Recent Posts

two kids stomping in a big muddy puddle filled with pine needles in a pine forest

Why Outdoor Time Is Important For Kids

We spent a lot of time outdoors. Being in nature makes everyone happier—and allows our kids to have more freedom and independence.
old fashioned alarm clock sitting on a wood table

The Power of Waking Up Early: 9 Tips for Becoming an Early Riser

I default to being a night owl, but rising early enables me to do more and be better. Here's how I switched my mornings from lazy to productive.
sunlight and blue sky behind wide green leaves

Book Review: Forest Therapy by Sarah Ivens

A book filled with suggestions for seasonal ways to embrace nature, ideas for incorporating the outdoors into daily life, and research on how being outdoors improves well-being.
modern bridge over a river

Dialogue Takes Two: Why Sharing Ideas Matters

Friends have shut down conversations because they disagreed with me. But dialogue is important—for finding common ground, truth, understanding—and it's only possible if everyone in the conversation is willing to talk.
Randy and Jacqueline sit on a mountain in New Zealand

How We Live Debt-Free in a World of Chronic Debt

Debt is ingrained in the modern economy, but it’s not the best way to manage money or build wealth. We live debt-free, paid cash for a house, and can maintain our freedom on $20k/yr. How? Read on.
the sun rises behind the steeple of a church

How We Are Intentionally Building Strong Community Ties

Before moving to Idaho, I'd never been part of a strong community. Now, my friends are people I can truly rely on—which is how it's supposed to be! Why is strong community so rare? And how can you build your own?

Join our community!

Did you know a group of owls is called a parliament?

About

We're Jacqueline and Randy, a blogging duo with backgrounds in tech, robots, art, and writing, now raising our family in northern Idaho.

Our goal is to encourage deliberate choices, individual responsibility, and lifelong curiosity by sharing stories about our adventures in living, loving, and learning.

Learn more about us.


Connect:

whoo@deliberateowl.com

Start here

Curious about our life and journey? Here are some good places to start reading:

Jacqueline and Randy leaning their heads together smiling at the camera

A Blog About Education, Lifestyles, and Community

A brief history of how the Deliberate Owl came to be and why we're writing a blog about us, our lives, and how we're living out our values.
Priests in red and gold celebrate a traditional Latin Mass

Discovering the Traditional Catholic Mass

How I discovered the traditional Latin Mass a few years ago, why that discovery changed everything for me, and what was wrong with the Novus Ordo Masses I'd attended.