10 Summer Self-Care Ideas for Thoughtful Christian Women
Thoughtful summer rhythms that nourish your mind, deepen your faith, and cultivate a wiser, more intentional life.
There has always been something about summer that slows my soul down enough to hear itself think.
Maybe it’s the longer evenings.
The stack of library books beside the bed.
Tomatoes ripening in the garden.
Or simply the permission to breathe after a full season of pouring into everyone else. (Hello, homeschooling mom.)
Whatever it is, summer feels less like an escape and more like an invitation. Not merely to rest, but to become.
Most conversations about self-care revolve around spa days, shopping trips, or another excuse to “treat yourself.” And those things certainly have their place! (I love a mani/pedi day as much as anyone else.)
But lately I’ve found myself craving something deeper. I want the kind of rest that doesn’t simply help me recover from life—I want the kind that reshapes it.
The kind that sharpens my thinking. Deepens my faith. Reawakens my curiosity. Makes me more attentive to beauty.
And gently reminds me who I am becoming.
Here are ten practices I’m returning to this summer—not because I’m trying to become more productive, but because I want to become more attentive.
Perhaps they’ll nourish your soul, too.
10 Summer Self-Care Ideas (for Thoughtful Christian Women)
These aren’t productivity hacks.
They’re rhythms that cultivate wisdom and rest.
Some nourish the intellect. Others awaken creativity. A few invite deeper communion with God.
Together, they remind us that growth rarely happens through hustle or productivity hacks. More often, it happens through small, faithful practices repeated over time.
Choose one and start gently. Let summer become less about accomplishing more, and more about paying attention.
1. Read one classic you’ve always been curious about.
Not because you feel like you should, but because you’re genuinely curious.
Spend a summer with Jane Austen.
Charles Dickens.
The Brontë sisters.
Tolstoy.
C.S. Lewis. (My muse last summer.)
When you sit with one thoughtful writer for several hundred pages, something begins to happen. Your attention span lengthens. Your imagination expands. You start thinking more deeply—and more slowly—again.
Also Read: “The Ultimate Reading Guide for Thoughtful Christian Women”
In a culture built on scrolling, reading remains one of the most counter-cultural forms of self-care I know.
2. Read a book that makes you love God more.
I’ve found that not every Christian book accomplishes that. Some fill our heads. Others enlarge our hearts.
Choose one writer this summer whose love for Christ is contagious.
Read slowly. Underline generously.
If you’re rebuilding your faith after years of performance-based Christianity, choosing writers who point you toward Christ instead of striving matters more than ever.
Read Also: “10 Books to Read This Year (for Grace, Growth, & Healthy Boundaries)”
3. Start a commonplace book.
I started keeping a commonplace book because I got tired of forgetting the things that were shaping me.
Mine isn’t beautiful. It’s messy! Dog-eared and overflowing with quotes from books, snippets from sermons, prayers scribbled in the margins, Scripture verses that won’t leave me alone, and observations from ordinary afternoons.
It’s become less of a notebook and more of a record of God’s quiet work in my life.
Sometimes growth isn’t found in writing something original. Sometimes it’s found in returning to words worth remembering.
✨Check out my favorite linen journals here.
4. Memorize something worth carrying with you.
This summer I’m sitting with and memorizing verses from the book of Ecclesiastes.
Maybe yours is a psalm. A poem. Or a prayer.
The goal isn’t simply to remember words. It’s allowing those words to get inside and reshape your heart.
5. Write one reflection each week.
Writing has become one of the primary ways God untangles my messy feelings.
When fear feels loud, writing helps me discover what I actually believe. When grief settles in, it gives sorrow somewhere to go. When joy surprises me, it teaches me to pay attention.
The page has become holy ground more times than I can count.
You don’t have to be a writer in order to write. Just an honest feeler and thinker. Begin by listening to your own soul—and be brave enough to record the words that surface.
✨Check out my favorite linen journals here.
6. Practice deep noticing.
When my kids were little, we called this going on a nature walk. Saying “deep noticing” sounds slightly more refined, but it’s really the same thing.
Take a notebook outside and sit quietly. Watch the breeze move through the trees. Study a single flower. Notice birdsong.
Describe everything you see, feel, and hear in your notebook. If you like to sketch, do that.
Beauty has always been one of God’s favorite teachers. Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is simply pay attention.
Read Also: “A Simple Guide to Nature Walks with Kids”
7. Learn a new language.
Whether you use Duolingo, Memrise, or another app, language learning gently wakes your brain back up.
Five minutes while your coffee brews. Ten minutes on the porch. A lesson before bed.
Learning something new reminds us that we’re never too old to begin again.
(I tend to return to Latin, but take your pick!)
8. Invest in Your Future Self
One of the best investments I’ve ever made wasn’t in the stock market—it was in myself.
Every course I’ve taken, every skill I’ve learned, and every book I’ve studied has expanded what I’m able to contribute to my family, my work, and the Kingdom of God.
Some seasons I’ve learned copywriting. Others, theology, blogging, product marketing, or proofreading. Not every course led to a new opportunity, but every one of them changed me in some way.
You don’t have to earn another degree to keep growing. Sometimes one online course is enough to spark a new idea, open a new door, or remind you that you’re capable of more than you realized.
This summer, consider investing in a skill that excites you—not because you have to monetize it tomorrow. But because becoming a lifelong learner is one of the greatest investments you can make in the woman God is shaping you to be.
Read Also: “Top 5 Courses for Jobs to Work from Home”
9. Begin a summer self-study.
Choose one subject you're curious about:
Church history.
Botany.
Storytelling.
Art.
Birds.
Three books. A podcast or two. A pretty journal.
That’s enough.
10. Teach someone something you love.
Tutor a child.
Show someone how to bake bread.
Teach your daughter (or a friend’s daughter) how to paint with watercolors.
Explain algebra.
Walk someone through photography.
Nothing deepens our own understanding quite like giving it away.
Summer Is for Becoming
None of these practices will transform your life overnight.
That’s the beautiful thing about formation. God rarely rushes. He cultivates.
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
Psalm 92:12 - 13
Like a careful gardener tending healthy soil, He shapes us one gentle rhythm at a time.
One conversation.
One prayer.
One chapter.
One long walk.
One journal entry.
One ordinary summer afternoon.
Maybe this season isn’t an interruption to your spiritual growth. Maybe it is your spiritual growth.
So read deeply. Notice beauty.
Learn something new.
Write honestly.
Pray slowly.
Trust that while much of God’s work happens beneath the surface, it is no less real.
Long after summer fades, you’ll discover that what you were really cultivating wasn’t simply knowledge.
It was wisdom.
It was the woman you are becoming.
Veritas et Gratia,
Kristy 💐
FAQ: What is a commonplace book?
A commonplace book is a personal notebook or journal where you collect meaningful quotes, Scripture verses, prayers, poems, sermon notes, and ideas you want to remember. Think of it as a garden for your mind and soul—a place to preserve the words that are shaping who you’re becoming.
For centuries, Christians, theologians, and writers have kept commonplace books as a way to meditate on truth, record insights, and return to wisdom over time. Rather than reading quickly and moving on, a commonplace book invites you to slow down, reflect, and revisit the ideas God uses to grow your faith.
Starting one is simple. Grab a blank journal (I love these linen journals by Emily Ley) and begin copying down passages that encourage you, challenge you, or point you back to Christ.
Don’t worry about making it fancy—mine certainly isn’t! Over time, it becomes a record of God’s faithfulness and a reminder of the grace He’s been cultivating in your life.