Summer rhythm

Summer has a much slower rhythm than other seasons.  It's a time to relax and refresh before the busyness of fall comes back.  Sometimes I can still pack our summer so full that it whizzes by, but this year I've purposefully kept it as empty as possible.  It's been so nice to settle into a slower pace.

I'm a night owl.  My mom says I've been that way since I was born.  So summer is my time to stay up until 1 or 2 in the morning and sleep in as late as I want.  I love not waking up to an alarm.  My day starts off so much nicer when I can wake up on my own.

After I wake up, I get the kids their breakfast and I spend some time catching up on emails and Facebook.  I go get ready for the day and maybe do a few chores.  Then it's lunch time.  After lunch the kids have to turn off the television.  Then my kids do their workbooks.

Yes - I give my kids homework for the summer.  I can't help it.  My degree is in elementary education.  I want my kids to stay actively involved in learning.  So I get them workbooks that are for the grade they're going into.  This year is the first year that my youngest is working on a preschool workbook.  We all sit down at the table together.  My two older ones usually don't need my help except when they need some clarification, but my youngest needs my guidance through each page.  I've told people about this tradition of ours before and they usually tell my kids that they can come live with them since I'm so mean and make them do school work in the summer.  My kids always tell them the same thing - "Actually, we like it."

After we do the workbooks it's chore time.  Then they can play or read for a while.  I always hope I've finished my own chores by this time so that I can work on my writing.  Soon it's dinner time and my husband comes home.  We spend some time as a family - watching movies, playing board games.  Then I read to them (right now we're reading through the Chronicles of Narnia) and it's time for bed.

I love this rhythm.  I love the time we spend together.  I love the slowness.  I love the routine.  I love the rest.  I keep so busy all the time that it's nice to slow down for a change.

It's not that we never do anything else.  We'll go to the zoo or on a play date.  We'll go swimming sometimes or go to a movie.  Once a week I try to bake with the kids.  We've made cookies and batter breads so far.  But that's part of the beauty of it, too.  We have the ability to be pretty flexible.  I love summer!

Vacation Bible School

I've always loved Vacation Bible School!  As a kid I loved the themes, the music, the crafts, the corny skits, playing with my friends and the Bible lessons.  I actually liked to see how the lessons fit with the theme.  Sometimes it was a stretch, but sometimes they fit well.  I looked forward to it every year.

Actually, I'm still a kid at heart and I still look forward to VBS every year.  Since middle school I've helped in various ways in VBS.  I've helped or taught in almost every age group from 2 & 3 year olds to 4th-6th grade.  I've helped in crafts.  I've led the music.  I've helped in puppets.  Honestly, I've enjoyed each and every task I've had the blessing to undertake.  One of my favorite things to do was when my friends and I would make large posters to decorate the church.  We used to make way more than we needed, because I was a firm believer in "too much is just enough".  It was a time for me and my friends to hang out all day long while we worked on the posters.  It was such a fun time!

This year I had the opportunity to participate in VBS in a way that I never had before.  My sister and I co-directed our church's VBS.  It was so much fun to see all the "behind the scenes" work that goes into VBS and I have a completely new appreciation for all the help that is required to put this together.  It's one thing to know that a lot of work goes into it and another to actually see the work that goes into it.  We had an absolutely amazing group of directors working on this and they made our job so easy!  We were so thankful for each and every one of them!

One of the things I prayed about when I first accepted this position was for humility.  Whenever I'm given a position of authority or visibility I'm very aware that pride can begin to creep in.  As I look back on my time as a director I have to laugh because God definitely answered my prayer in such a way that I couldn't take any credit even if I'd wanted to.  God took control from the day I started working on it and everything fell into place so neatly and smoothly that it was obvious that He was at work.  My sister and I joke that God knew we couldn't do it so He just told us to sit back while He took care of it all.  I've spent some time since VBS finished just reflecting back on all the answered prayers, all the details that were easily taken care of, all the issues that were dealt with quickly and smoothly and I'm just blown away at all the different ways where His working was so completely evident.  I can only sit back in awe at the work He did and it makes me smile.

No matter what areas I'm lead to participate in VBS in the future, I know that this year has changed the way I view VBS.  I'm going to be much more aware of the people who work so hard beforehand.  I'm going to be much more aware of God's working in the smallest of details.  I'm going to appreciate all the volunteers who help out through the week even more.  This year has been such a blessing and I'm thankful for the opportunity that I had to participate in this way.



As a side note, VBS has kept me from working on book three, but now my schedule is much more free and I'm hoping that after I've had this week to get my house back in shape that I'll be back to writing again next week.  The story is working in my mind and I'm anxious to get my thoughts out on paper.
Best Laid Plans
Smell the Roses