5 Summer Must-Haves for the Intentional Woman
The lazy days of summer are finally here. These five summer must-haves will keep you living intentionally even when you’re out of routine!
When the seasons change, I like to take stock of where we are as a family.
Being intentional is all about regular evaluation, and summer is a great time to throw caution to the wind a little bit, step out of routine, and enjoy life together with your family.
Related: How to Plan an Intentional Summer Your Whole Family Will Love (FREE Planning Packet)
But before you dive head first into your summer plans, there are five summer must-haves you will want to get in place.
Click the video below to hear my 5 Summer Must-Haves.
Can’t see the video? Click here to watch directly on YouTube.
5 Summer Must-Haves for the Intentional Woman
1. Library Card
If you’ve been around here for any length of time, then you know we are a reading family. Books are a big part of our family culture.
In the summer, a library card is an essential must-have for the whole family, but especially for me as a mom.
I try to read at least a few books in the summer that are for the sheer enjoyment of reading them. I tend to get caught up in reading to learn something, improve something, or change something.
I plan on taking advantage of my library card for MYSELF this summer, and not just use it for loading up on more picture books for the kids.
Related: How We Did a Family Reading Challenge
2. Reading List
When it comes to the books I read in the summer, I tend to work from a summer reading list. Since I usually read more fiction during the summer, I don’t want to waste time reading books that just aren’t any good.
I like Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Summer Reading Guide. I like her reading guides because she gives the best descriptions. I can quickly see if a book is for me or not.
Related: A Summer Reading List for the Christian Woman
3. Plan for the Family
I am on a mission to get you living gospel-motivated lives for Him, and one of the ways I want to do that is to convince you to live seasonally.
It’s so easy to get caught up in thinking that the way things are now are how they will always be. This just isn’t true.
Our children will not be little forever, they will not always leave their dirty socks in the living room floor, and they will not always need us to watch their children so they can get a break.
They also won’t always crawl in our laps for picture books, enjoy playing pretend, and take family vacations with us.
Seasons come and go, both the positive ones and the ones we see as negatives. And when the seasons change within creation, it’s a great time to take inventory of your family and make a plan to enjoy the season you’re in right now.
If you want some help maximizing the summer season this year, then download my free Summer Planning Packet.
4. Summer Meal Plan
If you have never tried making a seasonal menu plan, then let this summer be a first for you.
You can read my full tutorial on how to create a seasonal meal plan here.
I plan our menu four times a year. Then, I work that plan for three months before changing it up. This has saved me so much time, money, and headache.
Planning our meals is a key part of managing my home well. I do not work well on the fly. However, neither do I work well if I have to do something every single week.
Seasonal meal planning has been a huge stress reliever for me!
You can see how I seasonal meal plan here, plus download a free meal planning packet.
5. Bible Reading Plan
With the summer comes lazy days and spotty routines. Therefore, the last summer must-have is to make a plan for your spiritual life.
Be intentional about making a plan to stay in the Word this Summer. Maybe you want to just stick with a simple Bible reading plan, or perhaps it’s a good time to do an in depth Bible study.
Right now, we are putting together Topical Bible Reading Plans here at Intentional By Grace. Each month, our email subscribers get a new Topical Bible Reading Plan delivered to her inbox. Click here to get access to all our Bible reading plans and freebies.
You know where you are spiritually, consider that, and then make an intentional plan for how you will cultivate your spiritual life this summer.
Related: 4 Ways to Be More Intentional with Your Spiritual Life
What about you? What would you add to this list as a summer must-have for the intentional woman? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Your Intentional Summer Planning Guide (Free Download)
If you want some help making a plan for your intentional summer, I’ve put together a planning packet for you to download.
Thank you, Leigh Ann. You seem to put together and I long to be that way! My life feels like chaos right now. I’m actually taking some time off of homeschool right now to clean up my house and get my mind straightened out. I just copied off your intentional summer pack. I agree with the library card. We will be doing the Simple Homeschool Read the World Book Club. I look forward to checking out the reading list you suggested. I have lots of books I am trying to read, but I think I might like a few fiction books. One area I am struggling in is meal plans. I just need to get some good meals and simple ingredients going. And this summer we will be doing Word with Zach (Keys for Kids) Bible reading and I will do a Bible study with a friend or I also might read through John using a devotional book from Missional Women.
I know we chatted on YouTube already, but I wanted to add that I just bought the Inductive Study for the Gospel of John from Kay Arthur. It’s really inexpensive, but it’s broken into SMALL chunks. It’s been really great addition to my mornings. I’m going to share about it soon, but wanted to pass that along because you mentioned John. 🙂
Thanks, Leigh Ann. I didn’t post this on your blog (I don’t think), just YT. Anyway, I loved this post and your video (the best). I will start on my planning packet soon.