Six summer essentials

I’ll never forget the thrill of being done my final calculus exam in first year. SUMMER. It was here. We celebrated the year filling up with an all-you-can-eat sushi lunch.

I loved having four months off from school. It was long enough that I recovered from the heavy year and even started to get excited for it to start all over again. I exercised every day, enjoyed regular part-time work, and had fun with friends.

While I enjoyed all of my summers in undergrad, I can’t help but look back on some with a tinge of regret knowing how unproductive they were spiritually (no thanks to Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2).

The freedom of summer holds so much potential for both waste and spiritual growth. If you approach it with the right attitude and take the right steps, it’s possible to grow spiritually, physically, emotionally, and socially. When September comes, you will be that much more ready for another amazing year on campus.

Here are 6 essentials for you to consider and strive for:

1. Go to a Bible-believing church

It’s possible you got connected to a great church in your university area for your time in the school year. That’s great – and if you haven’t, make sure you do next year! But this is going to be especially important if you are changing locations for the summer (e.g. going home). You’ll be away from the community in which you’ve been growing for the past 8 months, both your campus community and church community.

As Christians, we are called to be in community, and in particular we must be connected to the body of Christ. As the apostle Paul says, we are all essential to each other like the parts of a human body (Ephesians 5:11-16). So if you want to stay spiritually healthy this summer, make sure you’re going to a good, Bible-believing (and teaching) church.

2. Get to work

God has designed you to work. We see evidence of this from the first pages of Genesis, where Adam and Eve are placed in the garden to work and keep it. The New Testament carries the same understanding with it, such that Paul wrote to the lazy “if you don’t work, you don’t eat” (Gen. 2:15; Prov. 12:11; 2 Thess. 3:10-12).

Find work a bit stressful? That’s good! A healthy amount of stress, motivating us and pushing us forward, is exactly what we are meant for! Not enough good stress in someone’s life is as bad or worse than too much stress. It’s like the muscle you never use – it atrophies and becomes useless.

That can be you during summer if you don’t get to work. Whether that’s a paying job or volunteering somewhere or both, you have to have a main focus that is productive and taking up most of your time each week.

3. Get some rest

While we were designed for work (note that Adam and Eve had work to do before sin entered the world), we were also designed to rest. Even God rested on the seventh day of creation. Resting well and getting enough sleep is like setting a reset button on our emotional, physical and spiritual health. It prepares us for the next day, or next season, of work.

We simply aren’t meant to be productive every moment of every day. Isn’t it interesting that God actually designed for us to sleep at least ⅓ of our life away (preferably during the night)? Build in regular rest times during your week depending on what your needs are.I encourage you to keep some kind of Sabbath – one day where you don’t work and take time with God, with friends, and with yourself. If you want a good sermon on Sabbath rest, check out Tim Keller’s here.

4. Enjoy a good social life

Even your leisure time should be spent doing more than just playing video games or watching Netflix. Are you being social? Are you in good and fruitful and missional community? Are you laughing and having fun? All of these are essential elements of a good life and are basic predictors of happiness and mental health, and if you’re not getting them you will likely struggle in other areas too.

Another thing you might not have considered: loving others and being loved is essential to working to fulfill the Great Commandment. If you don’t have real relationships with people, you are neglecting Jesus’ commands to love your neighbour as yourself. You might also be neglecting the Great Commission if you find yourself without any non-Christian friends this summer. Consider joining some sports leagues or other fun summer activities where you can make some friends and make evangelism a habitual lifestyle!

5. Sharpen your mind

Just because school’s out, doesn’t mean your brain should be. Summer should definitely involve some time where your brain can rest (just like the cycles of work/rest), but four months is too long not to be learning. Whether you want to dig into some theology or tough questions, or some kind of general interest, give your brain some things to wrestle with over the summer. Aim to read a few books, watch an online lecture series, or put on some quality podcasts while you work or commute.

6. Sharpen your body

Even if you’re working full-time, you probably don’t have homework this summer and can make time at least for a run or some YouTube workouts a few times a week. I’ve always been a gym guy, and one summer I talked the sales people down for a discounted four-month membership and put on probably a good 15-20 pounds of muscle mass since I had the flexibility of going to the gym 5-6 times a week.

Whatever you do, your body is a temple and a vessel, a gift from God to be taken care of, so get into some good habits this summer that you can continue to some extent even when September comes. Physical training is of some value, Paul says (1 Tim 4:8), and research I saw in my Kinesiology studies at McMaster showed it to be a sort of miracle drug for fighting off mental illness like anxiety and depression.

Along with that, I recommend assessing what you eat and trying to make some dietary improvements. Nothing too drastic too fast, as that is rarely sustained over the long term. But try taking out one or two things every couple weeks and replacing them with something better for you. For example, if you drink pop every day, try drinking water or a more nutritious and less sugary alternative. If you make these small adjustments into habits, you’ll benefit big time down the road.

Time multiplies decisions

And that leads me to a final principle that pastor Carey Nieuwhof likes to share with aspiring leaders: time multiplies your decisions. All of these “essentials” to a fruitful summer are investments. If turned into ongoing habits, these investments can have huge impact over the years, bearing fruit for which you and others will be very grateful. And most importantly, God, who has given you all of this to steward, will be pleased with the fruit that is produced by his grace, and you will hear those precious words one day: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:23)

With that in mind, here’s one I didn’t mention: develop a habit of consistent Bible reading, journaling, and praying. Few investments could be as important as devoting yourself to regular communion with God and reflecting on and applying the truths of Scripture!

Check out the classic summer essentials handout for more ideas.