Think back to the summers of childhood—what happy days those were! Summer was a time when our schedules changed from the jam-packed day-to-day routine of the school year to the less-scheduled more leisurely days for an expanse of time that felt like it could last forever. The name of the game was flexibility—you had to be ready for an adventure in the sunshine, a rainy day inside with Lego’s, a day mom wrote you a whole honey-do list or a spontaneous ice cream trip with grandpa.

Childhood summers remind me a little of marriage. You have to be flexible in either situation, allowing the unexpected to interrupt the plans and working to make it great no matter what. In summer and in marriage, sometimes the unexpected things can turn out better than anything you had planned. Especially if you approach them with flexibility and willingness to make it great no matter what. Summer chore days are not always happy surprises especially when you had a pool day planned out, but they can be really great. In marriage too, many things come our way that are challenging and we weren’t ready for, but together, we can take those too and seek how God would have us face the challenge. And always, we can grow in Him along the way.

This summer, consider how you can point to God in your family and marriage:

• Weddings-Weddings can seem like either a fun adventure for a child or a drag to have to be dressed up and do adult things all day. On the way to the wedding talk about what to expect. Why do we have weddings? What is marriage? What is marriage not? What’s the most important part? Why does it happen at a church? Tell the children about your wedding if you had one. What parts of the day pointed to God? What parts of the day didn’t? What does marriage teach us about God? God’s Word is very clear on marriage, if you need a resource to guide your discussion, there’s no better one than that!
• Camping-There’s something about sleeping in a tent. You can hear the sounds of outside and smell the fresh air. Generally camping is really fun for kids at first, but the fun can wear off if it’s the new permanent living arrangement. That’s what happened to the Israelites who roamed the desert camping for 40 years! They were thrilled to be out of Egypt…until they got sick of it! See the book of Exodus beginning in 15:22 for the first grumblings (they didn’t stop until they reached the Promised Land in the book of Joshua!) What are some things the Israelites complained about? What kinds of things do we complain about? What does complaining tell God about how He’s taking care of us? How can we change our complaining into thankfulness no matter what?
• Swimming-A fun way to remember our baptism can be getting in the water. Martin Luther encouraged Christians to remember baptism each time they washed their hands or bathed, but why not take it to the pool too? Baptism is just regular water, combined with God’s Word to offer forgiveness of sins. The Holy Spirit creates faith in us and comes to dwell in us to guide us. We are made sons and daughters of God’s family through baptism. These all seem like reasons to splash and rejoice to me! What do you remember about your child’s baptism…tell them, they likely don’t remember themselves![Round Pool-Get everyone to walk together in the same direction until a “whirlpool current” has formed. Then put your legs up and see what happens. Now do it again, but this time have someone try to go in the opposite direction of the current and discuss what it’s like to “go against the flow” of culture as a Christian. Sometimes it’s not easy to live differently, but it’s so important. Talk about why!]
• Catching Fireflies-Together, see if you can see fireflies as far away as possible as you’re catching them. Talk about how they have such a little amount of light, but still can shine in the darkness. That’s what it means for us to shine a light for Christ in this dark world that doesn’t follow God. When we share His love, we are a small light that others can see the love of Christ in us.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 charges us to talk about faith as we go about life, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the way, when you lie down and when you get up.”

This summer be flexible, in life, and in marriage, and use the things you’re already doing to point your children to God and what He’s already doing.