Many people consider Memorial Day the unofficial beginning of summer. Many of our children have either ended the school year or will be doing so in the next few days. Summer vacations are getting underway. My family and I will be headed out of town starting next week so my weekly email will be taking a two week hiatus. It seems summer is upon us!
When we think about summer we think about warm, lazy days. We think about kicking back and relaxing. Unfortunately, many people take a break from their faith walk. Rather than taking advantage of this slow time of the year to grow closer to Jesus, they slip backwards in their journey. Don’t let that happen to you! Consider ways you might build your relationship with Jesus. Here are some things you might consider this summer to grow your relationship with the Lord:
Many people use the summer to pick up a book they have been meaning to read. Consider picking up a book of the Bible to read and study. Learn as much as you possibly can about that one book. One of the best experiences I had in seminary was taking a summer course on the Gospel of Matthew. I remember one of the assignments was to read Matthew as many times as I possibly could during the course. I don’t know how many times I ended up reading Matthew, but each time I read it, I was blessed. I was fully committed in those few short weeks to get as much as I could out of this one book of the Bible. (As an fyi – We will be starting a message series on the Book of Revelation on June 24)
Consider a service project for yourself or your family to serve your church or community. (Consider participating in one of our Ready to Go Summer of Service Projects)
Commit to making new friends. Maybe you have some neighbors you want to reach out to that you know are going through a hard time. Invite them over for pool party or BBQ in the backyard. Offer to them the love and hospitality of Jesus.
Connect to the Body of Christ. Related to the above, consider connecting with some of your brothers and sisters in Christ at Lord of Life and work on building those relationships. Monday night is Lord of Life Night at the Kane County Cougars. On June 15 there will be a Men’s Simulcast event. Summer VBS is fast approaching. Watch for these opportunities all throughout the summer or take the cue from #3 and invite someone over to your house for an evening.
Don’t forget to worship when you are away! We are told to honor the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. Sunday is a day of worship wherever we are. If you find yourself out of town for the weekend, find a house of worship where you are. These worship experiences can be very rewarding. And if you do worship while away and you have a great experience, make sure to tell us so about it. We can always learn from others.
Share “faith talks” with your children. Take advantage of the time you have with your family. If you go on a camping trip talk about God’s creation and how he made it all. If you are out by the pool talk with them about their baptism and what the water means.
Dream and pray. For me, summer is a time for day-dreaming. Take some of that downtime to speak and to hear from God. Allow yourself to dream about kingdom opportunities that God may be putting before you. Remember that nothing is impossible with God and that anything worth doing will never be easy. Maybe God will use this summer to prepare you for a big step of faith he is leading you to take this Fall.
I pray you have a great summer and I look forward to all God has prepared for us. If you have other ideas, would love to hear from you.
