This year it felt like it took forever for summer to get here! After all of the delays this winter, school just kept going and going and going. And then all of a sudden this week… BAM! Summer is here. Around the Smith house we love summer! Camping trips, days at the pool, hiking, fishing, campfires & s’mores. As we look over our plans for the summer and all of the things we want to do as a family, the summer doesn’t seem big enough to hold it all. We pack summer vacation to the brim, and in the midst of all the busyness our rhythm and routines can get tossed aside.
I was reading an article that another pastor shared in which he posed the question:
“Do we take vacations from God?”
After all our dreaming about what we plan to do this summer, it got me thinking about how little time we spent thinking about how to make sure God remains at the center of our summer life. Sure, we plan to be at church every weekend we are in town. But how do I personally, and with my family, put God right in the middle of everything? How do we keep from relegating him to the weekends at church? How do we keep from taking a summer vacation from God?
The simple answer is just the same as it always is. We have to plan for it. We can’t just hope that somehow, in the midst of our summer busyness that we are going to magically grow in our relationship with God. We need to plan ahead and prepare just like all the planning we put into our vacations.
Plan how you are going to spend time in God’s word this summer.
Start a summer reading plan
Read out loud with your kids
Make it a priority to pray
Pray as a family before you take off on any trips or excursions
Thank God for each of the fun things you get to do.
Look for moments to recognize God in the midst of your summer.
Enjoying the beauty of the night sky while camping – talk about the greatness of God.
Enjoying delicious summer snacks – talk about how good God is.
Exploring nature – talk about how incredible God is and His amazing creation.