Stellar Day Magazine, June Issue, 2016

STELLAR DAY ISSUE 10 | JUNE 2016

The

June Issue

FEAR VS. ADVENTURE

If fear and anxiety holds you back in your life , read an inspiring article from one writer about how she faces it every day .

SAY YES TO ADVENTURE! We interviewed Jenny Solar about how she chooses to say yes to adventure every day .

HOW TO ON ROAD TRIP FOOD

Quick tips on how to eat on a budget as you hit the road this summer .

stellar day table of con tents

03 Fear Vs. Adventure 06 Every Day is an Adventure 07 Giving The Gift Of Travel To Your Kids

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11 Say Yes To Adventure 15 A Feeble & Faithful Heart 17 Who Are You? 19 Adventure Is A State Of Mind 21 Chasing Your Dreams

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26 Free 28 Road Trip Food Without Breaking The Bank 32 Editors Note

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stellar day magazine www.stellardayblog.com

ADVENTURE FEAR VS .

By Jessica Williams Photos by Sara Chambers Fear is quite possibly, one of my greatest enemies. I struggle with it daily, in seasons, in spurts, and in lengths of unpredictable time. Sometimes it’s a distant flicker and sometimes it causes blindsides in my life, unable to see past it and what feels like being incapable of overcoming it.

I am not outwardly afraid all day long in fact, if you know me on any level, you might be surprised to learn that I struggle with this. I have an adventurous spirit, a love for life, a passion for people, and a deep desire to let nothing hold me back. I love to follow the Lord and his calling on my life and hope and pray it takes me to places that I never imagined. I encourage others not to be afraid, I help women step into their own dreams and passions and come along side women when they feel like they are incapable of seeing past their own insecurities and yet I still struggle with it.

My fear is unfortunately, inside my head.

With a past of anxiety and some mild depression, I know all too well where fear can take you. It can lead you down a deep, dark, road that feels isolated, alone, and scary. Because it is. That is where the enemy wants us to be. Isolated, alone, and scared. Afraid. Afraid of anything, everything, big, small, others or even ourselves. He knows all too well that if he can make us live within a state of constant fear, we will be rendered useless. And that’s what he wants, after all.

The Bible says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.” I Timothy 1:7

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Taking my thoughts captive is something I have had to discipline myself to do daily.

As someone who has struggled with fear all of my life, since I was a little girl, and someone who struggles through waves of it as an adult now, this bible verse has been thrown my way more times than I can count. And it’s an easy verse to throw someone’s way if they have not personally experienced fear and depression. It’s easy to tell someone that God didn’t create us to live in fear, he didn’t make us to be timid and powerless and let me tell youthey would be correct. He didn’t create us that way. But because of sin in the world, Satan is working hard to push fear into the lives and hearts of many to make us feel small, useless and unlovable.

I find that the fear I struggle with is internal. Taking my thoughts captive is something I have had to discipline myself

to do daily. I’ve sought counseling many times in my life for fear and anxiety. I have to be careful what movies and TV shows I watch, I have to be careful of gossip, and I have to guard my heart a lot. I have filled my home with Scripture and encouraging words, I surround myself with women who lift me up, I listen to my husband’s voice of reason, and I try to read my bible daily. Or sleep with it next to me if I have to.

Fear tries to invade my life in different ways and disguises itself in a multitude of ways, and it probably does for you too. While I choose to squash the voice of fear and I try to choose adventure over it, sometimes there’s just no perfect way to deal with it. I give myself a lot of grace. And while I did say that I do think that bible verse above is thrown at people who struggle with fear a lot, I DO know that it is true and I tell it to myself every day, especially if I’m in a deep season of struggling with fear. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but sin makes it so that we have to fight it. God has not created us timid, but sin wants us to feel small and weak. What I find is that God continues to give the gifts of power, love and selfdiscipline to all of us who seek after it. He gives us all the opportunity to rely on Him in the midst of our darkest fears and to choose to trust that those words are true forevermore, even if it doesn’t make sense. I have been in seasons of darkness and have personally told the Lord, “God, I am afraid. I know you didn’t make me this way. I know you made me powerful and not weak.

Please fill in these gaps for me in this moment because right now, I feel like David facing Goliath. I feel incapable to do this on my own.”

You could be facing something personally threatening or nightmares of the past. Or you could just be fearful of getting out of bed with no real reason to feel that way. It’s unexplainable. And whatever the case may be, it’s real.

I do know that God HAS given us the ability to be self-disciplined. Love casts out all fear.

And God’s power is bigger than the darkness that Satan wants us to believe in.

(Continued)

Maybe your adventure for today is just believing that. Maybe your adventure today is leaving the house without having a panic attack. Or maybe it is traveling the world and seeing places that others will only dream of seeing. Whatever the case may be, you are not alone. Your adventure and place in this world is significant and God wants to equip you with the power to overcome it all.

Fear holds me back from adventure a lot.

But I am not willing to let it hold me captive. It tries to grip my heart and I have to fight to grip it back sometimes.

It’s an area of my life that I will constantly work on, fight for and be challenged in.

But to feel the freedom that the Lord brings and continues to bring is real, it’s loving, and it IS powerful.

You have that power inside you too, my friend. Fear is not the end. Fear is the opportunity to overcome, stomp it out and move forward in adventure, no matter what that means to you.

You can do it. Together we’ll hold hands and tremble as we may, we will not let it hold us back.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self discipline.

1 Timothy 1:7

Every Day Is An Adventure

By Christine Cram I recently looked up the definition of “adventure” and started laughing at myself. This is what it said: Noun: an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous experience or activity.

I then started thinking of all the “adventures” I have taken in my life so far. For example, I’ve been to Africa; I helped with camps for foster children. Then I thought more about this whole adventure topic, and I realized something. I am on an adventure every single day being a parent. At first I thought that sounds so cheese. Who would want to read about that? As I thought more about my day-to-day life, it really is an adventure. I am not slaying dragons by any means, but being with a teething toddler all day long, every single day, is an adventure in my humble opinion. We as parents need to give ourselves the credit due to ourselves.

We do hard work. Whether you work outside the home, work in the home, partial work out of your home, being a parent is hard work. Period.

I love the definition of the word adventure, “an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous experience or activity.” Minus the hazardous part this is my life every day. I wake up having no idea what the day will bring, and that to me is exciting. I get to be with my daughter (and soon to be son) every day and learn from her and be challenged by her. That’s wild. That’s exciting.

I don’t think you need to actually slay dragons every day. But you kind of are in a way. Your own “dragons.” Being a parent is hard work. Being a parent is so rewarding. Being a parent is so challenging. Being a parent will take you on the greatest adventure you have ever been on. Get ready and have the time of your life.

Photo by Jay & Jess

GIVING THE GIFT OF TRAVEL

TO YOUR KIDS

by Kate Williams

Our favorite thing to do is travel together and adventure with our kids off the beaten path! There is so much of the world to see, explore, and adventures to take together. Don’t be afraid to take your kids overseas (or anywhere)—it is the gift of a lifetime!

There is a lot of work that can go into making this kind of adventure work for your family, but it is so worth it. Here are a few of our tips to make travel affordable and fun with kids!

1. Budget for it. Yes, this may mean taking away those Starbucks runs, extra clothes, or nights out. Create a budget and stick to it. You will be amazed at how much you really can save to travel!

The number one thing we are asked is how we afford to take our kids around the world and the #1 reason is because we plan and budget for it. We don’t spend money on other things, Target runs, or lots of Christmas presents. I don’t ever remember an anniversary or birthday gift we have gotten each

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other…it has always been trips together or a fun experience we did together.

2. Don’t try and do too much with kids. If it were just us, we would see all of Europe in a week (Ok, maybe not that fast, but we would move quickly). Think about one place and staying there for a week. You will be able to enjoy the city and the kids can get into a groove and have fun as well. It is less stressful and often times cheaper to rent an apartment for a long stay instead of jumping around hotels.

3.Plan ahead. Packing light and figuring out a schedule take a lot of planning —like hours of planning! Incorporate places that the kids would enjoy into your stay like the zoo, playgrounds, and parks. When the kids are napping in the stroller, we hit the museums or other boring adult things that we want to do. Mix it up so everyone enjoys the trip.

There is a lot of work that can go into making this kind of adventure work for your family, but it is so worth it.

4. Embrace change. Things can and will go wrong.

You may miss the train and flights are delayed, but you don’t have to lose your cool. Take the time to relax, find something to do close by if it is going to be a while or sit back and enjoy the view. Some of our most hilarious memories and the stories that we tell around the table later are those we didn’t expect and in the moment thought were a nightmare —ended up being some of our best memories made and greatest laughs.

5. Create a family dream board. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? Dream as a family. Big or small. Print it out and put the pictures on the board. This will help you to keep that budget and it will be easier to give up other things if you keep in mind the things you want to do as a family.

6. Vacations don’t have to be “elaborate.. Save up a do a stay-cation close to home, but getaway for the weekend.

Swap houses with friends to keep costs down but enjoy a new place, look for deals, and be flexible on dates.

7. Add a free destination! Ask airlines about stopovers where you can stay in the city of your layover for an extra day at no additional cost. This is a great way to see hub cities without ever planning a trip or buying a ticket there (we have done this with both Paris and Hong Kong!).

8. Road trip it or travel with multiple families! When you rent an entire house of airbnb and split the cost, suddenly your vacation is much cheaper and so much fun. We took a road trip thru Namibia with two other families for an incredibly low cost because we rented a huge van that we all fit in and stayed in places together.

Here are a few of our “tricks” to keep costs down and visit amazing places: 1. Go when others are not. If you don’t mind pulling your kids out of school for a few days, then you have even more options. The first week of December and January are awesome times to find deals because everyone else wants to travel other times. We once went on a week-long Caribbean cruise in January for $200/each for 7 days because we were willing to take those dates!

2. If you live close to multiple airports, price out them all!

3. Tripadvisor makes great recommendations for hotels and you can search them all in one click. Filter by price and dates.

Then, call the hotels directly. Sometimes, they will beat the price. Also, check airbnb for longer stays. We have found amazing deals in random places and have had the most amazing stays.

4. Stay loyal. Points add up fast if you continue to stay at the same hotels, book thru the same sites, and use the same airlines. Sometimes we even double or triple benefits (example - book thru hotels.com for a Marriott hotel and use a United credit card - that is three different ways to save loyalty points!). They add up fast and you can turn them in for free stays and airline tickets!

5. Always check website deals and stay up to date on cheap locations. A few favorites: secretflying.com, kayak.com,hipmunk.com, airfarewatchdog.com, cruisecompete.com and just start googling when you are doing research and you will find so many more! It takes a lot of time, but it is so worth it.

You can make it work and travel can be affordable, even with kids! Some of the greatest memories of your life will be the adventures you take together!

Many of the adventures you go on will not make sense to other people because the outcome is unknown.

But journey's where the outcome is already known are not adventures, they're errands.

And you were created to do more than run errands.

Jon Acuff

SAY YES

To Adventure

BY JENNY SOLAR

PHOTOS BY THE SOLARS

An interview with Jenny Solar about her life, family, traveling and her greatest passions.

When I first met Jenny last year at the Nine Retreat, she was one of the speakers and I was there to absorb everything from everyone.

Her story touched my heart and while our stories are quite different, I found similarities intertwined that resonated with me deeply. Her story changed how I parent our children and how I approach every day.

Later in the trip, we all had the opportunity to run, fully clothed, into the ocean for a dip. An all inspiring, letting go of everything while our sorrows drown in the ocean kind of dip in the water.

"Say yes to adventure!", Jenny shouted reminder as they ran toward the ocean. It was the tagline of her talk earlier in the day and is the mantra of her life.

Unable to let it all go, I stayed on the sandy shore hearing those words in my head. And while I don't regret not joining them in the ocean that day, these words ring true in my head every day.

I asked Jenny to be this month's interview because she is perfect.

She lives every day as an adventure, even the mundane

days. She is doing everything within her power to make sure her children have an amazing and loving childhood, and she and her husband live each day to lift others up and encourage them.

I'm so inspired by women like this and I think we can all learn something about saying yes to adventure from her.

1. Tell me a little bit about where you live, your husband, and your family.

I live in Kansas City, MO with my husband Josh, our three kids Max, Ava, and Lia, our dog Banana, and our kitten Finn. Josh and I are high school sweethearts... we met when I was 14 and he was 15.

Crazy, right??

2. Where do you work?

Josh and I are serial entrepreneurs. We kind of stumbled into becoming wedding photographers 11 years ago, but over the years we've tried our hand at several different businesses. We are currently running our greeting card company, Hello Happiness Card Company. Josh creates the art and I run operations.. We used to

All Photos

by The Solars during their time in Thailand.

All you have to do is start. Say yes to the very next adventure that comes your way, whether it's taking an impromptu road trip this weekend or riding a new roller coaster. Saying yes, and then following through, is addictive. And it's good for you.

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have a studio in downtown Kansas City, but we got tired of paying rent and commuting, so we work from home now.

3. What is your greatest passion in life?

Honestly, I would have to say my greatest passion is in making sure my kids have a great childhood and that they grow up knowing they are loved. This is our main goal in life right now, so Josh and I do everything we can to try to create the kind of life we want to live... working from home, homeschooling our kids, and traveling the world looking for adventure.

4. My greatest inspiration from meeting you, was hearing and trying to adapt the phrase, 'Say YES to adventure!'. What has been your greatest adventure and why?

This is a really hard question. We have had so many great adventures, big and small. Years ago, when our kids were too little to stay up and watch fireworks, we dropped them off at grandma and grandpa's house for the night and biked to the park to watch the city fireworks display. Right after the fireworks were over, it started pouring rain. In our city, it's still legal for people to shoot off their own fireworks and since it was raining, people were rushing to light them all off quickly. We biked home in the rain, with fireworks going off all around us.

It was magical... like something out of a romantic comedy. We loved the adventure so much, we have biked to the park as a family every 4th of July since... but my favorite part is still the bike ride home with fireworks going off everywhere.

As a family, I'd say our greatest recent adventure was traveling

to Thailand for two weeks with another family. We braved long plane rides and driving on the wrong side of the road and navigating public transportation in Bangkok. But we got feed and bathe elephants and climb up the sticky waterfalls and learn how to cook Thai food and visit gorgeous temples!

5. What holds you back from saying yes to adventure, if anything?

Right now, there are a couple of things that hold us back. One is money. We've had a rough few years financially (and personally), so money is always tight. We have to choose our adventures wisely. To be honest, we didn't have the money to go to Thailand, but we took out a loan to go anyway. When it comes to family travel, you can never go back and do it. Taking out a loan for a trip isn't for everyone, but it was the right decision for our family.

The second thing that "holds us back" is that two of our three kids were diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis about a year and a half ago. We refuse to let CF dictate our life, but it has changed some things about the way we travel.

We can't take our kids out of the country for extended periods of time without a medical backup plan and a bag full of precautionary antibiotics. But for the most part, we're getting along just fine.

When it comes to other types of adventure than travel, our biggest thing that holds us back is our kids just being grouchy.

Our kids are at that age (Max is 11, Ava is 9, and Lia is 7) where they don't always want to go do things, so we have to work around that too.

6. What is something you are fearful of when diving into adventure?

Honestly, I know this is crazy, but the only thing I'm ever fearful of is my kids getting seriously injured. I mean, kids just aren't always super careful, so anytime we are climbing somewhere mildly dangerous, like the giant rocks in Garden of the Gods or the Sticky Waterfalls in Thailand, I worry that they will get hurt.

7. You guys just traveled to Thailand a couple of months ago. What is something that you are so grateful that you did while there? Is there anything you regret doing or not doing on that trip?

Thailand was AMAZING. I am so glad we decided to go! Literally almost everything we did there was absolutely incredible. I'm so glad that we decided to rent cars and drive. The internet will tell you that you're crazy to drive there (and I'm not going to lie, it was stressful and crazy!), but we saw so much more of the country, and on our own timeline, than if we didn't rent a car. We visited the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary, which was a great interactive experience where we got to feed and pet elephants, get a hug and a kiss from an elephant, give the elephants a mud bath and then play with them in the river. You could tell that the elephants were very well taken care of and so happy to interact with us. It was definitely a highlight. We also visited Tiger Kingdom, which left us feeling the opposite. The tigers were not super happy and it was definitely a tourist thing and in no way a great experience for the tigers. If I could do it over, we would not visit Tiger Kingdom.

8. Where are you guys headed to next?

We're saving our dollars and hoping to go to Costa Rica as a

family this winter for four to six weeks. Now that Southwest flies to San Jose, we can fly to Costa Rica for about the same cost as flying to California! We plan to rent a house near the beach on the Caribbean side and spend some time just relaxing and looking for sloths.

9. You and Josh love to encourage others. How did that start and what is your passion for that?

Honestly, for Josh it started out as something that he did to help himself as well. He was in a mild depression and writing letters of encouragement to other people helped him work through that.

He then started creating art again just for fun and over time, we turned his encouraging art into a greeting card company. Funny how that happens! We believe that the world can always use more encouragement and positivity, so we work hard to create tools (like greeting cards and mini encouragement cards) to help others encourage people..

10. What is one piece of advice you would give to any woman as she's facing choosing adventure in her own life?

Start small. Adventure (just like travel) has a way of snowballing.

All you have to do is start. Say yes to the very next adventure that comes your way, whether it's taking an impromptu road trip this weekend or riding a new roller coaster. Saying yes, and then following through, is addictive. And it's good for you.

You'll want to do it again and again. And soon, you'll be teaching everyone around you to say yes to adventure too!

Josh & Jenny believe a little love can go a long way, especially when you share it! They established the Hello Happiness Card Company to create cards that bring love, happiness, and fun into the lives of the people you care about most. Visit their website for more information or click here. www.hellohappinesscardco.com

A Feeble &

FAITHFUL HEART

By Robyn Baldwin

Honestly, I never thought of myself as adventurous. I typically refer to myself as a horse; I spook easily (and I’m an oaf but that’s not the point). I’m not really one to dive into new things or meet new people or try new foods. And somehow, almost three years ago now, I found myself signing up for a six month missions trip that would move me across the country and overseas (meaning I’d have to dive into new things, meet new people, and eat new food). I had no idea it would radically change my life forever. I’m a pretty simple girl; I like quirky things and Lord of the Rings, I obsess over pretty weddings, and laughing is one of my favorite things. I love Jesus and my relationship with Him is as about as perfect as I am (which is to say it is not).

Adventurous is not something I would ever describe myself as. In my human nature; I am feeble and faithless and weak and scared. But God originally designed me to be this bold, brave, courageous, fearless, peaceful woman that follows Him through every doorway even when I can’t see what’s inside. And I do, I scare easily but oh man- I refuse to stay that way. Sometimes God calls us to things that scare the crap out of us; like raising ten grand and moving across the country or to another state. Things like raising three thousand in three weeks. Things like praying over a stranger. Things like loving people that you really don’t want to love. Things like taking in orphans. Things like fighting giants. Things like saving an entire people group. Sometimes even calling us to things that will lead to our death. I’m not saying these things don’t make me scared. I’m saying that I refuse to let my fear stop me from fulfilling the calling the Lord has placed on my life. Adventure can mean taking a month and traveling all over Europe; and I assure you that’s something I’d love to do one day. That sounds awesome. But also, adventure can mean moving overseas or loving on the customer that drives you

insane or loving on the foster kid in your home or waiting for God to show you the next right step. I don’t think being adventurous is limited to your geographical location- I think being adventurous is stepping out of your comfort zone and being willing to let God control where you’re headed next; emotionally, spiritually, and physically. You want adventure? You want a really thrill-seeking life? Ask God where He wants to take you. I can assure you; life with God has never been and never will be boring. This comes from the girl whose redemption story started with a near-death experience in a foreign country. I got trapped in a flash flood (the one time I went hiking) in the Dominican Republic and my whole life changed.

Saying yes to Jesus means saying no to a lot of other things, sure, but saying yes to Jesus opened up a whole world of adventure I never knew I would love. Saying yes to Jesus opened up a world of freedom and love and being truly known.

I’ve been home for nearly a year now and I’ve got the travel bug hard. This time, though, I think He’s asking me to wait. Which, quite admittedly, I do not like at all. Right now, in this season, waiting is outside of my comfort zone; I just want to go. But this route requires faith, trust, expectancy, and getting out of my comfort zone; exactly the things adventure is made up of.

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Not all who wander are lost

Who Are You?

by Brianna VanderWeide Photos by Dariusz Wolski for Alice in Wonderland

I never imagined I would discover something about God and myself in the movie, Alice in Wonderland. Don’t worry, I’m not about to say that everything I learned about God, I learned from Disney.

Quite the opposite, really.

that whispered a million “amens” to my heart. Doesn’t God speak in the strangest ways sometimes? A Tim Burton movie?

Wow. I just love when Jesus speaks and how He is not limited in the way He invites us into conversation.

Last weekend, I found myself looking for a movie to rent with my hubby and we realized we both hadn’t seen Johnny Depp in his role as the Mad Hatter so it was decided; crazy Tim Burton’s version for the win! We weren’t even ten minutes into the film and I was hooked. I spent most of the evening in awe of the quotes in this movie

Consider the famous line from the Caterpillar to Alice, “who are you?” Alice was so confused. All she had been told since she arrived to Wonderland was that she was the wrong Alice. Now she’s again faced with this question, insecure and doubting. Ever been there? Yeah, me too. Luckily, her wild adventure doesn’t end there, and it takes

"All she had been told since she arrived was that she was the wrong Alice."

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on a journey where it becomes very clear that Alice is becoming. She is in process. And suddenly it’s profound that the dialogue about her identity was with a creature that would soon turn to a butterfly himself.

Alice starts in the first few scenes by listing the things she cannot do, and by the end of the movie, she is a fierce warrior, defending her friends and taking down the enemy. Sorry for the spoiler.

But seriously, have you seen this movie?

Curiouser and curiouser?

Here’s a few more quotes from the film that I adore: “You’re mad. Bonkers. Off your head. But I’ll tell you a secret, all of the best people are.”

Um, YES! We are the dreamers!

“I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.”

It’s called sanctification, girlfriend. High-five!

“Every adventure requires a first step.”

And that first step makes you want to throw up!

“From the moment I fell down that hole I’ve been told what I must do and who I must be.

I’ve been shrunk, stretched, scratched, and stuffed into a teapot. I’ve been accused of being Alice and of not being Alice, but this is my dream. I’ll decide where it goes from here. …I make the path.”

GIRRRRRRL. Preach!

I feel it, too, Alice. I see you. I felt the shrinking.

The scratches. The being told “what I must do and who I must be.” We all have. And eventually like Alice, I looked my enemy in the eye and stomped my feet in protest: “this is my dream. I’ll decide where it goes from here…I make the path.”

As someone who is starting to really enjoy the adventure, I believe the path and dreams carved out for me have been created by God

who invites us all to a unique, while admittedly loopy journey that often feels exactly like falling down a rabbit hole. But we all want an adventure. It’s the way God moves us. It’s the reason that you hear the word in several famous movie quotes like The Hobbit, The Matrix, Tangled, Peter Pan, and Harry Potter, just to name a few. It’s the part of us that leans into courage and defines bravery, the moments where we come alive, and yearn for more.

What if God created a desire within us for adventure so we would always long for more? I don’t know about you, but I say YES. I want more. I want to know how to answer Him with confidence when He says, “who are you?” And I hope the answer forever on my lips is, “I am yours. So where are we going next, Papa?”

"You're mad.

Bonkers. Off your head.

But I'll tell you a secret, all of the best people are."

Adventure IS A STATE OF MIND

By Esther Gallagher Photographs by Jay & Jess

My husband’s bucket list item is to one day pack up our tidy, fairly packaged, comfortable life, and live in Ireland for a couple years, where he will take a teaching job at a university. It’s something that he’s been dreaming and planning for years, juggling family and his career to finish his doctorate and add resume credentials by teaching parttime (on top of his full time job) at our local, state universities. And so now, the idea of our family living abroad is becoming a more viable possibility and something that he can actually start actively researching and readying us for. Still no definite timeline, and it could be a few years away, but it is definitely in the deck of cards for the Gallagher family to live in his motherland someday.

And while it seems so worth it for all the obvious reasons (can you say family adventure of a lifetime?!; experience and memories our children will carry forever; fish-n-chips galore; a little thatched roof cottage amid rolling hills of green, and meeting up with Bono in a Dublin pub for said fish-n-chips and beer!). I mean, this could be the next great chapter of our life but as I sit and ponder and dream, I start to experience a little panicky heart flutter (that I always get when I over-think things) because worry sets in about all the risks we would be taking.

What if we can’t find renters who will responsibly care for our house while we’re gone and we come back to the U.S. to

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God forbid, a meth lab or a newspaper hoarding situation 8 feet high? And what if our plan for traveling across Europe during our free time in Ireland doesn ’ t

pan out because we will have less income on a teaching salary than we would with our

‘ regular ’

U.S. jobs and it

won ’ t be enough to cover all the related travel expenses, and so all we can do is sit in our cottage and watch Irish talk shows on a T.V. with rabbit ears because there ’ s no cable reception in our rural, sheep farming town? And what if our kids ’ endearing yet twangy American

accents and, at times, entitled attitudes (after all we are Americans) are annoying to those down-to-earth, little Irish lads and lassies who sound just like Bono and Sinead.

And then I think about my dad and his siblings who, circa 45 years ago, left their close-knit family and the land in Sicily that was passed down and harvested by the sweat of their brow in order to pursue the great American adventure? They set the perfect example to take chances, to firmly grab hold of opportunity, and

worked so hard to make a new life because they didn ’ t have time to invent crazy, worrisome scenarios about what might never be like I ’ m doing right now. They had to traverse not just thousands of miles but the barriers of a different language, and navigate the challenges of assimilating into a new culture. They gave up so much so they and their families could

experience so much more. They weren ’ t worried so much about their accents as they were about understanding street signs, asking important, basic questions in English like (translation:

‘ bathroom’

‘ where

is the bat-troom

in my Dad ’ s cute accent)? ’ , and

finding the best jobs possible to build a foundation for generations to come. They didn ’ t have the luxury of planning to travel across America during their

‘ free’

time because quite simply, there was no free time

—

much work had to be done to till the seeds they had just born in the USA and every penny earned was a penny saved for the future, for necessities, emergencies and the like.

And as I parallel our potential to living abroad shortterm to their sacrificial, life-long, permanent change in residence in the U.S., I realize that while our plans are not wrought with anywhere near the uncertainty and

struggle they faced, I ’ m doing a disservice to myself by trying to find holes in and pick apart our plans. They remind me that there IS a spirit of adventure in my mostly risk-averse blood and I should be looking out across the Atlantic with a spirit of hope, courage and faith similar to theirs. If my nonna, Lea Lucina could say to her children, Giovanni, Rosa, Cosimo, and Dina, that

‘ either

we ALL go to America together and make

the best of it or we don ’ t go at all ’ , that I too, can shed the restrictions and obstacles I ’ ve created in my mind

and tell my husband whole-heartedly, let ’ s give it a go.

Bono ’ s waiting for us after all so what ’ s keeping us!?

STELLAR DAY MAGAZINE

Chasing Your Dreams An Adventure With God

B

y

Sarah Costa

Photo b

y y& Ja

O

nce upon a time, there was a little girl who dreamed. She was vivacious and loved her friends. She was fearless, brave, and always pushed to discover the mysteries of whatever situation was in front of her that she didn’t yet understand. She was observant and stubborn. She knew she was capable of doing big things in life; and she was determined to do them. Do you remember anyone like that?

This particular girl loved being athletic, she loved freedom, and chasing the wind for the joy of running. She loved reading and discovering new worlds; she loved looking up at the stars and imagining what it would be like to walk on the moon. She dreamed of finding love and giving her love to her family. She imagined herself winning the gold

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Jess

medal in the Olympics and being a fighter pilot in the Air Force. And sometimes, she imagined herself on a stage, singing to thousands, dressed in Maria Von Trapp’s wedding gown. But it was just one dream among many.

One by one, she chased those dreams.

And one by one, they were removed from the realm of possibilities. It took years to sift through them all. It took her sweat, frustration, tears, late nights, broken bones, bruises, and many thousands of dollars to hone in on what one thing she was going to follow through with. But she never lost hope that one day she accomplish something monumental.

And finally, that day arrived, the day she had to declare her college major. She was terrified she would get it wrong and

fail out. She was scared of the lack of training and experience in her field. But she went and auditioned anyway. And she got accepted. She thought she had made a giant step toward her goal of being on stage as an opera singer. And in a way, she had, but the road was long and many more tears, sweat, and dollars would be poured out into this dream.

After graduation, she closed the door on the dream. She would be a mom.

She would enjoy her life and her new husband. She would teach music and be content with where God had placed her. But…still her heart dreamed of the stage and so the “praying stage” began.

This is my adventure. And along the way, God really got my heart. I

remember praying over and over that God would change my desire if He didn’t want me to sing. I remember asking Him to show me clearly that He didn’t want me to pursue opera. But there were no big signs, no flashing lights pointing me in the direction He wanted. So, I continued to study on my own and pray that He would use me, pray that He would use all of the money and hard work I’d poured into this voice. Pray that He would show me how He was going to do this!

And He always answered. Sometimes it was directly by providing a teacher, or the finances, or a job. But most of the time He answered by staying silent and teaching me about patience, conflictresolution, submission, love, family, friendship, community, humility, more patience, discernment, joy, peace, faith, and contentment in Him. And this year, He moved again.

He started closing doors. It was confusing at first. I thought this adventure was supposed to be good, I was ready to win opera competitions; I was ready to learn from the best; I was ready to accept positions for summer programs to gain experience even though I’d be away from my family for extended periods of time. I was prepared to do whatever it took to make this happen, finally. But every opportunity that came up, His answer was “not this.”

I fought with Him in prayer. I cried more.

I dug deep into His Word for comfort and I found it. And as I talked with a friend, I was encouraged. She told me that God had something bigger, something better.

“But I dream so big!” I told my friend.

And I told God that, too. And He responded with Ephesians 3:17-21 (my paraphrase): I pray that you may have the power of the Holy Spirit to grasp the immeasurable vastness that is Christ’s love for you, this love that goes beyond your understanding. And that you may be filled up to overflowing with how full our God is. “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work in us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen!”

He can do more than we imagine. He does. Two short weeks later, my husband came to me and asked if I would be ok with moving across the country to pursue opera. And this was my answer. God is doing more. His plan is so much bigger than winning one or two competitions. His plan is better than studying with one person for three weeks and suffering through time away from my family. His plan is more encompassing than stretching only my faith. His plan would strengthen my husband’s faith, grow our marriage, and add a depth of love and understanding in our marriage. It would deepen

friendships and give new ones. He showed me Himself more in this process than in any other life experience outside of my daughter.

And I am encouraged. I look for how He will strengthen my faith. My trust is growing deeper and my joy is full. This is the adventure with Him that my heart longed for as a little girl. I may never stand on a stage. I may never sing to thousands of people, but this thrill of seeing God move and work is better than any scenario I’ve come up with on my own. I jump around my house when I see His answer to my prayer, and love to tell people how God is moving. Yes, I get carried away by fear from time to time, but He draws me back and presses me into His love. So, I sit here in awe. How does He love us so much?

Do you feel that tug on your heart for greatness? It’s pretty hard not to. That’s Him, calling you to open your heart to what He has planned for you asking you to step out or even wait in faith for his better, more perfect plan. He doesn’t just move once or twice, He’s worked eternity together so that your adventure is waiting for you. ETERNITY of walking with Him, learning something new, uncovering more of who He is every single moment.

The adventure doesn’t end with Him, it begins with Him.

Sarah Costa is a coach for Beachbody, helping encourage and inspire women in their health and fitness! She’s passionate about encouragement, friendships, and helping women reach their goals physically, emotionally, and spiritually. If you’d like to contact her to begin your journey today, please click here!

Stellar Day Magazine's Book Club Choice

LOVE SICK

BY CORY MARTIN JUNE 2016

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ONE GIRL'S JOURNEY THROUGH RECOVERY

By Nicole Thompson

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I’d never really considered myself an adventurer. I’d never been a big traveler or risk taker (unless you count para-sailing in Mexico- that’s pretty risky, right?). On the outside my life may have looked pretty mundane. I was an elementary school teacher and now a stayat-home mom. For much of my life I didn’t realized I was so bound up in fear. For too long I chose the safe boundaries of familiarity, simplicity, and comfort. However, these seemingly safe boundaries were actually prison bars. I had allowed the enemy to lock me up in lies to keep me from seeing who God desired me to be. You see until we claim the freedom Christ has to offer we are rendered ineffective for the

kingdom purpose we were created to carry out. I felt so powerless to break free from this mental bondage. So I joined a group of women brave enough to say that they too had struggles they were powerless to overcome without Jesus. We all embarked on this journey a little naïve to what we were really getting ourselves into.

This Celebrate Recovery 12-step study is one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. It was a nine month long commitment to being real and vulnerable, to checking my pride and practicing real humility. Our pastor often says, “Humility is trusting God and others with the real me.” Can I ask you, when is the last time

you trusted someone with the REAL you? I know it’s hard, but it is so important for our mental, emotional, and spiritual health! If you don’t have someone in your life that is safe for you to be real with, pray for God to bring you that person. He is so faithful to do it! I also invite you to check out a Celebrate Recovery ministry near you. It’s a safe place to be the real you and be loved right where you are.

Still unsure if I was in fact an adventurer, I looked up the definition of “adventure.” It uses words like unusual, exciting, and hazardous. Imagine sitting in a room of women you may or may not already know and sharing the darkest, most broken parts of your soul. Let me tell you it feels pretty dangerous at times. It takes courage to put yourself out there like that. It’s also a pretty unusual experience. You may attend a small group or meet with an accountability partner from time to time, but this is entirely different. There’s homework, but it’s more than just writing answers on paper. It requires quiet time with the Lord to really listen to him. You have to dig deep to process through uncomfortable, even painful feelings, and write them down to share with the group. Then there’s the inventory process. If you haven’t experience spiritual warfare before, if you’re not sure if it’s even a real thing, join a step study. When we got to step four, The Inventory, I started dreading the nights. In this step you write a list of all those you’ve hurt and who hurt you. You work with your sponsor to see where you have ownership and need to make amends and where you have no guilt and your part is only to offer forgiveness. Your sponsor also helps you look at the big picture to see any patterns of behavior or events. This was huge for me and so freeing! This is

what the enemy was afraid of so he tried to keep me from working on my inventory. Every night when the sun went down I could feel this fear and anxiety come over me. I’ve never had to pray as hard as I did then. The enemy is no joke ladies, he’s not playing around. He hates us and wants to keep us chained down in sin and lies. His goal is to keep us from knowing who we are in Christ and how much we are deeply loved by God. He’ll use anything to keep us from experiencing such truth. However, fear not for God is with us! Whatever power the enemy tries to use against us, God is greater. The struggle, the warfare, the tears, and all the HARD work was totally worth it! There was so much healing, freedom, and joy on the other side. Remember, adventure is unusual, hazardous, and exciting? That’s the exciting part! So many blessings came from this experience with Him. He is so good and loves us so much!

This journey through recovery has been quite the adventure. It’s wasn’t the kind of experience I so often relate to adventure. There was no mountain top picture to share on social media. No, this kind of adventure was deep and personal. God led me into the deep caverns of my heart and soul. He revealed those areas I hadn’t yet let his light touch and then gently led me to surrendering those things to him. I don’t think words could ever do justice to describe how God has healed me and freed me. But I do know this work he has started in me has just begun.

There is much more work to be done and I can honestly say I’m excited about it. I wouldn’t trade any other adventure in the world for the one God led me through. He became more real to me than ever before. For the first time, I really experienced God. So if you find yourself longing for adventure, He is ready and waiting for you.

ROAD TRIP Without Breaking The Bank

By Jessica Williams Jason and I are always up for a road trip. Ever since the kids were born, we always swore that we would travel in whatever capacity that meant for us, WITH our kids even if it was hard and a lot of work.

And it IS a lot of work!

But it’s a value of ours to allow our kids to see new places, even when they’re young. We are well aware that some of the trips they’ve taken, they might not fully remember. But what matters to us is the experience of taking trips together, seeing new things, and being family. Since we’ve been traveling ever since the kids were born, they’ve really grown to love jumping in the car and traveling to new spots. And since we don’t have the money to travel internationally with three kids every year right now, we are perfectly ok with planning road trips here in the states. There’s so much to see and do here, right on our own soil!

One of the challenging things about traveling, is how expensive it can be. It does take some money to be able to travel anywhere, and I agree- it can add up quickly! I believe it’s worth the expense to create the amazing memories with your family, but I’m also not against cutting corners where you can.

One of those ways we cut corners when we travel, is with food! Now,

we enjoy food a lot but I have found that cutting back on food does not have to impact the quality of food you’re eating. We still eat out while we are on our trip, but that can get very pricey for a family of five. So we choose when we plan to eat out during our trips and make those meals really fun!

The rest of the time we eat “in” or on the go while we are out sightseeing and what not.

Here are a few tips I’ve complied to help you plan for your next road trip. Even adopting just one of these ideas can help you cut down big time on the travel budget!

1. Rent a house. When we travel we usually rent a home through either homeaway.com, vrbo.com, or airbnb.com. It’s generally less expensive than a hotel, especially if you’re traveling with extended family or friends. Then you have full access to the kitchen! So once you’re there and settled, hit up the grocery store with a list of super easy meals to make throughout the week. Yes, you’ll be cooking a little bit on your vacation, but you’ll have space to cook and you’ll be saving on the cash.

2. Meal plan. Before you leave, create a plan. Figuring out what meals you’re going to eat and creating a shopping list can help you once you’re there. Think about all the easy meals your family loves, and add those to the list. It can be as simple as grilled cheese and tomato soup for one meal! It

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doesn’t need to be fancy. Think simple,

5. Need some help with dinner ideas that

easy, and something that you don’t have

are cheap? These are some of our

to be in the kitchen for hours.

favorites: tacos, fish tacos, spaghetti and meatballs, frozen pizza, grilled cheese

3. Pack sandwiches before you go. I will

sandwiches and soup, grilled chicken

make a bunch of sandwiches before we

wings, burgers, hot dogs, macaroni and

leave on our trip (depending on where we

cheese, chicken kabobs, easy salads,

are going), get them into a cooler and

pancakes and eggs, burritos, and the list

into the refrigerator once we’ve arrived at

could go on!

easy grab and go lunches! Pair with an

Traveling doesn’t have to be expensive.

apple and single portion bag of chips and

Find an inexpensive place to stay and

you’re all set for lunch- no matter where

utilize the kitchen there! Whipping up a

you are!

couple meals a day does take a little bit

the house we’ve rented. This allows for

of time, but so does a 40 minute wait at a 4. Snacks. I pack a lot of snacks for our

restaurant. And I’ve found that grabbing

trips. Sometimes, granola bars, trail mix,

meals out a few times on a trip and

fruit, and few handfuls of deli meat can

making it count is way better on the

make a great meal! No matter what, I’m

budget and on your health! We’ve eaten

always prepared for whatever adventure we are embarking on, because I’ve

like this on every road trip we’ve gone

I believe it’s worth the expense to create the amazing memories with your family, but I’m also not against cutting corners where you can. saw the sights! If traveling is a value of yours, but

on. I even pack lunches when we go to

you don’t have the budget, consider trying these

learned that one hungry kid can seriously

Disneyland! And no one has ever

tips. No matter where you go, eating on the cheap

ruin it all in the moment. HA. So being

complained or felt like they were missing out because we weren’t eating out. Some

is doable and it doesn’t have to be unhealthy.

prepared with snacks to fill those bellies is important. Pack a cooler to keep in the

of our best memories have been made by

back and you’ll be all set!

eating packed lunches in the car while we

Good luck!

Adventure Awaits TO VIEW OUR COLLABORATING & ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES, CLICK HERE OR EMAIL US AT: STELLARDAYMAGAZINE@GMAIL.COM

Thank You

For diving right in!

Editor in Chief Jessica Williams Associate Editor Jennifer Stamps Contributors Brianna VanderWeide Christine Cram Esther Gallagher Jennifer Stamps Kate Williams Nicole Thompson Rennai Hoefer Robyn Baldwin Sarah Costa Sarah Trapp Columnists Brianna VanderWeide Christine Cram Esther Gallagher Jenny Solar Jennifer Stamps Jessica Williams Kate Williams Nicole Thompson Robyn Baldwin Special Thanks AFC Chiropractic Cory Martin, Author of Love Sick Hello Happiness Card Co Nine Retreat Jay & Jess Photography Sara Chambers

EDITORIAL OFFICES Located in sunny Scottsdale, AZ Want To Advertise With Us? Email Us! stellardaymagazine@gmail.com Stellar Day Magazine is published by Issuu and created in Canva. www.stellardayblog.com

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EDITOR'S NOTE

Jessica Williams EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Adventure.

Don't we ALL want to feel like we are on one? Every woman wants a good, exciting, exhilarating adventure. Some women spend their entire lives waiting for one, wondering why they aren't worthy of one and before they know it, life has passed them by.

I'm here to remind you that this life you are living IS a great adventure. In the good days, the bad, the thrilling and the mundane.

THIS IS IT. We are living the adventure!

No matter where life may take you, even the unpredictable turns and the unplanned events that make up your life, it's all one wild ride and a journey that was handed to us. Is it perfect or even easy? Although social media fools a lot of us on a daily basis, it's not either perfect nor easy.

It's not supposed to be.

Life is messy, full of mistakes, highs, lows, disappointments, achievements, blessings and everything in between. Isn't THAT the adventure? Getting to 100 years old and looking back on life to say, "Now THAT was a wild ride!"

I don't know about you, but my heart hopes for a lifetime full of big and small adventures that I can look back on and say exactly that.

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