Janessa lives with her husband and two sons by a lake in Alaska. After growing up in the Mediterranean, she fell for a Canadian fifteen years ago, and they built a life together in the States. One of their early dreams was to live in a camper and travel around North America, which they did for three years while building a business from the road. As the business grew, they moved back to central Pennsylvania and began growing their family. It was a gift to live there, surrounded by stability and incredibly kind people, but it never felt like a long-term home to either Janessa or her husband.
After a long series of confusion over where and when they might move, Alaska fell into place all at once. Janessa felt like she was hit over the head with a brick one day, when she realized everything she’d ever heard about the culture of the people there fit her and her family. They were always drawn towards the north in Canada, but have a business in the US. They love the great expanse of the west, but Janessa loves the ocean and big coastlines. Somehow, when Alaska came into her head, Janessa felt like it was right. She told her husband at 11pm as he prepared for a 4am flight. His jaw dropped to the floor, and he said immediately, “I could die there."
It has been an absolute gift to be in Alaska. Even though it has only been a year, Janessa feels deeply settled and at home and is enjoying learning to know a new community. As a family, they love going fishing or camping from a boat, paddle boarding or canoeing on their lake, and taking long walks through the Alaskan bush in snow or summer. In equal measure, Janessa loves to cozy up by the fire with a stack of books, a pen and journal, and a steaming cup of coffee.
A key part of this move for Janessa has been learning to accept God’s abundance in giving good, undeserved gifts. In adolescence, she had moved overseas with her parents and many places in the world began to feel like home. There was no question to Janessa that her true citizenship was in heaven and she never expected to find a singular feeling of home that didn't feel split up, anywhere on earth.
In those years, she learned the concept of surrender in a way that shaped her whole life. God’s provision was always present through many circumstances, so His faithfulness became undeniable. Surrounded by a variety of cultures and religions, Janessa experienced the unique love of Jesus clearly, and understood that the Bible stood apart from the other religions around her.
Through the twists and turns of adulthood, responsibility, and experiencing loss, Janessa sometimes thought she would lose hope or joy, but the peace of God’s goodness stayed constant in her mind. Turns out, He always brought the hope and joy right back around, too. And part of that has been through this move to a place that feels deeply rooted on earth, a place to call home that reminds her of the heavenly one to come.
Today, her life is based at home more than ever before, as she homeschools her boys by a little lake in the woods, consistently sipping on coffee.