Vacation means time on the road....

Okay...so maybe not all of you will be traveling very far this summer...but I am guessing that most of you, like me, will have a bit of extra time on your hands...time that can be wasted or time that can be redeemed! For me, time traveling in the car can often fall into the "wasted" category. I have to be intentional...about truly listening to the kids and not letting my mind wander as the miles go by, about downloading messages (thanks Bryan) to listen to (and, you'd be suprised at how much your kids are really listening, too!)...and there is nothing like bellowing out praise songs to Jesus to make the time fly and your heart sing!:)

By the grace of God, our trip to my parents was not wasted but was sweet, refreshing and encouraging! Yep...6 kids in the car for almost six hours...and it REALLY was a blessing! I thought I would share a few of the things we listened to that would be WELL worth your time and attention...either in the car or at home!

We listened to the new "Walking with the Wise" CD at least 3 times! It's fantastic and my kids already have their "favorites"! We also listened to 1 episode of the Jonathan Parks Radio Drama on CD. I forgot how much fun it is to listen to radio drama (it's kind of like Odyssey!). And my most favorite hour of the trip (actually it was more like 2 hours because my kids seemed to keep having "urgent" things to tell me :)) was listening to a message by CJ Mahaney that he preached at the "Together for the Gospel" conference. The title of the message is "Ordinary Pastors" but TRUST ME you could fill in ordinary MOTHER, ordinary SCHOOL TEACHER, ordinary INTERN, ordinary...okay, you get my point! It was absolutely fantastic. I found myself laughing out loud many times...as well as whispering "Amen, Amen" with each new point. I was convicted, exhorted, blessed and strengthened in my conviction to keep being an "ordinary mother" for the glory of God! You can download the message HERE.

And, speaking of "ordinary mothers" I just read a great short article titled, "For the Young Mother: Ministry, Guilt and Seasons of Life" by Jani Ortlund (who wrote "Fearlessly Feminine"...another book I would highly recommend!). Anyway, grab a cup of lemonade and take a moment to refocus on the joys of motherhood! Or print it off and take it with you to read on your road trip...if your husband is driving, that is!:)

Happy Traveling!