Great Commission Churches

July 2001

 Dear Sisters,

When John and I were just starting out as a family, he brought home a gift to me that has continued to give to us through the years. The resource book "Let's Make a Memory" by Gloria Gaither and Shirley Dobson provided many ideas for inexpensive family fun and loving memories. Lines from a Gaither song begin the book:

"We have this moment to hold in our hand, And to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand. Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come, But we have this moment today."

Summer, though, can be a very challenging time for families with children. Whoever sang "Summertime, and the livin' is easy!" must not have had three boys under the age of 12, plus several teenagers to motor about to events, work, etc. Even with all that, John and I have been making family memories for 23 years. (But, honestly, as we get older we are having a hard time remembering any of them!)

Seriously, Barb Wilson's thoughts on how to love your husband and children in special ways this summer will bless you. I hope you enjoy her ideas and using them as much as we have. After all, we can only be sure of our opportunity to love one another "for a moment today," and trust the rest to God.

Love,
Sandy

Summer Times

by Barbara Wilson, Grace Community Church of Cary, Cary, North Carolina

Don’t you enjoy summer? It’s time to sleep ’til 10, spend the entire day at the pool, sip lemonade and read all day, right? NOT!! This is what some of us dream about, but it probably doesn’t happen. If you’re like me and have been busy with the kids’ school, you really want to veg and enjoy the free time to the max. However, quiet quickly turns to
chaos as children find they have “nothing to do!”

When summer looms on the horizon, the Lord has repeatedly reminded me of the verse in Isaiah 32:8. “But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands.” With a little planning and effort, I can make a summer full of fun and opportunities to create precious memories, and you can, too!

As the school year ends, the final creative writing project I assign each child is to write down ten goals or ideas for the summer. After I sift past “fly to California” or “scuba dive off the east coast of Australia”, I usually come up with a few solid ideas from each child. One boy wanted to learn Morse code, one wanted to bat better and throw harder, and one wanted to read through The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

So, we’ve gotten a book from the library on codes, made frequent trips to the ball field and batting cage, and made quiet time for reading. All this simply takes discipline and planning. In addition, I try to evaluate the strengths and bents the Lord has given each child and capitalize on activities that develop them. For example, one of them likes to
serve by taking care of small children in Sunday School, so I seize opportunities where he is able to utilize that gift.

Think about what you have around the house that you don’t pull out during the school year - something that’s too big or messy. One of our boys has a pottery wheel so we make sure we get that out each summer and create a few things.

Teach your children a new game and play it together. One of our favorites is Balderdash, but several of our boys are learning backgammon. It’s also fun to have game competitions to find the ultimate winner.

One of our favorite things to do is rent a hotel room on the 4th of July near the location of the city fireworks display. We invite friends over that afternoon to swim and cook out and then stroll over to view the fireworks. Of course, we’ve staked out the perfect spot earlier in the afternoon and put our blankets there. Afterwards, we are able to come back, swim and avoid a huge traffic jam.

Remember, more is caught than taught. When Mom and Dad both play with the family together, the children see and experience love and commitment. They learn security and stability. Of course, if your family is like ours, disagreements are bound to happen anytime everyone gets together. But, it’s just another opportunity to train how to respond in love and humility.

Don’t forget to plan special times with that sweetie of yours. When Titus 2:4 says we should love our husbands, it means we should philandros them: adoring them, enjoying them, planning how to create an atmosphere of honor, deep companionship, and intimacy. So grab the extra time and utilize the warm weather to plan some special time together. Of course, the most obvious was is to get away, just the two of you. But, how about climbing up on the roof and looking at the stars together? Play sports together or walk together in the cool of the evening.

You can probably come up with better ideas than this, as you pray for God to give you creativity, and see what He lays on your heart. Hopefully, this short article has inspired you to “not give up in doing good” (in planning family activities), for in due time you will reap the rewards of love and companionship.