11. What's On Your Bucket List?

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

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!

Transcript

0:00

Do you have a bucket list? You know, that list of things you want to achieve before God takes you home. I've had a loosely held bucket list for decades. And recently I got to check one of those items off. And today I want to share with you how doing that, accomplishing that goal gave me some insights on life. And it also helped me realize that I want to shift my bucket list just a little bit. Come and learn some of the lessons that I learned by accomplishing my bucket list. At Yellowstone national park, no less. And. Pick up a few tips on how you might want to look at your list from a different view. I'm excited to share this with you.

Speaker: 0:39

Do you fear what lies beyond retirement? What if it's a gateway to a life filled with purpose, meaning, and adventure rather than an end? Discover peace and fulfillment as you boldly enter this new chapter in Courageous Retirement, a Christian podcast. I'm your host, author and coach, Vona Johnson. Let's get started.

0:59

Recently, my husband and I, and some friends of ours made a trip to Yellowstone national park. It has been on my list of something I've wanted to do for decades. I've been to many of the entry points to the park through the years, but I never actually got to go in because it was always the wrong season and the, the roads weren't open. I don't know that I really appreciated what that meant, that the roads weren't open until this trip. And I'm going to start there because we started our journey, and entered in from Red Lodge because we wanted to cross the Bear Tooth Highway. Now I had done my research and it sounded really exciting. And you know, it's claimed as the most stunningly beautiful highway in the United States. I hadn't anticipated what you have to go through to see that stunning beauty. And it really opened my eyes to how sometimes we have to go through some difficult, some challenging times to really see the beauty in life. So that might be what you want to call my first lesson, but as we traveled up the mountains and it was back and forth and crisscrossing I got to thinking. It reminded me a lot of years ago when I went to Disneyland. And rode on magic mountain, the roller coaster. And I remember when I started that rollercoaster trip, how exciting it was, and it was like, Ooh, This is fun. And then at one point in. Remember, if you've ever been there, it's pitch black in there. All you see is lights and stars. And you're going back and forth and up and down. And you never know when, when it's gonna shift completely a hundred degrees or whatever. But at one point, it dawned on me that. You know, this track is fallible. It could break. I could go. Hurling off the tracks at any time to my death. And all of a sudden that really fun ride became. Something that I was just in fear and dread. I literally closed my eyes and prayed the rest of the way on that journey. Well, bear tooth highway was a little bit like that for me. As we went up the mountain to me, saw these beautiful scenes and we would stop and take pictures here and there with the farther we climbed. The farther down it was and it came 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 my husband hates Heights and he could have a heart attack and we'd all be gone. I mean, there was just these silly things that went through my mind, but I know I found myself reaching up and grabbing the hand bar more than once and just praying. Just praying Lord, get us to get us through this road. And I thought of the people who were on that road back in the days when they would have just been on, you know, wagons, the people who built the highway and how dangerous, that must have been. And the people who, you know, travel that and need to get home. And it's maybe rained a little bit and gotten icy or whatever. And it was just kind of a frightening thought. We started our journey out with a lot of tension of just that whole idea of where it's going to come out. I will say that the top of the mountain and that bear tooth pass is stunning. And I'm so glad that I got to experience that. But I probably will also say that I have no intention of ever doing that again. Way too much excitement for me. Without going into all the things we did, because that would be a much longer episode than you probably have time for or more detailed than you cared to hear. I do want to share some of my other experiences. And one of them was that, you know, old faithful is kind of what everybody thinks about when they think about Yellowstone. And I have to say, I was really fascinated with the concept of, you know, the water building up from inside the earth and being propelled out. And I mean, that whole concept is amazing to me. Um, God just really outdid himself when he did that. And it wasn't just old faithful. There are hundreds of geysers in Yellowstone, and I don't know that I was aware of that. And we saw a lot of them and they were, they were kind of cool. They were. Interesting. If nothing else. But my favorite part, besides just the majesty of the mountains. And the grandeur of this, this place that our God created. Were the canyons and the waterfalls and just the splendor. There were so many times we were in and out of our car so many times during our little tour of Yellowstone. And there were so many times that I would just stand at a look out point in awe and wonder in tears, literally streaming down my face. Just being amazed at what our God created. See, I can't even talk about it without getting choked up. Um, So it's just, it was, it was an, a really incredible journey. One of the things that I really couldn't get my mind wrapped around was how we could be at the very top of a mountain. And there would be water running. Now in my mind, I, you know, at school I learned that the creeks and the rivers and the streams and all of that originate because it rains, the water comes down. And they gather into the streams and they flow down the mountain. Well, if you're at the top of the mountain and it's not raining, where does the water come from? Right. Little did I know that that's really just a part of the beauty of Yellowstone and I mean, that water comes from underground and it's never ending. It's always flowing and. Um, this is not a science lesson, but it was, it was really an eye opener for me. And I thought that it was really beautiful. How there, everything really focused around the water, whether it's the geysers or the waterfalls or the beautiful streams. It was all focused on the, the water, the li. And almost living water. And I feel that that's a real great parallel for our lives because our lives too, should be focused on the living water. Everything comes from that basis of our Lord Jesus Christ and his living word that he gives to us. And I just couldn't get over the parallels of really no beginning and no end. It just is ever flowing. So that that really touched me. As we explored this, this beautiful area I couldn't help, but think about some of the other parallels in life. There, there are four lessons that I took away. The first of those lessons is listen to the people who have been there. When I, when we knew that we were going to be taking this trip, I asked to join a Facebook group for the Yellowstone national park just to look at the pictures, but I hadn't counted on was the tips that people were offering on things to do things not to do. And of course, they come from so many different directions, so you have to pick and choose which ones you want to follow, which ones you. Maybe want to try or the ones that, you know, there were some of them, they were like, definitely don't do this. Well, that was, those were kind of easy when everybody consistently said that. So. Just like in life. If you're, whether you're taking a trip or you're in a different season in life, whether you're experiencing loss or grief, maybe you're on a journey with a health challenge. Maybe you've had a diagnosis that is, um, just bigger than anything you've ever had to encounter before, whatever it is, listen to those people who have been on that path before. Not all of them, not all of their experiences are going to be the same as your experience. But there will be things that you can learn from their journey that will help make your journey easier. So I encourage you to just get in touch with it. Doesn't have to be on Facebook, but get in touch with someone who's been on that path. And, and. And help learn from, from their experience. It will definitely make your path easier as well. My, my second tip is to don't try to do too much. We had four days in the park and. I had planned to spend three days in the park in one day, we were just going to drop down and pick up the Grand Tetons. Well after spending our three days and realizing that we really hadn't seen everything yet in Yellowstone. We decided to change our plans up and finish Yellowstone and we'll pick up grand Teton and do it right another time. So. You know, we had full days, but we were careful not to get started too early and to go too late because truly we were exhausted by the end of the day. And so we were able to have a nice meal and get some good rest before the next day. And I think it made our trip so much more enjoyable. Had we tried to pack in all of that in that four day span. We make the best with the time we have. But along with that, I, I also suggest that my tip three is to be flexible. If you get into it and you realize that the plans you made are going to make you rushed or you're going to miss something, change your plans. It's your plan, it's your, your life. With that analogy. So be flexible and allow yourself to change things if you need to so that you can be relaxed, enjoy the time and, and just really take in all the goodness that God has for you, whether it's on a trip or in your life. And along with that being flexible, I'm gonna encourage you to try something new when you see something that you've never done before. Give it a try if it looks interesting. I didn't really know that huckleberries were a thing in Yellowstone national park. We tried several things with that were made from huckleberries. And I will say huckleberry ice cream. That's pretty good stuff. And I'm glad that I went off on my normal route when I go get ice cream and tried that because it was pretty awesome. And I, I would recommend you try that. If you happen to be in Yellowstone, if it's you're somewhere else, try whatever is the thing, wherever you are. My last tip and I think this is really an important one. Is. To use a guide. Earlier I've referenced the Facebook group that I was following that a lot of people talked about using this app, Guide Along and so many people referenced it, that I checked it out and ended up downloading it. And for a small fee, it wasn't a huge amount of money. They actually have apps that you through satellite guide you through the parks. So it always knows where you are when the app is on and we'll pick up wherever you left off or wherever you started in. It's also smart enough to know which direction you're heading in the highway. So it'll tell you the right things and. That enhanced our journey so much. We saw things from that app that we would have never made the time to stop or that the little nuances that we would have never known had we not listened to that app. So I highly encouraged the guide along app, whether you're Yellowstone or some other national park, there are really some incredible things in. In our world and it's really a great way to enrich your journey. And when I say that, I'm going to also say, In parallel again in life. We also need to use a map and a guide and in real life guide along, isn't our guide. Our map is our Bible. And our guide is the holy spirit and between those two and the prayer and the communication that we have back and forth with God. Our lives can be so much richer. So many people I know are just too busy. To spend time in the word and I'm telling you that. Taking the time. To lean in and learn from our guide. The gift that God gave us to show us how amazing our life can be. Is the holy word and the holy spirit. I was thinking, as I was preparing for, to talk to you today, that one of the things you knew. We've all heard that is it. Is it the destination or is it the journey? And I'm just here to tell you that I believe it's both. I believe that obviously our destination is so important. We all want to be in heaven someday. But I also believe that our journey can be so incredible. It, we can have those mountain top experiences all the time. Maybe not, not literally on top of a mountain. But we can have those experiences where we can experience. We can live. The fullness that God has intended for us. If we are using the holy spirit and the Bible as our guide. I hope that you will give that a try. I just want to take just a quick break here and offer to you that if you are in retirement or you are near retirement and you're just stuck on something, there's just something you can't get past. Whether it's trying to decide when it's time to retire or. How to tell your boss or how to tell your spouse or you know, the question of whether you have enough money or should I move? Whatever it is for you, everybody's journey is different. But if you're somewhere where you just not sure what that next step is, whether it's a small step or a big step, I want to offer to you an easy, simple way to get some feedback from me, 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 time where we can meet. This can be really easy. Just shoot me at vona@vonajohnson.com. That's vona@vonajohnson.com. No technology. Easy-peasy. All you got to do is give me your name. Kind of where you are in the retirement process. And then let me know what your question is, and I will respond within two business days and give you some ideas on what you might be able to do for your next step. I really enjoyed checking off one of my bucket list items by going to Yellowstone. I loved. Yellowstone. And I know that I will go back again sometime because I want to experience that beautiful canyon and all the amazing things along the canyon. Oh, it was just fell in love with that. And Yellowstone lake is gorgeous. And so I do want to do that again. And of course I have to pick up, The Grand Tetons. Right? But anyway, there are other things on my list as well. And we can talk about those in a different show, but right now I want to talk about how maybe our bucket lists should be more inclusive than just travel. Whether you have a bucket list or not. I'm wanting to put out maybe a different view about bucket list. I think it's okay. It's great. If you have a list of dreams and things that you want to accomplish before you go to heaven. But what if, instead of, you know, the promotion or the job or the trip or the house. Or whatever it is, what if. On your bucket list, you added things like I want spend more time in the word with God. I want to get to know him better. I want to have that relationship where 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 bucket list? I want to see a baby be born. I want to experience the joy of life to the nth degree. I want to be with someone when they pass on and be with Jesus. I want to share that relationship that I have with Jesus, with someone who hasn't met him yet. Maybe they're those kinds of bucket list items that you can add to your list. If you have one or create on a list, if you don't already have one. It's kind of funny because. When I got home from this fabulous vacation and I was just on this high. And of course you jumped back into 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 and I'm glad you had this time we had together. But I got another plan for you. And it's going to involve going away for a few days and doing some things you hadn't planned on. And I was like, oh no, thanks. I'm good. I need some rest. I, I have some things I need to get caught up and I made a commitment and I got to get that done. And he was like, uh, no. I need you to go to this convention. Nobody else can go and Hey, you're retired, right? You're courageous. Right. Make it happen. And I did. A little bit reluctantly. I knew in the back of my mind that God would provide and he would make it a joyful experience for me. But I admit I was, I was kind of grumbling on my way. Friend. I just want to tell you that I was so blessed by doing what he asked me to do, even though I thought it was not for me. And it's just lit a fire in me for something that is so, so important for this era that we're in, in our lives. And I am not going to go into all of that right now. I'm going to share that in our next episode. So I hope you'll come back. To get a whole new, other perspective, a different view. On what courageous retirement can look like. Our God is so amazing. And so I encourage you to make your plans live your dreams. Find ways to feel fulfilled and find peace in God but always, always leave room to follow the map and the guide in the guidance that our holy spirit gives us because he will really show us the richest parts of life. Thank you for stopping by today. I want to remind you to engage your faith and live your more as you enjoy the benefits of courageous retirement.