BEFORE YOU GO
TAKE THE LEAD The key thing to remember in all of this is to take the lead. If you’re planning to be intentional about your time with your family, it’s going to take guidance. Strong leadership might not be the way you regularly interact with your family. But if you want to be a good steward of the time, money, and relational value that a vacation represents, there’s no substitute for real spiritual leadership in your home whether as a father or a mother.
About ready to begin your spiritual vacation? Here are a few things you can do in the days and weeks leading up to your trip to make your time even more productive. EASE INTO IT If you’re planning to follow any of the tips from this book about being intentional during your family’s vacation, there are probably a few things you’d like to do during your trip that aren’t part of your family’s daily routine. It’s a good idea to use the last few weeks before your time away to get everyone’s feet a little wet. For example, if you’re planning to have prayer with the whole family each morning during the trip, try having a family prayer time 2-3 times before you leave. If you’re hoping to have a few times where everyone can just be together, plan a family game night once before you leave (even if that’s not something you normally do). The idea is to prime the pump and make sure that no one is shocked during vacation when you do something similar. PRAY AS A FAMILY It’s important for you and your spouse to pray about your vacation together, but getting the whole family involved is even better. Take the week or even the entire month before your vacation, and get everyone together to pray for your time. Try using a time when everyone is already together for a meal or just before bed. Take a few minutes and have everyone pray that the time would be fun and safe and that God would guide and bless. This kind of preparation helps to set the tone for what is to come. It makes everyone aware that vacation is a gift from God and His to do with whatever He chooses. It cre- ates a mentality of humility and submissiveness that can help fight off the attitude of selfishness which can often form on vacation. Finally, it communicates to everyone that a trip is going to have some spiritual and intentional components to it.
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