Enjoy the summer

This is how I want to be - this is what I want to do...ideas for a summer you won't miss.

I breathed a deep sigh of relief when this long, hard winter of 2025 / 2026 was finally over. On a boat - I live on a houseboat - it was cosy and warm in the living room, but the cold in the hallway and outside got into my bones.

The excitement about the first snowdrops was mixed with a little regret: I just didn't do some nice winter things for as long as I could. I went ice swimming and rolled around in the snow, but I never went mulled wine drinking, ice skating or sledging. Simply because I didn't plan for it and then something else was always more important. 

I don't want that to happen to me in summer. 

That's why I bought a Summer to-do list (that's how I want to be in summer) and a summer To-do list (I really want to make these things in the summer). For me - and also for you.

My summer to-be

To be - I want to cultivate these attitudes in summer

1. Enjoy summer - instead of just working
   Many of us race through the days. To-do lists in our heads, appointments in our diaries, but hardly any heart. Jesus invites us: „Come to me... I will give you rest.“ Living consciously in summer begins with stopping inwardly.
   Sit for five minutes in the morning with a cup of coffee by the open window or on the balcony. Or simply stop when a ray of sunshine hits your face or you hear the chirping of birds. 
   If you are a believer, take a deep breath and say a short prayer: „Lord, I am here. Thank you for this day. Show me what is really important today.“ You don't have to achieve anything, do anything „right“ - just be there. 

If you like, create a summer gratitude note or a small notebook. Write down three things: What am I grateful for today? These little questions help you to get out of autopilot and live the day with God instead of just functioning.

• See the abundance - summer full of gratitude 
  God has created the world lavishly beautiful: Strawberries, the sun on our skin, balmy evenings, birdsong in the morning. But we often rush past this abundance. Living more consciously means learning to see anew. Gratitude does not make us naive - it wakes us up. It broadens our view away from thoughts of lack („I'm not doing enough“, „I'm not enough“) towards the quiet certainty: I live from God's hand and he takes good care of me.

Take a „fullness moment“ every day: five minutes in which you perceive something with as many senses as possible, where you look, feel, smell, taste and hear. Perhaps while eating: Eat a strawberry or an ice cream slowly, really savour it.

Or on the way to work: make a resolution to discover five beautiful things. Or when you're swimming or lying in the sun. Really notice it. In the evening, you can „look back“ with God: Where did I feel your goodness today? Write down your sensory experience in your gratitude list of three moments so that, like Frederik and his friends, you can still enjoy the colours and smells of summer later in the cold winter. 

• Summery simple: reduce superfluous items
  Fullness does not mean more and more things, appointments and obligations. The opposite is often true: the fuller our diary and our cupboards, the emptier we feel. Jesus lived amazingly simply - lots of relationships, few possessions. And few appointments! Ask yourself: What is cluttering up my life right now? Perhaps the wardrobe in which you still find „nothing to wear“. The kitchen drawer that's always jammed. Or the many, many appointments. 
  Summer is a good time to let go. Pick a corner - not the whole flat - and clear it out in a summery way so that everything radiates lightness. Or paint a wall a cheerful colour. 
  Or clear out your diary. No appointments for a week. Even if you're not on holiday. Simply cancel everything. Or only put summer fun dates in your diary. Go swimming at the quarry pond. Take a long walk through the fields. If appointments can't be postponed, try to combine them with something fun. Bookkeeping with a cocktail or mocktail on the balcony. Homework help plus a picnic.
  
• Summery benevolence - honouring and caring for the body
  Many women are masters at taking care of themselves - children, partners, parents, the community. When it comes to their own bodies, all they often have left is a critical look in the mirror and the resolution „I'm going to start exercising in autumn“. 

Use the summer to be kind to yourself. 
Don't exercise to chase after some ideal, but to do something good for your body: swimming in the lake, barefoot through the grass, cycling in the evening. Ask yourself: Which exercise feels like pleasure, not punishment? 
Food can also become a summer liturgy: fresh food, water with mint and lemon, a consciously savoured ice cream - instead of snacks gobbled down on the side. Perhaps you would like to introduce a weekly „body date“ with yourself and God: an hour in which you go for a walk, notice your body, thank it - and let God bless it instead of berating it.

• Rich in relationships - summery times of the heart instead of compulsory visits
  Consciously enjoying summer also means: consciously loving. Our contacts are often full of „We absolutely have to meet up again“ - and yet it doesn't happen. Summer provides opportunities for simple but profound encounters: a picnic in the meadow, a walk after work, a barbecue together in the courtyard. 
  Think about what I would like to do this summer (the summer to-do list). And: Who do I really want to share time with this summer? Three people are enough to start with. Write down their names, pray for them briefly and then make a concrete suggestion - date, place, duration. 

Relationships don't have to be perfect to be good; they just need presence. Don't be afraid to filter: it's okay to spend less time with people who permanently drain you and more with those who make you blossom inside. You can take care of the more difficult people again in the autumn. 
Don't forget your relationship with God as a living relationship: He is just as happy about your spontaneous summer prayers and a chat by or in the pool as he is about „pious“ words.
Five coots have just swum past here. To bless = to bless. I looked after the cute little animals, rejoiced and said a short prayer. Thank you, Father, that you want to bless me.

• Refuelling - little summer time-outs 
  Many people dream of a week in a monastery, but can't afford it in terms of time or money. However, a weekend away from everything - perhaps in the home of friends who are on holiday - is often really beneficial. Or you can come to a Time out with me on board, to relax and gain new perspectives. There are still a few places available this summer.
  In summer, consciously plan mini-retreats - short breaks of 30 to 90 minutes or a few hours. Perhaps once a week: you go to a lake, a park or sit in an empty church. Or go to a hammock. With a „Do not disturb sign!“ Or tell the children: Wake me up in 10 minutes. Then we'll clean your rooms together.“ They'll leave you alone for hours! 
  Yes, sometimes in summer you just have to lie on the garden lounger and devour a whole, wonderfully cheesy summer novel in one weekend. Or treat yourself to some extra time with God. Take a Bible, a notebook, maybe a song on your mobile phone. Start with silence: breathe in, say quietly „Here I am“, breathe out „Here you are“. Slowly read a short Bible text - perhaps a psalm - and ask: „God, what do you want to say to me today?“ Write down what comes to mind without judging it straight away. These times don't have to be spectacular. But they create space in which God's quiet voice can be heard again between the everyday noises. Over time, such mini-retreats can become anchor points that make your entire everyday life more stable and more conscious.
  
• Being me
  Courage to make your own summer tracks - your life is not a comparison project
  Few things rob us of joy as much as the constant comparison: her figure, her house, her holidays, her seemingly perfect family and her super-spiritual life. Consciously living the summer means taking the place that God you and which you have chosen. 
  With your possibilities, limits and desires. Maybe your summer doesn't look like a beach holiday, but like a balcony, shift work or caring for relatives. God writes history there too. 
  Ask him: „What would be in the framework I have?, my Summer of abundance? What is good for my soul - in mineReality?“ Maybe it's a pile of books you really want to read, a small herb garden on the windowsill, a volunteer project, or simply more sleep. 
  Make a little summer list of three things: something that brings you closer to God, something that refreshes your body, something that feeds your creativity. And then go boldly into this summer - not as a copy of another woman, but as the beloved daughter of God that you are.

My summer to-dos

I definitely want to do this in the summer - not as a compulsory programme, but because I know that it nourishes my soul

• Open-air cinema
• Picnic with friends
• Crickets
• Kayaking
• Sleep under the open sky
• Travelling to the sea 
• Eat ice cream
• Water fight (there are recyclable water bombs)
• Make your own ice cream
• Bake a giant strawberry cake 
• Spend the night outdoors 
• Paint or decorate a wall in a colourful way
• Watching the sunrise (with coffee in hand)
• Walking barefoot through grass or sand
• Take a cycle tour into the blue
• Spend a whole day by the lake or sea
• Watch shooting stars
• Starting a road trip without a fixed destination
• Attend an open-air concert
• Tie a wreath of flowers
• Dancing in the rain
• Beautify an ugly place with flowers
• Stretch out a hammock and read
• Get up before sunrise and go for a walk
• Sit outside and talk for a long time in the evening
• Pick your own fresh berries or flowers
• Create a summer playlist and sing along loudly
• Take a photo tour in the golden evening light
• Take a stroll through the city with an ice cream break
• Go swimming at night
• Replanting a garden or balcony
• Stay offline for a whole day
• Start a summer diary
• Building a sandcastle
• Create a summer collage 
• Surprise a favourite person spontaneously
  
  

Please comment. Which summer idea do you want to realise?
The article was first published in JOYCE magazine.