Before we get started, can I admit something to you real quick? Staying committed to spiritual disciplines in the summer is hard, and I struggle! Vacations, camps, schedule shifts, you name it. All of that can compound into something that takes my eyes off of God. This is why today I’m talking about my 3 tips to stay consistent during the summer. These have helped me prioritize God during the summertime, so I know they can help you too.
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We’re almost halfway through June, and summer is in full swing. We can all relate to schedules being thrown off, and randomness being added on to our daily tasks. My goal for us today is to take our eyes off of all those changes (a.k.a. distractions) around us, and focus on the constant: Jesus.
Let’s do a quick and honest check in. How are all those good spiritual discipline routines you established earlier in the year going for you now? I know my consistency has been thrown off! Do I get it right 100% of the time? No way! I’m not Jesus. Please know, that you are in good company here with me.
Whether you’ve fallen off the wagon, or you’re trucking along, know that there is always a way to honor God moving forward by doing the next right thing. I know I’ve had to check myself a couple of times already this summer. I know I can’t be the only one who needs accountability! So, let’s dive into this together: my 3 tips to stay consistent during summer.
Tip #1: Set a Goal
This may be obvious, but I have to ask myself, “Am I actually setting a goal?” Remember, good goals are “SMART” goals. Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. If you have a SMART goal attached to your spiritual disciplines, great! If it’s not as fine tuned as you’d like it to be, let’s do an example together using the SMART acronym. Let’s say I want to do better at attending Sunday church this summer:
- Specific: Attend most Sunday church services this summer
- Measurable: Attend 90% of Sunday church services this summer
- Achievable: 90% is achievable and factors in surprises like illness, or something out of our control (also, shout out online sermons!)
- Relevant: I want to attend church because it helps me be intentional with my faith (this part matters greatly!)
- Time-bound: Summer ends when school begins, so that’s give or take 10-15 Sundays depending on your school district.
Your turn! Take a moment now, and think about a potential goal you have with a spiritual discipline you’d like to focus on. Here are a few ideas. You can use one of these to create your own using the SMART acronym, or come up with one on your own.
- Reading my Bible daily for 10 minutes
- Praying three times a day for five minutes at a time
- Meet with my life group every other week to check in on our growth
- Tell a different person each week about something God is doing in my life
- Listen to worship music on my commute to work
- Journal thoughts to God for ten minutes each day
- Fast and pray one-three days each month
- Meditate on God’s word for five minutes before I go to bed
- Plan one-three days each month to fully rest with a heart posture of focusing on God
- Increase my tithe by a certain percentage for the summer months
- Seek out at least one project to serve someone in need
The list goes on! The great thing about setting a goal with the focus on God, is that there are so many possibilities! Once you have come up with your SMART goal, write it down, and tell someone in your Christian community. Give that person permission to keep tabs on you, and provide accountability. Yes, it can be uncomfortable, but zero growth happens in the comfort zone. We know this.
Tip #1 of my 3 tips to stay consistent during the summer may seem simple, and that’s because it is! Setting a SMART goal works because you’re being intentional about what you want to accomplish, and you’re putting parameters around the goal, so that you actually get it done. My goal this summer is to be consistent in studying the Bible. I do a lot of Bible study in the school pick up line, but now that kids are home for summer, I need to adjust. I talk about this a little deeper in episode 294, so if you want that, it’s linked here.
Tip #2 Make a Plan
You may feel like you’re thriving in life with those kiddos home this summer. Maybe you’re feeling the opposite, and how in the world are you supposed to get any work done while your humans constantly bombard you with all the things?! Another snack? You had linch 20 minutes ago! Or, maybe you’re somewhere in between those two ends of the spectrum. Whatever your circumstance, making a plan is the next best step after setting your goal. Make a plan is officially tip two in my 3 tips to stay consistent during the summer
Take a moment to either say aloud or write down your SMART goal. It’s okay to tweak it if at any point the SMART goal it’s fitting into the SMART acronym (it’s your hint that something isn’t working within the goal parameters). Here’s my example: My SMART goal is to read and study my Bible this summer at least five times a week for 20-30 minute sessions (or however it realistically breaks up due to pool hangs, snack breaks, and “Mom watch this!”). Hooray for SMART goals!
My goal meets all the SMART parameters, but how am I going to actually reach my goal? One way I like to use to come up with a plan is a good ol party invitation. Yes, it’s really that simple. When I was younger, if I wanted to invite friends over or go do something, I was required to gather information and propose my request. If it was missing any necessary info, my request was denied until I could come up with the missing info, or if my allowed rebuttal swayed my parents enough.
By the way, this is a genius parenting hack. Through doing this over the course of my time in the home during those school-aged years, my parents taught me the skill of independently collecting information on any given topic and learning how to pitch the idea. This comes in handy for me on the daily, and you can bet I’m doing this with my kids!
Here’s how to use the party invitation format to gather information for tip #2 make a plan. You can set yourself up for success when working toward achieving your SMART goal:
- Who
- What
- When
- Where
- Why
- How
Again, it’s not hard, just takes forethought. Now, let’s take my SMART goal, and fill it into the party invitation. Here is my plan on exactly how I’m going to read and study my Bible this summer at least five times a week for 20-30 minute sessions:
- Who: me and my Bible study group
- What: read and study the Bible
- When: 5 days a week + one group discussion a week
- Where: on my own for study days with the group on discussion days
- Why: to grow closer to God and learn more about Him
- How: Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table by Louie Giglio
I can’t get over how simple this step is! Take a few minutes to come up with your party plan. Write it down underneath your SMART goal. You can make a note in your phone or if you’re the good ol fashioned pen and paper type, get those gel pens out, girl! Putting in the effort to make a solid SMART goal, followed by making a plan with party invitation, is a great way to ensure you’re on your way.
Tip #3 Be Disciplined
I’ll shout this from the mountaintops until the end of my days: the difference is in the discipline. If you look at the difference between those who make progress on goals versus those who don’t you’ll easily spot one difference. Discipline. Anything worth having is worth working for. With a coaching and athlete mentality, I’ve had years of training on the art of discipline. You can do this! Here are some pro tips for being disciplined. I’l break them down:
- remember your why
- pray through though moments
- invite accountability
My best advice for being disciplined is this: remember your why. Oh good, you’ve already done this on your party invitation on making a plan. Pro tip: Get deep with your why. List every reason imaginable as to why you want this goal to come to fruition. As a believer, one of my driving motivations behind why I do what I do is because of my why: souls are at stake, and God has commanded that I go out and tell the world about Him.
Take a few moments and elaborate on your “why” section of your party invitation. Set a timer for 5 minutes, and use all five of those minutes to list out as many reasons as possible for your why. If you’re ready to get serious about reaching your spiritual summer goals, press pause and brainstorm.
Reality check: there will be tough days, and times you won’t want to work towards your spiritual goals. This is where you lean into your why and make yourself do it. Pro tip: This is when I big tie pray! There have been countless times my flesh is fighting me, and giving me every reason to not open my Bible. I know the enemy is hard at work trying to keep my Bible shut, so praying through these moments is key. Here’s an example of what I pray when I feel this:
God, thank you for giving me easy access to the Bible. I don’t want to take it for granted. Please help me want to want to read my Bible. I want to know you more, I want to be close to you, and I know you want that for me too. Help me fight against my flesh when it’s weak. Help me keep my eyes on your and focus on my why. Thank you for my God-given goal, help me stick with it!
When you can remember that the difference is in the discipline, focus on your why, and pray through the tough moments, you’ll notice that you’re more likely to stick with your spiritual summer goals. Also a shout out back to tip #1 when we talked about accountability. Do yourself a favor and let another believer, who you can trust, hold you to your goal, plan, and discipline. It’ll be worth it!
BONUS TIP #4 This Works for All Goals!
But wait, there’s more! My 3 tips to stay consistent during the summer don’t just work for summertime. They work all the time! Bonus bonus: they work on any goal too. If you’ve got a God-inspired goal, and He’s given you the green light to go for it, these 3 tips to stay consistent during the summer will work!
I am praying over all of those who are hearing this podcast or reading this post today. I pray that you hear God’s voice and guidance today as you reflect on today’s episode. Pray and ask God to show you where in your spiritual life can use a good revamp. Save this post and podcast episode so you can easily find it when you’re ready to get serious about a new goal.
Links from the Show
- Summer Thrive Guide Mini Series (ep 291-304)
- Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table by Louie Giglio
- Witty & Gritty on Instagram
