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Subject: Summer Vacation
Date: July 5, 2000
SUMMER VACATION IS HERE .... were you ready for it? Whether you made lots of plans or left your schedule wide open to impulsive opportunities, summer is often a favorite season amongst many because of the flexibility that makes it such
a special time with friends and family.
Tonight we want to discuss the reality that summer does build memories and how we can influence the time we spend with those around us toward making those memories positive ones with a long lasting impact. Please join us for a challenging and motivating discussion time!
Questions for "Making Summer Vacation a Memorable Blast"
1. How can we take God on vacation with us?
2. How do we make the "sandwich syndrome" (balancing time with kids and our older parents) a positive thing in our family's life?
3. Share ideas on inexpensive things to do as a family.
4. How can we turn our summer blahs into a summer blast?
5. How can we find teachable moments in our summer experiences that deepen our family's walk?
6. How do we create memories that last?
.............. Log on summervacation started at Wed Jul 05 18:01:16 PDT 2000 ...........
Karing Have you been with us before?
cwt Welcome Missy!
cwt Yes I did!
Missy No, I just purchased a computer.
cwt Well welcome for the first time!
cwt Let's open in prayer
Karing "Lord Thank you so much for this evening ... and that we can focus on how to make summer vacation into a memorable blast." Please guide our conversation and bring in the people you would want to be with us tonight. May your spirit guide us - In Jesus Name, Amen."
cwt Father thanks for this time that we can have together. We look forward to your Spirit guiding us as we chat
Karing Our discussion today is Making Summer Vacation into a Memorable Blast
Missy Thank you , I really need positive imput from the body of believers.
Karing That is what we like to see happen during these sessions!
cwt Well then let's start with the first question, How can we take God on vacation with us?
cwt Does everyone else find that as much of a challenge as I sometimes do?
Karing I know I do
cwt Especially when visiting in people's homes
Karing It is interesting when you have relaxed time ... away from the calendar how hard it is to focus on quiet times - and even devotions with the kids.
cwt So true...instead of having more time it seems like often it is less
Karing Visiting gives very little time to slip away and have that one -on -one.
Missy It should'nt be so hard if you pray your vacation before you begin it.
Karing I have tried accountability with my spouse in that regards ... and that can be helpful.
cwt Maybe that happens because we don't specifically plan for it, so you're right Missing
cwt Oops, sorry Missy
cwt Being accountable to our spouse does help
cwt or even planning time into each day to have a quiet time alone together
cwt Does that make sense?
Karing It would be interesting to get the whole family together before a vacation and talk about and pray about this issue of time with God before you go on the trip.
cwt I know that whenever we get in the car to go somewhere on a trip, my husband always starts by praying
cwt outloud, so everyone in the car hears
Karing We do that too.
cwt And when we camp, he prays outloud like that before we go to sleep too.
Missy I begin each morning with quiet time; that way I feel I have a fighting chance to glorify God.
Karing In fact, I think the kids must think there is a robber and disaster right around the corner ... that if we don't pray before we leave ... everything will go bad at home and on the trip.
cwt Of course our kids are older, so we all crawl in at the same time
cwt That's great Missy.
Karing It's amazing how great it is to begin the day that way.
cwt Do you live alone?
Missy No, I have an 8 year old.
cwt That's a fun age!
cwt Girl or Boy?
Karing I have 9, 7 and 2..
cwt Karing how do you find teachable mometns in your summer experiences that deepen your family's walk?
Karing We take quite a few different opportunities
Missy Girl,Its a changing age and she wants to make more decisions on her own.
Karing My husband likes to take time alone camping with each kid and spiritually build into their lives during that time.
cwt My daughters are 20 and 17(and I have a son 23) so I undersatnd what you are saying Missy
Karing (He doesn't take the 2 year old yet)
cwt That sounds great! It is always good to spend time one on one with our children
Karing Independence offers sometimes more opportunities for them to assume the reigns of their own spiritual lives.
cwt When my kids were that age I would regularly ask them what God was teaching them in their time with Him
Karing It's teaching them to see the spiritual value of making the right choices as opposed to telling them what we know.
cwt and I would always make sure that they had something they were working on, even if it was just a short devotional
Karing That is great cwt
Karing One thing my husband likes to do with the 9 year old is they each read a chapter silently ... and then discuss what they can learn from it
cwt I think that it was around 8 or 9 that each one got a comic strip bible
Karing Those are good.
cwt that way they would read the entire bible
cwt plus it got them into the habit of regular bible reading
Missy My daughter as yet does'nt seem ready to make a decision for Christ,but were praying.
Karing The Christian bookstore has great card Bible games where you can ask Trivia questions.)(
cwt Each child has their own time
Karing Does your family go to church regularly?
cwt Daily Vacation Bible School is always a good idea for summer
Karing Kids seem to love that.
cwt or some other type of church camp is also excellent
cwt Have any of you attended family camp with your kids?
Missy As much as my physical disability lets me. I average about twice a month.
cwt That's great?
cwt Sorry, that was supposed to be great!
............................ Suzie joined.............
cwt I seem to be having trouble typing
Karing Does your daughter enjoy the Sunday School class
Karing Hi Suzie
cwt Welcome Suzie
Karing We are discussing How we can take God on Vacation with us
Suzie Hi! I have tried to catch these chats for a while now, but am always a day late!!!
cwt and how we can find teachable moments in our summer experiences that deepen our family's walk
Karing Do you have vacation plans with your family?
cwt We are glad that you made it tonight
Karing We are glad you made it on time today.
Missy Was that my daughter? She never wants to leave. She's always the last to leave class.
Suzie My children are 17 and 20. It seems we all go our own ways and I miss times together.
Karing You know as a child some of my most memorable spiritual moments seems to have been times around a campfire.
Karing In fact ... even with relatives that is a time when people seem willing to open up and share.
cwt I can identify with that Suzie! Mine are 17, 20 and 23
Suzie How do you plan something to close the gaps?
cwt So we have to really work hard at having time together
Karing Do you try and have a regular vacation time with your entire family?
cwt In theory yes, in reality it hasn't worked for the last couple of years
Suzie We did until this year when they are both either working, 17, or in school, 20.
cwt How about you Suzie
Karing I would suppose that teenage years involves an open home, cabin, etc. with kid's friends.
cwt We haven't had time away together, but there is more informal time together around the kitchen table or patio
Karing Our family had a hard time during those certain teenage years because of schedules but my parents started extended weekends for the kids .... and then they would stay all week.
cwt and we have worked hard to include talk about spiritual time in those times with them and their gfriends as well.
Suzie It is strange that you should mention patio. We just built a small deck and the kids said that the first thing they want to do is one morning have monkey bread on it and enjoy the sights.
cwt That sounds like a good idea Karing!
Karing What is monkey bread
Karing My parents still do that cwt
Missy Whats monkey bread?
Suzie Torn up biscuits cooked in cinnamon, sugar and with icing.
cwt Sounds yummy!
Karing We all plan around a long weekend ... bring our families and we split up meal times into different teams . Then my dad always has great devotional times with us.
cwt I think the key is taking advantage of the time you do have, whether it is away or at home
Karing Even the grandchildren think it is awesome.
Karing That does sound good Suzie.
cwt I think that we will have to start planning for that!
cwt Do you go camping Karing?
Karing It's kind of one of the first things on the calendar and everyone plans around it.
Karing Haha .... my husband loves it ... I don't mind if I get a cabin.
cwt That would definitely create some great memories that last!
Karing That is why he takes the kids alone for the rough type of camping.
cwt Even just a day at the beach or a picnic in the woods is a good start
Suzie I like your idea of camping!
Karing He laughs because he sleeps better than me as I lay awake praying they won't get eaten by bears. I'm exhausted when he gets home.
Missy I haven't been camping since I was in high school.
cwt Because my daughter has been working shifts, I just grab whatever time I can with her
Suzie We went camping one year and unknown to us, it was next to a safari type park. We woke up to the sounds of lions, tigers and who knows what!
cwt An Iced Cappacino on the deck works great for just talking
Karing Do any of you also have the responsiblity of aging parents - along with kids?
Karing Suzie ... that would freak me out!
Karing I like the mental picture cwt painted better.
cwt We balance almost adult kids with parents who live far away and both want us to spend time with them
cwt But the schedules just don't work
Karing Does that get very difficult when it comes to summer vacations, etc.
Suzie My parents and in-laws are all our "children" now, too. My parents live next door, in their 80's and so are his, but they live 20 miles from here.
Missy Speakin g of Cappacino I just had a Kahlua Blast.
cwt That sounds good Missy
cwt Suzie, how do you balance the time demands?
Karing How do we make this a positive thing for our kids?
cwt Until last year we would take whoever could come to visit the grandparents
Karing How do you deal with the pressure of "being all things to all people"?
cwt but then we would always plan some special stuff that the kids would enjoy too
Karing That is a good idea cwt
Suzie Right now my mom is very able to do almost all things she did before, but the other 3 are loaded with health problems. It is hard not to feel that you are shorting someone in something.
cwt My inlaws golf, so all of our kids enjoyed going golfing with them
Karing I have the same situation.
cwt And where do your kids fit in then?
Karing They like to golf with them ... we have helped them learn so they can do stuff like that with their grandparents.
cwt Us too! In fact our girls just finished golf lessons so they could enjoy it more
Karing I should probably do the same.
cwt I think it's good to develop things that our children can enjoy with their grandparents
Missy I always wanted to learn to golf, maybe some day.
cwt It is never too late Missy! I just learned last year!
Karing My parents and in-laws always want a week with the kids during the summer ...
Karing You are young cwt! By the way everyone ... Yesterday was cwt's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
cwt And my in laws were so excited that when my husband and I came alone last year I could finally go golfing too
Karing I bet you are good too.
............................ Suzie left.............
cwt Nope, not all! But I do have fun!
Karing That is good.
Karing I think that is so important to our kids - to see that we are willing to take risks to have a blast.
cwt Does anyone have some good ideas on some inexpensive things to do as a family?
cwt Golfing is great, but it costs!
Karing Take a long bike ride and reward with ice-cream!
cwt My girls love rollerblading!
Karing Do you blade with them?
cwt Not yet, but I am tempted to try!
Karing Great
cwt But I love to walk, so sometimes I will walk while they blade
Karing Walks are a great thing to do in the summer.
cwt They cover twice as much distance
cwt We walk at the beach
cwt or around lakes
Karing We live in Edmonton and get a summer pass to West Ed. Mall attractions .... it's quite reasonable and gives lots of opportunity for fun fun fun.
cwt One of my girls enjoys long walks too so we pick up those Iced Cappucinos and walk the trails together
Karing Picnics are also inexpensive and tons of fun ...
cwt Ice Cream cones work for the younger one
Karing Can I come cwt?
cwt Sure!
cwt Picnics are great!
Karing That sounds awesome....
Shey we love to go on picnics any where near a lake
cwt Sometimes we have a picnic in the back yard!
Karing We like that too.
cwt What kind of things does your daughter like to do Missy?
Karing We have a very social family - and everyone in our home loves to have anybody over for anything.
cwt Having friends over for floats is fun! And inexpensive!
Missy Eating dinner now. Talk later ladies.Thanks.
Karing One of my favorite summer things is to do things impulsively.
cwt Invite a couple of families over and each bring a different bottle of pop
Karing Thanks for coming ... come again please!
cwt Thanks for coming Missy
cwt Come Again
Karing No food? just pop?
cwt We supply the vanilla ice Cream and we just have floats!
Karing Or you didn't mean for dinner - did you?
cwt No, after dinner
Karing Oh ... for the floats!
Karing Got it.
Karing I thought you had "pop dinner"
Karing (:
cwt No silly! :) :)
cwt We will sometimes just invite someone over after dinner for ice cream
Karing Then I would stick with the cappacino walk.
Karing I usually have to get over the idea that I have to feed people an entire meal.
Karing It's so easy to get stuck in that thinking.
cwt We have a really open door to our house, so I can't feed everyone all the time
Karing I know ..
cwt although sometimes by kids seem to think that I should be able too!!
Karing I read in a magazine that summer is the best time to entertain because casual is so acceptable.
cwt So sometimes I have to get really creative
cwt So True!
cwt As your kids get older, you have to learn how to be more casual
Karing no fussing over things being in bottles and their original containers... just put it all on the patio table.
cwt because they just drop in with extras all the time
cwt That's right!
cwt You would be amazed what goes on our patio table
Karing That sounds fun.
Karing You've already convinced me to come drop by your place - it sounds like the happening party house!
cwt There is always something that can be pulled out of the freezer, thawed out, nuked and eaten
Karing even better
Karing That means you are a wise shopper
cwt Sometimes it gets totally out of control, but boy do we have fun!
Karing Does everyone pitch in
cwt By I had to learn to relax and remember that people are more important than a clean house
cwt Most of the time
Karing A friend tells me that if you want to see my house book an appointment - if you want to see me drop on in.
cwt Saturday evening my husband and I came home from a wedding to find out that our daughter and her friends were having a barbecue at our house
cwt I like that Karing
Karing Surprise surprise...
cwt There were people coming and going all evening, but the neat thing is, she knew that it would be ok
cwt because that is what she has seen modelled
cwt Summer is so good for that
Karing That is great when kids are comfortable and know what their allowed.
cwt Y'all come in now you hear!
Karing Have you always run your home like that?
............................ Ann joined.............
cwt Since about a year after we got married
cwt Welcome Ann!
Karing Hi Ann!
cwt We are talking about makeing summer vacation a memorable blast
Karing We are discussing great and fun inexpensive summer ideas with our families.
Karing Have you been in our chat room before?
cwt Just now we were talking about having an open home and being relaxed enough to have people over in a casual way during the summer
Karing I like an open home too ... but I do like some sense of order about it all.
Ann Type HERENext week I go on vacation with my baby Christian husband. I have never been in a chat room of any kind. Most of the ones you hear about are not good, so I'm excited to be in a Christian one.
cwt That's great Ann! How long has he been a christian?
Ann 8 months
cwt Wow, that is so exciting! How long have you been a Christian?
Karing Awesome
Karing How long have you been married?
Ann Since June of 1987, married since January 15, 2000
Karing It seems most people that come to our chat rooms are are first time chatters.
cwt So you are just honeymooers! Congratulations!
Karing Congratulations.
cwt Are you flying or driving
cwt The reason I ask is that a good friend of mine always reads to her husband when they drive
Ann Thank you, Satan jumps right in to see what your made of...don't understand if I'm flying or driving
Karing That is a good idea
cwt and she starts out by reading in the One Year Bible to him
Karing What do you mean about Satan jumping in?
Ann I think the last response was from somebody else.
Karing That sounds strange
Ann In my marriage, the enemy tries to cause division right from the get go
Karing You mean when you travel?
Karing or just any day?
Ann Any day
Karing The enemy is always looking for ways to disrupt our walks with God and our relationships with each other.
cwt It is good to remember that the enemy wants to destroy christian marriages
cwt That
cwt that's right Karing
Ann While we travel or go to our cottage we usually have a nice time
Karing If he can immobilize a believer he is pretty content with that - because then we are ineffective for Christ.
cwt that's good Ann!
Ann Where do you all live?
Karing Edmonton, Alberta
Karing You?
cwt Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Karing How did you hear about this chat room?
Ann Elkhart, Indiana, I live for 17 years in beautiful California and attended an awesome church
Karing Are you connected to a church now
cwt Wow, Indiana is a long way from California
Ann I grew up here, and met my husband while back for a visit
Ann Canada is Beautiful
cwt So you left California for him
cwt My husband grew up in Minnesota
Ann I am going to a couple different churches, trying to find one my husband would like
cwt That's important,so that he feels comfortable attending with you
Karing How did you find out about this room - were you just searching the net?
Ann No, I left California because I thought my mother had breast cancer (she doesn't) and a friend introduced us
Karing That is good that she doesn't have cancer
Ann I found the web sight by accident, while looking for different Christian things on the web
cwt That's great that you came in.
Karing We send out regular email listings of upcoming sessions
cwt We have been going for an hour already
Ann Thanks , its kind of fun huh?
Karing Are you interested in receiving them so we can let you know the next time we are on?
Ann Yes
cwt I have gotten some good ideas about how to make memories with my kids
Karing If so you can just give me your email address.
Karing This has been a good session - I've really enjoyed the affirmation that being casual and open is a great thing to do.
cwt I really like the idea of extended weekends with your family Karing
Karing I handle the email list
Karing It really works - and has worked for about 10 years.
Ann Ann is my middle name, my name is Gail and my email is g...
Karing Thanks
Karing I will post it in the listing.
Ann Thanks
cwt I think that you will enjoy coming in more often Ann!
Ann Where is the list?
Karing The first time we did this ... we ranged in ages from about 14 - 23
cwt I really enjoy it every time and have been stimulated and encouraged
Karing On the Christian Women Today computer
Karing I am the chat co-ordinator
Ann What a fun job
cwt and I am just hostessing this evening, but I come in other times just to chat
Karing cwt is a great hostess!
cwt Thanks Karing!
Ann I agree
Karing We really appreciate her guiding us tonight!
Karing Thanks for taking the time to join us. We will close in prayer
Ann God is good to provide for us
cwt Unfortunately I am going to have to leave....my mother has her birthday today, so i still need to call her
cwt But Father thanks for this great time
Karing "Lord thanks so much for a great discussion that has stimulated us towards keeping summer a memorable time for you. In Jesus name Amen.:
Ann See ya, God Bless
Karing Thanks again everyone!!
Karing God bless you all
Shey good night
cwt Good Night everyone! Talk to you again everyone!
Karing Thanks cwt - you are great at this!
