Josh and his wife Lauren got married last year, and we gave them a week of our Disney Vacation Points for their wedding gift. They had already planned a cruise, so they decided to go to Disney this year. It is so fun to see both of them all excited about going, and asking questions about the things we did to get ready. Josh wants to show his wife the same things he experienced all those times we went as a family. He wants to show her the same restaurants we ate while we were there. He called and described what he remembered about a restaurant, I told him the name of the restaurant, and he went on line and made a reservation.
Another thing we did when we drove to Disney is we would always play books on tape or CDs. (We listen to classics like Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Adventures in Odyssey, or the Chronicles of Narnia.) The other day Josh called and asked me the name of the person who read the Narnia series (I did not know at the time, but I knew he also played Hercule Poirot. I later found out it was David Suchet) when we were going to Disney. He wanted to get them downloaded to his I Phone so he could play them while they traveled.
He also called to ask about when we went to St. Augustine, Fl. My parents took me there when I was little, and I got a big kick out of taking my children on one of our vacations. One of the things I remember happened at what we called the Castle, (it is actually a Fort built to protect the city). They fired cannon off one of the ramparts. It was one of the highlights of my young life, and I have gotten to share it with my children. Now Josh wants to share this experience with his wife. We also went to the Alligator farm in St. Augustine when I was little. As an adult, I took my kids to the same place, in fact, Josh was one of the kids who helped during the demonstrations, they placed a big old boa constrictor up one arm, over his neck, and down the other arm. This of course gave his mom the willies, which Josh loved. We had taken a picture of this, and he loved to freak out his grandmothers, aunts, and any other lady who would look. He is taking about taking his wife there too.
It is so fun to watch Josh making all of his plans. It is the most fun I have had with our Disney Vacation Points without actually going there. The best way to describe this feeling the way I feel about Christmas, as I have gotten older. I really do not care what I get, in fact, I am always the last one to open my gifts, I get more pleasure watching my children and grandchildren opening their gifts than I do opening mine.
You are probably thinking, “This is nice, but why is this the subject of a blog?” The answer is simple. I think Dr. James Dobson says it best when he says the best way to teach a child is by them catching the concept instead of being sat down and taught the concept. Do not misquote Dr. Dobson, or me I am not saying do not sit down and teach your children, I am saying that they learn better by seeing and doing. My parents took me to see these sites and I learned about history and about God’s creation, I took my children, and now my son is repeating the process. My parents did not sit down and teach me about these places, they showed me, and I did the same with my children. Now the process is continuing; Josh is doing the same thing. My point is that if Josh is doing this with something as simple as a vacation and planning where to go and what to do, he will do the same thing with the bigger things in life. By this, I mean his life with Jesus Christ. Josh learned about Christ from the examples he saw in his life; the importance of living out what you believe, studying God’s Word, communicating with Him through prayer, things we did every week, such as going to church and having family meals on Sunday, and every day, like thanking God for providing our meals. You really cannot teach this; it must be demonstrated. Josh just proved that life’s most important lessons are better caught than taught.
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