july 4th might be an obvious one, so make a day of it! what about the farmer’s market or the art walk or a grand opening? we had a voting day in June for our city’s mayor and a flea market i’ve only ever driven by. our city hall will host events and we discovered a whole new world at the park recently. 

you'll need a link to your city/community events. your town's newspaper is a good source. coffee shops often have bulletin boards with local events posted. my go-to is http://sf.funcheap.com. for locals, you can scroll down and select the date to give you today's events, many for free.

you'll need air in your tires and wind in your sails for this one. i believe that one of the best ways to learn your city is to go about it a different way. routine makes life predictable and helps us settle in to the places we call home, but it can put us in a rut. if you've just moved to town or a new part of the city, how will you get to where you need to go today?

for once this summer, try a different route, even if it's a few minutes longer. you just might discover something new. you will see new faces and new places that internally jolt your senses to refresh you. 

this is a fun way to mix it up a bit. if you typically drive to the store, consider walking. if you walk for exercise, consider biking. it’s convenient to take the car across the bridge, but we have taken the ferry before. 

some of you live in really hot climates and the thought of transporting yourself from point a to point b without a/c sounds like an absurd idea. others of you live miles from town. don't sweat it. do this activity at dusk - walk to a neighbor's house and say hello. (bring popsicles.)

Surprise the people in line behind you.

    you’re already in line for your shave ice, frappe, ice cream, or funnel cake. go ahead and surprise the ones in line behind you. simply turn and ask what they want and that you’re covering it! It’s like you just gave them the moon or something similar!

the sun comes up at 6 am and sets a little after 8 pm. 

if we go up the hill, we can catch dynamite sunrises. If we go to the beach and karl the fog is away, the sunset just might beat the sunrise. I’m guessing we’ll score the latter considering we’re growing teenagers this summer. the plan is to go this week on the last day of school and watch the sunset. but i'm more of a morning person and what calls louder than the sun is devil's teeth baking company. i highly recommend the "special" - a homemade biscuit packed with eggs, cheese, bacon, aioli, and avocado. 

back to the sun. look at your calendar and plan a time to catch the sun rising or setting. check your weather app so you don't miss it! invite some friends to join you. this is a slowing down celebration of what the day can be and what the day has been.

back to the sun.

look at your calendar and plan a time to catch the sun rising or setting. check your weather app so you don't miss it! invite some friends to join you. this is a slowing down celebration of what the day can be and what the day has been.

is this the first time you've done this in your city? is it the last?

every single time, without fail, as ben and i drive across the golden gate bridge with our kids, they don't even look up. we call their attention to this amazing architecture. they might glance, but return to their books and conversation. ben and I gasp every. single. time.

if we’re not careful, dare I say intentional, we won’t even look up and notice that where we live is a part of God’s design for us. it’s a gift. it’s a masterpiece to enjoy. it’s a discovery.

if you missed the 1 must-do can-do summer activity we're thrilled about, you can read it here.

let's take the TWELVE WAYS TO LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE and create some intentionality around the next few weeks when you're in town. i'll be writing stories and ideas on these weekly, but here's some things you can make sure you have on hand: 

what are you doing this summer?

when we chat about the summer, we are quick to highlight vacations and travel. but what are you doing when you're at home? 

i know what we're not doing - letting the screen lull us to lethargy, fearing the fog in our city, nor eating our way through the pantry and fridge. in fact, i'm making a "kitchen closed" sign as you are reading this! 

i’m giving away a summer series grid i created with minimal instructions and maximum creativity! if you missed it, you can click here to get the free download delivered as a pdf to your inbox.