100 Miles or Bust

My wife and I have both always enjoyed the outdoors, and for as long as we have been married we have camped and hiked.  It kicked up a notch in 2014 when we moved to Northwest Arkansas, specifically Fayetteville.  If you have ever wondered why Arkansas is called "The Natural State," come to NWA and you will see it very quickly.  This is the Ozarks.  We are surrounded by local and state parks and the country's first National River.  We have two great trail sites within 5 minutes of our house, and on any given sunny day every fifth car you pass has a canoe on the roof.

We don't typically get too into New Year's Resolutions, but this year my wife suggested we set a family hiking goal.  We settled on 100 miles, because that seemed like a doable number that we could increase the next year if we make it.  That averages to about 8 miles per month.  For the miles to count, the entire family must go, although the two littles will spend most of the time being carried. We plan to track miles with the Runtastic app.

That's the plan. Here we go!

So Here We Go

We (Mom, Dad, Kids 9, 7, 5, 3, 1) have set a goal of hiking 100 mile in the 2016 calendar year, an we think it will be fun to share this journey with others.  Speaking of journeys, that is a perfectly cheesy segue into the obligatory first blog post explaining the name of the blog.  We came to "Always On The Way" from several different directions.  Let's share them all!

First, we see hiking as a lifelong activity.  Almost every time we hike we are surprised by the number of people we pass who are older than what we (previously) would have expected to see on a trail.  My wife and I hope to be one of these old couples on the trail some day.  We also believe that if we get our kids started hiking young, they will never give it up.  Hence, "always on the way."  People often tell us that they would love to hike, but they don't think their kids would go for it.  Our take is that if you start early and make it a part of your family, it will stick.

Second, when we are not hiking we are always on the way to our next hike.  It has become such a common family activity that we all get a little antsy when it has been too long.

Finally, we believe that we are always on the way to heaven.  If we are still on this earth, we still have steps left in our journey.  Hiking is a great metaphor for the quest for paradise.  God has set his beautiful world before us.   We are now journeying through it without knowing exactly what is ahead but trusting that we will be able find our way and return to our home.

There are many passages of Scripture that gives us this image of "The Way."

Luke 24:32
Then they said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way?"

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

This led to Christianity at first being called "The Way" as we see in Acts 9:2.

We hope you enjoying walking this way with us over the next year and beyond.