Summertime is here. It’s an exciting time. People are on the move, filling their schedules with activities and visits to various places. At the end of the season we usually have a new photograph collection, perhaps some fresh home video footage, an assortment of aches and pains, and general tiredness from the “vacation experience.”
If we are not careful, this season will fly by without leaving any substantive deposit in our lives. But this does not have to be the case. With some prayerful planning, the summer months can be a time of healthy growth, memory building and relationship strengthening.
As I think back on our family’s various vacation experiences, the ones that are most meaningful to me are those that enriched our relationships and strengthened our family bonds. When our family talks of past vacations, we almost never talk about the great sites we saw or the wonderful places we visited. Our recollections focus on the unique and sometimes funny moments we shared together. Being with each other and loving each other is what matters most.
With this in mind let me encourage you to adopt four summer goals. During the Summer of 2009:
- Focus on your relationships.
In the midst of all your summer plans and activities make the growth of your relationships a high priority. Isolate two or three relational skills you would like to develop or improve and give attention to them this summer. Ask yourself what you can do to make your interactions with family and friends more meaningful. Determine to become a “relationship expert,” not in theory but in practice. Find a good book to read that will challenge you in this area of growth.
- Focus on building good memories.
The experiences of life are opportunities to “make memories” that can be enjoyed for many years. Some of the greatest memories come from the most unexpected events.
Our family remembers a vacation trip we took one summer to a particular mountain “resort.” The pictures on the brochure were gorgeous. It was to be a week in paradise. When we arrived and checked into our quarters we discovered that the photo on the brochure was either very old or of a different place with the same name! After some negotiations with the front desk we found suitable (and clean!) accommodations. What started out as a disappointment turned into one of our best family vacations. It is a positive memory that lingers to this day.
Summer is a great time to make memories. Don’t become “stressed-out” when things do not go as perfectly as you envisioned them. When your plans come unglued or disappointments come, turn it into fun, bonding moments. These memories will be the gold you’ll carry with you for years to come.
- Expand your relationship horizons.
In short, decide to make some new friends this summer. Reach out to a neighbor or a co-worker. Invite them to a barbecue at your home. Take a walk in your neighborhood and determine to actually stop and talk to people along the way. Be friendly. It may not feel comfortable at first, but it grows on you, and other people will appreciate it.
- Renew your relationship with God.
All human relationships leave us empty if they are not undergirded by a deep and growing relationship with God. Learning to relate to Him as our loving Heavenly Father, learning to talk to Him and trust Him with the stuff of our lives is the way to peace, internally and relationally. Allow the Lord to saturate you with His love this summer. Dedicate time to Him. Don’t schedule Him out of your life. Use your summer to seek a renewed love for the Lord.
I hope you will join me in adopting these goals. I know God will be pleased with us, and others will be blessed as well!
Pastor Dale
This Saturday we celebrate the birth of the United States of America. I am looking forward to the 4th of July. It is great to take time each year to express our gratitude as American citizens for our country, our freedom and the many people over the years who have sacrificed significantly to secure our liberty.
How do we know if our minds have been poisoned? What are the symptoms?
Poised and prepared to go into a land flowing with milk and honey, Joshua and the people ran into a major obstacle. Between them and the placed they had dreamed of for 4 decades was a flooded Jordan River. On the brink of a new beginning, their future was threatened by circumstances they had no control over and no power to change. What were they to do?
It was the phrase 
