Just a warning, it's a long post, but will answer most peoples basic questions. Hope you enjoy!
Some questions we get very often, and I'm sure we will get over and over.
Why a bus?
Why do you want to give up everything?
And the big one, (not really a Why, but it goes along with this subject)... "How can you leave everything, I could never do that!"
So I'll tackle one at a time.... If you have questions different than these major ones, feel free to ask in the comments, I will answer each and every one.
Why a bus? Well, we were going to go with a motorhome at first simply because everything was already there, and proven. Motor, water tanks, electrical, plumbing, beds, shower, toilet, etc. So I started researching the life-span of an average motorhome. Seems to be around 100,000 miles, or 15-18years with only occasional usage. With full timing, the life-span was WAY shorter at about 25,000 miles, or about 2 years (some cases are different, I just looked at the price range of under $3000). That threw us off big time. Why spend all this money for something that might last 2-3 years, 5yrs max with lots of costly upkeep, just to have to buy another when it wears out, and then another, and another for however many years you plan to be on the road. So we started looking at other options.
When we researched buses (greyhound style, tour style and school style) we found that school buses were not only built to handle lots of kids (no small feat) for 20+years, but were also built to handle extreme weather as well for those 20+years. Well that and the super strict government rules on maintenance of the buses, we were sold. Ya, we would have to build everything we needed in the bus.... but that's ok, we've built 2 houses now, a bus can't be to hard.... the walls, floor and roof are already done! All we have to do is squeeze everything in! Once everything is built, we have a super heavy duty motorhome that will last us many, many years, and with the "skoolie" trend growing the way it is, if long term plans change, we could easily resell it for what we have into it.
So that's the "Why a bus?" question..... next!
Why do you want to give up everything?
First off, IT'S JUST STUFF, IT CAN BE REPLACED! (and it will have to be replaced eventually anyways when it wears out and breaks!)
1 Corinthians 7:31 (New Living Translation) tells us "Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away."
So if you suddenly realized that every extra bit of income you have goes into paying for the stuff you have, and the stuff you have takes every bit of extra income you have, wouldn't you think that this kind of lifestyle is madness? Make all this money so that you can buy all this stuff that costs you all your money to have, as well as clutters your life???? God opened our eyes to this several months ago and we started downsizing alot of the extra stuff we have. When we sold a bunch of stuff, we realized that we had basically bought it to have it sit around and collect dust until we used it for 5 minutes. Why? Because we thought we needed it? Yes. Because we have the room for it? Possibly. Did we really need it? No. Do we need more stuff? No. We have more stuff than 90% of families in the rest of the world have. God has blessed us with so much that we can't even use it all.
The long and short of it is that all this stuff is controlling our lives. We were blessed with the ability to get some stuff, but the choice of actually getting it was ours. We weren't forced to buy it. We want something, so we buy it, then we have to spend more money on it to use it. And when it has out lived it's "new-ness" it goes in a shed, or attic, or cellar to sit and collect dust until we re-discover it and use it again. We actually forget we have it! That's sad. Time to change our lives! Instead of buying the latest, greatest "X", we have decided to save our money for traveling to "X" and creating memories with our boys, and living a Godly lifestyle by sharing God's Word to others. Acts 2:21 "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
How can you leave everything, I could never do that!
We feel that God is telling us to travel around and tell our life stories. We want to tell others that if you really listen to God and do what He wants you to do, and not go and follow yourself, your life will be blessed, and you will bless others. God gave us this land, and the ability (and alot of help from others) to build everything. Before we were given this land we lived in an RV park in a 30ft long 5th wheel that had mold and multiple leaks. But we also didn't go to church, we didn't spend time each day studying God's Word, and we didn't talk about God to anyone. When we started doing that, God started blessing us. The more we followed what God wants for our lives, the more He blessed us. Now we feel it is time to use the stuff God has blessed us with to bless others. So we started selling and donating a bunch of our stuff. My Dad told me something a few weeks ago that opened my eyes, "You know how much something is worth when it sells, not when someone tells you what it is worth." Just because a book says that this "blank" is worth $75 doesn't mean it will sell for $75. It might sell for $45, but it will sell in 2 days vs sitting in a shed for 6 months! So when we decided to sell stuff we hadn't used in years, we decided to sell it so that it goes, vs make tons of money off of it. God will provide us with EVERYTHING we need and He has.
A few months ago we asked both boys what major events they remember about their lives. Now Lucas is 8, so he will only have a couple of years worth of long term memories, but TJ, at 14 has plenty. TJ remembers the last trip to Florida, the trip to Alaska, and a couple of other major things. But what "neat" thing he did the month prior, nothing. Lucas remembers Alaska and one or two other short trips, but other than that, nothing. That shouldn't be like that. TJ should have a long list of things he remembers that were "neat", and Lucas should be able to name at least 7-8 things that really stood out in his mind. They don't have these memories because we spend all our money on stuff versus experiences. If you were given $1,000 to spend on anything with no regrets, would you take a trip, or buy an new TV? We used to think along the lines of the TV.... Now God has opened our eyes and we would take the trip. We actually did something just like that a few months ago, when we went to the Washington Coast. We can talk with both boys about the big tree on the beach, or climbing the tower on the dock, or the seagulls, and they remember, vs "wow, we can see a movie in 4K,3D ABC/XYZ!".....SO! in a few months that movie will be forgotten, but not the trip!
Now how would you feel if you were in a State Park somewhere on vacation and you led a complete stranger to the Lord? Pretty Awesome, that's for sure! God would bless you for doing that. God promises us blessings if we bless others in 1Peter 3:8-9 "Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing." What you don't realize is that you would never have that memory or the following blessings if you had never taken that trip. If you felt that God wanted you to go to..... Dallas Texas.... and He gave you the money for the trip through a bonus at work, but you bought a motorcycle instead, God's blessing would be given to someone else who listened to Him. Every time that you talk to others about God and His Grace and Blessings you are planting a seed in their heart and mind. From there it's up to the individual whether they want to know more, or ignore it.
As Christians it is our responsibility to spread God's Word. But every ones calling is different. Just because we feel called to move into a bus and travel the west coast talking about what God has done in our lives, doesn't mean that you are supposed to do the same. Your calling might be to talk to your co-worker, or best friend, or neighbor. Your calling might be simply to pass this blog address to a friend who is talking about buying a motorhome for vacations. Only God knows what He wants you to do with your life, and if you just listen to Him, He will show you. The Bible tells us this in Mark 9:23 " Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” " Also in John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:"
If you're not sure how to listen for God, think of it like this.... that thought of "I should go to church more", or "I need to take a break from...", or something like that, that's how God talks to us. The Bible says the God is "that still, small voice", or basically you can think of Him as your conscious. The thing inside that tells you that what your about to do is not good, or that what your doing is the right thing to do, or that you need to tell your buddy that what he is doing isn't right. That's God. And the more you know Him, the more He talks to you. You can't make yourself hear God, you can't force it to happen, you have to be willing to trust in God and that He has a plan for your life. You have to be willing to listen to Him and do what He wants you to. You need to ask Him to talk to you, and when He does, listen! The more you listen to Him, the more He blesses you. If you don't know Him, then you are missing out on His Blessings and His Mercy and Grace.
God will talk to you and bless you, all you have to do is believe He will.
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
God Bless.
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