Well, we're officially past the point of no return.  Today was both Nathan's and my last day at our jobs. Eek!  I am a little freaked out at the thought of having no (zero, zilch, nada, none, nothing) income...but I'm TOTALLY EXCITED to take this risk and veer off the normal beaten path!  I've got this interesting mix of concern for our choices and wild abandon for the future.  Is this normal?  I feel full of energy and life and courage right now.  Like I want to go dance in the streets or just yell really loud and free.  I feel full of life, like our whole future is a wide-open road, full of possibilities and adventure!

Someone said to me today that they're really, really, really scared for Nathan and I.  They think we might "get hurt, lost, be robbed...maybe even get killed!  The world is full of mean people, and we might just find some of them on our trails traveling through mountain country, farm country, coal-miner country, and any number of other lonely, rural places.  Are we taking any weapons?  What if we run into bears?  What if we get hit by a car?"  What if, what if....

My answer to this kind of concern (that I have started calling my "dad" concern, because he's always concerned), is:

1) Yes, there are mean people.  Yes, we might get in some trouble.  We might get hit by cars.  We might get robbed.  We may even get killed.  These things are totally possible.

2) But if you're going to start playing the "what if" game - why not "what if" the other way: What if we meet some new people who become lifelong friends of ours?  What if we fall deeper in love with each other than we ever have been and we become better friends with each other than we've ever been before?  What if we have a great idea for our business and it succeeds once we get back home?  What if we have the chance to change peoples lives for the better by offering hope and encouragement on our trip?

There are a thousand reasons not to quit our jobs, not to take this trip, not to try and start a business.  But we have decided not to be ruled by fear or worry.  Instead, we are breaking the old bonds of fear and doubt that so quickly wear people down and overwhelm them.  We don't want to live like that.  We want to be free.  We want to live, and we want to live fully - taking the risk, even taking the fall, but also enjoying the rewards that can't be found without taking the risk.

Jesus said that He came to give us life to the fullest.  Nathan and I are eager to find that fullness.  I think that our decision to change our lives in this dramatic way is setting a great standard for the way we will continue to live after the bike trip.  We'll have the guts to make tough decisions in business, in our personal lives, with our future.  And that's how I want to live: gutsy.

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