We were about 4 hours into summer break when my son said, “Are we going to do anything today?”
By do, he meant leave the house or plan for friends to come over. My plans for the day included meeting some deadlines I’d put off in lieu of field day at my kids’ school and maybe throwing in a load of laundry. That’s what I do.
But I get it. He’s a social kid. An active kid. So, I cleaned out a cabinet and put summer activities in it: a new building set, some art supplies, a reading workbook, a few decks of math flash cards. Fun, right?
Not. For. Him.
So, then I tried to help him make a summer bucket list — some fun things he could do when Mom had to work: Go on a scavenger hunt, build a fort, read, learn a new language. OK, I added that last one. Actually, maybe that’s my bucket list.
But then I thought it might be fun to make a summer bucket list for the whole family: watch fireworks, make homemade ice cream, build a campfire.
I thought of things I did with my parents as a kid, what filled my long days living in the country without a friend nearby? I remember almost every morning waking up and finding my mom in the recliner in our living room. She’d be reading her Bible or praying.
Remembering this made me realize my family bucket list was leaving off something really important: God’s Word.
There’s something powerful in reading scripture together. We have conversations we would not usually have. We get to share what we’re learning.
For us, sometimes it’s reading a family devotion book we have. Sometimes it’s sharing something from the Bible. It’s not legalistic. It’s definitely not always a perfect picture of family togetherness. It’s more about sharing God’s Word and letting our kids see that it’s a priority for us.
How about you? What are you sharing together as a family this summer?
Want to include God’s Word on your bucket list? To get started, pray and ask God what this could look like for your family, in your season of life. Family time with preschoolers will look a lot different than with teens.
Whatever God lays on your heart, ask Him to help you to be intentional about it.
Here are a few ideas to consider:
Mealtime devotions from Focus on the Family or try a book like Jesus Calling for Kids or Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God. For older kids, consider doing the Blue Ridge Proverbs reading plan.
Share what’s worked for your family. Let’s encourage each other to be in the Word.
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. — Deuteronomy 6:6-9