I love the summer. It’s not just because there’s no school, the pools are open, no ice to scrape off the car, no sidewalks to shovel, you get the idea.
The 3 reasons I really like summer are:
1 – It seems easier to make more time for family time. Although I try to make as much time as possible throughout the year for the family, it just seems to come easier in the summer. I don’t know if it’s because the daylight last longer or that there’s nothing good on TV, but there just seems to be more family time happening without me even trying to have more. It’s also the time when we traditionally take a family vacation, which I am especially excited for this year. Not only do we get to go somewhere we have not been to before, but I also get to do something I am passionate about… Lead worship.
2 – I get to hang out with students while they help me out around the church (during day-time hours). When summer hits, high school students are out of school, college students are home for the summer, and the parents of nearly every student are looking for things for their kids to do. We just got done with our VBS program that was lead by high school and middle school students. That was a great way to get them involved in Kingdom work. Since then I have had multiple students coming in to help me with tech maintenance as well as learning more about how everything works. Even as I write this, there is a college student home for the summer teaching two high school students how to run the lights for our main services. Seeing volunteers teaching volunteers is awesome, and even better for me is getting spend time with students (another one of my passions).
3 – Seeing the work of God in His Kingdom seems to be easier. For some reason, the summer seems to give me a new set of glasses to see God’s work clearer. It’s not that I see His work any less the rest of the year, but there does seem to be more energy put towards things in the summer. This might go back to the fact that school’s out and the students are more active with things like VBS and mission trips. It might also be that even though a lot of people go on vacation, my production volunteer core is still growing. Whatever it is, all I can do is thank God for the work He is doing and for allowing me to not only see it, but be a part of it too.
I thank God for my family, for allowing me to do the things I love. I thank Him for opening my eyes to works of His hands. Praise be to God and the Glory of His Name.