Summertime... What comes to our minds first when we see that word? Warm weather, vacation, swimming, barbecues? Try reading the word this way: SummerTIME! Now what comes to mind? “Free time” hours are a wonderful thing ….sort of like “recreational funds” in our household budgets. The question is: how well do we plan for, prepare for, and pray over those valuable hours? My suggestion this month is not just one book for you to consider, but rather a few suggestions to encourage you to take a few minutes of TIME to consider the possibilities. For some of us it is hard to decide what is best to read, but for many it is hard to find the TIME...

If we considered each of the hours of our time to be as valuable as each of the dollars we have to spend – and once spent, the resource is gone – would we be more careful to plan where our summerTIME goes? We plan our vacations, we plan picnics, social gatherings, parties, we plan what we will wear and we plan what we will eat, but how often do we plan what we feed our minds and hearts?

Hebrews 5:14 tells us that “solid food is for the mature who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” We need to read the Word to know what is truth, but we also continue to read other well-written Christian books to see demonstrations and hear explanations of how those truths apply to the varied circumstances of everyday life. Reading Christian books aids in the development of a Christian worldview, and it opens up our thinking to expose the fallacies inherent in any other worldview. Does your family have a plan to immerse themselves in the Word of God, in good books, in great fiction, inspiring biographies, or thought-provoking reading this summerTIME?

Do YOU have a special time set aside for your own devotional reading every day? Do your children read the Bible for at least a few minutes every day? Did you know that in less than ten minutes a day, at a chapter a day, your family could read through all of the gospel of John, Proverbs, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, II Timothy, Titus, I Peter, II Peter, I John, II John, and III John in less than 8 weeks? What better time than summerTIME to make this a life-long habit?

Consider how some families make TIME to read, just for fun: one family reads through a chapter of a classic Christian fiction book together every morning during the summer. Another reads a chapter or more every evening at bedtime. Some families with young children have story-time right after lunch and before naptime. In one family, the mom drives on car trips, while dad reads great books aloud to the family! In another family, dad reads right after dinner while everyone is still at the table. In another family, the children take turns reading special stories to each other. Some families read together every Sunday afternoon after lunch or dinner. Some children have a quiet reading time while Mom fixes dinner. Some read the Bible in the morning and other books at another time during the day. Another great choice is to set aside one night a week just for reading. How about changing your thinking about “rainy days” during the summer and renaming them “reading days”! And lest you think reading is just for kids, one grandmother and grandfather I know read to each other every night before turning out the lights!

This kind of reading requires planning, preparation, and prayer to make it happen. If the materials are not ready and available and you haven’t prayed through a plan, it is likely you’ll come to the end of the summer and wonder why you never read those books. Once you decide WHEN, then comes the fun part of deciding WHAT! Consider these exciting suggestions:

Family Reading

Read a biography of John Bunyan, and then read one of the wonderful versions of his Pilgrim’s Progress, and think about the struggles you learned of in his life while you read the story. Finish up with the beautiful story by Wendy Lawton based on the life of his little blind daughter in The Tinker’s Daughter.

Ride the wave of anticipation over the soon to be released movie, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Read the story together, and then read Finding God in the Land of Narnia. Talk about it as a family. Pick up a short biography of C.S. Lewis, the author. For more good classic reading, pick up a copy of Invitation to the Classics. It is a great reference book containing overviews of several classics and explaining the worldview of their authors.

There are some great stories for young and old in William Bennett’s Christian Virtues series.

One of the best ways to grow in the discernment of HOW to apply the Word to everyday life is to see it applied in the lives of great men and women of faith in Christian biographies. Take time this summer to get to know Augustine or Luther, Wesley or Calvin? How about Bonhoeffer or Bunyan? What about George Muller, Gladys Aylward, Jim Elliott, Amy Carmichael, Jonathan Edwards, Corrie Ten Boom or Martin Lloyd Jones? Try the Heroes of Faith, Christian Heroes, or Sower Series of books for some inspiring stories of about 200 pages in length. For the youngest reader …… the Christian Heroes series comes in a children’s version that is done in rhyme.

Young Children

For children who can’t read, consider Susan Hunt’s wonderful book, Big Truths for Little Kids. This book is filled with short stories, great questions, and heartfelt prayers to help little ones think through the basic truths of the faith in thirty-six fun lessons! Or try Sinclair Ferguson’s Big Book of Questions and Answers. All of the work has been done for you as you follow along through the stories and questions and great illustrations.

Young Readers

For young readers introduce the Three Cousins Mysteries and for animal lovers, you can’t beat Adam Raccoon and his adventures or the Animal Friends series by Janette Oke or even the classic Christopher Churchmouse series by Barbara Davoll. Young Boys
For adventure stories, try Robert Elmer’s Promise of Zion or learn something about Australia as you read through the Adventures Down Under series. For the computer kids, Elmer’s Hyperlinkz series is fun, or try the new Astrokids series. If he likes more Sci-Fi, try the Mars Diaries by Sigmund Brouwer, a series of 10 short books that will spark his imagination. Oxygen Level Zero is the first one. If he loves sports, don’t miss the Chip Hilton series by Claire Bee about love of sports and the character qualities of young men. This was one of the best-loved series from his grandparents’ day, and it is still popular with young boys today.

Young Girls

EVERY YOUNG GIRL should read Elsie Dinsmore. If your daughter is among the thousands of horse lovers, Lauraine Snellings’ High Hurdles series is fun. Young teen girls will love Beverly Lewis’ Summer Hill Secrets series. For some great inspiration stories, check out the books written by Wendy Lawton, which give a true-to-life account of some of the young girls that your daughters should learn to admire!

Science Lovers

Choose The Weather Book, The Geology Book, or The Astronomy Book, from the Wonders of Creation Series. To read about the lives of scientists, mathematicians, or inventors, try the Champions of Discovery Series by John Hudson Tiner. Your budding scientist will love ANY of Tiner’s books.

Teen Girls and Boys

Stepping Heavenward should be required for EVERY YOUNG TEEN on the verge of womanhood! The same is true for Every Young Man’s Struggle for guys. Elizabeth Elliott’s classic Passion and Purity is another must, and you can’t miss with any of the relationship books written by Josh Harris.

Mom and Dad

What was the last really good book that inspired you to press on in your Christian Life? When was the last time your children saw YOU read ‘just for fun”? If you are looking for an entertaining, relaxing, easy book to read with your spouse, a friend, or as a family, try the funny, charming, and endearing Mitford Series by Jan Karon... the long-awaited last book in that series is due out this fall. Christian fiction can be a great way to relax this summer and there is plenty to choose from!

These are just some favorites from our church library. Ask your friends at church, or your Sunday School teachers or your pastor what they recommend.

One last thing... Do YOU have a special place WHERE you read? I still remember the safe feeling I experienced when I was a little girl and sat in the crook of our cherry tree to dig in to my favorite book. Or the times I sat on the front porch on warm summer days and was swept away by the characters in a favorite story. Do your kids have a favorite place? If you don’t already have a special place, create one! Make it fun…. Ask your family members where they think it would be the most fun to read. And remember that having a little snack of fruits, nuts, or veggies, or even a special drink that is just for reading time, makes it even more special! Our families learn to value the things that we value with our time and attention. Give your family the gift of a special summerTIME of reading!

A prolific writer once said, “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man that can not read them.” Surely there must be some TIME that you can make available for something so important.

Think about it. Pray about it. Plan for it. What would be great for your family this summerTIME?