Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

29 Comments

  1. Sandie Wingard says:

    There was a Roger Thompson that taught at our son Nelson’s Voyager Grad School in Gig Harbor. I kind of wonder if it could be the same man. He was a wonderful teacher and a really good man.

    We traveled all over the NW for 25 years towing our 18′ Thistle Sail Boat We sailed in Pasco, Tacoma, Seattle, and Longview, WA; Lewiston, ID, Kalispell, MT; Portland, OR; Eugene, OR and probably a few others that I can’t remember. All three of our children were involved and as a family we have good friends in most these locations still today. It was a family event that we all remember fondly.

    I think it is the best thing we did as parents involving our children in a team event that they all loved. We treasure the friends we met sailing.

  2. One of the reasons I chose my husband was because I could see that he knew how to go on adventures. After we had a few kids we discovered that I don’t feel rejuvenated by our camping trips unless he takes the kids for a hike and lets me sit on a big rock all by myself for at least an hour. We learned that a big rock is an important part of the equation for me. The bigger, the better! Something about giant rocks embedded in the earth really ground me and help me reconnect with myself.

    1. I love that Ryann! Thanks for sharing. I think I’ll be noticing big rocks now and will think of you. 🙂 ALoha-

  3. Heidi Borgeas says:

    I did not grow up camping, but through being a “Mom of Boys”, I have learned VERY quickly by becoming a Cub Scout den leader! What I have loved about Cub Scouts is that the camping is done as FAMILIES. We all work together to help small boys learn not only about setting up tents, but helping our friends with theirs as well as learning team work by prepping, cooking, cleaning together as one. Besides all the cool s’mores and skits and fun out door activities, I love “feeling God” in the outdoors with my den families. That has just wow’ed me with gratitude for all I have been blessed with.
    This book sounds like a terrific story to read to my family too!
    With much Aloha to you Monica – Heidi in Florida (but still in Malakahana in my mind :>)

  4. Two of my favorite things – finding a great adventure and bringing a good book along! My father and I started a tradition when I was 10 and I have carried it through now that I have my own family. Every year we head up in the Sierras for some hiking, fishing, camping, quality time, and plugging into the beauty of nature. It is these magnificent places that you feel totally connected to the universe and to God. When my kids finally go to sleep I crawl in the hammock with my head lamp and get some alone time with my book. Vacations are when we get energizesd and refreshed so we can be productive in our normal routines. Always looking for a good read and motivational words.

    Mahalo Monica – thank you!

    Many blessings – Daryl

    1. wow Daryl–That inspired me! 🙂 And no doubt you will love Roger’s book. You two could talk for hours! 🙂
      Thanks for sharing from your adventures!

  5. Amy Greenberg says:

    An adventure that truly impacted me was the last one I went on…last week! I went to the US and British Virgin Islands and snorkelled for the first time in my life. When I put my head below the salt water, I jut about fainted! There was a WHOLE NEW WORLD down there! I had no idea. I mean, of course I have seen “Finding Nemo” and photos of the sea, but I had never witnessed this amazing world for myself before. We were snorkelling at coral reefs, so the marine life was just incredible: a whole rainbow of colored fish, turtles, coral in every shape, size and color, sea urchins, other sea creatures…..all getting along in such harmony, too. The only sound I heard was my own breathing, but everything below the surface was as alive as could be. If you don’t believe in God, just stick your head below the water at a coral reef! Nothing man-made could ever be this beautiful and moving.

  6. My son was conceived on a road trip with my husband through the Grand Canyon, Arizona, Utah and Nevada! Pretty productive road trip I would say!

    1. I’d say pretty productive indeed! 🙂 Love that. Robert will love this book for sure!

  7. Katie Bering says:

    In Sara Groves wonderful song about friendship, “Every Minute,” there are a couple of lines that say:
    ‘And I wish we could all go camping, and lay beneath the stars, And have nothing to do and stories to tell. We’d sit around the campfire And we’d make each other laugh, Remembering when…’

    Every Memorial Day weekend for nearly twenty years now, we’ve gone camping with the same group of incredibly dear family and friends. It began back when I was still in high school. My husband came along before we were even dating. The group grew as husbands and wives were added, then babies, then LOTS of babies, then even more babies while at the same time the first ones had become teenagers. We see each other throughout the year in gatherings of various sizes, but there’s nothing quite like those four days together each spring. Four days of fun, adventure, lots of wonderful food, singing around the campfire, catching up on life, sharing our burdens, talking about Jesus, working out conflicts among the kids and sometimes working out conflicts among the adults. But most of all, four days of being known through and through by those on this planet who love me most. Just three more weeks and we will be there!

  8. Womens retreat when I was 14/15 yrs. old where I was able to work thru emotions of losing my stepmom to cancer.

  9. April Dillow says:

    When I was in college, I made the decision to join a rock climbing club. Best thing I could have done for my nature loving soul. During the fall one year in Arkansas, we went climbing inside of this beautiful canyon. As the sun was setting and the stars were starting to appear one by one, faint at first, and then bright against the black night sky, I remember feeling overwhelmed with how beautiful God’s creation truly is. He didn’t have to design it so intentionally and magnificently, but He did. Thus began my love-affair with looking for and finding evidence of my Saviour in the nature around me.

    1. Oh I love that so much April. I can just imagine it…Thank you for sharing! much aloha and keep seeking and finding. 🙂

  10. Monica. I would LOVE a copy of Roger’s new book! The cover is captivating – especially because the mountain in the background looks like the mountain I see outside my front window every morning. My husband and kids love the idea of camping and I have yet to get on board. :/ The last camping adventure I had was in college when I took a group of high school students on a Young Life “Wilderness” trip. Five kids later and many years later, I have become more fearful over the thought of sleeping under the stars. I don’t want to miss out on adventures with my children and husband. Maybe the book will inspire me to start a new tradition with my family???
    Thanks for your words and your overall cuteness!
    With love, Heather

    1. I feel the same, Heather. I need more of this in my life, even though kids make everything a bit more challenging…I do think the book will inspire you! 🙂 Much love to you, and thanks for being so kind always.

  11. My son and I have been going to mother /son overnight camp for 6 years – the most wonderfully bonding experience we’ve been able to do together – we get to slow down, appreciate nature, have fun and make new friends – life is short but our memories will last forever <3

    1. Amazing. I’d love to do something like that with my sons! How special. Thanks for commenting. aloha-

  12. My family went on an 18 day camping trip when I was a kid-from Yellowstone to Redwoods to California to the Grand Canyon and back . It was wonderful family time and a great way to see many of God’s wonders. It remains a favorite memory.

  13. Family camping trip to Hickory Run State Park, Boulder Field – we trekked across entire field and found the “secret” section – learned a few things along the way, about perseverance, creation & helping one another keep going. Camping as a family is new to us and we’re LOVING it. I hope to build our family connections through many more trips (which help us to “unplug” for days at a time). Would enjoy reading this book for motivation, and for dreaming!

  14. Camping on the Oregon coast, looking at stars and ocean and feeling God there.

  15. Teresa Eskew says:

    Climbing the back side of half dome and scaling the rock by cables was a great experience for me and proved to myself what I could mentally and physically accomplish. Once on top, the views were breathtaking. The best artist to ever exist is God.

    1. Oh I love that and I’d love to do that one day. (With you would be great! :)) thx friend!! aloha–

  16. Colleen MacDonald says:

    Loved, loved, loved A Man called Ove! I have my own curmudgeon… so identified, smiled, chuckled and cried as well!

  17. I would love the book & I think my 15 yr old son would too. Love the picture on the cover too!! Would look super cool in his room.

    We love camping (in our trailer so maybe to some not camping but it is to me!) My favorite place to be in the world is to be reclining in my chair in the campground of Yosemite with a book by my side & looking up into the trees & relaxing. So my happy place! Whenever I get stressed I just think back to the feeling I get when I’m there. I just absolutely love being in Yosemite.

    1. OH man you just made me want to plan a trip to Yosemite!! Sounds amazing. And camping in a trailer sounds wonderful to me. Wish it were easier to do things like that here in Hawaii…Much aloha-

  18. A Man Called Ove is great! You will love it!

  19. An educational tour across 7 prefectures in Japan not only provided me with insight into another school system, but experience being truly illiterate in rural areas ( No English any place!), and a deep understanding and appreciation for the Japanese culture. Came in handy when I met my Japanese-American husband a few months later! It didn’t, however, foster a love for sushi. Am I the only one in the world who thinks sushi is just meh?

    1. I LOVE that Shannon. What an incredible experience. And how sweet-that it helped prepare you for your soon-to-be husband! Love that story. And to answer your question: yes, you are. 😉 (I love you anyways!) Aloha-