(Photo credit: Ralph Campbell) “It’s a seemingly impossible circumstance and looks absurd to most. Yet, I believe that it is possible for God to do the impossible. My faith is that big and it’s sometimes frustrating. David believed that he could defeat Goliath. When I pause to reflect on this historical moment, it’s crazy for David to believe that. But, through his faith and trust in God, he defeated Goliath. It may very well have been one of the hardest things he had done up until that point. David believed he could do it because he had already “tested” God with his life. He stepped out in faith enough times before he killed Goliath. That was just one of the many defining moments in his life. I don’t need to read anything about him from the times prior to that to know. How do I know that it wasn’t David’s first rodeo in trusting God? I’m there, that’s why. One doesn’t just take a huge leap of faith like that before taking smaller ones first. Little tests for God. Is He really who He says He is? Will He really do what He says He will do? Can I really trust Him with my life?” It would be so MUCH EASIER for Ralph to go back to a 9-5 job. It would also be so much easier to put our boys in school, but that’s not why we chose to go down this path. We wanted to work from home and have our boys home with us, not in school. (Photo credit: Liam Campbell) God has been known on more than one occasion to step in at the very last minute, when all seems hopeless. And you know why He does it? So NO ONE ELSE can get the credit. I long to say to the world, “LOOK at what GOD did!” I want to give Him as many opportunities as possible to step into our circumstances and flip them upside down despite the hopeless direction it appears to be going. I love you so much, Lord. It seems outrageous for a person to express such love and devotion to something they cannot physically see, but I’ve tested you more times than I can remember and I will continue to do so. Do it, Lord. Blow my mind. Kill Goliath. Part that sea. Call in that angel army. Shut that lions mouth. Resurrect the dead. Do the impossible. And I promise to shout from the rooftops of what you did as long as I have breath in my lungs.” I was so overwhelmed last week and needed to journal. I poured out my frustrations and tears into five pages. That was only a small portion of it. (Photo credit: Liam Campbell) Ralph and I are definitely tired. That comes from one of the facts that we still don’t have much money coming in. We have recently talked through ways to bring more in while we build these businesses. Ideas like going down to one vehicle, selling off valuable items, and other things. I also still have my photography business. I can only do so much, though. My priority still remains my children. To see the numbers in your bank account going down and to be concerned because you have a family to care for is obviously not a bad thing. It’s just that the things we are doing take time. We need to buy more time so we can build up Simply Campbell and so that Ralph can gain a clearer understanding of trading. He is getting it. It’s just a lot. We have to stay the course. We have to stay living the way that we are to conserve as much money as we can. To do this while keeping the boys home has been one of our greatest challenges, but it hasn’t been our only one. We have had to work through some big emotional blocks for quite a few months. We have been greatly refined. We are not who we were a year ago or even four months ago. (Photo credit: Liam Campbell) We are still homeschooling despite the very real temptation to remove the boys from the home so we can work more diligently and consistently. Ultimately though, what good would that be? We wanted them home to learn with us. We wanted them home so we had the freedom in the future to travel. We love how they can learn in so many other ways than if they were in school. We wanted Ralph home, yes, but we wanted that so he was around the boys more. We did not bring Ralph home just so that we could turn around and put the kids in school. That would defeat one of the whole purposes in doing this to begin with. Remembering our “why” is critical. We forget our “why” when we get too distracted. Being consistent in the word is crucial. The distractions and temptations to do MUCH else are very real. And they are logical distractions. Food, quality time, serve, school, activities with friends. And somehow I have to fit work in the middle of all of that. It sounds impossible and crazy to do and yet we are. We are taking it day by day, sometimes hour by hour. We are openly communicating with our boys about what’s happening, what we’re trying to do, how we desperately need their help and cooperation if we are to maintain this lifestyle. That the goal is for us to be intentional now with our work so that we can make enough money to be free to live out what we believe God is calling us to do later. Ralph and I have said sooo many times recently that this is a time where the boys are going to learn gratitude. We have had to say “no” to so much. We are saying “no” to them and ourselves. Yet, we are still enjoying lots of free things in Florida like visiting the Disney grounds, Christmas events, playgrounds, and hikes. (Top to bottom: Gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian, Skyliner at Disney, First Baptist Church of Orlando's free Christmas event, "Oh What Fun" event in Lake Nona, and hiking trails) One of our hardest “no’s” have been donating to mission trips and other organizations we have loved giving to for years. We have been dreaming lately together about big donations that we’d like to make again in the future. We haven’t stopped giving, but what we have coming in isn’t enough to cover our mortgage yet so we have had to limit that. We also didn’t send Christmas cards this year for the first time in 16 years. We didn’t go to Tennessee for Thanksgiving or Buffalo for Christmas. Ralph and I didn’t buy each other anything for Christmas. We didn’t buy gifts for anyone, but our kids. That was so different for us. I don't like it, but I know it's temporary. The boys are getting two gifts each from us and a little candy in their stocking. Their big gift will be a free cat that’s already been fixed. We never bought cat food or a litter box for our last cat. He hunted and was given our scraps from meals. It will not be a drain on us financially and will bring much joy to our boys. Also for Christmas, the boys wanted to buy each other gifts. Liam fought to buy one gift for Ralph and I that he wanted to pay for himself. We couldn’t rob them of their desire to want to give to each other and their parents. Giving is something we want them to learn how to do well! (Our boys wrapping their gifts for each other.) We have already told the boys in advance that it was not going to be a big Christmas. Devin, our tender hearted seven year old responded with, “it’s because we don’t have as much money to buy presents.” Sad? Maybe to some. I think it’s wonderful that he is able to grasp that concept so well and at such a young age. We have wanted to go the route of not getting many presents for years anyway. We have slowly been moving towards this idea, but didn’t execute it fully until we were forced to. Like I said, this is a time for learning gratitude. None of us will forget it. Liam, being eleven years old understands the most. He has even brought up the idea a couple of times for Ralph to go back to work so we can have more money again. We told him that we’re trading Daddy for money. That we are rich in time and relationships. That God was still providing for our needs. We aren’t under a bridge yet and we are working as best as we can to keep it that way. We know that Ralph could get a job tomorrow. He has had many job offers presented to him in the last ten months since he came home. Ralph’s thought on that is the same every time. He doesn’t want to go back to a 9-5 job and I don’t want him to either. God would not have opened up the doors that He did, just for Ralph to go back to the same life all because money started to get tight. Stubborn? Maybe. I like to think of it more as having faith. It's weird when I try to share our situation. I very quickly will say, “don’t feel bad. We chose this.” We ARE choosing this. We are so grateful to have the savings that we have in order to even pursue these ventures. I found out recently that people making under $50,000 in Florida fall under the "poverty" category. I don’t feel poor. We may joke around and call us that, but I don’t feel it. Like we remind our kids, we are rich in relationships. We would rather be rich in time and relationships than in money. Teaching that to our kids though is HARD. We live in America for crying out loud. What you want can be on your doorstep within 24 hours. We can go to the store and have it within minutes. Our children have not wanted for much of anything their entire lives. It’s an incredible blessing to have lived in America all of these years. God is doing something with us, but it’s in His timing. We just NEED to remain faithful in trusting in Him. Abide in Him. Teach our boys to put Him first. May they see this when they are older. That when we weren’t even earning enough money to cover our mortgage, that we still were in the word, praying as a family, and choosing to keep them home. Faith. There’s that word again. This Christmas, not much is going to be under the tree, but we have each other. We have a roof over our heads. We have our health. We have clothes on our bodies and food in our bellies. We have the hope of Jesus. We are able to direct our children’s attention even more to why we celebrate Christmas. We’re going through part of the Christmas story with them every day. Four year old Connor is understanding more. While Ralph was reading him The Legend of the Candy Cane, he stopped and said to me, “Mom, Jesus is going to be born on Christmas!” These are the moments we love. This is why we live so simply. (Connor asks Daddy to read him this book every day) We are choosing not to live in fear. We are choosing to trust in the Lord for His provisions every day, every week, and every month. When we die, we will be able to say with confidence that we were obedient to what He called us to do to the best of our ability and knowledge. We will not look back and regret that we didn’t take all of the steps of faith that we have been making. Not many people intentionally choose to put themselves in this position, but I am determined to testify to the world that God is who He says He is and will do what He said He will do. He does provide. He does protect. He does heal. He can be trusted. Oh the story we are telling. May God get all the glory. To stay in the loop with Simply Campbell, go to www.simplycampbell.com/subscribe.

Exactly two years have passed since we bid our tearful goodbyes. As recounted in our blog post titled "The Journey," it was Ralph who embarked on the initial move. The farewell was far from easy, etching a profound memory in our hearts. Ten minutes after Ralph's departure, Courtney took a moment to reflect, capturing her thoughts, which are shared below in red. On this anniversary, Ralph pens his own reflections in blue, revisiting the emotions and experiences of that day two years ago and what life has been like since. “It’s the hardest thing yet. Saying, “goodbye.” It’s been about 10 minutes since Ralph left and I am thankful that the boys have all found something to keep themselves occupied for a few minutes while I try and gather my thoughts. The word “surreal” just keeps coming to mind. I feel numb and then I cry. It’s actually here. The time where he goes ahead of us. I told Ralph that I didn’t know what was better: sitting in a car and reflecting on everything or being home with the three boys who barely give you time to think… Ralph was so good to me, as usual, before he left. He got the tractor and put it in the garage for me in case I have to plow the driveway. He filled the tank. He filled up a bunch of buckets of coal halfway even though he knows darn well that I’ll have to do it on my own a whole lot more for the next 20 days. I know that’s part of the reason for why he had such a hard time leaving. He knows how much work it is to manage this house and the kids and now I have to do it all by myself…in the wintertime… Devin and Connor were clueless of course. They were all smiles. Liam definitely had the greatest understanding out of the three. He saw Ralph and I crying and hugging and joined in. He told me after Ralph left that when we were hugging, he felt a tear hit his head from Daddy. He cried with Ralph and then after he left. This is not easy. I told Liam we would keep busy. That we have to decorate the house, make cookies, get together with friends, and pack. Our time will fly, I am sure. Liam, Devin, Connor and I all prayed for daddy and our family. Everyone gathered around and held hands which was truly a very precious moment. I had the go pro running. All I can say is that it’s a good thing that I have had nights and full days without Ralph being home before. This should feel just like that, but only for 20 days in a row. I didn’t even mention yet that we have been sick with the covid for the past 10 days or so. It’s been terrible. We’ve been exhausted, coughing, feverish, body aches, runny nose, headaches, lower back pain. It’s been interesting over here to say the least. This is not going to be easy, but I am relieved the hardest part is over: saying goodbye. I don’t know if it could get any harder than that. Like I said to the family in our prayer, God is doing a new and beautiful thing for our family. This is very bittersweet. Ralph has to go ahead of us in order for this transition to be more smooth. The reality is that the boys (and I) are a great distraction. They have very little idea how big all of this is and the big decisions that have to be made. They still want their baths, their cookies, for you to see their latest creations, read them a book,… kiss their booboos. They still need mom to be present for all of those things. Its what they are already used to. Daddy is gone, but mommy is home. Yes, this is what was necessary. Emotionally it was horrible saying goodbye. Realistically, it was the most logical next step towards our new life in FL. I’ll never forget this day. A pivotal day in the life of the Campbell Family for sure.” "Today two years ago I left my family in New York and headed to Florida to start a new job. Leaving my family was the hardest thing I did at that time. Leaving Courtney with the three boys to deal with the winter weather and the work that came with our house weighed heavy on me. I tried to make sure she was set up the best I could to help her to deal with me not being home. I would return back home to New York in twenty days for Christmas and eagerly was anticipating it. Returning for Christmas was a wonderful feeling and I prayed that my flight back to New York would run on schedule. Everything worked out and I did make it back home. I did not appreciate being cold, but to be with the family again was wonderful. Fast forward two years and here I am reflecting on that day and the many days from then to now. I worked at a new job for just over a year before the Lord gave me a door to move in a new direction that would bring me home to be with my family everyday. Leaving my job in corrections seemed like a stretch as I had been doing it for fifteen years. I knew so many people there that it was like second nature. Then I started a new job with only knowing the friend that hired me and who I would not be seeing on a daily basis. This was a new chapter of learning and not just my new job description, but also learning about myself as well. I learned that I had to work with many different people during the week and not always the same people week to week. I had to manage people and leverage relationships through working with them to meet an end goal. This was much different than managing inmates in a prison. I was very receptive of this new role in that it took away the monotonous aspect of the prison, but it added a layer of stress to deal with subcontractors, project managers and other foremans. As I reflect on this I am thankful for all that it has taught me. I learned that I would rather be doing the work than managing the people to do the work. God has made me a handy person so I am able to fix things, build things and figure most mechanical things out. I am wired to work with my hands and teach my boys how to do the same. Even if they don’t like working with their hands, I can show them how to be handy. Where does that leave me now? I am left still learning and applying the knowledge of the stock market everyday. It’s slow, but things are clicking. Just like anyone starting something new you want to be an expert now, but that’s not how life works. I have to take things day by day and realized there will be moments when things don’t work out as planned and that’s okay. One foot in front of the other is how I have been going. At times its downright frustrating and I want to just give up and go get another job because that would be easier. When you step out to do the work that you believe God called you to do, I have to remember that I am not promised that it will be easy. I am promised that He will be with me and won’t leave me. Knowing that does not make the life of an entrepreneur easy. We must work longer and harder than most people with a job. We may have a little money or a lot of money, no matter how much we have we must be wise stewards of it. As a friend from my old corrections job recently told me “eating a bologna sandwich with your family is better than eating steak while you're mandated at work”. The trials I will face will always come and I must learn to persevere through the trials in order to get where I ultimately want to be as an individual and as a family. I will close with this thought: If at first you don’t succeed , try, try again. Its when we stop trying to succeed and throw in the towel that we have failed ourselves. We must all take the step forward to get where we want to go and shed the chains that hold us back. At the end of our lives we don’t want to look back thinking, “if only I would have tried (fill in the blank with whatever it is that you want).” Only to realize that we could have made that thing happen if we would not have been scared to do it. Many well known entrepreneurs have failed many times before they get it right. So if they gave themselves the chance to fail and keep going, why can’t we?"

Two days ago, after three months of prayer, and preparation, we officially launched our new business. I felt a wave of emotions from relief to joyful anticipation to uncertainty. I ran to Ralph after emailing our announcement. “Can we please pray?” We immediately embraced and Ralph began to pray first, bringing relief to my soul. (Photo taken by Liam Campbell) As the day continued, doubtful thoughts flooded my mind. Classic enemy tactic. In my head, I was already planning my next business. The one that makes more sense. The one that requires a lot less faith. Yesterday at church, one of the main points in the message was about many of the things we talk about in this business and want to help people with. We both snickered and nodded as the pastor talked. I have never heard anyone talk about this from the pulpit and we hear it preached THE DAY AFTER WE LAUNCH. Do you know what that told me? That we are doing exactly what we are supposed to be doing. That we launched exactly when God wanted us to and not a day later. Ralph jokingly said during the service, “what, are we supposed to be pastors?” Though I would not take on that title, I knew what Ralph meant. I laughed to myself when he said it. It’s the first time he has said it, but not the first time I thought something similar to it OR the first time someone else has said it to me. After church, my mind was consumed with the gigantic feat of getting this business out in the marketplace. People online need thousands upon thousands of “followers” to sell much of anything. As of today, we have about 80 on our blog, 95 on instagram, 183 on Facebook and 46 on TikTok. That’s 407. I really do not like marketing. I couldn’t think as we grocery shopped. Ralph was so patient with me as I was in another world. He took my hand and hugged me multiple times as I quietly pondered. I love this man. In the afternoon, he hugged me again and said, “God hasn’t stopped providing for us yet.” I responded, “there’s no ‘yet.’ He won’t EVER stop providing for us’” I knew what Ralph meant, but IT needed to be declared between the two of us that God won’t ever stop providing for us. I’m sure the enemy was seething. We’ve never seen anything like what we have built and envisioned. It has been extremely difficult trying to figure out how to shape this business. To be quite honest, we don’t know if it’s ultimately where it’s going to land. We have prepared and done what the Lord has revealed to us and strongly moved us towards so far. He's in the lead. We simply follow. We have had about ten meetings that have gone until well after midnight with a wonderful online coach. He has been exactly what I needed to get this launched. A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to meet him in person. He was visiting Florida and generously and surprisingly offered to meet up with us. We trusted that this was from the Lord and drove the hour and a half with the kids in tow to meet him for a couple of hours. Towards the end of this meeting the coach saw a glimpse of my photography website. Though he knew I had that experience, seeing a few of my photos sparked something in him. He was very honest and forthright with me and proceeded to give his professional opinion about the very clear asset I had that could make us money a heck of a lot sooner. How do you respond to a successful online business man that very clearly knew what he was doing and talking about in his field? It made total sense and we all knew it. I told him that I agreed completely. My skill in photography was not forgotten. Further monetizing my photography skills has been discussed before. Early on, I started building something relating to photography, but I just knew it wasn't the the right time for it. I can’t explain it other than God. I had to do this business first even if it made no sense. Does the way God works ever make logical sense? Financially, as we watch our account drain much faster than we can refill it, it would be a lot easier to go the photography route. Doing something surrounding photography is still in the back of my mind for another business. Just not yet. I must do what has the ability to greatly impact our world first. Even if it makes no sense to most everyone. (How did we manage three boys during a two hour meeting? We stopped at the library on the way, let them pick out their own movies and promised them hamburgers and shakes after the meeting. When we aren't big screens and restaurant people, this is a big deal!) Faith. The more I live in it, the greater the mountain before me and yet the easier it is to climb. No, God will not fail to provide. Though our resources have become more scarce, they are still there. We still have what we need. (Photo credit: Liam Campbell) We are embarking on our most uncomfortable journey yet. This new business demands a big online presence and calls for consistent posting. Neither one of us like to be seen or have chosen to take the time to share a lot of things online. God is funny. (Photo credit: Liam Campbell) The other challenging thing for me is caring about how I will be perceived. It’s the people pleaser and people lover in me. To say that I have been learning to let go of what people think about me is an understatement. Ralph and I have undergone a tremendous amount of refinement in last three months. God is doing a new thing and it’s good. Ralph, my man of integrity, could care less about what other people think or say about him. It’s one of the many reasons for why I adore this man, but I digress. To my surprise, out of nowhere, he said to me yesterday, “I can do the marketing because I don’t care.” My knight in shining armor is coming to my rescue again. I used to say to Ralph all the time that I wished I had someone to do all the sales and marketing for my photography business. Just let me show up and take the photos. The same thing is proving to be true with this new business venture. Just let me create. Ralph is very good at selling and I’m good at creating. It’s almost as if God had known this all along when He intersected our lives 20 years ago. We just had to go through a few big things first, but I digress again. The last three months have been some of our most transformative times yet. I am including our boys in this, too. Overall, they have been used to Mom at home most of the time and Dad around on evenings and weekends. Building a business, creating and designing a website for it is no small feat with three boys at home at ages 10 and under. The temptation to put them in school has never been greater. Trying to create a routine where Ralph can do stock trading and I can work on this business has been extremely challenging for all of us. None the less, our conviction to have them home with us remains. Two weeks ago, we decided to utilize a new platform for the business side of Simply Campbell that would better serve our future people. Because our blog has already been established on one platform, we didn’t want to move all of that content over to the new one. I had to figure out how to connect the two. Our website was down for almost three days, but I figured it out. Then I had to learn a brand new platform. The one that is supposed to generate an income. No biggie. (Sarcasm intended). So what is this new business? I still feel a little silly when I share it because it’s so different. Not that I should be surprised by that. Like Ralph said yesterday, “Courtney, we’re different. We’re not like most of America.” That being said, we are selling simplicity with the intent to move people to the point of wholeness. Over the years, through our own experiences, observing others, and knowing A LOT of people’s stories, we have seen a common problem which leads to much brokenness. People are too busy. In America, it’s actually something to be proud of, but it’s ruining lives. Marriages, families, children, finances, bodies, and faiths are suffering. We want to help people wake up to this reality, if they haven’t already, and help them through the process of getting out of that vicious cycle. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. We are partnering with Jesus in helping to bring life back and to its fullest. This is only the beginning. We are in the formulative months. We have a lot of great content and fun ideas planned for this business. As our coach said, “there’s just a milk crate to sit on to begin with, but it’ll grow. A year from now, it’ll look much different.” That being said, we are humbly asking you, the reader of a few things: 1. If you feel drawn to this idea, take a step of faith and join us in this online community. 2. If you think someone you know could benefit from this, pass it along, or perhaps gift it to them. 3. If you are interested, but not ready, put your email address in here to stay in the loop with how this progresses. 4. Please pray for us. It may seem like a small request, but its impact is greater than can be imagined. The link to check our business out further is here: www.simplycampbell.com/community. If you want to join, click this link and put in the coupon code CYBERWEEK to receive 35% off the monthly or annual membership for life. Offer ends Monday, December 4, 2024 at 11:59P.M. Faithful entrepreneurship

We have some news! We launched our own podcast over the weekend. Eeeek! Seeing it on Spotify was one of our most surreal moments yet. The tug of war between being reclusive from society or to start stepping out more has been real. When you start to put yourself out into the internet world more, you are essentially saying that you are willing to subject yourself to all kinds of criticism, bullying, threats, and creeps. Should those things be reasons to stay hidden? Though those reasons are legit, when you are one who does her best to not operate in fear, the answer to that question is a big fat NO. Am I nervous? Yes! But my reason for that might not be what you think. What I am most nervous about as we step into the public eye more is misrepresenting my King. When you proclaim that you follow Jesus to the world, an invisible spotlight appears. I take seriously the words and actions that come out of my mouth and even still, I fall short far too often. One day, I will stand before God. That is a very sobering thought for me. How did I use the time, gifts, and resources that He has given me while I was on earth? How did I treat those He placed in my path, in person and online? How did I love the ones I spent more of my time with; my husband and children? There are SOOO many voices in this world. Do we really want to be another one of them? And some really GREAT voices. Do we really need to speak, too? There is also a lot of deception in this world. When I think of that side of it, I feel the immediate drive to be a light in the dark. The Lord has moved mountains to get us to the exact place we are: state, job, and house. If we don’t move forward in what we believe God is calling us to do, we have to live with the fact that we are being disobedient to the creator of the universe. He has brought us together as husband and wife to accomplish more than for the purpose of procreating. Ralph and I have a story and it needs to be shared. God has put us together with these gifts and quirky personalities for this time in history. We cannot waste them. This is another step in our faith journey. In fact, it was Ralph who first talked about starting a podcast! I am so proud of my introverted husband for choosing to listen to the ONLY voice that we both strive to hear. So what is going to be on the podcast? Take a quick look or listen and see for yourselves. And thank you for your grace as we work through the initial awkwardness of recording ourselves! If you haven’t already signed up to be updated on the latest with Simply Campbell, don’t wait! God has done some cool things and we want you to hear about it all! Subscribe: https://www.simplycampbell.com/subscribe Podcast will be available to watch and listen on the following: 1. Watch or listen directly on our website: https://www.simplycampbell.com/podcast 2. Watch on youtube (and please subscribe if you haven't already! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97nbXXPnmeE&t=1s 3. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music/Audible, Player FM, iheartradio Thank you for joining us on this faith journey. We are looking forward to seeing what God continues to do through us and we pray you feel the same way!

On February 3, 2023, only two days after we had completed moving everything into the new house, my friend called me at work with some surprising news. He was informing me that the company I worked for was undergoing some changes and was recommending that I step away from it. He offered to help me get another job, but he also knew that Courtney and I had been talking about pursuing our own business ventures. I did not expect that. When I hung up, I felt at total peace. God was helping me close a door that I was hesitant to close. I had no desire to stay in construction. I wanted to focus on the stuff that we had invested in. Instead of waiting to see how things would play out, I decided that it was the perfect time to part ways. Four days after that phone call, I put my two weeks notice in. There was a sense of relief knowing that I could leave without any hard feelings. I thought, worse case scenario, I drain the entire savings and have to go back to work in a year, but I wouldn’t regret being home with my family. Two days after we had officially moved into our new house, Ralph received that phone call. I had only one word for what was happening: God. Only he could’ve timed everything the way that he had. We couldn’t have made this scenario up if we tried. I wrote this in my journal shortly after Ralph got the call: “So two days ago Ralph put his two weeks notice in. I have been thinking about how I need to get on the computer and write about it because its so huge. This is what I have been waiting for. I am always curious as to how I am going to actually feel if and when the time comes for something that I have been longing for to happen. When he wrote it (his two weeks notice) out at home, showed it to me, and pressed “send” he said to me, “can’t be undone!” in a light hearted tone. He was ready. And of course so was I. Shortly after, I jumped up and down in the kitchen and clapped. I am so ready. Ralph is already making comments about being poor. I told him to not even start. God is all over this, has always provided, and always will. He was supposedly joking, but I know him. He’s definitely worried about how this is going to play out financially. He is the provider of our home. I am not surprised that he feels that way. But, he knows what I said is true. That’s why he was able to put his two weeks notice in. He wouldn’t have done it otherwise. This was just another BIG step of faith for him. I am so proud of him.” My dream was coming true. My man was coming home!!!! For over fifteen years I have hated saying goodbye to him whenever he left for work. Now I wasn't going to have to. I had no fear. I KNEW this was what our family was supposed to be doing. I was so full of gratitude for the Lord’s gracious willingness to answer this prayer. For six years we have been praying for direction on something to have him home and working together and it was becoming a reality. I can't help but think that God didn’t want us to wait until we were generating a steady income from either new business ventures. He wanted us home together now. Not later. He wants our story and his mission out asap. We had some world changing to do. It has been about four months since I came home. I have been enjoying not having to wake up early in the morning. I also like not having to deal with reporting to a boss. Coming from construction, I am happy to not have to make a bunch of phone calls in order for people to show up to work. It’s been a relief to be able to work on the stuff that we actually want to work on instead of fighting to find time in between work and kids. I am not exhausted mentally or physically trying to fit everything into my life. I am starting to be able to get back into personal fitness again. I can’t believe it’s been four months. It has flown. Waking up and still seeing Ralph beside me doesn’t get old. And then to see the boys snuggle up next to him is so precious. I love hearing, “good morning, Daddy” and seeing him getting hugged and kissed. Every morning as I would prepare breakfast for myself and the boys, I would wish daddy was with us to enjoy it and now he is. Instead of being the only one reading the Bible with the boys, Ralph is with us. He is the one leading it now and I am helping to provoke thought and reflection. I didn’t realize the stuff I missed out on when I was at work until I was home. Instead of just Courtney and the boys going to places like museums. hiking trails, or the beach, I am able to join. It’s been nice to see the kids in the morning. The boys have a lot of energy. I didn’t have to deal with it as much as Courtney did. I have a greater appreciation for the moments that Courtney used to say, “I am going to start losing it…” Oh yes. Yes, yes, yes. I am selfishly very happy that Ralph can see what it’s like to be home all day, every day with them. However, he has always been very good about helping once he was home. I notice a difference in the boys behavior with having a fathers presence for more than in the evenings and weekends. He will step in and handle a situation that I was forced to deal with on my own. My stress levels have been greatly reduced. I am definitely more light hearted. I used to have to pray that my children would see joy in me. It felt like a struggle for many years. We are whole. It is as it should be. I often said to Ralph before he came home, “the two shall become one. How can we be one if we are apart?” I didn’t understand it. I hated the way our culture had changed to the point where families are so separated. Mom and Dad both at work, kids in school, kids in extracurricular activities after school. No wonder there is so much divorce and division in families. Some struggle just to have a meal once a week together. I just didn’t believe that was how God intended it. I wanted our family home together. The first couple of months was harder. I was trying to figure out how to manage my days. Our house was being organized and that was a slow process. Day to day activities between school and responsibilities take up a lot of time. For the first month, I was able to sell a lot of stuff and Courtney was able to do some photography work. Liam is learning trades with me. He likes to come in and listen to what I am learning. He likes looking at the patterns. He sits on the bed next to me and I help him with his schoolwork. Devin has been saying things like, “I like working on things with you Daddy like the fan and changing the oil. It’s one of my favorite things to do.” I like having this extra time to work on stuff and teaching the boys while I do it. I analyze a lot. I have asked the question of, “why wasn’t trading revealed to me in NY when we had our “ideal” housing scenario?" We had acreage, privacy, an adequate size house. The conclusion I drew is that Florida is a better fit for our family in the way that we like to live. As we said in our letter to Priscilla Shirer, we wanted to be time wealthy. God has given us this tremendous gift in more time. Time with our boys. Time to work on these new ventures. Time in the Word. Time to travel. Time to care more for ourselves through fitness. Time to serve. It has been very challenging figuring out how to manage our time with all of us being home. Since Ralph has been home, he has been offered three jobs without even trying. We know that he could go back to a 9-5 job tomorrow, but that’s not what we believe we should be doing right now. We are investing as much time as we can in these new ventures. As I reflect on what has transpired since January of 2022, when we first moved down to Florida, I am in awe of the activity of God. There has been a lot of change in a very short amount of time. We are grateful to be settling down after so much moving around between states, houses, and jobs. We are finally home. We believe that God made us uniquely, wonderfully, and for a purpose. That He has something special in mind for us as individuals, as a couple, and as a family. Living under his authority has ultimately brought us more peace and joy. Even if the process has been and still can be hard at times. As long as we have breath in our lungs, we will always allow God to direct, refine, and use us for His glory. He has been nothing but what He says he is: good, faithful and trustworthy. The word, “faith” is an action word. You don’t live by faith by sitting idle. It is not always easy to move forward in faith. It comes with obstacles. It comes with discomfort. It can be scary. But it develops perseverance. It deepens your walk with the creator of the universe. It increases your confidence in His activity in your life and in the world. Living by faith, allowing God to lead your steps no matter how long it takes to see where they are leading, and trusting that He truly works for your good, does not leave you feeling unsatisfied. Below are images from our travels to the following in order along with visits with friends: -Cape Coral, FL to visit with some of our Buffalo friends -The Mammoth March where we hiked 21.5 miles -Our trip to Tennessee to see our friends and my dad and stepmom -The homeschool conference at the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum in Kentucky -Buffalo for my niece, Brianna's high school graduation and to visit with friends and family -Stopped at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in WV on way home

"A Boy Named Liam" There once was a boy named Liam Surely you must know ‘em He may be a little shy at first But, it won’t take long before that’s reversed He is kind to all Big and small Bumpy or slimy Furry or shiny Young or old Silver or gold English, Polish, Spanish He’ll play with you He will not banish He’s as smart as can be Knew his A,B,C’S before he was three But, don’t say the word “school” For he’ll run like a fool “No bookwork for me! Let me just be free! I don’t want to do school! All I want is to swim in the pool!” Adventurer Imaginer Sanity unraveler Dancer Jokester Obnoxious noise maker Have you seen his drawings? They pile to the ceilings How about his stop motions? Their sure to cause a commotion Reptiles, insects, birds or mammals He can tame all kinds of animals He covers the floor with Legos Mountains as high as the windows His collection just grows and grows You can never have enough I suppose He prefers reading a book Over helping mom cook He’s a loving big brother Making proud his father and mother He sings as sweet as a bird To think otherwise would be absurd He has Jesus in his heart And that’s a really great start To have a life of peace and joy It’s a gift to know that as a boy Always laughin’ Always smilin’ Always ninja stylin’ There once was a boy named Liam Once you meet ‘em, you won’t forget ‘em (Written for his 10th Birthday)

(Candid's are my favorite. No worrying about the background. Just quickly grab the camera and capture the moment!) He doesn't need to hear a "Happy Father's Day," nor does he care to. The less noticed he is, the better for him. But if you pay close attention, there is much to be gained by him. He dies to himself daily for his family. Legos, swim, hide and seek, read books; the list of requests is endless. There are a lot of things that he likes to do or wishes he could do, but he rarely does them. His time with his family always comes first and it has from day one. He's seen and experienced enough for himself to know that his greatest investment is in his family. I'd rather my boys have their father fully present like he is than be in a big house, nice car, fancy clothes, and whatever else this world tries to convince me that I "need." Though I try to emphasize it to them often, our children have no idea how blessed they are, but they will one day. "The righteous man walks in his integrity. His children are blessed after him." Proverbs 20:7 That's my man.

Between visits, trips, sickness, and classes, I lost track of how many weeks it had been since I was able to do one of my favorite things on the planet, which is sing for Jesus. This past week, I was scheduled to do this song and part of me was relieved because I already knew it by heart. Less to have to prepare for…or so I thought. The day before I had to sing it, while driving alone, it seemed like the Lord was trying to tell me to do something different with it. I decided that I should pull over in a quiet parking lot and ask Him. Over the next hour or so, and with prayers from friends, I wrote and arranged the following words sung towards the end of the song: All my life you’ve never failed me. All my life you’ve never left my side So with everything that I have in me I’m gonna testify of your faithfulness…and trustworthiness The enemy can’t stop me from singing With my brothers and my sisters I had a whole new verse to remember in less than 24 hours. I trusted that if this was truly from God, which I believed it to be, that He would give me the recollection when the time came. Still, I kept replaying it in my head. Multiple times, I couldn’t remember when I got to that point. The enemy likes to make you think in moments like those that you won’t be able to do it. You aren’t capable of such things. It’s what he used to tell me while I was memorizing large amounts of scripture as I would confuse the words or skip parts. I ignored him and would just keep trying. An amazing thing would then happen. The words would go from being jumbled to just flowing out of my mouth as if I barely had to think about them. Still, I had to do my part in learning and preparing. I was in bed by 8:30 and planned to wake up extra early. I didn’t fall asleep till close to ten because Connor came in wanting to snuggle. We are working on getting him to sleep more in his own bed and were enforcing that new rule that night in an attempt to give me a better night’s rest. At 2am, I woke up to water spilling on me. It was Connor, who had broken into our room (yes, he can pick a lock) and was getting a drink of water from the cup that I always have sitting by my side of the bed. I shot up in surprise spilling more water in the process. The mind is funny when it’s only half awake because the words that came out of my mouth initially as I jumped out of bed were, “I’m gonna freak out,” but I didn’t. Connor exclaimed, “it was an accident!” Ralph returned Connor to his room while I changed into new clothes. I had just grabbed a towel and threw it over the wet spot saying, “I am NOT changing these sheets!” I didn’t want to be awake longer than I needed to be, but when Ralph came back in, he assessed the damage and said, “Court, the bed is soaked. We have to change these.” So we did and I didn’t argue. As I was laying back down, I knew that, once again, the enemy was messing with me. The thought crossed my mind to change my alarm so that I could get more sleep. I decided that I still needed the extra time more than the sleep. At 6:15am, I pulled into the church parking lot as a raccoon was sitting on top of a dumpster. I immediately got my camera out to document it for Liam for two reasons. His nickname is Coon because he loves to take things out of trash cans and find “treasures” in the water or on the ground. The second reason is because I thought that, if he wanted to, Liam could do a voice over of the raccoon as he was trying to figure out how to get in to that dumpster. I enjoyed the raccoon and the sun rising for a few minutes before I put my head down to rehearse what I had written with God. On top of that, I still had to practice the parts to the other four songs the worship team was singing. I was so glad that I woke up extra early. At sound check, I informed my worship leader, Alisha of what had taken place the day before. She showed no apprehensions. After I had sang it, she loved it. I was relieved. Jeremy, the campus pastor, was doing his sound check when he nonchalantly threw my name with Alisha’s about praying after the song. She was supposed to be doing it because she is gifted in that, in addition to her amazing ability to lead. Immediately, Alisha walked over to me, and said, “can you pray? I think you have something to say.” I am one to prepare for just about everything. I have nightmares before I am scheduled to lead worship about not being prepared or on time to sing. Despite that, I answered, “yes” to Alisha and didn’t think about it again. I knew that the Lord would give me the words. Having planned words is within my comfort zone. I do not believe I can speak well spontaneously. The words just don’t seem to come out right or not at all. As we always do, our group gathered and prayed before the service. That is not enough for me, though. I continue praying out loud quietly in the minutes leading up to it as my body quietly trembles. Singing in front of people has been my most consistent biggest fear since I was a little girl. Despite that, I do it because I believe God has called me to it. To give into my fear of singing in front of people is to be disobedient to God. It would be letting the enemy succeed in trying to paralyze me with fear. I refuse to let him win this battle that rages every time I step onto a stage to sing for Jesus. Once again, like what I wrote in the song, I am testifying of God’s faithfulness because the words for both the song and prayer came. Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). I pray that this be used to draw people to Jesus in ways that I can’t comprehend. I am SOOOOO grateful to be a part of this incredible team (on and off the stage) who is sensitive and obedient to what God is trying to do on earth and at Discovery Church in Orlando, FL. May God get all the glory that’s deserved. To subscribe to our blog, go to this link: https://www.simplycampbell.com/subscribe

To listen along, go to https://www.simplycampbell.com/podcast/episode/1d9f34a5/smiling-through-imperfection What I am about to share is something that I have shared with many people over the years, but never publicly. I have never thought to write about it, but God just did. It’s about a nonsensical struggle I have had since I was a teenager. Ya ready for it? I hate my teeth and smile. That’s it. I feel silly even writing this because the reality is that every human on this planet has something about their body that they don’t like. I am sure someone reading this thought, “Join the club. I don’t like fill in the blank.” I was triggered by a video that my sister sent me recently. It was of a beautiful young mom who was sharing the way her mind tracked as she jumped from thing to thing in the house that had to get done. It was cute and funny. Thanks to my online business education, I knew immediately that it was pre-planned. Most people would move on after seeing that video and not think much about it, but I wanted to know what this woman was really up to so I did some digging. I had guessed when I saw her video that she had an online business and I was right. I liked what she and her husband were doing (wearedanandsam.com). This tension, however was forming inside as I processed this beautiful woman’s content. I was supposed to be continuing a writing that I had been working on for days, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to anymore. I had a new thing I had to write about first. The tension that I had been feeling was over this woman's appearance. More specifically, her radiant smile. Her perfectly white, straight, gapless, and gum free smile. In America, we would say that she has “perfect teeth.” That’s how I will refer to them in this writing. There is a common feature that I have noticed in the successful people on the internet or on TV in westernized countries. They have nearly perfect teeth. I’m pretty sure that it’s practically a requirement to have them in the music and media industry. I honestly don’t know if most people with those perfect teeth think about it. It’s very likely that they were one of the 80% of teenagers that got braces. To top it off, It’s very likely that their parents paid for those perfect teeth without so much as a thank you for spending 6k on their mouths on top of everything else that was sacrificed for them. I digress. When I was a teenager, I asked my dentist about needing braces to close my gap. She told me that they weren’t necessary. That it would strictly be for vanity purposes. My teeth were perfectly straight. I knew money was tight for my parents so I couldn’t bring myself to ask them to get braces for me just so I would feel better about my smile. In addition to a gap between my two front teeth, my teeth are small. A family member said to me recently, “your teeth are like the size of a child’s! I never noticed that before!” I am not sure how big this 100 pound, 5 foot 2inch, small framed woman’s teeth should be, but this family member only confirmed what I already had seen in myself for the last twenty years. When I smile, a lot of my gums show. I have learned that this is apparently more common in women. Since noticing that in other people, I have grown to accept that part of my smile more, but I am still not a fan of mine. At eighteen years of age, I went on a missions trip in Costa Rica. At the end of the trip, we had a free day where we were able to go to the beach. While swimming underwater, an undertow caught me, flipped me upside down, and slammed my head onto the bottom of the ocean. This put a chip in my front tooth. After I returned from that trip, I went to that same dentist who sanded it down for me at no cost. Now the chip was gone, but instead I was left with two front teeth at different lengths. I don’t know why I didn’t ask her to do the other side, too so that they would be even. She must not have thought it was necessary. The hatred that I have of my teeth comes in waves. Sometimes I think about how dumb my mouth looks when I am talking to people. I’ll catch myself watching them to see if they are looking at my mouth as I talk wondering if they are looking at how ugly my teeth are. Other times, I completely forget about them. The reality is that, even though I often feel hatred towards my teeth, I can’t help but smile. I will intentionally look strangers straight in the eyes and smile at them because I want them to know they are seen and loved. I smile a ton on stage for the exact same reason. I will still smile in photos. In every video and photo taken of myself, the very first thing I look at is my mouth. My teeth have been one of my greatest apprehensions to doing video recordings. I don’t want someone to stare at my teeth that closely. It’s why I prefer to keep myself zoomed out if they are showing. My smile used to affect my singing. I was constantly told to open my mouth more. I would apologize in response and confess that I hated my teeth. Eventually, I resolved that I cared more about how I sounded than I looked. God had gifted me in singing and it was foolish of me to change how I sang because of my teeth. I can’t remember how many times I have talked with Ralph about wanting to get braces in the last 20 years we’ve been together. He doesn’t want me to get them. When we were dating, he told me that he thought my gap was cute. Like every one of my writings, I shared this with Ralph first. I was a bit concerned that he might be annoyed about my topic of (God’s) choice. I asked him what he thought. After initially saying, "it's well thought out," he added, "I love you and I love your smile. It doesn’t surprise me that you wrote about this because you have to write everything out.” Thank you, my simple man, for your simple and honest words. That’s one of the many reasons for why I love you. Still, I struggle with this. Ralph knows that if I could justify the expense, and he was on board, that I would fix my teeth in a heartbeat. If you were to ask him, “what’s the one thing Courtney would spend money on if nothing else mattered? If there was no other need?” It would be that. It actually realllllly annoys me that it still surfaces. I am a grown woman. This is a first world problem. I know that I am being vain, but I am a visual person, hence my profession in photography. I simply don’t like what I see when I look at my smile. That’s exactly why I had to write about it. After I saw that woman’s perfect smile and felt that inner turmoil about mine, the Holy Spirit was like, “OK sweetheart, it’s time to take the time to address this struggle. I know you planned on writing about something else tonight, but this one is more important.” When I write, it changes me. It puts damaging thought patterns, like the ones I have had for years about my smile, on paper. If I see the words, I can process my struggles better. I can receive what the Holy Spirit is saying to me more easily as I write. As embarrassing as it is for me to share this, I have to release it into the world because then God can use it to accomplish His purposes. It becomes less about me and more about Him. I must take what the enemy meant for evil and let my sweet Savior turn it for good. Multiple times, I have been close to consulting orthodontists about fixing them, but I have never gone anywhere to find out what I could actually do. I don't even know if much can be done to change it. I always end up being convinced not to change them by Ralph. Or, I decide that it is not a justifiable expense in my eyes. I realize I am about to go on a bit of a tangent, but remember, I’m processing over here. I am all about natural beauty, but I don’t know if there really is anyone who is fully natural in westernized countries. Every woman, and even men, enhance themselves, whether it be through ear piercings, makeup, surgeries, shaving, dying hair, skin products, and much more. Even Esther in The Bible went through a beautifying process before the king could see her and the other queen prospects. There has been jewelry, skin products, and makeup since the dawn of time. I think if they could’ve fixed teeth then, they would’ve done that, too. I am not against a person doing things that make them feel more attractive, but I do believe it can be a slippery slope. Modern technologies have changed what enhancements can be done to improve a person’s appearance. It goes without saying that we have a whole lot of confused, insecure, but beautiful people as a result of that. What I will touch on briefly is that there is an obsession in westernized countries with appearance of ones self and others. The enemy has been very successful in feeding lies to the human minds which already naturally gravitate to thinking about themselves. We believe the lies that we are ugly, the creator screwed up in how we were made, or that we won’t be loved until we look a certain way. That’s why I struggle with the desire that I have to change my smile. Being a professional photographer for 18 years, I have seen a lot of different smiles. Honestly, I love the uniqueness of everyone’s smile and all of the ways it compliments them, including their eyes. In every one of my sessions, I will not stop shooting until I can capture someone’s genuine smile because there is nothing like it. I think people are so beautifully crafted by their maker. On one hand, I can say that to not like my smile is to say that I don’t like how God made me. On the other hand, I ask myself, “does that mean that I can’t change ANYTHING about me?” Does God ultimately even care about this kind of stuff anyway? Again, this just feels like first world problems. At what point am I to say and believe in regards to every part of my body, “God I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made?” I memorized Psalm 139 eight years ago after I was abruptly removed from something that I was involved in that I loved so much. I often recite it out loud as a prayer when I struggle with things about myself. I have cried many times as I have reached verse 14 of that Psalm. Why? Because when I say, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” I am having to surrender all that I am to God and it’s hard. I am having to say, “God you made me this way for a purpose.” In this case, it’s, “God, you made my teeth this way for a purpose.” Does that mean that I can’t change anything that I don’t like? I don’t think so. God wants us to examine our motives. To ask him to search us and know our hearts. For him to test us and know our anxious thoughts. To see if there is any offensive way in us and to lead us in the way everlasting (verses 23+24 of Psalm 139). That’s what I am trying to do with this silly, vain, smile dilemma. An overwhelming part of me says that by changing my smile, I would be bending to the culture that says that a beautiful smile is one that has white, closed, straight teeth. I just don’t see many people with my kind of smile. This same side of me wants to keep my teeth just the way they are to show that beauty does not just come from perfect smiles. That you can still be beautiful with a smile like mine. I realize that by writing and posting about this, I am actually causing more people to look at my least favorite part of my body. That goes back to the whole uniqueness about me. I have to share this because I know that I am not the only one who struggles with this. Less of me, more of Jesus. I can’t say what I would do if I had the money to justify “fixing my teeth.” This writing might be just what I needed to make peace with it all. Or perhaps it is just another wave from the enemy that came through to try to stop me from publicly sharing photos, videos, podcasts, etc. He knows my weaknesses. I don’t look like most everyone I see with their perfect smiles. I don’t bend to what the culture says either. I am a threat to Satan's plan to steal, kill, and destroy every human possible. Sometimes I wish there were more people out there in the public eye with spaces in their teeth. I suppose I wouldn’t feel so alone in it. Perhaps that’s why God has prompted me to address this in the first place. Maybe I am to be a trailblazer in this area. I’ve never cared to be like everyone else anyway so why should my smile be like 80% of the American population, too? Fixing my teeth does not help me function better or make me any healthier. It just makes me feel better about myself. And feelings are feelings. They come and go. Some return over and over again to taunt you just like my feelings of disgust towards my smile that surfaced when I saw that beautiful Godly woman. There will always be something about myself to taunt me (especially as I get older!). There will always be feelings that I will have to address, take captive, and lay at the feet of Jesus. And so, once again, that is where I lay my emotions about my teeth. Will I change my teeth in the future? I still want to. Right now, I can’t justify changing them just like I haven’t been able to for the past twenty years. And my husband….you know. Here’s what I know: I am fearfully and wonderfully made regardless of whether any part of my teeth are ever changed. My husband thinks I am cute with my teeth the way they are, but he also hasn’t seen them any other way either. Most importantly, my sweet Jesus doesn’t care whether my teeth are straight, missing, or yellow. I am still beautiful and precious in His sight. God has placed me on this earth at this time in history in Orlando, Florida and not in a third world country like Sierra Leone, Africa for a purpose. He wants me to model Jesus to a dark and depraved world and to steward whatever He has given me wisely. I pray that I do all of it for His glory, including sharing my silly first world vanity problem with my teeth. Amen and Amen. If you would like to be notified of the next blog post, click here to sign up to be on our mailing list: https://www.simplycampbell.com/subscribe