Summertime

School is out and summer is here! Have you made any plans?
We look forward to the summer as we anticipate warm days, bright sunshine, blue skies, and fun times. Summer brings travel, exciting places to visit, lazy days on vacation, and family time. Summer also takes things from us like money and energy! Vacations are wonderful to take and you really don't have to spend very much to just get away for a few days. Vacations that put us in debt are not wise to take. Is it the location or who you are spending the time with that is most important? We surely want both to be a wonderful experience. Have you ever taken a vacation with another family only to find that you are so different that no one enjoyed the trip? You made great plans with big ideas of fun but you ended up being miserable!
Families should spend time together making fun memories. I encourage families to protect themselves from the rat-race of jobs, sports, carpooling, and other such demands. While these are often necessary time consumers, they don't have to drain us from what is most important. The family worshipping and serving together.
It may sound like a strange idea, but what if your family decided to make your vacation this year a family mission trip. You looked at your time together as being on mission while enjoying the time away. Sadly, many families drift away from regular church attendance during the summer. Attendance drops as does the giving. Families make choices to use their time and money differently in order to get away for the daily grind. Weekends become time to spend at the lake or the beach rather than in worship. Oddly enough, there are some who give no second thought to dismissing church responsibilities considering themselves to have earned the summer off.
Let me encourage you to spend quality time together as a family and be on mission. And while you are enjoying the summer, be faithful to the Lord in your coming and going and giving.

From My Heart
BR