The idea of planning for a productive summer may not sound all that appealing. It could even be overwhelming to some. But it need not be. Planning ensures that we make progress, even if we don’t accomplish everything in our plan. Again, from Shopping for Time:
“If you develop a plan to change in one area, you will be surprised at the dramatic difference it will make. If the only action you pursue is to wake up early and seek God, no corner of your life will go untouched. If you simply reach out to one non-Christian neighbor, you will experience joy that lasts for eternity. Remember this: even if you only change in one area, you will be doing more than if you hadn’t sat down to plan at all.”
If we take a few minutes now to develop a simple plan for the next three months, imagine what eternal potential summer may hold!
Sellers of deck furniture and lemonade try to entice us with images of a long, lazy summer. And while summer can be a restful season to the glory of God, we must not give into laziness. Ephesians 5:15-16 is an exhortation to a different kind of summer: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
Our comments on this verse in our book Shopping for Time have application to summer:
“We are to walk with the utmost accuracy, with extreme care…We are not to trudge blindly or routinely through [summer]. We shouldn’t just let [summer] happen and try to deal with the results, be what they may. We should not allow one day to flow simply into the next, being concerned only with the present moment. No, we must look around. We must develop keen eyes. We must examine our lives. We must evaluate our present manner of living and consider how to prepare for the future. We must walk circumspectly through each and every day.”
So how can we make the best use of summertime? We must,
“approach [the summer] the same way we go after bargains. We need to discern the best opportunities [summer] has to offer. Then we must seize these opportunities and make them our highest priorities. Every [summer] day presents us with countless options for how to spend our time. However, only some are truly great deals. Only a few things are really important.”
Let’s enjoy God’s gift of rest this summer in the form of lemonade on a deck chair, but let’s also live carefully and wisely, making the best use of summertime. Ask yourself, what are the one or two really important things God would have me do this summer?
2008 at 8:17 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
Filed under
Homemaking | Recipes
Thanks to all of you who’ve already submitted entries for our summer contest—keep ‘em coming! In the meantime, I tried this new Epicurious recipe for berry crisp yesterday and if you can measure its yumminess by how many helpings my husband’s had in twenty-four hours, then it is quite delicious. Best of all, it is really easy. Oh, and per some of the comments I doubled the topping which is definitely the way to go.
The frozen berries aren’t thawed before you use them, so this dessert is super fast.
Servings: Makes 6 servings.
Ingredients
2 12-ounce packages frozen mixed berries (such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries; about 6 cups), unthawed 1/4 cup sugar 1 cup all purpose flour 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats 2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon salt 7 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, diced
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine berries, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour and lemon juice in large bowl; toss to blend well. Transfer berry mixture to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Combine remaining 3/4 cup flour, oats, brown sugar, spices and salt in medium bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until topping holds together in small moist clumps. Sprinkle over berry mixture.
Bake crisp until berry mixture bubbles thickly and topping is golden brown, about 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
With my son finishing school next week I’ve begun to think about summer. Even though we have a lot going on between vacation, moving, and our church’s Summer Celebration camp for kids, I also have goals I want to accomplish and memories I want to make. I’ve found it’s good to have a plan to seize all the opportunities summer has to offer and to help things run more smoothly.
So, I thought I’d run a contest (Yes, Janelle, other authors of this blog can do contests too!). You send me your great summer ideas, and we’ll post our favorites along with a prize for the one we like best in each category. Here’s what we’d like to know: what are your great ideas for….
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) your ideas by next Friday June 6 (just in time for my summer to start!) and we’ll post them the following week. Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
2008 at 4:09 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
Filed under
Motherhood
Today seemed like a good day for a “baby watch.” I’m just coming into my 28th week of pregnancy and all is well. Little MJ is kicking and punching me at all hours and even knocked a drink that I was holding a little too close to my belly the other day. Hopefully not a sign of things to come. At my last sonogram she couldn’t stop yawning so I’m hoping for one of those quiet angel babies. No one seems to think that’s what I will get, but what do they know?
My iron deficiency set in a couple weeks ago (had it during my pregnancy with Caly too) and along with it came my desperate craving for ice. And not just any ice—it needs to be just right for chewing, not too hard and not too big. I discovered that McDonalds has amazing ice. Yes, I said McDonalds. And guess what? My local McDonalds sells ice by the bag for one dollar. Ten whole pounds of ice for 4 quarters! It is slightly embarrassing to go through the drive-thru and order a bag of ice, but dignity hasn’t stopped me yet. Sometimes I add on a cherry pie or hash brown to try and seem a bit more normal.
Now before you flood my email inbox with loving lectures about taking my iron, let me tell you that I have already started taking it. While it doesn’t take the ice craving away, it keeps it at a manageable level. Unfortunately it makes me feel sick and tired, but that seems to be a wiser alternative to robbing McDonalds stores in the middle of the night.
I have my glucose test this week and the little bottle of nasty—I mean yummy—orange syrup is sitting in the pantry awaiting my consumption. Chad mistook it for orange soda the other day and almost drank it for me. Unfortunately (for me) he discovered his mistake in time and it’s still there waiting for me. No problems with gestational diabetes with Caly though, so I’m not anticipating anything this time around. Just a yummy drink and a few gallons of blood removed from my body and it will all be over.
We can’t wait to meet our little MJ! Caly loves to pat my belly and talk to her sister. Such fun. I covet your prayers and appreciate your care. I’ll keep the updates coming and of course, Nicole will be live-blogging the big day! Off to find some ice…
Ever wonder if you would hold up under religious persecution? How would you respond if given the choice to deny Christ or face a grisly death?
These questions occasionally haunt me. I read stories of heroes in Scripture or history who kept the faith and I wonder if I could do the same. I believe I am a Christian and I hope I would display unflinching faith in suffering, but what if I don’t?
This morning Ian Duguid helped me do away with these anxious wonderings. He was commenting on the well-known story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace:
“God has not promised to give us the grace to face all of the desperate situations that we might imagine finding ourselves in. He has promised to sustain us only in the ones that he actually brings us into. He therefore doesn’t promise that we will be able to imagine how we could go through the fire for his sake, but he does promise that if he leads us through the fire, he will give us sufficient grace at that time. Like manna, grace is not something that can be stored up for later use: each day receives its own supply” (Iain Duguid, Daniel, p. 53).
That’s right, there’s no grace for my imagination. But there’s plenty of grace for whatever God has ordained for me to walk through. My job? Declare Jesus as Lord today and not imagine “a graceless tomorrow.”
Several days ago, over at CJ Mahaney’s View from the Cheap Seats, Tony Reinke posted a clip from a Q&A on parenting by Dad and Mom. It was an answer to the question: “How do parents engage in gospel-centered parenting with children who are too young to comprehend the message of the gospel?” If you haven’t already, I’d encourage you to listen here.
This clip also reminded me of one of my favorite articles by Mom, written several years ago (before Caly was born!). Mom’s advice has proved so helpful to Steve and me as we try to parent our two little ones. I hope it serves you too.
Gateway for Knowledge
Last Thursday night occasioned another one of my husband’s surprises. He’s provided a gazillion of them for me through the years. He simply told me what time to be ready and how to dress. This time my surprise was dinner at a homey, rustic restaurant followed by the play “The Miracle Worker” at a nearby theater. It was a wonderful evening.
And if you will indulge me I’d like to say a word to my husband. (He is in Sun Valley, California at present, due to being the guest speaker at Grace Community Church this past weekend.). CJ, I hope you read this today because I simply want to tell you again how grateful I am to be your wife. Thank you for thirty years of devoted, passionate, exhilarating love. I don’t deserve you!
So back to what I was saying. We went to see “The Miracle Worker.” Most likely, you are familiar with the plot. It’s the story of Annie Sullivan’s struggle to teach the blind and deaf Helen Keller how to communicate. Initially Annie found it extremely difficult to teach Helen due to her wild and violent behavior. But then Annie had a revelatory moment. All of a sudden she realized: “Obedience is the gateway for knowledge to enter the mind.” She understood that she needed to first teach Helen to obey before she could teach her knowledge.
At this point in the play I couldn’t help but think of my daughters, Nicole and Kristin. That’s what they are doing. They are attempting to train and discipline four little boys to obey so they can impart knowledge. And not just any knowledge, but the most important knowledge of all—the message of the gospel.
So to all moms with little children I desire to encourage you today. I want to cheer you on in your efforts to discipline and train your children to obey. It’s hard, exhausting work, I know. Just watching my daughters makes me tired. But it’s worth it. Because an obedient child is a receptive child. And with a receptive child you can teach them the good news, the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Now that’s a goal worth striving for, don’t you agree?
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Prov. 22.6
(This post from last year expresses our continued gratitude for all troops still in Iraq and Afghanistan and
their families waiting at home. Thank you for another year of heroic sacrifice on behalf of all of us.)
This morning I woke up in a comfortable bed in a quiet neighborhood,
looking forward to a relaxing holiday with my husband and children. But
while I was sleeping (at least as much as Tori would let me!) men and
women thousands of miles away were wide-awake in anything-but-quiet
neighborhoods in Iraq and Afghanistan. They were patrolling streets and
training troops and hunting terrorists in the most dangerous
neighborhoods in the world. And tonight, while I’m sleeping peacefully,
they’ll do it all over again.
As America celebrates Memorial Day, it is a wonderful opportunity to
thank those who have put themselves in harms way (whether this year or
sixty years ago) in order to protect us from harm. And to thank their
families as well—the husbands, wives, children, and parents who have
selflessly lent us their loved ones. We owe them a debt of gratitude
for every comfort of a free society. And there is no way we can repay
them, or their families. “Thank you” isn’t enough, but it’s a start.
So to our friends, Dennis & Diane whose son is in Iraq, and to
every service member or family member who is reading this today: Thank
you for your sacrifice so that we can work, play, raise our families,
and most importantly of all, worship God in freedom. And thank you for
peaceful nights of sleep. May God grant the same to you and your
loved-ones, for “He gives to his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2).
by Brett and Alex Harris
