If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. I Corinthians 13: 1
How many of us feel like a resounding gong some days? “Clean up your room, I said clean up your room.” “Shut the door, shut it, the door, shut the door.” Shut the front door!! We have had some serious family sit downs these first few days of summer. You know, when the convo starts, “I will not be your servant this summer. You will hang up your own towels, put away your own things, clean up your own messes.” Because summer can be a renewing time for us, with fewer schedules, slower days, more time to read and soak up the sun. We need these times, to be renewed and face the other 9 months of schedules, homework, and soccer practices. So, establishing boundaries for our kids that allow all of us to keep our sanity is the first step to having our best summer! Keeping it simple:
You do you-take care of your own messes, clothes, towels, etc…. then the rest of us won’t have to clean up after you. By focusing on what you can do to help, you are respecting the rest of your family.
Family Fun– We want you to have fun with your friends, get time to rest, enjoy your never-ending soccer conditioning. But family is family, and we want to see your faces once in a while. That means sometimes PUT DOWN THE PHONES!! This includes us, moms and dads.
READ-This is going to be a hard one because my kids seem to want to take a break from everything resembling school. But reading is so important, and I will encourage it every which way. Trips to the library, family read-alouds, prizes for who reads the most. Anything I can think of to get them to read!!
God Time-Vacation Bible, School, summer camp, reading the Bible more, family prayer and devotionals. Sometimes faith focus gets squeezed out during the year with all of the activities. We put an emphasis on renewing our faith in the summer, seeing God more in nature, seeking to be kind and serve others in some way.
I want to be filled with love for my kids, and let’s face it, I love them much more when they clean up after themselves, don’t roll their eyes when I ask them to play a board game, and when they are kind humans. J.K., I love them no matter what. Instead of being a clanging cymbal in their ears, however, I hope they will want to hang out with mom and dad once in a while, which gives opportunities for good talks and hearing about their lives. Boundaries are a good thing and produce peace. Praying for all of our summer breaks to be times of building up our families with love and fun times together! May we put away our cymbals and gongs of shouting, idle threats, and exasperation, and instead create symphonies of creativity, enjoyment, and celebration. Happy Summer friends!
