School is almost over for another year, and that means summer is just around the corner. Summer brings family vacations and a little more down time. Summer also means that many of our YBL groups will take a break. With the slowing down of summertime, there is a tendency to take a spiritual break and slack off on those spiritual disciplines that keep us growing during the more structured time of the year.

I want to offer you some thoughts on things that you can do to over the summer months to stay engaged in your own spiritual growth and connect in a deeper way with family during this slower time of the year.

  • Choose a book of the Bible to read and journal through – it will keep you studying and applying God’s Word to your life every day but may be a little different than what you do regularly in your YBL group.
  • Meet one of the men in your small group for breakfast, lunch or coffee weekly – it will keep you and other group members connected even though you are not meeting regularly. This may be a great time to discuss the book of the Bible that you are reading/journaling.
  • Take a guy from your workplace to breakfast, lunch or coffee and invest some time in him – you never know where that investment of your time may lead. Remember, giving back is what we always want to do!
  • Organize a fellowship meal for all the guys in your YBL group and their wives – this will be a great time to connect with your group during the summer months and allow the wives to spend some time together.
  • Do something fun with your kids – no matter their age, try to spend some extra time investing in them and letting them know that you are praying for them. Take time to drop some encouragement into their lives. You will be glad that you did!
  • Take your wife on a date – some of you may already be doing this. Great! Take her on an additional date.
  • Spend some additional time with the family – do something with the wife and kids. Enjoy being together as a family.
  • Spend some time alone over the summer months in dedicated prayer – pray specifically for your wife and kids. Pray for men that the Lord would have you invest your life into. Pray for your church and your pastor. Pray for your community and your local YBL organization. Pray for your workplace and how God might use you in that workplace.

I hope that you and your family have a wonderful summer.