I’m teaching something soon about adventure, and how it can pull you from a rut.
You can enter yourself into a random drawing for a $25 gift certificate from Amazon.com by answering this question:
What’s one of the biggest adventures you’ve ever been a part of?
Answer that by tonight at Midnight and you’ll be entered to win. Easy peasy.
Getting married was the start of my most awesome adventure!
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Biggest Adventure was when we went on a 3 hour hike only to realize we were climbing a mountain…12 hours later we made it to the top and 17 hours later we were back at our car. We only had a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a can of Dr.Pepper per person. I am still not sure if that was an adventure or a ridiculous mistake. Later we found that most people climb this mountain it takes them 3-4 tries before they succeed. Yay for US!
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Sue says:
November 12th, 2011 at 9:06 am
Yours was a very cool unforgettable adventure!! You got my vote!@Shandela,
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virgie says:
November 12th, 2011 at 10:40 am
@Shandela, That is SO crazy because oddly enough it sounds almost IDENTICAL to the story that I was going to write! Is that my sister, Angela, in disguise???
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Thinking about adventure many things came t mind, but really, the greatest adventure I have been on is marriage. Is that trite? Together we’ve navigated a life full of hard decisions, parenting, serious illness, military based separations, moments of pure joy, secrets whispered in the darkest hours of the night, love…..
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My biggest adventure was leaving my family, friends and country behind to come work in a ministry in GA. Now, almost 10 years later, I am married, I have one daughter and another baby on the way!
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The one I’m embarking on right now: life-altering illness. My doctor said “There’s something wrong with you and we don’t know what. All we know is that there is serious inflammation.”
I’m ready. Bring it on, life.
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nancy says:
November 12th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
@Isabel, Isabel – my prayer for you is that you will witness an amazing demonstration of God’s faithfulness! I am almost 7 years past my stage three cancer – it was a shock, but an opportunity for us to listen to ‘the Voice of Truth’ and offer it up for His glory. May you be able to confidently say to the enemy ; “Is this all you’ve got? ” So be strong and courageous – and know our God is with you wherever you go!
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Adopting my youngest daughter has def. been an adventure I’ve learned a lot from.
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Parenthood for sure!
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My biggest adventure was going on a trip to Australia by myself when I was 23. Best time I’ve ever had!
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Casting off the old man and all that meant to my then way of life and taking on the new….It has been an adventure from the get go. God has an amazing sense of humour.
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Moving to New England to go to college. I had only visited once prior to moving there. I was born and raised in Texas, and that is where my family resides. It was a big deal!
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pam says:
November 12th, 2011 at 10:19 am
Jess, That IS a big adventure. Being a Texan who moved also can you say ‘culture shock’?
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… biggest adventure hands down – parenting. Full of joy, excitement, and dreams. On the flip side, heartache and the pain of watching a child you love live with addiction. When we think of adventure we often envision only the fun stuff. It’s been a beautiful and painful ride this adventure we are on.
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The biggest adventure I’ve ever been in has been the road to motherhood – it has all sorts of challenges for which I was not prepared.
As far as an adventure in the typical sense of the word, that would be moving to Italy to live after I was just married to a soldier who being deployed to Bosnia. I certainly learned how to be independent from that experience.
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Parenting. I have a 5 year old and it’s been the biggest adventure so far and worth every laugh, tear, moment of frustration and sadness at seeing her grow up.
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I am living one heck of an adventure now–my husband and I are living in southern China teaching English. Our Chinese is minimal, we are in a town with only fifty foreigners (on the high side) and we are loving it! This isn’t our first time overseas, but it is the longest.
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I know others have said it before me but they are correct. Getting married and then having three kids in under five years was pretty wild.
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I feel like I’m on my biggest adventure right now. I’m 52. Since I turned 50, I’ve actively (which is an ironic choice of word, as inactivity is slowly killing me) been seeking to follow God’s will, even when the “thing” is scary or foreign to me. I’m pushing myself to do stuff that scates the bejeebies out of me.
I’ve been married 29 years. That doesn’t seem like adventure to me.
I’ve been to England solo three times with just a carry on bag. That was awesome beyond words.
I’ve been the recipient of a thug threatening to shoot me and kill my child. My ability to stare him in the eye and my inability to say much beyond “what?” And “Lock your door” to my kid caused the male to give up and walk away. Terrifying, but not adventure.
Adventure is having the courage to get out of bed even on the days I don’t feel like it and being Jesus’ hands and feet to the people I lock eyes with.
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In June this past year, I went camping w/ my boyfriend and his family. We hiked Mt. LeConte, the 2nd highest peak in the Smokies. Only one person researched our route, which was up one side of Mt. LeConte and down the other. The hike up was nothing but dodging llama poop because it was their route up to carry supplies. The other side was nothing but a narrow trail w/ a huge drop off. We were supposed be do the hike in 15 hours, and ended up taking longer. There was no cell phone reception, so we couldn’t call those who were picking us up at the end. We were 3 hours later than planned and ended up hiking the last 2 miles of the Appalachian Trail in the dark, with only one flashlight. Our party was worried, so they sent a forest ranger after us, who found us in the last mile. We eventually laughed about it, but there were a lot of relieved people.
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Marrying my high school sweetheart right out of high school and directly moving to Germany for 4 years all at the ripe age of 18. We spent four years discovering Europe while my husband was an USAF airman. We made the most amazing memories. 14 years later our newest adventure is parenthood:)
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Eloping with my husband 5 days before spending 2 years in the UK, working and holiday with no one but ourselves.
2 months left to go before we finally get home to see family and friends!
Wouldn’t change it for anything.
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Parenting came to mind first… but letting go of those young adults and going back to that empty nest. That’s my current adventure and it’s awesome! After last week’s message, Ryan, we’ve been looking at our days more intentionally through the filter of being created for good works… so, God, what good works do you have for us today? Well, He replies, how about bringing a somewhat troubled 18 year old nephew to live with you for a while? Uh… ok. Tyler joins our family tonight. God, fill us with wisdom, and joy, and crazy love!
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So many adventures; the “biggest” I’m still in the midst of- making the transition to “grown-up”. Meeting my partner, moving forward in my career, seeing my friends do similar things…getting to meet their children, watching them learn the ways of the world. New excitement every day! It’s amazing.
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The decision to go into University rather than take a year off. I’m halfway through my first semester, and I’m still not certain it was a good idea.
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having a child and deciding to be a stay at home mom! What an adventure!!
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When I was 16 my parents (for some strange reason) let me go on a Grayhound bus with my boyfriend from Tucson, AZ to Eugene, OR to visit his family. It took a couple days and a flipped horse trailer on the freeway plus a LONG layover with some very interesting people at the LA bus station before we got there.
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I’m currently in the middle of camping out for 10 days to get my daughter into kindergarten! I have many times described it as an adventure- the craziest and most noble adventure I can remember being a part of.
There are only 38 openings for kindergarten at arguably the best public school in Cincinnati. It is so sought after that people start waiting in line to enroll days in advance. This year, the line started forming 10 days early and it has been a mad scramble to make sure we are holding our spot in line and at the same time trying to make sure the kids are being taken care of. Despite how crazy this adventure has been, it is a really great opportunity to get to know other parents that we will have relationships with for years to come (I’ve been blogging about the experience if you want to check it out). We will be camping out till Wednesday, 11/16, but at the end, we will have our children in a fantastic program and some awesome new friends!
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Getting married, having a kid, spending the summer in England when I was 17, moving to Nashville. Those are some things that come to mind.
Glad you are blogging again!
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#1: PARENTING! On-going adventure.
#2: Church-plant in downtown Kansas City.
#3: Current church-plant just starting in Allentown, PA!
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My biggest adventure was flying out to Puerto Rico years ago to meet my future husband who was working there for the weekend. I’m so scared of flying that I get panic attacks; but, I’ll never forget the time I spent there sightseeing and the blue blue water of the ocean.
My second biggest adventure was going over to England to work for six weeks and exploring the countryside on weekends and being stuck one weekend in a rare blizzard — first and last blizzard I ever experienced. It was then I knew I never could survive winters in Maine. I had planned in my youth to move there and spend a year of two with my Gram.
Anyway, I haven’t flown in over 14 years now due to my extreme fear (and panic attacks) of flying. I need to get over it because I so would love to see Alaska!
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While I could say parenting, I think it is more accurate to say “trying not to lose my ever loving mind” while parenting. The parenting part isn’t as hard as the mind-losing part.
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My biggest adventure was taking a float plane tour of Whistler, BC (Canada) with my husband this past August. We flew between mountains, over glaciers, remote lakes, and dense forests. It was really really amazing.
(pics can be found here: http://dhduo.blogspot.com/2011/08/whistler-day-2-part-1.html)
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I’m currently on my biggest adventure. God has called me home after I swore I’d never come back, He’s given me a job in the very place I had worked so hard to reject, and He is teaching me the never ending lesson of complete selflessness. He’s put me smack in the middle of my Ninevah and even though I’ve looked many times for a Tarshish, He’s changing my heart for these Ninevah people. I have no idea what my next year looks like, but I’m holding on for a ride because I know that His plans and provisions are better than anything I could make for myself.
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When I was 19, I left my home/family/friends in North Carolina to move to Ireland for a year and work as an au pair. I did it on sort of a whim, but it was the greatest adventure I ever had. It completely changed my life.
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My biggest adventure is having a newborn and a one year old while my husband is in Iraq. Giving birth without him here was the easy part! Dealing with the new baby and my older son, who has autism, well…it’s certainly an adventure. A very rewarding one!
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I’ve had quite a few adventures. Growing up in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming … I’ve also travelled quite a bit in foreign countries in Asia, Central America and other places which is always an adventure. Some of my favorites are: getting stuck in the mud in the backcountry and sleeping in the car overnight then hiking out … some of the party had been called in as lost, being on top of a 10,000 foot mountain in a serious lightening storm (a little scary), doing field biology work and trail restoration in the backcountry one summer, traveling by myself for two weeks in China as a tall blonde woman who doesn’t know Chinese, climbing Mt. Kinabalu in Malaysia (so cool!).
I want to have more adventures … life has been quiet lately.
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Going to Chine for over three weeks! Working in a children’s orphanage in Langfang:)
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cassandralouise says:
November 12th, 2011 at 11:04 am
Typo = CHINA:)
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When I was in undergrad, I was thrown into an internship counseling substance abusers at an intensive outpatient facility. I knew nothing about the battles that they were each facing. They also knew that I, a squeaky clean 20 year old female, knew NOTHING about what they were going through. But I listened. I observed. I educated myself. I ended up loving the time I spent at that facility. I’ve just excepted a new position, counseling adolescents who abuse substances. It’s a new but old adventure.
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Getting married definitely…and starting life with my incredible husband and my two beautiful stepdaughters!
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I would definetly say that parenting has been my greatest adventure. I was diagnosed with something at a very young age that has made it nearly impossible to conceive children, something a woman never wants to hear especially at my age. I went thru pain, desperation, and heartache then came to a certain clarity in my life and realized just that, it wasn’t the end of my life, it’s just going to be written a little different then I had planned. A few years later my little miracle baby girl was born and I have been so blessed to have her in my life. I love to see her grow everyday and overcome fears, frustrations, and adventures in her own life.
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I once got stuck in a jeep in a river in Costa Rica, but thus far, I’d say my biggest adventure has been moving out west for grad school.
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Raising teenagers to become responsible, loving, God honoring adults is my current adventure!
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I am in my biggest adventure. I was set to move out of my parents house into my best friend’s apartment. Then she gets a great new job closer to my work so now we are scrambling to find a place to move to in 2 weeks.
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My biggest adventure was marrying a soldier. We’ve moved all over the country; we’ve been able to live in Alaska and Hawaii, which most people only dream of visiting. We’ve also lived in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas and Virginia. My husband has been deployed to war zones and to non-combat zones for a year at a time. Our children have friends all over the country and have been able to experience everything from surfing to dog sledding. It’s not always an easy life, but it has made us strong and self-sufficient and we’ve learned how to count our blessings!
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During high school, I volunteered with my local search and rescue team. It not only was literal adventuring, but it was an adventure of my spirit. I grew and matured working with our local police, fire, and coroner offices. I faced death there, and it changed me, but I grew as a result of it.
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Becoming a mom. Sometimes, when I hold my six week old daughter, I still can’t believe that she actually came from my body. God works amazing wonders! (can I admit that thinking back to her birth makes me feel a little bit like Superwoman?)
My husband and I are only at the very beginning of this adventure with our newborn. Can’t wait to see what God has in store for us.
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I’m probably overthinking this. I could say going to Ireland, I could say going to NYC (Once with four small children in tow!) I could say getting to see a shuttle launch, I could say being a parent to those four children, I could say being a military wife. . .
But I’m going to have to go with eloping. My husband and I eloped after only dating for two months. It’s been one heck of an adventure! (People said we wouldn’t last six months. It’s been 12 years so far.)
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Rome, 2000, World Youth Day. my youth/young adult group and i embarked on a 10-mile hike through the city to a large park on the outskirts. found myself in a large area full of teenagers and young adults. felt like a giant music festival. stayed there overnight, saw the Pope, had an amazing, life-changing time.
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Definitely leaving an abusive relationship, meeting my husband, finding out what real love was, coming to Christ, marrying that husband and trying to teach my children what it’s like to love like Jesus when there are days I am not sure myself… Big adventure
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The one that really stands out is the week I spent in the remote mountains of Haiti. It’s one thing to know that extreme poverty exists in the world, having seen it in pictures; it’s another to actually babysit a woman’s 4 children while she has her fifth in the next room and then visit her & her husband the very next day in their cornstalk hut, using a translator to chat while she lays in bed, holding her newborn and stirring the family’s supper in the pot beside her bed. That week was an adventure, full of a lot of very interesting and wonderful people. It would have been much more of a solid adventure if I had been able to stay for a month or more.
That being said, I also have to agree with those commenting before me and say that marriage has been an insane adventure. I’ve only been married for 16 months, but it’s the most blissful and difficult thing all at the same time. It takes so much effort and yields so much reward.
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First big adventure for me was traveling across Australia and New Zealand for 3 weeks with an exchange program. No parents just 3 chaperones for 33 high school students. Really changed my view of the world and other cultures.
Next big adventure – getting married and starting a family…still on that one…but with two little boys there is always something new around each corner.
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Strange that I would call this an adventure, but I am in the middle of a huge conflict in my church. The pastors are struggling, people are hurt, and my heart is aching. This ‘adventure’ of taking my eyes off the pastors and the hurt and putting my eyes on the cross has been a big one for sure. I am angry, but really, how angry can I stay when I see what God is doing in me through this excruciating situation? Boy, I wish there were easy answers….
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oh, and I have missed your blogging Ryan – it has been wonderful to read your posts again.
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Moving to the Pacific Northwest after growing up in Michigan!
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My biggest adventure has definitely been my 3 teenage daughters!!!!
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Converting to Orthodox Christianity. Best thing ever!
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found your site via P-Dub way back when…silently stalking ever since. I’m in the middle of my biggest adventure ever…pastoring a 100+ yr old presbyterian church whose membership had dwindled down to almost nothing. God’s been oh so faithful, but we still have a LONG WAY to go…can’t wait to see all that He has in store…
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Marriage, having children and homeschooling are my three greatest adventures. All tied together in one crazy mixed-up package
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Moving a thousand miles away from home to go to college, doing things no one from my high school or my old friends had ever done. I’ve dealt with culture shock and homesickness – and made some of the best friends, met a very special man I’d like to spend the rest of my life with, and refound God.
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In all honesty, my life is one big adventure. but these past 4 years have tested my strength and endurance, and I wouldn’t have traded this adventure for anything else. I have lost my father, and 8 other people in one year, gave birth to a beautiful daughter, family life torn apart by infidelity, learnt who I was as a person, discovered there is always a positive in life, and that no matter what.. I am loved
I think there is no other true adventure then living life and embracing all that it has to give.
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Fun to read of others adventures involving hiking…here’s blog post my husband wrote about our most recent adventure…
http://www.justarobot.com/2011/10/hike.html
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I’m actually getting ready to embark on a huge adventure: we’re both quitting our jobs in Oregon and Washington and moving to Montana. We will spend the first six months on various back country ski trips, including a month long trip into the wilderness at a cabin that is a 10 mile ski out.
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Divorcing my abusive husband and then raising three kids on my own. It’s been 17 years. They are 22, 24, & 26 now and the adventure continues!
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I would have to say motherhood in general. Nothing prepares you for it, and after three kids, I feel like I’m still learning. But I woulsn’t trade it for anything!
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Does being a father count? I’m about to welcome our 3rd this spring and so far it’s been quite an adventure that I wouldn’t give up for anything.
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Getting married, going through a divorce, getting married to a kind and wonderful man who had kids from a prior marriage, having a child together and watching her grow.
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My biggest adventure so far is discovering how much life has to offer if one take the steps after suffering from depression for 2 1/2 years.
Life is indeed pretty darn awesome.
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Taking my 17 year old to school thousands of miles away….and leaving her there…..alone. So cool to see what happens when you choose to be fearless.
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Getting clean and sober and realizing that God loves me…NO MATTER WHAT! It’s a whole new world. Addict to Princess! Living the royal life is an adventure.
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I’d have to say my biggest adventure is working with a local non-profit organization that puts on free health clinics in Mexico. My first trip with them was quite the shock because it’s amazing how much the scenery changes after crossing the border. You can still receive San Diego radio stations in your car but everything around you is in shambles.
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My honeymoon last year! Visited my sister-in-law in Norway and friends in Germany and the Checz. My first time traveling out of the country!
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I’m currently on an adventure that will likely take me cross-country, leaving my home and stable job for a non-profit ministry, serving pregnant homeless girls. However, that is still in the works. So a past adventure would be the two years I served in Germany at a missionary-kid boarding school. A combination of challenges and delight.
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Well about a year and a half ago my wife and I got involved with a ministry called “The Last Well.” The mission is to raise money to provide clean drinking water to the country of Liberia. To raise support and awareness, the ministry climbs mountains. So June 2010 we made an attempt at Mt. Rainier outside Seattle. The adventure is that the first day we climbed 6 hours straight up in a whiteout blizzard with 30 -70 mph wind that was blowing ice/sleet/snow in our faces and through our gear. My wife got hypothermia and blacked out for a few when she arrived at the hut that evening. We couldn’t summit the next day due to avalanche conditions, and a massive slide came 15 hours after we got off the mountain . The avalanche took out 11 people, one of which was never found.
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Becoming a parent has been my biggest adventure for sure! I almost moved to England but then chickened out….now THAT would have been an adventure for sure!
BTW, happy to see a post from you Ryan! I’ve been missing them!
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Raising.Children.
Glad you are back
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Moving to Mexico to build houses and a church and to translate for some medical clinics. Or getting married and being a parent. Both are adventures, but of a different variety.
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I got married and have been riding this roller coaster for seven glorious years. Had my first child at 42 and my second at 45 and am loving the ride.
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My biggest adventure.. is life.. which I am still learning as I go. Not so much a single trip that changed me but important and not important people in my life on a day to day basis.. that makes it an adventure.
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My biggest adventure – wow – my biggest challenge is after being independent for so many years, keeping the marriage alive and healthy. It takes so much work in learning how to get along.
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Being diagnosed with breast cancer 15 years ago. My 3 kids were babies and it was one the hardest things I’ve ever had to face. Now it’s my turn to help women in my area that need hope.
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You didn’t say BEST adventure so I am sure it has to be something wonderful and exciting right???
Anyhow I would have to say actually having to follow through on the better or worse and in sickness and health part of those wonderful vows spoken to my husband 22 years ago, as three year ago he suffered a brain injury, and he is a completely different man … I told him I love him so very much and that I meant those vows but never thought I would need them (so to speak).
It has been an adventure for sure, but I would not trade it for anything in this world, God has a plan and I continue to trust even mustered seed faith trust at times.
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Getting myself healthy so my husband and I can plan our family.
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I could say having 3 littles under the age of three, but that reminds me of what a wild ride it has been being married to their Daddy.. and then I think of all those crazy mission trips I’ve been on.. or the time we just up and moved to Hawaii or or or.. I mean isn’t just being alive a wild ride? Especially when we know the giver of life who gives it all purpose? Thank you, Father, that you found me, loved me, lead me and guide me. I can’t wait for the next wild thing he leads me to!
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Being a wife! (Although, taking off on a cruise in Europe with my sister was pretty wild too…)
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While living in Nepal, I did a 2 week trek to Everest Base Camp. By far, the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It was amazing and as adventurous as you’d think!
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Giving birth!
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I know I’m too late for your giveaway, but my biggest adventure was Thailand with my husband the second time. At the time we went, we went to the eastern part of the country. Everyone asked if we were going to try and cross the Mekong into Cambodia which was extremely illegal at the time. We weren’t. There were very few Caucasions in this area – mostly Europeans. There had been some Americans who had tried to cross the Mekong and had been captured and held in jail just before we went to Ubon Ratchathani. It was definitely not a tourist area and most Americans would have turned their nose up at the accomadations.
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I am late too. This in not intended to be morose, but living the last week with someone who is dying has been far the most important adventure I have been on. My husband was was alert and with me until the last few hours after he decided to stop dialysis. We had a few days to have friends and family in, enjoy the laughs and sharing stories, we delved into gut wrenching honesty, fear, deepest love,and caring. It was the greatest journey of self discovery, and the highest privilege I have ever been given.
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“Life is either a grand adventure or nothing.” ~Helen Keller
“Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively.” -Elenor Roosevelt
I’m kind of an adventure junkie. Skydiving, rock climbing, travel, getting out of my comfort zone…parenting, marriage…adventure comes in all forms!
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The best adventure I have been blessed to be part of is raising my 4 year old son who has severe food allergies. I am a stay at home mom who loves to watch the world through his eyes. Everything is so new and exciting. Before I had Henry I think I forgot how great a simple day could be.
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