Then, of course, as I go to put the thoughts to words to blog post, the things – like baby spiders – and, yes, there’s a story there – scatter willy-nilly.

Let’s start with the title of this post, which is all about July. Yes, I know it says June, but follow me here.

I’ve noticed over the course of years that July, in my particular ebb and flow, tends to be the month where the least is expected of me and subsequently I have the most free time. I haven’t done a strict time analysis on this to test whether this is fact, but on purely subjective reflection I believe it to be so.

July is usually the month of National Bible Quiz Finals. Several times I have been privileged to attend, as I was this year in St. Louis.

In my youth pastor days, July was always a good month for a missions trip.

It was also the usual month for youth camp.

July contains Independence Day. It’s a slow time at church, with many taking vacations.

It was July when I took a month off from church and drove – with our family of six – across the United States, first to a National BQ Finals, then to a conference in Seattle, before driving back to Florida.

When July comes, I know there will be slightly less to do, slightly less busy-ness, slightly longer daylight hours. July is what I would call the heart of summer. Ironic, since July also contains the birthday of Summer – number three monkey.

However, I also look at July as the last breath before…most everything. In August, everything – school, church, home, family – starts getting busy. And it won’t stop until next July. Before you know it, it’s June again.

So, before we get into that, I’ll get into this. Coffee. Ice cream. July.