Author: Pastor Steve Duffy
I remember as a child/teen looking forward to summers; a more relaxed schedule in general, yet with significant shifts in the schedule and types of activities than the normal school week rhythm. Summers meant more time available to spend in various areas of life since the primary focus of school was no longer in view. How might we be intentional and prevent these summer transitions from sidelining aspects of stewarding our whole life as parents/leaders and in the lives of young people that we influence for Christ?
There is no easy answer, but an intentional posture to evaluate areas of living and how the summer schedule/activities specifically intersect with these is helpful. As my wife and I moved into parenting, the summers were full of activities, vacations and weekend trips, etc. Things that we did not have the capacity to do through the school year in the quantity that summer allowed for. As a parent I recall having great aspirations to have a better plan year after year to help make the summertime most meaningful to each of the kids and to the family. However, more often than not summer was over, 10+ weeks went by, and we looked back and said, “where did the time go?” In that evaluation, although we may have excelled in some areas of stewarding our whole self, other areas were neglected unintentionally because of the significant shifts in schedule & activities. It was tough to be proactive in keeping some habits continual (e.g., such as personal time in God’s word & prayer, family devotions). We didn’t plan for some areas (spiritual life/disciplines) as well as others (calendar time at night and weekends for activities/vacations).
First things first. There are a million (or billion?) options for how to spend our time in the summer. A plan is wise, and the book of Proverbs has much to say about planning (e.g., 3:5-6, 15:22, 16:9, 19:21, 27:1, etc). In setting a plan, consider planning through the grid of the following:
- Pursuing holiness in all aspects of life (1 Pet 1:13-16)
- Making it your aim to please God (2 Cor 5:9) (this is about obedience to His word, not an “earning salvation” statement!)
- To glorify God with your whole life (1 Cor 10:31)
- Don’t let “fun” be the primary/only criteria. It matters, but so do other elements of our choices.
- Use the plan as a guide, but hold onto it loosely as you walk by the Spirit. At times when the Lord determines your steps that might mean a change of plans.
- Rejoice in the Lord in the planning and in living it out
- Stewarding all aspects of your life is in view
This past Wednesday night, when talking to the students about their summer plans, I mentioned the following categories to evaluate regarding what life looks like this summer:
- Stewarding Relationship with God (Spiritual Life/Disciplines)
- Stewarding Relationships with Others (family, friends, believers vs unbelievers)
- Stewardship @ Home (Acts 2:44-45, Acts 4:32-35, Rom 12:13, Heb 13:2, 1 Pet 4:9)
- Stewardship @ Work (Col 3:23-24, Eph 4:28)
- Stewarding Service to Others - Dying to Self (Luke 9:23-25, Phil 2:3-4, 1 Cor 12:4-31)
- Stewarding Physical Health (1 Cor 6:19-20)
- Stewarding Finances
- Stewarding Time (outside of work)
- Forming accountability
Each of these categories had several areas of examples along with Scriptures. And by the way, this list applies all year long! So this exercise served to 1) identify what are the areas of living that God would have us steward, keeping in mind the “whole self”, and 2) when the summer transition begins, what specific areas should have increased focus so that current patterns of living are not neglected.
The previous list is not exhaustive and you might find other ways to categorize the main areas of daily living, but this can serve as a starting point as well as a good evaluation tool. Consider what a conversation might look like with young people in your life to ask about their summer plans. With summer or vacation, it seems that our relationship with God is often most impacted. Morning or evening devo times fall victim to sleeping schedule changes and increased activity. So at the minimum, check yourself in how you are doing and then engage the young people in your life in the same!
Related to planning or goals, I find this quote humorous yet truthful:
“If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” Zig Ziglar
I’m grateful that the word of God gives the answer as to what to aim for ! 🙂
Photo by Ksenia Makagonova on Unsplash
