Summer is in full swing, and perhaps you feel like it is slipping through your fingers, and you aren’t accomplishing all you hoped. In our modern society, busyness seems to be a badge of honor. If you aren’t involved in multiple activities, camps, vacations, VBS programs, playdates, pool parties . . . you are shirking your duty as a parent. Or in other words, letting your kids down.
I’m here to say don’t believe it. There is something far more important for you to do this summer while school is out than to fill every waking moment with exciting activities. That something? Focus on God. Learn to live in His Presence. Be still for a while and seek Him. Then teach your kids to do the same.
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Psalm 46:10 ESV
Will the Lord be exalted in your home? It doesn’t happen by accident. It doesn’t happen when the focus is on everything but Him.
You do not have to do everything. You don’t even have to do half of everything the world (even the Christian world) thinks you should do. Some activities, however, can have lasting benefits for your family.
Below are ways to invite the Lord’s presence into your home and still enjoy the Summer.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”
2 Timothy 3:16
1.) Quiet Time in God’s Word.
Don’t neglect God’s Word for yourself or your kids. Most children have a bedtime and a time they usually awake and may be young enough for naps. Whether you choose the morning before the kids stir or at night after they are safe in bed, or during naptime you need to spend time alone with God.
There are plenty of devotionals made just for kids. If your children are old enough to read, put them in a quiet place with a devotional or children’s Bible or Bible and teach them what quiet time means. Prayer and the study of God’s Word. A time to seek the Lord and His presence. If they aren’t old enough, have quiet time with them. Read a Bible story for them, sing about Jesus, and talk to them about who God is.
“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”
Psalm 119:11
“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,”
Ephesians 6:16-18
2.) Scripture Memorization
Whether you choose a long verse or chapter from the Bible to memorize by the end of summer or shorter verses to do weekly, Scripture memorization is a great way to enter into God’s presence. Memory verses can be practiced anywhere. For instance, at the breakfast/lunch/supper table, on car rides, or during family devotionals.
Daily we are inundated with godless ideologies, anti-Christian rhetoric, and blatant, brazen sinfulness. God’s word is our one weapon against all these fiery darts our adversary, Satan, tries to use to destroy our Christian families. Therefore, the importance of teaching our children God’s word cannot be overemphasized.
And . . .
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
Hebrews 4:12-13
There are two truths I have learned that can apply to this study.
(1) We are not the Holy Spirit. We cannot change our children’s hearts, our husbands’ hearts, or anyone else’s hearts. Only the Holy Spirit can. And He chooses to use God’s word for that purpose.
(2) God promises that His word will not return void. He didn’t promise my words would not return void.
Think about all the things you might tell your kids in a day:
-clean your room
-don’t wipe your hands on your clothes
-be nice to your sister
-vegetables are good for you
The list could go on and on. We must repeat ourselves daily without assurance that our words will make a difference. But God’s word does make a difference. The Lord Himself promises us it will not return void. Therefore, if we teach our children His word, we can be assured that the Lord will bring good from it.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22-23
3.) Fruit of the Spirit Challenge
Here is an idea to make our lessons count by utilizing the word of God. Take one Fruit of the Spirit and make it the family focus for a week. Learn scriptures that explain what God means when He says, “Love” for instance. Encourage behaviors that show this fruit throughout each day. Then move on to the next fruit. After the last fruit has been taught and focused on for a week, look back and see if the lessons learned from each fruit were noticeable even after that fruit’s week was up. Some may need to be repeated.
“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
Deuteronomy 11:18-19
4.) Family Worship
Families benefit from time spent together in prayer, and Bible reading. In our home, we read through the entire Bible with our kids several times before they flew the nest just by reading with them for about fifteen to twenty minutes a day. We woke up early and made it a priority. At night, we made it a priority to kneel around our ottoman and pray together before bed. We failed in many ways as parents, but I will never regret those times of seeking God’s presence through His word and prayer with my family.
Music is another way to pull our hearts toward God. Whether you listen to hymns, southern gospel, or contemporary Christian music, it can put our minds on our Creator and lead us into worship. And it can be played anytime. Turn it up in the house. Sing and dance to the Lord with your children. Play it in the car and do the same. It draws us closer to God and is a fun way to worship with our kids.
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:45
5.) Family Service
Instead of constantly catering to a child’s wants and wishes, perhaps summer could also be used to teach them about giving. The opportunities to serve outside the home may increase the older the children are, but even a young child can learn to serve by sharing and helping others with a good attitude. Learning to have a servant’s heart should start in the home.
Here are some ideas for serving others with your children:
(1) Filling backpacks/bags with essential items for the homeless.
(2) Helping the elderly with yard work, housework, shopping, or just visiting if you have smaller children. Most older people love to spend time with little ones.
(3) Making a meal for someone in need. (Illness, Injury, New Baby)
(4) Consider becoming a Foster Family.
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
Matthew 25:40
Yes, #5 is huge. From personal experience, I can attest, that it is an unequaled experience. Fostering gives you opportunities to teach your children to be compassionate givers in a unique way that cannot be duplicated any other way. The need for foster families is so great. Perhaps pray as a family about this possibility.
The suggestions for practicing the presence of God this Summer: Quiet time, Scripture Memorization, Fruit of the Spirit Challenge, Family Worship, and Family Service may seem too overwhelming to begin now, in the middle of Summer. If it does, choosing one option may suit you better. Family Worship is a good place to start. Your children need to see your devotion to the Lord Jesus. Simply taking them to church will not do it. Model for them a relationship with the Lord that transcends obligations and traditions. Let them see your love for Jesus displayed in your everyday life.
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6
Training a child takes work, imagination, perseverance, and commitment. Take my ideas and run with them or come up with your own. Either way, may you and your family come to enjoy the presence of God daily amid the Summer chaos.
At the end of the day, we all want our home to be full of peace, love, forgiveness and joy. But what control do we have with the vibe of our household?
