Hmmm, let's see. Just how will my son Stephen and I approach this summer? I'll do Tuesday afternoons at Sheila's pool and Thursday afternoons at Darlene's pool for sure. I'll be flexible with Wednesdays. Of course, Friday morning is at Jen's pool for the pastor's wives. Three possibly four days of pool hopping sounds good. Caregroup meetings, some hospitality at our house, and family fun nights with our married children will make a delightful summer. Can't forget my annual beach day with my daughters and I want to surprise Warren for an overnight too...I can hardly wait for the summer to begin! Have my summers always been like this? Well, yes and no. They've always been fun, but not necessarily filled with pool days. It all began 17 years ago on our church plant. When I asked Warren how I could serve him with the women, he wisely responded, "make memories." Boy, that was the best assignment ever! I'd love to do that!! Providentially right at that time, the Lord added to our leadership team a family with a pool. That summer we began what I called "Prayer and Pool." (not too creative, I know!) I met with the caregroup leaders at my house every Friday morning for prayer while the kids hung out downstairs. We ate lunch at my house and then headed over to Cris's house for pool time. We decided we liked being together so much, that when "prayer and pool" ended, I kept up a monthly morning prayer meeting. Over time, our "prayer and pool" got bigger and bigger as the Lord added more and more caregroup leaders. And, as the Lord would have it , eventually the caregroup leaders wanted to have their own prayer and pools! They so enjoyed our fellowship that they wanted to experience that with their own caregroups. Thus, the evolution of prayer and pool!Through the years the Lord has added many large hearted people to our church that love to open up their pools in the summer. Typically, each pool day consists of 2-3 caregroups combined depending on the number of children. Another way the ladies get together is by age of children. For instance, my daughter Julie hosts a pool morning at her friend's house for moms with small children. Of course, as a Memom, I've crashed that pool from time to time to see my 2 granddaughters! We currently have 7 pool days going on this summer. One of the perks of being a pastor's wife is that I can pool hop all summer long! I go to my "usual" pools based on my son's preference, but every now and then I venture out to another pool to catch up with the ladies there. God is at work in so many lives and the fellowship is so sweet that I don't want to miss it! I'm especially excited about our Pastor's Wives pool day on Friday mornings. Since the majority of the children on our team are under the age of 7, afternoon naps are essential. Therefore we will gather at Jen Lockhart's pool at 10:00, bring our lunches, and leave around 1:00 or 2:00. Our summer assignment is to bring to our monthly Panera Bread breakfast meeting evidences of grace we see in 2 children (there are 15 children among us...not counting my 4 older children...so we figured we needed to limit it to 2). No doubt, the memories made around Jen's pool will only deepen our friendships and make our children glad that their daddy is called to be a pastor--what fun! Life is just one big "get to" for these kids! There you have it! Summer fun at the Sovereign Grace Church of Cherry Hill. If you ever come for a visit, don't forget your suit! I'll just check my calendar and find out just where the pool day is happening and we'll just mosey on over. Be ready to laugh and cry and share your heart....that's what pool day is all about!
