Vacations

The Dandridge Open- Round 1

Fun Day with Pop-Pop

Wal-Mart Grocery Run

Vacation Anticipation

My son, Jack, is counting down the sleepies until summer vacation. I smile at his childish anticipation, but I too need to anticipate—to plan and prepare for vacation. I need to prepare to worship God for His good gifts, I need to prepare to fight sin, I need to prepare to serve others, I need to prepare good food and fun memories, and I need to prepare for reentry.

For the men who read this blog (or whose wife or mother drags you to the computer to read a post) you need to prepare to lead. My dad has just concluded a three part series on leadership and vacations that is must reading for both men and women. If you truly want a vacation worth counting down the sleepies for, check it out.

And finally, I’ll leave you with some thoughts from the young fathers in our family. In jest, my husband and brothers-in-law once posted their top five suggestions for dads of young children on vacation:

1. Play 18 holes of golf, not 36.

2. If you have children, don't use the last of the milk for your third late-night bowl of Lucky Charms.

3. Offer to watch the children during the afternoon nap.

4. If you're going to take a toddler on the jet-ski, try to keep the speed under 50 mph.

5. Consider giving your wife the remote control during the 5:00-6:00 a.m. slot.

Guys, I think we can do better this year. How about the girls watch the kids during afternoon nap and you take the other shifts?

Only 44 more sleepies.

Memories of Faithfulness

The Mahaney clan is back from vacation and we’re all adjusting to getting up early, eating cereal for breakfast (instead of Belgian waffles), and living without two trips to the candy store per day.

This vacation was unique among all our family vacations. It began a year ago this month at the Milestone Weekend when my husband handed off his senior pastor responsibilities to Joshua Harris.

The Milestone Weekend represented the fulfillment of more than twenty years of my husband’s prayers—that God would provide someone to lead the next generation of Covenant Life Church. It was a profound illustration of the undeniable, unshakeable truth of Psalm 100:5, “For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

In the ensuing year, we’ve seen God’s faithfulness in a thousand different ways, as we’ve watched Covenant Life thrive and grow under Josh’s wise leadership. Our God is lavish in His expressions of kindness. For He answered my husband’s prayer beyond what C.J. could have imagined. It fills our hearts with joy.

At the Milestone Weekend, the church presented C.J. with a generous financial gift as a way to thank him for his service. Over a meal with our family following the weekend, C.J. informed our children that we intended to use this gift to bless them in some way; for it was their obedience to God that, in part, made the Milestone Weekend possible.

They responded with immense gratitude, and immediately communicated their desire to return to Chatham (Cape Cod, Mass). We weren’t surprised by their response. It was in keeping with a long-running commitment in our family to making memories.

Early in our parenting, my husband determined to lead our children to value family memories more than the latest toy. Not that we didn’t buy Christmas or birthday gifts for our kids, but we strategically sought to invest our funds toward making memories first. Thus we took short trips at Thanksgiving and Christmas, took day trips throughout the year, and centered yearly vacations on collecting memories that would last a lifetime.

Today, our kids are “hooked” on making memories. Which is why they didn’t hesitate in asking to go back to Chatham—a place that already keeps so many family memories safe for us.

And God in His kindness allowed us to make yet another memory this past week--full of laughter, lively discussions, good food, and the sweetness of simply being together. We’ll enjoy and relive these days for many years to come.

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and feed on faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:3-4

See Ya!

We are heading home today and I am preparing myself for vacation detox.  Here is a picture of us near the beach.  Q&A and Friday Funnies will return next week. See ya then!

Our Favorite Game

A friend asked what we did on vacation and I told him that we played a whole lot of “Take Two.” Then I realized we hadn’t told you about the Mahaney’s favorite game (right now at least). Another name for this game is “Speed Scrabble.” It’s Scrabble on caffeine, basically. I’ve heard different versions, but these are the Mahaney house rules:

•    Chuck the Scrabble board.

•    Place all the Scrabble pieces face down in the center of the table.

•    Each player draws seven pieces and keeps them face down in front of her.

•    Someone yells “start” (Yes, if you’re a Mahaney you won’t say it quietly).

•    Each player turns her pieces over and begins assembling her own individual Scrabble board. (Same rules as Scrabble apply here.)

•    The first person to use all her Scrabble letters to make real words yells “take two” and everyone grabs two more letters.

•    This continues until all the letters have been used up (if necessary everyone can “take one” the last time around).

•    Once the first person has completed her Scrabble board, everyone else must stop.

•    Then each person counts her letters (across and up and down) and subtracts the letters she wasn’t able to use (if any). This is her total score for the first round.

•    Play as many rounds as you like. The person with the highest score at the end of the game wins.

Also, trading letters is allowed, but don’t trade a “z” or a “q” for an “e” or you’re sure to lose.

Hope you have as many fun hours of playing “Take Two” as we have!

Guest Post

The Girl Talkers are kindly letting the fellas say a few things to the guys who are reading the Girl Talk blog. Yeah, we know you're out there. Some of you have even admitted it. Look, it's nothing to be ashamed of. When the Girl Talkers talk, we listen too. There's a lot we guys can learn from the women.

We're all on vacation right now, which is why we are able to guest post. We want to offer our thoughts to husbands about vacation. Remember the post a few days ago where the ladies talked about serving while on vacation? Here are our ideas for how you can serve your wife:

1. Play 18 holes of golf, not 36.

2. If you have children, don't use the last of the milk for your third late-night bowl of Lucky Charms.

3. Offer to watch the children during the afternoon nap.

4. If you're going to take a toddler on the jet-ski, try to keep the speed under 50 mph.

5. Consider giving your wife the remote control during the 5:00-6:00 a.m. slot.

We can do a little better than the ideas listed here. Guys, vacation from our normal work responsibilities does not mean a vacation from our responsibilities to lead, serve, and care for our families. It's all too easy to view vacation as a refuge of relaxation rather than a unique opportunity to serve and lead our families.

The temptations to selfishness and laziness are strong, but our leadership and service will set the tone for our vacations. So whether we are planning the activities for the day or making sure that our wives get time each day to meet with the Lord, let's be sure that we are leading and serving for the glory of God and the good of those we love the most.

Happy vacationing,

Steve, Brian, and Mike

Food Part II

Vacation is a super fun time for food--or in this case, I should say drinks.  One of my favorite things about the South is sweet tea.  When I order iced tea at home it takes at least 45 sugars to get it sweet.  The ice makes it impossible to dissolve, causing my last few sips to be nothing but sugar.  So while I'm in Tennessee, I drink all the sweet tea that I can hold.  (For all you non-southerners out there, one great place to get a good sweet tea in your neck of the woods is Chick-Fil-A. I would recommend topping that off with a lemon.) Now, while we are on the subject, another favorite is Coke with lime. But the trick is to first put in your ice, than squeeze in the lime, and pour the Coke in last. This works best if the Coke is already cold so that the ice doesn't immediately water down the Coke. Finally, the perfect breakfast "food and drink in one" is my favorite cereal, Cocoa Krispies (a vacation staple for my nephews and me). The greatest thing about this cereal is how it turns your milk into chocolate milk. I always pour in extra milk so that there is plenty left to drink after I finish the cereal.

Although I love my food, what really makes food so fun on vacation is enjoying it with my family. One of our favorite activities is sitting around the dinner table talking until it's almost time for the next meal. I can remember my parents beginning this practice of intentional meal time when I was very young. My dad would ask about our day and in turn direct us to ask each family member a question. What began as a training process developed into a much loved tradition.

So that's it for now. There's still much talking and eating (and of course drinking) to be done.

Shopping

Today is a very important day on our vacation.  The guys are sending the girls shopping.  (The four sweetest husbands ever!)  This is serious stuff.  No kiddos allowed.  (Pray for our husbands today if you think about it, they are gonna be slightly busy.) 

Believe me, on a few crazy occasions we have gone shopping with the kids...it doesn't work.  We need to give each store our undivided attention.  There are serious decisions to be made today, "do I buy the pink one or the red one, the big one or the small one?".  You get the picture.  Each of us has to register our opinion to help the potential buyer make her choice.  And as you can probably imagine, there are no lack of opinions to be expressed.  Each purchase is a joint decision.

So, Pigeon Forge, here we come.  (Despite the name, it is one of the top rated shopping spots in the south.)  But really, it's not the shopping that excites us the most, but just hanging out together.  Lots of laughing and serious talks alike.  Shopping is just another way for us to enjoy God's gift of friendship with one another.

More Thoughts on Vacation

Vacation is great. I can get in a car and drive away from many of the responsibilities of everyday life. I can clean my house and not clean it again for two whole weeks. I can leave behind the errands and the meetings and the emails. But as much as vacation is an "escape," there is one thing I can't get away from: sin.

As my dad is in the habit of reminding people: indwelling sin doesn't take a vacation. As long as we're in this world, we can't escape it. We can't get in the car and leave it behind. We take it with us. Everywhere.

In fact, it seems to me as if new sins sneak into my luggage. Serving others sometimes seems like more of a sacrifice on vacation. I'm often more tempted to be impatient and self-centered. Worst of all, is the temptation to spiritual lethargy; the lure of pleasure and ease that seeks to pull my soul away from communion with God.

Because sin doesn't take a vacation, I cannot--I must not--take a vacation from dependence upon God. I desperately need His help to fight the sins that surface on vacation. But, sadly, I must confess that all too often I have neglected the spiritual disciplines. I start off with good intentions, but by the end of vacation my soul is cold and lacks passion for God.

That's why I need others on vacation. My husband challenges me and encourages me in my walk with God. My mom and sisters and I trade off watching the kids so each of us gets time with the Lord. They all provide an example that inspires me.

But even though sin travels with me, the good news is that I cannot escape the grace of God! And I don't want to! The gospel tells me that God sent His Son to redeem vacationing sinners like me. And even better--one day I will truly escape from sin, and spend eternity worshipping Him!

In light of my temptation to neglect the spiritual disciplines on vacation, this prayer, entitled "Backsliding" encouraged me this morning:

"I bless thee that those who turn aside may return to thee immediately, and be welcomed without anything to commend them, notwithstanding all their former backslidings. I confess that this is suited to my case, for of late I have found great want, and lack of apprehension of divine grace; I have been greatly distressed of soul because I did not suitably come to the fountain that purges away all sin....Give me to believe that thou canst do for me more than I ask or think, and that, though I backslide, thy love will never let me go, but will draw me back to thee with everlasting cords....Keep me solemn, devout, faithful, resting on free grace for assistance, acceptance, and peace of conscience."

(Arthur Bennett, ed., Valley of Vision (Carslile, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2002) p. 156-157.

On Taking Vacations

We are writing this post together today because we are together. (Yeah!) Thanks to the generosity of our friends Scott and Lesa, and their daughter Isabelle, we are enjoying our family vacation at their home in Dandridge, Tennessee. Ever heard of it?

Hey, Dandridge is a bigger deal than you think. Not only is it the second oldest town in Tennessee, but it also boasts of being the birthplace of our very own American hero, Davy Crockett. (If you ever pass this way, be sure to visit the Davy Crockett museum.)

But even if you don't vacation in Dandridge, we must all have a biblical perspective of vacation. "Whether you eat or drink, [or go on vacation] or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31).

Rest is a gift from God. So we glorify Him when we receive our vacation with gratefulness and thoroughly enjoy it. We also please Him when we focus on others: when we relate to one another and not just relax, serve each other instead of be selfish, and make memories together rather than do our own thing.

In the end, vacation for the Christian is not all that different from any other day. It is simply another opportunity to glorify God.

So whether you're at the beach, the mountains, or the lake, or whether you're in the office, the kitchen, or the classroom today, consider how you can live for His glory, whatever you do!

(And C.J./Dad - Thanks for many years of priceless vacation memories. But more importantly, thank you for leading our family in enjoying vacations to the glory of God! We love you!)