Keeping Summer Relaxed and Family Centered (& summer giveaway day!)

watermelonIt’s hard to believe that summer is quickly coming to a close, with only a few weeks left until the school year begins yet again.

With back-to-school right around the corner, it’s easy to get caught up in preparing for all that’s ahead instead of truly enjoying the time remaining in the summer months. Between summer camps, summer jobs and summer chaos, we might even find ourselves marking down the days on the calendar until the kids are back in their classrooms and normal routines resume.

But the truth is, life goes by way too fast and even when our minds might tell us we’ve had quite enough of family time, our hearts will always benefit from enjoying and treasuring every moment.  So rather than take this time for granted, it might be a good idea for us to take a step back from the planning and preparing, and remember to enjoy the days we have left of summertime.

Here are a few tips to make the most of the remaining days of summer and keep your time relaxed and family centered:

* Commit to having devotion time with your children each morning or before bed time. Put some routines in place now that you can continue even when school starts back.

For some great ideas for moms about developing bible studies and devotions with your children, visit my great friend Van Walton’s blog today as she discusses great ideas for mothers about developing bible studies, quiet time and devotions with your children. You could also consider purchasing her book called Little Halos .

* Reconsider letting the kids participate in planned activities for the next few weeks so they can enjoy relaxed, unscheduled time at home and learn how to enjoy true down time.  The pleasures of life are not always “out there” but sometimes “right here” at home.

* Take the time to stop the busyness of planning, and show your children around your home town.

* Schedule a family bar-b-que to wrap up the lazy days of summer.

* Go to the library and check out some classic story books that children would enjoy. Share a piece of your childhood with them and discuss how life was different when you read those books as a child.

* Even though it might create a mess that we have to clean up later, let the kids run through the sprinkler and enjoy being outdoors. Buy a discounted slip-n-slide and let the kids enjoy it for hours. But don’t leave it in the yard for several days because it kills the grass underneath and you’ll have a visible reminder of their fun for weeks!

* Make homemade fruit juice or soda popsicles (great ideas on Pinterest!) Or bake some delicious goodies together, flour covered faces and all.

* Yes, mud is messy and yucky. But kids love it! If the area  where you live has received a lot of rain, let them play in the mud and make mud pies, find cool stones and play in the woods.  The bathtub might get dirty but the hearts will be clean and refreshed.

* Stand in the rain. If lightning and thunder aren’t present, encourage the kids to take the umbrellas and play outside in the rain, puddle jumping and all.

* Do some volunteering. Help tend to an elderly neighbor’s yard, work in your own yard, or help pick up litter in a public place.  Ask your church if there are people in need. Make some baked goods for a sick or hurting family friend. Clean someone’s home.

* Visit the local produce stand or grocery store and pick up some yummy fresh fruits and vegetables. Have a watemelon eating contest in the back yard and look for new recipes for summer fruit, including smoothies and fun cool drinks.
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Today’s giveaway is the opportunity for two people to win a set of Van Walton’s book and DVD for kids, called From the Pound to the Palace.

Through the story of a naughty puppy turned obedient dog,  this delightful children’s book includes Bible verses and questions that will encourage the most important dialog you will ever have with your child, one that will open the door to a personal relationship with Jesus.

This DVD is extra special because Proverbs 31’s Renee Swope and her sons are the voices in the DVD, playing the roles of the mom, the dog and the little boy!

 

To enter to win one of these two wonderful Book/DVD sets,  simply share about the Summer Survival Series by selecting one (or more) of the ways below to promote it in your own sphere of influence!  You can copy and paste the Twitter or Facebook posts, or just click on the Pinterest link to get to the series board.  Quick and easy! 

 

TWITTER:  Is summer making you stressed? There’s still time to join the summer survival series by @traciewmiles! Join in at https://tinyurl.com/9zyulxm

FACEBOOK: Is summer making you stressed? There’s still time to join the summer survival series with Tracie Miles. Join in and enter today’s great giveaway of two book and dvd sets for moms and kids at https://tinyurl.com/9zyulxm   (please be sure my name is tagged in your post to be entered to win)

PINTEREST: Visit my Pinterest Summer Survival page and re-pin one of the pins in the Summer Survival Series Board! 

If you do not use any social media sites and want to enter to win, leave a comment sharing one way that you keep summer family friendly and relaxed.

All entries will be compiled from Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest and two randomly selected winners will be announced on Monday August 5th.

10 Comments

  1. MaryAnn Miller on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 9:37 am

    Awesome ideas. It it pretty important to remember family time and devotions. The Lord will always give back more than you can give him, including your time for important family devotions. My family and I include the “Keys for Kids” devotions, yes even in the summer time! Thank you Keys for Kids and thank you Tracie Miles for your inspirations and good Godly sense for families. Love to receive your inspirations via email.

    MaryAnn



  2. angie steffen on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 9:37 am

    I love the idea of family devotion in the morning, I do mine in the morning to start my day off great. So this will also help my children also. I have learned so from your stress less devotions. I will take the time we have left this summer and make sure we make the most of it. God Bless have a safe and wonderful week!!!



  3. MaryAnn Miller on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 9:37 am

    Awesome ideas. It it pretty important to remember family time and devotions. The Lord will always give back more than you can give him, including your time for important family devotions. My family and I include the “Keys for Kids” devotions, yes even in the summer time! Thank you Keys for Kids and thank you Tracie Miles for your inspirations and good Godly sense for families. Love to receive your inspirations via email.

    MaryAnn



  4. Paige on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 10:58 am

    We try very hard to keep Saturdays completely open. We sleep in, have a lazy morning of cartoons, then at 9am we turn everything electronic off. We all share in the housework and get it done and then out to the backyard until lunch! Since my boys are at daycare during the week, being at home to play with their own toys and just hanging out is exactly what they want to do. Its nice for Mom too! My older son is right on the cusp of accepting Jesus into his heart, so this DVD would be a great opportunity!



  5. Lori on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 11:09 am

    Summer is particularly speeding by faster than usual this year! With our children being older now, we are working 4 jobs plus the usual summer practice sports schedules. My husband has worked out of town (and lived 5 hours away) for the past 6 months. He came home recently and we still have not had time to spend a true family night together.
    My daughter is currently on a mission trip to Ecuador. When she returns, I think I will plan that summer BBQ you suggested to celebrate the work she did in Ecuador and allow her an opportunity to share with family and friends. Thank you so much for the reminder to stop and enjoy summer. . . funny how sometimes we need “reminded” as if that gives us permission to do so. For those of you with small children, I suggest all of the above listed ideas. My kiddos would have loved, loved, loved them all when they were growing up, mmmmm.. . . That playing in the mud and making mud pies still sounds appealing to me. . . I wonder. . . .NAW. . . 17 and 22 is not too old to have some downright dirty fun!. . . Is it?!?!?



  6. Diamond Jernigan on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 1:56 pm

    I keep summer family friendly and relaxed by just taking one day at a time. The children and I get up and we get to going with normal household duties and then we enjoy the rest of the day with going outside and jumping on the trampoline with the sprinkler spraying water on the trampoline or we jam the radio and play ball, etc. Whatever feels right, we do. We play inside on rainy days board games on my kids’ level and we read books and watch tv. We also read Bible stories and discuss them and I let my children create their own stories where one stops and the next person adds on until we have one funny story LOL.



  7. Jessica on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 2:06 pm

    Thank you for all you great ideas. I am looking forward to applying them.



  8. Carol on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 2:38 pm

    My older kids are involved in a bible study during the school year. They picked a book of the bible to read through this summer, so we are doing that! We camp a lot in the summer, so our summer is busy, but we have a few weeks home before school starts. We are going to go to the zoo and enjoy a few fun things around home that they want to do before school starts.



  9. Fannie Goldsmith on Thursday, August 1, 2013 at 2:04 am

    As the grandmother I get to keep things interesting for my granddaughters by helping them do the things they love to do when they come to my house. I usually devote all my time to them and they have many ideas to keep busy and keep things interesting.



  10. Deena Burnham on Thursday, August 1, 2013 at 8:04 pm

    I lost my job a month ago tomorrow. It has been rush, rush, rush, since I got this job in December and now it was. “Put on the breaks!” I picked up Stress Less Living again and have been going through it , again, to see what it was I missed…cuz I didn’t get it the first time.
    This last 6 months I had two daughters graduating from the JC and working full time, plus a son in High School. The week I lost my job my oldest of the two left home to work for the summer before resuming her JR year of University in Sacramento.
    My youngest daughter decided to catch up with sister and she also graduated from the JC and is going to a university on the Calif. coast that is very liberal. (Marijuana is there school plant) She leaves in less than 3 weeks.
    So, I pray and look for work.
    Thank you for teaching Stress Less Living.



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Tracie Miles is a bestselling author and the Director of COMPEL Training with Proverbs 31 Ministries.  She helps women grow stronger in their faith, pursue the life of purpose God designed them for and live a life of peace, joy and happiness despite their circumstances.

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