My Top Five Vacation Tips
By Drenda Keesee
- Make it an adventure.
Try something new. A vacation is the perfect time to try an activity you’ve been interested in but haven’t had the time for or isn’t available where you live. Get off the beaten path. Research some lesser-known local gems instead of just the touristy locations. Get outside and experience where you are. Be willing to say yes to things you might not normally do or try.
- Bring the right attitude.
Decide that whatever happens…
…you’ll still have fun. Remember that it’s the people you’re with and what you’re experiencing together that matters most.
- Make it educational.
Get your children acquainted with your destination in advance of your trip and teaching them about certain sites, traditions, cultural differences, etc. will really help them connect when they see those things in person.
Planning out parts of your vacation as a treasure hunt for your child, scheduling some time to connect with local experts, and approaching your trip with service in mind—thinking about how your family can give back to the community or culture you’ll be visiting—can also make your vacation educational and incredibly memorable.
- Be flexible.
You’ve got to plan some details, but it’s almost always cheaper to be flexible. Minor tweaks in your travel plans can save you a bundle. Flying midweek instead of the weekend, with stops instead of direct, traveling off-season, staying at lesser-known hotels, etc. can all save you hundreds of dollars. Think outside the box and do your research.
- Enjoy the journey getting there.
Half the fun of any trip should be getting there. Planning ahead of time, packing smart, and finding ways to have fun on the journey there (and back) will help you make the most of your vacation.
Listen in Now to Faith Life Church!
Drenda Keesee’s contagious zeal and humorous personal experiences help make her ministry of spiritual, emotional and relational wholeness one that will bless your life and spark a new fire in your spirit.
A wife of over 30 years and a mother of five children, Drenda has ministered at churches, seminars, and conferences, and through the mediums of television and radio, for more than 20 years.
Her books, The New Vintage Family, Better Than You Think, and She Gets It are available wherever books are sold. In these heartfelt books, Drenda shares her personal journey and the life lessons that have brought her to where she is today, as well as practical answers that all people need to live a joyful life.
Drenda and her husband Gary founded Faith Life Now, a ministry designed to spread the message of freedom in the areas of finances, faith, marriage and family. Faith Life Now hosts conferences worldwide, and sponsors both Fixing the Money Thing, which Drenda co-hosts with her husband Gary, and Drenda.
Through their own life experiences, the Keesees have found the principles from God’s Word to be powerful and effective. At one point, Drenda was a young, suicidal feminist with no hope of ever being “good enough” for her own standards of perfection. She never wanted the “inconvenience” of a husband or children, and she was on her own path to success. But the stress of trying to achieve perfection and perform for love left her broken and used. She had success, but it was nothing compared to the pain and loneliness it had also brought.
That’s when God got a hold of her heart. It was there—at her lowest point—that she found the One who accepted and loved her, faults and all. Since that transformation, Drenda has had a passion to reach women who find themselves where she once was.
She married Gary after attending college, and there she found herself in a personal boot camp of sorts. She says, “I cried and told God, ‘I can do anything but be a wife and mother.’” She committed to learning how to do it God’s way. Through the many years of raising their children and struggling to make ends meet, Drenda learned from their mistakes. “I didn’t know how to be a wife and mother, but God saved our marriage, taught us how to parent our children for success, showed us how to have financial success, and then irony of all ironies, He called us to ministry.” It’s truly because of these life experiences that Drenda can now share so many insightful principles for people who are now going through the same struggles.
Gary and Drenda pastor Faith Life Church at The Now Center in New Albany, Ohio and also are the CEOs of Forward Financial Group.
