The Summer 13 Challenge

Emily Dickenson, favorite American poet who lived in the 1800’s, says it well in this excerpt from her poem:

The Summer that we did not prize,

Her treasures were so easy

 Instructs us by departing now. . .

That was more than 150 years ago, but the same is true today in our mobile age.  Summer is short.   Summer is sweet. And Summer is opportunity.  To grow.  To expand.  And to taste life deeply.

The Summer 13.  Depending how you count, Summer is 13 weeks long.  But whenever you begin, you know that the deliciousness won’t last long.

Lilacs happen to be my launch to the sweet season of total outdoor joy that flashes by so quickly.  The English poet John Clare exclaimed in the 1800’s:

Come we to the summer,

to the summer we will come,

For the woods are full of bluebells and the hedges full of bloom…

Some think that doing different and new activities creates memories that lodge and seem to make the time longer.  It’s a time to try this out.  It’s time to fill up your bucket so that you can give from a full heart.

This is your creative hedge, where experience and joy develop and provide both the material and the experiences that produce productive writing, speaking or any type of creative activity.

My Summer 13 Challenge to me and to you is this.  Find something new every week to do, taste, see or try.  That’s 13 new items in your life—from ice cream to sailing to books to Bible study.  See how rich and full this summer can be.

Onward to memory-making, heart-expanding growth.

Jan Shober is a media analyst, blogger and Vice-president for Strategy for Finney Media, specializing in helping you create experiences that cause your audience to come back for more.

Jan began her media journey as a ten-year old with a neighborhood newspaper—and continued shadowing her love of words to work in radio. She spent time in South America working in international media and about twenty years with Focus on the Family first in creative for audio then in distributing media.

Her big reason for her work?  Her life mission to help more people grow in Jesus. See more about Jan’s journey at: http://finneymedia.com/about/our-team/