My family and I just returned from our Road Trip 2016. We spent about 24 hours of actual drive time going from Adrian Missouri to Green Bay Wisconsin then the Wisconsin Dells and finally to the Mall of America. We stayed in 5 hotels and lived out of our suitcases for 7 full days.

This trip was one of the many trips I have made with my family through the years. We have traveled to Florida twice, Lake Erie, Alaska and back again, to Anchorage while in Alaska, to our parents repeatedly, and occasionally a one to three hour trip to anywhere we could drive.

This trip was a little bitter-sweet. My oldest son just graduated high school and this might be our last road trip together as a whole family. There is a good chance he will return home next summer and we might be able to do it one more time, but I am not getting my hopes up.

For us the family vehicle has been more important than the family dinner table. Many studies show the value of a family sitting down to share a meal and having quality conversation. We have enjoyed those times but the family vehicle has been far more important. We have traveled together and have seen the country together. We have seen the sights and shared the experiences. We have eaten all kinds of wonderful food at hundreds of restaurants. Our trips have been our time together as a family.

My simple thought for today is to find a family time for yourself. Find something you enjoy with your family and spend time doing it together. Maybe it’s traveling, maybe it’s eating, maybe it’s sports or maybe it is one of a thousand other activities.

Resist the urge to have him do his thing, her do her thing, and the kids do something else. Great families are not forged in the separate time of the individual. Rather they are the result of enjoying the blessings of God together.