September 26, 2024 • 19 mins
Join me on a journey to Yellowstone National Park as I check off a long-held bucket list item.
Discover the unexpected lessons and insights I learned along the way. From the stunning beauty of Bear Tooth Highway to the awe-inspiring geysers, canyons, and waterfalls, this trip was not just a sightseeing adventure but a spiritual journey filled with meaningful reflections and parallels to our faith lives.
Learn how listening to experienced travelers, being flexible, and using guides can enhance your adventures and walk with God. You will also learn how to expand or create a bucket list that will enrich your life and bring you closer to Jesus.
Implement these practical tips on planning and preparing for your adventures, staying open to unexpected experiences, and finding spiritual meaning in your travels to make your retirement more fulfilling with Courageous Retirement.
00:00 Introduction: The Bucket List Journey
00:59 Facing Fears on Bear Tooth Highway
04:49 Marvels of Yellowstone: Geysers and Waterfalls
07:37 Life Lessons from Yellowstone
09:06 Practical Tips for Your Adventures
12:15 Reflections and Life Parallels
15:36 Expanding the Bucket List Beyond Travel
17:59 Conclusion: Embracing God's Plan
Want some feedback to help you get unstuck in your retirement or retirement plans? Email your name, where you are in your journey to or in retirement, and one thing that has you stuck to vona@vonajohnson.com, and I'll get back to you within 2 business days.
Verses to contemplate related to this message:
Psalm 19:1-4
Job 38:4-39:30
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message!
Thank you for stopping by today! Remember to Engage Your Faith and Live Your More as you reap the benefits of Courageous Retirement!
To watch the video, check out my YouTube Channel!
Learn more about the show, author Vona Johnson, and more at CourageousRetirement.com!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Do you have a bucket list?
(00:01):
You know, that list of thingsyou want to achieve before God
takes you home.
I've had a loosely held bucketlist for decades.
And recently I got to check oneof those items off.
And today I want to share withyou how doing that,
accomplishing that goal gave mesome insights on life.
And it also helped me realizethat I want to shift my bucket
(00:24):
list just a little bit.
Come and learn some of thelessons that I learned by
accomplishing my bucket list.
At Yellowstone national park, noless.
And.
Pick up a few tips on how youmight want to look at your list
from a different view.
I'm excited to share this withyou.
Speaker (00:39):
Do you fear what lies beyond retirement?
What if it's a gateway to a lifefilled with purpose, meaning,
and adventure rather than anend?
Discover peace and fulfillmentas you boldly enter this new
chapter in CourageousRetirement, a Christian podcast.
I'm your host, author and coach,Vona Johnson.
Let's get started.
Recently, my husband and I, andsome friends of ours made a trip
(01:03):
to Yellowstone national park.
It has been on my list ofsomething I've wanted to do for
decades.
I've been to many of the entrypoints to the park through the
years, but I never actually gotto go in because it was always
the wrong season and the, theroads weren't open.
I don't know that I reallyappreciated what that meant,
(01:25):
that the roads weren't openuntil this trip.
And I'm going to start therebecause we started our journey,
and entered in from Red Lodgebecause we wanted to cross the
Bear Tooth Highway.
Now I had done my research andit sounded really exciting.
And you know, it's claimed asthe most stunningly beautiful
highway in the United States.
(01:46):
I hadn't anticipated what youhave to go through to see that
stunning beauty.
And it really opened my eyes tohow sometimes we have to go
through some difficult, somechallenging times to really see
the beauty in life.
So that might be what you wantto call my first lesson, but as
we traveled up the mountains andit was back and forth and
(02:10):
crisscrossing I got to thinking.
It reminded me a lot of yearsago when I went to Disneyland.
And rode on magic mountain, theroller coaster.
And I remember when I startedthat rollercoaster trip, how
exciting it was, and it waslike, Ooh, This is fun.
And then at one point in.
Remember, if you've ever beenthere, it's pitch black in
(02:33):
there.
All you see is lights and stars.
And you're going back and forthand up and down.
And you never know when, whenit's gonna shift completely a
hundred degrees or whatever.
But at one point, it dawned onme that.
You know, this track isfallible.
It could break.
I could go.
Hurling off the tracks at anytime to my death.
(02:57):
And all of a sudden that reallyfun ride became.
Something that I was just infear and dread.
I literally closed my eyes andprayed the rest of the way on
that journey.
Well, bear tooth highway was alittle bit like that for me.
As we went up the mountain tome, saw these beautiful scenes
and we would stop and takepictures here and there with the
(03:17):
farther we climbed.
The farther down it was and itcame to me that.
You know, one, one car.
Uh, the wrong turn at the ride,the wrong time could be a
catastrophe.
It's so frightening and myhusband hates Heights and he
could have a heart attack andwe'd all be gone.
(03:38):
I mean, there was just thesesilly things that went through
my mind, but I know I foundmyself reaching up and grabbing
the hand bar more than once andjust praying.
Just praying Lord, get us to getus through this road.
And I thought of the people whowere on that road back in the
days when they would have justbeen on, you know, wagons, the
people who built the highway andhow dangerous, that must have
(04:00):
been.
And the people who, you know,travel that and need to get
home.
And it's maybe rained a littlebit and gotten icy or whatever.
And it was just kind of afrightening thought.
We started our journey out witha lot of tension of just that
whole idea of where it's goingto come out.
I will say that the top of themountain and that bear tooth
(04:22):
pass is stunning.
And I'm so glad that I got toexperience that.
But I probably will also saythat I have no intention of ever
doing that again.
Way too much excitement for me.
Without going into all thethings we did, because that
would be a much longer episodethan you probably have time for
(04:44):
or more detailed than you caredto hear.
I do want to share some of myother experiences.
And one of them was that, youknow, old faithful is kind of
what everybody thinks about whenthey think about Yellowstone.
And I have to say, I was reallyfascinated with the concept of,
you know, the water building upfrom inside the earth and being
propelled out.
And I mean, that whole conceptis amazing to me.
(05:06):
Um, God just really outdidhimself when he did that.
And it wasn't just old faithful.
There are hundreds of geysers inYellowstone, and I don't know
that I was aware of that.
And we saw a lot of them andthey were, they were kind of
cool.
They were.
Interesting.
If nothing else.
But my favorite part, besidesjust the majesty of the
(05:28):
mountains.
And the grandeur of this, thisplace that our God created.
Were the canyons and thewaterfalls and just the
splendor.
There were so many times we werein and out of our car so many
times during our little tour ofYellowstone.
And there were so many timesthat I would just stand at a
(05:49):
look out point in awe and wonderin tears, literally streaming
down my face.
Just being amazed at what ourGod created.
See, I can't even talk about itwithout getting choked up.
Um, So it's just, it was, it wasan, a really incredible journey.
One of the things that I reallycouldn't get my mind wrapped
(06:10):
around was how we could be atthe very top of a mountain.
And there would be waterrunning.
Now in my mind, I, you know, atschool I learned that the creeks
and the rivers and the streamsand all of that originate
because it rains, the watercomes down.
And they gather into the streamsand they flow down the mountain.
Well, if you're at the top ofthe mountain and it's not
(06:32):
raining, where does the watercome from?
Right.
Little did I know that that'sreally just a part of the beauty
of Yellowstone and I mean, thatwater comes from underground and
it's never ending.
It's always flowing and.
Um, this is not a sciencelesson, but it was, it was
really an eye opener for me.
And I thought that it was reallybeautiful.
(06:52):
How there, everything reallyfocused around the water,
whether it's the geysers or thewaterfalls or the beautiful
streams.
It was all focused on the, thewater, the li.
And almost living water.
And I feel that that's a realgreat parallel for our lives
because our lives too, should befocused on the living water.
(07:12):
Everything comes from that basisof our Lord Jesus Christ and his
living word that he gives to us.
And I just couldn't get over theparallels of really no beginning
and no end.
It just is ever flowing.
So that that really touched me.
As we explored this, thisbeautiful area I couldn't help,
(07:34):
but think about some of theother parallels in life.
There, there are four lessonsthat I took away.
The first of those lessons islisten to the people who have
been there.
When I, when we knew that wewere going to be taking this
trip, I asked to join a Facebookgroup for the Yellowstone
national park just to look atthe pictures, but I hadn't
(07:55):
counted on was the tips thatpeople were offering on things
to do things not to do.
And of course, they come from somany different directions, so
you have to pick and choosewhich ones you want to follow,
which ones you.
Maybe want to try or the onesthat, you know, there were some
of them, they were like,definitely don't do this.
Well, that was, those were kindof easy when everybody
(08:16):
consistently said that.
So.
Just like in life.
If you're, whether you're takinga trip or you're in a different
season in life, whether you'reexperiencing loss or grief,
maybe you're on a journey with ahealth challenge.
Maybe you've had a diagnosisthat is, um, just bigger than
anything you've ever had toencounter before, whatever it
(08:39):
is, listen to those people whohave been on that path before.
Not all of them, not all oftheir experiences are going to
be the same as your experience.
But there will be things thatyou can learn from their journey
that will help make your journeyeasier.
So I encourage you to just getin touch with it.
Doesn't have to be on Facebook,but get in touch with someone
(08:59):
who's been on that path.
And, and.
And help learn from, from theirexperience.
It will definitely make yourpath easier as well.
My, my second tip is to don'ttry to do too much.
We had four days in the parkand.
I had planned to spend threedays in the park in one day, we
were just going to drop down andpick up the Grand Tetons.
(09:21):
Well after spending our threedays and realizing that we
really hadn't seen everythingyet in Yellowstone.
We decided to change our plansup and finish Yellowstone and
we'll pick up grand Teton and doit right another time.
So.
You know, we had full days, butwe were careful not to get
started too early and to go toolate because truly we were
(09:42):
exhausted by the end of the day.
And so we were able to have anice meal and get some good rest
before the next day.
And I think it made our trip somuch more enjoyable.
Had we tried to pack in all ofthat in that four day span.
We make the best with the timewe have.
But along with that, I, I alsosuggest that my tip three is to
be flexible.
(10:03):
If you get into it and yourealize that the plans you made
are going to make you rushed oryou're going to miss something,
change your plans.
It's your plan, it's your, yourlife.
With that analogy.
So be flexible and allowyourself to change things if you
need to so that you can berelaxed, enjoy the time and, and
(10:24):
just really take in all thegoodness that God has for you,
whether it's on a trip or inyour life.
And along with that beingflexible, I'm gonna encourage
you to try something new whenyou see something that you've
never done before.
Give it a try if it looksinteresting.
I didn't really know thathuckleberries were a thing in
Yellowstone national park.
(10:44):
We tried several things withthat were made from
huckleberries.
And I will say huckleberry icecream.
That's pretty good stuff.
And I'm glad that I went off onmy normal route when I go get
ice cream and tried that becauseit was pretty awesome.
And I, I would recommend you trythat.
If you happen to be inYellowstone, if it's you're
somewhere else, try whatever isthe thing, wherever you are.
(11:08):
My last tip and I think this isreally an important one.
Is.
To use a guide.
Earlier I've referenced theFacebook group that I was
following that a lot of peopletalked about using this app,
Guide Along and so many peoplereferenced it, that I checked it
out and ended up downloading it.
And for a small fee, it wasn't ahuge amount of money.
(11:29):
They actually have apps that youthrough satellite guide you
through the parks.
So it always knows where you arewhen the app is on and we'll
pick up wherever you left off orwherever you started in.
It's also smart enough to knowwhich direction you're heading
in the highway.
So it'll tell you the rightthings and.
That enhanced our journey somuch.
(11:49):
We saw things from that app thatwe would have never made the
time to stop or that the littlenuances that we would have never
known had we not listened tothat app.
So I highly encouraged the guidealong app, whether you're
Yellowstone or some othernational park, there are really
some incredible things in.
In our world and it's really agreat way to enrich your
(12:14):
journey.
And when I say that, I'm goingto also say, In parallel again
in life.
We also need to use a map and aguide and in real life guide
along, isn't our guide.
Our map is our Bible.
And our guide is the holy spiritand between those two and the
prayer and the communicationthat we have back and forth with
(12:35):
God.
Our lives can be so much richer.
So many people I know are justtoo busy.
To spend time in the word andI'm telling you that.
Taking the time.
To lean in and learn from ourguide.
The gift that God gave us toshow us how amazing our life can
(12:55):
be.
Is the holy word and the holyspirit.
I was thinking, as I waspreparing for, to talk to you
today, that one of the thingsyou knew.
We've all heard that is it.
Is it the destination or is itthe journey?
And I'm just here to tell youthat I believe it's both.
I believe that obviously ourdestination is so important.
(13:17):
We all want to be in heavensomeday.
But I also believe that ourjourney can be so incredible.
It, we can have those mountaintop experiences all the time.
Maybe not, not literally on topof a mountain.
But we can have thoseexperiences where we can
experience.
We can live.
The fullness that God hasintended for us.
(13:40):
If we are using the holy spiritand the Bible as our guide.
I hope that you will give that atry.
I just want to take just a quickbreak here and offer to you that
if you are in retirement or youare near retirement and you're
just stuck on something, there'sjust something you can't get
past.
Whether it's trying to decidewhen it's time to retire or.
(14:04):
How to tell your boss or how totell your spouse or you know,
the question of whether you haveenough money or should I move?
Whatever it is for you,everybody's journey is
different.
But if you're somewhere whereyou just not sure what that next
step is, whether it's a smallstep or a big step, I want to
offer to you an easy, simple wayto get some feedback from me,
(14:28):
The Christian retirement coach.
On maybe help you get past that,that stuck place.
We don't have to hop on a call.
We don't have to find a timewhere we can meet.
This can be really easy.
Just shoot me atvona@vonajohnson.com.
That's vona@vonajohnson.com.
(14:49):
No technology.
Easy-peasy.
All you got to do is give meyour name.
Kind of where you are in theretirement process.
And then let me know what yourquestion is, and I will respond
within two business days andgive you some ideas on what you
might be able to do for yournext step.
I really enjoyed checking offone of my bucket list items by
(15:12):
going to Yellowstone.
I loved.
Yellowstone.
And I know that I will go backagain sometime because I want to
experience that beautiful canyonand all the amazing things along
the canyon.
Oh, it was just fell in lovewith that.
And Yellowstone lake isgorgeous.
And so I do want to do thatagain.
And of course I have to pick up,The Grand Tetons.
(15:33):
Right?
But anyway, there are otherthings on my list as well.
And we can talk about those in adifferent show, but right now I
want to talk about how maybe ourbucket lists should be more
inclusive than just travel.
Whether you have a bucket listor not.
I'm wanting to put out maybe adifferent view about bucket
list.
I think it's okay.
It's great.
(15:53):
If you have a list of dreams andthings that you want to
accomplish before you go toheaven.
But what if, instead of, youknow, the promotion or the job
or the trip or the house.
Or whatever it is, what if.
On your bucket list, you addedthings like I want spend more
time in the word with God.
(16:14):
I want to get to know himbetter.
I want to have that relationshipwhere I can talk to him all day
long and know exactly.
What he wants me to do next,because we're that close.
What if you added to your bucketlist?
I want to see a baby be born.
I want to experience the joy oflife to the nth degree.
I want to be with someone whenthey pass on and be with Jesus.
(16:37):
I want to share thatrelationship that I have with
Jesus, with someone who hasn'tmet him yet.
Maybe they're those kinds ofbucket list items that you can
add to your list.
If you have one or create on alist, if you don't already have
one.
It's kind of funny because.
When I got home from thisfabulous vacation and I was just
(17:01):
on this high.
And of course you jumped backinto life and things happen and,
and then.
It was almost like God said,well, that was really great.
I'm glad you got rested up andI'm glad you had this time we
had together.
But I got another plan for you.
And it's going to involve goingaway for a few days and doing
some things you hadn't plannedon.
And I was like, oh no, thanks.
(17:22):
I'm good.
I need some rest.
I, I have some things I need toget caught up and I made a
commitment and I got to get thatdone.
And he was like, uh, no.
I need you to go to thisconvention.
Nobody else can go and Hey,you're retired, right?
You're courageous.
Right.
Make it happen.
(17:44):
And I did.
A little bit reluctantly.
I knew in the back of my mindthat God would provide and he
would make it a joyfulexperience for me.
But I admit I was, I was kind ofgrumbling on my way.
Friend.
I just want to tell you that Iwas so blessed by doing what he
(18:05):
asked me to do, even though Ithought it was not for me.
And it's just lit a fire in mefor something that is so, so
important for this era thatwe're in, in our lives.
And I am not going to go intoall of that right now.
I'm going to share that in ournext episode.
So I hope you'll come back.
To get a whole new, otherperspective, a different view.
(18:28):
On what courageous retirementcan look like.
Our God is so amazing.
And so I encourage you to makeyour plans live your dreams.
Find ways to feel fulfilled andfind peace in God but always,
always leave room to follow themap and the guide in the
guidance that our holy spiritgives us because he will really
(18:51):
show us the richest parts oflife.
Thank you for stopping by today.
I want to remind you to engageyour faith and live your more as
you enjoy the benefits ofcourageous retirement.
Do you have a bucket list?
(00:01):
You know, that list of thingsyou want to achieve before God
takes you home.
I've had a loosely held bucketlist for decades.
And recently I got to check oneof those items off.
And today I want to share withyou how doing that,
accomplishing that goal gave mesome insights on life.
And it also helped me realizethat I want to shift my bucket
(00:24):
list just a little bit.
Come and learn some of thelessons that I learned by
accomplishing my bucket list.
At Yellowstone national park, noless.
And.
Pick up a few tips on how youmight want to look at your list
from a different view.
I'm excited to share this withyou.
Speaker (00:39):
Do you fear what lies beyond retirement?
What if it's a gateway to a lifefilled with purpose, meaning,
and adventure rather than anend?
Discover peace and fulfillmentas you boldly enter this new
chapter in CourageousRetirement, a Christian podcast.
I'm your host, author and coach,Vona Johnson.
Let's get started.
Recently, my husband and I, andsome friends of ours made a trip
(01:03):
to Yellowstone national park.
It has been on my list ofsomething I've wanted to do for
decades.
I've been to many of the entrypoints to the park through the
years, but I never actually gotto go in because it was always
the wrong season and the, theroads weren't open.
I don't know that I reallyappreciated what that meant,
(01:25):
that the roads weren't openuntil this trip.
And I'm going to start therebecause we started our journey,
and entered in from Red Lodgebecause we wanted to cross the
Bear Tooth Highway.
Now I had done my research andit sounded really exciting.
And you know, it's claimed asthe most stunningly beautiful
highway in the United States.
(01:46):
I hadn't anticipated what youhave to go through to see that
stunning beauty.
And it really opened my eyes tohow sometimes we have to go
through some difficult, somechallenging times to really see
the beauty in life.
So that might be what you wantto call my first lesson, but as
we traveled up the mountains andit was back and forth and
(02:10):
crisscrossing I got to thinking.
It reminded me a lot of yearsago when I went to Disneyland.
And rode on magic mountain, theroller coaster.
And I remember when I startedthat rollercoaster trip, how
exciting it was, and it waslike, Ooh, This is fun.
And then at one point in.
Remember, if you've ever beenthere, it's pitch black in
(02:33):
there.
All you see is lights and stars.
And you're going back and forthand up and down.
And you never know when, whenit's gonna shift completely a
hundred degrees or whatever.
But at one point, it dawned onme that.
You know, this track isfallible.
It could break.
I could go.
Hurling off the tracks at anytime to my death.
(02:57):
And all of a sudden that reallyfun ride became.
Something that I was just infear and dread.
I literally closed my eyes andprayed the rest of the way on
that journey.
Well, bear tooth highway was alittle bit like that for me.
As we went up the mountain tome, saw these beautiful scenes
and we would stop and takepictures here and there with the
(03:17):
farther we climbed.
The farther down it was and itcame to me that.
You know, one, one car.
Uh, the wrong turn at the ride,the wrong time could be a
catastrophe.
It's so frightening and myhusband hates Heights and he
could have a heart attack andwe'd all be gone.
(03:38):
I mean, there was just thesesilly things that went through
my mind, but I know I foundmyself reaching up and grabbing
the hand bar more than once andjust praying.
Just praying Lord, get us to getus through this road.
And I thought of the people whowere on that road back in the
days when they would have justbeen on, you know, wagons, the
people who built the highway andhow dangerous, that must have
(04:00):
been.
And the people who, you know,travel that and need to get
home.
And it's maybe rained a littlebit and gotten icy or whatever.
And it was just kind of afrightening thought.
We started our journey out witha lot of tension of just that
whole idea of where it's goingto come out.
I will say that the top of themountain and that bear tooth
(04:22):
pass is stunning.
And I'm so glad that I got toexperience that.
But I probably will also saythat I have no intention of ever
doing that again.
Way too much excitement for me.
Without going into all thethings we did, because that
would be a much longer episodethan you probably have time for
(04:44):
or more detailed than you caredto hear.
I do want to share some of myother experiences.
And one of them was that, youknow, old faithful is kind of
what everybody thinks about whenthey think about Yellowstone.
And I have to say, I was reallyfascinated with the concept of,
you know, the water building upfrom inside the earth and being
propelled out.
And I mean, that whole conceptis amazing to me.
(05:06):
Um, God just really outdidhimself when he did that.
And it wasn't just old faithful.
There are hundreds of geysers inYellowstone, and I don't know
that I was aware of that.
And we saw a lot of them andthey were, they were kind of
cool.
They were.
Interesting.
If nothing else.
But my favorite part, besidesjust the majesty of the
(05:28):
mountains.
And the grandeur of this, thisplace that our God created.
Were the canyons and thewaterfalls and just the
splendor.
There were so many times we werein and out of our car so many
times during our little tour ofYellowstone.
And there were so many timesthat I would just stand at a
(05:49):
look out point in awe and wonderin tears, literally streaming
down my face.
Just being amazed at what ourGod created.
See, I can't even talk about itwithout getting choked up.
Um, So it's just, it was, it wasan, a really incredible journey.
One of the things that I reallycouldn't get my mind wrapped
(06:10):
around was how we could be atthe very top of a mountain.
And there would be waterrunning.
Now in my mind, I, you know, atschool I learned that the creeks
and the rivers and the streamsand all of that originate
because it rains, the watercomes down.
And they gather into the streamsand they flow down the mountain.
Well, if you're at the top ofthe mountain and it's not
(06:32):
raining, where does the watercome from?
Right.
Little did I know that that'sreally just a part of the beauty
of Yellowstone and I mean, thatwater comes from underground and
it's never ending.
It's always flowing and.
Um, this is not a sciencelesson, but it was, it was
really an eye opener for me.
And I thought that it was reallybeautiful.
(06:52):
How there, everything reallyfocused around the water,
whether it's the geysers or thewaterfalls or the beautiful
streams.
It was all focused on the, thewater, the li.
And almost living water.
And I feel that that's a realgreat parallel for our lives
because our lives too, should befocused on the living water.
(07:12):
Everything comes from that basisof our Lord Jesus Christ and his
living word that he gives to us.
And I just couldn't get over theparallels of really no beginning
and no end.
It just is ever flowing.
So that that really touched me.
As we explored this, thisbeautiful area I couldn't help,
(07:34):
but think about some of theother parallels in life.
There, there are four lessonsthat I took away.
The first of those lessons islisten to the people who have
been there.
When I, when we knew that wewere going to be taking this
trip, I asked to join a Facebookgroup for the Yellowstone
national park just to look atthe pictures, but I hadn't
(07:55):
counted on was the tips thatpeople were offering on things
to do things not to do.
And of course, they come from somany different directions, so
you have to pick and choosewhich ones you want to follow,
which ones you.
Maybe want to try or the onesthat, you know, there were some
of them, they were like,definitely don't do this.
Well, that was, those were kindof easy when everybody
(08:16):
consistently said that.
So.
Just like in life.
If you're, whether you're takinga trip or you're in a different
season in life, whether you'reexperiencing loss or grief,
maybe you're on a journey with ahealth challenge.
Maybe you've had a diagnosisthat is, um, just bigger than
anything you've ever had toencounter before, whatever it
(08:39):
is, listen to those people whohave been on that path before.
Not all of them, not all oftheir experiences are going to
be the same as your experience.
But there will be things thatyou can learn from their journey
that will help make your journeyeasier.
So I encourage you to just getin touch with it.
Doesn't have to be on Facebook,but get in touch with someone
(08:59):
who's been on that path.
And, and.
And help learn from, from theirexperience.
It will definitely make yourpath easier as well.
My, my second tip is to don'ttry to do too much.
We had four days in the parkand.
I had planned to spend threedays in the park in one day, we
were just going to drop down andpick up the Grand Tetons.
(09:21):
Well after spending our threedays and realizing that we
really hadn't seen everythingyet in Yellowstone.
We decided to change our plansup and finish Yellowstone and
we'll pick up grand Teton and doit right another time.
So.
You know, we had full days, butwe were careful not to get
started too early and to go toolate because truly we were
(09:42):
exhausted by the end of the day.
And so we were able to have anice meal and get some good rest
before the next day.
And I think it made our trip somuch more enjoyable.
Had we tried to pack in all ofthat in that four day span.
We make the best with the timewe have.
But along with that, I, I alsosuggest that my tip three is to
be flexible.
(10:03):
If you get into it and yourealize that the plans you made
are going to make you rushed oryou're going to miss something,
change your plans.
It's your plan, it's your, yourlife.
With that analogy.
So be flexible and allowyourself to change things if you
need to so that you can berelaxed, enjoy the time and, and
(10:24):
just really take in all thegoodness that God has for you,
whether it's on a trip or inyour life.
And along with that beingflexible, I'm gonna encourage
you to try something new whenyou see something that you've
never done before.
Give it a try if it looksinteresting.
I didn't really know thathuckleberries were a thing in
Yellowstone national park.
(10:44):
We tried several things withthat were made from
huckleberries.
And I will say huckleberry icecream.
That's pretty good stuff.
And I'm glad that I went off onmy normal route when I go get
ice cream and tried that becauseit was pretty awesome.
And I, I would recommend you trythat.
If you happen to be inYellowstone, if it's you're
somewhere else, try whatever isthe thing, wherever you are.
(11:08):
My last tip and I think this isreally an important one.
Is.
To use a guide.
Earlier I've referenced theFacebook group that I was
following that a lot of peopletalked about using this app,
Guide Along and so many peoplereferenced it, that I checked it
out and ended up downloading it.
And for a small fee, it wasn't ahuge amount of money.
(11:29):
They actually have apps that youthrough satellite guide you
through the parks.
So it always knows where you arewhen the app is on and we'll
pick up wherever you left off orwherever you started in.
It's also smart enough to knowwhich direction you're heading
in the highway.
So it'll tell you the rightthings and.
That enhanced our journey somuch.
(11:49):
We saw things from that app thatwe would have never made the
time to stop or that the littlenuances that we would have never
known had we not listened tothat app.
So I highly encouraged the guidealong app, whether you're
Yellowstone or some othernational park, there are really
some incredible things in.
In our world and it's really agreat way to enrich your
(12:14):
journey.
And when I say that, I'm goingto also say, In parallel again
in life.
We also need to use a map and aguide and in real life guide
along, isn't our guide.
Our map is our Bible.
And our guide is the holy spiritand between those two and the
prayer and the communicationthat we have back and forth with
(12:35):
God.
Our lives can be so much richer.
So many people I know are justtoo busy.
To spend time in the word andI'm telling you that.
Taking the time.
To lean in and learn from ourguide.
The gift that God gave us toshow us how amazing our life can
(12:55):
be.
Is the holy word and the holyspirit.
I was thinking, as I waspreparing for, to talk to you
today, that one of the thingsyou knew.
We've all heard that is it.
Is it the destination or is itthe journey?
And I'm just here to tell youthat I believe it's both.
I believe that obviously ourdestination is so important.
(13:17):
We all want to be in heavensomeday.
But I also believe that ourjourney can be so incredible.
It, we can have those mountaintop experiences all the time.
Maybe not, not literally on topof a mountain.
But we can have thoseexperiences where we can
experience.
We can live.
The fullness that God hasintended for us.
(13:40):
If we are using the holy spiritand the Bible as our guide.
I hope that you will give that atry.
I just want to take just a quickbreak here and offer to you that
if you are in retirement or youare near retirement and you're
just stuck on something, there'sjust something you can't get
past.
Whether it's trying to decidewhen it's time to retire or.
(14:04):
How to tell your boss or how totell your spouse or you know,
the question of whether you haveenough money or should I move?
Whatever it is for you,everybody's journey is
different.
But if you're somewhere whereyou just not sure what that next
step is, whether it's a smallstep or a big step, I want to
offer to you an easy, simple wayto get some feedback from me,
(14:28):
The Christian retirement coach.
On maybe help you get past that,that stuck place.
We don't have to hop on a call.
We don't have to find a timewhere we can meet.
This can be really easy.
Just shoot me atvona@vonajohnson.com.
That's vona@vonajohnson.com.
(14:49):
No technology.
Easy-peasy.
All you got to do is give meyour name.
Kind of where you are in theretirement process.
And then let me know what yourquestion is, and I will respond
within two business days andgive you some ideas on what you
might be able to do for yournext step.
I really enjoyed checking offone of my bucket list items by
(15:12):
going to Yellowstone.
I loved.
Yellowstone.
And I know that I will go backagain sometime because I want to
experience that beautiful canyonand all the amazing things along
the canyon.
Oh, it was just fell in lovewith that.
And Yellowstone lake isgorgeous.
And so I do want to do thatagain.
And of course I have to pick up,The Grand Tetons.
(15:33):
Right?
But anyway, there are otherthings on my list as well.
And we can talk about those in adifferent show, but right now I
want to talk about how maybe ourbucket lists should be more
inclusive than just travel.
Whether you have a bucket listor not.
I'm wanting to put out maybe adifferent view about bucket
list.
I think it's okay.
It's great.
(15:53):
If you have a list of dreams andthings that you want to
accomplish before you go toheaven.
But what if, instead of, youknow, the promotion or the job
or the trip or the house.
Or whatever it is, what if.
On your bucket list, you addedthings like I want spend more
time in the word with God.
(16:14):
I want to get to know himbetter.
I want to have that relationshipwhere I can talk to him all day
long and know exactly.
What he wants me to do next,because we're that close.
What if you added to your bucketlist?
I want to see a baby be born.
I want to experience the joy oflife to the nth degree.
I want to be with someone whenthey pass on and be with Jesus.
(16:37):
I want to share thatrelationship that I have with
Jesus, with someone who hasn'tmet him yet.
Maybe they're those kinds ofbucket list items that you can
add to your list.
If you have one or create on alist, if you don't already have
one.
It's kind of funny because.
When I got home from thisfabulous vacation and I was just
(17:01):
on this high.
And of course you jumped backinto life and things happen and,
and then.
It was almost like God said,well, that was really great.
I'm glad you got rested up andI'm glad you had this time we
had together.
But I got another plan for you.
And it's going to involve goingaway for a few days and doing
some things you hadn't plannedon.
And I was like, oh no, thanks.
(17:22):
I'm good.
I need some rest.
I, I have some things I need toget caught up and I made a
commitment and I got to get thatdone.
And he was like, uh, no.
I need you to go to thisconvention.
Nobody else can go and Hey,you're retired, right?
You're courageous.
Right.
Make it happen.
(17:44):
And I did.
A little bit reluctantly.
I knew in the back of my mindthat God would provide and he
would make it a joyfulexperience for me.
But I admit I was, I was kind ofgrumbling on my way.
Friend.
I just want to tell you that Iwas so blessed by doing what he
(18:05):
asked me to do, even though Ithought it was not for me.
And it's just lit a fire in mefor something that is so, so
important for this era thatwe're in, in our lives.
And I am not going to go intoall of that right now.
I'm going to share that in ournext episode.
So I hope you'll come back.
To get a whole new, otherperspective, a different view.
(18:28):
On what courageous retirementcan look like.
Our God is so amazing.
And so I encourage you to makeyour plans live your dreams.
Find ways to feel fulfilled andfind peace in God but always,
always leave room to follow themap and the guide in the
guidance that our holy spiritgives us because he will really
(18:51):
show us the richest parts oflife.
Thank you for stopping by today.
I want to remind you to engageyour faith and live your more as
you enjoy the benefits ofcourageous retirement.
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