Summer Vibes | Part 1

Introduction

Summer is coming up quick. Desoto/Bossier you guys have about 3 weeks left and Caddo, you guys have 4 weeks left.

Crazy thinking that this school year is almost over. I hope that this school year has been a blessing for you and that you’ve been a blessing to others.

With that being said, the school year brings about a lot of good things. You’re probably like whatever bro I am forcibly removed from my bed everyday at 6am and I have to go to a place where I have to wear uniforms, I’m assigned homework, the list goes on.

But the school year, does have one plus to it. Anyone know?

The school year always brings a routine. With each new school year, you have to learn a new flow, right?

You get your new class schedule, find out when you have band or sports practice, maybe every two weeks you have a Friday quiz, etc.

Right now, Annsley and I are learning a new routine and schedule having a baby. Used to, we could be like lets go out to eat at _________ restaurant, but now we’ve have to take into account that Rory has to eat every so often.

We know that the school year institutes a routine or schedule.

As much as we may not like our school schedule it’s still a schedule. Schedules keep us on track. They list out goals or objectives that we want to achieve throughout our day, week, or month.

Summer does the opposite, often times, of the school year. Summertime is chill, right?

I remember that some days I would be paralyzed from the waste down, because I had sat and played video games for so long.

I call this the summertime slowdown. It happens to everyone. All the school activities, for the most part, have paused and now it’s just the summertime slowdown.

I’ve found that there are two things that can happen during the summertime slowdown:

1. You can grow closer in your walk with God (all distractions of school, sports have been removed…).

2. Or you can begin to backslide in your walk with God (we become so relaxed in the slowdown that we forget to feed ourselves spiritually…)

These two things won’t be something that just happens. Each day that we are on summer break, we will have the opportunity to make an investment in our walk with God.

Luke 9:23 NIV

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

I used to absolutely LOVE the summertime growing up. I honestly still do. You’ve got camp and conference season in the summer, pool parties, hangouts, and there’s not a time limit because there’s no school!

Some summers, I remember that I found myself becoming lulled by the slowdown that I looked up and couldn’t really point to things that grew my walk with God.

I’m not about to stand up here and say you can’t watch Netflix or hangout with your friends, instead you should be praying/fasting all day.

But, if we aren’t seeking God daily we are wasting the days away.

Summer slowdown.

Anyone here love going on vacations? Anyone love being at home?

I like going on vacations. I get a little anxiety in the pre-vacation…

[DEFINE]

Once I’m at the vacation destination, it’s game on. But have you ever asked why we go on vacations? People go on vacations to slowdown.

Students, you have a mandatory vacation every year and it’s from June-July. You may not be actually going anywhere, but you’re free from normal responsibilities.

Closing

During the slowdown, don’t grow stagnate or fall into the lull of the summertime. I believe that the summertime can be filled with many moves of God, but it can also be filled with wasted days.

Next week, I want to dive into some practical things that will push us to grow more in our walk with God over the summer.

So I want tonight, I want to ask you this question: Have you fallen victim to the slowdown of summer? Why?

As the band makes their way back up, I want to pray that tonight God would create a fire, a conviction in us that we wouldn’t be stagnate this summer. I want to pray that God would speak to each one of us here during the slowdown.

Prayer