Planning A Purposeful Summer

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27

Every May I find myself with a familiar pit in my stomach.

Instead of feeling the freedom of summer approaching – lazy mornings, later nights, poolside popsicles, fireflies and campsite chats – I FEEL PANIC.

Like… I HAVE BOYS TYPE OF PANIC

Give us about three days of idealistic summer bliss and after that it turns to six big brown eyes staring at me — “What are we doing today? Can I play media? I am so bored. We have to go run errands again? Can I watch a show? I’m hungry. Can we go somewhere? Mom? Mom? Mom? MOM! Can I play media?”

You too?

So in effort to avoid mass mayhem and mama meltdown, I spend thoughtful energy praying over and creating a plan that will nurture my motherhood mission for the next two months.

Planning Our Purposeful Summer

1. Recognize my MOM MISSION and identify their JOB DESCRIPTION

2. Write a family summer “mission statement” and supportive scripture

3. Create a morning rhythm that nurtures heart, soul, mind and strength

4. Make a blue print for the entire summer calendar

Today I just wanted to share more about step one – devising my plan of action and KNOWING MY MISSION.

Have you thought about this?

We have the blessing of 24/7 access to our kids lives for the next eight or more weeks. What an opportunity to engage and invest! I really want us to see summer JUST LIKE THIS… An opportunity. Not an imposition.

So lets pray first about this…What do you want to accomplish with them? When they go back to school in August, what do you want them to say about their summer? How do you want them to remember their time spent? And I am not just talking about their calendar. I am thinking more about their character.

Late May, I went to work writing a little job description for myself (insert proud grin!).

My job description is to LOVE AND LIVE FOR GOD. TEACH MY BOYS TO DO THE SAME BY LEADING BY EXAMPLE AND MAKING AN IMPACT IN THEIR WORLD.

Their job description is to Luke 10:27.

That’s it.

The greatest privilege as a mom is to introduce Christ to our children!!!! To lead their hearts to Him in all things… When their feelings have been hurt by a friend. Or when they are overjoyed about honor roll. Or when they are mad at their sibling….. always directing them to the Cross for rejoicing or help.

And summer is a crash course in that. 24/7 Shepherding their little hearts to their God.

So before I go into Steps 2, 3 and 4 of Planning a Purposeful Summer, ask yourself this….

WHAT IS YOUR MOM MISSION THIS SUMMER?

WHAT IS THEIR “JOB DESCRIPTION” AS A CHILD?

Write it down. Pray it out. Come up with a scripture. Feel free to share too!

This is the most important piece! Start here and the rest will frame around!