#74: How to actually enjoy summer

This is an unusual episode because this is not about how you can give yourself grace during the summer, but it's about how you can take off the heavy burden summer carries for you. 

You want to enjoy your summer, but can you do it with all the expectations if you've laid on the sun-kissed shoulder of the season of summer?

In this episode, we'll dive into:

• What you expect from your summer
• And what you can do to lessen the expectations.

Because when we recalibrate our expectations we can actually enjoy the summer. And who doesn't want to do that??!?

Summer carries so many expectations.

I want summer to be All The Things:

• slow, 
• social, 
• about connection,
• a time to play catch up on around-the-house projects, 
• and fun. 

I also put a lot of pressure on summer.

Summer will be a time of peaceful respite from school-year craziness.

I believe that my tightly-wound temperament will convert into a silly, sunny, and laid-back person. 

And I tell myself that in summer I'll be the kind of mom I want to be. 

So how can we give summer grace?

1. Let's apologize to summer.
2. Let's examine where our expectations come from. 
3. Let's thank Jesus for the gifts that summer gives us, which are (1) a different pace AND (2) the revelation of who we want to be.
4. Let's embrace the reality of what our responsibilities are and add in the fun we want to have. 

Let's let summer be summer, and quit asking her to meet the expectations she cannot. 

Key Quotes

• Let's examine where our expectations for summer come from. When did these expectations start? Where did we pick up that summer could be All The Things or that we'd become who we are not? 
• Without summer, I may never know that a longing of my heart is to be more laid back and relaxed. This is good information to have, and it creates another conversation for me to have with my friend Jesus.

Mentioned in the Podcast

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Kimberly Coyle's Borrowed Words: A Collection of Seasonal Prayers

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