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I first met Heather about 25 years ago when we were navigating friendships and crushes while beginning to walk with Jesus. Today, we take a little walk down the halls of Lassiter High School and reflect on the people and decisions that formed us into who we are today.
Heather Nelsen is now married to her high school sweetheart, Matt. Together they live with their 4 precious kids down the road from where we grew up, just outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
She shares the story behind her travel account Making Home Here, and how that project grew out of a simple, intentional hope: to raise kids who see the world, serve others, and recognize they can use their gifts and resources to make a difference, even from a young age.
We talk about practical choices they’ve made as a family to cultivate curiosity, service, and perspective in their children. We touch on how even the most challenging aspects of travel have paved the way for faith-building conversations.
Heather also gives some practical tips for making memorable experiences accessible, why travel is so important for building a family culture, and how she’s wrestling through managing a public account as she seeks to honor her kids.
Memorable Quotes:
Whit: “Be steady in faithfully serving the Lord where you are because you really just don’t know, you don’t know the impact that your life might have at any stage.”
“As far as everyday life, I’m trying to be more conscious of what I record and what I share and make sure they’re a part of giving their permission for that.”
“Matt and I just had an honest conversation, several honest conversations, about how we want our kids to grow up feeling thankful for what they have but also to have an understanding of how other people live, and we wanted and still want for them to know that they can make an impact no matter their age, no matter their finances… so for us, what we said, is we want our kids to learn how to serve at a young age and we want them to understand what they’ve been given, and what they can do with what they’ve been given, either in their time, or talents, or even in their finances at an early age.” (around 8-9 minutes)
“When you get back from the trip, every day of life has its low moments, but we always found when we got back from a trip what stuck with us was all the highs…you learn, you grow so much as a family, you rely on each other so differently…”
“Being able to say, this is how Jesus loved people, what you guys are doing when you’re tired and when you’re hot, this is what Jesus did and this is what you’re doing.”
“I think my stand on it is that I never want to live in fear, I do feel like God has called me to this, and it’s just a matter of always re-evaluating what this is, ya know? How does He want to use this, what is the purpose of this, is the purpose still supposed to be the same, and then just honoring our kids as they get older.”
“I think now, for now, is just I am only going to post when I feel like I have something to share, and I’m going to make sure it’s ok with our kids if it’s something they’re a part of.”
“Some of our favorite trips have been the most simple ones.”
Show Notes:
IG: @makinghomehere
