Ah springtime in full bloom, while summer feels like only a whisper away.
Lately our days are filled with simple meals, big smoothies, milling grains at home, folding laundry outside, kids singing as they prepare mud soup in their outdoor kitchen, and doing this all while tramping along bare foot. The beauty of this season is here in full.
Lately I’ve been waking up with the sun, reading Scripture and praying with early morning sunbeams shining through the east-facing window in our room, dancing across my lap. I’ve been dreaming about the long summer days that lie ahead of us with expectancy. I have a vision in my mind that is light and colorful, spacious and intentionally uneventful.
With summer upon us, meaning ample unstructured time that we could fill with entertainment, distractions, shallow excitement. There is the “invitation and opportunity to stand aside and say, ‘wait, here’s a bunch of unformed time. We could take this and reshape it in such a way that our lives do become more spacious. That those open spaces for wonder or prayer or attention can be formed and set throughout our days in a really unique way.'” Heard recently by Sarah Clarkson, I couldn’t agree more.
A spacious summer. A flourishing summer.
How can we be intentional in the days ahead with unplanned adventure and simple pleasure?
How can we create rhythms and of times of returning to the Good, the True and Beautiful?
After weeks of thoughts and ideas rolling around in my mind, and only a few weeks left before summer actually begins, my notion needed a little more solidification. And I wanted to share my ideas with you here.
With my kids being pretty young (almost 7, 4.5 and 1.5), there are some natural limitations, like morning naps and snacks and packing all the extras when planning excursions with kids. But instead of seeing these limitations as harnessing, I’m simply allowing them to guide us. Mornings at home to nourish our bodies with a solid breakfast, nourish our souls with Scripture and singing hymns, and moving our bodies as we workout together as a family and go for a walk in the neighborhood. All before the necessary morning nap makeup the natural rhythms in our home — these are not new to us, my kids know by now that a great way to begin your day is by reading the Bible, eating a good breakfast and moving your body. But it does take intentionality to say no to morning plans and to slow down long enough for all the members in our family to flourish.
“We are living lives rooted in the Presence and Person that we meet when we come to the quiet.” Clarkson continued. I’m allowing her words to guide me this summer as I pursue a flourishing summer with my family. I’m also marking our summer by these well-known words: to know God, to love God, to enjoy Him and to glorify God forever. I want these words and quotes I’ve shared to be the catalyst for our summer where we begin to further explore and teach our two older kids what they were created for — their unique purpose and design.
We were all created to know and love, to enjoy and glorify God, and we all have a specific reason for our placement in this world. I want to search out why God gave my kids their personalities, their gifting and interests, why they were born in this time period and I see this summer as a launching pad full of exploration.
Weekly rhythms
With school and other daily/weekly meetings coming to an end, our days and evenings and weekends are so open! Every week we hold a Sabbath — a day to stop, rest, delight and worship. I’ve written in more detail in other blog posts, but our Sabbaths during the school year include hanging out with our small group every Sunday evening and with that on pause for the summer, we tend to meander to a nearby lake for a late afternoon dip while we look for frogs, or eat alfresco and linger around a camp fire until our eyes grow sleepy.
On Monday mornings, for the last 6 months, my friend, Abby, and I have been swapping watching each others kids. It’s honestly been one of the most fun things I’ve done as a mother. I get to bless another mom with a few hours to herself and I’m in turn blessed by having extra tiny hands in my home. We’ll continue to do this throughout the summer — if you’ve never swapped date nights or play dates, I highly recommend.
The only other set plan in our weekly agenda is hosting a workout/book club Wednesday mornings. Abby, the same friend we swap watching each others kids is the same mom I put together a weekly workout/book club for other moms to bring their kids to. Our rough plan is to have two sitters to watch all 17(!!!) kids while us moms talk through the book A Lifegiving Home and then head outside for a group workout led by Abby.
Daily Rhythms
My youngest and I truly need to get outside first thing when we wake up — to touch our bare feet in the dewy grass, close our eyes and let the sun wash our faces with light. We inhale with a praise and exhale ready to begin our day. As I mentioned earlier, as a family our morning rhythms basically stay the same regardless of the time of year. We eat a nourishing breakfast and then feast upon Scripture as a family. This summer I created a simple study through the letter of Ephesians — I’ve written it solely for my family, but perhaps someday I will share it with the world.
In the 8-week study I include Scripture memory, hymns that go along with each portion of weekly Scripture, time exploring beautiful artwork and simple sketches and practices to do in our homemade nature journals. I know God will bless the time I set aside with my own children for a few moments each morning this summer, reading His Word and finding Him in nature. My husband and I enjoy doing studies like this alongside our kids, we hold the understanding that no one can outgrow beautiful artwork or studying God’s “living and active” Word.
When we say yes to good and beautiful things we are also saying no to other things — even if they seem good and beautiful as well. In order to say yes to teaching and training my young ones I’m saying no to big projects or home updates or getting my podcast up and running again, I’m saying no to social media — although I haven’t been on social media in years, every now and then I log on to look up a specific account for health inspiration but for the summer I’m simply saying no. In order to set time aside to maintain my household rhythms like cleaning and making meals from scratch I know I cannot say yes to every adventure, play date, party. My heart is in my home, my littles will only be little for so long. Saying no keeps my curiosity at bay and in turn opens my mind to a new sense of creativity I feel in my home, and in turn, my curiosity blooms 100-fold.
A Flourishing Summer Playlist
Lastly, I created a playlist to help set the tone in your home. It’s a mix of instrumentals and songs you can raise your hands to in praise with your kids. Click here for the playlist or click on the icon below. I will continue to add new songs as the summer weeks go on.
I’ve been praying for you as you’ve read through this. Praying for God to give you a vision for your summer — the beautiful thing is that your summer is already planned, by God Himself. The Creator of the universe has already crafted the most lovely summer for you and your family. Ask for wisdom, for vision, for guidance and He will unveil it all to you. It’s your summer to flourish.
