Summer of Love

Summer Love is a popular theme-setting for romance novels. I fell in love with my husband during the summer, and I have written several books where the main characters either fall in love over the course of these mid-year months or at least meet during that time. I think one of the reasons this happens in real-life, not only in books, is because summer often involves more time with others than usual. Without school and our regular routines to get in the way, there is more opportunity for meeting new people or having fun and relaxing times with those we already know--but we may have been too busy to notice before.


Summer is a good time for new things to happen. It might be something unplanned like making new friends or even falling in love, but it can also be a time to set goals or try something new. Similar to the way we set New Year's Resolutions, we can also think of summer as a mid-year new start. Longer days, more free time, or being involved in a focused summer ministry can provide windows of opportunity the rest of the year may lack. With that being said, what do you have planned for this summer? What do you foresee happening in the next three months before school starts again and you get back to "regular life"?

No matter what your plans are, how lazy or busy your days may be, (or even if you live in the southern hemisphere and winter is before you instead of summer), I'd like to offer a few suggestions of how you can be intentional about how you spend the coming months and how you can live a season of love. I will use the word LOVE as an acronym for living these months with purpose, focus, and joy.

L is for Listen:

Start the new season by listening. What is God saying to you? If you don't know, spend time with Him and listen for how He is leading you, what He wants to teach you, and any changes you need to make. This might involve specific plans, saying yes or no to certain activities, being involved in a summer ministry, going to camp, hanging out with family or friends--whatever. But are you listening? Are you allowing God to direct your steps or just doing your own thing?

Listening also involves hearing and believing the truth. Are you believing in God's love for you? Are you believing in your value and worth to Him? Do you believe He cares about your life and how you live it? Do you believe He has good things in store? If you are feeling like a failure, hopeless, or it's just been a bad year so far, do you believe He can rescue you? Do you believe He can give you a fresh start?

Whatever your starting point, listening is the first step to what comes next. In Isaiah 55, God says, "Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food." He's not talking about what you put into your mouth; He's using food as a metaphor for what is best for you. He knows what you need. He knows what will make you thrive. "Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen and you will find life."

O is for Opportunity:

If you have a lot of free time ahead of you, how can you use that as an opportunity to try something new, grow in your faith, or reach out in love to others? Or if you're going to be busy, how can your busyness be productive? How can you make the most of whatever opportunities are before you? Live with purpose. Live intentionally. Love intentionally.

In Isaiah 55, God also reminds the people how He displayed His power through King David. He was a mere shepherd-boy God raised up to be a great leader. And He says, "I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David...I, the LORD your God, have made you glorious."

No matter who you are, where you are, or what you are doing, God's glory can shine through you. There are always opportunities to make a difference, trust God more, and allow Him to guide you each day. This might involve helping out around the house, spending time with your siblings or a friend who is lonely, helping out at your church or in your community. It doesn't have to be "big" things. Look for opportunities to do the small things as well as taking on larger tasks, goals, or projects.

V is for Virtue:

First of all, let me define virtue. Virtue is any behavior that displays moral values or standards. Synonyms of virtue include: goodness, integrity, decency, and purity. Love itself is a virtue, along with honesty, patience, and kindness. How can virtue be a part of whatever you spend your time doing? How you treat others? How you do your work? How you help others?

How you do something is just as important as what you are doing. You might have an opportunity of a lifetime to travel, be involved in a unique ministry, or take steps to make your future dreams come true, but pride, arrogance, and poor choices could drastically alter your experience. So listen. How is God leading you or speaking to you about what is to come? How can you make the most of it? What virtues are important to consider when starting out and making daily choices along the way?

If you aren't doing anything this summer that seems very significant, or you're not sure what lies ahead, virtue still plays a huge role. You might wish you were doing something more exciting or that you had specific plans, but your attitude can be the difference between a boring summer and an amazing one. Sometimes the best things happen when you don't plan them. "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine." (Is. 55:8)

Just having an open heart, helpful hands, and making the most of every opportunity might lead to things you never dreamed. Spreading goodness, kindness, and joy to others--that's enough of a plan. Combine it with listening to God and looking for opportunities around you: that's a recipe for a summer of love.

E is for Encouragement:

Finally, I want to encourage you to hope for the best. No matter what you do or don't do in the coming months, God goes before you and He will lead you. He wants the best for you. He wants you to feel loved, valued, worth His time, and as someone who has so much to offer others. If He has led you to make specific plans this summer, trust Him each day, ask for His guidance, rely on His strength, and believe everything is going just as He has planned it, even if things go sideways. Failure or success is a matter of perspective, not results. Trust Him to lead you and trust Him with the outcome, no matter what that may be.

If you have no plans, either because you haven't felt led in a particular way, you said no to a specific opportunity, or you just haven't thought about it until now, be encouraged that it's not too late. There is still plenty of time to listen, take whatever opportunities come your way, and make virtue a part of everything you do. Just pray, love, seek God, and believe you can have a wonderful season before you.

Seek the LORD while you can find him.

Call on him now while he is near.

Isaiah 55:6

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
 
Love sign photo by Terri-Ann Hanlon/Freeimages.com
Girl photo by gilles van leeuwen/Freeimages.com

You Belong To God

You belong to God.

Take a moment and let that sink in. Think about what that means.

You belong to God. You are His. He made you for His own possession. God made you because He wanted to. On purpose! For a purpose.

Have you ever made something or done something you're really proud of? Think about the time and effort you put into it. Your heart and soul. Even if it was a simple drawing, craft project, or another form of art. Perhaps you are into photography or baking or making music. Or maybe you are an athlete who helped your team win that big game. These things take time and creativity, and when you create something that is beautiful or do something that creates excitement or enjoyment, you take pride in your effort; you take pride in what you have accomplished.

God feels the same way about you. You are His handiwork. He designed you to be just as you are: from your outward appearance and intricate inner-workings of your body, to your personality, talents, and passions. He designed you, and He is proud of you. Even if you never do things that are great in the eyes of others. Even if you're not exceptionally smart or talented. Even if you make mistakes. You are His. You belong to Him. You matter because you are a human being created in His image. Because you live and breathe and have an eternal soul. There is nothing anyone can do, not even yourself, to change that. You are and forever will be His unique creation, and He loves you dearly.

You belong to Him.

Do you believe that? Does it make a difference in how you think and live each day? It probably does in ways you don't think about much, like getting up every morning and going about your day, doing your homework, participating in activities you enjoy, and interacting with others. Your life has purpose and meaning. You learn, find enjoyment in things, and love others because that's what you have been designed to do. God made you to be curious, creative, social, and to grow in new ways. When we don't engage with the people and opportunities around us, we become bored. Sometimes we get too busy or life gets complicated, and we wish everything would stop, but if it did, we would feel lost because without anything to do or relationships to engage in (even those that are complicated), we cease to matter--at least in our own eyes. We do matter to others and to God--always; but losing touch with life, the good, the bad, and the in between makes us feel lifeless, worthless, and alone.

Living your day-to-day enjoyment and struggles is one way to keep life meaningful, and even the routine, mundane things have their place. After all, if you never did your homework, went to soccer practice, or cleaned your room, you wouldn't learn much, get better at your sport, or have clean clothes to wear. You would also cause frustration for your teachers, coaches, teammates, and family. You can do a lot to enhance the lives of others and make them feel valued by simply doing your part. (Just think how you feel when you are assigned a group project and you're the only one who does any of the work.) Life is often about cooperation, teamwork, and being helpful, so look at your everyday life as a constant opportunity to be a blessing to others, and the best place to start is in your own home, school, and community.

Another way to show your belief that you belong to God and matter to Him is to have dreams and do what you can to make them come true. God has given you specific talents, abilities, gifts, and passions. Some you may have already discovered and others will come later, but what are your current dreams? What do you hope for? What do you want--for today and for the future? You may think those are just your dreams, but are they, or has God given them to you? Is that what He made you for, what He aspires for you to have, to be, to do? Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever asked Him? Do you believe Him when He says 'Yes, and I can get you there,' or 'No, but follow Me and I'll show you something even better.' ?

You belong to God, and He has given you a life to live. You are of great value to Him and to others. Your life has purpose and meaning. You may not know what all that involves yet, and you will never know just how much you mean to God and those you love (and others you may not even know you have touched or will reach in some way), but believe it anyway. Believe you are His. Believe He made you for a reason, for many reasons!

Believe you matter, and tackle one day, one task, one challenge, one goal at a time--with His guidance, help, and love. And no matter what happens, never give up on your God-given dreams. He is doing things in your life already to make them come true, and He won't stop. Listen to Him, trust Him, and follow Him; And He will take you there.


For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)

The God Who Sees Me

There is a story in the Old Testament about a man and his wife who wanted to have a child, but the woman was barren. Despite their old age, God promised the man he would have a son and as many descendants as the stars in the sky. You have probably heard the story of Abram and Sarai, who were later named Abraham and Sarah. If not, I will fill in the details for you, which by American standards would be against the law on several levels, but at that time were culturally acceptable.

One day Sarai made a suggestion to her husband and he agreed to sleep with Sarai's maid, Hagar, to conceive a child through her. Not surprisingly this arrangement created problems between Sarai and her servant, and Hagar ran away.

There is no hint of any problems between Hagar and Sarai before this decision was made. But afterwards, when Hagar learned she was pregnant, she no longer respected Sarai and became disobedient. Whether this was because she saw herself as being more valuable than a mere slave because she was Abram's wife now too and could give him something Sarai couldn't, or because she hated Sarai for putting her in that position is unclear; but the mistress-servant relationship was lost.

Hagar didn't serve Sarai as she once had and Sarai became harsh with her, causing Hagar to run away. When Hagar came to a well in the wilderness, she stopped and an angel met her there. This reminds me of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman by a well. When He spoke to her and asked for a drink, she responded with "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (John 4:9) In that day, Jewish men typically did not associate with Samaritans, let alone a woman. And in Hagar's day I don't think an angel of God approaching a slave-woman was commonplace either. Abram and Sarai were royalty, worthy of such a visit, but a maid was just a slave.

Hagar's reaction to the encounter isn't clear at first. The messenger asks her, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" (Genesis 16:8) Hagar responds truthfully and the angel instructs her to go back and be submissive to her mistress, telling her she will have a son and many descendants, more than she can count. At this point Hagar realizes who is speaking to her and declares, "You are the God who sees me." (v. 13)

Her words are similar to the woman at the well who after meeting Jesus told others, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?" (John 4:29) In both cases the women knew their sins had been exposed, and yet they weren't threatened by that. If you are trying to hide your sin from God, don't bother. He already knows and loves you anyway. Allow that truth to set you free. He sees you for who you really are, and that's okay!

Whether you have been wrong, wronged by others, or both, do you believe God sees you? Does He know your name? Does He know your plight? Does He know where you are coming from and where you are going? Does He know your fears, the lonely road you walk, the mistreatment you have suffered? Do you believe He comes to meet you on the journey of despair, heartbreak, confusion, and pain? Do you believe you are worth such love?

Considering that Hagar did go back, faithfully served her master, and endured more mistreatment later, I think she believed where her true value was found. Not in what she gained or gave in this arrangement; Not in how well she served or didn't; Not in what others thought of her; But in the God who saw her. She knew she mattered to Him, and that was enough.