80: Making This the Best Summer Ever

The phrase “you only have 18 summers with your kids” can hit like a warning, and if you already feel stretched thin, it can trigger instant guilt. I wrestle with that tension and share a better way to hold the idea: not as panic, but as accountability that helps us slow down and choose what matters before the season slips away.

We get practical about building an intentional summer rhythm that fits real life. I talk through a short morning devotion you can actually sustain, including how I pick a theme (like the Armor of God or the Fruit of the Spirit) and keep it simple with Scripture, quick discussion, and character building. If you want Christian parenting tools that don’t require a full curriculum, you’ll leave with doable options, from one Psalm or Proverb a day to using library books as support.

Then we move into discipline as training, not just punishment. Summer offers more margin for teachable moments: sibling conflict, disappointment when plans change, and the inevitable “I’m bored.” I share how staying calm, consistent, and rooted in love helps kids connect faith to everyday life. Finally, I explain why one on one time with each child is my favorite summer practice and how simple “dates” create space for the best conversations, especially during big transitions like a move.

If this helped you, subscribe, share the episode with a parent friend, and leave a review so more families can find it.

Recommended Resources:

Armor of God devotional cards

Fruit of the Spirit devotional cards

Connect with me!
You can find me on Instagram @mrs.leannetuggle or you can email me at leanne.tuggle@gmail.com. I love hearing from you!

Would you like more weekly encouragement? Subscribe to my newsletter Whatever is Lovely and be inspired to open your inbox again.
https://leannetuggle.myflodesk.com/v3r2zwdaik

If this is your first time here and this episode resonated, hit “subscribe” and submit a 5-star rating if you feel genuinely inspired to. Your positive feedback means the world to me!

Episode Sponsors:
Rodan + Fields - Take this brief quiz to find your customized skincare routine!

Whatever is Lovely - Subscribe here to the weekly newsletter designed to encourage you with words of wisdom and relatable content. Be inspired to open your inbox again. 

Transcript

Leanne Tuggle 0:00

You only have 18 summers with your children. I have a sort of love-hate relationship with this popular phrase. And I think partly because I can never tell if it is meant to be like a warning or is it a threat. I really can't tell. In the past, when I heard this phrase, it would send me in sort of this like mini spiral of panic. I already struggle with feeling like I'm never doing enough. And so this phrase certainly does not help me with that internal struggle. But more recently, I began to consider this phrase more of maybe like a statement of accountability. And that somehow feels a little bit better. It's

Rethinking The “18 Summers” Line

Leanne Tuggle 0:50

so easy to sort of let time pass us by or to get busy doing all of the things and then blink and realize that summer is nearly over. I think that many of us want to be intentional with our summers and the time spent with our children and families. But how do you actually go about doing this? It can feel a little bit intimidating. So perhaps I can share with you a few things that I have learned over the last really just handful of summers and provide you with some ideas to get you started on making this summer the best one ever. Now, since we are here right at the beginning of summer 2026, I think it is important to note that I don't actually believe that you only have 18 summers left with your kids. Both my husband's family and my family regularly plan reunions and get-togethers in the summer. And I have already started telling my children about the cabin that we will rent someday by the lake and how that they're going to bring all of their kids and we're going to have this awesome week together. I figure it doesn't hurt to start telling them what I hope for someday, so that maybe it just kind of gets ingrained in their minds and then it actually happens later on. I do think that 18 summers is sort of like a goal, though, because I do hope that after that 18th summer, my children feel confident

A Bigger Vision For Family Summers

Leanne Tuggle 2:24

and prepared to take on the world and pursue God's purpose and plans for them. If you have been following along with whatever is excellent for a little bit, then you know that I believe it is our job as parents to raise grateful, respectful, capable, godly children so that they will one day become grateful, respectful, capable, godly adults. And the best part about the summer season is that you get a little more time. Time that can be spent discipling, disciplining, and doing things together. Summer provides us with an incredible opportunity. And since we only have 18 of these, I don't plan to waste them. And I bet you don't either. So let's take a look a little deeper into what it would look like to slow things down this summer and simply be super intentional, especially when it comes to those three things I just mentioned: discipleship, discipline, and doing things together. My favorite way to incorporate discipleship into our summer rhythm is with a morning devotion. So in last week's episode, I shared some of my summer rhythms. And if you haven't already listened to it, I highly recommend it. I have all of my best tips and tricks for summertime. One of those rhythms includes starting every day around the same time with a similar routine of breakfast and Bible time. Every summer, I choose a theme for this Bible time and then we walk through it week by week. Last year, my children and I looked at the armor of God from Ephesians 6, 10 through 20, and we discussed a different aspect of the armor every week during the summer. This year, we will be looking at the fruit of the spirit from

Morning Devotions That Actually Fit

Leanne Tuggle 4:20

Galatians 5, 22 through 23. I have also linked both of those resources that I just mentioned in the show notes. So in case you are curious about trying something like that with your kids this summer, you can take a look at those resources. In addition to unpacking the traits of the fruit of the spirit each week, I also want to work on building positive character traits like caring, citizenship, cooperation, courage, fairness, honesty, respect, responsibility. I have some activities planned to go along with each of these themes, and I utilize the local library to help me find books that will supplement our discipleship time. Now, I love this kind of thing. I love coming up with curriculum. I love looking at different books and finding something that would work for my kids. I really delight in that. I think that there's a reason why I have a master's in curriculum instruction and design. But if you are listening to this right now and you're starting to feel like, yeah, that's a lot. That's a lot of prep work. And I don't know if I can do that. I want to give you just a little bit of encouragement. Our morning breakfast in Bible time takes about 10 to 15 minutes. This isn't a long, super detailed lesson plan. It is intentional and planned, but truly it's just reading a passage of scripture and then discussing some positive character traits. That's really all it is. You can make it as involved or as simple as it makes sense for you and for your family. My point with this is that you feel inspired to consider something that you could disciple your children in this summer. I take cues from my kids too. Like, what are some of the things that they might be struggling with? So last summer we chose to do the armor of God, partly because my daughter had really been facing some persecution for being a Christian. There were a group of girls at her school that were making fun of her and teasing her for being someone who loved Jesus. And so teaching her about the armor of God and really breaking down each part of that made sense so that she could enter this school year feeling prepared. This summer, since we are moving and we have a lot of other things going on, it made sense to study the fruit of the spirit because it's kind of easy how it breaks down. You can study one of those different traits per week. And it just kind of made sense for our family. So take a look at areas of struggle or tension that your family might be kind of going through. Do a little bit of research. You can find resources or devotions that might provide a bit of a framework for you so that you're not just making it all up on your own. And you could even just read one proverb or even one psalm per day. And this would be a beautiful way to disciple your children. It doesn't have to be complicated, doesn't have to be super planned out. It's really just being intentional. In my weekly newsletter, whatever is lovely, I have provided even more suggestions for you and that you can look those over. Maybe there's one or two of them that would work for you or your family. Like it says in Psalm 119, 105, your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. So let God's word be your guide for what it means to disciple your children this summer. Another thing to be really intentional with this summer is discipline. Now, of course, you're disciplining your children all year long, but again, the summer provides more room for margin, more time to be really intentional about those teachable moments as they come up. I think part of that, at least for me, since we are a family that goes, that my children go to school as opposed to being homeschooled, there's something about not feeling rushed in the morning where when those different attitudes or behaviors or things come up, I don't feel pressed for time to really address them. And so I think that's something to really lean into in the summer. But when I'm talking about discipline here, I'm talking about it in two different ways. Discipline, yes, in terms of correcting behavior, but also summer is a great time to teach

Discipline As Training With Love

Leanne Tuggle 8:37

your children just what it means to be a disciplined person. I love to teach my kids disciplines in the summer, things like how to read their Bible on their own or how to plan your day to include time alone with the Lord. I also discipline my children with how they need to be corrected or rebuked, how to get along with their siblings. I think that we have so much more time together in the summer. And so it's very easy for some of those relationship tensions to come up and teaching them how to think of the interests of others or some of those things. This is a great time to really address that. And the best way that I can teach any of these different disciplines is by offering myself as an example. They get to spend all summer with me, they get to see how I am handling things, and I can be an example. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul says, be imitators of me as I am of Christ. And I want this to be true of me too. So when it comes to teaching our children discipline, it needs to start with us. In my experience, like I mentioned just a moment ago, opportunities for discipline come up in regards to conflicts a lot in the summer. Also, you're you're dealing with maybe disappointment, thing your day not going the way you want for you or for your kids. And then also learning how to handle boredom in a positive way. These are all things that I think require discipline in the summer. And really, discipline is just an extension of discipleship. It's kind of like the practical application part, right? You're talking about the Bible, you're studying the Bible in your morning discipleship time, and then you're having to live it out later on. I think discipline is less about punishment, although that does play a role, and it's more about training. And again, this requires you as the adult to stay calm, to be consistent, and to keep the discipline rooted in love. And that is hard. That is not easy. Your tone, patience, and reactions are opportunities for your children to see your faith lived out. So that when your children are fighting, you teach forgiveness. When disappointment leads to poor behaviors, you teach them to trust in God. And when boredom inevitably shows up, you are teaching creativity and gratitude. You can ask your children questions like, what do you think God would want us to do here in this moment? Or how can we respond in a way that honors Him? You have opportunities for those conversations in the summer. And then you gently correct the behavior, you address the heart, and then you point them back to the truth. Remind your children and yourself of what it says in Hebrews 12, 11. For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Now, I've saved the best for last. My favorite part of being intentional with summer is spending one-on-one time with my kids. Now it is true that I can do this all year long, but I like to sort of take it up a notch in the summer. Meaningful one-on-one time really builds deep connection and trust. And as my children grow, I realize more and more how important it is to take them on like little dates or just to invite them to come with me to run an errand, just the two of us. This often leads to the best conversations, and it lets my children see that they are truly known and loved. One-on-one time with your

One On One Dates With Each Child

Leanne Tuggle 12:43

kids can be simple. It can be as easy as inviting one child to run an errand with you, or maybe even cook a meal with you, go on a walk with you. Or you can take your child on a simple and personal date. A couple of summers ago, my husband and I decided that this is something we wanted to do. We were actually new to the area, and I really just wanted to invest in that quality time. And so both my husband and I took each of our children on a one-on-one date. So that meant each child got to have one date with daddy and one with mommy. And so we had six different dates set up on the calendar spread out all throughout the summer. We would let the child choose the activity within reason. So nothing too crazy. And we were setting aside time, like maybe one to two hours. So this wasn't like a whole day production. It was just a couple of hours of time one-on-one. And so we decided what the thing was that we were going to do, and we would put it on the calendar. And this gave my kids something to look forward to all summer long. They were excited for each other to get to have that time. And then they were excited to see like when their date was coming up. It communicated value and delight. And it really did provide an opportunity to ask some of those heart-level questions. Things like, what's been your favorite part of summer so far? Or is there anything worrying you right now, or maybe even about the school year coming up? And then one of my favorite questions to ask them is what do you feel like God is teaching you right now? And it is so interesting to hear their responses. Even as young as five or six, they have thoughts about this. Now, since our family is moving this summer, we are planning to spend these dates in our new location. I think that it will be a great way for us to kind of help our children with the transition. I know that they're going to need some time and some space to sort of sort through their feelings with the move. And so by saving our one-on-one dates for our new location, I think it will provide a place for them to sort of unpack some of those feelings alongside their parents, one-on-one. And we can go into some of those heart-level questions and help them through the different feelings and emotions with moving. So the best summer ever doesn't have to be packed full of adventure parks and epic family vacations. It can include those. But I believe that the best summers are simply the ones that are spent together in meaningful ways. The best summers start slowly with time spent in the Word. The best summers include correction that leads to teachable moments. And the best summers are about deepening your relationships with each other through quality time and conversations. Embrace the joy and wonder of summer. You may only have 18 summers with your children, but they will be the best summers, full of spontaneity, play, and unhurried conversations. Choose to see summer like a good and perfect gift from above, like it says in James 1.17. To close this episode, I want to leave you with something that you can think about this week and a scripture that you can savor. And I pray that you embrace excellence this summer with the time that you get to spend with your loves. Something to ponder. What would it look like for you to be intentional with your children this summer? In which area do you need to focus more this summer? Discipleship, discipline, or doing things one-on-one? And a scripture for you to savor this week. Deuteronomy 6, 5 through 7. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of

Questions To Ponder And Scripture

Leanne Tuggle 16:52

them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.