Okay, summertime is here and the little ones are rarin' to go. The trips to Hawaii and Caribbean cruises are just too heavy on the family budget! How can we spend time with our children and instill lifelong memories without crippling the family pocketbook?

Here are a few ideas for a fun-filled-child- pleasing-inexpensive summer:

Safety First!!! Make sure to use sunblock and bug spray while outdoors. Also, appropriate footwear is very important!

Hi! How's your summer? Is summer really a time to talk about responsibility? WAY too heavy a topic for sunny days filled with trampolines, tee-ball, and swimming lessons. Yet, we're here.

First, let's get on the same page. Are you a perfect mom or do you have mental volleying sessions with yourself? I've only a minute to connect with you, so I'll assume you're a Reality Mom like me. Ever heard this in your brain at any point in your parenting: "Maybe I'm doing this wrong. I should read a book about this. Maybe there's a class. Ooh--I could just spend the day figuring out the root cause, I'd be perfecto-mom by next Wednesday. But there's laundry. Darn, I really need to be the perfect wife/mom/friend in that area; maybe I should set everything aside to dig deep and cultivate this thing. But do I have that kind of time? No, of course I don't."

My mental rantings of this type usually end with, "Well, God, you're just going to have to get the "rev" to me somehow cause I've gotta go raise these children."

So I've recently learned that the above response is actually scriptural. WOO HOO!! It really is! Here, look, it's in Philippians 3:12-16, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained."

Yeah, too lofty for Mom Minutes--makes a little more sense when I put it in TMT (The Mommy Translation): "Not that I have already mastered the housework and become SuperMom, but I press on to create the peaceful home with perfect children for which Christ Jesus took hold of me as their mom. Sisters, I am so not there yet. But one thing I do: Forgetting the poopie diapers, temper tantrums, and defiance of yesterday (this morning, or 5 minutes ago) and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of godly children for which God has called me to this avocation of motherhood. All of us who are serious and mature about raising our own children should try on this perspective. And if we screw up or don't get something, God will fix our brains. But for now, let's do what we know and teach our children to master what we have mastered."

What does this have to do with responsibility? Well, aren't you happy when your critters do what they know to do? Like make their beds or help their little sister into the house when she falls and skins her knee? Their hearts are just as soft and willing to listen to our gentle corrections in other areas.

And it's the same thing with mothering. We're little Mom-Children and God just wants us to do what we know: feed 'em, change 'em, teach 'em how to color, and he'll teach us the rest along the way.

And that's just my tip and encouragement for you: let go of the stuff you don't know. We don't have to be responsible for it. Not sure about you, but that leaves my burden MUCH lighter!

Much love to you all as we serve our families, awaiting the day our children will rise up, call us blessed, get on TV and say, "Thanks Mom!"

Originally an I'm-never-getting-married-or- having-kids woman, Stephanie Pressley happily eats her words as wife to Henry and mom to three boys. She is a homeschooler and co-founder of Women of Worth, a Twin Cities-based mom's ministry. As a full- time beauty consultant Stephanie leads The Design Team; her passion and joy is helping women discover their worth in Christ and cultivating their desire to actualize their dreams. Her hobbies include thinking up ways for her husband to be home full time, wishing she could spend more time with her cool mommy friends, and pretending there's no clutter in her home.

Completely Inappropriate Sexist Joke: Q: Why don't women wear watches? A: Because there's a clock on the stove.

In our family's quest for frugality, we have chosen to use the central air only if we are near death. Not to mention that our $40.00 a pop furnace filter has not been changed since winter...and to have the central air filtering itself through that would be like unleashing Agent Orange into our living quarters.

Imagine this:The day...hot & humid. You...sweaty, smelly and planning to make a pizza in the oven because that's the only thing you have on the menu. You begin to bake the pizza at 350 degrees and suddenly your home becomes a virtual crematory. What once were your dear small children are now mere splashy puddles of perspiration lying lifeless on the linoleum. Although now quiet and unable to ask for snacks, they are still mere puddles, nonetheless. This is not good. Then there's the mama. "Can't think...can't function...temperature rising...must...find...antidote to kryptonite..."

As you can see, there is summertime dilemma in the Keavy abode. But, Mama Keavy has come up with a solution that keeps babies and hubby fed, and keeps the temps to a minimum. I simply refuse to turn on my oven!

Not that I've gone on strike...which would just be completely un-Biblical and soooooooooo un-Proverbs 31 woman-like. (We all want to be just like her, don't we? Bless her dear soul. Fine purple linen...here we come.) I've just scrounged around the universe for some quick and good tasting cold meals, and this is what I've found:

Pasta Salad (make pasta in the evening!)
Bread

Homemade Hoagies
Chips

BLT's (microwaved bacon)
Microwave Baked Potato

Tuna Salad Pitas (find recipe in last month's newsletter)
Watermelon Slices

Shrimp Salad (thaw shrimp and place on top of salad!)

Cheesy Tortilla Wraps (tortillas, melted cheese, salsa, chopped cilantro, chopped onions made in microwave)
Refried Beans

So, there you have it. Nothing profound. Nothing of which Martha Stewart would approve. Simple summer meals for simple summer folk...who have refused to use their oven this season. And, for some who've refused to pay $40.00 for a furnace filter...till September, anyway. Until then, I guess I'll have to wear a wrist watch.