School’s out for summer! Which means we *should* be getting a little bit of a break along with the school kids. Welcome longer daylight hours and cookouts, swimming and road trips, watermelon and snow cones, movie nights and fireworks - oh, how we missed you. Of course, as a mom, there’s still work to be done... but I do like to ”summer hard”.
Over the decades I’ve experienced summer as an adult, each summer has looked a little bit different, but I learned early on to let myself take a break. Sometimes that means an afternoon on the back porch reading a book and sometimes that means an actual trip away. The bottom line is if we don’t refresh our souls and fill up our spirits, we will have nothing left to pour into those around us and we won’t enjoy them. Especially as a mom, I have found summer to be the perfect time to fill up my inner tank!
Although there is no such thing as a “typical'' summer, here are some things that have brought joy to some summers of mine:
Join our CRBC book clubs or a summer Bible study
Have coffee with a life-giving friend
Make a “must see” movie list for weekly movie nights
Organize the closet or space that’s been driving you crazy
Closet/clothes clean out in each kids’ room
Finish the project you keep putting off
Have unrushed-non-school-related conversations with each of your kid(s)
Have an on-going board game or cards tournament (With prizes at the end of summer!)
Weekly date night or back porch quality time with your husband
Visit family, friends or the elderly, and have kids make a craft or treat for them
Save some money for one “treat day” (mani, pedi, massage, new outfit, flowers to plant, etc). Whatever gives you joy and refreshment, make sure it makes it into your summer
Spend time in prayer about the upcoming school year (moms of school-aged kids), and look forward to it with anticipation!
No matter how you choose to spend your summer, I hope you make the most of the days you’ve been given. God has graciously allowed us to experience four distinct seasons, so let’s embrace these last few weeks by soaking up summer and being ready to usher in the fall.
Meet the Author!
Heather McAnear is a wife, mom, author and speaker with a passion for sharing God's truth to help women understand their uniquely beautiful design and how to use it for God's glory! In fact, Heather hosts the Uniquely Beautiful Stories podcast on iTunes in hopes do just that! She loves teaching young married couples with her husband, time with her three teen-aged children, traveling, enjoying good chocolate and long conversations in coffee shops. CRBC has been her church home for more than two decades and serving on the Women's Ministry team has been one of her greatest joys!