Guest Blogger on Disney vacations and things spiritual

We just got back from a week in Florida with both sets of grandparents. My dad, who was with us for 2 days in Disney World, wrote this about our time there. He agreed to let me share it here! He writes a regular commentary for Moody radio in his position as VP for Broadcasting at Moody. Yep, I'm pretty proud of him!

My thoughts on vacationing with children and things spiritual later this week. But for now, here is good old Dad!

Moody Radio Commentary
1/30/08

Last week I joined our grandchildren (and their parents) at
Disneyworld. We had been in Florida on business. Our kids happened
to be at Disney at the same time and asked us to join them for a couple
days.

I’d been to Disney with our daughters when they were
little. After they grew up, my wife, Norma and I went as a couple: 2
adults. I’m sure our children thought we must be miserable there just the
two of us without our children. Not so much!

Being there with
grandkids was different. We helped with the little ones, but it was harder
to say no to the “I want that” statements from grandkids than it was years ago
to our own kids.

And, when there were meltdowns with the kids, we
had to quietly fade into the background while parents took the parental
discipline duties.

I got philosophical on this trip.
After one of the attractions, I browsed the ever-present gift shops and was
reading (not buying) inscriptions on some of the items.

For
example:

“There’s no journey like the journey into
imagination.” That made me think about my faith. And what the Bible
says that God is able to do immeasurably MORE than we can ask or
imagine.

Or take this one:

“Where dreams come
true” Disney is about dreams coming true and wishing upon a star. We
can wish all we want, but we know that not all dreams come true. However,
I do know that “with God, all things are possible to him who believes.”

And this one made me pause:

“Where everyone is happy,
no matter what your name.” Even with all the fun and amusements, even with
food and delights of every kind, I noticed not everyone is happy. Like the
mother at the cash register screaming loudly at her son who was running out the
door to the next adventure.

Or the dad saying, “We spend all this
money on you and all you do is complain.”

Or the little girl who
got frightened by an overly-aggressive Prince Charming

Or
the kid with a major melt-down from miles of walking, hours of attractions, and
a long day of stimulus overload.

Disney does a great job of
providing a day of Fantasy. But life goes on. Paying 72 dollar
admission doesn’t buy joy, peace, love and fulfillment of all your
dreams.

And then we have to adjust back to reality. After
Disney, our daughter’s family spent a couple days at the beach. She and
our 3 year old grandson were fascinated by the waves cascading on the
shore. She asked little Jacob “who made the waves?” Jacob responded:
“Mickey Mouse.” I guess they have a little theological re-adjusting
to do after the Magic Kingdom.

Year ago, Jay Kessler wrote a
Christian book he titled: “I Never Promised you a Disneyland.” The premise
of the book was that God never said all our dreams would come true. We
have no promise that life will be magical and fun. There’s no pixie dust
that will take us out of difficult situations.

In the real
adventureland of life, there are trials, disappointments, times of
unhappiness. But God promises to be there with us…with the result that we
will grow in patience and in virtue.

And it won’t cost you $74.00
to experience it.

For Moody Radio, I’m Wayne Pederson

When a lesson hits home

Our main point for this week's lessons was "Disciples of Jesus help others even if it costs them." The story was the Good Samaritan. The video skit from Elevate's Winter Extreme series illustrated the point really well. In small groups the kids made candy filled Valentine treat bags for area Children's Pastors who will be at our church this week for a network meeting. They weren't allowed to eat any of the candy as they worked in order to get across the point.

When I got home I started to think about the main point. Disciples of Jesus help others EVEN IF IT COSTS THEM. It was a good lesson for me. So much of my life right now is about parenting our young kids. They are an intensive, 24/7 kind of job. On Sunday morning in particular I was grumbling a bit because my 5 year old and 7 year old daughters were up at 6:30 am, ready to go in to church with me. They love to come with me at the early hour rather than coming in later with dad. My church job has in some ways been a break from the rest of my life. It gets me out of the house, thinking of things other than diapers and bottles and tying shoes and solving sibling conflicts. But now they want to go with me! Grumble I might, but today I heard that "Disciples of Jesus help others (even their own kids) even if it costs them." Even if there is no reward. Even if there is no thank you. Even if it is inconvenient. Even if it cuts into my "me-time."

The same thing can be said of the volunteers in our ministry. We do thank them often. I frequently pray that God will give them a sense of reward for their work. But showing up every week to work with kids COSTS them. They rearrange family schedules, they get up early, they may miss out on some adult education opportunities. They don't always see the difference they are making in the lives of their kids. They sometimes leave with a headache. But, they do it because they are disciples of Jesus. And Disciples of Jesus help others EVEN IF IT COSTS THEM.

It was a good attitude adjustment for me. So today when I am carrying a clinging, whining toddler through the grocery store I will remember that this is what disciples of Jesus do. They help, they love, they serve even when it isn't easy. I think that the teacher may have learned more than the students this week!

Ear to the ground

Over Christmas break I spent a lot of time in the van with my kids and their friends. These rides offered valuable glimpses into their worlds as I listened to their chatter.

One consistent undertone in their conversations was ONEUPMANSHIP. Maybe this was especially obvious because we just got done with the gift-giving frenzy that is Christmas. I heard it among 9 year old boys and 5 year old girls alike. Who got what, who has the better video game system, whose video game system cost the most, whose dad has the most money, whose grandpa has the biggest house, who is going on the best vacation, and on and on.

It hit me! By having my ear to the ground, I uncovered a real-life, relevant issue that kids are facing. How can we show kids what the Bible has to say about contentment, materialism, selfishness and bragging? How can we help them become more like Jesus by applying His teachings to a situation like this?

Keeping up on pop-culture and technology is important. But if we really want to affect kids in significant ways, we need to keep up with the issues that they are facing while they are driving in carpools, playing at recess and interacting with their siblings.

Do you have places where you can keep your ear to the ground to hear what kids are facing? Get yourself near a group of kids. Listen. Don't interrupt. Don't ask questions. Don't direct the conversation. Listen to their words and listen between the lines. You may just find that keeping your ear to the ground gives you some great teaching topics as well as lots to pray about!