the Value of Vacation ... What to Read

When you're grabbing a bag to take to the pool or beach or lake, or if you're grabbing a glass of tea for the porch, I hope you'll take something to read. There are definitely times when a magazine is a great choice, but it pays to have some thoughtfully chosen reads for the summer ... books for yourself, or books to share as you read aloud. Let me give you a few ideas:

• 1) The Complete Guide to Getting & Staying Organized by Karen Ehman
  
• 2) Quiet Moments for Ministry Wives
• 3) On This Day by Robert J. Morgan (A great one to read aloud daily)
• 4) Don't Know Much about History by Kenneth C. Davis
• 5) Voices Behind the Veil by Ergun Mehmet Caner
• 6) Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (Yes, I really have yet to read this)
• 7) Philippians by Paul ;)
• 8)
  
• 9)
  

#8 and 9 are open for your suggestions! I'd love to hear what you're planning on reading. I'm reading a great collection of thoughts on Proverbs by fellow blogger, Warren Baldwin of Family Fountain. In the section "Mom, Dad, and the Kids," Warren shares about his memory of when the Mets won the World Series. His mom helped make a victory poster, but he tells how the real story unfolded over the following summer ... with his mom.

"As Mom went about her work in the kitchen," Warren remembers, "I sat in a chair and read to her the exciting story of how the Mets won the World Series." He says that while a lot of things have changed since then, he still loves to read and still enjoys lazy days in summer. Hearing Warren tell the story, I think it has a lot to do with how his mom used HER summer.

"She surely spent that summer 'watching over the affairs of her household' even if that included listening all summer to stories about baseball. I'm sure my selection of The Amazing Mets was not her first choice for reading material! But it was my choice, so she listened. I wound up learning more that summer ... I learned patience.... I learned that love means you don't insist on what you want, but you consider what someone else wants or needs. I learned that listening is a precious art, a great gift of love... I learned that the summer of 1970 spent in the kitchen reading the Amazing Mets to my mother wasn't really about baseball at all."

These are just excerpts, but Warren's testimony of how his mom listened to her son read is such an inspiration to me, and I hope it is to you, too. In fact, Warren's book is #10 to wrap up my list:

• 10) Roaring Lions, Cracking Rocks and Other Gems from Proverbs (This would be great to read aloud with your family)

This weekend I'm going to a reunion of "Vacation Families," families who used to spend vacation weeks together at the beach and in the mts. It's been over 20 yrs since we saw each other! We've added spouses and children and lots of "life" since the days of sand castles, games, and riding waves and the nights of singing, hot dogs, missionary stories, and listening to parents laugh and talk 'til late at night. Memories of those vacation days are imprinted deeply on my mind as highlights of childhood, proof that taking time away together is well worth the effort. I hope these 2 weeks have encouraged you to "work" hard at carving out time to be refreshed, physically and spiritually, to rest with and reconnect with those most precious in your life. And as we take time out for some of that "deep" quality r&r in the weeks ahead, I pray we'll be grateful in a fresh way for The Value of Vacation.

Rest well, friends,