Summer is here and it's like almost gone, y'all! We go back to school in less than a month! {insert sad face} Anywhoo, I've got a simple idea for one last summer hurrah and then a mini devotion/thing-I'm-thinking-about/thought-provoking piece for your reading pleasure today.

(That paragraph was to display my super duper professional and amazing writing skills.)

Ready, friend?

Last year, when my daughter went to camp for the first time, I tried to come up with an idea that would help my left-at-home kindergartener not be too bummed at being stuck at home with mama for a week.

And Dragon Week was born! My son and I read dragon books, made dragon crafts, watched a dragon movie and he thought it was as cool as a week of camp. (Honestly, he did!)

I, of course used that week as an excuse to pour God's Word into his little heart in a fun and creative way. He still talks about Dragon Week and I know the seeds planted in his heart are there to stay!

This year we're doing "Treasure Hunter Week" (which you should be able to see me update about on Instagram!) and I can't wait to tell you more about it on the blog in the next week or two. So, if you're needing a fun bunch o' activities to do with your little dragon lover, click over to see all the fun stuff we did together! Come on, do something fun and meaningful with your kiddos before school starts!

You know what I'm getting tired of?

People's opinions.

I know. I know. I sound like a grumpy old get-off-my-lawn scrooge. But I don't think it's because I'm so attached to my opinions, or because I dislike people, I think it's the fact that I'm bombarded with so many voices every day.

Status updates, tweets, blogs, podcasts and talking heads seem to be shouting in my ear and taking up space in my heart and mind. I find myself saying, "Did you read that post about..." and "Hey, did you see what whats-his-face updated?" in normal conversations.

In the middle of the Supreme Court's ruling last week and the atrocities in Charleston, I suddenly had a weird thought, "When was the last time I said, 'The Lord has really been showing me so-and-so' or 'I was just reading this verse in the Bible and I've been thinking...'"

I felt like my mind was not my own. Like squeaky wheels and people who like to hear their own voice were spilling out of my mouth! I don't want to regurgitate only what I hear around me. I really want my heart and mind to be a mirror of God's Spirit.

I memorized Psalm 19:14 when I was in 6th grade, "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." But it's even more than that. I want my thoughts to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. I want God's thoughts, God's plans, God's heartbreak to be my own. And to do that, I've had to silence a lot of voices around me so I can hear the one Voice I really want to hear.

Switchfoot wrote a song that says,
"If we're adding to the noise
turn off this song
If we're adding to the noise
turn off your stereo, radio, video"

As a blogger and writer, I'm going to be as brave: if I'm adding to the noise in our life, will you turn me off? If there are status updates and notifications on your phone and television shows that just add to the noise in your brain, will you turn them off?

Let's God's voice, God's Words and the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit be loudest in your heart and mind today!

Posts You Mighta Missed But Really Do Wanna Read

2015 Reading Progress {I read 66 books in 90 days!}
The Warrior Poet {+ a coupon for crazy cute boys clothes}
Clean Hands {a simple family devotion}
Family Movie Moms Review of Inside Out {+ a link to the God Centered Mom podcast with more movie fun!}