Growing in Your Faith Over Break

If your child attends a Lakeland Catholic school, learning is faith-based and his or her spirituality needs are well tended. When school is dismissed for the summer, many children simply stop thinking about looking for God in everyday life and fall into a routine of lounging around the house, playing video games, going to the pool, and thinking about religion only on Sundays during Mass. This 90-minute interval in a Diocese of Orlando church once a week is not sufficient to meet the spiritual needs of your child, though. The ideas below can help your child grow in faith over summer and be on track when the scheduled days of school begin.Youth GroupsIf your child’s Diocese of Orlando youth group meets over the summer, be there! When children surround themselves with others who believe in the same basic principles, faith is kept alive. Even better, the spiritual pitfalls that surround children in everyday life are more easily overcome when they know they have the support of a youth group.Make a CommitmentYou and your child can make a pact to pray the rosary once a week or one decade every morning. You can read one Bible verse a day by opening to a random page in the Bible and discussing it together, or look online for a spiritual website to explain Bible readings to you. Many websites, such as ChurchPop, offer fantastic information in bite-sized pieces. Watch a video or two every day.Find Space (Spiritual and Literal) to PraySome days seem too hectic to calm your spirit with a few minutes of prayer. If this sounds like your summer days, tape a prayer to the bathroom mirror and pray as you brush your teeth, or leave a book of prayers on the dining room table and read a page as you eat breakfast. Turn off the radio in the car and open your mind to prayer. God appreciates every single minute you offer in prayer.VolunteerBeing an instrument of God gives the spirit a giant dose of happiness. Helping others also reminds children how much they have in comparison. Your child can volunteer to help at your church’s Vacation Bible School, at any of the Diocese of Orlando dozens of charitable organizations, or at a local animal shelter. Living in faith is a much stronger feeling than simply talking about faith.Keep the faith alive this summer with any or all these ideas. Contact the Diocese of Orlando at 407-246-4800 to learn about volunteer opportunities for Lakeland Catholic school students and read past blogs for more ideas on growing in faith during the summer.