Summer Rhythms For The Stressed Out
Well friends, we made it! Summer is almost here. And it’s no secret I LOVE the summer. It’s been a stressful 2022 and something about summer makes me want to play and rest. I’m ready for it.
As the days get longer and the temps get hotter, I’ve started processing how I want to savor this season (If you want more on savoring summer, click here and hop on over to a post I wrote last year!).
In 2022, one of my “goals” is to develop a Rule of Life. Simply put, a rule of life is organizing our rhythms and routines for spiritual formation and maturity. Now before everyone who is allergic to goal setting checks out, I want to say goals loosely. As a type A planner, I quickly get caught up in checking boxes and hitting milestones. But, I’m learning to instead create rhythms in my life that both draw me closer to God (which is most important) and help me live at a slower pace.
P.S. I used Powersheets to dream and track those things, if you’re into that.
The levels of stress and anxiety I’ve felt over the past year has been at an all time high, and this is designed to help that, not create more of it. Through a lot of trail and error, I’ve settled on 7 daily rhythms this year and some additional weekly and monthly ones as well. (I shared my daily rhythms on IG recently if you wanna check ‘em out!)
My church created a great summation: A rule of life is a schedule and set of practices and relational rhythms that help us create space in our busy world for us to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what He did.
Rhythms include movement. They aren’t rigid, and they are designed to flow with us. Now summer is coming and I’m starting to feel pulled to mixed up some of those rhythms to best fit the season.
Here’s what I’m aiming for:
Daily Rhythms (these follow with the daily ones I’ve already been practicing)
Move daily quiet time to upstairs chair by the window to get more light and a change of scenery.
I quit caffeine this year, and it’s seriously helped so much with anxiety, so I want to start making either a juice or tea in the morning as a treat instead. Replaces the ritual of drinking coffee.
Actually abiding by my screen limits. This has by far been the most challenging but especially with longer days and lots of trips, I want to be off my phone and more present. I even bought some disposable cameras to document the moments I want to remember. From 8:00 PM-8:00 AM I’ll try to not be on my phone.
Outside, morning movement. Either a slow prayer walk or a run. I just started training for a race I’m running before I turn 30 in the fall. So this creates time to do that. Getting outside before I start my day also gives me a jolt when I’m not drinking coffee.
Read at a slower pace. I am a speed reader and I crush some books in the summer time. But, I want to slow down to really enjoy and savor what I read. Especially non-fiction—I want to give myself time to process and apply what I read before trying to get more information. (If you missed some of my summer reads, click here. I’ll be sharing more on IG as I finish them!)
Weekly Rhythms
Get back to weekly Sabbath. Until last month, I did pretty well with this. But with some large deadlines and travel I’ve gotten off track. The goal is to spend intentional, uninterrupted time with the Lord and do things I enjoy. It starts Saturday after dinner and ends Sunday evening when I get back from church. I’ve started making a list of things I want to do over the summer on Sabbath and I can’t wait.
Tuesday morning prayer at church. This summer my church is going through a series called “The Emotionally Healthy Church” and as part of that we are doing weekly prayer and I want to make it a priority. It helps me connect with my community.
Cook more meals at home and eat fresh ingredients. Fresh food in the summer tastes better, doesn’t it? I signed up for a farm share and can’t wait to experiment! With all the stress and anxiety, I’ve had to start listening to my body, nourish it so it can heal, and food is a big part of it.
Social media free weekends! I’m super excited about this one—no social media on the weekends. I want to enjoy the life in front of me, to have fun and to be bored!
Intentional time with my friends. This is always a high value on my schedule but with everyone traveling and schedules changing I don’t want to neglect the relationships in my life.
I’m working on some other big picture goals and bucket list things too, and I’ll share those on social media as we go along.
I hope these help you think about how you want to spend your summer. These may work for me, but not for you and that’s okay. It’s all about figuring out how can you orient your days to better connect with God and enjoy your life. Set a fun date for yourself to pray and dream up some ideas. I went to a cute little garden/coffee shop in town called Rosie’s to do mine and it was delightful. Likely, these will change as I get into them, and I won’t do them all well. But it gives me a place to start.
I’d love to hear your ideas and what you’re trying in the comments or over on Instagram!
If you wanna know more about developing your own Rule of Life listen to this sermon or read this resource.