In just a few weeks, it will officially be summer. If your summer is anything like mine, you travel, catch up with friends and family, and try to spend some time outside. I’d like to suggest some spiritual growth tips for maximizing your summer to help you both enjoy and follow Jesus.

Look for God’s handiwork in the places you go. Our family’s summer is filled with travel. We’ll spend time with family as well as fit in a holiday at the beach. Many families travel throughout the summer months while children are out of school. Holidays and vacations are important opportunities to return to familiar places or see new ones. As you travel (beach, mountains, lakes, overseas, etc.) look for the unique and creative beauty of God’s creation. God gave us our senses to experience the world he made. We can hear birds, animals, the wind or the waves. We can see sunrises and sunsets over mountains or on the ocean waves. Psalm 19:1 reads, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” As you travel or even as you look around your own home, tune your senses to experience the glories of creation. Pause and praise God for the goodness and beauty in the world he made.

Be attentive to divine appointments. Recently, I attended a conference and experienced several divine appointments. I met some great people and learned a great deal. Formal travel allows us to meet people and interact with others. Holiday travel is a little more relaxed. Even so, you never know where you might have a divine appointment. Observe those around you. Look for opportunities to help someone. Practice active listening with those you meet. Ask questions. For example, when our family visits a restaurant, we ask the waiter or waitress, “We’re about to pray. Is there anything we can pray for you about?” Sometimes this question is met with polite refusal, but often we’re told a story of how we can pray. If we really believe God is sovereign, then we ought to be aware of the people and places around us. God may intend for you to share his good news with a sinner who needs a Savior. What if one of God’s plans for you this summer was to be a messenger of the gospel so that someone you meet would receive eternal life?

Retain a rhythm of rest and worship. The law of entropy states that things naturally move toward disorder. This means if we get out of the habit of something good, then it is difficult to get back to it. Think of eating healthy or exercising regularly. It’s far easier to stop those things than it is to return to them. Gathering for worship can be like that. Sometimes Christians get out of the habit of gathering for church and find it difficult to get back to regular attendance. Summer often replaces regular rhythms and routines with travel, trips, and vacations. That’s ok. But I would commend you to be intentional about church attendance and retain a rhythm of worship and rest this summer. You might expect a pastor to tell you this, but this is not about legalism. God doesn’t have a heavenly check box marking your absences. The rhythm of rest and worship is important because we need the regular reminder of God’s greatness in gathered worship and the regular rest of not working. Also, if God is not important enough in your life to get one day a week (Sunday morning worship gatherings), then he’s not very important to you. In your summer activities, don’t neglect gathered worship at your church.

Invest in friends and family through hospitality. Summer travel and busyness is different than the school year, especially for families. Children stay up later and sleep in longer. Daily rhythms change and slow down. We might not notice this as much if we no longer have children at home, but the longer days invite a different view of time and space. Schedule invitations to friends and family for grilling out, visiting, talking, enjoying homemade ice cream, and simply getting to know each other. Use the slowness of summer weeks to invest in friends and family. I still remember many of my extended family gatherings growing up around grills, pools, and stories. Those moments create memories and build friendships. Let’s initiate some of those opportunities this summer.

Sit around a fire pit, chase fireflies, do fun things, learn a hobby. Get outside this summer. Sit around a fire pit roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. Listen to the popping wood. Smell the smoke. Tell stories. Spend time with others. Act like a kid again. Chase fireflies. Go on hikes. Play games. Go fishing. Work on a hobby (like golf). Learn something new (like gardening or playing an instrument). God made us to glorify and enjoy him forever so enjoy God this summer.

Read. I’ve always enjoyed reading and still read a lot for study, sermon preparation, personal growth, and fun. Summer is a chance to read, grow, and learn. If you are a leader in any fashion, you ought to be reading regularly. In Spiritual Leadership, Oswald Sanders counseled ministers to guide “the church toward intelligent reading and larger, more committed, more resilient faith.” I’m taking Sanders’ advice and encouraging you to read this summer. There is no substitute for reading the Bible. If you are not already reading God’s Word daily, then begin this summer. Here are some other recommendations for you.

General recommendations:

• The Reason for God by Tim Keller
• Spiritual Leadership by Oswald Sanders
• The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard
• The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
• A Heart Aflame for God by Matthew Bingham
• Deep Work by Cal Newport

What I’m reading this summer:

• Rooted Leadership by John Johnson
• Come and See by Jonathan Pennington
• The Whole Christ by Sinclair Ferguson
• Multiplier by Dave Ferguson
• Sacred Margins by Steve Laube
• Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
• Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
• Movement Ready Church by Robby Gallaty and Vick Green
• Enjoying God by Tim Chester
• Make Your Bed by William McRaven
• Growing Together by Melissa Kruger (what our Women’s Ministry is reading at Wilkesboro Baptist Church)

Pick one of these (or several) or something different and read, learn, grow, and listen.

Whatever you over the summer (these tips or others), build habits and activities that will help you enjoy and follow Jesus.