the small handful of places I feel like are “home”. We stayed with our sweet friends Nikolas and Sharne, who have the most peaceful and beautiful sanctuary of a home in the midst of what may be considered inner city Minneapolis. It is a community house connected with the Salvage Yard, the church I was a part of when I lived in Minneapolis. We had lots of happy times with them and their amazing daughter, and all of the sweet people that live there together. I got to lead the community in worship on Tuesday night, and then had a house concert the next night. On Sunday morning I shared some music in the service at Bethany church, another place I had attended for a while in Minnesota, a vibrant church in the midst of what may be considered suburban America . We were moved by how different these 2 churches were, so varied in their expression of the body of Christ, yet so dynamically reaching the community that God has placed each of them in. I was reminded that God wants me to be who I am, nothing more and nothing less, and to let Him fill me and use me in the unique expression of Him that I am. Walking with Christ doesn’t produce robots or cookie-cutter Christians, it produces real people with real passions and gifts and cirlces of influence that God calls us to use to tell His story.

With our time in both Montana and Minnesota, it felt like God was giving us each a respit in a place that felt like returning home. He’s so good like that, to give us what we need and knows exactly when we need it.

All of this returning has made us contemplate a piece of life that we do feel like we have been missing. We long to belong some place, to allow ourselves to invest in lives and be invested in by a consistent community of people. It has been such a cool experience to meet so many new people and see different places, but we feel a desire to be a bit more rooted than we have so far. What we think this looks like for now is that we will make our way down to Florida around Thanksgiving and spend the holidays with my family there. Then we hope to continue our time in Sebring, making plans for short term tours up the east coast and throughout Florida, still looking to make connections with churches in these places for me to share my music. But this will allow a place to come and go from, a home church and a room to come back to in the house my brother’s family is renting. We are excited to see what this next season holds, and to finish out this current season really well, knowing that God still has things He wants to accomplish with us in our life on the road for a couple more weeks.

Since my last post, we extended our stay in San Diego for a few days to make the most of  a couple more opportunities for me to share at another church and a home group. Then we made our way to LA. We were quite anxious about driving through infamous LA traffic with our view-obstructing trailer. But we made it there on Sunday night and were greeted by some new friends, the Vascillero’s, who hosted a concert in their home complete with backyard BBQ. They moved their dining room furniture to set up a stage with a personal sound system! They’ve always wanted to do a house show, but never made it happen, so when my friend Kelby put the word out to her church community about me looking for an opportunity to play, they volunteered their home. It has been amazing to see people we don’t even know putting themselves out there for us. Kelby was an old family friend from Maui who I haven’t seen since I was 11, but it was such a pleasure to share our hearts with each other and realize that God has cut us from the same cloth. It was a small intimate group, and they all seemed to have loved the songs and caught the vision.

After our night in LA we decided that we were ready for a week in the woods. We were tired. It was time to plug into the Source and recharge. As GENEROUS as everyone has been, there is just something about having a little time to yourself and not feeling like you’re in anyone’s space. Plus, we’re trying to milk this honeymoon concept for all it’s worth; a perfect excuse to escape and spend some time with just each other. Honestly, I felt like God gave us some time to just rest and reflect on what He has been doing. I needed some time for Him to re-convince me of everything I had been testifying to. So we made our way up to Sequoia Nat’l Park (think World’s Largest Tree) for a couple days and then Yosemite Nat’l Park (think granite cliffs and towering waterfalls) for a few more. We took in the beauty and the fresh air like sponges. We hiked and dunked our feet in snow-melt-cold water. We enjoyed the glory of being at a National Park post-Labor day… it was the retirees, the Europeans, and us! And also the perfect time to go as the air in the mountains begins to cool and causes you to take out your homemade socks from Lindsey Silva for their first use.

We said yes to a few open doors in the San Fransisco area in late September, so we had a week and a half to figure out what to do with. We have spent a few days reconnecting with and playing copious amounts of Yahtzee with some family just south of Yosemite in Oakhurst (thought it would be worth the space to announce that I rolled an unprecedented 5 yahtzee’s in one game last night [I have witnesses to verify]). We plan to head in to the Bay area on Sunday to explore and prepare for the 3 upcoming shows this week.

Then we are booking it North! Apparently snow has already been spotted in Montana! So we are trying to fit in as many places to play before we have to beat the snow and make it over the 3 mountain passes between eastern Washington and Billings, MT.

Thank you for tracking with us! We covet your prayers as we are very aware that there is a battle for our obedience, and we so desire to bow our knees daily to the One who has called us heavenward.

It’s been awhile since our last update, but not for lack of eventful news. I left off when we were in the middle of our mountainous adventure in Colorado and we were on our way to Santa Fe for Ranier and Will’s (friends from Maui/Minneapolis) wedding. There we spent 5 glorious days staying in a beautiful adobe style mansion with friends of the couple, along with 4 of my dearest friends from highschool. We had such a blast and were able to return the favor of helping setting up a beautiful wedding, as so many did to make our wedding a success. This is also where we spent David’s birthday, and celebrated with old and new friends… more on that in David’s Top 10 Post.

Then began our trek across Arizona. As we planned this leg of the journey we both decided that it seemed most logical to drive straight through and spend as little time there as we could. Not much good can come from Arizona in August, so we thought. But we had 2 weeks before the next show which was in San Diego and not much of an idea of what to do with it. So we decided to take a few days to see what there was to see. We started by making a stop to enjoy Petrified Forest National Park, which was fascinating, and then made our way up to the Grand Canyon. While we enjoyed our free time hiking and scootering around the Grand Canyon, we got an email from Adam DeCuir, a friend of a friend who had heard about my music and our adventure, and was interested in having us down to his church in Southern Arizona. So before long we were hitching up and driving South to Sierra Vista, or as David likes to call it, Northern Mexico. We arrived and met our gracious hosts, Adam and Jess. Jess is from Sebring, Florida (where David and I attended Bible school) and we had so many mutual friends from within that small community… it was kind of surreal! They are both musicians and have hopes to one day pack up all they own in a trailer and have a similar adventure of doing ministry through their music. One morning during our stay with them I awoke to find Jess scouring Craig’s List for RV listings. They were inspired by our obedience and we, by theirs as they serve in a church that is doing well to disciple a community of believers to know the Word and live it out. It is an incredible thing to be moving with God and ministering to people…. we go into a situation looking for how we can bless and encourage others, and we end up feeling over-the-top blessed and encouraged by the very ones we have attempted to minister to! I was able to share in the weekend services at Thunder Mountain Community Church and then they allowed me to hold a concert on Monday evening where I could share the entirety of my songs from my new album and the stories behind them. It was a great night that ended with them praying over us and encouraging us in our ministry. See The Middle of the Circle. We are really seeing that when we allow ourselves to poured out by God, He fills us up again to overflowing. What an incredible mystery of His Kingdom. By the time we left Arizona we were leaving with some new dear friends and a church we hope to return to one day… and most of all a renewed realization that God’s thoughts are far higher than ours. We thought, “let’s spend as little time in Arizona as possible”, and God thought, “I’m going to do some things in Arizona that are going to blow your mind.”

Our drive across the desert to San Diego was long and hot and took a couple of days, but as we got closer and closer to the coast, we began to feel that familiar ocean breeze. We were refreshed as we pulled in to the neighborhood of Tom and Debbie Anderberg. They are a couple that we met in Israel last spring while we were studying with Pastor Randy. They were a part of a church group from California that came on the tour as well. We had gotten to know each other a little on the trip, and they came to our minds recently as we thought of who we could connect with in San Diego. They were so excited to have us in their home, and they had set up an evening where all the people who came with us to Israel could come and listen as I shared the music and messages God had given me since we had all seen each other last. It was such an encouraging night as we saw how God takes the little encounters that we don’t think will ever go anywhere, and He uses them to accomplish His plan. We are reminded to make the most of every interaction, never knowing what God could have in store.

We had the weekend with an old friend from Maui, Jen Janzen. She was a great tour guide and she introduced us to her thriving church community at Barabbas Road on Sunday morning. I shared a couple songs in their service and once again saw as God orchestrated the plan, as the sermon was, in principle, the same story as my song Take Courage, which I shared right after. We loved getting to see a church body that so mirrored the things we are passionate about. They are teaching the Word, allowing it to change lives and draw people deeper, and being very intentional about discipleship among their young congregation. We loved being a part of that community for the weekend. As we shared our adventure with someone that afternoon they said, “So you’re Musicianarries”. We liked that are now claiming the title.

It seems to be the trend that once God gives us an open door and we walk through it, it is only then that the illumination for the next step comes. So Sunday afternoon I heard back from a few contacts, and now our week is full once again with things we didn’t foresee, but we will make changes accordingly so that we are walking where God would have us walk.

Sitting in a chocolate and coffee shop in Ouray, CO, a little historic town nestled in the mountains, the clouds have just started to descend into the valley and shroud the jagged skyline of rocky peaks that look so close you could reach out and touch them. A light rain has just started to graze the window in front of our table and it couldn’t be a more perfect moment to settle in, let the storm pass, and write an update.

We decided to take the scenic route to Santa Fe, so the last couple day’s drive has been so beautiful we can barely find enough space in our brains for more… but we still have the alleged “best drive in the nation” yet to come, from Ouray to Durango. But first, let’s start where I left off in Fort Collins.

I had my first official house show on 7/31 at my grandparent’s home. Family and friends crammed into their living room and I shared my new songs as well as some old favorites that they requested at the end. It was an incredibly intimate occasion. It is a strange thing to share your heart and your music for a room full of people who’s stories you know well. I knew which songs were ministering to which people at certain moments, and couldn’t help but be impacted anew by the messages of these songs as I shared them. They were especially personal that night. It also confirmed that the living room full of a small group of people is still my favorite venue.

In the next few days we left for Denver where we reconnected with some different family members and friends. Sunday, the 8th, I was invited to share at City Presbyterian, a church full of really cool people who are obviously committed to serving the city they live in. They just lost their senior pastor, however, so it was a timely visit to bring some encouragement through my songs. It was awesome to see how God orchestrated the service without us planning it; the preacher talked about Lamentations, how God has to bring us to the end of ourselves in order for us to learn that the only true hope is in Him. And then I got up and sang Naomi’s Song, the same principle in a different story. Then we took communion. The officiant said, “Christ died, Christ rose, Christ is coming again.” and I began to sing, “don’t lose heart, I’m coming back for you…” It was a powerful service and it was encouraging to be reminded that God is so involved in this process. (Also, a side-note to say that we sold enough CD’s in Colorado to make it to the next state, which was our hope from the beginning…. this may actually work!)

Then began our journey West on I-70 into the mountains. Then we headed south, intrigued by a National Park we had never heard of. Motivated by our need to make the most of the year-long parks pass we purchased at the beginning of this adventure, we made our way towards Black Canyon of the Gunnison Nat’l Park. When we arrived at the North Rim we walked to the edge and looked over to see one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. It took us both a few minutes to get our breath back after leaving the edge. The canyon was immense, majestic. As we stood gazing into the gorge, I was thinking about how God is so much more immense and majestic; He looks down and sees that canyon at the same time he sees Mt. Everest and Russia and every other thing that seems huge to me. And it is a speck of dust compared to Him. If I am left feeling literally like I can’t breathe just looking into a 2700 foot ravine, how is it going to feel when I look at His majesty. I have no idea. But I am excited and terrified and I honestly can’t wait.

And that brings us to where we are now, in this cozy old brick building looking out and up into the mountains. Soon we will pack up my computer and hop back in the truck and make our way to the next place, but we have plans to return to this town for more than 15 hours some day! And we definitely won’t soon forget the amazing roads that got us here.

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!